Matty Long
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Jack of all trades, master of … Vocal? Especially fond of movies, watching football, country music, travelling, beer, and pizza.
X: @eardstapa_
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Stories (82)
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The Tragedy of Steve Bruce
Newcastle United have long suffered unter Mike Ashley's ownership, and as a club with a very large and loyal fanbase, this has been quite tragic to behold. However, despite some drawbacks, the latest being quite recent, it looks like fans can be fairly optimistic about a potential massive Saudi takeover that would be bigger than that of Manchester City and possibly turn them into one of the world's richest and most successful sports clubs. But in my typical fashion, I'm going to go against the grain and look at the takeover itself from an angle that I think is quite tragic. Many people and media outlets have also done this by drawing attention to the nature of the takeover as sportswashing, whereby country's like Saudi Arabia invest in football to draw attention away from human rights abuses. That is a different debate, and not what I'm going to talk about, not just because I think most of the people I've seen taking this approach are not football fans, and there is an element of perspective that they can't quite understand. That's not to say there criticisms aren't valid. They are. But, as I say, it is a different debate.
By Matty Long5 years ago in Cleats
My Top Ten Films of All Time
I can't really offer any fulfilling advice on what to do during a lockdown, as all I have been doing is sleeping, drinking and watching movies, so the best I can offer is yet another movie list. I've done a couple of these so if any one has already read one of my others apologies for some slight repetition. That said, however, I have omitted 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy and treated this list as one where three-films-as-one doesn't count, just because I have reviewed it in a recent list.
By Matty Long6 years ago in Geeks
My Top Ten Films on Netflix right now
This is a hard one for me, not only because writing about movies makes me miss the cinema more, but because at the minute I can't watch Netflix as I gave it up for lent, not realising lent would coincide with this lockdown. Serves me right for thinking it was an easy option. I also haven't included films that are available on Netflix but are also on my other list, 'My Top Ten Films of the last decade,' should anyone wish to read that.
By Matty Long6 years ago in Geeks
Haters: Give a Sporting chance
Disclaimers: The first assumption someone might make in my presenting of this argument on this platform, is that I think that all people who enjoy reading and writing articles in their spare time are not sports fans. That is of course ridiculous beyond stereotype (and a huge insult to the incredible amount of talented sports journalists in the world). I would however make some assumption, which I hope will be forgiven if need be, that there may be a lot of people like me who do enjoy reading and writing in their spare time who also hate sports for similar reasons that I did. These reasons will soon be apparent. I would also like to add an additional disclaimer to any American readers that when I say football, I mean soccer. I would never in a million years at any part of my life have summoned a level of bravery to take part in something as physical as American football. This too will become very apparent in the article. Thank you.
By Matty Long6 years ago in Cleats
A Storm in a Yorkshire Teacup
This week, one of my all-time favourite brands, Yorkshire Tea, were the innnocent victims of the twitter mob. This arose when the newly-appointed Conservative party chancellor, Rishi Sunak, tweeted a photo of himself making a cup of Yorkshire Tea in celebration of his promotion.
By Matty Long6 years ago in The Swamp
My Top Ten Films of the last decade
While the year is still young, I thought I'd share my top ten films of the last decade. I've had some brilliant experiences in the cinema in this time and whereas many of these may be popular choices, I hope some will inspire readers to go and watch something they haven't seen before. Also a heads up to anyone else new to Vocal, this is the second time I'm writing this as I got to number 3 the first time after forgetting to save changes and lost it. So, yeah, ehm, don't do that. To be fair I'm probably the only one stupid enough to do that. Anyway:
By Matty Long6 years ago in Geeks
Reviews: a review
Australian writer Clive James (below) passed away at the end of last year. As a career critic, he was famous for his deadpan style and wry sense of humour. He made reviewing an art. Several years ago we also lost AA Gill. Another career critic, he will forever be remembered for his often scathing reviews of numerous aspects of culture; television, restaurants, society etc. Such a man could bring ideas crushing to the ground. But are these men of a bygone era? The relationship between marketing and reviews in the modern age is an interesting one.
By Matty Long6 years ago in Geeks
A cynical look ... at my cynical look ... at New Year's Resolutions
I’ve never had a New Year’s resolution. That is because I’ve always had a cynical attitude towards them. I feel if there’s something about your life that you feel you need change, change it!! Why do you have to wait until New Year? And on top of that, people hardly ever keep them anyway. They really are completely pointless in my eyes.
By Matty Long6 years ago in Journal
