literateria

I agree with Rachel on this one.

2009-10-10T11:49:00.001-04:00

The Eduardo Dive

2009-09-02T12:28:00.000-04:00

Eduardo dove. He did not call out for a penalty. Perhaps he was trying to prevent injuring himself or the goalie. But he did not try to correct the referee’s interpretation that it was a foul.

There was no legitimate contact. It was a moment that could have changed the outcome of the game — after all it gave Arsenal the first goal. A two match ban is legitimate.

However I have two problems with this rule and its implementation.

First, UEFA allows video evidence to penalize a player for something a referee did not see. But it will not allow video evidence to overturn a referee’s decision: i.e. Abidal’s and Fletcher’s suspensions from the final in Rome (both were excluded on penalties which really were not penalties). This rule on simulation and its implementation just smacks of hypocrisy.

Second, what is to stop every team from claiming ’simulation’ when a player goes down, even if ‘diving’ is the only way to arrest a referee’s attention to the fact that a foul was committed? FIFA and UEFA have come a long way from the days when two footed tackles and challenges from behind were committed. By giving fouls referees protect players from injury. The game today is played at such a fast pace, which makes it elegant and exciting, but also makes it easier for players to get injured. The game needs to protect its athletes from injury (i.e.: Eduardo, who lost a year and a half to a horrific tackle).

It seems to me that the best solution is one that FIFA has been experimenting with — putting extra officials behind the back lines in order to act as extra sets of eyes. An extra official behind the goal would have had the angle to see that the goalie in this instance made no substantial contact with Eduardo and could have advised the referee and allowed for the referee to make the correct decision: a yellow for Eduardo and play on.

To follow up on my first objection, above, the English FA will review video evidence and can increase or decrease the penalties for on pitch behavior appropriately.

The madness...

2009-06-23T10:21:00.005-04:00

The St. Petersburg Times finds some insiders who are willing to speak:

The church says that Rinder, Scientology's top spokesman for decades, is an inveterate liar.

I am in the middle of reading the first part (of three), and I have two observations. (I pulled that line for the link because of its sheer perversity.)

First, this is reminiscent of the floundering of the Hare Krishnas in the early 1980s (I think I have my time frame right).

Second, this stuck out:

At 49, Miscavige is fit and tanned, his chiseled good looks accented by intense blue eyes. His frame is on the short side at 5 feet 5, but solid, with a matching, vise-like handshake.

The voice, resonant and strong, can transfix a crowd of thousands. Many call him "COB," because he is chairman of the board of the entity responsible for safeguarding Scientology, founded by L. Ron Hubbard in 1954.

"He is one of the most capable, intelligent individuals I've ever met," Rathbun said. "But L. Ron Hubbard says the intelligence scale doesn't necessarily line up with the sanity scale. Adolf Hitler was brilliant. Stalin was brilliant. They were geniuses. But they were also on a certain level stark, staring mad."

The idea that Hitler and Stalin were geniuses is a Nietzschian delusion: that all 'great men' are intellectually superior. It is natural to want to believe that those who achieve such power must be better, greater than everyone around them -- and while cunning and political savvy certainly are hallmarks of intelligence, there is nothing in Hitler's or Stalin's lives to suggest an extraordinary amount of it (If anything, history suggests that Stalin more paranoid and more complacent, and perhaps stupider as a result, as his position became unassailable).

Or, to put it a different way: don't confuse sociopathy with intelligence!

Off season (in Europe) football news

2009-06-03T12:49:00.002-04:00

I am amazed at how much that is reported in the European press with regards to football (soccer) is unsubstantiated b.s. There are a few papers that have standards.

I should really stop paying attention. And just tune in again in the fall when the next season starts again.

In the battle of football pods there is only one clear winner...

2009-06-02T15:31:00.004-04:00

This year I followed the Times of London's The Game Podcast (Never mind the fact that the podcast is impossible to find on their website) and Football Weekly from The Guardian. The Game is put out every Monday. Football Weekly has two editions, on Monday and Thursday.

Hands down, Football Weekly is the better of the two. Host James Richardson keeps things lively with humor, wordplay, the occasional note of movie criticism, and good questions. The podcast regulars are a motley, revolving sort, with usual suspects Sid Lowe (commenting on all things in Spanish football) and Barry Glendenning (who, humorously, does not care and cannot stop himself from caring about the game). Although at times the pod sometimes recycles common wisdom (i.e.: the myth that Liverpool have a small squad, and thus are disadvantaged vis a vis Manchester United), this happens rarely. The pod is actually quite good at popping balloons of hype and at getting to the nitty gritty of the day. Most of all, this pod is usually good fun to listen to because of the rapport between the pod-casters--at times I feel like I'm in a salon, and the topic just happens to be football.

The Game is nowhere near as good as Football Weekly. The game is hosted by Phill Jupitus, who does little to insert his personality into the proceedings, and who must feel, judging from the job that he does, that his role is to keep people talking. To be honest, he really needs to find the cajones to tell Gabriele Marcotti to shut up (better yet, to stfu) from time to time. Gabriele Marcotti is The Times' European Football Correspondent, and he is often offers an incredibly insightful perspective on the state of the game. I enjoy reading his columns. I appreciate that he has strong opinions. However, the man has a tendency to turn into a complete prick, especially when he disagrees with Alyson Rudd's take on the game. Mr. Marcotti is someone who needs a leash. He also needs to realize that as perceptive as he is, he is sometimes wrong -- I am incredibly annoyed that he cannot let referee Howard Webb's questionable call against Newcastle go: Marcotti sees it as a great injustice, I think it was a referee seeing a player impeding another player's access to the ball (there was another similar, talked about call, involving Liverpool earlier in the season). I also think that no matter how 'unjust' it may seem when referees' decisions can impact the outcomes of matches, that is why they are there -- not to act as advocates for the spectators or the teams, but as advocates for fair and fluid play. Ultimately the referee is a part of the pitch -- it is up to the players to play the game and perform on the field. If Drogba had scored in the second half of the second game against Barcelona (and he had ample opportunity to do so), then none of the so-called questionable calls the referee made would have mattered. If Newcastle had played better in their 37 other games, then one call by a referee would not have mattered.

One of the issues with The Game is that it would be very easy to mistake it for a Gabriele Marcotti podcast instead of a London Times podcast. Oliver Kay, who is incredibly knowledgeable and interesting to listen to, shows up rarely. Tony Evans has been spot-on all season about Manchester United's weaknesses is also an irregular. Some of the other infrequent contributors are complete and utter rubbish. One pod attendee actually suggested that all physical contact should be outlawed from the game -- I could not believe that someone who had lived with football all their lives would say something so stupid.

grrr...

2009-06-02T14:22:00.006-04:00

The quality of the posts at Soccer By Ives remains pretty good. The quality of the comments piss poor. I'm not saying that all of the comments are bad, but given the rottenness in the barrel, why bother sifting through them all?

Just to give you a taste. On a story about Oguchi Onyewu, an American player in the Belgian league who has decided to sue Jelles Van Damme, a defender for Anderlecht, over alleged racial taunting in a game, one commentator wrote:

I'm not surprised it happened in Belgium. This is the same country that just laid down for Nazi Germany. I guess some of that same Nazi hate still exists in Belgium today (assuming Van Damme is Belgian).

Like wtf?

Let me point out what is wrong with the logic that particular commentator used, by analogy:

I'm not surprised that Americans have a habit of ignoring racism; this after all is the same country that completely ignored the slaughter in Europe and Asia until the Japanese decided to bomb Pearl Harbor. I guess that same head in the sand "ignore everything that is unpleasant" instinct still exists in the United States today (assuming the commenter is American).

News

2009-06-01T07:34:00.002-04:00

In NPR's coverage of the Sotomayor nomination this morning not one Democratic Senator or left-leaning pundit was interviewed. Just Republican after Republican after Republican.

(It is also a grim day in terms of normal news.)

Today's awesome amazing fact

2009-05-23T11:56:00.002-04:00

I've often wondered why 100 proof was 50% alcohol. The Bourbon FAQ explains why:

Before the hydrometer became a common instrument of the distiller there existed a method of proofing known as "gunpowder proof". It was a simple procedure and took advantage of readily available "tools". Bourbon and gunpowder were mixed in equal proportions in a small fireproof vessel and ignited. If the flame burned yellow the liquor was too strong, if it burned blue the proof was true. A yellow proofed liquor was mellowed with spring water until it burned blue. The proof of a blue flame spirit was about 100, or 50 per cent.

I have to think there is probably nothing more awesome than taking gunpowder and spirit, mixing it together, and setting it on fire...

Jack in the box

2009-05-17T12:00:00.002-04:00

This is old, but I just saw my first Jack in the Box stoner commercial. Apparently this is a series...

Vacation!

2009-05-09T19:13:00.001-04:00

Ignorance runs rampant...

2009-04-29T14:20:00.000-04:00

Egypt orders slaughter of all pigs over swine flu

Swine flu is blamed for more than 150 deaths in Mexico and U.S. health officials reported on Wednesday the first known death outside Mexico — a 23-month-old Mexican boy in Texas. It has spread to Europe, Asia and Israel, which shares a border with Egypt.

"It is unfortunate," the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization Chief Veterinary Officer Joseph Domenech said of Egypt's decision. "The crisis today is in transmission from human to human. It has nothing to do with pigs," he told The Associated Press

human nature

2009-04-27T12:06:00.000-04:00

Chiwetel Ejiofor on human nature:

One of the things he's gleaned from his empathetic studies is that, contrary to thespian myth, human beings transform themselves very little. "I think there's an obsession with arc," he says, "the arc of a character, the character's journey - but I don't think people change all that much in the end. I think people have a very primal, immediate nature, and they spend most of their time struggling against it or trying to reconnect with it."

Political gotcha

2009-04-27T10:50:00.002-04:00

The Republicans responsible for stripping pandemic flu preparedness from the stimulus package.

I shit you not.

What tortured logic

2009-04-27T10:35:00.002-04:00

Unprofessional behavior

2009-04-27T09:15:00.002-04:00

Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Jermaine Jenas has slammed referee Howard Webb after his controversial penalty award in favour of Manchester United on Saturday.

It was a questionable penalty, but a referee must make his decisions based on what he (and his assistants) sees. While the penalty decision was an important moment in the game, Tottenham only have themselves to blame for losing this game (they were still 2-1 up after Ronaldo scored the penalty kick). Looking to blame the referee in this instance is genuinely unsporting.

Equality matters

2009-04-24T13:30:00.001-04:00

In Massachusetts, a husband's death shows how important marriage is -- and how absolutely ordinary and accepted same-sex marriage has become

Insomnia and movies

2009-04-23T10:41:00.002-04:00

I saw Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels on Hulu last night. Not for the first time. An elegantly constructed crime caper with lots of clever word play and men behaving badly.

I then pulled out Snatch and watched it again for the first time in years. Snatch has more humor, actually. But the denouement is not as satisfying -- one of the charms of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels was the unexpected "wtf" factor. For example, when the protagonists discover the knocked out traffic warden in the van they've just nicked.

One of the greatest penalty shoot-outs ever

2009-04-22T14:04:00.000-04:00

What an amazing drama.

Texas secession

2009-04-21T19:09:00.001-04:00

When Rick Perry talks about Texas seceding from the union we all know what he's talking about, right? After all, the previous two times Texas seceded, it was over slavery.

Racism and Juve

2009-04-20T17:38:00.002-04:00

Juventus will be harshly punished following a series of racist taunts launched by Juve fans at Balotelli in this past weekend's Juventus-Internazionale game.

Balotelli is a promising young striker at Inter who has improved and matured quite a bit this season. Next season could be his break-out season (just in time for the World Cup).

Notable managers in the English Premier League

2009-04-18T10:01:00.002-04:00

Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United): Considered by many to be the best, however his primary flaw as a manager showed again this year with the expensive purchase of Berbatov. Ferguson has a history of expensive purchases of great players who either do not fit into his tactical schemes or upset team balance. Perhaps next year, with the eventual resolution of the Tevez affair, the Berbatov situation will be resolved. But, Tevez would normally be a better fit for United and has gotten far less playing time than Berbatov.

Rafael Benitez (Liverpool): A tactical master, whose major flaw has been player development. Liverpool has the team depth to sustain a long campaign and yet has played as if it were a much smaller team.

Arsene Wenger (Arsenal): Derided for dumping all of his established players for younger and inexperienced replacements, and strenuously hampered by injury problems, Wenger has fashioned one of the most formidable teams in the English League, several months too late. Wenger is smart, exceptionally shrewd on the transfer market. His flaw is that he does not exert enough discipline on his players. Look for Arsenal to be formidable indeed next season.

David Moyes (Everton): Impressive indeed. A manager who consistently looks to the future and builds for it. Tactically he may be too much of a traditionalist, since their best period of the season was when all of their strikers were injured -- forcing him to adopt a novel attacking strategy. When his strikers returned, Moyes switched to a more traditional attacking model and Everton's fortunes slumped.

Gianfranco Zola (West Ham): His first season at West Ham has succeeded beyond anyone's expectations. Too soon to see what his flaws are, since most of his problems are out of his control.

Martin O'Neill (Aston Villa): A seriously over-rated manager at a club that is desperate for success. Aston Villa's major problem has been lack of depth -- a problem exacerbated by O'Neill's reluctance to rotate players and develop reserves. Given that he pissed away Aston Villa's UEFA cup campaign in order to secure a top four finish and failed miserably to stay in the top four this is a seriously disappointing year for Aston Villa, given the amount of money they spent on the transfer market over the summer.

Roy Hodgson (Fulham): Hodgson has been rebuilding a club that still plays inconsistently and which only last year barely escaped relegation. Hodgson is consistently underrated.

Harry Redknapp (Tottenham Hotspur): I cannot take Redknapp seriously. He left Portsmouth a shambles. Nine-tenths of his success at Tottenham this season has been the departure of Juande Ramos. While smart enough to recognize how good Modric is, why the hell isn't Pavlyuchenko playing more often?

Terry Polis (Stoke City): Stoke City have been playing consistently all season and have had a comfortable year in the Premier League. Next year will determine if they will suffer from second season syndrome, or will be able to build a long term campaign towards glory in the premier league.

Phil Brown (Hull City): If Hull stay up it will be only due to a run of good form at the very beginning of the season. I expect them to go down next year.

Gianfranco to turn West Ham into a monster?

2009-04-18T09:59:00.002-04:00

If anyone can do it, it will be Gianfranco, who has proved himself as a manager with vision.

However, his ability to succeed will depend more on the backroom than the field, with West Ham in serious financial difficulty.

Ancelloti to Chelsea?

2009-04-17T08:44:00.000-04:00

This looks like a done deal.

An agreement has now been reached with the AC Milan coach, who is understood to have finally made a commitment to leave the San Siro and join Chelsea on a three-year contract.

As part of the negotiations the Italian has been promised the funds to land four high-profile players. The significant spending spree will, also, reaffirm owner Roman Abramovich's commitment after another season of upheaval.

Sir Clement Freud dies

2009-04-16T09:29:00.002-04:00

Obviously the man was well-loved, but this paragraph had me laughing:

In 1978 he was in China with the more junior MP, Winston Churchill, the grandson of the former prime minister. When Churchill was given the best room in a hotel because of his family, Freud said it was the first time in his life that he had been "out-grandfathered".

Follow-up

2009-04-15T10:58:00.003-04:00

Follow-up to yesterday's post about lung cancer and smoking, if the government was really serious about reducing cancer risk in smokers, it would subsidize nicotine patches (or gum) and push for them to replace cigarettes as a drug delivery system.