cryptique

Talk about this VC'er and his/her penchant for starting threads demanding that others discuss the subject of his/her whim.

Where'd you find that info?

I've been wondering/thinking the same thing about the Italians. At least the French don't collapse in apparent agony every time the wind changes. It's definitely not the final I'd hoped to see, but I'll be cheering on the French.

Are you saying that saying "overrated" is overrated? I'm just trying to keep up.

France will win -- they're the better team. Too bad they don't have Cisse, but they're strong enough up top without him. After the U.S., England is the next team that I support -- but I had no problem with the Rooney red card. You think someone should just be given a yellow after stomping on someone's balls? Please. If that's not a straight red card, nothing is. The question, of course, is whether it was intentional, and based on the replay, I'd say yes. The ref only saw it in real time and he obviously had no doubt.

Hats off to the Azzurri. Two gorgeous goals at the end. I was pulling for Germany. Now I guess I'll have to cheer for France.

John Lennon?

Funny ... I got this from Oink just now and then tried to find some info for her online, only to discover that her name is "Millan," not "Milan." So I looked again at Oink, and there are two rips, one with each spelling (and the one with the proper spelling is higher quality, so I went with that one instead). Anyway, this sounds great so far.

I thought it could use one more tweak.

Thanks for the offer -- but it's coming down OK, just slowly. I should have it all within the next couple of hours.

Huh. I've been attempting to Oink that all morning but there's just one person seeding and that person apparently has dial-up.

The Tim O'Reagan record still isn't up on Oink.

I love how this team makes people believe they're never out of a game.

Meh. If you don't like it, you don't like it. I happen to think it's awesome.

Shoot, I knew that one but hadn't checked in on the thread until now. I love the Easybeats. Here's an extremely obscure one: What lyric snippet (approximately two lines) in the Spoon song "The Guestlist / The Execution" (from the album A Series of Sneaks) is lifted from a song by an earlier band? Can you name that earlier band, and the song? It helps if you know a bit of Spoon trivia, because the other band is related in a rather crucial way.

You don't get to ask that question until you've run up and down a soccer pitch for 120 minutes in 85-degree temperatures. Seriously. If you can do that and still be ready for more, fine. Personally, I've done it (though not for many years), and I understand exactly why they go to penalty kicks. That doesn't mean I like that resolution, but if two teams can't decide it on the pitch after two hours, they've (theoretically) proven that they're evenly matched, so you may as well settle it by some other means. It beats a coin flip. Now, on to more important things: VIVE LA FRANCE!

The thing is, nobody really disagrees with you. But you have to decide these matches eventually, and playing endlessly begins to become dangerous beyond a certain point. I hate penalties too, but that's the way things have been for a long time. Shrug. Too bad for England. I thought they began to figure themselves out in the second half, even after Rooney's departure. Lennon sure was an upgrade from Beckham.

It turns out they're opening for Calexico in Detroit on Wednesday and it looks like there are still tickets. I think I'll have to get myself to that show. Thanks for the tip on this band. I'm now on the last track of Gypsum Strings, and it's been terrific all the way through.

Jesus Jumping Christ with a Mullet on a Skateboard. I'm three tracks into Gypsum Strings and so far it's blowing my balls off. If the rest of the album maintains this standard, I'll have an instant entry into my favorites of the year. How is Second Guessing? Anything like this one?

Scud Mountain Boys - Massachusetts

I had actually typed a very similar sentence in my original post but deleted it for some reason.

I've decided that I really should sneak out of the office for a couple of hours tomorrow so I can watch Argentina-Germany, which I believe may be the match of the tournament. Now I'll have to hope that it lives up to the hype I just gave it.

Mike Doughty - Haughty Melodic

I thought I'd like it. I don't.

I love that record. Wish I could say the same for most of the rest of their output. They played a great live show in Detroit when I saw them a few years back. Agreed on all of those, especially "Relaxin'..." All of the LPs from the same sessions that produced "Relaxin'..." are worthwhile: I'm also partial to Someday My Prince Will Come, though it may not be quite up to the level of the others mentioned here.