After being swormed with (what I felt like was) religious propaganda on my social networks, I had to say something...
"Will any realist agree w/ me that religion is JUST as subjective as language? i.e. If u live in Iran, u'll prob speak Persian & be Muslim, OR if ur from the USA, u'll prob speak English & be Christian. If u agree, shouldnt this subjectivity put ur belief into some perspective? If u take it as a "sign" u were born in USA & Christianity "found" u, than no need to comment, for u've already turned a blind eye to my logic"
My Facebook Status Update, 10:16am, 06/29/2010
------
***UPDATE: 11 hours later - 23 comments, 5 'likes'
Alexander Arguelles: Polyglot
This man serves as a motivation to anyone who dabbles in the learning of more than one foreign language. I myself have found myself frustrated at times with the language learning process, but have come to realize that I am as much learning the language as I am learning how to learn in general. He describes in his biography his early frustrations with French, from which after 7 years of study he was placed only into a second-year sequence during his undergraduate studies. The many different ways he describes his work ethic, the time he put(s) in to language study and the pure & honest motivation to decode the many languages he has come to master is simply honorable; he now has (at least) reading capability in (from what I can gather) over 40 languages.
One of his professors forced him to drop Persian during his graduate studies because his explanation for taking the class was simply to 'learn as many languages as he could'. This professor also added that these types of remarks are the things that make other scholars not take one seriously. I loved that Arguelles called this one of his greatest what if moments in his life, and what he had written just before that was so simple yet so profound, I reread it 6 to 7 times, asking myself different questions each time I ran through the passage:
The questions that ran thru my head: Why do I want to know a foreign language? And what of these particular ones I study? What is the material that I want to get at... really? Where will this material take me? Why do I want to go there? What material is of complete interest to me (and to others), so much to the point that I will continually be motivated make adequate and intriguing contributions to my specialized field?
But, most important of all: Does the functionality of the system that is known as a "language" intrigue me more than how humans can express themselves through it? And which one of these is really more important, from a purely analytical perspective?
There are so many petty answers to these questions, but I want to real ones.
Here is his bio, it's pretty incredible: About Alexander Arguelles
One of his professors forced him to drop Persian during his graduate studies because his explanation for taking the class was simply to 'learn as many languages as he could'. This professor also added that these types of remarks are the things that make other scholars not take one seriously. I loved that Arguelles called this one of his greatest what if moments in his life, and what he had written just before that was so simple yet so profound, I reread it 6 to 7 times, asking myself different questions each time I ran through the passage:
"....languages are ultimately not very important - they are just tools for getting at material, and what really matters is the justification for the methodological theory with which you analyze that material and the originality of the hermeneutic argument that you build upon that theory."
The questions that ran thru my head: Why do I want to know a foreign language? And what of these particular ones I study? What is the material that I want to get at... really? Where will this material take me? Why do I want to go there? What material is of complete interest to me (and to others), so much to the point that I will continually be motivated make adequate and intriguing contributions to my specialized field?
But, most important of all: Does the functionality of the system that is known as a "language" intrigue me more than how humans can express themselves through it? And which one of these is really more important, from a purely analytical perspective?
There are so many petty answers to these questions, but I want to real ones.
Here is his bio, it's pretty incredible: About Alexander Arguelles
It's our time... GO USA!
(The pics = links, check em out!)
Remember when we beat Spain, the best team in the world?
Here's the 1930 World Cup Squad, leading to our best finish ever (3rd):
BBC News: "US take huge strides forward", after our Quarterfinal finish in the World Cup 2002 in Korea/Japan
Our journey to South Africa 2010:
A few dips here and there, but steadily among the best in the world, according the the FIFA World rankings... Currently #1 on the continent!
"USA flush with attacking options" -FIFA.com
So be loud, proud & American! Giddy up for Team USA!!
"The Responsibility of Intellectuals", Noam Chomsky, 1967
"The Responsibility of Intellectuals", Noam Chomsky, 1967
View here at Chomsky.info
Mentally, linguistically, politically, and philosophically stimulating, Chomsky's insights into the fundamental principles of what is the United States, what it should be and how the intellectuals should consistently exploit that with honest persistence left me thirsty. I have had a general idea or hunch of why linguists tend to cross the political boundary once they reach a certain point in their career, but this article really drove it home for me. With respect to the progress of humanity its long term fate, what politicians and their correspondents publicly announce to the commoner would have to be considered at the highest level of importance. Without people who are mentally motivated, non-biased and capable of analyzing the pragmatics of these important messages, what would we actually know (or think we know) is being told to us? We've all heard those verbose speeches of former presidents and senators, never seeming to really say anything but somehow filling up an hour timeslot. I always have wondered, was there something more there?
Chomsky is the king at calling the fools out. I don't read of many questioning his conclusions drawn from what is said by these politicians and world leaders, either; his unbiased approach to philosophical axioms & humanitarian morals seems unmatched in our era.
It's a dense read. I am completely not up-to-date with history, especially from the 30s to the mid-60s, but I supplemented the reading by googling the people and events of the time period during the article (which might have took just as much time as actually reading it!). He asks all the right questions, and, as he always does, gives us "the next" model for a more thorough interpretation. I loved this article. Loved it.
(the tweet that expressed my gratitude & interest)
View here at Chomsky.info
Mentally, linguistically, politically, and philosophically stimulating, Chomsky's insights into the fundamental principles of what is the United States, what it should be and how the intellectuals should consistently exploit that with honest persistence left me thirsty. I have had a general idea or hunch of why linguists tend to cross the political boundary once they reach a certain point in their career, but this article really drove it home for me. With respect to the progress of humanity its long term fate, what politicians and their correspondents publicly announce to the commoner would have to be considered at the highest level of importance. Without people who are mentally motivated, non-biased and capable of analyzing the pragmatics of these important messages, what would we actually know (or think we know) is being told to us? We've all heard those verbose speeches of former presidents and senators, never seeming to really say anything but somehow filling up an hour timeslot. I always have wondered, was there something more there?
Chomsky is the king at calling the fools out. I don't read of many questioning his conclusions drawn from what is said by these politicians and world leaders, either; his unbiased approach to philosophical axioms & humanitarian morals seems unmatched in our era.
It's a dense read. I am completely not up-to-date with history, especially from the 30s to the mid-60s, but I supplemented the reading by googling the people and events of the time period during the article (which might have took just as much time as actually reading it!). He asks all the right questions, and, as he always does, gives us "the next" model for a more thorough interpretation. I loved this article. Loved it.
(the tweet that expressed my gratitude & interest)
Slowly but surely, Lima's doin it for me!
These past 2 weeks, Lima has opened up a little for me. A few house parties, discotecas, pubs, markets, and I've actually even started to jog a little (which I realized is probably my most preferred way to explore a new town). Still though, I've seen 5 of the 43 districts in Lima, and it's enormity still shocks me. Today, for example, I rode a combi for an hour and half and only covered about 2" on a map of Lima that represents the city as 11" long, for a cartographic perspective. I was a little hermitish at the beginning, being as I landed in Lima a little sick already, and so the first week of rum 'n cokes with the roomies didn't help that situation... but now it's better, and I think my body is going to slowly adapt to the water. It's hard to avoid though, as it's used for everything: coffee, rice, washing vegetables, boiling anything, etc... I assume by the time I completely adjust physically, it will time to head back to the states. But whatever, I'll manage!
Last week, Marlene, Kyra and I went to our friend Alejandro's house, a Peruvian who lives in a very nice part of the city. His house looked like some of the upper-middle class houses my friends had at Mt. Spokane, and everyone there was super nice. We just chilled, had a BBQ, drank some rum n cokes (what else), and... of course... we ended the night with salsa. A few hours in, I could see the Hispanics getting antsy, hips-a-movin & liquor-a-flowin, so I saw the salsa coming. I personally am not biologically blessed with those rubbery hips, so I could do without the suave seductive salsa music, but it came, they danced, and I drank a little more. It was funny cause I made reference to my genetic 'flaw' of lacking these hips to my roommates by calling them "maderas" instead of "caderas", the former actually meaning wood. So, not only do I not have these hips, I also have been calling my hips "wood" for the past few weeks... so maybe this is a sign and it's actually true? Lol whatever... also, I loved his dog.
One of the coolest bars I went to was a German pub called "treff" (which literally just means meeting place) to watch the Germany vs. Australian game. Along with my German roommates, there were students who are from Lima that attend a German business school here, plus some other German exchange students that are here studying. Everyone ended up going Deutsch on me, painting their faces and wearing the colors... I swear I would have erupted had Australia scored a goal, but ze Germans ended up with a 4-0 defeat and the cheering didn't get any less ecstatic after each goal. Good german beer, some alright French fries, then a walk in Parque Kennedy afterwards made for an overall giddy up experience!
Last night was my first time in the Central Part of Lima, which is the most (what I would call) South American Colonial part of the city. It was pretty dark so I couldn't get any pictures, but the buildings were super 'what you would expect' from a city founded 500 years ago by Spain. A Peruvian guy named Marco, who is super cool, said they were restored a few times and probably not more than a century had passed since the last remodel. We went through 4 or 5 bars in Plaza San Martín (here is a wiki pic of it, hopefully I'll get some of my own soon), ending up at what I would consider a hipster bar. All the bars there were a little dirtier, a little tighter, and a littler cheaper than what I've been experiencing in Miraflores (definitely one of the most upscale districts in Lima).... just how I like it! It was the goodbye party to my roommate Mathilde, the French, who I very much love for her attitude, opinions, humor and laid-backness (yes, I am the king of creating words)... just a lovable human being. I'll miss ya girl!
Today I ended up taking a combi to somewhere I've never been before, the district Jesus María. My plan is to do this every other day for these last 3 weeks. The whole way I wanted to get off every few minutes to look at something, which I did end up doing a few times, but there's just so much I don't know how I could manage that unless I walked the 6 miles home... actually, maybe I should just do that! Anyways, there are soooo many opportunities to eat food, anywhere you are. Little stands with sandwiches, chips, cookies, soups, coffee, candy, full meals with rice/potatoes/meat/salad, and of course beer are always within a block, no matter where you go. I just see all the prices, divide by 3 (exchange rate), and just think to myself "Dude, that is like $2... do not pass that up!". The only thing that does make me pass it up is their abundance. But sometimes, that dank aroma just gets me :-p I kinda like that the price of living here is so low that people can actually support their families by selling stuff on the street like that (even though I'm sure they'd prefer something else), even considering all the economic/political/humanity struggle stuff I just jumped over with that statement (yes, I know...). In any case, check out this 3 pounds of fried rice for $3! (No, I thought they were little bags of drugs too, but it was just the aji and other sauce)
I have also come to realize why I really enjoy (and miss) the big(ger) city life in the US: no one looks at you. In Spokane, I feel like most everyone looks at everyone else as they walk by each other, maybe because it's small enough that you feel like you could know them, or because it's so suburbish that being close to other people and possibly brushing shoulders with them would be... weird. In Seattle, or San Francisco, or even Portland, people just walk with their eyes fixed ahead, not giving a shit about the people passing by. This is what I like, and this is something I am definitely not experiencing here in Lima. I think I have to come to accept the fact that any non anglo-society or 3rd world country I go to, I will most likely be stared at when I walk by, but still, I have a hard time not wanting to not look at them looking at me (sorry about the f.u.b.a.r. sentence, but you catch my drift...). I'm tall, I'm white, I have blue eyes, I wear different clothes than the people here... I would probably stare at me too, but I just don't dig it. Especially when I'm on a combi fitted for 15 people and it has 30, it's made for people that are under 5'4", and I have diarrhea (for example... I've had quite a bit of stomach problems like I said). I'm starting to get over it though. Most of the time I just take a seat somewhere until the passing crowd forgets to notice me, and take a few snapshots of graffiti :-) It floods the city, everywhere... I love it
GRAFFITI
As far as my plans for travel after Lima, I have a loop in the south of Perú planned that will take me through Arequipa, Cuzco (& Machu Picchu), Puno (& Lago Titicaca... which always makes me think of Beavis, anyone else?), and hopefully a town deep the Peruvian Amazon. As far as my weekends in Lima, I definitely want to visit Caral, the oldest city in all of the Americas. The Nazca Lines are also doable in a weekend, and I think a roommate or two might wanna do it with me. But we'll see...
Spanish-wise, I feel like there was a dramatic increase in my speed at the beginning, and now, reviewing hypothetical tenses and moods of verbs & having written down over 200 words I didn't know (or didn't remember), I feel like I am really trying to be careful with my structure and word choice. I came to realize also that I really don't have much opportunity to practice the academic Spanish that I will be using at the University level for the rest of my career, but only the quick, ever-so-efficient (or I would just say ever-so-minimal-physical-effort) street Spanish that is needed to successfully function in a Hispanic society. I am learning a certain style at my school, then using a different one daily, so it's kind of a weird balance. Don't get me wrong... I am very pleased with my teacher so far, as she knows some English & Portuguese as well (which is perfect for me!) and always has extra insight that I wouldn't expect or anticipate, but it's like I need to call my professors at ASU or go a certain setting to apply what I'm learning. I will feel like I learned so much and made so much progress in a day, then get on a combi and not understand what the fuck the driver is saying... Then again, I've heard combi drivers are some of the biggest mumblers and 'whatever' type speakers, as my roommates and even Peruvians have said they have problems with them, but still, it kind of shafts me mentally. I was listening to the combi driver saying the word Benavides, which phonetically should be /be-na-BI-des/, but when I actually transcribed him literally, there were absolutely no consonants, so it was /we-a-(barely a 'v')i-eee/ (sorry for the lack of phonetic symbols, but still... it was just fucked).
Anyways, that's all for now. More adventures to come, more shtuff to be done! Tweet/update/blog/email/text/call ya later! But I ask you...
P.S. Here are all of my pics in Perú so far
Last week, Marlene, Kyra and I went to our friend Alejandro's house, a Peruvian who lives in a very nice part of the city. His house looked like some of the upper-middle class houses my friends had at Mt. Spokane, and everyone there was super nice. We just chilled, had a BBQ, drank some rum n cokes (what else), and... of course... we ended the night with salsa. A few hours in, I could see the Hispanics getting antsy, hips-a-movin & liquor-a-flowin, so I saw the salsa coming. I personally am not biologically blessed with those rubbery hips, so I could do without the suave seductive salsa music, but it came, they danced, and I drank a little more. It was funny cause I made reference to my genetic 'flaw' of lacking these hips to my roommates by calling them "maderas" instead of "caderas", the former actually meaning wood. So, not only do I not have these hips, I also have been calling my hips "wood" for the past few weeks... so maybe this is a sign and it's actually true? Lol whatever... also, I loved his dog.
One of the coolest bars I went to was a German pub called "treff" (which literally just means meeting place) to watch the Germany vs. Australian game. Along with my German roommates, there were students who are from Lima that attend a German business school here, plus some other German exchange students that are here studying. Everyone ended up going Deutsch on me, painting their faces and wearing the colors... I swear I would have erupted had Australia scored a goal, but ze Germans ended up with a 4-0 defeat and the cheering didn't get any less ecstatic after each goal. Good german beer, some alright French fries, then a walk in Parque Kennedy afterwards made for an overall giddy up experience!
Last night was my first time in the Central Part of Lima, which is the most (what I would call) South American Colonial part of the city. It was pretty dark so I couldn't get any pictures, but the buildings were super 'what you would expect' from a city founded 500 years ago by Spain. A Peruvian guy named Marco, who is super cool, said they were restored a few times and probably not more than a century had passed since the last remodel. We went through 4 or 5 bars in Plaza San Martín (here is a wiki pic of it, hopefully I'll get some of my own soon), ending up at what I would consider a hipster bar. All the bars there were a little dirtier, a little tighter, and a littler cheaper than what I've been experiencing in Miraflores (definitely one of the most upscale districts in Lima).... just how I like it! It was the goodbye party to my roommate Mathilde, the French, who I very much love for her attitude, opinions, humor and laid-backness (yes, I am the king of creating words)... just a lovable human being. I'll miss ya girl!
Today I ended up taking a combi to somewhere I've never been before, the district Jesus María. My plan is to do this every other day for these last 3 weeks. The whole way I wanted to get off every few minutes to look at something, which I did end up doing a few times, but there's just so much I don't know how I could manage that unless I walked the 6 miles home... actually, maybe I should just do that! Anyways, there are soooo many opportunities to eat food, anywhere you are. Little stands with sandwiches, chips, cookies, soups, coffee, candy, full meals with rice/potatoes/meat/salad, and of course beer are always within a block, no matter where you go. I just see all the prices, divide by 3 (exchange rate), and just think to myself "Dude, that is like $2... do not pass that up!". The only thing that does make me pass it up is their abundance. But sometimes, that dank aroma just gets me :-p I kinda like that the price of living here is so low that people can actually support their families by selling stuff on the street like that (even though I'm sure they'd prefer something else), even considering all the economic/political/humanity struggle stuff I just jumped over with that statement (yes, I know...). In any case, check out this 3 pounds of fried rice for $3! (No, I thought they were little bags of drugs too, but it was just the aji and other sauce)
I have also come to realize why I really enjoy (and miss) the big(ger) city life in the US: no one looks at you. In Spokane, I feel like most everyone looks at everyone else as they walk by each other, maybe because it's small enough that you feel like you could know them, or because it's so suburbish that being close to other people and possibly brushing shoulders with them would be... weird. In Seattle, or San Francisco, or even Portland, people just walk with their eyes fixed ahead, not giving a shit about the people passing by. This is what I like, and this is something I am definitely not experiencing here in Lima. I think I have to come to accept the fact that any non anglo-society or 3rd world country I go to, I will most likely be stared at when I walk by, but still, I have a hard time not wanting to not look at them looking at me (sorry about the f.u.b.a.r. sentence, but you catch my drift...). I'm tall, I'm white, I have blue eyes, I wear different clothes than the people here... I would probably stare at me too, but I just don't dig it. Especially when I'm on a combi fitted for 15 people and it has 30, it's made for people that are under 5'4", and I have diarrhea (for example... I've had quite a bit of stomach problems like I said). I'm starting to get over it though. Most of the time I just take a seat somewhere until the passing crowd forgets to notice me, and take a few snapshots of graffiti :-) It floods the city, everywhere... I love it
GRAFFITI
As far as my plans for travel after Lima, I have a loop in the south of Perú planned that will take me through Arequipa, Cuzco (& Machu Picchu), Puno (& Lago Titicaca... which always makes me think of Beavis, anyone else?), and hopefully a town deep the Peruvian Amazon. As far as my weekends in Lima, I definitely want to visit Caral, the oldest city in all of the Americas. The Nazca Lines are also doable in a weekend, and I think a roommate or two might wanna do it with me. But we'll see...
Spanish-wise, I feel like there was a dramatic increase in my speed at the beginning, and now, reviewing hypothetical tenses and moods of verbs & having written down over 200 words I didn't know (or didn't remember), I feel like I am really trying to be careful with my structure and word choice. I came to realize also that I really don't have much opportunity to practice the academic Spanish that I will be using at the University level for the rest of my career, but only the quick, ever-so-efficient (or I would just say ever-so-minimal-physical-effort) street Spanish that is needed to successfully function in a Hispanic society. I am learning a certain style at my school, then using a different one daily, so it's kind of a weird balance. Don't get me wrong... I am very pleased with my teacher so far, as she knows some English & Portuguese as well (which is perfect for me!) and always has extra insight that I wouldn't expect or anticipate, but it's like I need to call my professors at ASU or go a certain setting to apply what I'm learning. I will feel like I learned so much and made so much progress in a day, then get on a combi and not understand what the fuck the driver is saying... Then again, I've heard combi drivers are some of the biggest mumblers and 'whatever' type speakers, as my roommates and even Peruvians have said they have problems with them, but still, it kind of shafts me mentally. I was listening to the combi driver saying the word Benavides, which phonetically should be /be-na-BI-des/, but when I actually transcribed him literally, there were absolutely no consonants, so it was /we-a-(barely a 'v')i-eee/ (sorry for the lack of phonetic symbols, but still... it was just fucked).
Anyways, that's all for now. More adventures to come, more shtuff to be done! Tweet/update/blog/email/text/call ya later! But I ask you...
P.S. Here are all of my pics in Perú so far
Côte d'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Costa de marfil... Elfenbeinküste?
A few days ago, my French roommate asked me (in Spanish) who was playing tomorrow in the World Cup. I said "Portugal y Côte d'Ivoire". It made me realize that no matter what language I speak, I will definitely (and have until now) always said Côte d'Ivoire instead of the English version, Ivory Coast, perhaps because even in the USA I feel like I see it written in French more than I do in English. My American roommate then said (in Spanish), "Ya, it's weird, because even us English speakers always say Côte d'Ivoire," which was great because it matched my thought just moments before. She then said "Ya, I just think Ivory Coast sounds stupid," which I completely agree with as well, as if we are to describe a country by a natural resource (not). I also feel like it just sounds a little dumbed-down, vulgar, raw or something... I dunno, I just don't care for it.
THEN, the German roommate said (in Spanish), "Ya, that is weird for English, because we just say 'Elfenbeinküste'", which I heard more as Elefint-bine-coasta. Having just thought of how vulgar/raw/whatever Ivory Coast sounds, to hear Elefint-bine-coasta, or 'Elephant bone coast' was absolutely hilarious. I always think of the German language as analytical, literal, and not to-the-point; this only reaffirms my feelings!!
THEN, the German roommate said (in Spanish), "Ya, that is weird for English, because we just say 'Elfenbeinküste'", which I heard more as Elefint-bine-coasta. Having just thought of how vulgar/raw/whatever Ivory Coast sounds, to hear Elefint-bine-coasta, or 'Elephant bone coast' was absolutely hilarious. I always think of the German language as analytical, literal, and not to-the-point; this only reaffirms my feelings!!
damnit, spain... but is this bad?
maybe this is good for #esp 
tho...they always start off kicking ass in #worldcup 
, never have to adjust. maybe theyll fix shit now? hope so!
tho...they always start off kicking ass in #worldcup , never have to adjust. maybe theyll fix shit now? hope so!ok, final world cup thoughts.... fuck.
i'd go ahead and say that 50-70% of my complete mental capacity has been spent on the world cup these past few days. holy. fuckin. hell. here are my final thoughts, and then i'm going to smoke a big ass joint and chillllll the fuck out. or something like that. que estresanteeee
i don't have a problem being conservative with my group picks this tournament, conservative is to say picking nearly all the European teams you would expect out of each group to progress to the second round, with the exception of Chile over Switzerland and Cameroon over Denmark.
A - Mexico, France
B - Argentina, Nigeria
C - England, USA
D - Germany, Australia
E - Netherlands, Cameroon
F - Italy, Slovakia
G - Brazil, Portugal
H - Spain, Chile
I wouldn't consider Nigeria a surprising pick over Greece, mainly because they're much bigger and it's.... in Africa. Which is actually my primary reason for picking the much smaller Cameroon to slip past the Danes. I feel like the speed of Chile and the way they almost took South American qualifying gives them the push over Switzerland. The players from both teams don't have a significant difference in big league experience in Europe or in South America, and perhaps most of the Chileans playing in a more rugged Chile puts them past the Swiss in the South African climate.
I don't like saying this, but I feel like soccer at an international has hit a pretty big hault in terms of surprising countries making big jumps in the tables over the past year and half. A lot of the countries (especially in Europe) sealed a spot in the Cup quite a while ago and didn't play many of the teams that could possibly make a move or gain "big name" experience, as far as that terms extends in the realm of national squads. So, 1-15 has remained quite steady, the solid stay solid, the hungry teams stay hungry.... and I think it would be hard for a Uruguay, Greece, Slovenia, Serbia, Ghana (but mostly because of Essien being out), Denmark, Japan, Ivory Coast (Drogba's out ... sorry) or Switzerland to penetrate their eliteness. Their experience they solidified a while ago with their national sides, along with their true footballing skills being readily tested and improved at the club level, will keep France, Italy, Germany, Brazil, Spain, the Netheralnds and Argentina deep in the hunt. I just feel like that for some reason. The African teams might have a push, but I feel like Europe and Sudamérica take this one. My dark-horse (that's to say, they will make it all the way to the Semifinals): México. El Tri is just..... the shit right now. ¡Sí, se puede! ¡Sí, se puede!
Quarterfinals
Mexico v England
Netherlands v Brazil
Germany v Argentina
Italy v Spain
Semifinals
Mexico v Netherlands
Argentina v Spain
Finals
Netherlands v Argentina
This is where I think my optimism* my succede logic. I really don't want to see same ol story of the World Cup to be told, as I have Germany, Italy, and Brazil all falling in the same round. I don't even want to look up if this has happened, I just know it hasn't (being that only the cups of 1930 & 1978 have not featured one of these three teams). It might be too ridiculous to even imagine. Plus, I mean, Spain and the Netherlands are the guys who just can't ever do it. This might be where the shit hits the fan for my bracket, but I'd rather be a shat on optimist than settle with a boring truth that just might happen... again ... at least right now in my life, lol. But fuck it, I want what I want with fútbol right now, damnit!!
(ha, buttfuck)
and the winners
ARGENTINNNAAAAAA!!! ...... uh-oh, optimism takes over realism again. fuck!!
les digo, M & M lo harán! ¡adelante los gauchos!
*In my other two brackets (on ESPN), my optimism results in Dutch & Spanish victories. Come on, guys... someone!!
i don't have a problem being conservative with my group picks this tournament, conservative is to say picking nearly all the European teams you would expect out of each group to progress to the second round, with the exception of Chile over Switzerland and Cameroon over Denmark.
A - Mexico, France
B - Argentina, Nigeria
C - England, USA
D - Germany, Australia
E - Netherlands, Cameroon
F - Italy, Slovakia
G - Brazil, Portugal
H - Spain, Chile
I wouldn't consider Nigeria a surprising pick over Greece, mainly because they're much bigger and it's.... in Africa. Which is actually my primary reason for picking the much smaller Cameroon to slip past the Danes. I feel like the speed of Chile and the way they almost took South American qualifying gives them the push over Switzerland. The players from both teams don't have a significant difference in big league experience in Europe or in South America, and perhaps most of the Chileans playing in a more rugged Chile puts them past the Swiss in the South African climate.
I don't like saying this, but I feel like soccer at an international has hit a pretty big hault in terms of surprising countries making big jumps in the tables over the past year and half. A lot of the countries (especially in Europe) sealed a spot in the Cup quite a while ago and didn't play many of the teams that could possibly make a move or gain "big name" experience, as far as that terms extends in the realm of national squads. So, 1-15 has remained quite steady, the solid stay solid, the hungry teams stay hungry.... and I think it would be hard for a Uruguay, Greece, Slovenia, Serbia, Ghana (but mostly because of Essien being out), Denmark, Japan, Ivory Coast (Drogba's out ... sorry) or Switzerland to penetrate their eliteness. Their experience they solidified a while ago with their national sides, along with their true footballing skills being readily tested and improved at the club level, will keep France, Italy, Germany, Brazil, Spain, the Netheralnds and Argentina deep in the hunt. I just feel like that for some reason. The African teams might have a push, but I feel like Europe and Sudamérica take this one. My dark-horse (that's to say, they will make it all the way to the Semifinals): México. El Tri is just..... the shit right now. ¡Sí, se puede! ¡Sí, se puede!
Quarterfinals
Mexico v England
Netherlands v Brazil
Germany v Argentina
Italy v Spain
Semifinals
Mexico v Netherlands
Argentina v Spain
Finals
Netherlands v Argentina
This is where I think my optimism* my succede logic. I really don't want to see same ol story of the World Cup to be told, as I have Germany, Italy, and Brazil all falling in the same round. I don't even want to look up if this has happened, I just know it hasn't (being that only the cups of 1930 & 1978 have not featured one of these three teams). It might be too ridiculous to even imagine. Plus, I mean, Spain and the Netherlands are the guys who just can't ever do it. This might be where the shit hits the fan for my bracket, but I'd rather be a shat on optimist than settle with a boring truth that just might happen... again ... at least right now in my life, lol. But fuck it, I want what I want with fútbol right now, damnit!!
(ha, buttfuck)
and the winners
ARGENTINNNAAAAAA!!! ...... uh-oh, optimism takes over realism again. fuck!!
les digo, M & M lo harán! ¡adelante los gauchos!
*In my other two brackets (on ESPN), my optimism results in Dutch & Spanish victories. Come on, guys... someone!!
In Portland,
-@Dr_SHANE_, 05/27/10
Me: "Hey Shane, check out my new camera.... Oh hold on, it's on sketch mode."
Shane: "Omg Sketch Mode? Haha you fuckin' stoner!!"
-@Dr_SHANE_, 05/27/10
Lima - Week #1
***** all pics in Perú *****
To start things off, my plane arrived 8 hours late after some bullshit delay in Houston. I was forced to hang around IAH for 6.5 hours, and even though I got something free and I love free stuff (a meal coupon), still, it meant I ended up getting into Lima around 3:50am. I had to find a hotel quick, so I actually spent a lot for Perú ($40). My room was... as simple as it gets
The next day I went to the address of my house I was supposed to be staying at, but there was nobody there. I didn't know what to do, but the taxi driver saw that no one was answering the door, so he ended up driving me to a place to use the internet, let me use his cell phone, and was really just being as genuine as anyone could be. This is the first sight I got of how nice Limeños really are, and everyone I've talked to since has been suuuuper generous, hospitable, and interested in me. It's awesome. But anyways, the only thing I could think of was to go my school, which I did and ended up taking 4 hours of class that day.
The classes are one-on-one, designed specifically for what I (and my mentor at ASU Carmen García) want to perfect of my Spanish. I have known the Spanish language for years, but I've never been quite able to get from a 7.5/10 to 10/10. Special attention like this (and living in a Hispanic country for a while) is awesome, and even after 3 days my speed/accuracy has increased, so I'm happy. It's funny because my teacher here in Lima is a linguist named Carmen, as well. She's super cool. It's only 2 hours/day Monday-Friday, which isn't bad at all, plus it was super cheap compared to some of the big universities my roommates go to.
And speaking of roommates, I have six of them, and they're all girls :-) 2 Germans, 2 (South) Koreans, 1 American (from Wisconsin) & 1 French. It's great because we don't really change to English (unless we don't know a word) because, well... because we're all here for Spanish (duh). Here's the house:
There are 10 houses involved in this little circuit of "university residences", and the girls in my house (all are here for 6 months to a year) know people in the other houses. Last night we went to a house with 10 Frenchies, some Americans, Germans (one who was an exchange student at ASU), Chinese, Norwegians, plus more and more came as the night went on. Kind of felt like a frat party actually, the booze-a-flowin and the weed-a-blazin. Also, this Brazilian Marta has a hookah :-) Sooooo I'm most DEFinitely goin there again soon! We also went kloooooobing together last night!!
This club was called "Help" was absolutely enormous. There was this whack-ass DJ who introduced two live bands, which both sucked hella. But whatever, we got our dance on and they played some MJ and classic remixes, so it was all good. Beers were 10 soles (~$3.50), probably the most comparably-priced item to anything in the US that I've seen here.
The food is healthy, filling, and über cheap. I haven't been to a restaurant with a lot of classic Peruvian dishes yet, but there are really cheap places called chifas that are Chinese-Peruvian hybrid restaurants and there are also these little stores with a menú, in which you pick a starter plate and a main one after. They're always 6-10 soles, so for $2-3 you are sittin pretty fat and happy! One dumb move I made was saying I wanted a "big" beer (I didn't know it was 1.1 liters), which ended up costing 10 soles and the meal was only 6. Hahaaa whaaatever. Here's some stuff I've tried so far:
We also learned how to make Solterito de Queso at my school today, which was super simple, super healthy, and was great!!
One fucking crazy thing here are the combis, or the public transportation system. They are all privately owned, & all look like big Volkswagen Vans painted up in bright colors with all they're destinations and what not. The stops are random, the routes are random, and the situation is FUBAR.
There's a driver, who drives with no regret & would make any American shit there pants at how close they get to pedestrians, other cars/combis, and even the edge of bridges sometimes... but there's also a guy who stands by the door (which is almost always swung half-open), and he yells (what sounds like Arabic to me sometimes) at people on the street and at the stops, trying to get them to enter the bus. The routes change based on how many people use their buses, so apparently what he says changes every day, as well. Every mile or so there is also this other guy who tells him how many people are on other buses, along with a bunch of random numbers scribbled on paper. People selling candy and stuff get on every few stops, looking into my gringo eyes, hoping I will buy the stuff. Also, like I have always said: HORNS DON'T WORK IF EVERYONE USES THEM!!. It only costs 1 sol to get to school, whereas a taxi would be like 5 or 6, but it's just... fucking crazy, from the street and from within. These videos don't reflect the craziness so well, but you get the idea:
I haven't had any problems with the food or water yet, even though I (out of habit) chugged a liter of tap water the first morning I was in my house after gettin hammered the night before. I did just learn, though, that when you wipe your butt after pooping, you are supposed to put the toilet paper in the garbage can next to the toilet. They are just normal trash cans with a plastic bag in them, & it's super weird putting my used ass-wipe in a can with other pieces of toilet paper that have my roommates' feces on it. It's to help not clog the pipes in the city, but... it's just fuckin weird. Super weird. No pictures, lol...
I have noticed that Peruvian skin color is incredibly varying: white, criollo, mestizo, and indigenous. Of course, the more light-skinned you are, the nicer clothes you have and the nicer area you live in. I have yet to see a white Peruvian (who look incredibly Spanish, as in Spain) begging for money, not wearing business or name brand clothes, or driving a shitty car. There is definitely a strong differentiation in class here, as I notice the looks that some of them give to one another, the sense of confidence that the lighter-skinned people tend to have, and the respect that they give me personally. I have to say also that Carmen García was right when she said that all the girls will love my blue eyes and blonde hair. I can't walk past a high school without giggling girls pointing at me, as well as the elongated looks I get from the girls on the streets. Not to sound conceded, it's just weird how much I stand out even though there are green- and blue-eyed Peruvians that are as white or whiter than me. Maybe it's my Google shirts, North face shoes and my Smith glasses as well (lol)... But I do have to say the skin color is directly representative of social class here, which is sad, as always. There is a large population of Chinese immigrants, as well, and they call all Asians chinos, even if they're Japanese, Korean, etc...
Well, I hope to recover from this little cold I have and can go and explore this enormous city to take more pictures. There's no doubt I'll have sooooo much more to say!
Until then, uhhh.... chilllll like this guy ;-)
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