Olympian

I'm transfixed as ever by the Olympics. I love the Olympics. So, I might as well throw productivity out the window for the next 14 days or so, because I'm gonna be all over the Olympics, as I always am. I might comment on things like, I dunno, the Women's Synchro Diving (wtf was with Canada getting the silver? They weren't fully synched! They stole it from Italy! Avenge Tania Cagnotto!)

Avenge! Mmm....

RIP, Joe Frazier

I saw that Joe Frazier died. He was one of the legendary boxers of the last century, never quite got his full due, just because he had the misfortune to be a heavyweight in the time of Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in their prime. His ungainly slugger style and lack of charisma always made him the straight man for Ali's gleeful imp. But he was definitely one of the greats.

Joe Frazier Tribute

Sylvester Stallone effectively stole Frazier's story and turned it into "Rocky," which, I'm sure, had to make Frazier that much more embittered, to see his story turned into a white man's boxing epic.

32 wins (27 by KO), 4 losses, 1 draw.

I always had some fondness for Frazier, just because he was so clearly a great boxer who was forced to stand and fight with some incredible boxers, and who never flinched, never gave up, showed a lot of heart in the face of that.

Bizarrely, I was playing "Knockout Kings" with the boys on the Playstation last night, and I actually picked Frazier for a match against B1, who was playing Ali. I hadn't even known about Frazier's imminent demise until after playing, but that was weird.

I will be genuinely sad when Ali finally dies. Parkinson's has shut him down for decades, but he was an amazing figure in a brutal sport. Frazier's passing is a tolling of the bell. Of course, these greats have actually managed to overshadow the sport, itself, which has fallen to the canvas and will never really get up -- UFC , WWF and the other assorted man-grappling arena stuff has long eclipsed boxing, and boxing's own corruption and what-not has forever tarred the sport. But Frazier and those like him came from a time when boxing was a huge and compelling event. Boxing was always a brutal sport, and Frazier was a brutal boxer, but there was beauty in that brutality, as hard as it might be for non-fans to imagine. Boxing wasn't known as "the sweet science" for nothing -- there was elegance in a perfectly thrown set of combinations, in a boxer's heart, in setting up an opponent and taking them down.

Frazier was one of the last of boxing's true Greats.

Ali on Frazier

Sontag

Well, the Bears blew their chance at going to the Superbowl, alas. Too bad, but so it goes.

I'm sleepy and wound up at the same time; need to wind down. Amazing how quickly January has already passed, really.

Viva Espania!

Wow! Spain did it! They beat Germany 1 - 0. And not even by out-powering the young German powerhouse, but simply by outplaying them -- they denied Germany the ball, used possession and masterful midfield passing play to pull Germany's fangs.

Spain is heading to the World Cup final against Holland! Yay! The young German team will play for third place Saturday against Uruguay, and will surely be a threat in the next World Cup. They're amazingly good.

But Spain is advancing! I'm so happy for them!

Heat Wave

I can't understand why the tenants at the condo building next door don't use the pool they have. There's this nice pool that's cordoned off from the rest of the world (I can only see it because our building overlooks it across the way), and almost nobody ever swims in the pool. Plenty of sunbathers, but almost nobody swimming in it. Especially on these super-hot summer days! If I lived in that condo, was paying all the assessments for everything, I'd be in that pool every day it was open, just to get my money's worth. You got it, use it.

So, the doctors still aren't sure what's the deal with Exene -- several symptoms she thought were tied to the antibiotic she was on were ruled out by the ENT, who said nobody had ever shown those symptoms (in this case, a rash and/or extreme sun-sensitivity -- looks like a pox! Also, swollen joints. She's also had thrush the past week or so -- that could be tied to the antibiotic). Anyway, the doctor said Exene's "a puzzle" -- she wasn't sure what was going on, and recommended that Exene see another specialist, so she's got another appointment on Thursday, this time with a rheumatologist. I'm still thinking it's some kind of auto-immune disorder like lupus, or else, I dunno, cutaneous lymphoma? We'll see what the latest specialist says. But it definitely bugged Exene for the doctor to characterize her ailment as a "puzzle" -- she really wanted some kind of definitive say about what's wrong, and that wasn't forthcoming.

I stayed home sick today, still rebounding from the stomach flu. I'm way better now than I was this morning (or yesterday or the day before). Kinda glad to have gotten it out of the way before the big trip this weekend, when I take the boys to North Carolina to visit my family. Although B2 hasn't seemed to catch it, yet (and I hope he doesn't), at least I know B1 and I already had it. I'll bring stuff for the trip, just in case!

Uruguay put up a tough fight in the semifinal with Holland (2 - 3). I was surprised how fiercely they'd competed. It was a good match, although it should pale before the match tomorrow, between Germany and Spain. That should rock -- two competing styles: Germany's  calculated saber cuts versus Spain's rapier-like perfection. We'll see how it goes.

The one weakness I see for Spain is an excessive reliance on David Villa, their superstar striker (and he is amazingly good). They tend to pivot their offense on him, which is a lot to demand of one man against that German team (who manage a multi-pronged assault that is dazzlingly dynamic). Hopefully Spain will kick it into high gear and stop the German machine, but they have their work cut out for them, because this German team KILLS! It should be a fantastic match, and I'm looking forward to it.

Whew

So, Spain squeaked a 1 - 0 from Paraguay, and Germany trounced Argentina 4 - 0. Now to the semifinals next week:

Uruguay v. Holland
Germany v. Spain

We'll see how it goes. The Dutch are very formidable, and the German are amazing. Spain is the #2 ranked team in the world, but I don't know if they can beat Germany or not. Hope so.

B1 was doing karate today, a new thing for him. He was pretty reluctant to do it, but Exene took him with one of his friendettes. I'll see how it went for him later, when he comes back.

World Cup!

Okay, so Germany v. Argentina this morning, then Spain v. Paraguay later today! C'mon, Spain! I'm wearing my Spain jersey (also known as a "kit") today! Awooooo! B2 calls his vuvuzela his "googoozela" -- that cutes me out.

Exene is now 119 lbs.!

Going, Going, Ghana...

Poor Ghana. They fought so hard, lost on a shootout to Uruguay. AAUGH! I swear, every team I liked (excepting Spain and Germany) has gone down. Cameroon, up in flames. Ivory Coast, toast. Mexico, a mess. Slovakia exits fast! Now Ghana, gone-a.

It was a mostly clean match, and hard-fought, going into extra time (two 15-minute OT periods), although Ghana was hosed in the very last minute of the second OT when, in a scramble in the box, Ghana shot a goal in that was batted out by a Uruguayan player who handballed it out of the goal. Well and good, it yielded a penalty kick. And then the Ghanian player fired his penalty kick at the goal, hitting the UPPER BAR, sending it hurtling skyward. No goal. Ghana fucked. Then they move to a shootout, which brings Uruguay from certain doom to back to life, and Uruguay outshoots Ghana in the penalty kicks, 4 kicks to 2, winning the match. Poor Ghana. Terrible way to go! It was sad to see all the Africans down in the mouth for the last African team standing -- they had 90,000 people there, most of them pulling for Ghana. Ghana's failure to score more goals earlier cost them. They seemed to dominate about two-thirds of the match, only to run out of steam at key moments

Uruguay, then, gets the dubious pleasure of going up against Holland, who ought to be able to cream them, given their strong performance against Brazil.

Tomorrow morning, it's Germany v. Argentina (go, Germany!) and later, Spain v. Paraguay (go, Spain!) If, for some reason, those two teams go down, then I'll root for Holland, who should be able to prevail over Uruguay. Of course, if Germany wins and Spain wins, then my two favorite remaining teams will be competing against each other (Spain v. Germany has me rooting for Spain, naturally, although Germany plays very, very well, is fun to watch, and I don't know how Spain would fare against them).

Sigh. Sorry, Ghana. You were a really good team, and deserved a better finish than you got.

Flying Dutchmen Beat Brazil

I'm amazed! Holland beat Brazil 2 - 1 in a flop-n-foul-tastic match that had plenty of thrills, particularly in the second half, when Brazil went to pieces, unable to check their emotions when up against the Netherlands!

Vuvuzela Konzert

Okay, so there's one more week of World Cuppage left, but before it's done, I had to sling some more vuvuzela-related hee-hee...

Vuvuzela Konzert

*snicker*

Frankly, I think it violates the blaring spirit of the vuvuzela to actually play it, but it still amuses me.

Damn

I just realized that I'm likely going to be on the road for the World Cup final (7/11) -- it's at 1:30 EST! D'oh! I might be able to just make it in time, if I time it just right!

Bored.

Let me just come out and say it: I AM BORED. Fucking bored. Damned bored.

I got used to that fix of World Cup action during my workday, and now I have to wait until Friday for the next match. WTF? Seriously. I'm so bored, I'd watch Brazil v. Portugal again. I'd watch England v. Algeria. I'd watch Paraguay v. Japan. Just to have something on during the workday.

I don't know what I'm going to do when the World Cup's over (July 11). How'm I going to possibly navigate my workday?

Oh, and you sourpusses who're like "How about doing your job?" -- I would point out that I came up with an elegant system whereby I actually managed to be more productive than normal while watching games. I worked it out.

But right now, I'm fucking bored. I'm going to be super-bored tomorrow, too. Lordy.

The last World Cup, I had my first real blogs (both of which were immolated by me around 2007, in a fit of blog-loathing). So I don't even have that to fall back on for comfort.

Another coworker and I were joking about it, talking about how we felt listless and irritable without our soccer fix. And then I found out that FIFA's store were apparently out of the Cameroon t-shirts I ordered. Yes, Cameroon were out of it (unfortunately -- I liked how they played, and it's fun to say "Cameroon" -- try it. Say it. Fucking SAY IT. See? "Cameroon."), but I can't even get a shirt? It's like the terrorists have already won. FIFA fucked me on that Cameroon tee as surely as they fucked England with that goal against Germany.

So, here I am, drinking water and eating a little bag of Cheetos, and I'm completely fucking bored. Oh, I guess I'll get back to work.

Also, I'd tune into NPR, but they're doing a fundraising drive, so there's THAT, too. WTF? It's like the Cosmos is busy trying to bore the fuck out of me, just to see what I'll do next.

Worldly

Spain won! Yay! (1 - 0 over Portugal, no mean feat, given Portugal's great defense) So, we're in the quarterfinals, now. I'm rooting for...

1. Spain
2. Ghana
3. Germany

In that order of precedence. Holland plays Brazil Friday -- I'm loosely rooting for Holland in that match, although I don't like their style of play. Uruguay plays Ghana Friday. Obviously, I'm rooting for Ghana in that one. Then, on Saturday, it's Argentina v. Germany and Paraguay v. Spain.

With Germany, I'm supporting their dynamic, attacking style of play. They're a young team, but have played with remarkable tactical finesse that is impressive to watch. Their match against Argentina should be fucking cool, as Argentina is very much of an attacking team. I think Spain should be able to stomp Paraguay, judging from how Paraguay has played (very, very defensive -- Portugal, the #3 ranked team tried that against #2 ranked Spain, and lost -- I think Spain should beat'em).

Ghana is another young team, and they are the little engine that could -- bold, dynamic play. Not nearly as tactically ironclad as the other teams I've seen play; they tend to rely on a strong offense, versus positional play like, say, the Dutch (or, surprisingly, Brazil). They should be able to smoke Uruguay -- which is a little bittersweet, because if the US had managed to advance past Ghana, we could've been up against Uruguay, who would've been arguably easier than anybody else we had to face.

The Brazil v. Holland match could be cool if Brazil kicks it up another notch, or it could be excruciating, if they just mutually grind against each other in this positional, tactical kind of play that depends on the other side making a grievous error for your side to win. We'll see. Or I'll see, anyway.

We're nearing the last week of the World Cup, which is, after the Olympics, my favorite sporting event. I just love the international spirit of it, seeing those teams go at it (and it's only every four years, so you only have to see me nattering on about it once every four years -- hahah!)

The final match is July 11, which'll have me in North Carolina with the boys, visiting my family at my older stepsister's summer place. I already told my folks we totally have to watch that final match, which'll surely be more soccer than my family can handle, but I'm sooo not missing it.

This and that

I'm about to watch Spain v. Portugal. I sure hope Spain beats'em!

I love how my left foot is nearly better from the hairline split last month, and then I fuck up that toenail on my right foot! D'oh!

I got to work on some fiction last night, which always makes me feel good. I love writing. I'm going to write every damned story I have in my head, just get'em all down on paper, and see what I can do with them. My peril is always that I love the art of writing, but not the business of it -- I try to write good fiction, but I'm not so good at self-promotion and marketing. Gruh. I need to tackle that and get aggressive about it.

B2 is going to be a skilled musician. I can see it already. He's naturally dextrous and is a born performer (for example, he's playing on the toy piano, a "song" he made, and then when he's done, he says "Okay, CLAP!" I usually applaud, anyway, but if it's not forthcoming, he exhorts the applause). And when he sees any new instrument, he wants to know how to do it, asks me how to play it, and I show him, and he picks up on it immediately. He and I were playing a vuvuzela duet this morning (not full-on playing it, more like using it as a megaphone, since if you actually play it properly, you only get that B flat) -- I'd play a melody, and B2 would match the melody I played. He loved going back and forth with that. Love it. I can see him doing that, can see him acting, can see him being a chef, and something athletic. He's a natural with that stuff -- that blend of dexterity and charisma -- and he's naturally assertive (and is a total diva). I see it so clearly.

B1 is more complicated -- very smart, very sensitive, he keeps so much of of himself in reserve on some level. He's open and accessible and is, in his own sweet way, very willful. But what he honestly likes to do is a little less clear than it is with his baby brother. I can see B1 being a doctor, engineer, architect -- something like that. He's interested in systems and a sense of order, and has a warm and open personality -- and yet, he also keeps a lot of it close to the vest. In that way, he's a lot like his mom. My task is to encourage him to explore and really find what he enjoys and is good at. He was playing on the toy piano the other day, and was curious about the scales -- I walked him through some of the ones I knew, just so he could hear them. I think the internal order of them intrigued him.

B1 mastered the proper vuvuzela sound immediately, which was cute to see and hear. I'm always going to encourage my boys to explore and really stretch themselves.

Off to watch Spain v. Portugal!

Sacre Bleus

I am highly amused by the French National Team's coach, Raymond Domenech, and his apparent dedication to astrology in laying out his team. Especially his apparent distrust of Scorpios (wise man! "Domenech has a particular aversion to picking Scorpios for his squads, referring to them as 'feckless, unreliable, troublesome, pleasure-obsessed attention-seekers'" -- CACKLE) and not wanting Leos in his defense ("When I have got a Leo in defence, I've always got my gun ready. I know he's going to want to show off at one moment or another and cost us.")

Whatever his team's astrological lineup (and I'd love to know what signs he deemed worthy of fielding, but I'll wager from the results that he didn't have nearly enough Ariens on the front lines. He should have; then maybe France would've had better results.

Ah, here's the team. Yep, on a quick glance, I only see one Aries on his team (midfielder Franck Ribéry). Big mistake. One of the goalkeepers (Steve Mandanda). Beyond that, a fragrant melange of Cancerians, Virgos, Pisceans, maybe Capricorns. Too much Earth and Water make for mud!! You need FIRE to win!! Wind and Fire!

Sheesh

Sorry about that foot photo; had to share, it was so annoying and painful! Stupid big feet and tiny apartment (and it was because I stumbled on a toy one of the boys had left on the floor. D'oh!)

So, the US were bested by Ghana. I warned'em! Ghana's a really good team. I wanted Ghana to advance, but not at the expense of the Americans. But Ghana mostly outplayed'em, and the US just couldn't match them.

Tomorrow I'm rooting for Germany over England, and Mexico over Argentina! Hope they're good matches.

Piano Key

I got the boys a toy piano; it's mainly for B2, who loves any musical instrument he runs across, and I'd like to find some constructive outlets for his passionate, fiery spirit! I love watching B2 play on it. He really enjoys it, saying "I LOVE to play on my piano!"

Today I'm looking forward to the USA v. Ghana game in the World Cup. I'm really hoping the US advances. It's something of a longshot, as Ghana is a very good team.

Can You Drink from the World Cup?

Lordy, after the US's nail-biting squeaker of a win yesterday (seriously, that was one crazily intense game), to Italy's amazing/stunning defeat at the hands of the plucky Slovakia team, I don't know how much more drama I can take! There have been some incredibly exciting matches of late. So, who advances to the elimination rounds? (it's not done, yet) My favorites are in italics...

1. Uruguay
2. Mexico
3. Argentina
4. South Korea
5. United States
6. England
7. Germany
8. Ghana
9. Paraguay
10. Slovakia
11. Netherlands
12. Japan
    

There are a few more matches to sew up the remaining teams, as the remaining groups sort it out until the final 16 are reached. This afternoon, I'm watching doomed Cameroon (going nowhere, statistically) go up against Holland, just to watch them play again; they were a good team, but just didn't have it when they needed it. I also want to see the Dutch play again. For all of the talk of how great they are, I haven't been so impressed. I like watching the World Cup on the front end, sussing out the teams, seeing who the good teams are, versus the floppers and foulers. I really wanted to see more African teams advance (and I'm in a pickle with the US having to go up against Ghana Saturday -- I was really wanting Ghana to go further, but up against the US, I have to root for the US, because the US is such an underdog in soccer, and Ghana is a very, very good team that would totally stick it to the US if we're not careful).

Tomorrow has Portugal v. Brazil (10 a.m. EST) and Chile v. Spain (2:30 p.m. EST), among some other games. Both of those should be fucking sweet, if those teams play well. Normally I wouldn't root for Portugal, but going up against Number 1 Brazil, I totally am. Get'em!

Except that if Brazil manages to spank Portugal, AND Ivory Coast manages to clobber North Korea, then Ivory Coast could miraculously advance. The odds are very long for this, but I would like to see another African nation advance to the final 16.

Sigh

Spain smoked Honduras today (2 - 0; and Portugal flayed North Korea, 7 - 0). Spain's soccer play was really lovely to watch -- just good stuff. They should have won 10 - 0, just from the number of attempts that should have yieled goals, but beyond that, they played beautiful soccer, the loveliest I've seen so far in the World Cup. The Swiss played a strong (but futile) match against Chile, losing to them (barely) but still showing serious strength.

I'm bummed out today. Got the "How in the hell am I ever gonna make it as a writer" blues in a big way. I won't give up, I never give up (on writing, anyway), but it's frustrating just how hard it is to get noticed, how arbitrary and connection-driven it is. I really should have played the game in my youth -- I would send stories out when I was 18 and 19, but I should have entered the Iowa Writer's Workshop, get the connections one apparently totally needs to get seen. The editorial firewall is still so hard to get past. All I focused on was writing well (or at least as well as I could), when I guess I should've properly positioned myself and played the game more on the front end. Now I'm a 40-year-old writer, not even a "young writer" anymore. WTF? Bleah. Sucks. At least my boys'll have all of the writing I've done, so when I'm gone, maybe they can make hay out of it. And maybe THEN people will enjoy the work. Hah. By the time I eventually die, I'll have written so much stuff, at the rate that I go. It'll be a library's worth of unread fiction.

I'm keenly feeling just how shitty this economy is. Unless you work in some kind of boutique industry that serves the wealthy, you're really fucked in the Great Recession. God, do I ever need to find a good job to escape the Asylum before the walls come down. The main reason I sweat it is because I want the boys to be better off than their dad was, and I worry that in the far-more socially rigid America that is the unspoken reality we face, I've done them a disservice by not being a captain of industry...

Social Immobility in America

Sigh. I see my writing so much as me creating cultural capital -- creating something from nothing, something of value. But until I can make it work for me, it's nothing. Just a big pile of nothing. I want to help my boys any way I can, help them deal with the bullshit of "the game" that our society foists on us all -- certainly, I'm more attentive and supportive to them than I ever got. I am looking at what they enjoy, and what they're good at, and I try to encourage them to test their limits and explore. I don't want my sweet boys to be casualties in the "new economy" (that is, the medievalization of the American economy -- which is really the US becoming a de facto banana republic).

Dramatic

Hmmm, this Italian player's flop was rather dramatic.