culture of greed

In the light of Robbie Keane's loan deal to Celtic, where he earns an incredible £65,000 a week, the morality of footballers wages has been in my mind quite a lot. Keane is an excellent player but nobody is worth that amount of money. For that kind of money Keane is morally obliged to score at least five goals a game, do extensive charity work and find a cure for cancer. I don't want to focus solely on Keane, as there are some players on twice that wage in the English Premiership. If I was in a similar position, a top player with the leverage to demand £65,000, I would find myself in a moral dilemma. I could take the wages and look after my family and give most to charity. Or I could make a stand and settle for a more modest wage (say 3 or 4 grand a week, which is still a huge salary) and let the media know about it and why I am doing it. In an ideal world FIFA would impose a maximum wage structure but that's never going to happen. I just hope that someday a brave footballer is going to speak out about this culture of greed and immoral wages. But there is no point in just speaking out about it. You would have to put your money where your mouth is.

John Hughes tribute

John Hughes: director, writer, producer, was a extremely talented artist and I was saddened to hear of his untimely death in August 2009. This is my own tribute to him. It's not since his death that I have come to fully appreciate just how gifted this man was. This creative output during the 1980's and early 1990's is very impressive, including classics such as Planes, Trains and Automobiles and Home Alone, the later being the most commerically successful film which he wrote and produced. But his 1980's teen comedies should not be overlooked. The two which I have seen, The Breakfast Club and Ferris Bueller's Day Off, are both superb. He wrote the script for both films and he seems to be able to powerfully articulate the thoughts and feelings of teenagers: the angst, uncertainty, search for identity, strained relationships with parents and authority figures. Although set in the 1980's the themes are universal and can speak to young people from any generation. The Breakfast Club delves more deeply into these issues, although it has comic moments. Ferris Bueller in general is more lightheatred and fun but has a few poignant and powerful scenes which hit home. The Breakfast Club made me think about my own high school years. In case you don't know The Breakfast Club is about five teenagers who have to spend Saturday morning and some of the afternoon (maybe it should have been called The Brunch Club) together in detention at their high school. The five teenagers fall into different high school social niches: the jock/athelete, the princess, the basketcase, the criminal and the brain. It made me think about what group I belonged to in high school. On reflection I think I was a bit of all five: I was very good at sports but definitely not a jock, people seemed to like me but I was not part of the popular crowd nor did I have many real friends, I was different from most others in my tastes and behaviour but not quite an oddball, I got into some fights and clashes with authority but I was not a menace to society or bad person (although Jackie would disagree), and I did study hard and achieve some good academic results but I was not labelled a brainbox. I guess it is a homage to John Hughes that his films make you think about these things. His last film as a director was Curly Sue, which I've never seen, and apart from writing scripts for one or two films he moved to Illinois and lived as a farmer until his death. John Hughes died of a heart attack in Mahattan, New York while visiting family. Even though he kept a low profile and rarely gave interviews he will be sorely missed. One of my new years resolutions was to marry Rachel McAdams. The other was to watch more John Hughes films and it is something I look forward to greatly. John Hughes 1950 - 2009. Rest in peace.

Glasga wit

I got this story from a friend of a friend works who works in a jobcentre. It's just approaching 9AM and there is a queue of guys outside the jobcentre. The security guard watches them from the door. One dude decides to roll up a joint but in the process spills a handful of canabis onto the ground. The dude and his pal then spent the next five minutes on their hands and knees, scooping up canabis with small plastic forks. The security guard watches on in amusement. When the doors to the jobcentre open all the guys come in and line up, waiting for their name to be called. The security guard wanders over the dude and asks him if he mananged to get back all his 'stuff'. 'Nae man,' answers the dude, 'but I will if I have tae smoke the ground!'