do not, I repeat, do not grab your nuts in Italy,......

most of you are aware of my obsession with all things European football. (I promise this won't be boring, but funny). I also devote a large amount of my time listening to ex-pats discuss the beautiful game 5 days a week on Word Soccer Daily. WSD is a 2 hr. radio show that airs from 1-3pm on Sirius and then is available as a free download from iTunes at about 3:15. On some days I actually plan other events around when I can get to my laptop and download it. It really gives me a sense of community. (refer to yesterdays posting for more on that matter). Anyways, on Thursday's show host Steven Cohen read a story, (i swear this is true) about how in Italy, it is now illegal for a man to grab his crotch in public. Now, before you dismiss this as another one of my jokes, be assured that at the end of this blog I will post a link to a credible news source that has the full story. (for those still in a state of dis-belief, try a google search of "crotch grabbing in Italy".) Crotch grabbing in Italy has some differences compared with how we view it here state side. Over here, it is usually associated with a derogatory gesture or insult. In the boot, superstitious Italian men will perform this act for good luck, (to ward off bad luck) or when passing a hearse. The National Court of Appeal has ruled it "an act contrary to the decorum and public decency." I suppose in the end this is just an FYI, when travelling abroad this summer, sons of America, do not, I repeat, do not grab your nuts! You might end up paying a huge fine. Laters
http://www.asylum.com/2008/02/28/public-crotch-grabbing-outlawed-in-italy/

listening to right now: Until I Die by Ben Kweller

jesse D

a sense of community,..

as I put the finishing touches on my first ever short story I can only credit it's conception to one thing. Community. The story was conceived by an idea I got from a post on a friend's blog that I caught on my daily visit (www.brokenblues.com). A few of us started posting various writings on this sight within the same month or so in '08. So far I've gotten some decent feedback on my writings and in turn have tried to give some positive thoughts back as well. This sense of community is exactly what I was looking for when I set out on this venture. I know it will continue to grow throughout this year. Another reason why I think this is important is because most of us are entering into our mid-to-late 20's and early 30's. We are edging farther away from the life we knew when we were children. Some of us are already married, or may become married soon, and the majority of our group of friends has changed at least once or twice in the last 5 years. Plain and simple, we need to feel like we belong to someone or something. A wise man once said, "friends, not relatives are the new family of the 20th century". I don't how true that is, but it does hold some relevance. As far as the story is concerned, well I don't know how good it is, but I know I enjoyed writing it. Who knows maybe it will develop into something better as time goes on. Be gentle, it's my first time. (that's what she said!).

listening to right now: The Greatest by Cat Power

jesse

live by the iPod, die by the iPod.

for a while now, I've wanted to write a few ideas about my favorite products, companies, gadgets, things of that nature. But in the end I guess laziness prompted me to take an easier route to international stardom. The idea did get me thinking though of how much we as a society rely on technology. Now, I know this isn't an original thought by me, (a great mind of the,....what century are we in right now?) but if you really think about it, it's beyond true. Last night I finally bit the bullet and signed up for high speed internet service where I live. Partly because I wanted Ang to have something to do while I'm watching 6 hours of UEFA Champions League on a Tuesday afternoon. But you guessed it, every possible problem that could occur, did. I mean every little thing. Of course I had a monumental meltdown and still have no service. But here is the cherry! My brother was over at that very moment with his recently purchased iPod that he had just acquired because his last MP3 player, unannounced to him, came into contact with some Mountain Dew. He of course wanted to fill it with literally thousands of songs that I had on my laptop. Are you starting to see the vicious cycle? (yes, we are all slaves) The sad fact here is that I'm not saying there is anything wrong with this, I am in turn saying that we should embrace this. (we should all continue to get really, really angry when our technology fails us, considering that we have no real control over whether it works or not) Technology is a wonderful thing that makes all our lives better. (if you have an iPod). So with all that said, we should all hand write a letter to some old dude sittin' on his front porch playing blues music with a guitar that has a hole in it and tell him how much we appreciate what we have. (*Benton, surely you have a long lost Uncle who fits this mold.)

(say it ain't so, xcruti8ingly clevr) (couldn't you have at least thought of a better name?)

listening to right now: About Today by The National

jchu

last night I had a dream,...

....and in that dream, there were these 2 annoying people that liked to hear themsleves talk. You know the types. They were the long winded kind who use the same analogies over and over again. They also are probably the ones who stand right directly (uncomfortably) behind you in line for coffee, or popcorn at the movies. Anyways, in this dream they just wouldn't shut up, ya know(?), they would not stop talking. It was terrible. They even started picking on each other! The thing about it is that I didn't even know them, (or at least didn't know if I knew them, because I didn't know their real names) and I was actually trying to get some work done. Come on, I know this has happened to everyone out there. You can relate right? Well the one thing I'll never forget is exactly the way they looked. The reason it stuck out so much is how odd, and even unsettling they were. Be aware that I did have jalapeños on my tofu burrito for dinner, so maybe that had some ill effect. So that said, I guess this is just a visual from a really weird dream I had. (watch out david lynch) I have no other explanation than that.
listening to right now: 7/4 Shorline by Broken Social Scene

jesse

I ate my cereal with a fork this morning.

Wow! this little project of mine, my little baby, my jesse jr., is turning into quite the popular little stop on some people's daily cyber space romp. Don't get me wrong, it's a really cool thing that's happening, and I promise I won't let it go to my head. But you never know who is going to show up on these things. (keeping the illusion alive!) With that said I guess I'll get back to what was on my mind this morning.
I hope this isn't overkill, but did anyone watch the Oscar's last night? Well I did, all 4 hours of them, and don't worry I only want to comment on 2 things. Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova's Falling Slowly won for "best original song in a movie" for Once. I've never been so happy, emotional, close to crying as I was when I watched the Irish/Czech duo accpet their award that was so incredibly due to them. Do you ever get the feeling that you deserve more ownership over some form of art than someone else? Do you know what I mean? I felt like those were my close personal friends up there accepting that award. Once came out very quietly in theaters here in Lexington and Angela and I stumbled across it on a whim. I know I can speak for both of us and say how much that film touched us, and brought joy to our lives. Well, I think you get my point. Maybe I feel this way because these feelings are the ones that are evoked after watching such a personal film that was made by true artists that poured their hearts, minds, and souls into creating such a beautiful thing. I was also extremely pleased when Daniel Day Lewis won for best actor and my only point is this. When someone that incredibly brilliant wins, does it mean much to them? Now, I'm not saying he knew how much better he was than everyone else, but what I am saying is that someone who can evoke that much emotion and feeling in a performance can't be too concerned with accolades and the like. To me it seems that he is on a different level, probably somewhere out in space, but well done Daniel, you've inspired me. Thanks for reading.

listening to right now: when I said I wanted to be your dog by Jens Lekman

jchu

a few things for ya,......."lennie"

[for those of you who are a few days behind,......this bloke or bird, or cow, or tool, (ya, tool!) named lennie who seems to think quite highly of him/herself has taken the freedom to methodically destroy some of the,....hhmmm how should I word this,....uumm,..oh ya, Opinions! that I have put out to everyone. So I suppose that this is the beginning of our little war, because Lennie, I have the blood of Wayne Rooney in me, and I will not stop, I will never let up. Cheers mate.]

So, it looks like I have an arch-nemesis. This is awesome. I grew up reading comics so maybe this lennie person can help me re-live some of my childhood memories. (anything wrong with what I've said yet big L?) At first I really didn't know how I wanted to approach this series of rebuttles that I am sure to get myself into, but then a mate gave me some good advice. He says, "i would bring up the fact that although your blog may not be about huge, meaningful, worldly events, they are in fact entertaining. Enough so that he is paying attention and continues to retuen to read the next day's entry". And he was right. Lennie, what gives man? (or woman, will you please identify yourself?) Oh wait, I get it. Your one of those types, still living in your Mom's basement. No, it's cool. I did that once and it was all good. Saved a lot of money on rent, right? But it all makes sense now, my little bully friend. You just like to stop by and,....what did your comment say to me?,......."flex your intellectual muscles". That's it, and your second comment talked about me being ironic. Me! being ironic!?, i'm sorry sir but that is simply not true. You should be put in time out and have a little self-reflection time. Let's just look at the facts and leave it at this,...so far, everything you have called me out on, you have done yourself. Behave!

until next time

jesse

(didn't want to let you know what i am listening to right now, because lennie might not approve. it's good though)

wanker of the week,...or, I almost died this morning!

O.K., So I've been wanting to award wanker of the week to some tosser for quite some time now. But it's definitely not something that you can force. Know what I mean? A buddy was bugging me (slightly) to start a weekly column on wanker's, so I finally decided to punk out this older guy in the office, (until this morning). Annoying office dude, you'll get yours, but until next week you gotta hear this story.
Dropped my lovely bride off at UK this morning as usual and proceeded to head up the road for a tasty bagel. All of 15 feet from where I dropped Ang off at, was a stop sign. (Imagine how most hospitals look from the front with an overpass and then a small service road to get back onto the main road.) Of course there was a large white Dodge Ram heading in my direction, so I stopped. The problem with this simple day to day task was that Dodge Ram, (let's call him Earl Bubba) decided he was going to stop right in the middle of the road to let someone out of the car. HHmm, I thought. This is quite odd. He's totally blocked me in. O.K., no prob, i'll ease ever-so-slightly out and avoid his massive vehicle so he can tell Bertha how much he loves her. Don't forget patient readers that it was of course my duty as a responsible driver to give him a nice, friendly toot of the horn to let him know of his inadequacies. I did so, and shortly recieved the mother of all horn blasts from this fool. Geez, I thought,......geez,.....just trying to get by man. So I proceeded to give him a raised fist in the air. Now, this was a decent jesture, nothing obscene. You know how you kind of pump your arm in the air when your favorite sports team scores, or, oh ya,...remember that Adam Sandler movie with the guy who said,...."O'Doyle Rules!", and then pumped his fist? Kind of like that. Well that set Earl Bubba off!, I mean that dodge ram was revin', and I mean hard. Nano-seconds later I had a 3 ton vehicle on my butt. Of course I ended up turning left and he was going right so he got the opportunity he was born for. I mean this guy wakes up in the morning to yell at people. You could tell, he was definitely in his element. So he pulls up right next to me, and proceeds to recitie every foul word in the dictionary. "Rabid Dog", is how I am going to describe him. 2 or 3 times, he acted like he was going to get out and eat me for 2nd breakfast. Now here is the brilliant thing. I let him run wild on me and commenced to lean over and hold my hand up to my ear. I started mouthing that I couldn't hear him,....after 3 or 4,..."what!?,.....what!?,...man,.......I can't hear you(s) he got madder! It was hilarious. He wanted so badly for me to fear him, and the thought of me not being able to receive my verbal brandishing turned his narrow little world upside down. Man, you had to be there. Engine still reving, (he used a week's worth of fuel in 30 seconds) he finally pulled off to go install the dry wall at the new McDonald's. So without further ado, my first ever wanker of the week award goes to Mr. Earl Bubba. Enjoy!

listening to right now: Trouble (Eve of Destruction) by Blackalicious

(i'm coming for you lennie, whoever you are!)

jessers

and the winner isn't,.....

(this could end up being long, maybe) The 80th Oscar's are this Sunday and I always get a little excited when they come around. I love seeing those little motagues they put together with clips from the classics. You can usually count on seeing Brando yell, "Stella", or Carey Grant running and ducking away from a crop duster. The reason for my excitment is due largely to the abundance of quality films that came out this year. It was a bad year for big summer blockbusters, Spiderman 3, Pirates (whatever # they are on), and Transformers were all let downs. But for the serious film fan there was plenty good, pretty much all year long (I'll try not to use the word "masterpiece" too many times). Here is a "list" of just a few films that I loved this year, in no particular order:

Zodiac- David Fincher's Masterpiece about the real like Zodiac killer. Every aspect of this film was perfect.

Hot Fuzz- Edgar Wright's 2nd, brilliant film, with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. They can do no wrong.

Once- I don't know how to describe it. Concert film, No. Just a beautiful little indie movie with great music.

Sunshine- Danny Boyle's Sci-Fi film. Loved this movie. Some didn't

Gone Baby Gone- Ben Affleck directed this brilliant film about choices. Brother Casey was amazing.

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford- beautiful visuals, and fantastic performances by Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck in this western epic.

No Country for Old Men- Maybe no better definition of master directors at the peak of their craft. Javier Bardem should win a special award for "dude in a movie I most fear". I think Darth Vader would be scared of him.

There Will Be Blood- (insert dramtic sigh)~~~~~~~~~~. Daniel Day Lewis is the single greatest actor in the history of film. This movie was so incredibly powerful and perfect in every way. Please, someone out there challenge me on this. I will put you in your place. (he he).


OK, OK, there were plenty more quality films this year but let's leave it at that. I recently asked a buddy to name off some films that he thought were overrated and he replyed back saying that he "only watched good movies". It made me think. There is a reason why I'm not going to name off all the bad films I saw this year. Because I really didn't see any. I'm off for another cup of tea.

listening to right now:Who Loves the Sun by Velvet Underground

jesse

Overated!:Underated!

I recently had a few days of free time on my hands and decided to conduct a scientific survey. I set out with a team of 6 UK students who were wrapping up their graduate degrees in Statistical Analysis. Myself and the team developed a complex method of gauging the results by using part advanced nuclear medicine and part subtle mix of triginometry and algebraic expressions. Here are the results,.........

things that are overrated- things that are underrated-
- paying for internet - labor day
- dane cook - 2nd division of english football
- halloween - tofu
- the gap - (the idea of) sandwhiches
- steak - sneezing
- sleeping naked - the kentucky theater
- the 90's - jeans in the summer
- jack nicholson - finishing books
- bulldogs - fruit for lunch
- the matrix (movies) - ewan mcgregor
- applebee's - writng a blog
- circuit city - tom waits
- white people playing blues music - not having children
- myrtle beach - independent recored stores


talk amongst yourselves

listening to right now:
Symphony No.2 - 4. - Urlicht
New York Philharmonic

bro-cephus

Le Scaphandre et le Papillon,..........

Last night I checked out a french film called, "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly". It's been nominated for best foreign film in this year's Oscars, so I thought it would be worth my time. (dang it, I think I missed that new reality show "my dad is better than your dad", oh well.) In my own words, the film is about a man named Jean-Dominque Bauby who is the editor of a French fashion magazine, but soon suffers "locked-in syndrome", which basically means he is paralyzed. The story unfolds with him learning how to communicate only using his left eye. A speech therapist enters and slowly changes his life. She has developed a speech system receiting the alphabet using the most recently used letters first. He will then choose which letter he wants by blinking. Slowly but surely (and amazingly) he learns to communicate with those around him and even penned his memoir called The Diving Bell and the Butterfly before he died in 1997. One of the remarkable feats this film acomplished was the ability of the director to show us almost entirely the view point of Bauby. You literally see the majority of the film through his left eye. It's taxing at times, and the director does ask a lot of the viewers, but I believe it was rewarding in the end. The film doesn't inspire as much as it shows the heroics of a man. I know this all sounds a bit heavy but the cinematographer, "Kaminski fills the screen with life and beauty, so that it's not at all as depressing as it sounds"(Ebert). In the end, it just ends up being a beautiful yet sad movie. I'll depart with Andrew Sarris noting, "gets off what may be the single most French line of all time," which is, "Having a mistress is no excuse for leaving the mother of your children; the world has lost its values." Kinda funny.

listening to right now: Melatonin by Silversun Pickups

Jean-Pierre Chula

Weekend round up.

Although there weren't any games in the English Premier League this weekend, there was still plenty to take in. The FA Cup returned with the 5th round of fixtures and didn't disappoint. Manchester United spanked league leaders Arsenal 4-0 at Old Trafford. I wasn't able to watch the game because it was on PPV, but the word is that Rooney was back in full force. Also, 19 year old Brazilian, Anderson was said to be quite impressive in central midfield. Of course rarely-used midfielder Darren Fletcher with his 2 goals didn't hinder the result. Not a bad result at all heading into this weeks Champions League tie with French champions Olympic Lyonnais. Also in the FA cup was the shock of the year so far when 14th place in the Championship (the league below the Premier Leauge) side Barnsley went to Anfield and beat Liverpool 2-1 (Sorry Shaun). Has their manager Rafa Benitez lost the plot? Of course he has! I mean come on, losing at home to a team not even in the same division as you. In my opinion, he is living off of his 2005 Champions League title. Why take off Babel? Can anyone give me a good reason for this? Oh well, I really don't care. All I have to say is good luck pool with Inter Milan this week. There was a full set of fixtures in Spain and Italy however and a big result for 2nd place Barcelona as Real Madrid lost 2-1 at Real Betis and then Barca won 2-1 against Real Zaragoza. That puts Barca only 5 points behind leaders Madrid. (has anyone fallen asleep yet?) The moment of the weekend for me was when Diego Milito missed a penalty for Zaragoza and GOLTV commentator Ray Hudson said, and I quote, "This is such a bad penalty, i'll not pollute my mouth describing it". It was hilarious. Thanks for reading. And also balls............

listening to right now: I Think I Need A New Heart by Magnetic Fields

chula

(a quick word on a not so lazy saturday)

As I set in the computer cafe where we live monitoring live via webcast Manchester United's 5th round FA Cup tie with league leader's Arsenal, my loving wife Angela sits at the computer next to me finally catching up to the last few weeks of this here blog. (man that was a long sentence.) She soon brings to my attention how many mis-spelled words I have clumsely included in aforementioned blog. With your permission, (readers the world wide!) I would like to hire her on a part time basis as my chief editor. Now Angela, this position doesn't pay much, maybe the occassional back rub, or coffee, but again it's been brought to my attention how much I need you. I hope you'll accept. And readers, please show her the same kindness that you have shown me. Come On United!!


listening to right now: So Here We Are by Bloc Party

wannabe

If you don't already have them, don't even try!

(insert dramatic sigh here,~~~~~~~~~~~~). Yesterday at work we had the distinct privelage to attend a 3hr. meeting with our bosses, bosses boss. Does that even make sense? Well if it doesn't, then just think of the biggest big dog around and all their croonies and there you go. To be honest, it wasn't all that bad. I've never had the chance to hear the CEO of a major corporation speak, and the dude wasn't quite the wanker he looked, and boy did he look the part. ANYWAYS, (man i ramble sometimes) the fact that I was closely monitoring possible Radiohead tickets made for some anxious moments during the day. The idea was to continually check the site because they were supposed to be released to members of W.A.S.T.E. on the 14th. Long story short, I never even got a sniff of 'em. By the time I returned to my desk in the afternoon they were already sold out. I've always heard that Radiohead tickets were hard to come by, but this takes the cake. They didn't even make it to the general public. So if anyone in the Tampa, Fl. area is reading this who has serious connections please, look down upon my wayward soul. Extend the right (or left) hand of fellowship and hook a brother up! That's all for now. I hope everyone has a good weekend. Stay tuned for "Wanker of the Week" coming on Monday.

listening to right now: Chun Li's Spinning Bird Kick by Arctic Monkeys

j to the esse

Happy St. Donald J. Hall Jr.'s Day!

You knew this was coming. You shouldn't have gotten out of bed this morning. Right about now millions of people in this country are giving/receiving the silliest most superficial gift's you could possibly imagine, whilst another few million are secretly gauging their life based on who or who is not IN their life on one particular day. Come on people. Save it, save your hard earned for a pint, or a film this weekend. Don't buy into. Tell your wife, girlfriend, boyfriend, pet, mother, etc. that you love them, and you would never let one single day out of the year dictate your feelings towards them. See, that wasn't so bad, short and to the point. Oh ya, I Love you a ton, Angela!

listening to right now:
Vladimir Ashkenazy
Mozart Great Piano Concertos
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

jess-o

Ha! Your first assignment,...(Gina, where are you?)

The other day I had an idea for another one of my not-so-famous lists. We've all done top 10 films, albums and things of that nature. But I think it's time to delve a little more deeply and I need your ("your", refers to the masses of people that make the life-changing decision to make this blog apart of their daily life) help. I know the anticipation is probably killing you. You are saying to yourself, "what could this be?" "I can't wait to hear what Jesse's come up with this time". Well lads, rest your weary hearts because my next list is,...(try not to laugh).......top instrumental songs that appear on albums that aren't entirely instrumental. You know the ones I'm talking about. You get that new album and hear a track that you like, but something is different. You wait and wait for the singer to start, and it never happpens. But you like it, you can't help it. And the title of the song is always something artistic, like "the easterly wind" or something like that. Anyway, I have a few in mind, but not quite enough to fill out a top 10. If anyone has one or two to contribute, send them in, and we can make history. We can start our own country and establish our own government where everyone pays 90% income tax to king jesse the stinky, and we all wander around listening to good music with no vocals that sounds like it isn't quite finished yet. People of the South,....Revolt!

listening to right now:Neighborhood #2 (Laika) by The Arcade Fire

jess

Oh sNOw you didn't!

(this entry is dedicated to my feisty little neice Olivia, the inspiration for the title.)

Was thrilled when I came into work this morning pretty much on time and read an email stating we were on a 2 hr. delay. Oh well. Right now I'm looking outside and see a beautiful icey mess. Which brings me to my topic. They only sing in English 2% of the time, hail from the world power that is Iceland, and single handely account for 2/3rds of the worlds sweater revenue. They are none other than Sigur Ros. What you've probably heard is true, you'll love them or hate them. If you've never heard of them, they are definitely worth giving a shot, if you're up for something different. (for those of you already heading to Wikipedia, i'll save you the time: Sigur Ros is an Icelandic post-rock band with melodic, classical, experimental, and minimalist elements. The band is known for its ethereal sound and lead singer Jónsi’s falsetto voice.) They have quietly (no pun intended) become one of my favorite bands and would definitely be one of the top 5 live performances I have ever been apart of. In 2007 they released a DVD called Heima or Home. The film is a document of their journey back to their home country of Iceland. They toured around setting up almost unannounced and playing free shows. The film contains some startling beautiful images of the country side and people of Iceland. I promise it won't disappoint. Expand your mind people!

Listening to right now: Teardrop by Jose Gonzalez

Jesse

Office Coffee Sucks!!

I just got out of my Monday morning divison meeting and,.........ZZZZZZZzzzzzzz,....oh,....sorry. I think I dozed off just thinking about it. Anyway, I always bring a note pad in with me in case anything important comes up. We usually get 30 emails throughout the day reminding us what they just told us, but better to be safe than sorry. As the meeting drug on, I figured I would make the most of my time and write some ideas down for this blog. Here is exactly how it read,...

Blog Ideas
- Winehouse
- Sigur Ros
- GH3 (that's Guitar Hero 3 to any of you over 40, (sorry Mom)).

Last night after some friends left, Angela and I caught a few minutes of the bloated, over-hyped Grammy's. We luckely flipped it on right as Amy Winehouse was performing her award winning single "Rehab". O.K., here is my plea. Will someone please help that chick sort her (F-ing) life out mate? You should have seen this performance. It was equal parts brilliant, and a train wreck waiting to happen. I never came across her album last year, but I think her music is amazing. I hate to see such great talent wasted. I mean she officially crossed over into dear/headlights, just dropped my months supply of pills in a minute territory. Please Amy,get better and make really good music for a long time. This blog is getting longer than I suspected, so i'll keep my dedicated reader's in suspence on my feelings about Icelandic super groups, and seizure-inducing video games until next time.

Listening to right now- Make it Rain by Tom Waits from Real Gone

chula

Gobbed by City!

Every High School in North America has probably gone through this,........an important event in their teams season, maybe homecoming, the retiring of a coach, a milestone win, or even some sort of Anniversary. They schedule these events around a game, pull out all the stops, red carpets, guests of honor and the like. Then we all know what happens. They get beat. Plain and simple. Today, (or this past weekend, depending on when you are reading this) Manchester United lost 2-1 to one of their biggest rivals, Manchester City, in the friendly confines of Old Trafford. Last Wednesday was the 50th Anniversary of the Munich Air Disaster where a number of Manchester United Players were killed in a horrific plane accident traveling back to England from a European match. The reason it was such a disaster, (besides the loss of life) was the group of players were known as the "busby babes". The busby babes were a group of extremely talented players who were not only good, but known for being brought up through the clubs' youth system, rather than being bought from other clubs. Sunday's game was set to be huge. Not only was it a local derby, but there was a moment of silence before the match started, surviving members of the plane crash in attendance and a solid red only shirt worn by the players during the match (no sponsors, names, or numbers), just like the ones that were worn in 1958. The point of all this (I guess) seems to be that a sporting event can be very powerful. But when do we draw the line when it comes to honoring past and fallen heroes? Did anyone at the grounds care less about the memory of the lost players because we lost? Or does everyone have an extra bad day? I think I just realized that I'm a little bitter at the fact that we just slipped a little farther behind leaders Arsenal.


Not listening to anything right now.

Jesse

Keep one eye on Africa.

Little does anyone realize right now in this great country that a major sporting tournament is soon coming to a close. What is this rogue event that I speak of? Well, it's the African Cup of Nations, but of course. Now, I know what you may be thinking. Why Jesse,...? Why would I care about a soccer tournament in Africa? Well, I'll tell you why,......the African nations currently have some of the best homegrown talent in the world right now. (Prove it!). The English Premier League is by far the most popular sporting league in the world. The EPL fields 20 teams, and out of those 20 teams, 17 of them field at least one or more African players. 37 players in total have more than held their own against the best that Europe has to offer. Teams like Chelsea and Portsmouth have built their teams around these African players with 4 each featuring in the starting lineup. The final of this competition is being held in Ghana this Saturday between Cameroon and Egypt. The travesty here (and the point of all this) is that not one game of this important tournament is being televised here in the states. Now, I know at this point in time there is a load(!) of interesting stuff on TV, I mean come on, the show where people get their family together and go on TV to take a lie detector test to win money. That's Quality. (What's your point?). My point here is, shame on you ESPN, shame on you ABC, even shame on you satellite people, (we would have even paid to see this talent on display). The 2010 World Cup is being held in South Africa, African players now play professional football all over the world, and are really good. It's time we kept one eye on Africa. Stand up people!

Listening to right now: Everyone Gets A Star by Albert Hammond Jr.

Chula

Take me on down to the Moolah Rouge.

I recently aquired the new I Am Kloot album in a game of "high stakes canasta", and wanted to share something worth sharing.

"One day where the shoreline breaks, we'll write in sand all our mistakes
for the sea to wash away, and you shall sit with me at the sea".

More later.
Listening to right this second: At The Sea by I Am Kloot from the not-yet-released album Moolah Rouge.

Yes,..Don Fabio

*Disclaimer*- American sports fans: Quick!, look away!, or your eyes will burn!
In a few hours time, all the way across the Atlantic Ocean in a small, unknown town called London, the perennial underachieving England Mens National Team will take the field in a not-so-meaningless (yet actually meaningless) friendly. The reason for my devotion to this topic is the recent appointment of the possible Messiah (no offence JC) of English football, the Italian, Fabio Capello. This day will mark his first in what I hope is a long successful campaign that will hopefully lead to the 2010 World Cup Finals. The days of Steve (bauge cardboard) McClaren as England manager are over, thank God (oh,..that comeover). So, what can we expect from a genuis manager who has won major trophies in Spain, Italy and everwhere else for that matter who can't yet speak English to the Media? Well, that we'll have to wait and see. But one thing I do know is that the England players now have their best opportunity to win something meaningful since 1966 when they won the whole show (albeit at home, with a dodgy ref.) Remember folks we, (oops) I mean they invinted the game. OK, I'm getting carried away. We'll have to let the Punters decide. Excitment is in the air.

Listening to right this second: 15 steps by Radiohead

the lad
(wow, i think i spelled all the words right on this, me mum will be so proud of me.)

Day 2 (no, I won't be doing this everyday).

Well,...yep. Saw the new Woody Allen film Cassandra's Dream last night. Not his best work, but definitely enjoyed it. I just love the fact that he made all these great films in NYC, then in the last 5 years or so is still making quality films in Great Britian. Ewan McGregor was and is great. Still not exactly sure what direction I am going to take this "blog", but since I didn't make it to Hollywood with American Idol, maybe i'll get "discovered" this way. Thanks for reading.
Listening to right this second: Andrew Bird-Simple X

Lad

Thanks for the idea Benton!

All credit to the great B.Edwards, for getting off his lazy butt and sharing some of his thoughts with the world. It was truely inspiring to me, and has now prompted me to do the same. (And that other writing thing I tried to do,....well,..they didn't want me). Which is good, now all of you get to hear me babel on about things that probably only I find interesting. Thanks.