The Bayeux Tapestry

I note that the British Museum is soon going to have the Bayeux Tapestry available to view in an exhibition.  That is something I would like to see.  Unfortunately I don't think I will.  It appears that all tickets are already sold out this year.  Which is kind of annoying, to say the least (not that I would be around much to see it!).  Maybe I can still get tickets for next year, but realistically the only time I could go is very early January.  I fear I will miss out.  And although I'm considering it, I'm not even sure whether it is worth becoming a member of the museum just to increase my odds of getting a ticket.  Oh well, there are thousands of other important historical artifacts that I should probably try to see instead.      

Rest Day

What's this... no football today?  It feels like the first time in an absolute age.  Without the distraction, I did find I had a much more productive day of work.  What is interesting is that with the World Cup going on, I have totally neglected to follow any other sports.  For example, I have absolutely no idea what is going on in Wimbledon.  When I checked this evening, I was shocked to see some British guy I've never heard of in the semi-finals.  What have I missed? 

Fiber Internet

Some good news today.  I found out that I can now get fiber internet installed at my place.  This wasn't the case last week.  I phoned up to check availability, and they said they'd look into it.  I guess they did, and now it seems like it's a possibility.  Though they never got back to me to let me know, which seems like an oversight.  Nonetheless, I will definitely get it installed - probably right after my trip back to the UK.  It will be so good to finally drop my cable company - who I've had so many problems with over the years, and who I pay way too much to, and who I hate.       

USA vs Belgium As It Happened

Pre-game: I have decided I want Belgium to win.  It's an absolute disgrace that Trump got involved to get that US player's red card rescinded.  Stinks of corruption at the highest level.  I don't care whether he deserved the red card or not in the first place, that's not the point.  This is yet another example of one of my biggest fears about this World Cup - that politics will get involved.  Just like the Somalian referee getting denied entry into the US.  This is about the integrity of the game.  In much the same way that there should be a third political party in the US but there never will be, there should be a legitimate challenger to FIFA in hosting the World Cup.

Quarter-time: Damn hydration breaks (though, in fairness, they have probably helped England).  Some random thoughts.  Lumen Field (Seattle Stadium) normally has artificial turf, and the grass on this pitch looks artificial.  But I haven't read about any player complaints about the surface, so I assume it is OK.  Belgium deserving the lead - they have looked the better team.  The US have looked nervous.  And I don't think they are anywhere near as good as all the US pundits and coverage would suggest.  It comes across as arrogance, and Belgium had already been overlooked before the game started - even though I think this game is a toss-up.  

Half-time: apparently the US are the only team I've seen at the World Cup that are actually a free-kick threat.  But didn't take long for Belgium to respond.  The US defense looks very shaky.  The presence of Chris Richards reminds me that there are so many Crystal Palace players, both former and present, at this World Cup,  This fact has even come up in US commentary at times.  Nice.  It seems like a weird atmosphere in the crowd.  Almost a disbelief that they're losing.  It's where having a passionate, knowledgeable and natural fan base is lacking.  These are mostly fair weather fans, especially knowing how much many of these people paid for their tickets.  Ludicrously expensive.  Fox persists in using Alexi Lalas in their studio analysis of the game at half-time - even though everyone hates him.  But then what do you expect from Fox who are also trying to shove James Cordon's post-show down our throats, even though everyone hates him as well.    

Three-quarter time: soft, soft goal to concede.  Don't see the US coming back now.  To be honest, grown a little bored of the game, and got distracted by my iPhone.  My friend was downtown today, and said that the bars were the most crowded he has ever seen.  And he has lived in Seattle all his life.  I think I'm at an age where uncomfortably watching a game in a packed pub doesn't appeal to me in the same way it used to.  I'd much rather watch the game in front of the telly with a small group of friends.  I think what this game needs is a bit more edge.  The problem is that neither of these teams excel at the dark arts.  As much as I hate them, they are part of the game - and a big part of why Argentina are so good.  It also made the France-Paraguay game a lot more interesting than it should have been!

Full-time.  Wa-wa!  Goodbye USA.  You were not good today.  Be interesting to see the reaction.  Someone will take the blame - probably the manager.  And I'm also curious what happens after all the US hype has evaporated.  This could be a big blow to "soccer"'s popularity in the US - the US people don't like losing.  Even though they had absolutely no realistic chance of winning the World Cup.  Seattle will now be known as the location of one of the biggest failures in US soccer history.  I say Trump and FIFA should be blamed.  After all, they gave Belgium more motivation than a team talk could ever do.    

England 3-2 Mexico

My god, England don't make it easy do they.  Can't we just have a nice comfortable win.  This game was so full of incidents and momentum shifts and was so torturous to watch.  Especially that last 20 minute rearguard action.  Did you stay up to watch the game?  I doubt it, especially after the start was delayed for an hour.  But it is worth watching the replay, especially knowing that we hung on.  And I managed to teach one of my American friends who I was texting with during the game a new word - sh*thousery.  I need a lie down now.       

Happy Birthday America

A happy 250th anniversary to America today.  A celebration that I feel should be bigger than it is.  But unfortunately Trump has made the celebration more about him than about the country, and ruined it (at least on a national level) for everyone.  Nonetheless, there have been a lot of local events today and I'm expecting even more fireworks than normal to go off tonight - even though it is still illegal in my neighborhood.  I've been hearing a lot of explosions throughout the day - it seems nonsensical to me to set them off during daylight, but whatever.  All I know is that I hate what all the noise does to the wildlife - in between the explosions, I hardly hear any bird song like I would normally.  It's always a bit weird how I feel about Independence Day.  I don't really celebrate it, and it only seems to emphasize how non-American I feel.  I've been asking myself whether the US feels like home to me.  I'm not sure it does - sure it's my residence, but I think the UK will always be my home.  That's probably not a good thing to say when I'm considering American citizenship one day.       

Confused

For most of today, I was convinced it was Saturday.  Maybe it's because this was at the end of a week without working.  Maybe it's because it was at the end of a week when I watched far too much football.  Maybe because it's the 4th of July holiday.  And a special 250 year anniversary at that (though Trump has kind of ruined this).  Whatever the reason, it's left me somewhat discombobulated.  And all too aware that my week off has passed way too quickly and that I probably haven't made the most of it.