We call it soccer while the rest of the world calls it football, but most Americans would call boring until the last few weeks, that is. I was very skeptical that any sports star could be worth 200 million dollars, let alone one who plays in the MLS.
MLS stands for Major League Soccer, the name of the professional soccer league in the United States. Weird, huh?
According to my high school baseball coach (in Tennessee) "soccer is a commie sport like figure skating". No one ever tried to argue with him mostly because we didn't care. When I lived in Central America I was exposed to soccer/futbol fanaticism that I had no idea existed. At a game in Tegucigalpa, Honduras all of the men lined up above the tunnel as the opposing team took the field. When they passed below the men urinated on the players passing below them. I've been in the bleachers at Yankee Stadium and Wriggly Field, but even people at the rowdiest U.S. sporting events there seems to be a tacit agreement that using ones bodily fluids as a weapon is across the proverbial line.
Not in soccer.
Last week I was invited to a LA Galaxy, DC United game. It was rumored to be the first game that David Beckham would take the field in. DC United is known for having the best soccer fans in the U.S.; they normally sell about ten thousand seats and are considered the Yankees of the league. This game was the third time in their history that they sold out RFK stadium. They have won the championship four times in the last ten years.
When Beckham emerged from the tunnel dressed in full uniform for the first time, the crowd erupted into boos. There was no urination but there was a huge sign probably 100 feet long saying "We Sing Better Than Your Wife," held up by the DC fanatics.
The funny thing is that when he looked up to the booing crowd, smiled and waved, 45 thousand fans collectively blushed and instantly started cheering. I have never seen anything like it, there were more man crushes than a gay right parade. He won over 45 thousand people with a grin and a wave.
A heard of photographers tripped over themselves to get shots of him as he limped around the field. When he got up just before the second half to stretch, the crowd erupted again. And then it started raining, hard. The ten people that left during the downpour missed Beckham's U.S. debut in the second half which was somehow both lackluster and completely satisfying.
Last night Beckham took his first free kick in the United States. That of course is where the opposing players line up and cover their crotches while the other guy blasts it at them at which time it normally bounces off someone's face and the game resumes.
Remember this is the first time that he has taken one of these in the U.S. and the guy still has torn muscles in his ankle.
He blasts a kick and the term "bend it like Beckham" suddenly makes sense. He curves it over the players and into the side of the net like a Pedro Martinez slider. And he does it with his feet. The goalie just stood there. He raised his hands in exasperation. What was he going to do? STOP IT?
This guy is not just filling seats he is making Americans discover soccer. And with every other major sport riddled in scandle and controversy, why not soccer? I, for one, plan on checking out a few more DC United games. And even if I decided to piss on the oposing team, all I would have to worry about are skinny quick dudes that probably dance well, not roided-out dog murderers.
-lagan
Thursday, August 16, 2007
From Joan -
I just loved the article above from Newsweek - I have copied the text to make it legible below:
Let's Think Outside The Box of Bad Clichés
Sloppy writing leads to sloppy thinking, which is why I have a 'bone of contention' with trite phrases.
By Gregory Pence
Newsweek
Aug. 6, 2007 issue - As a professor of bioethics, I strive to teach my students that clear writing fosters clear thinking. But as I was grading a stack of blue books today, I discovered so many clichés that I couldn't help writing them down. Before I knew it, I had spent the afternoon not grading essays but cataloging the many trite or inaccurate phrases my students rely on to express themselves.
When I grade written work by students, one of the phrases I hate most is "It goes without saying," in response to which I scribble on their essays, "Then why write it?" Another favorite of undergraduates is "It's not for me to say," to which I jot in their blue books, "Then why continue writing?"
I also despise the phrase "Who can say?" to which I reply, "You! That's who! That's the point of writing an essay!"
In teaching bioethics, I constantly hear about "playing God," as in "To allow couples to choose X is to play God." Undergraduates use the phrase constantly as a rhetorical hammer, as if saying it ends all discussion. And I don't even want to get into "opening Pandora's box" or "sliding down the slippery slope."
Sometimes the clichés are simply redundant, as when my students write of a "mass exodus." Can there be a "small" exodus? "Exodus" implies a mass of people.
Other times the expressions defy the rules of logic. A student in a philosophy class writes that philosophy "bores me to tears." But if something brings him to tears, it's certainly not boring.
I also fear that most students don't know what they are saying when they write that a question "boggles the mind." Does every problem in bioethics really boggle the mind? What does this mean?
My students aren't the only ones guilty of cliché abuse. The language of medicine confuses patients' families when physicians write, "On Tuesday the patient was declared brain dead, and on Wednesday life support was removed." So when did the patient really die? Can people die in two ways, once when they are declared brain dead and second when their respirators are removed? Better to write, "Physicians declared the patient dead by neurological criteria and the next day removed his respirator."
All of us repeat trite expressions without thinking. My TV weatherman sometimes says, "It's raining cats and dogs." Should I call the Humane Society? Where did this silly expression come from?
Another common mistake involves "literally." I often hear people on election night say, "He literally won by a landslide." If so, should geologists help us understand how?
Then, of course, there's the criminal who was caught in "broad daylight." I guess he could not have been caught in "narrow" daylight. And are we sure that the sun shone on the day he was caught? I sometimes read about a "bone of contention." I imagine two animals fighting over a bone from a carcass (and not, as students write, from "a dead carcass"). But do writers want to convey that image?
And how can we forget about the "foreseeable future" (versus the "unforeseeable future"?) and the "foregone conclusion" (versus the "non-foregone conclusion"?).
Spare me jargon from sports, such as being "on the bubble" for something. I'd also rather do without other jargon, such as "pushing the [edge of the] envelope." And has writing that we should "think outside the box" become such a cliché that it's now in-side the box?
Some of the worst phrases come from the business world. Because of my profession, I read a lot of essays on medicine, ethics and money. So I must endure endless strings of nouns acting as adjectival phrases, such as "health care finance administration official business." Even authors of textbooks on business and hospital ad-ministration use such phrases; no wonder that students use them, too.
And in these fields and others, can we do away with "take a leadership role"? These days, can't anyone just lead?
Can we also hear more about the short arm of the law (versus its "long" one), about things that sell well besides "hotcakes" and about a quick tour other than a "whirlwind" one?
Beyond the shadow of a doubt, I'd like to leave no stone unturned in grinding such writing to a halt, saving each and every student's essay in the nick of time. But I have a sneaking suspicion that, from time immemorial, that has been an errand of mercy and easier said than done.
Pence lives in Birmingham, Ala.
© 2007 Newsweek, Inc.
Funny Story on the Today Show
So, I was watching the Today Show, a couple of days ago and saw one of the most interesting...and funny stories this week. A guy is suing 1-800-FLOWERS because he ordered flowers to be sent to his girlfriend. The flowers were delivered as promised to his girlfriend, but the card was sent to his wife!!! Pathetic!!!
Now, he claims that he and his wife are in the process of a divorce, so he didn't do anything wrong. But, he says that 1-800-FLOWERS has given his wife reason to fight him in court when they go through their divorce, claiming he was cheating on her. Hmmm...I wonder how this one is going to turn out. This is pure comedy! What do you all think?
Janine Cooper
Now, he claims that he and his wife are in the process of a divorce, so he didn't do anything wrong. But, he says that 1-800-FLOWERS has given his wife reason to fight him in court when they go through their divorce, claiming he was cheating on her. Hmmm...I wonder how this one is going to turn out. This is pure comedy! What do you all think?
Janine Cooper
Learning to ride the bus..
I’ve lived in DC for nearly two years and I love the Metro. But I didn’t discover the wonderful world of bus transfers until I started shuttling to American everyday in high temperatures. I decided that I could save 10 minutes by taking a bus to and from the Metro, for a small fee. Of course, that small fee of $1.25 adds up quickly.
So I decided to use a transfer. I punch the transfer button on the machine in the train station, flash the transfer card it gives me when I board the bus and take a seat. It’s a lovely system and it’s totally fair. Why should I have to pay for a trip that’s less than a mile long?
Yesterday, I hopped on the bus with my transfer and the driver took it from me. That’s weird, I thought. Then I realized I was on the wrong bus. When I go to get off, I hear a lady ask for a transfer. So I asked for one too. I mean, why should I pay full price for this mistake?
“Why didn’t you give me 35 cents?” the bus driver asked. I was confused. “I had a transfer,” I said. (Hello? Free ride.) He replied, “You still owe 35 cents.”
Wow. I was deflated. I patted around my bag and pockets looking for change and couldn’t find any. It never dawned on me to use my SmarTrip card. So I just apologized, lowered my head and got off the bus.
This explains why a female bus driver was mumbling about people who don’t have valid transfers when I got on her bus the other day. I just knew she was talking about scam artists, not valid free riders like me. I’ve been hitching free rides for two weeks!
Later I caught the correct bus. I got on, flashed my transfer and tapped my SmarTrip card on the reader, only to get strange looks.
According to the Metro Website, I didn’t need money or paper transfers! You only need paper transfers if you pay cash for your bus or train ride. Transfers are built in when you use
http://www.wmata.com/riding/smartrip.cfm" target="_blank">SmarTrip cards. The card knows you just got off of a train and how much transfers cost for each bus.I tell this story to say, riding the bus is a hard trick to learn. It requires research and vigilance.
By Sabrina Parker
10 Things I Learned in Bootcamp
Hello All! So, finally...it is here. We only have today and tomorrow to finally finish bootcamp. I have to admit...it wasn't all that bad. Those three weeks really flew by. But, I have to admit...I am pretty excited that it's almost over. I really have learned a lot here in bootcamp. I came into bootcamp, trained to write for broadcast news. I think it really helped me to go back and learn how to write for print.
Well, here are some other things I learned in bootcamp. Let's start the countdown!!!
TOP TEN THINGS I LEARNED IN BOOTCAMP
1. When riding the METRO, it's okay to sit down to those "weird looking" people, because they are usually the ones willing to talk and share some random story (Hey, you are a journalist).
2. It's okay to wear heels to interviews, just be sure to take an extra set of flip flops because the "cute" factor usually wears off about 12:00 p.m.
3. After that grammar lesson, I am sure we all learned that our speaking and writing are a little off. (But, hey...we are here to learn) :-)
4. A podium is called a lectern (I honestly still can't get over that one).
5. Getting interviews can be easy, but some people are still afraid to talk to journalists. (I mean, if you have nothing to hide, why is it so hard to give an interview, huh?)
6. It does get pretty hot here in D.C. I am sure over the past three weeks, we all discovered that we sweat profusely. :-) (Yeah, that really makes for a great interview)
7. You probably started 75% of your sentences off this week with "My name is [blank] and I am an American University Journalism Graduate Student." (When I go home next week, I probably will still start off each sentence like that and my family will look at me as if I were crazy)
8. 5:00 p.m. comes quickly, if you just stop paying attention to the clocks on the computer screen in the lecture hall.
9. Walking is really great exercise!!!
10. That we all actually made it through, kept our eyes on the prize, and successfully completed bootcamp!!! :-)
It's truly been a pleasure!
Janine Cooper
Well, here are some other things I learned in bootcamp. Let's start the countdown!!!
TOP TEN THINGS I LEARNED IN BOOTCAMP
1. When riding the METRO, it's okay to sit down to those "weird looking" people, because they are usually the ones willing to talk and share some random story (Hey, you are a journalist).
2. It's okay to wear heels to interviews, just be sure to take an extra set of flip flops because the "cute" factor usually wears off about 12:00 p.m.
3. After that grammar lesson, I am sure we all learned that our speaking and writing are a little off. (But, hey...we are here to learn) :-)
4. A podium is called a lectern (I honestly still can't get over that one).
5. Getting interviews can be easy, but some people are still afraid to talk to journalists. (I mean, if you have nothing to hide, why is it so hard to give an interview, huh?)
6. It does get pretty hot here in D.C. I am sure over the past three weeks, we all discovered that we sweat profusely. :-) (Yeah, that really makes for a great interview)
7. You probably started 75% of your sentences off this week with "My name is [blank] and I am an American University Journalism Graduate Student." (When I go home next week, I probably will still start off each sentence like that and my family will look at me as if I were crazy)
8. 5:00 p.m. comes quickly, if you just stop paying attention to the clocks on the computer screen in the lecture hall.
9. Walking is really great exercise!!!
10. That we all actually made it through, kept our eyes on the prize, and successfully completed bootcamp!!! :-)
It's truly been a pleasure!
Janine Cooper
The Six From Libya
The media was and still is covering the so called case of “the six from Libya”— five Bulgarian nurses and one Palestinian doctor, who has Bulgarian citizenship. They were accused of infecting hundreds of children with HIV. They stayed in a Libyan prison for 8 years. Recently their death sentences were lifted and they were freed wit the help of the EU. Many experts backed the medics and said that the children were already sick when the Bulgarians arrived.
The medics are in Bulgaria now, free, and talking to the press about their horrifying tortures and their life from now on.
They, actually are not talking only to the press, but also sold the copyrights of their story to a Hollywood production company. So, there will be movie about their tortures, the Libyan prisons, the sick children, and human rights in general.
I talked to some of my Bulgarian friends and most of them agree that the idea of a movie about the stories of the medics is great, and that the world has to know about it. (You can imagine what they can do to you in such a prison for 8 years…)
Many feel that the medics have been used as pawns by Libya. A special fund has been set up by the European Union (EU), the United States, Libya and Bulgaria. The “compensation” is for about $400 million, $1 million for each infected child. Libya is also seeking normal political and trade relations with the EU.
But what about the infected children, how and where they will be treated? How future infections are going to be prevented?
I am not 100 percent sure how I feel about all this, what do you think?
Radina Gigova
The medics are in Bulgaria now, free, and talking to the press about their horrifying tortures and their life from now on.
They, actually are not talking only to the press, but also sold the copyrights of their story to a Hollywood production company. So, there will be movie about their tortures, the Libyan prisons, the sick children, and human rights in general.
I talked to some of my Bulgarian friends and most of them agree that the idea of a movie about the stories of the medics is great, and that the world has to know about it. (You can imagine what they can do to you in such a prison for 8 years…)
Many feel that the medics have been used as pawns by Libya. A special fund has been set up by the European Union (EU), the United States, Libya and Bulgaria. The “compensation” is for about $400 million, $1 million for each infected child. Libya is also seeking normal political and trade relations with the EU.
But what about the infected children, how and where they will be treated? How future infections are going to be prevented?
I am not 100 percent sure how I feel about all this, what do you think?
Radina Gigova
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
IT'S YOGA TIME :)
So here we go… first of many from the Italian chica.
I have been reading the blog religiously trying to come up with something interesting to say, but I have been too busy doing re-writes I forgot until now, 3 days ‘till the end.
I don’t know if you remember, but the first couple of days of Bootcamp I was one of the two (Sarah D. being the second) riding to school everyday…. Trying to fit a short morning adrenaline booster before class!
The Boulder Girl in me just did not last long….
One week into the Camp I started taking the subway and now days I am actually driving
I know wasting gas is bad, and composting and recycling just doesn’t make up to contributing to Global Warming, but I have been a lazy-ass, city girl lately. (No offence to all of you beautiful ladies, the suite it is just not my favorite attire…I prefer the saggy yoga pants or the chocked-up capris!)
Anyhow, despite my consumer-like, couch potato behavior of the past week or so, I still do claim to be a Yogi and for that reason I shall not drive to work or eat meat, but I do it anyways and that does not make me any better or worse!
Anyhow, let me get to the point (do I have one?)
So why do you care if Fede (Italian Fede) is a Yoga instructor or not? Well, if I would have had my act together I could have given all of us a great, FREE, relaxing yoga class, but I didn’t and now I feel bad.
So here you have it, a long, excruciatingly painful explanation of what I could have said in two words, but just couldn’t stand be the short, dry journalist I have been all along:
SORRY I WASN’T THERE FOR YOU ALL WITH MY ‘WISE’ ADVICES TO TEACH YOU HOW TO RELAX.
But if you give me a chance I will redeem myself with a Yoga routine that will heal your post-news-feature stress!
So here it is:
Sit crossed legged in a dark room, possibly in your own environment, and start inhaling and exhaling through your nostrils, while gently straitening up you backs. Reach the top of your head to the sealing, release the four corners of your mouth and maybe smile.
Ground through your buttocks and try letting go of the heaviness of the thoughts that may come up in your mind.
Stay still for a couple of minutes and just observe where your mind wanders.
After 5 min:
Bring your hands together, palms to palms at heart level and then bow forward.
Again, take a minute to let feelings catch on and then stretch your arms forward, palms down. BREATH!
Now bring your big toes to touch and knees wide to the edges of the mat, keep your arms stretched forward, palms facing down and also keep forehead on the mat.
BREATH! (NO REALLY, BREATH DEEPLY ☺)
Stay in this position for 5 breath cycles, trying forcing the breath to flow from the tip of your hands to your toes, embracing the spine and the hips.
Let go of your thoughts! YOU ARE NOT ON DEAD-LINE!
Adjust the pose by reaching forward with your palms and flip them up to the sealing in offering mudra (as if you where to make an offering to yourself or others that might need it more than you) and keep sitting back onto your hills. You ultimately want to kiss your math while stretching your backs.
After 5 min:
Now, sit on to your knees keeping the palms on the mat, in a table tot position. Inhale and push your tummy in and round your back up to the sealing, like if you were a feisty cat. Exhale and release the tummy out and round your back the other way, lift your neck up and long. Repeat these two poses for 5 breath cycles tying releasing your spine from the crown of your head to the sacrum.
After 5 min:
Push up into downward facing dog, or, more simply called, Inverted V shape pose. Lift your knees off the matt, push onto your hands and let your head fall in the middle of your arms, neck relaxed, look up into your tummy and breath.
Adjust the pose by pushing your hills down into the mat and reaching your sit bone to the sealing. Stay for 5 cycles of breaths.
After 5 min:
Now, from the V shape pose, walk your feet in between your hands, keeping them together, keep legs straight as much as your flexibility allows. Stay bent forward, low with your back, neck and head. Let your arms rest your side and trying reaching your nose to your knees. (IF THIS IS TOO HARD FOR SOMEBODY, JUST KEEP YOUR LEGS BENT!)
Grab opposite biceps with your hands and still hang low, releasing your neck, letting it hang loose.
Take 10 breaths here.
P.S. Inversions are a great stress reliever. Fresh blood leaves your extremities and reaches your brain giving you a “high”. Yet you should not stay there for too long, otherwise it might make you dizzy!
After 10 breaths:
Release your arms, and easily and gently unroll up like a warm bread roll, HEAD COMES UP LAST, AND EYES ARE CLOSED!
Let your arms fall by your side, release your shoulders down and reach your head up. Ground through your feet as if you were growing roots underneath. Now lift your arms up to the sky, and inhale fully and gracefully. Look up and take a slight back bend. Meaning: throw your neck and head back past your hands, push your hips forward, and round your backs, but don’t collapse in yor lower back. Move gracefully, softly.
YOGA IS ALL ABOUT BALANCE AND MINIMAL CHANGES OF BODY ANGLES. Take few breaths here, then fold you hands to your heart, thumbs facing in and fold forward.
Grab your ankles and pull your knees to your nose. Exhale and let go of them.
To END:
Sit back down, crossed legged and repeat the initial meditation.
HINT: You may want someone to read this sequence to you while you do it, before you learn it yourself, it would be a shame to ruing the rhythm if you have to go check out what pose comes next the whole time.
P.S. I will be teaching a class on WED nights from 8-8:55 at the AU Jacobs Center all winter.
Enjoy
Namaste,
Fede~
I have been reading the blog religiously trying to come up with something interesting to say, but I have been too busy doing re-writes I forgot until now, 3 days ‘till the end.
I don’t know if you remember, but the first couple of days of Bootcamp I was one of the two (Sarah D. being the second) riding to school everyday…. Trying to fit a short morning adrenaline booster before class!
The Boulder Girl in me just did not last long….
One week into the Camp I started taking the subway and now days I am actually driving
I know wasting gas is bad, and composting and recycling just doesn’t make up to contributing to Global Warming, but I have been a lazy-ass, city girl lately. (No offence to all of you beautiful ladies, the suite it is just not my favorite attire…I prefer the saggy yoga pants or the chocked-up capris!)
Anyhow, despite my consumer-like, couch potato behavior of the past week or so, I still do claim to be a Yogi and for that reason I shall not drive to work or eat meat, but I do it anyways and that does not make me any better or worse!
Anyhow, let me get to the point (do I have one?)
So why do you care if Fede (Italian Fede) is a Yoga instructor or not? Well, if I would have had my act together I could have given all of us a great, FREE, relaxing yoga class, but I didn’t and now I feel bad.
So here you have it, a long, excruciatingly painful explanation of what I could have said in two words, but just couldn’t stand be the short, dry journalist I have been all along:
SORRY I WASN’T THERE FOR YOU ALL WITH MY ‘WISE’ ADVICES TO TEACH YOU HOW TO RELAX.
But if you give me a chance I will redeem myself with a Yoga routine that will heal your post-news-feature stress!
So here it is:
Sit crossed legged in a dark room, possibly in your own environment, and start inhaling and exhaling through your nostrils, while gently straitening up you backs. Reach the top of your head to the sealing, release the four corners of your mouth and maybe smile.
Ground through your buttocks and try letting go of the heaviness of the thoughts that may come up in your mind.
Stay still for a couple of minutes and just observe where your mind wanders.
After 5 min:
Bring your hands together, palms to palms at heart level and then bow forward.
Again, take a minute to let feelings catch on and then stretch your arms forward, palms down. BREATH!
Now bring your big toes to touch and knees wide to the edges of the mat, keep your arms stretched forward, palms facing down and also keep forehead on the mat.
BREATH! (NO REALLY, BREATH DEEPLY ☺)
Stay in this position for 5 breath cycles, trying forcing the breath to flow from the tip of your hands to your toes, embracing the spine and the hips.
Let go of your thoughts! YOU ARE NOT ON DEAD-LINE!
Adjust the pose by reaching forward with your palms and flip them up to the sealing in offering mudra (as if you where to make an offering to yourself or others that might need it more than you) and keep sitting back onto your hills. You ultimately want to kiss your math while stretching your backs.
After 5 min:
Now, sit on to your knees keeping the palms on the mat, in a table tot position. Inhale and push your tummy in and round your back up to the sealing, like if you were a feisty cat. Exhale and release the tummy out and round your back the other way, lift your neck up and long. Repeat these two poses for 5 breath cycles tying releasing your spine from the crown of your head to the sacrum.
After 5 min:
Push up into downward facing dog, or, more simply called, Inverted V shape pose. Lift your knees off the matt, push onto your hands and let your head fall in the middle of your arms, neck relaxed, look up into your tummy and breath.
Adjust the pose by pushing your hills down into the mat and reaching your sit bone to the sealing. Stay for 5 cycles of breaths.
After 5 min:
Now, from the V shape pose, walk your feet in between your hands, keeping them together, keep legs straight as much as your flexibility allows. Stay bent forward, low with your back, neck and head. Let your arms rest your side and trying reaching your nose to your knees. (IF THIS IS TOO HARD FOR SOMEBODY, JUST KEEP YOUR LEGS BENT!)
Grab opposite biceps with your hands and still hang low, releasing your neck, letting it hang loose.
Take 10 breaths here.
P.S. Inversions are a great stress reliever. Fresh blood leaves your extremities and reaches your brain giving you a “high”. Yet you should not stay there for too long, otherwise it might make you dizzy!
After 10 breaths:
Release your arms, and easily and gently unroll up like a warm bread roll, HEAD COMES UP LAST, AND EYES ARE CLOSED!
Let your arms fall by your side, release your shoulders down and reach your head up. Ground through your feet as if you were growing roots underneath. Now lift your arms up to the sky, and inhale fully and gracefully. Look up and take a slight back bend. Meaning: throw your neck and head back past your hands, push your hips forward, and round your backs, but don’t collapse in yor lower back. Move gracefully, softly.
YOGA IS ALL ABOUT BALANCE AND MINIMAL CHANGES OF BODY ANGLES. Take few breaths here, then fold you hands to your heart, thumbs facing in and fold forward.
Grab your ankles and pull your knees to your nose. Exhale and let go of them.
To END:
Sit back down, crossed legged and repeat the initial meditation.
HINT: You may want someone to read this sequence to you while you do it, before you learn it yourself, it would be a shame to ruing the rhythm if you have to go check out what pose comes next the whole time.
P.S. I will be teaching a class on WED nights from 8-8:55 at the AU Jacobs Center all winter.
Enjoy
Namaste,
Fede~
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