What a week.. 9/11, United vs Celtic and New Super Mario Bros

Well, it’s been an interesting week. Here’s a rundown in no particular order... United met Celtic for the first time in a competitive game, my copy of the “New Super Mario Bros” for the DS arrived; and finally the Western world went into emotional overdrive over 9/11.

Let’s start with 9/11. I don’t mean to come across as uninterested or indeed unsympathetic. But I found the endless documentaries, re-enactments and in short the TV exposure, an overkill of what was a terrible event that happened over 5 years ago. Anyway, why now after 5 years? What about last year or the year before? The whole thing stank of coerced consumer sympathy; it was nothing but TV filler.

What was more important, and something The Independent picked up on, was the aftermath, the consequences of 9/11. I’ll quote some of the figures for anyone whose unlucky enough not to have had the opportunity…

77% of people in UK think Blair & Bush fucked up, $8bn is amount the US will spend in its hunt for Osama Bin Laden, and most importantly 72,000 estimated number of civilians killed world wide since 9/11 as a result of the war on terror.

So forgive me, if I am not going to shed crocodile tears. I’m sorry for the loss of life, but move on… deal with the fuck ups that we’re facing now as a result of the misguided policies carried out in our name by our governments.

On Wednesday, United faced Celtic in the group stage of the Champions League. The atmosphere at Old Trafford was electric, the pitch looked magnificent and it was quite clear that it was going to be a special night. The football did not disappoint. For the first 15 to 20mins there wasn’t much urgency in United’s play. It wasn’t until Celtic scored (I dare not try and attempt to write the striker’s name – see the match report!), that United lifted themselves. The first half ended with both sides drawing 2-2, goals coming from Saha for United and a stunning freekick from Nakamura for Celtic.

However, thanks to Gravesen and Solsjaker, normal service was resumed and United regained the lead within 2mins of the re-start. So what can I make from this high scoring game? Were United really poor defensively or did Celtic play above themselves??? I guess this afternoon’s game against the GOONERS will provide answers to those questions.

Finally!!! My copy of New Super Mario Bros arrived on Sat, and it’s superb. You might have noticed that I have been waxing lyrical about the addictiveness and playability of LocoRoco on my PSP. Well, the New Super Mario Bros is just as amazing, from gameplay, graphics and the sound. WOW.