Synthesizer Patel

The Americans just clattered the goal post. Great shot by Reyna.

Am I the only one here with the privilege of having a tv in their office? True I'm working from home, but even in the past when I wasn't we had a tv playing the matches all the time. It's not like not having a tv is making you all work, you're just searching elsewhere to find out what's going on.

Hmmm. 1-0 already to the Czechs.

That whole thing kind of rings a bell, the having to spell out Shitbag, but I think we played it with the wall football game. I can't remember having to drop my trousers when I lost though, although maybe a couple of sessions with a psychologist would unleash a few deep hidden memories of that sort of childhood humiliation that I've tried to forget!

Yes, go into details. Unless of course it really is scatological, then you can keep your sordid past to yourself.

That was called Rush Goalie were I grew up, that makes more sense than Goalie When.

I always had to be Marco Van Basten when I played football up against the wall, or headers & volleys. Did anyone else use to play wall football, where you were only allowed one touch and you had to hit the wall from where the ball ended up or you lost a life (3 lives and lost and your out). Or headers & volleys, where you could only score off a header or volley, and if the goal keeper caugt it or it went wide you had to go in goal - and there were always cowards who never shot because they didn't want to go in goal. Oh, jumpers for goal posts . . isn't it!

the end was certainly very exciting. i've just realised i've probably spoilt the game for a lot of people. what's the deal with real-time reports? should it be allowed, or better left until everyone has seen the game?

Make that 2-1 to Australia now! damn. SHIT! 3-1 now. this is exciting.

Latest News: Australia v Japan 1-1. Looks like Mark might still be in with a chance with his Australian backing. 5 minutes of normal time to play.

It's not really modern slang, more like the sort of thing you might hear coming from the lips of a 1940's barrow-boy. I mean you wouldn't catch a modern-day chav or a jikey saying it, for instance. Although, it's worth baring in mind that Rich is Welsh.

Exactly, the only really negative thing I would take from the game was Sven's lack of ability to read the state of the game. His sub decisions made no sense to me what-so-ever, but maybe he'll sort himself out in the future. Mexico v Iran was a good game!

I think if America won the World Cup people would far from hate them for doing it. I actually think that people would be shocked that an under-dog side won it, and would be happy for them. Well I would, and I am an English man, and the English love the under-dog. It's only if they won it by changing the rules to suit them and moved the goal-posts every five minutes that people would get pissed about it, or if they won it every time in the past and never looked like giving the other sides a chance. Fortunately after seeing the last two games (and England will have to face one of those 4 teams

Maybe the food poisoning and diahorrea will give them a bit of an edge and 'hurry up' about their game. I always think that these sorts of solid teams (without much in the way of stand-out players or natural flare) seem to do well in the World Cup; Germany being another rather boring team to watch, that don't let in a lot of goals, yet somehow manage to score a goal to win or hold their nerve during extra time and penalties. I agree that Italy will do badly, although if they go out in the first round then doesn't that mean that the USA will probably go through or Ghana (assuming that the Cze

I am putting my money behind England this time. I just have a feeling it'll all come together this time round. Wishful thinking perhaps. Other than England, I think Croatia will do well again, and Germany will either go out in the first round or go a long way. Whatever happens I think that the cup is going to someone in Europe this time round, Brazil surely can't win it again and Argentina just don't seem focused enough nor do they play much as a team in my eyes. Top scorer: Steven Gerrard, I think him playing well is far more important to England's success than Rooney playing or not.

The first series of League of Gentlemen is brilliant, and the second series is pretty good too. It goes down a bit after that though. If you like that (and I don't know why you like Little Britain!) you should check out "I'm Alan Partridge" series 1 & 2, "Spaced" series 1 & 2 (from the people who made Shaun of the Dead, but a hell of a lot funnier than that), and The Smell of Reeves & Mortimer. You can get all those on DVD. Here are some clips of those shows from YouTube: Alan Partridge - Interviewing a Farmer (Chris Morris) Spaced Episode 1 Series 1 One of the Smell Of Ree

Hope you like them. If you do, you should try and get the other boxset with his films he made with Klaus Kinski (Fitzcarraldo, Aguirre: Wrath of God, Woyzeck, Nosferatu The Vampire, Cobra Verde and My Best Fiend which is a documentary Herzog made about his relationship with Kinski - how they both tried to kill each other at various times & that kind of thing). The best thing about all his films is that they are really two films in one. You can watch them without the commentary and enjoy them and also watch them with the commentary and they become brilliant documentaries about the making

I'm not watching this, but thought I'd point it out to anyone in Europe or America if you want to pay the postage: Werner Herzog Box Set 2 for

Blackwater Side & She Moves Through The Fair are just traditional folk songs. Bert Jansch & Davey Graham didn't write them. As for the blues ones, those people have/had copyright on them, but that certainly doesn't really mean to say they wrote them (a bit like a lot of the Carter Family songs, they were just the first to copyright them). The fact that Led Zeppelin always made their own arrangements certainly makes the issue a bit more of a legal issue more than an artistic one in my eyes anyway.

Well if that's the case then have a read of this and tell me what you think about Dylan being top of the list.

Cheers for that. Although I'm still not happy they aren't higher, well, above U2 and REM anyway, and Jeff Tweedy (although he's the only one of those three that I think is likely to make better music in the future to secure his place or rise)

Have Richard Thompson, Stevie Wonder, Page & Plant, and fucking Ray Davis! died without me noticing? Never mind, it's only a list. I'm not sure of the point in the "still alive" bit though because if we're talking creatively still alive, that list would (i'd assume) look a lot different.

How about Darts? Or Snooker, for that matter?

I think if he was a race horse they'd have put him down by now actually..... only joking. If you watch and support England I am sure you'll find another young colt to admire. How about Peter Crouch? Yes he really is that tall, and yes his surname is very apt.