A Sliver of Soccer

In the slim moments left before March Madness seizes us all, there’s a bit of news from US Soccer.  Head coach Pia Sundhage has named the 26 players she’s inviting to training camp in preparation for the CONCACAF qualifiers next month.  I was interested to note that she’s invited 4 keepers to the camp:  Hope Solo, Nicole Barnhart, Kristin Luckinbill, and Briana Scurry.  Looks like she’s still thinking about her options there.  As usual, there’s much discussion of the players and their prospects on BigSoccer, where March Madness is merely a sub-forum somewhere.

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The Dogs of March

First, with apologies to T.S. Eliot, I must disagree with his assertion that APRIL is the cruellest month.  Here in NH, March takes the cake.  Second, with thanks to Ernest Hebert, I have to say that it wasn’t until I read his wonderful book, The Dogs of March that I realized just how cruel the month could be. 

The phrase “dogs of March” in his book refers to the packs of otherwise sane, domesticated dogs that gather and roam the woods and fields of NH in March, traversing the barren landscape and running down the weakened, starving, and snow-slowed deer.  By March, many in the deer herds are hanging by a thread, waiting for some green sprouts to shoot up after the long, long winter.  Quite a few will die of starvation before those shoots appear – especially if, like this year, the snows are still piled deep as of March 19th.

The quality of the March snow is different, too.  The melt is beginning and often there is a hard crust across the surface, as the day’s melt will freeze over at night.  This leaves the dogs of March with a nice, smooth track to race along … while the deer, with their greater heft and tiny hooves, break through the crust and into the deep snow with each step.  In their already-weakened condition, they are quickly exhausted and then easily run down by the ravening packs of dogs.

After much debate we decided to start feeding the deer here.  We’d had four that were regular visitors to our birdfeeder where they foraged for seed – three females and a youngster.  So we started putting corn up on the hill behind our house a little more than a week ago.  It took several days for the deer to find it, but as of this past Monday we had the original four, plus two other new visitors, browsing and nibbling. 

Meanwhile Willie, our sweet-tempered lab, has apparently found a deer carcas somewhere way back in the deeper woods behind our house.  He disappears several times a day, if we don’t keep an eye on him, and proudly returns with a deer-part.  It’s an offering … a gift.  The other day he came back with what appeared to be a liver, and later a foreleg.  He’ll deposit it proudly at the door, or at the feet of anyone who happens to be outside.  He’s a retriever, after all!  But it’s March and he’s had blood in his mouth.  I notice that his hackles seem to rise more quickly these days, and his growl sounds more gutteral.  A dog in March is different .. even Willie, it seems.

So it’s a cruel, cruel month here, as we trudge up the hill with our corn … in our small way trying to help the deer herd through these final, tough days.  Meanwhile, Willie does his canine work with the deer who couldn’t make it through March to April.  We bag his “offerings” with sadness and with a renewed sense of the power of nature – something easily missed while hanging out indoors massaging NCAA basketball brackets, watching American Idol, or planning for spring planting … and waiting for April.

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Guns 'n Brackets

I was listening to NPR yesterday afternoon and heard a piece (which I can’t find at the moment) about the ongoing debate re. whether or not students should be allowed to carry concealed weapons on college campuses.  Can you imagine anything more hare-brained?  I feel like the gun-lobby and others of like mind have simply gone off the deep end. 

What we need are fewer guns, not more.  This would clearly make campuses much less safe … just imagine the frat parties of your past, and add in a few scattered 45’s!  Or how about that messy dorm room you remember so fondly?  Add a Glock to that half-open sock drawer. 

How’s it make you feel?  Safe as hell, right?

I’m sure that the same geniuses who brought us the Iraq War, Homeland Security, tortured torture rationales, sleazy mortgage practices, and now the Bear Stearns bailout … think this is a good idea.  How’s that for fair warning? 

On a saner note, March Madness continues, with the women’s brackets up, as of last night.  I was surprised to see both LSU and Stanford land #2 seeds, although with its tough schedule, Maryland certainly can make an argument for snagging a #1.  What a bummer that Rutgers and UConn are #1 and #2 in the Greensboro bracket!  As Kara Lawson noted on ESPN last night, it seems unfortunate that two teams from the same conference, who’ve already played twice this year, will have to duke 😉 it out to emerge from their group and make the Final Four. 

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The Madness Began a Long Time Ago!

I’m a little late getting on board with JordanCornblog this morning, as I’ve been wrestling with my Excel Bracket Sheet since the wee hours.  All set now!  We’re ready to roll with the men’s bracket … and just waiting to get the Women’s teams set and then off we go!

I’ve not thought about writing anything this morning, though.  Here, instead, is a resume that was e-mailed to me by a friend this morning.  I thought it was pretty interesting and spot-on.  Some might argue that the facts aren’t all 100% correct and should be carefully checked before publicizing them.  But heck … someone should have said that before Colin Powell went to the UN, too!  Here you go …

RESUME
GEORGE W. BUSH
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20520

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

Law Enforcement:
I was arrested in Kennebunkport, Maine, in 1976 for driving under the influence of alcohol. I pled guilty, paid a fine, and had my driver’s license suspended for 30 days. My Texas driving record has been “lost” and is not available.

Military:
I joined the Texas Air National Guard and went AWOL. I refused to take a drug test or answer any questions about my drug use. By joining the Texas Air National Guard, I was able to avoid combat duty in Vietnam.

College:
I graduated from Yale University with a low C average. I was a cheerleader.

PAST WORK EXPERIENCE

  • I ran for U.S. Congress and lost.
  • I began my career in the oil business in Midland,Texas in 1975. I bought an oil company, but couldn’t find any oil in Texas. The company went bankrupt shortly after I sold all my stock.
  • I bought the Texas Rangers baseball team in a sweetheart deal that took land using taxpayer money.
  • With the help of my father and our friends in the oil industry (including Enron CEO Ken Lay), I was elected governor of Texas.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS GOVERNOR OF TEXAS

  • I changed Texas pollution laws to favor power and oil companies, making Texas the most polluted state in the Union. During my tenure, Houston replaced Los Angeles as the most smog-ridden city in America.
  • I cut taxes and bankrupted the Texas treasury to the tune of billions in borrowed money.
  • I set the record for the most executions by any governor in American history.
  • With the help of my brother, the governor of Florida , and my father’s appointments to the Supreme Court, I became President of the United States, after losing by over 500,000 votes.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS PRESIDENT:

  • I am the first President in U.S. history to enter office with a criminal record.
  • I invaded and occupied two countries at a continuing cost of over one billion dollars per week.
  • I spent the U.S. surplus and effectively bankrupted the U.S. Treasury.
  • I shattered the record for the largest annual deficit in U.S. history.
  • I set an economic record for most private bankruptcies filed in any 12-month period.
  • I set the all-time record for most foreclosures in a 12-month period.
  • I set the all-time record for the biggest drop in the history of the U.S. stock market.
  • In my first year in office, over 2 million Americans lost their jobs and that trend continues.
  • I’m proud that the members of my cabinet are the richest of any administration in U.S. history. My “poorest millionaire, ” Condoleezza Rice, has a Chevron oil tanker named after her.
  • I set the record for most campaign fund-raising trips by a U.S. President.
  • I am the all- time U.S and world record -holder for receiving the most corporate campaign donations.
  • My largest lifetime campaign contributor, and one of my best friends, Kenneth Lay, presided over the largest corporate bankruptcy fraud in U.S. history, Enron.
  • My political party used Enron private jets and corporate attorneys to assure my success with the U.S. Supreme Court during my election decision.
  • I have protected my friends at Enron and Halliburton against investigation or prosecution. More time and money was spent investigating the Monica Lewinsky affair than has been spent investigating one of the biggest corporate rip-offs in history. 
  • I presided over the biggest energy crisis in U.S. history and refused to intervene when corruption involving the oil industry was revealed.
  • I presided over the highest gasoline prices in U.S. history.
  • I changed the U.S. policy to allow convicted criminals to be awarded government contracts.
  • I appointed more convicted criminals to my administration than any President in U.S. history.
  • I created the Ministry of Homeland Security, the largest bureaucracy in the history of the United States Government.
  • I’ve broken more international treaties than any President in U.S. history.
  • I am the first President in U.S. history to have the United Nations remove the U.S. from the Human Rights Commission.
  • I withdrew the U.S. from the World Court of Law.
  • I refused to allow inspector’s access to U.S. “prisoners of war” detainees and thereby have refused to abide by the Geneva Convention.
  • I am the first President in history to refuse United Nations election inspectors (during the 2002 US election).
  • I set the record for fewest numbers of press conferences of any President since the advent of television.
  • I set the all-time record for most days on vacation in any one-year period. After taking off the entire month of August, I presided over the worst security failure in U.S. history.
  • I garnered the most sympathy ever for the U.S. after the World Trade Center attacks and less than a year later made the U.S. the most hated country in the world, the largest failure of diplomacy in world history.
  • I have set the all-time record for most people worldwide to simultaneously protest me in public venues (15 million people), shattering the record for protests against any person in the history of mankind.
  • I am the first President in U.S. history to order an unprovoked, pre-emptive attack and the military occupation of a sovereign nation. I did so against the will of the United Nations, the majority of U.S. Citizens and the world community.
  • I have cut health care benefits for war veterans and support a cut in duty benefits for active duty troops and their families in wartime.
  • In my State of the Union Address, I lied about our reasons for attacking Iraq and then blamed the lies on our British friends.
  • I am the first President in history to have a majority of Europeans (71%) view my presidency as the biggest threat to world peace and security.
  • I am supporting development of a nuclear “Tactical Bunker Buster,” a WMD.
  • I have so far failed to fulfill my pledge to bring Osama Bin Laden to justice. 

RECORDS AND REFERENCES:

  • All records of my tenure as governor of Texas are now in my father’s library, sealed and unavailable for public view.
  • All records of SEC investigations into my insider trading and my bankrupt companies are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public view.
  • All records or minutes from meetings that I, or my Vice-President, attended regarding public energy policy are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public review.
  • I specified that my sealed documents will not be available for 50 years.
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Palm Sunday Sermon

Am I right?  Palm Sunday this week and Easter next week?  And right smack dab in the middle, on March 19th, the 5th anniversary of the start of the United States’ elective war against Iraq?  Sweet, Dubya, sweet.  John McCain sings, “Hosannah.”  Republicans sing, “Hosannah.”  I sing, “Impeach, impeach, impeach!” 

Meanwhile, Obama posted (on Friday) his response to the Reverand Jeremiah Wright flap on the Huffington Post.  And you know what?  I think we need to chill and get things into proportion here.  A sermon delivered by a Chicago pastor has everyone all in an uproar, and yet the lies told by our President and his Administration have us kinda, sorta somnolent.  Good god, y’all!  (And I don’t mean y’all as in YOU … definitely mean it as in US!)  For those of US who are into music, here are the Top 40 lies told to US by our fearless leaders.

And as a small aside … whle I have tried to maintain a scrap of respect for Colin Powell through all this, I’ve lost it entirely after hearing (in “Taxi to the Dark Side“) the comment he apparently made after the “facts” he brought to the UN were proved false.  He said that that day was the “most embarrassing day” of his life. 

You know what, Colin … it ain’t about you! 

Really.

Good god.

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Talking Politics

Barack Obama’s pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Jr., has left his campaign because remarks he has made were “inflammatory.”  Geraldine Ferraro has stepped down from her position in Hillary Clinton’s campaign because remarks she has made were “inflammatory.”  Meanwhile, that George W. Bush labels huge swathes of the world as “evil” is NOT seen as a problem by far too many.

The common thread running through all of this is that it seems our tolerance for discussion of issues in anything other than a black-and-white, cartoonish way is very limited, indeed.  Racism and sexism are real … but as a culture we can’t seem to even begin to address their complexities.  Instead we get all riled and victimy, pointing fingers and shouting “foul.” 

It would be so nice if our leaders could talk with civility and depth about matters that tear at the fabric of our culture.  It would be nice, too, if the press and pundits could.  And it would be nicer, still, if we, the public, displayed an appetite for informed and intelligent debate.  I don’t see it happening … not now.  As the Democrats wrestle for power in an increasingly ugly internecine struggle, the likes of Olbermann, Matthews and Russert fan the flames and go for ratings and “news” at the cost of real content. 

So forgive me, if I return, with March Madness on the horizen, to musings about Pokey Chatman’s journey … and Pat Summitt’s raccoon episode, and Rutgers’ challenges going into the Big Dance … and other such matters (about which civil debate seems more possible). 

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Friday, Friday, Friday …

Phew!  What a week … eh?  I continue with vestiges of the sniffles … and am desperately trying to get myself healthy before March Madness begins (and sleep is severely shortened by basketball and bracketology). 

I was all set to get myself to bed early last night but then somehow ended up searching the web, first for USWNT Algarve pictures and then for an unexpurgated version of Jimmy Kimmel’s answer to Sarah Silverman’s “I’m F**king Matt Damon” video.  No luck on that front, but here’s Jimmy’s (expurgated) all-star response!

First thing this morning I checked my usual stuff on the computer.  I often check my JordanCornblog stats.  Today I noticed that the top search words bringing folks my way recently have had to do with Wff ‘n Proof.  Must be a tournament or something happening … and it looks like it may be in California.  Based on he search strings and where the hits are coming from, that’s my best guess.  And I have to say that I am sorry to disappoint anyone who hits JordanCornblog looking for actual, meaningful informaton about the game and finds only personal recollections of a frustrating, youthful experience with logic … in the context of a highly illogical family!  Hope the tournament (or whatever) is going well … and if anyone wants to share some info, I’m all ears!

After checking stats, I moved on and found this heartwarming article from the NY Times about Barack Obama’s mother.  She certainly sounds like an interesting and independent woman.  I haven’t read his bio(s) yet … but probably should, soon, huh?  Is he the real deal?  This piece (thanks CB) by Gail Collins reflects on the Spitzer debacle and awakens my ingrained concern that, perhaps as I fear, nothing is actually, ever, as it appears (with the possible exception of John McCain’s wife).

Okay, that was really nasty and unworthy of JordanCornblog, I know!  As you can see, this is what happens in the interstices between sporting events and primaries and such.  Left to my own devices, there’s no telling how quickly and how far things can veer into the absurd!  (We encountered a middle school principle of comparable, weird, rigidity some years ago.  I believe he has moved on and is now a superintendent somewhere.) 

Please note, while JordanCornblog may veer off in odd directions when left rudderless, we are assiduously avoiding that story out of Kansas about the woman and the toilet.

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Spyware Chronicles, Algarve, etc.

Late Tuesday night, in a bit of a cold-induced daze, I downloaded what looked like a cool Bracket Tool for March Madness.  BAD idea!  Next thing I knew I was getting pop-up after pop-up warning me of spyware on my computer.  The pop-up’s took me right to a website where I was helpfully offered a free scan.  Luckily I was too tired to pursue this avenue on Tuesday night and just went to bed bummed about my impulsive click of the download button!

Next morning I found my way to Enigma Software, which offered a free scan.  The scan discovered LOTS of destructive stuff BUT, when I clicked the removal tool I was told that I’d need to purchase and download their SpyHunter program to get rid of the spyware.  Before purchasing and downloading … I thankfully did a little more research and realized that I had stumbled upon a scam that offered some rogue software that would further infect my computer.  What a topsy-turvey mess!  It wasn’t until I was well into this thicket of deception that I started writing down the names of some of the entities and software programs (like Enigma Software and SpyHunter).  I wish I’d written more .. because of course now that I’m back on the solid ground of the non-rogue world, I can’t get back to many of the screens that were popping up, offering to “help” with my problem.

I finally found my way back to Lavasoft’s Ad-Aware program (something we have at work), downloaded their free verson, ran the scan, and removed the “stuff” that I had gunked everything up with.  No more pop-up’s … hopefully no more spyware.  What an odyssey, though!  I lost a good 3-4 hours … wandering in a netherworld of malware and trojan horses and guys who looked a lot like Elliot Spitzer … all due to that impulsive click!

But on to the Algarve – where good news abounds! 

For most, the good news is that the USWNT defeated Denmark yesterday 2-1 to win the championship.  (For CB, the good news is that the Algarve Cup is OVER!)  In the third place match, Norway defeated Germany 2-0.  Here’s Gayle Bryan’s blog – where I am particularly glad to read about the improvement she noted, just over the course of the Algarve.  She’s also posted pictures of the US v. Norway game, and will be following up with others shortly.

The USSF write-up of the match is here.  As Lori Chalupney said, on getting used to a new tactical system of play under Pia Sundhage: “Starting a new system, the more games we play, the more comfortable we get. We’re facing different challenges and learning how to figure them out as the game goes on, so each game that we play we just get a little more confident.”  Read more post-game quotes here.

As for the other Algarve results, I note that Poland played Ireland to a 2-2 tie and then won on PK’s in the 11th place match!  Portugal and China went to PK’s and China took the 9th place match.  Iceland beat Finland 3-0, winning 7th.  Sweden beat Italy by the same score (3-0) and took 5th.  As noted earlier, Norway defeated Germany 2-0 and won the 3rd place match, and the USWNT took first with a 2-1 win over Denmark.

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HollyCornblog Update

Wanna know what HollyCornblog has been up to since she left NH more than a month ago? She and her husband (CharlieHopbrew) have been very busy embarking on their new beer-brewing adventure!

The CarboyRead on, as HollyCornblog herself describes what’s involved … or some part of what’s involved … in this whole beer-brewing process!

“Here is the carboy with the hops that we dry hopped ready to get racked (moved) to the bottling bucket.”

“Here is where it was flowing into the bottling bucket.” (I know, that is kind of weird looking – in a hospitalish-sort-of-a-way. I’ll try not to think about it. Let’s just move along, okay?!)

Holly Cornblog continues, “I didn’t get any pictures of us actually bottling because we were both pretty busy, but here are all our bottles capped and a glass of flat beer in the front.” Flat beer? Oh yeah – there’s some sugar (whose name escapes me) that goes into each bottle to create the carbonation. HollyCornblog tells me that you have to be careful with that measurement, or you can get exploding beer bottles (a terrible waste).

“We ended up with 25 assorted size bottles, one 12 ounce, one 32 ounce, and the rest around 22 ounces. We are storing them now in the basement because it is better at this stage for them to be in a cool dark place.”

Okay, HollyCornblog and CharlieHopbrew, keep those bottles in a cool dark place … and let me know when you’re ready to start testing ’em!

Finally, here’s a picture of the late MurphyCornblog-Hopbrew, overseeing the evolving process that is underway at the Cornblog-Hopbrew domicile. “We made our first one gallon (six-pack) of beer batch this afternoon. Here it is in its little glass container. Isn’t it cute? In two weeks we’ll move it over to another gallon container and dry hop it, and then we’ll start a new gallon batch with a different hop.”

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Schedule of Algarve Placement Matches

Placement Matches

Date Time (ET) Match City Teams
Mar. 12 6:00 a.m. 11th Place Guia Poland Ireland
Mar. 12 6:00 a.m. 9th Place Montechoro Portugal China
Mar. 12 6:30 a.m. 7th Place Loule Iceland Finland
Mar. 12 6:30 a.m. 5th Place Olhao Sweden Italy
Mar. 12 6:00 a.m. 3rd Place VR de SA Norway Norway
Mar. 12 9:15 a.m. Championship VR de SA United States Denmark
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