Twilight Thoughts

Tonight at midnight is the opening of the latest movie in the Twilight Saga, Eclipse.  This is the third movie of the four book series (the last book will be made into 2 movies).  For those of you that don't know anything about the series, it is about this average girl, Bella, that falls in love with a boy, Edward, at her school.  It turns out that Edward is a vampire, but that doesn't stop Bella from falling for him.  Edward tries to tell Bella it won't work but she doesn't care.  Bella has this family friend named Jacob.  Jacob ends up falling for Bella.  But of course Jacob turns out to be a werewolf and warns Bella of the dangers of Edward and vampires.  Bella becomes torn between Jacob and Edward, but she knows she must make a decision.

Now I'm no expert on this series, I have read 3 of the 4 books and saw the first movie.  I found the books to be enjoyable but nowhere near being masterpieces.  They were easy to read and near the end of each book hard to put down.  While reading them it's not hard to see why girls enjoy them so much.  They are fairly mushy and deal a lot with Bella's feelings for both Edward and Jacob.  I feel another aspect that may attract the females is the idea of forbidden love.  The idea that Bella and Edward do love each other but know it may not work out because of Edward being a vampire.  Another draw to the series may be the fact that Jacob and Edward will pretty much do anything they can to protect Bella and keep her from harms way.

Even if I did find the books to be enjoyable, the movies are a completely different monster.  The first movie, Twilight, seems like it was rushed and made as cheaply as possible.  The special effects in the movie are down right laughable.  I remember sitting in the movie theater and laughing out loud when Bella and Edward are running through the forest and climbing up trees.  It was so bad, you could find better effects in a made for TV Sci-Fi channel movie.  Not only were the effects bad, but the acting was downright horrid.  The books are emotional, you can feel the attraction, in the movies you wonder if they even like each other.  There are no looks of desire and passion, just emptiness.  I can't really comment on the second movie, New Moon, since I never saw it, but judging from reviews it is worse than the first movie.  The reviews for the latest movie, Eclipse, have started rolling in and it appears that the consensus is that it is the best of the three movies, but not that great.

Even though the books are alright and some of the movies may be watchable, there is one thing you can't deny, Twilight is a world wide phenomenon.  Everywhere you look you see Twilight this and Twilight that.  Walk into any high school or middle school and Twilight is what you will hear the girls talking about.  Walk down any magazine aisle in a grocery store and you will see pictures of Bella, Edward and Jacob on at least 50% of the covers.  When you watch TV you will find ads asking whether you are on Team Edward or Team Jacob.  Saturday Night Live is doing sketches making fun of Twilight.  It's one of those things that has completely encompassed all of society.  No matter who you talk to, someone has something to say about the series.

Whether you absolutely love Twilight or hate it with every bone in your body, you can't deny it's success.  Will it still be a topic of conversation 15 years from now?  Probably not, but it is the current sensation that you can't get around no matter how hard you try.  If you are looking for a way better vampire movie based off a book see Let The Right One In.  And guys if your girlfriend wants to see the movies, be lucky that they aren't as bad as movies like Valentine's Day.

USA vs Ghana 2nd Half/Extra Time

I don't know what Coach Bradley said at halftime but whatever it was it fired up the US soccer team.  The USA came out for the 2nd half with an energy and fire that was missing in the 1st half.  They were able to start getting decent shots on goal and put Ghana on their heels.  In the 62nd minute, the US finally caught a break when Clint Dempsey was fouled in the penalty box.  This allowed Landon Donovan a chance to take the penalty kick.  Donovan waited for the ref's whistle and once that sounded he kicked the ball and hit the right post, the ball sneaking into the goal.  Finally the US was on the board and the score was tied 1-1.

For the rest of the game the US tried hard to score again, but nothing went their way.  Ghana seemed content and didn't really have any chance at scoring.  Since nothing was going the American's way, the game ended in a 1-1 tie, but since this was the knockout round their would be another 30 minutes of play and if it was still tied after that, the game would come down to penalty kicks.  Three minutes into the overtime play, the US defense once again gave up a ball and Ghana was on the run and scored a goal that should never have happened.  This goal completely deflated the US.  They seemed to lose all the energy they had and Ghana was able to control the game.  The final whistle blew with the score Ghana 2, the US 1.  The US players dropped to their knees in despair while the Ghana players jumped in the air in celebration.

To me the US weren't that impressive during the World Cup.  They never played to their potential until their backs were against the wall, whether it was being down 2-0 to Slovenia or waiting until the 90th minute to finally score against Algeria.  Playing that way will catch up to you sooner or later and it did against Ghana.  Hopefully in the next few years the US will learn to start a game and not allow early goals and maybe score some themselves.  Heres to 2014 where hopefully the US can show the world they are ready to play with the big boys like Spain, Portugal, Argentina, Germany and Brazil.

USA vs Ghana - First Half

Unless you have been living in a cave, you know that the USA has advanced to the Round of 16 in the 2010 FIFA World Cup.  Their opponent in the first knockout round is Ghana, the only African nation left in the World Cup.  Ghana and the USA have only played once and that was in the 2006 World Cup when Ghana defeated the US in the last game of group play eliminating the USA.

The USA apparently loves giving up early goals in games.  They did it against England in their first game.  Slovenia in their second game and were inches away from giving one up against Algeria in their third game.  So is it really surprising that the USA gave up a goal in the first 5 minutes of the game?  The goal wasn't even that pretty, the defense just gave the ball away near midfield and Ghana was able to counter and score.  From what I can tell that goal hasn't even woke up the US yet.  They are playing sloppy, giving up cheap fouls and have only really had one scoring chance.

The first half of this game has been extremely disappointing and boring.  I hope the US coach is able to give an inspiring halftime speech because they aren't playing like they want to win.

2010 FIFA World Cup: Week 1

The first week of the 2010 FIFA World Cup is almost over.  So far the first week of action hasn't been a disappointment.  Here are some of the highlights so far.

USA-England:  There was a lot of hype leading up to the game and I'm not quite sure the game lived up to it.  England was able to score a goal within the first 4 minutes which caused me to feel that it was gonna be a long game.  The US defense seemed like they didn't want to defend England giving them plenty of chances to score other goals.  The US offense couldn't get anything going.  Luckily in the 40th minute the US was given a gift when the goalie for England misplayed the ball and let it bounce of his hands into the goal.  When I saw Clint Dempsey kick the ball and it hit the goalies hands I thought the ball was stopped so I looked away and missed the ball slowly roll into goal.  There were a couple of chances for both teams in the 2nd half, but neither side was able to capitalize.  The game ended in a 1-1 draw giving both teams just 1 point in group play.  Next up for the US, Slovenia on Friday.

Spain-Switzerland:  Spain is a team that many feel have a chance to win it all.  In my ESPN Bracket Predictor, I selected them to make it to the semifinals.  Switzerland isn't necessarily a bad team, but when going up against Spain, you would expect Spain to dominate.  When you look at the stats of the game Spain appeared to have complete control.  Spain possessed the ball for 63% of the game and had 24 shots compared to Switzerland that had only 8 shots.  But in the 52nd minute Switzerland was able to put one of their shots in the goal and pulled off what many believe to be the biggest upset of the first round.

Germany-Australia:  Australia has a little place in my heart since I took them to the World Cup championship in the 2006 FIFA World Cup video game on the Gamecube.  Unfortunately they had to play the mighty Germany in their first game of the 2010 World Cup and boy to Germany give it to Australia.  Germany dominated the game and scored 4 goals.  The most by any team in the first series of games.  It was hard to not feel bad for Australia, they were dominated in every phase of the game.  Germany looked great and potentially dangerous for any team that has to play them after group play.

Group of Death:  The first big game in the Group of Death was played between Ivory Coast and Portugal.  Both these teams know it will be hard fight to advance since Brazil is in their group.  I had some pretty high expectations for this match but of course was disappointed when the game ended in a scoreless draw.  Either team played exceptionally well.  In the other game within this group, Brazil put on a fairly impressive performance against North Korea, winning the game 2-1.  The first goal of the game for Brazil was scored by Maicon and so for has got to be the best goal of the 2010 World Cup.

These are just a few of the things that have happened so far.  I hope to bring more updates about the World Cup soon.

2010 FIFA World Cup Preview

Today beings the greatest month in sports that only happens every four years, the FIFA World Cup.  This time the World Cup takes place in South Africa and it is the first time the World Cup has been held in Africa.  The World Cup is made up of 32 nations that go through an extensive qualifying process.  Those 32 nations are then separated into eight 4-team groups, where only two teams from each group advance.

One of the most anticipated matches of the World Cup is the United States versus England.  That takes place tomorrow, June 12th.  I think the game will either end in a draw (tie) or England will win by one goal.  One of the best groups in the World Cup has to be Group G and is made up of Brazil, South Korea, Ivory Coast, and Portugal.  It's hard to say what two teams will advance from this group but I believe it will be Brazil and Portugal.

When it comes to predicting a champion I have to go with my favorite team, Brazil.  There are other teams that are capable of winning the World Cup though.  I wouldn't be surprised if Portugal, Spain, or Argentina walk away champions.  Keep checking back throughout the next month, I plan on watching as many of the games as I possibly can and will try to give my opinions on what happens.  Also I will be posting the bracket I picked over on ESPN.com in their World Cup Bracket Predictor.

Enjoy the next month watching the greatest sport in the world!!!

Blitzen Trapper/The Moondoggies Concert

Last Wednesday I had the pleasure of getting to see two bands that I really enjoy in concert, Blitzen Trapper and the Moondoggies.  The concert took place at the Knitting Factory in Spokane.  If you haven't been there, it can be a pretty decent venue for a concert.  The audience isn't always the best though and that was the case for this concert.  The crowd was fairly small and some of those in attendance hadn't even heard of either band and decided to talk through most of the concert.  Trust me I was really frustrated.

Even though the crowd was bad, the bands themselves were great.  The Moondoggies started out the night with a pretty good set.  While watching the lead singer, Kevin Murphy, seemed to be channeling his inner My Morning Jacket's Jim James.  Kevin had some great energy and just belted out his songs.  After the performance you could tell the Moondoggies won over a lot of fans.  People were running to the merchandise stand to purchase their album.

After a solid performance by the Moondoggies, Blitzen Trapper took the stage.  They started out the night with "Black River Killer" off their amazing album Furr.  After that they started to mix in numerous songs off their new album, Destroyer of the Void.  Since Destroyer of the Void hadn't been released when the concert happened it was interesting to see the fans reactions to the new songs.  My favorite part of the night was when  Erik Earley, the leader singer, took the stage by himself and sang my favorite song off Destroyer of the Void, "The Man Who Would Speak True".  I really enjoyed how Blitzen Trapper mixed both old and new songs.  Seeing them perform songs off the new album actually made me like the new album even more.

If you haven't listened to Blitzen Trapper yet, they are definitely worth a listen.  I would say listen to Furr and then Destroyer of the Void and then if you have the opportunity see them in concert.  You won't be disappointed.

Here is the setlist from Blitzen Trapper (the first one I've ever gotten):

Black River Killer
Laughing Lover
Fire & Fast Bullets
God & Suicide
Love & Hate
Destroyer of the Void
Evening Star
Heaven & Earth
Below the Hurricane
Lady on the Water
The Tree
The Man Who Would Speak True
Not Your Lover
Furr
Sleepytime in the Western World
Dragon's Song
Lover Leave Me Drowning
Sadie
Wild Mountain Nation