SuperWonderBang

Don’t let the score fool you. Those two goals were scored against a worn out and flagging TNT team. Yes, the English finally scored a goal. Yes, Rooney finally got to play. Yes, the English advance to the second round. However, it all seems like an accident, like they’ve narrowly skittered by.

There are lots of ways to look at this. One is that if you are going to play poorly, the first two game are the best time. That’s when you are more likely to be facing lesser opponents, just as England has. Despite all this talk about their poor play, they’ve won two game, have six points, and are moving on to the second round of the World Cup.

The second way to look at this is that they are playing down to their opponents. This means the opponents are, to some extent, dictating the game that the English bring to the pitch. That can be positive but a really good team can manipulate that weakness and make you play your very worst.

At any rate, I feel bad for Shaka Hislop, the TNT goalkeeper. He had a fantastic game against Sweden, was playing well against England, then an unstoppable Crouch header got past him. It was really a full on defensive breakdown and not totally his fault. The second goal was definitely his and he knew it. He was looking to be a star of the Cup and I think he certainly drew some more attention to himself. Maybe West Ham will give him a raise.

Technorati Tags: world cup, soccer

I ate dinner tonight at McDonald’s for the first time in over a year. Yes, the fries were really fucking good. There is no doubt about that.

However, between the bilingual signs (in a small town with a very small Hispanic population), the hip music, the pointers to all their new “nutritious” options, and the giveaway exercise DVDs when you buy a salad, I completely forgot that I was at a damn burger joint.

I had a big fat Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese that almost certainly will give me a headache and cause at least some plaque buildup on a major artery. On the other hand, it was delicious. The whole experience in the restaurant, though, made me feel guilty for eating the thing that made McDonald’s famous.

In their attempt to appeal to the hip, health-conscious consumer and to dispel the bad pub from “Super Size Me,” McDonald’s seriously risk alienating their core demographic. It hasn’t happened yet. This particular location is filled to the brim with hearty manual laborers every day around lunch. Big, burly men getting out of their huge diesel trucks emblazoned with landscaping and construction logos surely have not yet abandoned the original burger joint. It could happen and not because of lethargy or neglect, but because of the micromanagement of a demographic that’s not theirs to begin with. As the old axiom goes, “Dance with the one what brung ya.”

Technorati Tags: mcdonalds, business, food, restaurants, health, burgers

Looks like I got listed on 25peeps after signing up weeks ago. Who knows what goes through the heads of those folks? Click here to give me a referral.

Technorati Tags: 25peeps, geekdom

The following is what I wrote around the 90th minute of the KSA/TUN match. That was before the stoppage time. That was before Radhi Jaidi crushed the spirits of millions of Saudis and lifted the hearts of millions of Tunisians. I don’t think his 92nd minute goal changes the spirit of what I wrote about the drama of soccer. Instead of Al Jaber becoming the center of every story written about this match, he becomes one or two graphs and Jaidi becomes the star. It’s sport at its truest. The idea of fate and that exquisite moment for which we all search.

That’s World Cup drama. Down 1-0 at the half, the Saudis come out and get the equalizer relatively quickly. They dominate the second half of the game in possession, shots, and sheer energy.

Then the masterstroke. At the 80th minute, the manager decides to sub in Sami Al Jaber, who is the wizened old man of Saudi soccer. The man has played in four World Cups and is arguably the best player to ever come out of Saudi Arabia. Prior to this, the manager has put in two strikers already. He is going for the win. The Saudis will not be content with a 1-1 tie and only 1 point facing what looks to be a dominant Spanish team, judging from their 4-0 dismantling of the Ukraine earlier in the day.

So, Al Jaber enters the game, has a slight touch at midfield and a minute later, a beautiful through pass finds him streaking down the left side. He’s in behind the back line of the Tunisians who are miles away from him. He faces down the Tunisian goalie and calmly, yet authoritatively pushes low to the far post. It’s bedlam for the Saudi fans.

That’s the drama that fans of soccer hope for at the World Cup. The manager is lauded as a genius. A great player gets maybe a final moment in the sun and all seems right in the world.

Technorati Tags: world cup, soccer

I just finished watching a documentary about heavy metal called Metal: A Headbanger's Journey. It's a decent film, but veers way too much to the fanboy side of things for my taste. It does a decent job explaining what there is to like about metal while showing as well what there is not to like.

Sam Dunn, the host and writer, is an anthropologist and he does a great job breaking down the societal and cultural aspects of the musical genre. I did find it a bit disconcerting that all the violence and sex and satanism in the music was touched on, but just winked away by the film as just entertainment. It intimated that those who didn't understand that it was all some great big joke where just "out of it."

I would have enjoyed a little more exploration into the actual musical structure of metal music. There is some discussion of the "devil's note" and the diminished fifth scale, but no real follow-on as to how it plays out in modern metal. Indeed, there is very little in the film about the craft of modern metal. It's really more about personalities and an overview of the genre as a whole, but it does a decent job with that.

The strangest part to me was when they showed George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher of the band Cannibal Corpse. He is almost certainly missing a chromosome or something. The guy is one hell of a frontman, but he should lay off the acid when he's on film.

Mr. Dunn has created a really cool genealogy of metal which appears in an interactive version on the DVD and is also printed without logos in the liner notes of the soundtrack. That little extra is worth the price of admission.
Technorati Tags: metal, music, cannibal corpse, corpsegrinder, headbanger

The Croatians have had plenty of chances. The Brazilians seem to want to give them a way back into the match. The Brazilian coach finally had to take fatty, fatty Ronaldo out since he was just walking around the pitch. No sense in playing with 10 men. It’s sad to see someone with so much talent done in by something so easily worked on like fitness.

If it is your job to be in good shape and you get paid millions and millions to be in shape, how hard can it be to do that? Maybe he was carrying an injury, but in that case, he should have been taken out much, much earlier. At this point, there doesn’t seem to be much midfield play, just a lot of back and forth attacking.

Technorati Tags: world cup, soccer

The score belies how much control the Croatians have shown over the Brazilians. They have a great defensive scheme that was only really broken one time–for the goal.

The Croatian captain has gone off the pitch with an injury. I don’t know if that means much from a leadership standpoint. If the U.S. captain, Claudio Reyna, went off with an injury, it might just do the team a favor, so captaincy is sometimes a little overrated. On the other hand, having an experienced, calm persona on the pitch when the Brazilians start doing all of their crazy moves and amazing technical tricks is a good thing as well.

What’s clear is that the Croatians aren’t star-struck or suffering from stage fright. They need a strong fifteen coming out of the half and they could snag a quick goal and be right back in this match. It’s nice to see that the Brazilians are as human as many were postulating.

Technorati Tags: world cup, soccer

Barthez with the sun in his eyes makes an amazing reflex save as the Swiss are really pressuring the French. You can feel the pressure mounting on the French now. They want the result on this. They need the result. A tie is a loss to the French fans. The Swiss fans would lose their minds with a tie. It would be a celebration on par with what Trinidad and Tobago had against Sweden.

At this point, Switzerland seems to be dominating almost all aspects of the match. It’s an impressive showing. Some silly fouls and yellow cards on the French side. They are clearly losing patience.

Technorati Tags: world cup, soccer

The French Ribery is unfortunately unselfish and passes to Henry in the box when he should have shot. An uncalled handball saves a French goal. As I said earlier, the Swiss defense is beginning to show some holes. <insert pun here>

A little clarification on the handball calls. There is room for the referee to determine if the player put the hand in a position to give himself an advantage or not. If he did not do it on purpose, then the referee can choose a no-call.

Technorati Tags: world cup, soccer

France has been unable to do anything. The most interesting thing about the game so far is the announcers talking about Barthez dating Madonna and the effect it had on his game. Classic announcer banter.

With Zidane and Henry, the French should be mopping up this Swiss team. No offense to the Swiss, I lived in that beautiful country before and hope to again, but they just don’t stand on the same pitch as the French stars. It seems to be a matter of finding their rhythm. As the game moves on and the players get used to the WC pace and the atmosphere of this stadium, the French will almost certainly take over.

Technorati Tags: world cup, soccer