The All Encompassing Blog...

hey, everybody...how y'all doin?...oh, im doin good here...kinda a boring weekend...but i sorta wanted it to be that way...im goin to western samoa in about a week, and i wanna save up some money for it...i just paid a whole bunch of bills, including some i had way back when i lived in chicago...isnt that great?...im so proud of myself...the one nice thing about living on a random island in the middle of the south pacific is that you can get caught up on some budgetary issues...like bills...anyways, this post will probably be short...i dont feel like writing today...i havent written in a while though...so yeah...

the picture at the top is obviously of my soccer boys...go warriors!...this was taken at our first game, which we won...theres some people from the audience too that came down to congratulate us...we've been okay...we have won three games...tied one...and lost two...so we're like in 4th place outta like 7 or 8 teams...ive talked before about coaching, so im not gonna bore you again...but i like it...it keeps me busy...hella occupied!...plus, the kids are excellent...it gives me a chance to build even more connections to people on the island...of course, working with the head coach has been a different story...now thats been extremely difficult and stressful...i wont go into why, but if i talk to you on the phone you can ask me...its so funny though when we lose...i get so upset with the boys...i try not to but sometimes they simply disappoint me...it reminds me of when i was on this volleyball team that sucked and i was the only good player ;-)

one thing that ive learned since being a coach to a soccer team from across the globe is how similar all us humans are...i know, that sounds cheesy...so "its a small world"...so obvious...but i think its been reiterated to me while working with these boys...i mean, they all speak samoan most of the time...even the head coach speaks samoan 90% of the time...so im mostly just observing what theyre doing...i cant understand samoan...but by watching their actions and listening to the tones of their voice and even watching their eyes, i can pick up on what they might be communicating...and i always find it to be amazing...and comforting...ill watch, lets say, two boys, from the polynesian region speaking all samoan, talking or making fun of eachother and its the same as if they were in the states...or anywhere else...now, i dont mean its exactly the same...i mean, we're all obviosuly different...and thats wonderful...but we are all the same, as well...and thats very heartening...its hard to explain...the best way to explain it is to describe a memory i have from when i lived in chicago...i remember sitting on the train one morning and there was a mother and a young daughter seated in front of me...they were apparently deaf and speaking to eachother in sign language...i recall thinking that it was fascinatingly beautiful...once again, it sounds cheesy...but by watching these people connect and communicate in a foreign, mysterious, incomprehensible way, i can see the astonishingly intricate and amazingly miraculous behavior and emotion of all humans...we are all the same...in many remarkable ways...

those were just some arbitrary pictures i took at a scrimmage we had at the park a couple of weeks ago...nothing too exciting...

Ma's Embarassing Story:

since my mom decided not to post a message on my last entry, im gonna have to tell all y'all a humiliating story about her...well, its not that embarassing...but i couldnt really think of anything...i was gonna tell the story about how she didnt know what jewish meant while watching sex and the city...("is that a religion?...that must be a religion!")...but i think ill tell a different story...another one dealing with sex and the city...i came home one day while i was living with ma...and she was relaxing on the recliner watching carrie bradshaw and the gang...nelly, her dog, was laying on her lap...and nelly was wearing a diaper...anyways, i went to go pet the cute little doggie, and my mom snapped like a twig!...she says to me in the most cold, serious, and brash way, "don't touch her!...she's crabby and she has her period!"...who does that?!...only a woman watching sex and the city with her poodle-ish pup...i mean, it was bad enough that her diaper wearing dog was sitting on her lap, but then she has to get all feminist and sisterly with nelly and stick up for her when she has cramps!...what is this?...attack of the va-jay-jays?...man, i dont know how i lived with so much women all my life...theyre so banded together...and period-mentioning...even with their dogs...

love ya mom...just remember to leave a message...all of you...or youll be next :-)

i apologize for this weeks list because many of it contains clips from youtube...i know most of you dont have high speed...but try to watch some of them...and let me know what you think in a message...

My Top Five Obsessions of the Week:

5. Classic Sesame Street = want a nolstalgic trip down happy memory lane?...wanna forget all your current, adult problems?...then watch these charming clips from the timeless educational PBS masterpiece...my worries and my giant to-do list of responsibilities disappears when i watch how orange crayons are made (and that glorious music)...and i get all "aww, i remember this!" when i watch a girl and her llama go to the dentist (and its odd creepiness)...and i can never say "1,2,3" without singing the entire pinball tune (and that brilliant animation)...and when does cookie monster not cheer you up?...man, that monster's a riot...here's links to just some of my favorites...at least watch the crayon one...old ladies from the early 80's rock!...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJJcZ4BGPnc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgkYHhG18uc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-YcBVEnLT8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJlkplvYdgA

4. Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis = before there was harry potter, there was this adventerous, magical christian allegory series...everyone has read "the lion, the witch, and the wardrobe", but what about the other six wonderful childrens books?...i just read the first and the third one (the most famous book is actually the 2nd in the series) and have been loving them...sure, they dont fulfill my potter needs...that final book comes out this summer...but these narnia tales will satisfy my thrilling fantasy desires for now...and im excited to send the books back home for charlie and chase to read...we can have a mini-book club...and discuss the creation of narnia...why is god a lion named aslan?...is he a god only to narnia?...or our world, too?...and are the books sexist?...okay, that last topic wouldnt be suitable for the kids...but i kinda think they are...

3. Trailers for Grindhouse and Across the Universe = these two bad ass movie previews make me miss being in love with film...dont get me wrong, i still love a good flick...but since living on the island, ive sorta lost the opportunity to see them...so ive given up on them...ive turned my attention to tv...but these movies look really exciting...first, theres grindhouse...the new tarentino ultra-violent film that looks to be awesomely creative, imaginative, scary, and fun...i think itll be coming to a theater near you guys soon...ill probably have to wait till video...the other movie, across the universe, is a musical directed by the woman who created the lion king musical for broadway...and we all know how uniquely powerful that was...this wild musical uses beatles songs, and it looks like its gonna be exhiliarating...just what a great movie should be...im hoping it comes out during the summer and i can see it with suzy...only suzy can truly appreciate a splendid musical...cept this one looks similar to hair...so maybe shawn will like it, too...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5L4vvNpvYw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQ6d3m-GFyw

2. Mat Kearney = a new alt-rock singer with a coldplay/U2/david grey/john mayer sound...his songs are gorgeous...emotional and melodic...i know many of you kinda ignore my music suggestions, but you guys really should give this guy a listen...he has everything from piano ballads to folk-rock to straight-up pop...i first heard him on greys anatomy and now i hear him almost every night cause he's constantly being played on my laptop...essentials?..."nothing left to lose", "crashing down", "all i need", and "where are we gonna go from here"...im hoping he'll be at summerfest...and when im home, im so rockin it out at the leinie lodge if he is...

1. Oprah and Ellen = unfortunately, i wasnt back at home and able to watch when oprah winfrey was on the ellen degeneres show...but these are my two most favorite women of all time...and theyre together!...the commercials for this spectacular event (that already occurred weeks ago) are hilarious...hey, shawn and mom...remember when we were in love with ellen?...well, here she is in all her wacky gloriousness...and oprah is just as funny singing along to "i will survive"...im upset i missed the interview...but this clip is good enough for me...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKqcs_C5F8g

the last thing i wanted to discuss quickly is how my blog has become "that person"...i know, im gettin all greys anatomy referential on your bootys, but writing on my blog has become almost more important than the experiences i write about on it...is that completely, schizophrenically crazy?...let me explain myself...you see, i almost have this feeling where i must do something and experience something elating and stirring so i have something to write about on my blog...now this doesnt mean that if i didnt have my blog id just be sitting at home doing nothing...but this does mean that my experiences here on the island dont become legit and substantial until i write about it on my blog...sounds weird, huh?...yeah, i think so, too...because why has writing about my life become more important than living it?...thats scary to think about....of course, i could look at it in a positive sense...maybe, like in greys anatomy, all of you people that read my blog have become "that person" for me...maybe, like christina with her whole drama of telling meredith about her engagement, telling y'all about my experiences here makes them more real and meaningful...you guys are pretty good at listening and giving advice and comforting me...maybe thats why i look forward to writing on my blog...and maybe thats why i feel its so important to do so...maybe i just love and need someone to share my experiences with...isnt that the whole point of marriage and love?...finding that person to experience life with?...so i guess, in a way, y'all are my lovers...and im simply sharing my life with you...either way, its kinda strange that i have to inform other people of my experiences in order to authenticate them...why cant i just be alone in this world and experience things by myself?...why do i need other people to validate my existence?...its kinda like that old question about the tree falling down in the woods with no one around...does it still make a sound with nobody to hear it?...its the same way with my picture taking...i only take pictures so i can put them on my blog...my blog has become my life...as creepy as this sounds, my blog is taking over my life!...help!...

give me your theory in a message...is this something i should be afraid of?...is it disturbing that writing on my blog has become so significant?...or is it human nature?...and have you guys only become my "that person"?...

alrighty then...too long...damn it all to hello, kitty!...talk to you guys later...ill post later this week...

i love ya and miss ya!

-JOE

"Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime."

-Mark Twain