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Thursday, July 15, 2010

Disconnected

I'm sitting in my car in a parking lot right now and borrowing the University's internet. The sun is in my eyes and glaring off my screen making this all very complicated.

Our internet and cable at the house has been disconnected due to lack of payment. Not our fault though since it's not our bill to pay, but still we are without internet access for the time being. What that means is that you shouldn't expect any updates for a while. I'm still in my post World Cup depression so I don't have too much to talk about anyway. How many more posts about trying to find a job or find my purpose in my life could you guys read without vomiting anyway? Not many more I'd guess.

So sadly this will see up to maybe a week if not more of inactivity. After that I'll be back like a tornado, or a hurricane or some other force of nature. Smashing houses and destroying cattle and such. Plus more pictures! That's a promise. I like blogs with pictures instead of blocks of text. The mighty text bricks will remain, but with more colorful pictures to entertain the masses. Maybe a picture of a delightful nature scene surrounded by text describing a detailed account of the Ottoman crimes against the Armenian people. That works yeah?

In the mean time check out, hmm what site to recommend today, check out Tokyo.Japan which hosts some great picture posts from Japan. A lot of it is just Shibuya246 and DannyChoo stuff. It's all in one place though so less time browsing the internet. Plus DannyChoo's site always loads slow for me.

Adios until the end of the dark times and the sun rises again on our glorious empire!

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Nothing but Star Wars

I said I'd post this the other day but really didn't have the time or mental focus to get to it. As a fan of about a million of the geeky pursuits in the world it is inevitable that I would have some thoughts on Star Wars.



Honestly any true American has seen at least ONE of these films and if you haven't... well go back to 1970s Russia you commie! Damn red menace. Well it's well known that there is an "original" trilogy which actually covers the fourth through sixth chapters. Then in the 90s and early 00s there was a second prequel trilogy. The original trilogy is considered a cinematic classic and well those movies should be. Working with at the time state of the art graphics and building a story based on old samurai movies they were unlike anything that had been available to the public. So they came into the public awareness and became the first true blockbusters in the movie industry. The awesomeness of these movies allows them to be enjoyed 30 years later by people born two generations after the initial releases.

That's enough about that shit. The prequel trilogy was, unquestionably, unable to live up to the high standard of the first trilogy. The characters weren't as good, the acting was decent at best, the dialogue was atrocious. It just wasn't the same, though by the third movie the tone of the series was back.

Well before I spend too much time talking about this junk I want to get straight to my points. I have a small list about what I like about the series and what I hate about the series. I'll try not to get too deep with my descriptions as it cannot be received well. If you don't like the series you won't want to hear any of it, if you do like it then you'll probably just want to argue incessantly to my annoyance. I'll keep it relatively short for everybody's sake.

POSITIVE
The storytelling - The original trilogy, the first movie in particular, is based heavily on old samurai movies. That's something that sets it apart from other sci-fi space movies that are based on a tired format. The characters worked in the setting and everything moved along at a great pace.

The prequel trilogy was really just a set up for the older movies, oddly enough, but it accomplished it effectively. While all three movies were weaker and less unique than the original movies they managed to set the story up perfectly.

NEGATIVE
The Hardcore Fans - Insufferable at best the hardcore fans are a huge downer. They take Star Wars so seriously that it has taken over their life to a frightening degree. They are more well versed in the fake lore of Star Wars than in anything in the real world. They can be abrasive when trying to make a point or communicate to a normal person about the series. They have formed deep opinions on the series and won't listen to anything else.

POSITIVE
KOTOR - Knights of the Old Republic was a collection of two games for the PC and XBOX. RPGs in the western sense KOTOR was immensely fun and open. The first game had one of the greatest twists in gaming history! In both you become a Jedi and must decide between dark side or light side which was really fun. The combat system would be familiar to anyone that played Final Fantasy XII as it's practically the same, just less refined. Waited for years to hear of a third one only to find out it's an MMO. So the series is effectively done, but it was the best Star Wars gaming experience yet.

NEGATIVE
Touch Ups - In the late 90s George Lucas, Mr. Star Wars himself, released "special edition" versions of all three original movies. He later expressed that he will continue updating the movies as technology improves. This caused a lot of controversy since so many people loved what the movies were. Director's always have a special cut, but to keep updating after 20-30 years is odd. I think the inclusion of modern effects next to 70s effects comes across awkward and takes away from the experience. AND HAN SHOT FIRST! It's way more badass that way. To go back and change something so small is fucking awful. Fucking moving on.

POSITIVE
Han Solo - Harrison Ford is a damn fine actor and in the late 70s into the 80s he produced some of the best performances in adventure movies. His portrayal of Han Solo is memorable because he played the guy so damn cool. You couldn't dislike this guy even through has dickishness. Han is THE man.

NEGATIVE
The Expanded Universe - UGH! I could write for days about this. The expanded universe is the intellectual property of the Star Wars universe. That means it's all the novels, comics, and pen and paper stuff. While the movies were clearly thought out with a particular path the expanded universe stuff is completely directionless. It's the worst science fiction writers with the most unoriginal ideas writing for characters they didn't create. The emperor reborn as a clone, a new character that constantly upstages the movie characters, the Empire played out 20 or 30 times and a super powerful alien invasion are just some of the crap they came up with. I read some of the books as a kid and even then I could tell how bad they were. Star Wars is popular and would always live on, but most of the expanded universe stuff just reads like bad fan fiction.

NEGATIVE
Prequel Trilogy ruins the Force - Everyone loves the force. It was the magical powers the Jedi used. It gave you the ability to do stuff like shoot lightning out of your fingertips and control people's thoughts. It was mystic and secretive in the original trilogy. The aura of the force as an ever present, mysterious power was captivating! But then the new movies came along and made it all boring and scientific, de-mystifying one of the coolest things about the Jedi. MIDICHLORIANS MY LEFT ASSHOLE!!

I don't feel like writing about Star Wars anymore. I could talk about all the little details that make Star Wars so awesome (the scroll, lightsabers, Leia's bikini) but most of those would be beating a dead horse. If you know Star Wars you know the little stuff. You know it's pop culture influence. The more you think about it, though, the more you become like one of THEM. My final thought is that the movies should be watched 4-6, then 1-3 and that's it. Leave it at that. Just enjoy the movies, but don't make it the focus of your life. Or do, I don't care.

My link of the post is the Wookieepedia which is a Star Wars wiki. If you want to see how in depth these fans take their Star Wars universe just look here. It's a huge resource for every little detail ever mentioned in anything ever related to Star Wars. From some obscure Jedi mentioned in a book 20 years ago to Darth Vader it's all covered here in excruciating detail. I'd say go look at it, but for your very soul please don't!

Monday, July 12, 2010

RPGs part 2

A conversation about PS1 RPGs came up the other day and it really got me thinking about them. For a long time the Roleplaying genre was a colorful and interesting one, it was the focus of my gaming attention. I'm not talking for a little while either. My interest in RPGs ran from NES to PS2, a time frame which covers roughly 20 years. There was a time when new and innovative RPGs were coming out every few months and there was always a new game somewhere on the horizon to enthrall your attention after beating your current outing. While other games came and went there was almost always an RPG in the background that I was playing through long term.

Sadly the time for the console roleplaying game has passed. All of the features from classic RPGs have been dissected and implanted into every major game on the market. The interest in deep statistics has made its way into nearly all genres. Its so saturated now that there is a great difficulty in distinguishing what is a modern RPG. Games like Dragon Age and Oblivion are hardly traditional since they take most of their elements from western/computer RPGs. They've taken over the limelight from classic console/Japanese RPGs. Maybe it was time, as I've discussed in the past, since the Japanese seem content to stagnate. The DS carries the flag of the classic RPG while the consoles simply ignore the genre entirely. Times have changed, times have definitely changed.

To get to what is my original point I'm going to quickly discuss roleplaying games for the original PlayStation. I'm going to put down a list of good, bad and unplayed games for the system and put a little blurb about each one. Plus a pointless star system that I'll never use again! So enjoy my rundown and feel free to comment!

GREAT PS1 RPGS
- Final Fantasy VII -
One of the best Final Fantasy games and one of the top PS1 games ever made. It was a major jump from 2D to 3D, but this game did so successfully. It has one of the strongest legacies of any video game ever and is still much loved 13 years later. A personal favorite. *****

- SaGa Frontier -
Not everybody liked this game but for me it was great. Six scenarios to play through and dozens of characters across an imaginative open world. This Squaresoft game was the first non-linear RPG that I ever played. The prerendered (remember that term!) backgrounds were colorful and full of character. The music was catchy and always set an appropriate mood. I really loved this game. ****

- Persona 2 -
Though we only had half of this game released in America I have since played the other half. It's a solid entry into a great series. RPG games set in the modern era are few and far between and often not very good. This was set in modern Japan and featured a compelling epic story that wasn't as hackneyed as so many other storylines. So much better than the "Tactics Advance" games that came after. ****1/2

- Final Fantasy Tactics -
The best strategy RPG of all time was one of the first. Tactics was an offshoot of the popular series and featured many of the same elements as older FF games, including job classes and chocobos. The world in this game was well imagined and well planned out. It had a great political and religious storyline that is very serious, mature and original. Hard to believe such and mature, serious story came from a Japanese developer! If you haven't played it you MUST try it somehow. ****1/2

- Suikoden 2 -
True story, I made a $30 profit on this game! I held onto it for about 5 years then sold it on eBay for $90. If I still had it I'd be able to sell it for $200 or so I'm sure. This is in such high demand because it's one of the best RPGs of the system. The graphics are absolutely beautiful. The story is brilliant. The characters are great. It has all the elements of a great game but also has an x-factor that makes for something special. ****

GOOD PS1 RPGS

- SaGa Frontier II -
They hype for this game was very misleading to me. They built it up to be a game where your decisions could have an effect on the world and storyline. It was nothing like that. It was an odd game where small chapters, usually encompassing only a single dungeon, would be played out over the course of 50ish years and cover two distinct stories. It's playable but limited. Wonderful art at least. ***

- Breath of Fire III -
Breath of Fire was a decent SNES series that made the jump to the next generation in this game. It was a fun game that suffered from lacking anything distinct. The story was pretty strong and ended up sort of sad and hopeless. ***1/2

- Breath of Fire IV -
Not as good as the third one in my opinion. The characters were weaker and the story wasn't up to the same level. It used the same system and had similar graphics. ***

- Chrono Cross -
The sequel to the fantastic Chrono Trigger was nowhere near the level of it's predecessor. That isn't to say this was a bad game. It was very good in fact as a standalone outing. Attached to the all time SNES favorite, however, forced it to be measured against that game. It came up far short of the time traveling classic. ***

- Final Fantasy VIII -
7 it was not, but also bad it was not. It was also measured against it's predecessor and unfavorably so. I loved the game for many reasons. Not the story, oh god not the story. The characters were well done, in particular Laguna Loire who served as a side character. The battle system was solid and the graphics were amazing for the time. Realistic characters were featured for the first time in a Final Fantasy. ***

- Final Fantasy IX -
Not great but not bad. This game returned to the cutesy characters for the last time in a Final Fantasy game. It also featured the last low-tech world in a main series FF game. Comparatively the weakest of the series on the PS1. ***

- Final Fantasy: Origins, Chronicles, Adventures -
Ports of the Squaresoft SNES classics. Hard to really rate them. Cool to see them on a new system, certainly, even though they didn't play as smooth on a CD as on a cartridge. no rating

- Front Mission 3 -
A semi-futuristic strategy RPG that featured giant mechs as the combat tools. Cool storyline that involved four modern superpowers jockeying for position. The storyline seemed like something out of Tom Clancy. Another modern(ish) setting means it gets brownie points. ***1/2

- Grandia -
Originally a Sega Saturn game I believe. This port wasn't the best RPG out there and honestly had a lot of plot holes and a poorly imagined world. It had some cheerful graphics and music as well as a fun combat system. ***

- Legend of Dragoon -
I never beat this game in all honesty. It may not be well remembered, but at the time there was a lot of hype behind this game. It was Sony developed and thus got a lot of their advertising money. The game itself was okay but nothing special. It felt like a poor man's Final Fantasy, a cross between 7 & 8. It had unique combat mechanics that weren't seen again until Lost Odyssey. ***

- Legend of Mana -
An action RPG and maybe the only one I'll include. The USA never got Seiken Densetsu 3, so this was the first Mana game we'd seen since Secret of Mana. The 'world building' scheme was stupid, but the rest of the game was great. The backgrounds, characters, missions, weapons, and music just worked together perfectly. It was non-linear and not for everybody, but for me it was a worthy successor to the Mana spirit. ***1/2

- Lunar Silver Star Story -
At first I was reluctant to play this Sega Saturn port, but in the end I caved in and was glad I did. While unspectacular and featuring nothing new or original it did a fine job of utilizing the standard mechanics. Decent game and the anime cutscenes were well done. ***

- Tactics Ogre -
A lot like Final Fantasy Tactics and for a good reason, they were both made by the same guy. Originally a Super Famicom game, it was translated and released in the USA on the PS1. The story wasn't as good as FFT nor were the graphics. It was still quite fun. It was deep and had a lot of secrets to be found, like secret party members, if you were willing to look. I put a lot of time into this one. ***1/2

- Parasite Eve -
An old series that never moved beyond the PS1 (until recently). This Squaresoft game was set in a modern New York that was really well imagined. Very unique combat system that let this game stand out against all the rest. ***

- Persona -
The first in the brilliant series, and undoubtedly the weakest. A cast of teenage characters go into an alternate world to fight against demons and monsters. The graphics were lacking, but everything else was solid. Set the foundations for the series but not the best example. ***

- Star Ocean 2 -
An Enix game that featured a world spanning storyline about a space pilot from Earth that is stranded on an alien world. The game featured an affinity system that let the characters in your party build up friendships with each other that affected game play and the ending. The promise of "80 endings" was a bit misleading. The combat was live action, which hadn't been seen before really. ***1/2

- Suikoden -
One of the earliest RPGs for the system and it was a wonderful example of what to expect from the system. 108 characters to be recruited was unprecedented coming out of the 16-bit era. The story was a standard evil empire affair but the characters were well developed and their were so many twists and turns I was always on the edge of my seat. The large scale strategic battles were fun as hell. ***1/2

- Tales of Destiny -
One of the long running Tales series of games. It didn't strike me as anything special, but also it wasn't particularly at anything it did. Pretty standard fare except for the battles, which were fought on a 2D plane much like Street Fighter 2. It was tolerable but honestly not worth playing more than once or twice. ***

- Vandal Hearts -
Strategy RPG. It had a lot of bloodletting. It seriously gushed blood for every dead enemy. Just a fountain of blood! This story was about an army fighting against bad guys... the usual. The game was fun despite being nothing great. The ending was ambiguous and sort of sad. Memorable for the blood. ***

- Valkyrie Profile -
Similar to other games but very refined. The graphics were dark and detailed. The storyline was a unique blending of a fantasy world and Nordic mythology. Every mission was a recruitment mission. The characters were then built up and sent away to prepare for Ragnarok, and you could continually check the status of your 'einharjar". The sequel didn't live up to this classic. The combat was button mashing craziness! ***1/2

- Wild Arms -
The second RPG I ever played on the PS1. It combines standard RPG controls with a psuedo-wild west world. The graphics were hardly better than an SNES game, and the combat graphics featured very basic 3D models. The story wasn't great and left a lot to be desired. The game was, despite everything else, fun to play. There was a remake of this game on the PS2 that I never managed to play, and it spawned a series that is currently in it's 5th game. ***

- Xenogears -
This game would be higher up the list if it weren't for the second disc. The first disc, however, is some of the best stuff available. 2D sprites in a 3D world actually works in this game. The combat is exciting live action stuff, and comes in both mech and human form. The game world is well designed and thought out with some seriously interesting places to visit. Fate feels strong in this game as you are pulled by several manipulating forces towards the end. The second disc is terrible, though, and undoes everything from the first. It was rushed, clearly, and starts playing like a powerpoint presentation only broken up by the occasional battle. It's very, very bad and ruins the game. ***

- Wild Arms 2 -
Solid game though not better than the first one. Featured improved graphics and new gameplay ideas. The "seeker" system on the overworld still pisses me off as the Wild Arms developers have used it in every game since. **1/2

BAD PS1 RPGS

- Kartia -
The worst strategy RPG on the system. Boring mechanics, ugly graphics and a foolish chapter system make a terrible game. Does nothing new and doesn't draw you in. Forgettable. *1/2

- Beyond the Beyond -
The earliest RPG for the system so it was obligatory for a lot of people. Sadly it was a giant pile of shit. It had Genesis graphics and gameplay that was clunky and boring. A cookie cutter JRPG storyline. Absolute crap. *

- Legend of Legaia -
Thinking back I initially liked the game but ended up hating it. The whole game was a bit weird, from the story to the graphics. It didn't look good and it didn't play good and ended up being unsatisfying. **

- Rhapsody -
Awful, awful game. Japanese cutesy shit. It was like watching one of those terrible "cute girls" anime shows. Humor for idiots and characters clearly meant for and written by five year olds. The graphics were unattractive and the music sucked. It was a "musical" RPG and the music sucked! That says it right there. *

- Saiyuki: Journey West -
This strategy RPG was based on the classic Chinese tale. It was in the end just a standard game that offered nothing more than the battles, and those weren't great. The graphics were good but the game itself was so underwhelming that graphics didn't make up for it. Little was on offer here and that's why most people never heard of this game. **

- Thousand Arms -
Everyone confused this with a sequel to Wild Arms, but it was in reality something far different. An RPG crossed with a Japanese dating game. I'm not even kidding, the biggest feature this game had going for it was the ability to date a half dozen of the female characters! That's something that just does NOT play well here in the States. Since the dating was the focus of the game there was little else worth noting as it was just a below average RPG. *1/2

- Vandal Hearts II -
A better story than the first one and it had four or five different outcomes (I never got the damn GOOD ending!). The character designs were actually pretty terrible and bland. The biggest piece of shit about this game was the battles. You and one random enemy would move at the same time which would lead to some frustrating battles. **

- Jade Cocoon -
Overrated and promoted far too much. Not as good as was advertised. Didn't have a lot going for it in the end. *1/2

PS1 RPGs Never Played
- Vanguard Bandits
- Vagrant Story
- Tales of Destiny II
- Parasite Eve II
- Lunar 2 Eternal Blue
- Arc the Lad Collection (Played 2 0f 3)
- Darkstone
- Dragon Warrior VII
- Granstream Saga
- Hoshigami
- Koudelka
- Shadow Madness

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Victory for Spain

SPAIN WINS!!!!



Spain have won the World Cup after beating Netherlands 1-0. It was a brilliantly boring match. Granted it was tense at times and there were some nice defensive moments. Which really didn't make for an exciting match. The ref was going ape shit with his cards, though, which really brought the pace of the match down. A lot of people will blame the players which is really not fair, this is the biggest match of any of their lives. In a match that big there's bound to be a bit of tension and rough play so as a ref just let them play on. Terribly ridiculous that the ref kept hammering out the yellow cards. It might've made sense in an earlier match but it just killed this match on it's feet.

All that hubbub aside it must be pointed out that Spain won the World Cup fairly. Spain were the favorites coming into the tournament and for once they lived up to the hype. So many teams fell short of their goals, or even minimum expectations, but Spain made it all the way. They weren't the flashiest team or a goal scoring powerhouse in the tournament. They were the best and that's all that mattered. Congratulations to Spain for winning what has been a very exciting month-long tournament.

Now comes the post-Cup lull. It will be four years until another World Cup and that just leaves me with one question, what now? After dominating my life and attention for an entire month I have a huge empty feeling. No more games to wake up early to watch, no more tense knockout matches to cross your finger and hope for an underdog win, no more postulating on winners. It's all set in stone and behind us. The European season starts up in September so I'm not without soccer entirely, but nothing else can really compare to the World Cup. I'd watch some MLS but it's awful, honestly. I'd watch some J-League but there's no where online to catch games. So I sit and wait for September, which will be quite depressing for any Liverpool fan such as myself. Our team is destroyed and only competing in the Europa League. Hardly exciting. But at least I'll have regular games to watch. In two years it's time for the UEFA Euro 2012, the next big international tournament. Next year has the Copa America, South America's championship, though that tends to be underwhelming in comparison to the World Cup or UEFA Euro. So two more years to real international soccer.

World Cup Awards:
Player of the Tournament - David Villa (Spain)

He's a real clutch player that helped Spain get to the final by tying as one of the tournament's top scorers. Was strong in matches against tough opponents, which means everything.

Goal of the Tournament - Landon Donovan (USA) vs Slovenia

As an American there is no other goal that really matters, except perhaps the Donovan goal against Algeria. It was this strike against Slovenia while US was 2 down that brought all our hopes back. A nearly impossible goal to make, but he put it in.

Hilarious Moment of the Cup - Rob Green (England) Fucks up

C'mon, like anything else could even make it in here. His international career ended in the worst possible way, a mistake that saw the ball fall out of his hands and slowly roll across the goal line. Great stuff.

Coach of the Tournament - Diego Maradona (Argentina)

Insanity, people, is almost as much a motivator as tactics and planning.

Hairdo of the Tournament - Walter Martinez (Honduras)
(no fucking picture available! Seriously can't find this guy.)
Crazy dreadlocks dyed blue and white. Ballsy and kinda awesome.

Best Underdog Team - Ghana

Making it farther than any other African country they carried the honor of the continent in this tournament. Not highly favored they managed to get out of a tough group featuring Germany and Serbia. In the first knockout round they beat the USA. If Gyan hadn't failed to convert his PK they would've made the Semis, and then things might've gone a bit differently in the end. Spectacular showing.

So that's my last World Cup blog for four years. It's sad to have to say that, but I can't dwell on this tournament. Have to look forward in life and that means waiting for the next one. There's always another one, even if it's forever away.

So congratulations to Spain and enjoy calling yourselves World Champions for the next four years.

Third Place

Today is the day of the World Cup final between Spain and Netherlands.

It's going to be great!

Yesterday there was a match between Uruguay and Germany to determine who took third place. Neither team seemed very interested in winning the match, and Germany took the win 3-2 in an a match that featured all out attack. This match saw Diego Forlan and Thomas Muller get goals to go even with the other top scorers at 5 a piece.

Germany "win" third place for the second tournament in a row.

The big one is today!

Go Spain! Go Netherlands!

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Spain Go On

SPAIN vs GERMANY

It was a rematch of the Euro 2008 final, and it ended the exact same. Spain beat Germany 1-0 to move on to the final for the first time ever. From what I saw of the match it was a close contest. Spain were able to do what almost no other team could do in this tournament, shut down Germany. The unstoppable German scoring machine was thought to continue it's dominant form in this match but were confounded by the Spaniards. Spain went ahead off a Carles Puyol header from a cross that was a pure classic. They managed to keep the Germans under control for another half hour to win the match by a single goal. Two years later and the same result. Germany will head into the third place match, for the second time in a row, to face Uruguay. I'm expecting a German result here since Uruguay proved so incompetent against strong teams. Here are some shots from the match.


The amazing Iker Casillas punches the ball clear.


Miroslav Klose, which is the best name in soccer, appears to crush a Spanish player.


Spain celebrates their triumph while German heads hang in defeat.

The greatest thing about the whole situation is they will face Netherlands, a country that has also never won the World Cup. Guaranteed new champion! This is a very exciting time indeed and I don't think it matters who wins this thing now. It will go to one of two very deserving teams. I honestly think Spain will win the cup over the Netherlands but would be delighted if I was wrong. These teams play open games which should lead to an crazy match. Netherlands have looked better at scoring goals, but Spain got this far by defending narrow leads (and a bit of luck). Sunday July 11th will be a historic day for one of the two most powerful footballing nations in the world, and a missed opportunity that will never be forgotten for the other.

Only two more matches in the 2010 World Cup and then it's four years of nothing! The European season is only a few months away, which is great but it just isn't the same. The World Cup is special. It's not a traditional season stretched out over 2/3 of the year. It's one month of constant soccer. Match after match after match. Glory and failure at every turn. Each match worth so god damn much that one loss will sink your country for four miserable years. Just ask France or Italy. It's the greatest event in all of sports, and Sunday is 2010's ultimate match. Enjoy the hell out of it because the cup will be gone until 2014 in Brazil.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Netherlands One Away

Netherlands are one away after convincingly winning 3-2 against Uruguay. For the first time since the 70s the Dutch get a chance at victory.

The first half saw a strong Dutch showing leading to a goal. Just before half time Diego Forlan scored a long sniper shot to level the field at 1-1. When the second half started up the Dutch kept fighting against the Uruguayans and scored two goals inside of five minutes to zoom ahead 3-1. All seemed lost for Uruguay as the game started to head to the closing whistle. They almost let their sense of victory snap them in the asses at the end. Uruguay put a goal into the net with only a few minutes to go as the Dutch players looked to be already celebrating, allowing their guard to fall. The final few minutes were tense as Netherlands fell into a defensive formation and Uruguay threw everything at them. The Netherlands held on for five minutes into extra time and won the match.

Congratulations to all the Dutch players and fans. After being runners up twice maybe 2010 is finally the year for the Oranje. It'll be Netherlands vs Spain or Germany for the championship. Tomorrow is going to be a brutal fight between two strong teams. Uruguay will face the loser of the match in the third place match. I can't wait until the excitement of the final! At this point I'll be happy with any of the remaining teams, obviously favoring Spain and Netherlands who have never won it. Though neither has half of Germany.

Here's some action shots of today's match.




And a victory pose for the Dutchmen.

Sunday, July 4, 2010

One Month Later...

So I've finally reached a month in my daily blogging scheme. I missed two days total which isn't bad considering how little I had blogged for the first part of the year. I had the World Cup going on which provided something to talk about daily that didn't have to be very deep or thought provoking. Sadly, though, none of my posts ended up being very good or in depth. I wouldn't call any of them "articles" so to speak. That's because my thought process has been dominated by the World Cup and soccer in general.

I'm going to continue blogging daily until the end of the tournament, on July 11th. I'm so drawn into this cup that every one of these quarterfinals imprints it's emotion on to me. I was as into the Ghana-Uruguay match as anybody else. I was screaming at the screen when Gyan missed that penalty kick that lost them the tournament. Spain had me on a razors edge of sanity as they were taken nearly to the limit by Paraguay. When David Villa's kick went in I was jumping in insane joy. I love this tournament so much that I feel the passion like never before in my life. This is a sport I'll always watch for the rest of my life. I enjoyed the 2006 cup and all the soccer in between, from Premiership to Champions League to Serie A, but this cup is taking it to a whole other level.

Today was the 4th of July, Independence Day. The only day of the year that American's use the Latin form of dates. Well this and Cinco de Mayo,, but we borrowed that from Mexico and only use it as an excuse to get drunk. We didn't do much of anything. Slept in til 11 for some reason, reordered Netflix to our delight, and went up to my parents. Ashes helped, or 'taught' as she put it, my dad how to make shish-kebabs. It was awesome for me since kebabs are one of my favorite bbq'd foods in the world. I once had kebabs at a Turkish place and actually liked it. I know the Turkish people were making fun of us because we were Americans in England ordering Turkish food like it was Mickey D's. After the bbq we had to wait until dark to go to the fireworks. This year Bangor put on an acceptable display for the first time in years. Ashes took a few pictures and I took a short video, but we decided to just enjoy it. She got scared by the loud ones and grabbed my arm for the whole time. Like a frightened emu running from a rhinoceros wearing a wig... or not.

I watched Star Wars: The Phantom Menace today. That lightsaber duel between Obi-Wan and Anakin is still one of my favorite fights in a movie. Not much else good came out of that movie. The cityscapes and scenery were actually better than the acting in that one. Tomorrow I'm going to talk about Star Wars I think. That oughtta alienate my one reader, Ashes.

Enjoy the rest of your fourth, readers. All five minutes of the holiday that are left. Next year in Jerusalem!

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Quarterfinals Done, Semis Set

Short post today. The quarterfinals ended with Spain beating Paraguay in a really intense game. The other game saw Germany conquer Argentina in an upsetting 4-0 victory. So much for my favorites of the tournament!

SPAIN vs PARAGUAY
Uber intense game with two missed penalty kicks (shades of Ghana) and a disallowed goal. David Villa moved into first for goal count when he got the only score of the match for Spain, who held on to win 1-0. Plus a disastrous kick to Sergio Ramos' face.




Embracing the toughness! Face Germany next and really need to pick up their shit if they want to get to the final.

ARGENTINA vs GERMANY
Germany fucking crushed Argentina.

Maradona nearly assaulted some German fans.

Messi didn't do much of anything

FOUR GOALS for Germany scare the shit out of me.

Argentina are going home. Sadness

Two more days without World Cup means more emptiness. It's the big games next, though. The ones that matter almost more than any other in the tournament. I can't wait! It's the fourth tomorrow even though it doesn't really mean much to me. Maybe I'll wear my Revolution jersey, though more likely I'll wear my England one. ironic yeah?

Friday, July 2, 2010

What the Cup?

Another day of heartbreak as Ghana crash out of the cup. They didn't even have to lose. They had the game handed to them on a silver platter more than once and just couldn't do it. A penalty kick was rewarded off a red card at 120+4 minutes. That should have been the game 100 percent. I understand that it must have been the most tense minute in Ghana's sporting history, but that shot is so key that how can a player miss that? Let's not forget that the player taking the shot was Asamoah Gyan, the striker that crushed US dreams in the previous round. Certainly this should have gone in. The whole stadium was dancing and singing at the certain victory of Ghana after an amazingly well done match. The red carded player slumped off the field shielding his tears with his shirt. It was a certainty. Then Gyan hit the god damn bar and we went to penalty kicks.

It got very nerve racking here as I had already watched the Blue Samurai stumble on penalty kicks. You'll have to understand I was skeptical and worried at the huge underdog Ghana's chances against Uruguay. I watched as on the third kick, the same as the Japanese, Ghana had their shot blocked. My heart sank out of my body and I felt betrayed by this tournament. Absolutely betrayed, like my viewership of all 50 something games was for nothing. Uruguay missed their next kick and Ghana's hopes were again revived. Perhaps it was the incessant booing from the crowd at every Uruguayan player that made the guy miss. The next kick was crucial and Ghana's player stepped up, and missed. Heartbreak again. Uruguay made the next kick and moved through.

It killed my mood for the rest of the day.

Earlier Netherlands had beaten down a pathetic looking Brazil side that simply couldn't produce anything special. The Dutch continued their great form to come back from a 0-1 deficit to win the game in style at 2-1. Their fightback will be a story of the cup since they after coming back from the half the looked like an entirely different team. They were unstoppable going towards then Brazilian net and Julio Cesar was left defenseless as two balls (heh) made it past him into the net. Good luck to the Dutch as they face the lackluster Uruguay team in the semifinals.

It's looking like Netherlands have a great chance to get into the final. Uruguay looked pathetic against Ghana and were only able to win on penalties. They weren't very convincing against South Korea and the only other big team they've come up against, France, they ended up drawing. That wasn't even a good France squad. Netherlands will be heavily favored and will hopefully be able to end South American dreams and send Forlan and crew home in tears.

Tomorrow it's Germany vs Argentina and Spain vs Paraguay.

Thursday, July 1, 2010

All Quiet in the South

Again there was no World Cup today.

I also felt pretty sick and unfocused so I really don't want to write a long post today. Well, I want to write a long post but I'm just not going to.

Have I talked about Shibuya246 here? It's a great photo blog from Japan. You really need to check it out if you have any interest in that country it's the place to see what it's like over there. My favorite little feature he has is weekly trips to "conbini" or convenience stores. I really want to go to a conbini! At least I can live vicariously through this website.

Futurama has returned! After seven years off the air and a season of straight to dvd releases, the classic series returns to television with new episodes. Last week we got two new episodes which were both pretty strong and continue in the same great style. Family Guy got the call back before, but returned a very different show than it had been. Some would say better but many would say worse. I'm indifferent to Family Guy, but extremely excited at the prospect of new Futurama. I'm enjoying every second I get and would advise you to watch it every Thursday too.

World Cup tomorrow! Ghana's big chance and Netherlands vs Brazil.

Globally Ignored