Faith-based Toys

A store called one2believe based in the US are releasing a series of faith-based action figures which are soon to go on sale in Wal-Mart stores - the biggest toy retailer in the US.

They will be given 2 feet of shelf space in just over 12% of their stores nationwide.

There are several different ranges of figures available including;

• 'Messengers of Faith' such as Esther, Peter, Moses, Paul and Noah. Each character narrates their own biography as well as quoting key Bible passages.
  
• 'Spirit Warrior' figures which include Samson and Goliath, where their website states "Spirit Warriors are big tough toys that boys will love to play with"
• 'Tales of Glory' figures are aimed at slightly younger kids and tell Bible stories such as Jonah and the Whale, Daniel and the Lions Den and Moses and the Ten Plagues.
• Finally, there are P31 Dolls, aimed at girls and are based on Proverbs 31 which promotes Godly living. These characters are modestly dressed and come with a cookie recipe and a Bible lesson.

It will be interesting to see the response that these figures have in the US market and whether they will be launched here in the UK.

With the age of sending your children to Sunday School well and truly over, this may be a great way for children to learn about the stories in the Bible that a lot of us were brought up on.

Men v Women Tennis Pay - The Results

The voting has ended. The results have been counted and verified. I can reveal that... 61% of people who voted think that women and men should get the same amount of prize money for tennis. Well, as I alluded to in my earlier post, this may be slightly flawed. If my enquiries into the people who have voted, I would say only about 10% of people who voted believe they should be paid the same, it's just that one in particular has noting better to do than voting over and over again.

So with my poll flawed, it appears that all that is left is for me to give my opinion on the matter.

I believe that in equal conditions, they (women) should be paid the same. But the conditions are far from equal. Women's matches are played over three sets, whilst mens can go on for five. If my calculations are correct, over the quarters and semis at Wimbledon this year, men played for a total of 979 mins (16 hours 19 mins), where the women's matches lasted just 621 (10 hours 21 mins). This was despite four of the six women's matches included in the stats lasting the whole three sets, as opposed to only two out of the mens six lasting all five sets (not to mention Nadal's semi being cut short due to Djokovic's retirement).

I read an interesting fact on this matter the other day. Because women's tennis is played over few sets, they often also played doubles as they feel more fresh than the men do. As a result, the top 10 women made more at Wimbledon in 2005 than the top 10 men - and that was before the equal pay came in!

Women in the 'normal' jobs do invariably the same amount of work, and the same quality of work as men. They are not paid the same and this is wrong. Therefore, surely it is wrong that women tennis players get the same pay as men when they do less work?

Update on Poll

There are only a few hours left for people to vote on the poll about men and women tennis players! I'll be looking at the results and letting people know my opinions tomorrow.

NB I need to add a disclaimer to the poll saying that it is not indicative of public opinion as there has been more dodgier voting going on than in the Eurovision Song Contest. (David Lewis, you should be ashamed!)

Blog Settings Updated

Just a quick post to say that my blog settings have been updated so you no longer have to be a member of blogger to post comments!

Poll

The next topic of sporting controversy that I will endeavour to tackle later on in the week is that of equal pay between men and women tennis players. In order to help me do so, please take a moment or two to answer the question on the right! Thanks to 'Poll Daddy' for the poll!

All of England's international football problems solved

Prepared to be amazed. I've managed to solve all of England's international football problems! Well, I can't really take ALL the credit. Martin Jol has discovered a new England striker who is better than the great Thierry Henry! No, wait... it's only Darren Bent. That's right, England's 'prolific' goal scorer (two appearances, no goals) has been sold for £0.4 million more than the now Barcelona striker, Thierry Henry.

I can't quite work out whether £16.4 million for a player that hasn't been tested either internationally, or continentally at club level seems steep, or £16 million for one of (if not the) worlds best strikers is on the cheap side! Probably a bit of both!

Granted, he's younger and so has more years left in him than Henry (although there is some weight behind the argument that Henry will be better at 40 than Bent will ever be!) but think how much Rooney and even Owen had acheived by the time they were Bents age (well I speak metaphorically as Rooney still has a few years to go!). Owen, however, was only sold for £0.6 million more than Bent in his latest transfer to Newcastle.

I don't think anyone would've expected Henry to sold for as little as he was this time last year, but with a poor seasons for Arsenal, the price tag was slashed. It is interesting to note, however, that despite the injury problems he had, he still managed a goal every 147 mins (compared to 222.5 mins for Bent).

I think I will reserve final judgment for when we see how Bent plays for a (slightly) better team!

Lewis Hamilton - all he's cracked up to be?

Whilst I admire Lewis Hamilton and am really please that a British sportsman/woman is doing well at the moment, part of me is a little skeptical. Granted, he looks to be a little better than Jenson Button, the last British driver to come on to the scene, and he certainly has talent. However, despite his impressive 8th podium finish in a row, there has rarely been a time when he has improved upon his grid position from qualifying. Indeed, his two wins come from pole position (with only half-hearted attempts by Alonso to challenge him) and half of his other podium finishes have been from when he has started at that place, or higher on the grid.

With such an experienced team as McLaren-Mercedes, he has managed to make up a lot of time in the pits with their lightening quick stops and clever tactics. There has also been a lot of talk this season about the team orders that the two McLaren drivers may be under. It obviously helps if you have a teammate behind you who has been given orders not to overtake you as this will act as a welcome buffer to the other drivers!

Like I say, I am not doubting that the boy has talent and will go far, but it would be interesting to see how he does from lower down on the grid, and as we saw today, without Alonso there to back him up.

First Post!

Right, Chris Kidd, my brother-in-law, has managed to waste the last nine months of his life posting more than 350 posts in his blog. Anything he can do, I can do better! :-)

Whilst it might not also be entertaining or interesting, this is where I will record some of my thoughts and ramblings, and most importantly, it will be something to distract me from my masters course next year!