Sunday Ruminations

I went and picked up a couple of books at Barnes & Noble last night. Empires of Trust by Thomas F. Madden details how the US is similar to Rome but not in the sense that we think. He argues that the US and Rome both had empires of trust, that the nations in which they were overseeing could trust them to do the right thing if needed.

I also grabbed Hidden Codes & Grand Designs by Pierre Berloquin. I shouldn't have to explain what that one is about. The new issue of 4-4-2 is out, so I grabbed that as well. You know with all the books I have to read for school, I can't believe that I go out and spend money on even more of them.

It looks like the good ol' boys at Bleacher Report have started to notice the fluff articles that are being turned out at a breakneck pace by this beautiful young girl. She basically writes lists. Top ten this, top ten that, and she's averaging at least twenty comments per article. There was an article about how the world football community on Bleacher has gone to the dogs.

I agree and disagree with that. Yeah, some of the authors are cranking out three and four articles a day and all it is is a couple of lines and a random joke. I usually write one article a day or one every few days simply because I don't know what I want to say most of the time and I rather take my time and produce something that might not be rubbish.

Mmmm shrimp

There is nothing I like better than footie and all you can eat shrimp. The Blues won today and took the top of the table after Arsenal lost to Hull, and me and one of the roommates went out to Red Lobster for all you can eat shrimp. Now all I need is to sit around and read the rest of the league recaps from todays games and I can sleep a happy man this evening.

I think this could be the year for Chelsea to come back and really show Europe, and England, that they can survive without Mourinho. Granted, I would like to still have the special one here, but Scolari isn't doing too bad of a job.

Bilbo Baggins Had A Birthday

So said my Intel and the Constitution professor yesterday. How the freaks that threw him a party figured this out is beyond me.

So I might be loosing my mind.

I am going to attempt to keep up a two front approach to writing. I will be publishing articles on Bleacher Report and articles here. Bleacher will of course be more formal and here will be random fluff.

Random Soccer Pictures Are The Best.

I am trying to pimp my profile out on another site that I post to and I wanted to find a cool footy image for the background and I happened to come across this picture when I was looking. I think it's absolutely hilarious.

On another note, I leave at 0-dark thirty tomorrow for my last session of the summer. I am having to set my alarm tonight before I head out to go to the bar. It will be interesting to see me hungover at 5:30 AM but the way I figure, I will not have another chance to do this for a while, so I might as well live it up while I can. I will be returning to Fado for the fourth time since I got here. I am upset though that there is nothing on really. No soccer. No nothing. And to make things worse, they have a DJ on Friday, so it defeats the point of it being an Irish bar. I did get a chance to see a band last night when I went, The Forty Thieves. Dixieland Footie supports these guys because unlike the big name Irish acts, such as Flogging Molly or The Pogues, these guys are not that well known but they are willing to take the music that I love and putting their own spin on it. So go check them out and Happy Footy all.

So, I Got To See The Fireworks.

As a part of the second session here at Lead America, we got a chance to see the national fireworks show from the Jefferson Memorial. It was extremely amazing and I highly recommend it in the future. It went surprisingly well considering that we had nine hundred students with us for the trip. Speaking of second session, it's going rather well. The kids have almost successfully ended the world, so things are going great. I am excited that I only have one more session left before I leave here to head to San Diego. I looked at the weather for the region last night and it looks like it will be amazing for the next week, so hopefully it holds while I am there. Also, I just checked the calender on my laptop and in exactly two weeks and four days I will be touching down in Nashville. I am excited to get back to town and start on my footwork and my kicking again. After about a month off it will be interesting to see how I play.

Apart from that, the main purpose of the post is to give a review and a product bump. First of all, the review. Back during staff training me and the other INS staffers got together and went over to Dupont Circle for tea and bree with fruit. It was a rather yummy experience. When we got done, we went to Kramers books. While we were walking around and I was giving customers my opinion the books that they were picking up (since it seemed like I had read them all or at least attempted to) I came across How Soccer Explains The World by Franklin Foer. The book attempts to describe globalization from the soccer standpoint but it does a fairly poor job. None of the topics relate to the common notion of globalization. There is no talk about how boarder and barriers are coming down and the world is getting more and more chummy with itself. It is no more than a book of essays about topics that exist in the soccer community, such as hooliganism. I enjoyed the essays, don't get me wrong there, but I do not believe that it lives up to its title really. So, if international relations and soccer both peak your interest and you think that this is good book that will link the two, then you are a tad bit mistaken. However, if you are looking for a simple and fun read about aspects of soccer culture, then by all means, grab this one.

Secondly, I came across a site called Philosophy Football.com. It is a t-shirt company that takes quotes about the game from philosophers and puts them on shirts. I really want the shirt with the equation of how a ball flies but it is only in kids sizes so far. So, dixieland footie is bumping Philosophy Football just like we bumped Who Are Ya' Designs. Happy footy all.

Terminal A, Then B And C

The bulk of my day was spent at Reagan National Airport picking up students for the conference. It was a fairly easy day considering that we have twice the number of students than in first session and two more programs are here, as well. After getting done with my time in terminal A, which no one seems to fly into, I strolled over to terminal B/C to hang out with the other TL's. I ended up going upstairs for coffee and on my way, I came across a Boarders.

Dixieland Footie is a huge supporter of bookshops in airports by the way. Their simple presence can make even the most mundane layover enjoyable if you know which book to pick. I tend to listen to the artsy looking kids, they usually can offer a suggestion that will keep you going for a while. I decided to peruse the magazines and I was so excited to find a copy of 4-4-2. I absolutely endorse this magazine, even though it's about eight dollars an issue. It is full of so much insightful information about the game that it is not even funny. I also got an Euro 08 preview guide, it came with the magazine. It is interesting to see what the writers thought would happen at the tournament compared to what actually did. It just proves that the game is always changing and is rarely predicted correctly.