The Oil Spill, World Cup and The Death Of The East Village

First, just let me say this: As a newly minted fan of international soccer, I am not exactly familiar with all the rules of the game yet, but I know that FIFA has got to have the sorriest bunch of refs ever. ( My apologies to the SEC football refs)

At first I just thought it might be the USA that was getting jobbed over politics, but now I am sure it is a much larger problem. FIFA is scared of technology. Seriously. We have cameras on every player, official, and in each net. Not to mention the (count 'em) FOUR cameras following that crack head Maradona around. So, why is it there is no replay? I understand I am an American and we expect everyone to play sports the way we do, correctly; but there should be some sort of review process for the goals (or the non-goals) the way we look at touchdowns. Is that too much to ask? And what's with the stoppage time? If a match is supposed to last 90 minutes, then stop it at 90 minutes. If one of those Ghanarhean actresses trips over his own feet, and you have to bring out the stretcher, stop the clock until he springs up as if healed by Jesus Christ Almighty Himself. I guess that sort of thing is up to the same Mr. Magoo-esque refs who can't tell if a ball goes into a net or not?

All and all, I have enjoyed it so far and will continue to watch it more regularly.
Guess I'll need to pick a club side to cheer...

Well, the oil continues to spew out of the pipe at an unabated pace. We have tried how many gimmicks to slow it down now? 20, 30? But haven't tried the one SURE way to get the well to quit putting out, put a ring on it's finger! OOOOHHHHH!!!! (too soon?)
Still, I am wondering WTF the people of the gulf are going to do for a living? Pretty much everything down there revolves around the ocean. Some of the best beaches anywhere (my beach!!) are getting ruined as you can see from this video.
I am also wondering where are all the Hollywood celebs? Where are the benefit concerts? Haiti, where an earthquake did $4 Billion dollars worth of improvements, got several A-List celebs and so-called artists not to mention former presidents and the Red Cross to pitch in to waste money. What does the Gulf get?
Jimmy Buffett and a bunch of no-name country singers. Maybe if the people of south Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and northwest Florida were poor black folks then they could get "An Enchanted Evening With George Clooney and Friends" too... Oh wait, they ARE poor AND a large percentage black. Where is Bill Clinton and his fund raising shake-down team? Where are the Red Cross hot-lines, the AT&T "Text your money away" things? (For the record, I donated to the Red Cross's Haiti crisis, the 2004 Tsunami crisis and the Chilean Earthquake crisis too) Are we just expecting the government to clean it up? Maybe BP? Good luck. Look how awesome we did in New Orleans after Katrina. I have decided to support them in the best way I know how. I will not put off my vacation plans and will still go down and spend my money in New Orleans and the beaches. Since the luminaries of stage and screen won't help, then it's up to us.

Probably coming soon to the East Village, the Unwanted Grope.
In what is now the the result of rampant and unchecked gentrification spiraling out of control for over 30 years; the East Village has now become a ridiculous hodge-podge of hipster wannabees, chrome and steel co-ops, over priced clothing and obnoxious frat boy bars catering to the B&T crowds. What a shame. Gone, or going extinct, are the Jewish family owned delis, the Ukrainian restaurants, the old Irish bars, the affordable (relatively) housing for first or second generation immigrants and blue collar folk who have embodied the neighborhood between Third Avenue and Avenue A, 14th and Houston Streets for more years than you could count. Instead you are going to get the cast of Jersey Shore
. Fucking gag! NYC needs the Lower East Side to balance out the Disneyland of Midtown now that "Hell's Kitchen" isn't so hellish anymore. NYC needs the punk scene, the immigrants and the riff raff as much as the Thomas Pink wearing Wall Street types. The homogenization of the city is alarming and unhealthy. Keep the Lower East Side same old LES. We need it.