Give 'em the Boot

The U.S. World Cup squad, that is. I'm not going to comment much on the game, since I didn't get to see even a minute of it, but I think it's telling that the guys who have done well attacking the goal are guys that don't normally start for Bruce Arena - Eddie Johnson had several nice chances in the Czech game when he came in late, and Clint Dempsey started the last two games after seeing no action in the first, and scored the only goal for the U.S. (not counting the Italy own-goal) in three games. The U.S. entered the World Cup with nothing to lose, and played with a timidity that indicated otherwise. Maybe with a new coach, and with the most aggressive and creative players starting, the U.S. will have a better result in South Africa in 2010. There will be plenty of new blood then, since mainstays Reyna, Pope, McBride, and Keller will (should?) all be retired from national team play by then.

Still plenty of World Cup left though, now that the U.S. and other weak sides have been eliminated. For what it's worth, weekend matches that I'm looking forward to are Holland-Portugal and Germany-Sweden. Also, England-Ecuador smells like an upset, but I'm doubting that Mexico will give Argentina many problems.

Finally, my mom sent me this amazing futbol-related video, here's the originating web page (it's a blog, but one that actually entertains!). The video she sent me was from this guy's 2 June entry. As my friend Neal used to stay - and probably still does - mad skillz.

Civil War, Al Gore, and Secret Wars!

Not that this will shock anyone, but this column from Sunday's Post makes it clear; while it may not be all-out, textbook-definition civil war in Iraq, it sure is in the ballpark.

Meanwhile, Rude Pundit makes a great case for Al Gore as a 2008 candidate. His third paragraph states it as well as anything I've read about Al recently. Oh yeah, and Rude Pundit isn't just a clever name - this guy does not mince words, four-letter or otherwise.

Finally, what comic book fan doesn't remember the old Secret Wars tie-ins that spanned, oh about 16 different Marvel titles back in the 80s? Hell, if you wanted to keep up with everything that was happening, you actually had to buy Thor. Ugh. This super-geeky video re-enactment features what is possibly the saddest looking Doctor Doom costume ever. Still, an 'A' for effort.

Muppets Take Smithsonian

Not that they weren't part of Americana already, but now they're behind glass at the Smithsonian. I hope they put some airholes in the glass though, Muppets do need to breathe.

I was talking with Jenny about Muppets the other day; every time I pass by the Wilkins Avenue exit on the Baltimore Beltway, I think of Jim Henson. His Muppets' first job as pitchmen was for Wilkins Coffee back in the early '60s (late '50s?). Now, I don't know whether they had a presence in Baltimore, but Wilkins Coffee was (is?) actually based in the DC area, in Capitol Heights I believe. So my free- association with Wilkins Avenue is just that; there's no direct link that I know of. Anyway, over at YouTube, someone has collected the old Wilkins TV spots, so check them out. Most are a more violent than I would have guessed a commerical back then would have been - lots of exploding, beaten, pummeled, run-over, coffee-dumped-on Muppets. Still entertaining though! It's also interesting to note that while the featured Muppets, Wilkins and Wontkins, are somewhat primitive by modern Muppet standards, there's really not a huge gap to bridge from them to Kermit or Fozzie.

Thirty, Google Video

Today's the day, the big three-zero. Ze Germans call it dreissig. The Romans would have known it by the letters XXX (how naughty). I'd like to thank my parents for making it all possible, and myself for staying alive for all these decades.

In other news, Google recently launched its video service, and already we have a few winners. For you cat-lovers out there (or even for you alleged cat-haters who secretly love cats, you know who you are), here are cats doing weird and crazy things. And here's an alternate music video of the Electric Six tune Gay Bar featuring everyone's favorite transatlantic couple, George and Tony. No, it's not a homophobic song (at least not that I can tell), it's just plain bizarre - other Electric Six originals include Electric Demons in Love and Vengeance and Fashion. Don't take the song too seriously, but be impressed with the editing of the video.