The Dull Blog

Movies

2011-04-16T04:21:00.000-07:00

Rented "There Will Be Blood", which I thought was great. Daniel Day Lewis was phenomenal, though I must confess to not liking the pastor character, who I thought was a puritan caricature. Not sure if it was the acting or the writing there. But otherwise really really good.

Rented "Let The Right One In", which was excellent too I thought.

Movie

2011-03-16T03:43:00.000-07:00

Since finding Marjorie is related to Pocahontas, I had to go rent "The New World" (well, I also saw that it was a Terrence Malick film). It was pretty good, but used too many of the same tricks as The Thin Red Line, I thought.

Saw "True Grit" in the theater, which was awesome.

Saw "Black Swan" as well, which was meh.

Movies

2010-12-26T03:33:00.000-08:00

Saw "The King's Speech" at the Westgarth. Good stuff.

Saw "Somewhere" at the Kino, which I liked but Marjorie thought was boring.

Rewatched "It's Complicated" on TV, which is a good little movie.

Movies

2010-11-27T06:23:00.000-08:00

Saw "The Town" at the Westgarth which was okay.

Rented "Big Fan" which I quite enjoyed.

Movies

2010-09-12T06:16:00.000-07:00

Saw "Funny People" on TV which I quite enjoyed.

Rewatched "Office Space" on TV which I still love.

Saw "Inception" at Westgarth which was good (not great). Could have used one less level. You'll know what I mean if you've seen it.

Soccer

2010-08-30T05:44:00.000-07:00

Last match of the season yesterday. A win would guarantee us a fourth-place finish - not bad after a bad start. We played the number two team in the league, and played a good game against them, but couldn't catch a break and lost 2-0. One was an own goal (not by me). I thought I played a solid game overall and had a few decent chances, including one off a give-and-go that I initiated - I never do that, so maybe I'm still improving. Also had a header on goal off a corner, that wasn't as powerful as I wanted because I was drifting away from goal.

Got through the last game, and the season, pretty much injury-free, which I'm happy about. Time to find an off-season exercise plan.

Soccer

2010-08-24T06:25:00.000-07:00

Well, I've missed out on a few games, but last Sunday's game was memorable just because I was asked to play keeper. Luckily we dominated so I didn't have a whole lot to do, but I was never bored. We gave up one goal, on a chaotic corner that we failed to clear - the point blank shot went right over my shoulder, but there wasn't a lot I could do. The most amusing incident was when I smothered a low shot, then as I was getting up I managed to bat the ball towards goal. Luckily another of our players was in the way and he managed to kick it clear. We ended up winning 5-1.

Soccer

2010-07-25T04:47:00.000-07:00

I've been a little remiss on reporting on my soccer matches. I missed three matches while traveling back to the States, then lost a couple after I got back. But last week we had a solid comeback win that was well deserved. I broke my pinky, I think - maybe just a cracked bone? Anyway, I played out the match with it and had a few good cracks at goal, including one off a corner kick that I should've put away.

My pinky seemed to heal really fast during the week, so it wasn't a major break (though I can still feel it). I played out all of today's match with it and never noticed it. We won again, this time 3-0. I thought I played pretty well; no chances at goal but I shut my man down and had a couple of nifty headers back to our keeper, which only ever happens if I'm feeling confident.

Movie

2010-07-06T00:51:00.000-07:00

In the States I also saw "Toy Story 3" in 3D with the whole family (well, half of them went to the 2D version). Pixar never fails...

Movies

2010-07-06T00:50:00.000-07:00

On the plane during my try to/from the US:

Rewatched "Goodfellas", still fantastic.

Rewatched "The Philadelphia Story", which is still great as well.

Watched "How To Train Your Dragon", which I quite enjoyed.

Watched "It's Complicated", which was good.

Rewatched "Toy Story" (the original) and part of "Toy Story 2", which are both still awesome.

Movie

2010-05-12T04:16:00.000-07:00

Rented "Aux Petit Marguery", which wasn't that good, but we stuck with it for the French lesson.

Soccer

2010-05-09T03:16:00.000-07:00

Drew again today, 2-2. I felt largely invisible except for a few errant passes. Played the whole match, but didn't feel like I went all out so while my play may have suffered, I feel okay. My knees seem a little banged up but that's all. Thankful for a bye next week.

Movie

2010-05-09T03:14:00.000-07:00

Just watched "Hunting and Gathering" as part of our French self-education program, which was okay. I have no idea why it was called that. The original name was "Ensemble, c'est tout" ("Together, that's all").

Movies

2010-05-07T07:26:00.000-07:00

As part of our French ~~cramming~~ education program preceding our Montreal trip, we watched "La Vie En Rose" (I like, Marjorie didn't) and "I've Loved You So Long" (Marjorie liked, I didn't).

Soccer

2010-05-02T17:05:00.000-07:00

Well, that was a crazy match. Sunday we played Brighton who are a pretty good team. We went ahead early on a mistaken back-pass that our guy intercepted and tucked away. On the ensuing kickoff their guy shot immediately from midfield and it actually went in! In twenty years of playing I don't think I've ever seen that work. They were given a penalty which our keeper saved, but still scored another before halftime so we were down 2-1 at the break.

I asked to play only half a match because of how I couldn't walk for two days after the last match, so I was subbed at halftime. We got two goals, including one PK, to take the lead 3-2. They got TWO more PKs called for them in the second half, which I actually caught on film with my iPhone - the first went off the crossbar, while the second was again saved by our keeper. We were in disbelief. However, they did manage to tie the score with another goal, so it ended 3-3. Probably a fair result, but we could've lost it easily.

Soccer

2010-04-25T08:03:00.000-07:00

Second match of the season. I was put back in defense, not surprisingly. We played at Darebin, the place with all the nice artificial turf pitches just up the road from my house.

By all accounts, I had a great first half, and we were leading 2-1 at half time. But then we blew it, or rather *I* blew it in the second, as I was beaten twice for two goals. Note to self: don't commit to tackles when there's no one behind you. We let in a fourth as well, and lost 4-2. I'm still bitter and disappointed about it. I left nothing on the pitch though.

My hip has been giving me issues but it held up, with the help of a couple of aspirins and a couple of Voltarens. My left knee feels wonky, like it's about to give out, but I didn't even feel it until an hour after the game.

On a side note, we now have two professional comedians on the team. I play with this guy and this guy.

Soccer

2010-04-18T05:42:00.000-07:00

First game of the season today. To my surprise, I was informed before the match that I would be starting not in defense, where I've played for five years straight, but instead in midfield, where they wanted to put someone willing to work hard. The pitch was large, with perfect grass, and our opponents were not in terribly good shape, so it was a great day all around. We won, 7-1 I think. I had a nice assist on our second goal, and a few good runs, and a few errant shots. In the second half I found myself back in defense after an injury for our sweeper, but still ended up with a breakaway in the closing seconds - my shot went into the side netting, about a foot wide, and the whistle blew.

Movie

2010-04-17T05:49:00.000-07:00

Rented "Julie and Julia", or, as it should've been called, "Two Wives Who Love Their Husbands Properly". I kid. It was good.

Movie

2010-04-12T07:23:00.000-07:00

Saw "The Invention of Lying", which stunk up the place. And I'm a Ricky Gervais fan.

Saw "An Education" which was good.

Soccer

2010-04-12T07:21:00.000-07:00

Played a friendly match on Sunday, the last before the new season starts, and we lost 4-0. I played mostly poorly, but with a few good moments. Had a shot go well over the goal to end the first half, and a few other decent runs, but also got beaten twice for two of the goals.

All the old aches and pains are back, not debilitatingly so, but plantar fascitis remains the big problem.

Movie

2010-03-05T21:21:00.001-08:00

Saw "Alice In Wonderland" in 3D at IMAX, which was just okay.

Movie

2010-03-04T03:36:00.000-08:00

Came across "In Bruges" on the telly - still a choice little movie.

Movies

2010-02-28T00:30:00.001-08:00

Saw "The Fantastic Mr. Fox" down at the Westgarth - meh.

Also just saw "A Single Man" - very touching and well done.

Movie

2010-02-02T00:17:00.001-08:00

Saw "Heartburn" on tv, which left no real impression on me.

Movie

2010-01-04T00:12:00.001-08:00

Saw "Role Models" on TV, which was funny.

Movie

2009-12-14T06:52:00.000-08:00

Rented "The Hangover", which was okay.

Movie

2009-11-22T03:35:00.001-08:00

Saw "How To Lose Friends And Alienate People" on the telly. Pretty useless, I'd say.

Movie

2009-10-21T05:28:00.000-07:00

Saw "Capitalism: A Love Story" which was good.

Movie

2009-10-12T02:37:00.000-07:00

Saw "I Love You, Man", which was meh.

Movie

2009-10-04T05:17:00.000-07:00

Saw "50 First Dates" on Showtime, which was what it was.

Movie

2009-09-29T03:27:00.001-07:00

Saw "Cloverfield" on cable, which I quite enjoyed.

Movies

2009-09-27T02:30:00.000-07:00

Saw "Dial M For Murder", which was decent.

Saw "500 Days Of Summer", which was good.

Movie

2009-09-15T03:29:00.001-07:00

Saw "Up" which of course was amazing.

Movies

2009-09-03T07:29:00.000-07:00

Went and saw "Inglorious Basterds", which was good revenge fantasy.

Went and saw "Taking Woodstock", which was disappointing. Thought Ang Lee plus Dmitri Martin would be a surefire winner, but no. Not a terrible movie, mind you, but it lacked any kind of dramatic tension.

And, now we've got Showtime at home, so tonight we watched "Before The Devil Knows You're Dead", which I thought was passable (Marjorie didn't like it).

Book

2009-08-02T00:47:00.000-07:00

Continuing my assault on math popularizations, I finished "Einstein's Heroes: Imagining the World through the Language of Mathematics" by Robyn Arianrhod. Very above average, and gave me a new hero through her descriptions of James Clerk Maxwell. I liked that this book had a point of view instead of just a straight depiction of the facts, and that it was also not afraid of a few equations.

Soccer

2009-08-02T00:30:00.001-07:00

Last week I again played kind of injured. We ended up tying 5-5 again, despite having our star defender back, and the opponents only have 9 players for the whole game. Yes, they're tops in the league, and don't really have any weak links. They didn't even seem that disadvantaged, being short two players... I played tentatively, and in fact had to sit out the second half, as we had the problem of too many players.

I was mostly grateful, as I'm now having lower back issues. It's related to my hip problem that I had the arthroscopic surgery on a few years back - when my right leg stretches too far right or forward, I get serious pain in my lower back.

Anyway, I played this week with the problem still there, pretty prominently (I felt it really bad stepping into a cab last night). Three pre-game Advils seemed to help, though, as I made it through 90 minutes. And we drew yet again, sigh. This time 2-2. I played okay, and didn't really have many problems, besides taking one in the manhood.

One decent run up, where I passed it off to our star striker, who missed (he later went down, unmarked, with an audible Achilles pop - that sucks! Gone for weeks if not months I'm sure). A few knee scrapes and general fatigue, but I'm holding up, and am relatively healthy, which is good at this point of the season.

Movie

2009-07-18T23:53:00.000-07:00

Rented "The Curious Case of ~~Forrest Gump~~ Benjamin Button". Not a good movie.

Soccer

2009-07-18T23:31:00.000-07:00

Last week I played after a three week break, thanks to our vacation, which supposedly gave my plantar-fasciitis stricken heels a chance to recover. I was pretty nonexistent for most of the game, though I almost scored past our own keeper and twisted my ankle on the play. But it was a good win - we came back from a goal down with two late ones.

My ankles were just a bad after the game, so I did physio this week - actually, I saw a podiatrist, and he taped up my ankles and put new padding on my insoles.

I didn't ask him about my ankle, figuring it would heal by the weekend, but it didn't. So I went to today's game expecting not to be able to play, and telling my coach as much. But I told him I'd tape it up tight and give it a go. A teammate also gave me a couple of muscle relaxants - Voltaren - which really seemed to help! I made it though the whole game with only a few twinges. I didn't push it, because I'm not stupid, and I was playing with the expectation that it would give out any second, so I didn't play all that well. But it was a thriller, ending up 5-5 with four lead changes. We maybe should've won but we couldn't defend our leads - our back line was a bit shambolic.

Books

2009-07-11T07:47:00.000-07:00

While on holiday, finished "Letters To A Young Mathematician", which was okay. Also, "Poincare's Prize", which disappointed. Yet another math popularization that's afraid to take a stab at really explaining the very conundrum that the book is about, for fear of scaring people off with an equation. *Phbblllttt*

Movies

2009-07-11T07:37:00.000-07:00

Watched "The Hot Chick" while holed up in a hotel in the middle of a nowhere SA town, I'm ashamed to say.

And watched only "The Great Buck Howard" on the way home, which was more enjoyable than I expected.

Movies

2009-06-27T22:38:00.000-07:00

Four on the plane: "Dean Spanley" which I loved, "Mary and Max" which was good, "Taken" which was cookie-cutter, and "Blindness" which was the suxx0r.

Movie

2009-06-19T06:07:00.001-07:00

Rented "Revolutionary Road" which was good. Not the happiest movie ever though.

Book

2009-06-15T03:44:00.001-07:00

Finished "Music of the Primes: Why An Unsolved Problem in Mathematics Matters", about the Riemann Hypothesis, which, I think, took a wrong approach, in that it was afraid to get too technical. C'mon, anyone who would read a book like this isn't going to be that afraid of a little math.

Soccer

2009-06-14T06:16:00.000-07:00

Good game today as our winning ways are returning. I spent the time covering a fast skilled player who also unfortunately fell softly rather a lot. The first was in the first half, where I barely brushed him in the box, and he went down. I honestly thought that a penalty was called but it was just the ref giving him a yellow card for diving. Phew! Then in the second half I put my hand on his back as a ball floated in and he acted like he'd never been pushed so hard.

Anyway, we scored twice in the first half. They got one back on a penalty (not involving me) and we blew lots of chances, but held on to win 2-1.

No runs to speak of. No real injuries beyond my aching feet and back. I think I'm skipping next week's game to heal (and with our trip to SA coming the week after, it'll give me a whole month off).

Movie

2009-06-14T06:15:00.000-07:00

We saw "Terminator Salvation" in the private gold-class viewing room at Melbourne Central, courtesy my work. Lots of stuff blowed up.

Movie

2009-06-04T07:26:00.001-07:00

Rented "Tropic Thunder", which was as dumb as a typical Ben Stiller movie, but I laughed a few times.

Soccer

2009-05-31T01:19:00.000-07:00

Goooooooooaaaaaaalllllll! Hey, I score so few these days that I have to celebrate. This one was sweet, too.

We were already up something like 7-2 anyway, against a weak side. I had had two shots (coming up from the back line) already, that were deflected out for corner kicks. Midway through the second half a made another run up, and found myself unmarked at the 18, and called for the ball. The pass to me was deflected slightly, so the ball was bouncing nicely, about a foot off the ground. I volleyed it first-time, beautifully into the far corner of the net. The keeper never had a chance. Memorable, even if it wasn't terribly consequential. We went on to win, something like 11-2.

Injuries: Ah, who cares?

Movie

2009-05-27T06:29:00.000-07:00

Saw "Ratatouille" again, on rental this time. Amazing movie, even better on a subsequent viewing.

Soccer

2009-05-24T04:34:00.001-07:00

Missed the report from last week - the game was way out in Upper Woop Woop (aka BFE). Okay, it was just Eltham College. We scored, they scored twice, then we scored twice in the last five minutes for an awesome win.

Today we had our first home game, but not on a proper pitch - just a tiny little pitch near our usual home pitch (which is still recovering from the Grand Prix). I actually enjoyed playing on the smaller pitch. We had some of our key players back but weren't used to playing with them. We scored first again, but then they scored twice, and we had tons of chances that went begging. Including my own - I had a run from midfield, and after losing and recovering it a few times, I ended up with a clear chance by myself in the box, but I gave the ball a heavy touch and couldn't catch up with it. Final score - we lost, 2-1, and we should have won.

Injuries: Slight knee scrape, and a bit of a charley horse. Heels still problematic too; I might have to hit a PT this week.

Movie

2009-05-23T03:55:00.000-07:00

Rented "American Teen", which, for a documentary, seemed suspiciously scripted.

Movie

2009-05-22T08:27:00.000-07:00

Saw "As Good As It Gets" again on TV, which is aptly named. One of my top ten movies.

Movie

2009-05-19T04:41:00.000-07:00

Why do some movies stay with you, so that you can remember almost every scene for years afterwards, and others you forget the plot of immediately, even if you enjoy them?

I rewatched "The Departed" on TV, which I definitely saw before, but didn't remember a damn thing about. Scenes looked familiar, but it was still like seeing it for the first time. Anyway I enjoyed it again, and will probably remember it better this time, especially considering I had dreams about it that night...

Movie

2009-05-11T06:41:00.000-07:00

Rented "Boogie Nights", which was enjoyable.

Soccer

2009-05-10T04:22:00.001-07:00

Game three, right up the street from home. We were determined to score this week, even though our star striker STILL hasn't been approved. I had my usual role, but due to a lack of players, we ended up putting our coach/regular keeper in as striker, though he's not particularly known for his speed or ball skills. But what do you know, a half an hour in, he scores! The joy was short-lived, as they equalized about three minutes later. Halftime, 1-1.

We must've tired again, as we fell apart in the second half. Actually they were a very skilled team, and the goals high-quality, but we ended up copping another four goals, and losing 5-1. Partly due to the fact that we were chasing the game and starting going man-to-man on the back line, and partly due to us having no subs, again. I can't wait to play these guys again when we have our full roster.

All in all I didn't play too poorly. I had a few decent runs up that ended up in decent chances after I passed it off. Fell on knees AGAIN, some blood, but not as bad as previous weeks. General soreness as usual.

Movie

2009-05-05T07:11:00.000-07:00

Just caught all but the first half hour of "Beach Red" on TV. Wow, where did this one come from? It's the stylistic 1967 precursor to one of my favorite movies, The Thin Red Line. A psychological war drama, gritty, strange and occasionally surreal. And it even dares to humanize the enemy. Well ahead of its time, I'd say. I'll have to catch the whole thing sometime.

I should add that by today's standards, the acting is often dubious, the action scenes far from convincing, and the feel as a whole is somewhat dated, even hippyish at times. I guess I'm more forgiving of that sort of thing these days.

Soccer

2009-05-03T05:56:00.000-07:00

Game two today, and another nil-nil draw. Obviously our star striker has yet to get his paperwork sorted. We were lucky to hold them off as well, but that's largely thanks to our star sweeper. Man, it's a treat to play in front of him.

I actually played my best game in years in the first half, with several key tackles, no mistakes, and kept my head up and made several good passes. I even had two clean chances off of corner kicks. The first, I pounced on a poor clearance, caught it on the short hop and forced a good kick save by the keeper. The second was flicked on, where I met it on the far post and it came off my thigh and into the post, only to bounce out and be cleared.

Second half, we tired (we only had 11 men show, it was a fairly warm day, and we're old), and so they had a lot more chances, but luckily weren't able to finish.

Fell on my knees a couple of times; the left one is bloody yet again. Also managed some sort of contusion just under my collar bone, which I have no idea how it happened.

Movie

2009-05-02T07:45:00.000-07:00

Rented "Frost/Nixon". It's an engaging subject, and a watchable movie, but like every Ron Howard production, it plays fast and loose with the actual events, is overly dramatized, and lacks anything resembling subtlety. It's time to shipwreck Ron and Oliver Stone on an island somewhere.

Soccer

2009-04-27T03:50:00.000-07:00

First soccer game of the season was yesterday. Most of the team was back this year but our star striker was still sorting out eligibility requirements with the new league we're in. Which is probably why we finished nil-nil. Still, a shutout is a good start, and I think it was against a pretty good team. Personally I still am too much in panic mode when I get the ball, but didn't play too poorly all in all.

Knee scrape from a fall, and a big slide tackle scrape on the back of my thigh in a situation where I should have stayed on my feet. That'll learn me. I feel pretty good though. No shots, one brief run up.

Book

2009-04-27T03:49:00.000-07:00

Skimmed about half of "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell. This is the "Tipping Point" guy. He's a fairly engaging writer but I found his data to be largely cherry-picked.

Movie

2009-04-25T01:08:00.000-07:00

Rewatched Platoon on the telly.

Movie

2009-04-20T04:48:00.000-07:00

Saw "Persepolis", which was good and interesting. Everyone in the world should make a movie or write a book (or both, as is the case here) about their experiences growing up.

Movie

2009-04-19T01:15:00.003-07:00

Saw "The Boat That Rocked" at the Westgarth, which was a bit of fluff but good fun.

Book

2009-04-06T04:13:00.000-07:00

Skimmed "The Universe In A Teacup", which was largely unprofound.

Movies

2009-04-06T03:35:00.000-07:00

Saw most of Philadelphia, which was okay I guess, but I don't much like courtroom dramas.

Saw "In Bruges" which was a great little movie.

Soccer

2009-03-29T01:46:00.000-07:00

First game of season - a practice match versus our seconds team (who are undefeated over the course of two years). They've been training for a month - we've not played together since last year, and haven't trained at all, to a man, I think.

Man, I stunk it up, the first half, in every way. Unsurprisingly, I got taken off after twenty minutes. I got put back in with a half hour to play in the second half, and played a bit better. Anyway, we tied them, 2-2, and played not too bad in general, so prospects look good for the year.

Injuries: Just a scrape on my knee, from the artificial turf.

Movie

2009-03-26T03:43:00.000-07:00

Rented "The Ladykillers", which was watchable enough, though a far cry from the Coen brothers' best.

Movies

2009-03-18T03:47:00.000-07:00

Somehow I missed mentioning that I saw "The Wrestler" and "Milk", both of which were outstanding!

Movie

2009-03-10T05:16:00.001-07:00

Rented "True Romance", which was good.

Movies

2009-03-06T06:31:00.000-08:00

On the plane to and from Tokyo I saw:

Body of Lies, which was average;

Muriel's Wedding, which was meh;

Pride and Glory, which was fairly standard;

Quantum of Solace, which was better than I expected;

and all but the first twenty minutes of Ghost Town, which I am astounded Ricky Gervais ever signed on to. He and Kinnear are good in it, sure; but they are good in everything. Why this pedestrian script-mill pablum?

Movie

2009-02-15T04:09:00.001-08:00

Rewatched "Shakespeare in Love" on the telly, which I picked up a lot of details on that I didn't catch before, and which is still a great movie.

Movie

2009-02-06T19:38:00.004-08:00

Rented "Kung Fu Panda", which I quite enjoyed.

Book

2009-02-06T19:38:00.003-08:00

Re-read "Franny and Zooey", which, in case you were wondering, is still awesome.

Movie

2009-01-28T05:46:00.001-08:00

Went and saw "Gran Torino", which was good.

Movie

2009-01-18T04:15:00.001-08:00

Saw "The Bank Job", which was okay.

Movie

2009-01-08T05:51:00.000-08:00

Rented Kubrick's "The Killing", which was dated and flawed, but still way ahead of its time, and well worth a watch.

Book

2009-01-08T05:45:00.000-08:00

Finished "Mathematics: The New Golden Age", which I found in a used bookstore, and was just about the perfect book I was looking for. It covers all the beautiful mathematical discoveries from the last 40 years, simply, but without dumbing it down or being afraid to include equations. Perfect for me as I'm getting back into math. Very recommended.

Movie

2009-01-02T04:08:00.000-08:00

Rented "Stop-Loss", which was good.

Movie

2008-12-27T03:18:00.000-08:00

Saw "Slumdog Millionaire" up the road. Outstanding!

Movie

2008-12-20T06:44:00.000-08:00

Saw "Brassed Off", which I quite enjoyed.

Book

2008-12-20T06:42:00.000-08:00

Re-read Richard Dawkins' "River Out Of Eden"; maybe his best (evolution-oriented) book? Dunno, love them all.

Movie

2008-12-13T05:07:00.000-08:00

Saw "Maurice", which was really good. But I don't think Marjorie appreciated me referring to it as "Brokeback Manor".

Book

2008-12-04T06:26:00.000-08:00

Finished Greg Egan's "Incandescence", which was rather a disappointment.

Movie

2008-11-29T05:44:00.000-08:00

Saw "Birdy", which was good.

Movie

2008-11-16T01:43:00.001-08:00

Saw WALL-E, which I rather enjoyed. THERE, ARE YOU HAPPY, MARJORIE?

Movie

2008-11-14T05:49:00.000-08:00

Rented "Chocolat", which was okay, despite featuring the manic pixie dream-girl cliche.

Movie

2008-11-07T05:16:00.000-08:00

Saw "Man On Wire" at Westgarth. Pretty amazing.

Book

2008-10-24T18:24:00.000-07:00

Finished "Best American Science and Nature Writing 2005", a collection of essays, which was generally good.

Books

2008-09-16T04:06:00.001-07:00

Let's see, it's been a while... Finished "Programming the Universe" by Seth Lloyd, which was one of the best science popularizations I've read in a while. Reread "Yours, Isaac Asimov" which I seem to pull out at least once a year; it's like candy.

And I read "Behind Big Blue", about the building of the chess computer that beat Kasparov, which was enlightening -- the computer that beat him was more of a brute force, John Henry-style achievement than a programming and strategizing one. And it sounded really kludgey to boot. Kasparov came off as really unlikeable and ungracious, not surprisingly.

Movie

2008-09-16T04:05:00.000-07:00

Saw "The Visitor", which was outstanding.

Book

2008-07-25T05:38:00.000-07:00

Re-read "The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin" which was great, again.

Movie

2008-07-18T05:59:00.001-07:00

Rented "You Kill Me", which was good.

Movie

2008-07-11T06:31:00.000-07:00

Re-watched (on tv) "Intolerable Cruelty", which is a good little forgotten movie.

Movie

2008-07-10T07:40:00.000-07:00

Saw "Run Fatboy Run" which was meh.

Movie

2008-07-06T07:25:00.000-07:00

Saw "Happy-Go-Lucky", which was meh.

Movie

2008-07-03T06:13:00.000-07:00

Saw "The Bucket List", which was good enough.

Movie

2008-07-01T06:22:00.000-07:00

Watched "No Highway In The Sky" which I rather enjoyed, despite the slow beginning and abrupt ending.

Soccer

2008-06-28T23:54:00.000-07:00

Only played the first half today, just to rotate in some other players I think. Nothing terribly memorable, unlike last week. We were 3-0 up at the half, and ended up winning 5-0. I got a big bruise on my ankle (accidental kick) that fortunately just hurts a bit (no loss of mobility).

Movie

2008-06-25T06:25:00.000-07:00

Saw "Iron Man", which was entertaining enough, but not all that. Seems like I'd seen this movie before. And all the special effects too.

Soccer

2008-06-21T21:30:00.000-07:00

Hoo boy. Big match against the league leaders today. They have one key striker who's really strong and good at distributing the ball, and my sole job today was to prevent him from getting the ball, and tie him up as well as possible when he did.

We took the lead on a free kick chipped to the far post -- our key striker let it bounce once, then roofed it beautifully. Shortly afterwards we scored again on a counterattack, out of nothing really. They claimed offsides on both. Either or neither might have been, I don't know. The referee was one of the most clueless we've seen, though.

They started trying to take advantage of that, diving left and right, and getting the call consistently. I dispossessed my man cleanly just outside the box, but the guy yelled as he fell and got the call. A few minutes later he tripped over my legs and took another dive. I yelled at him, calling him a "f*cking p*ssy" I think, and he got up and tried to get in my face. When I wouldn't take the bait he actually spat on me. I laughed and said, "Classy."

A few minutes later, I slid in on a different player, and got the penalty called on me. Their player tried to gloat to me. Whatever. That made it 2-1.

Halftime, and we restored our discipline. Still, we were under a lot more pressure in the second half. Highly nerve-wracking, not being able to tackle your man without getting called for a foul, and not being able to trust in getting an offsides call either. But we held on. I just had to stand up my man when he got the ball, and not challenge too hard. Once when I was doing this he got off a beautiful chip to the far post to a charging player, but our keeper had a beautiful save, the save of the season no doubt.

The ref blew time at least five minutes early, from what our players on the sidelines said. Karma I guess. Their players got in the ref's face with some of the angriest words I've heard out there, but it was all over -- 2-1 was the final. Phew! Nasty game. Did we sing the team song today? Yes we sang the team song today.

Soccer

2008-06-14T20:54:00.000-07:00

The domination continues... Won again today 7-0 or 8-0, against a physical (and dirty) Chilean team. I had a few good plays but more than a few crap ones too. Like my foot was on crooked or something. Also gave up a penalty (that shouldn't have been a penalty, but their guy yelled as he fell, and that always seems to work). But our keeper saved it, and I cleared the rebound.

Injuries: contusion on the back of my calf from being hacked by their frustrated striker. Also broke the little thing that connects your upper lip to your top gum (from an intended head ball that became a face ball).