The 203rd Merseyside derby match...what a ill-tempered affair...Again!

I was finally out with my fellow Reds buddy to watch this game. We were at Bukit Timah's Liquid Kitchen(which seems to be opening everywhere in Singapore...) to witness the lows and highs of this game. Everton's rough tactic was well and truly exhibited during this game. Yes, Gerrard was sent off for a ruthless tackle, but what caused his action must certainly be the way Moyes has set up his Everton players for this derby.

I have never seen Benitez so animated during the game.

The Low


The Highs

Neville's scored a superb OWN GOAL! I say... Thank You Very Much! And stop dreaming you still can play for England! Don't you remember the many times you caused England's downfall??!!

What a cheeky Luis Garcia's goal! Reina provided the assist, his first for his club and not common for a keeper too!

Kewell's brilliant late stike simply ended any Everton's resilient.

In the end, frustration was into joy as The Red side of Merseyside proved they are still the best in Merseyside. We have done the double over the Blues this season. LIVERPOOL 3-1 Everton

Marcus XA
YNWA @ 3:07 AM

25 Mar Sat
=========
Liverpool 3-0 Everton X
(final score : 3-1)

Aston Villa 0-1 Fulham X
(final score : 0-0)

Chelsea 2-0 Man City V
(final score : 2-0)

Portsmouth 1-2 Arsenal
(match postponed)

Sunderland 0-2 Blackburn X
(final score : 0-1)

Wigan 1-1 West Ham X
(final score : 1-2)

26 Mar Sun
=========
Charlton 0-0 Newcastle X
(final score : 3-1)

Man United 3-0 Birmingham V
(final score : 3-0)

Middlesbrough 2-2 Bolton X
(final score : 4-3)
27 Mar Mon
==========
Tottenham 2-0 WBA

Marcus XA
YNWA @ 2:51 AM

...that they are wrong. Today, as I was on my way back home from Ghim Moh, a taxi made a illegal U-turn in front of me and caused me to brake hard to avoid crashing into him. Not one who likes to honk, I feel if I don't, I will be giving in to his nonsense. So I honked, went passed him but I didn't look at him. I see no reason to look at him as he might show me his middle finger because NOBODY likes to admit that they are WRONG! We stopped at the same T-Junction, but he wasn't beside me. When the green arrow flashed, that taxi went passed me and I heard a honk. Guessed it was from him... Sigh ya... my first thought was, you were wrong in the first place, then you made everybody stopped for you when you made that illegal U-turn. My honk should have made you feel remorsed about your action. But obviously you were not sorry about your action, because...NOBODY likes to admit that they are WRONG!

I guess it is man's weakness, that they don't like to be blamed, to be pinpointed, to be accused. But if you have done something wrong, be a man! Admit it and move on. Everybody can forget and forgive but one cannot if you don't admit that you are wrong and keep pressing the honk to rebut!

Marcus XA
YNWA @ 1:36 PM

All these goalscoring misses look alot more exciting than MORONhno's post matches' comments!

Marcus XA
YNWA @ 5:29 PM

How I wish every team that Liverpool plays against has a Boumsong in them!

This is Jean-Alain Boumsong, probably the "best" defender in EPL, looking dejected. He missed a clearance completely and clumsily brought down Crouch in the penalty box to give Newcastle no chance of turning the game back against Liverpool.

Marcus XA
YNWA @ 3:57 AM

Do we still need to watch "Brokeback Mountain"?
Just watch football!

Marcus XA
YNWA @ 3:44 AM

18 Mar Sat
=========
Everton 2-0 Aston Villa X
(final score 4-1)

Arsenal 3-0 Charlton V
(Henry should bag a hattrick here! Arsenal's form is back!)
(final score : 3-0 Spot on marcus!)

Blackburn 2-1 Middlesbrough X
(Middlesbrough maybe too tired after their midweek triumph in Rome, so Blackburn should continue to do well with Bellamy and Pongelle in good form.)
(final score 3-2)

Bolton 3-0 Sunderland X
(Bolton now have only the League to play for and they will want to put up a good performance to get their midweek FA Cup's lost to West Ham behind them as soon as possible.)
(final score : 2-0 That was close...)

Man City 2-1 Wigan X
(final score : 0-1)

W.B.A 1-3 Man United X
(Hope Man United lose, but I don't see them throwing this away. They have beaten West Brom on the last 2 occasion by more than 3 goals)
(final score : 1-2 Another close call!)

West Ham 1-1 Portsmouth X
(West Ham will be resting most of their regulars for the FA cup tie next week, while Hislop will be out, otherwise with Harewood and Ashton up front, Portsmouth will have no chance.)
(final score 2-4 Who would have expected that?!)

Birmingham 0-2 Tottenham V
(final score : 0-2 Wow! This is my 2nd correct prediction of the night!)

19 Mar Sun
=========
Newcastle 0-2 Liverpool X
(final score : 1-3 what a game! could have been 1-5, 1-6!)

I fancy Fowler to grab another goal in front of Owen.

Fulham 0-2 Chelsea X
(Another Chelsea's win, anyone bothers?)
(final score : 1-0 Wow, I am glad my prediction was wrong!)

Marcus XA
YNWA @ 2:56 AM

Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. - Luke 23:34

Every Lent season, Catholics are called to mind about how Jesus died on the cross for mankind. He did nothing wrong and yet he was prosecuted. How useful this is for me when I live my everyday life here on Earth. I believe you, my friends, have experienced times when you have been wrongly accused of something that you have never done. You feel hurt, betrayed and wanted revenge. The anger grows, and in the end, who is the one who suffer more? Yes, YOU! While the one who accused you will go away happily knowing that he or she was right to accuse you.

I'm writing this because of something that happened to me today. I was driving on the extreme right lane on the expressway at 90km/h(the speed limit on most of our expressways) and was overtaken by a Benz. What astonished me was, when he went passed me, he actually wind down his window and showed me his middle finger. For what?!- I was thinking. I told myself to cool down and the bible phrase-"Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." came to mind. I was telling myself, be faithful, don't lose your faith by losing your cool and thinking of revenge. Remember marcus, Jesus did nothing wrong and yet he was crucified. He didn't blame anyone, did he?! So who am I to blame that Benz driver?! In fact, I was saddened by the driver's action rather than being angry with him. I wanted to cry, wanted to cry for mankind, wanted to ask "what has gone wrong with human being?"

Never should we calculate a person's success by the amount of wealth he has, the amount of education he has received. It's the spirit and moral in a person that should set the benchmark for a person's success. I'm glad that having attended the Stations of the Cross, I'm able to use what I was called to reflect on, to proper use in my daily lives. FYI, Stations of the Cross only comes around during Lent. It happens every Friday until we celebrate Easter Sunday.

The next time someone accuses you of something that you didn't do, remember to pray-"Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."

Marcus XA
YNWA @ 10:34 PM

It's been awhile since Liverpool scored 5 goals in a game. If I'm not wrong, the last time was last season when Liverpool beat West Brom 5-0. What was more significant is that the Liverpool's strikers have finally found the back of the net in 2006. Not a proud record to mention, but if you have watched the match, you would have realised the relief on Morientes' face. He wasn't celebrating in estasy, just relieved that he has finally got his first goal for Liverpool football club in 2006. I guess it was really too much for him to bear knowing that he hasn't scored for Liverpool on a regular basis as he came to Anfield with a good goal scoring reputation. Well, the fans are celebrating, while I'm just as relieved as Nando.

Marcus XA
YNWA @ 1:33 PM

Eminem in Sims

Marcus XA
YNWA @ 11:40 AM

With much anticipation, me and my bro went to catch this latest Thai horror flick. As I was telling my bro, when I heard the Thai language being spoken during the movie's tv promo, I can imagine this being another "Shutter"! The show started well, everything were set for a scary horror movie. Old houses, weird looking characters and those familar sound effect. Hmm... should scare the hell out of me! As usual, the kids gathered around and started telling ghostly tales about their dorm. People who had died there in the past, unusual noises coming from the loos, etc... All things common for a horror flick. Alright, you want me to describe somemore? You think I GV huh? Watch movie must pay to watch right? You want to know the story, then you must request lah, minimum 5 comments from 5 different persons for me to continue the story here...hee hee...

Marcus XA
YNWA @ 6:04 PM

Do you know in Japan, the teachers will make sure their messages are clearly delivered to their pupils by politely asking their pupils : " Is my message clear enough? " If a pupil raises his/her hand to ask the teacher to repeat the messages, the teacher will actually go over to the pupil, bow his/her head and apologise for not getting the messages across clearly to the pupil! Ridiculous right?!

Picture the above mentioned scenario in Singapore, our teachers will probably say, in a harsh tone : " I think all of you are already clear about what I want, right? So don't let me repeat them again! " You can probably see the fearful eyes in the kids. Even if they don't understand what their teachers demand, they will most likely not ask their teacher to repeat for fear of being scolded.

Another scenario in a Japanese classroom, if a pupil thinks that he/she already understand what the teacher is trying to teach, the pupil can actually raise his/her hand to inform the teacher : " Hi Teacher X, I already know this, can I do my other stuffs? " The teacher will proceed to say : " Yes, pupil Y and other pupils who already understand this topic, please go ahead and do your other stuffs. " If more than half of the pupils raise their hands and request the teacher to skip to the next topic, the teacher will actually do as the pupils had requested! The teacher will proceed to tell those who didn't raise their hands that he/she will arrange another session to teach them. So exaggerating isn't it?!

Can you imagine this happening in Singapore's classroom? Kids will abuse this special privilege and climb all over the teachers! Where will the teachers stand then?!

Such is some of the teaching methods in Japan!

Marcus XA
YNWA @ 3:23 PM

More reason why the Chelsea boss should be banned from football once and for all!

Marcus XA
YNWA @ 12:22 AM

11 Mar Sat
========
Birmingham 2-1 West Brom X
This is a game where both teams must win to survive in the EPL. The home fans will be very disappointed if their team cannot reap the rewards with the home advantage.
(final score : 1-1)
Chelsea 1-0 Tottenham X
Tottenham will defend well but the ending story will be Chelsea nicking a goal to frustrate every football fans but not my bro!
(final score : 2-1)
Bolton 1-1 West Ham X
(final score : 4-1)
Everton 2-0 Fulham X
(final score : 3-1)
Portsmouth 1-1 Man City X
Portsmouth should salvaged a draw here but they are going down, sorry Harry.
(final score : 2-1)
Sunderland 0-0 Wigan
Both teams are not in the best of form at the moment. Wigan's early season good form is deserting them. While Sunderland seems to be only playing for not finishing as the team with the least points to be relegated.
(final score : 0-1)
Blackburn 2-0 Aston Villa V
Bellamy is in fine form at the moment and I fancy him to get the goals at Ewood Park.
(final score : 2-0)

12 Mar Sun
=========
Man United 2-0 Newcastle V
I wish United will go down in this game but have to be realistic, Newcastle's defence will be all over the place with United's in-form attackers.
(final score : 2-0 Steady la, got this right!)
Charlton 2-0 Middlesbrough X
(final score : 2-1 Nearly right!)
Arsenal 0-0 Liverpool X
My team won't score against a Arsenal's new look defence, who has been performing really well recently. If Traore play, then it's 2-0 to Arsenal. Otherwise, we should be able to handle Arsenal's attack.
(final score : 2-1)

He won't score at Highbury, but I will continue backing Nando to find the back of the net!

Marcus XA
YNWA @ 9:32 AM

Look at this posting! Feel sad for the Japanese. I wonder if we searched "Singapore", will we get "Kiasu"??

Marcus XA
YNWA @ 5:30 AM

Must watch this, it looks exactly like the cartoon thing!

Marcus XA
YNWA @ 4:31 PM

I was there, at the Toa Payoh Stadium, watching Balestier Khalsa and Woodlands Wellington, playing their first S-League match of 2006. The match ended 2-2. As I was telling my bro, watching a "live" match is really better than watching a match on telly, the score could have been 20-20 from the angle that we were watching the match from. Almost every shots looked like they went into the goal! Ha Ha... After the match, I met a ex-school mate. When I saw him, I'm like..."man, he has ballooned so much!" I know it's bad, but he really looked so much rounder and it's really terrible. I remembered how he was always so concerned with his looks even though he was already fat then. When I asked him where he is working now, he said "I just came out of jail and is looking for a job now." He then proceeded to say "No lah, just joking with." He is as usual the boliao funny person. But then I really suspect if he is telling the truth. I told him I heard he is married and he said yes, but now divorced and the child is with the wife. Wow! He used to be a clean and proper fellow, always have his own principle, even though he was weird then. So much has happened to him in the last 10years and I'm thankful my life has been going well so far for me.

This is Balestier's hotshot Kengne Ludovick and behind him, Balestier's oldiest player, Kenny Ah Bek!

This is Akihiro Nakamura, Balestier's top midfielder.

I saw one of this kids wearing Balestier no.10 Akihiro's jersey and I was telling Wende that he must be Akihiro's son. But suddenly, I saw more than 1 of those kids with the no. 10 jersey performing a funny dance during the half-time break.


This is for FTM!

Marcus XA
YNWA @ 3:44 PM

Gold 90FM just played this song and how fitting it is that it was played on a night that someone close to me is not with me at this moment. How fittingly this song is for my friends who have spouses who have to work overseas on a regular schedule.

Are you lonesome tonight my friend... I guess it's not how we modern people frequently feel because we have so much to accomplish in a day that we hardly have time to feel lonesome. You see, when we feel lonely, we switched on the tv, we turned to our pc, etc... there's just no time to feel lonesome. We have lot's of "companions". I was thinking... during my parents' time, what were they doing at night. Where there out in the open, staring at the stars... And when one's partner is away from home, how did they managed to cope with the loneliness.

I wish I can be lonesome tonight... and yes, I'm feeling weird without her around, that feeling of loneliness is creeping into me...Which is good, I supposed. She always feel so good when I tell her "I miss you". This has proven that the phrase "Absence makes the heart grow fonder" is true. We only truly cherish people who are away from our heart.

For my friends who are heart-broken at this particular time, I say... sometimes it is good for us that we don't get things that we want. When we have it, our world collapses. Sometimes, friends are better off as friends, better than having them as lovers. Sometimes, it is better to leave that thing or someone alone, for it looks better from afar. Once we zoomed in, we see flaws and starts to criticise, which is no good.

Have time to feel lonesome, only then will we cherish the people whom we always take for granted for.

Are you lonesome tonight
-first sang by Elvis Presley
-words & lyrics by Roy Turk and Lou Handman

Marcus XA
YNWA @ 4:20 PM

Have you ever experience times when everything just go against you at the same time?
You must have and I bet you must be feeling frustrated everytime that happens.
Sometimes, you can have 5 things going wrong for you on the same night. Sometimes, you can have 5 things going wrong for you when you just wake up in the morning.
Tonight, many things went wrong for me and I feel I need to cool down. Even as I wrote this, something unpleasant happened again.

Channelnewsasia was showing shots of the first S-League's match between Young Lions and Albirex and guess what happened? They never show the goals being score again! They only reported that S-League match season has started and there was 4,000 fans at the stadium. They showed 2 misses and never tell you what was the final score! Thank God I have the S-League website to inform me about the score. Otherwise, a Singaporean won't know what is there own Football League score. This is already the second time, it previously happened for the match between Singapore and Denmark.
Cool down cool down marcus...

Alright, first time first... I was supposed to go to watch the first S-League match but was hesistant to ask my bro because I thought I wanted to accompany Cindy at night as she will be leaving for KL tomorrow. In the end, I didn't go and I stayed at home, only to be made frustrated with that lousy pc that I own. I can't blog with my own pc! I am using Cindy's pc now,fyi. I was told that because of the anti-virus software that is installed in my pc, the firewall may have prevented me to visit some sites. Ok, so I proceeded with uninstalling my anti-virus. Still, can't blog, can't go to hotmail, can't upload photos. In the end, I have to reinstall my anti-virus but I don't have the License keys to reinstall. Damn! I put that aside and went about exploring other options in my internet setting but was still in vain. Off the bloody pc and my mood swings again.

Mood swing Samples : -
1)Cindy asked me to change her name on her namecard and I was thinking .. "damn, can't you see I'm busy doing something? My handwritting nice means I have to write for you huh? somemore alot of namecards to write leh, why didn't your company gives you a new set of namecard with your name on it?!"
2)Cindy said to me "do you know i didn't eat dinner?"
Marcus replied "why didn't you buy something for yourself since you bought dinner for me? you asked for it!"

I cool down after that, off all pc, watched the repeat of the Oscars. Cindy asked me "don't understand why you always like to watch award's shows..." I was thinking "only you don't like to watch, some many people loves to watch you know?" Alas, I didn't say lah... I was trying to cool down you see... Tried to say sorry to her and let her hit me, but to no avail. Sigh... In the end, decided I should write a sorry note and stick it on the mirror. Hope she sees it when she wakes up later.

You know, recently, my sis took my car for spray paint and I must say the car looks new but when you go into details and check out the car, it is really horrible. There were tar everywhere and I decided at 1225am, go and remove it. I saw my credit card bill on the table as I was going to my car and was annoyed to find out 3 transactions on the bill why I seriously didn't know what they were. Frustrated and always want to make things right at that moment, I went Online banking and referred to all my past spending receipts but no success. Still don't know how that 3 transactions came about. I called the card center but was greeted by so many "Press 1 if you want to enquiry about credit card, blah blah blah..." Put down the phone and decided to cool down and think again about the transactions. BINGO! As I cooled down, I remembered I paid the AVA for my dogs' license and the TV license with my credit card online. See, cooling down works!

So off I went to my car to remove the tar. Use the car washer, failed. Try Lysol, failed. The more I rub, the more tar appears. Use my bare fingers, seems to work but the friction gonna scratch all my skins out! In fact, I know that using thinner is the best way. I could have waited for tomorrow to get the stuffs and remove the tar. But being a super impatient and persistent person I am, I went for the last hope in my boot, the car polisher. BINGO! All the tar were removed in no time.

When I went into the house, it was already around 115am. I was greeted by my mum, asking me how to settle the credit bill which she has incurred using the supp card that I gave her. I was thinking "damn, I thought you said you wanted to settle the payment by yourself, why come and bother me at this hour?!" Cool down then told her "oh, you can go straight to the bank counter and tell them, I want to pay this bill." Done. My day is finally over.

Lesson 1 : Sleep early lah, then things won't go wrong for you after midnight.
Lesson 2 : Don't be impatient and too persistent to try to get things done on the spot!
Lesson 3 : Don't take Cindy for granted. Stop stepping on her when she already wants to give way to you!
Lesson 4 : Mai Gan Cheong, relak lah!

As I continue this journey during LENT, I guess today's lesson will probably teach me how to become a better person. Peace be with all of you, Amen!

Marcus XA
YNWA @ 1:23 AM

4th March 2006
============
WBA 0-2 Chelsea X
Sigh... WBA will hold on till the 60minute before Chelski finally break their fans and all EPL fans hearts. Always the case. Hope I'm wrong though...
(final score : 1-2 Damn Kanu, last 2 mins still score for what, or else my prediction will be spot on)

Aston Villa 2-0 Portsmouth X
Poor Old Pompey, with their injuries mounting and their players not gelling, they look destined for the drop.
(final score : 1-0)

Fulham 1-1 Arsenal X
Arsenal's poor away form will continue. Reyes will just do just enough to save 1 point for Wenger.
(final score : 0-4)

Middlesbrough 2-1 Birmingham X
(final score : 1-0)

Newcastle 1-1 Bolton X
(final score : 3-1)

West Ham 2-0 Everton X
West Ham has looked really exciting at home this season. They play their game at such at a high tempo and I can't see Everton's ageing central defenders stopping the pace of Harewood, the trickery of Benayoun and the strength of Ashton.

The Hammers gonna "HAMMER" the blue half of Merseyside.
(final score : 2-2 Harewood & Ashton scored but the Hammers' defence wasn't up to the mark.)

Liverpool 2-0 Charlton X
(Sigh final score 0-0 and Nando only played the last 10 mins)

Having being shown how to score a goal by Kewell, Nando will finally get on the scoresheet in this game!

5th March 2006
============
Man City 2-1 Sunderland V
(Yes! i actually got this right!)

Tottenham 1-1 Blackburn X
(final score 3-2)

6th March 2006
============
Wigan 2-1 Man United X
(final score 1-2. So cruel on Wigan. Chimbonda was the best player on the night and he has the misfortune of scoring a last minute own goal that put United back on 2nd again! Damn!)
I went for 2-1 in the Carling Cup Final prediction and I'm still going for the same score. Wigan maybe rubbish in the final, but they are gonna turn the heat up in the EPL at the JJB stadium!C'mon Wigan!

Wigan is out for revenge after the 4-0 humiliation!

Marcus XA
YNWA @ 1:38 PM

It's frustrating when I checked the cable's programme list and don't see Spain's match being shown. Sigh... When Supersports can actually show the La Liga matches, they can't be bothered to get Spain's matches shown. Anyway, Spain managed to keep the Monkey cum Frog Face (drogba) quiet. They should heck his leg man! Ha... Anyway, thanks to the Arsenal's combination, Fabregas got a great game, making the first goal for Villa, while Reyes got the 2nd with a superb shot from just outside the penalty box. While over at Anfield, Crouch got to England's rescue with a goal that he almost jump as high as 3metres before nodding the ball into the net! Carragher was play out of position on the left and I think Rio was crap! Carra should play with Terry in the middle. So here you go... good wins for both my favourite teams!

Marcus XA
YNWA @ 10:24 PM

Palestine 1-0 Singapore
Fahed Attal 75
(Amman International Stadium, JORDAN)

Oh no, the Lions has lost to Palestine. But they remained in 2nd position in Group E. In the other group's match, Iraq got their first win, beating China 2-1 in their "home" game which was played in UAE.

Marcus XA
YNWA @ 4:05 PM

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Season of Lent. This Season of Lent is a period of 40 days which lead us to East Sunday. During this 40 days, Catholic are reminded to do penance, reflection, and fasting which prepares them for Christ's Resurrection on Easter Sunday, through which Catholics attain redemption.

Why Catholics receive the ashes
=========================

Following the example of the Nine vites, who did penance in sackcloth and ashes, a Catholic forehead is marked with ashes to humble our hearts and reminds us that life passes away on Earth.

We remember this when we are told
"Remember, Man is dust, and unto dust you shall return."



Ashes are a symbol of penance made sacramental by the blessing of the Church, and they help us develop a spirit of humility and sacrifice.

The distribution of ashes comes from a ceremony of ages past. Christians who had committed grave faults performed public penance.

On Ash Wednesday, the Bishop blessed the hair shirts which they were to wear during the forty days of penance, and sprinkled over them ashes made from the palms from the previous year.

Then, while the faithful recited the Seven Penitential Psalms, the penitents were turned out of the church because of their sins -- just as Adam, the first man, was turned out of Paradise because of his disobedience.

The penitents did not enter the church again until Maundy Thursday after having won reconciliation by the toil of forty days' penance and sacramental absolution.

Later, all Christians, whether public or secret penitents, came to receive ashes out of devotion.

Where do the Ashes come from?
=======================

The ashes are made from the blessed palms used in the Palm Sunday celebration of the previous year. The ashes are christened with Holy Water and are scented by exposure to incense. While the ashes symbolize penance and contrition, they are also a reminder that God is gracious and merciful to those who call on Him with repentant hearts. His Divine mercy is of utmost importance during the season of Lent, and the Church calls on us to seek that mercy during the entire Lenten season with reflection, prayer and penance.



That's me after I attended the Mass to celebrate Ash Wednesday. See the ash on my forehead!

Marcus XA
YNWA @ 1:40 PM