Irene's Weblog

Well, I’ve been calling it ShitiField ever since the name was announced. ESPN announcer, Anish Shroff, made the mistake of saying what we all think live on air.

So, some stupid ass woman hits Paul in March 2010. His car is totaled. This is what happened after that.

On March 30, 2010 it’s in Omaha, Nebraska at an insurance auction.

The car is now for sale for $6500 in the UAE. English Translation of the page.

So, I don’t normally watch this sort of crap. The show is always set to put two families together with diametrically opposed views of the world to maximize conflict and boost ratings. However, after perusing io9 and reading about this particular episode, I just had to watch it.

The survivalist family are absolutely ridiculous and hilarious. They went out and bought a whole lot of shit under the “no payments until 2012” because, according to them, no one is going to be around in 2012 to come collect the money.

The other family has a daughter who’s a golf prodigy of some type. So the wife works six jobs, yes I said six, while the husband is the daughter’s manager. Unfortunately, they ignore their son who is more of an academic.

Both families are nuts, but it’s sure to get some ratings. Crazy always sells.

The survival woman goes to her new home and all she sees is how the other family is going to be screwed when 2012 comes. Everything she saw, she questioned how it would be useful when the zombies come. Yeah, I laughed too. She believes there are going to be zombies everywhere in 2012 and the “new” daughter’s golf clubs might be useful for clubbing zombies.

Also, the survivalist mother reads about her new family. This family spends over $40,000 a year on their daughter’s golfing. Fucking nuts! The other woman wonders what the survivalist family is going to do in 2013 when the bill collectors come and they have no money.

One note, if you’re a survivalist, shouldn’t you be in shape and not fat? Yeah, the golfing family thinks that she’s a nutbag as well.

The golfing dad tried to take the survivalist mom’s survival bag away from her and she freaked out. The golfing mom thinks the survivalist family is nuts. She believes it’s science fiction and not reality.

So, the mom’s settle in and think each other’s lives are crazy. The survivalist mom is pissed that she has to work six jobs and do all the housework. The golf dad believes that women have a place in the home and that’s to do all the chores.

The survivalist mom tries to explain her beliefs to the golf dad and he busts a gut laughing at her. Every time she tries to explain stuff to the golf family, they laugh at her. The golf mom thinks the other family is anti-social and dangerous. The survivalist dad freaks out when a golf pro comes over to the house because some stranger comes to the house without his knowledge. He fears that the guy might steal stuff or hurt his family. Yeah, he’s looney tunes.

Instead of freaking out, the golfing family finds all the survivalist training and gear to be funny. They seem to roll with the punches, probably because they know that, in two weeks, the crazy lady will be gone and mom will be back home.

The survivalist dad says that the kids can’t have a party at the house because the dad isn’t uncomfortable with people in his house. He doesn’t think the people will attack him, but he thinks the kids will get into stuff that they shouldn’t be in to. Meanwhile, survivalist mom drills the golf family on rafting and getting a life jacket on their dog.

Notably, when the survivalist mom gets mad at the golfer dad, she storms out of the house and goes for a walk without her precious survival bag. Golfer mom and survivalist dad get into a fight and he throws golfer mom out of the house. I laughed at all this. It’s just so damned ridiculous. However, the survivalist dad did apologize a little bit later when he calmed down a bit. The dude seriously needs to stop freaking out over people touching his survival gear and “strange” people being in his house.

The survivalist dad agrees to let a Mayan expert in the house, but he still isn’t convinced. He thinks the books and movies about the topic are more authoritative. Unfortunately, he’s already got his mind made up that it’s going to happen.

Turns out the survivalist kids really want to do other stuff other than think about the end of the world and survivalist dad lets the kids have a party. Survivalist dad ends up having fun and wants to have more parties. Apparently, he didn’t want people in his house because he didn’t want them to learn his secrets and his skills.

Both families are dysfunctional, but the survivalist family is just batshit insane. It wouldn’t take much to help the golf family, but the survivalist family will probably continue to be nuts until 1 January 2013.

In the end, golfer dad started going to some of his son’s basketball games. The survivalist parents are actually letting their kids have friends over. They also let the Mayan professor come back again and the dad said he shouldn’t believe everything that is out there.

This show is, overall, pretty sad. I just can’t help laughing at folks that are stocking up on survival gear and hunkering down waiting for the world to end. The golfing family should send some of their $40,000 a year on golf shit to me. I’d put the money to great use.

Mint.com has created a nice little chart that explains the differences in US soccer salaries compared to other sports.

I have to admit, I’m happy today is the last day of the World Cup. Once I watch the final, I will have watched 56 out of 64 games. That’s far too many and my interest is starting to wane. Next cup, I’ll probably pick and chose who to watch as this was just too much. I am wearing an orange shirt today, but that has more to do with the fact that it’s my last clean shirt than the fact that I want The Netherlands to win.

In yesterday’s third place game, Germany beat Spain 3-2. It was a good match, but I was too tired after to think about writing a recap. I also had a ton of errands to run and, oddly, had several phone calls. So, I didn’t write anything about the match.

There was a small bit of controversy earlier today as several members of Nelson Mandela’s family claimed that FIFA were pressuring Mandela to attend the game and ceremonies afterward. Mandela, 91, has been in a frail condition the past few months and his 13 year old granddaughter was killed by a drunk driver the night before the start of the World Cup. Mandela, however,  said he wanted to attend the closing ceremonies and then return home to watch the match on TV.

If you want, you can read my poor prediction of today’s game over at KNEB.  I suck at predicting, so never bet on a game because of something I said.

In the first five minutes of the game, Spain had several obvious dives. I understand that diving is part of the game, but it’s really disgraceful that you have to do it in a World Cup final match. Your team is supposed to be one of two best in the world at that moment and relying on cheap tricks diminishes the game.

After twenty-five minutes, the Dutch continued to play overly aggressive football, with several yellow cards handed out. The Spaniards, on the other hand, seemed to fall over from the slightest breeze if it meant they could get a foul out of it.

In the 28th minute, The Netherlands’ Nigel De Jong ninja kicked Spain’s Xavi Alonso in the chest. He should have been handed a red card, but was only given a yellow. At this point, the World Cup final had turned into a very dirty and dangerous game. Despite all this, the first half was rather boring. There was a lot of back and forth with the ball and very little of Spain keeping possession. Neither team were dominant in the first half, though The Netherlands led in yellow cards and fouls. At the half, the score remained 0-0 and Spain kept its record of not conceding a goal in the first half of this World Cup.

The yellow cards and fouls continued into the second half. Both teams finally started to settle down in the 65th minute and play some real football. There was some nice passing and a few shots on goal, but, after 90 minutes, there were still no goals.

The players for both sides look tired, but extra time needed to be played. Both teams hoped that 30 more minutes of play would lead to a goal, but neither side had ever scored in extra time before. At the half, Fernando Torres came in for David Villa. The first half of extra time saw some great playing, unfortunately, it was not to last in the second half of extra time. In the 109th minute, John Heitinga of the Netherlands received a second yellow, triggering a red card and he was sent off. The Dutch were out of control the entire match.

Spain finally scored in 116th minute with a goal by Andreas Iniesta, who was subsequently booked for taking his shirt off in celebration. I highly doubt he cares. Gerard Pique and goalkeeper Iker Casillas of Spain broke down in tears when Iniesta scored the goal. Spain held on for the 1-0 victory and take home the cup.

It was an ugly match and, though I originally wanted The Netherlands to win, they didn’t deserve it with their constant dirty play. The Dutch had many chances to score and only have themselves to blame for the way they played. The Netherlands got what they deserved and the right team won. There were many exciting games this World Cup. It’s a shame this wasn’t one of them.

The best moment of the entire match was watching Iker Casillas lift the World Cup for Spain.

Some other quick notes: Germany’s Thomas Müller gets the Golden Boot for most goals in the tournament. The 20-year old has also been named Hyundai Best Young Player of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. I believe the ref in this game gave out the most yellow cards ever. I lost count after nine. I watched 56 of 64 matches. South Africa put on a great World Cup.

See you all in four years when the World Cup is played in Brazil. Everyone should watch the cup then, especially since you won’t have to get up at 5am, like I did this year because of time zone differences.