Summer Recap Part Two

This summer we decided to finally pay a visit to one of Kimberly's high school friends who lives in Ohio. So we drove up to Circleville, OH and spent a couple of nights with Deb and her family. It was a nice visit, our first ever to Ohio. We went to the Pickaway County Fair, tooled around Circleville and had a very nice time. 

One night we drove thirty miles north to Columbus to catch a Crew game. They just happened to be playing our FC Dallas. I had wanted to see Crew Stadium which is kind of legendary in American soccer circles since it was the first stadium build specifically for soccer. Lamar Hunt, the Crew's owner at the time, was taking quite a risk. But now almost every MLS side boasts their own grounds. 

We had great seats but had to take cover a few minutes before the game started due to a storm that rolled in. We waited for an hour before being told the game was cancelled. We later found out the match was cancelled because an off-duty fireman was struck by lightning in the parking lot moments before game time. He survived. Bummed that we didn't see a game but glad everyone was okay. Crew Stadium is a cool venue and they treated us well despite our FC Dallas gear. 

We enjoyed our brief visit to Ohio before heading out to New York. 

Summer Recap Part One

It's been a great summer so far and I haven't blogged much in the past month. So, not that you care, I'll recap in bits and pieces. 

The AP Reading in Salt Lake went well. Always good to see the Wolfpack (pictured above at a typical dinner moment). After seven years these guys have become some of my closest friends. I've made some other great friends over the years including my Wolf Gang (an offshoot of the pack, pictured below). 

These guys are the best. All these friends and more I've made over the past seven years are what keep me coming back year after year. That and the Five Diamond hotel I've been lucky enough to stay in...The Grand America. 

Yeah, I plan on SLC each year now. Hopefully the invites will keep coming. 

Weird Stuff in SLC

This is a sphinx with Joseph Smith's face. 

School's Out!

I have to admit that I am happier about the arrival of summer than I have been in years.  

Soccer Night

Soccer night at FC Dallas with Mr. C and the muchacos! 

100

This post has no significance except for the fact that it's my one-hundredth post of the year. And there's ten days left till summer. And I'm listening to the album Way Out West by Sonny Rollins. 

DTID

Another shot from Saturday's game. Dallas 'Till I Die!

Soccer Night

It was a beautiful night for soccer last night at Toyota Stadium. 20,000 of us were treated to temps in the mid-seventies. Unfortunately the match against Chivas ended in a tie but that's better than a loss. Great place to watch a game. 

The Gold Album

I will miss these guys. Good luck, class of '14. 

The Last Days...

 

The Last Day of the FSA Dynamo. Last Saturday the league had trophy presentation ceremonies for each age group. It was a bittersweet day knowing that the Dynamo are breaking up. Four of the members are going all in for Academy soccer and leaving the Rec league altogether. The coach is giving up the reins since his son is one of those moving on. JDW wasn't really interested in Academy at this point. I was asked to consider coaching but my son wants to give baseball a shot in the fall. Most likely the other boys will thrown into the league draft and scattered to new teams. 

My son was one of three left from the original Dynamo. They played six seasons together (not including indoor seasons). That's three years. We had a great coach and great parent support. Players transferred to our team because of the Dynamo's reputation...not for winning...but for being a good, supportive team. I will miss those Saturdays on the soccer field.

But we are giving baseball a shot. My son's been dying to try it. We've been playing catch almost every night the past week. And my son says if he doesn't like baseball he'll go back to soccer. Being a baseball fan and having played as a kid I'm excited as well. But still, just a little sad about moving on from the Dynamo.

Go Go Dynamo!

Sun

Nice Mother's Day afternoon lunch by the shore. 

20 Years Ago Today.,,

The House of New Worship

The great Mughal Emperor Akbar, who ruled India in the late 16th century, had a temple built in his great capital Fatephur Sikri called the House of New Worship. The House of New Worship was a place where ideas could be debated without fear. Philosophers and religious leaders could argue and attack each others ideas and even critique the rule of the all powerful emperor in the safety of the House of New Worship. Missionaries from western Europe could debate the merits of Christianity, monks from Cathay (China) could espouse the virtues of Buddhism and so on and so forth.

But the House of New Worship was not a permanent structure. It was a gigantic tent. It was a grand and beautiful tent, but a tent nonetheless. Akbar believed that all ideas are impermanent. He believed that ideas wash up on the shore like great tides that possess great strength and fury and then ebb and recede with the passing of time. Akbar even knew the impermanent nature of the mighty Mughal Dynasty. He therefore decreed that a house for ideas should be as impermanent as ideas themselves. 

Wired

My cords and headphones are out of control. May have to put the Cordito Cord Wrap on my gift list. Looks like a nice solution. 

Beasts

Back in January I wrote about what I was reading. Since January I've read some excellent books, all of which I recommend. Here's what I've read since January:

The Circle by Dave Eggers

Teach Like a Pirate by Dave Burgess

To End All Wars by Adam Hochschild

Everything Must Change by Brian D. McClaren

In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson

If I get around to it, I'll try to write some brief thoughts on each of the above titles. Last night I finished In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson. It was one of those "wow" books. When I  put it down after reading the last page, that was my reaction. I read a lot of books and many of them are great. But there are very few "wow" books. I put Beasts down and just had to sit and reflect for a few minutes.

Erik Larson is an amazing writer, historian and journalist. I first encountered his work in Devil in the White City. Devil in the White City, about the Chicago's World's Fair, was such a great work that when I saw he had written a book about Nazi Germany I had to give it a look.

"Garden of beasts" is the literal translation of the great park in central Berlin called the Tiergarten. It was around this central park like district of Berlin where you found the Reichstag, many embassies and German government buildings. The book follows the story of the American ambassador and his family stationed in Berlin in 1934, months after Hitler was named chancellor.

The narrative traces the early rise of Hitler's government and the personal stories of the ambassador and his family. The book reads like a novel. The twenty-eight year old daughter of the American ambassador had numerous affairs with high ranking Nazis, including the head of the Gestapo. She also had a long relationship with the head Soviet NKVD (predecessor to the KGB) agent in Berlin. Larson's research is extremely thorough and unsettling.

Ambassador Christopher Dodd did everything he could to warn the United States of the dangers of Hitler's rise. He was stymied by the state department who was only interested in not offending Germany so the Nazis would not be inclined to default on their post World War I debts. The book makes it clear that Hitler could have easily been destabilized and overthrown with minimal effort if the United States and Western Europe had taken early action. Hitler was very weak and his grip on power tenuous in the first two or three years of his reign.

The book has an obviously tragic aspect knowing how terrible things would become in Europe due to the inaction of the appeasers and the psychotic world view of Hitler's regime. I was always taught that America didn't really know what Hitler was up to at the beginning of his reich and that's why we didn't speak up earlier. Turns out, our nation knew full well how Hitler felt about Jews. Hitler didn't try to hide his world view. In 1934, a mock trial of Hitler was held in Madison Square Garden in New York. 20,000 people packed the arena. Another one was planned for Chicago. Under Nazi pressure, the United States government encouraged the Chicago mock trial to be cancelled. The U.S. wanted Germany to pay back their loans.

The book is a cautionary tale. It's an excellent history about a strange and tumultuous time before the great tragedy of World War II. It's a story we don't often hear in the United States. It's also a sobering story of appeasement, weird love triangles and tragic losses of opportunity. Great read.

¡Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

Lulu's

Lulu's Burgers. Commerce, Texas. Every year at Academic Regionals it is imperative that a few of us bail and grab a bite to eat at Lulu's. 

The Two Most Interesting Men in the World

Back to the Grand

Just got confirmation that I have been assigned The Grand America Hotel again this year for my lodging during the AP World History Exam grading in Salt Lake City. The AP World History readers (they call us readers, since we read essays) are booked into one of two hotels, The Grand America and the Little America.

Now don't get me wrong, The Little America is a very nice hotel. It's across the street from the Grand and is owned by the same company. It's quite a place. It's a four diamond hotel.

But it's no Grand America.

The Grand America Hotel is a Taj Mahal of a hotel. It possesses the visage of a majestic 19th century resort. But it was actually built in the late 1990's for the 2002 Winter Olympics. It is spectacular in every way, by far the nicest hotel in Salt Lake. It is actually a Five Diamond hotel...not just five stars...diamonds. Michelin Diamonds.

So since they moved the AP reading to Salt Lake three years ago I have been blessed to have been assigned residency in the Grand America. I'm a humble member of the upper lower middle class (as Orwell described it). I don't have many opportunities to spend time in a place like the Grand America. So yes, when I received the annual email with the living arrangements, I was quite happy.

Happy May Day!

The Hosteria Los Guasimitos

During stressful moments my thoughts often return to idyllic events in the past. Obviously nostalgia can paint things with a rosy patina that obscures reality a bit. However, it's nice to indulge in escapism occasionally.

But when the weather turns warm I often think of Barinas, Venezuela, circa 1993. Barinas is the capital of the State of Barinas in western Venezuela. Back in 1993 I had a pleasant two week stay in pre-Chavez Venezuela traveling the country with a college music group. The entire trip was extraordinary and life changing.

For a few days we stayed in the remote city of Barinas at a simple hotel that featured frogs on the walls and sidewinder snakes in the parking lot. I enjoyed every moment at that hotel. It was one of the most relaxing times of my life. I remember eating lunch in the hotel's cafe watching the morning rain showers while soccer played on a television mounted on the wall. I remember lounging by the pool laughing at sophomoric jokes with friends.

When I'm stressed I think often of that hotel and the pleasant times spent there. I also wonder how the great people I met there fared under the dictatorship of Hugo Chavez, who ironically was from the state of Barinas. After twenty odd years I decided to look up the hotel. Google came through and I was pleasantly surprised to find the hotel still in operation and looking almost exactly as I left it in 1993. The current internet pictures look remarkably the same as my cheap Kodak photos taken twenty years ago.

The recent TripAdvisor reviews of the place are consistently positive. I enjoyed browsing through their website. I was greatly encouraged to see the old place still in good shape. Too many things change in this world. Too many sacred places close down and are forgotten. I was glad to see one such sacred place still in operation.

So if things go south and I need a place to get away from it all, I will definitely keep the Hosteria Los Guasimitos in Barinas in mind.

Sunset

Nice sunset last night in North Texas. 

The Last Days...

Well, yesterday could be it. After six seasons, yesterday's match could have been the last for the FSA Dynamo. Our coach is giving up the reins. Several members are giving up rec league to play in the FC Dallas Academy program. So the future is up in the air. Bittersweet day if that truly was the end. It was a fantastic run and Coach Chris was the greatest. 

Gungor

First heard Gungor a couple of years ago when they opened up for David Crowder Band at the House of Blues in Dallas. They were amazing. I have bought all their stuff now including a book written by Michael Gungor. If you know me, you know I don't care much for "Christian" music. They are so good they move beyond simplistic labels. Gungor is one of my favorite bands of any category. Seriously. I get chills. Rarely have I heard such creative magic. I will post a song or two in the next day or so. But go to YouTube and check them out.

Good Night

Both Stars and Mavs win playoff games on the same night? Yes!

Countdown

I must admit, I am ready for the annual summer sabbatical. 

Earth Day

This is the view outside my classroom window this morning on Earth Day. We are merely stewards. 

Stop Taking My Picture!

Now my four-year-old niece is in on the stealing of my phone to take pictures of me without my knowledge. Fun game. Now stop it!

Happy Easter!

Rocks

A little rock climbing today. 

Cool Business

Saw this Han Solo Frozen in Carbonite business card holder at thinkgeek.com. Tempted. 

Candid

Sometimes my son will steal my phone and take pictures of me when I'm not looking. 

Listening

Back in the day I would really listen to music. I mean really listen. I'd put the headphones on and not do anything but listen to everything from Beethoven to the Beatles to Huey Lewis to Louis Armstrong. Music wasn't just background noise or something to have playing while I washed dishes. I would really pay attention.

I remember in college, when my roommate was out, I would turn out the lights, light a candle and listen to John Coltrane's A Love Supreme. Or Miles Davis' Kind of Blue. Or Weezer. I would just listen.

As I got older I got even busier. I still listen to music in the car or on the headphones while I wash dishes. But one day last week I realized I haven't really spent time listening to music for its own sake in a long time. With a hectic schedule it was difficult to justify. Reading a book or a magazine is one thing. But stopping down, putting the headphones on, closing your eyes and listening to music...that seemed indulgent.

Stupid is what that was. How could I justify watching television but not justify listening to music? Had my attention span dwindled to that of a squirrel? I realized I was missing out on a lot. And when you relegate music to background noise you start losing your ability to detect nuance. Why do you think our popular culture craves super short songs about meaningless topics with simple hooks? We've trained our attention spans to lose focus after two minutes. We want a simple diet of sugar and candy. We want our entertainment to be easy and effortless. In the process, we are missing out on a lot of good stuff, transcendent stuff.

When Arcade Fire released Reflektor a few months a go there were some critics who complained that some of the seven minute songs were indulgent. Seven minutes! They found some of the songs repetitive. But if you listen to the tracks intently you hear the build up. The song rises slowly until the waves crash. The payoff is extremely gratifying and sometimes transcendent. People addicted to the quick and easy payoffs associated with today's pop music don't have the patience to give the music time to come to resolution.

So this week I've become more intentional to listening to music...even if it's just one song a day. I am making time to find at least one song to plug into and just listen.

Class Acts

Another wedding, another time when we really should be paying attention. 

Just kidding...

Actually we took this photo before the proceedings began. We know how to act in times of formality! We got class bro!

Good Guilt vs Bad Guilt

Heard an excellent sermon yesterday on Christian attitudes regarding wealth. The only point I quibbled with was when the speaker said we shouldn't feel guilty about our wealth. We should instead realize everything we have is God's. We are merely stewards. We should use our wealth to serve others and to be generous. I agree with all of that except the guilt part.

There is a difference between guilt that leads to conviction and positive change versus guilt that leads to emotional paralysis. Once forgiveness has been accepted persistent guilt can be counter-intuitive and actually demonstrate a lack of faith in God's plan for our reconciliation with our Creator. 

But sometimes guilt can serve as a wake-up call. When I walked through the favelas of Venezuela and saw families living in squalor it woke me up to the realities of poverty. When I realized that my small storage building in the backyard would make a better abode than 95% of the world's dwelling places, that twinge of guilt spurred me to positive action.

Even on my family's "meager" teachers salary I still have a greater income than 99.2% of the world's population. In the United States I am not considered rich by any means. I'm barely in the middle-class.  However, according to Global Rich List I am in the top 0.8% of income earners in the world. That's due to the overwhelming poverty that the vast majority of people in the world find themselves.

If those figures cause a bit of guilt...then good! If that guilt helps me to keep materialism in check then I can't see how that's a bad thing. If that guilt causes me to refocus my economic priorities toward helping others rather than collecting "stuff" then that's a positive guilt. Guilt that causes one to move to a posture of humility and service is a good thing.

Obviously that guilt must eventually be replaced with an intrinsic desire to be more like Christ. Continuing to act out of guilt can gradually lead to unhealthy spiritual paralysis. Our actions should be proactive and not reactive. Our generosity of spirit should be inspired by Christ's example. But if guilt is the trigger that leads to transformation, then maybe a small dose of guilt isn't so bad.

Weapons of War

Because it makes perfect sense to put weapons of war and destruction in a park for children. 

More Undivided Attention

Rare that I have both of their attention at the same time. My wife had just made cinnamon sugar crossaints. They wanted mine bad. 

Depth of My Soul

Here is Thievery Corporation's "Depth of My Soul" featuring Shana Halligan from the album Saudade.

Saudade

Thievery Corporation are known for their electronica music. I'm not much into electronica but Thievery Corporation is an exception. They are amazing and their latest album Saudade is spectacular.

Saudade is inspired by the bossa nova stylings of Joao Gilberto, Antonio Carlos Jobim and others. This album could serve as a soundtrack to Madmen. My wife said it sounds like a 1960's James Bond soundtrack. It's nostalgic but strangely modern at the same time. The production is so layered that even after many listens you find something new in it's walls of sound. For example, quiet sounds of a thunderstorm linger in the background of the final track "Depth of My Soul." You may miss it on an initial listen but it's there, adding a special heft to the song. Every track is so rich and full of subtle surprises that keep you pushing the repeat button on your iPod. If you've ever dug the bossa nova Brazilian tunes of Stan Getz or Bebel Gilbero then you must check this album out.

Rainy Day

Enjoying the rain at Panera Bread. 

Crush the Orange

All I wished for on my birthday a month ago (as I wore my new FC Dallas jersey) was for FCD to beat Houston this year. Last night it happened for the third straight Texas Derby match. A 4-1 demolishing in Houston. Very nice. The Stripes now have the best record in MLS. 

#DallasTillIDie

#crushtheorange

Dallas>>>houston

Soccer Attendance

Soccer attendance is growing in the United States. Here are some interesting statistics, courtesy of espn fc. These are the average attendance figures for the big four European leagues and MLS in 2014. Granted, the MLS season is only in the fifth week of play and the Euros are wrapping up. And the big four Euro leagues are heavily stacked at the top. Germany has the best attendance across the board. The numbers are never that simple. But here are the figures, for what they're worth, on how MLS compares to Europe in attendance:

1.) Germany Bundesliga: 43,124
2.) English Premier: 36,486
3.) La Liga (Spain): 26,825
4.) Serie A (Italy): 22,027
5.) MLS (USA): 19,034

photo: Me and the Little Man on the field before the FC Dallas home opener. 18,000 showed up despite the 35 degree weather and rain.

McSweeney's Chair

The chair on the left is mine. I procured it for free back in 1998 when I worked for a furniture import company. I can't believe it took me this long to realize that the chair I use at my desk at home is very similar to the McSweeney's logo. McSweeney's is one of my favorite publishing imprints. I subscribe to their magazine,  The Believer and I read their humor site McSweeney's Internet Tendency almost daily. It was founded by one of my favorite authors, Dave Eggers and their stuff is the best. Maybe the similarity of these chairs will finally inspire me to finish my novel every time I sit in it to work on the laptop.