A nice draw

to get the 2009-10 european campaign off to a good start hopefully, Real Madrid didn't get the easiest group did they.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/8223263.stm

Sid Lowe on La Liga which begins this weekend
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2009/aug/26/la-liga-preview-sid-lowe

Ferdinand thinks Owem and Berbatov will win over the waverers
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/6098206/Michael-Owen-and-Dimitar-Berbatov-will-star-for-Manchester-United-says-Rio-Ferdinand.html

FSA head Adair Turner says he could support a Tobin tax, two opposing views, not surprisingly one from the Guardian in favour and one from the Telegraph, lukewarm to say the least.
Firstly Larry Elliot
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/aug/27/turner-tobin-tax-economic-policy
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/finance/author/tracycorrigan/

Simon Jenkins on the cynicism of the Megrahi case
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/aug/26/megrahi-release-scotland-gordon-brown


Music
Black lips - 200 million thousand: A good listen though not up to the high standards of their last album. I love the 60's garage rock sound though.
Bob Dylan - Together through life: A decent album from Mr Zimmerman. the review of this in the guardian made a lot of, critics falling over themselves to say his recent output is up there with his best stuff when he thought it patently wasn't. A fair point, but it's still got some corking tunes on it.
Peter Doherty - Grace: The acoustic or a least more mellow side of the former Libertine. It's pretty good and can only have come from him, he doesn't really sound like anybody else. With blues, jazz influences and Graham Coxon guesting it's pretty impressive.
Ravi Coltrane - Blending times: The great John Coltrane's son carries on the modern jazz torch of his parents. It's pretty good, i can't much more technical about jazz i'm afraid, i just know what i like.
Teddy Thompson - Up front and down low: Another son of a famous musician this time the son of guitarist Richard. I had the reviews saying this country influenced, but with his background i suppose i had expected a more folk or americana version of country. But it is pretty much country and western. I don't mind country but i can't say it anything i dip into other than every now and then. It's not bad and there are one or two very good songs but it's not something i will return to.