Obama in '08??

Not owning a television makes it difficult for me to catch Meet the Press each week, but I just read in The Washington Post that Barack Obama announced on Meet the Press this morning that he is considering a run for the presidency in 2008. This is huge! A black man actually has a real chance of being the next President of the United States. People love this guy, but I don't really know much about him other than the fact that he's been holding it down in the Senate for Black America for the last 2 years. He's probably the one person that could give Hilary a real run for her money in the 2008 primaries. Don't get me wrong, I like Hilary. I even helped her get elected in 2000 (and by "helped her get elected" I mean I interned in her campaign office once a week my senior year in college). The problem is that she's definitely polarizing. While I don't feel that she's really done anything that monumental that would cause her to be a polarizing figure, the fact remains that she is: many people love her, and many people hate her. And this became very apparent to me while I was interning in her office, and that was before she even had a job (being First Lady doesn't count). But the same could have been said about President Bush in 2000. Despite that fact that he was (and still is) very polarizing, and he still won...twice. Nevertheless, it would make me and a lot of other people very happy for the Democrats to have a candidate that could potentially appeal to the entire country and not just the blue states... but then there's the black thing.

Is the US ready for a President that's not a white male? One could argue that countries like Germany, the UK, and even Chile, and Liberia are far more progressive than the US because they've elected female heads of state and the US has never even come close. The only serious non-white male candidate we've ever had was Elizabeth Dole, and even her own husband said that she never had a chance. I don't know if the US is ready for a Black President (or a female President for that matter). I'd like to hope so, but I really don't know.

Of course if Obama does decide to run, he's definitely not guaranteed the nomination. Beyond Hillary, there's also John Kerry, Russ Feingold, Joe Biden, and maybe even Al Gore among others to contend with. If you take Obama and Hilary out of the equation, I'd put my money on Feingold or Biden, but unlike last election, there's no dearth of good talent hoping for the Presidential nod. I'd honestly be happy with many of the Democratic hopefuls that are expected to make a run in '08 (with maybe the exception of Kerry. I was never a big fan.).

But before we get too far ahead of ourselves, there's the little matter of midterm elections and control of Congress coming up in a few weeks. Americans generally prefer divided government. Although Republicans have held the legislative and executive branches for the last six years, I believe that if you look back over post-war history, Americans have generally prefered having one party in the White House and a different one controlling Capitol Hill. So if Democrats actually do as well in the upcoming election as people seem to think that they can and they regain control of both houses, it may make a little difficult for the Democratic nominee to take the White House in '08, regardless of who that nominee is. That's not to say that I think we should all go out and vote Republican next month, but if Democrats do regain control of Congress, they're really going to have to get their act together so that they don't mess things up so much to ensure the maintenance of Republican control of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Graduate School

As I sit here in the university library late in the evening trying to prepare for my upcoming mid-term examinations, I can't help but reflect on graduate school as an institution. I'm still rather new to the grad school experience, but I love the opportunity to focus exclusively on learning about subjects that I actually care about. But as I look at over the crowd of my fellow students with their noses buried in their books, I can't help but consider the irony of this endeavor.

One could argue that education is the great equalizer in American society. No matter what your background, no matter where you grew up, no matter what you look like, a quality education can be your key to success and the "American Dream" (whatever that is). While that may be true on some level, whatever truth that assertion holds does not provide much comfort for those that aren't able to pursue graduate education in the first place.

It's no secret that graduate school is expensive -- ridiculously so. And it should also be no surprise that as I look out across the library in which I sit, all I see are White and East Asian faces. Here at one of the preeminant graduate institutions for international affairs in the country in which the vast majority of students enroll because they want to "save the world" and ensure that everyone everywhere has access to the tools they need to not just survive, but to thrive in life, there exists one of the most blatant displays of inequity in the world. How many people can not only afford to survive for two years with no income, but, in addition, pay over $50,000 a year in tuition and expenses? While education may in fact be a great equalizer among men, it's a path that the ones who could use it most aren't able to step foot on. That is the irony I see: everyone here -- myself included -- dream of going on to make the world a more peaceful and equitable place for all, but what do any of us really know about how life really is? What do we know about poverty, war, or struggle that we didn't read in a textbook or watch on CNN?

As I sit here studying economic theory under the watchful eyes of university benefactors immortalized in portraits upon the walls, I can't help but wonder whether we're all fooling ourselves. None of us could possibly follow through on our grand expectations because none of us truly understands what needs to be done. And those out there who do know what needs to be done because they live it everyday, will never have the opportunity to occupy the seat in which I now sit. Most will never have the opportunity to take part in this great "equalizing force" because whoever came up with that notion clearly didn't consider all of the obstacles the average person must overcome before they can even get here.

Well, back to work. These econ problem sets aren't going to do themselves.

Lights, Camera, Action

Given my impeccable taste in film, I'd like to perform a public service by providing a list of movies that I think everyone should watch (in no particular order):

Donnie Darko
Amorres Perros (foreign)
Antwone Fisher
Boys Don't Cry
Central Station (foreign)
City of God (foreign)
A Clockwork Orange
The Godfather (Parts I & II)
The Color Purple
Hotel Rwanda
Il Postino (foreign)
Love Jones
Malcolm X
Maria Full of Grace (kinda foreign)
Paradise Now (foreign)
Requiem for a Dream
Philadelphia
You Can Count on Me
Brick

Anyone care to suggest any other films that you feel should be added to the list?

As if I didn't already have enough to worry about

Today's NY Times reported on the resurgence of bed bugs thoughout the city. Calls for bed bug exterminations have risen by a whopping 71% between 2000 and 2005, according to a local pest control association. As I sit here on my own bed and fight off the constant urge to scratch at the phantom bed bugs that I'm sure are just waiting to crawl all over me tonight, I can't help but be reminded of an encounter just yesterday. While I don't really know what the difference is between a "bed bug" and a bug that just happens to be on your bed, whatever I discovered crawling across my bed that afternoon was something I had never seen before. It wasn't particularly menacing, but it was nevertheless an unwelcomed visitor and met a swift and decisive demise.

So, New York, good night, sleep tight and...well, let's just leave it at that.

Cradle To Cradle

I just finished a book that I would highly recommend: Cradle to Cradle by William McDonough and Michael Braungart. It's basically about how we can rethink the modern manufacturing process to reduce and even end the negative impact that humans have on the world in which we live. Instead of being "less bad" through such practices as auto emissions controls, pollution restrictions, and even recycling in its current state, we can rethink the whole process from beginning to end to not only reduce our impact on the earth to zero, but to actually make things better than the way we found it. Instead of determining the amount of pollutants a manufacturing company can "safely" dump into our rivers, why not redesign the manufacturing process from the beginning and use materials and processes that simply don't pollute at all? Taking that idea a step further, the authors argue that not only is it possible to refrain from polluting, but that same process could be designed in such a way that the end product can actually enrich the environment after it's served it's primary purpose rather than simply ending up in a landfill. Very interesting stuff.

Our current goal of simply slowing down the rate at which we destroy the earth isn't viable in the long term. To truly preserve the earth for future generations, the authors maintain that humans need to reintegrate themselves into the natural world. Instead of trying to "tame" nature to suit our needs, we could be like the ant or the cherry tree that recognizes the natural state of things and develops ways to thrive within the natural world rather than in spite of it.

For more info on the authors and their work, check out the websites for Michael Braungart and William McDonough.

Cleantech

For my fellow tree-huggers out there, there's an interesting article in today's NY Times about the marrying of the capital market and environmental innovation. About a decade ago, Nicholas Parker began the trade group Cleantech Venture Network, which aims to connect venture capitalists with start-up companies developing alternative sources of energy and other environmentally friendly pursuits. At the risk of echoing one of the tenets of the Bush Administration, I've always maintained that the best way to tackle the vast environmental problems we currently face would be to somehow make environmentalism profitable. Profit motive has always been the greatest driving force of mankind. If we could someone encourage a market demand for a cleaner environment, many of our environmental problems would be solved. Fortunately, it seems that one side effect of higher oil prices has been a greater interest in alternative sources of energy. Now that there's the potential that money can be made from protecting the environment maybe we'll see some significant advances in environmental sustainability over the next few years. (As an aside, I've always believed that we should be paying more for gasoline to take into account the negative externalaties in order to reflect the true cost of the gasoline that we consume. But, hey, that's easy for me to say because I've never owned a car and have no intention of getting one anytime soon.)

While profit motive has led to substantial improvments in quality of life, especially since the industrial revolution, economics does have its limits. I believe that it was John Maynard Keynes (or perhaps Adam Smith) who predicted that as a result of the increased interconnectedness of nations, war would be a thing of the past. By its very nature, war disrupts the free flow of capital, and, by their very nature, human beings are extremely reluctant to willingly pass up financial gains. Clearly, he was wrong. Maybe humans' need to conquer is the only thing that surpasses our greed. Although we may be stuck with war through the end of time, I hope at least that our desire for wealth accumulation will lead us to a cleaner, prettier world in a generation's time.

No Comment

I just read an interesting article in the Guardian about President Bush, Israel, and Hizbullah . I have a few comments associated with this article, but I'm going to keep them to myself. However, I will note that the subject of this post and my previous post are almost too perfect together. After reading the article, feel free to email me if you'd like to discuss.

Populism for the Information Age

It seems like everyone has a blog nowadays. Even the President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, just launched a blog of his own. There's only one entry so far, but I thought it was a pretty interesting read. He gives a quick background and justification for opposing what he refers to as the "Great Satan" -- i.e. the United States -- at every turn citing the US involvement in propping up the Shah prior to the Revolution and the US suuport for Saddaam during the 8-year Iran-Iraq War. My knowledge of the Middle East history is limited at best, so I don't really know how much of what he wrote was actually true and how much is biased, but it's interesting getting a glimpse inside the head of a world leader that's very much the topic of conversation among international affairs circles. I think it would be nice if other leaders here in the US and around the world would take the time to actually inform their constituents why they are doing the things that they do. Of course not everything can be broadcast over the internet for national security reasons, but politicians could do a much better job at informing the public. It would be a welcomed development if, for example, President Bush were to actually lay out his ideals and goals and beliefs and how he arrived at those beliefs instead of simply searching for the next great soundbite for the the morning papers.

I use President Bush as an example, but the same holds true for all politicians. When was the last time a politician truly tried to communicate with voters? When we step into the voting booth, do any of us really know what the idealogy and motivation is of any of the men and women who appear on the ballot? Our nation was basically founded on idealogy. Alexander Hamilton, John Jay and James Madison set out to communicate this idealogy when they published the Federalist Papers to advocate the ratification of the US Constitution. They methodically went through the theory of government as they saw it. Once the men were in office (Madison as our 4th President and Hamiliton as Secretary of Treasury), there was no question of where they stood on certain issues because there was a standing document laying it all out. I don't know whether any subsequent electorate has had the opportunity to make a truly informed decision when casting their votes. Therefore, I applaud President Ahmadinejad's effort to connect with the average Iranain voter. While I may not agree with what he says, I definitely commend him on his courage to state his beliefs and let the Iranian people decide what they think.

If you'd like to take a look, here's a link to his blog, complete with an internet poll about whether you think the US and Isreal are intentionally trying to incite another World War through an attack on Lebanon. As it stands right now, 45% think 'yes' and 55% voted 'no'.

The End of Poverty

Back during my undergraduate days at Georgetown, Father Schall, my political theory professor, used to advise us that great works were best enjoyed when read in the location in which they were written. The politics of Cicero were best pondered on the streets of Rome. Rousseau's discourses were best read in a Parisian cafe. John Locke's democratic ideals should be contemplated over a pint in a British pub. Finally seven years later, I finally put Fr. Schall's suggestions into practice... sort of. Before embarking upon my recent trip to Senegal, I picked up a copy of Jeffrey Sachs' End of Poverty. While I'm sure Professor Sachs wrote most of this book in his office at Columbia University, much of the research that went into the book was gathered in Africa. And Fr. Schall was correct, reading about a subject in the location does make the work more impactful somehow. Learning about development issues in Africa from Africa, makes everything seem more real and in your face.

Sachs attempts to write a roadmap for ending extreme poverty over the next two decades, a goal championed by the United Nations' Millienium Goals. Despite the seemingly impossible task he sets out for himself at the start of the book, I finished the book convinced that it was all very possible and that he had the strategy to accomplish it. It's quite an amazing book. He starts out by setting the stage: presenting the most challenging regions to gloabal developement. He then goes on to give specific reasons as to why some countries have achieved development while others have not, despite the fact the all countries started off at basically the same starting point back in the 17th Century when everyone was poor. Next, he chronicles some of the work that he has done personally in Bolivia, Poland, Russia, etc. to battle hyperinflation and help get those countries back on track. After laying out the case and what needs to be done, he spends the second half of the book detailing how to do it, how to pay for it and why it's in the interest of the rich to actually do it. I was thoroughly impressed by the whole endeavor.

Now that Sachs has clearly shown that it is indeed possible, at least theoretically, to end poverty by 2025 (the target date of the UN Millenium Development Goals), the really hard part is to convince world leaders and the electors in democratic societies to actually do it. How we accomplish that goal isn't covered in this book, but maybe that's someone else's job. With this book, Sachs has led us to the water, but now it's up to the rest of us to take a drink.

Shots

Here are a few shots from Senegal. Enjoy.



Lac Rose



The Locals



Goree Island



MLK Worldwide



Football Fans

Big Love

So one of the more interesting things I learned during my recent trip is that polygamy is alive and well in Senegal. Not that I have anything against polygamy necessarily, but it was just interesting being in a place that openly practiced it. I was told that Senegalese law allows for a man to have up to four wives. Aside from the fact that I don't understand why anyone would even want to have four wives, I'm very interested in understanding how the logistics of such a relationship would play out. I met a few married couples in Dakar, but unfortunately, I don't think I met any men that had multiple wives. I understand that the first wife is supreme over any subsequent wives, but beyond that, I don't know how the whole arrangement works. Do they all live together, or do they generally maintain separate residences and the man divides his time accordingly? Are all children equal, or does the preference given to the first wife extend to the children she bears as well? It seems to me that it would be a very complicated and very delicately balanced relationship, but it's likely that they've been practicing polygamy for centuries and have no trouble negotiating all of the potential pitfalls that would be common to novices.

One woman that I met there had been dating a married man for several years. After 9 years of what I would characterize as him stringing her along, she learned that he had made a pact with his wife to refrain from taking another wife despite the aspirations of the woman that I had met, who was hoping to become wife number 2. As the situation stood by the time I left, as relayed to me by my friend, the woman and the married man were actively trying to pursuade the wife to release the husband from his aggreement so that he could take a second wife. What seemed odd to me as a westerner, was not so much that the woman was willing to be wife number 2, but the fact that she was the one most actively pursuing that position. Although she was well aware that she would be playing second fiddle to his first wife for the rest of her life, she had decided that she wanted to be with this man and was determined to convince his wife to allow her into their family. The whole situation seems so opposed to our notions of feminism here in the west. There just seems like there is something inherently wrong with her pursuing such a position of inferiority. However, different cultures have very different rules and norms. Maybe from her point of view, asserting her desire to be with this particular man was her form of self-empowerment. Maybe it's not about the man at all. Maybe marriage to her is simply a tool to gain greater access in society so that she can more easily accomplish her goals in life. Or maybe not. Who knows. I just think it's all very interesting.

Dakar: First Impressions

Here wr are: Day 5 of 35 days in Senegal. I'm having a great time so far. Although it may not have been the most financially responsible decision I've ever made in light of the fact that i won't have a job for the next 2 years while i'm in school, this was the perfect ime to come for several reasons. First I have a friend here. In a spectacular coincidence, I learned a few weeks ago that a friend from college not only just graduated from the grad program I'm about to enter, but also won the fellowship that i was granted back in May. As a result of the fellowship, she's interning at the US Embassy here in Dakar and has a whole house to herself in downtown Dakar curtousy of generous tax-paying Americans. So I've been staying with her this week. Having a place to stay has been great of course, but another great part is that she somehow knows so many people here. We've been taken around town and invited to eat in the homes of several Senegalese families just in the few days I've been here. It's been great. That's stuff that I would have not been able to tap into had I been here on my own, which was the original plan.

Secondly, this was the perfect time to come because I don't think I would have been able to appreciate it here had I come before now. Looking back on my time in Austria and China and even as recently as my trip to Japan this spring, i needed those experiences to get me ready for Africa, which is where I've been really wanting to go all along. I believe that some people are born ready to spend time in Africa, some are probably never ready to come to Africa, I just needed some time to learn how to really appreciate life outside of the US before I came. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't have enjoyed being here. But this is still the first week. Let's see how I feel in a month.

So enough about me. Let's talk about dakar. First, the Senegalese are beautiful. Of course, not everyone is gorgeous, but many many are. Both men and women alike. They tend to have tall, slender, naturally toned bodies with absolutley beautiful very dark skin. I find myself going off course following people walking down the street because they're so beautiful and I'm not ready to stop looking at them yet.

The food. The food is so good. The meals seem very simple (fish or chicken, vegetables and rice), but it is so good. Since it's right on the coast, there's an abundance of seafood, and I don't know how they cook it, but it's so very tasty. I just had a whole fish today for lunch and I think I may have another one tomorrow... or maybe even later tonight. This is food at a restaurant that's so good. When we go to someone's home, it's even better.

Contrary to my impressions beforehand, Dakar ain't cheap! Many things are pretty much on par with the US in terms of price. My meal today (fish, rice, a bottle of local beer) cost me about 10 or 11 dollars. The same meal at a comparable restaurant would've probably cost me about 15 or 16 in Baltimore and maybe 20 in San Francisco ( as an aside, SF is expensive, in my opinion). While it's cheaper than the US, it's really not all that cheap. I was expecting China prices, and I was clearly mistaken. Talking to one of my friend's (very wealthy) Senegalese friends, I also learned that real estate in Dakar is very expensive. Maybe more expensive than much of the US. Other things are really cheap, however. For example, my language class is only 200 dollars for 100 hours of instruction (i.e. 2 dollars an hour). The programs I was looking at in France wanted 230-250 dollars a week for about 20 hours of instruction. So some things here are rather pricey, while others are pretty cheap.

Not only is this my first time in Africa, but it's also my first time in a predominately Muslim country. Although I get the impression that Senegal is a rather secular Muslim country (more of what I imagine Turkey to be as opposed to my impression of Saudi Arabia), I find it all pretty interesting. I took the bus home after class today, and on the way home I saw the faithful flooding the streets and outdoor markets as the Grand Mosque emptied after, I presume, the conclusion of Friday afternoon prayers. There were men carrying prayer rugs and beads everywhere. Some were adorned in traditional dress while many just had on a t-shirt and pants. It was pretty cool.

Dakar, not unexpectedly, is very homogenous. I'm sure there are different tribes that make up the population here, but with my untrained american eyes, I just see a lot of black people. I mean, that's great and part of the reason i came here, but still, it's not very unlike Tokyo or Beijing in that regard. Interestingly enough, also not unlike Beijing and Tokyo, the Senegalese can pick me out of a crowd in an instant. Eventhough I feel like I blend in here a lot more than i ever could in Beijing or Tokyo, i'm as much a foreigner to the Senegalese as I was to the Chinese or Japanese. Of course the fact that I don't speak french is a dead giveaway, but i don't even have to open my mouth for people selling stuff on the street to approach me with what little English they have.

Just a few moments ago, I a Senegalese woman tried to pick me up in the internet cafe. Although she broke the ice asking me whether I worked here, she knew good and well that I didn't work here the moment she laid eyes on me. In China there was a very interesting dynamic between Chinese women and foreign men. Many women in China saw the potential to lure a (presumed) wealthy foreigner (which i imagine is common in many developing countries). I'm interested in seeing whether it will be a similar dynamic here in Senegal.

So that's my take on Dakar so far. One other activity of interest that I've taken part in is a trip to the Pink Lake a few days ago. It's literally pink and hella salty! Apparently, there are minerals in the water that provide favorable conditions to a certain type of algae that glistens pink when the sun's rays hit it. But the other cool part is that it's so unbelievably salty that you literally can't help but float. You can't really even swim because almost your entire body is floating on top of the water. It's pretty cool, but if your unfortunate enough to get some water in your mouth or, even worse, in your eyes, the whole experience instantly becomes a lot less enjoyable.

A Bientot!

I think I'll be taking a bit of a hiatus from Quarterlife Crossroads starting on Sunday. Before heading off to graduate school in the fall, I'm taking the next 5 weeks or so to learn French in Dakar, Senegal. I have no idea of how my internet access will be during that time. But, rest assured, I'll be recounting my adventures and posting photos upon my return to the States in early August.

Believe the Hype

I just finished reading Life of Pi by Yann Martel. Everyone was right: it's an excellent book. One reviewer goes so far as to make the lofty claim that it will make you "believe in God". I don't know about all that, but it is a damn good story. Like I mentioned in my previous entry, I am one of the few people out there who hadn't already read this book, but for the handful of y'all out there who haven't read it, I suggest picking it up.

The story opens with the very unassuming tale of a god-fearing boy growing up in India raised by zookeeping parents. When the family embarks on a journey to Canada by boat with several of their animals, however, things get a little out of the ordinary. Without providing any more detail than you would get from the outside of the book jacket, the ship sinks and the boy finds himself alone on a life boat with a 450-pound Bengal tiger floating somewhere in the Pacific.

Martel is an excellent story teller. He spends about two-thirds of the novel in the exact same setting on the life boat, with the exact same two characters (only one of whom actually speaks) and somehow tells a riveting story set in a seemingly mundane environment. While on the one hand, I was eager to learn what would happen next, on the other hand, I didn't want the book to end.

Anyone's who's read it, please do drop me a line. After briefly discussing the "believing in God aspect" of the book over a beer last night, my friend Mark made a very interesting point. I don't want to make the point now because I don't want to spoil the ending for anyone.


In a rare move away from contemporary fiction, for my next book, I've chosen The End of Poverty by Jeffrey Sachs. Although I feel that Professor Sachs could have chosen a more compelling figure to write the forward than Bono, Sachs is one of the most interesting people in development economics today. As the head of Columbia University's Earth Institute, professor at Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs, and Kofi Annan's appointee to spearhead the United Nation's Millenium Goals Project, Sachs is definitely an intellectual force to be reckoned with. I just picked up the book this evening. I'm about 20 pages into it, and already I'm a big fan. I'm looking foward to getting deeper into it and also for the opportunity to discuss some of the major themes with Professor Sachs when I start my Masters of International Affiars program at Columbia in the fall.

John Henry Days

I recently finished the book John Henry Days by Colson Whitehead. I really liked it. It's very well written. It's primarily about a fairly young discontented black journalist from New York City who is sent to cover the weekend celebration surrounding the unveiling of a new John Henry stamp by the post office in John Henry's hometown in West Virginia. That's the main premise of the novel, and while that story on its own is interesting, Whitehead takes the book in so many different directions. Not only does he tell the story of the main character, but he also gives us a glimpse into the life of John Henry in the days and years leading up to his ill-fated race with a steam-powered version of himself. He also tells the tales of many of the characters that his main character meets during his weekend in West Virginia. All in first person. The novel jumps around a lot, but it's never difficult to follow and it's always entertaining.

I like reading fiction by people I feel are smarter than I. There's a certain style of writing that I particularly enjoy. I've read many novels that I would put in this category - most notably Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace and Another Country by James Baldwin - but I find it most rewarding when I can find that style of writing in a modern African-American author. In an earlier entry, I've discussed the difficulty I have in finding quality contemporary African-American fiction, so on the rare occasion that I do find it, I feel the need to share the news with as many people as I can.

I'm looking forward to reading his first novel, The Intuitionist.

Currently I'm about halfway through Life of Pi by Yann Martel. In case there are a few people out there who haven't read this book already (I honestly think that I'm the only person on earth who hasn't read this book already), it's been a very good read so far.

Bitter Sweet

Yesterday started off with a sad, but not totally unexpected, morning. The United States is out of the World Cup, falling to Ghana 2:1. After their horrible show against the Czech Republic and their mediocre performance against the Italians, I don't think anyone was terribly surprised that the US didn't make it to the second round. After Ghana beat the Czechs 2:0 last week, the writing was pretty much on the wall. At least the US didn't go home scoreless. The point the gained during the match with Italy in which they tied 1:1, was scored for them by an Italian player. So the match against Ghana was the first, and only, goal scored by an American during the tournement. However, that proved to be insufficient because the Ghanaians went on to score two goals during the course of the game.

To the US's credit the foul called against Onyewu in the box that resulted in a penalty kick for Ghana, at which time they scored their second goal, was a bad call. There was clearly no foul. But it really wouldn't have mattered either way. The US needed to win this game to make it to the second round. If it weren't for that penalty kick, they would have only tied. So either way, the Americans would've been sent home.

The title of this post is Bitter Sweet because although I'm disappointed that the US didn't make it out of the group, I'm very excited that Ghana did. They're the only African team to make it out of the group stage. I was rooting first and foremost for the Americans coming into the tournement, but secondly, I've been rooting for the four sub-saharan African teams to suceed. Ghana is the only one to do so. Unfortunately, however, their first match out of the group stage is against reigning champs Brazil, but you never know. I don't think many people expected Ghana to make it this far. Maybe they have one more upset still in them.

World Cup Fever

Another four years have past and it's finally time for another World Cup Tournement. I love international soccer! I should be in Germany right now taking in all of the festivities first hand, but, alas, finances and circumstances weren't on my side. Maybe South Africa in 2010 will prove more attainable. Nevertheless, I am thoroughly enjoying catching the mathches on the tele, despite the fact that the team I root for always ends up losing.

As a red-blooded American, I'm of course rooting for US all the way. I'm also pulling for the African teams to have a good showing this year. So far, I've seen the Argentina -- Cote d'Ivoire match in which Cote d'Ivoire lost 2-1. The Ivorians did manage to score a goal to tie the game in the last 10 or 15 minutes of play, which made things a lot more exciting for a little while. However, the Argentines went on to win. This afternoon the Ghanaians lost to the Italians 2-0. I only saw the first half of the game and although Ghana went on to lose the game, I thought that they were playing a good game. They had several shots on goal. They were able to get inside the box on several occasions, but had difficulty in the final execution, which is all that really matters in the end. But a pretty good showing overall against Italy that's known for it's defense. The Americans, on the other hand, are another story. They really sucked it up today. They were terrible, losing to the Czech Republic 3-0. The whole team only had like 4 or 5 shots on goal the entire game. Tomas Rosicky, who scored 2 of Czech's goals, had three shots on goal all by himself! I really need to have a talk with the guy that came up with the model that ranked the US at number 5 in the world coming into the competition. The US is really going to have to step it up or else they won't even have a chance against Italy on Saturday. By the looks of how poorly the US played today and how well the Ghanaians played during the first half of their game, I'd have to say that the US may even have a tough time taking on Ghana. To their credit, however, Claudio Reyna of the US was agonizingly close to scoring a goal in the first half. It was literally off by an inch or two, and the play leading up to the shot was beautiful. They had some really good team work moving the ball up field and the shot was set up perfectly, but no matter how close it was and how beautifully it was set up, the ball still didn't go in the goal. And even if it had, that was the only well executed play of the game. Had they made that shot, they still would have lost by 2 points.

Land of the Rising Sun

Here are just a few shots from my recent trip to Japan.


Miyajima


Himeji Castle


Carp and Latern


Just Married




Five-Tier Pagoda



A Friday Night Gone Horribly Wrong

Buy me some peanuts and... ramen?

Baseball may be America's favorite pastime, but we got nothing on the Japanese.

I was just in Hiroshima the other day, where I was able to catch a baseball game between the Hiroshima Carp and the Blue Buffalo from some undetermined city in Japan. The Japanese really love themselves some baseball. Not speaking any Japanese, I found myself sitting in the section of the opposing team (which crushed the hometeam by like 7 - 2). It was awesome! The Japanese take baseball very seriously. I don't think I even watched much of the game. I was too busy looking at all of the crazy fans in the bleachers.

Baseball in America is a very subdued spectator sport. There may be a few profanities thrown at the umpire for making a bad call every once in a while, but that's pretty much the extent of it. It's a very different story in Japan. Not only are the crowds yelling and chanting practically the entire game, but there are also huge banners and flags being waved, drums being beat upon, and bands of trumpeteers making the rounds. With a few opening lines, the band leader gets up, signals the drums and trumpets to start playing and the entire crowd joins in on the fight song chosen from their seemingly infinite repetoire. It's pretty cool. And pretty insane. While I had absolutely no idea what the people were chanting, I joined in as much as I could and I made a couple friends in the process. Although neither of us could speak the other's language, the fact that I was clearly cheering on their team garnered me a couple of hi-fives at key points during the game. It was fun. And for only 15 bucks, it was one of the few things in Japan that's actually reasonably priced.

I'm Lovin' It!

I'm a bit of a traveller. I can't seem to stay in one place for very long. Over the years, I've developed a list of a few things that I like to do whenever I travel to a foreign country for the first time. Despite the look of disgust I get from my friends when I tell them this, whenever I go to a new country, I always make it a point to go to McDonald's at least once. While most people try to stay as far away from Micky D's as possible, especially when abroad, the Golden Arches are like a siren in the distance beckoning me to come closer. This is true for a couple of reasons. First, I love how McDonald's manages to adapt to whatever environment it's in. It's like some kind of mutating bacteria slowly encompassing the entire globe. There's always the basic stuff in every McDonald's anywhere in the world - Big Mac, Filet 'o Fish, Quarter Pounder w/ cheese - but there are also a few other things specific only to that country. For example, McDo in France serves yogurt and a croissant with breakfast. In addition to the traditional apple, MaiDengLao in China offers Pineapple and Taro Root pies - neither of which I actually recommend. I love seeing how McDonald's tries to adapt to the local tastes while keeping it real for the visiting Americans who are just out for a taste of home.

Secondly, and most importantly, I love visiting McDonald's abroad for the apple pie. Unlike in the US, which has somehow successfully blamed the fast food industry for it's chronic obesity, it's been my experience that you can still get the fried apple pie in every McDonald's abroad, as opposed to the baked version available in the US. Apple pie isn't supposed to be healthy. It's just supposed to taste good. By choosing to only bake their pies, the US stores have successfully put a desert on the market that is neither good for you, nor tastes good. I don't see the point.

So this entry is coming at you all from my friend's apartment in Tokyo, where I had the pleasure today to experience one of those beautifully crispy and greasy and fatty deep-fried apple pies. Mmmmmm.... just like Mom used to make.