A Lot of Beliefs in One Magazine

I'm kinda in the midst of jury duty now. After being selected on Tuesday, I went to court on Wednesday without much reading, expecting to be in court all day. I was wrong and without much reading until my lunch break when I picked up the latest issue of Believer. There's a lot of pieces in this issue that I connect with of late.

First of all, I owe it to Scott for bringing it to my attention a couple weeks ago. His partner Peter Bebergal has a review. Peter is also the close childhood friend of Jason, who just moved to Providence to teach at Roger Williams.

Jason got me back into comics this spring. The cover artist is Charles Burns, who did the beautifully creepy Black Hole, which I read early in the summer. Great intro, but not so satisfying ending in my esteem, nonetheless, the art is killer.

This issue is on games, which I love. The lead article is Paul LaFarge's profile on Dungeons and Dragons, and meeting one of the creators E. Gary Gygax. This closes out my LaFarge obsession, having read three of his novels in 3 months. The piece has a lot of good nuggets for novices and playas. I've been pushing LaFarge's The Facts of Winter to all my bilingual friends. Including my 18-year old cousin Max who is staying with me this month. He's got a one way ticket to Paris. Until then, he's exploring the City as a bike messenger.

Nick Hornby has an essay. I read his Fever Pitch before going to London and World Cup madness. Then Brian McMullen has a piece on how Zidane's headbutt was wikied in wikipedia.

Lastly, Georges Perec writes on crosswords and other word games, which I've been doing more since the spring, including seeing Wordplay with Joe's dad.

Of course there's more in the magazine, and there are other interests going on in my head, but this was a lot of overlap.

My trial doesn't start until Monday, and who knows how long it will last. But two days in, I got a lot of reading in and not much court time.

Pent Up Miscellany

Thus opened a flood gate to spew forth pent up miscellany...

I was struck by Maggie Gyllenhall's blonde job in Sherrybaby... if for nothing else that it echoes, but not quite captures the poor-rural-bottle-blonde that some of my cousins have sport... though with severe roots.

I'm reading Paul LaFarge's Haussmann, Or The Distinction, where there is something to gnaw on for urban planners, students of LeCorbusier or Moses, and even those obsessed with the Atlantic Yards project. Plus there's a great passage that made me a bit more cat-allowing..

(p56) "And Madeleine loved most of all that which was catlike in herself, in other words, that which achieved freedom without struggle and independence without loneliness, and for all that never had to go long without food."

Between him and Amy Hempel, I might yet turn out to be an animal lover.

David Foster Wallace's profile on Roger Federer put me over the edge, so I went to my first US Open. Highlights include seeing the unseeded Misha Youzny upset #6 Tommy Robello, he then beat #2 Nadal then lost to Andy Roddick in the semis. Also, I saw eventual champion Maria Sharapova in her third round match. All tennis related DFW writings are magnificent

I've graduated from AM New York and Metro's crosswords to the Times. Thursday is possible in collaboration. Wordplay is what really put me over the edge.

I've been listening to... a torrent of new music. The hottest track this summer is Lily Allen's Friday Night. I'll zap it anyone who's curious. There's also a sharp cut from Talib Kweli with HiTek, Slim Thug and Snoop Dog called This is How We Do It. Also the new Dylan is as good as reported.

I had my best trip to MoMA since I saw the Bonnard show eight years ago. Mariani was back from Providence, so we met at MoMA where Karen was leading a gallery tour of MoMAs new show, Out of Time. After coffee in the sculpture garden, we did a quick tour of the Dada show. Having gone once, it was great to have two art historians and crafty lady to go through and chat with.

Cherimoyas are in season... such a narrow window for such a creamy delicious fruit.

Mariani, Josh and I went to the Scott McCloud book release party at Rocketship. He signed my copy of Understanding Comics, and I got to chat with him about how much the book has occupied my attention in the rest of my work. It's one of the best books on aesthetics, not just of comics.

Tragic Ending to 25 Matches [Update]

In the past month, I saw the better part of an astonishing 25 World Cup games. Like Nick Hornby's admission in Fever Pitch, I spent starling amounts of time as an idiot. And I'm sure I'll do it again.

In the end, I was for France, drawn in by not only the story of their older (as in my age) squad, but by beautiful and tenacious playing by Zizou and Ribery in particular. And so their loss wasn't so crushing as seeing Zidane's thuggish head butt. An unsettling reversal to Italy's early thugghishness against the US. Moreover, the loss was hardly convincing. Though Italy dominated the first half, France dominated the rest, having the best scoring chances and the more beautiful play.

Sport, as much of our lives is unpredicatable and confusing. How can we love players who mar themselves and their sport with brutal violence or distasteful cunning? Poor judgement driven by emotions also struck Rooney, Figo, C.Ronaldo, Frings, Ballack. Is it any consolation that Mazeratti is a known thug? Little. Zidane scripted his mixed legacy of the Best Player of this Cup and the most regrettable exit. Pundits were calling for opera and we were given a grand tragedy.

[Update]- Robert Weintraub offers an interesting perspective in Slate.

France over Spain: Thoughts on Dives

For full disclosure, I wanted France to win (which they did 3-1) and I share the consensus that, when it matters, Spain will choke.

There is a bit grumbling among Spanish fans that Thierry Henry of France (known for his tenacity to keep on his feet) took a dive in the second half that led to the set play where France took its lead. But how did Spain score in the first place? On a foul, and not a particularly hard on in the penalty box, giving them a PK in first 30 minutes. Take away the set piece and the PK, then France wins 2-0.

The prevalence of dives and their ensuing penalty kicks have been important in several games for me (Ghana against the US, Italy over Australia, the Ukraine over Tunisia). A penalty kick awarded by an official, on average is 70% certain, a set play hardly as successfully. France still had to put it in, and only by deflection did they.

There are a couple interesting perspectives on dives. Dave Eggers theorizes US mistrust of soccer is fueled by flopping , being "a combination of acting, lying, begging, and cheating." But today Austin Kelley advocates for the devil, and compellingly so.

"Far from being a sign of corruption, diving is, in certain ways, a civilizing influence. Divers are usually quicker, smaller players. As athletes get bigger and stronger, the little guy gets nudged aside. If professional fouls and brute force reign supreme, creative play and joyful improvisation will suffer."

I'm not convinced, and I blame FIFA and their officials as being too zealous to call fouls and book players. Officials can punish divers by ignoring them. There are number of great players sitting out games for lame cards (diving is a bookable offense, though not applied consistantly), and enough questionable penalty kicks to alter the final eight. The flip side is watching Brazil benefit from calls, providing their second goal against Ghana that should have been waved for a clear offsides. No one anticipates it getting better, we're merely near the end of the tournament.

London: The Cup Runneth Over

While in London, I watched a slew of matches. Before seeing Titus, I saw the US look hapless against Croatia (3-0), and France and the Swiss frustrating draw before catching Enemies.

I got sucked into the Rooney watch as England stumbled its way out of the first round. Judy led us to the Korean dominated Nags Head tavern where Korea beat Togo. Only when we stepped out did we realize that the Korean over took all of Covent Garden as they took to the streets to celebrate. (Jason later told me of the corresponding chaos in LA). And then there were the amazing nail biters of Germany over Poland and Sweden over Paraguay, each victorious 1-0 in the final minutes.

My enthusiasm was stoked by print media adverstings and of course all the #7 & #9 jerseys.

So on returning I've continued to follow games, dispite the dearth of Cup coverage here. On top of that, my faithfulness is often met with frustration. My teams keep going down: the US, Korea didn't advance, Mexico dropped by Argentina, Australia falling to Italy, the Dutch to Portugul. On top of that, key players are sitting on the wings hardly controling games, Henry, Zidane, C. Ronaldo, Ronaldhino, Beckham, Rooney, the only stars who seem to shine are Germany's Klose and Ballack.

Perhaps the most formidable and frustrating team to watch has been the officials, doling out record numbers of bookings. They gave Ghana a win over the US with an awful PK at the close first half (it should have been a tie); Italy's PK-win in the extra time (90+) against Australia (it should have gone into over time); just now padded Brazil's win over Ghana, failing to call a clear offsides. Ghana, whom I was still upset by their US game, won me over by dominating the midfield and short game against Brazil. If only they had someone who could finish.

The other annoying persistant team is ESPN who have dominated english language broadcasts to no one's benefit. The commentary is inane and the their spastic graphics usually cover the ball the action on field. It's enough to learn Spanish.

Gays in Sports

Sports Illustrated has an interesting article and fascinating survey result regarding sports and homosexuality. Of note:

• 22% feel "uncomfortable" when around homosexuals.
• 27% say that greater acceptance of gays and lesbians would be a bad thing for the country
• 40% of Americans have an unfavorable opinion of gay men and 36% have an unfavorable opinion of lesbian women.

Also this piece of analysis:

Consider that of 979 people interviewed, 86% agreed that it is O.K. for male athletes to participate in sports, even if they are openly gay, yet nearly a quarter of the respondents agreed that having an openly gay player hurts the entire team. "It was like, I'm O.K. with this, but if you press me, I have some doubts," says Doug Schoen, whose firm, Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates, conducted the poll.

The article and survey lead up to the documentary on boxer Emile Griffith.

It reminds of an exchange a few week ago with Gou Peng on homosexuality. To his knowledge, no one he knows is gay, though apparently his uncle is a fan of a gay caberet singer. He's young, so all he knows is what's said in school and on tv, which is mostly negative, but I guess it also goes for nearly 40% of America who don't personally know anyone gay.

A "Man Date" is not a directive

Discussed all over the city yesterday was the NYTimes' article on "man dates." The idea is that straight men going on outings that would otherwise, or ideally be with a woman are on a man date, and thus have some social navigating to work out. Though the concept was new to Times readers, followers of Kick.Ball.Action got a primer on Friday.

So my pals Joe, Jason, and I went on a guy outing Sunday: we saw Frank Miller's Sin City. It was good old fashion adolescent male fantasy pulp action. We saw bloody action, naked chicks, and all sorts of proper delinquency to disqualify us from a "man date."

Despite the dudity of Sunday, on Mondays, the three of us are taking a men's session of Pilates... no escaping the man date label here. It's held a private gym, where at the same time--as if to purposely turn up the gender irony, some ladies are taking boxing lessons as we are pilating. Any one who thinks Pilates isn't as taxing hasn't tried it.

We're going to keep it up for a few more weeks at least. In the mean time, we'll try to balance this out with some mean time: hit a few in the cage, muse about the NBA playoffs, discuss power tools.... (in truth, none of us swing a bat too well, and Whitney's a bigger fan of hoops than Joe and more enthusiastic about power tools than Jason).

A springy and lively BBBS lunch

On Tuesdays, I go down to Chinatown to MAT to have lunch with Gou Peng Zhao, my "little" as part of BigBrothersBigSister's school-based program. Today's walk from the City Hall 4/5/6, besides the beautiful weather, was notable for three interesting observations.

• First , I saw a couple who had just married leaving city hall, their friends showered them with flowers, while a sanitation worker grumpily swept up those same flowers.
• Secondly several super musty dusty archive-looking boxes were being brought up a freight elevator. I really wanted to check them out.
  
• Thirdly, on my return, a US marshal's bus was about to enter the court holding building. This notable Blue Bird bus had columns of very narrow slits for windows, indeed, it was prisoner transfer.

Today Gou Peng and I talked about movies, how, in his 13/14 year old mind, King Kong (1933 & 1976) is so cheesy, because the special effects are so bad. It was unconvincing to him that it was state of the art then. I also had to explain what stop animation is.

He was also unswayed by the ideas 1) that story is more important than effects; and 2) that kids 15-30 years from now will be equally unimpressed with special effects of today. It was inconceivable that Donkey Kong, and thus the Mario Bros. franchise was derivative of King Kong. In his mind they are completely original.

It's interesting, telling, and humbling to have to defend your perspectives to a 13/14 year old who doesn't care about before, or back in the day. The present is now, and future is coming. It adds much to my musings on legacy features in terms of technological adoption. Of course, the flip side is ignorance of the past can lead to the same mistakes.

If my kid got this word during a spelling bee...

Whitney and Meeta didn't believe me when I told them of this chemical that has over 64,000 letters in it.

A chemical name for enaptin begins with "methionylalanylthreonyl...", ends in "...leucine", and is a total of 64,060 letters long. See the full chemical name of enaptin.

Tostenson Motorsports

My cousin Jason Tostenson races in the summer and just sent a solicitation for donations. Last year he was the IMCA Sprint Car National Point Champion (2004). So with my benefits of support, perhaps I'll post racing stats here. Here's the IMCA Champion's page. Go team!

You can send your donation to
Tostenson Motorsports
PO Box 809
Gaylord, MN 55334