Abstract from a Scholarly Article

Read this for my unit today --

"Depression in Women vs Men. Women have an increased incidence of despression compared with men, by a ratio of 2:1. Moreover, not only clinical depression, but also more subtle dysthymic traits have had a higher prevalence in women after the onset of puberty. In evolutionary terms, if depression is viewed as conducive to staying out of danger in a sheltered place, it may have made sense historically for women to manifest more of that trait than men. Women have traditionally been involved in child-bearing and rearing, whereas men have traditionally been the providers of food, material resources, and protection. Dysthymic traits would have kept a woman sheltered from danger to bear and care for children; whereas a dysthymic man would have been impaired in performing his main role as a provider and protector. As such, traits predisposing to dysthymia may have been selected for in women, and selected against in men over time.

Thus, having read that, my friend sarcastically opined that that is the reason why men are more attracted to depressed women. Because they have been selected for and are evolutionarily more adapt at rearing kids. HAHA. Some of these articles purporting the evolutionary perspectives of things are really weird.

Continuing on

Here's my prediction for 3rd /4th placing for the new EPL season. I am going to give another surprise by saying that Arsenal will finish 3rd and Liverpool 4th. Sorry Pool fans, know that you all have waited very long to challenge for the title but i still do not see consistency in the team. And i feel Benitez' tactics are sometimes too dour to beat weaker teams convincingly week in week out.
Arsenal on the other hand, although Henry has left, always play fluent football that is extremely hard to contain. I think many of their other strikers have been living under Henry's shadow and Van Persie for one had a good scoring record last season. Walcott and Adebayor as well can be quite deadly. Liverpool on the other hand have their new 20m signing but i suspect he needs a season to settle into a new league. Voronin looks like an astute signing but i have suspicions about his finishing. I think Crouch sometimes can be a real handful but with Torres, i do not think he will play quite as often.
Liverpool's midfield is very strong with Gerrard and Alonso/Mascherano. However, Arsenal play around Fabregas which makes all the pivotal moves and Wenger deploys him as a lynchpin. This plan is simple but effective and the team plays as a united force with fabulous Fabregas in the middle of the park. Definitely Arsenal will play much worse and drop many points if Fabregas is injured. Liverpool fans, although cruel, must hope he has a bad season.
In defence, i just feel Arsenal's Gallas and Toure if fully fit can outshine Liverpool's Carragher and Agger. Liverpool do have better strength in depth especially with their numerous fringe signings like Benayoun and Babel this season. But i am still going to say Wenger's flowing football will stand them in better state for the league campaign.

Is 7 a Holy number?

Taken from 13.5 Lives of Captain Bluebear a novel -- written by Walter Moers.

" What does the Septimal Theory state?"
The Septimal Theory states that the universe is comprehensible only in terms of the number seven, and only by those possessing seven brains. There are seven elements: fire, water, earth, air, Perponium, Zamonium, and Domesticated Darkness. The universe consists of seven regions: north, south, east, west, before, after, and home. These regions are divisible, in their turn, by the seven elements. If one takes the astral weight of the individual elements and divides them by the septimal mass of the planets and stars present in the seven regions, one arrives at a figure in which sevens alone occur. The Norturnomathic brain recognizes seven sensations: inquisitiveness, love of darkness, scientific curiosity, the urge to communicate, intrepidity, hunger, and thirst. If one adds together the emanative frequency values recorded by those together with the emanative values recorded by those sensations on the Nightingalian auracardiogram and divides the total by the figure containing all the sevens, the result will be seven.
You will either find the whole book is very creative or full of gibberish like the passage above. I found it thoroughly enjoyable and humourous. And yes, it is really about a big blue bear.

Bridesmaids are important.

Continuing on my boring thread of EPL placings, i am going to be rather predictable and say Man Utd will finish 2nd. They are always up there. And i guess not saying that they will retain their title is all i am going to bank on. They are definitely a really good team with Sir Ferguson with tonnes of experience and expertise.
Player to step up: Wayne Rooney. Clearly overshadowed by Ronaldo last season. The bull-wonder boy needs to punish defences more and use the attention paid to Ronaldo to improve his goal tally from last season.
New signing to watch: Most would say Hargreaves who is definitely a great midfield enforcer but i feel Nani should get some attention. Definitely bought to replace the aging Giggs sooner rather than later and if Ferguson can cultivate him like Ronaldo; Man Utd could be devastating.
United are definitely a very fluid team that beats opposition with style and even their central defence is stylish. Vidic and Ferdinand command the backline well and Utd need this backbone to keep their title. However i feel they will just be pipped by Chelsea who will have slightly more desire. And United have mainly signed younger players to make sure they will always be in the top 3 for many years to come. Next season though i feel Chelsea's effeciency will prove vital.

Life is boring without soccer.

Here is my prediction for who will win the English Premiere League next season. Its a real stab in the dark as 38 games is a long time and many things can happen from now till then. To name a few would be stuff like injuries to key players and the January transfer window could be telling.
Anyway, i have to think that Chelsea will claim the league next season. Despite all the spendings by the ManUre and Pool, i feel Chelsea really want to win it back. There isnt much of a difference in squad level frankly. Utd have bought young players to replace Scholes and Giggs in the future and Liverpool have addressed their lack of goals, but Chelsea have already spent 100s of millions building this side.
New signing to watch: Florent Malouda. I think he is an un-typical type of winger. Very suited to Chelsea's style of play. Not exceptionally fast but superb technically and Mourinho will use him properly. Chelsea are an effective side and Malouda i feel, is an ideal signing for them.
Player they missed last season: Joe Cole. Out for most of the season, they need his sneakiness once again and clever movement and passing.
Dont count out: Pizzaro and Shevcenko. I think its not totally wise to come to the English game at the wrong side of 30 but Pizzaro is a different sort of striker from Drogba and Shev, and should prove useful. Shev probably cant do any worse than last season so i think he will reach double figures in league goals this season.
My prediction may fail if: Chelsea start selling fringe players like Wright-Phillips, Robben, Ballack and Diarra. Many players linked with moves but i think Chelsea need to keep them to rotate the squad for the 60+ games in their season and provide good competition within the squad. They have the money anyway.
I will probably get creamed next May. HAHA.

The Land Under the Bed

So i have returned to Aust. For my final semester. Somehow, it feels sad but rewarding too that its finally coming to an end. All the studying will sooner make my brain explode.
When i turned on the TV today, however, i smiled. I will miss those really stupid Australian love adverts. You know those you call in to meet some sexy chick? I know there are really lonely people who do it. But everyone knows its cheating money. The people on the other side are probably not young girls anyway. It might even be me faking a female voice. Beware! Dont say i didnt warn you.
But this one really takes the prize. Sms you and your partner's name and they will give you a compatability rating. ARE YOU SERIOUS? Do people actually fall for this? What do they actually do? Cross out the vowels and if the remaining consonants are of an odd number, you two make an odd couple? Apparently on the advert the rating is upon 100, i bet its random. If you really feel the urge to do this test, call me instead. I charge half of what they advertise. And i have a magic crystal ball from a 8th dimension known as esnes nommoc.

Marketing Gimmick

I sincerely do not care about birthdays. After 21, you are just old anyway and honestly i have a nagging feeling birthdays are basically an economic boosting ploy. They dont seem to serve any other purpose but to make people spend money buying presents. And eating expensive dinners at posh restaurants that might make you dress in uncomfortable clothes. Ironically, you were naked when you were born and much more comfortable in merely your own skin.
However, i did find it interesting that i shared the same birthdate with other footballers. Although none of them terribly famous. Unless you are a fan.
1966: Former Arsenal and England defender Martin Keown is born. (Celebrates 41st birthday).
1971: Former Italian international midfielder Dino Baggio is born. (Celebrates 36th birthday). I now vaguely recall when i was younger i knew he was born on 24th July. I think it was from playing Championship Manager. Not as illustrious as Roberto, but he was frequently excellent if you did watch soccer as long as i have.
1973: Bordeaux midfielder Johan Micoud is born. (Celebrates 34th birthday).
1977: Bayer Leverkusen defender Vratislav Gresko, who spent three seasons with Blackburn, is born. (Celebrates 30th birthday).
1983: Roma midfielder Daniele De Rossi (pictured) is born. (Celebrates 24th bday)
Courtesy of Skysports.

Fake Plastic Trees

A rather less alternative song by Radiohead, but definitely a great one.

A green plastic watering can For a fake chinese rubber plant In the fake plastic earth That she bought from a rubber manIn a town full of rubber plans To get rid of itself
It wears her out, it wears her out It wears her out, it wears her out
She lives with a broken man A cracked polystyrene manWho just crumbles and burns He used to do surgery On girls in the eighties But gravity always wins
And it wears him out, it wears him out It wears him out, it wears him out
She looks like the real thing She tastes like the real thing My fake plastic love But I can't help the feeling I could blow through the ceiling If I just turn and run
And it wears me out, it wears me out It wears me out, it wears me out
And if I could be who you wanted If I could be who you wanted
All the time, all the time

(Weird) Arrangement of words by Abel.

What not to wear.

Now then, i do not proclaim to be an expert on clothing unlike those queer guys or the 2 women, i only can remember one name cos Trini sounds like a cereal. However, as i was making my way back on the MRT today i read this on a girl's t-shirt. In big silver font: I am what i wear. Which the cynical me immediately without hesitation thought: then you arnt much. I am sure the rest of you can come up with other snide remarks. Yes i am an evil person, it took you so long to realise? Frankly i dont really mind if anyone has poor fashion sense, cos i do myself. But if you are going to put words on your clothing, it better not be something like "I am the son of the Devil".
Colour and patterns are generally relative. Most of the time people who thinks a certain look is ugly will probably be wearing something that others might not agree with as well. Lets call this neutral relative. I bet fashion designers disagree all the time on such things. Who sets new fashion anyway? Someone with an repulsive idea comes out and a bunch of people like it, thus influencing what once may be considered ugly to become palatable?
Words however, are usually provocative. And thats when we get to comment on anything we like. Stuff like "I am with stupid -----> " (pointing to the person beside) or "Bomb technician, if you see me run, keep up!" I guess you could say those are lame but acceptable? But "I am what i wear?" Whats that silly arrogance supposed to mean? You mean you are a rag?

Boring part II

I continue my survey on the EPL with which transfers i deem to be too expensive for the player bought. I think this is rather insulting to be honest but i guess everyone is entitled to their own opinion. You probably wont read this on official websites, due to its overly critical nature but most forums have such arguments anyway and could prove interesting as games come and go.
1. Nigel Reo-Coker (8.5m, West Ham to Villa) -- Frankly i feel Reo-Coker is better than most ppl make him out to be. He tackles well and has reasonable pace and positioning. Has stamina to help out in most attacks as well. However, for 8.5m, its just too costly. There is this crazy idea now that clubs must pay more for young players because they have potential, but i just dont feel Reo-Coker will justify his price tag playing as a defensive midfielder. Having said that, i think he is better than Villa's current captain George Boateng and in that sense is maybe just a tad overpriced.
2. Craig Bellamy (Liverpool to West Ham 7.5m) -- Liverpool bought him from Blackburn last season for 6m. And after only 7 goals in 27 starts, Bellamy is actually sold for a profit?! I just find this unbelievable. Has bags of pace but is getting older and has never really been a prolific goal scorer. West Ham just seem to be involved with crazy amounts of cash changing hands this summer. If they do lose Tevez they must hope that Bellamy can score a lot more than his record 13 league goals to repay their 7.5m.
3. Darren Bent (Charlton to Tottenham 16.5m) -- It pains me to know that my beloved club are throwing money away but i guess honesty is a virtue. HAHA. I dont think Bent is a classy enough striker to be worth in excess of 10m. He has good scoring instincts, but is too straightforward sometimes as a striker to trouble more accomplished defences. Furthermore, with other good strikers at Spurs, he wont play enough games to be able to show that he wasnt a waste of money.
With 4 more weeks till the transfer window closes, i think there will be a lot more signings of interest and i will see if i can come up with a top 10. For now, i hope this has bored you enough to warrant me stopping here.

Boring?

I was thinking of doing an English Premiere League collection of posts, but not sure if anyone would really be interested. But who cares, it makes me happy.
Here are my takes for the best and worst signings (to follow) so far.
Signings that are most value for money.
1. Maceo Rigters (Breda to Blackburn) : For less than a Million i think this signing is quality wise as good as Babel only that the latter cost 11.5m. Maybe slightly less flair, but I feel Rigters is rather quick and deadly.
2. Mark Viduka (Boro to Newcastle) : An excellent free transfer. Although slightly old at 31, i think Viduka is one of the best technical strikers in the EPL. And can also hold up the ball well which is sorely lacking in the modern game. They just dont have strikers like Shearer anymore.
3. Tyrone Mears (West Ham to Derby) : I am going to stick my head out and plump for Mears. His team is still arguably the weakest for the new season and i might have to tip them for relegation but having watched Championship games in Australia, i think Mears, who was on loan to Derby last season, is a snip at 1m. Very quick and determined as right-back. Definitely Derby's star man in the playoff finals. Got into dangerous attacking positions too.

Nokia is not Japanese.
Following the Transformers movie i think more people will know what the title is talking about. There is a scene in the movie where it addresses this common misconception that Nokia is from Japan. In fact it is from Finland. It is strange though that people feel that the brand sounds Japanese. Maybe the company did it on purpose and thats why its so popular. HAHA.
Having said that, i always wondered why the dictionary function in my phone is so weird. Everytime i type sms-es and use this function there seem to be irrelevant words appearing. Anyone knows why this is the case? Like i recently had to save the acronym BBQ (2-2-1 on the number pad). But as i was scrolling through the dictionary options there was acceptable ones first like 'car', 'bar', & 'cap' but then followed strange alien language like 'bas', 'cas','acq', 'abs' (this could be ok if you are a car salesman but somehow its doubtful), 'acr', 'abr', 'bap', & last but not least, 'aar'!! Which summed up my feelings at that time. ARGH!! Does the phone just come up with its dictionary words randomly? Its rather frustrating that after all that scrolling there wasnt a 'bbq'.
I am sure other people have had their fair share of nonsense words. And thats why people upgrade their phones. HAHA. Wonder if newer phones still have the alien dictionary. The worst part is i cant blame the poor English of the Japanese.

WINDOW (GRILLE) SHOPPING.

Was in a shopping mall with Louise because in Singapore everywhere we turn are shopping centres anyway. We decided to come up with 3 things that are the worse to buy as window shopping items. This means if you just walk around without having anything to buy in particular but come home with certain purchases i.e. wasting time & money.
Number 3 of the worse thing to buy while window shopping -- A Penguin-shaped water dispenser from Mini Toons. Its kind of cute but only plays on recent animated movies and lets face it who really needs a water dispenser to take up any more space? Its not even as convenient as a water bottle or a water cooler.
Number 2 is an I Gallop! from Osim. Not only does its function look dodgy, its health benefits are mainly related to Laughter as the best medicine. Its probably terrible for your back if you ask me.
And the Winner #1 is A HAHA Crab. A pet Hermit Crab that cost $25 and lives for a reported 25 years!! Thats only $1 for a year. WOW. What a great pet that will greet you everytime you come home and is so nice to touch. Not to mention its cute hand-painted shell. Probably male crabs can have a soccer themed shell while females have pinkish red patterns. Now thats a great way to determine their gender dont you think? As a special offer you can get a whole habitat with 2 crabs for $65. This includes a COCO-hut which is made of coconut husk for them to stay. And a sea shell to act as a feeding tray. Need i say more? A crab that stays in a shell staying in a coconut. A great buy as long as you are into tarantulas, which kind of look the same.