Page-tuners.

Taking a break from sport & music to write a little about the books on my reading lists.

Just finished: 
Victoria Williamson - You are the music
Great book about how music reveals our humanity. Dr Vicky Williamson's book highlights the power of music through the lifecourse - beginning in-utero.  Apparently listening to Mozart doesn't make you smarter (sorry). The book talks about music and health, music and memory, our old friend the 'ear-worm' aka the 'song stuck in your head', and much more.  Really enjoyable read - her website is great too.

Nick Cater - The Lucky Culture
A fascinating point of view about Australian History & culture.I did find it worthwhile reading though I didn't agree with everything (his view on the ABC; and the environmental movement being two examples).

Reading:
Tara Moss - The Fictional Woman (most of the way through this now, and will write more of my thoughts in a separate post once I've finished).
Phil Rees - Dining with Terrorists

To Read
Kerry-Anne Walsh - The Stalking of Julia Gillard - another take on the PM'ship of Gilliard.
Mark Isaacs - The Undesirables (Inside Nauru) 
Les Murray - The World Game
Jang Jin-Sung - Dear Leader
Fiona Scott-Norman (ed) - Bully for them. (some famous Australians talk about their experiences in school).
Rob Oakeshott - The Independent Member for Lyne

Talking sport...

Super XV

• Congrats to the Waratahs reaching their first(?) Super Rugby Final - to be played in Sydney next Saturday night. Sadly - they're playing at Homebush. Would be better off to play at SFS, yep smaller crowd but definitely a better atmosphere. Their opponents are the Crusaders who eliminated the Sharks with a 38-6 win.  The Waratahs deserve to start favourites, and have handled that tag reasonably well. 

AFL

• So, the order of the top four is definitely not certain; given Sydney play Port Adelaide (Essendon is another danger game for them); Hawthorn to play Geelong & Fremantle; Geelong tackle Fremantle & Hawthorn, Port Adelaide play Sydney & Fremantle. Fremantle have the toughest run playing Hawthorn, Geelong and Port Adelaide. The game (& margin) between Fremantle & Port Adelaide is most likely going to determine who finishes fourth. 
• My top eight prediction is (in order) Sydney, Geelong, Hawthorn, Port Adelaide, Fremantle, Essendon, Adelaide, North Melbourne.
• It's just as tough at the bottom with five teams, North Melbourne, Essendon, Adelaide, Collingwood, & Gold Coast battling for the three spots in the eight. I think you can now draw a line through the Gold Coast after their last two losses. 
• After the game between Sydney & Hawthorn, they are now the favourites to win the flag - I lean slightly to Hawthorn, but I'm hoping the Swans learn the lessons from last nights game and reverse the result. If Hawthorn win the flag, it will be one of their best given the events of the season. 

NRL

• Great win by Newcastle against the Roosters - one of their best in recent years. 
• Warriors are out of the eight on percentage - was always going to be hard without Johnson. 
• Sea Eagles are clear favourites for the title now. Top of the table, second best differential (+130). 

The Voice - Finale...

So, the winner of 'The Voice, 2014' was Anja Nissen.  Always felt it would be one of the singers from Team Will or Team Ricky. My pick was Jackson though. That said, the there were some great singers on the show this year - I can't wait to hear more from each of them.  Did they ditch the performance of the winners single?

My favourite moments from the show, were, Clown sung by Thando & Candice, I Know Him So Well sung by Megan & Brittanie; Strong sung by Robbie & Jackson.  Anja's version of His Eye Is On The Sparrow, John Lingaird's I Will Follow You into Dark, Jackson's When the War is Over, Gabriel & Cecilia's I Dreamed a Dream & Smells Like Teen Spirit.

Now changing the channel and jumping to the X-Factor :) 

Talking sport...

AFL (First half of round 18)

• Fascinating round - North's inconsistency hurts them, Geelong and Power survive big scares.  But the upset of the season was the Saints thumping Fremantle. Hard to know what to make of that game. 
• Looking forward to the Swan's game against Hawthorn next Saturday.  Sydney would be favourites for the Minor Premiership if they win this game. I think the two danger games they have left are against Essendon & Port Adelaide. Though perhaps the lesson from this weekend is that every game is a danger game. 
• AFL is an international game - with the International Cup Tournament being played during August. Should be fascinating to keep an eye on. The Men's Final is being played at the MCG prior to the Geelong-Hawthorn game; and the Women's Final is at Punt Road (both on Aug 23).

NRL

• Warriors lost a close & exciting game to Brisbane this weekend - still in the eight & a win from the top four. 
• The Titan's didn't read the script for the weekend. 
• Barring major surprises - only three teams are out of the running for the finals - Newcastle, Cronulla & Canberra. Though a number of teams need to keep winning big to make up their points differential. 
• Looking at the ladder - I think suspect Manly, the Roosters & the Rabbitohs are the front-runners for the competition. With eight rounds to go a lot can happen. 

Super XV

• Gallant performances from the Highlanders & Chiefs this weekend, but ultimately both are eliminated. The finals next weekend are Waratahs v Brumbies & Crusaders v Sharks.

Talking sport

A little late, but I've got there...

AFL

• Not a fan of the split round.  
• Given their big win over the Magpies, Essendon are keeping the pressure up on the Gold Coast.  The Round 22 match between Essendon and Gold Coast will likely determine which of them makes the eight. The pressure is on the Suns to learn how to win without Ablett. Would be a shame if the Suns play their first final without Ablett.
• Collingwood is also in danger of slipping out of the eight if they can't find their form. Maxwell's retirement may just push them on.
• If the Swans beat the Hawks at the MCG (next weekend) it will be a club record 13th win in a row. 
• Fremantle will be happy with the focus & talk centered on the Swans.  At the beginning of the year they were my pick and with their draw, I'm predicting them to finish 1st or 2nd.   

NRL

• Really impressive win by the Warriors - given the tightness of the competition at the moment I am hoping they can put pressure on the teams above them and secure a top 4 finish.
• Penrith are equal first with Manly, and may be top come the end of the season. With the ladder as it stands, the loser in week 1 of the finals, won't really want to play any of the winners from the other games (a lot of the favourites are down the bottom of the eight). 

SuperXV

• The NSW Waratahs topped the table and play the lower ranked winner from this weekend's matches between the Brumbies (4th) & Chiefs (5th) and the Sharks (3rd) & Highlanders (6th). While the Crusaders play the higher ranked winner. Suspect the Waratahs will play the Brumbies next weekend, while the Sharks will travel to Christchurch - but anything can happen :)

Ten from Jars of Clay

It is now over 20 years since Jars of Clay's first self-titled album.  Jars of Clay are one of my favourite bands.. Dan Haseltine has a unique voice, and a gift for songwriting. They are also a band that has been growing and evolving.  Though lots of people loved their first album, they haven't tried to replicate it, they've moved & grown.  Thought I'd write about my favourite 10 Jars of Clay songs. If you haven't heard them, have a listen.

(1) World's Apart (Jars of Clay)
Not only my favourite Jars of Clay song, but close to my favourite song. The words & music work perfectly together. The phrase "All said and done I stand alone,  Amongst remains of a life I should not own, It takes all I am to believe, In the mercy that covers me", resonates to the core of my soul. The way the song builds both lyrically and musically is amazing.

(2) Shelter (Shelter)
This song says everything you need to know about what it means to be in a community -"And the tears aren't ours alone / Let them fall into the hands that hold us".  We live in the Shelter of each other. The Christian is not called to running solo but called into community.

(3) Faith Enough (Who We Are Instead)
Perhaps inspired by the Ernest Hemingway story Farewell to Arms. The quote goes “The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places. But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially. If you are none of these you can be sure it will kill you too but there will be no special hurry.” A reminder, that while our world (and our lives) are broken, we often become stronger through these experiences.

(3) Light Gives Heat (Good Monsters)
Love the children's voices at the beginning, and its another song with a powerful message highlighting that love is linked with action, like light & heat. One of my favourite lines - 'Heroes from the west
We don't know you, we know best'. Reminiscent of the line from Miss Saigon - 'I'm an Westerner, [sic], how could I fail to do good'.  The West often looks at the world and jumps in to solve problems it doesn't understand.

(4) Headphones (The Long Fall Back to Earth)
Perhaps one of the sadder songs Jars of Clay has written, touching on our disconnection with the world (and each other). Features another of my favourite singers - Katie Herzig. Love the line - 'We watch television...but the sound is something else, Just a song played against the drama, so the hurt is never felt'.  We'll just leave the world and disappear into our 'sugar-coated' music.

(5) Boys (Lesson One) (The Long Fall Back to Earth)
Since I have become a father, this song has taken on so much more to me.  The song is advice from a father to his son. Lesson One - being do not hide, face the consequences. The section which hits me is  'And there will be liars, And thieves who take from you, Not to undermine the consequence, But you are not what you do, And when you need it most, I have a hundred reasons why I love you'.

(6) Oh My God (Good Monsters)
Oh My God is one of Haseltine's best lyrics. This song is about how we call out to God, and how God is not afraid of questions, in fact He wants us to call on Him. This is what Job does and what the Psalmist does - crying out to God from where they are.

(7) Needful Hands (Furthermore)
One of my favourites from their album Furthermore, featuring songs recorded live or acoustically in the studio. It is another song which recognises our position before God.

(8) The Edge of Water (The Eleventh Hour)
Love the lyrics to this - its a song about longing. Longing for restoration, longing for everything to make sense, longing to understand God. The song highlights the authenticity of Haseltine's lyrics. He asks his questions and reflects his prayers and doubts.

(9) Frail (Much Afraid)
Authentic is the word to use about Jars of Clay.  Frail is another beautifully authentic song. I love the acoustic version found on Furthermore too. The acoustic recording underlines the lyric.

(10) Love in the Hard Times (Inland)
Love in Hard Times expresses beautifully the tension within relationships. Powerful and human lyric. The album is one of Jar's best lyrically.

The Voice Lives #3

So the five in the final are,  Jackson, Frank, ZK, Johnny and Anja (who was the Home-Coach save).

Mind you listening to all of the performances last night - wow, there wasn't much between any of them. It's been said many times, each of these artists are taking the next step of their journey, there's only going to be winner this year, but each of the artists, have gained exposure during the show.

Last night, I loved the performances from Jackson, Kat & Holly. My favourite duet was Holly with Frank and Jackson with Sabrina.

Finding it hard to pick a winner - but I'm leaning to Jackson. (Take a bow Kylie, who was the only one to turn around for him).  All of these artists left would be great winners. Beyond that, I'm looking forward to seeing their shows & listening to their albums.

And that was that...

Yesterday morning Germany was crowned as the World Champions defeating Argentina in the final.  Now the dust has settled, the best team for the tournament won. While Messi didn't set the final alight, he certainly carried Argentina to the final. Probably a fair choice for the Golden Ball winner. Though the stage at the final is probably not the place to award the Golden Ball & Golden Glove.

Still find the size of Germany's win over Brazil hard to believe. Was also disappointed with Holland. Felt that if they played like they did in the third place play-off they would have won their Semis. Can't believe that Holland with Van Persie, Robben & Schneider could not manage a goal in two hours of football against Costa Rica & Argentina, even allowing for some goalkeeping heroics.

For me, Rodriguez's goal v Uruguay is the Goal of the Tournament, inching out Cahill.

Bring on the Women's World Cup in 2015.

Hooked on some new sounds.

Two new EPs  which I've been hooked on - Andrew Osenga's Soul EP & Lizzie Marvelly's Collisions.

I just received Andrew Osenga's new EP - Soul and I'm hooked. Just beautiful songs, Andrew is a super talented musician, love both is guitar playing & his lyrical expression.  Looking forward to his remaining three EPs (Flesh, Bone & the an EP of covers).

I'd already heard two songs, from Lizzie Marvelly's Collisions - My Own Hero & Generation Young which are songs about empowerment - both videos powerfully bring the message home.  I think my favourite song is 'Glory Days'.  What I love is the authenticity in both her voice and her songwriting. I'm looking forward for the video (for Collisions), and hopefully down the track a visit to Australia.

The Voice 2014 - Lives Wk 2&3

Two weeks to go... 

The final eight are: Sabrina, Jackson (Team Ricky);  Anja / ZK (Team Will), Holly / Frank (Team Joel), and Kat / Johnny (Team Kylie).

Really sad to Gabriel and Cecilia & Robbie Balmer go.  Gabriel & Cecilia 's arrangements of I Dreamed a Dream & Smells Like Teen Spirit were stunning.

But, as I've said, at the moment it's all about taste. I'm predicting the final four to be Sabrina, Frank, Kat & Anja.  I suspect the winner is going to be either Jackson or Sabrina (the surprise could be Kat). We'll see though.

I haven't got into the Kids version yet.  Not sure why, but something about it doesn't sit right with me.

Talking sport ...

NRL

• Who would have thought that Cronulla would come from over 20 points down two weeks in a row.  (This week was 0-24, against the Roosters) 
• Paul McGregor is doing well at the Dragon, and would be good to see him remain as St. George's Head Coach.
• Origin Three - can NSW complete their first clean sweep in 14 years?  To be fair, all I am hoping is that it is a much better game. 

AFL

• Sydney are top of the Ladder (one game clear of Port Adelaide, Hawthorn, Fremantle & Geelong), after both Port Adelaide and Hawthorn lost to Essendon and North Melbourne respectively
• The performance of the round was the Sun's win against Collingwood especially considering Ablett was injured and no fresh interchange players. This sort of win, is not only season-defining, but club defining.
• Ablett is out for the season, and may just miss out on the Brownlow.  If he does manage to win it, he will be the first to win (and have missed four or more games). 

Super XV

• The Waratahs are the team to beat, after demolishing the Highlanders in Sydney over the weekend. They've certainly improved a lot from their game against the Hurricanes. 

Wimbledon

• Novak Djokovic won his second title, meaning that 36 of the last 38 Men's Grand Slam Finals have been won by Murray, Nadal, Federer or Djokovic. 

The World Game #3

Here's a recap of the second round

The first quarter final will be between Brazil & Colombia, after Brazil beat Chile 3-2 on penalties (1-1 at full time). Colombia beat Uruguay 2-0. With James Rodriguez (one of the stars of the to(urnament & current leading goal scorer, with 5 goals) scoring both goals. His first quite possibly a new challenger for the best goal of the tournament. Brazil still is looking for its best form,  yet they are doing just enough to win games.

France & Germany play in the 2nd Quarter Final. Both were pushed all the way by Nigeria & Algeria respectively.  The Nigerian Goalkeper made a string of brilliant saves. Germany needed extra-time to score against Algeria, the game finishing 2-1.

The third Quarter final is between Netherlands & Costa Rica.  Costa Rica beating Greece (5-3 on penalties, 1-1 at full time).  Greece had the chances to win, and with a five on two in the last period of extra-time should have settled the game then.  Navas was brilliant with a string of saves keeping the scores level during the match & a stunning save in the penalty shot-out. Mexico pushed the Dutch all the way, with a late penalty settling the match.

The final Quarter-final is between Argentina & Belgium. Both were winners in extra-time. Argentina ending up 1-0 winners over Switzerland, and the Belgium 2-1 winners over the USA. From what I read looks like Howard had an amazing game.

The winners of Quarter Final 1 & 2 play off as do the winners of Quarterfinal 3 & 4. So, I'm tipping Brazil v France & Netherlands v Argentina to be the semis.  However I would not be surprised if Colombia or Belgium got through over their more fancied opponents.

The other notable point from the Round of 16 matches, was the quality of goal-keeping. Enyeama (Nigeria) may have made an error leading to the first goal, but prior (and following) the error he had made some phenomenal saves. Navas (Costa-Rica) made a stunning (and decisive) save in the Penalty Shootout; and is currently the best performing keeper in the tournament. Ochoa (Mexico) was a wall in the game against Brazil. It sounds like Howard kept the USA alive in their match too.

Talking sport...

Super XV

• The Highlanders, Crusaders, Hurricanes are all in the top 6. Hurricanes had a great win over the Crusaders in Wellington. The Waratahs' win against the Brumbies moved them to the top of the Australian conference. Maybe this is their year. All of the South African teams had bye this weekend with South Africa playing Scotland. The Springboks won the test 55-6.  

AFL

• One of the top 10 moments of AFL this weekend
• The Swans won the Sydney Derby, despite switching off after half time. Great having Tippett and McGlynn back. 
• Last year North Melbourne lost a lot of close matches, this year, their hallmark is inconsistency. This year the Kangaroos have beaten Fremantle, Sydney and Port Adelaide away; yet lost to Brisbane over the weekend.
• For most of the first half, it looked like Hawthorn would be in a struggle, but in the 5 minutes just before halftime the Hawks kicked 5 unanswered goals to take a 30pt lead into the main break to effectively kill the contest. The injury to Rioli will be a worry.
• The AFL would be disappointed with the crowd (40-odd thousand), the lowest for 93 years of Carlton-Collingwood matches, not surprisingly the AFL releases a statement today saying 'we are ending this experiment'.

NRL

• Cronulla after 3 scoreless matches; scored 24 points in last 26 minutes of their game against Brisbane. When Cronulla scored the first try, Brisbane lead 22-0.  Can't say I blame the Sharks for parting ways with Carney.
• Warriors had a entertaining win over Penrith, and if St George were to win tonight, the Warriors would remain in the eight. 
• The Knights win two in a row, with a 16-10 win over Parramatta (whose slide down the table continues).

Wimbledon

• Wimbledon is all about Nick Kyrgios this week. He saved 9 match points in his match against Richard Gasquet and won the match in five sets; he then won his third round match on Sat night. This comes on top of an excellent Aus Open. His next opponent is Rafa. Will hopefully be a long match.
• Women's Tournament as always seems to be fairly open, with both Li Na and Serena Williams eliminated.

The Voice 2014 - Lives (Wk 1)

The first week of the Live Shows started on Monday night, and I enjoyed Coldplay opening the show with 'A Sky Full of Stars' . I've only had one listen to the album in full (while it was streaming on i-tunes), and I love what I've heard.  Chris Martin is a unique artist and performer.  Will hope to see them when they tour Australia, hopefully in the near future.

On to the show.  During the live shows, the coaches save one singer, the public vote determines the singer eliminated.

Team Will: Gabriela & Cecilia saved. They really have something special, and are now my favourite on TeamWill. ZK's performance of 'With or Without You' was the most disappointing , probably because I love the song, and thought that they could have done more with the song.

Team Kylie: Johnny saved. Can't split Kat, John Lingard and Robbie Balmer. Sad to see any of these go.

Team Joel: Frank Loukadis saved. Taila & Holly were both great, and I want to hear more from them too.

Team Ricky: Jackson saved (he's my favourite on Team Ricky, though Sabrina is a close-second).

I am finding Joel and Kylie's team the hardest to pick. Probably because the majority of my favourite singers are now on their teams.  In term of the coaches Kylie is my favourite, primarily because she has been the best at picking songs to make her team shine. In both the battle round (Brittanie & Megan, Jackson & Robbie, Candice & Thando - still for me the performance of the show, and Hayley & Kat) and the first round of the Live shows.

Watching the way the audience votes will be interesting. Can someone do a "warmest final four" based on social media mentions & i-tunes downloads.

World Cup #2

Second round is filled with intriguing match ups...

Brazil v Chile
Colombia v Uruguay

France v Nigeria
Germany v Algeria

--

Netherlands v Mexico
Greece v Costa Rica

Argentina v Switzerland
USA v Belgium

As for favourites, the easy answer is Brazil, but they haven't completely convinced me yet.  It could well be the year for a European team to finally win a World Cup title outside of Europe.

Will be watching Colombia & Mexico with interest.  Mexico has been impressive given the team was within 90 seconds of not reaching the play-off against NZ. Colombia, one of the real dark-horses, & provided one of the moments of the tournament, when the 43 year old Goalkeeper Faryd Mondragon came on as a substitute (the oldest player in the World Cup's History).

So excited for Algeria too.  I suspect given the events of 1982 Germany will be nervous. Not only did Algeria beat (West) Germany, but Austria and Germany played out a result which meant both qualified, at the expense of Algeria. As a result, from 1986 the last group matches are played simultaneously.

The tournament, to date has the greatest number of goals scored in the first stage, 136 in 48 matches (average of 2.8 per match).

For me the disappointment of the tournaments are the Asian sides (0 wins, 3 draws, 9 losses; 9 goals in 12 games, 25 agst). Japan had enough chances to win their games but lacked a killer instinct in front of goal. Australia similarly were not able to land the chances they had. The Socceroos have been improving but they still have a little way to go you'd mark them as favourites for the Asian Cup.

Review: A Country too far - Writings on asylum seekers (ed Rosie Scott & Tom Keneally)

This anthology of writing is an act of imagining the lives of others, and as such is an act of compassion as holy as any. It is an act designed to make sure we do not stop ourselves from imagining , properly and in every human detail, the plight of asylum-seekers in this country.  And it is an act designed to make sure that we do not stop there: that we do something. We need to honour our obligations to them, and to ourselves. (Anne Funder)

I've just finished reading 'A Country too far' a collection of of short stories, memoirs, poetry and essays ... including contributions from some of  Australia's best known writers; Les Murray, Christos Tsiolkas, Anne Funder and Elliot Perlman (to name a few), which challenge some of the assumptions held about the world of asylum seekers.

The book adds a different perspective and language to the debate around asylum seekers. A number of the inclusions highlight their own family stories, for example Les Murray's contribution highlights his Wife's journey from Hungry to Australia.  The threads which tie the collection together are love and compassion.

The collection certainly highlights for me the contribution fiction can bring to our social and political debates. It is a collection that is worth reading (rereading and passing on), whatever your views on this issue. I know I'll be reading through it again.

Sporting notes

The week in sport less the World Cup.

Cricket

• New Zealand's Blackcaps were outclassed in the Second Test against the West Indies. Impressed by the fight the last few pairs showed to make the West Indies bat a second time. 

NRL

• Origin - NSW wins the series for the first time in 8 years. I get the feeling Cherry-Evans shouldn't have played. From the reports it sounded like a dull but tense game. Next year's series will be really interesting. Am looking forward to the end of the Origin break and the normal schedule of games. 
• Happy to see the Warriors win and potentially breath life into their playoff hopes. 
• The Sharks are the first team, in 106 years to go three games without scoring a point.... (and have been kept scoreless four times this season).
• Looking at the ladder, there's only three games between 3rd and 13th at the moment. Hard to pick a front-runner, but the top four is shaping to be Manly, Roosters, Bulldogs or Souths.

AFL

• Not a great game on Friday but importantly the Swans found a way to win. I think they've lost their last three games against Richmond at the MCG, so good to have that hoodoo broken.
• Great win by the Suns against Geelong, definitely the biggest win in the club's history, and a statement to both the Bombers & Adelaide - 'catch us if you can'.
• Port's performance on Saturday is why, for me, they are still competition favourites. 
• The Giants beat Carlton and record back-to-back wins for the first time in their history. 
• Not a fan of the Score Review, and the weekend highlighted to me why if it stays the process needs to improve. Arguably the right calls were made in both cases, it is the process for me which needs to change.
• Top eight seems settled, with only positional changes likely.  The Gold Coast are the most vulnerable, but they have, in theory at least, an easier run home than their challenges. 

Union

• Much better first half from the All Blacks (in front 29-6), and running out winners 36-13.  The team have now won 17 consecutive test matches.
• The Wallabies had a much better game too; playing some more attacking rugby.
• Wales gave South Africa a fright with a narrow 30-31 loss.
• England had good news this week with the Under20s winning the World Cup 21-20 over South Africa. The Junior All Blacks finished third.

More ... 

• Catherine Cox retires on a winning note with the Vixens winning the Grand Final. 
• Wimbledon starts tonight ...   

The World Game - Part One

At the time of writing this post. The second round of group matches has finished, and we can say that Spain, Australia and England are going home. Spain, joining Italy (2010) and France (2002) as the most recent World Champions going home after the group stage.

Running through the groups:

Group A: The hosts are through & Cameroon out, and the loser of the match between Mexico & Croatia joins them. Brazil still most likely to top the group. Edit - Brazil are eliminated, if they lose and Croatia & Mexico draw.

Group B: Netherlands & Chile are through - with the loser of that match expected to face Brazil in the second round.

Group C: Given Greece & Japan's draw, Colombia are through to the last 16, and with a win over Greece in their last match, the Ivory Coast will join them.

Group D: Costa Rica has qualified for the last 16. The winner of Italy-Uruguay joins them, a draw puts Italy through. For the first time since 1958 England go home at the end of the group stage.

Group E:  France has virtually qualified. Even if they were beaten by Ecuador, France's goal difference would put them through.

Group F:  Argentina have qualified. Nigeria needs one point to qualify. Iran will qualify if it beats Bosnia and Argentina beats Nigeria.

Group G: All four teams in with a shot of qualifying. Germany & USA will qualify if they draw their final game, Portugal & Ghana both need big wins to make it through

Group H: Belgium qualified for the last 16 with a 1-0 win against Russia. With their 4-2 win over Korea, Algeria look most likely to join them.

Here's the New York Times running through how the teams still in the running can make it through.

At this stage - the Australia-Netherlands match is the game of the tournament.  I lean towards Jones' (USA) goal against Portugal as the goal of the tournament too so far (see here for some other contenders, courtesy of The Age). Costa Rica and Chile are the surprise packets of the tournament. I suspect, very few would have picked either of them to get out of their groups.

After 32 games, there have only been 6 draws. The Brazil-Mexico game was a reminder that Football is a sports where two teams can be scoreless and you've seen a great spectacle. After 32 games, the average goals per game is 2.9. Apparently the highest since 1958.

On Australia, the most impressive thing about the Socceroos is that while they should be proud of their performances, the comments coming from the camp are tinged with disappointment.  They didn't go to Brazil to make up the numbers or compete; they came to compete playing a certain style of Football and to achieve results.  They had chances to get something out of the game with the Netherlands, and were disappointed they didn't.  Looking forward to seeing how they go in next years' Asian Cup.

What I've been listening to?

Here's a look at the new music I've been listening to recently.

I mentioned Broods in my post about New Zealand music.  The duo have a haunting sound. Have a listen to few of their songs here. Love this quote from Daytrotter - 'These songs let us into into a place where we're being worked on, or worked over.'

Just downloaded the The Likes of Us new album - Time Traveler. There was something really fresh about their first album. The Noisetrade description says that The Likes of Us "began as a long distance collaboration between Oklahoma native Benj Heard and Colorado songbird Katrina Stone. As the story goes, the pair stumbled upon an affinity for writing 1940's inspired duets through the process of sending tracks back and forth over the course of a year."

Time Traveler is a beautifully arranged album, and takes the listener on a journey through different musical forms & styles, with the distinctive character being the harmonies of Katrina & Ben's voices.

Katrina & Benj describe the process of making the album as “a beautiful struggle. We make music to take people on the crazy adventures we dream up when we’re sitting in front of a piano, drinking whisky and talking about life. Parts of it are muddy and dirty, parts of it are sunny and bright, the rest of it is whatever you want it to be.” Its the authenticity which grabbed me, and I know that in listening to this more, I'll get drawn to different songs each time I listen. Fallout is one of the songs which really hit me on the first listen. Read more about the album here.

(Would also recommend listening to Katrina's album 'The Happy Ones'. Abandon Ship totally grabbed me the first time through).

Lizzie Marvelly's new EP is out July 4 - if you pre-order now you can download another track 'Collisions'. The EP features already released songs My Own Hero, and Lizzie's rallying cry for her generation - Generation Young.

Here's the video for My Own Hero - which adds to the impact of the song:

The Voice - Last Showdown's and Sing off...

The Showdowns and Sing-offs were always going to disappoint as some of the popular contestants went home. But the thing is the show allows people to hear some great singers, and now, having heard these singers, our part is to keep following and support them. Looking to see when they are playing, share their music on our social media feeds.  The show was another step in their journey & now we are along for the ride.

In the final showdowns the singers who went straight through were ZK, Johnny, Taila & Sabrina, and heading to the sing-offs were Matt, Megan, Holly & Elly. ZK did a beaut version of 'Say Something', Johnny nailed 'All of Me'.

The sing-off groupings were - Megan, Lionel, Robbie (Kylie); Thando, Fely, Elly (Ricky); Soli, Laura-Leigh, Holly (Joel) and Jacob, Juilian, Matt (Will I Am).  None of the coaches decisions surprised me - the four winners were Robbie; Elly, Holly & Matt. I was sad to see Megan, Fely & Thando go, but I have no doubt we will hear more from those three.

My favourite blind auditions were - Emily Rex, Brittanie Shipway, Megan Longhurst, Harry Healy & Jayde Grey. Beth Anderson also was one that lingers too.

The battles which really stood out (and I go back to listen too) are  'The Clown'; 'The Climb', 'I Know Him So Well', 'Strong' & 'Young & Beautiful'.

The Showdown performances I keep listening to are  - 'Burn for You'; 'I Will Follow You into the Dark', 'His Eye is On the Sparrow' & 'Tennis Court'.

Moving forward, the popular view seems to be that #teamwill and #teamricky are the strongest. I think Robbie, John and Isaac are the most likely to challenge Ricky & Will teams. But as in all of these shows it comes down to the song choice and how the public votes.

I wonder if anyone has done a warmest hundred type analysis for social media mention, to predict a favourite.