Teams are their record and results

SSFC 2
SJ Earthquakes 1
June 13, 2009
Seattle, WA
X-Box Pitch at Qwest Field

Good on paper? I was beginning to wonder ...

Really, a team is its record and results. And, although I generally believe that a team with more talent will win out over the long haul it was beginning to be more than just a game or two glitch. Last year the 7th and 8th seeds had 39 and 40 points respectively and with a win the Sounders FC are now at 20 with less than half the season played. They appear to be a legitimate playoff team, not simply a flashy team that had a few hot games at the start.

I shook Joe Roth's hand in Occidental Park before the game and he still had that same knowing and confident smile. Nate Jaqua responded positively when I commented that they were due for a five or six game win streak. Even without a number of starters they continued to play forward and attack. Last night they played smarter too. Yes, the Freddie's each had a moment or two with the refs that led to more stupid yellow cards, but the few moments were still not enough to totally throw them off their games and came late in the game with a lead.

I know that Ljungberg got the Man of the Match, but the yellow tipped me to really considering it to be Le Toux. Le Toux was as relentless and influential as Ljungberg, set up the first goal, and didn't get the stupid yellow for dissent. Montero got the second goal, but his error on defense and yellow tipped it again towards Le Toux for me. It was good that Montero and the crowd exchanged applause, as he really had a good game up to the defensive error and made a couple nice plays right after. Kasey Keller (looking ready to direct traffic after the game in construction worker orange) was as steady as ever, but was exceptionally demonstrative after the goal. The team played well overall and when Alonso came in as a late sub, his presence was noticed in how the defense stabilized against the Earthquakes pressure.

Random notes:
- I finally did the Fan Rally and March to the Match and that was fun. Getting to meet a couple players and shake Roth's hand was cool.
- Even though gift wrapped, the San Jose goal came because they brought pressure and capitalized with a strong shot. The end result was a closer scoreline than the overall play warranted, but it was not like they didn't play forward when behind to try and get back into it.
- Before the first goal, SJE had 11 players behind the ball with not one guy ten yards from midfield at one point with Ljungberg in possession. That was as big a defensive shell as I have seen a team go into in league play in the first half of a game ever. Plus, all 14 SJE fans got to see most of the first half up close that way.

I have always had a dog

The last few days have been extraordinarily odd for me.

I miss my dog Dasher, who passed away on Tuesday.

But, it is not just that.

On my 2nd birthday I got a dog, her name was Raffles. Since then there has always been a dog in my life. Next month I turn 42, so that is just under 40 years of always having a dog. It is all I have ever known. We briefly had Barney when I was younger. Then, my father got Yogie. At one point my brother had Brutus. When I was away at college the dog was thee when I came home. After Yogie we did not get another family dog but I was engaged to a woman with a dog named Babie, who came to live with me upon getting married. A few years later we got Dasher, adopted my mother in law's dog Spike upon her going into a nursing home, and briefly had Jack. Dasher stayed with me when I got divorced. There has always been a dog there. There has always been overlapping dog era without a gap.

The past couple mornings have been hard. My daughter's cat Tiger lives with me and he has been behaving like he knows something is wrong and missing.

I appreciate all of the kind words and messages in various formats that have been sent by friends and family. The little dog had charisma.

At this time I cannot get another dog, although most likely I will again some day. For now, it is simply a gap I am dealing with.

There is a little battle raging near my apartment

It seems that two coffee stands are having a bit of a war near my apartment. For the past few months I have noticed that the bikini barista stand and the stand across the major road have had an interesting relationship.

There is a brunette in the bikini stand that wears a black bikini and is very tan that makes certain that she is visible from the road. (For the record, I am cheap and not a prude so I do not patronize either stand.) Across from the brunette is a stand that advertises that it is "Family Friendly", which I take it means that the baristas are not scantily clad but seriously covered up or something.

I am not going to be mean here and say the baristas at the "Family Friendly" place are unattractive or whatever, as I have no first hand knowledge ... but it is kind of funny that they advertise an implication that shopping there is somehow a better idea because they don't have smoking hot tan brunettes in bikinis ...

Still ... there are always more cars in line at the bikini stand. The ratio always seems to be three or four to one in favor of the bikini girls.

Again, I don't buy my coffee from either, but it has been kind of fun to watch and note how each business is doing.

Choosing projects ... dated materials

The time for certain projects passes.

As I look forward to the next projects I work on I realize that some projects are simply a product of their time.

For instance, my novel Boomerang simply would not work as a movie today. The premise and story are fine, but a real product of the early 90s when it was written. The pervasiveness of cell phones simply makes the story no longer currently plausible and would date a film in a negative way.

Think of it this way ... has there ever been a movie as prophetic as ED TV? It seems silly today that a reality series like that would be controversial, but at the time no one was being followed around with cameras like in so many shows today.

So, as I look forward to my continued work on The Scarecrow Effect I know that it is still timely. Also, doing the Celebrity Dating Service story seems very timely and is one that I want to pursue. My Bigfoot and St. Shotgun stories seem pretty timeless, so I won't press it.

glamourpuss #7

glamourpuss #7 feels like a watershed issue. In this issue we get a good super heroine parody story, some fashion industry ad parodies, and still have a continuation of the "Comic Art Scholarship" that makes up the bulk of the material in the series to this point.

This issue is more of what I have been expecting based upon the way the series was introduced. Bear in mind that I have found the first six issues to be interesting and worthwhile and would continue getting issues, but that it was lacking the part that this one provides. Knowing that we will sometimes get issues like this is important to me keeping my interest level up. I think the single page character introductions were very clever.

On a side note, I received a package from Dave that included some original art and a note that had me looking forward to meeting Ms. A and the other new characters. Thanks again Dave.

Dasher

Animals let us know.

Last night around 945 Dasher started whining. She could not push herself up.

I helped her up and she drank a bunch of water, but refused to eat. She hasn't really eaten much for a couple days.

I wrapped her in a blanket and brought her to the couch. She kept whining for a few minutes and then set her head on my chest and slept. She looked very peaceful.

I could not sleep and felt like I should not move. I laid there on my back wide awake til about 230 and moved her to a blanket on the floor. At this point I got on the floor with her.

I maybe got a couple hours sleep. After scrambling to get ready I took her back to her spot in the kitchen and she drank for me, but again refused food and this time also the meat I sneak her medicine in. I had to go to work.

When I got home from work she had not moved and refused water.

I made the call and stayed with her.

Last night Dasher felt all the love as she rested on my chest. I felt the love back from her.

Dasher was a rescue from back when I was in Pullman in 1995. She was 1-2 years old when I got her. From the start we bonded. Through a broken back and all sorts of bad behavior we stayed together.

I got close to 15 good years with her.

She is missed already.

The Pulse

"The Pulse" should be hitting now ...

If there ever had been a time to make a Dark Angel film, TODAY would have been the perfect release date.

Bummer that it didn't happen.

Stallions 54 Warriors 12

Seattle Stallions 54
Tacoma Warriors 12
May 30, 2009
Cascade Football League
Shoreline Stadium

A few plays totally change a football game. Late in the first Tacoma had an incompletion in the end zone and a failed field goal attempt. Final play of the quarter Seattle gets a punt return for a touchdown. Two minutes into the second another special teams touchdown on a blocked punt and we have a totally different game. Crazy how that happens ...

Tacoma probably could have kept it closer if not for those plays, but it appeared that Seattle had more firepower and would have pulled away, but you never know. I had not seen either team play before so that is my perception. Once Seattle had the lead Tacoma had to pass more instead and it led to turnovers and the game got away from them.

It was good to see the Tacoma team have a loud contingent of family and friends making noise the whole game even as the score got a way from them.

Supremely Political

Quick, which Supreme Court nominee does this refer to?

"FITBN (Fill in the blank nominee) is too extreme."

"FITBN will be a thoughtful jurist and bring honor to The Court."

"FITBN was chosen for political reasons."

"FITBN would not have been picked if not for his/her race/gender/political creed."

"FITBN will tip the balance on the court in favor of the Liberals/Conservatives."

It does not mater who the FITBN is, the above questions simply are regurgitated as if they are wisdom by whichever side the FITBN attracts/repels.

Every Supreme Court nominee from the days of William Marbury to Sonia Sotomayor has been political.

The judiciary is filled with qualified judges who have been thoroughly examined by Congress and their peers. Since presidents get so few chances to nominate and selecting one is such a process, the volume of qualified applicants makes the process of choosing come down to symbolism and politics.

It does not matter which party is choosing the same thing happens every time.

So, when I hear that there is a vacancy I can pretty much predict what each side will say without knowing who the nominee even is, since their responses are so predictable and knee jerk ... just like this time.

Properly frying up SPAM

A few summers ago I had a SPAM and eggs dinner party with some friends ...

Remember, don't use too high a heat setting or it will burn ... you want it warmed up to brown ...

Here are stages of cooking SPAM until it is browned and all sorts of nummy goodness!

I am severely allergic to bees

Over the years I have learned to relax and control myself around bees.

When stung, I get an awful reaction. In college I ended up getting steroid shots in the booty at the hospital from the reaction.

For years, I was an Internet video waiting to happen if a bee was near. I have finally reached the point where I can stand near the flowers and try and get a photo of a hovering bee.

Of course, it has been a number of years since I was stung. I might go back to the hysterics if I end up in the ER again.

It's not Navy vs. St. John's ...

... but for whatever reason we have always loved and played croquet ...

Growing up we would use my grandparents' huge lawn and us kids would play a fairly serious game. Now, we set it up wherever. There's just something about the game.

Photos from Memorial Day.

Late getting some flowers out this year ...

Steak strips

Breaded. Seasoned. Nummy.

The most important shelf in my kitchen ...

Yes, the Twinkies and Pop Tarts shelf ...

A couple pics from NW Folklife today

I was very full after grazing my way through the festival ...

This actually happened recently ...

Okay ... I know that I was in the "bad" or "rough" part of town and all ...

I park my car and the lot is half full.

A woman gets out of a nice black car and walks directly up to me.

She is acting very, very nervously.

We exchange a brief pleasantry.

I just need to run into the store and then get home.

"I'm short on cash. Maybe we could go back to your place and ..."

She is pretty. She is probably early 20s with shoulder length sandy blond hair. She is not wearing and does not need make up to be attractive. It's a fairly warm day and she has short white shorts on and a very loose fitting black top showing off a lot of cleavage. At about 5'6" and looking fit she was actually very, very attractive. If a friend brought her along as a date I would have thought, "Damn, where did you meet her?"

My reaction is a very quick hand up, palm out, "I'm sorry." I turn quickly and without further comment walk briskly into the store. I linger in the store much, much longer than I intended to. Part of me wants to say something to the clerk while inside the store, but for some reason I do not bother.

When I come out the black car is gone.

The Wrecked Chords at the Comet Tavern

May 18, 2009
Seattle, WA
Comet Tavern

Shout out to my cousin Josh and the band ...

Should I have challenged "doopy"?

In honor of Scrabble Night this weekend and it apparently being the final time we meet with the building we all used to work in being open ... the following true story of something that happened one evening while working there ...

But first, I challenged "jin" and lost ... should I have challenged "doopy"? Bear in mind we use the Scrabble website as our dictionary.

On to the story ...

A few years ago when I was working evenings for Big Insurance Company there was something like 30 people in the building. It was a 3 story, but quite big office building to which we were the sole tenant.

The fire alarm went off at around 7 and so we went outside. We waited ... we waited 45 minutes for the local fire dept to stroll up. Meanwhile the alarm would not go off, so we stood way across a pretty big parking lot to not have it blaring at us. The fire dept walked slowly to the building as if very routine and not worth their time.

45 minutes? It's a couple blocks away.

The 4 fireman come rushing out of the building, gear up in a hurry and rush back in. A couple minutes later the alarm stops and the firemen come out. The kitchen had actually been on fire with the sprinkler system dousing it. But the gas, sprinklers, and alarms needed to be shut off. Needless to say, none of us were very happy with their lazy response to the whole "drill" that was not a drill ...

It was apparent that they considered it to be a false alarm. Who knows why. But, they were like 3 minutes away, not on a call it turned out, and had expected security to call them off to not come at all. When they got there, they were more irritated than helpful. Then it turned out to be real. There were some fireworks the next day when the boss apparently went off on the fire chief where staff could hear it on the phone from his office ...

All of a sudden ...

... I put out bird feeders and suddenly I am getting hummingbirds (recent post) and this morning bluebirds ...

Pho at the beach last night ...

A little soup and sandwich from a local Vietnamese restaurant last night.

Heaty Metal Listings

I check the mail recently and there is a key in the box. I haven't ordered anything big in a while so I go around to the other side of the post office and open the locker. There is a package in it from J-Diz ... who recently asked me to verify my address to send me something ...

I open the package and find myself holding All Known Metal Bands by Dan Nelson. Dumbfounded would be the word for the day if I did a word for the day. I take a glance through it and decide I need to peruse it during SSR the next day.

The next day I begin reading the lists (and have to keep a 6th period student from absconding with it). Here's the thing, it's lists. Nothing but lists in alphabetical order of Heavy Metal bands. Some band names are listed more than once in order to show that several bands have used the same name. Many of the names are not in English. Some of the names are downright disgusting or silly. There are omissions. The book is beautiful in its simplicity and yet tells us so much about the author and the subject matter.

I show the book to my bro. Here is another opportunity to see the difference between myself and the one person on Planet Earth with the closest DNA to mine. "It's just a bunch of lists," he says. I let it go. Lists in silver ink on black paper. Lists that are simply ... you get my point.

Just because

circa 1988

Don't get too excited ...

To my friends on "the left" that are currently enjoying the following ...

... that Dick Cheney is the face of the Republican Party right now and bashing Colin Powell ...

... that The Sarah Palin family situation has become Jerry Springer like with the "tell all" on Tyra, etc ...

... that John McCain's daughter is trying to push the Republican Party to the middle ...

... that Rush Limbaugh is mostly on the defensive and appearing even more shrill than normal ...

... that a former Republican presidential primary candidate and current Senator is switching parties ...

Just remember ...

It may seem like there is an implosion going on and that it will always be this way. It won't. These things cycle around. Maybe it will take a few election cycles, but don't get cocky.

Need I remind you all that Harry Reid is still Senate Majority Leader ...

SSFC versus LAG ... (5-10-09 aka HMD!)

Happy Mothers Day Mom!

Seattle Sounders FC 1
Los Angeles Galaxy 1
XBOX Pitch at Qwest Field
Seattle, WA
May 10, 2009

(Founding member of Webster's Women returns to site (if not building) as the Sounders FC take on the Galaxy without Mr. Posh Spice.)

Dear Bruce Arena,

Your team is not very good. Even a man up your team was weaker ... Posh's hubby won't make that much of a difference.

Sincerely,

Jeff

*****



I was going to make a nice long posting about how having a MLS team in Seattle has made me lose track of international soccer and then comment on the game ... but the way the game deteriorated today was a direct result of a completely over-matched officiating crew and has me unable to write cohesively at this time. Not one player shook the hand of an official after the game when they lined up at midfield after the final whistle. I have never seen two teams so clearly lose faith in an entire crew as they did this afternoon. The body language of the center ref was the body language of someone who had completely lost his confidence and control. The number of cards issued (4 for dissent alone) was because the players on both sides completely lost respect for match officials. It was terrible.

Still, I do want to give props to the supporters section and how when they get cheers going the whole stadium picks it up ... very nice!

The ladies take a turn

Seattle Sounders Women 0
University of Washing Huskies 0
Husky Soccer Field
Seattle, WA
May 9, 2009

An entertaining, even if scoreless, exhibition game. I believe this sends the Dawgs into the summer and the Sounders into the season ...

It was very cool to see Michelle French playing the full 90 and I wish her all the best.

Star Trekking ...

When the first Trek film came out I went with some friends to the Lynn Twin and saw it opening weekend. I had never been to a movie where after buying a ticket I had to wait all the way around a corner in line. It didn't occur to me at 12 that they might know how many seats they had and tickets they were selling ...

The second film came out and I saw it right away at the Grand Cinemas Alderwood. I cannot be absolutely certain that I saw it opening weekend, but I might have. Although in some ways the 6th is the best film, this one really stands out as the defining Trek film.

The third Trek came out and a few of us APES went and saw it on opening day as a matinee, also at the Grand Cinemas Alderwood. Piling in the car and heading straight the the movies was just kind of cool. The third film is one of the weakest in some ways, and always struck me as rushed looking, but it was still better than most films.

The fourth film came out after high school, but again I went to it right away. This is Trek at its most obviously preachy, but it works because the humor and script was so good. The supporting cast got a lot to work with in this one.

The fifth film came out during my college days and I pretty much ignored it. It looked awful, I heard bad things about it, and eventually watched it on video. It should be titled "The One We Pretend Never Happened". TNG was not officially a reboot and written to be in the future of the original series so that they could make room for a film like this. It's awful, and not in a good and funny way.

TNG was really in its best phase when the sixth movie came out. I remember getting the tickets after work and going with my brother to a late showing of this at the Grand Cinemas. Gene had just died and it was a really rowdy crowd, like being with a group that was going to see Guns 'n Roses later that evening. The best all around film of the series and it really sent the original cast off in style.

But, they all could not stay away so they made the seventh movie a split between some of the original cast and mostly a TNG film. The results were mixed and I tend to think of this one much less than other TNG era films.

The eighth film was the second one I saw opening weekend while in Pullman on a snowy day. The Borg are potentially one of the most frightening things ever on screen and this one actually made use of that. They always seemed to be dampening the power of The Borg in other stories.

The ninth film was really good too and I have a hard time deciding if I like eight or nine better among the TNG era films. The film makes really good use of a variety of elements from the TNG era and shows a side of Starfleet rarely seen in the perfect world it is normally shown as being.

The tenth film had a lot of potential, but they screwed up by changing the Romulans back story and also Picard's back story too much. By this point, only Trek fans were going and the changes were not taken well and the movie did poorly.

It is no surprise that several years passed and a new attempt to resurrect the franchise was made by handing it over to JJ Abrams. This afternoon I will pick up my son from school and go to an afternoon showing. Reports from early screenings and friends are favorable. This should be fun ...

Hummingbird

I ended up putting out some bird feeders this year and they have really worked. The hummingbird feeder struck me as a bit optimistic, since I have lived there over four years without seeing one and then this little birdie appeared ...

Playboy Buddy Rose

Paul Perschmann was in the first match of the first Wrestlemania. If you don't know the name it is not surprising. He was a masked wrestler that day, but most of his career he was known as Playboy Buddy Rose.

I loved hating him growing up. Watching the old late night from Portland "Big Time Wrestling" show he was the heel of that era for us. We would stay up and root for anyone he was against.

See, anyone can be disliked in wrestling, but not anyone can make you love hating him. It is immensely important to the story that the bad guy not simply be disliked, but that he give you a reason to want to watch him anyways. Too many wrestlers fail at remembering this. If I don't like a wrestler and don't care at the same time I don't watch.

I got to go to a wrestling card for the first time in 1982 with my bro, a cousin, and an aunt and uncle of mine. We saw a great card at Mercer Arena. That night I saw Buzz Sawyer and Chris Adams, both of whom have passed on too young. The main event was Ric Flair against Playboy Buddy Rose for the NWA World Title. This was big. But, Rose was the local guy and somehow everyone seemed to be rooting for him, even though he was a heel. I did not like it. Flair and Rose put on a great match and from where I was near ringside it was spectacular. Flair won and the crowd lamented Rose's loss. I stuck with hating Rose.

Paul Perschmann passed away recently. He was very, very good at what he did as Playboy Buddy Rose. I wish his family and friends the best. May he rest in peace.