Now that's a bounce back!

Finally, the US played the type of game against Guatemala last night that I would love to see them play every time they step on the field. Everything that was missing against Mexico on Sunday worked to perfection last night, for which I credit head coach Bruce Arena, and the fact that Landon Donovan's head appeared to be in this game now that his club situation is settled. The US pressured non-stop, attacked in waves, broke up just about every string of passes Guatemala tried to put together, and just kept them rocked back on their heels, and it resulted in one of the most lopsided 2-0 wins I've ever seen. Eddie Johnson scored again (he now has 8 goals in 8 international appearances and 7 in 6 World Cup Qualifiers), and Steve Ralston added an insurance goal in the second half. Landon Donovan was robbed of a beautiful finish by a very questionable offside call, and Brian Ching missed a net that couldn't have been more open if the goalie had stepped aside, but the US had so many chances, if they had finished a third of them this game would have been an embarrassing blowout.

I have to say, aside from the US's dominant play, my favorite part of the game was seeing Steve Ralston play so well. Here's a guy in the later part of his career who has always been a great player at the club level, but has struggled to make an impact with the National Team. He's a real class guy, and in the last few US games has really been an important part of the attack, including scoring a huge goal last night after an emotional sequence where the US should have had two or three goals due to some missed calls. I've always been a fan of Steve's, and it's nice to see somebody who deserves good things finally get their reward.

The 'burbs

Four days in suburbia have convinced me of one thing: this is not the life for me. Hot tub aside, there's not much appeal. I miss being able to walk, well, pretty much anywhere. And I've realized that I like the liveliness of my building. It may be the neighborhood, but I feel totally isolated out here. Plus, commuting brings out the worst in my driving. I get all road ragey and aggressive.

So, it's been a while since my last post. The US got spanked by Mexico on Sunday (the 2-1 score makes it seem closer than it was), and is looking to bounce back against Guatemala tonight (ESPN2, 8 pm ET).

This game has an interesting sidebar, as several of the top strikers from both teams were involved in an MLS deal today. Carlos Ruiz, Guatemala's top marksman, was traded from the LA Galaxy to FC Dallas today in exchange for an allocation that LA will use to sign US star Landon Donovan (as mentioned in my last post). In Dallas, Ruiz will now be paired with the US's Eddie Johnson, currently scoring at a prodigious rate for the Yanks, and Donovan will be teammates in LA with Guillermo "El Pando" Ramirez, the midfield general for Guatemala.

In non-soccer-related news, it's a good TV night. Lost returns from a month-long break with a new episode. Of course, it's on opposite the US game. That's why I love my DVR.

I added another concert to my summer schedule. I'll be traveling to Cincinnati at the end of May to see Keane. They're playing in Cincy and Chicago but not Indy, but hey, if the music won't come to me, I'll go to the music.

Landon Donovan: Back in MLS?

ESPN is reporting that American soccer star Landon Donovan may be returning to Major League Soccer to play for the Los Angeles Galaxy. Donovan won two MLS Cups in 2001 and 2003 with the San Jose Earthquakes while on loan from Bayer Leverkusen in Germany. He returned to Germany following the 2004 MLS season, but has struggled to crack the starting lineup.

I'm sure Euro snobs will point to this as another example of an American washing out in a top-flight league in Europe, but Landon struggled with homesickness during his first stint in Germany, and was much happier playing in his native California. It comes down to what's better: sitting on the bench in the Bundesliga, or starting every game in MLS?

Hostage sucked

Don't waste your money. Cardboard villains, stilted dialogue, a complete lack of character development and a plot full of holes. It's like a bad film school script somehow slipped through the cracks and got the greenlight. Unfortunately, it will probably still do well because of Bruce Willis, and studio executives will be able to justify pumping out more crap like this. I really need to trust my instincts on flicks like this and stay away.

The blogging may slow down some this week, since I'll be house- and dog-sitting for a friend of a friend. I don't know how much computer access I'll have (another reason to trade this thing in for a laptop), and besides, I'll be spending a lot of time in their hot tub drinking their beer, so it's likely blogging may be the last thing on my mind.

Half-day Fridays

Gotta love em. Especially when it's cold, raining, and grey for the 127th day in a row. I never thought much about things like seasonal affective disorder until this winter. I feel like I haven't seen the frickin' sun in months. Makes for a good excuse to take a nap, though.

Going to see Hostage tonight. I'm not sure how I feel about this one, but I got talked into it. At the very least, it will be two hours in the dark to take another nap. A few friends were going to see The Ring Two this afternoon, but since I haven't seen the first one (and because I'm kind of a pansy when it comes to scary movies), I passed.

So more good news on the concert front. Kings of Leon are going to be here the night after Ben Folds in May, and Eric Johnson (my all-time favorite guitarist) is going to be in Chicago in June. This is going to be a busy summer.

Domingo de Pascua

Sunday is a very big day in Mexico. Yes, yes, Smithers, I'm aware that they'll be celebrating some Christian holiday, and I'm sure plenty of them will go to church. But at 1:00 pm Eastern time, the hearts and minds of the Mexican people will be focused on Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, where a partisan crowd of about 100,000 will gather to throw batteries, pennies, bags of urine, and whatever else they can find at the US Men's National Team. (You can bear witness to the fun on ESPN2.) This is the time of year when the sight of a green and white jersey causes that vein in my temple to pop out. The US is trying to win for the first time ever in Mexico (all-time, they're 0-21-1), and as a World Cup Qualifier, this game is doubly important. But the Yanks are currently riding a 16-game unbeaten streak, have a red-hot striker in Eddie Johnson, and have a lot of confidence going into this match. Oh, and the US beat them when it counted... in the World Cup. That seems to have left a bit of a scar. I never feel good about games in Mexico, but I feel slightly less queasy for this one. Regardless of what happens, the Yanks need to bounce back quickly, because on Wednesday night, they turn right around and take on Guatemala in Birmingham, Alabama. Such is the crazy world of World Cup Qualifying.

Otherwise, it's a slow night for news. I'm trying to decide whether to watch Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind or House of Sand and Fog, my two current Netflix selections. They're both such upbeat movies, so it's tough to decide. Maybe it's time to dip into The Incredibles bonus features instead. Jack-Jack Attack, anyone?

News? Pshaw! Who needs it?

So, there's this whole Terri Schiavo thing that's getting some press coverage. You may have heard it mentioned recently. Not being a news-watcher, I haven't really paid much attention to it other than a few conversations with a woman at work who lived in Tampa until recently and covered this story for a few years. So I know enough about it to know that it makes me mad that the government is sticking its stupid nose where it doesn't belong again. I mean, if they can have special legislative sessions to write laws about her feeding tube, why not just write a law that divorces her from her husband and turns her over to her parents' care?

However, my favorite moment of the media frenzy so far was our wonderful president's comments about how "it is always wisest to err on the side of life." Sorry, George, could you repeat that? I couldn't hear you over the screaming of the 131 people you executed as governor of Texas. I almost got angry enough to look up a whole bunch of statistics to make my case, but a few brief moments of investigation showed me that This Modern World beat me to the punch. See how great the internet is?

Mmm... guilty pleasure...

I've never completely understood the appeal of magazines like People and US Weekly. I mean, the dichotomy of tearing down celebrities and fawning over them at the same time is totally lost on me. What is it? Hate them because they occasionally let their guard down and act like real people, or love them because when they clean up, they're like golden gods? Make up your mind.

Well, The Superficial has. Tear down, rip apart, dismantle and destroy in the cattiest, bitchiest manner possible is the clear mission of this blog. Much of the posts are devoted to exposing Britney Spears as the in-the-right-place-at-the-right-time white trash she is, and that, my friends, is good clean fun.*



*Actually, it's not. Anybody offended by foul language and crude sexual references, as well as people saying really, really mean things about celebs, skip this link. And then send me an email reminding me why we're friends...

Odds and Ends

My concert future is starting to look very bright. Just got tickets for my brother and I to see Gift of Gab and Lateef the Truth Speaker from Blackalicious in two weeks. Ben Folds is going to be here the first weekend in May, and the week after I'm heading up to Chicago to see Doves. Add in back to back U2 shows in October, and I've got a pretty good stretch coming up. Hopefully, there will be a few more to fill in this summer. I'd love to see Coldplay, Stereophonics and Elbow if they get over to the US this year.

Todd passed this along from Kottke.org. It's a pretty ballsy example of culture jamming, which just happens to be the last chapter I read in Naomi Klein's excellent book, No Logo, a look at globalization and the growth of corporate conglomerates that spun into a movement (and of course, requisite website). I forgot how much I was enjoying that book before I got sucked into Gormenghast, so I've added it to my sidebar. And no, the irony of linking to her book for sale on a giant corporate conglomerate website is not lost on me. If you want to buy it, try your local bookstore, as long as Barnes & Noble hasn't squashed them out of business. (Steps off soapbox.)

And finally, apparently, laughter really is the best medicine. Well, maybe not the best, but good enough for a physician in India to start a laughing club 10 years ago and for the idea to spread to the US. That's funny stuff, people.

It's Tuesday

And that means all kinds of new music and DVDs flooding the market. I made my weekly visit to the iTunes music store, and got really excited for a minute. At the bottom of the front page, you can choose to browse different iTunes stores from a variety of different countries. I switched over to the UK store, where they had tons of stuff unavailable in the US, including a Doves EP, the new Stereophonics album and Beck's new album (both of which have release dates scheduled for the US), a new Gorillaz single, and a bunch of different Elvis rereleases. Unfortunately, when I tried to buy something, it told me my account was only valid for purchases at the US store and sent me back there. Bee-yotch.

To console myself, I bought the remastered version of Ben Folds Five's Whatever and Ever Amen. It's one of my favorite albums in and of itself, but this version gets the value add of seven bonus tracks, including several covers and a version of "Song For The Dumped" that Ben sings in Japanese. Surreal.

While that was downloading, I stopped to watch the second installment of Clone Wars, and it was 12 minutes of kick-ass. It's gonna be hard for the movie to top this. OK, so the cartoon doesn't have Natalie Portman, but it also doesn't have her spouting painfully cardboard dialogue, either. And no trade delegations or Senate debates or stupid scientific explanations for The Force. It's pretty much just lightsaber fights and space battles, which is the way Star Wars should be.

I'm a little behind

with this bit of news, but it's cool enough to keep alive. Joss Whedon (of Buffy and Angel fame) is set to write and direct a big-screen version of Wonder Woman. I'm sure it will get all Hollywood-ized by the time it gets released and be a financial disappointment, but if there's anyone out there who can do a strong heroine justice, it's Joss. It will be interesting to see what he does with this. Other than some hazy memories of Lynda Carter and what I picked up from the awful Super Friends cartoons back in the 70's, Wonder Woman is one superhero that I don't know much about.

Star Wars, the cartoon?

We are now only two months away from the release of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, the final chapter to George Lucas' saga that will answer all those questions you've always had about how Darth Vader became the ultimate icon of evil. I hope that George can get at least one of these three prequels right, and judging by the preview, this looks to be the one.

But even more exciting to me is the release over the next 24 hours of the first round of Clone Wars cartoons on DVD and a new set of episodes premiering tonight on Cartoon Network. These are animated shorts, released as 5 minute episodes, that fill in some of the gaps between Episodes II and III, developing the relationship (and conflict) between Obi-Wan and Anakin and introducing a new villain. Cool enough for those of us who like our continuity, as these storylines are approved by Lucas himself (but thankfully, none of the dialogue comes from George's pen). But what gets me most excited about these cartoons is that they are done by Genndy Tartakovsky, the man behind Dexter's Laboratory and Samurai Jack and one of my all-time favorite animators. Minimal dialogue and a reliance on sound effects as well as an animé-influenced way of using simple shapes and negative space to create tension mark his style, and it's a perfect fit for the Star Wars universe. I enjoyed the first set of Clone Wars cartoons more than either Episode I or II (and not just due to the lack of Jar-Jar).

What the kids are saying these days...

I've been getting the Urban Dictionary Word of the Day email for a little while now, and yesterday's was quite good. Playlistism. We've finally started sharing our iTunes at work, and there's definitely plenty of this going around the office. The number of people who apparently have a no-longer-so-secret love of Broadway show tunes is amazing.

New Look

So with an eye to a renewed commitment to blogging, I did a little tweak of the site. Besides the new look, you'll also notice some links in the bar along the right side. These are the sites I visit the most: right now, the MLS and DC United websites, my friend Todd's blog, my friend Tom's photography website, and Chromewaves, my current favorite music blog. I'll be updating these as my tastes change, but these five will always remain as long as they're still working.

Below that, I've included a few links for what I'm currently listening to/watching/reading. These should change more frequently, and will probably expand pretty quickly.

Uncanny iTunes

I love the way that the shuffle setting on my iTunes library almost always manages to match my mood. For instance, I'm feeling a little dark and introspective on this cold, grey afternoon, so in the past 30 minutes I've gotten an 11-minute moody electronica track from Blur, a haunting Miles Davis piece, and a dark and scary selection from the Two Towers soundtrack. Perfect. It happens with enough frequency to make me think there's a little more artificial intelligence involved than Apple's letting on.

Good sports

This has been quite a week for me so far. My two favorite sports were in full swing. You've got the most exciting four days in basketball with the first and second rounds of March Madness, and there was plenty of American soccer on the schedule this week. The men's National Team continued its World Cup Qualifying tuneups by beating Honduras 1-0 and extending its undefeated streak to 16 games, and my DC United boys played twice this week in preparation for the upcoming MLS season. First they went to Jamaica for the second leg of their CONCACAF Champions Cup fixture against Harbour View FC and came home with a 2-1 victory, sending them on to the next round to meet Pumas from Mexico. Then last night, they fielded what basically amounted to a reserve squad against the San Jose Earthquakes at the Carolina Challenge Cup. They lost 2-0, but a lot of younger guys got valuable playing time against another MLS team. College basketball may be winding down, but with the MLS season and the biggest of big games for the National Team, Mexico in Mexico City, just around the corner, there's plenty more soccer to keep me occupied.

Mixing it up

Something I've always loved to do is make music mixes. Back in the dusty days of long ago, I would spend hours in front of the dual cassette deck, trying to get the breaks just right so that there wouldn't be that annoying click of the Stop button between songs. Thankfully, these days, iTunes has made the whole process a lot easier, and I've always got a box of blank CDs at the ready.

About a year ago, I was reading Nick Hornby's Songbook, and in his introduction, he made a wonderful suggestion: he makes a mix about every month or so of whatever he's listening to at that time. Old, new, pop, hip-hop, big band, whatever. It's a musical journal of his life, and an idea that I seized on immediately.

Following Hornby's template and making one about every month or so, I'm now burning my 12th mix in this series, and it's very interesting to me to go back and listen to some of my earliest mixes. It surprises me that some songs were released that long ago, and also tends to remind me of good songs that get lost in my large iTunes library. I usually keep the discs in my car, because they're always interesting if I end up on the road.

So since one of the reasons I started blogging was to share my musical tastes with my friends, I've decided to start posting my mixes. I'll put up the track list each time I create a new one, and if it sounds like something that interests you, get in touch with me and we'll discuss how to get you a version. Of course, I can't make copies and send them out. That would be illegal... ;)

3/19/05
Battle Without Honor Or Humanity, Tomoyasu Hotei (from Kill Bill Volume One)
Lose Yourself, Eminem (from 8 Mile)
Common People, William Shatner with Joe Jackson (from Has Been)
Six Months In a Leaky Boat, Ted Leo & Pharmacists (from Sharkbite Sessions)
Life In a Northern Town, The Dream Academy (from The Dream Academy)
Not A Job, Elbow (from Cast Of Thousands)
Some Cities, Doves (from Some Cities)
Portions For Foxes, Rilo Kiley (from More Adventurous)
Me And Mia, Ted Leo & Pharmacists (from Shake The Sheets)
Catch My Disease, Ben Lee (from Awake is the New Sleep)
Wake Me Up When September Ends, Green Day (from American Idiot)
It Ain't Right, The Shore (from The Shore)
Snowden, Doves (from Some Cities)
Time Is Running Out, Muse (from Absolution)
Tell Balgeary, Balgury is Dead, Ted Leo & Pharmacists (from Tell Balgeary, Balgury is Dead)
Pink Bullets, The Shins (from Chutes Too Narrow)
Thinking About You, Ivy (from In The Clear)
Are We The Waiting, Green Day (from American Idiot)
Yellow Ledbetter, Pearl Jam (from Rearviewmirror: Greatest Hits 1991-2003)

Better now

OK, so following my Friday night meltdown, I had a good weekend. I got up early on Saturday and went out for breakfast at The Abbey, a semi-hip downtown coffeehouse where I drank a bottomless cup of coffee and read. Spending some time with the bohemian set made me feel a little better about Indy. In the afternoon I got a massage, and in my relaxed state, I decided to remove some clutter. As Phoenix says in their song Everything is Everything, "The things I do possess, sometimes they own me too." So now there's a lot less owning going on in my apartment. When I got home from my massage, I gutted my CD collection, packed up a huge amount of clothes for Goodwill, and disconnected my XBox with the intent to eventually sell it. There's still a lot more to go, but this was a good start. The rest of the weekend was spent buried in The Collected Gormenghast Novels (Titus Groan, Gormenghast, and Titus Alone) by Merwyn Peake. The books are the story of the new heir (Titus) to the gigantic, sprawling castle of Gormenghast, and his interactions with the rather Dickensian characters who live in the castle with him. I'm still deciding whether I like it.

Today, I discovered the music of Ted Leo & Pharmacists. I've read about them a lot, but never listened to the music until now. My friend Todd turned me on to a great blog, Chrome Wave, and through there, I made my way to the Ted Leo site, where you can download several mp3s from each of their albums. I recommend "Me and Mia" and "Ghosts". The music is different, but Leo's voice brings to mind one of the Finn Brothers (Neil and Tim, Crowded House, Split Enz) at certain points.

One of those days

Be forewarned: This post is pretty much 100% rant.

Ever had a day where you knew you should have stayed in bed about 10 minutes after you got out of it? Friday was one for me. I slept horribly Thursday night and could barely drag myself out of bed. After hitting snooze 6 or 7 times, I rolled out of bed and within 5 minutes managed to stub my toe, bump my knee, and hit my head on my bathroom cabinet. I made it to work without any major injuries, but things just got better there. On a day when I really needed to get things done, it seemed like everyone in the building decided to stop by my desk. This isn't difficult for anyone to do, because not only do I not have a door to shut, I only have two walls on my cubicle. Plus, I'm right next to the printers, so usually right about the time I start to get somewhere on a layout is the time somebody comes over to pick up their printout and remembers some reason to interrupt me. You'd think having my headphones on and looking busy might give people the hint, but apparently that means nothing to my co-workers. I managed to make it until 6:00 today, and then had to leave before I broke something... or someone.

After that day, I decided to go to a concert to relax. The Ditty Bops and The Shore played a benefit for music in the schools. The Ditty Bops, two women and three men who played mandolin, guitar, upright bass, drums, and fiddle/guitar/lap steel, played first and were nice in a sort of old-fashioned way (like 1920's old-fashioned). Then came The Shore, a band from LA who sound like they could have come out of Manchester in the early 90's. I was excited to see them, but apparently I was just about the only one in the place that felt that way. The idiots who didn't walk out in the middle of the set stood around yapping, totally oblivious to the fact that they were missing a great show. This is a band that would probably pack the Bowery Ballroom in New York (at least 3 times the size of this place), but as I'm quickly figuring out, the majority of Hoosiers wouldn't know good music if it bit them on their fat asses. I used to think Indy's music scene was pretty good, but I'm being forced to reevaluate that idea each time I go to another show here. Unfortunately, the band noticed the lack of enthusiasm and rapidly dwindling crowd, and only played about 30 minutes before stalking off the stage. I don't blame them one bit. Nothing I enjoy more than having a concert I want to see spoiled by a bunch of drunken, doughy, tasteless jerks.

Finally, to top the night off, I was driving home on the highway in the rain and got passed on the right by some redneck jackass in an oversized pickup truck who threw his half-full beer can out the driver's side window, forcing me to swerve and nearly spin out. It's understandable, though; he was probably distracted thinking of other ways besides his gas-guzzling behemoth truck to compensate for his tiny, inadequate penis.

I think it's time for a vacation, because I've had just about all the Hoosier I can handle.

Paste Recommends... that I spend more money on CDs

Regular readers (all three of you) may remember my post about my last visit to Luna Music, a local CD shop. Tonight I stopped by again to pick up the new CD from one of my favorite bands, Doves. When I got there, I discovered to my delight that Luna has a promotional listening booth set up by my favorite music magazine, Paste. For those of you not familiar with the magazine, it covers a lot of alt country, roots rock and British artists that you may not hear on the radio (at least not yet), and each issue comes with a 20+ track sampler CD. Since subscribing a year ago, I've spent more than my normal amount of money on music, because I discover some great artists on each new sampler CD. Well now, to make matters worse, Paste is placing these listening stations, called Paste Recommends, in independent music stores like Luna. You can listen to a variety of CDs by different artists and also listen to the sampler from the current issue of Paste. So to make a long story short, not only did I pick up Doves' stellar new disc, "Some Cities", but I also got Ivy's "In the Clear" and the self-titled debut from The Shore. It's both a blessing and a curse to love music so much. Blessing on my ears, curse on my wallet.