Douchebag of the Week 7/28/06

I don't have time for a list of nominees, but a winner jumped out to me today while watching the morning news.

If you are not aware, the mayor of Los Angeles is trying to take over the LA Unified School District as part of his plan to reform and improve the schools. Although I won't come to the defense of the LAUSD bureaucracy 100% on this issue, Mayor Villaraigosa has showed just how much he cares about the real issue here. At a "town hall" meeting last night about AB1381, the Assembly Bill that would essentially give him the ability to take over LA schools, he left early. Parents and interested parties were left without the ear of the one man that seeks to gain a huge amount of power from this deal. I think that is just what he wants: more power.


Here's another example of just how concerned Villaraigosa is with the views of the people. Just 3 hours before a scheduled attendance at a San Fernando City Council meeting he cancels because he and his people were not prepared for a public meeting. Earth to douchebag - all City Council meetings in this state are public. ITS THE LAW! Do you not know the law? Maybe you should learn the law before you ditch the people of LA for your attempt at running for governor next time around. That is what I think the real issue is. Believe it or not, LA schools are achieving great success and growth. I think there are dedicated teachers and support staff that make this happen. My school has seen incredible growth in the time that I've been there. I think Villaraigosa wants to take over, get credit for this success, and then run for governor.

What really makes him a douchebag, though, is this article. Apparently he makes it a habit of leaving things early and being a dick. The article discusses this memo that got out of the mayor's office to the LA Times last week. There are very strict rules about being an aide to the mayor: always be within his line of sight, seat him near an exit, have a backup exit plan, and always have a packet of Listerine breath strips are among the requirements. Just like a freakin' rock star. I thought this guy played himself off like a man of the people, but to me he looks like a douchebag.

Meet Andy

World, meet Andy:

Andrew Michael Austin was born Wednesday night just before midnight. I turn 29 next month and I have a new cousin. Congratulations to my Uncle Jon and my newest Aunt Minda on having this pretty freakin' cute kid (must be an Austin, which also means he has flat feet). Little Andy is named after my Uncle Andy who died in a car accident when I was 2.

Personally, I think Jon and Mind did this on purpose to steal my thunder this weekend. Not really. Some people are calling this wedding weekend, but its really baby weekend because my friend Holly is expecting a new nephew any time as well.

Something new

Pete seems to think that I am slacking on my blogging duties, but I really think that I am letting the blog rest while I finish my moving/wedding duties. One day, Pete will be in my spot and I'll give him loads of shit for not blogging.

First, I have a confession to make. I am two days from my wedding and I'm having second thoughts. You see, Amanda is not the same person that I proposed to 14 months ago. She's spending more time at our apartment and I have learned a new dirty secret: she watches "Charmed". Yep, that show about witches starring Shannon Doherty and Alyssa Milano. Now, you need to realize that this show is no longer in production and I've seen her watch 2-3 consecutive episodes in one sitting. These are things you need to share with a person before he gives you the ring.

Second, my bachelor party. Well, this was actually bachelor party #2 although the first was more focused on World Cup and tattoos than bachelorness. So we watched U.S. vs. Italy and then my brother and I settled a bet we made with each other at the beginning of the last MLS season. Since the Galaxy won the MLS Cup, we got two stars on our arms in recognition of their two MLS Cup titles. In the soccer world, stars are put on your uniform to signify the number of championships you have won. So when you look at England's national team uniform, you will see one star above their crest because they won the World Cup in 1966.

The "real" bachelor party was almost two weeks ago and I'm just now getting back to drinking alcohol again. We went to Gordon Biersch (sp?) for dinner, where I had a few of their Summer Beer's, which were good. We went from there to Jake's, a pool hall in Old Town. That's where the trouble started. Jake's has a "large beer" that is basically a 32 oz. mug. This seems like a great idea until you realize that they already serve their beer only slightly below room temperature and then you add in the fact that you can't drink it fast enough since there is so much. However, the 2 (well, I left about a third of the second beer) giant mugs of Newcastle added to the 4 pints of SummerBrew weren't what did me in. It was the mixing of that with a kamikaze shot and several shots of Bushmills. Bushmills and I have a strange relationship. The times that I have been the most drunk were almost all due to this lovely yet dangerous distilled spirit. This night, I saw the dark side of my friendship with this particular Irish Whiskey. In any case, I was feeling very little pain.

This is where it gets a little hazy. At some point, we left Jake's and headed to the Crown to meet with Amanda and her posse, which dwindled pretty fast with all of the new mothers involved. I honestly have almost no recollection of the walk from Jake's to the Crown. However, as Pete commented elsewhere, there was a public urination incident. I need to defend myself here a bit. First, it was public, but at a construction area behind a giant dumpster. Second, I don't think it is all that uncommon for me to piss in public, especially when its after midnight on a dark street. I've done it on several occasions while completely sober. My dad, my uncle, my buddy Ryan and I all pissed on some wall of ivy while walking to the Rose Bowl to see the Eagles back in '95. I pissed on my brother's truck in the parking lot of the Home Depot Center. I watered a bush on Los Robles walking back to my car at 3 am after getting back from a road trip to San Jose to see a Galaxy game. In my humble opinion, this is not inappropriate behavior.

Getting back to the events of the evening. I remember a few things from the Crown. First, Pete bought me another shot of Bushmills, which is what caused the 2nd and 3rd things that I remembered. After the shot, I felt a little off and went to the bathroom to solve the problem. As I bent over to puke, my glasses fell into the toilet. I would have liked to keep this a secret, but Amanda mentioned it on the Rat Race blog. This is also why I feel OK about revealing her love of "Charmed" to the world. However, there was no puke or other material besides water in the toilet, so I grabbed my glasses, wiped them off, and put them in my pocket. Then I did what I came there to do. I did this same thing again the next morning in Amanda's apartment and then later in the bathroom at the CookShack while a bunch of women waited in line. Yes, I am that classy. Sundy was a wasted day and Monday at work was interesting. However, by the following Friday I could stomach champagne at Amanda's parents and had a beer at a party we went to on Saturday evening. I did, however, enjoy the bachelor party.

This brings me to my 3rd and final comment for today. I am too old to drink in the amount that I drank at my bachelor party. Back in the day, I could get hammered like that, wake up, get a breakfast burrito or something else greasy, and I was back on my feet. This time I was ruined until Monday evening. My body can't handle it anymore. I can go beer only all night and be OK, but the hard stuff is just more than my liver wants to deal with anymore. Plus, now that I'm getting married I have to behave more, except when soccer is on.

That's it for today. I might not be able to post again until after the wedding, but I promise to get back into the political discussions since I have a lot to say about this whole Israel/Lebanon thing and the upcoming Congressional elections.

My last soccer-only post for a while

A few things about soccer...

My view on the World Cup final. Italy deserved to win that game, but not the World Cup. They played like a bunch of diving bitches. However, since they got to play easy teams in the elimination rounds they win. To get to the semi-finals: Australia, Ukraine, and then Germany (who were a surprise semi-finalist). I call bullshit. France did not play their game and Fabbio Cannavaro played out-of-his-ass defense. I also think he deserved the gold ball (W.C. MVP) more than Zidane. He was the reason they won. In the end, I feel a little cheated from this World CUp, which is a difficult thing to deal with since I have another 4 years to wait.

Italian soccer scandal. The decision was handed down and some teams are going to eat shit. Juventus, probably the most famous team in Italy, was demoted to Serie B. They have been in the top flight since 1897. (Most world soccer leagues have several levels. The top 3 teams in lower levels move up a league while the bottom three drop - imagine if the last place teams in MLB were relegated to AAA) In order to get back into the top-flight, they will have to place in the Top 3. Normally, this would be pretty easy for a top team like Juve, but they were also docked 30 points, which it takes 10 wins to accumulate. Essentially, this is like telling a major league baseball team that they will start the season with 40 losses and they have to make the playoffs to stay in the league. Truth is, they deserved more. Fiorentino will be demoted and docked 12 points while Lazio (favorite of Italian fascists) will be demoted and docked 7 points. AC Milan gets to stay in Serie A, but will get docked 15 points and will not be allowed to play in European tournaments (this is a big deal). Many of the major players on these teams are rumored to have clauses in their contracts that allow them to opt out if the team is relegated to a lower league, so that could make it even tougher on some of these teams. Again, I think they all deserved to be relegated to Serie C and docked 30 points. We'll see what happens.

The Galaxy are back in form. Lots of changes including dumping Steve Sampson. Who would have guessed that the coach that led the U.S. to a last place finish in the 98 World CUp would be a shite coach. We've also got back our National Team players, Landon Donovan and Chris Albright. We're out of last and looking to kick ass tonight on our cross-town rivals, ChivasUSA, tonight. I think I am allowed to say "we" since I now have 2 yellow stars tattooed on my arm to commemorate the Galaxy's two MLS Cup titles. I'm telling you, soccer does funny things to a person.

Anyways, there's a lot going on in the world outside soccer that I forgot about once World Cup started. Did you know that the U.S. is fighting in Iraq still? I was surprised too. Oh, and something about violence in the middle east involving Israel? Shocked! I'll talk about it later.

World Cup Post #11 - 7/9/06

Its hard to believe that after a month of constantly talking football that it all comes to an end today. We're about 15 minutes from kickoff. For the first time since I started watching the World Cup in 1994 I am watching the final alone at home. I'm not sure why. However, this country still does not put this sport on the pedestal it deserves and I can't just go into any bar or restaurant and find other people enjoying the game. So, I'm here in my orange Ikea chair with a beer in hand enjoying the biggest game in the sport that has stolen a piece of my soul - and its like heaven.

My prediction. Italy are the favorites. They've allowed one goal in the cup, an own goal versus the U.S., and the 11 goals they've tallied were scored by 10 different players. They are a complete team representing a country whose league is about to be crushed by a scandal. The Azzurri are capable of playing an absolutely stunning brand of football and deserve to be favorites. However, there is one factor that I don't think they can deal with: Zidane. One of the all-time great players has shown that he will take his team on his back and carry them to the country's 2nd title. He is a wizard. France has overcome early struggles and the best opponents to get here: Spain, Brazil, and Portugal. Italy has been helped to this final with weaker opponents (Australia, Ukraine, Germany) and officials that have bought their diving. France is battle-worn and ready to earn the title. Italy will not get the help this time. France will win 2-1 in overtime. Italy goal by Toni. France gets one early from Ribery and the winner in overtime from Henry (who gets a great assist from Zidane).

We will see. I'm glad my wedding is less than 3 weeks away because my summer would seem boring after this. Kickoff is here. Allez les bleus!!

What do students think about today's issues?

My summer school students are doing a blog as part of their summer project. They have to post and comment about current events involving government, law, etc. - basically anything that falls under the broad topic of "Civics" (which is also called "Government" in some schools). I am putting a link to their blogs here. Although these blogs will only be going for the next 3-4 weeks, its a pretty interesting insight into how high school kids think. Some of the posts are really god, others are somewhat immature. However, check them out and make comments if you wish.

Gov Love
Blogsheviks

(They came up with these names)

World Cup Post #10 - 7/2/06

Brazil will create a lot of chances, but they could have trouble with stopping a creative and quick Henry with their old defense.

This is what I said in my last post and it proved to be so correct. Looking back at this post, you will find this quote:

Brazil has become the easy pick to win the cup, but I wouldn't bet on it. Look at their starting attackers alone (Adriano, Fred, Robinho, Ronaldinho, etc.) and you crap in your pants. However, look at the defenders and what do you find. Talent that will sit the bench in favor of older semi-legends. Cafu will be 36 when they play their first game and any Real Madrid fan will tell you that Roberto Carlos is not the same guy he was back in 2002 or 1998. Yes, everybody knows that Roberto Carlos can kick the ball really hard, but his weakness is defensive skill. Brazil will win this group and have a great cup, but the teams with speed and skill in the midfield and attack can beat them - if you can stop their attack first.

There are a lot of things that I have been wrong about when making predictions in this cup (U.S. advances, Argentina winning, etc.), but this was one thing that consistently believed - Brazil was not that good. Although Henry scored the goal and was able to get behind the defense like I thought, the game-changer in this game was Zidane. If you are one of those people that wants to understand why soccer is loved around the world - watch this game. The things that Zidane does with the ball at his feet are absolutely stunning. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to see him live when Real Madrid came out to play the Galaxy. Ronaldinho gets all of the fame, but for my money, nobody beats Zidane. He is 34, but is playing like he's 24. Watch the semi-final with Portugal. He is likely to carve the Portuguese defense apart.

Here's my World Cup best 11 so far.

Keeper: Jan Lehman, Germany (PKs against Argentina says it all)
Defenders: Juan Sorin, Argentina; William Gallas, France; Phillipe Senderos, Switzerland; Miguel, Portugal
Midfield: Juan Riquelme, Argentina; Frank Ribery, France (check out his bad-ass scar); Zinedine Zidane, France; Ze Roberto, Brazil
Forwards: Miroslav Klose, Germany; Hernan Crespo, Argentina

There are lots of others that I could have included. Tenorio from Ecuador, Maxi Rodriguez from Argentina, some would argue for Ronaldo (fuck that guy), but I feel like the 11 I picked have really stood out.

Biggest disappointments: Ronaldinho, Landon Donovan, Ruud Van Niistelrooy, Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard (24 shots, 0 goals)

My new prediction: France 2-1 Portugal and Germany 3-1 Italy
Champion: Germany I guess.

That's all for now. I'm excited for the semis, but I'm bummed that we're down to 4 games (including the 3rd place game).