Happy (?) Friday

I love this song, though I had never seen the video for it until today. A bit depressing but a great song anyway.

The Thirteen Crises of Teenage Girls

Hats off to White Trash Mom for pointing out this scary, yet must-read article.

I just hope when the time comes (oh, wait, it's already here) that my thirteen year old feels she can talk to me (or someone she can trust if not me) about this stuff. So far, so good, but it's gonna be a long six years.

Mason & Kasey

While looking for Kasey Keller news on Google, I found this photo:
The little boy on the left is Mason and he's battling a brain tumor. Apparently he and his brother got to meet Kasey (and also Landon Donovan) this past weekend in Tampa. You can read Mason's blog here. Best wishes, Mason!

Go (home) Heels!

Well, at least Psycho T can get his toofus fixed now...

(photo from Fox Sports.)

The MLS doesn't want Keller?

Click here to read the (at least) two page discussion at Big Soccer on why Kasey should or shouldn't play in the MLS (he never has.)

I think they can't afford him, myself. But I'd love to see him play sometime.

Beck Isn't a Very Good Soccer Player.

Not Beckham...Beck. But this *is* a really pretty song.

My "Visual DNA"

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

Out of the mouths of middle schoolers.

"Mom? There's this new girl? at school? and she looks like a Barbie."

"Really."

"Really! And all the guys think she is so hot but really she just wears too much makeup."

"So where is this girl from?"

"California. And she's sort of mean, too. But only to the other girls."

At Least Kasey Made It...

Kasey Keller was among 11 World Cup veterans picked Thursday 3/15 for the U.S. soccer team roster for exhibition games against Ecuador and Guatemala.

Keller is Team USA's all-time leader in victories (50) and shutouts (45) by a goalkeeper.

Players will start training Monday 3/19 in Bradenton, Florida.

(What this article doesn't mention is that Keller is almost definitely the 2nd string keeper behind Tim Howard. Brad Guzan is the 3rd GK pick. Anyway it's nice to see the old guy get some love. Maybe he'll actually get to play in WC 2010 and get that win he's never had after such a good career.)

A Pink Card...I Love It.

From an article discussing how to make soccer better:

Pink card for divers - Jason Cundy (former Chelsea and Tottenham defender)

"A pink card, for people who dive. It counts the same as a yellow but, for a professional footballer, is much more embarrassing. Diving is the worst thing in the game and kids need to see it being punished otherwise it will only get worse. And when the referee misses it divers should receive retrospective bookings."

And this is the ref that should hand them out.

A Proud Moment

Perhaps you have heard something today about the new drug Tykerb (by GSK) that was approved by the FDA for late-stage breast cancer.

A very good friend of mine was the scientist instrumental in discovering this drug.

He no longer works for the company who "owns" the drug. I think this company gave him a raw deal but that's another story. Tykerb stands to make Glaxo Smith Kline over $1 billion in the next five years, by the way.

I just wanted to say how truly proud I am of his work, even though I'm pretty sure he doesn't read this blog.

Kapler's Got the Best Cookies

Watch the video as Gabe wins the 2nd Annual Red Sox Cookie-Off.

Damn, they're expensive, though.

What I Want for My Birthday

10 Things About Forty-Four.

1. Gabe Kapler wore #44 for the Red Sox.
2. Forty-four is a Happy Number.
3. There is a song named Forty-Four by Howlin' Wolf.
4. There is also a band named +44.
5. Forty- four fantastic food facts.
6. Here's a restaurant.
7. Another song called Forty-Four.
8. Forty-Four, Arkansas.
9. The Urban Dictionary says 44 is the "location of supreme coolness."
10. I will be 44 tomorrow and I can't say I'm really thrilled about it.
    

Happy Friday

Yummy Gabe Kapler pic of the day (thanks, Jimbo!)

Phone Karma, Part 2

At least I've never done this:

Phone Karma is a Bitch.

Remember the dirty cell phone? The one I got from ebay that had all the text messages left on it? Yep, it broke already. Damn. I may actually have to break down and go to the Cingular store to get a new one, which I really don't want to do. What with the new at&t merger and all that nonsense. Or I could go back to ebay and take my chances. And hey, maybe get more juicy leftover text messages!

I Hear Ya, Sister!

White Trash Mom wrote a great post yesterday about the "Twisted Teenage Years." In it she touches upon something I've noticed a lot lately here in our own community: Good kids suddenly going bad.

She writes:

OK, I know that I have easy kids, as kids go. I really do. But I look around, and everywhere I turn, there's bad news. The straight A student who lost it all by getting hooked on meth. The cheerleader who got knocked up and ruined her chances of a scholarship to college in the fall (I know, that's an old story, but it's still going on...). The kid who's been on the straight and narrow all through school who suddenly finds that to be humdrum and boring. So, he started ripping off local convenience stores (I'm not kidding...) - just to see if he could get away with it. He couldn't. He got caught.

Everywhere I turn, there are what appeared to be great kids who have mysteriously gone bad. And I guess, I'm just left wondering:

"What will make us immune to this? How will our children avoid going down the wrong path?"

I've wondered a lot about this myself, recently, ever since I saw a police blotter article mentioning a girl my son had gone to elementary school with. Her parents are doctors (well I know at least one of them is...) and she was always just the cutest, sweetest little girl. Lately she's been in the paper twice: for DUI and for possession of a large amount of cocaine. Yikes!

Read the rest of the post here.

Would You Be Flattered, or Offended?

This is a copy of a receipt I got last year at a restaurant in Virginia (yes, I was attending a soccer tournament.) I just found it in a coat pocket, and it made me chuckle to see it again.

Friends I show it to have two different reactions, mostly. They are either horrified or amused. If you got a receipt like this, what would you think?

I didn't notice it until after I got home, so it's not like I could have said anything to the manager. For what it's worth, the bartender was a fairly attractive young man, about 25 or so.

(Hint: if you can't see what I'm talking about, that's not how I spell my name...)

Mom My Ride

Thanks to Joeboo over at the NC-Soccer forum for this. I almost wet my pants when I saw the duct tape part. THAT HAS ACTUALLY HAPPENED TO ME.

Today's Soccer Scores

93 TFC Navy G 2 : FVAA Flames G 2
88 Triangle FC Navy 4 : FCCA Red 1

Photos from the first half of the 88 game are here (thanks to Jarrett!)

When Ads Go Bad

Sometimes contextual ads make no sense. Often, they're downright scary. WTF is a "cancer ringtone," and why would anyone want one? or why would one want to "buy cancer on ebay"?

Live from the Front Seat

The Soccer Mom Talk Show!