Monday, April 30, 2007

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

If it's not my fault, is it your fault? His bad childhood? Hers? Karma? It must be someones fault!

Thank goodness Advise Goddess can sort these things out...

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Glenn Reynolds asks a very interesting question.
A couple of days ago I linked to a YouTube clip of a stunning piece of soccer from Lionel Messi. It seems the Euro "socca" press are ready to proclaim it the "greatest goal ever, or maybe second greatest".

Well, maybe. But would that be individual goal, or collective...?

Sunday, April 22, 2007

"The funniest thing you will ever see on a cricket ground" ? "...a refreshingly rural twinge..." ?

Well, OK, if you say so...
Lionel Messi of Barcelona provides the goal of the year -- note particularly the first and third step-throughs. Ridiculous...

Friday, April 20, 2007

A healthy dose of perspective, smartly delivered.

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Well, of course -- who didn't know that...?

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

This past Christmas I bought the Not My Fault daughter an "I Can Kill You with My Brain" t-shirt, because we happen to love the Firefly television series the line originally came from, and also the Serenity movie which came from the series.

In the series River Tam tells bad guy/good guy Jayne to leave her and her brother Simon alone, because "I can kill you with my brain". The inside joke, of course, is that she really can kill with her brain. ("No power in the 'Verse can stop me".) The series is largely about the exploits of a bunch of space outcasts and misfits, but hits consistently and relentlessly on themes relating to liberty, self-determination, and loyalty. The movie does that too, but really is more strongly themed on the love between River Tam and her brother Simon Tam.

Anyway, a few weeks ago the Not My Fault daughter wore the shirt to school. Big mistake, evidently, what with the offending word "kill" emblazoned across her skinny 14 year old 100-pounds-soaking-wet chest. She was scolded by the one of the resident scolds, er, I mean teachers, who demanded to know the meaning of the saying. She at least bothered to listen to the story about the show and the movie and the amazing River Tam and the rest of it, and then instructed my daughter to wear a jacket the rest of the day.

But that's not what I want to talk about.

I remember reading about what you should do in case you're attacked by an armed insane person, when you don't happen to be allowed to also be armed. The overwhelming evidence clearly shows you should either run like hell, or fight back with whatever you have at your disposal; your fists if nothing else. Point being: give yourself a chance, however remote. The worst thing you can do is cower or otherwise try to hide. This literally makes you a sitting duck, and in the view of the armed insane person, dehumanizes you further. You relinquish all control of the outcome based purely on chance.

So of course I've taken some time over the years to instruct my daughter along those lines: fight back, never cower, if by some remote chance an armed insane person visits your school.

A pity more aren't taught similarly. And that teacher so offended by that t-shirt? What's her "policy"?
Junior High, the U.N., and international diplomacy...there's an idea in there somewhere.
Unrelenting nanny-state-ism just can't help itself...
Well, I certainly hope she plays better in her next match...

Monday, April 16, 2007


The truth about dark roast coffee and flavor...

Friday, April 13, 2007


I like to experiment with food and recipes as much as the next guy, but chorizo? With rum? And flame? No. No. No.
Ah, good old Dutch multi-culti pieties: Mecca, Washington, what's the difference...?
I subscribe to a few podcasts via itunes and then try to catch up with them when I get to the gym during lunchtimes. I had the pleasure of listening to this hugely insightful interview about how we constantly infantilize teens to everyone's detriment...don't miss it.
I've been quite frankly disappointed in the last few episodes of 24. I had no idea where the story was going, and I don't think the writers had a clue either.

Well this past week's episode reminded the faithful of why it's the best thing happening on network television at the moment, with an episode that delivered all the goods and more...
I've been pretty critical of violence in soccer stadiums from time to time, but every once in a while I'm reminded that soccer can be a powerful force for positive change. Then again, a game with the kind of global reach that soccer enjoys is bound to get it right once in a while...

...Just in time too, because I'm back in Portsmouth with the Not My Fault daughter at, you guessed it, a soccer tournament. At which I'll be cold and wet, so it's good to be reminded of why I'm so passionate for the sport.

Monday, April 09, 2007

This is a family-friendly blog. For the most part...

Friday, April 06, 2007


Ah yes, just another fine evening at the stadium.

Violence at Euro "socca" matches has become so routine that no one reasonably expects anything else...in fact police forces plan and gear up for these occasions...

Then, of course, rather than insightful post-game analysis we get media blame-game analysis.

There's no better or more subtle example of how euro-socca violence has ingrained itself into the Euro consciousness than this article. Notice how blithely it transitions from reporting on the violence to reporting the final scores. Outrageous. A classic example of the old line "Other that that bit of unpleasantness regarding your husband, how did you like the parade, Mrs. Kennedy?"

Thursday, April 05, 2007

I've been saying for a few years now that Holland is finished: demographic, social, and cultural trends have put the nation in an absolute death-spiral from which I don't believe it will recover. Oh, there will still be a "place" on maps called Holland (or the Netherlands, if you like), but any ideal of unique "Dutchness" will cease to exist in another generation or two.

Here then is a sobering analysis of what has become a mass exodus from Holland, as the flight from Holland gains traction.

Key bit:

"...the disgruntled Dutch are anything but tired and poor. They’re young, affluent, well-educated, entrepreneurial, fluent in English and smart enough to have figured that the time has come to get out as the future can no longer be found at home."

And this:

"...in terms of negatives the Dutch have basically got it all: high population density, an over-regulated society, a significant tax burden, soaring crime rates, a general sense of ‘dilapidation’ and a huge unintegrated pool of Muslim immigrants."
I have been absolutely bowled over with both work and volunteering responsibilities of late, spending an inordinate amount of time in meetings, conference calls, airports, and the like.

Leave it to Glenn ("ahead of the curve since 30 minutes ago") Reynolds to offer some advise...

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

Blink!! (Or maybe not...)

The Pajamas Team -- who else? -- has a full round-up with the meaningful analysis you're just not going to find in the major media outlets.

Austin Bay - the go-to military analyst - has a quick thought...