Soccer!!! One month till World Cup 2006

The spectacle that is the world's most watched sports event - Soccer's World Cup - begins in one month. Happened to see this fantastic commercial yesterday.

I want to know which ad agency put it together for Gatorade here. This is a fantastic tv ad. Regardless of how our U.S. squad performs in Germany, this ad captures the state of the game of "futbol, soccer, football" in the United States in 2006. There's the frustration of early-stage growth vs. high expectations. And we see plenty of how the rest of the world feels about us trying on their sport for our XXL size: "Yankees Go Home!". Then it ends with the thrill of qualification for the big show - goal-by-beautiful-goal. In 30 seconds I was ready for World Cup 2006 - no matter the outcome.

I'm lobbying hard to get my office to bring in a television during the World Cup to show the games live. (With a lot of 11AM & 2PM CST game times, what else am I supposed to do?)

D Magazine's FrontBurner blog is a guilty pleasure for Dallasites. I noticed this Adam McGill soccer-related post tonight. Adam's FrontBurner post links to a great LA Times article responding to W's weak endorsement of soccer. Dallas' role in the history of U.S. Soccer has come full circle with Kenny Cooper Jr. playing for F.C. Dallas.

The faux Irish pub revolution & the Texas Wine Industry

"Whether you are in Kazkhstan or the Canary Islands, you can now hear the lilt of an Irish brogue over the sound of the Pogues as you wait for your Guinness to settle. "

Happy St. Patrick's Day! This is an article written by Austin Kelley in Slate Magazine. It explains the development in the early 1990's of the "Irish Pub Concept" by the Irish Pub Company. The evolution of modern Irish acceptance of St. Patrick's Day, American-style revelry is also detailed.

I've conducted my own fairly extensive research into this phenomenon. My studies began at The Dubliner on Greenville Avenue. But the Dub is the real Nellie. It's featured in today's Dallas Morning News. Having celebrated many a St. Patrick's Day at the Dubliner, I can attest to its authenticity as a proper Irish drinking establishment. (Well - I've never been to Ireland in person - but I had Astral Weeks & The Unforgettable Fire on my headphones constantly as a kid.) So visits to an Irish pub were embraced with open arms. And on the many St. Patrick's Day celebrations that I've witnessed at the Dub, it's always fun to see the Irish waitstaff observe up close what we Americans do with their religious holiday. They positively revel in it.

I've seen faux Irish implemented everywhere - Dallas, Austin, Las Vegas, Miami, Chicago. Our very own Trinity Hall was built, assembled, dismantled in Ireland & shipped over to Mockingbird Station in order that we here in Dallas also enjoy our very own variety of "craic". From the article: "IPCo will assemble your chosen pub in Ireland. Then they'll bring the whole thing to your space and set it up. All you have to do is some basic prep, and voilà!"

Other favorite local establishments overflowing with Irish "craic":

The Old Monk

The Londoner

The Idle Rich

And Guinness has even taken the step of reaching into your homes with the Surger!

The other mentionable article is from CNN/Southern Living & it's about the burgeoning Wine Industry in the Texas Hill Country. My wife & I were down in Fredericksburg in February & conducted our very own sampling of the local varietals. It was splendid. And it's nice to see it highlighted in the national press. Too bad we didn't take the Texas Wine Trail back home.

Monty Python at KERA Studios 1975

Python in Dallas, 1975

This is brilliant! KERA engineers unearthed this marvelous PLEDGE DRIVE footage from 1975. It begins with the promo "11 Nights of Great Public TV" - which is borderline Pythonesque in its irony. (11 Nights followed by 354 hum-drum evenings of nature broadcasts & Nova.)

Who would've thought that a Public TV Pledge Drive would be so enjoyable to watch? All you have to do is wait 31 years before you have a look! The telephones are ringing in the background & volunteers pick up the yellow standard-issues while the interview is conducted with the Python gang.

No John Cleese here, but the rest of the players are having a smashing time in Texas. They remark about how large & deserted DFW airport is. (It's still huge, but no longer empty!) They discuss the soon-to-be-released Monty Python & The Holy Grail (and the Dallas studio audience giggles at first hearing the title.) Then they play the Lumberjack scene from Flying Circus & the camera lands on Michael Palin for a reaction shot.

Loved seeing Graham Chapman smoking his pipe. He doesn't chime in until near the end of the footage but his limited moments are masterful.

I'm so proud of my hometown & KERA for having been WAY ahead of the rest of the country in embracing the now legendary troupe of Brit humorists. It's funny to hear how much more distinctive our Texas accents were back then before Dallas was invaded by both coasts.

And we learn just WHO Monty Python is!

Also:

KERA's Online Argument Clinic

I wandered by the D Magazine Frontburner blog & found this link to footage at The Sound of Young America blog.

Alamo Drafthouse & the Casa Linda Theater

Sorry to see this deal fall through. Alamo Drafthouse in Dallas would be fantastic. "Why another movie theater" you ask? The Drafthouse is a draw not just because of Granada Studio Movie Grill-style eats & drinks. But also because they are movie buffs & hold special events - festivals, speakers, actors, movie premieres.

Walked by the Casa Linda Theater. It's a mess. They could really use a well-matched tenant. The Alamo Drafthouse was one last year when they signed the letter of intent. In 2005, Entertainment Weekly called it "the best theater in America".

The Dallas Business Journal reported last August that, "Retrofitting the theater will cost about $1.2 million. The Austin-based company will "maintain the look and feel of the landmark," says John Martin, president of Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas. "We are not bringing in a megaplex. We want to keep it cool and open to the community."

They also pointed out that, "Alamo Drafthouse also is actively scouting sites in west Frisco, where it would like to build an eight-screen prototype, said Vaughn Miller, president of Dallas-based Henry S. Miller Commercial's retail division."

Copia from the Trial Watch blog talks about how the investment group was a different management team than the Austin Drafthouse. She spoke with Karen Davis: "I cannot say how the franchise will develop their programming style there in Dallas. I do not know if they are willing to take the risks in Dallas that we do here in central Austin with our liberal demographic. I can tell you one thing. The more they hear input like yours, the more likely they will be to take such a risk. We love getting programming suggestions. Tell your friends who feel the same way to write the franchise folks."

A couple of thoughts as to why the potential investors backed off - first in regards to parking - not enough spots & not enough area to really make more available without a multilevel parking garage. It's noteworthy to see just how crowded & cramped the lot is. Secondly - the theater tower & Casa Linda location are significant historical & aesthetic draws here. But perhaps the megaplex theater being finished at Northpark is too much competition for Alamo Drafthouse to handle with a charming location like Casa Linda.

BlimpSpotting - Future Flights of Fancy

News this week from two sides of modern airship development - the military and travel & tourism. CNN & Popular Science report that Igor Pasternak of Worldwide Aeros Corporation in California is developing a hotel in the sky (as in the doctored-up airport photo above). His Aeroscraft (pronounced out loud, is this too similar to Eros Craft?) is an airship that would cross the continental United States in 18 hours - not exactly jumbo jet speed - but not snail slow either. And it really looks comfy!

A part of my enthusiasm for these airships is a frustration with the current air travel system. It is largely based on 1950's technology. I'm 6'3" tall (1.9m) and loathe trying to squeeze into the seats of these glorified Greyhound Buses in the Sky they call jet airliners. I can really see myself stretching out in an airship like this one.

It's kind of hard to hide a blimp

The military is interested in troop & gear transport. From the LA Daily News article: "Code-named "Walrus," the new airship would fly using a combination of lighter-than-air gas - like conventional blimps or World War I zeppelins - and aerodynamic lift generated by the craft's shape, as well as thrust vectoring." The photo below is from a Lockheed Martin test flight on Valentine's Day. Looks a little like the Aeroscraft, huh?

Researcher: iPod earbuds could damage hearing

From this Reuters' story that I saw on CNN.com this morning: "The ever-popular earbuds used with many iPods and other MP3 players may be more stylish than the bigger and bulkier earmuff-type headphones, but they may also be more damaging to one's hearing, according to a Northwestern professor."

I've always hated the earbud. I never have been able to keep those in my ear well. They always fall out. That's a great frustration I have with iPods. You pay top price for these beauties but then they ship 'em with these cruddy earbuds rather than proper headphones like Starsky's (here at the left).

Apple should ship iPods with noise-canceling headphones of some sort lest iPod enthusiasts should end up like Pete Townshend. This is a post from his website's diary section yesterday explaining his hearing loss & his concerns for the future what with the popularity of iPods, MP3 players, etc. He observes that, "we use earphones at almost every stage of interaction with sound." And it's really slowing him down in the studio working on new material for the next Who project.

Holiday Greetings!

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I meant to get these photos up from the Major League Soccer Championship 2005 that I went to with my close friends, Ben, Brandon & Bryan way back in November. But I'm kind of glad that I procrastinated until the holidays. Firstly because I discovered BubbleShare - a worthy challenger to the Flickr Photo Upload & Share phenomenon. It allows for a set of photos to be uploaded easily & quickly without any account info hassles. Even cooler though, you can post your photos with 30-second Audio Captions. What a wonderful thing! I highly recommend you give it a shot (no pun intended). They make posting a set on your blog a cinch as well. I love it.

The holidays are a wonderful/dreadful time. Wonderful in that you get to see people you haven't seen in forever & catch up. Dreadful because you realize just how infrequently you get to see them otherwise. The wife & I have this week between Xmas & New Years' Eve off & it's terrific. But it's been so long since we had any time off that it's a bit overwhelming when you think of all the things that you need to get around to doing in these few days (not to mention the things that you'd like to get to do as well!).

What's everyone doing for New Years' Eve?

Banksy

Banksy is an English graffiti artist that I read about first in Wired Magazine & then later on in Esquire Magazine. On the whole, graffiti is a nuisance to the public's common interest- but if there should be any in your town, I hope it's as clever & artsy as this. And I hope Banksy inspires your local graffitizen to artistic accomplishment & to work with stencils rather than ego-marking a common wall with some indecipherable squiggle.

Have a look at some of his work. It's impressive. (Banksy - how about hawking some t-shirts from your webpage?)

The Deep Ellum Tunnel comes to mind when I think of some good local graffiti here in Dallas. But that's going away soon apparently. Shame really - hope they find a way to keep some of this homegrown charm in the future Deep Ellum. But I suppose that's the least of Deep Ellum's worries these days.

Anything You Ever Wanted to Know

With the recent passing of Dallas radio presence, Glenn Mitchell, I was reminded this morning on the way into work of his Friday talk shows on KERA 90.1FM. Anything You Ever Wanted to Know shouldn't have been nearly as fun as it was. And that's a testament to Glenn Mitchell's talent as a talk show host & also to his intelligent listenership. Many of you will agree with me when I call what Glenn Mitchell meant to Dallas - he was like a Public Utility. I will miss him terribly. I'm glad to see that KERA is moving forward with his legacy intact.

Here's a nice report from his memorial service from the Dallas Morning News. KERA 90.1 also has posted the audio of the memorial as a podcast here.

The Edge

The Edge
Originally uploaded by ultraviolet1975.

Nothing like a Saturday night concert to welcome U2 back to Dallas. The Dallas Vertigo Tour stop was their 2nd consecutive evening & final stop through Texas. Here's a nice shot of Edge strutting along a plank. (A very nice photo set of the show from the GA section posted on flickr by Crystal from Arlington - thanks, Crystal.)

The setlist offered something for everyone - from new fans to cranky, old fans that long to stay anchored somewhere in 1982. The photo here is of Edge struttin' his stuff (maybe during "Electric Co."?) on the ellipsis stage plank- U2's contribution to arena-rock advancement & evolution. At any given time during the concert - you could be front-row center for the moment of the show. The show displayed a combination of soul, musicianship, sonic power & energy. During "Vertigo", Bono channeled the Ramones & it appeared that somewhere along the elliptical catwalk he stumbled on a live-wire as he belted notes from Patti Smith's "Rock & Roll Nigger" a moment doused in electricity. (Hadn't heard that song since the seventies & was racking my memory to remember the artist!) A highlight early in the show - "Miracle Drug" from the new album How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb . It felt then & there like the band managed to make this basketball & hockey arena lift off the ground & soar. Edge sang a verse all by himself! He's got a fantastic voice, that one.

Bono recalled U2's first stop here in Dallas 25 years ago and thanked the fans for giving them the privileged life they have (very kind of him to say). We were situated in section 124 row W behind the stage. (I think you can make us out a little to the left of Larry Mullen Jr. in one of the Flickr photos.) The rear-of-the-stage vantage point allowed a chance to see Adam Clayton & Larry anchor the band - but they also strutted out a couple of times (albeit a bit tentatively) on the elliptical stage ramp. It must be weird for a drummer to amble out there off his seat into the audience - off the safety of his little drumkit and feel what it's like for the lead singer out there. That's when it occurred to me that I'd never really witnessed anything like that - at a number of points in the show, the band members were equally spread out on the arena floor- rocking the house, yes, but also shrinking the arena considerably from the vantage point of the fans - quite the little magic trick upon reflection - 4 points holding together the music from 50+ yards away of each other. Brilliant!


They played "Miss Sarajevo" & Bono sang Luciano Pavarotti's Italian part beautifully (this, by the way, might be the only way I like to experience opera - in short , minute-long quotations in the middle of a 2+ hour rock show.) But it goes to point out that these guys really do walk the plank - opera during a rock show?! "Dici che il fiume trova la via al mare..." And during "Sometimes You Can't Make it On Your Own" - he again stepped out on the vocal high-wire - "Can you hear me when I SING, you're the reason I sing, you're the reason why the opera is in me." These moments were exhilarating in the musical sense, but you're also thinking performance-wise - gosh, if he doesn't hit that note - he's screwed. Yes - he hits the note - but you're breathless until he does so successfully because it's a very steep precipice from which to jump. And yes - we ate it up - just like the pasta that Bono said he'd been at!

Other highlights - the kid they pulled up onstage to play guitar with them during "Angel of Harlem". The show is so carefully orchestrated technically that it was really something to see this kid so nonchalantly get up with them & play & not be completely petrified. We were all up there with him.

Also - we got to kick the soccer ball around outside in the AAC parking lot before & after the show. That was way more fun than it should have been considering it was on concrete & while cars are entering and exiting hastily. But it was a great way to channel some of the pre & post-show energy on a beautiful late-October night in North Texas. (Apologies to the guy with the fancy white Lexus next to us. The dent should pop right out.)

Can't wait to hear what everyone else thought of the concert.

U2's DFW Appearances Listed

Credit George Gimarc & Thor Christensen of the Dallas Morning News for putting together a really nice little retrospective of U2's concert appearances in Dallas. It reminded me of a high school tennis team teammate who said that the Alarm stayed with his family when they came through town (this is Fall 1984). "How cool that the Alarm stayed at your house!" (I remember now as I made that remark, I made a mental note to myself to familiarize myself with the Alarm - as I had no clue as to who they were. Does anyone else remember how back in the 80's, the verdict was still out as to who was a bigger live act- the Alarm or U2?)

Search video.google.com for U2 & you get 3 query pages worth of U2-related videos submitted by the general public. It's fun to check out the beginning of their Boston show from the perspective of Kate Krackenberger's cell phone camera. You can really taste the excitement in the crowd at the beginning of the show.

Feel free here to share your U2 Dallas moments with everyone.

Dallas: U2 Week Begins!

Hello Hello

6 days till the Dallas U2 show. I have to admit - I've not had it in the forefront of my mind. My pals Mo & Mo were going on & on about it the past few days & that made me perk up a bit. Took a peek at the calendar & noticed that my hype-level was woefully underpowered.

So - a quick perusal of my music feeds found this Rolling Stone interview.

Put that in your podcast oven & light 'er up. It's an hour + interview with Bono in the tradition of the classic Rolling Stone interview - the kind I used to read in my high school library - with 5 other guys hovering around looking at me to eagerly finish digestion & pass on the mag to them. (And there were plenty of times when I was of the ones floating around waiting for another dude to finish reading the latest Rolling Stone).

FC Dallas vs. Chivas USA

This is a collage of photos taken at the June 22nd FC Dallas/Chivas USA match. This was the penultimate match for FC Dallas on the 1994 World Cup pitch of the Cotton Bowl. Bryan, Brandon & Rupert invited me to join them for the occasion. I caught up with them in Section 8 at halftime. Bryan's left for a wedding in Spain this week. So cheers to him & his sister Lynne, brother-in-law Fran, nephew Daniel! We miss you a lot!

Which would you rather fly? 

Your Own Personal Zeppelin

60 Minutes' story on "Flying Cars Ready To Take Off" had a nice PopSci feel to it. But upon reflection, I've had some concerns. Specifically - there was no Danny Deckchair flight of whimsy. Don't get me wrong - the featured inventors are dauntless Field of Dreams types. But the whole transit-made-easy perspective of it fails to inspire me. The flying cars all looked like the noisy helicopters we've lived with for decades now. I've mentioned my complete lack of scientific ability in the previous post, but if I were to fly my own vehicle - I'd like it to hover more effortlessly - say, like a blimp. I'll let the engineers deal with the details like lift, wind shear, & thunderstorms. But before I go flying my own chopper to Tulsa, I'd like the SkYacht folks to create that - a fun personal blimp. That way we could take it out to the park on a pretty spring day & fly like a kite for spell. That should be the way we start - nice & easy. I'm not talking a "Sunshine on my Shoulders" glider either. That's entirely too daring for the rest of us. As they quote on the home page of the Personal Blimp folks, "In an airship, one does not fly, one does not drive, instead one travels in a most beautiful kind of way that gives meaning to the word journey." -- Hugo Eckener

Skype Call from Scotland, Space Physics & Political Economy - The World is Flat

Happy Birthday, Bryan! Glad to see your team in the finals against Man U for the FA Cup.

My Scottish pal Darren called me using Skype today. The audio fidelity is fantastic - way better than a typical phone call and no transatlantic echo either. And it's FREE. I felt a tad bit like a baseball announcer using the Plantronics PC microphone that I had picked up at Fry's. But it worked splendidly. He also used his WebCam to send live video from his flat in Edinburgh. (I need to buy a WebCam next!)

Went to Houston with the wifey-poo for a friend's mother's funeral. It was a really nice service. The Klein Funeral Homes & Memorial Parks did a fine job. We learned about the origins of "Amazing Grace". The cemetery where she was put to rest is beautiful - a very woodsy area with lots of wind chimes on tree branches. The breeze was just right to get a very nice blend of chimes during the service - very peaceful. The spiritual nature of the occasion was blunted somewhat by the speeding ticket I was dealt on I-45 by Officer Simmons of the Fairfield, TX Police Dept. (85mph in a 70mph speed limit zone). Consider that my contribution to the economic development of rural Texas. (I needed to brush up on my Defensive Driving anyway.)

Last night we went to my friend Tom's biannual BBQ for his international students (ESL). I always enjoy the opportunity to meet these bright young minds from countries like China, Taiwan, Thailand, South Korea & Peru. Tom had his Ping-Pong table set up & I got to play the Peruvian Space Physicist (wicked backhand) & the Chinese champ - Wei Lin (the Korean Political Economist kept score!). I lost on both occasions - but with great flair. Tom insisted that the winners sing their countries' national anthems. But we never got around to that. After all, there were some dominoes to be played!

We enjoyed talking to the Chinese students about the recent & ongoing Chinese demonstrations against the Japanese. Unfortunately there were no Japanese students present to spice things up a bit. But BBQ & international incidents don't mix well. The Thai guy brought some Leechy fruits to settle things down a bit.

The wife & I enjoyed speaking with the Peruvian Space Physicist about the stratosphere, the mesosphere, the troposphere, the thermosphere & the exosphere. My complete lack of understanding about the basics of physics didn't stop me from asking about the Hubble Space Telescope. He explained how they would take measurements of the space in the area of the telescope to detect the amount of electrons, the solar waves & magnetic activity. I can't believe he dignified my inquiry with such a detailed response. (Fr. Deeves gave me a D in Physics back in High School.)

It was a very interesting evening. And the Korean Political Economist gave the Peruvian Ping-Pong champ a ride to Club Babalu in Uptown.

This afternoon I got to take advantage of Borders' Bookstore's annual Educator's Discount weekend. I bought the Sneakers DVD & my first audio book - Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat. My brother was going to borrow the book, but this way we can just burn him copies of the cd's & give a set to Dad too.

Spring Cleaning 2005 - Found this artist at an eclectic little shop in Salado, TX a month ago. The wifey-poo & I bought this big Indonesian Flying Frog. The artist's work can be found at www.ponderingpool.com. I like the sentiment here as the weather warms & people give their dwellings a thorough clean. Here's to "clearing room to dream".  

Free Mac Mini

I am still trying to put together enough confirmed offers for a Mac Mini. To help me get my Mini Mac & to get you started on getting your own, click this link to join, or copy and paste it into a browser:

http://www.FreeMiniMacs.com/?r=14082114

If you can't, no biggie. I've got 3 completed offers already & I just
need 7 more.

All you have to do is join, complete an online offer (Blockbuster
Online, USA Today, Wall St. Journal, or some of the others listed),
and, if you wish to get your own Mac, refer friends to do the same.

Here's how the Gratis Network explains it: "Once you have enough
referrals who have joined and completed an offer via your referral
link, and you have completed an offer as well, you will be able to
order your FREE Mini Mac. Make sure to tell everyone you know, but
make sure they join via YOUR REFERRAL LINK. No credit will be given
unless they click through that link and fully sign up. That's the way
we track users, and make sure you get proper credit for your
referrals. You can click "Refer Friends" and send them an email from
our site, or post your referral link online."

For more info, see Kevin Rose's blog: http://www.kevinrose.com/index.php/P15/

Stumbled upon the Led Zeppelin page & was pleased to see the neat flash shows with zeppelins. The "News" page reported on Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton & Brian May meeting Queen Elizabeth for a royal tribute to the music industry. Having noticed that she didn't recognize any of the reknowned guitarists, "Guitar god Eric Clapton took no chances and, firmly shaking her hand, introduced himself by name. "Have you been playing a long time?" the queen asked. "It must be 45 years now," replied Clapton, 59."

"A wombat gets a tummy rub." My pal Tom told me there was an interruption of tennis play this year at the Australian Open when a wombat wandered onto the court. If someone can find a photo of this interruption - please let me know.