Chuck E Cheese needs to hire this guy.

Cute.

But where do they go when it's over?

Homeless World Cup Began Yesterday.

Hundreds of homeless people from across the globe waved flags and blew whistles at the start of the Homeless Soccer World Cup on Copenhagen's main square on Sunday.

Cheered by onlookers, the 48 teams marched onto the pitch, many dancing to the rhythms of a samba band, with reigning champions Russia leading the parade.

Some 500 players, from as far afield as Burundi, the United States, Kazakhstan, Chile and India, were taking part in the weeklong event, which was conceived by street newspaper editors at a meeting in Cape Town, South Africa, in 2001.

The official website:http://www.homelessworldcup.org/

The Simp-Sox

Find out who everyone is here.

Poor Becks

He has to hang out with these folks:

Gabe in Greenville

The Boston Globe's Charles P. Pierce writes:

What's a former Red Sox cult hero - a married, laid-back, muscular, tattooed Jewish guy from California with a charity for domestic abuse victims - doing in the Carolina hills with a bus full of kids and their baseball gloves?

Read his answer here.

(Photo courtesy of Tom Priddy, GoUpstate.com)

Note to self

Do not have (a) a red permanent Sharpie marker and (b) a five-year old nephew anywhere near each other, while you are vacationing in someone else's newly remodeled beach house.

Fortunately it was only a tiny part of the deck that was "decorated" and we got it (mostly) all off, but not without a momentary heart stoppage on my part.

When I Woke Up Today I Was 6 Years Old.

Apparently the power went out last night (or more specifically, about two a.m.) during a thunderstorm because I had to reset the cable modem and restart my Mac when I woke up this morning. Normally everything just starts right back up. This morning, my Mac warned me that it was now December 31, 1969, which might cause some of my computer functions to behave erratically. That's an understatement right there if I ever saw one.

Darn, no wonder my internet connection wasn't working right. It hadn't really been invented yet!

Countdown to Vacation

In 5 days we will be hopping on a ferry and going to Bald Head Island for our yearly family beach trip. Here's what the place looks like. It got remodeled this year, so I can't wait to see it.

Now, to find a bathing suit that fits (ugh.)

A Bunny Bomb?

In the latest example of idiocy on the terraces, a 52 year old AC Milan supporter is currently being prosecuted for throwing a rabbit towards the pitch during the Milan Derby on March 11, 2007, according to the Gazzetta dello Sport.

Read the rest here. (yes, the rabbit survived...)

Poor bunny!

LDSM, Windorph

Make your own Windorph

Clash of the Carolinas 2007

Nice pics from Charleston, SC on 7/7/07 (thanks, DC.) (All Triangle FC guys pictured above, BTW.) Read more about the event here and here.

Um, yeah, my excuse for not blogging lately...

Pay attention to the headlines scrolling across the bottom; they may be the funniest part.

Breaking News: All Online Data Lost After Internet Crash

But What Kind of Mini-Van does She Have?

A mother faces firearms charges after she allegedly drove her son's friends to a rival gang member's house for a shooting.

Michelle Wright, 37, pleaded not guilty Thursday to three counts of assault with a firearm and one count of shooting a firearm at a dwelling, Los Angeles County sheriff's Detective Robert Gillis said Friday.

Wright, who has eight children, drove her son's two friends to a rival gang member's house early Tuesday in Palmdale, in northern Los Angeles County, authorities said.

A passenger got out and fired at a bedroom window before the three drove away. Two small children and a teen were in the room, but no one was injured.

The shooting was captured by a neighbor's security camera, but the video was not released pending court proceedings, officials said.

Several hours after the shooting, detectives acting on a tip went to an abandoned house where they arrested her son and the gunman, Gillis said. Authorities also recovered a shotgun they suspect was used in the shooting, he said.

During the arrest, Wright showed up and accused the officers of harassing her children, officials said.

When a detective told Wright that he recognized her vehicle from a video of the incident, she sobbed and apologized, officials claimed.

She told authorities she drove her son's "homeboys" in the shooting because she felt police were not doing enough to stop gang members from harassing her children, Gillis said.

Pardon Me For the Lack of Posts Lately.

Son #1 goes off to college (pretty much for good) in two days. I've been a bit distracted to say the least. There are so many little things that need to be bought or signed up for or taken care of or entered into some online survey thing or paid for or faxed to someone or signed off on or washed or sold or gotten rid of or packed or thrown away or ordered or measured or questioned about one more time or paid for again. Or something.

I'm sure it will all work out. When did leaving home become so complicated?