... is an excellent way to NOT win the English Premiership Title.
To wit:
Wigan's last 20 premiership matches {before today} over the last 3+ years against the so-called "Big 4" of Manchester United, Arsenal, Chel$ea, Liverpool: 1 draw, 19 losses.
Truly 2 points dropped.
For about a month I have felt like it is all going to come down to Arsenal's road matches with Manchester United and Chel$ea {as well as ManUtd's trip to Chel$ea}. Up until today I thought that they could draw both matches and still win the league. Now it looks like they will have to come up with 4 points from those two matches to have a chance.
RVP is back- hopefully he will get back to scoring goals {and not get re-injured yet again} and maybe they can so it, but I wouldn't be surprised if they were currently 3rd choice at the betting shops.
That being said, they could very well make it to the Champions League Final, as anything can happen in a knockout competiton {see: Barnsley, Cardiff}.
Win our lose it should be a hell of a run in...
Sunday, March 9, 2008
The Romance Of The FA Cup Is Alive And Well
For years English soccer fans, like their Yankee brethren, have complained about how modern money has ruined the game, consolidating power among the richest clubs, and especially that is had ruined their beloved FA Cup, where all teams from all divisions competed in a year long knockout tournament, and where the famous upsets of lower division clubs over top flight teams had slipped to the brink of extinction.
To wit- no club outside the "Big Four" {Manchester United, Arsenal, Chel$ea, Liverpool} has won the FA Cup since 1995, when Everton beat Manchester United in the Final.
PV4 hoists the FA Cup in 2005 after scoring the
winning penalty with the last kick of his Arsenal career
Well all those people complaining about the romance of the FA Cup being dead better start believing in resurrection, because this year is complete insanity, especially after the events of the weekend.
Barnsley, currently sitting 19th out of 22 teams in the 'Championship' division {the league under the Premiership}, went to Anfield and provided the biggest shock in the FA Cup in many years by beating Liverpool 2-1 in the last round. This time around they hosted Chel$ea in the quarterfinals- surely the dream would die and they would get rolled at home by Billionaire FC.
Wrong.
Barnsley 0-1 Chel$ea.
Forget George Mason- this is more like Hoosiers or even Buster Douglas. What's more, Portsmouth upset Manchester United 1-0 as well, knocking out the 2 remaining members of the so-called "Big 4" before a ball was even kicked in the semifinal round. So whereas a "Big 4" team has won the FA Cup each of the last 11 years, and it's been since 1991 that a "Big 4" team did not make the final, this year no "Big 4" team made it as far as the semifinal. Even more insane is the fact that Cardiff City, currently 14th in the 'Championship' went to Premiership side Middlesbrough and beat them today 2-0, meaning that only 1 Premiership team remains -Portsmouth. They are now odds-on favorite to win the FA Cup. The last time they were odds on favorites to win the FA Cup at the semifinal stage was right around never.
This is great for the game obviously. Hell, the last time Barnsley won the FA Cup was 1912, the week after the SS Titanic sank.
Your remaining four are:
Portsmouth
West Brom Albion
Barnsley
Cardiff
I'll be very happy if Barnsley or Cardiff win it {West Brom has played in the Prem a few times in the last several years}, but truth be told I rally want Portsmouth to win it. That's where the ral Kanu is plying his trade these days, along with ex-Arsenal stars Lauren and Sol Campbell, as well as assistant coach and Arsenal legend Tony Adams. Plus I have always loved 'Arry Redknapp and would love for him to win it, and their fans are amazing as well.
So Come on Pompey...
To wit- no club outside the "Big Four" {Manchester United, Arsenal, Chel$ea, Liverpool} has won the FA Cup since 1995, when Everton beat Manchester United in the Final.
PV4 hoists the FA Cup in 2005 after scoring the
winning penalty with the last kick of his Arsenal career
Well all those people complaining about the romance of the FA Cup being dead better start believing in resurrection, because this year is complete insanity, especially after the events of the weekend.
Barnsley, currently sitting 19th out of 22 teams in the 'Championship' division {the league under the Premiership}, went to Anfield and provided the biggest shock in the FA Cup in many years by beating Liverpool 2-1 in the last round. This time around they hosted Chel$ea in the quarterfinals- surely the dream would die and they would get rolled at home by Billionaire FC.
Wrong.
Barnsley 0-1 Chel$ea.
Forget George Mason- this is more like Hoosiers or even Buster Douglas. What's more, Portsmouth upset Manchester United 1-0 as well, knocking out the 2 remaining members of the so-called "Big 4" before a ball was even kicked in the semifinal round. So whereas a "Big 4" team has won the FA Cup each of the last 11 years, and it's been since 1991 that a "Big 4" team did not make the final, this year no "Big 4" team made it as far as the semifinal. Even more insane is the fact that Cardiff City, currently 14th in the 'Championship' went to Premiership side Middlesbrough and beat them today 2-0, meaning that only 1 Premiership team remains -Portsmouth. They are now odds-on favorite to win the FA Cup. The last time they were odds on favorites to win the FA Cup at the semifinal stage was right around never.
This is great for the game obviously. Hell, the last time Barnsley won the FA Cup was 1912, the week after the SS Titanic sank.
Your remaining four are:
Portsmouth
West Brom Albion
Barnsley
Cardiff
I'll be very happy if Barnsley or Cardiff win it {West Brom has played in the Prem a few times in the last several years}, but truth be told I rally want Portsmouth to win it. That's where the ral Kanu is plying his trade these days, along with ex-Arsenal stars Lauren and Sol Campbell, as well as assistant coach and Arsenal legend Tony Adams. Plus I have always loved 'Arry Redknapp and would love for him to win it, and their fans are amazing as well.
So Come on Pompey...
Saturday, March 8, 2008
3 Years Ago Today...
... I drove across the Bay Bridge and arrived in SF for a new chapter of my life.
Back then I wrote to my friends:
"Go West
Paradise is there
You'll have all that you can eat
Of milk and honey over there
You'll be the brightest star
The world has ever seen
The dizzy height of the jet-set life
You could never dream"
So begins the song 'San Andreas Fault' by Natalie Merchant, and in the past 4+ years I have listened to it hundreds of times, always dreaming of the day I finally made my move. So it was pretty surreal last night to put it on and listen to it as I drove across the Bay Bridge and entered SF for the first time as a resident. Plus it was nice to have the 2600 mile, 4 day, 44 hours in the car drive behind me.
My how time flies- so cliche, but it's really hard to believe that it's been three years. I love it here, and plan to stay as long as I can afford it {although with gas at $3.75 and rising, forget $4 gas this summer like people are saying, mehtinks here in Cali we'll see $4.25 and maybe even $4.50. Good thing I walk to work...}
And I'd be lying if I didn't report that just in the last couple of months I have actually said "hella" a few times without consciously stopping myself. Yikes.
Really looking forward to year 4 as a Cali native- I have tons of new adventures in the works.
Back then I wrote to my friends:
"Go West
Paradise is there
You'll have all that you can eat
Of milk and honey over there
You'll be the brightest star
The world has ever seen
The dizzy height of the jet-set life
You could never dream"
So begins the song 'San Andreas Fault' by Natalie Merchant, and in the past 4+ years I have listened to it hundreds of times, always dreaming of the day I finally made my move. So it was pretty surreal last night to put it on and listen to it as I drove across the Bay Bridge and entered SF for the first time as a resident. Plus it was nice to have the 2600 mile, 4 day, 44 hours in the car drive behind me.
My how time flies- so cliche, but it's really hard to believe that it's been three years. I love it here, and plan to stay as long as I can afford it {although with gas at $3.75 and rising, forget $4 gas this summer like people are saying, mehtinks here in Cali we'll see $4.25 and maybe even $4.50. Good thing I walk to work...}
And I'd be lying if I didn't report that just in the last couple of months I have actually said "hella" a few times without consciously stopping myself. Yikes.
Really looking forward to year 4 as a Cali native- I have tons of new adventures in the works.
Friday, March 7, 2008
Feel Good Friday: Thicker Than Water Edition
At long last, I finally watched Jack Johnson's first surf movie, Thicker Than Water, tonight. It's great, even better than the soundtrack which I have been listening to for a couple of years now.
Try to watch these clips and be in a bad mood. I dare you.
"The Cove" by Jack Johnson
"Even After All" by Finley Quaye {full version of this great song here}
"Thicker Than Water" by Todd Hannigan
I failed my New Year's Resolution from 2007 to try surfing, but lately I really have the bug, although I would really prefer to learn initially in trunks only rather than the full on wetsuit required in these parts. This year is already booked up with vacation, but I think I have decided to celebrate my 35th birthday in Feb 2009 by going to Hawaii and learning to surf.
Anyhow, these vids and music are just what you need for Friday- muy tranquilo.
Have a great weekend, whatever you get into.
Try to watch these clips and be in a bad mood. I dare you.
"The Cove" by Jack Johnson
"Even After All" by Finley Quaye {full version of this great song here}
"Thicker Than Water" by Todd Hannigan
I failed my New Year's Resolution from 2007 to try surfing, but lately I really have the bug, although I would really prefer to learn initially in trunks only rather than the full on wetsuit required in these parts. This year is already booked up with vacation, but I think I have decided to celebrate my 35th birthday in Feb 2009 by going to Hawaii and learning to surf.
Anyhow, these vids and music are just what you need for Friday- muy tranquilo.
Have a great weekend, whatever you get into.
Georgia Tech Golfer Kills Hawk With Golf Ball By Mistake On Purpose
Georgia Tech alum Tripp Isenhour repeatedly shot golf balls at, and finally drilled and killed, a protected species of hawk that was bothering him while he filmed a golf show in Florida in December.
The now standard contradictory description of events...
The 39-year-old player, whose real name is John Henry Isenhour III, became angry while filming "Shoot Like A Pro" on Dec. 12 at the Grand Cypress Golf Club when a squawking red-shouldered hawk roughly 300 yards away forced another take.
"As soon as this happened, I was mortified and extremely upset and continue to be upset," Isenhour said in a statement issued through his management company, SFX Golf. "I want to let everyone know there was neither any malice nor deliberate intent whatsoever to hit or harm the hawk. I was trying to simply scare it into flying away."
"We ask that everyone accept my sincerest apology, and please be respectful of my family's privacy," he said.
Looks like a Mike Vick-ish discrepancy there.
Tripp Isenhour, you're a douche.
The bird was said to have become emboldened and less afraid of interaction with humans after hovering closely over several Georgia Tech football practices in Atlanta a few years back and watching Reggie Ball's repeated failed attempts to hit it with a football.
Doesn't kill protected birds.
Only kills GT fans hopes and dreams of beating Georgia.
The now standard contradictory description of events...
The 39-year-old player, whose real name is John Henry Isenhour III, became angry while filming "Shoot Like A Pro" on Dec. 12 at the Grand Cypress Golf Club when a squawking red-shouldered hawk roughly 300 yards away forced another take.
He drove closer to the bird in his golf cart and starting hitting balls at it. The bird didn't move and Isenhour gave up and drove away. Isenhour started again when the hawk moved within about 75 yards, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officer Brian Baine indicated in a report.
Isenhour allegedly said, "I'll get him now," and aimed for the hawk. "About the sixth ball came very near the bird's head, and (Isenhour) was very excited that it was so close," Baine wrote. A few shots later, witnesses said he hit the hawk. The bird, protected as a migratory species, fell to the ground bleeding from both nostrils.
... and statement released by the athlete through his agency:"As soon as this happened, I was mortified and extremely upset and continue to be upset," Isenhour said in a statement issued through his management company, SFX Golf. "I want to let everyone know there was neither any malice nor deliberate intent whatsoever to hit or harm the hawk. I was trying to simply scare it into flying away."
"We ask that everyone accept my sincerest apology, and please be respectful of my family's privacy," he said.
Looks like a Mike Vick-ish discrepancy there.
Tripp Isenhour, you're a douche.
The bird was said to have become emboldened and less afraid of interaction with humans after hovering closely over several Georgia Tech football practices in Atlanta a few years back and watching Reggie Ball's repeated failed attempts to hit it with a football.
Doesn't kill protected birds.
Only kills GT fans hopes and dreams of beating Georgia.
PSA: Time Change And British Football
This weekend we move our clocks ahead 1 hour, but the Brits do not change over to British Summer Time until Saturday March 30.
So starting Sunday, for the next 3 weeks be sure to adjust accordingly, as the East coast will only be 4 hours behind London instead of 5, and out here we'll only be 7 hours behind instead of 8. On March 31 everything will be back to normal until the clocks roll back in the fall. For example, Wigan-Arsenal is in the traditional Sunday TV time slot of 4 p.m. local, but this week it will be at 9 a.m. PST instead of the normal Sunday morning time of 8 a.m.
I've been bitten in the ass by this before, both in the spring and in the fall- I can remember showing up to the Brewpub in Atlanta an hour before a match started one time and at the start of the 2nd half another. Before there was only 1 week's difference between when we switched and when they switched, but with our new daylight savings times now the gap is more considerable.
To be honest I'm not sure about Spain, Italy, Germany, et. al., but it may be a similar situation.
So if you are planning on setting the tivo, going to a pub, or negotiating for a 2 hour kitchen pass, be sure to doublecheck the schedules and adjust accordingly. I always find it easiest to use the scoreboard on Soccernet.com, where gametimes are given in EST.
So there it is.
So starting Sunday, for the next 3 weeks be sure to adjust accordingly, as the East coast will only be 4 hours behind London instead of 5, and out here we'll only be 7 hours behind instead of 8. On March 31 everything will be back to normal until the clocks roll back in the fall. For example, Wigan-Arsenal is in the traditional Sunday TV time slot of 4 p.m. local, but this week it will be at 9 a.m. PST instead of the normal Sunday morning time of 8 a.m.
I've been bitten in the ass by this before, both in the spring and in the fall- I can remember showing up to the Brewpub in Atlanta an hour before a match started one time and at the start of the 2nd half another. Before there was only 1 week's difference between when we switched and when they switched, but with our new daylight savings times now the gap is more considerable.
To be honest I'm not sure about Spain, Italy, Germany, et. al., but it may be a similar situation.
So if you are planning on setting the tivo, going to a pub, or negotiating for a 2 hour kitchen pass, be sure to doublecheck the schedules and adjust accordingly. I always find it easiest to use the scoreboard on Soccernet.com, where gametimes are given in EST.
So there it is.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Filling In The Field
Yesterday 3 of the remaining 4 Champions League Round of 16 battles were settled, and now 7 of the 8 quarterfinalists are set.
Joining Arsenal, Manchester United, Barcelona, and Fenerbache are:
Chel$ea beat Olympiakos at home 3-0 to advance 3-0 on aggregate.
Schalke 04 lost 0-1 away to FC Porto, but at 1-1 on aggregate went to extra time and finally triumphed 4-1 on penalties.
Roma took their 2-1 1st leg lead to Madrid and beat them again by the same score to knock them out 4-2 on aggregate. Crazy that RTeal Madrid has been knocked advanced past the round of 16 in 4 years.
These 7 will be joined by the winner of Inter Milan-Liverpool, whose 2nd leg was pushed back a week because for some reason Inter & Milan so not host Champions League home matches on consecutive days {they share San Siro as their home}. Liverpool take a 2-0 lead from the first leg into Milan- the match is nextWednesday I believe Tuesday.
The draw for the quarterfinals will be made next Friday, Match 14th.
Joining Arsenal, Manchester United, Barcelona, and Fenerbache are:
Chel$ea beat Olympiakos at home 3-0 to advance 3-0 on aggregate.
Schalke 04 lost 0-1 away to FC Porto, but at 1-1 on aggregate went to extra time and finally triumphed 4-1 on penalties.
Roma took their 2-1 1st leg lead to Madrid and beat them again by the same score to knock them out 4-2 on aggregate. Crazy that RTeal Madrid has been knocked advanced past the round of 16 in 4 years.
These 7 will be joined by the winner of Inter Milan-Liverpool, whose 2nd leg was pushed back a week because for some reason Inter & Milan so not host Champions League home matches on consecutive days {they share San Siro as their home}. Liverpool take a 2-0 lead from the first leg into Milan- the match is next
The draw for the quarterfinals will be made next Friday, Match 14th.
Every Team Has Shitty Fans
So alot has been made of the Aston Villa fans last weekend, who took only 14 minutes of the Arsenal-Villa match at the Emirates before they started singing a song comparing Eduardo to Paul McCartney's amputee wife:
"He used to have silky skills,
now he walks like Heather Mills"
Appalling and shameful? Yes. Arsene Wenger said it best: "unfortunately there are no limits to either intelligence or stupidity".
However, as an Arsenal fan, I can't get too self-righteously outraged over this for many reasons. First, apparently it was a fairly small number of fans that participated. Secondly, some pathetic Arsenal fans for years have taunted Spurs fans with references to the Holocaust and gas chambers, and apparently as recently as this season some were said to have sung "We've got Cesc Fabregas, you yids are scared of gas", which is far worse than what the Villa fans did.
The truth is that no fan base is homogeneous. Each has geniuses and idiots, rational people and lunatics, reasonable people and unconscionable people. A small portion of every fan's base is an embarrassment, like a giant ass-pimple that can never be popped or heal. Now some teams have a bigger percentage of the whole that participate in despicable behavior {Arsenal or Portsmouth vs. Milwall or Lazio, for example}, but no fanbase is completely lily-white and 100% pure. Hell there are Georgia fans that I see at games all the time that cause me to be embarrassed for my team and my university, just as there are classy fans of Florida, Tennessee, Auburn, and Georgia Tech. It's not as plain and simple as our current fearless leader would like to believe, that everyone on our team are valiant heroes and everyone on the other team are horrible evildoers.
When these groups of fans do horrible shit then they should certainly be called out on it, but entire fan bases should not be called out as classless and shameful. I am certain that a large portion of the Villa fanbase is embarrassed by the song, just as millions of Arsenal fans, myself included, want nothing to do with and completely condemn any Arsenal fans taunting Spurs with Holocaust and gas chamber references.
So a big fuck you to the Villa fans that sang that song, but not to all Villa fans as a whole. Ditto for sick ass anti-semitic Arsenal fans vis a vis Gooners as a whole.
"He used to have silky skills,
now he walks like Heather Mills"
Appalling and shameful? Yes. Arsene Wenger said it best: "unfortunately there are no limits to either intelligence or stupidity".
However, as an Arsenal fan, I can't get too self-righteously outraged over this for many reasons. First, apparently it was a fairly small number of fans that participated. Secondly, some pathetic Arsenal fans for years have taunted Spurs fans with references to the Holocaust and gas chambers, and apparently as recently as this season some were said to have sung "We've got Cesc Fabregas, you yids are scared of gas", which is far worse than what the Villa fans did.
The truth is that no fan base is homogeneous. Each has geniuses and idiots, rational people and lunatics, reasonable people and unconscionable people. A small portion of every fan's base is an embarrassment, like a giant ass-pimple that can never be popped or heal. Now some teams have a bigger percentage of the whole that participate in despicable behavior {Arsenal or Portsmouth vs. Milwall or Lazio, for example}, but no fanbase is completely lily-white and 100% pure. Hell there are Georgia fans that I see at games all the time that cause me to be embarrassed for my team and my university, just as there are classy fans of Florida, Tennessee, Auburn, and Georgia Tech. It's not as plain and simple as our current fearless leader would like to believe, that everyone on our team are valiant heroes and everyone on the other team are horrible evildoers.
When these groups of fans do horrible shit then they should certainly be called out on it, but entire fan bases should not be called out as classless and shameful. I am certain that a large portion of the Villa fanbase is embarrassed by the song, just as millions of Arsenal fans, myself included, want nothing to do with and completely condemn any Arsenal fans taunting Spurs with Holocaust and gas chamber references.
So a big fuck you to the Villa fans that sang that song, but not to all Villa fans as a whole. Ditto for sick ass anti-semitic Arsenal fans vis a vis Gooners as a whole.
The End Of An Era
Yesterday was pretty bad at the office, so I decided the remedy I needed was to go home, go up to my rooftop, drink a beer, watch the sunset, and chill out for a few minutes. I even stopped off on the walk home to buy beer for just this purpose. I hadn't been up on the roof since sunset on Saturday evening, and it was a perfect late afternoon as it was upper 60s and sunny yesterday.
I get home, pour a Red Stripe into a frozen mug, grab my camera, and head up the stairs, very much ready to turn around a pretty crappy day.
Like a swift kick to the nuts: sudden, shocking, and very painful
See that gray box on the right that looks like a 1982 cell phone? That would be the newly installed cypher lock and alarm system. Now normally, this would piss me off beyond belief, and believe me, it did. But when you consider that in the last month alone...
1. My apartment sustained massive water damage as the result of a leak caused by landlord's negligence
2. I was forced to evacuate my apartment for 6 nights while my apartment was repaired, which turned into 15 days/14 nights
3. Landlord is refusing to reimburse me the 1/2 months rent that I paid them to kick me out of my own place
4. During this time landlord raised my rent
...then pissed off beyond belief doesn't even begin to cover it. I thought raising my rent during the last month was the cherry on the I now hate them sundae, but I failed to realize that was only a few chocolate sprinkles {jimmies if you are reading this from anywhere in New England}, and no more rooftop is the cherry on said sundae, and what a stunningly large cherry it is. What a bunch of douches.
So after I take these fuckers to court and get my money back, I may very well be cruising Craigslist. I think Eazy-E said it best when he said: "eat a dick up". But not just any dick; a disease-riddled dick that hadn't seen a shower in several days and was also infected with scabies.
And as my angry rage at this turns to eminent sadness, I will become a young Justin Timberlake, sinking down in agony against my refrigerator, clenching my fists together, and looking up at the heavens full of sorrow trying to sort it all out:
"I've been sitting here,
Can't get you off my mind,
I try my best to be a man and be strong.
I drove myself insane wishing I couldtouch your face watch the bay
But the truth...
re-...
-mains...
you're...
GONE!
yooou're
GONE!
baby rooftop you're
GONE!
girl rooftop you're gone
babygirl roof you're
GONE!
yooou're
GONE!
you're..."
Thanks to digital photography and video, at least I have memory lane of The Kanu Rooftop Experience.
My rooftop: 2005-2008. RIP.
I get home, pour a Red Stripe into a frozen mug, grab my camera, and head up the stairs, very much ready to turn around a pretty crappy day.
Like a swift kick to the nuts: sudden, shocking, and very painful
See that gray box on the right that looks like a 1982 cell phone? That would be the newly installed cypher lock and alarm system. Now normally, this would piss me off beyond belief, and believe me, it did. But when you consider that in the last month alone...
1. My apartment sustained massive water damage as the result of a leak caused by landlord's negligence
2. I was forced to evacuate my apartment for 6 nights while my apartment was repaired, which turned into 15 days/14 nights
3. Landlord is refusing to reimburse me the 1/2 months rent that I paid them to kick me out of my own place
4. During this time landlord raised my rent
...then pissed off beyond belief doesn't even begin to cover it. I thought raising my rent during the last month was the cherry on the I now hate them sundae, but I failed to realize that was only a few chocolate sprinkles {jimmies if you are reading this from anywhere in New England}, and no more rooftop is the cherry on said sundae, and what a stunningly large cherry it is. What a bunch of douches.
So after I take these fuckers to court and get my money back, I may very well be cruising Craigslist. I think Eazy-E said it best when he said: "eat a dick up". But not just any dick; a disease-riddled dick that hadn't seen a shower in several days and was also infected with scabies.And as my angry rage at this turns to eminent sadness, I will become a young Justin Timberlake, sinking down in agony against my refrigerator, clenching my fists together, and looking up at the heavens full of sorrow trying to sort it all out:
"I've been sitting here,
Can't get you off my mind,
I try my best to be a man and be strong.
I drove myself insane wishing I could
But the truth...
re-...
-mains...
you're...
GONE!
yooou're
GONE!
GONE!
baby
GONE!
yooou're
GONE!
you're..."
Thanks to digital photography and video, at least I have memory lane of The Kanu Rooftop Experience.
My rooftop: 2005-2008. RIP.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
New Look
Now that I finally sorted out getting links back to opening in a new tab/window {sorry- personal preference}, I think I have everything sorted with the new layout, with the exception of it not letting me load a pic into the header background, but that is pretty minor and I'll take the time to figure it out eventually {or maybe not}.
In addition to finally upgrading to the new Blogger platform, the third column allowed me to add some new features, such as my twitter feed, my personal 100 song jukebox from ProjectPlaylist { you can make your own and embed in blogger, myspace, facebook, etc}, and recent comments.
Apparently the page looks shit in IE7. I hate IE and had only looked at the page in Firefox and Safari, which both look great. I looked at it in IE6 and it's ok {although way less clean and tight than either Firefox or Safari}. Sorry, but it's likely that I won't take the time to install crappy ass IE7 on my PC and spend the time to figure out how to make it pretty in IE7 any time soon. Maybe some day if I'm stuck overnight at an airport or something, but no time soon.
Sorry for the inconvenience over the last few days.
In addition to finally upgrading to the new Blogger platform, the third column allowed me to add some new features, such as my twitter feed, my personal 100 song jukebox from ProjectPlaylist { you can make your own and embed in blogger, myspace, facebook, etc}, and recent comments.
Apparently the page looks shit in IE7. I hate IE and had only looked at the page in Firefox and Safari, which both look great. I looked at it in IE6 and it's ok {although way less clean and tight than either Firefox or Safari}. Sorry, but it's likely that I won't take the time to install crappy ass IE7 on my PC and spend the time to figure out how to make it pretty in IE7 any time soon. Maybe some day if I'm stuck overnight at an airport or something, but no time soon.
Sorry for the inconvenience over the last few days.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
History 0-2 Arsenal
First English team to ever beat Real Madrid in Madrid?
Check. Spring 2006
A brilliant goal by Th14 beats Real Madrid
First English team to ever beat AC Milan in Milan?
Check. 4 March 2008.
"You're not champions,
You're not champions,
You're not champions anymore!
You're not champions, an-y-more."
An amazing Cesc scene suitable for all ages
Hopefully one of these vids will survive more than a few hours.
Gattuso can only watch...
Cesc celebrates.
AC Milan 0-2 Arsenal.
Match highlights {sadly no sound} here.
An excruciating game to watch, as once Again Arsenal ran circles around Milan, created tons of chances, couldn't convert any, hit the crossbar, etc., etc. and dread set in that although AC Milan should have been put to the sword and be 0-3 or 0-4 behind over both legs, they would somehow sneak a goal or get to penalties and win.
Then in the 85th minute Cesc Fabregas got the ball, ran forward, ran right around Rino Gattuso, and let fly from 35 yards, the ball found the miniscule space between the outstretched dive of the goalkeeper and the post and went in. Magic. 1-0 to the Arsenal and super tired Milan would now need 2 goals in less than 10 minutes to win. Instead Arsenal added a second late into injury time.
Icing on the cake courtesy of Theo & Adebayor
Cesc's goal in the San Siro will go down in Arsenal history, and was so reminiscent of Henry's goal in Madrid. Both wonder goals knocked out European heavyweights and made history at the same time.
The Champions are knocked out; the quarterfinals await.
Elsewhere:
Barcelona 1-0 Celtic. Barca win 4-2 on aggregate, but best player in the world these days Lionel Messi leaves with a torn thigh muscle- a big loss for Barca, but for how long?
Manchester United 1-0 Lyon. ManUtd survive Keita beating their keeper but hitting the post, and win on aggregate 2-1.
Sevilla 3-2 Fenerbache. Teams tied 5-5 on aggregate, and heading to a penalty shootout as we speak. ***Update*** Fenerbache goalkeeper goes from goat to hero: he let the first two Sevilla goals go right through his hands, then saves 3 penalties and Fenerbache beat Sevilla 3-2 on penalties to advance to the quarterfinals.
Check. Spring 2006
A brilliant goal by Th14 beats Real Madrid
First English team to ever beat AC Milan in Milan?
Check. 4 March 2008.
"You're not champions,
You're not champions,
You're not champions anymore!
You're not champions, an-y-more."
An amazing Cesc scene suitable for all ages
Hopefully one of these vids will survive more than a few hours.
Gattuso can only watch...
Cesc celebrates.
AC Milan 0-2 Arsenal.
Match highlights {sadly no sound} here.
An excruciating game to watch, as once Again Arsenal ran circles around Milan, created tons of chances, couldn't convert any, hit the crossbar, etc., etc. and dread set in that although AC Milan should have been put to the sword and be 0-3 or 0-4 behind over both legs, they would somehow sneak a goal or get to penalties and win.
Then in the 85th minute Cesc Fabregas got the ball, ran forward, ran right around Rino Gattuso, and let fly from 35 yards, the ball found the miniscule space between the outstretched dive of the goalkeeper and the post and went in. Magic. 1-0 to the Arsenal and super tired Milan would now need 2 goals in less than 10 minutes to win. Instead Arsenal added a second late into injury time.
Cesc's goal in the San Siro will go down in Arsenal history, and was so reminiscent of Henry's goal in Madrid. Both wonder goals knocked out European heavyweights and made history at the same time.
The Champions are knocked out; the quarterfinals await.
Elsewhere:
Barcelona 1-0 Celtic. Barca win 4-2 on aggregate, but best player in the world these days Lionel Messi leaves with a torn thigh muscle- a big loss for Barca, but for how long?
Manchester United 1-0 Lyon. ManUtd survive Keita beating their keeper but hitting the post, and win on aggregate 2-1.
Sevilla 3-2 Fenerbache. Teams tied 5-5 on aggregate, and heading to a penalty shootout as we speak. ***Update*** Fenerbache goalkeeper goes from goat to hero: he let the first two Sevilla goals go right through his hands, then saves 3 penalties and Fenerbache beat Sevilla 3-2 on penalties to advance to the quarterfinals.
Records Are Made To Be Broken
Champions League Round Of 16 2nd Legs
AC Milan-Arsenal
ESPN2 11.45 a.m. PST
1st leg 0-0
This is the biggest match for Arsenal Football Club sine the 2006 Champions League Final, and the biggest match for the current Arsenal team ever {gone from 2006 are Henry, Ljungberg, Pires, Campbell, A Cole, Lauren, et. al}.
No English team has ever beaten AC Milan at the San Siro.
No English team had ever beaten Real Madrid in the Bernabeu before Arsenal did it in 2006. Furthermore, a win isn't even required today- any scoring draw will see Arsenal through to the quarterfinals on the away goals rule. And even though the current team had nothing to do with it, Arsenal did go to the San Siro with their backs against the wall {needing at least a 3-0 win} a few years back and beat the shit out of Inter Milan 5-1.
What will happen? I'm not sure, but I do know this: Arsenal's youngsters will once again run circles around the old men of Milan {average age of 33 when Maldini plays and Pato does not}, just as they did in the first leg. Beyond that I'm not certain if 1) they will create tons of chances but fail to score and go down to a goal from the wise old men or 2) they will get the away goal that would then require Milan to score two in order to advance.
Here's hoping for the latter.
Come on you Gunners!!!
Other Matches today:
Manchester United - Lyon
1st leg 1-1
Man Utd's late away goal in the first leg gives them the advantage here.
Barcelona-Celtic
1st leg 3-2 to Barca
With 3 away goals, and Celtic never having won an away game in the Champions League {30+ and counting}, it would be shocking for Celtic to beat Barca today by 2 goals in the Nou Camp.
Sevilla-Fenerbache
1st leg 3-2 Fenerbache
Sevilla must win here but their 2 away goals make thier task doable: 1-0 or 2-1 and they advance.
I'm off to the pub.
AC Milan-Arsenal
ESPN2 11.45 a.m. PST
1st leg 0-0
This is the biggest match for Arsenal Football Club sine the 2006 Champions League Final, and the biggest match for the current Arsenal team ever {gone from 2006 are Henry, Ljungberg, Pires, Campbell, A Cole, Lauren, et. al}.
No English team has ever beaten AC Milan at the San Siro.
No English team had ever beaten Real Madrid in the Bernabeu before Arsenal did it in 2006. Furthermore, a win isn't even required today- any scoring draw will see Arsenal through to the quarterfinals on the away goals rule. And even though the current team had nothing to do with it, Arsenal did go to the San Siro with their backs against the wall {needing at least a 3-0 win} a few years back and beat the shit out of Inter Milan 5-1.
What will happen? I'm not sure, but I do know this: Arsenal's youngsters will once again run circles around the old men of Milan {average age of 33 when Maldini plays and Pato does not}, just as they did in the first leg. Beyond that I'm not certain if 1) they will create tons of chances but fail to score and go down to a goal from the wise old men or 2) they will get the away goal that would then require Milan to score two in order to advance.
Here's hoping for the latter.
Come on you Gunners!!!
Other Matches today:
Manchester United - Lyon
1st leg 1-1
Man Utd's late away goal in the first leg gives them the advantage here.
Barcelona-Celtic
1st leg 3-2 to Barca
With 3 away goals, and Celtic never having won an away game in the Champions League {30+ and counting}, it would be shocking for Celtic to beat Barca today by 2 goals in the Nou Camp.
Sevilla-Fenerbache
1st leg 3-2 Fenerbache
Sevilla must win here but their 2 away goals make thier task doable: 1-0 or 2-1 and they advance.
I'm off to the pub.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Most Deathly Group Of Death Ever?
The draw for Euro 2008 was made a few months back while I was in blogger timeout, but I've been wondering ever since the day it was made if its group of death is the group of deathy-est group of death of all time.
The 16 teams that qualified were seeded for the draw, but the quirk of automatically awarding the defending champions as well as the hosts a 1 seed, that meant that 3 of the 4 #1 seeds were relatively weak Greece {Euro2004 champions}, Switzerland {co-hosts, average team}, and Austria{co-hosts, very bad team}. This meant that the other #1 seed was likely to get a terribly tough draw, with the other "real" 1 seeds bumped down to lower levels.
And they did. Here's Group C:
Holland
Italy
France
Romania
Wow. That group is crazy. You have Holland, one of the top teams in Europe. Their "reward" for qualifying as a #1 seed?
First up is Italy, current World Cup champions, followed by France, winners of World Cup 1998, Euro 2000, semifinalists at Euro2004, and lost the World Cup final in 2006 on penalties. Yes, Zidane is gone but they are still tres formidable. The "weakest" team of the group? Romania won their qualifying group easily, besting Holland in the process, and their only defeat in qualifying was 0-1 away to Bulgaria in the second to last group after they had already clinched qualification as undefeated group winners. Translated: Romania ain't no joke.
So is this the Group Of Death of Group Of Deaths? Do you remember anything rivaling this? The closest I can remember is World Cup 2002, which had Argentina, England, Nigeria, and Sweden, but I think on paper this beats it. Of course, my memory doesn't go back prior to World Cup 1990.
All I know is that two really good teams will not be advancing to the knockout stage this summer. Which two are anyone's guess.
The full slate, if you are wondering:
Group A
Switzerland
Czech Republic
Portugal
Turkey
Group B
Austria
Croatia
Germany
Poland
Group C
Holland
Italy
France
Romania
Group D
Greece
Sweden
Spain
Russia
The tournament starts 3 months from Friday.
The 16 teams that qualified were seeded for the draw, but the quirk of automatically awarding the defending champions as well as the hosts a 1 seed, that meant that 3 of the 4 #1 seeds were relatively weak Greece {Euro2004 champions}, Switzerland {co-hosts, average team}, and Austria{co-hosts, very bad team}. This meant that the other #1 seed was likely to get a terribly tough draw, with the other "real" 1 seeds bumped down to lower levels.
And they did. Here's Group C:
Holland
Italy
France
Romania
Wow. That group is crazy. You have Holland, one of the top teams in Europe. Their "reward" for qualifying as a #1 seed?
First up is Italy, current World Cup champions, followed by France, winners of World Cup 1998, Euro 2000, semifinalists at Euro2004, and lost the World Cup final in 2006 on penalties. Yes, Zidane is gone but they are still tres formidable. The "weakest" team of the group? Romania won their qualifying group easily, besting Holland in the process, and their only defeat in qualifying was 0-1 away to Bulgaria in the second to last group after they had already clinched qualification as undefeated group winners. Translated: Romania ain't no joke.
So is this the Group Of Death of Group Of Deaths? Do you remember anything rivaling this? The closest I can remember is World Cup 2002, which had Argentina, England, Nigeria, and Sweden, but I think on paper this beats it. Of course, my memory doesn't go back prior to World Cup 1990.
All I know is that two really good teams will not be advancing to the knockout stage this summer. Which two are anyone's guess.
The full slate, if you are wondering:
Group A
Switzerland
Czech Republic
Portugal
Turkey
Group B
Austria
Croatia
Germany
Poland
Group C
Holland
Italy
France
Romania
Group D
Greece
Sweden
Spain
Russia
The tournament starts 3 months from Friday.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
It Never Gets Old
Tinkerman
A solid year and a half later, I've converted over to the new Blogger format, mainly because I really want three columns instead of two.
Tinkering around, lost some stuff, rebuilding, formatting, trying to figure some things out.
Expect this place to be a bit jacked up for a few days as I suss it out.
Thanks.
Tinkering around, lost some stuff, rebuilding, formatting, trying to figure some things out.
Expect this place to be a bit jacked up for a few days as I suss it out.
Thanks.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Feel Good Friday: Bag Of Toys Edition
Last night I went and checked out this band called Bag Of Toys, a band whose tagline is "acoustic surf rock that doesn't suck" and whose album is titled "Nooner" {respek}. That alone had me interested, as acoustic surf rock is right up my alley- plus they are a local band from SF trying to make a name for themselves and seem to be on the verge of bigger things. They were very good. Apparently they are starting to become an up and coming group, and their song "Share" was recently featured in a commercial for the Zune.
"Acoustic surf music that doesn't suck" = right up my alley
If you like Sublime/Slightly Stoopid/Expendables or even Jack Johnson then you'll probably dig these guys, and you can get in on the ground floor in the event that they blow up.
I really dig the first tune off their first album, which is called "Surf Song". Here's the studio version of the tune set to some random dudes surfing:
Makes Cubicle Land more bearable for 4 minutes
Here's the full version of "Share"- there aren't any other studio version of their tunes on the interwebs other than their myspace page, but I bought their album last night and it's really quite good. Definitely worth $10 to check out their show if they come to your town.
Happy Friday and have a great weekend, whatever you get into.
"Acoustic surf music that doesn't suck" = right up my alley
If you like Sublime/Slightly Stoopid/Expendables or even Jack Johnson then you'll probably dig these guys, and you can get in on the ground floor in the event that they blow up.
I really dig the first tune off their first album, which is called "Surf Song". Here's the studio version of the tune set to some random dudes surfing:
Makes Cubicle Land more bearable for 4 minutes
Here's the full version of "Share"- there aren't any other studio version of their tunes on the interwebs other than their myspace page, but I bought their album last night and it's really quite good. Definitely worth $10 to check out their show if they come to your town.
Happy Friday and have a great weekend, whatever you get into.
William Gallas: No Entiendo
Another thing that has been rattling around in my brain all week was the reaction in Britain to Arsenal captian William Gallas' behavior at the end of the Birmingham-Arsenal match. He kind of freaked out a bit when Birmingham was awarded a last minute penalty- he stormed off to the far end of the field, then when McFadden converted the penalty he kicked the shit out of the advertising board, and then at the final whistle he fell to the ground and was pretty emotional.
Hard to describe unless you saw it. As Myles said:
In that moment, Gallas saw 8 months of hard work by 30 people go down the toilet . Having started the game by witnessing the most horrific injury he'd ever seen, Gallas ended it with a close-up view of the most stupid defensive error he'd ever seen.
Anyhow, what struck me through the week is how the press in Britain reacted to his actions. He was universally criticized, and he was slammed pretty hard for acting inappropriately, especially for a captain, and some even said that Arsenal should strip him of the captaincy or sell him. Like the injury porn thing, I couldn't help but compare this to how this would have been reported in America. I'm pretty certain that here he would be praised for being emotional, that showing emotion would be a positive thing, showing his team how much he cared and how they should to, setting an example to the team & younger players, he cares so much, etc, etc.
Interesting to say the least.
Furthermore, this is the country who counts Gazza's emotional outburst when he broke down crying in the middle of a match at World Cup 1990 as one of the defining moments in their sporting history, and this was lauded rather than condemned.
Would the reaction to Gallas' actions be different if he wasn't Gallic but rather British?
Color me confused.
Hard to describe unless you saw it. As Myles said:
In that moment, Gallas saw 8 months of hard work by 30 people go down the toilet . Having started the game by witnessing the most horrific injury he'd ever seen, Gallas ended it with a close-up view of the most stupid defensive error he'd ever seen.
Anyhow, what struck me through the week is how the press in Britain reacted to his actions. He was universally criticized, and he was slammed pretty hard for acting inappropriately, especially for a captain, and some even said that Arsenal should strip him of the captaincy or sell him. Like the injury porn thing, I couldn't help but compare this to how this would have been reported in America. I'm pretty certain that here he would be praised for being emotional, that showing emotion would be a positive thing, showing his team how much he cared and how they should to, setting an example to the team & younger players, he cares so much, etc, etc.
Interesting to say the least.
Furthermore, this is the country who counts Gazza's emotional outburst when he broke down crying in the middle of a match at World Cup 1990 as one of the defining moments in their sporting history, and this was lauded rather than condemned.
Would the reaction to Gallas' actions be different if he wasn't Gallic but rather British?
Color me confused.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Eduardo And Injury Porn
Went to the pub to watch Birmingham-Arsenal on Saturday morning. Two minutes in and Martin Taylor tackles Eduardo hard, and Eduardo is down in a heap. After a moment it is obvious that he is really injured badly. Then I see something I have never seen before- the cameras show his teammates, and they are visibly freaked the fuck out, like they literally saw a ghost. Cesc is angry and really rattled, Hleb has both hands on his head in disbelief, Adebayor is beyond shocked and stunned, as is Sagna- who just lost his 29 year old brother last weekend- his hand is over his mouth in utter shock and disbelief {if you think I am exaggerating I think that they will show these reactions tonight on the Monday night Fox Sports World report on FSC}.
Sky didn't launch into all the replay angles like normal, and soon word comes that the injury is so horrific that Sky is refusing to show any replays. Then I see that Eduardo is not conscious and is being given oxygen through a tank/mask thingy. After attending to him for 9 minutes, they place a white sheet over his body before stretchering him off, something that I have never seen in any sport other than horse racing when a horse breaks down and has to be euthanized on the track {they put up a giant sheet to shield the procedure from the stands}.
Forget the game, which is a whole nother story, but what got me thinking during and after the match was the Brits decision not to show any replays, and how 1) I liked that and 2) how different an approach that struck me as versus American sports coverage.
When horrific injuries happen in American sports, it's serious injury porn time. They typically show 100 replays of it, from every angle, use the telestrator to circle it, and point it out in excruciating detail time after time after time. Then, on the highlight shows, they often continue the injury porn by saying shit like "if you have a weak stomach, then you really should turn away for a few moments or leave the room", which strikes me as the exact same thing as a website telling a 15 year old boy "EXPLICIT SEXUAL MATERIAL- DO NOT ENTER IF YOU ARE UNDER 18". Tyrone Prothro, Bryant Young, Tim Krumrie, Joe Thiesmann, et al...
Anyhow, it just struck me as respectful and classy of the Brits to refuse to participate in the injury porn, especially considering it was Sky {owned by Rupert Murdoch, owner of Fox and several tabloid newspapers the world over}. In this day and age the injury porn seekers will find the video and pics on the internet in short order, and some injuries are so bad that it seems exploitative and gratuitous to show them several times over. I really wish that American sports media would follow the Brits lead on this, although I am beyond certain that they never will.
I didn't feel the need to rush home and find the pics on the internet, but Sunday I did break down and click through on a link to some pictures from an Arsenal blog, and I wish I hadn't, there were 9 pictures and after 2 I was done and wondering how long it would take for me to ever get that image out of my head. Now there's apparently slo-mo replay of it from other angles out there, but I'm going to pass: after seeing the scene at the match, seeing 2 pics, hearing his teammates talk about it, and hearing that the surgeons were seriously considering having to amputate his foot, I know all I need to know, and anything more seems pornographic at this point. If I live the rest of my life without ever seeing the video I'll be just fine.
As far as the injury itself/the incident/Martin Taylor/the rules which govern such things/etc, I completely agree and could not add anything to what Arseblogger said so eloquently about it yesterday {where he has a stunning picture just before impact to completely dispel the story that it was an innocent case of missing the ball} as well as today, so if you want an excellent and reasoned opinion about the situation read his stuff.
My thoughts and wishes are with Eduardo, who is well liked by his teammates and seems like a really good guy. So shitty for him that at age 24 he was really coming into his own and ready to lead Croatia at this summer's Euro2008 after leading them to qualification. He may or may not ever play again, but I just hope that he is able to recover to full heath and be able to walk and function normally. Best wishes man, forget about soccer right now and just get well.
Get better, man
Even if we never see this again,
here's hoping for a return to full health
Also, happy 25th birthday today, or as happy as it can be considering the circumstances.
Sky didn't launch into all the replay angles like normal, and soon word comes that the injury is so horrific that Sky is refusing to show any replays. Then I see that Eduardo is not conscious and is being given oxygen through a tank/mask thingy. After attending to him for 9 minutes, they place a white sheet over his body before stretchering him off, something that I have never seen in any sport other than horse racing when a horse breaks down and has to be euthanized on the track {they put up a giant sheet to shield the procedure from the stands}.
Forget the game, which is a whole nother story, but what got me thinking during and after the match was the Brits decision not to show any replays, and how 1) I liked that and 2) how different an approach that struck me as versus American sports coverage.
When horrific injuries happen in American sports, it's serious injury porn time. They typically show 100 replays of it, from every angle, use the telestrator to circle it, and point it out in excruciating detail time after time after time. Then, on the highlight shows, they often continue the injury porn by saying shit like "if you have a weak stomach, then you really should turn away for a few moments or leave the room", which strikes me as the exact same thing as a website telling a 15 year old boy "EXPLICIT SEXUAL MATERIAL- DO NOT ENTER IF YOU ARE UNDER 18". Tyrone Prothro, Bryant Young, Tim Krumrie, Joe Thiesmann, et al...
Anyhow, it just struck me as respectful and classy of the Brits to refuse to participate in the injury porn, especially considering it was Sky {owned by Rupert Murdoch, owner of Fox and several tabloid newspapers the world over}. In this day and age the injury porn seekers will find the video and pics on the internet in short order, and some injuries are so bad that it seems exploitative and gratuitous to show them several times over. I really wish that American sports media would follow the Brits lead on this, although I am beyond certain that they never will.
I didn't feel the need to rush home and find the pics on the internet, but Sunday I did break down and click through on a link to some pictures from an Arsenal blog, and I wish I hadn't, there were 9 pictures and after 2 I was done and wondering how long it would take for me to ever get that image out of my head. Now there's apparently slo-mo replay of it from other angles out there, but I'm going to pass: after seeing the scene at the match, seeing 2 pics, hearing his teammates talk about it, and hearing that the surgeons were seriously considering having to amputate his foot, I know all I need to know, and anything more seems pornographic at this point. If I live the rest of my life without ever seeing the video I'll be just fine.
As far as the injury itself/the incident/Martin Taylor/the rules which govern such things/etc, I completely agree and could not add anything to what Arseblogger said so eloquently about it yesterday {where he has a stunning picture just before impact to completely dispel the story that it was an innocent case of missing the ball} as well as today, so if you want an excellent and reasoned opinion about the situation read his stuff.
My thoughts and wishes are with Eduardo, who is well liked by his teammates and seems like a really good guy. So shitty for him that at age 24 he was really coming into his own and ready to lead Croatia at this summer's Euro2008 after leading them to qualification. He may or may not ever play again, but I just hope that he is able to recover to full heath and be able to walk and function normally. Best wishes man, forget about soccer right now and just get well.
Get better, man
Even if we never see this again,
here's hoping for a return to full health
Also, happy 25th birthday today, or as happy as it can be considering the circumstances.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Academy Awards: 4 out of 5 Ain't Bad
I saw JUNO on Friday night and NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN last night, getting me to 4 out of 5 of the Best Picture nominees. Unfortunately, THERE WILL BE BLOOD won't get viewed in time{sorry, Doug, I can't help you out on that one}.
Random thoughts...
JUNO and NCFOM wre both good, but personally I don't see what all the fuss is about- I neither loved nor hated both of these. JUNO is a George W Bush film {a great divider}, and people are either raving about it or hating on it hard. I'm right in the middle- I didn't hate it but it's not the most amazing shit I've seen either. As far as the dialog, yeah maybe it was mildly annoying, but hell I have no idea how 16 year olds talk these days, so no biggie. My problem with this movie is that although it was wonderfully acted, I just didn't find Juno's character to be that believable or realistic. I find it hard to believe that a 16 year old would really be so nonchalant and flippant through that whole experience, and that her dad would be so chill as well. That's more down to the story and the writing, as I said the acting was great- I especially liked how Jason Bateman played his likable character and Jennifer Garner played her not so likable character so well.
NCFOM did an amazing job of creating truly suspenseful/tense/scary scenes that were unpredictable and made me genuinely on edge, but methinks that falls more in line with the Best Direction category than Best Picture. The unresolved ending didn't really bother me, as this movie doesn't seem to be about a linear storyline rather than the theme of being an old man and trying to come to terms with the world passing you by, so no worries there. The story was good but not great, and I'm trying to figure out if all the violence was really merited or if it was violence for violence sake & a bit of violence porn like in PULP FICTION.
Anyhow, that leaves ATONEMENT and MICHAEL CLAYTON, both of which I personally liked better than the aforementioned two, which along with THERE WILL BE BLOOD seem to be getting all the buzz. They are pretty damn different, so it's had to choose between the two, but I suppose in the end ATONEMENT gave me more to think about afterwards and got me pondering some pretty philosophical shit- how to you make amends for a sin that is unforgivable? etc, etc. On the other hand, I'm sure if I had read the book before hand I wouldn't have liked it, since the next movie that is as good as or better than the book will be the first.
So of the 4 I saw I would rank them 1A ATONEMENT, 1B MICHAEL CLAYTON, 3 NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, 4 JUNO.
Bardem was good in NCFOM, but not to the level that everyone is freaking out about. I thought that Wilkinson was better in MICHAEL CLAYTON, and I thought that Phillip Seymour Hoffman was better than both of them in CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR.
I didn't see 4 of the 5 films for Best Actor, so no use in talking about that. I did think that Tommy Lee Jones was outstanding in NCFOM fwiw.
And although I failed to catch either of the 2 documentaries about Iraq, or the one about the Afghan taxi driver, I did see SICKO and WARDANCE, and I am pulling hard for WARDANCE to win Best Documentary- I thought the movie was amazing, and if it doesn't win then I am running out to watch what beats it, cause you are going to have to come pretty damn strong to beat that.
So there it is. My $0.02, even though I'm not nearly as knowledgeable as Solon, whose Oscars breakdown can be seen here.
Show's in 1 hour. Enjoy.
Random thoughts...
JUNO and NCFOM wre both good, but personally I don't see what all the fuss is about- I neither loved nor hated both of these. JUNO is a George W Bush film {a great divider}, and people are either raving about it or hating on it hard. I'm right in the middle- I didn't hate it but it's not the most amazing shit I've seen either. As far as the dialog, yeah maybe it was mildly annoying, but hell I have no idea how 16 year olds talk these days, so no biggie. My problem with this movie is that although it was wonderfully acted, I just didn't find Juno's character to be that believable or realistic. I find it hard to believe that a 16 year old would really be so nonchalant and flippant through that whole experience, and that her dad would be so chill as well. That's more down to the story and the writing, as I said the acting was great- I especially liked how Jason Bateman played his likable character and Jennifer Garner played her not so likable character so well.
NCFOM did an amazing job of creating truly suspenseful/tense/scary scenes that were unpredictable and made me genuinely on edge, but methinks that falls more in line with the Best Direction category than Best Picture. The unresolved ending didn't really bother me, as this movie doesn't seem to be about a linear storyline rather than the theme of being an old man and trying to come to terms with the world passing you by, so no worries there. The story was good but not great, and I'm trying to figure out if all the violence was really merited or if it was violence for violence sake & a bit of violence porn like in PULP FICTION.
Anyhow, that leaves ATONEMENT and MICHAEL CLAYTON, both of which I personally liked better than the aforementioned two, which along with THERE WILL BE BLOOD seem to be getting all the buzz. They are pretty damn different, so it's had to choose between the two, but I suppose in the end ATONEMENT gave me more to think about afterwards and got me pondering some pretty philosophical shit- how to you make amends for a sin that is unforgivable? etc, etc. On the other hand, I'm sure if I had read the book before hand I wouldn't have liked it, since the next movie that is as good as or better than the book will be the first.
So of the 4 I saw I would rank them 1A ATONEMENT, 1B MICHAEL CLAYTON, 3 NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, 4 JUNO.
Bardem was good in NCFOM, but not to the level that everyone is freaking out about. I thought that Wilkinson was better in MICHAEL CLAYTON, and I thought that Phillip Seymour Hoffman was better than both of them in CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR.
I didn't see 4 of the 5 films for Best Actor, so no use in talking about that. I did think that Tommy Lee Jones was outstanding in NCFOM fwiw.
And although I failed to catch either of the 2 documentaries about Iraq, or the one about the Afghan taxi driver, I did see SICKO and WARDANCE, and I am pulling hard for WARDANCE to win Best Documentary- I thought the movie was amazing, and if it doesn't win then I am running out to watch what beats it, cause you are going to have to come pretty damn strong to beat that.
So there it is. My $0.02, even though I'm not nearly as knowledgeable as Solon, whose Oscars breakdown can be seen here.
Show's in 1 hour. Enjoy.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Feel Good Friday: Raising Hell Edition
Oh, you wanted music for Feel Good Friday? Right...
I was also reminded today, thanks to iTunes shuffle, just how awesome a tune My Adidas by RUN-D.M.C. is:
Before corporate selling out, they flipped it
on it's head and pimped what they liked for no pay
And that always leads to Peter Piper, which bats leadoff on Raising Hell and 22 years later is still one of the greatest rap songs of all time
A great tune about JMJ: RIP.
Happy Weekend.
Laters.
I was also reminded today, thanks to iTunes shuffle, just how awesome a tune My Adidas by RUN-D.M.C. is:
Before corporate selling out, they flipped it
on it's head and pimped what they liked for no pay
And that always leads to Peter Piper, which bats leadoff on Raising Hell and 22 years later is still one of the greatest rap songs of all time
A great tune about JMJ: RIP.
Happy Weekend.
Laters.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)