The 20th Post in June

I can't imagine I'll have this many posts in a month again until the World Cup in 2010, but Euro 2008 was definitely fun. It may well have been the best international tournament I've ever seen... & I've seen a lot. Yesterday, I went took the kids to my parents' house so I could clean their gutters & then watch the finals w/ my dad while my mom took them to see Wall-E. Apparently, that movie is better than it looks, but I still have no desire to see it so I'm glad I got out of that one. I have to say though, Jack Black doing a Pixar film is interesting. After all these years, it's nice to know he hasn't sold out yet.

The game was really great, & Spain won their 1st major international trophy since the European Championships in 1964. After the game, I went to my last game of the season & got another goal. That's a total of 7 in 8 games. Young Kenny (not to be confused w/ Old Kenny) carried the ball to the corner & made a fantastic cross as I ran to the far post behind the last defender. I had to jump through the air, nudging the defender out of the way w/ my right knee while I put it in w/ the outside of my left foot. It was pretty sweet, but not as sweet as the Euro 08 final I witnessed before hand. Overall, Spain won all 6 of their matches while scoring 12 goals and giving up 3. Plus they got through the quarter finals w/ an impressive 4-2 victory in penalties against Italy. Beating Germany 1-0 in the finals might lead people to suggest Torres, the goal scorer, was the most important player on the field, & his goal was certainly nice, but others might point to Castilas, the goalie, for keeping a clean sheet against Podolski, Klose, & Schweinsteiger, but he really didn't have a lot to do throughout the whole game. And that is because the defense, lead by 1 particular player, wouldn't allow Germany many chances. They were solid in the back thanks in large part to the man who has made Ray Hudson shit his pants more than any other defender. Here it is, your Visions of Ypsi Play of the Day for the Euro 2008 Finals (& it's actually not Fabregas): Carles Puyol! It's gotta be the hair

Take 2

Yesterday, we made a 2nd, much more successful attempt to visit the Detroit Historical Museum. It's awesome. Other than the failed attempt the other day, I hadn't been there since I was a little kid. The exhibit focusing on the old Detroit Movie houses is great, & the kids really liked the scale models of the old forts & stuff like that. They also really dug the auto exhibit. Of course, the Streets of Old Detroit exhibit was the best part. For those of you who haven't been there, the basement is done up to look as if you're walking through Detroit @ the turn of the last century. It then morphs into Detroit before the Civil War & then Detroit before the Revolution. Again, I want to thank Georgina for telling me about the free tix to the museums & the libraries for providing the tix. It's an awesome thing & you should all take advantage of it.After watching the Tigers' game last night, I need to reaffirm my choices & explain how I can stand behind my Tigers. Th obvious concern is w/ Jones. He blew a 3 run lead in the top o' the 9th, but they were able to put up 2 runs in the bottom o' the 9th. Some might suggest that he did a poor job, but it seems to me that he knew exactly what he was doing. He didn't give up 5 runs. That could have been too much to overcome. He activated his super-stache powers knowing full well that going down by 1 run wouldn't be too much for the team to overcome. All of their runs until then were courtesy of Rayburn: an RBI in the 3rd & a grand slam in the 5th. Jonesy was just making sure other contributed. The other concern could be w/ Renteria. He's kind of batted for shit lately, & the way he missed that easy catch last night really problemitizes his role as my new Tiger. That said, I'm giving him another chance. I just hope that someone realizes he needs a bat designed to go along w/ his limp-wristed batting style.

Hey Underpants!...Douchebags & Players of the Days

I had a day off on Tuesday so we decided to do some sort of museum type thing. We went to the library & got 4 free passes to the Detroit Historical Museum & made the cruise down there expecting a great time. your Visions of Ypsi Douchebag of the Day wasn't fully aware of the situation & as he tried to park the car he was told, "I'm sorry, the museum isn't open to the public on Tuesdays." At least I didn't drive cross-country in a station wagon Griswold style. It would have been pretty sweet if I'd been wearing a dickie, but oddly, that day I wasn't. We then thought about the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History which is across the street, but it would have been 25 bucks & the whole point was to avoid spending money (considering free tix to that are available @ the library too) so we came back to Ypsi & toured the Ypsilanti Historical Museum which is actually really cool. I would definitely recommend checking it out if you haven't already. In the basement they have the Ypsilanti Archives which include old documents about most of the older homes in town. We got the check out stuff about both our new place & the Sheridan house.

Since we've covered the douchebag issue, let's move on to the soccer issue. Yesterday, Germany took it to the Turks & a young defender really rose to the occasion getting a goal & an assist. Today, Spain showed Russia the same thing they showed them in the group stage... their unstoppable drive to score. Here, for the 1st time since the very 1st day, I give you two Players of the Day @ 1 time. We also get yet another chance to talk about the great young Arsenal central mid-fielder who is still not starting for Spain. However, when Villa got hurt a 1/2 hour in, this guy came on & ran the show (or so it seemed from the highlights as I was working during the game). Here are your Visions of Ypsi Players of the Semi-Finals (don't forget to watch Spain v Germany on Sunday afternoon): Philipp Lahm & for the 3rd time, Cesc Fàbregas. "They like me! They really like me!"
Who knew he also played hockey?

A quick post

The player who knocked Italy & their boring, ugly style out of the tournament was always going to become the player of the day, so it should come as no surprise that this person will get the award. He is also the 1st person of the tournament to win this award twice. Now, since I have to get going & actually work a bit, I need to quickly give props to an Italian player: your Visions of Ypsi Moustache of the Day goes to Italian striker, Luca Toni. I don't know why he chose to go that route, but he. I wish I could find a picture of that shit. And now, w/o further ado, your Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day for the final day of quarter-finals: Cesc Fabregas.

Your Player of the Dayski

I was going to call this post "Oranje Crushed," but I Googled it & found out that there are roughly 1,000 other sites to have used that phrase since yesterday's match, & as important & influential as this particular blog is, I couldn't stoop to that derivative hackiness. What makes this so influential you ask? Well, dear reader, perhaps you didn't notice that the Dutch changed to orange socks. One day Jason & I discuss sock colors, the next day they change their entire kit around. Unfortunately for them, the decision to make the big switch wasn't enough to help them get past the Ruskies. In the future maybe they'll worry less about fashion & more about technique... a lesson they seem to have forgotten since their 1988 triumph when their shirts were ugly as shit, but their skills were unstoppable. I wondered the other day who was going to be able to beat these guys... now we have the answer. The Russian win was due in large part to 1 man, an apparently Arsenal bound FC Zenit St. Petersburg striker. I guess Arsen Wenger made an offer they couldn't refuse... a case of Charmin, some day-old bread & a pair of Levis. This guy is kind of weird lookin', his rosy cheeks & baby fat suggest what could only be Josheresque pubescent puffy nipples inside his Russian jersey. I imagine his puffy nipples will get hard when he finds out he is the Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day for the 3rd day of quarter-finals: Andrei Arshavin. "Shhhhh... Don't tell anyone I'm player of the Day"

Flash Gordon is not Your Player of the Day

However, we will need to spend a few moments discussing him none-the-less. Here's a little FG recap. The summer before my senior year in high school, my friend Neil who is my b-day buddy, let me borrow his dad's copy of Flash Gordon on VHS. His dad... let me back up a little. In 1980, my father & my uncle took my cousin Mark & me to see the film @ the Fairlane Town Center in Dearborn, which began a love affair between myself & that film that has lasted 28 years. I watched it every time it was on tv when I was a kid, including one time w/ Mark late @ night before he introduced me to the thrill of Cheech & Chong's Nice Dreams (FG is by far the better film, btw). As we flash foreword to summer 1991, I borrowed this copy from Neil & then soon moved away which meant the movie moved w/ me. In fact, I still have it to this day. One time, after watching it w/ Jason, we mentioned it in English class the following Monday & Mr. Bean (our English teacher not the bumbling British tragi-comic figure) got really excited about the Queen soundtrack. I suppose he can't be blamed for that. Jason & I watched it again recently, but this time it was the new Saviour of the Universe Special Edition DVD I got w/ my Amazon gift certificates. I suppose you're probably wondering what prompted this laundry list of Andre's Flash Gordon Facts... I'm currently reading The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana, Umberto Eco's newest book, & there are some long passages about Flash & the differences between him & all of the other heroes the narrator had encountered previously. The plot revolves around an antiquarian book dealer who injures himself (thus far the injury hasn't been explained) & is unable to remember any personal information about himself, but has a vague memory of things he's read (he tells the doctor his name is Ishmael for instance). In an attempt to rebuild his memory, he returns to the house of his youth & begins pouring over the books, note-books, music, & comic books he assumes he was exposed to as a child. It is the discovery of the old Flash Gordon comic strips (along w/ his understanding of Mussolini & he Black Shirts) that seems to have the greatest effect on him. As w/ most of Eco's work, I strongly recommend this book. His ability to blend post-structural theories into a narrative is always amazing & this one is one of the better one's of his I've read. Here's a little list of his other books I would recommend:
Travels in Hyperreality
The Role of the Reader
How to Travel w/ a Salmon
The Name of the Rose
Foucault's Pendulum
The Island of the Day Before
Kant & the Platypus
Bauldolino

In a story unrelated to Flash Gordon or Umberto Eco, Turkey had another unbelievable come-from-behind win yesterday. They were down 1-0 against Greece last week & won scored 2 in the last 15 minutes. They were down 2-0 against the Czechs w/ 20 minutes left & came back to win it. Yesterday, they fought Croatia through 30 minutes of overtime to a 0-0 draw. As it looked as though Penalties were inevitable, Croatia scored in the last minute, seemingly sealing the victory. However, in the final seconds of stoppage time, Semih Şentürk drove in a long range shot to force the penalty kicks through which Turkey won the game. Although Semih Şentürk scored the goal, the person who really stands out is actually the 2nd string goalie. The 1st string goalie is serving a 2 match suspension after getting a red-card @ the end of the Czech match. At this point, it must be said that Turkey is now joining Germany, Croatia, & the Netherlands 1 of only 4 countries to be singled out for this award. That said, your Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day for the 2nd day of quarter-final action is Rüştü Reçber. I don't have to pronounce them, I just have to award them. A thumbs up to Flash Gordon & all the previous winners

Junk

I've been selling my old appliances on Craig's List and actually doing pretty well. So far I've sold the fridge, the washer, & the dryer, & it looks like the stove, the ceiling fans & a large mirror will go today. I'm loving this & trying to find a few more things I can dump on random strangers. I've made a few hundred bucks which will go nicely w/ the cash I'll be bringing in from my new part-time job across town. I'm starting Mon. morning @ 8:00 @ Plum Market. It feels strange to go to a grocery store again after so many years, but it will be an easy summer job. I may stay on part time once the semester starts too. I have a ton of fond memories of my stint @ the Whole Foods low those many years ago, but I doubt this will be the same. I'm not expecting to go to the bar w/ work-folks every night & make life-long friends, but we'll see.

Speaking of junk, I got a pair of shorts for Father's Day that didn't fit right so I took them back to Macy's & exchanged them for some jeans. The men's section @ Macy's is ridiculous. In fact, only this one pair of jeans was worth getting. Everything else was either for the golf course or for young metrosexual rock stars... 80 bucks for a skin tight t-shirt? WTF? Seeing as I'm not actually the metrosexual rock star I fancy myself as, I had to go w/ a simple pair of Levis. However, as I was making the exchange, the woman at the register asked if I wanted to apply for a Macy's card. I laughed. She then said I'd get a free watch... more junk I can sell on Craig's List! When I realized the watch wasn't contingent on getting approved for the card, I filled out the form & am now the owner of some fancy, big faced chrome watch. I might actually keep it. Coincidentally, I haven't worn a watch since I worked @ the Food Whole, so maybe this is a good time to start again.In other junk news, the kids were watching The Suite Life of Zack & Cody yesterday & the plot revolved around a character (London Tipton... a sarcastic dig on Paris Hilton) getting disinherited. They asked me what that meant so I had to explain inheritance. "You know, how when I die, you'll get my junk? That's inheritance. Disinheritance means that the parent or whomever refuses to leave the junk to a specific person." Solstice's response: "Sweet! I'm getting all your stuff?!?!" I think she started making a mental list right then. Aiden's response (while pointing @ his penis): "Your junk? Why would I want that?" Those kids make me so proud.Speaking of being proud, this man, back form suspension after a red card against Croatia should be proud of his performance against Portugal yesterday. He got a goal & 2 assists in yesterday's 3-2 quarter final match. After that performance, he will also be proud to be today's Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day: Bastian schweinsteiger. Celebrating his goal, 2 assists & Player of the Day award

The final group stage game... & a new job

I scored a job @ Plum Market to which I need to go in a few minutes, but before I mosey over there, I'd announce for y'all today's award winning player. Xabi Alanso played well as Spain's de facto captain, but the play-maker was really a young man from North London. I'm not sure if Spain will be able to go much further unless Luis Aragonés realizes that this guy needs to be in the starting line-up all the time. So, w/o further ado, your Visions of Ypsi player of the Day for Game Day 12: young Cesc Fabregas.

Not Again! (Player of the Day Content)

I met Roger @ Conor O'Neill's yesterday for the Group C matches. We had a great spot between the 2 TVs so we could keep an eye on the Netherlands v Romania game while focusing on the Italy v France match. The place was packed w/ French fans which was great, but it would have been greater if France actually won. W/ Ribery going off injured after 7 minutes & then Abidal getting a red card after 25 minutes there was no way back for Les Bleus. That makes 2 trips to Conor O'Neill's in as many years to watch France lose to Italy. The other match was a little more even, but Romania never really looked like they wanted to win. The Dutch are just too strong, & they really look set for the finals. They play Russia or Sweden in the 1/4 finals & then Spain or Italy in the semis. I simply can't imagine who will beat these guys which brings us to our little announcement. Luca Toni played well, & while he didn't score, he got both fouls that led to the goals; however, there ain't no chance in Hell that this award is going to a player from the team that just knocked France out of the tournament. (You think this is fixed? I never claimed to be unbiased.) With that in mind, we need to look towards the other game where we see an Arsenal striker who played his 1st full 90 minutes since his injuries last fall. He capped off his strong game w/ a late goal. This tournament could be signalling his reemergence after such a long, injury-laden 2 years. Now, w/o further ado, we give you your Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day for Game Day 11: Robin van Persie.

Your ass is grass (Player of the Day)

For Father's Day, after an awesome brunch @ the Dearborn Inn, my dad took me to Sears to get a new lawn mower. I tried to convince him that the 80$ push mower would be fine, but he was having none of it as he had his mind set on a full on bad ass mower. Having used a little rusty old push mower for the last 6 years, I didn't think a big gas mower was necessary, but I used it yesterday for the 1st time & it cut down an hour a day job into a 1/2 hour every week job... & my kids will be able to use it so in actuality it cut down an hour a day job into a no time @ all job.Speaking of lawn mowers, I'm afraid France will be treated like the grass to Romania's proverbial lawn mower today, & the ironic thing is that they aren't even playing each other. If the Netherlands play their 2nd string today since they've already guaranteed 1st place in Group C, Romania could win which would put them through to the 1/4 finals eliminating both Les Bleu & the Azzurri. If the Oranje win though, & France and Italy draw, the game will go to penalties. The best case scenario is that Holland & France both win this afternoon, but France needs to change things up a bit. The old guard hasn't been able to do shit so far, so I say they go w/ the youngsters. Either way, a loss sends them home so they might as well start thinking about the 2010 World Cup. Here's how they should line up: Frey
Sagnol - Squillaci - Gallas(c) - Evra
Ribery - Diarra - Nasri - Malouda
Gomis - BenzemaAlthough I think that Sagnol, Gallas & Diarra will be replace by Sagna, Faty, & Flamini this fall (& Ben Arfa will probably replace Gomis @ some point), this is the closest they can come to a really interesting, vibrant, young squad for today.

What? What's that you say? Who's the Player of the Day? This guy booked Germany's place in the 1/4 finals yesterday w/ a blistering free kick. Other than that, the games yesterday weren't that great. This means your Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day for Game Day 10 is none other than the Chelsea mid-fielder, Michael Ballack. Happy just to be nominated

Day 9 Player of the Day

Since Portugal had already clinched the top spot in Group A they rested many stars against the Swiss who had already been knocked out of the tournament so when the Swiss won 2-0, it was w/o fireworks. The Czech v Turkey match, however, was full of drama & excitement until the last moment of the game. W/ 16 minutes to go, Turkey was down 2-0 before mounting an amazing comeback. Then, w/ 15 minutes to go, they pulled 1 back which led to a brace from the Turkish captain. The winning goal was scored in stoppage time right before the Turkish goalie saw fit to man-handle a Czech striker after the ball was out of play earning himself a red-card. This amazing comeback will be hard to follow in the next round seeing as the keeper will be suspended, but @ least they'll have their captain to buoy them after his fine performance yesterday & then the sweet, sweet knowledge of winning this award. Yes, your Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day for Game Day 9 is Nihat Kahveci. Nihat aeroplanes after the Player of the Day announcement

Your Father's Day Player of the Day

I only saw the 1st half of the Sweden v Spain match & the 2nd half of the Russia v Greece match but from what I saw, Spain's stoppage time winner isn't enough to stop the 1st award going to a player on a losing side. For the 1st 7 match days, the Player of the Day has been either a goalie who kept a team in a match or a goal scorer who won a game; however, your Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day for day 8 has done neither of those things. He did, however, put in a strong performance on the left wing as he captained his team into the 2nd place position in Group D. He was able to use all the talent he developed @ Arsenal & has since been squandered @ West Ham. The reasons for the squandering of his talent are 3-fold. 1) He's been injury prone every since he developed blood poisoning from his large tattoos. 2) His Calvin Klein underwear modeling career has often seemed to overshadow his playing career. 3) He's simply too good for the rest of the West Ham team, and they can't seem to play @ his level. That's right folks, your Visons of Ypsi Player of the Day for Father's Day is Madonna's former boyfriend (this guy has all the tabloid stuff going for him), Freddie Ljungberg.

False Labor & False Hope & Your Player of the Day

We went to Livonia yesterday to watch the France v Netherlands match w/ my dad @ East Side Mario's, a good Italian place on Plymouth Rd. It's one of the best Italian chains around, but the mussels definitely leave something to be desired. They served them w/ a marinara sauce, but I would always prefer some sort of creamy garlic & herb number. The whole time we were there Stephanie was having contractions which got stronger & stronger throughout the afternoon & evening. On the way home they were coming every 5 minutes & by 6:00 they were getting really intense. I was certain yesterday was the day, but then by 8:30 everything had stopped, we watched some iCarly w/ the kids & then an episode of Man vs Wild (a separate post about this show will be coming soon!). This week on Man vs Wild: Bear Grylls eats weird shit
As far as the French game is concerned, they got their asses handed to them by the Dutch. At this point, it's hard to determine who will be able to beat the Oranjemen. In their 1st 2 game they have 7 goals which have been scored by 6 different people. And to make matters worse, those 7 goals were scored against Italy & France... the World Cup finalists just 2 years ago. This isn't like slipping a few past Cyprus or The Faeroe Islands. The Dutch have apparently been reading this book because they are the real deal @ the moment, but as long as France can beat Italy on Tuesday, they should be through to the next round... unless of course The Netherlands play their 2nd string & lose to Romania since they've already clinched 1st place in the Group of Death. I think France can bat Italy, but they have to get off more shots & play the right strike combo: Henry & Anelka or Benzama & Govou... w/ Gomis playing behind them & Ribery free to roam wherever he wants. I'm afraid, however, that all this is just prolonging the agony & Raymond Domenech will rue the day he went w/ Makelele over Flamini, Sagnol over Sagna, Toulalan over Nasri, & Anelka over Ben Arfa. Plus, there has to be a central defender in France who is younger than Thuram. He's 36 for Christ's sake. Squillaci is the center back for Lyon, he's 28 & @ the height of his career, yet Thuram, who retired from international football 4 years ago is starting again. Pretty soon, he'll be needing a little go-cart thing like Great Mable & Ms. DeRosset.That said, I am again unable to bestow the award you've all been waiting for a French player. Furthermore, The Netherlands have made it impossible to single out 1 player. We then need to look to the Italy v Romania game to find out man. While Italy had more chances, they were held to a 1-1 draw (they would have lost had Buffon not saved a PK w/ 10 minutes left). While Buffon came through on that occasion, some Romanian dude came through repeatedly on the other end of the field, keeping them in the game which means your Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day for Day 7 is Bogdan Lobonţ. He is not to be confused w/ Lobot... he hates it when people confuse him w/ Lobot! Here he is looking weirdly like "Mad" Jens Lehmann

Your Player of the Day: Renyolds Style

I took it upon myself to watch Smokey & the Bandit this week & must say I enjoyed it more than ever before. Solstice was a baby the 1st time I saw it. I hated the red-neck ridiculousness. I've seen bits & pieces over the years since then but hadn't watched it all again until now. It must be said that Jackie Gleason was brilliant to take the role. The royalties from this film must have been 2nd only to Honeymooners royalties for him throughout his life. Of course, the Jerry Reed song is fantastic; that's really what motivated me to watch it.As far as the player for Day 6 is concerned, watching Croata beat Germany yesterday was absolutely shocking. Roger & I went to Aubree's to see the game& that dude was nearly in tears. That said, all the player of the day was missing was a moustache & he would have been as bad-ass as the Bandit. That's right, your Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day is Luka Modrić.

Yesterday (including your Player of the Day)

Last night, I made a fun stir fry dinner w/ veggie gyoza & we are outside in the huge new back yard. Afterwards we walked into Depot Town for an ice cream @ Cafe Luwak. For years I eschewed the cone in favor of the bowl, but recently the waffle cone is back in favor. Furthermore, I've spent years exclusively getting chocolate peanut butter, but I went w/ a 1/2 scoop of chocolate (no peanut butter) & a 1/2 scoop of strawberry. I thoroughly enjoyed it. After the ice cream, we went to Frog Island for the summer concert & saw the WCC Jazz Band. We ran into Warren & then Brook & Shawn (who were also enjoying some Luwake ice cream) before we needed to rush home so Solstice could drop a deuce.

Speaking of the old #2, the Swiss took a shit on the field yesterday becoming the 1st team eliminated from Euro 08. Unlike the Portuguese who cruised to a 3-1 victory over the Czechs, which leads us to you Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day for Game Day 5. Wendy's son Matt won't be pleased if the rumors of his transfer to Real Madrid are true, but he should be pleased that his favorite metrosexual is the Player of the Day. He had this very award stripped from him during the 2006 World Cup, but since then many people have come to agree that he may well be the greatest player in the world right now. It was hard to find a picture that didn't accentuate his "metrosexuality," so this 1 will have to do. Here it is, your VoYPotD: Cristiano Ronaldo.

Day 4: Player of the Day

I'd venture to guess that yesterday's player of the day may be the easiest decision for the entire tournament. I was pulling for a breakthrough game for Cesc Fabregas, & his assist & diving header goal in the last 20 minutes would normally be enough, but the assist was to someone who already had 2 earlier goals, making him the 1st to get a hat-trick in the European Championships since Kluivert did it in 2000. That's right folks, your Visions of Ypsi Euro 08 player of the day is David Villa. Rumor has it that he's on his way to Arsenal this summer, & if that really happens, I'll certainly be a happy man.

Day 3: Player of the Day

I went into yesterday hoping to be able to crown a French player, but since they played like ass (see the post below for more on that) I had to check out the Italy v Netherlands match. I assumed Italy would win, so when the Dutch finished 3 goals to the good, I was pleasantly surprised. I have hated the Italian team since they won the World Cup in 1982. Whenever they lose, I feel good, but losing to such a well-polished group of Oranje, was just so nice to watch. I was going to give the award to Ruud van Nistelrooy, but his goal was pretty shady (about 5 yards offsides). That left us w/ 10 other people to consider but only 1 of them really deserves this great award so w/o further ado, I give you the Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day for Day 3 of the group stage: Wesley Sneijder.

Poop & Your Player of the Day

Literal:
Ever since the move last week, my fecal matter has developed a new odor. Don't get me wrong, this isn't a pleasant change or anything. My shit doesn't suddenly smell like flowers but it doesn't smell like my crap anymore either. It's a poop smell I've encountered in public restrooms, but never from my own ass. Lately though, each deuce I drop surprises me so I thought maybe blogging about it would help me adjust to the new #2 development. I don't understand why this has happened. My diet is the same; I'm still eating plenty of peanut butter & beans. The only thing I can think of is the introduction of Orange Pop into my life. I've always enjoyed it, but lately I've gotten hooked. I can't imagine that would have this effect though. My favorites are Crush & Sunkist, but the smaller companies like Dr. Brown's & Nehi are pretty good too.

Metaphorical:
France just finished a rather mediocre (read really shitty) display in their opening match against Romania. The final score was 0-0 & I going to have to blame Domenech (the coach). They looked better towards the end when the younger players came on, but by starting w/ Anelka, Makelele, & Thuram, he really went for the old folks. They're going to need a jolt of creativity, namely going w/ more younger players & moving Ribery into a more central role if they plan to get out of the group stage. Of course, a draw today in the Italy v Netherlands match will leave things all even, but I can't imagine Romania will get a draw out of their games w/ either of them. As for the official Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day, I'll have to wait until after the Italy/Netherlands game because no one from France or Romania did enough to warrant the honor. As for the 1st 2 days of the tournament, I forgot to do this so in retrospect I need to name the players of the days now. On Day 1, I have to go w/ Pletikosa, the Croatian goalie. After seeing only 1 of the games yesterday, I feel a little awkward awarding this, but considering how well he played, we're going w/ Podolski, the German striker who notched up a brace against Poland.

Pletikosa... ready to crush some skulls

Podolski: he either just found out about this award or he won ABBA tickets

Shamrocks and Shenanigans

I'm sitting here in my new living room watching Euro 08 (Germany v Poland) & blogging on my newly renovated laptop. Solstice did some sort of Webkinz thing on it a while ago and ever since things have been going awry. I took it to the new computer store in Depot Town the other day & now it's working spankingly. The place, Clover Computers, is where Apothoke used to be. They have an assortment of refurbished computers for sale & they fixed mine for a great price. The guys who run the place are a couple of punk-lookin' Irish kids who look like they're straight out of The Boondock Saints (a very overrated film)... or House of Pain (a very overrated 1-hit wonder). (My fantasy striker, Podolski, just scored; I definitely needed those points. I really enjoyed watching Poland 2 years ago in the World Cup & I'm liking them now too... they just aren't good enough to beat the big teams I guess.) These Clover Computer guys are not @ all overrated though. I would definitely recommend them if you are in the market for a computer or if you're looking to get some work done on our current one. Speaking of getting some work done, the ATT guy was here yesterday during the Normal Park Yard Sale. For some reason though, all of the connections on my desktop were gone after I hooked everything up here. Andy, Stephanie's nephew, was here yardsailing for his new apt. & was able to fix it though after the cable guy & I were completely overwhelmed by the problem. Another problem I've encountered lately is w/ my back. Moving has totally kicked my ass. I got all my plants transplanted today though (including the ones I scored last spring in a rather shady manner) & I was able to get some of the big rocks from the old backyard too. I only hope I can make it through my game this afternoon... if not, I don't know where our goals will come from & we're playing our nemeses, the Orange Team, today. Oh, & before I forget, we'd like to welcome Jenn to the wonderful world of blogging; read all about her time in Thailand at her new blog: Jenn in Thailand.

Waiting on the cable dude or East Side Represent!

Many things have happened since I last blogged, but I'm pressed for time right now and I broke my thumb which makes typing hard so this will be a rather short update.
Last Weekend:
I went to Chicago for Katie Weaver's wedding. A good time was had by all & during the non-wedding stuff, I got to check out the city a bit. I was there for a soccer game last year & for a concert in 1996, but I haven't actually spent time in the city since I was a little kid. I went to the library which is enormous but the inside looks like a Russian prison. We had a shitty lunch in Chinatown and I went to some creepy museum which basically seemed like some Communist brain-washing facility... I got the fuck out as quickly as I could. I also checked out a couple museums: The Water Tower Gallery & the Loyola University Museum of Art. The water Tower had a cool post-modern photography exhibit & the LUMA is in the middle of a 19th cent. American Landscape exhibit. More pictures from the trip will be posted soon, but here is the view from the pool on the 27th floor of our hotel followed by my mom w/ the life size Lego Batman in Macy's. Soccer Game:
We rushed home from Chicago so I could make it to my game Sunday evening. It was a fun victory for the Dark Green Team. The score was nil-nil @ the half, & then 10 minutes into the 2nd half, I took a rocket of a kick in the thumb which seems to have broken it. I subbed out and stuck it in the beer cooler for about 10 mins before taping it up and proceeding to score 2 goals. That's right folks, that's 6 goals in5 games making Andre the leading scorer on the team.Moving:
The big move took place this week & we are settled in our new house in The Historic East Side Neighborhood... yep, we moved on up! Major thanks go out to Shannon, Wendy & Andy for the help they provided. Now it's just a matter of moving some plants & getting the cable hooked up. The main issue w/ that, of course, is the Internet. I'm in my office right now, but by Saturday afternoon I should be able to come to you live from the new place. However, the kids' last game is Saturday morning & we have the Normal Park Neighborhood Association yard sale Saturday too, so hooking up the cable Saturday (the only day for a week & a 1/2 they could do it) will be a bit problematic. Apparently, Stephanie will run the sale w/ my mom while I coach the game & my dad waits for the cable guy. It'll all be worth it though once Euro 2008 starts w/ the Swiss playing the Czechs & Portugal playing Turkey Saturday afternoon.