Vivrant Thing

I came across this image on Flickr. People in the comments section complain about the HDR but I think the image has a very cartoon-y, dream-like appeal. (I'm not sure blogger exactly captures all of the vibrance so you should check out the Flickr page.) I don't know anything about the photographer, Andertho, but some of his other photos are equally amazing.

You The Best?

Am I the only one who thinks this song is overrated? I doubt it, because there are always haters when something or someone gets this much hype. I'm not hating but I just don't find him to be a particularly good rapper or singer, and he isn't particularly clever or creative either. I suppose Drake's mixtape is kind of okay; it's not terrible but I feel like the standout tracks only stand out because there are a lot of lackluster songs in there. Give me Cudi or Wale any day. Anyway, Drake and his Canadian television actor background does have the backing of famous rappers and teeny boppers so I guess that is all he needs. Kanye did this video, which is like Baywatch meets Hang Time meets um, any stereotypical rap video. Enjoy???

Stay

Yes, with Real Madrid's signing of French striker Karim Benzema, it looks a slight bit more likely that David Villa will remain at Valencia for next season. Well, he may still get swooped up by another team, but at least he isn't going to Madrid who were thought to have been the front-runners in the Villa saga. I don't know why, but I was never keen on him going to Real. It has nothing to do with the spending (if they have the money, let them use it) but more to do with the fact that they aren't building a team so much as collecting big players and that I am becoming less and less a fan of Cristiano Ronaldo each time I watch him. I would much rather have Villa join Barca over Real Madrid, so if he must go it's good to hear rumors that he's meeting with them. With Eto'o likely on his way to Man City, David Villa would fit right into the front-line with ex-Gunner Thierry Henry (my other favorite striker, although he's more of a winger now) and the real best player in the world (sorry, CR7), Lionel Messi. Throw in a few other guys I like (Iniesta, Xavi, Puyol, Pique, Toure) and yeah, I guess I'm kind of a Barca fan, after Arsenal and Valencia of course. So, here's to hoping David Villa stays and Valencia can keep a few of their young up and coming players...

To speak on the Benzema signing, I think it will benefit both the player and the team. Based on last season and after their two big signings this summer, I thought Madrid needed a striker more than a winger/midfielder. This move makes so much more sense than them bringing in Ribery (another player I'd rather not see at Madrid... Although Madrid sounds much better than ManU). Now, I don't have a great idea of just how good Benzema will be but I do know he is a good. Playing in top league (no offense, Ligue 1 fans) where he can play against better competition at a high profile club is the next logical step for him. It'll be interesting to see how he performs and handles the pressure.

Also, in related but old news, I'm kind of bummed that Raul Albiol is out. This doesn't have that much to do with Madrid as it does with the fact that Albiol is one of the most promising young center backs in the world and he didn't want to leave Valencia (touch up on your Spanish). Good signing for Madrid, I guess. At least they aren't completely ignoring the defense.

Random

I guess this is Microsoft's answer to the Wii. I think it was made for Max. Not only will he be able to play dress up when searching for his Halloween costume each year, but he can provide himself and everyone else with endless hours of entertainment, watching him play MS' version of Wii Bowling and Wii Tennis. Plus, Jamie's worst fear isn't even an issue; there's no controller to throw through the TV!

Remember The Time

The big news of this week, among other things of course, was the death of Michael Jackson. I admit I never really ranked MJ among my favorite artists but I have always, always liked his music. I wasn't old enough to experience the high points in his career but I was able to discover them through his back catalog. From his work with the Jackson 5 through his solo career, he's made hit after hit after hit, songs that got stuck in my head time and time again. Whenever I hear "I Want You Back" I want to sing like Little Mike. I can't help but dance, at least a little, every single time I hear the bass-line drop on "Billie Jean". Who wasn't left awestruck after watching "Thriller" or "Scream" (when Janet was still hot even with that hair and that, um, resemblance to her brother...) or even "Remember The Time". Hell, I even liked "You Rock My World". Yes, the one that had Chris Tucker in the video. I won't say I liked every song he made but the good significantly outweighs the bad.

Jackson's influence as a singer/dancer/performer, from his vocal style to his music videos to his fashion sense, is almost unmatched. Off the top of my head, I can't come up with another artist in my lifetime that has had quite the impact as Michael but I can list several performers who he impacted (JT, obviously, and um, pretty much every single pop or R&B artist since the 80s). He was even involved with two of my favorite parody songs and one of my favorite mash-ups, two categories that I arguably shouldn't have favorites in at all. Those songs wouldn't have existed without Michael. He is undeniably a cultural icon and for that reason, I will probably always remember what was doing when I heard of his passing.

Similar to how my parents can recall what they were up to when they found out about JFK, I will always remember getting a call from my roommate on an unemployed Thursday while I was watching a soccer game at home. He just had to tell me the bad news. He was on vacation in NY, walking around SoHo, when he heard some lady talking about it on the street. In a similar situation on the west coast, my other roommate heard about the news while walking on the street in Oakland at lunch. That's the kind of impact Michael Jackson had on the world. Even in the age of Web 2.0 and 50-plus news channels on television, information of his death was traveling through the streets. (Of course, he did affect the Internet as well. How many other people could have taken down Google, Twitter and AOL with his/her passing?)

It's sad but even now I can't help but half-laugh at his issues. His problems with the law, his baby dangling, his monkey and his amusement park, his plastic surgeries and his family problems. Now that it's just about all said and done, I think those eccentricities will just be footnotes buried in the story of his great career as an entertainer but they're still there. I've spent the last couple days remembering the good and the odd, but mostly I've been revisiting his music and his videos (thanks, youtube, obviously). It's amazing how many of his songs I had forgotten I liked, how much of his work was actually pretty grand-breaking at the time. I'll be sure to do the RIAA a favor and bolster my anemic MJ collection.

It's a shame it took his death for me to get back into his music but so it goes. I don't think I owe him any more than that. I know I don't. As some one who never knew him, I was a little shocked but I wasn't really emotionally affected by the news. To a certain extent, for me anyway, it's sad in the same way any death is sad. Michael Jackson passed away and I will remember when it happened. Hopefully, he is in a better place. Hopefully, he's at peace with whatever caused him to do all that weird stuff. But mostly, hopefully he realizes that people enjoyed and will always enjoy his music.

Big Deal

Initially, I wasn't too impressed with this song but I'm kind of feeling it now. I guess that's true with a lot of Clipse songs; I can only think of a handful that really grabbed me straight away. I didn't even like "Grindin'" at first. But yeah, this son is pretty good. And I may have mentioned it before but Kanye West has been killing it with the guest spots in the past several months. His verse here is surprisingly good so hopefully he follows up the very respectable 808s & Heartbreak with a rap album.

Get Right

I thought I'd do a bit of follow-up regarding the Confederations Cup and US Soccer...

When I wrote the last post, I was considering touching on the impact that a good game against Spain would have. At the time, I was leery of the reaction that a positive result would have by the media, casual soccer fans and sports fans in general. As much as I wanted the US to win, I was worried what a victory might do. Well, maybe I wasn't worried so much as I was dreading what might already be happening: over-hype. I'm all for people getting excited about soccer but without taking anything away from the US national team, let's keep things in perspective.

First off, it was a great win defeating Spain 2-0 yesterday. The US played a solid game tactically, and played an even better game in terms of effort. To be honest, I don't remember the last time the US played with that much heart and fire. Players like Clark and Bocanegra were throwing themselves at every pass and shot. Players, for the most part, were hustling all over the pitch. The US saw another good game from Donovon, and from Davies as well. Altidore, while still very raw, showed great strength and positioning with his goal. And after another mediocre game overall, Dempsey made a very heads up play in finishing off the game with his second goal in two games. In limited minutes, Feilhaber again impressed with his composure and decision-making. Above all, Onyewu and DeMerit were excellent in back. I'm glad to see DeMerit finally getting a chance to earn a place in the starting line-up (his story is pretty incredible) and I was waiting for Onyewu to "wow" me like has these past few games. The only disappointment for me was Michael Bradley. Even before getting sent off on a questionable call, he didn't really make a mark on the game.

On top of all the positives for the US, Spain didn't play well. David Villa was missing shots. Xavi and Xabi Alonso were extremely quiet. Torres played as poorly as I've ever seen him play. Capdevilla played awful and surprisingly, Puyol and Pique were spotty as well. Ramos had a huge mental lapse that resulted in the second goal. Without any bias (hopefully), I have to say that just about the only player who did anything was Fabregas, placing a few dangerous balls through and over the top of the defense, and he was subbed off midway through the second half. Even with poor performances by the bulk of the team, Spain still dominated possession but they just couldn't break down the US enough to score. To maintain a huge win streak, teams need a few breaks here and there, fortunate bounces, lucky calls, goals off deflections, etc. and yesterday Spain just didn't get any those.

To put it simply, one team played well, the other didn't. I do agree with most that this was an important win, but one of the biggest in the history of American soccer? Sure, I guess it was. But when it comes down to the ultimate goals, becoming an international powerhouse and winning the World Cup, this win doesn't mean much. It does not put the US among the top teams in the world. Despite curbing the incredible unbeaten and win streak of the number one team in the world, it shouldn't overshadow the fact that the US struggles with consistency and has some glaring deficiencies on the field. Even though it was a semi-final victory in an international tournament, it was the Confederations Cup (google "Confederations Cup pointless" to see what people think) and it was the semi-finals.

So beware of the hype. Let's see what happens in the finals before we start thinking about World Cup 2010 success. And before we start thinking about WC 2010, let's see what happens in the Gold Cup this summer, and for that matter, the rest of World Cup Qualifying. It's not that I don't want more people to watch soccer (I do), or that I'm an elitist fan (maybe I am, a little), or that I don't think the US team is improving (they are). Just beware of the hype. Remember what happened after reaching the quarter finals of WC 2002 and winning the Gold Cup in 2002 and 2005? The US bowed out of WC 2006, finished last place in their group (I know it was the Group of Death but still). This team can be good. It has a balanced mix of young talent and experienced veterans, domestic and international club players. I, like most Americans who like soccer, want to see this team succeed but let's just wait and see what happens.