Happy St. Totteringham's Day 2013...

Arsenal sealed their 16th consecutive Champions League qualification as a rare goal from Laurent Koscielny earned them a lucrative victory over Newcastle.
The French defender latched on to Lukas Podolski's header following Theo Walcott's free-kick to score his most important Arsenal goal as they pipped Tottenham to fourth spot in the Premier League and the final place in Europe's elite competition.The Gunners finished a point ahead of Andre Villas-Boas's Spurs, who scored late on to beat Sunderland but needed to better their rivals' result.
Reaching the Champions League ahead of Spurs completed a superb turnaround after they trailed by seven points at the beginning of March. Arsenal have now finished above Spurs 18 seasons in a row.
And the late-season form of Arsène Wenger's side, who have won eight of their last 10 Premier League games, will also go a long way to appeasing fans who had doubts about the Frenchman earlier in the season.
Arsenal have not won a trophy since the 2005 FA Cup but reaching the top four again at least means the Gunners can attract new talent in the summer with funds due to be released for players.
Newcastle 0 Arsenal 1

Some of celebrations from the players today felt somewhat embarrassing to me. In the end it was just Mission Accomplished.
I really hope we Gooners get the chance to celebrate something more substantial than just another St Totteringham's Day this time next year. To be honest, last season's 3rd place was more pleasurable watching the Arse overhaul 'Arry's Spuds (and sticking those "Mind The Gap" jibes where they belong). Wenger (and the board) should take this season as a watershed moment that 4th place is not enough (or guaranteed) for Arsenal...

And in other news....

Considering that the British media spotlight over Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement announcement even overshadowed the Queen's Speech at the State Opening of Parliament, it was a wonder any other news got our attention.  According to the Guardian newspaper, the announcement of Ferguson's retirement got a bigger reaction  on Twitter than the death of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

But two events did get my attention last week: Dame Helen Mirren's customised T-shirt to promote "As One In The Park" in response to yelling at a group of street drummers who interrupted her West End play The Audience, and Madonna's "Punk" arrival at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Gala.

Nicely done, ladies (more pics of Dame Helen and Madonna in my sister blog)...
'Steaming' Helen Mirren defends scolding drummers
Hollywood goes punk for the Museum of Art

PS: take a bow, Sky Sport News, for going OTT over Fergie's departure from Old Trafford, and treating the news almost like a royal obituary - Ω

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Goodbye Fergie-time...

Sir Alex Ferguson will step down as Manchester United manager at the end of the season after 26 years in charge.
The Scot, 71, has won 38 trophies during his reign at Old Trafford and will now become a director and ambassador for the club.
His haul includes 13 league titles, two Champions League crowns, five FA Cups and four League Cups.
"The decision to retire is one that I have thought a great deal about. It is the right time," Ferguson said.

David Moyes will succeed Ferguson as Manchester United manager on a six-year deal starting on 1 July.

Moyes, who leaves Everton after 11 years in charge at Goodison Park, was Ferguson's recommendation to succeed him as manager at Old Trafford.
The 50-year-old was out of contract at Everton at the end of the season.
Sir Alex Ferguson to retire as Manchester United manager
David Moyes: Manchester United appoint Everton boss

Fergie's replacement David Moyes, has my sympathy (at least, until Man Utd plays Arsenal next season). Already there are reports that he has been the subject of death threats on Twitter, before he has even stepped into the hot seat at Old Trafford!
Folks should remember that even Ferguson needed time to turn the club around...remember the calls for him to resign back in 1989?

Charmaine Sinclair is 42...

Just time to wish some belated Many Happy Returns for Charmaine Sinclair, who celebrated her 42nd birthday yesterday.
I already posted loads about Charmine in "From Alpha to OM3GA" and in my sister blog, so I'm just going to follow the below advice instead....

Superman is 75...

A belated "happy birthday" to the Man of Steel. The first issue of Action Comics came out on April 18, 1938, and featured the first ever appearance of Superman.
Action Comics #1 has been widely regarded as the single most important comic book in American history, marks the beginning of the Super-Hero genre, and recently sold at auction in excess of $2.1 million.

Goodbye Maggie (postscript)

This week, the Queen led 2,000 guests from around the world in St Paul's Cathedral for the funeral of Baroness Thatcher, Britain's longest serving prime minister of modern times. The congregation at St Paul's included Lady Thatcher's family and all surviving British prime ministers Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and Sir John Major, the current cabinet and surviving members of Lady Thatcher's governments.
Much of central London came to a standstill for Lady Thatcher's funeral. Her supporters were present - and so too were her detractors. At one point along the route, a group of protesters turned their backs on Lady Thatcher's coffin.
Meanwhile, outside St Paul's a protester with a megaphone was drowned out by booing and countered with an impromptu rendition of Land of Hope and Glory.
Margaret Thatcher: Queen leads mourners at funeral
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I think now is the time for Britain to move on...

Candy Samples is 73...

OK enough doom and gloom....time for a belated "Happy Birthday" to a legend of the adult industry, Candy Samples (born April 12, 1940 in Kansas City, Missouri).
For more pics of Candy, please refer to my sister blog...

And in other news....

US Secretary of State John Kerry is due in China, where he is expected to urge Beijing to use its influence over North Korea to rein in its belligerence.
John Kerry to press China over North Korea

We are looking at a potential time bomb if events in the Korean peninsula are allowed to get out of hand...I fear that sometime soon Kim Jong-un will cry "the sky is falling” once too often and will have to deal with the consequences...

Goodbye Maggie (continued)...

The BBC has defended its decision not to play in full on Radio 1's Official Chart Show a song at the centre of an anti-Baroness Thatcher campaign.

A five second clip of Ding Dong! The Witch is Dead will be played in a news item on Sunday's show.
BBC Radio 1 controller Ben Cooper said the move over the Wizard of Oz film track had been a difficult compromise.
He said he had to balance respect for someone who had just died with issues around freedom of speech.
Sales of the song, from the 1939 musical starring Judy Garland, have soared since former Prime Minister Lady Thatcher's death on Monday, aged 87
BBC defends Baroness Thatcher Ding Dong song decision

You couldn't make it up!
I feel I've warped back in time to 1984, when "Relax" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood was banned by the BBC. Or worse, 1977 when "God Save the Queen" by the Sex Pistols was not only banned by the BBC and the Independent Broadcasting Authority (which regulated Independent Local Radio), but supposedly prevented from reaching number one in the UK charts during the Queen's Silver Jubilee.

In the same week The Economist describes Thatcherism as "the right of individuals to run their own lives, as free as possible from micromanagement by the state", the BBC effectively censors an entire group of individuals who (right or wrong) voiced their opinion through a song lasting only 51 seconds long, which has entered legitimately in the charts. By not playing the song in its entirety, the BBC has ensured its transformation into a news story which will be repeated around the world and studied over for years.

But since the passing of Lady Thatcher, I have been growing uneasy watching her sanctification, her demonisation, the gushing eulogies, the acrimony, and now this fudge over "Ding Ding! The Witch is Dead".
A reality check for both those for and against her is definitely needed....

Goodbye Maggie...

The funeral of Baroness Thatcher will take place on Wednesday, 17 April, Downing Street has announced.
The funeral ceremony, with full military honours, will take place at London's St Paul's Cathedral, following a procession from Westminster.

Lady Thatcher, was the UK's first female prime minister. She was in office from 1979 to 1990, winning three successive general elections. She was an MP between 1959 and 1992 and latterly a member of the Lords for 21 years. She died "peacefully" on Monday, after suffering a stroke while staying at the Ritz hotel in central London.

David Cameron will lead tributes to the former Conservative prime minister later today in a specially convened session of Parliament.
Meanwhile former Labour prime minister Tony Blair has criticised people who held parties to "celebrate" the death of Baroness Thatcher, saying they were in "pretty poor taste". The comments come after parties took place in several UK cities, including Bristol, London and Glasgow.to mark the 87-year-old's death.
Obituary: Margaret Thatcher

I've thought long and hard about posting this entry.
My working life - for good and ill - has been shaped by the policies of Baroness Margaret Thatcher. Yet I was not a fan of Lady Thatcher, and I understand the hatred from those who suffered under her ideology.

Even in death, Margaret Thatcher still divides British society. The left-wing Morning Star greeted her death with the headline: "The woman who tore Britain apart", adding  she was the “PM who brought country to its knees and ruined lives of millions”. On the other hand, the business-focused City A.M. declared "Thatcher saved UK from slow decline".

Love her or loathe her, in spite of all her shortcomings, Margaret Thatcher was unique - she not only remade British politics; she remade Great Britain....