It has been a mixture of good and bad news for my favourite MLS team, D.C. United, over the past few days. Last Thursday night they beat the hated MetroStars 2-0 at Giants Stadium - but lost their top goalie, Nick Rimando, for the rest of the season with a anterior cruciate ligament injury.
Last night the MetroStars came to RFK Stadium, and even though they had a man sent off in a foul filled game, they scored a last minute goal and escaped with a 1-1 draw. To make matters worse, D.C. lost midfielder Ben Olsen for the rest of the season to a medial collateral ligament injury.
Over this side of the pond, my beloved Villa deserved at least a draw with "Chelski", but lost 1-0, whilst the hated enemy across the city moved up to fourth in the league. Villa's next away game is against that hated enemy, and after two humiliating defeats last season, I will accept nothing less than a win.
In hockey news the Caps lost their second preseason game against the Red Wings 4-3 on Thursday night - mainly due to penalty trouble and poor penalty killing as a consequence of that. The Caps were also beaten 2-1 by the Penguins on Saturday night. The Flyers are up next on Wednesday night.
It's not due out until November 4th, but I decided to head on over to Amazon to pre-order my copy of Afterglow today - Sarah McLachlan's first new album for six years. If the brilliant first single, Fallen, is an indication of things to come, then it should be well worth the wait!
I received an e-mail yesterday afternoon from the Project Manager for the French Space Agency. Apparently, I've listed their domain name in the September version of my Anti-Spam Protection File. Oops! It'll be removed for the October update. I didn't know the French even had their own space agency!
The official National Hockey League website has a great season preview on the Caps today. Their consensus seems to be the same as mine: a great offence but a shaky defence, and not a lot of NHL proven talent to fill the gaps should the Caps have injury problems. It's sure going to be an interesting season.
The Millennial Abyss is one of the best Millennium fan sites on the web. I love Millennium, and I yearn for all three seasons to be released on DVD. 20th Century Fox are currently conducting an online poll into what shows fans would most like to see released on DVD. Naturally, Millennium was my first choice.
Thanks to an Angel hat trick - the first of his Villa career - Villa made it safely through to the third round of the Carling Cup last night by hammering Wycombe 5-0. Villa's next game is against Chelsea away from home. I'd be ecstatic with a win, but given Villa's terrible away form, I'll be happy with a draw.
In their third preseason game on Sunday, the Caps beat the Penguins 4-2. The Caps' next preseason exhibition game is tomorrow against the Red Wings at MCI Center. After that they play the Penguins and the Flyers again, and Carolina twice, before the season opener against the Islanders on October 9th.
The Caps got their preseason off to a great start with a 5-2 win over the Red Wings in Detroit on Friday night. They didn't fair too well against the Flyers last night, though, and lost 4-2 in a bruising encounter between the two teams. The Caps face the Penguins tonight in the third of their preseason games.
In football, Villa edged past Charlton 2-1, keeping their 100% home record intact. Villa play Wycombe next in the second round of the Carling Cup on Tuesday night. Over the other side of the pond, D.C. United lost 1-0 in overtime to L.A. Galaxy. D.C. face archrivals the MetroStars next on Thursday night.
It had all started so well. A revitalised Angel notched another goal, and Villa were, deservedly, 1-0 up at half time against Manchester City. Then it all started going horribly wrong, and for whatever reason, they lost the game 4-1. I couldn't quite believe it myself, and I suspect David O'Leary couldn't either.
At least things were better over the other side of the pond where D.C. United earned a big 2-1 home win against Western Conference power San Jose Earthquakes. San Jose, along with Colorado, has already qualified for the playoffs, and D.C. aren't that far from doing so either now. What a turn around, eh?
After an unsettling offseason that saw a veteran defenseman leave (Ken Klee) and one retire (Calle Johansson) - and no one replacing them - along with persistent Jagr trade rumours, and no major trades, the Caps started training camp last Friday. The 03-04 hockey season starts next month, and I can't wait!
According to this CNN article, if her projected path holds true, Hurricane Isabel could make a bit of a mess when she hits the U.S. East Coast on Thursday. I guess the only thing people can do is prepare as best they can and hope for the best. Hopefully, Isabel won't be as bad as she's being made out to be.
I've recently discovered two great sci-fi shows airing late night on Sky One. The first is Haunted. It's about a former police detective - now working as a private eye - who can see ghosts, which in turn enable him to solve cases. It's basically a cross between the Sixth Sense (a great movie) and the X-Files.
Sadly, only ten episodes were produced (the last of which aired on Thursday) before UPN axed it. The second show I'm loving is Dark Angel. Created by James Cameron and Charles Eglee, it's about a female soldier called Max, a genetically engineered human prototype hunted by her former military creators.
Again, it was axed (this time by Fox) after two seasons, despite James Cameron himself directing the final episode. Thankfully, both Season 1 and Season 2 are available to buy on DVD, so when my bank balance can take the blow (which maybe never if someone doesn't give me a decent job soon), I'll purchase both.
Interestingly enough, Dark Angel is the third sci-fi show I've seen that is set in Seattle, USA (the other two being John Doe and Millennium). Why is that? Just coincidence? If anyone reading knows, I'd be interested to hear from you. And whilst I'm asking questions, why do Fox keep axing such great shows?
It has been two years since that fateful day - September 11th 2001 - and I can still remember exactly where I was, and what I was doing when those hateful killers attacked America. Today we remembered all those who lost their lives that day. I don't think I'll ever forget that day - I don't think anyone will.
I booked my driving test today. It's on January 6th 2004. Yes, that's right - next year. It's not too far away, and from what I'm told it could have been worse, but four months is quite a while. I might be able to get an earlier date if someone cancels, so I'll just have to phone every now and then and try my luck.
I first came across this story on Charlie's site. It's absolutely outrageous that the RIAA filed a lawsuit against a 12 year old girl for downloading music. If you ask me, their pathetic heavy-handed approach is way over the top, and I firmly believe it will do them - and the industry - more harm than good in the end.
I think I'm slowly turning into a Sci-Fi channel junkie! After watching John Doe last night, I stayed up till 3am this morning to watch the awful Interceptor Force. However, the fact that it was so awful also made it quite hilarious, so I rather enjoyed it. I can't wait to see the sequel, which I'm sure is just as funny!
I still haven't managed to find a "proper" job yet. I've sent off more applications, and I'm listed with several agencies, so hopefully something will come up soon - preferably before Christmas. The thought of having the spend another Christmas at my current place of work is just unbearable!
You know you're reading a great novel when it keeps you up till 3am. I finished the other half of Darkest Fear last night (well, early this morning, actually) and thoroughly enjoyed it - great ending. I can't wait for Harlan's next novel, Gone For Good, (which I ordered yesterday) to arrive later this week.
I'm constantly amazed by the many different subscribers to my Anti-Spam Updates service. There are subscribers from U.S., U.K. and Australian universities and schools, U.S. and Australian government departments, big multi-national companies, and even the U.S. military! See what I mean? Amazing.
In sports news an injury hit England just about managed to beat Macedonia 2-1 yesterday (hence there were no Premiership games), and D.C. United beat L.A. Galaxy, last years MLS champions, also by a score of 2-1. D.C. are now solidly back in contention for a spot in this years playoffs.
I'm currently half way through a novel called Darkest Fear. It's by one of my favourite authors, Harlan Coben, and it's mighty fine read. So fine in fact, I've just ordered another one of his novels, Gone For Good, from Amazon! He's one of the best, if not the best, crime writers there is at the moment.
I've had Armin Van Buuren's debut album, 76, on rotation for the past few days, and I can tell you without a doubt that Never Wanted This is the best track on the album. Actually, the whole album is great, but that particular track is the stand out track for me. Do grab a copy of the album if you can.
Great news! Thanks to Angela's excellent site, I've just found out that one of my favourite female singers is back! After a six year hiatus, Sarah McLachlan, is releasing a brand new album called Afterglow on November 4th. The first single lifted from the album is called Fallen, and it's absolutely superb.
I watched sci-fi adventure Mission To Mars on ITV late last night. It was about a mysterious disaster striking the first manned mission to Mars, and a rescue mission organised to search for survivors. It wasn't Oscar winning stuff, but it kept me hooked till the end, and I actually quite liked it.
I ended up watching that movie because ITV decided to squeeze the awful Trial & Retribution 7 into their schedule instead of showing the next episode of Crossing Jordan. I absolutely hate it when they do things like that. Hasn't Lynda La Plante got anything else better to do?
There's some great programs on Sci-Fi at the moment. First up is The Visitor. A series created by the same guys behind the movie Independence Day. It's about an air force pilot, Adam MacArthur, who mysteriously disappears over the Bermuda Triangle, only to appear 50 years later totally unchanged.
And then there's John Doe. It's about a man who knows everything - except his own name. This series has particularly impressed me - a great concept and brilliantly written. As is the way with sci-fi shows in the US, John Doe was cancelled after one season, and The Visitor after 13 episodes!
It's great news that the FBI have caught at least one person behind the recent Blaster worm. But what would be really great is if they caught the person(s) who wrote the Sobig.F virus. Did I ever show you this picture of my inbox full of junk e-mail caused by Sobig.F? At least it's not as bad now as it was then!
I received Armin Van Buuren's debut artist album in the post today. It's called 76, and it's rather good, so click the link to pre-order it from Amazon now! The best tracks on the album for me are Never Wanted This, Wait For You, and Burned With Desire. This CD will be in my player for quite a while I'm sure.
Finally, in what is hopefully a sign of things to come, Aston Villa beat Leicester 3-1 on Saturday, with Angel scoring two goals! More of the same please lads! Meanwhile, over the other side of the pond, despite going a goal down, D.C. United beat the El Salvador national team in a friendly, also by a score of 3-1.
