After a long hiatus

I have a few things to say that have been building up in my brain over the last 3 months without a post.

First, I blame Facebook for taking me away from blogging. Its easier, more interactive, and more trendy I guess. However, I've set up my phone so that I can now mobile blog. Of course, I can also mobile Facebook, so who knows.

David Beckham. Douche. Now, I looked at two bookstores last night trying to get the new book about him, but had no luck. I did, however, read some longer excerpts online. What's my conclusion based on those excerpts? He's a douche. He clearly came to the Galaxy and MLS looking for a paycheck since his chances at playing for England were down to slim and none. Once those chances came back with a new English coach, all of a sudden he's not as interested in making MLS big. Also, it became very clear to me that "Brand Beckham" became his top priority. His manager became a "consultant" for the Galaxy, they basically hand-picked a new coach, and more-or-less demanded that Beckham be handed the captain's armband from the outset. Once the team began to suck even with GoldenBalls, his hand-picked manager was sent away along with the "consultant". From there Fuckhim was no longer interested in playing for the Galaxy. His first season was a disaster. Season #2 was just as bad. For eleven seasons the Galaxy made the playoffs and won two MLS Cups. Since Beckham's arrival? No playoffs and no cups. He's clearly still a strong player. The team should be better with his than without him. They certainly looked good on Thursday. However, that was win #4 in a row, the three previous without him, and it was against the worst team in the league. So, I think he's a douche. If he helps us win a cup this year - awesome. Otherwise, he clearly wants out after this season so as far as I'm concerned I'll be happy when the circus is over.

There are a lot of good things that I have bought lately that I highly recommend. Most of them are at Trader Joe's. The edamame in the blue bag is one of the best healthy snacks ever. Lightly salted, flavorful, delicious. I also highly recommend the "Old Moon" Zinfandel. Its not a knock-your-socks-off wine, but its a great every day drinker at $6. We also dig the Shredded Oats cereal. Not sugary, but still slightly sweet. It'll also keep you full for a while. Amanda also loves the quick-cook steel cut oats. She throws some blueberries in there along with some agave syrup. Amanda has also become a big fan of caffeine-free Diet Dr. Pepper. Finally, Trader Joe's soy chorizo is really good with eggs and not as greasy as real chorizo.

What else? We are going camping at the end of August. What's the best camping meal ever? I think it would have to be something easy to put together with limited dishes, filling, easy to serve, and made with ingredients that don't require special care (i.e. can be stuffed into a cooler). I know that there are a lot of obvious ones like spaghetti and BBQ. I'm looking for that unique idea. I went camping with a friend's family back in the day and we made something called "hobo packs". You took some kind of meat (chicken, hamburger patty) and put in on a piece of foil. Add some seasoning and veggies. Throw them in the campfire for 10 minutes and you have cooked food. I thought it was awesome. I also want to know what the best camping alcoholic drink is. I usually go with a light mass-produced American beer in large amounts throughout the day and maybe some kind of red wine at night. However, I have also gone the gin-and-tonic route as well.

Books. The last book I finished was "King Leopold's Ghost" which is about Belgian King Leopold and his quest for a colony in the Congo. It was one of the best written non-fiction books that I have read since "Theodore Rex". Its not a happy story in case you were wondering. I also just started Barack Obama's first book "Dreams of My Father". Um, he's way too smart to want to be president. Its really well written and has given me a new insight into how this guy works. I like that he wrote it before his rise to the presidency. I am also going to start "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies". I never read the original Pride and Prejudice, but I still expect to enjoy this book. I like these sort of satirical novels. I really liked "Lamb" and "Fool" by Christopher Moore. They were full of dirty jokes that play to the humor of a thirteen year-old boy, which my wife says is my type of humor. As I look to my bookshelf there are about 25 more books that I own that I never read. OK, its more than 25, but I don't want to admit to more than that.

I'm sure that there were more things that I wanted to talk about, but I forget. Maybe I'll do some mobile blogging next week. Also, I'm done with summer school after this week. That's a whole other subject. Summer school is the best and worst way to make extra money as a teacher.