Remembering Nel Turner

STOP "...a person who is..."

You all know what I mean. We've heard it everywhere, the superfluous separation of one from the descriptor. "I am a person who is looking for love."-Carrie Bradshaw, SITC. WTF? "I am looking for love." Think about it, we are hearing and seeing this more and more. Coaches-"He is a player we depend on in blah blah..." We depend on him. He is clearly not a waterboy you depend on. Excessive verbiage to remove one's self from directly addressing the described person, whether one's self or another. It is sort of a refusal to take responsibility. For example: "I am a person who is annoyed by careless use of language." It is as if to say, I can't help it, I am a person like this.

I am annoyed by careless use of language. There. Isn't that simple?

It struck me that...

I should put ads on this blog, just for the sheer irony of it...

Desperation

Aagh, these posts are lame.  And abandoned.  This is the best I can do?  Ok, let's see...um...someday I would like to elect a president that is more motivated to lead than to beat the opposing party.  There's a topical thought.  Forlorn perhaps.

Well, I will keep trying.  Don't give up on me, none readers.

How To Remodel a Rental-Tips for upgrades that won't negate your deposit:

I have been thinking about this abstractly for a while, without any concrete medium to organize my thoughts. But suddenly, I find I have a blog, and lo, the ideas can congeal. When viewed in an organized and realized state, let us see whether they are anywhere near as genius (or even interesting) as they seemed as mere flickers in my head. Probably not...

Not only will these ideas not (should not-I am not your lawyer or your landlord) negate your deposit, they also do not represent a significant investment that you would have to leave behind.

1-Light switches, dimmers, wall plates. Changing these can make a really astonishing difference. Adding a dimmer can change the feel of a room, and most rentals have the crappiest fixtures possible. We put in brushed metal plates and dimmers, and it was like buying a new house! Um...well, it was cool.

2-Doorknobs. A lot of our experience of a dwelling is tactile, and shoddy doorknobs will impart a cheap feel to your sense of your home. Changing that experience goes a long way. See how good it feels to go from that loose, rattling knob to a snug click when closing the door to your bedroom. Also in this category would be oiling hinges, and planing doors to fit their frames.

3-Doors. If you have unnecessary doors separating rooms that need no privacy, remove the door. Especially useful in a double doorway, where the landlord has (inevitably) installed some crap shutter-style door. Which has since been glommed with paint.

4-Toilet seat. Back to the tactile experience. Get a slow-close seat, they're awesome. Changing toilet seats is easy, and landlords usually stick you with crappy ones. Keep the old one though, you may want to take yours with you when it is time to move on.

5-Window coverings. Pulling down the shitty blinds that most rentals have, and replacing them with curtains/shades/whatever is one of the biggest steps to change the feel of a room. It is also an opportunity to add significant swaths of color if you can't paint.

6-Paint. The old standby. Many landlords are uncomfortable with letting tenants paint, but if yours lets you, this is easily the biggest step. And painting is easy. Just do it right. Tape up everything, put tarps on the floor, get a shitload of rollers and brushes (and paint! Trying to match paint after the fact is near impossible), and a good stepladder. Then go nuts. What could go wrong? Well, you may find out, but I wouldn't want to spoil it...

So there you go. This could go on for a while, and in fact it might. If I am motivated to add to this list, I will re-post as needed. I know, dear readers, that will be hungry for more. (And yes, I know that not one single human being has read this blog besides me, but maybe someday my mom will.)

What's wrong with the USMNT...

The US men's national soccer team has gained international recognition as one of the most annoying teams to play against. There is no glamour in beating us, only shame in losing or tying. Why is it, that with so many of our players playing at the highest level overseas, do we remain such a pariah? (Foreign policy issues notwithstanding!) The answer is simple: we play brute force soccer. The cause of this is twofold: 1-We have no attacking midfielder anymore, with the end of Claudio Reyna's career, and 2-we mark too tightly in the opposing half of the field.

The lack of a central attacking midfielder (CAM) essentially leaves us without a plot in our play. While our defense can defend mightily, and our strikers may find breaks, we have very little link between the lines through the middle of the field. The result is simply bad soccer. Our midfield ball movement generally resembles a panicked game of keep-away, while looking for a long ball to play to one of our forwards. We are forced into an incredibly direct style of play, that lacks imagination and artistry. Admittedly, this is effective against less athletic teams, but it creates a ceiling to our success. We have good players, but we are not a good team. Yet.

As far as marking too high, I think this is a result of the typical American "give it your all" mentality. As if it were just a question of effort. But the way our wingers chase around the opposing teams backs just pulls our midfield out of shape, which often leaves us exposed if the high pressure doesn't pay off.

So what's the solution? Simple. American kids need to play more pick-up soccer, and do less wind-sprints and shooting drills. We do that, and we win the cup in 2018. When, incidentally, it will be in the US. Mark my words.

Analog vs. Digital: The Final Word

Tape never made a bad song good, and digital never made a good song bad.

It's all about the song, baby.