Wednesday 16 December 2009

How to celebrate heritage in style - Atari Style

Ask most male twenty/thirty somethings what Atari means to them and you'll usually get a look of long lost love. The Atari was the original pioneer of home video games, starting with classics such as Pong and then releasing the iconic 2200 system in the mid 80s. The 90s saw the release of the highly acclaimed Lynx and the fore-runner to more sophisticated gaming, the Jaguar. Neither saw widespread success however and Atari faded before being brought into the Infogrames corporation. The company now focusses on distrubution and publishing but can definitely be credited with starting the home entertainment revolution way back in 1972.



Sunday 6 December 2009

The 2010 World Cup draw - great news for England?


The draw for the 2010 Football World Cup took place on Friday out in South Africa and the excitment will now build in the run-up to the tournament. Although it is six months away it was clear through the coverage of the event here in the UK that World Cup fever has already bitten.

The actual ceremony was farcically long and an oddly entertaining hosting duo meant that it wasn't until the balls started rolling that it was possible to really focus on what was happeing. England, seeded in the draw, got a group of USA, Slovenia and Algeria - all things considered it was a fantastic outcome.

Algeria had a decent qualifying campaign and will be a quick and physical side, but they should be swept aside by a full strength England team with relative ease. Slovenia were suprise qualifiers with a playoff victory against a good Russian side. They will give it everything against England and will be tough to breakdown, but again, this should be three points for the three lions. The USA however are a different proposition. For many years the USA's biggest quality has been that they are "hard workers" - not exactly the sort of complimant you want if you are trying to be taken seriously as a world football power. They've kept this trait but have gained some really talented and experienced players like Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey. Their 2009 Confederations Cup display showed how far they've come and England will have to be on top form to take maximum points from the fixture.
 
That being said England will and should feel confident of progressing, the real challenge will begin in the second round. The English first team is a match for any side in the tournament but the World Cup is won on the strength of squads. David Beckham was a special guest in South Africa for the draw and he'll be a hugely important squad player next Summer. Barring injuries ahead of June England will go with a great squad - a mix of talent, youth, and experience. They've got a solid back line, one of the best line up of midfielders on the planet and a potent strike force. When you add players such as James Milner, Ashley Young and Peter Crouch into the mix as squad players its no suprise that the English media and bookies are getting carried away, some instilling them as favourites. In reality the top national teams haven't been closer for a very long time - Spain, Brazil, Italy, Germany, Portugal, Argentina, Holland, France - all could triumph.

As with every World Cup draw there was also the reveal of the new football for the tournament. adidas have made the ball for each World Cup since 1970 and the newest incarnation was not a disappointment. The ball is called Jabulani, meaning "to celebrate" in isiZulu, and has been developed using truely revolutionary technology. A new 8 panel design means it is rounder than ever before and a new grip n groove surface promises truer flight and more stable. The 2006 ball, the teamgeist, used more panels to help increase stability and the less panels on The Jabulani should mean more movement. However, the grip n groove texture compensates for this and should make life less unpredictable for goalkeepers.


Some players have got a headstart on getting to grips (no pun intended) with the new ball but some seem to have struggled with the pronounciation. Can you say it? - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5Y0ik6-koM
JA - BU - LANI