Plenty of Nothing

Ben's Office

Michaelmas

St Michael by Martin Schongauer. Call me a Leveller, but I've always thought sainthood should be restricted to humans.

BB-8

Meiping

A Meiping vase in the Korean style, used to display plum blossoms. This one is housed at the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

Bretagne by Pinchon

Note Bécassine by Quimper.

Klaksvík Statue

Living between mountains can put you in a certain frame of mind. Source.

A Bag of Tangerines

Dundee's neo-gothic Royal Arch, built 1849-53 in honour of Queen Victoria's visit, found itself in the way of a new bridge in 1964 and was dynamited and thrown into the harbour as landfill. Watch an unapologetic newsreel.

Morton visit Dundee United at Tannadice. This is the first meeting of these two clubs since Tuesday, when Morton knocked the Tangerines out of the League Cup. Dundee United are in fifth place with 8 points from 2 wins, 2 draws and 2 losses. Morton are seventh with 6 points from 1 win, 3 draws and 2 losses.

Morton have 6 goals after six games, which would work out to 36 by season's end. That's cutting it close in terms of avoiding relegation. At the end of the 2000-01 season Morton had tallied 34, and finished ninth. At the end of 2013-14 they had 32, and finished 10th. To win the division you need about two goals per game.

What was Dundee United's best result against Morton? 7 - 0, November 17th, 1984. What was Morton's best result against Dundee United? 7 - 0, March 2nd, 1957.

Morton can end the afternoon as high as fifth place, or as low as ninth.

Morton have signed midfielder Andy Murdoch, formerly of Rangers, Cowdenbeath and Queen of the South.

How often have Dundee United played the other Championship clubs, and when were they previously in the same division?

Hibernian: 203 games (2013-14)

Dunfermline: 159 games (2011-12)

St Mirren: 149 games (2014-15)

Morton: 107 games (1995-96)

Falkirk: 95 games (2009-10)

Ayr United: 91 games (1977-78)

Dumbarton: 89 games (1995-96)

Raith: 52 games (1996-97)

Queen of the South: 33 games (1963-64)

[United win 2 - 1.]

1898-99. Kilmarnock FC visited Morton at Cappielow and won 1 - 2.

Kilmarnock's 1898 kit was pretty much as it is today, minus the shirt sponsor.

After six league games in the 1898-99 season Morton had two wins and four losses for four points (three point wins had not been thought of yet), and a goal difference of -6.

It's Round One of the Scottish Cup. The winners of Preliminary Round Two meet the bulk of the clubs of the Highland and Lowland Leagues. New rule: teams are allowed a fourth substitution in extra time. Matches of consuming interest are:

Beith Juniors vs Strathspey Thistle

Beith eliminated Auchinleck Talbot in the last round. They mean business.

[Beith win 6 - 0]

Keith vs Banks O'Dee

To the best of my ability, here is Keith's Scottish Cup record:

1925-26    R1    Peebles Rovers 7 - 3 Keith

1927-28    R1    Keith 5 - 2 Dalbeattie Star

                 R2    Keith 1 - 6 Celtic

1929-30    R1    Clyde 7 - 0 Keith

1933-34    R1    Galston 8 - 2 Keith

1936-37    R1    Dumbarton 3 - 1 Keith

1948-49    R1    Cowdenbeath 6 - 2 Keith

1954-55    R1    Gala Fairydean 5 - 3 Keith

1955-56    R1    Wigtown & Bladnoch 0 - 7 Keith

                 R2    Keith 2 - 0 Elgin City

                 R3    Keith 2 - 4 East Stirlingshire

1956-57    R1    Forres Mechanics 6 - 1 Keith

1959-60    R1    Keith 3 - 0 Hamilton Academical

                 R2    Motherwell 6 - 0 Keith

1960-61    R1    Keith 1 - 2 East Fife

1962-63    R1    Gala Fairydean 4 - 0 Keith

1964-65   PR2   Keith 1 - 1 Ayr United

                          Ayr United 4 - 2 Keith

1967-68   PR2   Keith 1 - 3 East Stirlingshire

1975-76    R2    Stranraer 2 - 3 Keith

                 R3    Dumbarton 2 - 0 Keith

1978-79    R1    Falkirk 2 - 0 Keith

1979-80    R2    Threave Rovers 2 - 3 Keith

                 R3    Hamilton Academical 2 - 3 Keith

                 R4    Keith 1 - 2 Berwick Rangers

1980-81    R1    Brechin City 2 - 1 Keith

1984-85    R2    Keith 2 - 0 Brora Rangers

                 R3    Ayr United 3 - 1 Keith

1987-88    R2    Stranraer 6 - 2 Keith

1994-95    R2    Keith 2 - 2 Huntly

                          Huntly 3 - 1 Keith

1995-96    R2    Deveronvale 0 - 0 Keith

                          Keith 2 - 0 Deveronvale

                 R3    Keith 1 - 10 Rangers

1998-99    R2    Keith 0 - 0 Brechin City

                          Brechin City 3 - 1 Keith

2000-01    R2    Montrose 1 - 1 Keith

                          Keith 0 - 1 Montrose

2002-03    R2    Keith 1 - 3 Cowdenbeath

2004-05    R1    Inverurie Loco Works 1 - 2 Keith

                 R2    Keith 0 - 1 Montrose

2006-07    R1    Edinburgh University 2 - 1 Keith

2007-08    R2    Cove Rangers 3 - 0 Keith

2008-09    R2    Forres Mechanics 1 - 1 Keith

                          Keith 1 - 1 Forres Mechanics (Forres win on PKs)

2009-10    R1    Dalbeattie Star 2 - 4 Keith

                 R2    Vale of Leithen 1 - 3 Keith

                 R3    Edinburgh City 3 - 1 Keith

2010-11    R1    Vale of Leithen 1 - 3 Keith

                 R2    Keth 0 - 3 Spartans

2011-12    R1    St Cuthbert Wanderers 0 - 2 Keith

                 R2    Wick Academy 0 - 1 Keith

                 R3    Keith 0 - 1 Arbroath

2012-13   PR    Keith 0 - 1 St Cuthbert Wanderers

2013-14    R1    Forres Mechanics 4 - 5 Keith

                 R2    Keith 0 - 4 Elgin City

2014-15    R1    Keith 1 - 3 Formartine United

2015-16    R1    Keith 1 - 5 Inverurie Loco Works

Sources: Wikipedia, LondonHearts.com

[Keith 0 - 1 Banks O'Dee]

Leith Athletic vs Cumbernauld Colts

2015-16 East of Scotland League champions vs current second-place club in the Lowland League.

[Leith 0 - 0 Cumbernauld]

Girvan vs Huntly

Junior club vs the current 15th-place club in the Highland League.

[Girvan 1 - 2 Huntly]

Selkirk vs Linlithgow Rose

Current 15th-place club in the Lowland League vs the junior club that made the final 16 of the Scottish Cup last year

[Selkirk 0 - 3 Linlithgow Rose]

East Kilbride vs Vale of Leithen

This is East Kilbride's third year in the Scottish Cup. Here's how they've fared so far:

2014-15    R1    Lothian Thistle HV 0 - 1 East Kilbride

                 R2    Spartans 3 - 3 East Kilbride

                          East Kilbride 1 - 5 Spartans

2015-16    R2    East Kilbride 1 - 1 Forres Mechanics

                          Forres Mechanics 2 - 3 East Kilbride

                 R3    Stenhousemuir 2 - 2 East Kilbride

                          East Kilbride 2 - 1 Stenhousemuir

                 R4    East Kilbride 2 - 0 Lothian Thistle HV

                 R5    East Kilbride 0 - 2 Celtic

[East Kilbride 9 - 1 Vale of Leithen]

Turriff United vs Bonnyrigg Rose

Let us pause for a moment to consider the awesomeness of Bonnyrigg Rose FC. In the first preliminary round they demolished Glasgow University 2 - 8. In PR2 they burnt Burntisland Shipyard 14 - 0. They are +20 on the tournament. Forward Wayne McIntosh has seven goals (all from the Burntisland match), and Sean Jamieson has six. The top scorer in last year's Scottish Cup was Peter Weatherson of Annan, who scored five.

[Turriff 1 - 1 Bonnyrigg]

I would like to see a Scottish Cup match between any two of Beith, Keith and Leith.

It's also Round One of the Scottish Junior Cup. Let's watch:

Largs Thistle [0 - 1] Blantyre Victoria

Port Glasgow [5 - 0] Whitehills

Whitletts Victoria [5 - 2] Buckie Rovers

How is the Estonian Esiliiga like the Scottish Championship?

Similarities. Estonia is a small country. The greatest distance between two Esiliiga stadia is 164 km (Tallinn to Tartu). They play a 36-game schedule. There are promotion playoffs. Differences. It's a summer league. Four of the ten teams are reserve squads. Average stadium capacity is just 2,638. Of the six non-reserve sides, there are only two old clubs: Tallinn Kalev, founded 1911; and Tulevik, 1912. The rest were founded after the Soviet Union broke up. The average club age is 44 years.

Elsewhere:

CAF Champions League semfinals, second leg:

Wydad Casablanca [5 - 2] Zamalek

Mamelodi Sundowns [2 - 0] ZESCO United

[Mamelodi and Zamalek advance to the finals.]

Yesterday: Athlone Town 1 - 1 UCD

Blaublitz Akita [2 - 1] Fukushima United

Tomorrow: KÍ [2 - 2] B36

Monday: Göteborg [2 - 0] Östersund

"Streets of Love" Locations

The Rolling Stones filmed the video for their song "Streets of Love" in Ottawa in 2005. The concert footage was shot at Zaphod Beeblebrox in the Byward Market. Intercut with that are scenes of a guy wandering the darkened streets of love, which were also filmed in Ottawa.

This is the Somerset Street Bridge. Compare the skyline and the railings to this screen capture from Google Street View:

Domestic Foods is at 595 Gladstone Avenue.

W.O. Stinson and Son own a chain of gas stations in Eastern Ontario. This seems to be the one at 435 Gladstone, which closed in 2010 to make way for condos.

The lonely dude collides with a taxi in front of the Chateau Lafayette House, as so many have done before.

2016 Emperor's Cup, Round Three

The Mitsubishi bench during the 58th Emperor's Cup final, January 1st, 1979.

It's Round Three. Continuing to pull for a northern winner, let's follow:

Match No. 66, Vissel Kobe [3 - 3] Montedio Yamagata [Kobe win on penalty kicks.]

Match No. 67, Albirex Niigata [1 - 0] Renofa Yamaguchi

Match No. 70, Grulla Morioka [1 - 2] Honda FC [Two red cards for Grulla.]

What was the best showing in past Emperor's Cups of each of our remaining northern clubs? Montedio Yamagata made it to the final two years ago. Albirex Niigata made the quarter-finals in 2009. Round Three this year is the farthest Grulla Morioka have ever been.

We've followed Montedio Yamagata and Grulla Morioka in past seasons. What about Albirex Niigata?

About Albirex Niigata. This club was formed in 1955 as Niigata Eleven SC, joined the JFL in 1998, J2 the next year, and J1 in 2004, where they have been ever since. They play at the 42,300-seat Denka Big Swan Stadium. The club's logo also features a white swan. Team colours are orange and blue. They have not yet won the league, league cup or Emperor's Cup, or represented Japan abroad.

This year Albirex finished 13th in Stage One of the J1 season, and are 14th in Stage Two after ten games (update).

Niigata Prefecture is on the Sea of Japan, just were the country would put its hands and say, "Oh, my aching back!" if it were a person. The place is out of the way now, but in the days of the Japanese overseas empire the boat from Niigata to Rason, North Korea was the shortest route to Manchuria.

The Niigata Manga Competition is held annually in September. You can get clubbed by Taro Yamada in Niigata.

In J League news, JFL sides Vanraure Hachinohe, Nara Club and Azul Claro Numazu have been awarded J3 licenses for 2017.  But only Numazu Azul Claro is high enough in the standings to qualify for promotion.

Yesterday in Sweden it was Östersund [0 - 2] Norrköping.

Neolttwigi

Korean women have taken the seesaw far beyond anything my schoolteachers would have allowed. Source.