Verde FC Wrap-Up (as promised)

As you'll recall, the league in which the Green Team played went to 7v7 last spring so we scrambled to put together a new team to play in a tougher league. Keeping the green theme, we went w/ Verde FC & enter the MUSL Over 30 5th Division. It was a fun experience & we'll definitely stay w/ it for next year, but we'll have to make some improvements in order to get more points & move up the table a bit.

As a brand new team, finishing bottom of he lowest division didn't surprise me too much, but what did surprise me was the lack of quality in some of the other squads. Had we had enough players on a regular basis, we would have gotten more than 5 points out of the 14 matches (that still puts us on track to finish better than Derby County did in the Premier League a few years ago when they were relegated w/ 10 points after 38 matches). We were short-handed more often than not though which was rough. Playing 8 or 9 against a full side week-in & week-out starts to weigh on ones soul a bit. Everyone on the team improved though so moving ahead, things look good. We had 22 people on the roster but only 15 who showed up on a regular basis (& only about half from week to week). Other than that, our friendships got stronger & the dedication was always there. Even when losing 4-0 w/ 9 people, we kept going forward & trying to play decent soccer, so we can take that from the season as well. Plus, I rediscovered my love of slide-tackling. Even though I also rediscovered the weekly bruises that occur in a tougher league, the positives definitely outweigh the negatives. Perhaps next year, we'll relocate to the Ypsi area, sell some kits, & get a few people out to support us on a weekly basis. Start writing your Verde FC songs now so you'll be ready come when May rolls around.

Donetsk Don't Tell

The Soccer Aspect of this Post
Arsenal continue their amazing run in the Champions League yesterday by beating Shaktar Donetsk 5-1 in London which brings their goal tally in the competition to 14 in three games. Awesome! Not only did they score 5, but they were scored by 5 different people: Song, Nasri, Fabregas, Wilshire, & Chamakh. The goal they conceded, 8 minutes from the end, was scored by Eduardo. He had played for Arsenal for the last few years before leaving this past summer. He suffered a nasty multiple fracture that kept him out of the squad for over a year, so seeing him get goal was nice too.

The Politics Aspect of this Post
In other news, Don't Ask Don't Tell has been in the news lately, & it seems to finally be on its last legs. Dan Choi has re-enlisted & the courts seem to have done their job. We'll see. Of course, the real reason I'm discussing it is because it fit so nicely into the title. And because it will work as a happy transition into a little fun talk about the election. With all of the ballot proposals coming up next month, I thought you might enjoy this little link: Ballotopedia. It's a little wiki that can keep us all up to date on them, including Califoria's attempt to decriminalize weed & Oklahoma's attempt to make English the state's official language, as the elction gets closer. Enjoy... & dn't say I never gave you nuthin'.

Arsenal Highlight Series

I had some problems getting the video from the weekend draw w/ Sunderland to post, but in this video you'll see Lansbury's 1st goal for Arsenal, Robbie Kean score from an off-side position, 2 penalties well taken by Nasri, & then a sweet set piece w/ Arshavin. Enjoy. You can then scroll back for the Sunderland stuff.

The Arsenal Highlight Series

I don't know why I've never done this before, but better late than never I suppose. We'll start today & see how long it lasts. Each week, after an Arsenal FC match, you'll be able to find the official Arsenal highlight footage here. Of course, when they lose 5-0 @ home to Chelsea, we may accidentally forget to post that week. I'm not going to bore you w/ some bullshit Youtube, fan-edited reel set to some shit-ass Euro-trance stuff though. I'll only be posting once the official stuff is released. After the video plays, you can scroll through the back footage to find the Arsenal highlights from the 1st 3 matches as well. Now, enjoy Arsenal's 4-1 thrashing of Bolton w/ goals from Koscielny, Chamakh, Song, Vela, & Bolton's Elmander. Also, you'll be able to see Gary Cahill's less than red-cardish red-card. don't say I never did anything for you... enjoy!

The Champions League Draw Today

Group A: F.C. Internazionale Milano,* SV Werder Bremen, Tottenham Hotspur FC,** & FC Twente

Group B: Olympique Lyonnais,* SL Benfica,** FC Schalke 04, & Hapoel Tel Aviv FC

Group C: Manchester United,* Valencia CF, Rangers FC,** & Bursaspor 1963

Group D: FC Barcelona,* Panathinaikos, FC Kobenhavn, & Ruben Kazan**

Group E: FC Bayern Munich,* AS Roma,** FC Basel 1893, & CFR Cruj 1907

Group F: Chelsea FC,* Olympique de Marseille, FC Spartak Moscow** & MŠK Žilina

Group G: AC Milan, Real Madrid FC,* AFC Ajax,** & AJ Auxerre

Group H: Arsenal FC,* FC Shaktar Donesk,** SC Braga, & FK Partizan

* My pick for the 1st place teams in each group
** My fick for the 2nd place teams in each group

Here's my initial reaction to the draw:

Inter has Group A wrapped up already, but the 2nd place team will be tough. I think both Spurs & Bremen will be too much for Twente though.

Shalke could pip Benfica in Group B, but Tel-Aviv better hope for some lucky home wins if they want to finish anywhere but the bottom of the group.

Like Inter in Group A, Man U have Group C sealed already. Valencia could manage to get past Gers though. These Buraspor people will have a tough go of it... good luck to them upsetting Man U.

In Group D, I'd like to see Ruben Kazan make it out. They had a nice little run last year in the group stage. Maybe this is their year to reach the knock-out stage.

Roma got lucky to fall ass-backwards into a group w/ Basel & Cruj. Otherwise, I wouldn't have picked them to get out of their group.

It looks like Abromovich wasn't able to pull the strings to get an easy group for Chelsea like he usually does. It's nice to see them w/ a bit of competition for a change. They should still roll over everyone in Group F though.

Visions of Ypsi is unofficially the 1st blog to refer to Group G as the "Group of Death." It'll be a tough one for all of the teams. I'm sure Madrid will pull it together, but who knows?

Arsenal have, what looks on paper anyway, their easiest draw in ages. I hope they don't crew it up.

Something evil's lurking in the dark

I've never been much for zombies. The resurgent zombie craze has, in fact, left me a bit baffled. I saw Night of the Living Dead, but I was more interested in the racial politics than the zombie stuff. I never even got around to Shaun of the Dead... & I really liked Superfuzz. (I never saw Run, Fat Boy, Run either though, so maybe my interest in Superfuzz is solely Timothy Dalton related.) As far as zombie books are concerned, there have been a bunch recently: World War Z, The Zombie Survival Guide, Pride & Prejudice & Zombies, etc. Believe it or not, I haven't read any of those either. There is even a prequel to the Pride & Prejudice book although @ the moment, I can't recall what it's called. W/ this in mind, you can imagine my shock @ really being interested in this story. You should check it out... scientific evidence for zombie ants straight from The Guardian!

In other zombie news, I was watching a bit of the Man U game the other day & came to a fun realization. People have compare Berbatov to Dracula on many occasions, but it goes far beyond that. Alex Ferguson's House of Fucked Up Horrors also includes Igor, Michael Jackson's zombie from Thriller, & some weird cyborg. No wonder those bastards win so much... they're obviously dealing w/ the dark arts. (I found the Berbatov & Nani pics on-line but I had to make the Rooney & Owen ones... you better enjoy the effort!)

Belle Isle

Last weekend we went down to Belle Isle for a soccer tournament on Sunday. I hadn't been out there since I was in high school, & then it was only to drive around for a few minutes. I'd never actually hung out there for any length of time. The soccer field got the grass from the Silverdome in 1994 after the Word Cup... but that it was still in World Cup condition, but it was a fun little thing none-the-less. Greg from Verde FC & the Woodward Ave. Brewery hosted it. He brought in 4 teams, 2 from Detroit, a W.A.B. team, & Verde. We got 2 matches (lost both as per usual), & put in a god showing. The island itself is amazing. It's sad that the funding to keep it up isn't available, but even w/ the closed buildings & overgrow areas, it's beautiful. I didn't get to the Great Lakes Museum as I'd hoped, but I did take the kids fishing for a bit which kind of freaked me out. I couldn't get the reel to work properly, but more importantly, I wasn't down w/ watching the worm squirm in agony when I baited the hook. Of course, we didn't actually catch anything so the whole hook through the mouth thing was never an issue. Well, we did catch 1 little fish, but it wasn't hooked; it was just eating he worm and then let go once I reeled it in. Overall, big props to Greg for putting it on & be sure to check out the W.A.B stuff @ the Beer Fest today. I'll be there helping out & pouring for a while so you can stop on by & say hi too!

WCP #30: Like the Day After Christmas

Overall, the 200 FIFA World Cup in South Africa was fantastic. Although the final match lacked some of the style I was hoping, it was an exciting match w/ a bit of drama. I was kind of pulling for The Netherlands, but Spain was clearly the better team, & it was nice to seem thee European Champions get the win. The South African Football Federation deserves boatloads of credit for hosting the tournament, a tournament that just a year ago FIFA seemed afraid would have to be moved to a more stable footballing nation like England of the USA (stable in that they could host w/ little prep time). 2014 will be in Brasil so we'll see the Brasilians win again, but then 2018 & 2022 are still up for grabs. I'm pulling for England in 2018 & the USA in 2022. I don't like the idea of 2 in the Americas in a row. The tradition of moving back & forth is a good 1 which is why I hope England gets it before us.

The prospect of looking ahead to the 2012 Euros is nice, but they're still 2 years away... I remember thinking about the next Christmas as a kid on December 26th & thinking it would never come. waiting another 2 years for a big tournament is tough, but the Premier League starts in a month & the pre-season friendlies begin in a week & a 1/2 so @ least there's that. (Here's the Goal.com article about the winners of the individual awards... no mention of the Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day though... go figure.)

In terms of the World Cup Wrap Up, Thomas Muller won the Golden Boot w/ 5 goals & 3 assists. Diego Forlan won the Golden Ball, the award for the outstanding overall player of the tournament. If you'll remember, after Uruguay's draw w/ France on the opening day, I said anything they accomplish would be down to him. I didn't expect them to make the Semi-finals, & they may have overachieved a bit, but I was certainly right about him. The Golden Glove went to a player who is also the Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day for the Final match. This was a tough decision. Iniesta's goal was nice, & it will probably overshadow his diving, but the 2 dives he took in extra time pissed me off. The 1st of which, while he was barely touched, got Heitinga sent off w/ a 2nd yellow. Fabregas certainly played well, but as he only came on in the 87th minute, I don't think he had enough time to win this award. Torres was out of sorts in each of his appearances throughout the tournament, & David Villa played well leading up to the Finals, but could have done better yesterday. The Spanish defense was fantastic, & Puyol, Pique, & Ramos all were in the running for the final award, but it's coming down to the man who stopped Robben's break-aways twice. Your Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day for the 2010 FIFA World Cup Finals is none other than Real Madrid's outstanding goalie & Spain's El Capitan, Iker Casillas.Tears of joy after the big triple crown: World Cup Champion, Golden Glove, & Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day

WCP #29: Isaiah's B-day & a Round-Up

At 2:00ish this afternoon, people are coming by for Isaiah's big, big 2nd B-Day Blowout. He seems excited & keeps telling us that he's 2, so he seems to get it... sort of. At the same time ass his party we'll also be viewing the final match: Spain v Netherlands. Here's what I like about it. I like that the European Champions are playing a team lead by the people who starred in the Champions League Final. I like that Van Persie is playing Fabregas. We have what seem to be the best 2 teams in the world actually making it to the finals for a change. These are the teams I wanted to see make it (other than France... obviously). The biggest concern is that 1) Spain will play too defensively & 2) Fabregas won't play. He's been better than Iniesta every time he's come on, but in keeping w/ my conspiracy theory, until he moves to Spain, I don't see him breaking into the starting line-up on a regular basis.

Before we get to the Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day for yesterdays 3rd Place match, here's a little re-cap of all of your previous Players of the Day from the 2010 FIFA World Cup:
Day 1: Diego Forlan (Uruguay)
Day 2: Tim Howard (USA)
Day 3: Mesut Ozil (Germany)
Day 4: Robin van Persie (Netherlands)
Day 5: Maicon (Brazil)
Day 6: Diego Benaglio (Switzerland)
Day 7: Gonzalo Higuain (Argentina)
Day 8: Michael Bradley (USA)
Day 9: Dennis Rommedahl (Denmark)
Day 10: Elano (Brazil)
Day 11: Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
Day 12: Katlego Mphela (South Africa)
Day 13: Landon Donovan (USA)
Day 14: Keisuke Honda (Japan)
Day 15: David Villa (Spain)
Day 16: Luis Suarez (Uruguay)
Day 17: Carlos tevez (Argentina)
Day 18: Robinho (Brazil)
Day 19: David Villa (Spain)
Day 20: Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands)
Day 21: Miroslav Klose (Germany)
Day 22: Bert Van Marwijl (Netherlands)
Day 23: Carles Puyol (Spain)

Spain: 3
Netherlands: 3
Brazil: 3
USA: 3
Germany: 2
Argentina: 2
Uruguay: 2

David Villa is the only person so far to win it twice. We'll see how the game goes this afternoon, but we could easily get another 2 award player (or he could win it an unprecedented 3rd time). As far as Your Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day fo yesterday adds another one for the Germans: Bastian Schweinsteiger. This Hitler-Youth lookin' mother fucker is actually really good

WCP #28: Vacation Wap Up - The West Coast

After leaving Petoskey, we drove down the coast to Traverse City. We attempted to stop @ the Music House Museum, but they didn't open for another hour & we didn't want to wait around. Coming through Traverse City was stop & go bumper to bumper as it was the Cherry Festival. The place was packed. There was going to be an air show over the water, but again, it would have been an hour wait so we kept on cruising. we hit Sleeping Bear Dunes around 1:00, drove the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive: 7.5 miles through the woods & dunes. I'd never taken that drive before... it was beautiful w/ some really cool trails. After that, we hit the Dune Climb. Stephanie blew out her flip-flop, so she & Isaiah stayed @ the bottom while I went up w/ Aiden & Solstice. They weren't as in to it as I expected, but it was fun... & sandy. Afterwards, we had some lunch & hit the road.

We took 22 down the coast to US 31 & followed it into Manestee. What a shit town. From now on, I'll go out of my way to avoid that town. we stopped there because we were beat & needed some sleep. The Days Inn was reasonable & had a pool so we checked in & watched some TV: Bye Bye Birdie & a Greatest American Hero marathon. The next morning, Monday, we started home. We stopped in Ludington for a couple hours & then dove south to Holland for lunch. I'd always been under the impression that Holland had lots of windmills & Dutch stuff in town, but I'd never realized that it was all in amusement park type places. Stephanie didn't know this either. How did we not know this. It'd be cool to check it out if we had the whole day to spend, but w/ only an hour or so, we skipped it & grabbed a bite @ some Irish pub where Aiden got to watch the Tigers game... possibly the highlight of his trip. After we ate, we hit the road & were home in 2 1/2 hours. Isaiah @ the Dunes View from the top - Solstice is a speck on the upper left More problematic Native American imageryat the beach in Ludingtonat a stature in Holland, MI
Over all, it was a fantastic trip, probably the best vacation we've taken as a family. next time, we plan to get a room in Ludington & maybe do Holland more thoroughly. I really recommend the roadside tourist traps too. They're so camp & fun, but on to the important info... Your Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day. From the get-go, I'd been picking Spain & The Netherlands to reach the final, but going into yesterday's match, I kind of assumed Germany would advance. I'm happy to say that didn't happen, & a big part of Spain's success was because of their rock in central defence. Not only did he score the winning goal, but his dedication & fight was fantastic from beginning to end. Therefore, Your Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day in Carles Puyol. His team congratulates him after winning the award

WCP # 27: Vacation Wap Up - The Upper Lower

After we reentered the Lower Peninsula, we got off of I 75 & hit Fort Michilimackinac. Again, I hadn't been there since I was a kid. Aiden & Isaiah really loved it. They were running around on the deck & in the turrets making gun noises... & Isaiah started it. How did he know to do that? The archaeologists where excavating a house & were about 2 feet deep. They said they'd been working on it for 3 years & had another to go. Archeology is pretty freaking sweet! We had such a good time, I forgot to check out the score of the Netherlands v Brasil match, but I found out soon enough. We considered hitting the Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse, but we were hungry & needed to find some lunch. About 20 minutes from Mackinac one finds Cross Village & The Legs Inn. It's a little out of the way, but the food & the view of Lake Michigan are amazing. Authentic Polish dishes in a crazy ass stone inn. I got the Pierogis w/ Golabki & Stephanie had the potato pancakes. The waitress, a college student from Warsaw, informed me of the Netherlands victory & then we headed down Pleasant Valley Rd to the Petoskey State Park. After setting up the tent & swimming for a bit @ a proper beach, wee headed to the big Scott Bachelor Petoskey Soccer Alumni match. At the Fort
I was invited by the Rossis even though I never actually went to high school there since I'd grown up playing w/ all of those people & because my dad had a pivotal role in starting the soccer program. He was the JV coach when they started the varsity team when I was in 5th gradeish. After I moved, the team go really good & won the State Tournament a couple times. Playing in a pick-up match w/ those guys was certainly not an easy task, but it was fun. We had dinner afterwards & then headed back to camp. On Saturday, we walked around town in the AM, hit Papa Lou's for lunch w/ my parents who were in town for the soccer party too, & then drove out to Walloon Lake for some swimming. Afterwards, we drove through Boyne City & up the North shore of Lake Charlevoix to get to Charlevoix for dinner where we met up w/ my parents. Dinner @ Great Lakes Whitefish & Chips in The Villager Pub & a stop in Cherry Republic from which we scored some awesome mustard BBQ Sauce, & Cherry Almond butter.

We headed back to the campground in time to watch the fireworks from the beach w/ a few Budweisers. I'm starting to enjoy Budweiser more than I ever imagined I would. The next morning, we grabbed some breakfast, drove through the old neighborhood, & took US 31 down the coast to Traverse City. What did e do there? You'll have to check back tomorrow for the final instalment of the Vacation wrap up to find out. The Circus Shop The single greatest field on which I've ever played Watching the fireworks We have a pic of Solstice on this same rock wearing the same shirt

What? What's that you say? You say you want a Player of the Day? OK. After watching the Netherlands v Uruguay match yesterday, I've decided to make yet another unprecedented decision. Van Bronckhorst's goal was amazing, Robben & Sneijder were great, Van Persie lead the line & even got back to defend. Picking one was difficult until I realized it all came down to 1 man: The coach. Here it is, Your Visions of Ypsi Coach of the Day: Bert Van Marwijk. He made an attacking change @ the interval, bringing on Van der Vaart, & he got these guys to play together as a team. If only the French could have been so lucky. I have a feeling German will win the tournament, but I'm pulling for Spain today. I would love to see van Persie v Fabregas in the final. Embarrassed to be singled out when he assumed everyone should share the award today

WCP #26: A Quick Vacation Post While Eating Breakfast in Petoskey

We've been to St. Ignace, Tahquamenon Falls, & Mackinac, & Petoskey. We've done tons of silly touristy stuff & I got to play a pick up game the other night. A more thorough recap will follow, but for now, here is your Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day. I didn't get to watch the matches so we're doing something a bit unprecedented... I let my dad who is also in Petoskey make the pick: Miroslav Klose.Some people take winning this award very seriously

WCP #25: My 1st Phone Post

I'm posting from my phone using the wi-fi @ Horizon Books in Petoskey, so this will be a pretty short post. I wish Ghana had gotten by Urugauy, but I'm super happy about the Netherlands,& while I'm temped to go w/ Melo after his own goal & subsequent red card, I think that would undermine the spirit of the award. That said, your Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day is Wesley Sneijder. Here he is looking confused & disoriented

WCP #24: Player of the Day Before We Hit the Road

Real quickly, w/o any of the witty commentary you've come to expect from all of us here @ Visions of Ypsi, Your Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day. After the Japan loss, I was expecting to go w/ someone from Spain or Portugal, but then once I saw the game, I was tempted to go w/ Landy Cakes who made a stellar appearance on Letterman last night. I think there's something less than honorable w/ that pick though so here it is, your Player of the Day, the goal scorer from the Spain v Portugal match, the 1st person to win the award a 2nd time in this tournament, David Villa.Insert your own caption here

WCP #23: Goin' Up the Country

Tomorrow we'll be leaving early for a trip to the North Country. We'll be spending the 1st night @ Straights State Park on the NE side of the Mackinac Bridge. We plan on hitting The Mystery Spot in the afternoon & then on to some swimming. Day 2 includes a cruise up to Tahquamenon Falls. I haven't been there since I was 8 or 9 years old... I'm super excited. We have a few options for the morning of the 3rd day (Friday). We may hit Michilimackinac after we get back into the Lower Peninsula. Our other options are the Oden State Fish Hatchery which is free & lunch @ Leggs Inn in Cross Village. On Friday evening, we're going to the big retirement party & alumni match for the Petoskey Varsity Soccer Coach. He's been in charge of the team since it began in the mid-80s. My dad was his JV coach back then when they were getting the team started, & he & my mom will meet us up there for the party. It should be fun to see some old friends. We'll be staying @ Petoskey State Park from which we can watch the fireworks on the 3rd. Before that, we're planning a drive to Walloon Lake & dinner in Charlvoix. Although, from a quick Googling, it appears that Great Lakes Whitefish & Chips might no longer be Great Lakes Whitefish & Chips. In which case, we'll have to improvise, possibly hitting Scalawags in Petoskey instead. On the 4th of July, we plan to drive down the coast to Sleeping Bear Dunes, & then keep on cruising until we happen upon a place to stay somewhere between Frankfurt & Manistee. All in all, it should be an awesome time, but I'll need to figure out how to catch the Brazil v Netherlands match w/o pissing off the whole family.

Speaking of soccer, I imagine most of you are awaiting the Player of the Day. Well, wait no longer for the Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day in upon you. Look on his works, ye mighty, & despair! He's never won the award before, & I hazard to guess he won't again, but after getting lost in Man City & then getting shipped home to Santos, he seems to be turning his career round again. If nothing else, he ran the show yesterday so don't let it be said that we don't give credit where credit is deserved. Your Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day, Robinho. He's 26 but he looks like he's 21

WCP #22: Spacey-a-thon Post #3

A round-up of 8 of the Spacey films we've watched so far this summer.
*Consenting Adults (1992): This is a shit movie. It attempts to be an early-90s sex-thriller, but lacks the sex... & the thrills. The main lesson from this film is that when casting a sex-thriller, don't look to Kevin Spacey or Kevin Kline... or Mary Elizabeth Mastantonio. It borrows a bit from Vertigo, but the main difference here is that Vertigo is a great film.
*Swimming w/ Sharks (1994): It's worth watching to see Brett from Pulp Fiction (the guy who gets his head blown off) & Ensign Ro get yelled @ by Spacey. It's a pretty 1 dimensional film, but the twist @ the end surprised me. Avoid it.
*The Ref (1994): When this came out, it was billed as Dennis Leary's springboard to super-stardom. I don't know that that ever really happened. It was about what I expected... Home Alone w/ obscenities. I'd heard a lot about it, but it didn't live up to the hype.
* The Big Kahuna (1999): We watched this about 10 years ago, & I really liked it then. It's certainly the best of the 1st batch here, but it has some problems. It must be a really cool play though. If you haven't seen it, we get 3 salespersons in a hotel room during a conference. The 1st act occurs before a big party, & then the 2nd act occurs after the party. In that regard, it reminds me of David Storey's play, The Changing Room, about a rugby team before the game, during the interval, & after the game in the locker room. There are also hints of Waiting for Godot which are always fun.
* K-PAX (2001): This is a really interesting movie, but the relationship between the Jeff Bridges character & the Mary McCormick character just doesn't work. it's a fun discussion of science & sanity, but nothing too mind-blowing.
* The Shipping News (2001): I'd heard a lot about this & had always wanted to see it. It didn't live up to expectations, but it is alright. On the plus side, the music & cinematography are beautiful. On the negative, there are too many tear-jerky, melodramatic twists... the kid sold into black market adoption, the family rape, the prostitute who dies in a car crash. The novel upon which it is based won the Pulitzer, but the plot seems more like a Jodi Picoult straight from the head-lines crap-fest. See it, but ignore the ridiculous twists & focus on Spacey acting his ass off & the beauty of Newfoundland.
* Superman Returns (2004): I hated this when I saw it a few years ago, but it holds up pretty well. The plot is ridiculous, & Lex Luthor as a shadey con artist who marries for money is weird, but Spacey is great as Luthor. The other actors are forgettable, but if & when Spacey gets his wish... ie.: a sequel, I'll see it.
* Shrink (2009): This is a fun movies, but nothing too remarkable. Spacey plays a psychiatrist to the stars in Hollywood, but his wife has recently killed herself & he's as depressed as his patients. The cast is good, it's got some funny &/or touching moments, but it's a pretty forgettable film.

This has been the round-up of the first 8... 1/6 of his films. We've watched 8 others & have 32 more to go this summer. We'll see if we make it through them all. It's already becoming a bit of a chore.

And now, your Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day. I saw neither match yesterday so I have to base this on the highlights & the match reports, but I'm happy to report that the Argentine striker who I could afford for my fantasy team netted twice (as did Jim in his last appearance for The Green Team before his big move to Chicago)while Messi was pretty silent. Mexico seemed to have the same problem w/ Argentina that Arsenal had w/ Barcelona in the 1st match a couple months ago... they could shut down Messi, but then couldn't stop all those other goals from flying in from everywhere. So here you go; for the day England was eliminated by Germany... no big surprise what-so-ever... Your Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day is Carlos Tevez.here he is... looking even stranger than usual

WCP #21: The Day After

Yesterday evening, we had a fantastic time w/ friends, beer, & Mexican Slayrides. We hung out around the bon-fire for a few hours, & I got some fucked up beliefs about a certain colleague who will remain nameless here confirmed. I also learned that Joe, as a Twain scholar, is the embodiment of the patriarchy (I always kind of assumed that too).

Earlier in the day, before the hopes & dreams of our entire nation were crushed by shit-ass performances by Ricardo Clark & Robbie Findley, I nearly finished the Hen House. Before that, I got to watch the S. Korea's hopes & dreams get crushed in a similar manner. When I woke up yesterday, I was hoping I'd get to give The Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day Award to Landy Cakes or Dempsey, but that was not to be. Instead, we need to go w/ the man responsible for picking apart the S. Korean defense, your Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day: Uruguayan footballer, Luis Suarez Happy to face Ghana rather than the USA

WCP #20: You Slay Me

Come on by this afternoon to watch the USA Ghana match & enjoy a few Mexican Slayrides for my big B-Day celebration, or come on by this evening to sit by the bon-fire & enjoy a few Mexican Slayrides for my big B-Day celebration. Either way, come on by. Before that, I'll be working on the Hen House some more & we may mosey on up to the Luna Lake thing @ Prospect Park. The USA match this afternoon should be a good one, or a least not the snooze-fest that we saw yesterday. Portugal's tactics worked, but they certainly didn't allow for much of the champagne football we here @ Visions of Ypsi demand. Spain produced some of said champagne football, but by they end only Fabregas was really trying to create something interesting. Had he been on for the whole match, he'd certainly have won himself another award, but as it stand, we have to go w/ the man who had the vision to put in a 50 yarder & then work his ass off to get the assist to Iniesta for the 2nd goal. Your Visions of Ypsi Player of the day: David Villa. He's excited because he heard there may be Slayrides this afternoon

WCP #19: Hens & the Blue Samurai

I've never been the most handy of people, but when we got the chickens the other day, I realized it was down to me to make something in which they can live. I looked @ a few pictures of coops & hen houses, learned the difference between coops & hen houses, & made a trip to the hardware store. W/ a pile of 2x4s, a box of screws, some ply-wood, a couple rolls of poultry netting (chicken wire) & a circular saw in tow, I went to work. After working for hours & hours yesterday, I've got the run, a protective area for them to hang out & graze around the yard, finished. It's 6' long & triangular. I'll attach the house to the end this weekend before the USA v Ghana match. They won't start laying until the fall so I have some time to tweak it a bit; I'll post some pics once it's finished. This is by far the biggest construction project I've ever undertaken. we'll see how it goes.

The other thing we'll see is how The Blue Samurai do in the knock-out round. They impressively made it passed the Danes yesterday, & while Van Persie & Sneijder both had great games for the Dutch yesterday, your Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day Award goes to a man whose family are no strangers to competition. His brother was an Olympic wrestler & his uncle was an Olympic canoeist. I've never met someone who would say something to the effect of "Canoeing for fun is fine, but I need to go to the Olympics to really canoe"? I don't think I knew it was an Olympic sport. That's awesome. And now, having scored a sweet free-kick & then making the goal @ the end, you Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day, Keisuke Honda.Groundbreaking! He is the 1st Asian to win the award

WCP # 18: Tigers & the Knock Out Round

In 1984, a kid down the street from us got a puppy. It was a poodle, I think, & annoying as Hell. Said kid, David Carlson, who went on to be in Bill Clinton's security detail (@ least that was the rumor... I haven't spoken w/ him since 1988), in a fit of excitement, named it Gibby after Kirk Gibson who had just lead the Tigers to a World Series victory. Well, Aiden made a similar move yesterday afternoon. I wasn't able to watch the USA match so he was tasked w/ Facebooking anything important so I could read along on my phone. Afterwards, Little Clint Dempsey (the chicken) became Landy. Just 2 short years ago he was sitting in as a guest poster on this very blog. What an amazing rise he's had. Klose could have netted a hat trick, gone in goal for a red-carded keeper, stopped a penalty & then split the atom @ his press-conference... he didn't have a chance to pick us the award today. Landy Cakes' stoppage time winner not only sees the USA through to the next round, but they go through as the #1 team & avoid Germany in the Knock-out Round. If they get passed Ghana (& they should) they'll face either Uruguay or S. Korea in the Quarter-Finals, & I think they can beat both of those teams. All in all, Landy's late winner then means by avoiding Germany, they should be favorites to advance through to the Semis. I gotta admit, I didn't see that coming a few weeks ago, so Your Visions of Ypsi Player of the Day is none other than Landy Cakes himself, Landon Donovan.Some people celebrate winning this award more enthusiastically than others