US vs Poland Friendly in Chicago

I’ve never been a big fan of the city of Chicago — the traffic is horrible. But I am a fan of soccer. So, yesterday I made my way to the windy city to watch the US Men’s National Team take on Poland in a friendly.

This was the United States’ second friendly since the close of the World Cup in South Africa (the first being a 2-0 loss to Brazil), but only the first friendly since coach Bob Bradley was re-signed through the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Therefore it was the first somewhat meaningful match in the training period before the next World Cup. Going in, I had expected to see Coach Bradley experiment with different formations and available players. Also, Landon Donovan was not going to be available for the game, as he is with the LA Galaxy for the MLS playoffs.

As I took Chicago’s Red Line Train to the Roosevelt Station near Soldier Field, I was shocked at the number of Polish fans. As it turns out, there is quite a large Polish population in Chicago, and according to Wikipedia, “Chicago bills itself as the largest Polish city outside of Poland with approximately 1,100,000 people of Polish ethnicity in the Chicago metropolitan area.” It was almost an away game for the US team, as there was a very strong showing for Polska.

Before the game, retiring US striker Brian McBride was honored for his career contributions to the sport. He was the first overall pick in the initial MLS draft, going to the Columbus Crew. He later played for Fulham and the Chicago Fire. I remember him best from the bloody face he received in the game against Italy in the 2006 World Cup. He was my favorite player for a number of years, and he has truly done some great things for American soccer. I had hoped he would be on the roster for this game, and brought on as a late substitute to give him one final international appearance. Unfortunately, that wasn’t to be. At least he was recognized.

The game was exciting from start to finish. You can read recaps of the game on ESPN or Fox Sports, or whatever you prefer. That isn’t the intent of this post. But the game was really fantastic. I’m glad I went. The US team has a lot of work to do, though. Some random thoughts and then some pictures below.

• I was very surprised to not see Eric Lichaj come on as a substitute in his home town for his first cap.
• Cherundolo and Bocanegra are great. But they’re not getting any younger. Who will be there to replace them?
• Oguchi Onyewu had some great moments, but also so horrible ones (like the failed clearance that led to Poland’s first goal).
• Maurice Edu might end up being a decent defender.
• Jermaine Jones looked good, and may be the answer in the middle.
• I don’t understand why Benny Feilhaber was subbed out. He wasn’t fantastic, but he seemed better than Alejandro Bedoya, who I didn’t even really notice on the field.
• Stuart Holden looked really good. I think he has a bright future for the USMNT.
• Jozy Altidore finally scored, but he should have had more than just the one goal.
• Is moving Clint Dempsey to striker the way to get Altidore a reliable partner up front? I don’t know. It might be. He had a great game, despite the ugly black eye he picked up playing for Fulham.

The pictures were taken from Section 131, Row 1, Seat 10, in case anyone is curious. And it was actually the front row (I always wonder when I buy tickets what the view might look like).

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Save Blue Like Jazz

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you probably know I really liked the book “A Million Miles in a Thousand Years” by Donald Miller. I said so in this blog post right here. That book was all about the process of turning his previous book, Blue Like Jazz, into a screenplay. One would assume that the screenplay would then be made into a movie.

Unfortunately, due to funding issues, that might not happen. I, and several hundred (thousand?) other fans of the books don’t think that’s a good idea. We’d all really like to see this movie made. And right now it’s looking like the only way that will happen is if we break out our wallets and help to fund the movie ourselves.

Some enterprising fans created the webpage SaveBlueLikeJazz.com, and are working with Director Steve Taylor and Don Miller to try to secure the funding through the fans before the deadline of October 25th. So, if you enjoyed the books and want to see the movie as much as I do, head on over and donate! Oh. And if you donate at certain levels you will be given incentives. So, it isn’t entirely like donating. For $50, you get a t-shirt, a signed movie poster, a digital download package (I’m honestly not sure what this digital download is… but does it matter? I’m sure it’ll be cool), as well as a personal thank you phone call from the director, Steve Taylor. There are all sorts of other incentive levels as well.

If you’re interested in more information, go to SaveBlueLikeJazz.com, or their donation page on Kickstarter.com. If there isn’t enough money raised to fund the film, you will not be charged, so there’s no risk involved. Check it out, and donate. I want to see this movie.

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Cystic Fibrosis and my friend Gabe

When I was growing up, I went to public school here in Findlay, Ohio, and I became friends way back in elementary school (it might have even been as early as kindergarten), with a boy by the name of Gabe Poland. Gabe always seemed to cough a lot, and as a child I didn’t really understand it. I thought he was sick all the time. And it turns out, in a way, that he was. Gabe was diagnosed at a young age with Cystic Fibrosis.

I’m not going to claim to be anything close to a doctor, but let me briefly explain what Cystic Fibrosis is. Basically, Cystic Fibrosis is a disease which affects the entire body, caused by a mutated gene. From what I understand, the gene controls the work of bodily fluids like mucus and sweat. With the gene working incorrectly, it’s basically like the body isn’t oiled correctly, and parts start to work wrong. One of the most commons issues with Cystic Fibrosis is frequent lung infections. Cystic Fibrosis is a seriously debilitating disease, and leads to an early death for those diagnosed with it. Based on data from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (and which I swiped from Wikipedia), in 1959, the median age of survival of children with Cystic Fibrosis was six months. In the United States, the life expectancy for infants born in 2008 with Cystic Fibrosis is 37.4 years.

Research and treatment for the disease has gotten better over the years. I remember when I was in elementary school with Gabe, it was a possibility that he wouldn’t even live long enough to graduate from high school. He has done that and more. He has worked with his disease and gone on to some real academic success, graduating from college and law school. He passed the bar for the state of Ohio, and will hopefully become a practicing lawyer. But first, he needs to take care of some issues with his disease. His lungs have basically given out. He needs a double lung transplant to survive.

On Saturday, October 16th, from 5-8pm at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church (directions) in Findlay, Ohio, there will be a fundraiser in association with the National Transplant Assistance Fund (NTAF) to raise money to help cover the costs for Gabe’s transplant. There will be a Spaghetti Dinner, with tickets costing $7. There will also be some sort of Chinese Auction. For more information, check out the Facebook Event Page – Spaghetti Dinner & Auction in honor of Gabriel Poland. If you’d like to contribute, but won’t be able to make it to the event, you can do so online at the NTAF website.

Gabe is also keeping a blog about his progress and thoughts through the transplant journey. It is some truly inspired writing. It is entitled Breathe Easy. I encourage everyone to check it out, and keep Gabe in your prayers.

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The Google Lunar X Prize

I generally keep up pretty well on the news, and this week the X Prize Foundation announced the winners of the Progressive Automotive X Prize. As you might guess from the title of this post, I wasn’t really impressed. Sure, some companies were able to make some cars that got better than 100 miles per gallon, driving at speeds between 45 and 70 mph. I suppose that could technically make them vehicles that might actually be capable of commercial use. But looking closer, it doesn’t seem likely. Three vehicles reached the mark. One was a really lightweight vehicle that combined high percentage ethanol fuel with some batteries. The others were basically electric motorcycles. None of these vehicles would realistically be looked at by any consumers.

But I was really excited by the Ansari X Prize a few years back, and I’m also super excited about a new one which is just getting started called the Google Lunar X Prize. Let’s begin my explanation of this competition by simply pasting in the description of it on the official website:

The Google Lunar X PRIZE is a $30 million international competition to safely land a robot on the surface of the Moon, travel 500 meters over the lunar surface, and send images and data back to the Earth. Teams must be at least 90% privately funded and must be registered to compete by December 31, 2010. The first team to land on the Moon and complete the mission objectives will be awarded $20 million; the full first prize is available until December 31, 2012. After that date, the first prize will drop to $15 million. The second team to do so will be awarded $5 million. Another $5 million will awarded in bonus prizes. The final deadline for winning the prize is December 31, 2014.

Simply reading that makes it look like the X Prize foundation has gone nuts. A few years ago, they were holding a competition just to get into space, and now they’re trying to get to the moon?!? But wait! This competition isn’t so much about getting there. The Ansari X Prize has already accomplished that feat for them. SpaceX, founded by Paypal millionaire Elon Musk, grew from the Ansari X Prize competition, and has a rocket capable of getting payloads to a lunar orbit, the Falcon 9. The Google Lunar X Prize actually recommends use of SpaceX launch capabilities for the competition, although competitors could choose to go a different route (NASA, Arianespace, among others) if they chose to do so.

This competition is about creating a privately funded lunar lander, as well as a rover of some sort. The competition also requires that the lander send over one gigabyte of data from the surface of the moon to the earth in the form of a “mooncast”. The mooncast includes high resolution 360º panoramic photographs taken on the surface of the moon, self portraits of the rover taken on the surface of the Moon, near-real time videos showing the craft’s journey along the lunar surface, and High Definition (HD) video. “Teams will be required to send a Mooncast detailing their arrival on the lunar surface, and a second Mooncast that provides imagery and video of their journey roaming the lunar surface.”

The Google Lunar X Prize excites me because of it’s ability to excite the public about space again. With Congressional infighting about NASA’s future budget, we can no longer look to the government for space exploration. The X Prize Foundation has managed to create a true privately owned space industry, and the Google Lunar X Prize aims to take it beyond low earth orbit. Success here could lead to great advancements in space, and I find that truly exciting.

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The Cleveland Browns Biggest Issue? Eric Mangini.

I realize it’s only the first game of the year. I won’t go so far as to say I had high hopes coming into the season, but it seemed to me that things were getting better. Jake Delhomme is obviously on the downside of his career, but he provides a good veteran presence, if nothing else.

In the first half, I saw a lot of things to like as Cleveland took an early 14-3 lead in one of their most winnable games on the schedule this year. And then Jake Delhomme hurt his foot.

I’m not sure what he did to his foot, exactly, but it was obviously hurting him. He was limping around. He wasn’t stepping into his throws at all, leading to him trying to whip the ball on arm-strength alone, which of course led to poor throws.

Fine, let him keep trying. He throws a bad pick, and the Bucs come back to bring the score to 14-10 at the half. I’m thinking to myself that the Browns will obviously take a closer look at Delhomme during the half and notice his foot problem. Clearly they’ll bring in Seneca Wallace and feature more of a Flash/Cyclone package power running game much like the end of last season when the Browns managed to win several to close out the year.

Unfortunately, I was wrong. Eric Mangini kept a gimpy Jake Delhomme in the game, and proceeded to have one decent drive followed by five 3 and outs. Five! And it was obvious that Delhomme was hurting. Sure, Peyton Hillis was having some issues holding onto the football. I can understand being concerned about feeding him the ball. But what about Jerome Harrison? He had only 9 carries. What about Josh Cribbs? He ended the game with 3 whole carries out of the Flash package, and I didn’t even see him lining up at wide receiver until the fourth quarter. Where was Seneca Wallace? Lining up at wide receiver a couple times on the four or five Flash plays that were called?

I realize I’m sounding a bit like an armchair quarterback here, but there is absolutely no reason the Browns should have lost this game. Mike Holmgren needs to admit he made a mistake in retaining Eric Mangini and start his search for a new coach.

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MLS and the Columbus Crew

A couple weeks ago, on August 28th, 2010, I traveled down to Columbus to watch the Columbus Crew take on FC Dallas. For those who don’t know, those are soccer teams of the US soccer league, Major League Soccer. I had fully intended to post this the night of or the day after the game, but life went and got in the way. My apologies. I seem to have a serious issue with timeliness on my blog posts.

Since the World Cup this year in South Africa, soccer has been a bit more on the general radar of Americans than usual. Of course, it still lags horribly behind other more popular American sports. ESPN is really letting me down here. They have a soccer section on their website, but they don’t regularly follow the MLS, reporting only on bigger games (such as yesterday’s game between the LA Galaxy and the Crew), and games which feature America’s soccer sweetheart — Landon Donovan.

Any way, back to the game I mean to talk about. FC Dallas came to Crew Stadium in Columbus, and I managed to pick up some pretty good tickets. The game itself was a bit lackluster, though. Neither team really seemed to be playing for the win, with both teams resting some starters. I can’t say I blame them, as the game fell in between a CONCACAF game and a MLS Open Cup game for the Crew. Nonetheless, I enjoyed myself watching the Crew draw with FC Dallas 0-0. I look forward to getting back down to Columbus for a more meaningful game some time.

If you care to read through a recap of the game, there is one here at MLSSoccer.com.

Check out a few of the better pictures we got down in Columbus below. If anyone is curious, these were taken from Section 127, Row 5.

Make sure you get out to a game! It’s a really family friendly experience, so bring the kids along.

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WP SimpleWeather Plugin

Today I released my first WordPress Plugin to the WordPress Plugin Repository. It can be found here. I have also created a page here on my website explaining the basics of the WP SimpleWeather Plugin.

As this is my blog, let me go a bit more in depth here. As I briefly mentioned above, this is the first WordPress Plugin I have created. I suppose that could lead to a variety of questions concerning it, so let me go ahead and hold a brief question and answer session with myself to explain.

Q: This is your first WordPress plugin? Does that mean it’s going to suck?

A: Yes, this is my first WordPress plugin. I mean, I’ve used plenty before, but this is the first one I have made. I suppose it is quite possible that it will indeed suck. I mean, I don’t think it does, but it is possible that users of the plugin will find any number of issues that I have not thought of. I am new to the game here, so be gentle. I will do my best to fix any issues as soon as possible.

Q: Why did you decide to create a WordPress plugin in the first place? Why a weather plugin? There are a ton of those!

A: Well, I have been using WordPress for quite some time in the creation of my websites. It is the most popular blogging platform in the world today. This website itself is made using WordPress. During the creation of another website (which I am still working on), I needed the use of a Weather Plugin. Unfortunately, all the WordPress plugins I came across dealing with weather were, well, not quite what I wanted. So, I went searching around and eventually came across the jQuery simpleWeather plugin. It was pretty much exactly what I was looking for. Except that it was not yet a WordPress plugin. I could use it easily as a jQuery plugin, but then my clients would not be able to easily update it via the WordPress back-end. So, I decided to convert it into a WordPress plugin.

Q: Someone else made it? And you’re taking credit? Isn’t that wrong?

A: Yes and no. The jQuery simpleWeather plugin was created by James Fleeting using the Yahoo! Weather API. There are a variety of available plugins which use the same. I really liked his, and merely converted the publicly available code into a WordPress plugin. If Mr. Fleeting would prefer that I take the plugin down, I will do so at his request. I am fully crediting his work (as you can see here), and do not wish in any way to be stealing his thunder. I sincerely hope that creating this plugin will bring both he and I more web design business in our respective locales.

If there are any questions, feel free to ask away in the comments section. I hope someone enjoys the plugin. If not, at least I’ve found it useful for myself.

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Hocking Hills = Awesome

I am from Findlay, Ohio. It’s really flat here. Super flat. The only hills in town are man made. So, naturally, when I think of Ohio, I don’t think of sweet places to hike. It turns out the other side of the state is completely different.

This weekend some friends and I went down to the Hocking Hills region of Ohio (see their website)… just a bit southeast of Columbus. We went camping at a place called Lake Hope. Honestly, the campground was decent, but nothing special. The real attraction is the hiking trails located throughout the region. There are numerous trails and the whole area is beautiful. I could try to explain it, but I’ll just post a few pictures instead.

Conkle’s Hollow

On Saturday we hiked at a place called Conkle’s Hollow. We went around on the 2 mile Rim Trail. It had some stunning cliff views. While we were hiking the trail, it just started pouring down rain outside, and I still had a grand time.

Then on Sunday we hiked something along the lines of 8-10 miles covering three other areas of the Hocking Hills Region by following the Buckeye Trail between them. It was thoroughly fantastic, and I would recommend everyone check it out. I am very glad we took the Buckeye Trail between these three areas rather than driving to each one separately. It was quiet and relatively empty out along the trail, and in many areas it was just as beautiful as the far more touristy and populated areas we hiked along at:

Ash Cave

Ash Cave was our first stop, just off of State Route 56. It seemed like the smallest of all the areas we went to, although we only took the shorter of the two trails there. If you have young children, this seemed like the best of the areas we went to to bring them to. The cave was enormous and pretty stunning, and there is a safe trail leading up to a large sandy area beneath the cave that would be great for kids to play around at and enjoy safely.

Cedar Falls

The next stop along our trek was Cedar Falls. Oddly enough, it turns out there aren’t even any cedar trees around the falls. The hemlock trees were misidentified as cedars back in the day, but the name stuck.

Old Man’s Cave

I think the hike between Cedar Falls and Old Man’s Cave was the best part of the trip. It was beautiful and almost entirely devoid of people. But Old Man’s Cave seemed like the most popular of the areas in Hocking Hills, and for good reason. The whole place is pretty stunning. Unfortunately, I got there pretty late, and most of my pictures didn’t turn out too well. I’ll just have to go back another time.

There are also a few other places we didn’t make it to… I’ll just have to go back. I’m thinking I’ll be back sometime in the fall, I can only imagine it is even more amazing with colorful fall foliage.

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Wyclef Jean… President of Haiti?

According to multiple news sources, Wyclef Jean, hip-hop artist and former member of The Fugees, is planning to run for President of Haiti. Is this a case of a celebrity making a mockery of the democratic process to promote his new album? Or is Mr. Jean truly interested in helping Haiti?

It is difficult to tell at this point. Democracy, in the United States and in the rest of the world, has often become a celebrity contest, much like those we can probably all recall from grade school. But Haiti is a different place. According to Wikipedia, Haiti:

“… is an impoverished country, one of the world’s poorest and least developed. Comparative social and economic indicators show Haiti falling behind other low-income developing countries (particularly in the hemisphere) since the 1980s. Haiti now ranks 149th of 182 countries in the United Nations Human Development Index (2006). About 80% of the population were estimated to be living in poverty in 2003. Most Haitians live on $2 or less per day. Haiti has 50% illiteracy, and over 80% of college graduates from Haiti have emigrated, mostly to the United States… Poverty has forced at least 225,000 Haitian children to work as restavecs (unpaid household servants); the United Nations considers this to be a modern-day form of slavery.”

And since the massive earthquake that struck Haiti in January of this year, things have only gotten worse.

Could a celebrity be exactly the type of President that Haiti needs? It certainly wouldn’t hurt to put Haiti back in the minds of the world. Simply by running for president there, Mr. Jean’s celebrity may help to bring Haiti’s problems back into the world news, bringing aid and volunteers to the impoverished nation. Maybe that’s his goal. But what if he not only runs… but wins? Would Wyclef Jean make a good president?

Based on Haiti’s past history with presidents, it would be difficult for him to do any worse than them. Jean-Bertrand Aristide became Haiti’s first democratically elected president in February 1991, but was removed from power before completing even the first year of his 5 year term. Raoul Cédras, a military leader, took power and was in charge of the government until October of 1994, when he was basically exiled by the United States. Aristide returned to power and completed his 5 year term (although he hadn’t been in charge for three of those years). In 1996, René Préval became the second democratically elected President of Haiti and in 2001, he also became the second President of Haiti to leave office at the expiration of an uninterrupted term of office, the first since 1874! And then in 2001, Aristide was again elected president, only to be deposed again in 2004. In 2006, Préval returned to office and has served since.

Préval is barred from re-election by the constitution. It seems, based on Préval actually completing two terms of office, that he has been a good president by Haiti’s standards, but he failed dramatically in his ability to lead the government response to this years earthquake.

Haiti is a country rife with problems. I believe Mr. Jean’s soon-to-be-announced campaign for president will be good for the country. However, I don’t believe his election would be. According to multiple reports, he hasn’t even been able to run his charity, The Yéle Haiti Foundation, without accusations of financial irregularities that he himself has admitted to. It seems to me that his heart is in the right place, but he simply isn’t prepared to run a country. But then… is anyone else in Haiti qualified for the job either?

Links:

• Wyclef Jean’s Blog
• Yele Haiti
• Wyclef Jean to run for president of Haiti? Buzz growing (The Miami Herald – 08/03/2010)
• Haiti: Wyclef Jean Said to Agree to Presidential Run (NYTimes – 08/04/2010)
• Haiti (Wikipedia)

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Counting Stars… by Andrew Peterson

I do not consider myself to be a connoisseur of fine music. I am certainly not fit to write reviews of a musical work. I cannot properly explain the way music sounds or the ways in which it can move a man. That being said, I am going to go ahead and try any way.

On Tuesday, July 27th, 2010, Andrew Peterson released his album Counting Stars. Those who know me well know that I have been a fan of Andrew Peterson for quite some time. I frequent a blog of sorts that he began some time ago, and I have frequented it since he first began it. It is called The Rabbit Room, based on the room of the same name that The Inklings frequented in a pub in Oxford. While I wouldn’t equate the gathering of minds at the online Rabbit Room to those that were brought together in Oxford, they are certainly making a mighty fine attempt.

Any way, back to the album. When I listen to an album, I often try to find an overriding theme to it, one that begins and ends with the title. In the case of Counting Stars, I find myself coming to Genesis 15:5 (a quote that appears in the liner notes of the album).

God took Abram outside and said, “Look up at the heavens and count the stars — if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”
– Genesis 15:5

And that is what this album is about… family. God promised Abraham that his offspring, his family, would one day be as numerous as the stars. Although a man may not find his offspring to be as numerous as the stars, if you look for it, you will find a great treasure in your family. It is far too often that we overlook the blessings we find at home.

I’ll not go through the songs on this album one by one to explain how I get this feeling from it, but I will touch on three in particular. First is God of My Fathers, the song which actually contains the words “counting stars”. Songs can mean so many different things to different people, so I’ll merely post a snippet of the lyrics so you can perhaps read into it what you will.

• Now we’re counting stars and counting sand
• Little feet and little hands
• We’re counting joys
• We pray you’ll know them
• As you knew us when you wove us
• As you hold us
• Hold them, please hold them

Another song which I find rather poignant to the overarching purpose of the album is Planting Trees. While the words, I suppose, seem to be about planting trees, personally I don’t think that is what it’s really about at all. I think it’s all about raising children. I base those thoughts on this verse from the song:

• So sit down and write that letter
• Sign up and join the fight
• Sink in to all that matters
• Step out into the light
• Let go of all that’s passing
• Lift up the least of these
• Lean into something last:
• Planting trees

And on this verse from Proverbs:

Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.
– Proverbs 22:6

And finally, the last song I’d like to touch on is Dancing in the Minefields. This song is all about marriage… and well, it’s just fantastic. I think it’s a really touching homage to marriage. Oddly enough, it reminds me a lot of the Disney/Pixar movie Up. Perhaps reading this review over at The Rabbit Room will explain something about how a cartoon makes me think of marriage (and make sure you read through the comments). Any way, for the song, check out this video.

If you’d like to purchase the album, you can find it here on Amazon, or over here at the Rabbit Room store.

Matt’s Rating:

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