A little excessive

So apparently it wasn't enough that I spent all yesterday playing and watching soccer. Last night I had two dreams about soccer last night. Both were about playing the Valley Championship, but in the first one we won, and the second we lost. It was very strange. I woke up this morning knowing there was something I had to do today, and it took me a couple moments to remember that it was to help out at church with these shoe box gift things instead of playing soccer.

The Solution!

So, according to a recent commercial, all that was needed to combat Red China was a little hair styling solution. Am I the only one who cracks up every time I see that commercial? I mean, are Chinese Communists still the bad guy? Because, remember, they aren't communists anymore, they're "special capitalists." Which might crack me up more than the commercial.


But it sure does make me want to rebel and bust out some VO5 styling gel. Or whatever it is.

Once More With Feeling

While I haven't seen Hush yet, I think that Once More With Feeling is possibly the best Buffy episode ever. And it really makes me want to see the Evil Dead musical.

You see, in this particular episode, a demon makes everybody randomly break into song because of pent up emotions, and eventually these emotions cause the singers (and dancers! It is a musical, after all) to burst into flame. It's brilliant. And all of the actors did their own singing and dancing, which is even more brilliant. If anybody wants to borrow it, I have it.

An evening well spent

My Friday night was spent winning a soccer ball for a very cute young man. Before you get excited, he's 1, and we had a blast at Papa O's on Gosford. Unfortunately they don't have any good games there, so the only thing to do is play the halfway carnival games that give you tickets. Now, normally I don't do the whole ticket thing because I could easily buy whatever I win with my tickets for half the cost of winning them, but it was a for a good cause, and most of it wasn't my money.

After that I hung out with Callie and re-watched some VM season 2 that I had been missing (because I missed this week's episodes). Even knowing what's going to happen, I still love that show. Then I watched A Day at the Races to try and make myself like Marx Brothers movies (it wasn't as bad as A Night at the Opera - I didn't fall asleep during it twice). All in all, it was a productive evening.

Where have all the pants gone?

So it used to be that baseball had the tightest pants around. Back in the day, they only went down to mid calf, and that was only barely. Now days, they're all loose and baggy, and hand all the way to the floor. There's not even a point to wear socks anymore in baseball since you can't see them.

I remember the day when I couldn't for the life of me find baseball pants that were baggy enough for me, and now there would be no problem. That's just not fair.

Of course, once I started playing softball I couldn't convince my teammates to wear pants, no matter how much better protection they give you when sliding, and how much more comfortable they are than those stupid sliding pads. Doesn't matter that most college teams wear them, we certainly wouldn't.

And I don't really know why I'm making this post, except that's what stuck me when I saw the cover of SI after the World Series. (And how presumptuous is it of us to call something that only involves the US (Canada doesn't count) anything with the word "world" in it?).

Animate dead

If it was possible to animate inanimate objects (like you can in games and stuff) I would so bring to life a soccer ball as my familiar. That way I could kick it, and it would come back to me. It'd be like having a dog that could fetch a soccer ball.

The end is nigh

So last night was the end of volleyball. Or rather, of the regular season. Playoffs are next week, but there's only one game per night, so it's much better. This is the second year that I've reffed high school volleyball for those of you who weren't aware (Robert), and it's really not all that fun. Luckily it's relatively easy, and not a lot of work (you just stand still the whole game), so I can manage a couple months of it.

However, not having to do a lot during a game, my mind is usually free to wander and explore the inequities of volleyball (especially as compared to soccer). I once told Chris that the differences between soccer and volleyball are much like the differences between Plato and Aristotle, to which he laughed. I'll explain my reasons at a later post.

Lately I've been dreaming a lot about soccer, particularly about high school soccer. Last night's dream wasn't very fun since I kept slipping on the field, and it was also really small. In all the dreams I've been missing something I needed to play (last night my shoes weren't on), and had to go find them. All in all, it's been strange, especially since I was never as apprehensive about playing in high school as I am about playing in my dream.

Noir

So I have been remiss in posting lately, and I don't really know why. I've thought of great things to post (which all allude me now, of course), but just haven't gotten around to doing it. So what shall I talk about now? Well, let's see...

Last night was Halloween, which is one of the great holidays ever. Not only do I get to wear my Jedi cloak, but everywhere there are peanut butter cups for me to eat. Seriously, it's possibly my favorite holiday, although there are some others that I love, also.

Last year my mom made me an absolutely awesome Jedi outfit to go along with the cloak that I've had for many a year, and to show my adoration of it, I used it as my costume again this year (I didn't think that the time and effort she put into it was sufficiently rewarded after only one use). Okay, so those of you who know me know that really, the reason I was a Jedi again is because I'll use any excuse I can find to show my Star Wars nerdiness, and I love wearing my cloak. But I can pretend it was out of gratitude to my mom.

After passing out candy to the little kiddies (who were all very surprised to find a grown up dressed up (as a Jedi, none-the-less) handing out candy), Rachel and I headed over to Chris' where we drank some Vampric wine (which was quite tasty), and enjoyed quizzing ourselves with TCM Scene It trivia. Okay, so it was mostly Chris and myself that were quizzing ourselves, but I think Rachel had fun, too.

Then I returned home to watch the episode of VM that I had taped, and was not overwhelmed by the episode. This season has just been too fluffy for me, and they had some definite opportunities to make this episode dark (I mean, it's Halloween for heaven's sake), and let it slip by their fingers. I'm sure I'm one of the few people who likes all things dark, but come on, lets get back to the film noir roots here! The show has turned mostly into seeing how many times they can try to throw in a little twist at the end (which are almost always predictable) and still keep an audience guessing. As one who has almost always seen through their little charades, I want some grittiness! But then again, I suppose I could just watch Brick if I want to true modern film noir.

Speaking of noir, Rachel and I watched A Prairie Home Companion the other night, and it's just as great the second time as the first. The cast is amazing, and the second time around, I was much more able to appreciate the subtle little things that Altman did to make it a true ensemble movie. It's the small things like seeing characters off to the side of the stage during numbers even when it's not necessary that make me love good directors. And this is long, so I'm done rambling.

The only way to watch

So Deal or No Deal is on NBC right before Heroes, and I usually leave the TV on the channel of the show I'm going to watch next while I play Gemstone, but leave the TV on mute. It was hilarious to watch that show with no sound. I look up and see this guy doing a completely idiotic dance because he found a box with $1 in it.

Now, I don't know the rules to Deal or No Deal (and really don't want to, so please don't inform me), but I think I had more fun making up the rules for myself. I do have to wonder what could possibly make one those those box holding girls want to do that for a living though. They all looked to me like they were in pain, and all seemed to have trouble opening their box when picked. I'm reminded of the 3% rule, and have to wonder how much intelligent it would take to beat a metal box at the 3% rule. Not much, I'm guessing.

But, somebody from Bakersfield won something from the show tonight, which was exciting (okay, I'm lying, it wasn't exciting).

A story...

Thursday was Katherine Hepburn night on TCM. It was great. They showed Bringing Up Baby and The Philadelphia Story in one night. I didn't know what to do with myself, so I watched one and taped the other.

In a movie full of great characters, I think Elizabeth Embry is my favorite, although not the most entertaining. Which is why Dexter's character is my second favorite, because he is the most entertaining. And I'd go into why those are my favorite, but why give away a great movie for those of you who haven't seen it. And if you're one of those, you should see it right away.

Oh goodie, something new and different for us.

I would like to say that I hate the new Veronica Mars' theme song. Well, I guess it's not technically new, but merely a remix of the original. Not only is the new song horrible, but the original was great.

Coaches always amuse me. I find them hilarious, most of the time, whether I'm coaching against them or reffing a game for them. Some, of course, give me more amusment than others. Highest on the list are the coaches that are just clueless. Now, at the high school level there aren't all that many of these out there, but there are a few (and I encounted plenty that I've coached against). They have no idea what's going on, have no clue what the rules are, and really have no idea about anything regarding strategy. There is one high school coach like this who's games I always look forward to reffing, or watching if they're playing BHS. This coach (and her school) shall remain nameless, but I always have to stop myself from laughing out loud when I hear what she says on the sideline to her players. I would explain what she tells her players that is so stupid, but nobody would understand, so there's no need. Just believe me that it's hilarious.

The next type of coach that cracks me up are those that scream and yell at the ref, and when that doesn't work (or gets them kicked out), they fall back on making wannabe-sarcastic comments about the ref and/or the other team. Invaribly, the "ref wants us to lose," and "we would have won if it wasn't for the ref," even though the team was far less technically skilled than the other (in fact, it's very common that the first and second types of coaches are embodied in one person, so usually the lack of skill is the coach's fault).

See, I know that while refs may suck, they usually don't want one team or the other to win or lose (there are exceptions to this, I know), so when a ref makes horrible calls, it's because they suck, not because they're biased. So instead of getting angry at them, I just sit back and laugh at them. And keep on laughing, because otherwise dealing with horrible refs (and lets face it, most of them suck) would just get lame. So intead, I get a good laugh out of those games, even if they are frustrating.

Happiness...

So, the car I drive used to be my grandmother's. Now, there's nothing wrong with that, she takes good care of cars and stuff like that. The only thing is that it came with a license plate holder which I haven't yet replaced. It says, "Happiness is being a grandparent."

Now, I'm sure it is (especially if you get to be my grandparent), I just wouldn't really know yet.
Luckily the holder is on the front of my car, so most people don't see it.

See, the thing is, I just don't know where you find good license plate holder. Anybody got suggestions?

Oh, and frisbee this weekend. If you're going to be in town, you're required to attend. Saturday afternoon, I'll tell everybody the exact time later.

Because, really, happiness is playing ultimate frisbee.

That's epic.

Going back to my earlier topic of books and movies (from a couple posts ago), I'd like to talk about epics today. There's nothing else in the world that can satisfy like a good epic, either in book or movie form. Most people don't agree, but most people are stupid, so I can live with them disagreeing with me.

I really don't have much to say about epics, except that they rock, and I've been watching them recently. I started with Star Wars (because the Lego video game made me want to watch the movies) and now I've moved on to the Lord of the Rings. I'm currently watching Fellowship, and I think I'll watch the rest then move on to the books. Because as good as the movies are (and they're great) they can't compare to the books.

And it makes me sad that practically none of my friends have read those books. Sure, some have read the Hobbit, but it's so different from the trilogy (or, if we're being specific, the six books) that it really doesn't count. I won't name any names, but you know who you are. And you really should read them. I won't even make you read the Silmarillion, just the main ones.

I also think the phrase, "That's epic," should become new slang for, "That's amazing," and plain "Epic," can be the new sweet.

Who's with me?

Victory

Growing up playing soccer, I got used to not winning. It's not that my teams weren't necessarily good, it's that you get used to there always being a better team than you somewhere out there. Then high school came along, and I always went into a game expecting to win. It's just something that you do when you play for BHS. Especially if you play for the BHS soccer team.

Now, this isn't to say that I always expect to be the best team out there (okay, to be honest, I usually expect this, and usually did in high school), but there's just something about my team (or perhaps my coach) that knew how to win when it came down to it. There were games when we would admit that we weren't the better team. But we won. We wouldn't always win the unimportant games (like pre-season), but when it came down to playoffs, we always managed to pull it off, even if pulling it off meant playing for a tie and knowing that our goalkeeper was better than theirs.

Now, in my adult league, we expect to always win - there just isn't the competition to make us doubt ourselves. But tournaments are a different story. We still go in expecting to win, but sometimes get a wake-up call. We'll become complacent about passes and going to the ball because we've become used to our usual competition. So it's fun and refreshing to have to play your heart out just to tie a team that is obviously better than you, and then beat them in a shoot-out. (As much as I think shoot-outs are a horrible way to decide a soccer game, I have to admit that they've usually gone in my favor). There's just something sweet about being able to say, "Yeah, you're probably better. But we beat you when it counted." (Even if you would prefer to both be better and beat the other team). And I got to say that this past weekend.

Required viewing

This excites me.

And then what happens?

For all the things I love about movies, there are a few things I don't like about them. Two of the huge ones are beginnings and endings. Now, that might seem a little strange, but let me explain. When good (meaning interesting and well developed, not necessarily morally good) characters are involved, I always want to know what happened before we're introduced, and what happens after we leave them.

Why is probably why, as much as I love movies, I'll always love books more. And the books that I especially love are the ones that keep going. Usually, this is a bad thing, but not always. See, sometimes, an author thinks that just making the initial storyline drag on and on is the same thing as keeping us interested in the characters. Not true. We need differing plots to keep us interested, otherwise more books is just annoying. (For an example of annoyingness, see Robert Jordan's books).

But in a few great instances, the author keeps us interested by coming up with enough things for the characters to do. This is great, and these authors generally become my favorites. For examples of this, see David Eddings, and in some ways, Orson Scott Card.

But the best is the Star Wars books. Now, initially, they were all disjoined, with authors creating their own characters, and using the main characters however they wanted. The great authors shone through, but there were some not so great ones thrown in the mix. But recently, Lucas and his team of whatever have realized what potential there is in the books, and grabbed the better authors (and some great new ones) to create books where the plotline is planned out in advance. Then the authors are allowed to use the characters they previously created in the best way possible.

Of course, Luke, Leia, Han, and the rest are getting on in years, so this is going to have to come to an end soon, but there is my hope that the new characters who are just as interesting as the old favorites (and are usually their children) could continue the tradition of fun battles and mysteries of the force. That is, if the authors can come up with enough enemies for them to battle. There comes a point where you think, "Hasn't this battle already been faught before?" But so far they've done a good job, so I have my hopes.

More to come on the reasons I like the books I do later, because I feel like talking about books. And maybe a little about movies, too.

Interesting...

So I'm going to be in SB (Santa Barbara for all of you not in the know) next weekend for a soccer tournament. Anybody interested in, say, taking off Friday and doing a little wine tasting?

Fall

I love the Fall. I think I've probably posted about why I love it every year that I've had a blog, and this year won't be different. This year it has even started cooling off earlier than usual, so I can celebrate the Fall earlier than usual. Of course, the great thing about the Fall is soccer, and that's already started. Plus, there's Halloween, which is one of the best holidays. Now I just have to decide what I'm going to be. I'm thinking pirate, but could change my mind. I know I'm asking for it, but any suggestions?

The other great thing about the Fall is that TV starts up again. Personally, I much prefer to watch TV on DVD, but there is something fun about when all the season and series primeres are going on. It's just fun to wonder which ones are going to make it, and which won't. I also love guessing where the shows I watch are going to go. I usually give a couple new shows a chance, but most end up completely disappointing. The ones getting the green light this year are Studio 60 (I saw the pilot, but forgot this week, I'll have to catch it later) and Runaway. Both seem interesting, and a new take on perviously tried forumlas. Add to this Gilmore Girls, Veronica Mars, and perhaps one other, and I have a full week.

Maybe I'll even manage to get things done this Fall other than watching TV and playing or coaching soccer. But I doubt it.

Only in Bakersfield

Today as I was driving home, I saw a W-word party at the Truxten park thingy in front of an oil pump. I can only hope that they were taking pictures.

Avast!

Ahoy, I be Cap'n Kathryn Backstabber, and fer all ye land lubbers who've had yer heads in a barrel of grog, today be talk like a pirate day! This be an official holiday for all us actual pirates, so if ye know what's good for ye, ye'll dust off yer cutlass and get t' sailing!

Get yerself a pirate name and join the crew if ye know what's good fer ye! Or else ye'll be walkin' the plank and greetin' Davey Jones face to face like the bilge rat that ye are!

Arrrrr!