IPOD Shuffle

Do you know how many songs are on your IPOD? Do you actually know
what kind of songs are on your IPOD? I certainly don't. Somehow the
thing syncs with the MacBook and whatever song I want to listen to is
usually there. But, I had long drive to Peoria coming up, so I set the
playlist to ALL and hit the shuffle button. Quite interesting what the
speakers blurted out for the next 7 hours of drive. Some songs, I am
sure, I've never heard before. Some songs provoke flashbacks and for some
songs my reaction was: "WTF is THAT doing on my IPOD"
I hit I94-W and I was transformed back into the 80s with Duran-Duran and
Alphaville. In Kalamazoo a voice was trying to teach me to say things in
Spanish. Of course, the 90s showed up with the obligatory sax solo.
The only skipped a song, when I hit the relaxation CD of some hotel telling
me to close my eyes and slow down my breathing. Not a good idea while
driving.
But otherwise, I listened to everything that came out of the little black box.
Here some more examples on what I was exposed too:
- O.M.D - No its not a misspelling of OMG. Its a Brit pop band from the 80s,
which had some interesting videos for the time. Anybody remember
"Formel Eins"?
- Fischmob and Cranberries - Ahh, the good fun we had at the Loop in Luebeck.
- The Verve Pipe - Doe ANYBODY remember those guys from the late 90s?
- Paula Abdul - No idea how that make my IPOD. Really!!
and many more.

You would think it would be easier, to just create some playlists with stuff I
like, but on the other hand, you get to hear a song that you really like and you
wonder "Who is that?". Either way, I'll do the same thing again on the way back,
just to see, what song lurks around the corner.

Inception

I just came back from the theater and since
I can't fall a sleep anywayI figured I write a
little review on the movie.
I saw 'Inception' the new movie from
Christopher Nolan with Leonardo DiCaprio.
Here is the short intro from IMDB:






Dom Cobb is a skilled thief, the absolute best in the dangerous art of extraction, stealing valuable secrets from deep within the subconscious during the dream state, when the mind is at its most vulnerable. Cobb's rare ability has made him a coveted player in this treacherous new world of corporate espionage, but it has also made him an international fugitive and cost him everything he has ever loved. Now Cobb is being offered a chance at redemption. One last job could give him his life back but only if he can accomplish the impossible-inception. Instead of the perfect heist, Cobb and his team of specialists have to pull off the reverse: their task is not to steal an idea but to plant one. If they succeed, it could be the perfect crime. But no amount of careful planning or expertise can prepare the team for the dangerous enemy that seems to predict their every move. An enemy that only Cobb could have seen coming.


I thought the movie was well made. The story was not as complex as I
thought it would be. After the initial confusion about what is a dream,
the flow of the movie was pretty straight forward. I mean, having seen
movies like The Matrix or Memento, the concept of 'virtual' realities is
not that new. Some of my favorite movies were made by Nolan and this
one is very good, but not great. For me it misses the real blow-your-mind
concept of 'Memento' and the perfect villian vs. hero of 'The Dark Knight'
Still, worth seeing. I give it 4 stars.

Oh yeah, I forgot. The ending was clever. Nuff said.

FInal Thoughts

So, Spain is the new World Cup Champion. Do they deserve it? Sure,
although I still think Germany played the more attractive football.
And the Dutch? They played a terrible final. Mostly rude fouls with
mainly 2 chances for a goal. Overall the final was rather boring.
The game for 3rd place was much more entertaining. I think
final World Cup games are rarely good. Its just too much at stake, so
team are playing cautious. A well, here are my final thoughts of the
World Cup:

- Take the octopus Paul and bake him in a nice Paella.
- Bring on some technology to avoid controversial goals/non-goals
- Review video footage of games and suspend players that are obviously
faking injuries to get the opponent carded.
This is a trend that has become VERY annoying.
- Germany played a great style of football, besides the Spain game, where
they were running scared. Get the coach a new contract and let him work
the young players. This could be something good in the making.
- It looked like South Africa organized a great World Cup.

Now, with the World Cup over, it's football time. GO PACKERS!!!

What is cheating?

After the heartbreaking loss of Ghana against Uruguay, some of my soccer
challenge friends and the Wall Street Journal, nonetheless, considered
the way Uruguay won the game by 'cheating' because one of the Uruguay
players used his hands to prevent a Ghana goal. They would even question
the morality of the player and claimed that this is the reason why
Americans don't like soccer and American sports are more 'fair'.
Example: Basketball goal tending rule.
Here is my answer: Thats BULL.
First of all, the Uruguay player used his hands illegally. He got punished
for it with a red card and the team got punished for it with a penalty kick.
He didn't play by the rules, he got punished according to the rules.
How is that cheating? Ghana had every chance to make the PK and
win the game, but they choked. That's football.
As for the rules being unfair.... PLLLLEEEAAAASSSEE....
No American will say that the football player 'cheated' when he caused
a pass interference in the end-zone. By rule, its ball on the 1 yard line and
1st done. Nobody would consider it 'cheating' when a basketball team
fouls on purpose at the end of the game for a chance to get the ball back.
So, Wall Street Journal, if you don't like soccer, just say so and don't
give me some lame reasoning based on one example in one game.
To quote old Mark Twain:

“It is better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubt.”

Don't cry for me Argentina!

GGGGGGGGOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!
I can not believe it. Germany beat Argentina in the quarterfinal
easy with 4:0. Amazing!
After the first goal from Mueller in
the 3rd minute. It took Germany
until the 60th minute or so to regain
their confidence and outplay
Argentina to a 4:0 victory.


This team plays some amazing football. I have to eat some crow, though,
since I was one of the many critics before the World Cup that didn't
think Podolski and Klose belong in the team. But I guess thats why
Loew is the coach and I am not. Now, against Spain. should be a
good game. If the German team can keep this momentum going, they
can play themselves right into the final for an epic showdown with the
Dutch. Can't wait.

Germany vs. England 4:1. Yeah Baby!

"Soccer is a game for 22 people that run around, play the ball,
and one referee who makes a slew of mistakes, and in the
end Germany always wins." Gary Lineker








Never was this more true than today. But, I content, Germany would have
won, even if the second England had counted. But one after another.
We just played better and smarter than the English. Besides a couple shaky
minutes just before half time, we were in control and goals 3 and 4 were
just perfectly executed.
A couple of thoughts.

• There is no doubt that England scored a second goal.
  How the referee could miss that is beyond me.
  I hope this will kick off a discussion on how to avoid these situations,
  either through technology or a goal referee.
• The referees this World Cup are awful. Argentina scored its first goal
  from a clear offside position.
• The first England goal was sloppy defending by Boateng and Neuer.
  Against Argentina, we can not afford those lapses. Neuer has to work
  on his positioning. He was too much forward on Englands
  second goal as well. He made up for it with a couple good saves and,
  of course, the awesome assist for the 1:0.
• England just doesn't have good goalies.
• Argentina is VERY dangerous, but not unbeatable.

Well, it was a great game and I hope, Germany can continue to play
on that level.

Hand of God, really?

Watching the World Cup today was rather discouraging. First, the good
news, New Zealand tied Italy. Cheers Mate. Then the Brazil vs. Ivory
Coast game. Brazil played very effective and won, but some things still
bother me. First, the second goal was clearly a hand ball by the Brazilian
player. Later, he claimed it was the 'Hand of God' that helped him.
Really! Since when is god in the business of cheating in a sports game?
Of course, the referee didn't see it. Then Kaka gets sent off on
spectacular dive by a Ivory Coast player. This has become a very
disturbing trend. Players don't just dive in the in box anymore, they
fake injury so the other player gets a card. And the bad part is, it works.
The referees at the Cup are clearly overwhelmed. So many yellow and red
cards and the games are not particular rough.