Arjen Robben

Arjen Robben was incredible. The Serbia-Montenegro defense looked like turtles compared to this guy. He was all over the field. It seemed that nearly every time he touched the ball he created a chance on goal. The only piece he was lacking was a decent touch in a dead ball situation... but then, neither side had a free kick or corner kick on mark the whole game.

I cannot wait until the next game the Netherlands play. Netherlands-Ivory Coast. Don't miss it. It may be one of the fastest paced games in this round.

holy god. this is why the world cup fucking rocks.

Lahm's goal for Germany...


Fring's goal for Germany...

a boring, whiney post about pop-culture

X-Men III is schlock. I would have asked for my money back if I had actually paid to see it. It's a b-movie with an a-movie budget--written by hacks with cornball dialogue, glacial pacing, boring choreography, and clichés galore. I think the best word to summarize it is unimaginative, from the production design (the pristine white science lab with extras in white coats all scurrying around and peering into things to look science-y and Magneto and his band of merry evil mutants in the forest), to the characters, the plot, the use of mutant powers (repetitive use of telekinetic levitation, telepathic voices echoing in peoples heads, equally opposing blasts of fire and ice from Iceman and Pyro in a standoff, a general lack of acrobatics from Beast... The list goes on), and the dialogue:

Wolverine: The whole world's going to hell, you gonna just sit there?

Warren Worthington, Sr.: Warren, it's a better life. It's what we all want.
Warren Worthington III: No, it's what you want.

Jean Grey: Would you die for them?
Wolverine: No, for you.

A few examples of other grievances:

- blatant inconsistencies, like a scene turning from day to night from one shot to the next, without the passage of time

- Angel, besides being a completely useless character in the film, looks ridiculous, striking cheesy, heroic poses throughout

- the decision about keeping the Xavier Institute open is out of context and is abrupt and seemingly thoughtless

- the head scientist working for Worthington is a science lab cliché

- whereas in previous films, Magneto and his group appear as a more radical mutant activist / terrorist group, in this movie they're just portrayed as evil and any kind of moral ambiguity is shoved aside to make it a good guy vs. bad guy battle at the end as opposed to a conflict of ideas

- Jean Grey, the most powerful mutant on the planet sits around and does nothing for most of the movie... when she finally does do something, she levitates some stuff and disintegrates things... that's it.

- why didn't Magneto take out Wolverine and Colussus by himself at the end? They're made of metal. He could've have twisted them into knots instead of letting them kill a dozen of his mutant cronies.

- why move the golden gate bridge to get to Alcatraz? It was just a little ridiculous.

- throughout the diagolue was trite, characters lacked depth, the story was slow.


... Highlights:

- Shadowcat... decent acting and some pretty cool use of her powers... well, a couple of times... was useful as a foil for Rogue

- Wolverine... despite some shitty fight choreography, cheesy lines, and too much lone wolf bullshit, Hugh Jackman still managed to put in a pretty decent shift as everyone's favorite mutant badass.

- Preview for the new Jet Li movie looked fucking radical. That shit is going to be an hour and a half of awesome.

- Preview for Superman looked pretty good. I think it was the third trailer... no John Williams soundtrack to this one, which is a bummer... but Kevin Spacey is going to kick ass as Luthor, even if the rest of the movie blows chunks.

- Jean Grey levitates and disintigrates things... yeah, it was repetative, but it was pretty cool at first...

...Congratulations X-Men 3, you made my list of top 5 bad blockbuster hollywood movies I wish I had not seen:

1. Star Wars: Episode II
2. X-Men III
3. Star Wars: Episode III
4. Star Wars: Episode I
5. Batman & Robin

Hamburger Helper

Summer has made an unfashionable, early appearance. Water molecules are doing that thing where they hesitate in mid-air, uncertain as to whether they should be forming a cloud or falling from one. It's the kind of weather where even thinking about moving causes perspiration. Everything seems to plod along with a bloated weariness. Yes, Memorial Day weekend made its successful return. Electronic road signs in Boston noted, in a rapid loop of fine rhetoric, to "Drive Safely" and that "Boston Honors its War Dead." I had my own little remembrance ceremony wherein I ate the ground flesh of a quadruped, freshly charred off the grill. Mix in a little crimson-colored corn syrup, and you've got quite a meal.

It seems our media outlets enjoy honoring our perished soldiers by virtually ignoring them. Rather, they prefer to make a big hullabaloo about a couple of journalists who were killed in Iraq. This is nothing to make light of, however it seems fairly self-serving and generally not front page worthy news, at least if you compare it to the fact that deaths of contractors or soldiers don't get similar treatment. It just seems uncouth for the media to be focusing attention on itself on a holiday where we're supposed to be remembering those who fought and died for our country as opposed to just... well, died.

Hooray for the free press.

______

In other news, I had a very enjoyable weekend with my cousins and oma up in Boston. We hit up the MFA (which has a few very nice Art Nouveau pieces) and the DeCordova (interesting sculpture park... didn't get to the museum). I also got a little of my game back in FIFA soccer, which I haven't played in maybe a year. The '06 version is buggy, but more realistic on the scoring front. Goals are almost fluky, which seems more in line with how things actually work, at least in my experience. I got schooled in some Nintendo fighting game by Andrew, the older of my two cousins, and schooled in Greek mythology by Sam, the younger.

complete the thought...

... a list in the style of a list from McSweeney's...

I almost married her. She was perfect in every way but one...

...she was dead.
...she was a he.
...she was 23 and I was 12. She was not into preteens.
...she had three elbows.
...she had four elbows.
...she was a Nazi.
...she was made of uranium.
...she did not believe in dinosaurs.
...she was inflatable. Actually, she was perfect. We honeymooned in the Himalayas.
...she was a leper.
...she had no neck.
...she was a silverback gorilla.

Please, feel free to add your own.

Albright is Alright.

"If Arab democracy develops, it will do so to advance Arab aspirations based on Arab perceptions of history and justice. The right to vote and hold office is unlikely to soften Arab attitudes toward Israel or to end the potential for terror, just as it has been unable to prevent terrorist cells from organizing in the West. Democracy should, however, create a broader and more open political debate within Arab countries, exposing myths to scrutiny and extreme ideas to rebuttal. Though some may fear such an opening, Americans should welcome it. For if we fail to value free expression, we forget our own history." --Madeleine K. Albright on washingtonpost.com

Tsar Nicholas II to Blame for Wayne Rooney's Broken Foot

From the Guardian:

Instantly supplanting the War of Jenkins' Ear as history's most depressing conflict about a body part is the War of Rooney's Foot, currently being waged between Sir Alex Ferguson and Sven-Goran Eriksson. Yet as they fiddle, the rest of us get on with the real business: whom to burn for The End of the Dream(TM). Happily my eye is drawn to a letter to Football365.com which suggests that stopping free school milk caused brittle bones in all subsequent generations of children, and therefore the blame for Rooney's injury must be laid at the door of Margaret Thatcher...

Continue reading what may be considered the most brilliant football article ever written.