Ashes to Ashes: Two bald men fighting over a comb

Four years ago, Australia had just beaten India (in India) and came to England to wallop the Poms again. A little complacent, a little arrogant (what, Australians? never). They neglected to note that said Poms had just beaten South Africa, and were on a bit of a roll.
My mate Dave was going to be content with a few sessions going the Poms way, but we all know what happened-
A wolf-pack of Steve Harmison, Andrew Flintoff, Matthew Hoggard and the 'tasty' (wife's words) Simon Jones used reverse swing and a bit of thought to hamstring the Aussies. Gilchrist neutered, Martyn and Hayden and Langer not up for it. If it hadn't been for Warnie and Brett Lee, our batting totals would have been even worse.
It was a great series, and the better team won.
[The next series, in Australia, 2006-7 was less fun to watch, because the English preparations were non-existent, and as a captain, Flintoff is a great bowler (this too was predicted by Dave).]

And now, with the next Ashes four months away, the Aussies have lost their Old Guard and are in the inevitable shaky transition. Beaten by the South Africans, beaten by New Zealand. They have a lot to prove.
And the Poms? To lose by an innings when you were only 70 behind takes real talent. It reminds Dave of the pre-Hussain days "when England lost everything. Always."

Will the cricket be any good? Dunno. Will it be a spectacle? You bet.

New Left Review, Viz, Studs Terkel, Cystic Fibrosis

There's a bunch of words you don't see often together. Anyhow, here's a fascinating rundown of my fascinating day (irony alert).

After a pretty sleepless night (I got to read most of the book about the participaive web), I saw on the bbc's tinterweb site that the Aussies are struggling against South Africa in the dead rubber in Sydney. I may not see that Matthew Haydn in next year's Ashes, but then again, I may. Made the missus her first cup of tea, did the washing up, walked to walmart/Asda with the plastic recycling to walmart, bought vaseline for chaffing prevention.(fat bastard). Used the automated till- one more weapon in thinning out the workforce, eh? On the stepper for 80 minutes

Read Peter Gowan's New Left Review essay on the financial crises. He and I both get the FT, but he 'gets it'. Then for something a little heavier I read Viz (of which more separately- it made me laugh out loud and actually cry a little, which is kind of embarrassing on the stepper at the gym). Then started in on a piece from November's Monthly Review on soil and nature and capital.

Came home collecting cans as I did in days of yore. The rumour goes that one can recycled is equivalent to three hours of a TV on standby. There's a lot of TV hours on standby between the gym and home...

Read my bible for the King James Version posting (here).

Went on the March, via the newsagent for an FT and then a vegetarian pizza. So managed to miss both the pre- and post-march speeches. What a shame.

Back here and typed up the Terkel quotes, did a review. Woohoo.

Then got stuck into finally cracking out a crude but (in)effective CAECUM site. I am semi-serious about a Campaign Against Enduring Counter-productive & Useless Meetings. We really are lousy at them.

Sigh.

Oh, then to work to treat a young lady with cystic fibrosis, a cruel cruel disease.

Right. Separate posts about Gowan and Viz to be done...