You don't know me, but you should.

It is time to go.

Thu, 16 Aug 2007 03:34:35 GMT

Yes, this is probably the final entry in this long-running Live Journal weblog. {Look on the User Info page when it was created.}

I had better get it all out of my system here and now.
I know there are only a clutch of LJ'ers who actually ever read this; probably not even enough to suit up for an indoor soccer game. (If you don't know what number that is, then you haven't been reading here, and I am not going to tell you now.)
But that is not the reason why I am moving out. In fact, I am going into the settings here and opening up this LJ to search engines. I shall leave this LJ as an artifact of what could have been done here at one point in time. A time which, it seems very obvious to me now, is gone - and never to return.
Most of my posts here are Public, obviously including this one. I believe there are only eight entries here which are Friends-locked. I have copies of all my LJ entries on an off-line medium; so even if a search engine doesn't completely spider them for its archives, they shall live on.

First, I make an unusual remark here directed to one of the persons who has friended me on this LJ. I can't specially privatize it just for her. I would hope only she clicks on this LJ-Cut. But I can't stop you.

Kristie: {sigh}
I will try to be succinct.
I found out about Live Journal thanks to you. I was not, and am not, a strident on-line diarist. But I saw the potential for LJ insofar as finding like-minded persons who shared some of the same interests as myself. You were one of them.
Since 2000, you have gravitated away from some of your interests, and embraced others. It is your life; and until such time as I actually get to direct a video; I will not instruct other people what they should do.

But what has genuinely caused me vexation with you is your ostensibly nescience of this entire Live Journal | Six Apart “~~Strikethrough 07~~”.
The situation is complex; I know. But ‘phase 1’ occurred at the end of May; and ‘phase 2’ happened a week ago; and there is still no reaction from you.

And there should be one.
I am aware you are concentrating more of your efforts on acquiring the farm of your grandmother in Missouri to become an artists' retreat. But this coattails back to my belief; and in which I believe Six Apart wants to remodel Live Journal into a "safe, non-threatening" website for advertisers. And "cutting-edge" art such as what you have produced and released over these years is queasy to it, and ultimately poisonous to would-be advertisers.

To be specific: In your movie, "Other People's Mirrors", amidst all the explicit imagery, there is an episode in which one of Echo's taboos which she is being directed to break is to have sex with someone under the age of sixteen. {For those readers who disobeyed my directions and clicked through anyhow; I will not tell how the episode ends. How about heeding my instructions the next time?}
Kristie, if you were to print out the screenplay of that episode and post it on any of your LJs [even Echo's, & even if it was Friends-locked]; I have every reason to believe that all three of your LJs would be "permanently suspended". Period. No warnings. No appeals. And what you were presenting in that episode was a fantasy. But LJ | Six Apart are now completely obliterating the line between fantasy and reality.

This strikes directly to the core of artistic freedom. LJ | Six Apart is so eager to attract a buyout that it is striving to reduce the content rating of LJ to "PG-13".
I understand why you are going off-stage, so to scribe; because of Usama's documentary, and his radio show. But I cannot fathom your inability or unwillingness to address this situation.

Even if you did not post any portions of your OPM screenplay on LJ, I submit you are on the hitlist of people and accounts it would be willing to excise if an investor and | or advertiser voiced concern about an advertisement appearing on one of your pages. [Yes: I consider that LJ | Six Apart shall, sooner - if not later, force the placement of an advertisement on everybody's LJ weblog pages.]

{Why did I not simply E-Mail these paragraphs to Kristie? I did E-Mail her. I know I am on her whitelist for E-Mail. I got no response.}

The actions of LJ | Six Apart are decidely hostile toward any "controversial" content and | or opinions. Six Apart wants to remodel LJ into an advertiser-friendly, "PG-13" wallpaper.
I submit that any content falling into a more restrictive rating group is under threat of future termination. All LJ accounts, both users and communities, expressing an interest in any of these topics are facing the scythe.

Bondage / Domination / Sadism / Masochism (BDSM)
Erotica
Fan Fiction
"Leather"
Polyamory
[Regular] pr0n
[On-Line] Roleplaying

Yes, users and | or communities such as kaizersoze125, orgasmoids, all three of robonts LJs, and including the eponymous polyamory, are in the scope. (Anti-erotica vigilantés consider "polyamory" to be a Politically Correct code word for “sexual perversion”.)
Three Communities: ~~ljincest~~, ~~__loli_lovin~~, and ~~rape_porn~~, were terminated for what has turned out to be that Six Apart did not like the content. But it tried to obfuscate its decision by blurbing that the material being referred into those communities was “illegal”. My lie detector went bonkers on that statement. LJ's host servers are in San Francisco, CA., one of the most liberal and tolerant community areas of the entire United States of America. If something on somebody's LJ was hauled into the Federal District Court for Northern California; it would have a very good chance at being ruled to comport to the "community standards" of San Francisco County. Then, the impetus to prove [in the Federal Appellate Court] that it was actually "obscene" or “illegal” would fall upon the shoulders, and into the wallet, of whomever was trying to ban it.
The obvious message being sent here is that Six Apart is intent on censoring "controversial" content and | or opinions.

As somebody who loathes censorship, this is something of which I can no longer remain silent. But I also realize that I shall probably not be allowed to express this viewpoint here, or on any World-Wide Web site maintained by Six Apart.
I shall wind up for now at Insane Journal. But that may be merely temporary.

Ultimately, what everybody needs to realize is the U.S.A. is not the only country on the W-WW. Other countries, such as the Netherlands, Denmark, Brazil, Argentina, Japan, or the Republic of Korea, have more reasonable and tolerant laws and beliefs concerning "controversial" content and | or opinions, and copyrights. The content needs to migrate to one of these other countries. (For example: Imagery involving zoophilia is legal in Denmark & Brazil. I shall append that zoophilia is one wing of erotica which I do not find arousing. I make this point for demonstrative effect.) Somewhere beyond the long arm of the U.S.A., where cries of “illegality”, and | or "copyright violation" are not automatically and instantly accepted. [I would not consider Canada or Mexico to be sufficiently distant.]

I submit that the main reason LJ | Six Apart is going after fan fiction is not due to any perceived imagery of “underage” characters in sexual situations; but due to fear of future lawsuits brought against whomever owns the servers on which such imagery resides by copyright holders. The illustration of Harry Potter and Snipe would not necessarily have to depict any sexual situation. Just that the copyrighted indicia of [Who owns the illustration rights?] Harry Potter were “infringed”. Similarly, were I ever to concoct and post a drawing or an illustration of Daffy Duck® finally delivering the comeuppance to Bugs Bunny® that that scwewy wabbit so wichwy deserred, an attorney for Warner Bros. would likely have this LJ terminated within thirty-six hours. And the copyright holder would probably go after not only the individual who created the illustration, but after Six Apart for hosting the illustration. Take a guess which defendant would have more money, and would provide the bigger payout to the copyright holder? [Follow the money trail, people. It will always lead to the genuine antagonist.] So that is why LJ | Six Apart is being so zealous and scrupulous about fan fiction and illustrations.

One year ago, I was the subject of an article in the Chicago Reader. I have not discovered who tipped off the newspaper to what I had (and have) been doing on Saturday nights. Not that that person(s) has anything to fear from me.
If you read the article; you absorbed my reasons for keeping that aspect of my life in the shadows. But finally, about five months ago, the article was released from the Reader's pay archive, and I felt it was probably o.k. to let selected persons know that it was out here. [I must adhere to my plank that I will not discuss the subject on this LJ. However, if you go to Yahoo!® Search and type in my full name, the article should be found.] Concurrent with that, I began posting in chicago_cheap (and only chicago_cheap) what we would show.
The verbiage I scribe in those posts is most definitely at a "PG" level.
But I have the perception that even a notice like that is going to be problematic for LJ | Six Apart. I do not want chicago_cheap to be terminated because of my posts.

So I am ready to step down from the soap box here in ‘Bughouse Square’. To the clutch of you who are my genuine LJ Friends, whether it was from one of your film festivals, a long-ago Tuesday night assemblage, or even a more recent post-Wednesday workday get-together, or anywhere else; my farewell remark to you is to bail out of here before you are forced to walk the plank (or are suspended from the yardarms). Get that back-up completed. Find another location where to habitué.
Live Journal | Six Apart is gunning for the lowest common denominator. It wants nothing but plain, placid journals from vanilla people. Ones which will not cause any threats of a boycott aimed at its advertisers from an anti-erotica vigilanté gang, or any threats of a lawsuit from a copyright holder.

Of course, you and I know that real life is not like this. If anything, it is the eccentric and off-beat people like you (& me, if I may be so assertive) which get us through another day, week, fortnight, month, season, or year. I may be fifty-one years of age; but I am not through yet. I just know that here on LJ is not where it is going to happen. I am off to find another battle which can be won equitably.
I am through playing a game in which I do not know all the rules, in which the ones about which I know are changed at the whim of the opponent, and in which the officials in charge of enforcing those rules are biased in favor of the opposition.
I did not care for the episodes when this happened to one of my soccer teams. But I really cannot accept this in everyday life.

(Replies are screened. It might be a long time before I revisit here to see what has been scrawled. But the odds are that even if you decide to take the opportunity to utter, "Good riddance to bad rubbish."; it will probably be unscreened. But then, I would be noticing when and if something untoward happens to you, when you mention it on your LJ. I could probably scrawl, "I told you so.", or "Schadenfreude"; but it would be fruitless, because I know you do not allow non-Friends to reply to your LJ.)

Bye bye, everybody.

Is it lucky to be good?

Mon, 25 Jun 2007 23:26:35 GMT

This report could be swiped by Hollywood the next time it deigns to tap the soccer booster audience in North America. Take your typical amalgam of old & experienced veterans, mix into them some raw recruits, include the unavailability of a key player, and top it liberally with an atmosphere where the “bunker mentality” of "everybody is against us" is allowed to flourish.

I know you've seen a movie like this. But I doubt you ever viewed it occurring live.
This was the backdrop for the CONCACAF Gold Cup 2007 Final. A sellout crowd of 60,000 at Soldier Field in Chicago, IL., where fans of the U.S.A. were outnumbered by the supporters of Mexico by a ratio of 29 to 1, could likely not believe their eyes as the U.S.A. overcame a 1-nil halftime deficit to win by 1-2.

The U.S.A. had goals from Landon Donovan [from the penalty spot] in minute 62 after Brian Ching was taken down in the penalty box; and the game-winner was a screaming first-time shot on the full volley from twenty yards out by Benny Feilhaber in minute 73. (If this goal does not place in everybody's list of the "Top 5" goals of the year, anti-American bias must still malinger in libraries of soccer reportage.)
Mexico's goal in the first half [minute 44] came about when U.S.A. defender Oguchi Onyewu was beaten on the dribble by Mexico's Nery Castillo to the right wing by-line, from where he crossed to a completely unmarked Jose Andres Guardado in the goal box. I suspect J. A. Guardado's marker should have been the U.S.A.'s Pablo Mastroeni; and this was the clinching reason for his substitution at halftime (for Ricardo Clark). O. Onyewu again did not inspire confidence in his playing. The U.S.A. need to find another dominating central defender.

The U.S.A. played much better in the second half. But again, they could not get the goal which would have settled the outcome before the final whistle. In the 76th minute, a ball out of the back was in pace for B. Ching. He got away from his defender, and then faked Mexico goalkeeper Oswaldo Sanchez out of his jock. He turned his body toward the open goal, and rolled his shot into the right post from fourteen yards.

Mexico pressed for the equalizer. In minute 89, a cross from the right wing became an episode of "indoor soccer". It struck numerous players in the U.S.A. penalty box and then fell to the feet of N. Castillo eight yards out in the center of the pitch. U.S.A. goalkeeper Tim Howard reacted swiftly to his blast heading for the upper left corner.
On the ensuing corner kick, Mexico had a total breakdown in reaction coverage. L. Donovan & DaMarcus Beasley came back up the pitch in a two-v.-goalkeeper foray. L. Donovan drew O. Sanchez to his wing and then made the killer ground cross to D-M. Beasley on the left. D-M. Beasley hit the crossbar. I bet even Jim Egan would have sunk this chance. {Happy birthday, Jim.}
But it did not matter this time. Full time came, and the U.S.A. were the Champions of CONCACAF.

At his post-match conference, Mexico head coach Hugo Sanchez felt that it hurt to lose this match. But it did not hurt as badly as it could have because he felt his players outperformed the U.S.A.'s. If his players continue to play like they did [on Sunday], then one of these days they shall get the victory over the U.S.A.

Afterward, U.S.A. head coach Bob Bradley was not distinctly asked if he thought his players outplayed Mexico. He inferred his contention of H. Sanchez's proclamation by voicing that he had changed tactics, and a player, at halftime because of Mexico's success at finding space in the first half. Mexico had chances afterward, but not many scary ones.

I haven't answered the question I posed. Luck always has a place in games of sport. But it is not the be-all or end-all for those affected by it. Good teams achieve their objectives regardless of any “bad luck” they may encounter. Lesser teams ascribe their losses to “bad luck” because it distracts attention from the constitution, exertion, and coaching, of themselves.

I thank Mr. Steven Torres of CONCACAF for all his assistance in my coverage of the Gold Cup Tournament.
{An extraneous note: These reports may soon appear in print. But I cannot yet disclose the details.}

Interestingly enough, both the U.S.A. & Mexico will compete in CONMEBOL's [South America] "Copa America" tournament in Venezuela. [Telecasts on GolTV™.]
The U.S.A. roster for this tournament is significantly different from that of the Gold Cup. Copa America is going to be the tournament where the new, up-&-coming players for the U.S.A. are going to be dropped into the pressure cooker {or perhaps you prefer, ‘thrown to the wolves’}. The U.S.A. are in a group with Argentina, Paraguay, & Colombia. "Three-&-out" is quite probable.
Mexico are in the same group as Brazil. So they won't have an easy time either.

For myself, the melancholy aspect of the achievements of the U.S.A. National Team is that, through the 1990s and extending through the 2002 World Cup, we were raising the awareness of the quality of the players which we had, and putting people in the stands to cheer for them at the stadia where we played.
But since some dubious political and military decisions made by persons in offices (both elected and appointed), further complicated by their utter ignorance of soccer [This U.S.A. team should get an invitation to the White House. But they probably will not. And I am of split mind as to whether they should go if public outcry compels the issuance of a summons.], our players get no support from enough people in the stands wherever they go. The Ivory Coast was having a genuine civil war over a year ago. But when the national team qualified for the 2006 World Cup, a cease-fire was declared which still holds forth. Playing in a war-damaged, empty stadium must even be preferable to scenes such as the one this past Sunday in Chicago, IL., U.S.A. (or should I scribe the U.S.M.?)
The saddest aspect of which is being unable to remedy this.

An expected final. An unexpected procedure.

Fri, 22 Jun 2007 21:32:14 GMT

The results were simplistic. The U.S.A. defeated Canada by 2-1. Mexico defeated Guadeloupe by 1-nil. The patterns of the teams were much more complex.

One must contemplate that the U.S.A. National Team is transitioning. Of the 23 players on the roster for the U.S.A., six have played for it since the 1990s. Of those six, only two have a reasonable glimmer of hope of being on the roster should the U.S.A. qualify for the 2010 World Cup.

But unlike other nations with a deeper soccer heritage, soccer in the U.S.A. is unprepared to handle a downturn in the on-field record of the national team. For a comparison, look no further than Trinidad & Tobago. They qualified for the 2006 World Cup (they won a playoff tie versus Bahrain of Asia). But this year, T&T had a labor dispute. The players from last year who felt they didn't receive enough money from T&T's appearance refused to play in the Gold Cup. T&T effectively entered a “B” team into the tournament. They went three-&-out.
{Did I hear you utter, "That couldn't happen here."? It nearly did, in February 2005.}
Will there be a fallout from T&T's poor performance? Yes. But they'll get beyond it. It is not as though there is a horde of antagonistic fans of cricket in T&T's media who will pounce on any unsuccessful display from T&T's soccer team to try and regain lost linage.

Going back to last year; recall the short-term frenzy which accompanied the U.S.A.'s effort in Germany. Did it occur to you that everybody was grossly upset about the (admittedly pathetic) foray versus the Czech Republic? Including media members whose articles about soccer in their publications could have been counted on one hand?

There was a fallout. Head Coach Bruce Arena was informed that his contract would not be renewed.
The replacement? Bob Bradley, an ex-Chicago FIRE® head coach.
The Gold Cup is CONCACAF's prestige event. It is North America's equivalent to the European Nations' Championship, of which the qualification round for that is occurring as I scribe. You'll be awash in news and coverage of it next year at this time, even in North America.

It is a tournament which the United States Soccer Federation knows it has to do well; if not win. It ranks second only to World Cup qualifying.
Since the U.S.A. has risen in the F.I.F.A. rankings, it is now when we discover that the players who have gotten us to this point are past their peak playing days. They have to be supplanted. But not before we achieve a respectable result in the Gold Cup.
U.S.S.F. will never publicly express this; but getting to the Gold Cup Final has achieved its desire.

Immediately after this (& I do mean immediately), the U.S.A. will compete in CONMEBOL's [South America] "Copa America" tournament in Venezuela.
The U.S.A. roster for that tournament will look drastically different from that of the Gold Cup. Copa America is going to be the tournament where the new, up-&-coming players for the U.S.A. are going to be dropped into the pressure cooker {or perhaps you prefer, ‘thrown to the wolves’}. The U.S.A. are in a group with Argentina, Paraguay, & Colombia. "Three-&-out" is quite probable.

On the pitch, the amalgamation of the new and the old is showing in subtle ways, and not always for the good. The effort and desire of the team is a constant. But the capacity to score the goal, or prevent the opposition from scoring the goal, goes off-track at times. The cliché you would use is "a lack of the “killer instinct”". We have managed to get two goal leads on other nations, but do not get the key third goal; and in the quarter-final & semi-final games versus Panama & Canada, we allowed the opponent to get a goal while playing 10-v.-11 [Panama]; and were nearly caught in second-half stoppage time by Canada. (An assistant referee thought that a flick-on header came from a Canadian player and flagged for offside which was given, when it truly bounced off U.S.A. defender Oguchi Onyewu's head.)

Combined with Mexico head coach's Hugo Sanchez's post-match remark, "It is time for us to defeat the United States.", and the spectre of 95% of the 65,000 persons in the stands at Soldier Field [the game is an official sellout] rooting for Mexico (with a substantial portion of those supporters booing and whistling the U.S.A.'s Landon Donovan every time he touches the ball), I expect Mexico to win. I just hope it does not get ugly (either on the pitch or in the stands, or any combination thereof).

Mexico defeated Guadeloupe by 1-nil; but only by 1-nil. Guadeloupe goalkeeper Franck Grandel was superb. He made saves which should have been a second, third, and fourth goal for Mexico. The only time he was beaten was immediately after a Mexico substitution. The new player, Fernando Arce, played the ball shortly off to his right, where captain Pavel Pardo hit a ripper from over twenty yards out which found the upper left corner of the net [70']. Guadeloupe competed well. Their defense was solid and disciplined. But their chief offensive threat was their speed; which subsided throughout the game, and was expended by the time when they had to get the equalizer in the last twenty minutes.
It would be intriguing if this team had a future. Guadeloupe head coach Roger Salnot maintained his belief that since Guadeloupe is essentially another state of France [thus, its players carry dual citizenship - both Guadeloupe and France - and with the French citizenship, they can play for any club team in the European Union], CONCACAF is as far as the team can compete. And only as long as CONCACAF invites it to compete.

Who are these guys? Where are they from?

Thu, 21 Jun 2007 04:48:23 GMT

The world may be becoming a smaller place. But I suspect that most of those who manage to read this article have no idea of the precise location of Guadeloupe. The afore-mentioned country is the surprise fourth semi-finalist of the CONCACAF Gold Cup 2007. [Are you studying yet? I will ask you for what CONCACAF stands later on.]
Guadeloupe has defeated a clutch of nations to get to this point; including Honduras by 2-1 this past Sunday in Houston, TX.

The ride may halt here. For their ‘reward’, they get to face Mexico in the nightcap of Thursday's doubleheader semi-finals at Soldier Field. The promoters expect nearly 50,000 for the match, and 95% of those in attendance will be rooting for Mexico, whom many other prognosticators expect to win the Championship. This may be a bit too much for a nation whose most recent appearance at a Final Round tournament was when its Under-20 men's team competed at an event in Canada in 1992.

Part of the reason why you may not have heard of Guadeloupe is that, technically, it is not a nation. It is part of the overseas arrondissement of France. Fifty years ago, you would have referred to it as a "colony".
This does not prohibit it from competing in international soccer. Hong Kong was always entered in World Cup qualifying. You might even have a deep enough memory of when the U.S.A. had to face the Netherlands Antilles in a World Cup play-in round.

But Guadeloupe may not get to participate even should it come up with two more sensational upsets at Soldier Field on Thursday night and on Sunday afternoon. It has to do with its fees to F.I.F.A. The piece of gold awaiting the champion of this tournament is CONCACAF's entrant in F.I.F.A.'s Confederations' Cup 2009 South Africa. The Confederations' Cup is a “tune-up”, or a dry run (if you will), for the nation of South Africa before it hosts the World Cup in 2010. The six champions from each confederation will play a tournament very similar to this Gold Cup. Some politics is indubitably involved; but Guadeloupe, or some nation which is responsible for its debts, must get its finances in order lest F.I.F.A. dictate that it cannot represent North America.

Half of the Guadeloupe team play professionally for club teams outside of Guadeloupe. You get no croissant if you guessed that most of that half play in France. You might if you mentioned that some of the other teams which have Guadeloupean national team players are Sheffield United (England) & F.C. Utrecht (Netherlands). But it wouldn't help you were I to type the actual names of these guys. You've never heard of them, and neither have I.

This is where the weakness transforms into a strength.
If you're one of the starters for Mexico on Thursday night, what is occupying a space in your brain which will not be erased regardless of how much head coach Hugo Sanchez is preaching to you to dismiss it, is the viral thought, “Mexico is the strongest nation in North America. All the people in the stands will be rooting for Mexico. But who is the player on Guadeloupe for which to be most wary?”
He cannot deduce.
Everybody in the region has seen Mexico play. They know what is going to be attempted.
But hardly anybody has seen Guadeloupe play. Guadeloupe did not have the predominant share of possession in their match versus Honduras on Sunday. They had only three shots at goal (and the third shot was in second-half stoppage time). Their first two shots on goal went in. They made that hold up for the victory.

The soccer gods are bizarre and perplexing creatures. When you roll the ball onto the pitch, anything can happen, and it frequently does. In a Gold Cup semi-final in 1998, the U.S.A. defeated Brazil by 1-nil [via a free-kick goal from Preki, and some incredible goalkeeping from Kasey Keller] (I was in the stands at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum that night.). The prize we received? A match-up in the Final at the same stadium that Sunday versus Mexico. Yes - it was another Mexican “home game” in the U.S.A. We lost by 1-nil.
But in the quarter-finals of the Gold Cup in 2000, in the same stadium, Canada managed to defeat Mexico by 1-2 in extra time, and they wound up winning the Gold Cup. (What is the other semi-final on Thursday night? The U.S.A. will contend Canada.)

Do you want me to make a prediction? Since I don't know you; I will be explicit and scribe that the way to act upon my predictions would be to bet the opposite way. If I had a “fantasy soccer” team; it would probably be relegated to the fourth division by week 39.
But here goes: If Guadeloupe defeat Mexico on Thursday, half the audience will not return on Sunday, and CONCACAF will not outdraw baseball on Sunday. The latter aspect would undoubtedly unsettle most media outlets were it to occur.

[CONCACAF stands for Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football. I was published in 1993 suggesting that CONCACAF should change its name to the easier-to-remember-and-pronounce "Society of North American Footballing Unions".]

Paucity of content

Fri, 15 Jun 2007 19:08:29 GMT

Hello. Due to the panic by Live Journal | Six Apart, which resulted in hundreds of LJ accounts (on all levels) being "permanently suspended" via a vigilanté gang's pressure; this LJ is being de-emphasized.

The “bean counters” at Six Apart are most assuredly running the operation.
“Bean counters” want no content or discussions which could scare away an advertiser's funds.
The next step will be the forced placement of advertisements on each and every LJ weblog.
If you are seeking a weblog service which does not censor, try Multiply or Greatest Journal.

I forgive, but I seldom forget.

Mon, 14 May 2007 00:21:38 GMT

I thank the confidential respondent who sent me this Live Journal entry scribed by somebody else who resides in Chicago.

Upcoming highlights

Wed, 25 Apr 2007 20:58:10 GMT

I have to make an entry today. The 25th of April is one of a clutch of days in which my life changed. In particular, it was 25 April 1991. Unless you've gone into my soccer rubric (and due to the mainstream media's ignorance of the entire matter), you might not know that this was when we won the National Professional Soccer League Championship. Yes, we were the first Chicago franchise to win a championship in the 1990s (months ahead of some other team which grommed all the linage). I've scribed about the events of that day several times.
Myself, John Keller, and later, Jim Egan were in Fairborn, OH. that Thursday night. (I drove John in the 1987 Sprint. We had lunch at the relatively new Broad Ripple Brewpub in Indianapolis, IN. Jim had to work a little longer, so he drove separately.) I'll just note that, if you have ever seen the photograph taken by Sue Rubey on the turf of the Ervin J. Nutter Center @ Wright St. Univ. after our incredible overtime victory in game #3 versus the Dayton DYNAMO [Why can't Major League Soccer® use some original nicknames? Or does it just figure that no one will remember or notice?], you see the late Frank “Sarge” Kracher on the left edge of the photograph near Peter Wilt. But you will have to look very keenly to spot me. All you can see is my forehead and eyes. Jim, to my left, was completely obscured by some POWER players in front of us.
{I don't have the photograph in a convenient spot here, so I can't retrieve it to tell you who specifically it was.}
Might you have a reproduction of this photograph? Yes. It was given out one night in the summer of 2001 by the Chicago FIRE® when it saluted the 1981 STING & the 1991 POWER.

The other off-kilter corollary to 25 April? For a time circa 1978-1980, I was sporadically described as looking similar to Al Pacino (particularly in "Dog Day Afternoon"). (I have shaved; mostly for Sunday [c.v.].)

Tonight, I encourage you to watch the second leg of the Final of the CONCACAF Champions' Cup with Pachuca F.C. v. CHIVAS de Guadalajara [both of Mexico]. It will be at 20:30 hours on Fox Soccer Channel [English & Español]. The first leg at Jalisco Stadium in Guadalajara ended 2-2. I will go onto the limb here and scrawl that Pachuca should win tonight [N.B.: Away goals do not count double in this tournament.]; and that will qualify them for the F.I.F.A. Club World Cup Japan 2007 in December, which I shall again apply to cover.
{Yes, I have a problem with CONCACAF scheduling this competition during a span in which MLS teams are mostly dormant. The dates had better change in 2008.}

Here's my schedule for this weekend.
Friday night, at the University Center of Robert Morris Univ. @ 525 S. State St., David A. Wilson will present "The Returning Trolley: The Reintroduction of Streetcars in American Cities" at the Central Electric Railfans' Assoc.'s monthly meeting [19:00 hours]. The program, which is technically free only to members of C.E.R.A. (but of which it has been a long, long time since I encountered anyone checking I.D.'s at the door), will run between 80 and 120 minutes.

Afterward, I am again going to a club night at The Kinetic Playground, on Lawrence Ave. at the Lawrence station of the Red Line “L” [$10]. It is a late-night place open until 04:00 [+1]. I doubt I would last there that long, although I could, because both the Red Line & the #77 Belmont bus have Owl Service. I am hoping to meet some people there whom I only know from the internet.

On Saturday night, I'll be at the Twisted Spoke Tavern at Grand & Ogden. It appears that I have avoided a potential torpedo in the Stanley Cup Playoffs because the series between Anaheim and Vancouver doesn't have any play dates on Saturday. [Tiffany would insist on showing those games until conclusion.]

On Sunday, it's time for another television taping of Chic-A-Go-Go! at 15:00 hours at Chicago Access Corporation's studio at Green St. & Van Buren St. Jake & Jackie block a three-hour time slot for this. I forget which bands will appear. Click through on the W-WW site for that info. (I compose these lengthy LJ entries off-line.)
I'm going to be bringing a bunch of old copies of both Bust and Giant Robot magazines. The stacks of publications at the domicile here are approaching Sears Tower levels. Still, I loathe merely tossing these into the trash bin. The issues do not have any addressing identifying me on them. I will dump these on the table in the hospitality room.
I will not be going to the FIRE match in Bridgeview afterward. I might wind up watching it on television at a tavern somewhere, though.
And that's it for the next five days.

Friday's events

Sat, 21 Apr 2007 02:52:17 GMT

Just a small note: I had to take my dad to Resurrection Hospital for a catscan and some other diagnostic tests.
I went to Butera while he was being examined. Afterward (it took him only 2½ hours), mom wanted us to stop at Tony's Finer Foods for cannoli, and potatoes.
It didn't have the cannoli.

This weekend, and next.

Fri, 23 Mar 2007 02:37:07 GMT

I'll keep this brief.
Tomorrow, at 19:00 hours is the Central Electric Railfans' Assoc.'s monthly meeting at Robert Morris College on S. State St.
When that concludes, I'll amble over to Cal's Bar (@ Wells & Van Buren) to see The Strange Attractor play out [$5].

On Saturday, I'll view the documentary "Hot And Bothered" at 19:30 hours at the Leather Museum & Archives at 6418 N. Greenview Ave. [$5]
When that finishes, I'll head to the Twisted Spoke on Ogden Ave.

Next weekend, beginning on Friday (30 March), I'll be off to Strongsville, OH. for the Cinema Wasteland Movie Exposition.
I'm riding Megabus to Cleveland, will take the Cleveland Rapid Transit from downtown to Cleveland Airport, and then the Holiday Inn - Strongsville's courtesy van to the hotel, which is the exposition locale. I'll be there until Sunday afternoon. The bus will return me to Chicago on Sunday night (1 April).

Personal update

Sat, 03 Mar 2007 00:10:49 GMT

I want to do stuff this weekend. So I will start tonight. I am finally going to The Kinetic Playground, a newish place with a fabled name originally used for a music space in Chicago in the early 1970s. It is on Lawrence Ave. just off the Lawrence station of the Red Line “L”. It is a late-night place open until 04:00. I doubt I would last there that long (although I could, because both the Red Line & the #77 Belmont bus have Owl Service), but it means that at the least, I won't get there until around 21:30. I am hoping to meet some people there whom I may only know from the internet.

Tomorrow night, I am not going to the Chicago Beer Society's Night of the Living Ales at Goose Island Wrigleyville. (It is sold out anyway.) The reason being that having too many beers during the day on the night when I emcee at the Twisted Spoke tends to leave me quite tired by the time 03:00 hours occurs.

I will be doing something beer-oriented on Sunday.
The Logan Square Draught Beer Preservation Society shall have its 3rd Annual March 4th Internationale Hiking Day Pub Stroll. The origination point will be the Map Room Tavern (1949 N. Hoyne Ave. - @ Armitage Ave.) at 15:00 hours. Each pub stop shall be 45 minutes, and then a 15-minute hike to the next location. They will be:

16:00-16:45 Green Eye Lounge (2403 W. Homer St.)
17:00-17:45 Streetside (3201 W. Armitage Ave.)
18:00-18:45 Dorothy's Liquor (3219 W. Armitage Ave. ~ this could be challenging)
19:00-19:45 Weegee's Lounge (3659 W. Armitage Ave.)

And that's it for me.

An interesting line change

Thu, 01 Mar 2007 01:39:43 GMT

In a continuation of what has been happening with me in the past three months, I never received any response from, in this instance, the United States Soccer Federation. This concerned the U.S.A. Under-23 men's national team, and its sudden one week, two game tour of Japan.
It turned out that the games weren't in Tokyo & Yokohama. They were in Kumamoto, in Kyushu. The team drew zero-zero with the Japan Under-22 national team, and drew 2-2 versus Rosso Kumamoto, a J-League side.

So I went to what I had planned initially anyhow, and nearly switched off from: Fangoria Magazine's Weekend Of Horrors at the Wyndham O'Hare Hotel.
WoH is another movie memorabilia exposition similar to Cinema Wasteland {in Strongsville, OH.}. But it has the marketing machine of "Fangoria" magazine as its engine. As you might suspect, this means higher prices. I wanted to attend at least part of this because one of the moderators of the "DVD Maniacs' forum", a Mr. Ian Jane, was travelling the distance from Portland, OR. to attend this.
This forum is on my regular bookmark page. It is one which is ‘close to the edge’ of having to go onto the erotic page, but its more popular orbit is suitable for all ages.
Nonetheless, I am using a pseudonym on its forum, because many of my posts and replies there are aimed at a restricted audience.

WoH took place over the entire weekend. But on Friday night, I attended the Central Electric Railfans' Association's monthly meeting at Robert Morris College on south State St. in downtown. The topic was the architecture of Arthur Uranus Gerber, who designed a clutch of transit stations for electric railways in the Chicago area. The work of his which has gotten the most attention in the past ten years was the Dempster station of the Chicago Rapid Transit | North Shore Line in Skokie. Another one he designed was both Wilson Ave. stations on the North Side “L”'s main line. The lower level station on the south side of Wilson Ave. was dismantled years ago; but the one on the northwest corner of Wilson & Broadway is extant. In fact, when it was constructed in the 1920s, it replaced a Frank Lloyd Wright building.

On Saturday, WoH was starting at 11:00 hours. I didn't intend to be there that early. I figured I would be there all day, and into the night. The Twisted Spoke tavern had been notified that I was not going to be there on Saturday night.

Part of the “horror” for me, if you will allow, was that the Wyndham O'Hare used to be the Comfort Inn | Quality Inn; and the bar & grill inside it was where Chicago POWER post-game parties were held from 1991 to 1995.
One thing which had changed even before the hotel became a Wyndham was a money-grubbing move to install keygates at the two ingress points of its parking lot.
I had a POWER parking pass. But I almost never used it. I would park the Sprint in a spot in the Comfort Inn's parking lot and walk the 400 feet to the south entrance of ~~Rosemont Horizon~~. When I finished faxing the scoresheet to the other League teams, and our media outlets; I would stroll back from the arena to the hotel. I would usually be one of the last persons to arrive, including the players. This typically meant I didn't have to pay for beer.
I'll return to POWER post-game parties in a spell.

Saturday started off overcast, but clement. I smoothly motored from the domicile here to the hotel. I stopped at the Burker King on Milwaukee & Belle Plaine to buy two fish sandwiches for $3. I did not take the expressway. I went out on Higgins Ave.
When I got to the hotel and made a left, the parking lot attendant was telling other vehicles that the lot was full, and we would need to park across the street. The alternate lot was a gravel lot actually in Des Plaines on the southeast corner of Mannheim Rd. & Pratt Ave. But it was also free. So that saved $10-$14.

When I got inside the hotel; I could understand how and why the lot was full. The queue with people waiting to obtain a daily ticket extended back from the banquet foyer, around the lobby lounge, towards the bar, down the stairs to the lower level, adjacent to one wall, curving back when reaching the employee's dressing room, and three-fourths of the way against the wall on the other side of the corridor. It was 11:50.
After those with pre-paid tickets were properly extracted from the queue; it took eighty minutes to get to the admission table. Well; it was a good thing I wasn't especially there for the movies or the speakers. I ate both fish sandwiches while queuing. I did have the two-dollar coupon from Friday's Chicago Reader, and it was accepted. So I paid $18.

In addition to Ian Jane, there were three other members of the DVD Maniacs' forum who were going to be there. Two of them would be behind purveyors' tables. The first was Mr. Don May, who works for Synapse Films. Synapse is releasing quite many obscure movies of the 1970s & 1980s on DVD. Don May is the person who announces on the forum which movies are to be released. The Synapse table was adjacent to the admission table. So I managed to introduce myself to Don May, and vice versa. Both of us will probably be a little fuzzy about having met the other, because he was having his ear worn off by another patron at the table, and I was not going to obtain any DVDs from Synapse that day, so I was not at full concentration.

Fangoria's WoH is much more structured than Cinema Wasteland. I heard one purveyor tell a prospective customer that he had to provide Fangoria with his tax identification number to be able to purchase table space. Everything, from DVDs to posters to T-shirts to dolls, is more expensive. {Did I scribe dolls? Yes. It is a line which seems to be the arch enemy of the Build-A-Bear clan.} One has to pay extra for tickets which enable him | her to get an autograph or a photograph of an exposition guest [$20-$25].
What bothers me more is that WoH seems to be appealing to families with pubescent children, and while that works for it because it brings in additional money, it also effectively dilutes the entertainment level of the exposition: i.e.: Everything has to be watered down to a "PG-13" rating. When a purveyor has to censor a poster which he | she is trying to sell; this is incongruous.

While the queue was slithering around in the basement of the Wyndham, it went past the other purveyors' room. This was where I later met another maniac. At the Troma table was Elske McCain, who has appeared in some Troma movies. She also appears in photosets on some other World-Wide Web sites.
On many of the fora where I lurk and | or post; there is not a preponderance of females. DVD Maniacs has three who are active, as far as I can tell. Elske is one of the three. She has a buoyant {oops} spirit, enjoys what she does, and knows what she is doing.

Back upstairs, I had only Ian Jane's name by which to search for him. However, I divined another vendor, Wicked Pixel Video, who sporadically get mentioned in the forum (by Jeremy Wallace), and asked the persons at its table if they knew who he was and how he appeared. They knew. In fact, he was less than thirty feet away from them then. He was over in a clear space (it looked like a purveyor didn't make it to Chicago) near some exterior doors of the banquet room foyer. We introduced ourselves. Of course, I had to introduce myself as my forum pseudonym. However, I asked Ian if he could keep a secret hidden. He said, "Yes", and I have every confidence he will maintain it. So Ian {as well as Elske} know my real name and address. Ian is the moderator of the forum rubric where I do the majority of my posting.
Ian now lives in Portland, OR. He has been there for six years. Before that, he resided in Toronto, ONT., Canada. Yes, Toronto; not Markham or Mississauga. Ian is a tall guy. I'm not great at descriptions, but you could probably see what he looks like if you sign on to the forum.
We spoke briefly. I was wearing the strawberry-knit hat made by robling_t as an identifier. (It turned out later this was another astute move I made.)
Ian, Chad Haden, and somebody else whose name I can't decipher, soon piled into Scott Ruhl's car; and off they went to see the area.

I looked at the upcoming events on the schedule and decided that since I wasn't paying to park, and I did not need to see anything until Troma's preview of "Poultrygeist" later on, I should take advantage of this and head over to the RAM Brewpub on Higgins Rd. approximately one mile away. I had never been there.
It was still clement when I left the Wyndham. Somebody's auto had actually gotten stuck in a muddy rut in another portion of the lot. I arrived at the RAM Brewpub and parked in its covered garage. It was 15:56.
This RAM has ten of its beers on draught. I tried the sampler, and of the six, I did not finish its hefeweizen, and its pilsner, which turned out to be its “light” beer, was blasé. I suspect this was being tested because quite a few other patrons of the bar area were drinking mass-advertised, industrial “light” beers. RAM's porter was very good, the amber definitely worth having one or two; but the beer I keenly preferred was its Chocolate Stout. It was smooth, and although served at too cold a temperature; when reaching its desirable range, displayed a malt-accented brew with some semi-sweet tinges of the extra ingredient.
Having the stout meant I ordered its hamburger patty melt (I was also considering its teriyaki & ginger chicken patty.). The hamburger was prepared to taste. It was $8.95. It was what you would expect for the price: i.e. average.

I finished there at 17:30. It was beginning to snow as I motored back to the Wyndham. It appeared that a lot of exposition guests took the weather advisory much more seriously. I was figuring I would have to park in a more remote area of the gravel lot; but was presented with a high number of spots which had been vacated.
I saw the Troma presentation. The scene from "Poultrygeist", whose plot line is the factory farm plant built over a former burial ground, was the ‘customer abattoiring’ one. Lots of external limbs were dismembered. There were squibs and streams of blood being squirted all over the place. It was humorous. As Lloyd Kaufman related afterward, "We're not fans of the fast food industry." [I am certain you and I will never see a Troma DVD offered as a premium with the purchase of a value meal at Taco Bell.]

There was nothing else really enticing me on the day's span. I had brought in my satchel with much of the materials from Tokyo. I found a seat at the unused lobby bar and settled down to read and people-watch. Another extra charge event took place at 21:00 [a “dessert party”]. By then, I was beginning to wonder {& worry} what had happened to Ian and the others. The weather was nastier, and more gruesome, than any of the movie clips which had been unspooled that day at the Wyndham.

Elske, and a handful of the other people from Troma entered the lobby bar area and sat down twelve feet from me. Considering that they had been talked to all day (and would have to do it some more on Sunday), I didn't incur upon their spot. I mostly listened to what they said.

I elected to take a stroll through the Wyndham. As I mentioned previously, this was the hotel where we had Chicago POWER indoor soccer post-game parties from 1991 to 1995. I wanted to see how much the venue had changed in the twelve years since then.

I've already told you how it has changed. The brand alteration, and the keygates to the parking lot, are it.
I entered the bar & grill. It is still called Maxie's, and retains its popcorn machine, arced bar, two step-up table areas, two pool tables, an electronic dartboard, and the hardwood floor which was intended to be a dance area, but which was soon dominated by a large-screen television. In this area was exactly where I would typically wind up drinking Miller Lite (egads) with Peter Wilt.

My brain went into fourth gear. I remembered that it was thirteen years this weekend when something significant happened which would have an impact to me. Yes, Maxie's had something to do with it.
The weekend of 26-28 February 1994 was a busy one for me. The POWER had an episode of three-games-in-three-days. On Friday night, in Milwaukee versus the WAVE, we lost.
Our home game was the following night versus the Detroit ROCKERS. But in the afternoon, I attended my first-ever physical meetup of an on-line community. I had managed to get my Commodore 64 8-bit computer onto some Bulletin Board Services. One of them was an Amiga BBS called the "Smoking Mirror". It was in my "B" calling area, so it was cheap to connect. I always called after 21:00 hours, which was when the price per call was discounted by 40%.
The BBS was having an assemblage at Connie's Pizza in Bridgeport on Archer Ave. at 15:00 hours. It was fascinating to identify people behind their nicknames. I chatted with a few other people at my table, mostly about indoor soccer. I honestly can't remember with whom I chatted, but I seem to recall they were mostly younger than me.

I left there at 17:30. Our game was in two hours. We lost to the ROCKERS. At post-game at Maxie's, I was anticipating meeting a couple of ROCKERS' fans from Detroit. I had procured a six-pack of remnant beer from our annual beer tasting at the United Soccer Boosters' Convention in August 1993.
Something happened to the ROCKERS' fans. They didn't show. I looked around the bar and noted something peculiar: The Commissioner of the National Professional Soccer League, a Mr. Steve M. Paxos, was in the bar; and I remembered that he had been in Milwaukee the night before. Since the League Headquarters were in Canton, OH., it was mildly perplexing that he seemed to be following Chicago this weekend. Then I was relayed a tale in which Peter Wilt had uttered he would not be going to Kansas City for Sunday's match. I found Peter's table in the bar and asked for clarification. He confirmed the tale.
I needed two more flights on Southwest Airlines before 8 March 1994 to get to sixteen (to earn the free flight from its frequent flyer program). I was going to Kansas City on Sunday. I had a cheap rental car, and a cheap motel room at the American Inn in Blue Springs, MO. I learned that a Ms. Gayle Marshall would be assuming Peter's usual tasks in Kansas City the next night. I was cogitating, but could not yet deduce the missing puzzle piece. I would not learn what actually transpired this weekend for another five months.
It was time for me to get home and get some rest before heading to Midway Airport on Sunday. I didn't want to put the six-pack back in my car, or return it to the basement here. So, I gave the six-pack to the League Commissioner. In retrospect, I believe this act earned me a significant amount of “brownie points” from the League. (Which beer was it? I can't recall positively, but I think it might have been Flying Dog Amber.)

What was occurring this weekend?
This was when the POWER's owner, who should remain nameless [but was Ron Bergstrom], informed the League that he was withdrawing his financial support of the franchise. Peter Wilt was preparing to jump overboard (he would on 18 March), and the two seasons of turmoil in which I became intimately familiar with the team were going to follow. [To complete the horrible weekend, we lost in Kansas City. I was queried at the ATTACK Booster Club table at Kemper Arena by (the now-deceased) Norma Sparacino, "We've heard from Zoran (Savic - the ATTACK General Manager) there's something going on with your team." I responded that I didn't know much. Perhaps we would have some concepts by the time the Chicago Soccer FanAddicts were {in Kansas City} in another month.]

It was after 23:00 hours when Ian made an appearance in Maxie's. The four people in Scott Ruhl's auto had been besieged by the ice storm {oops again} which had now piled on Chicago. They had gone to at Flossmoor Station in the south suburbs. I can only surmise it was because Flossmoor is the Best Small Brewpub in the U.S.A., having won that designation at last October's Great American Beer Festival™. I expressed relief that he had survived.
We didn't talk too much. I was venting about Maxie's and some of the other subjects I scribed in the previous paragraph.
Ian wanted to get back upstairs to his hotel room. He did. I sat down at a table with Jeremy (of Wicked Pixel) and listened to him speak about the videos they were making compared to some of the other exhibitors and purveyors at WoH.
It was shortly after 24:00 hours when everybody at the table decided they had had enough. This was when I decided to head home.

The precipitation had halted. The Sprint was encased with ice on the east side of the car, which was the angle of the driver's door. I had to unlock the passenger door to get access to the ice scraper. The strawberry-knit hat covers the entire head, and has a cord to lace it. This hat was more appropriate for the weather than the dark green knit hat which I had worn on Friday night, and would have worn on Saturday if I had not decided to garb myself in something visible. It took twenty minutes to uncrack enough of the ice off the Sprint to safely navigate the route. I did not start the engine.
I wonder what occurred at the Twisted Spoke. I was testing it this weekend. I have an idea that it had a lousy night as far as business went (due to the weather); so, I probably picked a good Saturday to not be there.
Will I attend WoH next year (22-24 February 2008), again at the Wyndham? I doubt it. For me, these movie expositions need either of two aspects for me to be happy with my attendance:

Intriguing movies or videos I enjoy.
Entertaining people, either involved with the movies | videos being shown, or belonging to an on-line forum or community.

Cinema Wasteland is the benchmark by which I compare expositions. Weekend of Horrors is significantly more expensive (starting with $119 | night hotel rooms; proceeding to substantial additional charges for autographs & photographs, and culminating in outlandish amounts for items from its purveyors ~ but this is due to those purveyors needing to cover their increased costs), and dilutes its potentiality with its outweighing towards families with pubescents.
There was a last-minute cavalry ride at WoH on Saturday night. But it was insufficient to influence me to want to try again (and you didn't get those in horror movies anyway).

I have already booked for Cinema Wasteland. I have registered with the exposition. Three-day registration is only $30 if you do so before Saturday, 3 March. I booked a room at the Motel 6 next door to the Holiday Inn Select (which is the exposition hotel) in Strongsville, OH. for $34.19 | night [× 2]. Finally, if you reside in metropolitan Chicago, you can ride MegaBus from Chicago to Cleveland for $16.00 round trip [+ a 50¢ fee]. If you opt for the 9:15 am bus on Friday, the 30th; and the 5:00 pm bus on Sunday, the 1st; you can adhere with me to get to | from downtown Cleveland to Strongsville. It should cost only another $2.
If you are not going elsewhere that weekend, you should avail yourself of this exposition.

I test ‘last-minute’ W-WW services for you[|me].

Sat, 10 Feb 2007 08:44:49 GMT

I just received an E-Mail stating that the U.S.A. Under-23 Men's National Team {this is the squad which attempts to qualify for Olympic® Games soccer tournaments), coached on a regular basis [i.e.: not interim] by Bob Bradley & Peter Novak will be journeying to Japan for a week of practices, and two matches. The matches shall be versus the Japan Under-22 team (I surmise that is their Olympic® squad.), and a J-League team.
They will be leaving Los Angeles (they train at Victoria Station in Carson, CA.) on the 16th of February.

You might already know that I do not need much of an excuse to go to Japan if it is possible. I have responded to U.S.S.F. querying if the matches will be in the Tokyo & Yokohama area. I hope it responds soon.

If this is the case, the title of this entry will illuminate.
I am looking at the dates of 19 & 26 February. Those are Mondays. I have tried a small spectrum of the Travel World-Wide Web sites listed on my regular bookmark page. So far; the lowest airfare is on United Airlines. American Airlines seems to accept a lower load factor on its one daily nonstop flight [AA 153 & 154] from O'Hare to Narita [ORD-NRT]. I mention this because it is asking for an appreciably higher fare for it; and when I checked its seat availability on its flight, it has 31 seats open. United (which has two nonstop flights) wants $670.14 for flights 883 & 882. It isn't telling how many seats it has left on each flight. Some other W-WW sites with access to United's flights are reporting it has only one seat left on each, but they're also asking a higher cost [approx. $729.00].
Yes, I am a member of both airlines' frequent flyer programs.

Hang in there, all sixteen of you. This could get very interesting in the next three days. If this goes through; I won't be attending Fangoria's Weekend of Horror exposition at the Wyndham O'Hare in ~~Rosemont~~ on 23-25 February.

Tokyo: Take #2; Scenes 2-5.

Sun, 17 Dec 2006 04:16:58 GMT

Having a good map makes travelling through Tokyo a lot better.
For that, I keenly recommend this book. It is smaller in size than the Tokyo Metropolitan Atlas recommended by Steve Schultz at Tokyo Damage Report.

The soccer matches I've covered have been good games. It was mildly discouraging to see Club América so outclassed in their match versus Barcelona F.C.
Four-zero was comprehensive, and it nearly went to five when a late-minute chip came back from the crossbar.

I was thinking during this disassemblage, "What would be the reception a U.S.A. team would get here; presuming U.S.S.F. somehow got the qualifying rounds moved to a time when the teams in Major League Soccer® are playing?"
The crowd's cheering level during Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors F.C. matches was subdued. Was it because they were from South Korea? I wonder if the response to a U.S.A. side would be edging toward negative (especially if the side were D.C. UNITED®)?
At the open media conference last Saturday, a question was asked where will this tournament be in the future? It is set for Tokyo for 2007. The answer was along the lines of, "It would be difficult for another city & country to host this tournament". Of course, it was not so blatantly stated. The typical codespeak of needing accomodations for the teams, media and officials; and the stadia available; was uttered.
You might think a South American country like Brazil or Argentina would like the opportunity; or if Australia would attempt to put itself on the world soccer map by bidding for it. But if it continues to be hosted in Japan; I remain interested in covering it.
For more details about the matches, I encourage you to read the stories at FIFA.com.

It might surprise you to learn that I am not going to Yokohama to cover today's matches. I'll just scribe that on Thursday night, I had the closest call to last year insofar as getting back to Tokyo. With the larger crowds expected today, and especially if the match goes to extra time or penalty kicks; I fear I would not make my connections. Then I would be very upset and probably not in the mood to pack my bag; which is going to be full. It is not that I again plead for help getting back from O'Hare Airport; but that it is going to be bulky; and I have to walk the four blocks from here to the Toei Asakusa Line's station. The train runs direct to Narita, and there is a possibility I could catch a train which would not require even the across-the-platform transfer at Aoto. Once I get to Narita, there are free baggage roller carts which I can use to get to the counter and from there to the boarding gate.
They also exist in the international terminal at O'Hare; and yes, they're free there as well.
I'll take the Blue Line “L” to Jefferson Park, and the #X54 bus from there.

Instead, today I shall go to the Black Lion Pub's Black Beer Fiesta in Meduro. It will be serving a lot of stouts on draft. It's two Toei subway routes from here; the Asakusa to the Mita.

I have explored a number of neighborhoods in Tokyo this year. I did some shopping; and a good deal of window shopping. I was surprised I could not find an inexpensive portable audio cassette recorder to supplant the one I received from dad (because he wasn't using it). That's a General Electric model made in China. I saw one Sony model (also made in China) in one electronics department store, but it was ¥4,110 [$34.74]. It seems that cassette recorders are being phased out in favor of computer-based recorders.
I will bring back about $200 worth [$1 = ¥118] of items.

Tokyo - Take #2; Scene 1

Wed, 13 Dec 2006 03:32:45 GMT

Hello, people. I will not fall into the trap of taking so long to compose these LJ Entries from Tokyo that I do not get out into Tokyo.
I am staying at the Khaosan Tokyo Asakusa Annex.
Asakusa [pronounced "ah-sox-ah"] has a touristy portion, but that is across the Sumida River from here.
On Monday, I mailed off thirty picture postcards [¥80 postage each], most of which were the standard nightlife scenes.
But some people were sent a different card, obtained from a rack of free postcards from a bar in Shinjuku. (Who knew?) I think they'll enjoy that card, if it gets to them.

Things are much smoother here with a good map. I can definitely endorse Kodansha's Tokyo City Atlas.
It is better than the Tokyo Metropolitan Atlas recommended by Steve Schultz on his Tokyo Damage Report. (I bought it in Shinjuku where he mentioned it. It costs ¥2,000. It is larger and less easy to carry around and refer to.)

At the Annex here, there is a notebook denoting where are things in the vicinity. There is a 99 Yen Shop three blocks from here [across the river].
I've been buying its package lunches {They're actually ¥199 or ¥299.} and heating them here in the kitchen. They're good. And they're cheap. I also get a 1000 mL bottle of soda for another 99 yen.

The Annex gave very good instructions on how to get here from Narita Airport. People, if you have trouble discerning which Chicago Blue Line “L” trains originated at 54th | Cermak; you would get completely discombobulated trying to figure out which company's trains run on the trackage between Narita and Asakusa. All I'll scribe is that the Keisei Group has trackage rights to run on the Toei Asakusa Line. If you change at the Aoto station when coming from Narita (only on the Limited Express - the Skyliner does not stop there); which is an across-the-platform transfer like at Fullerton, & Belmont on the north side “L”; you will catch a subway train which will stop at the Asakusa station. This ride to | from Narita costs only ¥1,060.

I'll write some more, including some coverage of the soccer games for which I am credentialled, in upcoming entries.
The terse words for now are: Club América have to be more accurate on offense if they want to beat Barcelona on Thursday. They missed many chances, many of them off giveaways by Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors F.C. on Monday. They should have won by 3-zero.
They will not get so many gifts from Barcelona. When they get into their offensive area, they need to be accurate, challenging, and seeking rebounds.

It is 12:30 hours [GMT + 9] here in Tokyo; and time for me to go get a cheap lunch.
Did I tell you it costs ¥399?
!=)#

A six-pack of topics

Sat, 02 Dec 2006 02:17:53 GMT

Lots of interesting comments. Let's start.
In the past fortnight, I have been receiving U.S.P.S. mail from stock market touts. I have not been in the stock market since June 1999. I'm not coming back to it. Whomever is purchasing ten-year-old mailing lists must be really desperate. I will not name the specific stocks or publications they're selling. Clearly, they're ones to avoid, just like the ones which appear in your ‘spam’ E-Mail folder. In my parlance, these mailings go straight-to-trash (STT).

In other news of mailings: I visited Opt Out Prescreen some time ago. This is a World-Wide Web site which lets you cease receiving unsolicited credit card, home loan, or other financial arrangements in your U.S.P.S. mailbox. It works. But there is an exception.
Corporations and organizations which have a "business relation" with you are explicitly exempted from this Federal law. So I still get unsolicited credit card applications from airlines with which I have a frequent flyer account, university alumni associations, and even the credit card issuers with whom I already have a credit card.
The offers these businesses send are horrible gouges to anybody who studies the terms of the credit card(s) he|she already has. What they eventually distill out to is: You would get a credit card with a twenty-day billing span, an annual percentage rate in the upper [legal-aged] teens, and after the first year, you would get to pay $50-$60 a year to have it.
What is the carrot they offer? Frequent flyer miles. As if that will ever pay out to you. Nobody ever gets a free flight to where he|she wants to go when he|she wants to go. The most you get from frequent flyer miles is being “upgraded” from 49-J to 16-C on your full-fare unrestricted coach flight.

The next issue of "Incendiary Words" is shaping up nicely. It looks as though it will be nine pages, including a form which will not be included in the electronic version unless a recipient expressly requests it [the electronic version already is an E-Mail attachment - this form would be an additional attachment which would trigger some E-Mail programs to bounce or otherwise consider it ‘spam’], to nominate an individual for U.S.S.F.'s "Warner Fricker Award". But it awaits a significant announcement: U.S.S.F. had mentioned that it would name the new head coach of the Men's National Team by this weekend. I am composing this entry off-line, so I have not seen if this announcement has been made. If it does name the new coach; that will go into the zine in a prominent slot.
No news on the coach yet, but instead: Soldier Field in Chicago will host the Semi-Finals & the Final of the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup in June. That has to make the issue. Readers should know that the zine is actually a long .doc file. The page breaks are hard-coded. I strive to avoid printing articles onto another page, especially if it is only one-to-six lines. This sometimes mandates where an article appears therein. The current ‘Top Story’ is the Chicago FIRE® winning the Lamar Hunt U. S. Open Cup Tournament.

I still have not received a credential to cover the Major Indoor Soccer League from either the Chicago STORM or the League. Both organizations have received U.S.P.S. letters from myself. I should have received a response by now. Due to the weather here, I did not go to Milwaukee tonight or Hoffman Estates tomorrow anyway. I will return to the subject of credentials later.

I do not know what it is, but it seems that, the more people are “connected”, the less often they actually communicate. Thirteen years ago, I wrote in an article for a soccer zine [one not published by me] that people did not respond to messages left on an answering machine or a facsimile sent to their publicized number.
It has gotten worse. Nowadays, people still do not return your telephone call, and they do not respond to your E-Mails. They may not even bother to check their telephone messages, or glance at the subjects of the E-Mails. So why do they have a mobile telephone and an E-Mail address? I can complain about governmental agencies engaging in theatrics; but it really is annoying when individuals adopt these tactics. Connectivity is a two-way street, people. It is not solely from you to him|her.

I am set to go to Tokyo to cover the F.I.F.A. Club World Cup Japan 2006 on 10-17 December. Unlike that of the STORM and|or the M.I.S.L., I have been approved for a credential by F.I.F.A. I am flying on United. These are my flights:

Thu. 7 Dec. 2006: UAL0881: ORD-NRT: Departs 12:02 hours [CT | GMT - 6]
Arrives Fri. 8 Dec. 2006 @ 16:20 hours [GMT + 9].
Boeing 747-400 [57-F]
Mon. 18 Dec. 2006: UAL0882: NRT-ORD: Departs 17:55 hours [GMT + 9]
Arrives Mon. 18 Dec. 2006 @ 14:14 hours [CT | GMT - 6]
Boeing 747-400 [57-F]

{I selected the seats. I actually prefer to be in the aft of the airplane.}
My airfare is $845.25.

I am trying a different hotel this year. I am staying in Asakusa (in Sumida-Ku) at the Khaosan Tokyo Asakusa Annex [Higashi-Komagata 2-2-5]. It will still be about a half-mile walk to the nearest subway station, but, that is in central Asakusa, which is an intriguing destination in itself, and if I go a different way, I will wind up at the Asahi Brewery. Most likely the most significant aspect about the hostel is that it has no curfew.
This is a hostel hotel seemingly similar to the "Hans Brinker" hotel I stayed at in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, back in November 2000. I am in a dorm room with three other beds. My rate is ~$16.89 | night. It will want the money in yen when I arrive. The current exchange rate is $1 = ¥116.

I have a reasonable map book. It is the Kodansha Tokyo City Atlas [Rev. Ed.] [ISBN 4-7700-2809-1]. I will still go to the Kikokuniya Bookstore [3-17-7 Shinjuku] [6th Floor] in Shinjuku to obtain the Tokyo Metropolitan Atlas, which is recommended by Steve Schultz of the Tokyo Damage Report W-WW site. I have also printed out his eleven-page Tokyo Travel Guide.

I will do much better in Tokyo this year. The English-language guides I was trying to rely on last year were insufficient. Until when I finally went to a “touristy” neighborhood (Roppongi) and found The Tokyo Pocket Guide. This pamphlet has both visual maps and full addresses of its advertisers. When did I find this? On the Saturday two days before I departed.
I do not want to spend all my time in English-language establishments. I shall not. Many of the stores where I'll shop will be heavily skewed towards Japanese-speakers; which I shall valiantly attempt to speak and understand. I'll still have a ‘cheat sheet’ paper towel stuck in my coat's inside pocket with some of the lesser-remembered phrases I may need. (I'll also have a Pocket Japanese Dictionary inside my satchel. Despite all it hasn't done so far this season; the satchel I will pack inside my main carry-on baggage will be the M.I.S.L. one.)
There will be LJ entries while I am in Japan. I do not yet know how many there will be, because I am unfamiliar with the Annex's Internet connectivity. I shall strive to check my E-Mails ever day. [I had better; after that spew a few paragraphs above.]

As for the games themselves - Who do I think will win the tournament? I'm tilting towards Barçelona (Spain). I will root for Club América, and they should win their first game versus their Asian opponents, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors FC (South Korea). But that would get them a semi-final match v. Barçelona; which I doubt they would win. If they were in the other side of the bracket, and would advance to play SC Internacional (Brazil): That game they might have had a chance.
Everybody plays at least two games here. There is a match for fifth place on Friday night the 15th in Tokyo.
The third place game & the Final are on Sunday afternoon the 17th in Yokohama. This tournament will be in Japan in 2007. After that, it will likely go to somewhere in South America; and then a rotation would probably occur. Weather would be less of a factor in South America. {Despite Saö Paolo of Brazil winning last year's Final in chilling temperatures.}

That's it for now. Thank you for reading all the way through this.

False positives

Fri, 10 Nov 2006 21:58:32 GMT

I am out the door here in another 100 minutes. I am going to this evening's N.C.A.A. men's Division I soccer first-round match with U. of Illinois - Chicago v. Western Illinois Univ. at Flames Field in central Chicago. [19:00 hours CT | GMT - 6]

When that finishes between 21:00 - 21:30 hours; I will motor north to the Music Box Theatre for a “midnight movie”. It is one I have never seen.
I must see it tonight, because tomorrow night, I'm attending something moderately prestigious instead. {It's not a beer event.}

I need to discuss something which corollates with the on-line experience.
I know all of you know that spam is a distressing problem which affects everybody out here on the internet. One ‘defense’ attempted by some ISPs and on-line fora is a blacklist of certain domains which they feel are devoted to spam.
But these have two significant problems:
° Most spammers use a forged E-Mail address ending in "hotmail.com", "yahoo.com", "gmail.com", "verizon.net", et cetera.
° They block E-Mails from legitimate domains like "spamgourmet.com", "swift-mail.com", "ananzi.co.za", & "fastmail.fm".
The result: Spam E-Mails get through; real E-Mails never get to the recipient's folder.

Go look at any of those legitimate E-Mail services I list. Most of my initial contact E-Mails are from "spamgourmet.com". Why? There are high-level spammers; and there are low-level wannabe spammers. The latter, after receiving what is a genuine E-Mail from me, might decide to add my E-Mail address to a list which he will try and sell to, or collect money from, a high-level spammer. {He|She will have an attitude, “Pudgy will never know that I submitted his E-Mail address to a spammer.”.} Guess what? If I send him|her an E-Mail via "spamgourmet.com"; and that E-Mail starts getting spam sent to it; guess who has just been outed?
(You would see a subsequent entry in this LJ reading, "______ _________ is a scuzzbucket who puts your E-Mail address on a spam list. Watch out!")

This is what I request from you, as an end user, and from forum administrators.
Please remove "spamgourmet.com" from your domain blacklist. Let your end user see for him | herself that my E-Mail is legitimate. The specific address may be long, but it is genuine. This makes much more sense than blocking me, but letting all those spam E-Mails from popular domains through.

Late soccer update: F.I.F.A. has issued me a credential for the 2006 Club World Cup Japan (10-17 December).
I am still waiting on one for the 2006-07 Chicago STORM [M.I.S.L.].

Going off in all directions

Fri, 03 Nov 2006 04:39:02 GMT

I'll start with soccer, since I believe this is what might bring somebody to this Live Journal.
I went to a Chicago STORM practice on Wednesday morning. I think it began at 09:00 hours; but I didn't get there until 10:45. STORM head coach Steve Morris was practicing top-of-the-arc restarts with three lines. If you go to the STORM's W-WW page [it is slow-loading, and it does not allow itself to be cached], you may click-through to 'Players'. I will tell you the players whose names no longer appear.

They are Novica “Novi” Marojevic, Lazo Alavanja, Anthony Maher, Gus Kartes, Byron Alvarez, & Danny Waltman. (Yes, there were some others whose names I omitted, but I submit they were immaterial.)
L. Alavanja & B. Alvarez were probably discarded because, in the case of the former, he had a dreadful game when it really mattered: The home playoff game versus the Saint Louis STEAMERS back in April; in the latter, because he was a loan player from the Portland TIMBERS of the United Soccer League's First Division [Division II] who kept missing matches because he was trying out for some outdoor teams.
“Novi”, the team's captain, also had a lousy game versus the STEAMERS, and subsequently, STORM Chief Operating Officer Brian Loftin decided to not protect him in the Detroit IGNITION expansion draft. Teams can only protect a limited number of rostered players; and in some instances, the players they leave unprotected are ones whom they perceive will not leave the area if they are picked. “Novi” was picked, and, despite this quote he gave to me back in February 2005:

I played pretty good in Kansas City. Zoran (Savic) likes me a lot.
I know the door in Kansas City is open to me. But this [Chicago] is my city.
This is my second home, after Yugoslavia. In Chicago, I have a lot of friends. A lot of people know me.

- he signed a contract with the IGNITION.
It is not the first time somebody in soccer has been less-than-forthright with me, and it will not likely be the last. But still.

The trading of D. Waltman surprised me. This was the guy whose face you saw last season in the team's meager advertising campaign. Jim Larkin {"the goalkeeper of the present" ~ formerly "the goalkeeper of the future"} will bring some seasoned experience to the net (& D. Waltman suffered from the sophomore slump); but if the STORM were going to offload one of their goalkeepers, you wonder why it was not Jeff Richey, who is from Fort Wayne, IN.; which is in the IGNITION's area of dominant influence.

A. Maher was almost lumped into the ‘immaterial’ class. He was injured, and saw nearly no action after January. But, he was the name player obtained in the trade of John Ball; whose stint with the STORM was as abrasive as turf toe.
G. Kartes? I don't know. Perhaps he's trying out for another outdoor team, using yet another name.

The names which replace them on the roster are Randy Soderman, Sinisa Alebic, Chris Handsor, & Mariano Bollella. Randy S. is one of my ex's. No further discussion of him is needed. He is fine.
S. Alebic is a defender whom you have to watch, because he seldom makes an obviously good play. He never gets into a position where he has to make a late recovery. The opposition will eventually realize they should target the other defender on his line.
C. Handsor has a Championship-Winning-Goal on his ledger. There is an extremely limited number of active players who possess this. I can't explain why he was drifting around out here. For me; this is the most invigorating pick-up the STORM made. M. Bollella is an Argentinian midfielder who reminds me of other Argentinian midfielders who have played in Chicago. This is good.

Of the returning players; there is quality. The midfield looks especially strong. I think this is going to be Awadalla Morad's breakout season. Matthew Stewart is being pushed to do more; and I perceive he will do so.
Mark Ughy & Jorgé Vallé bring two different styles to the forward position. Defenses will get mixed up and have the “wrong” line defending against them at some points during the game; and the STORM should capitalize when that happens.
And it could go without my scribing so; but I prefer to be explicit. Steve Morris is much more familiar with indoor soccer, especially the contemporary status of indoor soccer, than was Frank Klopas. There will not be any glaring errors of the STORM trying to change lines on a superstructure violation, or re-inserting an ‘injured’ player before a guaranteed substitution opportunity. Blunders on the bench leading to man-advantage episodes for the opposition should be keenly dwindled.

Here are the details you could use if you elect to go to Hoffman Estates for a STORM home game.
First of all, I discourage you from taking the tollway. If you do not have an I-PASS®; which, if you have not noticed, is a stealthy tracking device; the tolls are doubled for cash-payers. Motor west on Higgins Road [State Route 72]. When you approach New Sutton Road [SR 59], turn south [left]. The next traffic signal will be the tollway interchange. You should turn west [right] onto Columbine Blvd. It will be another three-tenths of a mile until you espy the arena and its parking lots. The parking fee for indoor soccer should be five dollars.
I surmise many of you are pondering what I will call this arena. The first time I get in there: I will plunder around to try and find its builders' plaque. Doing this in Sunrise, FL. led me to find such with the name "Broward County Civic Arena" engraved thereupon, instead of its automobile rental sponsored nomenclature.
Because otherwise; this facility falls through one of the cracks in my usual policy. Sears® owns the land, and it contracted to build the facility. This is a match with the Compuware Arena in Detroit (where the IGNITION will play). I'll have to refer to this arena as the Sears Centre. 3=O#

Season seats for the STORM cost $219 [$14.60 | game]. More expensive seating options are available, if you think you might actually enjoy sitting in the first row with no glass separating you from a deflected ball coming directly at you at fifty miles an hour.
There is also a $75 for five games package; and, for groups of four, a $69 deal for four specified home games [including 26 November v. the WAVE; and two Saturday home dates v. the defending Champion BLAST] which includes food & drinks. The STORM will limit the seating to the 100-level of the arena.

I interviewed Brian Loftin for the next issue of "Incendiary Words". The sentence B. Loftin served me to try and allay my fears that “no one will attend the games here” {I prefaced this by noting that Bob Dylan, a musical icon for forty-four years, didn't fill up the building. What chance does a three-year-old indoor soccer team have of doing so?} was, "There are more people within ten miles of Hoffman Estates than within 1½ miles of downtown Milwaukee."
O.K.; they have a large pool of people to whom to try and appeal. When the National Hockey League had its first expansion back in the late 1960s; it put a team in Los Angeles, CA. It noted that there were 200,000 Canadians living in the southland. After a handful of money-losing seasons (and despite a new facility in Inglewood), the team's owner, Jack Kent Cooke, upon being reminded of this notation, uttered, "Yes; and they share a common trait. They hate ice hockey!"
Perhaps exurban audiences might turn out for the cartoonish violence of ice hockey & indoor lacrosse. But for something as intense, engrossing, and demanding as indoor soccer - I'm not so sure.
And I bet they will be confused by the multi-point scoring scheme.

But I still have to assess how and where the STORM fit, compared to the other teams in the League.
The suspension of the STEAMERS franchise caused a clutch of high-quality players to become available. Everybody did o.k. Especially the IGNITION, because they not only got the first pick in their expansion draft; but also in the STEAMERS' dispersal draft. I dare scribe that the IGNITION are the most adhesive expansion team in the League since the 1998-99 Florida THUNDERCATS. And they won't be sold off in mid-February.

The Baltimore BLAST maintained their core, and even got their old backup GK, Brian Rowland, back. It is impossible to contemplate that Denison Cabral would have a third-consecutive season with a crippling injury. The BLAST have won three of the last four League Championships. I believe it would be folly to not select them to win the regular season at least.

The Milwaukee WAVE have turned over nine players in the off-season. And, they lost one of their assistant coaches (S. Morris) to the STORM. On paper, they seem to be at the same depth of last season. But when everybody else in the League has seemingly gotten stronger; it makes determining their position more difficult. Nick Vorberg is going to be expected to play every game this season (because you have not heard of the WAVE's backup GK). Interestingly; the WAVE have started an indoor developmental team (the ARMADA) comprised of Hispanics [& coached by Johnny Torres]; who could eventually be promoted to the regular WAVE roster.

Last season, the Philadelphia KIXX had the meltdown which had been suffered in 2004-05 by the BLAST. Some poor on-field play, and some mind-boggling breakdowns in discipline resulted in a nine-game losing streak (in a 30-game season) which ultimately cost them the last playoff spot to the STORM.
But this season; they're really loaded. They're going to have Dino Delevski and Genoni Martinez for the entire season. Goalkeeper Peter Pappas cannot again have as horrid a season as he did. Shaun Boney, John Barry Nusum, & Edgar Bartolomeu will contribute.

Oh; and that leaves me with the [Stockton] California COUGARS.
Ehhh, boy. I am sorry, Troy (Dayak - COUGARS' head coach); but somebody has to finish at the bottom in the League, and I think it is going to be you. That the COUGARS are the only (active) team west of the Mississippi River is a double-edged sword. It is a hardship for many players to go out to the west coast to try out for an indoor soccer team.
But there must be some good players who reside in the Pacific Rim states who could gravitate there; rather than sending themselves two-thirds of the way across the country to try and make one of the other five teams.

After some contemplation of whether to submit this to Paul Reeths at Our Sports Central; I have decided to keep this semi-sequestered here. [Only fourteen people ever actually read this LJ; and I minimize its availability to search engines.] Here is how I feel the 2006-07 Major Indoor Soccer League regular season will finish:

Baltimore BLAST
Milwaukee WAVE
Philadelphia KIXX
Detroit IGNITION
Chicago STORM
California COUGARS

On Saturday afternoon, I will go to the Festival of Barrel-Aged Beer at Goose Island Wrigleyville. It goes from 13:00 - 17:00 hours [CT | GMT - 6]. This is presented by the Illinois Craft Beer Guild.
The Chicago Beer Society will have its annual Fall Dinner & Tasting the following Saturday night (the 11th) at Marcello's restaurant at 645 W. North Ave.; but I will be involved with something else that Saturday night; and will not attend that. It is probably sold out by now anyhow.

I am in the stages of planning to go to Tokyo to cover the F.I.F.A. Club World Cup Japan 2006 on 10-17 December. I have applied for a credential from FIFA. I am concentrating on finding inexpensive airfare from Chicago to Tokyo [ORD - NRT for those so inclined].
So far, there is nothing cheaper than $810. {including all taxes - For some reason, United Airlines' taxes on this route are substantially larger than American Airlines' taxes, with the ultimate result being that each is within four dollars of the other}
I have reason to believe that the institution of service by All Nippon Airways on the ORD-NRT route should lead to a significant price drop, especially for those who dates are flexible enough to fly on off-peak days. But I am also trying to find travel agencies offering "consolidator" tickets. I am willing to accept a change of planes on the outbound route; but not on the inbound flight. (This sinks Northwest Airlines. Especially when its lowest fare sends me from Tokyo to Detroit; and from there to Chicago. It couldn't return me via Minneapolis?)
Do you know any Chicago-based consolidators I can telephone? The on-line queries I have explored have not turned up anything.

On-side this time

Wed, 18 Oct 2006 09:38:38 GMT

Here's how my extended weekend schedule is congealing.

Thursday night, 19 October, 19:00 hours CT: Humulus Lupulus: $15.00: The semi-annual beer tasting with complimentary buffet, free raffle, & a live 1980s cover band at Jak's Tap at Jackson Blvd. & Peoria St. (900 W.) [Blue Line “L” stop: UIC/Halsted].
Saturday, 21 October, 15:00 hours: Flossmoor Regalia at Flossmoor Station Brwg. Co. [Metra Electric University Park route / Flossmoor station {you can't miss it} Fare = $5.00 Metra Weekend Pass].
Flossmoor Station won the "Small Brewpub Company of the Year" honor at this year's Great American Beer Festival™ in Denver, CO.
22:00 hours (approx.): I emcee at the Twisted Spoke Tavern @ Ogden & Grand on Chicago's near northwest side. [Blue Line “L” stop: Chicago/Milwaukee]
Sunday, 22 October, 15:00 hours: Chic-A-Go-Go! videotaping at Chicago Access Network Studios at Green St. & Jackson Blvd. [Free!]

Usama Alshaibi is videotaping a dance production number for an upcoming video from him. It is on Sunday; but I do not yet know where and when it is. However, I believe Usama (& Kristie) live in the immediate neighborhood near C.A.N. Studios. So both could be possible.

¬¬ I am back ¬¬

Wed, 04 Oct 2006 04:45:25 GMT

I have a new internet service provider [ISP] which is hosting my World-Wide Web pages.
I am paying less per month than I did with my former ISP.

I have actually not yet logged on there; but I have configured my file transfer protocol [FTP] program, and re-uploaded all my W-WW pages to its server.

Please change your bookmarks for my W-WW pages to the following:

My index page = http://snipurl.com/sdr001
My regular bookmark page = http://snipurl.com/sdr002
My erotic bookmark page = http://snipurl.com/sdr003

Everybody is in violation

Tue, 26 Sep 2006 05:56:04 GMT

The thirteen of you know that I am seeking a new Internet Service Provider (ISP). My World-Wide Web pages are coming down on Sunday. The ISP is discontinuing its free personal webpage hosting. I was likely the only account on its roster who was using it.
I went to the same World-Wide Web site I used over five years ago to find it: The List.
The List is not as good as it used to be. Whomever is maintaining it is in desperate need to check its listings. Quite a few of its “ISPs” are no longer offering internet access.
{If you visit hotband.net, which The List believes is an ISP; you'll instead find a W-WW site which, as it turns out, could engage in a questionable action expressly prohibited by the "Terms of Service" which I excerpt beneath.}
Some of these ISP entries were most recently updated in 2000.

I managed to compound a list of eighteen extant ISPs which support v.90 modem connections.
The pricings are reasonable. All of them offer personal webpage hosting [at least 5 MB], & they all have Points of Presence [POP] in my A.T.&T. Band “A” area [untimed calling].
Then came the fun part.
Reading these ISPs' TOS' & Acceptable User Practices (AUP).

Here are some clauses from many ISPs' TOS. It looks like one copies the boilerplate from another. [h**ps://uglide.safesignup.com/tos.html]
Restricted Content
You agree not to post any of the following restricted contents: Illegal, Abusive or Unethical Activities include, but are not limited to, pornography, obscenity, nudity, violations of privacy, hacking, computer virus, gambling, or promotion of gambling, and any harassing or harmful materials or uses, as determined by us. You agree to indemnify and hold us harmless from any claim resulting from your publications or use of Illegal, Abusive or Unethical materials.

I will slide past some of those "contents"; but notice "gambling, or promotion of gambling"?! Does this mean that if I mention watching the World Series of Poker on television on my website, quote the handicappers' line for a gridiron game, or make a remark to, "Go buy a lottery ticket"; my account may be terminated? Note the key phrase, "as determined by us." This is verging on PayPal™'s inhospitable territory.

Customer Information
Unless required by court order, subpoena or other legal request, or upon the advice of counsel, "****** Internet Service" may publish User's name and other consumer information in one or more directories which may be accessed by other Internet users. In addition, unless User notifies "****** Internet Service" to the contrary as provided above, "****** Internet Service" may make such information available to third parties from time to time. User understands further that merchants on the Internet may have access to such information and may make it available to third parties in accordance with their normal practices unless User notifies those merchants directly that User does not wish such information to be made available.

This seems to have a dreadful typo! The ISP "may publish User's name and other consumer information in one of more directories which may be accessed by other Internet users". Did it leave out a “not”? If this is what it honestly means; then this ISP is going to give away, swap, or sell your name and surfing habits to anybody and everybody; and the onus would be on you to inform the corporations who wind up with your data to cease using it.

Another ISP has a more tolerant approach of your personal web site, until you get to this section about spam:
A single, substantiated complaint of email broadcasting will result in the suspension of the account determined to be responsible for the email. At the discretion of ******* networks a customer's account may be reactivated following the customer contact and the customer's agreement to abide by our Abuse Policy. Upon any subsequent offense, the account will be permanently closed. In the event that a customer does not agree to abide by our Abuse Policy, the account will be permanently closed.
Be aware that this also applies to accounts, such as web sites, advertised in spam. For example, if a ******* networks customer's web site is advertised in spam, even though the customer did not send the spam, the customer has violated this Abuse Policy and will be contacted and/or the account closed as set forth above.

So, if someone dislikes my webpage because it links to sites which tell you how to prevent your E-Mail account from being inundated by spam; all he has to do is create another spam E-Mail and paste in my URL. This ISP will subsequently close my account (and remove that webpage). What would happen if a spammer mentioned this ISP's W-WW site? It would seem to have to terminate itself to avoid violating its own TOS.

These were found on, to be truthful with you, "second- & third-tier" ISPs. But were I to refer in the TOS' & AUPs of the majors; the linage would be more verbose and even more perplexing. [America on-Line eventually lets on in its TOS that it monitors and logs everywhere you surf, including the name(s) of, and whatever you type in, its chat channels. And, as we have seen, it provides that data to just about anybody, including governmental agencies without a valid subpoena.]

I will select a new ISP soon. Maybe not until next week.

It won't be either of these ISPs.

What I stress here then, readers; is that these TOS' & AUPs are so overreaching that practically everybody in the entire U.S.A. is likely infringing on them.
Which coattails back to something I have on my index page [go read it while you can]. Against who will these bylaws be enforced? You? Me? Someone who links to Itmfa.com? It causes me to deeply exhale. {As opposed to regularly exhale.} I urge all residents of the U.S.A. to remain crime-free. But every month seems to have yet another law being passed which criminalizes formerly-accepted actions. Which results in TOS' & AUPs being stretched beyond their capacity to adequately protect you, the customer of the ISP.

• Significant announcement •

Mon, 25 Sep 2006 07:40:10 GMT

This is too important to place behind an LJ-Cut. This entry could well be the extant notification for many people who may not necessarily know about this LJ, but do visit my World-Wide Web pages.

On Saturday, I noticed that my W-WW pages, in particular, my bookmark pages, were not resolving correctly. They existed on the server; but the DNS was not resolving to them. I E-Mailed my contact person at my Internet Service Provider to let him know.
A few hours later, my pages were resolving again.

But on Sunday, when I checked my E-Mail for the first time thereafter {I usually only check my E-Mail at Fastmail.fm once a day.}, there was a response from my contact, and it included linage that "You know that your website is coming down at the end of the month. You should have gotten the messages sent earlier."
You guessed wrong, bunky.
I did not receive any messages or E-Mails telling me this. The ISP's home page has no mention that it is no longer accepting new subscribers.

So: If you utilize my W-WW pages, you may want to save them to a storage medium of your selection. I hope Google™ sends its robot through the site before next Sunday, so that, if you have to, you can access it via its cache.

I am covering the Lamar Hunt U. S. Open Cup Final on Wednesday night in Bridgeview, IL. [FIRE® v. GALAXY®]
I am out of here for Denver, CO. and the Great American Beer Festival™ on Thursday morning.
It is probable that my W-WW pages will be offline for some days. I will concentrate on finding a new ISP which provides free personal webpage hosting; and which has Band “A” telephone access numbers.

When I obtain a new ISP, this will be the first place you will learn about it.
I am sorry about this. But this won't be as lengthy a gap as back in the summer of 2001.

flushing the queue

Fri, 15 Sep 2006 08:08:27 GMT

I had to go to a bunch of stores yesterday. Tony's Finer Foods, A & G Fresh Market, two Jewel-Osco's (because the first one, closest to the domicile here, is not-so-secretly closing and thus, gets only a small selection of the advertised items in the week's flyer); and then, I also had to replace my VHS VCR.

One of my resources sent some videocassettes which I will get around to viewing. But I was fast-forwarding the tapes to see how many minutes long they were.
And my Sony® VHS VCR decided to try and eat one of the tapes.
I thwarted it. The tape was rescued.
But after that, the Sony did not want to play any videocassettes. It shut itself off whenever one was inserted.

I spent some time last night checking on-line purveyors of VCRs. There were some good bargains; until you got to the shipping charges.
A $44 VCR costs $18.60 to ship.
<sarcasm> Thanks a lot. </sarcasm>
I saw one model going for $52.99 at Circuit City. I could have ordered it on-line and picked it up at the store in Elmwood Park (@ Grand & Harlem). But I opted to hold that in abeyance and check at least one or two other stores.

The Jewel-Osco I wound up at was @ Narragansett & Wrightwood. (You can find the gas station prices transcribed at Chicago Gas Prices.) I decided to motor over to the Target® in this newish strip mall.
The Target had a Sylvania (Funai) VCR for $49.99. Ding, ding, ding. That's cheap enough. So I bought that VCR.

I had to restack the electronic components here. This VCR is four pounds. That is so light; I cannot put anything heavy on top of it. Even with the film camera cylindrical boxes supporting most of the weight. The Dish Network® receiver had to go one level down. Then I have the VCR, and on top of it is the Cyberhome CH-DVD 300 all-region DVD player. That is similarly small, compact, and lightweight. I redid the cables from the DVD to the VCR to use L1 (instead of L2). (My dad has assigned a mini-VHS video camera to me. It was cheap. He was in a bidding frenzy on eBay®. He wound up winning it. But he can't figure it out. If I am going to test it as a camera, I'll use the L2 connection on the front of the VCR.)

This works. I was able to compute the run lengths of the videos.

Rapid-fire update

Tue, 05 Sep 2006 04:11:28 GMT

They're actually playing D. C. UNITED®; and not Colorado. But "United-fire update" does not fully convey the impetus of this entry.

I lost my orange & gray digital watch at Delilah's last Thursday. I wasn't wearing it; because its watchband had broken months ago. It was sitting inside my satchel. Somehow, from all the items I pulled out of the satchel over the course of the evening, it fell out.
Drat.

My schedule for the week looks like this:

Wednesday, 6 September • Bridgeview, IL. @ “Sarge” Kracher Stadium [Harlem & 71st St.]:
Chicago FIRE® v. D. C. UNITED - U. S. Open Cup semi-final: 19:30 hours [CT | GMT - 6]
Thursday, 7 September • Somewhere {probably Office Depot} duplicating the next issue of "Incendiary Words".
Friday, 8 September • Mailing out the issues and going to Billy Roberts' place to leave Loop Distro's allotment of the issue.
Saturday, 9 September • Late night at the Twisted Spoke (on Ogden).

I am attending the Great American Beer Festival™ in Denver, CO. on 28-30 September. It is its 25th Anniversary. I have not been there since 2000.

I am very likely to attend Cinema Wasteland's fall show on 6-8 October in Strongsville, OH. (a suburb of Cleveland), less for the movies and guests it is presenting than for the people with whom I chat on some message fora whom I might meet.

I will note here that the Chicago STORM have announced the date for their first home game of the 2006-07 season. It will be Sunday, 19 November at 17:00 hours at their new arena in Hoffman Estates.
There is no word yet from Milwaukee as to when their home opener will be; but it will probably precede Chicago's.

Some place's birthday

Thu, 31 Aug 2006 05:30:09 GMT

Yes. Of course; I'm going to Delilah's on Thursday evening. It is its 13th birthday.

On Friday, I'm going to U.I.C. for the beginning of their college soccer season. They will contend Univ. of Missouri - Kansas City at 18:00 hours [GMT - 6]. I have not yet checked their W-WW site; but I think there are a couple of my ex's who haven't received their audiocassettes coaching the Kangaroos.

I am not surprised.

Fri, 25 Aug 2006 23:43:58 GMT

Edward D. Wood, Jr.
Your film will be 51% romantic, 21% comedy, 35% complex plot, and have a $22 million budget.

Ed Wood will get your film done way under budget, and will likely make it into a classic film of all time -- for all the wrong reasons.
Let's face it, your life isn't terribly exciting to begin with, and it needs some camping up. His resume includes classics such as "Plan Nine From Outer Space" and "Glen or Glenda?". He's not afraid to tackle controversial topics, and may insist on portraying a white-panty-wearing transvestite in your film -- even if you've never seen a transvestite before. He was immortalized in the Academy Award® winning Tim Burton film, "Ed Wood" -- go see it.

My test tracked four variables.
How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 99% on action-romance.

You scored higher than 99% on humor.

You scored higher than 99% on complexity.

You scored higher than 99% on budget.

Take The Director Who Films Your Life Test
written by bingomosquito on OkCupid,
home of the 32-Type Dating Test.

Ehhh, boy. He could likely make it; but then it would probably be “lost” just like his movie, "The Young Marrieds".

I am covering this Sunday's U.S.A. v. China women's national team match in Bridgeview. The match will be telecast on espn2 starting at 11:59 am.
So I have a very tight turnaround between Saturday & Sunday.