Thursday

Good morning folks and welcome to what looks like is going to be a snowy Thursday. We shall see anyway. The snow has not began to fall where I am but often if we start getting snow than that means that there is a fair amount already at the higher elevations. So we shall see what happens. We have plenty of coffee in the house and that is all that really matter to me.

You Are The One - The Sugar Bears

I believe that this was a fake cartoon band that was created to see Sugar Bear cereal. But I like the song. Classic 70's pop.

Now that football season is over I am can look forward to football of a different sort or soccer as we call it in America. My beloved Portland Timbers have already started their preseason camp in Arizona and have played two early practice matches. One against KC and one against Houston. The team looked pretty good in both matches. They tied the first one and won the second one 2 to nil. The numbers do not really mean a lot but it is nice to see that they are putting the ball into the net and making some progress. The thing that I am looking forward to this year is that the team will have had a solid year under Porter and that gives me great hope that this will allow them to turn last seasons 14 or 15 draws into wins. So we shall see.

King of Comedy - REM

This is not my favorite REM song but I do not hate it. I am not sure about it. Because it kind of has grown on me but I like a more clear vocal track. 

Suffragette City - Seu Jorge

I usually do not like covers of songs done by the sainted one. David Bowie but this song and several great ones were done for the "Life Aquatic" and are in Portuguese and are amazing. The movie is great and so is the soundtrack but that is not a surprise as soundtracks are something that Wes Anderson does very well. 

I find it interesting the different ways that the people in Salem and the Valley react to snow or the threat of snow. The reactions seem to range from really, really giddiness to people almost angry at the snow for it daring to challenge them. But what I find almost more funny is the people who are almost angry at the weather forecasters on the news. These people pay far more attention than I ever have to a local news broadcast and when snow is predicted they are first on the scene to point out that no snow has fallen and how the forecasters are just guessing all of the time. Usually just post after post of this on Facebook.

Finally Falling - Victoria Justice

Teen pop from the Nickelodeon machine. I do not care because I like teen pop now and then. It gives a certain sunniness to life and I like that. 

But what really amuses me is that when the forecasters get it right and the snow is falling fast and heavy and deep these people never ever acknowledge that the forecaster has gotten it right. I am not an apologist for the forecasters, that is not the point. The point is that if you are constantly going to be making a big deal out of something and then you are proven wrong or they are proven right. Well it is okay to acknowledge that you were mistaken and maybe even apologize for the abuse you have been hurling upon them. Would it kill you to be generous? What benefit are you getting out of not acknowledging your mistake? None of us are perfect and it is gloriously freeing when you realize that you do not know everything. Speaking only for myself, when I realized that I do not know everything and that I do not need to know everything and that I do not need to be correct all of the time. Well, life just became better. It will not hurt you to admit that you do not know the answer to everything. Try it. Just admit it to yourself and you will be amazed at how free you soon feel.

Hope - Judas Priest

This song is from the Priest concept album 'Nostradamus'. It is a pretty good album and Rob Halfords voice is still strong after all these years. 

Row Jimmy - The Decembrists

This is, I believe, a cover of a Grateful Dead song and I like it a lot. but I like both The Decembrists and the Grateful Dead a lot. So listen to it. 

Have a good day folks. Snow or not and love your neighbor and yourself. Free Hugs for all and keep on dancing.

Tuesday (Misc Thoughts Edition)

Today is going to be a good day and really there is only one reason why, at least for me, and that is because the pre-season MLS games are starting and MLS.com is going to be streaming them. My chosen squad and my local MLS team the Portland Timbers are starting off against the Colorado Rapids. I am looking forward to seeing what formation the team decides to play since they have a brand new coach and their have been a lot of player changes in the off season. I haven't agreed with all of the changes, but I also felt like the team needed to make some of those changes so I am interested in seeing how the team takes shapes as they move closer to their March 3rd season opener which is at home against the NY Redbulls.

That is really about it for today. I am up and moving and that is always a plus. So I will leave you with a couple of songs that always put a smile on my face and if my ear holes could be smiling then I am sure they would be also.

Three songs. So sue me. That last video is from the ABCFamily show called 'Bunheads' and if you were or a fan of 'The Gilmore Girls' then I would recommend you check this show out. It is available on, I believe, both Amazon Prime and Netflix streaming and shown on Monday nights at 9m west coast time. I was not a fan of 'Gilmore Girls' but I really enjoy 'Bunheads' and not because it has some cute girls doing ballet. I am not sure why I like it but I really do and I have never ever cared about dancing at all. The show just works for me. Check it out.

Portland Timbers

This is why I am a fan. This is why I love soccer.

Home Opener!!!!

It is finally time. Today is the day. Tonight is the night. The home opener for the Portland Timbers is at hand and thanks to my good, good, friend Nick. I will be sitting in either section 119 or 118 and in the second or third row. I am beyond excited for the game at this point. The newly renovated stadium is supposed to look amazing and the sight lines for the field are supposed to be perfectly clear. The team seems to be relatively healthy and I am really hoping that they can come out of the gate quickly and get on the score sheet.

That is all. I am far to excited to focus right now. RCTID!!!!

Portland Timbers Matchday

The mighty Portland Timbers have a match today at 4:30 pm against the New England Revolution. This will be the first time that these two teams have faced each other and they will not meet again until the Revolution come to visit us in Portland on Sept. 16. The Timbers have started the season off a little rough being forced due to stadium renovation to spending the first part of the season on the road and facing some pretty tough opponents as well. The Timbers beating Chivas USA in their cup match is a highlight for the team and hopefully will give the team some much needed confidence coming into the match today.

If you get a chance give the game viewing and support the Oregon boys. Who knows you might even surprise yourself and enjoy it. You never know?

Soccer Sunday I

I dub today Soccer Sunday. I am going to try to use Sundays to post something about the sport I am currently loving and that is American Soccer or English Football. I am right now as I write watching a replay of the US National Men playing against Argentina and it has been a really amazing game. The passing and touch on the ball that Argentina is showing is incredible and as usual Lionel Messi is playing amazingly. But I think that for me the real star of the game and the hero for the United States was Tim Howard. As much as I have complained about him in the past he was amazing in goal in the game. If he had not been on point the US would have lost probably 3 or 4 to 1. As it was the USA escaped with a 1-1 draw. Lets face facts. While it is true that, at times, we were competitive with Argentina we are not as good as they are. Oh sure we played well and there were some stellar moments during the game but overall on a position by position level we just do not match up well with them. They are faster and smarter then we are in terms of both passing and overall strategy.

I have to say though that as much as I enjoyed watching the match and as much as I enjoy watching the US play and I suppose I am a supporter of the team though I am not a card carrying member. I have to say that I am really bothered by Clint Dempsey and his attitude on the pitch. It isn't that he is unable to play or that he isn't talented because he is and he has proven that he can play at the highest levels of Soccer. But the way he acts on the pitch just irritates me. It feels like if he isn't pouting about something he is hacking at another play or just coasting along until he can sneak in a run on goal. He gives the illusion or impression that he does not work all of the time. I realize that I may be wrong but he just makes me crazy at times. (Climbs down off of soapbox)



In local Soccer news the Major League Soccer (MLS) expansion team Portland Timbers lost their second straight match to the Toronto Reds. It was a hard fought match and the Timbers looked really good at times which leads me to have some high hopes for the rest of the season. But, once again as in the first loss of the season a 3-1 defeat by the Colorado Rapid the Timbers showed a real inability to finish. That coupled with a team that seems to be unable to get going in the first 15 minutes in a game does not make for a success. The talent is there and the coaching staff and the front office is doing everything they can to ensure success but in the end it comes down to the players on the pitch and it is up to them to win these games. It up to them to put the ball into the net. That is the ultimate goal in a soccer match and if you do not put the ball into the onion bag you can not win matches. That being said you also must keep the ball out of the net on defense and if you are unable to do that it becomes doubly hard to win games. The first two games of the season so far have shown that while the Timbers seem to have a strong defense there are times where they seem to check out mentally and when that happens they give up goals. I hope this gets fixed and gets fixed soon if it doesn't we are in for a long season and not a very fun one.

4-19-2010 (Monday)

My friends and I went to the Portland Timbers game this weekend. It was opening game for this season as well as the last opening day for the Timbers in this league. Because next season is their first season in Major League Soccer (MLS). It was a great opening day. My buddy Nick and I have season tickets and they are in the third row right on the 48 yard line. So it was a fun evening overall.

But what I wanted to address in today's post was the fans at the game. The Timbers have a pretty rabid fan base. The game was sold out with a little over 15K people now when the team starts MLS next season the stadium will have been renovated and should be holding closer to 30K I believe. I just hope that we can continue to fill it. I think that Portland as a city and the parts of Oregon that surround it can pull in those kind of numbers. I know there are some non-believers out there and that is fine. But to them I say we will not know until we try. So I think it is a good move on the part of the Timbers ownership as well as the Portland city council to go for this chance.

But the best part of the day for me was seeing my friend's Travis and Andrew and Nick and then playing "Hipster Slug" (Copyrighted) "I own that so none you trolls better steal it. If you do at least send the traffic my way please." So anyway I am sure most of you are familiar with slug bug. Well this is a variant of that. Now I realize that most large city's have a fair share of their own hipsters but I think Portland seems to attract a special sub-set of hipsters.



So I thought lets play that and promptly punched Nick when I saw one. Well that was fun but honestly after a very little bit. Between the punching of Nick and him punching me back and Travis having a good eye for hipsters and lets be honest in certain parts of Portland you can't throw a can of PBR without hitting a hipster and they seem particularly drawn to the Timbers games. Well my arm was getting sore and there never seemed to be an end to them. They just kept coming and coming. They were always there around every corner with their tattoos and their black rimmed glasses and their smoking. It was like a zombie movie except the zombies had been replaced by hipsters.

As the Timbers season progress's I will be giving you more updates about the season and I think I will begin tagging hipsters Marlin Perkins style. I think it will benefit all of us to keep track of their movements around Portland. At the very least it may benefit the numerous coffee roasters in the area.