There's a lot of catching up to do before the start of the new season in Europe this year and unfortunately, that means some stale news. The first is the Manchester United purchase of Nani, the brilliant midfielder from Sporting Lisbon. Nani was stunning over the summer in the U-21 World Cup for Portugal, despite their failure to reach the final.
Below is his goal in the World Cup against Israel.
After his 3 goals scored in the U-21 World Cup Nani began to make a deal with Manchester United and I wouldn't be surprised if Mr. Ferguson made his mind up on the spot after seeing this singular effort. Whether or not Man. U. needed another strong, flare-centric midfielder was something of a question. They already have Ronaldo. Not only Ronaldo, but also the likes of Giggs, Scholes, Carrick, O'Shea, and Ji-Sing Park holding the midfield tightly in Manchester's favor. Now, with the addition of Nani, Mr. Ferguson has added another strong, influential player to their line-up in the mold of Ronaldo. He has also found someone who can move in the same way as Ronaldo; helping to alleviate the gap between his first Portuguese acquisition's flavorful passes and jukes that have sometimes left his teammates guessing--causing constant misques and turnovers.
Below are the goals that Nani scored in Manchester's pre-season travels in Asia. The first is an example of Nani's vision and deftness at positioning the ball exactly where he chooses. The other, based on a pass from Ronaldo, is what has begun to convince me that these two talented Portuguese players will prove to be an effective combination.
As for the debate about Carlos Tevez, he has shown he can deal with the physical play of the Premiership and single-handedly saved West Ham from relegation in the final game of the season...away from home...at Manchester United. Of course the fight over who exactly owns the rights to Carlos Tevez have mucked up the process of his move to Old Trafford. This past week he was allowed to move to Manchester and he's just had his first trainging session with the Red Devils. On the whole I'm impressed with what he's capable of, but I'm not sure he has the ability to impress on that scale. This being said, I'm not Alex Ferguson and I don't have 12 million Euros laying around. Kudos.
Here's the goal Tevez scored against Manchester United, handing them only their third loss of the season.
Saturday, August 04, 2007
Thursday, August 02, 2007
A New Face For Arsenal
There has been much debate about the potential of Arsenal now that Thierry Henry has signed to Barcelona. Sceptics point to the assured 20 goals Henry scored a season and optomists show the 06/07 season--largely played without their guiding light--as the beginning of a great new squad. Players such as Fabregas, Adebayor, Hleb, Rosicky, Kolo Toure, Gilberto, and a blossoming Clichy all showed their willingness to improve while Henry was on the bench with injury for most of the season.
In this video, look for a brilliant run and goal by Alexander Hleb at the 2:10 mark and a beautiful shot and goal by Van Persie at the 4 minute mark. That goal in particaulr is worth checking out in the reverse angle just to watch the movement of his feet around the ball.
It is, of course, to early to speculate on the possibilties for the Arsenal campaign, but with a renewed Van Persie, a more confident Fabregas and a young squad that improves every day, this team is showing that they may be putting up a fight for the title this year.
In this video, look for a brilliant run and goal by Alexander Hleb at the 2:10 mark and a beautiful shot and goal by Van Persie at the 4 minute mark. That goal in particaulr is worth checking out in the reverse angle just to watch the movement of his feet around the ball.
It is, of course, to early to speculate on the possibilties for the Arsenal campaign, but with a renewed Van Persie, a more confident Fabregas and a young squad that improves every day, this team is showing that they may be putting up a fight for the title this year.
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
Lionel Messi in 2007
As a warm-up to the new soccer season, I've decided to begin posting short videos of those players and goals that make this new season something to look forward to.
Today is a video of Lionel Messi and his goal again Getafe in La Liga last year that made him the leading heir to replace Maradona in the minds of Argentines.
Also posted is the 1986 goal by Diego Maradona (below) that is considered legendary. Watch them back to back and you see why Lionel Messi has so many people behind him even though he's only 20 years old.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Don't Fashion
There is a great argument in my mind the past few days about fashion. I've never considered myself fashionable, but I would say that there are a few trends I've followed in my life. It started with Hypercolors in the seventh grade and has continued on through messenger bags and adopting some of the more typical Richmond, Va. summer trends. That is to say, I've never been very fashionable, but I've always seen those things that I like and adopted them.
The problem with this thought is that it isn't my own and will never be mine since I got it from 10,000 people. So, this thinking has cast a shadow over my attempt to "get into" fashion.
It all started when I wanted to change my summer style. That's what I kept calling it; my "Summer Style." I looked into getting new shorts--with nothing greater than a 7" inseam--and I had picked out several pairs of shoes I wanted. That was easy. I pride myself on my shoe whoring and a good pair of shorts are a fairly simple find. The problem lay with shirts. Do I go with V-neck shirts, a tidbit several of my friends were picking up? Do I go with thrift store finds? Or do I go with those perfectly faded Urban Outfitter shirts? Not to build it up too much, but I chose none of the above. I chose hawaiian. Yes, those great shirts that no one other than 55 year old, upper-class assholes still wear. I figured I can't go wrong. I am not only going in my own direction for once, but I have something that when matched with my 5" inseam shorts and my burly mustache, it gives me a certain Tom Selleck meets Richard Dreyfuss look. Sold!
So, I finally got my toes wet. I may have had a few friends laugh at me, but hey, it was worth it. I felt like the very embodiment of summer. It was a mental vacation. The kind I didn't even know I needed until it was already here. Everyday affairs like riding my bike became miniature holidays. My walk slowed. My mind seemed to empty a little more often, not filling with the same tired ideas and worries. I spent time just thinking about how nice Tahiti must be and what a great day for porching it was. I was in no rush and there was nothing on this earth to change that. Great. Good. I want more.
Fall and winter fashion is a a phrase that two years ago I would have looked down on ANYONE for writing as an opening to a paragraph. Now, it has become a bit of a quandary to me. It still makes me recoil a little, but now I'm also curious about it; circling it and sniffing at it like a cat who has seen its first real mouse. Now I'm interested. This all started with my roommate and fellow poster telling me about another blog that posted about fashion and they had a whole argument on the proper lengths of shorts for men. Needless to say, I was intruigued. I looked up the blog and it was filled with people who either had designer label fashion down to a science or people who were far more interesting. They had their very own fashion; different from other people on the page and much different from people I had seen. It was amazing to me. It was like discovering a new artist or a new genre of music that had somehow never reached my ears. Granted, it was something that I had never gone looking for before now. Fashion had always seemed almost like a surface level explosion of self-importance and/or self-conscienceness to me. It had taken new shape in my mind though these last few months as not a mental deformity turned physical, but rather as a way for a person to assert themselves and, in a way, to create their own form of art.
As of now, I've been looking at everything from Calvin Klein to J. Crew to Brooks Brothers--all three of which I would rather have been beaten by a mob of perturbed stock brokers two years ago rather than wear their clothes. I still see all these individual companies and the style they sell to be nothing spectacular, but there are bits and pieces scattered here and there that are worth trying out.
I can't say that I'm still that comfortable with the idea of spending a lot of my money on fashion. But you know what? A J. Crew washed-out white button up still looks good with a Uniqlo cashmere sweater and a Ben Sherman blazer.
The problem with this thought is that it isn't my own and will never be mine since I got it from 10,000 people. So, this thinking has cast a shadow over my attempt to "get into" fashion.
It all started when I wanted to change my summer style. That's what I kept calling it; my "Summer Style." I looked into getting new shorts--with nothing greater than a 7" inseam--and I had picked out several pairs of shoes I wanted. That was easy. I pride myself on my shoe whoring and a good pair of shorts are a fairly simple find. The problem lay with shirts. Do I go with V-neck shirts, a tidbit several of my friends were picking up? Do I go with thrift store finds? Or do I go with those perfectly faded Urban Outfitter shirts? Not to build it up too much, but I chose none of the above. I chose hawaiian. Yes, those great shirts that no one other than 55 year old, upper-class assholes still wear. I figured I can't go wrong. I am not only going in my own direction for once, but I have something that when matched with my 5" inseam shorts and my burly mustache, it gives me a certain Tom Selleck meets Richard Dreyfuss look. Sold!
So, I finally got my toes wet. I may have had a few friends laugh at me, but hey, it was worth it. I felt like the very embodiment of summer. It was a mental vacation. The kind I didn't even know I needed until it was already here. Everyday affairs like riding my bike became miniature holidays. My walk slowed. My mind seemed to empty a little more often, not filling with the same tired ideas and worries. I spent time just thinking about how nice Tahiti must be and what a great day for porching it was. I was in no rush and there was nothing on this earth to change that. Great. Good. I want more.
Fall and winter fashion is a a phrase that two years ago I would have looked down on ANYONE for writing as an opening to a paragraph. Now, it has become a bit of a quandary to me. It still makes me recoil a little, but now I'm also curious about it; circling it and sniffing at it like a cat who has seen its first real mouse. Now I'm interested. This all started with my roommate and fellow poster telling me about another blog that posted about fashion and they had a whole argument on the proper lengths of shorts for men. Needless to say, I was intruigued. I looked up the blog and it was filled with people who either had designer label fashion down to a science or people who were far more interesting. They had their very own fashion; different from other people on the page and much different from people I had seen. It was amazing to me. It was like discovering a new artist or a new genre of music that had somehow never reached my ears. Granted, it was something that I had never gone looking for before now. Fashion had always seemed almost like a surface level explosion of self-importance and/or self-conscienceness to me. It had taken new shape in my mind though these last few months as not a mental deformity turned physical, but rather as a way for a person to assert themselves and, in a way, to create their own form of art.
As of now, I've been looking at everything from Calvin Klein to J. Crew to Brooks Brothers--all three of which I would rather have been beaten by a mob of perturbed stock brokers two years ago rather than wear their clothes. I still see all these individual companies and the style they sell to be nothing spectacular, but there are bits and pieces scattered here and there that are worth trying out.
I can't say that I'm still that comfortable with the idea of spending a lot of my money on fashion. But you know what? A J. Crew washed-out white button up still looks good with a Uniqlo cashmere sweater and a Ben Sherman blazer.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Monday, February 05, 2007
United 93 Passengers.
Now, the following is not a joke. I know it probably won't come across as being very polite, but whatever. I've done worse and spoken ten times worse. I also feel that I should preemptively state that I'm not religious and thus don't believe any of this. I was just curious.
So, you know how all those planes crashed that day? You know, the two in New York, the one in Washington and the one in Pennsylvania. My friend watched the film "United 93" about the passengers on that particular flight that took the plane back and crashed it in Pennsylvania (in case you didn't already know all this). Well, I can only imagine (and I'm taking the point of view of a religious right Christian here) that when they all gathered at the Gates of Heaven (which they would, because all martyred Americans go to heaven, no matter what) everyone from the other three flights just stared down everyone from Flight 93? 'Cause, you know, they made everyone else look bad. They re-took the plane! Everyone else was laid back and chillin' when their planes were taken by the terrorists/muslism/heathens/buttholes. Okay, maybe not that, but they sure as shit didn't take the plane back all "Air Force One" like. And you know there was no one as bad ass as Gary Oldman doing that shit. It was probably some scared as shit, skinny as hell (because they don't have food. Get it?!?) dudes who were starting to seriously questions how there friends had ever talked them into this Allah thing.
I'm aware that this is a trivial thought, but I didn't see ANYONE from the major networks ask about this in the aftermath; which I think is just sloppy.
So, you know how all those planes crashed that day? You know, the two in New York, the one in Washington and the one in Pennsylvania. My friend watched the film "United 93" about the passengers on that particular flight that took the plane back and crashed it in Pennsylvania (in case you didn't already know all this). Well, I can only imagine (and I'm taking the point of view of a religious right Christian here) that when they all gathered at the Gates of Heaven (which they would, because all martyred Americans go to heaven, no matter what) everyone from the other three flights just stared down everyone from Flight 93? 'Cause, you know, they made everyone else look bad. They re-took the plane! Everyone else was laid back and chillin' when their planes were taken by the terrorists/muslism/heathens/buttholes. Okay, maybe not that, but they sure as shit didn't take the plane back all "Air Force One" like. And you know there was no one as bad ass as Gary Oldman doing that shit. It was probably some scared as shit, skinny as hell (because they don't have food. Get it?!?) dudes who were starting to seriously questions how there friends had ever talked them into this Allah thing.
I'm aware that this is a trivial thought, but I didn't see ANYONE from the major networks ask about this in the aftermath; which I think is just sloppy.
Sunday, February 04, 2007
Essential Thrillers: A Brief List.
I like lists. I imagine you like lists, too. What a great way to spend a day off! You got cleaning to do? Make a list of chores! You want to lead a life of sexual debauchery/greatness? Make a list, son! There's more perversities out there than you can shake a boner at (put "ball-fucking" right at the top"). With this in mind, I have made a list of about 20 essential thrillers. Please bear in mind that this list is NOT final and was constructed hastily after my girlfriend placed her faith in me to show her good movies (of which I know a lot and she knows little). This is only the first list, there is also a "Fantasy" list and a "Treasures of Current Asian Cinema" list that will eventually pop-up. I'm hoping to get some help adding both current and older films to this list, so please, give me what ya got!
1. North By Northwest
2. Leon
3. Alien
4. The Manchurian Candidate
5. The Big Sleep
6. The Jackal
7. Notorious
8. High Noon
9. 3 Days of the Condor
10. The French Connection
11. Heavenly Creatures
12. Shadow of a Doubt
13. Patriot Games
14. Rope
15. The Silence of the Lambs
16. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Once again, if you have a suggestion, bring it. I'm open to anything.
1. North By Northwest
2. Leon
3. Alien
4. The Manchurian Candidate
5. The Big Sleep
6. The Jackal
7. Notorious
8. High Noon
9. 3 Days of the Condor
10. The French Connection
11. Heavenly Creatures
12. Shadow of a Doubt
13. Patriot Games
14. Rope
15. The Silence of the Lambs
16. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Once again, if you have a suggestion, bring it. I'm open to anything.
Saturday, February 03, 2007
Current Television Woo-hoo's and Woes.
Recently I've been busy running around between working lunch and double shifts and trying to record an album ("trying" is the key to unlocking just how well it's going). That hasn't left much time for those meanial things like spending time with my live-in girlfriend, my crew of friends I'm hereby dubbing the "Boom Town Shakers" or anything or anyone else that I really know and enjoy. In place of all those wonderful things I enjoy, I've pumped in as much television as possible. This isn't out of desire, but out of a need to absorb something other than work, music or sleep and television is the easiest way to fill this gap. It is with this fact in hand that I present to you...MY TELEVISION "WOO-HOO'S AND WOES"...!!!
Those shows that have aided me in my mission for temporary fulfillment are as follows:
LAW AND ORDER: SVU Oh yeah. After working for thirteen hours in a small kitchen with two other dudes where homoeroticism rules and comments such as "Your package looks really good" are flung around with a straight face, it's nice to turn on the television and see a world full of sexual violence and moral depravity the likes of which I'll never reach. It's kind of like a "well, at least I'm not THAT bad" kind of thing. Not only does it let me know what ground I stand on, but it also serves as a nice palate cleanser. I know that sounds kind of backwards, but I listen to and watch a lot of of fluffy shit in my day. So it's nice to have something to wash the goodness out of my mouth. Plus, you know, Mariska Hartigay lives in a little world called I like to call "smokin'".
ICONOCLASTS Mikhail Baryshnikov and Alice Waters, Laird Hamilton and Eddie Vedder, Isabella Rossellini and Dean Kamen, Dave Chappelle and Maya Angelou. I just discovered this show during its second season on Sundance Channel and I haven't been this excited about a show in a while. Two people who are long time friends or just acquaintances, but who are each well respected in their particular fields discussing their lives and the way they look at what they do. I know that's not a very fascinating sentence, but the show is good. You especially have to watch the Dave Chappelle/Maya Angelou episode. That woman is amazing and just about everything she says rings true. This is the kind of show I reserve for when I actually feel like bettering myself (around 7% of the time).
STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP Aaron Sorkin is a television genius. His newest show isn't as strong as the previous two: Sports Night and West Wing, but it's still better written and acted than just about anything else that's out right now. It definitely comes off as more preachy than the previous two, which is odd since the venue of the West Wing seems like it would be a much better platform, but so it goes. It lacks the raw appetite to prove itself as Sports Night did and it lacks the polish of the West Wing, but Studio 60 is good, despite the growing pretentions of its creator.
VERONICA MARS Everyone in the world has already stated the obvious. Veronica Mars is my geek-filled heart's replacement to Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It has probably managed to stay on the air due, in part, to this idea (an idea that even Joss Whedon has written about). This isn't just it though. Kristen Bell is an amazing actress and she sells every line she's given. For my bottom dollar, she's probably one of the few actors on television for whom you can probably slack on your writing a little bit and use her acting as a crutch.
Those are the big ones. The rest are less frequent, though still really good: South Park, Extras, Entourage, Scrubs (until the last five minutes when the shitty kinda-but-not-really indie rock song comes on and the drama's laid on so thick you could swear you wrote it when you were seventeen), Daily Show, Colbert Report, Survivor Man, etc. An Honorable Mention shout out goes to The Sarah Silverman Show since the first episode was pretty funny, but who knows.
This category is a bit tougher. How can you judge a show that you don't like when you watch it anyway? Let's find out!
SCRUBS I know, it's on the previous list, but seriously, the last five minutes are that bad. Not to mention that there's only so long Zach Braff can be the lovable fuck up before the lovable part washes away and all you have is a truly annoying character. It doesn't help that the writers seem to be giggling to themselves as they write the same 7 or 8 scripts over and over.
GILMORE GIRLS This is my girlfriends fault. I thought the first two seasons were great, but after that it plummeted. Chalk it up to being too clever for itself. You cant't be that witty for that long without losing some of the splender. I tried watching this season as well. The new head writer doesn't have nearly the pedigree that Amy Palladino had. Now, in its seventh season the show is spinning wheels is doesn't even have anymore. I know that doesn't make sense, but I think you might know what I mean.
CARNIVALE Yeah, I like David Lynch too.
Everything else that compromise the "woes" section is everything else on television. Honorable Mention in this category goes to Mind of Mencia. My co-workers quote this back to me all day. I can't escape this shit even when I don't watch it.
Those shows that have aided me in my mission for temporary fulfillment are as follows:
LAW AND ORDER: SVU Oh yeah. After working for thirteen hours in a small kitchen with two other dudes where homoeroticism rules and comments such as "Your package looks really good" are flung around with a straight face, it's nice to turn on the television and see a world full of sexual violence and moral depravity the likes of which I'll never reach. It's kind of like a "well, at least I'm not THAT bad" kind of thing. Not only does it let me know what ground I stand on, but it also serves as a nice palate cleanser. I know that sounds kind of backwards, but I listen to and watch a lot of of fluffy shit in my day. So it's nice to have something to wash the goodness out of my mouth. Plus, you know, Mariska Hartigay lives in a little world called I like to call "smokin'".
ICONOCLASTS Mikhail Baryshnikov and Alice Waters, Laird Hamilton and Eddie Vedder, Isabella Rossellini and Dean Kamen, Dave Chappelle and Maya Angelou. I just discovered this show during its second season on Sundance Channel and I haven't been this excited about a show in a while. Two people who are long time friends or just acquaintances, but who are each well respected in their particular fields discussing their lives and the way they look at what they do. I know that's not a very fascinating sentence, but the show is good. You especially have to watch the Dave Chappelle/Maya Angelou episode. That woman is amazing and just about everything she says rings true. This is the kind of show I reserve for when I actually feel like bettering myself (around 7% of the time).
STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP Aaron Sorkin is a television genius. His newest show isn't as strong as the previous two: Sports Night and West Wing, but it's still better written and acted than just about anything else that's out right now. It definitely comes off as more preachy than the previous two, which is odd since the venue of the West Wing seems like it would be a much better platform, but so it goes. It lacks the raw appetite to prove itself as Sports Night did and it lacks the polish of the West Wing, but Studio 60 is good, despite the growing pretentions of its creator.
VERONICA MARS Everyone in the world has already stated the obvious. Veronica Mars is my geek-filled heart's replacement to Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It has probably managed to stay on the air due, in part, to this idea (an idea that even Joss Whedon has written about). This isn't just it though. Kristen Bell is an amazing actress and she sells every line she's given. For my bottom dollar, she's probably one of the few actors on television for whom you can probably slack on your writing a little bit and use her acting as a crutch.
Those are the big ones. The rest are less frequent, though still really good: South Park, Extras, Entourage, Scrubs (until the last five minutes when the shitty kinda-but-not-really indie rock song comes on and the drama's laid on so thick you could swear you wrote it when you were seventeen), Daily Show, Colbert Report, Survivor Man, etc. An Honorable Mention shout out goes to The Sarah Silverman Show since the first episode was pretty funny, but who knows.
This category is a bit tougher. How can you judge a show that you don't like when you watch it anyway? Let's find out!
SCRUBS I know, it's on the previous list, but seriously, the last five minutes are that bad. Not to mention that there's only so long Zach Braff can be the lovable fuck up before the lovable part washes away and all you have is a truly annoying character. It doesn't help that the writers seem to be giggling to themselves as they write the same 7 or 8 scripts over and over.
GILMORE GIRLS This is my girlfriends fault. I thought the first two seasons were great, but after that it plummeted. Chalk it up to being too clever for itself. You cant't be that witty for that long without losing some of the splender. I tried watching this season as well. The new head writer doesn't have nearly the pedigree that Amy Palladino had. Now, in its seventh season the show is spinning wheels is doesn't even have anymore. I know that doesn't make sense, but I think you might know what I mean.
CARNIVALE Yeah, I like David Lynch too.
Everything else that compromise the "woes" section is everything else on television. Honorable Mention in this category goes to Mind of Mencia. My co-workers quote this back to me all day. I can't escape this shit even when I don't watch it.
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