Guest Blogger - Mike Phillips

Before Sunday's US - Brazil game, here's my brother's reaction to the US - Spain game:

Wednesday's first half was the first complete effort I've seen from them in a long, long time. They kept the ball on the ground, let Bradley be the maestro (which should be his role in every game) and let Donovan create. In my opinion, the biggest thing to come out of this tournament is Onyewu's progress. He effectively can't be beaten in the air. It is so critical to have a guy like that back there to clean up all the mess. He is finally finding his form. I love having Demerit back there as well. I've also always been a fan of Spector, who continues to play solid. I also like Charlie Davies up top. He lost some pace in the later part of the game, but definitely created chances and wasn't afraid to run. The most disconcerting thing about the first two games of the tournament was our team's seeming lack of desire to chase balls, get back on D, etc. Clint Dempsey may be the most guilty of this. At times, he looks as though he's completely immobile defensively (after the 65th minute in each game). Personally, I was surprised he wasn't substituted on Wednesday, but the plan obviously worked. Here are a few other observations:

- Clark - I'm still not sold on his composure. He is a warrior defender, but he is making Midfielding 101 mistakes (e.g., turning to the middle without checking a shoulder, tricky passes in the defensive 1/3, etc.). However, I love the enforcer/maestro midfielder combination so I hope he can step up his game so we can keep that dynamic.

- Feilhaber - He is good. It's bizarre to say that one of our most skilled, composed players struggled to make the now relegated Derby bench, but he did. He's Bradley #2, in my view. He really created the 2nd goal.

- Donovan - He is finally everywhere on the field. Like it or not, he has to do this every game to stir things up.

- Casey - Yes, he is brought in to keep the ball, but he doesn't play with any purpose. He is on for 10 minutes a game and I've yet to see him sprint. Under no circumstances should he be our #1 target guy. I saw him play when he was on the u-18 national side, and he was very impressive (partially because he was built like a 25 year old). Despite his solid MLS season, I'm not sold on him. More importantly, does Casey drink Guiness on the sidelines?

Torres/Adu - I want to see more of these guys in the Gold Cup - hopefully starting. I actually think that Adu could serve a solid purpose in the midfield. He plays like Bradley with more speed. Torres has great touch, but is a wuss of a defender.

Davies - I want to see more. He could be a good Rooney/Tevez wannabee.

MJ

My favorite MJ songs. God bless.

Man in the Mirror:


I Want you Back (Jackson 5)


Don't Stop

Hatch Show Print

Tonight I went to a talk by Jim Sherraden, who runs the Hatch Show Print shop in Nashville. They make extraordinary concert posters the old-school way: with a that you've all seen (click here to see a video of Hatch, and click here to see examples of their posters). They've done posters for Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Elvis, and Eddie Vedder... really cool stuff. Jim said that he was amazed by the demand for his Eddie Vedder poster: "I think the guy's pretty good, but the day after the concert I had hundreds of fanatics calling up the shop and wanting posters. Only Bob Dylan's fans were crazier." This makes me proud.

Let's not get carried away

The US soccer team advances, but one win and two losses is nothing to
be happy about. Competing with the likes of brazil and Italy is the
goal, not beating up on CONCACAF and Egypt. A few observations from
the two games that I watched (Italy and Egypt):

the US team still hasn't found an identity, by a long shot. The
reason there was excitement about the 2002 team was because the team
had potential... It was easy to get excited about guys like donovan,
beasley, and obrien because they had room to grow. In contrast, the
current side is a confusing mix of "just good enough" veterans
(bocanegra, cherundolo, ching), inconsistent youngsters (feilhaber,
edu, kleistjen, adu, bornstein, davies, rico clark, Spector), guys
that are frustratingly close to becoming very good but never get there
(gooch, donovan, Dempsey), and one burnout (beasley). Out of the
current player pool, only Howard, donovan, and Bradley can be counted
on for consistently good performances... The rest are still
experiments. So what's the right mix?I have no idea, but Id like to
see a bit of a youth movement. Torres, altidore, Spector, and
bornstein are all first teamers in my opinion. I'd like to see benny
get more playing time, bit until he gets more pt with his club team
then he deserves to be on the bench.

Apologies for spelling errors. I'm on my iPhone.

US soccer lucks out

I'm in the Philly airport and wanted to watch the US - Egypt soccer
game. I went to two bars - one was full of baseball fans and the other
was prwtty much empty and had six TVs tuned to the mens golf US Open.
I asked the bartender to turn ONE of the TVs to the soccer game, and
he gave me the typical look of "you've got to be kidding me... Nobody
cares about soccer.".

So I went to another bar, got a tv turned to the game, and a bunch of
guys who knew nothing about soccer started watching the soccer game.
Just shows that Americans will watch soccer if there isn't an ignorant
bartender/sportscaster standing in their way.

Think Giuseppe Rossi regrets his decision? Probably not, but who cares.

Sent from my iPhone

Last thoughts on Granada

I intended to stay in Granada for three days, but ended up staying three weeks. Why did I stay? A practical reason... to take Spanish classes. Why is it going to be hard to leave? Because of the friends I´ve made. Yes, I know - cue the violin, but it´s very true. I´ve made the Funky Backpackers hostel my temporary home, and gotten to know all of the staff quite well (I doubt that they´ve had many others to stay as long as I have). The Escuela Montalban school made me feel like I had been a student for years. Most importantly, my classmates for two weeks - Stephanie from Atlanta, Eva from Switzerland, Mika from Japan, Regis from Belgium, and Felix and Sebastian from Germany (not to mention many many others) make it really hard to leave. Well, more on this later.

Tomorrow (rather... in 5 hours) I´ll take a train to Madrid, find my way to the airport, fly to Geneva, then take a train to Brig, Switzerland.

An ATM ate my debit card and Bank of America is being extremely unhelpful in getting me some quick cash. I have 15 euros in my wallet, a credit card, and nothing else. This will need to last me until I get to Switzerland and the banks open on Monday (thank god for the Swiss and their plentiful banks). To bed.

The iPhone is killing independent Dave

I love my iPhone, but I can say - without a doubt - that this electronic tether to email and instant messaging that the iPhone is making me more neurotic. With the phone in my pocket, I´m constantly waiting for new email (and probably subconsciously waiting for signals that I´m needed by others), which distracts me from the "real life" around me.

Since I´ve been in Europe, I´ve gone through two stages: one in which I checked email once a day, and the other when I had easy access to computers (at school and my hostel) and checked email 3-4 times a day. Without easy access to email, I actually had to talk to other human beings. With email, I find myself wasting time waiting for email replies, reading irrelevant news stories, etc. I would much prefer not to have to rely on email, but that´s the world we live in. My ideal: get up, read the newspaper (NOT online), do actual work (instead of the "fake work" that so often happens over email), check email as needed in the afternoon, and then escape the computer for the rest of the day. However I don´t think this is possible for a simple reason: I´m addicted.

Here´s a quick article on the rise of smartphones, and some exerpts:

“The social norm is that you should respond within a couple of hours, if not immediately,” said David E. Meyer, a professor of psychology at the University of Michigan. “If you don’t, it is assumed you are out to lunch mentally, out of it socially, or don’t like the person who sent the e-mail.”

So she got an iPhone instead, allowing her to be online no matter where she was, without having to lug a computer around. “I absolutely got it for the job search,” she said. “I don’t know if it’s really an expectation, but if another job candidate returns an e-mail message eight hours later, and you get back immediately with a message that says ‘Sent from my iPhone,’ I think it has to be a check box in your favor.”

Such a digital connection can have its downside. The perils of obsessive smartphone use have been well documented, including distracted driving and the stress of multitasking. CrackBerry, a term coined years ago, is telling.

The smartphone, said Mr. Meyer, a cognitive psychologist, can be seen as a digital “Skinner box,” a reference to the experiments of the behavioral psychologist B. F. Skinner in which rats were conditioned to press a lever repeatedly to get food pellets.

With the smartphone, he said, the stimuli are information feeds. “It can be powerfully reinforcing behavior,” he said. “But the key is to make sure this technology helps you carry out the tasks of daily life instead of interfering with them. It’s about balance and managing things.”

Well rested for the days to come

The past two days I´ve made a point of studying, exercising, sleeping well, and eating well. I was feeling a bit worn out from two weeks of socializing, and really needed the break. I feel refreshed and am ready to enjoy my last few days in Granada.

All week in Granada there is the annual "feria", which is basically a huge party. Every business in town will be closed tomorrow, and most businesses will close for a half-day today and Friday. There´s a parade today and tomorrow, and every night people party from 11PM to dawn. Es una autentica locura.

On Saturday morning I´ll take a bus to Madrid, then fly from Madrid to Geneva, then take a train from Geneva to Brig, Switzerland, which is where my bike ride begins. Here´s an itinerary for the bike ride.

Boobs

So, at about 3:00 on Saturday I decided to go to Malaga, which is on the "Costa Del Sol" of the Spanish Mediterranean. My hostel in Granada has a partner hostel in Malaga, so I got them to make a reservation for me. Buses run from Granada to Malaga every hour or so (the trip takes 1.5 hours), so I just went to the bus station and boarded the next bus.

Me gusta Malaga mucho. It definitely has the relaxed feel of a beach town, but without the trashy feeling of Panama City, etc. After finding my hostel, I walked around for an hour to enjoy the weather (about 75 degrees F with a nice breeze). I planned on going to bed early, but I ran into some people who I had met in Granada and were staying at the Malaga hostel. We socialized and played a drinking game, and I was in bed by midnight.

The next morning I went to the Picasso museum (Picasso was born in Granada), and then headed to the beach with a couple people. Although I probably should have guessed it, the beach was topless. As an American not used to these things, I took note of the situation, considered the pros and cons, and have determined that it´s a good thing. Honestly, the whole thing seemed unremarkable after a few hours; you just accept it as normal. It was an interesting experience, nonetheless.

Hound of the Baskervilles

I just finished the Sherlock Holmes novel "Hound of the Baskervilles." It was my first Holmes experience, and I loved it. Conan Doyle´s prose is unintentionally funny at times because it´s very proper, high-brow English. I think I´ll read more Holmes books...

Apple keeps rolling

Minute by minute updates from the Apple event today. And here´s Apple´s official site. Don´t forget to check out the updated MacBooks, Snow Leapord, and Safari 4.

In all, the iPhone 3G S looks to be a solid improvement that keeps the iPhone ahead of the first generation Palm Pre. Still waiting to see Apple´s response to the netbook trend...

Where I´ve stayed

Here is my current hostel, the Funky Backpacker´s (photos are on the right side of the page)
Here is where I stayed in Malaga
Here is my language school in Granada

Democrats = the best for national security?

I´ve never understood why so many people automatically equate Republicans as strong on national security and Democrats as weak. True, Republicans generally spend more money on the military. But national security is not only measured by the size and sophistication of a country´s armed forces (although it is certainly one component).

Rather, a more complete measure of "national security" would include economic and cultural factors as well. For instance, I´d be willing to say that the "number of people who hate America to their core (and are therefore subject to terrorist leanings)" is just as important to our national security than the number of aircraft carriers we have. As a parallel, Israel may be "protected" by a well-funded military, but what do they have to show for it? Enmity from every Muslim country in the world, and a precarious existence that becomes even more precarious as terrorists become more sophisticated. Even if Israel (or any other country) spent 10X more on their military budget, the animosity generated would mitigate much of the security gained.

So, this brings be back to the original question - is it accurate to conclude that Republicans are "better on national security issues" than Democrats just because they spend more on the military? I say no. Thus far, Obama has been successful in proving this point. As an American, I feel much safer knowing that the American government is not as internationally despised as it once was. To be sure, grudges against the U.S. are still many (see my post and Colin´s comment on this subject), whether founded or unfounded. But in a world with so many threats, America can´t defend itself from every threat; it needs popular support from the citizens of other countries. The less people hate us, the more secure we will be. Perception matters, whether we like it or not.

Europe vs. America

My friend Colin sent me this article on how the perceived differences between Europe and America aren´t as large as we think. While I think that some of the metrics the author uses can be debated (such as the "number of books borrowed from the library" to indicate literacy levels), the article raises some interesting points.

In Granada for good

I didn´t make my decision to stay in Granada until Friday, but finally made the call to stay here. On a whim I decided to board a bus for Malaga yesterday afternoon, so I ended up staying at a hostel there, meeting new people, and then chillin at the beach all day. More on that later. For now, I must slumber because I have massive circles under my eyes and my body is simply broken down. But a good broken down.

Good blog postings are coming tomorrow.

Staying in Granada

On a whim, I decided to sign up for 3 hours of Spanish classes per day for this week. The main reason was that I didn´t feel like getting on a bus, then a boat, then a bus, then finding my way to a hostel, etc. I´ll feel quite satisfied about improving my Spanish, and hopefully this wil give me a kick start.

The school is small - about half the size of my school in Mexico. I´m in a class with five others, and the class includes grammar and conversation. Today´s class was pretty easy, so I might ask for more classes, or to be moved to another level. I like my classmates, though.

My hostel room fits four people, but I´m the only one staying there right now. So I practically have a single. This is good, since my stuff is strewn everywhere around the room.