Lady Gaga vs. Jerry Seinfeld

Recently, Lady Gaga made the headlines for talking her way into the New York Yankees clubhouse. She had also caused a scene at the stadium of the New York Mets. Following news that the Yankees might ban her from the clubhouse, former comedian  and current occupant of New York City, felt compelled to offer his opinion on Lady Gaga. He cited her as being inappropriate and that she should find a better use for her talent. This is very ironic considering that not only  has Seinfeld not told a good joke since 1991 (it was written for him by a screenwriter), but he recently produced a tactless and tasteless television show called "The Marriage Ref" in which celebrity panelists judge marriages and give "advice" on how struggling couples can improve their relationships. This is reality television at its worst. Seinfeld has to resort to being a voyeur to get people to consider him relevant. Truth be told, Lady Gaga is much more popular than Mr. Seinfeld. You can say she is an exhibitionist, which she will agree with. So, what we have here is the exhibitionist vs. the voyeur. One is open about her attitude and approach to life, while the other one hides and tries to highlight the worst in other people. Hmmm...I wonder who is the one who needs to find a better use of their talent? Going back to Lady Gaga, she can't be that bad, she is a fan of the Yankees!!

Farewell, Raymond Domenech

The 2010 World Cup for France, came to a merciful end today as the lost to an inspired South Africa team 2-1. And so ends the soap opera. A central figure in this tragicomedy was France coach Raymond Domenech, who was essentially a lame duck before the competition began: the French Soccer Federation named his successor before World Cup. Domenech's surly personality did not help him, but he was done in by the petulance of his players, which came full fore when they refused to practice the day after he sent bad boy Nicholas Anelka home for insubordination (he launched into a profanity-laced tirade against Domenech during halftime of France's 2-0 loss to Mexico).

I felt bad for Domenech as he had to offer a 4-2-3-1 formation featuring 5 players who had not played before; he had to bench several mutineers, including the captain, Patrice Evra. He must have known that there was no hope to win; that the cause was lost. In fact, his approach reminds me of a quote from Ivan Turgenev's "Fathers and Sons": It's no use crying for the moon. Domenech seemed to think that there was no reason not to go through the motions. But after seeing him refuse to shake the hand of South Africa coach Carlos Alberto Parreira after the game, I had to shake my head in disappointment. Domenech bore the burden of watching his team qualify in a disputed fashion for the World Cup, no support from French star Zinedine Zidane, a rebellion in the locker room, vituperative comments from the media and fans. His standoffish attitude did not help. But his awkward and ill-timed sense of humor almost makes me chuckle. Today he tweeted:
Il fallait être éliminé au premier tour : j'avais oublié de remplir ma déclaration d'impôts. Translation: We had to be eliminated in the first round: I forgot to pay my tax.  Au revoir, Mr. Domenech. You are despised by many people in your country, but I will give you one thing: you are a character.

Philosophy through football

I have watched every game of the World Cup, but what I have really come to appreciate are some of the inter-and post-game commentaries. My interest in two football (soccer to the uninitiated) commentators in particular, Jürgen Klinsmann and Alexi Lalas, actually began in 1994 at the World Cup, which took place in the United States. I first encountered the name Jürgen Klinsmann in the Germany-Bolivia game as he scored a winning goal against my team.  Alex Lalas was was one of the more colorful faces and personalities of US soccer.  In the picture below you can see Klinsmann celebrating his goal against Bolivia. In the next picture

you will see the inimitable Alexi Lalas leaping in the air. His trademark red hair and his goatee symbolized the free-spirit nature of US soccer. Contrast this with the clinical, technical drive of Klinsmann one has an appreciation for two great representatives of the game of football. Each came from different football philosophies and aspired to diverse football destinies. Klinsmann went on to coach the German national team to the World Cup in 2006 and Lalas went on to work with Major League Soccer. Now, interestingly enough football has brought these two statesmen together again. Both are commentators for ESPN during the World Cup. To the casual observer, who
may not be familiar with football, there is nothing out of the ordinary, but if you pay close attention, you can see what made these two athletes such great representatives of their sport. Lalas is passionate, enthusiastic with an almost "aw, shucks" approach that is always imbued with emotion. It is easy to see why he was such a popular US football player. Klinsmann comes off as cerebral, tactical and methodical, always plainly presenting his analysis of the game he is commenting.

One could also say that the commentators are coming from two different  perspectives: Klinsmann representing Old Guard Europe and Lalas sporting the almost rebellious, spontaneous emotional American side. It is neat to see and I hope that others see this as well. Hopefully, one day more people will.

I am thrilled to see more Americans follow the sport, but I hope they are able to pick up the beautiful intricacies of this beautiful game. The write Eduardo Galeano, calls it the "Esperanto of the ball." And  he is right.

I hope people will appreciate Klinsmann when he speaks of the 3-4-3 formation or how the body language of the French team betrays the discord in the group or Lala's candid observation about how "For Italians, it's the law to fall down to draw a foul." These two great football  players make a great commentator team in its own unique way. Unlike the horrible commentating that was on display during the NCAA Men's basketball championship final, where one commentator was clearly a Duke University supporter, Lalas and Klinsmann share their perspectives on football in a respectful way. I wonder what they both think about the incomparable Lionel Messi. As they are commenting, does Klinsmann think up a defensive scheme to slow Messi down? Does Lalas think "In my day, I could take him down!"

Below you see Klinsmann and Lalas as they are now. Whether you are a football fan or not, you should be privileged to watch these two gentlemen comment on the games they watch. It is interesting to know that like you and me, they are also great fans of soccer and for the span of 90 minutes we share that common bond.

 It is always interesting to see what how these two analyze a game. Klinsmann, the consumate tactician, focuses on formations that coaches employ while, Lalas the player's player, brings an almost youthful exuberance to this commentating. There is still plenty of bohemian                                                               

left in him!

I enjoy watching Steve MacNamanan, Chris Fowler, Ruud Gulit and Roberto Martinez comment, but there is something special about watching Lalas and Klinsmann, two different players, two different approaches observe the game. Thank you, ESPN for making such a great decision.

                      

Short Fiction Classics

How many of you remember suffering through those incredibly (what we thought at the time) boring 8th grade English classes? I remember quite a few of those. I don't remember all that we read, but there was one piece of short fiction that really impressed me and I remembered it through the years. I recently re-read it an it continues to be a delight to read. The work is titled "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" and was written by the inimitable Ambrose Bierce (see photo). This classic which took place during the Civil War features foreshadowing and the author's excellent command of sleight of hand to deceive the reader. I will not reveal more, you have to read it for yourself. You will like it. I thank my 8th grade teacher Mrs. Hudson for having us read this. What a classic!

Two other favorite pieces of short fiction are:

"The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson. This is chilling and disturbing, but excellent. The other is "The Devil and Daniel Webster" by Stephen Vincent Benet. Read them for yourself and let me know what you think. If only more Americans would show an appreciation for the rich literature we have.

Germany vs. Serbia

Thank you to Julia for reminding me that I hadn't posted in a while. I sustained a serious thumb injury during a recent 'Rock, Paper, Scissors' tournament. The truth is I have been busy with work.

Ok, on to business!

Germany was truly dominant in thrashing Australia 4-0 in its opening match. Seeing their relentless attack I kept thinking of a tsunami at it hits the shore. The poor Ozzies had no chance. Check out the preview of the match here: German-Serbia preview

Will Milan Jovanovic and company be able to contain the Germans? I don't think so. I fear it will be a 3-0 result in favor of Germany.

Interesting sign-posts

If you travel around the world you have probably seen some unique and different signs, but I am sure you haven't seen these. Check out the Signposts from around the world. Some of them are very interesting!

Here's to you, Jay and Wayne

During my time in Boston I came to enjoy spending hours at the Boston Public Library perusing the books, doing research, attending concerts and presentations or simply people watching.

This past Tuesday I returned books to the library (and paid a late fine, of course!) and I mentioned to them that I wanted to leave with a clean balance since I was headed to Kentucky for a job, following my 11-month layoff. The person at the desk, Jay, told me that the BPL was preparing to lay off all those workers with less than 10 years of service at the end of the month. Jay has been at the library for nine years. This is almost too cruel, but the story does not end there. He went on to tell me practically everyone working the desk would be laid off. I looked at his colleague at the other end of the counter, Wayne, who looked at me and nodded in grim, sad agreement. We instantly shared a kinship that few working people can appreciate. I am just coming out of my lay off, one of the worst and most difficult moments of my life; they are about to enter a very trying and frustrating time. These are good people and it bothers me that they have to suffer this. I shared with them my routine for dealing with the layoff --they enjoyed hearing about my use of the punching bag and when I told them I imagined someone's face on it, they laughed.  I really hope these guys make it back on their feet.

The sad thing is, the president of the library makes $175,000 a year. I have a suggestion: why doesn't he take a pay cut as a contribution toward preventing people from losing their jobs?

Here's to you, Jay and Wayne.