The Police!

Utter amazement. That describes my reaction in finding out that The Police were coming not just to Virginia, but to Charlottesville as part of their reunion tour. We tried to get tickets during the first leg of their US tour back in the summer, but we were blocked out. As a life-long fan of this band, whom I never expected to see in concert [much less in my home town], it was a no brainer to get tickets.

Thanks to my subscription to the 'Keeping up with the Joneses' email list, I was able to buy tickets during the pre-sale period. I doubt that there will be many tickets left when they go on sale to the public on Saturday. Though I have to wonder about the price point: $50, $90, and $220 or so, with most of the bottom being $220. Guess they're trying to make up for lost revenues during the 20 years they didn't tour.

I am thrilled about seeing this band in concert. I've been listening to my 'Message in a Box' compliation to get ready. And I can already tell I'll wind up buying whatever $30 t-shirt they'll be selling.

Ridiculous

Dennis Kucinich is campaining for the Democratic nomination for president, and he took a ridiculous stance the other day to garner some attention [by the way, it worked, as seen here on this blog and the news coverage].

He refused to vote in favor of a symbolic House resolution to honor the victims of September 11th because "the Bush Administration launched a war against Iraq, conflating the true tragedy of September 11 with lies about weapons of mass destruction." [his words]. He was the only one of the 400 plus Representatives in attendance who voted against it.

This is a reprehensible, purely political act on his part. He should be ashamed of himself. There's a time and a place for this type of political discourse and debate, and this was neither the time nor the place.

Red headed giants

This one's for you, big man:

Quick recap of MNT

The cliche [variously pronounced] that the box score often doesn't tell the full tale works here. This was a very good game for the US MNT, who looked impressive against the best team on the planet; they certainly didn't look like the #17 team in the world facing the consistent #1. Yes, they still lost, but they didn't get blown out and actually held their own for a lot of the game. A loss like this to Brazil is commendable compared to their recent results.

Couple of things, in no particular order:

Who'd a thunk it that we'd score first?

The unfortunate own goal by the USA to go 1-1 wasn't anyone's fault but still stung.

The lack of a penalty kick called when Josh "Hungry like the" Wolff was tackled in the box was ridiculous and would have changed the entire game. Good to see him playing again.

The free kick that Ronaldinho pulled in was exactly what you'd expect from him. Very few players can perform that consistently at that high a level.

Tim Howard is a beast.

It was funny to watch the 20 year old reserve US keeper as he frantically warmed up after Howard's injury. His face said it all: "I'm going in as goalie against Brazil?"

Clint Dempsey's goal to go 2-2 was absolutely beautiful and indicative of what a goal at this level of play should look like.

Mike Bradley's foul in the box was a legitimate PK, though unfair if it's not being called both ways. And he looked good in the center vs. Brazil.

Eric Wynalda does not like Bobby Convey and proves to be an entertaining announcer if only to listen to his biased and arrogant calling of the game.

The Brazilians played a real squad for most of the match, subbing out KaKa around the 70th minute with a 2-1 lead and Ronaldinho in the 84th minute. Course their bench players would most likely be our nation's best player in the past 20 years.

All in all a good showing for the US. Now they need to rack up some more wins, especially as they begin to qualify for the next World Cup.

2 hours to kick off

USA vs. Brazil, soccer, today at 3pm. It's going to be a great to watch, especially if you're not, say, rooting for the USA to win. If you are a 'fan of the game' [MW] then you'll love this one; how couldn't you with a real Brazil squad composed of Kaka, Ronaldinho, Silva, etc?

I hope that the players and staff learn a ton from this great experience [especially since it's only a friendly and doesn't really "matter" in terms of tournies] and that the USA keeps it close.

I hope that Brazil respects the team and starts their real starters, i.e. doesn't put Kaka into the game in the 2nd half.

My prediction: Brazil 3, USA 1.

If you don't like Charlottesville...

then it's your fault. After two consecutive great weekends in town, I remain firm in my belief that if you don't like Charlottesville, it's your fault.

A brief recap:
Friday August 31- Sparky's Flaw at Friday's after Five. What a great time we had, seeing tons of friends and watching the boys perform a great set. The great weather and venue only added to the fun. Even the two attempts by the sound guys to ruin the show by stopping the sound didn't diminish the performance. If you haven't heard of Sparky's Flaw, check them out here; they're a great band that keeps getting better. Capped off the evening with a quick dinner at Guadalajara [variously pronounced] off the mall with some great friends.

Saturday- Took the dogs swimming and walking on the Rivanna Trail over at Riverview Park. Great times were had by all, especially the pup, Hazel, who is still learning that she's a labrador and is supposed to love the water. Finished off the evening with a nice quiet dinner with the Cletuses, our neighbors to the north.

Friday September 7- Another Friday saw us heading to the Mall for the last Friday's after Five. The weather cooperated again and helped round out a great evening watching SGGL return to Cville. This week featured sound problems again. The UVA marching band showed up -early, by the way- to kick off the UVA home opener pep rally, which was supposed to follow the concert. Following a concert is different from interrupting a concert, which is what they did. SGGL was still playing it's 2nd to last song ["Rocking in the USA", and old Cougar song from the 80's] and was gearing up for its finale and quick encore when the marching band appeared and literally marched down to the stage. It was kinda surreal to watch SGGL on stage, still playing and trying to have fun with what was happening, as the marching band marched and drummed its way to the foreground; by the way, it's a big band of ~300 people. That they were loudly drumming and playing as they marched down to the stage was somewhat comical, but mostly it was rude and annoying. They took over the area where people were dancing and drowned out the band on stage, who waved good night and left the stage. It was a shame that the band came early and had such poor PR skills.

Saturday September 8 Saw us getting up and heading to the Cville Farmer's Market to wonder around and to buy some produce. We had a great time browsing, though it was a bit hot in the sun. We skipped the UVA game b/c of school work concerns, though it was fun to see everyone gearing up for it. An afternoon working led into a stint at the pool, which unbelievably remains open. After making some home-made salsa with the new produce, it was off to our second installment of Starry Nights at Veritas Vineyard. The weather was fantastic [there's a theme here] and we enjoyed being with good friends as we picnicked listening to the band.

All in all these two weekends have provided a lot of fun in activities unique to Cville, and solidified my belief that if you don't like Charlottesville...

Sympathy for the K-Man

Heart-felt sympathy goes out to the K-Man, who suffered three losses and a tie this weekend in various levels and types of football. To recap, last night CHS lost 56-0 to Amherst in football. Today Virginia managed to lose to Wyoming by 20, and Michigan then lost to Appy State [who?] in one of the biggest upsets in college football history. And to top it off, the Spurs managed to wrestle a tie from the jaws of victory to finish 3-3 with Fulham. So to recap, no matter what the league [local HS, college undegrad, grad school] or definition of 'football' [American football or English football], the K-Man went 0-3-1 on the weekend.
Here's to you, K-Man; it can only get better from here.