Encounter With the Catalans

We screwed up in the group stages and we knew we were going to pay for it. Schalke would have been the most favourable team, followed by Bayern, Real then Barca of course. We will be playing an even stronger Barcelona team with the addition of David Villa who may well do more damage than Zlatan. It's not a pretty sight to be torn down by Messi and co. and seeing the Special One's Real Madrid receiving a 5-0 drubbing is neither an encouraging prospect for any opponents of Barca.

Right after the defeat last time around, Wenger acknowledged Barcelona were by far the better team and he would look to the transfer market to improve the squad. 8 months on after the thrashing at Nou Camp, are we a better team? We've got Squillaci, Koscienly and Chamakh added to the team, but is the outcome going to be any different...

Barcelona has a team of World Cup winners with their players competing for top individual honours, while Arsenal at times look like a team waiting for Cesc to pull the strings. The fact that Barca has a very mature team that has been working together for many years, winning the Champions League on twice in the last 5 years and is probably the best team in Europe. Messi, Villa, Iniesta, Xavi...the list goes on.

The most important thing for Arsenal is not start the game defeated , which is absolutely crucial. Memories of the first half at the Emirates and the second leg in Nou Camp would haunt us for a long time, but we have to put that aside and play 2 wonderful matches. Put this in simple terms, it would take an amazing effort to beat Barcelona over two legs. I am not that confident of a victory, but I have the belief if we play our best football, we can show Barca they are not invincible.

My 10 pointers for Arsenal to win the game

10. No silly goalkeeping errors
We have error-prone keepers at the club and we have to work with it. But on the day, we can't afford to concede goals due to silly mistakes.

9. Have Vermaelen and Squillaci as center backs.
Vermaelen hasn't featured much this season, and the key is for him to get a good run of games before the showdown. A very dreadful Silvestre played in Nou Camp last season and it was very painful to watch Arsenal not closing down players quick enough.

8. Rest some players in the prior match
Fixtures indicate we play Wolves and as much I like to win the league, the Champion's League is a big priority as well. It's one of the best opportunities to create history so it's pivotal for Arsenal to have fresh players on the pitch. It's a huge source of revenue for the club too.

7. Force long range shots
This might not be such a good idea if you think of the quality of the Barca players. Iniesta, Xavi and Villa are not exactly the most physical players in the game, and if we could out-muscle them and limit their plays to long range shots, we stand a chance.

6. Samir Nasri
By far the best player for Arsenal this season and playing his best season so far. Time to step it up against the world's best and prove yourself.

5. Go on the offence
We've seen on many occasions how Arsenal prefer to sit back in big games, this must change if we're going for mission impossible. Our defence is not the best I've seen which means goals are going to be conceded. This leaves attacking the only way to win.

4. Win the first leg
We got one hell of a beating at in the first leg last time out, but we were not outscored. There must not be dominance so early on by Barca and we need to win by two clear goals if we we stand a chance.

3. Full-backs on Messi
Sagna and Clichy have a half each of responsibility to guard Messi. It's going to be the toughest job in football, but if the Barca are going to be stopped, Messi is the number one target.

2. A successful 4-5-1 formation
If goals are going to be the theme in the two games, we will be outscored. The only way we are going to win it is by clamping down on the Barca midfield which is the obvious strength of Barca. Alex Song is going to be the most important player in the middle of the park, and he has to try to close down as much of the plays from the centre. Arsenal are not going to score many goals in this formation and thus need at least one clean sheet. Chamakh may be deployed as a lone striker, and he too has to be at the top of his game.

1. Have Cesc Fabregas over two legs.
Our captain, our inspiration, he is going to be the man giving us a chance of victory. We need him over two legs and we need him fit. It's going to be a very tough Nou Camp return, but he still has a lot to prove and there's no better time.

Two teams with similar styles of football. Barca are clear favourites from the start but Arsenal may have also been their toughest draw possible. We've beaten Real Madrid (with Zidane) and at that time World champions AC Milan in the competition before, so it's going to a big battle to bring us down. With our swift and scintillating style of play, we are going to do whatever we can to win this. Come on Arsenal!

~deyao~

A Different November

I am home! It's been 8 months abroad and I am happy to be back for the next 3. Still trying to finish up my post of Debt but I'll do a much easier topic to write on, football of course. It's been a tough November for Arsenal, we were almost winless at home.

Are the signs good? It's been very mixed...very indeed. We should have qualified for the knockout stages in the Champion's League a couple of matches ago and but we are needing a final game to progress. Our games against Shakhtar and Braga have been disappointing and it has done us no favours. We are likely to end up 2nd which technically is not a favourable position. On the League front, we had 2 big away wins against Wolves and Everton, which at that time was a big step forward after the unexpected defeat to Newcastle. But after that was a very hard to swollow defeat to great foes Spurs. Being an Arsenal fan, there's no worst team to lose to other than Spurs. We have had an impressive streak of unbeaten games against Spurs over the years but to finally surrender it under such circumstance (being 2-0 up) was really hard to take. It was huge London derby where we could have been top of the table that day, but unfortunately Spurs had the better half and outscored our first half heroics. It was a day that also saw the return of Gallas which had a hostile reception as well as Spurs announcing their intent on make a challenge for the title. With the likes of Defoe, Bale, Van der Vaart and Modric, Spurs made the most of their very talented attacking artillery and made the comeback. We Gooners would need to live with this defeat and the fact our bitter rivals may be finally showing they mean business after years of unfulfilled promises (overtaking Arsenal). I personally admit I could see Spurs progress since last season when they beat Chelsea and brought the title race all the way to the final day. They then qualified for the Champion's League and now they have even qualified for the next phase.

Now a critical analysis of the team. The defence remains the biggest worry for the team. We have kept very few clean sheets and conceded some silly goals. Goalkeeping hasn't been impressive either and for me it is an unsolved problem since the start of the season. As much as I would like to think Almunia or Fabianski is good enough to stand in goal, they certainly have made too many costly errors. Fabianski has shown he is a good shop stopper but he really struggles dealing with crosses and physically tall attackers. I am still adamant we need a better keeper. Djourou, Squillaci and Koscielny has shown promise in some of their appearances, but there's still room for improvement and hopefully that learning curve is not going to cost us more points. More clean sheets is the very next priority.

For the midfield positions, Nasri, Wilshere and Song has been outstanding so far. Nasri is having his best season so far, is scoring goals and making a big impact in games. Wilshere has done some deputising in the place of Fabregas which probably is the most important position for Arsenal. With Cesc struggling with various niggling injuries and threat of playing too many games, this has limited his appearances. Wilshere has stepped up big time for the team, he passing and plays has been really outstanding. Looks like the three match ban has made him an even better player! Song is going to be a sought after player with his performances these days. He not only does the defensive work, he sets up attacks and even scores some goals. Walcott and Denilson has only started to come back their injuries and hopefully things will pick up in December. Arshavin has been a major disappointment this season, he has scored some goals but overall he has only been a shadow of the player he really is. But, he did show a good display against Villa and was the player on that day, a sign of improvement? Cesc and Diaby look to spend the next few weeks on the sidelines, we need to step up in a very important December.

Chamakh has ruled in the scoring department. With Bendtner and Van Persie only just returning from injury, Chamakh has taken on the responsibility and what a debut season he is having. Chamakh's height and speed has really contributed to many of his goals. Plus giving "200 percent"will inevitably bring more goals.

There's an extremely important final game for the CL group stage coming, plus a visit to Old Trafford and a home game against Chelsea in the upcoming fixtures. It's going to be a hectic fixtures list in January as well. Let's move to the next gear Gunners!

~deyao~

Taylor Swift: Journey to Fearless 3 hour Special

I just completed the 3 hour special about Taylor Swift's journey and her tour. I still got a final exam paper coming up but I don't want to wait any longer because I might not be writing this if I postponed it.

The special mainly showed how she went on tour and the back scenes on how she made it happen. I've watched many documentaries and read tons about her, but watching one of her concerts remain on the "waiting list". It may not happen soon but the 3 hour special was a wonderful insight on her tour which lasted about 15 months. Her journey is something looked upon millions across America and the world. Her lyrics are 'embedded' in people and it simply shows her song's impact on her listeners. It was another tremendous story about a talented musician trying to make it into the music business.

In the beginning, it showed how she convinced her family to move to Nashville to pursue her music dreams. At an age of 11, somehow she did it and credit to her parents for giving her the opportunity to. Ironically, she got spotted in the same venue where her idol Faith Hill also got noticed. Some humour to the story. After she played in that venue (a cafe), a man walked up to her, asking her to be part of his record label. At the time, she was with a big record label but they were seemingly unwilling to offer her a record anytime soon because she was just 14 or 15. He contacted her a few days later and said. "There are good news and bad news. The good news is I want you on my record label.The bad news is.... I don't have a record label yet". And it was sort of destiny, Taylor had such a bright future ahead and this guy saw it in her, the rest is history.The then little known Big Machine Records has now got Taylor Swift selling millions of copies for them. What a story. Introducing Scott Borchetta.

And more recently, Taylor again mentioned how Big Machine Records gave her the freedom of doing whatever she liked on her new album and how she was very proud to be representing them. Obvious reasons why they trust her, she sells half a million copies on the first week.

The special also included full length performances for her concert in Houston. The first hour had You Belong With Me, Tim McGraw, Fifteen,Teardrops On My Guitar and Our Song. The second, Today Was A Fairytale, Love Story, Hey Stephen and Tell Me Why. The third, Fearless, Forever And Always, Picture To Burn and Shouldve Said No. I was pretty thrilled to be seeing the inside of a Taylor Swift concert. I must say she sounds a lot better than many of her performances on awards and tv shows. It's just an incredible experience for people who attended her concert.

Taylor's efforts in the making her concert possible was also just wonderful to watch. How she chose her dancers, designed her stage, customised the effects and arrangement and most importantly how she made her fans feel that more important to her. There's a lot to mention. Go watch it to find out.

Her band and her mother's influence and support was another key involvement in Taylor's career. Her mother was every supportive of what she does and follows her on the road to all of her shows. And like how Andrea (her mum) says, not many people Taylor's age would want to hang out with their mums, but luckily her daughter does. It sets an inspiring example for teens today and Taylor should be extremely proud. She has the coolest people in her band as well and the intimacy of the band was something people could only wish for. Each and every one of them are special in their own way and they are like family to Taylor. It is closest thing to a fairytale for an artist, working with people who actually are your most important people in life.There was a moment in their last show where she said "I trust you..".Again showing how far they've come.

There are not many people I admire in life and particularly not anyone younger than me. But hats off to Taylor, she has become an idol for millions of people and setting the best example for them. She has won Grammy awards at the age of 20 and there will be no stopping her doing more. Speak Now is a just a fabulous album I can't wait to write a review about soon. Ending with some promo pictures and video from the special.





Taylor Swift's 'Journey to Fearless' on The Hub

Taylor Swift | Myspace Music Videos

~deyao~

American Debt

My post on debt is still in the making and will not be done in at least a month. I came across this article talking about why America is technically bankrupt. And...the printing still continues.

Neil Reynolds - The scary actual U.S. government debt

Boston University economist Laurence Kotlikoff says U.S. government debt is not $13.5-trillion (U.S.), which is 60 per cent of current gross domestic product, as global investors and American taxpayers think, but rather 14-fold higher: $200-trillion – 840 per cent of current GDP. “Let’s get real,” Prof. Kotlikoff says. “The U.S. is bankrupt.”

Writing in the September issue of Finance and Development, a journal of the International Monetary Fund, Prof. Kotlikoff says the IMF itself has quietly confirmed that the U.S. is in terrible fiscal trouble – far worse than the Washington-based lender of last resort has previously acknowledged. “The U.S. fiscal gap is huge,” the IMF asserted in a June report. “Closing the fiscal gap requires a permanent annual fiscal adjustment equal to about 14 per cent of U.S. GDP.”

This sum is equal to all current U.S. federal taxes combined. The consequences of the IMF’s fiscal fix, a doubling of federal taxes in perpetuity, would be appalling – and possibly worse than appalling.

Prof. Kotlikoff says: “The IMF is saying that, to close this fiscal gap [by taxation], would require an immediate and permanent doubling of our personal income taxes, our corporate taxes and all other federal taxes.

“America’s fiscal gap is enormous – so massive that closing it appears impossible without immediate and radical reforms to its health care, tax and Social Security systems – as well as military and other discretionary spending cuts.”

He cites earlier calculations by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) that concluded that the United States would need to increase tax revenue by 12 percentage points of GDP to bring revenue into line with spending commitments. But the CBO calculations assumed that the growth of government programs (including Medicare) would be cut by one-third in the short term and by two-thirds in the long term. This assumption, Prof. Kotlikoff notes, is politically implausible – if not politically impossible.

One way or another, the fiscal gap must be closed. If not, the country’s spending will forever exceed its revenue growth, and no one’s real debt can increase faster than his real income forever.

Prof. Kotlikoff uses “fiscal gap,” not the accumulation of deficits, to define public debt. The fiscal gap is the difference between a government’s projected revenue (expressed in today’s dollar value) and its projected spending (also expressed in today’s dollar value). By this measure, the United States is in worse shape than Greece.

Prof. Kotlikoff is a noted economist. He is a research associate at the U.S. National Bureau of Economic Research. He is a former senior economist with then-president Ronald Reagan’s Council of Economic Advisers. He has served as a consultant with governments around the world. He is the author (or co-author) of 14 books: Jimmy Stewart Is Dead (2010), his most recent book, explains his recommendations for reform.

He says the U.S. cannot end its fiscal crisis by increasing taxes. He opposes further stimulus spending because it will simply increase the debt. But he does suggest reforms that would help – most of which would require a significant withering away of the state. He proposes that the government give every person an annual voucher for health care, provided that the total cost not exceed 10 per cent of GDP. (U.S. health care now consumes 16 per cent of GDP.) He suggests the replacement of all current federal taxes with a single consumption tax of 18 per cent. He calls for government-sponsored personal retirement accounts, with the government making contributions only for the poor, the unemployed and people with disabilities.

Without drastic reform, Prof. Kotlikoff says, the only alternative would be a massive printing of money by the U.S. Treasury – and hyperinflation.

As former president Bill Clinton once prematurely said, the era of big government is over. In the coming years, the U.S. will almost certainly be compelled to deconstruct its welfare state.

Prof. Kotlikoff doesn’t trust government accounting, or government regulation. The official vocabulary (deficit, debt, transfer payment, tax, borrowing), he says, is vulnerable to official manipulation and off-the-books deceit. He calls it “Enron accounting.” He also calls it a lie. Here is an economist who speaks plainly, as the legendary straight-shooting film star Jimmy Stewart did for an earlier generation.

But Prof. Kotlikoff’s economic genre isn’t the Western. It’s the horror story – “and scarier,” one reviewer of his book suggests, than Stephen King.

~deyao~

Drowned in awesomeness

I got two weeks of studying coming up but because of another breathtaking album by Taylor Swift, I can't help but spread the word. It's only my second day listening to it, but it has surpassed my expectations. No surprises the lyrics are again based on true stories but I really feel she has stepped it up another level. Fearless was one hell of a album, generating more album sales than any other albums at that time. Now Speak Now is set to break more records, I am very certain of that. Any doubts can be put to rest because Taylor has done an amazing job for this album.She has clearly shown she has matured and become even better over the last two years. 14 tracks on the original version album and a few others with acoustic versions on the deluxe version (red cover). For her fans, it's another incredible treat. The way she connects her stories into music is quite amazing. If you take the time to get to the meaning of the songs (she wrote every song btw) and at the same time get drowned in the excellent instrument arrangement, it won't be hard to understand why she is right on top in the industry.

~deyao~

Turning Point?

It was a slightly mixed morning, I streamed Arsenal v Braga without audio and bad video quality but I was well compensated with some beautiful football.

The summer transfer window dealings had a much better impact than I expected. I thought back on all the transfers made and I just realised Arsenal signed their first striker since Adebayor way back in 2006. It has taken sometime to fine-tune this team and Arsenal supporters have gone through very painful trial and error lessons of sub-par players. It was not a very impressive lineup of signings to start with but the impact has already been felt.

Arsenal can no longer hold on to mediocre players and this transfer window we got rid of most of the underperforming players. Players like Gallas, Silvestre, Campbell and Senderos who are either way past their prime or who simply aren't good enough have been 'weeded out'. They've given some exceptional performances during their time but their consistency were lacking and it has cost us on many occasions. And now we got Koscielny and Squillaci. Straight into the frame of the first team against Braga. One has CL experience with Sevilla and the other is making his CL debut. It wasn't the toughest test we could expect but not to concede a goal was a step in progress. The defence hasn't settled really well yet as a whole, but I would expect things to only get better. When Vermaelen returns, he can partner either one of them. Koscielny has made a few errors, although it hasn't cost us points, I could already see him improving by the week. He has moved to the toughest league in football and for his level of adaptation at this point I'm quite satisfied.

We played without Van Persie, Bendtner, Diaby or Walcott yesterday. But we lacked no firepower really, Fabregas, Nasri, Chamakh and Arshavin combined was so lethal we could compete with any top team. For Arsenal to have the whole team back and not achieving anything this season really makes no sense to me. There's enough talent in this team for sure.

Notables. Fabregas was a big notable yesterday. He probably played his best game this season.I'm really glad the patient buildup towards full fitness has gone well. He was such a maestro in the game, he showed the world once again what an extraordinary player he is. I don't want to be thinking whether his days are numbered. To see him playing at such a level in an Arsenal shirt is one of the most pleasing things I could watch today. His passing, vision and control in the game was something very rare in today's game. The Catalans are finding more reason to get their hands on him and the Arsenal board are probably thinking every day how is this 'fairytale' going to last. To me it is unreal he actually stayed, I anticipated disaster, considering his heart was already back in Catalunya, I thought it was more likely he didn't stay.

Seeing this
and this

That happiness in my heart was indescribable. Having Cesc playing for Arsenal is something you cannot put a any dollar amount on. For him to stay on and still play at his best will earn him lots of respect from the fans.

Another few notables are Jack Wilshere and Alex Song. A few people realise Jack made it into the Arsenal first team at the age of 16. It was definitely for a reason, he is really talented. Still a lot of learning to go but he is making the starting line in CL, that is quite a statement. That incredibly instinctive flick/pass to Chamakh just made me watch in awe. He plays very similar to the departed Fran Merida, and I am feeling a lot better now.

Alex Song was a master in midfield in the match and over the weekend against Bolton. The 2.5m signing from Bastia 4 years ago is showing the exactly why his move was made permanent after a loan. Possession wise he was just superb, it was exactly what you would have expected from a defensive midfield. Feeling better without Flamini, yea...

And also, Chamakh who continues his scoring streak. First goal by his foot? Haha, a stat there.Played in the CL last season and was in familiar territory. Showed his athletic abilities and his mould into to Arsenal style is almost in place.

Good start again this season...I'm not looking very far but I am expecting a lot more this season.

~deyao~

Miss Inspirational

I've been re-inspired again, all thanks to the extremely inspirational Marié Digby. She made a short "movie" named after her album Breathing Underwater. It was primarily to describe how she actually wrote her album, how the songs came about. I did remember her mentioning about the sequence of songs throughout the album and the way she presented it in the movie explains many unanswered questions. The videos are based on a true story and to be able to get an insight on this was a great feeling for a big fan like me. She may not be a big star in music but her songs has appealed to many people. Her songs has played a very huge role in my life over the past few years and it has become a part of me. Marié is one of the people I draw a lot of character and passion from and I am really glad her songs has made an impact like she intended to.

After watching the "movie" (made of 17 short videos), it reaffirms everything she has always tried put in her songs. Her drive and passion for music is remarkable. It is not a typical movie but just an illustration of her songs from the album. You get to experience her many acoustic versions of her songs which sound so much different from the original version. Overall, the videos also shows her difficulty during the start and also the people who exists in her songs. I forgot to mention the movie was directed by her too.


The best thing is the videos are absolutely free for streaming on the ABC website. Refer to the picture above for the sequence to make you don't skip any videos in between.

Go to this URL to check the movie out
http://abc.go.com/watch/clip/music-lounge/FK_lilith

The videos were released over the course of the Lilith tour which consists of only female artists. The tour is created for a good cause, Marié was a correspondent for the tour and she got to meet many big artists. She wrote about her experience on the website below.
http://forums.abc.go.com/abcontheroad

Although I haven't written about her in awhile, it is no indication I've lost touch. I'll most probably write about her again when she has new music or an album coming.

Some pictures to end.

♥

Jap look?

Not sure who are the rest
Marié's precious Misty.

♥♥ Marié
~deyao~

SUPER Albums on the way

Tomorrow marks the release of Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" album. Her sophomore album is no doubt going be absolutely fabulous. Her first two singles of this album has already done wonders on the music charts. After a successful first album, this album is poised to hit greater heights.

Next is probably the one I have anticipated the longest. I've waited very patiently for this, about 3 years. She has top spot for the best album I've ever listened too. It's no other than the exceptional Sara Bareilles. Her first album just blew me away. From the lyrics, composition to arrangements for her live performances, it was just incredible really. It's her second headlining album titled Kaleidoscope Heart. Although her first single King of Anything has not quite done a "Katy Perry", this album is destined to be tremendous. It will be out on September 7.

And finally to cap it off, there's no better artist to do it. Competing in the ranks with Beyonce and Lady Gaga in the music scene, there's only one artist right up there. It's the very talented and beautiful Taylor Swift!! It's approaching 2 years since her release of the record-breaking album, Fearless. Fearless was a global phenomenon, selling countless number of albums worldwide. Her "Fearless" tour sold out in minutes in every venue. It would take a book to describe Taylor. Her impact on the music scene has been immense and she's transformed into one of the world's biggest artist. Her upcoming album is titled "Speak Now" and her first single "Mine" has already been on the airwaves. October 25th is the release date for her album.

It's really exciting especially as the albums are released so close to each other. Looking forward to some awesome music!

~deyao~