wednesday watchlist: double digits

March 3, 2010

I don’t know about you, but I woke up feeling way different this morning.  A little extra pep to the step, if you will. It’s been a long time coming, but for the first time in four years the number of days until the next world cup is down to double digits.

99 days and counting.

That means we’re still 100 days away from England v. USA.  But that just gives us a milestone to look forward to when we wake up tomorrow.  Glory.

I’m fully aware that most Americans don’t pay attention to the World Cup until the event starts.  That’s fine.  This has been my first World Cup cycle of paying full attention to every detail.  Following numerous international leagues, watching qualifying draws on internet streams, taking in just about every single US friendly I can get my eyes on.

If you aren’t an avid footy follower, no worries.  Let me help get you geeked out for the upcoming tournament with some of my favorite current soccer commercials…

  • The Evolution of Football - This one is cute.  Not particularly inspiring or heart-pounding.  Nor does it make much sense, now that I think about it.  But points for creativity.
  • England Legends – I hope we beat every single one of the many odds stacked against us and come away with a victory against England.  That being said, this commercial is helpful in giving Americans a slight idea of how important the sport is in England.
  • This is Football – Here’s a video to get you juiced.  Even better, it’s a fan created video.  Stellar.
  • ESPN Commercials – Yeah.  Football highlights set to a U2 soundtrack.  I’ve seen the first one probably a hundred times already as ESPN runs it non-stop during sporting events.  Not even close to getting old yet.  Shoot, I hope they keep running it even after the World Cup is already over.
  • Bleed as One – By the way…the US plays Holland today. 
  • Take Me Out – This one is 4 years old, but one of my favorites ever.
  • Good vs. Evil – An oldie but a goodie.

Renew and Restore

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star wars jesus

March 2, 2010

Some folks are going to find that picture offensive. Me too. Typically, I’m loathe to promote any image advocating an Anglo Jesus that pays no respect to the fact that Jesus was actually Middle Eastern. But you know me. I’m edgy. I’m provocative. I’m post-modern.

Wait, wait, wait. Take that last one back. Star Wars happened “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…” So I guess it really isn’t post-anything. That would make me historically-intergalactic more than post-modern. I hope I get to put that on a PhD application someday.

Anywho…rafting sandals aside, that’s a deeply spiritual picture for me. A lot of fundamentalists out there probably think Jesus would never associate with Storm Troopers, but au contraire. Indeed, Jesus associated with Huts (tax collectors), Self-righteous and hypocritical Jedi (Pharisees),  and Lepers (Jawas and Sand People). Jesus could even be seen sharing meals with scum and villainy at Mos Eisley on a regular basis. Can I get an Amen up in here!?!?!?!?!?!!!!

If nothing else, in a world where all kinds of narcissistic fools sport blinged out crosses, isn’t it nice to see Jesus humbly sporting a wooden piece?

This moment of zen deep christian spiritual reflection was made possible by the fine folks over at  For great justice.

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an ode to my wife

February 23, 2010

My wife is amazing, and back on Valentine’s Day she treated me to an amazing day. We fantastic policy in our house that we get full credit for giving each other thoughtful gifts. They can be as small as can be, but we make sure that no matter the size they are fraught with thought. It’s a liberating policy. There is no pressure to outdo the other person, or to make sure one year’s gift is bigger or better than the last year’s. But there is still room in there for us to spontaneously spoil each other with no warning whatsoever. It’s fun.

This year, Stacy decided to play a spoil card. She laid out a day-long date for us on Valentine’s day to celebrate both the lifelong work of St V, as well as my 30th birthday. We started with a late lunch at Jack Stack where I was allowed to order what’s generally considered the coup de grace of KC BBQ dishes. Good old Jack has an item on the menu called the “Crown Prime Beef Ribs” which are billed as “three well-marbled Beef Short Ribs smoked to perfection”. That description does not do the dish justice. It’s essentially Prime Rib Ribs, and it is incredible. That being said, you pay for the opportunity to eat like a king, so it’s a special-occasion kind of deal.

Honestly, that would have been enough of a gift for me. But Stacy had grander plans.

The reason we had to go to a late lunch instead of an early dinner was because she also got us tickets to the University of Kansas basketball game that night.

Look, I’m not going to front and act like I’ve been a KU fan my whole life. I started rooting for them around 10 years ago when Roy started landing recruits from Portland. And if KU ever played Oregon in anything, it’s motherland all the way. But going to Lawrence is always fun in that it’s the most Portland-like city in the heartland. And Allen Fieldhouse? For a dude that has loved (LOVED!) basketball more than anything else ever since I was 4, a trip to the Fieldhouse is like a trip to heaven. The court is named after James Naismith, for crying out loud. And the banners. And the retired numbers. And the trophies. And the Hall of Fame where one of my favorite Blazers of all time (Darnell Valentine! His first name is my middle name!) is recognized for being the Academic All American of the Year in 1981. It was chills and smiles for 2 hours.

So my wife deserves some props. I can’t wait for next Valentine’s Day when I fly a pub full of bloques over from London and have then serenade her with the sweet 90’s musical offerings of Soundgarden.

(for more on this video, peep EPL Talk)

Renew and Restore

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produced for a focus group of me

February 16, 2010

I’d like to go ahead and thank Adidas for producing this commercial with me in mind.  It truly is a work of art.  I didn’t even know they were trying to cram all of my favorite things into a commercial.  What a pleasant surprise.  For the record, they didn’t have to do this.  The Star Wars line of sneakers has effectively brought my sneaker lust out of dormancy after I had kept it in check for a better part of seven years.  Once an addict, always an addict.

Star Wars.  Soccer (in the form of a Beckham cameo).  Hip Hop (Snoop and Daft Punk).

Other than a slab of ribs and a picture of my family, I can’t imagine what else they could have put in that commercial to make it any more appealing to me.

Officially, the there is only one person who loves this commercial more than I do.  Elli.  I have it downloaded onto my phone and every single day she asks if she can watch Darth Vader.

Gladly, little lady.

That’s my girl.

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when technology takes you old school

February 9, 2010

Stacy and I have a deal.  She carried/birthed/feeds Zachary, and I wash the breast pump every night.  I don’t quite remember how the details got hammered out, but clearly I had just read a very good book on effective bargaining techniques.

The pump is a fantastic invention for the working mom.  Baby gets fed on the cheap, once you negate the steep $250 in start up-costs.  It even comes with a fashionable carrying bag.  Stylish and practical.

What the pump is not, however, is tough.  You’re not supposed to put it in the dishwasher.  Technically, you can steam sanitize the thing, but it doesn’t hold up well to the constant barrage of micro-waves.  That leaves washing by hand.  Every…single…night.

So washing the pump is my job.  Bottles too.  It’s the least I can do (quite literally).

I really don’t mind the throwback of doing dishes by hand.  The ashy hands are a bit of a drag.  The main upside is that it’s given me the chance to rediscover one of my first loves: listening to basketball on the radio.  Now by “radio” I mean “radio broadcasts streamed over the internet to my iPhone”, but still.

Growing up I listened to just about every Blazers game on the radio.  620 KGW or 1190 KEX, depending on the era.  The Schonz would croon me to sleep on the nights I couldn’t quite stay up late enough to hear how the boys did.

Then I grew up and moved halfway across the country.  For some reason, there are not Blazers radio affiliates in Kansas.  I strongly considered dropping the 100 bones on the NBA broadband package this year so that I could watch all of the games.  In the end, I decided not to because (a) it’s pretty  much the busiest year of my life and (b) there were enough games on ESPN/TNT/ABC/NBATV to get me by.

Enter Plan B.  There is an official NBA iPhone app that streams all of the radio broadcasts.  At $10, the price was so right.  And as an added bonus, I am now not subject to the Blazers terrible, horrible, no good, very bad TV announcing crew. There are four commas in that last sentence, but absolutely no hyperbole.  They might be the worst TV crew in all of pro sports.

If you can’t find me on game night, just check the kitchen.  I’ll be the guy at the sink, washing dishes by hand and listening to play-by-play on the radio (sort of).  I’m retro.  Back in time.  A throwback to a bygone era.  Old school.

All thanks to the wonders of modern technology.

Renew and Restore

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the day my 4-year old became a libertarian

February 1, 2010

The other day, my 4 yr old found this magazine sitting in the rack beside the recliner.  For obvious reasons, it caught her eye.  She grabbed it, brought it over to me, and the following conversation ensued:

El: Dad.  What’s this?

Me: It’s a magazine.

El: But what’s this green thing.

El has been going through a “scared” phase lately.  Anything remotely fright-inducing gets fixated on for days, and is undoubtedly brought up in conversations around bedtime.

Me: It’s…uhhh…it’s a big green slug. [lie]

El: Oh.  What’s it doing to that man.

Me: I don’t know. [lie]

El: It looks like he’s eatin’ him. [busted]

Me: Yeah.  I guess it does, now that you mention it.

El: What does this say? [pointing to the headline on the magazine. this, i found out a

t

preschool parent/teacher conferences last week puts her ahead of the developmental curve.  most kids are a litt

le older before they realize printed words carry meaning.  and they're certainly much older before they're reading The Economist.  just sayin'.]

Me: “Stop! The Backlash Against Big Government”

El: [pointing to the big green thing] Is that Big Government? [what a brilliant child.  i think she gets it from her mother]

Me: [busted again] Yes.  Yes, it is.

El: Well, I don’t like Big Government.  It eats people.

Priceless.

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wednesday watchlist: things to teach the kids

January 20, 2010

The internet has given us many great things.  Two of my favorites: videos of kids falling down and videos of kids doing funny/amazing things.

My kids are amazing.  But sometimes parents get a little too smitten with their progeny.  We lose sight of the fact they might not be perfect.  The internet has shown me three areas my kids would have to improve in for them to achieve perfection.

  1. Hip-Hop Dancing -

    2. (h/t ryan k. via fb)

  2. Guitar Skills Accompanied by Singing and ridiculously Cute Facial Gesticulations -

  3. Speaking with a British Accent –

I think the key here as a good parent is not to push my kids too hard.  They may not reach the heights that the above three kids have soared to, and that’s ok.  Shoot, perhaps my kids will never acquire any of these three skills.  But you never know.

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wednesday watchlist: sick wit’ it

December 16, 2009

In early July 2006, I got sick.  Very sick.  The sickest I’ve ever been.  If the symptom was listed on a bottle of NyQuil, I had it to the max.  It was so bad that I had to back out of a work trip and spend 5 days on the couch.  When the 4th of July rolled around, I didn’t even smoke any meat.  Proof right there that something was seriously wrong.

There was a blessing to come out of the plague.  My time on the couch was well-scheduled in that it afforded me the opportunity to watch a nice chunk of the 2006 World Cup, including what was a very entertaining USA v. Italy matchup.  I had always liked and respected soccer, but that tournament helped me fall in love with soccer.  Those were the days.

If you wonder why I’m waxing sentimental about those good ol’ days, might I point you to excerpts from my Twitter feed on December 4, 2009.

Now that the Rose Bowl is sorted out, we cam move onto pressing international matters…like today’s World Cup 2010 draw. 8:48 AM Dec 4th from qTweeter

would love for the US to draw Italy or England. Def. want a piece of those cats. #worldcupdraw

aiight. here we go.. #worldcupdraw 10:55 AM Dec 4th from TweetDeck

USA v. ENGLAND…..HECKS YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH. Revolutionary war all over again!!!!!!! #Worldcupdraw 11:10 AM Dec 4th from TweetDeck

DANGIT!!!! Just realized Stacy’s family has a camping trip scheduled the day of England v. USA. *cough* i’m coming down with something 11:12 AM Dec 4th from TweetDeck

*headdesk**headdesk**headdesk** 11:13 AM Dec 4th from TweetDeck

For the record, I love my in-laws.  They are the best in-laws a guy could ask for.  They have given me the two greatest gifts a man could ever receive: Stacy’s hand in marriage and tickets to Star Wars In Concert.  And I love camping with them.  It’s very fun.

I. Love. My. In-laws.

That being said, I need to watch that match.  Need to watch it live.  It’s a matter of patriotism and pride.  Yeah, the US is probably going to get waxed in the match.  But in the unlikely event that we can earn a draw, or unlikeliest event that we pull out a victory, I need to see it.  Did I mention NEED?

I’m confident a solution can be mediated.  We are camping close to Wichita, and I plan on submitting an official request for a 4-hour day pass for the day of the match.  But in the event my request is denied, I need a backup plan.  I’ll be taking it back to 2006 and figuring out a way to get sick.  Very, very sick.  Desperate times call for desperate measures, which I now present you in the form of this week’s Wednesday Watchlist:

  1. Kick my clementine orange habit – Every winter, I start pounding those little suckers.  4-5 at a time, a couple of times each day.  That much vitamin C has to be turning my immune system into an impenatrable fortress.  That’s no good if you are trying to get sick.
  2. Stop washing my hands, and start eating with my hands – It’s sick.  But that’s the point.
  3. Open my mouth and dive into the blast radius when people sneeze – I might want to invest in some goggles.  It gets messy.

  4. Kiss as many babies as possible – Babies are disgusting.  They always have snot and drool on their faces, and they put everything in their mouths.  Oh, and they crawl all over the floor.  Gotta be a lot of germs for the taking there.
  5. Lick Stacy’s stethoscope, hospital shoes and white coat every night before bed – Great tactic, as long as she hasn’t delivered any babies that day.  I have my limits.

I’ll keep everyone posted during the negotiation process. I hope it doesn’t come down to enacting the above strategies.

Renew and Restore

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anticipating the roots of change

December 15, 2009

I might soon be awarding the title of “favorite band” to a new group. For the past few years, U2 has held it down. More than a lot of folks, I even appreciated their last album in spite of the fact that it doesn’t have a lot of radio hits. It seemed like they were trying some different things on the musical end, accompanied by lyrics that had some nice depth.

But for the past couple of years, a new crew has been creepin’. The Roots Crew from Philly, to be specific. They’ve always been on my broad radar. Well, ever since high school when they first started droppin’ albums to the mainstream. But it took some age and experience for me to really appreciate what they bring to the table as the hardest working group in hip-hop.

Lyrically, the group is prophetic. In terms of forthtelling (explaining a current reality), they do it better than anyone. Ultimately, this comes back to haunt them when it comes to mainstream success. I’ve heard a lot of white people express fatigue when they listen to The Roots. I get that. There is a lot in their lyrics that requires a certain amount of contextualization to get the full effect. It does take a lot of mental energy to listen to their lyrics and understand what they are saying. And then it takes more energy to deal with the issues of race and inequality that they bring up. So if you listen to music simply to be entertained, fine. But if you want music that will make you think, there you go.

On the music side of things, there are only two things you need to know: six of the groups seven members play an instrument, and one of those members plays the sousaphone (Damon “Tuba Gooding Jr.” Bryson). Listening to what they were able to do on Jay-Z’s Unplugged album and their own live album have convinced me I NEED to see them live in the near future. Their musical versatility has been on display this year on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and I’ve noticed that when they are invited to play with musical guests they bring a professionalism and uniqueness to the performance. Yeah, they do well when they play with hip-hop acts, but they also tear it up with artists of other genres as well. My favorite of all time is ?uestlove’s drumming with Sara Watkins.

For the record, I’ve yet to officially rearrange my rankings.  The Roots still need to drop their latest album.  According to their website, it was set to release 10/20/09.  Trust me.  It’s not out yet.  But when it comes out it could tip the scales. In the interest of fairness, I also want to catch both The Roots and U2 live this summer to help with this epic decision.

I’m also willing to accept written, verbal and in person pitches from members of either group.  Just in case they are interested.
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friday funkfest 23

December 11, 2009

Friday Funkfest. A recurring (almost weekly) flurry of quick hits, links, videos and thoughts. Clearly, the best way to waste time at work spend your lunch hour each and (almost) every Friday.

Leland Chee has a great job.  He is the gatekeeper of all things Star Wars.  A continuity specialist so to speak.  He makes sure everything in the Star Wars universe stays congruent.  Well, where in tarnation was Leland when this debacle went down?  Sheeesh.  I was willing to cut him some slack and assume he had a bad day back in 2008, but no. This wasn’t the first time a heresy farce like this was performed, nor was it the last.  As much as I love Chewbacca and Darth, I do NOT need to see them thrusting their hips.  Sick.

Tweet of the Week:

I wish Lord of the Rings fans would dress up as Gollum & stand in line for Precious looking confused. (@bonniegrrl)

Lyric of the Week:

Ain’t it funny/I got on all my clothes/And I can still sing

-Jill Scott on You Got Me from The Roots Come Alive

Renew and Restore

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