The Derby

Warning: This post contains a great deal of Jake's obsession for soccer. Please feel free to skip over it so as not to be further annoyed.

For those of you who are not yet annoyed by my soccer obsession, welcome. I took a beginning soccer class last semester, and had a wonderful time. I bought cleats, shin guards, socks - the whole shebang. I was only any good at playing as a target forward, because I didn't have the technical ability to be a midfielder or a defender, or even a withdrawn forward. But the position I wish I could play is central attacking midfielder.

That's the position my favorite player, Francesco Totti, plays for Roma. So in order to get pumped up for my soccer class, I would get fully dressed in my soccer gear and then watch this video every morning I had soccer class.

This video is of Roma, beating their cross-town arch-rival Lazio. The game was important because winning it gave Roma the all-time consecutive wins record (which has since been broken by Inter Milan), on the week after Totti, the heart and soul of Roma, had broken his leg against Empoli. And then of course, it's Roma-Lazio. The biggest derby in Italy, one of the biggest in the world. There are no treaties between the supporters of the two, like there are in Milan. This is as heated as it gets in sports.

Totti is the one waving the flag in street clothes. Despite the broken leg, he showed up to the match and sat in the stands. Most of the players and Coach Spalletti (the bald guy) donned Totti jerseys at the end of the match - dedicating the win to their Capitano. My favorite part actually occurs when De Rossi, a young player considered the heir to Totti, hugs Coach Spalletti with uncontrollable joy - this is seen at 1:43, or with 1:12 left, depending on how it is counting.

One last thing - for some reason, the Roma supporters chant this tune (Seven Nation Army, by The White Stripes) at all their games these days - it has sort of become an anthem for them. It has also spread to other teams; I have heard it chanted elsewhere in Italy and even here in MLS games. I think the techno remix fits well. This video was the closing credits for the local sports show the night of the derby. Enjoy!

random nyc falling apart

Sometimes it seems like NYC is just a hair away from completely collapsing. Having worked in the infrastructure of the city I can say that some aspects are more resilient than you might think, but the sheer age and complexity of the systems here mean that things will occasionally break -- and usually in a dramatic way.

So, here's yesterday's dramatic breakage!



Maybe you have seen this already... if not, it's a giant steam pipe that exploded under Lexington Ave. The force of the explosion was enough to flip over a tow truck and shatter the surrounding windows, while disabling two city buses and a bunch of other cars.

Steam is critical to NYC's HVAC (heating ventilation air conditioning) systems. In Manhattan particularly, it drives nearly all of it -- with that much density it's just much more efficient. Except when the lines blow up, of course.

Battle at Kruger

I love this clip! It just keeps getting better and better. Absolutely incredible.

International Philosophy - Monty Python

Here's one I saw recently that cracked me up. Some knowledge of philosophy and soccer is helpful.




I loved how Nietzsche gets booked. Karl Marx is the funniest part though, especially how he argues that Socrates was offside.

Intermission In the Third Dimension

Don Hertzfeldt is a genius "old school" animator, using only paper, a pencil, and a 35mm camera. His work has earned him plenty of rewards at Sundance and other film festivals. This one cracks me up like crazy...