Thinking of happier times…

How many people would have even attempted a goal in Maicon’s place, much less actually scored one? I guess that’s the question that clouded the North Korean goalie’s mind long enough for him to miss the block. Even if you don’t like soccer, you should watch this unbelievable video of Brazil’s first goal in the World Cup.

Orange Crush…

After the Brazil/Côte d'Ivoire game I mentioned on Facebook that it was quite a spectacle for those of us who like soccer and mixed martial arts. I never in a million years thought I’d witness the following (scumbag) move by any World Cup player. Overall, I think the Dutch played with virtually no honor throughout the tournament (including their mass fainting spell against Brazil). However, I still love Amsterdam (and the Netherlands and the Dutch)!

The prairie wheat can sure smell sweet…

It’s wheat harvest time in Walldorf, which does an Oklahoma boy’s heart good. As my traditional path to work is obstructed by construction, I’ve been hoofing it through the “Western Passage” of late (the westernmost pedestrian bridge over B39).One (pleasantly) shudders to think of the quantity of Hefeweizen that could be brewed from this field alone. The area around Walldorf is still quite rural, and I hope it stays that way. The construction I referred to will see a housing development  replace sprawling corn fields – kind of a pity. SAP is the fourth largest software company in the world but has wheat, asparagus, rapeseed and corn growing within a hundred meters or so of its headquarters.The fields directly around the campus are overrun with wild flowers, which made for a pleasant commute before they were summarily chopped and bailed last week. Guess we’re moving into the final stages of summer. Where has this one gone? In a few weeks, we’ll head to Brazil, where the final stages of Winter are sure to fly by as well…

Their castles have burned…

Reminiscing on some great Kinks lyrics, we were part of a “thin line” of folks in the Altstadt in Heidelberg yesterday to see Germany play for 3rd place in the World Cup and then be awed by the annual Schlossbeleuchtung, or “castle lighting”, a fireworks display commemorating the three times this castle caught fire (twice at the hands of the French, once at the hand of the Almighty, who saw fit to smite it with a bolt of lightning). Unanswered questions about how a stone castles burn aside, we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly.We headed into the Altstadt from Walldorf at around 20:00 with Chris, Heather and their kids. After a lazy dinner on an unexpectedly pleasant (breezy) evening, it’s been extremely hot by German standards this week, we walked to the Neckar and waited for the show to start. Germany had just secured 3rd place in the World Cup against Uruguay (3-2) so spirits were high (and many bottles of spirits low). The fireworks started at about 22:45 or so with the lighting of the castle, including a few fireworks from the castle itself.The main attraction as far as I’m concerned is the fireworks display from Heidelberg’s old bridge. It went on for 15 minutes or so and I’m told by some veterans that it was one of the best displays in recent memory. As hard as it might be to believe, I took some pictures. To ensure a good spot to capture the fireworks, I forwent pictures of the castle itself. Maybe next year.