I DON'T hate Christiano Ronaldo

Warning: Probable language follows, or I'm going to say some unpleasant words! So beware my innocent homeschool readers!

I completely missed the first half of today's game in which France sent Portugal home from the World Cup. Portugal's last game before today was against England, a game that saw English player Wayne Rooney show his ass by stepping on another player's testicles out of frustration. The referee of course called the foul as Portuguese player Christiano Ronaldo rushed into the hoard, presumably to ask the ref to card Rooney.

Here's where the Brits get pissy, assuming that it was actually Ronaldo's fault that Rooney got booked. As he walked away, Ronaldo is caught by the cameras winking at his side's bench. This was indeed a very smarmy move on his part, and it may be reason to think less of him and his sportsmanship, but it isn't evidence that he caused Rooney to be sent off the field.

Here's a video of the play. You see it from a distance as Rooney fights two defenders trying to force the ball through. It's a valiant struggle at first, but you see Rooney's frustrations as he actually is fouling the player, Ricardo Carvalho, grabbing his leg and dragging him to the ground before stepping directly onto his testicles.

Here are my reasons why Rooney has only himself to blame for this and why the current anti-Ronaldo sentiment is completely unfounded.

Rooney obviously intended to step on Carvalho as is evident in the slow motion close up view. He is known to be an asshole as is seen watching his anger in any number of situations. He's been tossed out of games on more than one occasion for being an asshole. The next reason is that the ref made the decision. Regardless of what Ronaldo may have said, if player entreaties carry more weight than the knowledge and skill and eyesight of the ref, then the ref doesn't need to be working in this particular field and especially not at the highest level.

Wayne Rooney is a selfish bitch who is lucky to play at the level of soccer he has attained. He is a gifted player which is all the more disappointing in one so ill prepared to act as an adult.

So, think less of Christiano Ronaldo because he's a bit smarmy or because he seems like a pretty boy ass. But don't pretend that Wayne Rooney didn't stoop lower than shit. He chose to stomp a fallen man in his balls because he doesn't care much for self control. Ronaldo didn't make Rooney suck ass.

more kidspeak

The boys are watching Teen Titans. Click here for a picture of Cyborg if you are unfamiliar. The Boy looked at me and said, "You can be Cyborg, Pop. Close one eye."

happy fourth

Wow, for a nation founded on treason, we've come a long way. We were English colonies once upon a time, and our war for independence was seen as treason by the King and his loyal subjects. I guess our heroes of America were disloyal subjects.

Now we find ourselves discussing treason once again. It's a funny turn to take. Now treason is basically any act that the right wing deems as against their personal wishes.

We are not at war in Iraq. We are an occupying force in a land where we are neither welcomed nor wanted. By virtue of our presence alone we have caused the death of countless thousands of innocent men, women and children. What we are doing in Iraq can only be described as evil and selfish. To top that, our own government has resorted to spying on her own citizens.

So, a nation founded on freedoms now finds that too many of her citizens would happily take away those freedoms. We can make up a bogeyman and give him an Arabic sounding name because nothing scares us like Arabs. We would, not so long ago, have given him a name that sounded "Russian" and been scared of his godless communist ways. The only thing that frightens us more than Arabs are the gays. We are certain that they want to convert all of humanity to their perverse ways. Sadly, this is yet another made up bogeyman.

Now our newspapers, when they point out the crimes committed by those in power are accused of treason. I think that the right wing in our country has forgotten the meanings of words like freedom and treason. They never knew the meaning of words like fairness or equality or justice, yet they would likely use those words to their own ends, if they could squeeze a pair of pennies out of it.

four games, one day

I did see most of the game that sent England home from Germany, and I certainly saw Rooney displaying his manliness and maturity by stomping on another man's testicles. So, Rooney is a piece of shit, and now all the world knows. Hey, Wayne, smooth move you ball stomper. How does it feel to know that all the world saw you being a baby?

The second game of the day saw favorites Brazil losing to France. I was hard pressed to want one team to advance over the other. This was a pretty good game, but in the end, France gets to stay in Germany and play. Way to go Zidane!

Game number three was some MLS action. Clint Dempsey played a great game leading his New England Revolution to a victory over the New York Red Bulls. Clint's first goal was actually pretty funny in that the ball bounced off his foot and into the net, a little accidental redirection, with what looked like no intentional effort on his part.

The final game was a replay of the UT Lady Vols winning their fourth consecutive SEC title. It's odd to go from top level men's play to college level women's play, but some of these girls are going to go on to play for the US Women's National team, and they certainly inspire more pride than the men have lately. I tried to stay awake for this game, but late nights and little sleep mean that by the fourth game of the day, I'm into dozing like I was watching baseball.

I seriously need a break from televised action and to get my hinderparts to a field and create some action of my own. I need to talk to Momma about some action that has nothing to do with fields, but this isn't that kind of blog, so . . .

how the World Cup almost made me crazy

This is a post that I've been pondering for a few days, but I find in sitting here that I might have made a discovery. And like diverging trains of thought, this update may ramble all around updating. But I'm sticking with that.

We'll start with Momma's schedule. In addition to work, which sometimes keeps her fairly late, she has roller derby practice twice a week. Big Brother goes with her to practice to play, but generally, The Boy and I stay home because we don't always have fun there. That may change. We did all attend the most recent practice, and there were more adult people there in general. There have always been the girls and the coaches. Now though, more boyfriends/girlfriends are attending and hanging out for the couple of hours. The Boy is starting to get that I'm not feeding quarters to the candy machine at his whim, and he can just run around and play.

Now comes the World Cup and my sudden realization. I have not been leaving the house for more than quick dashes to the grocery store. I've been glued to soccer for so much of the day. I certainly didn't meet my goal of watching every game, and I will never try again. The upside is that Momma has finally seen the light and even gets offside. Now, when it gets to the fall season, she will enjoy my and Big Brother's games more. But overall, I've been inside crouched on the edge of the sofa waaaayyyyyy too much.

Momma might be traveling to Alabama in August with a team from her roller derby league for what would be their first bout. The fun part is that it would likely require an extra night of practice each week. What am I gonna do? say no? yeah right, so long as she takes Wednesday nights off so I can go play soccer. I also haven't been seeing enough of her lately which is the big thing that has been tipping me toward the edge. It seems like she should be spending less time at work lately what with the "head chef" guy being back. But then we remember what he is actually like, and how he makes more work for everyone else rather than less. He sucks!

Speaking of taking different directions, Momma says it'll be cool if I get some new soccer cleats. I even know exactly what I want, and they won't be as much as her new skates. I'm not sure if I'm going to. I have a serviceable pair already, though I really hate them. They are the cheap Adidas that are a little narrow and have extra toe, almost like new All Stars. We can afford them in a bad-American-consumer sort of way, but I can get by without them. But if I get them now, and then something comes up and we can't afford them later, and the ones I have can't last much longer because they already suck, and . . . but . . . then again . . .

We are discussing talking about a vacation. She gets a week sooner or later, and we need to do something. We might plan a trip to see a soccer game. There are a few MLS teams near enough for a drive up and a day or two in town somewhere. DC United would be an obvious choice due to the DC part. Is there a campground near there? Chicago might be fun, and I'm sure they have some campgrounds. The shortest drive is Ohio, but seriously, Ohio?

And I learn something else. Seriously, just now, I wandered away from posting and learned that in 2007 Toronto will be the newest city with a team in the MLS. And the reason I was away was to see how close FC Barcelona is coming in their America/Mexico tour, and I learned, not so close actually.

And I think that here is where I leave you for now. I've wandered and meandered, and I have bored you all. It's really the least I can do, and if you have read this far, you know. I'll do a book post soon. Can you guess what I'm just now almost finishing? I'm going now to read it while I sit outside and enjoy a nice cigarette.

word of the day

I'm only doing this because it sounds dirty, and when things sound dirty, I have to laugh. I'm that kind of guy. So, if you want to see today's word, which means "shoemaker" you will of course want to click. . . on "shoemaker" . . .no, the other one.

In addition to being a maker of shoes, a shoemaker is also someone who proves unsuccessful as a cook. That makes the word ever more funny as I may get the chance to use it one day. Restaurant cooks delight often in attempts to demean one another with slang and with slurs as to one's character or sexual proclivities or abilities in either the bed or the kitchen. Any new way to convey such thoughts only serves to promote one within this hierarchy of idiotdom.

I will seriously not tell Momma about this word just so that she doesn't get a chance to call someone this before I do. However, if any cooks or lesser restaurant people should happen to read this, they will most likely also use it before me. But I can rest easy for a time . . .okay, to use this term, I'd have to get a job, and while I continually expect that it will eventually happen, I'm happy to put it off. Them boys ain't getting any younger.

Ghana or Brazil?

That's the hard question. I love the way Brazil plays. I love the way Ronaldinho grins as if he is constantly reminded that he gets to play soccer for a living. I love also the story that is Ghana in World Cup 2006. Even though Ghana defeated my side to get to the round of 16, I still wish they could move on. I kind of don't see it. I'd love for them to have gotten paired up with almost any other team just so they could advance a little further.

Part of me just doesn't think Ghana can beat Brazil. They will try so hard, but in the end, they just won't have that little bit of help that a history in the World Cup lends Brazil. But then one has to admit that, yes, this is soccer, and one game really can change everything. Ghana has certainly shown themselves up to the task, and they could very easily prove how little rankings and odds are worth in the end. I kind of hope they do.

That game isn't for a couple of days. Tomorrow however, Ecuador is going to send the fancy boys (England) back across the channel. Rooney with his "bad boyfriend" demeanor, Beckham, showing nothing much so far, that goofy sack of tied together sticks that is Crouch, they won't do much beyond that one goal, and all the dancing in the world won't win the game when a much hungrier team shows up.

I'm leaning Netherlands tomorrow in the later game. It almost hurts to cheer for that much orange given my disdain for the local collegiate teams. I do make an exception for soccer, and the local collegiate soccer team, the Lady Vols, will likely make a good showing this fall. But regardless, the bright orange will win and go through only to be defeated by a team from the Americas.

That's my soccer post for the day. Hope you liked it.

my pointless musing on net neutrality

One thing I notice among the arguments against net neutrality is the suggestion that sites like Google or You Tube should pay for the bandwidth that they use. But, I'm guessing that they already pay. Maybe they have some super secret free internet bargain, but I'm guessing not. I'm also guessing that they do indeed have the internet at Google and that their employees don't do the work at the office and then download it at home. I pay a certain company for my share of the internet, so what I'm wondering is, why should we now all have to pay more?

I once worked in a restaurant that once had a fire in the hood vents. In addition to the fire department and the loss in time and sales, the place had to pay to have the vents cleaned out and fixed after finding the problem that caused the fire. There were problems with other equipment, as will happen in restaurants, that required repair or replacement. But when these problems were encountered, the management didn't raise the prices to pay for them. The restaurant had to find a way to take care of the problem while still providing the customer with what they expected.

It seems to me that the telcos are tired of paying their part of the deal. They can't provide their service without some amount of work, an example of which is running cable lines. The argument is, in my opinion, that the telcos want to charge people because they have to update their hardware. To keep pace with technology and the spread of the human population, they want to make extra money for doing something that is integral to their business.

If you help me pay for the fryers, I'll open a restaurant, and you can come buy food there. The big difference here is that I have options when it comes to restaurants. And once I'm in the restaurant I still have options. If the corporations want more money, maybe they should worry more about their service than what they can manage to charge and how many people will pay twice.

But that's just how I see it.

yyyeeeeessssssss!!!

I actually got a visitor here at the ol' blog searching the words Sweden and rat tail. I wish people would comment once in a while. I get really random visitors and would love the feedback. I'm not sure I could take the comments though, because they might be mean or harsh or disagreeable. I might also point out that I get regular visits from searches for Myspace and evil, and now they have two posts that will come up.

why schooling when we don't?

Why this bothers me I can't say, but I just don't like any of the terms used to describe what we homeschoolers do that involve the word "school" as any part of it. I honestly can't think of a single word or word combination that I actually like. Home education sounds like a more strict version of homeschooling, sort of a fixation on that "body of knowledge" that we are all supposed to leave school with. Unschooling as a word just shouldn't exist as it is a single word oxymoron. Life learning is a suggestion that Momma came up with, but we aren't hippies, and she agreed.

Honestly, I'm sort of anal about things sometimes, so it just may be that there isn't any thing to call it that I'd be happy with. I suppose that living is about as close as it gets. Maybe being a family and growing and hopefully maturing. But even those tend toward snobbishness as answers and turn us back to those granola hippy moms.

Whatever you call it, a main motivation for this thing we do with our kids instead of the school system is to give those kids a better start. Regardless of our political and religious drives, I think we could all agree that giving the kids a better start is at the end of many of our reasons.

So maybe that's my new answer. Maybe it will go something like this.

Random Person: So, where do you go to school?

Big Brother: We don't go to school.

Random person: Oh?

Me: No, we're giving them a head start by doing the job right.

Random Person: Hmmm?

Me: Don't worry about it. We homeschool.

Random Person: Ooooohhhh . . .(confused look) . . . so you go to school at home?

Me: Ya know, the very concept of school is . . .actually, yeah, we homeschool. We go to school at home.

request for proposals for new team

There were no seven stages of grief when the US team got their plane tickets home today. As the day has progressed, I find that once again, I'm basically just disappointed. Our side, when it counted, played miserably. There is some amount of anger at the unfairness of a lot of what happened over the three games we played. There were several wrongly called fouls that resulted in cards, and as far as I know, the US is the only team to suffer two bloody faces due to elbows. There is some anger at the dives and the crying that I saw that seemed sometimes to result in called fouls, and I'm not just talking to Italy here. I'd like to think that our side was a little more honest in this regard, but I'm sure everyone thinks his or her team is the only one who doesn't try the dive.

So, I'll go through a few people that stood out on the US team, and I'll bitch about them as I see their performance deserves.

I'll start with that damn Landon Donovan. I'm over his smug looking ass. I've loved him in spite of the fact that he is the last guy we want as the face of the team. He just looks like everything the world hates about the US, the smugness combined with some sort of uppity airs. But when he decides to play, he really can. I won't deny that he can score goals. Why didn't he in Germany? I don't know. I'm waiting for DC United to pick his ass apart really soon. That's how irritated I am with him.

Brian McBride, please come home and play in the MLS and help this country get soccer wise. This guy personifies so much of what I love in the game. He went out and busted his ass for the most part. I'd like to have seen more of him, but he certainly made a lot of plays.

Clint Dempsey deserved to be on the field more than just about anyone else on the team. I'm not at all surprised that he scored the one goal we earned. If the US is ever going to not suck at the international level, I am quite certain that Clint will be a part of it. He may be the one person with whom I am not disappointed on the entire team.

As far as the referees, it can be said that the US suffered from some really bad calls. I have to wonder if this is that common soccer sickness where we blame the refs in the end. No one can argue that the US was dealt a fair amount of bad calls and improper cards. Many other teams can claim the same thing, but no other team seems to have paid quite so dearly. But, even this doesn't excuse that of our two goals in three games, we only earned one of them. The refs ruined Italy, but Ghana and the Czech Republic just beat us.

So now I need a new team in the World Cup. I'm leaning toward Brazil, and not because they are the favorites. I have loved watching Brazil play, with the exception, till today, of Ronaldo. Watching him today, I finally understood what his fat self was capable of. Brazil play the game exactly how it should be. They play the game like most players strive to. How is it that one country seems to have produced so many selfless players that would rather take the ball than the foul? That's one thing that seem most impressive about them. They don't seem to get fouled that much. Instead of falling down, they just try harder and win the ball. And they don't wing so many wild shots over the goal. They work the ball around and then, more often than not, they peg the ball straight into the goal keeper. They certainly make the keeper earn their keep, but in the end, the constant barrage of passes, all with the eye on the shot that's worth taking, all the while denying you the chance to even introduce yourself to the ball. And they seem to take turns shooting, regardless of who the star is.

My first pick for a new team might actually be Mexico, because they are our neighbors. Yes, I can be a geek like that. That's basically how I picked DC United in the MLS. I think, without actually looking, that DC may just be the closest city with an MLS team. I have a sneaking suspicion that we are about to get even more acquainted with Mexico than we have been in the past. We've certainly got our share of Mexico in the US, and that is only going to increase. I personally have no issues with that. I have this odd desire to one day move to Mexico and open an American restaurant. But in terms of soccer, closer association with Mexico might just help our side get better. Maybe what we need is more play between the Americas.

Other than today's game, I have loved Ghana. I didn't not love them today, but I wanted the US to advance. Ghana played beautiful soccer and earned their way into the next round. I might actually go with them as my favorite to win the cup. I am of course concerned because they immediately face Brazil. So that's a hard game to pick a favorite. Ghana might just be hungry enough for the win that Brazil doesn't stand a chance. Perhaps Brazil, with no yellow card issues, has the best chance of winning, but Ghana is more than welcome to surprise everyone some more. How cool would an African team winning the World Cup be?

I'm ending with Bruce Arena. I don't know what it's like to coach at the international level. But I have coached a number of AYSO teams in the time that Big Brother has been playing. And I am quite aware that U8 experience doesn't qualify me to make too bold a statement here. Having said that, I can think of a number of US players that I would have liked to see more of. But I'm done. It's over. Tomorrow is another day, and I might just take a break from soccer for the day. That's how much the US team upset me today. That's probably not true. I'll watch it because it's on and because this is some of the little soccer I'm guaranteed over the course of the year.

is this appropriate?

I'll start with the comic book because that's where this post and the muse and myself, and here we are. Big Brother asked, in reference to a Paul Pope comic book, "is this appropriate?" He's learned that certain items in the household library are things that Momma and I have deemed inappropriate. His reading level is to a point where I honestly worry about some of the things that he could read. I wonder sometimes whether this should be a concern, but I also know that I want to give him room to grow some. I think there are certain things that children may not be ready for. Should a seven year old be reading Kurt Vonnegut? He is perfectly able to, but should he?

I feel as though I should say that my ideas of appropriateness may differ greatly from those of many parents. Certainly the family that seems to represent homeschooling has vastly different ideas than I have. But, accepting that each family is as individual as the members that make up that family, are we so different?

When Big Brother asked his question, my mind went through a litany of questions concerning this book's content. It's a basic scifi story, teen girl superhero, not presented sexually, artwork is really great, so he should read the thing. It's a great book, and there isn't anything that Momma or I would not want him reading.

But then I am forced to remember, even if only for a moment, that I could learn the lesson. Kids don't often wait till we are ready. They go and hear things, or they read the book of short stories with that one really creepy Ray Bradbury story. Or my favorite, when your sharing with your child a favored movie, and that one scene comes on that you had completely forgotten was in the movie, and you just kind of let it go and wait for whatever happens. But, hey, that's homeschooling/life.

The real concerns concerning appropriateness concern that ability to see things in a broader context. Mark Twain is a perfect example. He uses language that is very racist, yet he himself was not racist but wrote in the dialect of the day. It's a not uncommon practice, but how does a child know this? He has no context in which to place the word "darky," so we have to be sure to explain it. But I also want to let him have a little more innocence. I don't want him to know just yet that some people are racist, that such ugliness exists. I want my boys to be open and accepting, and I want them to learn how to truly judge the character of a person. But that's tempered by wanting them to not be ignorant and naive.

And here's the sad part of this whole thing. The comic in question is sitting out because I was looking for some good images of the feminine form to practice drawing while working on some ideas for Momma's roller derby team logo. From the comic being out we jump to me and Momma BC (before children) mid to late '90's and our then growing comic collection. That was one of the things to feel the bite of changing financial prerogatives. While I do have some great comics, and I have missed a few years worth of Blade of the Immortal, they certainly aren't worth the value of the two boys who pushed the comics to the back of the line. And yes, Paul Pope is good for kids, and tomorrow, I'm going to make sure that Big Brother stretches his small self out in the floor. This is a big comic by the way, 9.5"x13" as opposed to whatever size comics usually are. But Paul Pope's art works so perfectly in a larger size.

I don't know that we learned anything here today, but maybe we started a dialogue that will lead to healing, or just not being hippies!

family path to unschooling

Thinking back for me is always a fun game. I know for a fact that I don't have the best memory. I'm sure there was more to my childhood than I remember, but sometimes, I think maybe it isn't a memory issue after all. Maybe my childhood was either A) so bland or B) so odd, that nothing really stands out.

I really am going to get to our home education decision, though I may choose to circle it a few times and make a long boring story out of a nearly pleasant anecdote. Having said that, we'll reapproach my childhood, that crazy fundamentalist Baptist home that I was raised in. I know that my parents love me, and I love them. I really do come from a great family, even if I do question so, so much of what I was once taught. I know that one of my six brothers must be aware of my own spiritual notness as he has read some things I wrote when I tried to keep up with my Myspace blog. I happened to bitch about the Pope's untimely demise. Go there and read it if you want. I still think it's a funny story.

It wasn't till I'd gotten some distance from my family and made friends with more normal backgrounds that I realized how different my own youth had been. Honestly, having no friends outside of church and school, especially when they are the same place, just isn't the best way to be. There were a couple of church friends that didn't attend out school as well as school friends who attended other churches, but they weren't the norm there.

Beyond a glaring lack of any lasting knowledge, I have few complaints about the school I went to. I certainly learned enough to get along, but I really feel that I've learned much more outside of school, and I've learned more about some of the things that I was supposed to learn there very recently as a home educating parent. That may be my own biggest problem with schools and the concept of teaching children as it seems to exist now. I also learned what part god plays in science and history. I'm sure she showed up in the math at some point. If I try hard enough, I can remember the pledge to the Bible and the christian flag, and yes they do exist. Did I mention the paddling room?

My wife had a very typical life of hell in public schools. Her stories are not nearly as bad as some I've heard, but just naming a few is bad enough. When she hit a boy that grabbed her breast, she was punished. There was middle school where she was constantly targeted for all sorts of taunts and insults because she dared to have been part of a family without the financial wherewithal to bow to all the latest trends.

So, in one corner we have Pop with his scary fundy schooling, and in the other corner we have Momma with a sadly typical story of the horror that is American public schooling. It's not hard to imagine why our boys won't likely soon see the inside of anyone else's idea of a school.

Apart from what I now recognize as the untruth in my own schooling, one thing that really stands out, one of those big time memories that I personally have of school, the thing that always says school to me, the buzzing sound of the lights. Yes, that's the thing I really remember.

When it's all said and done, Momma and I have one big hairy reason for why our kids won't be going to school. I mean no disrespect to public school kids, but they just don't seem to turn out very smart most of the time. It's not that they are ruined or stupid or unable to learn, but schools are very good at one thing. They can suck every bit of fun out of learning. The one thing that children do better than anything else, the one thing that lasts a lifetime, and they stomp it till it's dead, then they chop it up into pieces and burn it. And as soon as you think that learning is hard or unpleasant, then you're screwed.

Here is my baseball example. How many little boys have grown up with a love of baseball? How American is it to love baseball with it's own special code of math (yes math dad gummit) and stats? And how many little boys pore over this and soak in it yet fail the math test on Friday? It's not hard to make math relevant and interesting, but sadly, it's also not hard to make it cold and difficult. Teaching kids isn't nearly as productive as letting them learn, and it saves a lot of time and difficulty and resentment when kids are able to learn the things they need. Kids learn early in life that anything worth doing is worth figuring out. If this were not the case, bicycles would not still exist and soccer balls would never bounce from the foot to the head.

You can't pick when a child is going to care about The Revolutionary War. But you can easily explain the meaning behind the upcoming Independence Day celebrations, and that can turn into a fun way to learn about war and history and the beginnings of our America. And if Big Brother doesn't get it this year, well, there's next year, or maybe he'll come around in the fall. And it's not just for kids. And here comes the clincher, the why providing the education of our kids ourselves rocks. We can get to all those things we didn't get to learn when we were in school along with our kids. My new book, and I'm on a history kick right now, is 1976 by David McCullough.

We've looked at math and history, so I feel I should mention the next big school subject, and this is another one that used to make me cringe. Now it just makes me feel a little duh, but it's kind of not my thing. I'm just not a sciencey kind of guy. I would wager that more interest in science starts with mud and bugs than with a text book and memorizing the periodic table.

I never stopped hating school. I never liked school from any point that I can remember. I will admit that maybe I'm carrying some of that over into my parenting. I don't apologize for how I feel about school, as I'm sure is obvious to any/everyone. My own feelings about schools however only partly influenced my feelings about my own kids going to school. While I did hate school, I only recently realized just how ineffective the school system is. Having kids just does that to you.

And that's the long, painfully long version of the story. And if you're lucky, it's the whole story and not just chapter one. But for us, my family, it's not even chapter one but more of a preface. It's our book that we write over the span of our days, all these great things that we are going to learn together. Oh, the places we'll go!

almost missed the whole game

I am not posting at the moment about soccer, though it has to do with the Spain versus Tunisia game. I missed the game, watching most of the last ten minutes. I watched Tunisia, because of a stupid foul in the box, give up all chance of winning a game that they looked as if they might have a chance at winning.

The story here is about a flag I saw waving wildly among the Spanish fans. In the sea of red and yellow, someone is flying that old Southern American standard, the stars and bars. Living in the American South, I'm used to seeing the rebel flag. But you don't expect to see it in Germany being waved by a fan of Spain's men's national soccer game.

If anyone has any idea what's up with this, I'd love to know.

the daleks

Have you ever realized that quiet noise is actually your child? I know, my child isn't a noise in my ear, but as parents, you learn how to tune in when it's necessary. The Boy is behind me, about ten feet away playing with something, I think part of a Mega Block robot fighter thing. It's basically Mega Blocks' tragically sucky answer to Bionicles.

He is also playing where most of his Thomas stuff lives, so I'd assumed he was playing with the engines. I can hear him as he plays, but we are the only ones home, so his playing has a quiet personal note that's not usually possible with Big Brother here also.

What finally caught my ear as he was playing was him repeating something. I don't know how long he'd been saying it when I finally realized he was saying, "exterminate, exterminate" in his best Dalek voice. Next came the sound of someone being exterminated. And I never really thought he paid that much attention to Dr. Who. Big Brother will watch it with me and actually has reminded me about it. What great kids!

World Cup, grass and slipping

I know I'm not a professional soccer player. I know that I don't play on fancy fields with seating for 70,000 screaming fans. I play in front of the subs and someone's girlfriend. I don't play on fancy grass. I don't know about grass other than green and some of it grows faster.

But why in tarnation am I watching so many people slipping in the World Cup? I've lost my feet before. I'll do it again this fall on a rainy day. And I know charging and hitting the brakes, sometimes you slide. But are these fields right? I've seen more divots in the World Cup than at the anger management class' golf outing.

I'm not sure if it's a single stadium issue or what. I just know that it seems to me like a lot of people are just slipping at odd moments and falling down. I'm not talking fouls and dives. I'm plenty familiar with what soccer players can come up with. Maybe I just haven't watched enough international soccer.

finally started missing games

I knew it was coming. I knew I'd never last trying to watch each World Cup game. But I almost tried, and that's what counts.

I think it started Sunday, whatever game came first. I didn't watch it. Up to that point, I'd certainly watched a fair portion of each game, and I did start the day with whatever game was well into the late minutes. I was also doing my morning thing, the smoke and the coffee mostly, possibly some bathroom issues.

Mexico and Iran, I mostly saw all of. We were meeting friends for brunch, so we waited till half time to haul ass downtown to the brewery. We had a perfect table near a tv, and of course the staff was fine with me changing the channel. We were the only customers watching the tv anyway. However, we couldn't have any sound as there was a jazz band playing louder than was necessary. Also, the bloody marys tasted like sweet ketchup. The beer was awesome, but that's the best thing they have going for them. I used to work there, and I noticed that none of the Mexicans were there. The staff was all two extremes of human coloration with none of the middle tones. They were home watching their side win three points.

I really wanted Iran to do well, mostly because our fearless leader is being kind of a butthole to them right now. I'd love for them to ditch the mullahs and just deal with the fact that we aren't all going to be equally religious, but we certainly have our people here in the US that need to hear that same message. That isn't to say I wanted them to win. I can't help but want the cup to come to the Americas. I'm partial to my own side, and I'll extend that hemispherically.

Speaking of Americas, Argentina beat the ever loving crap out of Serbia and Montenegro. I'd have loved to see that game, but the sleeping and a late errand disallowed all soccer viewing except for today's Mexico match against Angola.

Mexico versus Angola, so of course there's the Americas. But I've loved watching all the new teams. It seems like there have been a lot of first time teams, and they are of course all the underdogs. I often find that I will pull for the underdog when I don't have some other more sensible reason for picking a team. Unless they're playing the US, I always love to watch Mexico. I can't say I've seen that many games, and I'm sure if I have, it's probably been against the US. Both teams played admirably. Poor Angola never quite got the attack they needed. Mexico, for all their effort, just couldn't beat the goal keeper. That man alone kept Angola from giving up the game. The whole team certainly played well, but Mexico was better today, even if the game ended in a draw.

I'm kind of worried about tomorrow. US is playing Italy in a game that we really need to win. I'm going to be extremely disappointed if they piss the game away like they did in the first game. If they do, I'm going to send them an angry email. It will make them feel so bad that they will hang up their cleats and leave soccer. That isn't a concern though, because they are going to win. They are then going to beat Ghana and eventually advance to the final round where they will either beat England or bust their asses to a draw against either Brazil or Mexico. So say I.

where's the cup?

I've been a little lax the past couple of days. I only got up early enough for the 9:00 am game once since the beginning of the World Cup. And I completely missed the first two games today, though I missed very little of Germany versus Poland, and I definitely watched Brazil and Croatia yesterday.

I've probably mentioned not getting to often see international soccer matches, so I really haven't gotten to watch Brazil play very often. Of course we are all aware of Ronaldinho and Ronaldo, but honestly, it doesn't do the Brazilian team justice not to mention them all. I'm not going to, but . . .

I don't know when I've ever seen eleven guys having that much fun on the pitch. They put the ball everywhere it needed to be. They snuck in from nowhere on defense and jogged off with the ball, turning the game constantly back toward the Croatian goal. I absolutely loved Emerson, one of Brazil's midfielders. It's hard to judge his age, but his hair line makes him seem a bit old, especially on the field of such beautiful hair on so many other players. Back to Emerson though, for all his just not quite looking physically like someone you'd expect to see there, he was just as valuable to the team as anyone. I mention him only because he stuck out, and I mention him because he was such a perfect example of the whole team.

Watching Brazil play almost makes me lean toward cheering for them. You can't help but fall in love with these guys after ninety minutes. I'm a good ol' US boy though, and I really expect a hell of a game from them Saturday. We play Italy who are also expected to do well in the World Cup. My second team of choice, behind the US is Mexico. I guess I feel more connected with the Americas than with Europe. Other than England, who I may have mentioned my disdain for, I don't really care either way about the Europeans. Having said that, you can imagine who I'm cheering for tomorrow.

Yes, tomorrow we get to see England again. They are playing Trinidad and Tobago. I enjoyed T&T's first game, so hopefully they'll get their three points tomorrow against the lobster backs. HeeHee, Revolutionary War humor, heehee!

The Boy is on the sofa, having just informed me that he is ready to read. If that's the case, then he's on his way to bed. One nearly down, one in the bath almost ready to go!

couple links

I'm tired of writing about soccer, and I haven't been especially diligent in writing about anything else lately. I'm going to squeeze a post out with some links of things that I've found interesting lately.

I forget how I became aware of this first entrant. I've enjoyed the art at the first link often in my bloglines before exploring further. The first, Process Recess is the artist's blog. From there I had to go to the profile and then to the "My Webpage" link to find out more. While tooling around in there I came across an illustration for a magazine article that really stood out. The picture really stood out. I know nothing of the article. Before you go to the picture, in case I haven't already run off the last of anyone who might have stopped by searching homeschooling, I will tell you that you might think the picture is dirty. It is, but if you don't think you'll be able to get past that, be warned. I'm certain no one reads this that would mind, but little kids lurk over shoulders. Oooooooh, dirty pictures!

This next one is really bad, and I'm really bad for laughing at it. Nothing nice is about to happen to the dog, so again, be warned. But it's funny. It's not Jesus and a bus funny, but what is?

I think I'll end with Famous Fat Dave. If you like to read about taxi driving in the big city and eating lots of food, then you'll love this guy. Seriously, this is one of the highlights of my bloglines. I've seriously got to visit New York one day. The problem there, besides not really having that pile of money sitting around, the whole damn city is full of New Yorkers. But I'm in love with the idea of the 24 hour city, the walking places, the corner bar. We have corner bars here, but you have to drive to them.

Now for the spell check, make the links work, cigarette and a beer. I had to get the wrong cigarettes this time, and didn't think to just get a couple of packs and come back later for the right carton. NOOOO, not me, not the thinking man's redneck. That would have been too easy and would have required some amount of thinking through things. You like it? how I ended with a bit of a rant.? I do too. It's fun. Whee!

thank you local fox news

I pretend that I watch the news, and I do occasionally watch some of the local news. But mostly, I don't trust talking heads any more than I can reach into the screen and choke them. I would pay more attention if they'd stick to local news, but then they'd just put on more non-news crap masquerading as news. A local network affiliate is of course not going to have its own reporters in the field doing international news, so they get that news from other sources.

So, you have your local anchors giving you the weather and whatever the Vols are up to. We know what idiocy TDOT is scheming, kind of. And then we get their version of whatever is happening outside our corner of the world. It's not always a bad thing, and admittedly, all news is second hand at best. But then the local schmuck says something like this:

"not much is known about Zarqawi's replacement, but authorities are saying that he IS a militant."

Well boy howdy if that don't take the shine off your boots. A radical militant freak gets blown to hell, and the parent organization replaces him in kind. Wow, that's . . .um . . .yeah. That's really how they ended the story.