World Cup Update #1: Laser pointers

In just three days, there has already been a lot of complaining about the ball, the quasi-artificial pitch at some stadiums, and the vuvuzelas. Not much has been made, however, of the fact that Lionel Messi and others were menaced with a laser pointer in yesterday's Argentina-Nigeria match.

Great moments in World Cup history #8

World Cup 2006: Maxi Rodriguez scores for Argentina against Mexico in extra time.

World Cup Preview: Players to watch out for

Above: Diego Milito (Argentina/Inter Milan)

Above: Wesley Sneijder (Holland/Inter Milan)

Above: Antonio Di Natale (Italy/Udinese)

Above: Nadir Belhadj (Algeria/Portsmouth)

What I have been reading lately #46

On Penalties - Andrew Anthony

When I got this book, I thought it would be a survey of world history and culture from the point of view of penalty kicks. Instead it turned out to be all about the England national team's failure to win three penalty shootouts-- the 1990 World Cup semi-final against Germany, the Euro 1996 semi-final against Germany, and the 1998 World Cup round of 16 match against Argentina. It was an excellent book.

What I have been reading lately #38

Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby

Fever Pitch is Nick Hornby's account of being an Arsenal fan from 1968 to 1992, when the book was written. It is definitely the best book ever written about being a sports fan; it is probably the best book ever written about sports; it may be the best book ever written. I have read it five times-- 1998, 2002, 2005, 2008, and 2009.

Since 1989, I have kept a list of all the books I have read. Here are the books I have read more than twice*:

Books I have read three times:

• The Long Night of Francisco Sanctis by Humberto Constantini
• My Last Sigh by Luis Bunuel
• Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain
• Ball Four by Jim Bouton
• Confessions of a Raving, Unconfined Nut: Misadventures in the Counter-Culture by Paul Krassner

Books I have read four times:

• Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
• The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe
• One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Books I have read five times:

• Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby

* The number of books I have read twice is at least sixteen, if not more.

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.

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.

Maradona Guarana