In some ways this was our most boring Fourth of July weekend ever. In other ways it was super packed with events.<\/p>\n
We didn\u2019t do a whole hell of a lot for the Fourth. S had a four-day weekend and she mostly used it to prep for our upcoming vacation.<\/p>\n
As we were between trips we decided not to host a big family gathering. A couple locals came over to swim for a bit Saturday, but I didn\u2019t cook, we didn\u2019t have a house full of people, and I did my best to avoid the heat.<\/p>\n
We took the girls shopping in a couple waves so they have everything they need for our trip.<\/p>\n
Thursday we went to get ice cream while L was working for the first time. We timed it well and were in and out before the evening rush hit. I had a very tasty peach milkshake.<\/p>\n
We watched some TV and sports (see below). I swam some laps. That was pretty much it. As my Timehop reminded me, we\u2019ve hosted many, many large gatherings on July 4 over the years.[1]<\/a> It was nice to take a break.<\/p>\n M wrapped up her time in Nantes last week. She and her roommates spent the weekend in Amsterdam. They moved on to Brussels this morning to start their final class of the summer, then she will head to London on Thursday to hang with a sorority sister who lives there.<\/p>\n OK, the World Cup went off the rails over the holiday.<\/p>\n The US beat Bosnia and Herzegovina Wednesday, but Falorin Balogun got an absolute BS red card after video review. Yellow card? Sure. But red? Absolute bollocks. I was disappointed that referee wasn\u2019t whisked off the field by ICE agents and deported at the next hydration break. I was frustrated that his home in Brazil wasn\u2019t leveled by missiles before the evening was over. If we\u2019re going to have an authoritarian government that acts on the capricious whims of our toddler in chief, use that shit when we are legitimately wronged!<\/p>\n And then news broke Sunday that FIFA had suspended Balogun\u2019s suspension for tonight\u2019s game against Belgium. Which, let\u2019s be honest, is complete crap. But I\u2019ll take it. And I am pleased our wanna be dictator finally threw his significant weight into something that matters and he actually didn\u2019t fuck it up in the process. Good for you, shithead!2<\/a><\/sup>2<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n This whole affair shows how stupid replay in sports is. The red card was only issued because of a slow motion replay that made Balogun\u2019s foul look worse and more intentional than it was in real time. I\u2019ve been saying this for years, replay should only be viewed in actual speed. If you have to slow it down to half speed, or slower, we might as well just have robots do all officiating, because you are judging a play in a way that the refs can\u2019t possibly assess it as it happens.<\/p>\n And then for FIFA to decide, without real justification, to just throw out Balogun\u2019s ban and put him on some stupid probation for a year, is exactly what I would expect from the most corrupt organization in sports. And from the most corrupt president we\u2019ve ever had.<\/p>\n Again, I\u2019m thrilled Balogun will play tonight. He\u2019s the US\u2019s most potent goal scorer. We need him if we have any hopes of getting past a creaky but talented Belgium squad. But it feels super dirty and I would be going off if the same thing happened in reverse.<\/p>\n I told M she might not want to advertise that she is American when she rolls into Brussels.<\/p>\n Speaking of dirty, the Paraguay-France game Saturday was one of the dirtiest I\u2019ve ever seen. Paraguay knew they couldn\u2019t hang with the French. So they battered them all day. Fair play, that tactic is as old as sports itself. But for the referee to stand there and let them cheap shot the French constantly without issuing a single yellow card was a travesty. Hell, he didn\u2019t even call the rather clear red card that gave the French their only goal. The VAR crew sent him to the monitor and only then did he award the penalty.<\/p>\n Teams with more talent don\u2019t deserve special treatment. But when their opponents clearly have no intent other than to punch and elbow and kick and trip and shove for 90+ minutes,[2]<\/a> the referee has to step in and issue cards to keep the game under control.<\/p>\n Erling Haaland and Norway over Brazil??? Haaland is amazing, and absolutely rose to the occasion Sunday with two magnificent goals. Being a Manchester City player, I have a natural dislike for him. But that dude is incredible, and incredibly fun to watch.<\/p>\n We spent Friday evening watching a show (more about that below). Apparently we missed the (momentarily) game of the tournament, Cape Verde taking Argentina to extra time before falling 3\u20132. I certainly was a critic of expanding the tournament. But adding teams allowed countries like Cape Verde to have a chance, and then take advantage of it. They were moments from getting the defending champs to penalty kicks.<\/p>\n BUT WAIT, we got another Game Of The Tournament late Sunday. England-Mexico had everything. EVERYTHING. What an amazing sporting event. Mexico absolutely dominated the game, but had two bad minutes that put them in a 2\u20130 hole they could never fully dig out of. They had England a man down – thanks to another slow motion replay – for 40 minutes but could only add a penalty. A tying – and eventually winning – goal seemed inevitable. The Mexicans just didn\u2019t have enough ideas other than crossing over-and-over while England defended brilliantly. That near own goal just before the final whistle was an insane final exclamation point on an insane game.[3]<\/a> One of the best sporting events, of any kind, I\u2019ve watched in recent memory.<\/p>\n The English team and fans singing \u201cWonderwall\u201d to each other after the game was quite a moment.<\/p>\n And today we get Portugal-Spain. Then USA-Belgium. What a tournament!<\/p>\n A busy couple weeks in the NBA.<\/p>\n Giannis finally gets traded, to Miami for a kind of crap package.<\/p>\n Kawhi moves from LA to Toronto, in a shocking move. If he can somehow stay healthy, the Raptors are suddenly contenders again.<\/p>\n Then the biggest surprise, Jaylen Brown traded from Boston to Philadelphia. I kept waiting for another Boston trade to come so it would make sense, but as of this morning, they have no made another move(s). I get that Brown has been outspoken over the past few months, and apparently had his feelings hurt when he was dangled as part of the C\u2019s attempts to get Giannis. And Boston needed to do something to fix their salary cap issues. But I never, ever expected him to be moved to Philadelphia. For Paul George and a bunch of picks. The trade doesn\u2019t make the Celtics better, and improves one of their biggest traditional rivals. How on earth does Brad Stevens make this trade? There has to be something else coming and he\u2019s just taking his time getting it done.<\/p>\n It didn\u2019t make nearly the waves of those moves, but I really liked the Pacers signing Kelly Oubre. 1) He\u2019s a Jayhawk. 2) He is experienced, tough, can shoot and attack the rim, and play a little D. I think he\u2019s the perfect complimentary player for this roster, especially with fellow Jayhawk Johnny Furphy out rehabbing his knee until the spring.<\/p>\n Suddenly the Eastern Conference is incredibly interesting for next year. The Knicks lost Mitchell Robinson to Boston, but bring everyone else back. If Jayson Tatum is healthy, the Celtics could be a 50-win team again like they were with Brown last year. Brown makes the Sixers contenders. We\u2019ve discussed the Raptors. The Pacers are coming back. Cleveland has moves to make but should be good again. The Pistons had the best record in the league last year, and have had a disappointing off season so far. Orlando will be good. Atlanta solid.<\/p>\n And LeBron James is waiting to pick the spot he will play next year. If he picks an Eastern Conference team, he could be the<\/em> difference maker.<\/p>\n We knocked out the final season of The Bear<\/em> over the weekend, seven episodes Friday and the finale on Saturday.<\/p>\n I loved it.<\/p>\n Was it A+++ TV? No. There were a number of flaws in this season. There are a number of aspects I\u2019m still working to determine how I felt about them.<\/p>\n But as a satisfying TV experience? Outstanding.<\/p>\n Seasons three and four were unfocused and meandering, sometimes maddening. For each episode that was brilliant, like Marcus going to Copenhagen, there were others that just spun their wheels while Carmen found a new way to sabotage his restaurant and relationships.<\/p>\n This season did not make up for all the flaws of the last two seasons. What it did accomplish, though, was allowing these characters we\u2019ve come to love to demonstrate their growth, their strength, and the tight bonds they had formed through past traumas. I can be a sucker for a happy ending when it is earned. This one was certainly deserved.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve been conditioned through the previous four seasons to see the next disaster on the horizon and prepare for the ensuing meltdown. Time and again in season five those disasters presented themselves, and The Bear\u2019s<\/em> crew kept their composure and got through them. Nothing, not a Biblical storm, not exploding pipes, not a limited inventory, not a couple that lingered too long at their table, not even Donna showing up with Sugar\u2019s daughter in the midst of evening rush could prevent the kitchen crew from getting through the day successfully. There aren\u2019t many good things in the world right now. This success felt good and warranted and just. I was smiling most of the finale, and often throughout all eight episodes.<\/p>\n I also laughed more this season than any other Bear<\/em> season. It\u2019s been a running joke that this keeps getting nominated for best comedy when it was obviously much more of a drama. Until this year. Genuinely funny moments in every episode.<\/p>\n No needle drops??? An interesting choice, as the show\u2019s soundtrack was as much of its DNA as the Berzattos screaming at each other. But all that alt and indie rock also served to crank up the anxiety. The instrumental, electronic soundtrack to this season was another indicator that things would be very different than in the past.<\/p>\n Speaking of symbolism, so many shots of characters being back-lit by extremely bright lights. You don\u2019t have to be a literature major to find significance there.<\/p>\n The Bear<\/em> burst onto the scene as we were emerging from Covid, taking some time to get traction but eventually becoming the final, \u201cyou have to binge this!\u201d show of that moment. It turned Jeremy Allen White, Ayo Edebiri, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach into stars. When it was good, it was extraordinary: Forks<\/a><\/em> is one of the best episodes of TV of this century. But too often it was too cute or too precious, or its writers were clearly struggling with where to go.<\/p>\n Season five was not flawless, and it didn\u2019t match the energy and freshness of season one. It did, though, wrap up the show on a positive and rewarding note.<\/p>\n In some ways this was our most boring Fourth of July weekend ever. In other ways it was super packed with events. Independence Day We didn\u2019t do a whole hell of a lot for the Fourth. S had a four-day weekend and she mostly used it to prep for our upcoming vacation. As we were between trips we decided not to host a big family gathering. A couple locals came over to swim for a bit Saturday, but I didn\u2019t cook, we didn\u2019t have a house full of people, and I did my best to avoid the heat. We took the girls shopping in a couple waves so they have everything they need for our trip. Thursday we went to get ice cream while L was working for the first time. We timed it well and were in and out before the evening rush hit. I had a very tasty peach milkshake. We watched some TV and sports (see below). I swam some laps. That was pretty much it. As my Timehop reminded me, we\u2019ve hosted many, many large gatherings on July 4 over the years.[1] It was nice to take a break. Traveler M wrapped up her time in Nantes last week. She and her roommates spent the weekend in Amsterdam. They moved on to Brussels this morning to start their final class of the summer, then she will head to London on Thursday to hang with a sorority sister who lives there. World Cup OK, the World Cup went off the rails over the holiday. The US beat Bosnia and Herzegovina Wednesday, but Falorin Balogun got an absolute BS red card after video review. Yellow card? Sure. But red? Absolute bollocks. I was disappointed that referee wasn\u2019t whisked off the field by ICE agents and deported at the next hydration break. I was frustrated that his home in Brazil wasn\u2019t leveled by missiles before the evening was over. If we\u2019re going to have an authoritarian government that acts on the capricious whims of our toddler in chief, use that shit when we are legitimately wronged! And then news broke Sunday that FIFA had suspended Balogun\u2019s suspension for tonight\u2019s game against Belgium. Which, let\u2019s be honest, is complete crap. But I\u2019ll take it. And I am pleased our wanna be dictator finally threw his significant weight into something that matters and he actually didn\u2019t fuck it up in the process. Good for you, shithead!22 This whole affair shows how stupid replay in sports is. The red card was only issued because of a slow motion replay that made Balogun\u2019s foul look worse and more intentional than it was in real time. I\u2019ve been saying this for years, replay should only be viewed in actual speed. If you have to slow it down to half speed, or slower, we might as well just have robots do all officiating, because you are judging a play in a way that the refs can\u2019t possibly assess it as it happens. And then for FIFA to decide, without real justification, to just throw out Balogun\u2019s ban and put him on some stupid probation for a year, is exactly what I would expect from the most corrupt organization in sports. And from the most corrupt president we\u2019ve ever had. Again, I\u2019m thrilled Balogun will play tonight. He\u2019s the US\u2019s most potent goal scorer. We need him if we have any hopes of getting past a creaky but talented Belgium squad. But it feels super dirty and I would be going off if the same thing happened in reverse. I told M she might not want to advertise that she is American when she rolls into Brussels. Speaking of dirty, the Paraguay-France game Saturday was one of the dirtiest I\u2019ve ever seen. Paraguay knew they couldn\u2019t hang with the French. So they battered them all day. Fair play, that tactic is as old as sports itself. But for the referee to stand there and let them cheap shot the French constantly without issuing a single yellow card was a travesty. Hell, he didn\u2019t even call the rather clear red card that gave the French their only goal. The VAR crew sent him to the monitor and only then did he award the penalty. Teams with more talent don\u2019t deserve special treatment. But when their opponents clearly have no intent other than to punch and elbow and kick and trip and shove for 90+ minutes,[2] the referee has to step in and issue cards to keep the game under control. Erling Haaland and Norway over Brazil??? Haaland is amazing, and absolutely rose to the occasion Sunday with two magnificent goals. Being a Manchester City player, I have a natural dislike for him. But that dude is incredible, and incredibly fun to watch. We spent Friday evening watching a show (more about that below). Apparently we missed the (momentarily) game of the tournament, Cape Verde taking Argentina to extra time before falling 3\u20132. I certainly was a critic of expanding the tournament. But adding teams allowed countries like Cape Verde to have a chance, and then take advantage of it. They were moments from getting the defending champs to penalty kicks. BUT WAIT, we got another Game Of The Tournament late Sunday. England-Mexico had everything. EVERYTHING. What an amazing sporting event. Mexico absolutely dominated the game, but had two bad minutes that put them in a 2\u20130 hole they could never fully dig out of. They had England a man down – thanks to another slow motion replay – for 40 minutes but could only add a penalty. A tying – and eventually winning – goal seemed inevitable. The Mexicans just didn\u2019t have enough ideas other than crossing over-and-over while England defended brilliantly. That near own goal just before the final whistle was an insane final exclamation point on an insane game.[3] One of the best sporting events, of any kind, I\u2019ve watched in recent memory. The English team and fans singing \u201cWonderwall\u201d to each other after the game was quite a moment. And today we get Portugal-Spain. Then USA-Belgium. What a tournament! NBA A busy couple weeks in the NBA. Giannis finally gets traded, to Miami for a kind of crap package. Kawhi moves from LA to Toronto, in a shocking move. If he can somehow stay healthy, the Raptors are suddenly contenders again. Then the biggest surprise, Jaylen Brown traded from Boston to Philadelphia. I kept waiting for another Boston trade to come so it would make sense, but as of this morning, they have no made another move(s). I get that Brown has been outspoken over the past few months, and apparently had his feelings hurt when he was dangled as part of the C\u2019s attempts to get Giannis. And Boston needed to do something to fix their salary cap issues. But I never, ever expected him to be moved to Philadelphia. For Paul George and a bunch of picks. The trade doesn\u2019t make the Celtics better, and improves one of their biggest traditional rivals. How on earth does Brad Stevens make this trade? There has to be something else coming and he\u2019s just taking his time getting it done. It didn\u2019t make nearly the waves of those moves, but I really liked the Pacers signing Kelly Oubre. 1) He\u2019s a Jayhawk. 2) He is experienced, tough, can shoot and attack the rim, and play a little D. I think he\u2019s the perfect complimentary player for this roster, especially with fellow Jayhawk Johnny Furphy out rehabbing his knee until the spring. Suddenly the Eastern Conference is incredibly interesting for next year. The Knicks lost Mitchell Robinson to Boston, but bring everyone else back. If Jayson Tatum is healthy, the Celtics could be a 50-win team again like they were with Brown last year. Brown makes the Sixers contenders. We\u2019ve discussed the Raptors. The Pacers are coming back. Cleveland has moves to make but should be good again. The Pistons had the best record in the league last year, and have had a disappointing off season so far. Orlando will be good. Atlanta solid. And LeBron James is waiting to pick the spot he will play next year. If he picks an Eastern Conference team, he could be the difference maker. The Bear, season 5 We knocked out the final season of The Bear over the weekend, seven episodes Friday and the finale on Saturday. I loved it. Was it A+++ TV? No. There were a number of flaws in this season. There are a number of aspects I\u2019m still working to determine how I felt about them. But as a satisfying TV experience? Outstanding. Seasons three and four were unfocused and meandering, sometimes maddening. For each episode that was brilliant, like Marcus going to Copenhagen, there were others that just spun their wheels while Carmen found a new way to sabotage his restaurant and relationships. This season did not make up for all the flaws of the last two seasons. What it did accomplish, though, was allowing these characters we\u2019ve come to love to demonstrate their growth, their strength, and the tight bonds they had formed through past traumas. I can be a sucker for a happy ending when it is earned. This one was certainly deserved. We\u2019ve been conditioned through the previous four seasons to see the next disaster on the horizon and prepare for the ensuing meltdown. Time and again in season five those disasters presented themselves, and The Bear\u2019s crew kept their composure and got through them. Nothing, not a Biblical storm, not exploding pipes, not a limited inventory, not a couple that lingered too long at their table, not even Donna showing up with Sugar\u2019s daughter in the midst of evening rush could prevent the kitchen crew from getting through the day successfully. There aren\u2019t many good things in the world right now. This success felt good and warranted and just. I was smiling most of the finale, and often throughout all eight episodes. I also laughed more this season than any other Bear season. It\u2019s been a running joke that this keeps getting nominated for best comedy when it was obviously much more of a drama. Until this year. Genuinely funny moments in every episode. No needle drops??? An interesting choice, as the show\u2019s soundtrack was as much of its DNA as the Berzattos screaming at each other. But all that alt and indie rock also served to crank up the anxiety. The instrumental, electronic soundtrack to this season was another indicator that things would be very different than in the past. Speaking of symbolism, so many shots of characters being back-lit by extremely bright lights. You don\u2019t have to be a literature major to find significance there. The Bear burst onto the scene as we were emerging from Covid, taking some time to get traction but eventually becoming the final, \u201cyou have to binge this!\u201d show of that moment. It turned Jeremy Allen White, Ayo Edebiri, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach into stars. When it was good, it was extraordinary: Forks is one of the best episodes of TV of this century. But too often it was too cute or too precious, or its writers were clearly struggling with where to go. Season five was not flawless, and it didn\u2019t match the energy and freshness of season one. It did, though, wrap up the show on a positive and rewarding note. Or sometimes on the 5th because of weather. \u00a0\u21a9 They basically gave Kylian Mbappe the bumper car treatment, taking turns \u201crunning into him\u201d and hitting him with elbows – during restarts! – and the ref just let it all go. \u00a0\u21a9 I told some friends that ball trickling just wide was proof that God is Protestant. That joke might get me into trouble in Ireland next week. \u00a0\u21a9<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[31,26,56,36,14,37,22,28,93],"class_list":["post-17414","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-basketball","tag-family","tag-holidays","tag-nba","tag-parenting","tag-soccer","tag-travel","tag-tv","tag-world-cup"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17414","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17414"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17414\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17417,"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17414\/revisions\/17417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17414"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nTraveler<\/h3>\n
\nWorld Cup<\/h3>\n
\nNBA<\/h3>\n
\nThe Bear, season 5<\/h3>\n
\n\n