Shaki

Despite my (unwarranted) comments earlier in the thread about the guy, i dont see the problem, he has so far been Rangers best player in almost every game he has played, including against us, the fans seem to like him and what he brings and so far the move has been a success for him. He was never an Aberdeen fan, or really an Aberdeen player, he was a Jimmy Calderwood player, he stayed here because he liked Jimmy, not the club, as soon as Jimmy left he wanted out but we wouldnt let him leave. As much as it annoys me we didnt see this form, fair play to him, he is showing finally he has the ability, time will tell if he has the consistency required.

I think we have to be realistic about players not from Aberdeen being "Aberdeen fans"! This sort of loyalty doesn't really exist beyond the stock answer "I always look out for their results" when a player moves on and is then interviewed by the EE. They're all mercenaries, except Darren Mackie and a few others. Anyway, Aluko is now a hun, has been one of their better players, probably enjoying his football more than ever and is loved by their fans. You can't really blame him.

EDIT: I missed the #Nosurrender# part of this story. He's the cunt of cunts and I hope he dies.

A record even McGee would be embarrassed with..........

75% win at Bristol Rovers so far (won 3, lost 1)

Shaki: driving down Rosemount in his purple clio at 1306 today.

Can't have been me, my Clio is blue.

I am now reading "Alone in Berlin" by Hans Fallada and it is, so far, the most enjoyable book I've read in years. I said I'd do stuff today but wish I hadn't because I just want to read it.

Recommended to anyone who likes to read books. I didn't know anything about Hans Fallada, quite an interesting character: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Fallada

Terrifying, gripping, emotional, educational, exciting and all the best things! The only thing that slightly spoilt it for me was that the chapter titles gave away what was about to happen which ruined some of the suspense. "The death of so and so". I didn't see that coming - could you not have just let me gasp in horror?

Now reading Kazuo Ishiguro's "When we were orphans". Not a lot happening so far but his writing is beautiful and flowing. Books are great.

Nervy one for the Dons last night. I love a last minute winner I do. Would be pleasantly surprised if we can overcome Murrawell at Fir Park in the QF.

Now I think Tevez' behaviour entirely acceptable. He didn't like the tone of voice his manager spoke to him in so refused to do his job.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17019634

Have seen them twice, cracking band. Will definitely be up for this

I did chuckle when I saw the "plate of shrimps" poster on a shop door and there were some decent quotes but on the whole I was perplexed. I kind of stopped paying attention towards the end because I couldn't comprehend much so the final scene just pushed me over the edge.

I fear I am ordinary.

You, and everyone else*, should watch Repo Man.

*except ordinary fucking people, I hate 'em.

What.

The Fuck.

Was that?!

You are smoking way better stuff than me.

Just finished Dennis Lehane's 'The Given Day'. It centres around a black man and an Irish Boston police office in 1919 following the end of the war. Its all about the police strike that happened and other general commie nonsense. Its absolutely fucking brilliant. 700 pages but well worth it.

Finished Lehane's 'Shutter Island' a week or so back as well, which is what made me read 'The Given Day'. It was also very very good. Never saw the movie, but from what I gather, they made it more of an action movie than the book suggests.

As for current, think I'm about to dive into some Ellory, possibly The Black Dahlia.

I've read all of Lehane's books apart from the most recent "Moonlight Mile" which is waiting on the shelf. The two you've read are different than most of his work as the others are all essentially crime fiction/murder mystery. The Kenzie and Gennarro series are well worth a look and you should read them chronologically, as is Mystic River. The film of "Shutter Island" would probably have been enjoyable and suspenseful had I not already known the story and the big twist (which I thought was stupid in the book but they did quite well in the film).

The Black Dahlia (by Ellroy, not Ellory who is also a crime writer) is great :-)

I recently read 'Lucky Jim' by Kingsley Amis having been given it as a gift and constantly asked if I'd read it yet. I struggled with the first chapter to get into his writing style and humour but once I was in I was laughing my arse off. A great comedy novel.

I am now reading "Alone in Berlin" by Hans Fallada and it is, so far, the most enjoyable book I've read in years. I said I'd do stuff today but wish I hadn't because I just want to read it.

I went to see Nada Surf at King Tuts on Tuesday night. It was incredibly good. They played a lot off their new album which I'd struggled to get into on the three listens I'd given it in advance. Since Tuesday I've had it on constantly which was the same with their last tour and album. A strange phenomenon.

Me and the missus got talking to the singer in the bar afterwards and we were actually pretty cool (comparative to my previous "meet your heroes" experiences), until she asked him for a "bozie" and he said "what's a boozie?" and was then embraced and looked a little uncomfortable.

I actually shat myself in The Queen Vic on Saturday night. It was just a little tiny bit, but still pretty significant. I was awful drunk.

Seriously though, I often soil myself.

You never 'fessed up to this at the time? Is that why you went home?! I guess the fact that my baby brother, who I remember soiling himself often the first time around, is now soiling himself as an adult make me feel kinda old.

Also when I was in my early twenties and I'd be in the supermarket and some woman would say to her toddler "get out of the man's way" that made me feel old. I am a man in your eyes?! Cool!

I found out the other day that one of my best pals from school is divorced! Not just married but DIVORCED! That's some serious middle age right there.

I think I've previously mentioned the uncontrolable shit I speak to my neighbours when I meet them in the hall. This was yesterday...

Shaki: "How's it going?" (pretty good start)

Neighbour: "Not bad but it's freezing in my flat, the boilers broken"

Shaki: "Oh no! Well, you'll have to get your woollen. Get on your woollen. Your Woollen." (running down the stairs away from her)

Again, according to Twitter, this is footage of a Liverpool fan doing a monkey gesture as Evra took a throw in. They're not racist though, because they have signed an African player.

Oooooh, I've suddenly got an itchy armpit!

Anyway, in Scouse culture this gesture means "let's be friends"...

"The Bird" is away this weekend so I am going to be having a one man party weekend and probably doing some seriously depraved shit.

Introductions to novels by someone other than the author which allude to the plot of the story you're about to read. Before the actual book I want to enjoy starts some cunt is telling me all about it, assuming I'm re-reading it or at least know the story because Penguin published it. Ok, I usually skip this but in the one I'm reading at the moment, I couldn't remember who some cunt was - was he that cunt that likes to drink, or the other cunt that likes to play chess? - and so I flicked back towards the start to find out and accidentally read a bit of the introduction by this other cunt who works at Sheffield University or something, who has nothing to do with this book, which gave away one of the plot lines. Honestly, I think in Standard Grade and Higher English a total of 8, at the most, books were studied, leaving about 2,000 classics I might realistically want to read in my lifetime that I have no idea about because I don't watch BBC dramatisations of books either. There seems to be some expectancy that if you read books you know all the stories and you're just doing it for the beauty of the words.

The WORST thing about this is that there is information about the author and then a little paragraph about the cunt who spoiled the story on the inside of the front cover! YOU DIDN'T WRITE THIS BOOK YOU CUNT. You work at a University! Fucking wow. Put it at the end if you have to have it at all. Part of my publishing deal will be that NO CUNT, no matter how many centuries in the future, will scribble his thoughts at the start of my novels...and Penguin can fuck off too.

Agents are dicks.

But then money talks too.

It's a filthy world and my heart is heavy.

I see he is single too, perhaps we need to find him a girlfriend, that seemed to make Markus Heikkenen want to stay....oh wait.

I thought Cardiff looked good last night and were worthy winners. Good to see so many real Scottish players doing well. Miller on form, Conway looked really good (although we have wingers ahead of him in the pecking order), Cowie is a composed player and SuperKev did the job when he came on.

Mon the Bluebirds! I hope Liverpool beat City so that Cardiff have a chance of winning.

This is incredible.

Fugazi and Eels are my binge bands. I'm not on either at the moment though. Currently I'm binging on Todd Snider but I only discovered him in the past 6 months so maybe that doesn't count...

We live in a college town so we're ok

Banchory 1981 - 2004

Aberdeen 2004 - death

STAND FREE

Card-waving is wenk, but I can definitely see where Mancini is coming from. Hand gestures are a huge part of communication in Italy. I've just started learning Italian, and one of the first things I was told to do was learn some hand gestures as they are universally-known and negate the need to grasp region-specific colloquialisms. Italian conversations are very animated, and you could probably go to Italy without knowing a word of the language and still get-by okay just by using your hands. For Mancini, card-waving is probably instinctive.

Not that I like it (card-waving is one of the most childish, wankerish things a grown man can do on a football pitch), but I can cut Mancini some slack in this situation.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/16670824.stm

So i see the dazler has been told he can leave at the season.

As sad as this is, it feels like the right thing to do. I love you reading champ, I'm just not in love with you.

Tonight