tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10199319231701915842011-12-05T07:00:16.949-08:00Rants from a Manc on football, politics, the arts, and other matters.Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.comBlogger641100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-33550851455177589972011-12-02T15:39:00.000-08:002011-12-03T22:18:31.727-08:00

Nariyal Macchi (Coconut fish) Recipe Some, indeed, like it hot. This fish curry is marvelous, and, although I own a personal preference  for Red Snapper or  salted cod(bacalao),  pretty much any kind works. The amount of heat you use can be altered to your taste.  An oily fish like like cod definitely demands something pungent to contrast with the  strong oil of its flesh. If mustard oil is

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-67481358764719725142011-11-30T07:52:00.000-08:002011-12-05T06:39:31.215-08:00

Somebody took me to a real Curry dive in Cleveland that had the slowest service  since my old 2 a.m. hangover days  at the infamous Taco Bell in Rogers Park. When the food eventually did arrive it  all--and I mean every single dish-- had a half inch of Ghee floating at the top. This reminded me of my beloved Bubba Rachel who brought  me up in Manchester, England and found a way to use schmaltz (

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-27202386853222215242011-11-16T14:41:00.000-08:002011-11-16T14:41:35.741-08:00

Each nightbefore I get some kipI think aboutEbola, Al-Qaida, starving Sudanese,Barack Obama, pornography and war.That wayI’m not thinking about You!

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-61997615678188132532011-11-16T14:28:00.000-08:002011-12-05T07:00:16.968-08:00

I love eggplant. Its taste and texture are totally unique and it  can stand hours of overcooking in a way the fibers of most vegetables can’t.  How would I know that? Well, I grew up in England where Mushy Peas are beloved and vegetables are only eaten after they own no flavor. Anyway, this is a killer of a tasty veg dish that you can add as much extra heat to as your heart desires. Use one large

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-81307579173005392972011-11-16T14:15:00.000-08:002011-11-16T14:15:08.170-08:00

Lamb Vindaloo: Mmmmmhmmm! I get really irritated when I hear people complain that you  can’t get a “proper curry” in the U.S. That’s silly. I can see it if you don’t live in a big city, but I can’t think of any major metropolis anywhere where  Indian, Pakistani or Bangla Deshi iigrants haven’t settled. At any rate, for those of you who’ve been complaining and moaning on the blogs about getting

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-16240043083132160482011-07-19T10:29:00.000-07:002011-07-20T10:48:35.596-07:00

Photos by Kevin Craig How many rock ‘n’ rollers you know went toe-to-toe with Roberto ‘Manos de piedra’ Duran and didn’t get knocked out? When you go to see Paul Thorn in concert you’re getting something special.  I’ve been going to watch concerts since 1966 and I defy you to name any band on the road, paying its daily dues right now that gives a show as good as the Paul Thorn Band. No ifs,

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-10953722442196747682011-06-03T16:32:00.000-07:002011-06-03T16:32:53.745-07:00

Tom Weiss, who works with my wife Elsie, turns out to be one of those geeky geezers who actually reads the words. He read one of my poems 'Heart's Blood' and turned it into some kind of sweet blues/rock. Thank you, Tom! Listen for free HERE: http://www.jango.com/music/Tom+Weiss?l=0

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-80017504817785725062010-09-21T15:52:00.000-07:002010-09-21T15:52:25.233-07:00

Ivorismo Rating***** The Descent is a killer of a thriller. It's a unique, intelligent, savagely entertaining and bloody movie. Its writer/director, Neil Marshall and his cinematographer sidekick, Sam McCurdy, have created an intense, frightening underground world in the darkness. This British horror-thriller recalls other grueling, contemporary adrenaline-pumpers like Alexander Aja's brilliant

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-46138947432104502372010-09-14T10:37:00.000-07:002010-09-14T10:37:39.272-07:00

The oven was ticking. It could have been a bomb. You were eating with gusto. Testing the Thanksgiving turkey so we wouldn’t get poisoned. Dinner made you noble. We were watching college football on your dinky thirteen-incher. A Kia commercial got me babbling about my dad’s exploits. Dead Chinese. The wounds which occasionally suppurated out of his back, like tears for his dead mates. And you said

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-24000080017245694472010-09-12T11:48:00.000-07:002010-09-12T12:25:55.259-07:00

Ivorismo Rating**** Sam Peckinpah knew how to tell a story. He really knew how to entertain, not just with plentiful dollops of action and violence, but also how to impress film critics because he had wonderful insights into the human condition and the way society and bureaucracies work. At his best, Peckinpah's films worked equally at both a visceral and cerebral level. Movies like Ride the

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-34082858510169196262010-09-10T21:04:00.000-07:002010-09-10T21:04:57.292-07:00

Ivorismo Rating ***** When I first saw Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets exactly 36 years ago, I was blown into smithereens. Like my first serious piece of ass and eating at Galatoire’s (in a shirt and tie, by God!), there are some singularly pristine experiences we’re all doomed to never repeat. Having grown up an ocean away in Manchester, England, the experiences portrayed had very little in

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-40854610872359887192010-09-04T09:42:00.000-07:002010-09-04T09:42:03.821-07:00

Night dissolves into sorghum dawn. Soggy Manchester sunrise. Yahweh’s finger tight against the rent jugular. A trickle by the mountains. The rest sucked into cumulostratus. Gray candy-floss pulchritude over Alderley Edge. And I, just out of the Twisted Wheel, amphetamines and Mandies tingling under my skin, blink as rain dive bombs my eyelashes. —Ivor Irwin

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-52369818135646300292010-08-27T23:20:00.000-07:002010-08-27T23:20:25.282-07:00

Ivorismo Rating **** Luchino Visconti's Rocco and His Brothers (1960) is a marvelous cautionary tale about survival in hard times. 50 years old now, it still holds up splendidly. A strange blend of social realism and operatic melodrama, it somehow still works splendidly. Made by a man of deep contrasts, Visconti was from a ridiculously rich noble family with roots going back to Charlemagne, yet

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-83275994608694723972010-08-10T12:14:00.000-07:002010-08-10T12:29:38.135-07:00

Ivorismo Rating**** Rainer Werner Fassbinder met Douglas Sirk at the Munich Film Museum in June 1971. As the history of cinema goes, this truly was a momentous event. Having sobered himself up and steered clear of the rough trade bars for more than two weeks, Fassbinder's aching temporary self-denial from his addictions put him into a state of agonized bliss. Buoyed at basking in the light of

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-51148937875005516472010-08-01T18:29:00.000-07:002010-08-01T18:29:40.550-07:00

Ivorismo Rating ***** I demand that a film express either the joy of making cinema or the agony of making cinema. I am not at all interested in anything in between. Francois Truffaut The 400 Blows (1959) is absolutely one of the most moving experiences in beautiful storytelling I've ever had. It's the very touching story of a wide-eyed adolescent, very much inspired by the Writer/

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-13040113479370790202010-07-26T20:03:00.000-07:002010-07-26T20:03:26.720-07:00

The military industrial complex grins its evil grin. Having cagily plotted to kill me in a conspiracy so nefarious, I wake up fluttery-eyed. So diabolical, that even my paranoia died. Somewhere in my DNA. Trapped, Like a vicious sliver of transparent candy between two shiny-white American teeth, my predilection for high blood pressure plots. Hiding everywhere there’s salt. Realer than any rumor

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-37045068997343804402010-06-10T20:14:00.000-07:002010-06-11T05:22:34.668-07:00

I took a train to Sault-Saint Marie. There was a Mississipi virgin waiting for me. I had a treasure map, an attitude, a longing, a plea. I said: Can someone help find the old faith in Me? You won’t believe it, it’s unfortunate, see  I adhere to the ghosts of Robert E and Stagger Lee. And she said, I come from Indianola and my name be Cissie Dupree. Oh Cissie, Oh Cissie, Oh Cissie Dupree. I go

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-24158328706517248732010-06-03T05:21:00.000-07:002010-06-03T05:21:58.299-07:00

I definitely am an infidel. Own no doubt about it. My people are the stiff-necked kind and can not be converted. Before you chop my big head off, I will trash talk in bad Arabic, grin and wait for payback. Go on. Bring it on, Bint. Your scimitar, your sodomy and your suicide vest. I laugh because you're pathetic. Bathing in the blood of your enemies, consuming our hearts raw. A billion lemmings

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-77429155040439771352010-02-10T22:07:00.000-08:002010-02-11T11:07:57.418-08:00

To all my friends: I've been pretty vocal and clear about what a waste of time, energy and money it is to give money to Haiti because most of it's going to end up in Switzerland. If you would like to help the misbegotten and tragedy-ridden of this world in a more concrete way and KNOW for sure you're doing good, please let me alert you to the good work being done by my close friend Baraka Kasali

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-14107093186681687532010-01-31T19:26:00.000-08:002010-02-01T06:33:53.458-08:00

I’ve seen the greatest minds of my generationbusted for malfeasance.Dinosaurs crying glib crocodile tears.The codpiece of tenure ripped aside like so much recycled paper.Keening.Staggering through Bridgeport,foul of breath from ersatz Cuban panatellas,singing out the true stories of their lives,fueled by Maker's Mark, Dylan and a heaped tablespoonful of self-pity.Embittered.Half-written memoirs,

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-3321985365901348302010-01-27T19:25:00.000-08:002010-01-28T08:37:26.091-08:00

The Digital Conversion box in my headGets distracted by errant traffic upstairs.Keith David: Narrator of all our lives,pleasantly reciting all our yesterdays, for the right price.Ken Burns all around. Ubiquitous. Educating Me.Helping me think American.Now that the sun, having indeed set, Ino longer a true Englishman.Having learned to be a stars and stripes liberal. Now I know all aboutBaseballThe

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-50479642440554669062009-09-29T18:40:00.000-07:002010-01-27T19:30:30.808-08:00

Your heart is not just a bloody pump.Otherwise, there wouldn't be heart acheand heart burn. Broken heartedhearts on fire.The heart of the matter,or, them what don't have no heart at all!When they cracked me openand put me on a heart machine,they pumped me full of someone else's blood,gifted me a void.I lost most of my short-term memories.But not you. Never you!Sometimes I call numbers

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-392877162595287882009-09-22T17:42:00.000-07:002009-09-29T18:47:52.972-07:00

Arsenal coach Arséne Wenger takes a loss to Manchester United badly!Many of you don’t like Arséne Wenger. Being the big-hearted, forbearing person that I am, and admiring his dexterity with the English language, which is far superior to my own, although I can’t say I ‘like’ him, I can definitely say I admire Wenger's gift for making Arsenal into the greatest Selling Club in the world. There’s

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-89722558444306043352009-09-15T20:02:00.000-07:002009-09-16T07:10:06.756-07:00

To be sure, the obnoxious Right’s relentless hissy-fit about President Obama’s school chit-chat is mean-spirited and cynical. Still, there is a point in reasoning that all political and religious leadership ought to be kept out of the public school classroom. In this case, the imperial presidency rears its ugly head and I want to decapitate it.I grew up in England, where public school is actually

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-15249412392463326402009-08-26T12:03:00.000-07:002009-09-15T20:06:50.912-07:00

Yes They Can: If the Gaffer Reads the Writing on the Wall!!!Well, having had his head handed to him twice last season, Sir Alex Ferguson still seems bound and determined to ignore the handwriting on the wall. The sheer depth of talent in his squad, however, will always allow the Gaffer to peek into the abyss, throw out some appropriate barbs meant to psych out the immediate opposition and still

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-45741382525032572322009-08-16T17:07:00.000-07:002009-09-15T20:27:52.648-07:00

Ivorismo Rating *** The closest I can describe the feeling after seeing The Hurt Locker is “Shaken Baby Syndrome.” My world got rocked a bit. I am not naïve. I’ve seen my share of war movies and had a father and a father-in-law who, between them fought in four wars. The visceral shocks in The Hurt Locker, however, are shocks of recognition, Kathryn Bigelow's stunning film about a bomb squad in

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-78468832752554740822009-07-29T20:37:00.000-07:002009-08-01T07:42:01.441-07:00

'The Damned United' by David PeaceIvorismo Rating****'Provided You Don't Kiss Me' by Duncan HamiltonIvorismo Rating*** 'The Damned United'Directed by Tom Hooper. W/Michael Sheen, Timothy Spall & Jim BroadbentIvorismo Rating**Parkinson: You're a bit besotted tonight, aren't you,Cloughie?Clough: Oh aye! Cheese and onion pie, meat pud, chips and a lot o' Boddies.Freud: Ee-yuch! Disgusting! Your

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-27237513382781355162009-07-22T19:32:00.000-07:002009-07-23T10:34:12.977-07:00

In football, as it's played today, central midfielders have become the most important players on the pitch. Due to the growing importance of the transition game, the roving role of a post-to-post player demands competence in both defense and attack. Finding the right player, however, is difficult. The position demands an innate intelligence. The ability to improvise and shift on the fly. Caught

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-16251181046386359272009-07-12T18:44:00.000-07:002009-07-12T20:10:36.229-07:00

I explain. Youhear shouting. Youregroup. I seeyou’ve picked my scab.You are reasonable. Isee shades clipped onto your bifocals. Iaplogize profusely. Yousniff out expedience.I am a nice Jewish dove. Yousay I’m crazy, like Saul. Youthrow me an olive branch. Iam cut by its thorns.You gush blood. Isee no tears. Youwill not take a dive. Ihave loved you for eleven years.—Ivor Irwin

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-15344003347619092872009-06-25T19:30:00.000-07:002009-06-26T15:03:30.987-07:00

It’s nice having a country of your own.It’s nice to own a house.It’s nice to have a pair of shoes to throw.All the better if your wife can wear a blouse,and doesn't need to wear the veil.Dubya said the Big D is it.Democracy is what everybody wants.He didn’t say it in a conceited way.Just that he was certain.The lessons of history teach us that Haman

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-70066713148715970172009-06-03T20:43:00.000-07:002009-07-12T18:48:53.570-07:00

Sir Alex Ferguson was doing his suffering in public after Manchester United were left shell shocked, nauseous and punch-drunk from taking a hammering in Rome. Allowed to play their unique brand of heart-stirring football, one which relies on one-touch passing, a relentless ability to retain possession and surgical execution, a ruthless, brilliant Barcelona team stole away Manchester United's

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-57574057255381291132009-05-28T06:16:00.000-07:002009-06-06T10:48:41.665-07:00

Ivorismo Rating: * Old rubbish never dies, it just makes your mind fade away. Go on, take a load off me: You find the appropriate cliché! I never thought I’d have to sit through this old sack of dreck again, but, instead of a remake, almost thirty years later, we get the Director’s Cut. It’s kind of funny, actually. I really like Oliver Stone’s On Any Sunday, which also just came out in a new,

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-6157612868137970292009-05-28T06:02:00.000-07:002009-05-28T08:30:49.584-07:00

Ivorismo Rating**** If you like good, old-fashioned entertainment, Black Book is a worthwhile picture to check out. Its director, Paul Verhoeven, hadn’t made a film back home in the Netherlands for more than twenty years. Best known for balls-to-the-wall Hollywood entertainments like Basic Instinct, Hollow Man, Robo Cop, Total Recall, Starship Troopers and the frighteningly bad Showgirls,

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-77935073150526688372009-05-24T19:04:00.000-07:002009-05-24T20:42:40.541-07:00

INot even tumbleweedrolls as well as certain Jews, partially dissected,vilified, pinned by their points, like high school butterflies,to Catherine Wheels. Torture. Fireworks.Their brown liquid, beagle eyes glimmering,they shriek. They ululate. Each remembering howthey were warned by their Yiddisher mammas,warned in cheder, warned by Paddy Chayevsky. Skidding noisily down Wall Street,

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-36069429462428434672009-05-11T20:28:00.000-07:002009-06-04T11:10:25.960-07:00

MimicIvorismo Rating: ****Monster movies these days pretty much follow a rigid formula. In that sense, Alien begat The Relic, which begat Event Horizon, which begat Mimic. Each of these movies follow a formula in which a pseudo-scientific setup in the opening leads to a series of shocking scenarios where the heroes are trapped in enclosed territory, a spaceship, vehicle, jungle, subway system or

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-69035747228402587872009-05-06T19:58:00.000-07:002009-06-06T10:40:02.654-07:00

'The Fix' by Declan Hill***To anybody who really follows the game, this book is no surprise. Historically, Hill, normally an investigative television producer/journo, gives the reader a good sense as to how lowly-paid players (before worldwide broadcasting brought hundreds of millions in cash to the game) were always susceptible to bribery from bookmakers and various gangsters. Nowadays, Hill

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-25733311603438887232009-05-03T15:37:00.000-07:002009-05-04T09:37:56.816-07:00

During last summer and the January window, a promiscuous amount of dosh was lavished on some really dreadful footballers. Here, for your consideration are Ivor's Top Twenty Worst Premiership Signings of the Season:1. Dimitar Berbatov: Manchester United’s £32m languid, lazy Bulgarian has only done one thing successfully since leaving White Hart Lane. He has broken up the neck-breaking high-speed

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-41446188097213200962009-04-26T08:34:00.000-07:002009-04-29T14:54:24.873-07:00

My first subject is Jon Cotterill, an Englishman who lives in São Paulo, Brazil. His blog is absolutely fascinating, really friendly reading about football, rumors, etc. from an Anglo-Brazilian perspective. Check his work out at: pitacodogringo.wordpress.com These days Brazil produces a never-ending supply of brilliant young players, and more and more of them seem to be headed for the

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-64108748759955969682009-04-13T19:58:00.000-07:002009-04-20T06:20:41.878-07:00

Yesterday, as International Olympic Committee officials departed Chicago after their evaluation visit, the city’s leaders breathed a sigh of exhausted relief. Having girded their loins and put on their finest smiley faces for six whole days, the mayor, his aldermen, ward healers and hundreds of other concerned groups attached to the nourishing Democratic party teat, having temporarily put aside

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-42357754310110251112009-04-13T19:50:00.000-07:002009-05-28T06:06:16.386-07:00

Bloody Awful!Guy Ritchie's 'Revolver' is truly awful. “Sucka!” It says to anyone dim enough to ignore this review, buy tickets, rent or, worse, purchase this load of absolute rubbish. It claims to be a "thriller." As such, it is a thriller without thrills. An 'action' movie that offers shards of violence and a ‘comedy’ ham-fistedly constructed to allow laughter as a reaction to glib

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-38208954867046014622009-04-09T13:28:00.001-07:002009-05-24T19:09:29.481-07:00

Funny, innit?I wanted AmericaYou wanted money, but,the cake was too small,so we gobbled one another and ran. —Ivor Irwin

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-60322703328634152852009-04-09T13:24:00.000-07:002009-04-09T14:37:11.344-07:00

The snow may be 9 1/2" deep, butI'm a resourceful He-Manly man, man.Up at 5 a.m.Layering layers upon layers.I stagger around, puffy, prepared.Stagger and sass, sass some more,dawn dreaming in the inky dark.As the sun slowly rises, grunting like some 47-year-old ex-NFL quarterback,I am the magnificent soloist maestro,wielding my shovel heroically,I dig a moat around my mansion,clear the way for my

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-51831986854403471872009-03-30T19:52:00.000-07:002009-03-31T08:59:45.658-07:00

Ever since Sir Alex Ferguson reversed his decision to retire at the age of 60, there has been a relentless tide of speculation as to exactly when the Manchester United manager will decide to call it a day. Numbers-wise, Ferguson has been incredibly successful since taking over the Red Devils in November 1986. There are those who believe Jock Stein, Bob Paisley, Brian Clough, Bill Shankly, or

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-39099082227812632382009-03-29T08:46:00.000-07:002009-04-01T13:58:59.190-07:00

The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee, which is at last considering an intervention on behalf of debt-hobbled consumers, finally put in play a debate on a measure that would wipe out credit card debt for people in bankruptcy. Yesterday’s opening rhetoric was mostly concerned with the fact that, as the law currently stands, those who  file for chapters 7 or 13 bankruptcy are committed to not only pay

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-51738664241671915382009-03-23T16:17:00.001-07:002009-05-28T06:06:50.458-07:00

We All Need Some McLovin’!Ivorismo Rating: ****Superbad is fantastic. Sure, it’s raunchy. Sure, there’s a lot of discussion about sexual organs. And, sure, my wife and I got into it vis-à-vis the appropriateness of letting our eleven-year-old watch it with us. The thing of it is, it’s got that collective autobiographical thing going. It’s not just the lives of co-writers Seth Rogen and Evan

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-8954223691095149392009-03-17T20:17:00.000-07:002009-03-19T19:16:13.372-07:00

Expectations are still running high as I write. Having just beaten Spurs on penalties to win the League Cup, Manchester United own a four point lead atop the Premiership with a game in hand, are into the semi-finals of the F.A. Cup, and have just won a second leg at home to the Italian powerhouse Internatzionale Milano in the European Champions Cup round of sixteen. Already winners of the World

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-81035378189617533232009-03-16T19:34:00.000-07:002009-03-19T07:59:08.112-07:00

Fellatio first happened for me in 1967. Frederika, (aka Freddie) was reading Anaís Nin, listening to the Doors. Rich girl.Hale Barns girl. Resplendentin the cotton puffery of gingham smock mini-dresses,thick wool tights, blocky black shoes spit-shined by Berengeria,  the Portuguese au paire.  Freddie, sweet, not because it was her nature, au contraire,but because she sprayed Paco Rabanne in her

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-62431487855215703152009-03-08T20:19:00.001-07:002009-03-11T20:07:42.333-07:00

I’m already getting emails from friends in Brazil. They are very disappointed that Luiz Felipe Scolari was fired by Chelsea. There was a lot of hope that Scolari’s success would open the gates for other Brazilian coaches to ply their wares in Europe. So far, when the Brazilian national team wins the World Cup or the Confederations championship, it is seen by a fickle public as one more triumph

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-37049722607517701182009-03-08T19:10:00.001-07:002009-03-08T19:12:55.165-07:00

Each nightbefore I get some kipI think aboutEbola, Al-Qaida, starving Sudanese,Barack Obama, pornography and war.That wayI’m not thinking about You!—Ivor Irwin

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-52298954844975158212009-03-03T19:01:00.000-08:002009-03-08T19:13:27.173-07:00

Dear Yahweh, can’t wait to be a burden on my kids.Long long time, they’ve cumbered meSo, soon they'll deliver and carryBleach and clean and scrub-a-dub-dub.And do it happily.No Sun City for me. No old folks warehouse, pleaseNo special strangers tossing melike some smelly old sack of shit.Each must take turns putting me upin a sunny parlor, so’s I don’t have to climbto the top of the stairs. A

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-49001845079598268002009-03-02T16:53:00.000-08:002009-03-04T12:30:04.966-08:00

February 21, 2009Guts is sometimes just not enough. Preston's own Michael Jennings is a brave lad with a lot of bottle; unfortunately, he just wasn’t endowed with enough ring craft to prevent Miguel Cotto from regaining the World Welterweight title at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night. At 31, having avoided a fight with Cotto for close to two years, Jennings may keep boxing, but surely this

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-62669940994143949402009-03-01T17:21:00.000-08:002009-03-14T16:11:56.085-07:00

This one is for Will Ansell and Gerry Kelsall, tragic victim of Villa. On to victory, Walsall! While you're away from the Motherland, work on your Urdu, lads!Instead of coming up with an all-era Villa team, as requested, I made up collection of the best players ever from the Birmingham area teams. Terry Hennessey may have been the most underrated midfielder ever! Billy WrightGil MerrickThe Best

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-2115924389044700282009-02-24T19:52:00.000-08:002009-02-26T12:41:31.520-08:00

This afternoon, the Likud party chairman, Binyamin 'Bibi' Netanyahu finally received President Shimon Peres' official letter of appointment as prime minister. After the failure of his own desperate last-ditch efforts to gather Kadima leader Tzipi Livni's support for a unity government on Friday, Peres formally entrusted Netanyahu with the task of building a coalition.Netanyahu insisted he had

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-63729221584310159622009-02-24T19:07:00.000-08:002009-05-28T06:07:21.567-07:00

Michael ClaytonIvorismo Rating: **** George Clooney has finally found a script worthy of his unique talent. Lurking behind the ubër cool of the Oceans 11/12 franchise, the T.V. doctor, and, literally, scores of mere bagatelles of situation comedies and, hundreds of sportive cameos, we all knew that there was a less slick, more ruthless incubus growing inside Clooney, burning to be let loose. This

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-53602064992425084192009-02-19T20:40:00.000-08:002009-02-22T16:35:22.762-08:00

This week in San Francisco you’ll be hard pressed to discern the Obama administration from its predecessor. This case involves five men suing a Boeing subsidiary, Jeppesen Data Plan, claiming that it was instrumental for their extraordinary rendition and repeated torture during the Bush administration. Directly after the suit was filed, the Bush Justice Department invoked the state secrets

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-44832061575837761172009-02-15T11:18:00.000-08:002009-02-15T11:27:36.758-08:00

90 nights after trouncing 30-1 favourite, the self-described Mr. Phenomenon, Roy Jones, Jr., to remain undefeated over a glorious 46 professional fight career, Joe Calzaghe has announced his retirement. Without doubt the finest British boxer of his generation, Calzaghe can righteously claim to be the greatest British boxing champion of them all. Having plied his ruthless trade since 1993, the

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-81244004310615914072009-02-06T19:50:00.000-08:002009-02-16T09:56:51.170-08:00

* CaptainThe Best of the BestGoalkeeper: Edwin Van Der SarRight Back: Gary NevilleCentre Back: Jaap StamCentre Back: Nemanja VidicLeft Back: Patrice EvraRight Wing: George BestCentral Midfield: Brian RobsonCentral Midfield: Roy Keane*Left Midfield: Bobby CharltonStriker: Eric CantonaStriker: Denis LawTeam #2Goalkeeper: Peter SchmeichelRight Back: Johnny FitzpatrickCentre Back: Pauly McGrathCentre

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-27184275837657429352009-02-06T09:42:00.000-08:002009-02-08T14:24:32.738-08:00

Barack Obama made a firm campaign promise. He pledged to keep up President Bush’s faith-based office in the White House, but with a caveat. Any group receiving federal money would no longer be allowed the option of discriminating in hiring on the basis of religion. Yesterday, however, as he disclosed the details of his 'brand-new' initiative, it became clear that has left the whole Bush policy in

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-31470828773201167912009-02-05T19:14:00.000-08:002009-02-15T10:57:07.788-08:00

“Grandpa got it up!” is how my crazy Madrideño friend, Dagoberto put it in an email. The mean-spirited pundits at Marca, La Vanguardía and Ultíma Hora, who have been tearing the reputation of Arjen Robben to pieces for the better part of two seasons, have had to change their tactics, too. Injured more often than fit, Robben would have to bear the insulting chant of “¡Malcreado!” whenever he did

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-47892168592781247502009-01-28T14:32:00.000-08:002009-02-16T07:34:23.541-08:00

Brian BarwickCan England avoid another humiliation to follow the train wreck of their losing campaign for the 2006 World Cup and stage the tournament in 2018? The short answer is no. The longer answer posits that we may pull it off for 2022, but only if we make the right deals now. More on that in the conclusion. One thing is for sure, no matter who wins, it will have nothing whatsoever to do

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-87049375621811343812009-01-24T12:14:00.000-08:002009-02-16T14:23:45.614-08:00

:// Sol Campbell There's a story to go with this post. I've read about censorship. I've been massacred and humiliated by editors over the years, for sure. Goes with the territory, right? Still, in the case of this story, I've pissed some people off by not naming names. Ahmed Shah, the owner/editor of Soccer Forum, requested I write this story in the first place and is man enough to 'fess up on

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-49309300931279225162009-01-18T20:44:00.000-08:002009-02-16T07:32:29.259-08:00

Just because some Rich Arab needed to turn a randomly-picked Premier League team into a branding name doesn't mean a whole lot, if you study your history. When Kaka refused to sign with Manchester City last week, it sent an earthquake throughout the footballing world (everywhere save North America, Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic at any rate)! Why? Well, because Mammon is our God,

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-13726038523004607782008-12-30T20:31:00.000-08:002009-01-25T16:16:58.479-08:00

Watching United win with my son, Iain, at Fado's in Chicago.Iain celebrating the big win.We are the Champions!!!Iain holding the Eurpean's Champion's Cup with our friends Rachel and Tom looking on!!

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1019931923170191584.post-83127971088934247772008-02-22T16:35:00.000-08:002011-11-16T14:36:29.689-08:00

I'm 58 and, lately, feeling it. All the things I've taken for granted, health-wise, my eyes, my back, my ability to come up with a brilliant extemporaneous quip, all seem to be going wonky at once. Anyway, I no longer teach. I've got time to write, watch football, and practice all kinds of deranged cooking experiments. This wee blog gives me permission to get on my high hobby horse about

Ivor Irwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04944374686889764092noreply@blogger.com4