Holå Syndicate Members,
Welcome to the lugubrious demise of your friendly bookie’s innocent proclivities. It doesn’t get much worse. The Italians are undefeated. The Dutch find themselves in the pole position. What a nightmare. Were there ever a time for the U.S. squad to emerge as “Heroes of the Game”, it would be this Friday evening. Your friendly bookie keeps an eye on this vital encounter even as he types these very words. He does so whilst simultaneously listening to the rude Trance DJs who insist upon interrupting his "high-enrergy power music”. Tonight’s doomed attempt at multitasking notwithstanding, tomorrow’s lines must be set so as to accommodate bettors who wish to get wagers in before the wee hours are upon us.
We must proceed…..after the concerted effort to compose a
“Rambling Section” has been attempted:
--Anyone interested in the Nuclear Power Debate should
definitively check out “Pandora’s Promise”. The ideals of this iconoclastic
film ultimately do a fine job of concealing their asymmetrical portrayal….if
that makes any sense. In any event, the film should be accorded “must see”
status for any of my German friends currently considering whether they should
once again lie down on the railroad tracks. Just see it, guys. “Leid und
Demütigung wurde von Niemanden verlangt.”
--Is the Lehman Bankruptcy over yet? Evidently not. Someone
needs to explain to me how General Motors exits Chapter 11 in a few short
months while the bank that triggered a global financial collapse is still in
court. Was it U.S. Government Assistance? Impossible. We all know that the
government cannot possibly do anything right…even when it actually does.
--Apropos decent movies, Columbia Missouri recently hosted
Year Ten of its very own homegrown True/False Film Festival. I won’t bore you
with all of the minutiae. A Midwest Documentary Film Fest hardly qualifies as
Sundance or Berlinalé I won’t pester you with obscure Docs….save for this one
final exception. “After Tiller” qualifies as a “Must See” If you only see one
documentary film on third trimester abortions this year, I recommend this one.
Until seeing this film, I often wished I was dumped in the “Baby Klappe”. Now I
finally understand how painful a “wanted pregnancy” can be.
--No rambling section would be complete without some
up-to-the-minute assessments of the latest works of Allain de Botton. The
prolific writer is up to no good again. Last year he kept far too many of us
enthralled with his latest blockbuster, “Religion for Atheists”. The follow-up,
“How to Think more about Sex”, has this commentator convinced that he’s found a
Proust for the present age. De Botton’s genius lies in his ability to convey
deeply existential concepts in a pleasurably readable narrative. If only us
amateurs could hope to attain such a level.
--To the citizens of L.A.:
$5 for the megalith rock. Do we have a deal? I pay you $5
and some 4,000 citizens don’t get tax breaks. Everybody wins.
--Chavez’s death raises some serious questions. Namely, why
are we paying attention to a passing (however sensational it my be) instead of
trying to replicate Brazil’s Bolsa Familia Program? How truly it sucks when
South America’s lessons fail to reach us.
--As I recall, there was something I read about the Danish
Parliament that really pissed me off last week…but I can’t for life of me
remember what it was.
--Over at:
You too can insist that “Iron Sky” be released in the
States.
--The Chick-Fil-A President never pissed me off. He might
have been a bigot, but the “Eat More Chicken” Advertising Campaign left me
craving some foul. If anyone else is ready for the “Eat More Pussy” Advertising
Campaign, I’ll get a few T-Shirts printed up. So the guy is against Gay
Marriage. So what? I’m pro-gay-sex, pro-gay marriage, AND pro-fried chicken. Is
there anything wrong with such a stance?
--Amid all of the talk concerning “America’s Missing Middle
Class”, I beseech anyone dumb enough to listen to consider “Africa’s Missing
Middle Class”. Seriously, no. We’ve got a problem….and it extends beyond South
Africa’s “Pistourius and his Platinum Blonde” problem. In Nigeria, Lesotho,
Botswana, Namibia….fuck it….in any sub-Saharan African country, the wealth
disparity remains embarrassingly bad. Here in the States, we insist upon
adhering to primitive economic theory. Across the Atlantic, primitive economic
theory yields primitive results.
--Time to declare India’s “Tata Motors” officially dead.
Early enthusiast or no….the sales just didn’t catch fire like we hoped. Some of
the cars caught fire, but that doesn’t mean they were sold. Perhaps now might
be the time for the world’s largest legitimate democracy to start considering a
public transportation plan.
--“’Nudge’ vs. ‘Freakonomics’“. “Nudge” wins…..barely. Only
just slightly. Look…both were great books. It was one helluva fight. In the end
there can be only one. Sorry to be so blunt, but behavioral economics can be
easily reduced to “How to best punch someone else in the Solar Plexus”
--A recent study suggests that Koreans and Germans pick the
most secure website passwords. Forgive me for being cynical. Choose whatever
password you like. No one cares. Stop pretending as if you matter. Stop now.
My Updated
Stats
Spread: 6-11-1
Straight up: 11-6-1
Damn Wops. At the time of this installments “key-in”, the
Mexicans lead the Americans 5-1. Damned if the whole fucking tournament isn’t
turning into a charade/façade. Choose your word carefully so long as you
pronounce it correctly.
Saturday
Chinese Taipei vs. Cuba
(Yi-Hao Lin vs. Darien Nunez)
The two teams I advocated must now play a “loser elimination
match.” So sad. So….aesthetically and poetically appropriate. The Cubans won’t
win…not after their disappointing outing against the Dutch. It’s over. The
Cubans don’t even have a starting pitcher on which to rely.
THE
LINE: Chinese Taipei + 4 Runs
GENTLEMEN,
ENTER YOUR WAGERS
