History of advertising, part one

In the 1920s and 1930s, the Eiffel Tower was lit up with a large sign for French automaker Citroen.  (See photo at left).  

Abandoned books/Books about hotels

I recently stopped reading Arthur Hailey's (above, holding a copy of a different one of his books) novel Hotel.  I managed to read more than sixty pages of this novel, which is set in New Orleans in the 1960s and concerns a once proud hotel that has fallen on hard times.  Hailey also wrote such classics as Airport, which spawned a series of popular movies.  Abandoning this book made me remember other books that I actually did finish and that were mostly or partially about hotels--

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson

Tintin in the New World by Frederic Tuten

I Served the King of England by Bohumil Hrabal

The Hotel New Hampshire by John Irving

A Riot of Our Own- Night and Day with the Clash  by Johnny Green and Garry Barker

The World of Suzie Wong by Richard Mason

Times Beach, Missouri

In the early 1980s, the town of Times Beach, MO (southwest of St. Louis) had to be evacuated due to dioxin contamination and also the flooding of the Meramec River. For years the town had contracted with a businessman named Russell Bliss to spray waste oil on the town's dirt roads to keep the dust down. Unfortunately, Bliss sprayed oil that was contaminated with very high levels of dioxin, the chemical used in the military defoliant Agent Orange. Around the time the chemical contamination was discovered, the town was almost completely flooded, so it was decided to permanently evacuate. Today the area is a state park.

What I have been reading lately #21

I just finished reading P.D. James' novel The Children of Men.  It was like the recent movie in many ways (the world is slowly coming to an end because no one can have babies anymore, England is a police-state, etc.).  It was also different from the movie in many ways (really too many to mention).  I found the ending of the book to be creepy (in a good way, though).

The copy I read did not have the same cover as the edition I posted here.  I like the above-cover much better.  The version I read was a movie tie-in edition and had a picture of Clive Owen looking through a broken window.

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What I have been reading lately #20

I have just finished reading Andrew Graham-Yooll's memoir A State of Fear: Memories of Argentina's Nightmare.  Graham-Yooll is an Argentinian of English descent who worked for many years as a reporter at the Buenos Aires Herald.  During the "dirty war" (the time during the late 1970s and early 1980s when the military dictatorship kidnapped, tortured, murdered, and disappeared tens of thousands of left-wing activists and other opponents), Graham-Yooll reported on events for his paper.  Eventually he had to go into exile in England.  This book is his story.  It didn't take me long to read, but I'll probably be thinking about it for a while.

Abandoned Books and/or Movies #1

Below is a list of movies and/or books that I have given up on/walked out on/refused to finish lately.

Movies:

1. Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal.  I think was about an all-Indian football (soccer) team in London trying to keep from going under.  I also think it was a musical.  I made it through about an hour before turning off the DVD player.

2. Gomorrah.  A gritty, realistic look at modern-day gangsters in Naples, Italy.  It was really quite boring, actually.  I walked out of the theater after about thirty minutes.  This movie got rave reviews, but not from me.

3. Shanghai Knights.  Having sat through Shanghai Noon and The Big Bounce, I thought I could watch anything with Owen Wilson in it.  This movie proves me wrong.

Books:

1.  The Dream of Heroes by Adolfo Bioy Casares.  I've read this at least two or three times before, and it's great, but I couldn't quite manage another attempt.  It's an Argentinian novel set in the 1920s about a young man who has a mysterious vision on the third night of carnival in 1927 and sets out to discover the vision's meaning.  I highly recommend this book.

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Caroline Celico na Natal! As you can see, Kaka's wife is very sophisticated! 

What I have been reading lately #19

I recently finished The Long Night of Francisco Sanctis by Humberto Costantini, an Argentinian writer.  It is at least the third time I have read this book - first in 1989, again in 2000, and now in 2009.  I first found out about this book when my wife had to read it for a college course (I'm not sure which class).  Years later I decided I wanted to read it again, but I couldn't find her copy, so I spent awhile searching second-hand bookstores in Seattle before I finally found a copy for $4.50.  (Later we found my wife's copy, so now we have two...)

The book is about one night in the life of an Argentinian man named Francisco Sanctis.  The night is November 11-12, 1977, at the height of the military junta and the accompanying arrests, murders, disappearances, etc.  Sanctis was once involved in politics, but he is no longer. However, he is given the names of two men who are scheduled to be arrested (and presumably tortured and murdered) later that night.  The book concerns his efforts to try to decide what to do.

I won't give away the ending.  I will tell you this, though: the favorite automobile of many Argentinians at that time (including the police and the Air Force Intelligence death squads) was the Ford Falcon.

"WAGs" Quiz: Now Complete with answers!

As we all know, athletes are practically  celebrities. They have a hard time going out in public just like any singer or actor would.  And just like other celebrities, there is an obsession with their personal lives. The WAGs (Wives and Girlfriends) of footballers (soccer players) are a great fascination of some fans and the media. So, how'd you like to test your knowledge of some well known (and some less well known) WAGs? 

How to Play: This quiz is quite simple. See if you can match the pictures of these women to their names! The answers will be posted in a couple days.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7


8

A) Caroline Celico- Wife of Ricky Kaka'

B) Melanie Slade- Girlfriend of Theo Walcott

C) Victoria Beckham (aka Posh Spice)- Wife of David Beckhan

D) Cheryl Cole- Wife of Ashley Cole

E) Sthefany Brito- Fiancee of Alexandre Pato

F) Alex Gerrard- Wife of Steven Gerrard

G) Carly Zucker- Finacee of Joe Cole

H)Kristen Pazik- Wife of Andriy Shevchenko

1. F- Alex Gerrard

2. C- Victoria Beckham

3. A- Caroline Celico

4. G- Carly Zucker

5.E-Sthefany Brito

6. H- Kristen Pazik

7. D- Cheryl Cole

8. B- Melanie Slade

Sources/ Additional Reading-

WAGs (Wikipedia)

Kickette

Footballer's Wives

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Today is Fernando Torres' (middle) 25th birthday!!!

Random Fact: According to the book Soccer Super Stars, as a child, Fernando enjoyed (in addition to soccer) throwing things out the window! *

*Funk, Joe, ed. Soccer Super Stars. Chilcago, IL: Triumph Books, 2008.

What I have been reading lately #18

I have been reading Max Brooks' World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War.  Certain people had been badgering me for months and years to read this book, and then I finally did.  It was hard to concentrate on the rest of my life (work, family, etc.) while reading this.  Now that I am done, I will begin zombie-proofing my house.  I wonder how long we could survive up in the crawl space?

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Happy Birthday Nesta! And happy [Italian] Father's Day! 

Siena 1 - Milan 5

First the good news: Milan won 5-1 on the road today at Siena.  Pirlo got his first goal of the season on a penalty kick, Pato scored two, and Inzaghi scored two, including his 300th career goal.  This last accomplishment was commemorated with a special jersey specially made for him.

On the unhappy side, however, Milan goalkeeper/fascist sympathizer Christian Abbiati was injured in a collision with one of his own players and superstar Kaka' was also injured just minutes after entering the game for the first time in weeks (he had been recovering from a foot injury).

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Hat Trick for Inzaghi

AC Milan defeated Atalanta 3-0 today in Serie A action.  Filippo Inzaghi (pictured above) scored all three goals.  Milan are currently in third place behind Inter and Juventus.

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Galliani is sad...

But not when he's with his wife, Malika, during Milan Fashion Week!