7 Types of Idiot Bosses

...taken from Forbes.

1. The Machiavellian Boss
Diagnosis: Smart, shrewd and ruthless. MB's believe the chair at the top of corporate ladder is theirs by divine right. An MB will rip your heart, slap it in your hand and say, "Nothing personal."
Care and Feeding: Approach with utmost caution. Consider transfer.

2. The Saddistic Boss
Diagnostic: SBs aren't completely clueless and can be devious. An SB loves the sound of weeping, wailing, gnashing of teeth and rending of garments coming from the cubicles outside his or her office.
Care and Feeding: Don't cry or whine, because it only encourages a SB. Walk slumped over with a pained, weight-of-the-world look, pulling your mouth downward. This says that your suffering is intense and that you don't need any more pain heaped upon your little head.

3. The Masochistic Boss
Diagnosis: Warning! MBs can be idiot. Most feel their life and career are complete flops and seek to enroll you in the continuing catastrophe, because misery loves company.
Care and Feeding: Don't bother. MBs have nothing to teach you, and working with one won't boost your career. Flee ASAP.

4. The Paranoid Boss
Diagnosis: Conspiracy theories overwhelm any flicker of intelligence. PBs are reluctant to approve a transfer, because you might "know too much."
Care and Feeding: Set up a meeting in the PBs' office. Take out a sealed envelope filled with blank paper. Tell the PB that you will hand over a list of everyone invloved in the conspiracy against him as soon as he approves your transfer. Tuck envelope in your pocket and pat it. Smile. Results guaranteed.

5. The Gawd Boss
Diagnosis: Think Donald Trump, with or without hair. Lying facedown on the floor at the BG's feet is considered routine. GBs demand that anyone entering the holy of holies (the mug's office) burn incense, clang symbals and bear burnt offerings.
Care and Feeding: GBs prove that the Creator has a wicked sense of humor. Try to match it.

6. The Buddy Boss
Diagnostic: Surgical removal of a BB from your hip isn't covered by the company's health plan. The BB wants to come to your house for Thanksgiving dinner or to watch the Super Bowl. Be careful or the BB will show up on your doorstep with an overnight bag.
Care and Feeding: Consider buying the BB a big, slobbering, stupid dog that will adore him at least six days out of seven.

7. The Good Boss
Diagnosis: The Good Boss isn't fantasy, but extremely rare. If you have one, immediately contact the Smithsonian, because such a gem should be preserved for posterity.
Care and Feeding: If your boss guides you, recognizes your talent, appreciates your hard work and rewards results, get to work early and turn handstands on every project every day. Chances are your GB will have some flaws, but be thankful for all the solid stuff, including the occasional sympathetic ear. Listen when the GB speaks, because you will learn many things...

Emmm... so which type of boss is yours? Mine? Emmm... definitely not no. 7.

Rejab, Syaaban, Ramadhan and....

Kemuliaan bulan Rejab adalah dengan malam Isra' Mikraj nya. Sabda Rasulullah saw yang bermaksud: “Bulan Rejab bulan Allah, bulan Syaaban bulanku dan bulan Ramadan bulan umatku.”

REJAB bulan menabur benih, SYA'ABAN bulan menyiram tanaman, RAMADHAN bulan menuai.
REJAB menyucikan badannya, SYA'ABAN menyucikan hatinya, RAMADHAN menyucikan rohnya.
REJAB bulan taubat, SYA'ABAN bulan muhibbah, RAMADHAN dilimpahi pahala amalan.

Di bulan Rejab ini kita dituntut supaya banyak berdoa, beristighfar, memohon keampunan, dilipatgandakan amal ibadat serta berbakti kepadaNya.

What comes after Ramadhan? Some of us are already talking and looking forward for Syawal!!! I think the Malay proverb, "Sediakan payung sebelum hujan" applies here... :-)

Hani Mohsin (1965-2006)

HANI MOHSIN (June 18, 1965 - July 25, 2006)

Actor Hani Mohsin Hanafi, 41, collapsed and died at the low-cost carrier terminal in Sepang at 9.30am while waiting to board a flight to Alor Setar on Tuesday. Mohsin was traveling with his 9-year-old daughter Hani Karmila -- from his previous marriage to Datin Seri Tiara Jacquelina -- when he complained of chest pains before collapsing.

Hani Karmila immediately called her mother, who rushed to the airport with husband Datuk Seri Effendi Norwawi. Mohsin's remains have been brought to hospital for an autopsy. Mohsin was the host of popular TV game show Roda Impian before his death.

Al-Fatihah

==
"He was a good friend and the best father to our daughter Milla. He finally found time to take Milla on a holiday after so many months of working non-stop. His death is really very sad." – Datin Seri Tiara Jacquelina

"Sepanjang saya mengenalinya dan sepanjang berkawan dengannya, dia seorang lelaki yang sangat baik dan Allah selalunya sangat sayangkan orang yang baik sepertinya. Baiknya dia kerana sering mengingatkan supaya tidak meninggalkan solat. Dia juga tidak pernah minum arak." – Serina Redzuawan

"The best thing I liked about him was that he didn’t put others down. He had kind words for everyone" – Erma Fatima

"Hani Mohsin and I went back a long way. We went to the same school. When I was in Form 5 he was the nice, cute and polite young man in Form 2. He was one brave man who followed his heart, worked hard and dived into the industry he loved most – performing arts and became a star. While others will remember Hani Mohsin as one of the brightest ‘stars’ of the entertainment industry, to me, Hani Mohsin will always be the nice guy who used to greet me with a smile at MCKK – “Assalamualaikum Abang Su.” " - Suhaimi Sulaiman

Body Mass Index

My GM of Human Capital & Support Services (HCSS) presented the findings on the Body Mass Index (BMI) of our staff. However, only 47% of some 800++ total staff were taken their heights and weights for the BMI calculation.

BMI's calculation...
And what does it means?
So, of the 47% staffs measured, a hefty 35.73% are overweight and obese. I'm not sure the graph will tilt to which end, if the other 53% staffs are measured?! And, worryingly, average age for my organization is 28+.

Would this drink helps to achieve desirable weight status?! Emmm....

Orang Api Show

I was in A'Famosa Resort, Melaka with some 100-odd colleagues attending Team Building session last weekend. On the first night, we were given free admission to the Cowboy Town. However, we took so long at the dinner and literally missed the animal parade. We managed, however, to catch the fireworks display.

Then, there's this 'orang api' show. I wonder how much gasoline these people swallowed each night?! Anyway, I think the show is much more interesting than the fireworks, especially when the 'orang api' came so close to you and you can feel the heat and smell the gasoline.

Blaming Culture... Who's to Blame?

We live in blaming culture or society. Examples - blaming traffic jam for being late to work, blaming poor refereeing for losing a soccer match, blaming western movies for the increased bullying cases among teenagers, blaming physical size for not being able to compete with western athletes (remember 110m hurdles current world record holders is a Chinese), etc etc...

Am not sure whether it's human nature of our culture or we were nurtured this way. Remember one famous song we always sing while we were kids?

"Bangau of bangau, kenapa engkau kurus?
Macam mana aku tak kurus, ikan tidak timbul...
Ikan oh ikan, kenapa engkau tak timbul?
Macam mana aku nak timbul, rumput panjang sangat...
Rumput of rumput, kenapa kau panjang sangat?
Macam mana aku tak panjang, kerbau tak makan aku...
Kerbau oh kerbau, kenapa kau tak makan rumput?
Macam mana aku tak makan rumput, perut aku sakit...
Perut oh perut, kenapa engkau sakit?
Macam mana aku tak sakit, makan nasi mantah...
Nasi oh nasi, kenapa engkau mantah?
Macam mana aku tak mantah, kayu api basah...
Kayu oh kayu, kenapa engkau basah?
Macam mana aku tak basah, hujan timpa aku...
Hujan oh hujan, kenapa kau timpa kayu?
Macam mana aku tak timpa kayu, katak panggil aku...
Katak oh katak, kenapa kau panggil hujan?
Macam mana aku tak panggil hujan, ular nak makan aku...
Ular oh ular, kenapa kau nak makan katak?
Macam mana aku tak makan katak, memang makanan aku..."

Luckily, 'ular' didnt blame someone else, otherwise it will take days for us to finish singing this song.

So, can we be like 'ular'? Not blaming others, accept our own and others' weaknesses and work together to improve these weaknesses. Then, we can say "I'm late for work because I got out late from my house and I should wake up/sleep earlier next time", "Our team is not good enough to win the match and we shall train harder from now on", something like that...

What's Wrong with Brendan Pereira, err... NST?!!

4 days ago, the NST Group through their Berita Harian and Harian Metro reported on AF4 7th concert in contrasting manner. Today, it's even worse when NST made two contrasting statements (on back-to-back page) over a simple fact that my grandfather or even primary school kids can do.

This is the excerpt from NST 20/7 under sports section, page 95 and 96 (look at the Kaka story). Notice the bullshit that NST is feeding us? On page 96 (you read sports section from the back page), it says Chelsea's £70 million (RM473m) bid for Kaka was shot down. And in page 95, RM475m for Kaka (Chelsea's bid). The difference... the conversion rate.

If NST can't even report this simple thing correctly, just don't hope for them to report on national issues correctly, for as long as Brendan Pereira is there.

Out For Lunch

I was out for lunch a little longer today. Why not? Especially, after how many consecutive days of having lunch in office (thanks to colleagues who packed foods for me). And I was meeting one old friend whom I havent met for 10 years (I think). Oh no... am I that old?!

So, I guess this conversation may have taken place in my absence...

BOSS: Where's Azrul? I haven't seen him today.
COLLEAGUE: He was around. Maybe he's out for lunch.
BOSS: Then, why I hear sound of someone using his notebook? And I just received an email from him, err... bout 2 minutes ago!
COLLEAGUE: Not sure... he's out much longer than that...
BOSS: Emmm... this is strange...

Emm... a little secret I want to share with you, which my Boss doesnt know...

Shhh.... just keep the secret to yourself!

Note: Feel like blogging but just dont have anything to brag about, except Siti-Datuk K wedding.

My First Purchase from e-Bay

For the past one week (since I first registered) I got hooked to e-Bay and ended up buying and auctioning something I already have or things I dont really need. And yesterday, just got my first item shipped to my mailbox.

So, I got the cufflinks for £0.99 plus shipping and handling of £4 which totals to £4.99 (or RM33.60). Eventhough the shipping costs more than the cufflinks itself, it still a bargain since a set of decent cufflinks here costs not less than RM79. Pretty good deal, huh?!

Now, am just wondering which side of cuff should I wear 'COLD' and which side to wear 'HOT'. I guess when I feel like punching or slapping someone, I'll wear 'HOT' on my right. If you see 'HOT' on my right cuff, just dont stand near me. :-)

Trust, or Trust Not, What You Read

I, very much, wanted to avoid blogging about Akademi Fantasia 4 (AF4) as it's the worst edition of AF and not worth blogging about. The students, or our future performers/entertainers, are not disciplined, not taking lessons seriously, not versatile at all, etc etc etc... in addition to the first time teachers who even need further lessons themselves, like Ajai who can't even pronounce 's' correctly.

But, these two articles made me write about AF4, somehow. See whether you can spot the difference...

1st article (from Berita Harian, 17th July):

2nd article (from Harian Metro, 17th July):

Yes, you're spot on! The 1st one says that AF 7th concert has got back its stings whereas the 2nd article says that the 7th concert lacks stings. Well, let's figure out the similarity of these two articles - they're from different newspapers but under the same company, the NSTP Group.

Luckily, they're are just articles on entertainment (although these may be the most read articles by Malaysians). But don't be surprised if our media reports contrasting news/story on one same, important thing.... especially if one of the Group Editors is someone by the name of Brendan John Pereira.

It's Not A Choice, Pak Lah

I believe everyone of you has, at least once in your life, make a resolution, for the year or couple of years or even 10 years down the stretch. And, I bet we've, at least once, not able to accomplish what we've targeted. For certain resolutions - getting promotion, scoring straight As in exams, saving enough monthly to buy certain thing, getting married - we regret for not able to achieve these. For other resolutions - waking up early everyday, losing weight, lowering cholesterol level by exercising, even getting married - they're just something that don't happen and life must go on.

But, certain things are given as part (or may I say the requirements) of our life or work. And, this is mandatory - it's not a choice. Examples - coming to work on time, giving enough support (shelter, food, cloth) to our dependents, praying 5 times a day for Muslims, etc etc.

What worries me... the Prime Minister of our beloved country pledged to work hard (for the country).

Isn't it a mandatory requirement for a Prime Minister to work hard?!! It is not a choice, Man!!! Working hard shouldn't be your resolution - where you can regret or just go on with your life - if you don't achieve it. It's a mandatory requirement for a person who assume the Prime Minister position (am not sure if he's aware that he's the Prime Minister now, though).

Home-cooked Breakfast

Breakfast menu, 10th to 14th July:

• Monday - egg sandwich
• Tuesday - fried rice
• Wednesday - none. I've to follow my boss to Sales Office and prepare his documents before he travels and I only had my brunch at 2pm
• Thursday - french toast (in honor of Zizou and King Henry)
• Friday - sausage egg roll (although I still had half of the ration by dinner time - attended meetings after meetings yesterday)

Why the breakfast menu such a big deal?! Well, their home-cooked, I prepared them on my own. Such satisfying (eventhough the main components are bread and eggs), very much, than to decide over packing/buying from range of 'taste'less canteen foods.

I dont quite understand what made me so motivated last week. Somehow, I woke up early easily, everyday. I dont know why but I assume it's one of the World Cup effects - you sleep less hours. Just that during the WC, you slept couple of hours before the match and another couple of hours after the match, before you wake up for works. But this time since I slept earlier and in continuous hours, I managed to wake up earlier..

Wonder if I would still have the same fire burning inside me and fire burning my pots and pans, next week.

==

thanks Darlene for the cakoi!!

still feeling the WC 'les bleus'... and the non-functioning of channels 83, 901, 902, 903, 904, 905, 906 and the missing local papers' free WC pull-outs...

World Cup Blues

It was the World Cup of the Blues... Azzuri and Les Bleus

And for the fans, most of us are experiencing the post-WC syndrome. Here, in Malaysia, waking up at 2.30am for the past one month is a must. For Astro subscribers, channel 83 has been the favorite bookmarked channel.

While the Italians are still partying (probably they get 1-week public holiday) we, living in this side of the world, feel empty, lost, lonely and to some extend dumb, not knowing what to do during the wee hours. It's not as easy to turn back our biological clock to sleep mode during these hours as it has been rigorously trained to last the whole night every night.

Anyway, on the night of 10th July, less than a day the Italians lifted the Cup for the 4th time, I already felt something is missing. After watching the repeat of the France-Italy match (and sobbing again for Zidane's, Henry's and France's lost), the channel 83 just turned blank, so does the other 6 channels on Astro which were the bread and butter for all football fans here. And, there's just nothing as interesting to watch, not even the movie channels or AXN or ESPN. Nothing compares the World Cup, but it's over! I just have to admit it!! Damn it!!

As Zidane hangs his boots from international duty, guess most Malaysians hang their remote control (temporarily, at least, before the start of EPL, Primera League, etc).

Well, I may say this would be my last entry on World Cup 2006. Am not sure whether there will be something I could write everyday other than World Cup stuffs. Saying goodbye to the World Cup 2006, let's bid farewell to the Class of 2006.

Sad, Sad France; Bad, Bad Zidane

France 1 - Italy 0

# of penalty kicks missed in the Final

France 1 - Italy 0

# of red cards shown in the Final

It was the night for the Italians, they did it Italian way - the Italian job. France looks unorganized in the midfield, and their forwards didn't click well with the midfielders. I thought France would have an easy ride with an early goal but the Italians never gave up and look more dangerous with set pieces.

Everything didn't seem to go right for France.

Henry was knocked down early in the game and lucky that he managed to continue. Zidane nearly blew away the penalty kick. Italian forwards were unchallenged in corner kicks. Viera was substituted by Diarra due to harmstring injury in 56th minute. Italy scored again in 62nd minute only to be ruled-out for offside. Ribery was taken out in 100th minute, only to be substituted by Trezeguet (who never stood out in France jersey). Henry couldn't take it anymore and was substituted by Wiltord in 107th minute. Zidane bid farewell to the international stage with the most infamous way... red-carded for head-butting Materazzi in 111th minute.

Everything just went Italian's way.

What saddened me the most...

Henry, again, failed to shine at this stage. Next four years, he will be 33 y.o., and it seems unlikely for him (as a forward) to play major role, unless he switch to goalkeeping job. And I don't put a very high hope for him to be in the France squad for WC in South Africa . Probably, Euro 2008 would be his last international duty.

Zidane... bid farewell in the most unadmirable way. Red card for head butting, so un-Zidane like attitude. Anyway, you're the genius, mastermind and legend... Au revoir Zidane!!

Final Destination: Eifel or Pisa?

Well, it's the Finale of one of the greatest events on earth.

Not much to say, everyone's anxiously waiting for the kick-off. Frankly, I'm pretty nervous as most of people predicted the Italians will add '4th star' to their badge while I'm rooting the French to get their '2nd star'.

Anyway, I can say the memory of Euro 2000 is still fresh in everyone's mind but it'll be more straight forward tonight with France not needing injury or extra time to score their goals. And Buffon will concede his 'first goal', or maybe one or two more.

BONNE CHANCE Les Bleus!!

Grow Up, Malaysian!

I think some Malaysians never grew up. We still act like we just celebrated our 12th birthday, just got our MyKad, but never got to carry it anywhere we go, as mom is so worried that we might lose it somehow. And 10, 20 or even 30 years after celebrating our 12th birthday, we still act like a 12-year old kid, but this time leaving our MyKad home so that we would not lose it somehow. (I know it's such a hassle to get a replacement for a lost MyKad). And, worryingly the Government has to warn Malaysian adults (who are matured enough to be responsible to carry their own MyKad) to carry MyKad with RM20k-fine for those who failed.

So much so that we think that we're matured enough to carry credit cards around to pay our shopping bills, etc, we don't think we're matured enough to carry our MyKad. My suggestion: all credit card transactions must accompanied by MyKad as verification.

Interesting true story to share. A friend who is part of a local football's club is due to fly to East Malaysia to play a league game. At the KLIA, he noticed that his MyKad is with his wife. As he's the backbone of the team, the club's official, need to reschedule his flight to a later time (including paying RM200 to AirAsia for changing flight schedule - which cost more than the flight fare itself!!) for his wife to send his MyKad to him at the airport. Probably, besides worrying that her husband may lose MyKad, she's worried he might use MyKad to register a marriage with another woman. :-)

Walk Differently

I was wondering on what to write in my blog today. I don't know why I chose not to write about Italy's win over Germany last night, eventhough I already predicted them to play France in the final.

I joked around with my office mate about declaring today as "Walk Differently Day". She doesn't think it's worth an idea as I may trip or fumble and injured myself. Suddenly, it became more apparent to me that there's a relationship between not writing about World Cup and walk differently - avoiding conformity. It may sound negative (especially in this predefined society and culture) so, in a more positive tone - to trust that your beliefs are unique, your own, even though others may think them odd or unpopular.

It reminds me of the 1989 movie, Dead Poets Society, starred by Robin Williams, who played "O Captain My Captain" John Keating, an English professor who is also an old boy of the London's infamous boarding school, Chester, who inspires his students to a love of poetry and to Carpe Diem (seize the day).

There's a scene outside the classroom, at the courtyard, where John Keating asked the students to walk differently from the normal (or conventional) way of walking. One student refused to walk and was just sitting there, claiming that he's exercising the right not to walk, which Keating described it as swim against the stream.

Mr Keating also said...

• "I brought them up here to illustrate the point of conformity: the difficulty in maintaining your own beliefs in the face of others."
• "Now, we all have a great need for acceptance. But you must trust that your beliefs are unique, your own, even though others may think them odd or unpopular, even though the herd may go."

"Now, I want you to find your own walk right now. Your own way of striding, pacing. Any direction. Anything you want. Whether it's proud, whether it's silly, anything."

"Gentlemen (and ladies), the courtyard is yours."

The Final Four

Yes, the Final Four is here! And, yes it's the semi final of the World Cup, not European Championship!! It was the first time since Spain 1982 that we have all-European semifinal. The difference was just that Poland, and not Portugal, was among the final four. And the 1982 final will not repeat this year as Italy, who defeated West Germany 3-1 in the final, will be meeting in the semi final, instead, this year.

Talking about history, will history repeat itself? Italy defeated West Germany, then, 4-3 (aet) in the semi final of 1970 World Cup. Italy eventually lost in the final to Brazil. On the other hand, France defeated Portugal 3-2 (aet) in the European Championship semi final back in 1984. And France went all the way to beat Spain in the final.

So, if the history repeat itself, we'll have an Italy-France final, and if the result of the final of both tournaments repeat, then we'll have France winning its 2nd World Cup title!! And don't forget 2000 European Championship final when France who was 1-goal down until the final minute, won the tournament with Wiltord scoring the equalizer and Trezeguet scored the winning goal in the extra time. All point to France as the World Champion!!

When Leaders of A Country Are Not Talking to Each Other

Let's take a break from talking about World Cup or football or Brazil's defeat :-) eventhough I still wake up smiling following French vistory and wonderful display from Zizou and Henry.

Now, what happened when two people in the same house are not talking each other? In basic, some decisions could not be made or some decisions made may not be favorable to another. What if leaders of a country don't talk to each other or a decision made by one leader was not made known to another. And the other who isn't aware of such decion is the no.2 in the country?!

In the midst of the highly-debated and talked-about squabble between the former no.1, Tun M, and current no.1, Pak Lah, there's one minister who suddenly shot to the 'limelight' to offer a mediator service to help ease the argument and put it to end. And he got the front page coverage for his 'noble' offer of help, thanks to his position as Minister of Information. First few questions came to my mind... 'who is he' to offer such solution?! Is he fit enough?! Is he positioning himself to be nominated for the Nobel Prize of Peace?! Anyway, I still manage to take it positively as maybe he wants to do it for the benefits of the people, etc.

So, on Sunday, it was revealed that the Governor of Melaka, Tun Khalil Yaakup, is the Peacemaker. I also have set of questions for the appointed, why him, is he fit enough to be the Peacemaker and is he respected enough by the two squabbling chaps (especially the former no.1 who's the ex-boss to the appointed), as claimed by the Minister of Information?! Never mind, I just dont care much whoever the Peacemaker is.

However, I was shocked when I read today's news... the current no.2 was not aware of such arrangement by the Ministry of Information!!

Is it a sign or what?! Is it the sign of people not needing you in decision making, sign of you may be ousted not long from now, or just that your staff don't think you're that important to be part of the decision. In corporate world, we always refer this as being put into cold-storage. And those people in cold storage are mostly waiting for retirement or will be squeezed in any ways to leave the company.

Champion Dethroned by The King

France 1 - Brazil 0

Or can I say it The King 1 - The Champion 0?! It was a surprised scoreline for most of the people, most of the Malaysian, especially. Some people even laugh when I once chose France to win the World Cup this time. Now, laugh out loud as the Brazil walked out the pitch shamefully. 3Rs who? Did FIFA count correctly the vote for Footballer of the Year award? Shame shame shame Brazil... shame shame shame the over-confident fans!!

Why bother talking about a loser and take away the credits due to the Fabulous French? It was a surprised, yet French best display so far in this tournament. They scrapped to get through the R16, surprised everyone with a win against Spain (I, earlier expected and hoped for Spain will do the job of dethroning Brazil). One goal does not really tell how much France dominated the match and how Brazil was very much expected unsettled with uncoordinated tactics and just depending on individual players' moves. One goal - who else better than The King Henry to nail it. The King rose to the occasion when it matters (not during easy group matches or friendlies, and then make big hu-has about scoring them).

And I just don't understand when people talk about the beautiful of Brazil Samba. Who needs Samba when scoring goals and winning matches make you win the World Cup?! It was just an ugly and the most horrible display of samba last night. Viva Les Bleus. Hail the King Henry and Zizou the Maverick.

Portugal 0 - England 0 (Portugal win on penalty)

England walked out shamefully, coupled with the arrogance of Rooney who was red-carded for stupidly shovling his club team mate, Christiano Ronaldo. Portugal should've won it easily, when England was forced to play their clown-striker Crouch, after the dismissal of the ineffective Wayne Who? And, I blame solely the defeat to the now-forgotten coach, Eriksson, for bringing Walcott to the World Cup just to warm the bench (or should he just be the kitman?!). He should've brought along Jermaine De Foe, for God sake!

Anyway, Portugal won, on a almost similar way as their last encounter in Euro 2004. But, seriously if they harbour any hope to win against France, they need to have true strikers to score goals. Otherwise, it will be Italy-France final!

Italian Sizzles, Germans Scraped Through

Italy 3 - Ukraine 0. It was an easy win for the Italians as they sizzled their every move to score 3 goals against debutant, Ukraine. Luca Toni scored twice, his first two goals in this World Cup. Can we expect somemore from him, against the home team?!

The home team won on penalty shoot-out against the Argentines. It looked like the Argentines would disappoint Germans' 1974 dreams, winning on home gorund, it was a poor marking by the Argentina skipper, Sorin, that let Klose headed home for the equalizing goal.

Once the game ended 1-1 after extra time, I had the instinct that the Germans will walk tall as I know Lehmann is pretty good in stopping penalty kicks. Well, it came out to be true although the Lehmann's last save was a controversial one as moves along the goal line before Cambiasso kicked the ball. No wonder Lehmann ran straight to the dressing room while the rest scuffled with the officials. Poor officiating again.

Semi Final: Italy vs Germany

(I pray for the better team to win and deny Brazil its 6th victory, Italians preferably)