Not Good Enough

U.S. Soccer lost to England at Wembley Stadium in London on Wednesday, 2-0. Not unexepected–England, despite their recent troubles, have some very good players. It was the way the U.S. team played and lost, though, that’s most troubling. We had very little possession, almost no creativity, and didn’t look like scoring on anything other than a lucky bounce.

This is not where we’re supposed to be.

Years ago, U.S. Soccer announced a plan (with Nike as a sponsor) called Project 2010. It included money, guaranteed pro development contracts for younger players, and more money. It was so named because the goal was to have our team capable of competing for a World Cup Trophy by 2010. Well, it doesn’t look good.

Everything about this last game was bad. Start with player selection: Coach Bob Bradley left a handful of in-form MLS players at home, instead relying heavily on the European-based guys. The problem here is that many of our Euro guys either aren’t playing for the club teams or are playing in leagues inferior to MLS. We may have the depth to take a B-side into, say, Jamaica, and look OK but…

Indiana Jones: Grizzled but still Grand

We are huge fans of Indiana Jones here in Beemsville. I have very vivid memories of watching the first two movies as an impressionable young lad, and the idea of globe-trotting archaeologist contributed mightily to my eventual decision to study history. I am known to wear the fedora about town. The wife has dressed up as female Indy (complete with whip–yowza…) for Halloween. I’ve played the video games, read the comics and some of the tie-in novels, & never missed and episode of Young Indiana Jones on TV. The kids know the theme music well. (Yes, that’s me in the semi-authentic archaeologist garb from our night out.)

So as long as Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull wasn’t a complete disaster, we were always going to like it. And we did. Harrison Ford can still pull it off. Spielberg still has the deft action touch. Lucas has some good ideas left. This new Indy movie is action-packed popcorn cinema at its finest, with a tip of the hat to those original old serial flicks, and the kind of cool historic and mythological subtext we’ve come to expect. This is what it is and what is was meant to be.

I loved the initial 50’s jumppoint and Indy backstory. Loved the whole setting, quest element, and uber-story-line. I really liked Shia LaBeouf as Mutt (and thought they could’ve done a little more with him). The action set-pieces were excellent as well, if a little overdone. I had some concerns about Indy’s creaking joints and ability to take a punch, but 30 minutes into it and this was no longer an issue. So if you like the Indy movies but were worried about the proverbial one more trip to the well, relax. You shouldn’t miss Crystal Skull. It’s an Indiana Jones movie and well worth your entertainment dollar.

Specific critiques and more in-depth discussion after the bump. SPOILER ALERT

Mike Chabon v. Lit Snob Grad Students

A recent entry over at the excellent io9.com blog details Michael Chabon’s early interactions with the nefarious Guild of Lit Snobs while studying for his MFA at UC Irvine. Chabon, of course, has recently won the Nebula for The Yiddish Policeman’s Union (a book high on our summer reading list), and previously won the Pulitzer for The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. This gives him the rare lit/sci-fi awards double.

Here’s the quote that hit home:

“…I certainly remember in my early 20s, I wanted to write SF of a kind back then. And I turned in a lot of these stories to the writers workshop at UC Irvine. I was met with, if not hostility then incomprehension. [People said things like] “I can’t help you with that. I don’t write science fiction. I don’t read science fiction.”

I recall very similar reactions to the first sci-fi story I turned in to workshop. It was brutal. Fortunately for me, another professor in a later workshop–himself a fan of Lucius Sheperd, Orson Scott Card, Stephen King, etc.–put the kibosh on the lit-snobbery. Of course this didn’t stop the wannabe Guild of Lit Snob members from basically ignoring my work from that point forward, but some of my peers were closet ‘genre’ admirers so it all worked out in the end.

Fedora Day

With today’s opening of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, we are now in active spoiler-and-snarky-review-avoidance mode since we won’t actually be attending the movie until Saturday.  So don’t even try it.  I kind of wanted to go opening night, but it’s turned into an actual family outing, which should be cool.

Celebrated Fedora Day by wearing mine and taking the afternoon off from work.  No work tomorrow either.  Will watch The Temple of Doom tonight and The Last Crusade tomorrow, and also the History Channel’s special on the historical inspiration for the Indy movies I recorded earlier in the week.

Also looking forward to just sitting down and reading.  I picked up the comics trade paperback, Mage: The Hero Defined–something I’ve been wanting to read for some time.  Yes, it’s all about the heroes this weekend…

Recommended: Weird Tales

Last winter I picked up a subscription to the venerable magazine, Weird Tales. So now, having read three issues, I figured it was time to provide some commentary.

The masthead provides some of the mag’s rich history before stating:

“Today, O wondrous reader of the 21st Century, we continue to seek out that which is most weird and unsettling, for your own edification and alarm.”

Sounds about right. This is Wildside Press relaunching/rebranding the title, which had frankly begun to flounder in recent years. They have a new look an attitude. They have a strong web presence. They have new editors who’ve allied with the New Weird. All very promising, but what it comes down to is what’s between the covers.

Everything Must Go!

…at Beemsville’s semi-annual Yard Sale Extravaganza!

Drop by for great deals on crap wonderful knick-knacks, oddities, and gently-used clothing.

We’ll be here all day, and deals like this can’t last!  Mention the blog for a special discount!

NOTE:  Not for sale–my comics, paperbacks, and old computer games.

Road to World Cup Goes Through Illinois

U.S. Soccer has announced the home venues for the second round of World Cup qualifying this fall. This, of course, provided our boys can take care of Barbados next month as expected. It all adds up to a busy stretch of sports, sports, sports later this year.

• Sept. 10 (7pm)- vs. Trinidad & Tobago/Bermuda, Toyota Park, Bridgeview, Illinois.
• Oct. 11 (3pm)- vs. Cuba/Antigua & Barbuda, RFK Stadium, Washington D.C.
• Nov. 19- (7pm)- vs. Guatemala/St. Lucia, Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, Commerce City, Colorado

We obviously plan to be there at Toyota Park in September. The only question: will I be able to talk little bro into coming along as well? Likely opponents for that round should be T&T (who qualified for Germany 06), Cuba, and Guatemala if the ratings hold out.

A busy sports month for us, with Illini Football, the Olympics on TV, and WC qualies. Sure am glad it’s so cost-effective to drive around these days.

He’s Dead, Jim

Another morbid Monday morning ? Maybe…

A stark reminder of the fleeting nature of life on the Final Frontier?  Definitely.

We challenge you to watch this clip only once.  You just can’t.  Try to resist the compulsion to hit the ‘replay’ button.  It’s futile.

In related news, J. J. Abrams’ Trek is in post-production and they have a pseudo-teaser-trailer up on the official website.

Illini Price Gouge Madness!

We didn’t get our bargain basement endzone season tickets–couldn’t get four together–so now were left to choose which single games to attend. I was thinking this might be for the best, because with gas at $4 per gallon, too many trips to Champaign, etc., etc.

Then I stopped by fightingillini.com to note the one game we cannot miss (due to family rivalry and possible championship importance) v. Ohio State on 11/15 will cost us $60 instead of $45. That’s a 33% markup for the math-challenged. Way to price gouge your loyal fans, University of Illinois! They did this last year, charging more for ‘premium’ games against Michigan and Wisconsin, though the markup was not so steep.

A Story by Ben

…on Esquire’s website. It’s called April 20, 2008. We should have linked to it earlier, but were too busy with the mad edits on Wikipedia.

If I know Ben Percy (and I do), he probably had a strong desire to call this story ‘Dead Face’, which would’ve been excellent as well. One thing I’ve always enjoyed about Ben’s writing is his ability to creep me out. And he does it again. So be forewarned…

There are a number of fun Ben-techniques on display here, and I thought I noted a line/theme/move or two from the old workshop days. I was also immensely pleased to note Google Ads for ‘Floor Steamers’ and ‘Toenail Fungus Cure’ on the story’s sidebar pages.

Click over and read! That link, once more.