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The blog of the MSN homepage team
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September 02 One club, 61 million ownersPosted by Ian The replacement of Manchester City's previous owner, "a human rights abuser of the worst kind"*, with the royal family of the United Arab Emirates, is about a big a demonstration you can get of how unpopular leading British football clubs are to British millionaires. Why is there so little interest among the rich and powerful of this country? Why does no-one seem to think it worthwhile owning a Premier League team from their homeland? Clearly something has to be done, before all these teams become mere units of collateral in foreign bank accounts. Step forward the British government. Just like important art treasures are "saved for the nation" thanks to generous grants from the Treasury, so important teams should be "saved" the same way. And because they would be financed out of government expenditure (or even Lottery funding), in theory we would all own them and therefore all be entitled to have a say over match selection and transfers. Now that would make the beautiful game truly beautiful. *Amnesty International
August's homepage reviewedPosted by Dom Here's a quick look at what you thought of the site in August. The tragic plane crash in Madrid and Kerry Katona's bankruptcy were two of the biggest news stories in our slides during August.
On a lifestyle front, a piece from Encarta on useless body parts really got you clicking (who do men have nipples?!), as did an interesting piece on what your sleeping position says about the state of your relationship.
And, of course, we can't forget the Olympics, where Britain's staggering gold medal success kept us busy putting up some memorable images in the slideshow.
Issues which got you irked this month included: an out-of-date photo of Kilimanjaro, some misleading or overly sensationalist headlines in our News module, inaccurate weather forecasts ('Your weather forecasting is the worst I have ever seen, its so far out its embarrassing, do you use a pine cone and a piece of seaweed ?') and an unfortunately wrongly programmed news link ('Why is Barry George considered to be a speed camera cash cow on your news link. I'm sorry but I don't understand that'). Bad spelling and grammar also upset you: 'When you write 'the position in which we lay down ...' do you mean the position we use to lie down in, or are you confusing the transitive and intransitive forms of the verb, 'to lie'?' 'WHAT is an Olympic 'gold MEAL'???? If cannot spell, RESIGN!!' 'Can you not spell? IT'S ISAAC HAYES NOT ISSAC' 'I have to write on behalf of all of us who are actually literate. Please employ some proof readers! In the decline of the honeybee article Varroa is named as both the mite AND the virus it carries. Also, this is the wrong 'prey/pray' - unless bee mites do have an organised religion :)' The old issue of linking to stories about Madeleine McCann also prompted one user to write: 'A war has broken out between Russia and Georgia, the Olympics have just started....but MSN will lead with the story that Maddie - an MSN headline fave - MIGHT have been seen in a bank in Belgium'. Thanks for all your comments and opinions, and rest assured they were all taken note of and passed to the relevant editors. On the bright side, we did get some positive feedback from one user: 'The world's weirdest animals and sea beasts article was brilliant. My sister and me loved it. They certainly are horrible, especially the one that eats its victims from the inside out. Educational, fun, very funny and insightful indeed.' We'll be back in a month to review September's goings-on.
September 01 Cheer up!Posted by Ian We're apparently facing the biggest economic slump for 60 years, looters are preparing to terrorise our towns and cities, and Mr Burns and Rev. Lovejoy's wife are hoping to win the US election for the Republican party. But it's not all bad. It's the start of a new month, always a time for beginning anew and thinking fresh thoughts. Here are six reasons to be cheerful this September: 1) Autumn is coming, with its rich colours, wistful horizons and mellow moods. Already you can see the dew in fields and on lawns first thing in the morning, and there's a wonderful softness to the sky that you don't get in the middle of summer. It's nature kicking back and preparing to put its feet up, and it's beautiful. 2) TV gets good again. Traditionally this is the time for channels to unveil their new season of programmes, and while we don't get wall-to-wall new series like we used to, there's still enough to get excited by: Strictly Come Dancing, Merlin, Heroes, God On Trial, Survivors and Little Dorritt on the BBC alone, plus that bizarre remake of The Family on Channel 4. 3) Big Brother ends. The show is a joke that lost all humour ages ago. Rules don't apply anymore (housemates seemingly able to come and go as they please) and anybody who is likeable always get kicked out during the first few weeks. The fact so few people cared about it this year, however, is a promising sign. 4) The awards season begins. For fans of ludicrous outfits, breathtakingly pompous speeches, shocking miscarriages of justice and British people doing well in America, there's plenty to satisfy: the MTV video awards, the Emmys, the Mobos, the Mercury Music Prize and, if you're really desperate, the TV Quick & TV Choice and Inside Soap awards. 5) Formula One goes after hours. Depending on your point of view, Grand Prix races are either thrilling exhibitions of peerless skill or a bunch of show-offs driving round and round the same bit of road for three hours. On 28th September the first ever night-time F1 is being staged in Singapore, which will at the very least make the thing seem a bit more unpredictable. Sport fans can also look forward to World Cup football qualifiers and the Ryder Cup. 6) The secret of the universe will be discovered. Well, in theory. The world's largest scientific experiment begins on 10th September when a particle accelerator the shape of a giant hula hoop buried deep underground in Switzerland is switched on. It's hoped that it will be able to recreate the Big Bang and hence disclose some truths about the meaning of life. If it does, we won't ever have to think about the price of eggs or Big Brother again. Hooray! And if you're still feeling down...
August 29 Barack RollPosted by Paul Barack Obama does Rick Astley. This is quite brilliant...
Terminal stupidity
Fortunately, the old dear sustained no injuries and made it out in time to catch her flight to Germany.
August 28 Scots stunned by happiness report
In a new study by university researchers, the capital occupies bottom spot out of 273 locations across the country, today's Scotsman reports.
"This may come as a surprise to festival-goers, or tourists who only see Princes Street and the Georgian splendours of the New Town. But not to anyone acquainted with the drug-fuelled deprivation of the 1970s housing schemes built around the city's outskirts when the old tenement buildings were cleared", says Michael McCarthy in the Independent. What do you think of the report? Is Edinburgh the most miserable place in the country? Post your thoughts.
August 26 People can be too clever to spell
Researchers at Collins Dictionaries discovered that the most commonly misspelt word was supersede. The problem arises because people use their knowledge of the words that have a phonetically similar ending, like intercede, precede or cede, from the Latin cedere - to yield. They then wrongly assume that supersede is spelt with a 'c', according to a report in The Daily Telegraph. Most commonly misspelt words - take the test
I didn't get where I am today by remaking classic 70s sitcomsPosted by Dom Aaaargh! I read with horror yesterday in the Guardian that Martin Clunes is being lined up to play Reggie Perrin in a new remake of the classic 70s sitcom, The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin.
Now I have nothing against Mr Clunes, who has been in some of the most successful and watchable comedies and comedy-dramas over the last decade. No, I just don't understand how anyone, anyone could think that Leonard Rossiter's memorable performance as the man on the verge of a nervous breakdown could possibly be bettered. I have the DVD boxset of the 70s show, and standing out amongst David Nobbs' brilliant writing, the watchable ensemble cast, the incessant catchphrases and the sly social commentary, is an absolutely titanic performance from Rossiter. He makes the show his own, and turns what could have been merely a so-so sitcom into something truly epic. I have no doubt Clunes will battle manfully and skillfully to try and make the role his own, but it's just such a pointless task. Surely all that most people will notice, like they did in the AWFUL updating of the show in 1996 (The Legacy of Reginald Perrin), is that Rossiter isn't there. This is one sitcom that should be laid to rest, with memories unsullied. If the state of our comedy industry is so bad that we have to desperately turn to remaking classic shows that are nigh-on impossible to better, things are looking very depressing indeed.
August 23 A kick in the teethPosted by Tony
The Beijing Olympics will be remembered for many great moments, such as the lavish opening ceremony, Team GB’s spectacular gold medal haul or Usain Bolt’s record-breaking antics. But it will also be remembered for the unsportsmanlike conduct of Cuba’s Angel Matos. The AP news report below explains what happened:
The World Taekwondo Federation has recommended that Cuba's Angel Matos and his coach be banned for life after the athlete kicked a referee in the face following his bronze-medal match disqualification. Cuban coach Leudis Gonzalez offered no apology for Matos' actions during the men's over-80 kg (176 pounds) match. Matos was winning 3-2, with 1:02 left in the second round, when he fell to the mat after being hit by his opponent, Kazakhstan's Arman Chilmanov. He was disqualified for taking too much injury time. Matos angrily questioned the call. He pushed a judge, then pushed and kicked referee Chakir Chelbat of Sweden. Sanctions include a "lifetime ban of the coach and athlete in all championships sanctioned by the (World Taekwondo Federation)." August 20 A-Hoy therePosted by Ian It's quite clear who should be the BBC Sports Personality Of The Year 2008:
Read his own account of his feelings after becoming the first Briton in 100 years to win three golds in three different events at the same Olympics. You'll rarely find a more inspiring yet humble and down-to-earth sportsperson. And you'd certainly be hard-pressed to find a more articulate testimony of what it's like training for and competing in a world-class event. What a contrast with the lazy, pointless burblings that tend to be reported as tumbling from the mouths of Britain's footballers and cricketers. I think that's one of the reasons I've found myself so gripped by this year's Olympics. I can take or leave the posturing performance of the UK's various footie squads or test match sides. They always carry deadweights and rarely perform consistently. And they are never tested in these kinds of environments. GB's Olympic gold medal winners, of whom Chris Hoy is the king, are individuals who can't fall back on anyone but themselves. As a result they commit their entire beings, emotionally, physically, psychologically, to their discipline. Their sincerity and talent is so self-evident it's enough to move you to tears. And Sir Lord Christopher Hoy OBE is clearly the finest textbook example of them all. Sadly, because Britain is the most fickle country in the world, come Christmas it's just as likely that the honour will end up going to yet another overpaid underachieving football 'star' who only kicks a ball 300 out of 365 days a year, scores goals even less, has a wife who is a model, and who likes being photographed skulking around fashion shows and falling out of nightclubs.
Eye don't think soPosted by Ian How the hell did anybody ever think this was a good idea?
That's four members of Argentina's Olympic football squad, according to The Guardian. Apparently the photo first appeared earlier this month in one of the country's own sport journals. As if that wasn't bad enough, it follows similar discoveries of equally thunderously un-PC photos, this time of Spain's basketball and tennis players, pulling precisely the same gesture. What on earth is going on? Comments from the countries involved that the photos were meant in goodwill, or that the protagonists were being ironic, just won't do. When it comes to enactments of such an obvious racial slur, there can't be any room for ambiguity. Am I being naive, however? Might some parts of the world really be that accommodating to nationally-endorsed demonstrations of 1970s sitcom racism? China, thankfully, are getting the last laugh. After all, whereabouts are Argentina and Spain in the Olympics medal table?
August 19 Bigfoot: not real after allPosted by Dom Sad news! The Bigfoot discovery Ian alluded to last week has been found to be a hoax. Private Detective Kull says it all: "Within one hour we were able to see the partially exposed head. I was able to feel that it seemed mostly firm, but unusually hollow in one small section. This was yet another ominous sign. Within the next hour of thaw, a break appeared up near the feet area. ... I observed the foot which looked unnatural, reached in and confirmed it was a rubber foot."
Move along, there's nothing to see here...
August 15 Foot in mouthToday's edition of the Times newspaper contains a story concerning a group of American hunters who claim to have discovered Bigfoot. Again. On their own website, the adventurers bragged: 'We have located a family of Bigfoot and besides the clear photo and video we have something even more shocking, A BODY. Please bear with us at this time. We have hired legal help. History is in the making.' It is, naturally, a monstrous conspiracy, a unconvincing hoax, and a classic bit of 'silly season' hokum. Some people in our office aren't so sure, though. One declared they hoped it was real 'so I can give it a hug'. Another vowed it was real, but refused to give a reason why. 'It just is.' Check out the evidence and let us know what you think. Meanwhile, look who I've just seen outside the office window:
August 14 'Arsenal eez one of ze big teams'
August 13 Ok commuter?Posted by Dom I've recently moved house, an experience which was remarkably stress-free considering how painful it could have been. One thing that I'm still getting my head around is the change in my daily journey to work, however. Instead of a brief couple of journeys from Kingston to the MSN offices in Victoria, I now have a much longer, but direct train from the teeny station at West Sutton. Sitting down for any long journey gives you a great opportunity to people-spot, and observe how different characters deal with the often soul-destroying hassles and complications of even the most simple commute to work in the morning. Some people just stare blankly into space, lost in a world of thought, tiredness or boredom. Others let the whole carriage share in their dodgy music taste by putting their iPod on at full blast (I always thought that perhaps one of the biggest indications of getting old is complaining about people's music being too loud, and now I'm doing it myself. Yikes). Many people, of course, TALK ON THE PHONE REALLY LOUDLY, just so everyone can fully grasp how earth-shatteringly important and busy their lives are...
Dom Joly in Trigger Happy TV I used to barely have the energy or the time to do anything but glance at the Metro, but my new longer ride now allows me both to catch up on the mountain of books I have to read (I'm currently enjoying Tom Sykes' entertaining tale of alcoholic journalistic excess, What Did I Do Last Night?), or simply just relax by playing a couple of the brilliant new games out for the Nintendo DS (current fave: Space Invaders Deluxe. With headphones in, of course!). Despite the irritants of the train, many more people are now choosing it over the car as their preferred way to get into work. The absurdly high cost of train fares is an unfortunate drawback, although if you keep your eyes open there are still some opportunities around to get money-off deals - for instance, you can enter our free draw to win your commuting costs paid for and hope you strike it lucky. What do you do to pass the time on the way in to work, and what are your pet peeves about fellow passenger behaviour?
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Invite as friend
