Turning a Corner? Doubt it...

The feeling must be bittersweet for all of us Newcastle fans today...While we can take a good amount of heart knowing that we well and truly stuffed an almost full and certainly stronger Chelsea squad at their home field, we also found out that the sale of our club won't happen until after Christmas.

The match was a classic one - we were certainly played off the pitch by a stellar Chelsea club, who were oozing quality with every move forward. Great buildup in the midfield, easy and solid defensive stops, a confident goal keeper. The only thing they couldn't do was score - which is surprising, knowing our defense. But as I always knew, Sebastian Bassong was IMMENSE at the back - FAR better than Steven Taylor has ever been. He was a great partner of Coloccini, and with Beye, they made 3 wonderful defensemen. Jose Enrique, on the other hand, was slow, scared, and immature most of the game, and he must be replaced. He did make a few nice defensive stops, but as soon as he gained control of the ball, he IMMEDIATELY gave it away. Butt was also strong in defense, but as always, horrible on the ball. The rest of the midfield played very intelligently, and did the best they could, but were simply outmatched by Chelsea. But as a squad, we showed we could play as a unit, play with heart, and battle for a very hard-fought draw, which will satisfy all.

Then, later in the afternoon, the news came that Joe Kinnear had been told he will be the manager for another month, meaning we're not close to a sale. This can't be a surprise for anyone, and in certain ways, I'm incredibly comfortable with Crazy Joe. He's a no-nonsense manager, which is something that we DESPERATELY need right now. After the emotional antics of King Kev, and all this rubbish talk about Shearer coming on to manage us (heaven forbid!!), what Newcastle need is a professional, stern, intelligent manager who will lead us in a NEW direction. No more of these comemorative picks from days gone by. Joe Kinnear has been a shot of what we need going forward. He isn't intelligent enough, but he's a start - and he's a FANTASTIC short-term guy, always telling the truth, being the microphone to the fans that Mike Ashley has never been.

But we do, indeed, need Ashley to sell this club. We need stability, first and foremost (how many times have I said that) and with Ashley around, it will never come. We need a solid base. We need Dennis Wise to leave. We need the manager to have control of the club - from the tactics to the purchases and sales. The January transfer window is coming up fast, and there will certainly be some movement of current Newcastle players OUT of the club - I mean - who on Earth would want to play for a club like this? Let's just hope Kinnear can convince Ashley to get some new faces IN as well - so we can stay up in the Premiership after this horrendous season is once and for all behind us!!

But for the next few weeks, we've got a great, memorable win to build on, we've got a few manageable games coming up, and if we can win or draw a few in a row, I think we'll be in a much more stable position by Christmas. It's REALLY congested down at the bottom at the moment, and I believe that the next few weeks will really set the table and define who will be battling relegation this season. If we can keep our heads above water now, it'll help us a LOT down the stretch.

**Update**

I just watched the highlights of the Manchester City v Arsenal match. If anybody hasn't seen this game, please try to catch some highlights. I predict this match will be the beginning of the long, slow, inevitable culture shift which will bring Manchester City into the upper echelon of the Premiership. Man City looked so good, and hungry, and frightening, and talented, and Arsenal looked so weak, and pathetic, and confused, and young and immature....with the obvious glaring difference in funds for the two clubs (Man City becoming instantly more wealthy than many countries in this world, and Arsenal consistently having to rely on Wenger's talent to find young, unknown stars of the future) there will be a change in heirarchy in the next few years...and I'm afraid for Arsenal they won't be on the benefitting side. As much as I love the football they try to produce, they're being picked apart game after game, and the other clubs are rapidly catching up to them. Keep your eyes on Man City because they are one exciting team to watch. They played real football against Arsenal - the way Arsenal once thought they could beat all others. And it was a sight to see.

Topic Merry-go-round

1) Xefirotarch. My thesis instructor, Hernan Diaz Alonso, recently published a monograph of all of his work, a good portion of which was designed with the help of myself and Mrs. Architecturefootballandfood. The book is called Xefirotarch: Excessive. A few things about Hernan's work - it's as much art as it is architecture - only a couple pieces have actually been built, and those were gallery installations rather than actual inhabitable buildings. So it is a bit hard to justify his existance as what has always been known as "architect." But this flaw is just one in a grand series which Hernan holds, all of which form the pieces making up his masterful mystique. Just like the vampire and horror films he aims his buildings to aspire to, Hernan has built his career on legend and potential.

Back to the book itself - it's a beautiful piece - big, colorful illustrations, great design, great packaging, the typical intriguing narratives by Benjamin Bratton, my old instructor and Hernan's right hand man. For any art/architecture fringe fan, it's a must have, and it looks crazy gorgeous on your shelf.

2) When am I just going to give up on Newcastle? I know it'll never happen. Because if I would have done it, I would have done it by now.

Not only do we draw to Wigan. Not only do we draw to Wigan at home. Not only do we draw to Wigan at home on an 89th minute goal. Not only do we draw to Wigan at home on an 89th minute goal, just after we had taken the lead with an 87th minute goal. But we lose to wigan at home on an 89th minute goal BY TITUS BRAMBLE, just after we had taken the lead with an 87th minute goal.

For those of you who aren't keeping up, Titus Bramble was once a Newcastle player, and will forever be known for some of the most hilariously awful defensive plays ever committed by a Premiership player, while he was a Newcastle player. We, thankfully, got rid of him when Big Fat Sam came to town last season, but since then, he CONTINUES TO HAUNT US!!!!

It's a curse. I know it's a curse. Newcastle is cursed.

3) The Bears lost. As well. Again. All my teams are cursed.

4) Just thought I'd share some photos of my cats:

La Fin du Monde

I've got a feeling quite a few beer drinkers know this one already. But as I was strolling through Whole Foods today, with the green light from Mrs. Architecturefootballandfood to go ahead and pick us up some spirits, I ran across this old favorite and couldn't say no to its sweet song.

My old college roomate turned me on to du Monde, at the time it was far less widely distributed, and he basically only knew of it having spent a good amount of time each year up in Quebec for the Amateur World Championships of footbag. (That's a whole nother post in itself) Since then, I've been sporadically picking this gorgeous thing up - it's quite pricey, but if you're looking for something strong, tastey and really cool looking, a couple times a year is a bare minimum. (For a great anecdote, there's a legend that this beer was named after a long night in the marketing offices, when the suits couldn't think of a name for it. One of them proclaimed - "Hey, its not the end of the world!" and the rest is history.)

La Fin du Monde is a Belgian beer, tasting a bit like Duvel but much more spicey and orangey. For this time of year, its a bit light for my taste, but tonight I made an exception. I'd say the perfect time of year for this one would probably be May - it's a bit too spicey for the dog days of summer, but has the refreshing citrus kick that will get you in the mood for the beach.

It's brewed in Quebec, and the same brewer makes a few more, Don De Dieu, Trois Pistoles, and Maudite. All of these brews are over 8% alcohol, and make for a great beer to enjoy, rather than simply get drunk to. These are certainly beer drinkers' beers, for the price is enough to drive the average high school senior away. But for those of us who were born before this date in 1987, have a go. It's a sure thing.

Back by Popular Demand....

Discussion about another Newcastle defeat!!

Enough of this enlightening, positive political banter. Who cares about socio-political victories whose effects will be heard and felt throughout the world for years to come? What's the USE in discussing recent events that our grandparents wouldn't have even DREAMED of only 30 years ago, but we're lucky enough to see and experience them in our relative youth??? Newcastle lost! Let's talk about that!!!

Well, okay.

Newcastle technically lost, but really, you could say that Claudio Cacapa lost. If he had not been on the pitch, if the Magpies fielded ten men to Fulham's eleven, we honestly, cross my heart, would have won that match. We outplayed them. We outpassed them. We outran them. We did everything right, except A) only scored once - should have had more and B) oh, those two silly little missteps from Cacapa, costing him and his teammates the GAME.

If anyone has forgotten, it was Claudio Cacapa who was absolutely, take-no-prisoners-style SMOKED last season by Benjani of Portsmouth, and whose smoking led to THREE goals in the first ELEVEN minutes of the match. We ended up losing that one 4-1, but more importantly, Big Fat Sam took Cacapa off the pitch after a measly 18 minutes, and Cacapa's confidence was forever GONE after that day. He's never looked a proper player after that, certainly not prepared or talented enough for the premiership.

So while we DID only score one goal, I am certain that had Steven Taylor been fit for this match, we would have EASILY won. The problem is, he wasn't - and we can't expect him to be fit for every match. So you've either got Cacapa, who is obvious garbage, or Seb Bassong, who's a FANTASTIC player, but has virtually no top-flight experience at Central Defender. I know the whole hindsight being 20/20 thing, but as soon as I saw Cacapa's name in that line up I said "Where's Bassong?" and that's the truth.

Anyway, Newcastle are back in the relegation zone, arguably where they belong. We're a pisser of a club, a club nobody wants to buy, for good reason, a club who's name now goes hand in hand with hilarity of the highest order. The only prospective buyers for Newcastle are American, and that's simply because A) they probably don't know what they're getting into and B) the dollar is quite strong now compared to a few months ago, and as a business decision, it's a steal. We are being reduced to WARES, and we're not even talking Nordstrom wares - we're talking Burlington Coat Factory. Newcastle are that single remaining DKNY Jacket that's gone from Showroom to department store to outlet mall to liquidation sale bin to Burlington Coat Factory, and even NOW, nobody will touch this accoutrement. It started its life as a proud, respectable $249.99 list, and now soccer moms won't even touch it for a limp $39.99. Such is Newcastle.

Electoral Shift Map

Another great interactive map from the New York Times.

Once again, proud to be American.

So I tried to write a funny post about Barack Obama winning the presidency and just couldn't do it. I tried writing an Onion-esque article poking fun at the fact that all of the sudden, every SINGLE person with a mouth and a microphone, no matter what they said prior to election day, just can't get enough of our new president. But I just couldn't do it. I tried to play this whole thing down, but it didn't work. I know it's got something to do with the fact that I'm an incredibly unqualified author. But I'd like to think it's also got something to do with the fact that I'm so damn happy, and proud, and excited about what's gone on in the last 48 hours that I just can't trivialize it, even if I tried.
I'm going to describe it the way I heard it described earlier today, and pardon the language, but it's just bar none, the most effective description I've heard yet.

"It feels like we f***ing blew up the Death Star."

I LITERALLY could not have said it any better. I've tried. And this is the best. Think about that scene in Return of the Jedi, when the Ewoks, after recently emerging victorious in their ground battle, look up at the where the Death Star once was in their sky, but has been replaced by an enormous expanding ball of flames. Then they all begin to rejoice at once, and it cuts to other cities throughout the galaxy, all rejoicing at the same time, over the same event, and their collective hopes for a more peaceful and productive future. In one amazing, powerful, joyous instant, all of their lives had changed for the better, and that invisible, heavy burden of the Dark Side had been lifted from their shoulders. There will be a better tomorrow, and as the Ewoks knew it then, every nation on our planet, on this day, rejoiced together, as one human race, because we all know it now.

Barack Obama is not a perfect man, and he will not be a perfect president. But he is many things that we can ALL get behind. His intelligence will lift our struggling nation up and get us back on a pragmatic, positive path. His elegance and wit will make him and the US a leader of other nations once again, and America's respect will be restored. His passion and dedication will demand respect from all the world's leaders - friends and foes alike. And his race, as much as it has been covered in the media, IS true proof that anyone, with any background, any skin color, any personal difficulties, can do ANYTHING in this great country of ours.
Last night I had the absolute privilege to celebrate with Mr. Obama himself and 250,000 of my closest friends at Grant Park. While being too crowded, uncomfortable, and incredibly draining physically, I will never forget the moment that the announcement was made that he had made it over the 270 vote hump. An infinitely deep bellow was let out by all of us there, and as we were all screaming at the top of our lungs, jumping up and down, dancing with each other, smiling, crying, and trying to capture it all on our digital recorder devices, nobody was thinking about the last 8 years of tyranny and secrecy. Nobody was thinking about the problems that await Mr. Obama when he takes office next January 20th. Nobody was thinking about the deception created by George Bush and his divisive Republican cronies. We were in love with America, in love with our new president, in love with the new, positive world we live in. And we couldn't put this into words, so we just cheered, cheered, cheered. I'll never forget that night, and we can all feel so lucky that we are alive to have witnessed an achievement so great, not only for Mr. Obama, but for our country and our planet. If a black kid from Kansas with a funny name can become president of the United States of America, then why can't you or I do anything we want to do? Of all this talk about "hope" from his campaign, he's gone out and proven it. He's shown us. You ALWAYS have hope.

I'll finish with the video from the very moment his victory was announced.

A Sign in my Elevator

Funny for so, so, so many reasons.

Here's the back story.

The original note posted in my elevator was showing that the meeting, originally scheduled for the evening of November 4th (obviously: election night), had been cancelled. Not a night where too many people would be willing to head to some windowless office to discuss the proper disposal of pet excrement. This is something that I'm sure that 95% of the people in my building realized, and probably quickly chuckled, like I did.

But one guy, one lonely, bored person decided that it was SO funny, that he or she went back to his apartment, turned on his computer, opened up Microsoft Word, wrote the first sign saying "Whose the idiot that scheduled the condo meeting during a Presidential election?!!", printed it out, went back to the elevator, BROKE INTO the plastic sign display, and left it so we can all revel in his glorious dark wit. The thought of this, in itself is almost enough to make me wet myself.

But then, there's the second part. Somebody, very correctly, noticed that this GENIUS who posted his comment had used the improper spelling in "whose." So he decided that it was absolutely necessary to again BREAK INTO the plastic sign display, remove the original comment sheet, and write below the original note "WHO IS the idiot who doesn't know usage of "whose?"" Now - again, it's hilarious that this guy decided to take it upon himself and deliver guerrilla justice to the first comment's author and give him a nice, big GOTCHA! moment. And he did - the only problem is, in his haste, he, himself completely grammatically butchered his sentence.

Now, before somebody says anything, yes, I realize I'm basically doing the same thing as these guys, only on the Internet instead of with Sharpies on my elevator sign. But that's okay, because....ummm......OBAMA '08!!!

GO VOTE, PEOPLE!