saying of the day

''Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today.''

blank page

A person who has lost his or her memory,
Should not start anew by referring to themselves as a 'person who is as clean and pure as a blank page'.
Because, the fact is, they really aren't.....
Instead, they have only forgotten what was written on the blank page.

monkeys in a barrel

Barrel of Monkeys is a toy game first created by Lakeside Toys in 1965. Today it is produced by the Milton Bradley Company. Milton Bradley's editions consist of a toy barrel in either blue, yellow, red, or green. The barrel contains 12 monkeys, their color usually corresponding to the barrel's color. The instructions on the bottom of the barrel state "Dump monkeys onto table. Pick up one monkey by an arm. Hook other arm through a second monkey's arm. Continue making a chain. Your turn is over when a monkey is dropped." In addition to these basic instructions, the barrel also contains instructions for playing alone or with two or more players.

how cute! wish i could get a barrel of 'em monkeys to play with! can someone help? (:
*preferably for me birthday* =D

Round Of 16 results

here are the results from the Round of 16 matches:


Uruguay 2-1 South Korea

USA 1-2 Ghana

Netherlands 2-1 Slovakia

Brazil 3-0 Chile

Argentina 3-1 Mexico

Germany 4-1 England

Paraguay 0-0 Japan (Paraguay win 5-3 on penalties)

Spain 1-0 Portugal

World Cup 2010 (GROUP E, F, G, H last matches)

GROUP E

Denmark 1-3 Japan
Cameroon 1-2 Netherlands


GROUP F

Slovakia 3-2 Italy
Paraguay 0-0 New Zealand


GROUP G

Portugal 0-0 Brazil
North Korea 0-3 Ivory Coast


GROUP H

Chile 1-2 Spain
Switzerland 0-0 Honduras

World Cup 2010 results

GROUP F

Slovakia 0-2 Paraguay
Italy 1-1 New Zealand


GROUP G

Brazil 3-1 Ivory Coast
Portugal 7-0 Korea DPR


GROUP H

Chile 1-0 Switzerland
Spain 2-0 Honduras


GROUP A (last round of matches)

Mexico 0-1 Uruguay
France 1-2 South Africa


GROUP B (last round of matches)

Nigeria 2-2 South Korea
Greece 0-2 Argentina


GROUP C (last round of matches)

Slovenia 0-1 England
USA 1-0 Algeria


GROUP D (last round of matches)

Ghana 0-1 Germany
Australia 2-1 Serbia





*sorry for the short posts. school's back, and i dont have enough time to report on the matches.*

sniper Sneijder

Netherlands 1-0 Japan

the second round of matches for Group E saw the Netherlands defeat Japan by a single goal. the goal was scored by Inter Milan hitman Wesley Sneijder. it was also partly a mistake by Japan goalie Eiji Kawashima. Japan defended well, but ultimately succumbed to the solitary goal. OVERALL - the Netherlands need to be more fluent in attacking. credit to Japan for matching their much stronger rivals for most periods of the match.


Cameroon 1-2 Denmark
in the other Group E encounter, Cameroon were defeated 2-1 by Denmark. Denmark hit back from a goal down to beat Cameroon 2-1 and give themselves a great chance of reaching the last 16. Things looked bleak for the Danes when Samuel Eto'o fired Cameroon into an early lead after a mistake by Christian Poulsen, but Nicklas Bendtner turned home Dennis Rommedahl's low cross to level matters before half-time.
And the impressive Rommedahl curled home a fine second to take the Danes level on points with Japan - who they face in their final, winner-takes-all Group E clash. OVERALL - a major boost for Denmark, who finally got a win after the first game defeat. as for Cameroon, it is over for them.


Ghana 1-1 Australia

the second round of matches for Group D saw Ghana hold Australia to a 1-1 draw. the Aussies struck first blood by scoring in the 11th minute thanks to Brett Holman, who scored off a Mark Bresciano penalty. Australia held off attacks from Ghana, but in the 25th minute Harry Kewell was adjudged to have handled the ball in the penalty area and was promptly sent off. it was a harsh red card, but there was no mistake from Asamoah Gyan's penalty. both teams had chances at either end to win the pulsating encounter, but none took their chances well. OVERALL - it is looking grim for Australia now. they have to win their last group match or face an early flight home.

confident Yanks, toothless Lions

result from the GROUP C clash between USA and Slovenia: 2-2.

What a comeback from the Americans after going 2-0 down at the break! Landon Donovan initiated the comeback with an unstoppable shot and Michael Bradley made it 2-2. the Slovenians took the lead through Valter Birsa, who curled home a fine opener in the 13th minute and Zlatan Ljubijankic beat the offside trap to add a second before the interval as the US struggled to handle the World Cup's smallest nation. but in the second half the US ran riot, and were rewarded with the two fine goals to get a point. OVERALL - superb comeback by the US, who at one point looked like they were headed for defeat. Slovenia will look back and wonder how they let those two extra points go down the drain.



England 0-0 Algeria
another result from GROUP C saw England only managing a 0-0 draw with Algeria. there is nothing to say about this match that can justify the scoreline.

Germany stunned by Serbs

Group D: Serbia 1-0 Germany

in this second round of matches, GROUP D saw highly-fancied Germany taking on Serbia. the highlight(or lowlight) of the game was the sending off of Miroslav Klose as they lost 1-0 to Serbia. Milan Jovanovic found the net for Serbia as he claimed the only goal of the game. Germany had many chances to score, and the biggest culprit was Lukas Podolski, who missed a second-half penalty to top off all his other wasted opportunities. Die Mannschaft attacked and attacked, but Serbia held them till the final whistle. OVERALL - a shocking result for the Germans, who, for most of the match seemed to be the ones headed for victory. credit to the Serbs for outdoing themselves and getting the precious three points.

French toast

Group A: France 0-2 Mexico

in the second round of matches for GROUP A, Mexico took a significant step towards qualification and hastened France's early exit with a 2-0 victory. Just nine minutes after coming off the bench, Javier Hernandez who will officially move to Old Trafford from Chivas in a £7million deal next month, sprang the offside trap to race on to Rafael Marquez's pass, round goalkeeper Hugo Lloris and coolly slot home. Veteran striker and cult hero Cuauhtemoc Blanco sealed victory with a 79th-minute penalty. It was Mexico's first win over France at senior level and no less than they deserved after a performance full of vigour and attacking invention. France just lacked creativity and pace. A draw against Uruguay on Tuesday for Mexico will put both sides through and send France home, irrespective of their result against the hosts. OVERALL - Mexico played so well that even they can be outside contenders for the trophy. France, on the other hand, are sadly on the way home.

a Greek party

Group B: Greece 2-1 Nigeria

in the second round of group matches, GROUP B saw Greece take on Nigeria. these two team were winless on their opening day, and both teams were desperate to get their campaign back on track. Kalu Uche broke the deadlock for Nigeria, only for them to be 10 men down after Sani Kaita got himself sent off following a tussle with Vasileios Torosidis. Kaita showed his studs to the defender and was immediately banished to the dressing room. Nigeria were finally breached a minute before the break when Salpingidis scored the equaliser, his effort deflecting off a defender after Konstantinos Katsouranis had played the ball into his path. the winner came when Vincent Enyeama failed to deal with a soft shot from Alexandros Tziolis in the 72nd minute.
The rebound fell to Vasileios Torosidis, who toe-poked the ball home to give Greece victory. it was Greece's first win in the World Cup finals. OVERALL - both played badly, but Greece got the slight advantage in luck.

too strong

the second round of matches for GROUP B began with Argentina taking on South Korea. Gonzalo Higuain scored a hat-trick as Argentina scored an impressive win. Argentina took the lead as early as the 17th minute as Park Chu-young scored an own goal. Higuain then doubled the advantage after 33 minutes, but a lapse in concentration from Martin Demichelis on the stroke of half-time allowed Lee Chung-yong to give his side hope. after the restart South Korea pressed on for the equaliser, and boy, did they play better than the first half! Yeom Ki-hun should have drawn his side level after 55 minutes when he was put clean through on the right following a quick break, but found the side netting after opting to use his left foot instead of the right. it proved to be the last of the best chances for South Korea, as Argentina attacked more after that. chances dried up, and Maradona threw in Sergio Aguero for Carlos Tevez. The moved proved a hit with the Atletico Madrid forward playing in Messi on the left - his initial shot was blocked by Jung and the rebound shot hit the base of the left upright and fell to Higuain for a simple tap-in. That was in the 76th minute and four minutes later the Real Madrid star completed his hat-trick after nodding in Aguero's cross at the back post. but the star of the match was Lionel Messi, who, desperate to open his account in South Africa, had many shots but wasted them. OVERALL - a good performance by Argentina, who are showing their critics that they too can be serious contenders. S.Korea meanwhile have to get focused for their third match and not let this mistakes repeat again.

not much of a surprise

in the second round of group matches, GROUP A's South Africa took on Uruguay. the game was one-sided as Uruguay ran out 3-0 winners over a 10-man South Africa side. Uruguay's Diego Forlan scored twice as he helped his side get their first 3 points of the tournament. he scored a stunning long-range dipping effort and converted a penalty. Itumeleng Khune was sent off late in the match as he was adjudged to have fouled Luis Suarez in the penalty area. the South African side had a few chances too, only to miss the target all the time. Uruguay have almost secured a berth in the last 16 whereas South Africa have to beat France in their next match to keep their hopes of going through alive. OVERALL - a one-sided match, but Uruguay have shown they have what it takes to match the bigger teams. South Africa still need more work, especially cohesiveness, if they are to qualify for the next round.

Spain shocker, Swiss stunner

here are the results for the final group(GROUP H)



Honduras 0-1 Chile
Jean Beausejour scored the only goal as Chile beat Honduras 1-0 in their group H opening match to secure their first World Cup victory in 48 years. despite the pressure by Chile, the South Americans failed to kill the game off, and at times the Hondurans looked dangerous on the counter-attack. Honduras are still looking for their first World Cup win. OVERALL - very little to separate these two teams, but Chile had the goal, and that is what made the difference in this match.



Spain 0-1 Switzerland
Switzerland pulled off possibly the biggest shock of the 2010 World Cup so far when they beat European champions Spain 1-0. it was their first-ever victory over Spain in 19 games. a scrappy goal by Gelson Fernandez against the run of play was enough to see the Swiss get all three points. OVERALL - Spain had most of the possession and goalscoring opportunities, but did not make the most of them. credit to the Swiss, who persevered against a stronger side and were rewarded.

big three teams struggle

first round of matches (group G) results.



Ivory Coast 0-0 Portugal
on paper, it was supposed to be a great match, with the world's most expensive player, Cristiano Ronaldo versus Didier Drogba, one of the most lethal strikers ever. the match was boring, simple as that. nothing much to report about. OVERALL - it was a waste of my 90 minutes. i was better off watching paint dry or grass grow.



Brazil 2-1 Korea DPR
Brazil: the World Cup's highest-ranked team. Korea DPR: the World Cup's lowest-ranked team. but despite being 'mysterious', Korea DPR are actually rater highly rated! coaches of other teams who have come up against the 'Chollima' have regarded the defenders as being 'tireless' and players as strong. so how did they fare against 5-time champions Brazil? they held Brazil to a 0-0 draw in the first half. but in the second half, Korea DPR 's defence finally was breached, and Brazil finally overcame their slow start to take the lead through Maicon. his goal has got to be one of the best in this tournament, in my opinion. Elano added a second late on. despite Brazil leading by two goals to nil, Korea DPR never gave up. they got a late consolation goal through Ji Yun-nam. OVERALL - Brazil made a meal of what was supposed to be a stroll in the park for them. Korea DPR might have lost, but at least they gave some fight.

a point to prove

here are the results from the first round matches of Group F.



New Zealand 1-1 Slovakia
Slovakia, who were making their World Cup debut as an independent nation, looked set to top the group when Robert Vittek met a diagonal cross by Stanislav Sestak and scored with a powerful header from 10 meters. the weather conditions in the stadium were cold and windy. Slovakia had more chances, but New Zealand's good organisation enabled them to stay in contention. towards the end it looked bleak for the All Whites as time was ticking away until an innocent looking cross was swung into the Slovak penalty area and up popped defender Winston Reid, who rose the highest to score the equaliser. OVERALL - disappointing result for Slovakia. they should have defended better and not have allowed NZ to get the stoppage-time goal. credit to NZ for persevering till the end.



Italy 1-1 Paraguay
Paraguay, who defeated Brazil and Argentina in qualifying, surprisingly held reigning world champions Italy to a 1-1 draw. the Paraguayans took the lead through Antolin Alcaraz in the 39th minute. but despite that opening goal, Paraguay made repeated errors in set pieces, squandered their chances, and gifting Italy their equaliser. Italy, meanwhile, levelled in the 63rd minute when a Simone Pepe corner sailed past goalkeeper Justo Villar's flailing fist and Daniele De Rossi stuck out a foot to steer the ball into the empty net. OVERALL - the reigning world champions should play better. credit to Paraguay for making things tough for Italy early on in the match.

more pain for Danes; joy for Japan

here are the results from the first round matches of Group E.



Holland 2-0 Denmark
it wasnt the prettiest of football matches, but Holland held on for a fortuitous win over Denmark. it began drearily like all the other first round matches: long balls, strong defending, and keeping possession of the ball for long periods. but the deadlock was finally broken by guess what? an own goal. Robin van Persie left Dane goalkeeper Thomas Sorenson stranded away from the goalmouth and crossed the ball, only for Simon Poulsen's header to hit team-mate Daniel Agger's back and dribble into the unguarded Danish goal. the Danes tried to find the equaliser, but when Dirk Kuyt made the game safe for the Dutch by slamming home his 85th minute effort, the Danish players looked tired and wished the referee would blow the final whistle ASAP. OVERALL - not the most convincing performance by Holland, but the determination was there. Denmark need to give a good showing in their next few matches to show that they deserve to go through to the last 16.



Japan 1-0 Cameroon
ah, Japan. serial underachievers on the international stage. somehow coach Takeshi Okada strangely insisted his side can make it to the semi-finals, but recent performances have shown that his Japan side are not capable of scoring goals and defending well. will his team improve and prove him right, or will Japan fail to get through to the last 16 and make him eat his words? well, this first game against Cameroon was not exactly the easiest match, but if Okada can boast of making it to the semis, he must surely have the tactics to counter the African side that includes players like Samuel Eto'o and Alex Song. true enough, Japan's defenders roughed it out and held back attacks from Cameroon and were rewarded for their hard work when, in the 39th minute, Keisuke Honda smashed home a near range shot to score the only goal in the match. in the second half though, it was dominated by Cameroon, but they just could not prise open the tough-as-nails Japanese defence. OVERALL - a good showing by Japan to prove their doubters wrong. it was their first victory on foreign soil. Cameroon need to be more cohesive in attack.

complaints = Serbia and celebrations = Germany

here are the results of the Group D first round matches.



Serbia 0-1 Ghana
vuvuzelas. THAT is the name of the loud object that the Serbian players claim made them lose control of the World Cup ball, loss of concentration, and the main focal point: they blame the vuvuzelas for making them give away the 'stupid' penalty that cost them the game. well, at least that's what the players think. but coach Radomir Antic had a different gripe. he claims that what turned the game was the 'harsh' dismissal of Aleksandar Lukovic in the 74th minute. nine minutes after that setback, substitute Zdravko Kuzmanovic's raised arm struck a ball hit across the area to give away the penalty that put Ghana ahead. the penalty was coolly converted by Asamoah Gyan. whatever the case may be, Serbia weren't setting the football world alight, and they paid the price for poor football. OVERALL - could have been better. Serbia need to up their game in order to make it to the last 16.



Germany 4-0 Australia
''Australia not the banchmark. there will be more difficult opponents to play. so this was a good warm-up. we will be happy about this win.'' that is what Germany coach Joachim Loew has told his players after the match. whether the Aussies take that comment as an insult is another thing. back to the match, Australia were totally outclassed by a relatively youthful German squad. in fact, it is Germany's youngest squad for three-quarters of a century. either way, the fans didnt have to wait long for the goals to start coming. Lukas Podolski opened the scoring in the 8th minute, the second by Miroslav Klose(26), the third by Thomas Mueller(68), and rounded off by Cacau(70). it was just a beautiful display by Germany. Australia, on the other hand, were just underwhelmed. the defence was exposed and when going forward, there was a lack of creativity or ideas. talk about rubbing more salt into the wounds: Australia were forced to play with 10 men for the last half hour after Tim Cahill got his marching orders for a horrific tackle on Bastian Schweinsteiger. OVERALL - superb display by Germany. they are the first team in this tournament to score more than two goals in one game. disappointing display by Australia. more was expected from them, but they let their fans down with that shambolic display.

Hand of Clod(s)

sorry for the late update on results from the World Cup! have been down with flu, so recuperating is more important! hehe. okay, here are the results from the first round games played in Group C.



England 1-1 USA
the hype surrounding this team has been huge, and if anyone expected England to win the World Cup anytime soon, this year couldn't have been a better time. under the strict coaching of 'Don' Fabio Capello, the team have been disciplined and compact in playing style. the first match between England and the USA was supposed to be a sure-win match, but sadly, despite a breeze in the qualifying rounds en route to the 2010 World Cup, England were lucky not to lose the first game. surprisingly, 'Captain Marvel' Steven Gerrard put the Three Lions ahead in the 4th minute with a sublime strike past Tim Howard. England were then cruising and preserving their slender lead till USA striker Clint Dempsey unleashed a 'soft' strike at goal in the 40th minute. England 'keeper Robert Green was expected to catch that ball, and instead let it slip out of his hands and let it roll into the back of the net. this said, it definitely goes down as one of the worst goalkeeping howlers of the World Cup of all time. after that incident, England had a few chances to try winning the game but none took their chances well. OVERALL - it was a disappointing game. more was expected of England, yet they let their fans down time and time again. more improvement must be done if they are to win the trophy since 1966. but credit to USA too, for defending brilliantly, and also shackling talismanic England striker Wayne Rooney for most periods of the match.



Algeria 0-1 Slovenia
what are the chances of two teams in the same group committing a similar goalkeeping error? i could hardly believe it too, but that's exactly what happened to Algerian goalie Faouzi Chaouchi. Algeria had just been reduced to 10 men when Chaouchi fumbled a harmless looking 79th minute shot from Slovenia captain Robert Koren, allowing the ball to squirt through his arms into the bottom left hand corner of his net. six minutes earlier Algeria substitute Abdelkader Ghezzal was sent off for handball having already been booked. the attacking midfielder was only on the pitch for 15 minutes. both teams struggled with them much-criticized Adidas Jabulani ball, but Slovenia hung on for a fortuitous win. OVERALL - scrappy playing from both teams. shame about the howler. if not, Algeria could have gotten a point.

2010 World Cup in South Africa

yay! the World Cup is finally here! after four years of waiting, the biggest show on Earth is on! sorry that this post comes two days after the opening matches, but what the heck! i have been busy, and finally i have the time to blog about it. here are my comments on the earlier matches:



(Group A)
South Africa 1-1 Mexico
the hosts South Africa took on Mexico in the first match of the 2010 WC. the match was few and far between, but despite Mexico's stunning amount of possession, they only drew 1-1. to rate SA, they played poorly in the first few minutes of the game, but surprisingly they took the lead through Siphiwe Tshabalala. they were on course for a shock win until poor defending allowed Rafael Marquez to equalize for Mexico late on in the match. SA did have two chances to win the match, but the chances were spurned by poor finishing. OVERALL - it was a good performance by both teams. not bad, but not good either.


France 0-0 Uruguay
in the second match, France wasted the chance to kill off Uruguay despite Uruguay being reduced to ten men in the latter stages of the match. nothing impressive from this match, save for brilliant performances by Frenchmen Yoann Gourcuff and goalie Hugo Lloris. despite the sending off of Nicolas Lodeiro, France just didnt take the slew of glorious chances to seal a late win. OVERALL - it was a dour match.



(Group B)
South Korea 2-0 Greece
South Korea played brilliantly once the whistle blew, and were rewarded when Lee Jung-soo volleyed home Ki Sung-yueng's free-kick with the Greek defenders only watching on helplessly. Greece tried in vain to get the equaliser, only to be dealt with a sucker punch with Park Ji-Sung taking full advantage of a defender's mistake to slot home SK's second goal and seal the three points. OVERALL - Greece were second best, and SK was top class.


Argentina 1-0 Nigeria
Diego Maradona relished this match, as it was his first game in charge of Argentina at the World Cup. Lionel Messi finally showed that he can perform on the international stage as well as he does with his club when he struck terror into the heart of the Nigerian defence time and time again, but was unlucky not to score a goal. the winner came from a header by Gabriel Heinze in the sixth minute. Nigeria had chances of their own, but somehow wasted them all. Kalu Uche was the biggest culprit, lashing the ball over the bar when he was unmarked inside the box. OVERALL - a good showing by Argentina that they are finally worthy to challenge for the trophy.


more results will be posted as i continue blogging about the tournament.

BRRRRR.....!!!!!!!

why such a topic? it was because i just returned back from Melbourne, Australia. and boy, was it COLD! the strong cold winds just kept blowing in my face! i was not used to such a super cold weather, so i didnt really like the cold weather. on a brighter note, the trip was totally exciting! it was my first time overseas, so it was definitely exciting. i stayed in my uncle's apartment, which was just a short walk to the city. i visited many places and was just exposed to the 'gwai lo' culture. the most interesting highlight was getting to meet up with Alicia. my my my, she has definitely grown taller! ha! it was great seeing her again. mmmhmm...what else? oh yes, i did go for the Great Ocean Drive, which is a long and windy journey past cliffs and mountains, and boy was that interesting! i even visited a small town called Warrnambool! the scenery around the grassy plains and farms were very beautiful.

overall it was a great experience, and i really enjoyed my stay there. thank God for protecting me and my family while overseas. :)