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: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.
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