So, yeah... I'm pretty wasted at the moment. Nothing illegal... Shiraz. It was funny because I went to this little Italian restaurant/bar tonight that I had never gone to before. I got there at like 5 minutes to 9pm, local, and sat at the bar. I ordered a caprese salad and a glass of Shiraz from the bartender who had just been telling the 2 girls next to me that he knew everything about alcohol as he had tended bar forever. Anyway, he was bald so I kept calling him 'Fordham' but he didn't get it. You guys probably don't get it either... A lot of my references are pretty obscure... Anyway, I'm rambling. So Fordham gives me this quizzical look (when I ordered the Shiraz) even though I was looking at the wine list that only had maybe 4 whites and 6 reds and he can't figure out what I'm saying. Finally I point at the wine list and he says "Oh... Sheerazz." Pronounced just like that. So I say, "Yeah Fordham... Sheerazz." Anyway, that wasn't my point at all. I want to get the book 'Calcio' by John Foot but I couldn't find it at Barnes & Noble and I tried to have Border's send one to their nearest store for me so that I could buy it there and they sent me an email saying they couldn't get it and it pissed me off. I ended up buying Florentine History by Macchiavelli. Trying to gain a little insight into the mind of Corvino. I guess I am going to order Calcio from Amazon, or something. Anyone got any other soccer or Firenze-related suggestions?
Anyone else shocked that any Rockies fans are passionate enough about their team for something like this to happen? (My wife sold that pitcher a Porsche about a month-and-a-half ago.) As a field guard, front, runs to apprehend him, an unidentified fan, back left, approaches Colorado Rockies relief pitcher Manny Corpas, back center, after he gave up a three-run double while catcher Yorvit Torrealba, back right, comes in to intervene in the eighth inning of the Los Angeles Dodgers' 11-6 victory in a Major League Baseball game in Denver on Friday, May 2, 2008. The fan was tackled and hauled off the field by three guards. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
The Wanderers. Yeah, pretty f***king obscure, dude. Probably had the guy reeling. You know, that kind of crap happens to me all of the time in Italian restaurants....and it makes me nuts when it's a place that I feel might be pretty authentic. I do my best to pronounce Italian things properly - not pretentiously so, just doing it right - only to be "corrected" by Amber the waitress, who is obviously the expert. Amber and Fordham must be from the same mold. One of my favorite soccer books recently was How Soccer Explains the World by Franklin Foer. It's not that deep, but a rather interesting look at some serious rivalries worldwide, and their social implications. I'd be interested to see what other stuff you find, though.
On the wine thing, I am looking forward to some nice red wine tonight with my colleague, now that the regular classes are over for the Spring semester. Cabernet is my weakness, and Sangiovese. Hence, I could murder a SuperTuscan tonight, or a Cabernet, or a decent Chianti. You know what, though? It'll be red, and made from grapes, and have alcohol. So it's all good.
Cabernet is one of my favorites. There are lots of blends that I like, too. I like Francis Ford Coppola's 'Rosso' blend a lot. Have you ever had any primitivo? Really, any hearty red is good for me. There's this company that has these little wine bars in airports in Texas. I was stuck at DFW for awhile last month and had a bottle of a hearty red from Argentina. It was called 'Bocas,' I think. 'Bocas' was at least somewhere in the name. It was pretty good. Having lived in Central America it was always easiest to get Chilean and Argentinean wines and I was always impressed. I used to live in Guerneville on the Russian River in Sonoma County (just too hard living there as a straight man, frankly, though it is so beautiful) and my girlfriend and I I would take our bicycles down to Korbel twice a week and do the free tour thing with the free champagnes all the time. They got kinda sick of us. Some of those rides home were pretty adventurous.
One of my favorite movies as a kid. I love that doo-****** music; Dion, Franki Valli... This place seemed more like a place that is part of, or wants to become, a chain. Mancini's Italian Grotto & Philliy Sandwices or something like that. Mozzarella was very good, though, and that is pretty important. [/quote] One of my favorite soccer books recently was How Soccer Explains the World by Franklin Foer. It's not that deep, but a rather interesting look at some serious rivalries worldwide, and their social implications. I'd be interested to see what other stuff you find, though.[/quote] I'll check it out and let you know what I find. Have you read A Season With Verona?
Nope. Now I need to check it out. Of course, the best city in Italy in my view is our Firenze, but I am always interested in reading about other places. And now I am posting under the influence of il vino. A shared bottle of Pinot Noir, and a shared bottle of Chardonnay (barf, but it was after the Pinot, so it really doesn't matter at that point, è vero?)
Let me also add that I watched the Kentucky Derby today, and seeing the horse named Eight Belles euthanized at the end was one of the most heartbreaking sports spectacles I've seen in a long time. Just completely awful.
I'm the same way with Chardonnay. Fine when I'm already messed up but I don't like it, at all. I had a girlfriend who pretty much always drank Kendall Jackson Chardonnay... Never really understood how.
We're at the hospital, and getting ready to deliver baby girl HuntKop to the world. Wish us luck for bringing the world's newest Viola supporter into the ranks! Ciao, tutti!!!!!
Awesome man! Congrats! Girls are the best from a dad's point of view, in my experience. She'll worship you forever and compete with your lady for your affection. It's a win/win!
I was in the same boat as you Nick, I wanted to buy Calcio by John Foot and searched all over for it, and unfortunately it was unavailable everywhere. However, it turns out that they have renamed Calcio and re-issued it after the 2006 World Cup. The book is called "Winning at All Costs: A Scandalous History of Italian Soccer" and it is just Calcio renamed and with a new section about the World Cup. I loved it however, It's about 550 pages and I think I finished it in 3 or 4 days. http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Winning-at-All-Costs/John-Foot/e/9781568583686/?itm=1 (and after searching again, it looks like they renamed it again to "Winning at All Costs: An Untold Story of Triumph, Tragedy, and Corruption in Italian Soccer")
Found a nice little wine & chocolate (?!?!?!?!) bar in Glendale, Arizona tonight. Great atmosphere. Great wine list. Surprisingly good mozzarella in the caprese salad. If anyone heads to Glendale drop me a line and I'll get you the specifics. Anyway... This Sunday will be the first Fiorentina Serie A game I will have missed since we were away to Napoli. There is a guy in Northridge who gets Napoli home games on his TV but the rest of America cannot. (sorry... Inside joke) So I will be in Vegas on business Saturday through late Monday night and although I will have some free time Sunday morning I just cannot imagine that there will be a way for me to see the match. Kinda sad as I probably have more old friends in Vegas than anywhere else (I've lived there several times and went to 8th and 9th grades there) but those friends are from a past best forgotten. No worries, though. I'll figure something out but I will be traveling without my laptop. Are internet cafes open that early in the morning? Dangit.
I feel you...I'm going to have to miss this match as well, as we have some family stuff that needs to be attended to. Fox Soccer Channel won't be showing the match either, which irks me a lot. Though to be fair, they are showing the inter and roma matches, which will decide the scudetto.
I am officially a Tucson resident still but I'm on the outs with my lady and in Phoenix for a few more weeks and then onto the Pacific Northwest for awhile. I've lived in Phoenix before (several times as my brother lives here) but I really don't like either Tucson or Phoenix AT ALL. I guess I would choose Phoenix over Tucson as Tucsonians drive so slow that I always want to strangle someone down there.
I'm currently sitting in a cyber cafe (sans cafe') just off strip in Vegas. The brother next to me has typed 'booty' into the YouTube search bar and is pointing out the better ones to me as I answer email. Each workstation has 3 big speakers and sub-woofers and I can hear hardcore porn all over the place. Kinda surreal... Anyway, I will be home tonight and catch up on all the conversations.
I know... With wandering groups of bachelorette partiers, all wasted and eager to have something "stay in Vegas." Go figure.
HEHEhehehehe Cecchi Gori arrestato a Roma per bancorotta patrimoniale 03/06/2008 Il produttore cinematografico Vittorio Cecchi Gori sarebbe stato arrestato questo pomeriggio per bancarotta patrimoniale. Massimo riserbo attorno agli sviluppi dell'indagine Si tratterebbe dell'inchiesta avviata dalla Procura di Roma sul fallimento della Cecchi Gori Group Fin. Ma. Vi., dichiarato il 23 ottobre del 2006 dal Tribunale di Roma. Vittorio Cecchi Gori era stato indagato il 16 maggio scorso per bancarotta patrimoniale dalla magistratura capitolina. rainews24.it