ralphs blog

LA Blues soccer club’s very first home game

The newly-minted USL Pro LA Blues soccer club had their very first home opener last night. They’re the only professional minor-league soccer team west of Minnesota, and thankfully they’re right here in Orange County. I make it a point to go to some LA Galaxy games every year, but Carson is really quite far. While Orange County Blue Star is extremely convenient, the standard of play in the PDL isn’t the best, and the ground at Concordia University is emblematic of the amateur level of OCBS (bring your lawn chair for good seats).

A buddy and I headed to Cal State Fullerton’s Titan Stadium. Pleasantly, parking was free, and $10 presale tickets combined with a short drive made this an affordable night out.

The ground is superb for a brand-new minor league team. Seats with chairbacks, what luxury! A snack bar with beer! I have a hunch that some MLS teams play in worse stadia (see: DC United’s USOC Maryland Soccerplex).

Understandably, the on-field product wasn’t really up to MLS standards. The LA Blues play in the USL Pro, which is (depending on who you ask) the second or third tier of the American soccer pyramid. Basically this means we’ve got some MLS washouts and hopefuls here. My amateur assessment is that several of the players have the physical tools to compete, their tekkers could use some work. For example, former youth-level US international and right winger Israel Sesay made some really nice runs up the sideline but wasted most of his chances to cross. The defending that led to the visitors Antigua Barracuda’s lone goal was shambolic; visions of Blackpool were top of the mind in their failure to clear the ball.

Yet there’s something to be said for attacking intent, and the home side had plenty of it. Perhaps this is because Antigua seemed content to soak up pressure and play on the counter, but I think any neutral who has watched Real Madrid play on the break these past few weeks can agree with me that an attacking side is more fun to watch. My friend, English by birth, and I marveled at the skill of one or two crosses. The defender #2 had a particularly memorable attacking run. All the LA Blues need are someone to finish these chances, and they’ll be set.

I’m definitely coming back to the next game at Titan Stadium. (Corona is pretty far)

edit: How cool is it that a brand new club already has an ultras group?

edit2: I should reiterate my belief that the development of lower league soccer is super important for the development of American players. These guys deserve your support, so come on out.

Easily the prettiest thing in TJ Maxx. Stunning. The stylized dalliances at the bottom of the jacket ruin it though :(

Easily the prettiest thing in TJ Maxx. Stunning.

The stylized dalliances at the bottom of the jacket ruin it though :(

Green Kits for St. Patrick’s Day

I’ve agreed to go to an Irish bar tomorrow and it’s St. Patrick’s Day. Except I’ve got nothing decent to wear in green, besides an old undersized Celtic polo. Why not a green football kit?

MLS is on the mind after last night’s opener. Seattle debuted some new shirts with awful metallic lines. Last year’s looks much better:
 

Cascadian rival Portland are starting their first MLS season with what is possibly the sharpest looking strip in the league. Hopefully it’ll help them find that finishing edge over their rivals to the north. (though Seattle has set the bar very low)
 

Looking across the pond, we’ll skip Chelski’s terrible lime green third kit and dive straight into Wolfsburg’s away:
 

Werder Bremen, though, takes the cake with a very sharp creation from Nike. I believe it’s a unique style as well—love the contrasting colors and daring designs. As a bonus, you can even get Oezil’s name on the back of it.
 

Team USA watchers will remember Slovenia’s kit last year. However, the mental image of lovable loser Charlie Brown does detract from its style:

And of course, what discussion of St. Patrick’s Day would be complete without the boys from Eire? I’m personally not a fan of this shirt because their team isn’t great—from what I understand, football just isn’t as important in the Republic of Ireland relative to the other Home Nations.

I’d feel somewhat subversive sporting this Northern Irish shirt at The Auld Dubliner:

Finally, us Americans always have the option of sporting an NFL jersey. Given the current labor situation, there might not even be 2011 editions to obsolete these ones :)
 

apeculiarsprezzatura: Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007. The man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approximately. 2 thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After 3 minutes a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule. 4 minutes later: The violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk. 6 minutes: A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again. 10 minutes: A 3-year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly. 45 minutes: The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32. 1 hour: He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition. No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100. This is a true story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people’s priorities. The questions raised: *In a common place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty? *Do we stop to appreciate it? *Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context? One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made… How many other things are we missing?

apeculiarsprezzatura:

Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007. The man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approximately. 2 thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After 3 minutes a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule.

4 minutes later:

The violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.

6 minutes:

A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.

10 minutes:

A 3-year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly.

45 minutes:

The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.

1 hour:

He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.

This is a true story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people’s priorities.

The questions raised:

*In a common place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?

*Do we stop to appreciate it?

*Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?

One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this:

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made…

How many other things are we missing?

(via chimeless)

Beating the snooze

Problem: I like to hit snooze in the mornings, which means I can miss breakfast, early morning commitments, potentially productive pre-workday hours (getting to the office at 6am in a distraction-free environment can be great), trips to Starbucks, etc. I usually regret it 10 minutes after waking up, but I am really fucking good at self-rationalizing the snooze button.

Solution: Tell myself why I need to wake up within the alarm. Convince my groggy, semi-dreaming self by recording an exhortation to wake up; argue with precise and relevant points the merits of waking up immediately.

Method:

  1. Record a short pep talk in Sound Recorder (Windows 7 Start Menu > Accessories). 40 seconds seems okay but 1m20s was too long.
  2. Save as alarm-<date>.wma.
  3. Open said .wma in iTunes, which will prompt to convert it to an .m4a.
  4. Find the new .m4a version by checking the Recently Added playlist, right-clicking the file, and clicking Show in Windows Explorer.
  5. Change file extension to .m4r.
  6. Double-click file, will automatically add to iTunes ringtones.
  7. Sync iPhone.
  8. Edit iPhone alarm at appropriate time to use the new ringtone, which should be named alarm-<date>.

Let’s see if this works tomorrow!

Originally Posted by Vulajin View Post I’m so meta, my helmet wants to socket itself with ME.

[08:11] <XI|> i mean from a game design position
[08:11] <XI|> i dont think GC is a bad designer
[08:11] <XI|> wow does a lot of things right
[08:11] <iFederico> oh GC is a pretty good guy and he does a lot of right things

—ej irc bizarro day

Originally Posted by Gromweld View Post “I’ll pass. That mace is #7D26CD, which isn’t better than my #800080 sword.”
Elitist Jerks Benefactors Bar

[14:01] i come to malganis from roleplayistan, i work hard, in four month i have healing slot with raiding guild

—Blackpatch, #elitistjerks IRC