President McPouty

Some images are just too good to not turn into memes.

I'm also extremely curious about what exactly is that box of medals behind him in the first photo.  Certainly not for military service.  Strange.

Shalom

In the last week or so, I can't seem to avoid Israel tourism adverts.  It’s bizarre, they're always on – it doesn’t matter what I’m watching; it could be sports, it could be a gritty drama, it could be a repeat of the Big Bang Theory, it could be local news, whatever, the advert inevitably appears.  And frankly, I just don’t see the appeal of Israel and it’s certainly not somewhere I’ve thought of or am particularly interested in going to.  I’m not going to go all Jeremy Corbyn, but I’m no fan of the country and its actions in the Middle East.  And I’m not religious – which has to be the main reason why you might want to go – so it just doesn’t have any specific appeal to me.  I’m sure it’s safe – probably a lot safer than you think.  And it probably has a lot of great things to see and do.  But I’m not sure of the reason why the sudden and rapid increase in number of adverts, especially in the Seattle area which is a long way away from Israel and with a likely small target demographic for the ad.  Tourism adverts for San Diego, Oregon, even Idaho (even though there is absolutely no reason to go to Idaho – there is very little to see and do there, it is the US equivalent of Lincolnshire!) I understand, but not Israel.

Lodge 49

A TV recommendation – I’ve been watching Lodge 49.  It’s a very strange show – featuring a beach bum protagonist who is like “The Dude” from The Big Lebowski, and a slow and somewhat surreal tone and pace.  Very offbeat, it’s unlike most other shows currently on TV and that is definitely a good thing.  And, at least so far, it’s very watchable.  A perfect accompaniment to the polar opposite show that I’m also watching at the moment – Sharp Objects.  Now that is a dark and brooding show – not an easy watch, but clearly high caliber cast and production.  Good stuff. 

The Rumblies

I have not been feeling well since coming back from the UK.  It has taken me ages to readjust my body clock, and I'm still not sleeping well and waking up way too early.  But worse than that, I have been having some bad stomach troubles since coming back.  I'm not going to go into disgusting details, but suffice to say that it feels like I haven't passed a solid bowel movement for ages, that I'm going through toilet paper like nobody's business, and there have been times where I've had to get outside the office to release copious amounts of gas since it's been building up to potentially uncontrollable levels.  I don't know what's going on - is my diet in the US that much different, and that much unhealthier, than how I was eating in the UK?  Have I ate something that has really disagreed with me, or that had gone off?  I've never had this problem before to this extent.  And it's got worse the last few days - I would take some time off work if I wasn't so busy and had deadlines this week.  That is probably not helping things either.  It's Labor Day this weekend and I'm supposed to be going down to Oregon, but frankly I'm not sure I really feel up to it as things stand.  Which is a shame. 

Respect, respect, respect

There are few footballing pleasures better than Man United, and particularly a Man United managed by Mourinho, struggling.  Except perhaps Arsenal struggling - but even that has lost some of it's luster now that Wenger has gone.  For all the money that Man United have spent in recent transfer windows, they really looked like a distinctly mediocre team against Spurs.  They are not one of the teams that are going to challenge Man City this year.  And I am one of many who get a lot of enjoyment from that fact.  And Mourinho's comments afterwards, as always when he loses, were ridiculous - I hope they lose a few more, and we get to experience more of his antics, before he gets sacked. 

Stars and Stripes

Oh boy, where to start with this:

A meeting of the presidency leadership team?  The hardest I've ever seen Trump concentrate.  No Mr President, the American flag does not have a blue stripe - check your lapel pin.  If any athletes who kneel during the national anthem are not respecting the flag, what about those who don't color it correctly?  The Russian flag has a blue stripe.  Etc etc.  Reminds me of the Dan Quayle "potatoe" incident.  What has been a pretty bad week for the President probably ended on a good note for him with the sad death of one of his most outspoken critics in John McCain ("I like people who weren't captured" - jeez).   

Rivalry Week

It's rivalry week in the MLS, with games like the New York derby, the LA derby and culminating in the Cascadia derby tomorrow night between the Seattle Sounders and the Portland Timbers.  This is, by far and away, the oldest and best rivalry in American "soccer".  If I'm going to watch an MLS game - which I'd really rather not because the standard of play is really not that good - then this would be one to watch.  Good atmosphere, good intensity, big crowd, subpar quality.  But I like the idea of having one week of fixtures consisting of some of the biggest rivalries, and I think the Premier League should consider doing the same thing.  Imagine a weekend with Man City vs Man Utd, Liverpool vs Everton, Spurs vs Arsenal, Palace vs Brighton, etc.  That would make for an epic weekend of football.