Quote of the Week- Francesco Totti

Since 2011 is the 150th year of Italy as a republic, we thought we'd quote famous Italians this month. After ice cream and pizza, the country is arguably best known for soccer and opera. Hence, the reason why we are quoting Francesco Totti (b.1976) here and the late opera megastar Luciano Pavorotti (1935-2007) on our sister blog "The Daily Vampire."

Totti is the captain of the Italian Serie A team Roma, and he has scored more goals than any in the league with 207 career goals.

But, he was only six years old when Paolo Rossi scored the game-winning goal against Germany to the 1982 World Cup in Spain. I watched that game as a 12-year-kid in the resort of Fethiye, Turkey, where many German fans were drinking beer and looking, well, pretty disgusted really.

Here is the quote from Totti:

"We will work as a group, we need to be a real team, that is the only way to go far."

Hmmmm....yeah, athletes, aside from Muhammad Ali or Mike Tyson, aren't as good quote source materials as well people like opera singers!

50 Beers Around the World- Barena (Honduras)

We stay here in North America for our next Beer Around the World which is Barena, a popular brew in the Central American country of Honduras which has experienced political problems within the last year. But, we'll let smarter people like David Brooks and E.J. Dionne sort through that (forgive the NPR listener in-joke).

We learned about Barena Beer through Don Godo, a blogger from New Orleans who now resides in Honduras. He says that beers in the country has substantially improved in recent years.

Honduras was also in the recent World Cup in South Africa.

I actually know the name of their capital, but it is too hard to spell and alas we don't have interns to verify these things for us (it does however start with a "T").

Quote of the Week- Zinedine Zidane

Auuuuuuugggghhhhhhh! (As Charlie Brown would say when he tried to kick Lucy's football). We have major time constraints today, so let's cut to today's quote from the French soccer star Zinedine Zidane who is perhaps best known for his head butt against an Italian player in the 2006 World Cup final:

"We are all aware of the task ahead of us in what will be a very difficult match but which we will all dream of playing."

I suppose in some surreal way he speaks for all of us!

Viva Espana!

Kudos to Spain for winning the 2010 World Cup and Xica (pictured here) who was named the tournament's most valuable player.

South Africa's president Jacob Zuma declared the World Cup a victory for the host country as well:

"Let us keep celebrating, let the vuvuzelas keep blowing and let the football festival continue at Soccer City...This has been a truly inspiring, moving and uplifting month. Well done, South Africa."

Paul the Octopus had predicted a Spanish win over Holland in the World Cup final. One English handicapper said that if a gambler had bet according to Paul's predictions, they would have earned themselves $4,500!

Today's GeoQuiz-A Question About Spain?

For today's entry, which we dedicate to students at Northwestern High School in Rock Hill, SC, which is the alma mater of my cousin Michael and former North Carolina State gymast named Ashley Shepard (I had initially forgotten her name!).

Today, we ask what is Spain's third largest city. This city is also home to soccer player Raul Albidol, who will one of the 22 players taking the field for the World Cup final between Spain and Holland. He also plays for Real Madrid.

The mayor of this city (its flag is pictured here) is Rita Barbera, and it boasts a population of 810,000 and it shares a Siste City program with Sacramento, Calif.

Is this city?:

A) Valladolid
B) Valencia
C) Zaragoza
D) Seville

SIDEBAR: We are always looking to see who is visiting us from where. Today, we are curious if any of you are from Athens, Georgia, or Thessaloniki, Greece, which is the country's second largest city and ironically the birthplace of The Republic of Turkey's founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

PS- The answer to last week's GeoQuiz is Yaounde, which is the capital of Cameroon.

World Cup Players Worth Remembering

Today, we have two special blog entries dedicated to 12 memorable players from The 2010 World Cup in South Africa. The other six players on our other blog "The Daily Vampire," which for some reason gets six times as much traffic as this blog!

1. Mesut Ozil (pictured here). Germany. Age 21. Wears # 11. Plays for Werder Bremen (German team which finished third in Bundasliga). Scored two goals in 14 international games, one of which included goal in 2-1 World Cup win over Ghana. He also set up fourth goal in devastating 4-1 victory over England. Dubbed a 'polite young man' by the German press, Ozil was caught up in 'custody battle' between Germany and Turkey, the country of his parents. Though he was scorned by Turkish nationalists in the motherland, Turkish-German parliamentarian Cem Ozdemir praised his decision because it showed the friendship between the two nations. Germany has a large Turkish minority, and Ozil was the center of a story which aired on the NPR show "The World" which aired this week about that unique diaspora.

2. Wesley Sneijder.The Netherlands (Holland). Age 26. Born in large Dutch city of Utrecht. One of my favorite players. He plays for Internazionale (Italian team based in Milan). His club teammates include Brazilian goalie Julio Cesar and star Cameroon player Samuel Eto'o (profiled here on Monday). Wears number 10. Ironically, he scored the game-winning goal against Cesar in Holland's brilliant 2-1 win over Brazil which was a minor upset. Also scored in World Cup play against Japan and Slovakia.

3. Luis Suarez. Uruguay. Age 23. Plays for Ajax Amsterdam (Holland). Has been named Dutch Footballer of the Year. Got red-carded in controversial play where he hand-balled to prevent a game-winning goal by Ghana in the 121st minute of play yesterday. Scorned by international media as a result, but he has been hailed as a hero in Uruguay. Will not play in the semi-finals against Holland. Scored both goals in 2-1 win over Mexico in the first knock-out round.

4. Kaka. Brazil. Age 28. Plays for Real Madrid. Has scored 27 goals in 82 international games. Known for humanitarian work, and is an ambassador for the U.N. Food Program.

5. Keisuke Honda. Japan. Age 24. Plays for CSKA Moscow. Has scored an impressive six goals in just 19 international appearances, including World Cup goals versus Cameroon and Denmark.

6. Park Ji-sung. South Korea. Age 29. Plays for Manchester United. Played in third straight World Cup. Scored in team's 2-0 win over Greece. Is first Asian player to score in three consecutive World Cups.

Friday Geo Quiz (July 2010 Only)

Well, we're tired kids.

But, we thought we'd post this entry for ninth grade students at William Byrd High School in Vinton, Va., near Roanoke, where my mother reportedly taught in 1968 (two years before I was born).

We are focusing on countries who have played in the current World Cup in South Africa with special geography quiz entries through the month of July. Ok, so we should have come up with it last month as The World Cup got away....

Anyway, here is our question. If you get it right, I may have to send you this Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle action figure that I got at an estate sale in Floyd, Va., which is sitting next to the computer, this past fall except for the fact that I've become quite attached to it!:

"What is the capital of Cameroon?" If it helps, an image of this particular city is pictured above:


A) Yaounde
B) Accra
C) Abijan
D) Abuja


For those of you who may have actually flunked geography, Cameroon is central Africa. They actually speak French over there- zut alors!

My World Cup Final Four Picks

Before I reveal my picks here, I want to applaud David Zirin of "The Nation" for rightfully putting "Washington Times" sports reporter Thom Loverro in his place.

On a sports talk show in reference to Team America's win over Algeria in the qualifying round last week (before the U.S. team lost to Ghana in the round of 16), Loverro said the following about Algeria: "When I think of Algeria, all I think about are terrorists and Abbott and Costello movies."

Like Zirin, I am sickened by such comments and they certainly don't reflect the views of all Americans. Similarly, Andrew Sullivan of "The Atlantic" reported that some demented person hacked the Wikipedia page for Ghana after they defeated Team America 2-1 in extra time on Saturday and used an epithet against the west African country.

There is absolutely no place for this sort of thing in today's world whatsoever.

As for my picks, like Zirin who said he believes Argentina will win The World Cup, I am also picking Argentina to win it all even though I really like Germany (who they place next) especially the star Turkish-German soccer player Mesut Ozil who is just 21 years old.

My other picks are Holland (over Brazil!), Spain and Uruguay.

The Dutch player Wesley Sneijder is pictured above. He has lead Team Holland in scoring so far, including the first goal in The Netherlands' 2-1 win over Slovakia on Monday.

Quote of the Week- Samuel Eto'o (Soccer Player from Cameroon)

We conclude this long series of quotes from 32 people associated with the 32 countries who are or in the case of Cameroon were competing in The World Cup.

Cameroon, which has become one of Africa's most traditional winning teams, failed to get into the second round this year mainly because they were in a group with lots of good teams, including Holland, Denmark and Japan.

But, we can still quote their star player Samuel Eto'o who until recently was playing for Spanish soccer power Barcelona. He now plays for the Italian team Internazionale.

Here is his quote, which I believe was said before the World Cup:

"Football is sometimes like this. We played really well but wasted too many chances tonight.....we really should have eliminated them already."

Nostradamus the Octopus?!

Before we start this entry which is going on at the same time as the World Cup soccer game between Holland and Slovakia, we should note that we tried tirelessly to get a proper image for the subject. But, after many failed efforts to find a fitting image, we simply decided to go with The Octopus Man, a comic book villain who we think comes from "Spiderman." (I'm sure the guys at Acme Comics in Greensboro, NC, would be delighted to correct me if I'm wrong!).

But, we loved this sport that we heard while listening to the BBC during a bout with insomnia circa 2:30 a.m. last night.

Apparently, Paul the Octopus who is residing in an aquarium in the German city of Oberhausen has predicted the outcomes of all German soccer games, including their surprsingly first round 1-0 loss to Serbia and yesterday's 4-1 German victory over England.

His handlers give Paul, who has even made news in Saudi Arabia, baited glass cubes with mussels and mark them with national flags.

The irony here is that the octopus was born in an English aquarium!

In other world sports news, the English-language Twitter page of Turkish daily newspaper "Hurriyet" reported that Mehmet Yesilyesil, 24, won the coveted 649th Kirkpinar Oil Wrestling Festival near Edirne, Turkey (a western Turkish city near the Bulgarian and Greek borders), yesterday.

Amazingly enough, Yesilyesil won the event in which one must beat out lots and lots of wrestlers (this year it was 498!) for the title. The sport of oil wrestling has become quite a novelty for foreign tourists visiting Turkey because to western eyes the sport looks a bit (how else can I put this?!) homoerotic......since I am a Turkish-American, I should strongly emphasize this is not my own personal view!

Quote of the Day- Alfredo Stroessner (Dead Paraguayan Dictator)

Since we quoted North Korean dictator Kim Jung Il, who is still alive and well (just ask the citizens of Pyonyang), on our other blog "The Daily Vampire," we thoughts it might not to be disengenious to quip the late Paraguayan dictator Alfredo Stroessner (1912-2006) even though like most Latin American dictators he was blamed for kidnapping, torture and corruption.

The right-wing dictator was the second-longest serving head of state in Latin America behind Cuba's Fidel Castro as he 'held office' in the capital Asuncion from 1954-1989. As one might expect, he was overthrown in a coup d'etat. But, Stroessner lived a full life as he died in exile in Brazil in 2006 at the age of 93. However, in the processor, the government officials who took over for him decided to remove his name from the main national airport.

Stroessner was also named "Dictator of the Month" by the web site dictatorofthemonth.com while he was still alive in April of 2003.

Paraguay is having a succesful run at The World Cup as they prepare to meet Japan in the knock-out round.

Here is the quote fom Stroessner, which could only come from an 'el presidente:'

"We can't make any statements here. We can't talk about the internal politics of Paraguay."

Yeah, I thought he sounded like Dick Cheney too!

Quote of the Day- Fela Kuti (Late Nigerian Afrobeat Star)

Today's quote featuring 32 people, alive or dead, from the 32 countries in The World Cup is from the late, great Nigerian Afrobeat singer/musican/political activist Fela Kuti (1938-1997).

Kuti was a major influence on David Byrne and his band (the) Talking Heads, especially on their hit song "Once in a Lifetime." In addition the Afro-beat pioneer was a featured artist at the 1986 Amnesty International concert in New York.

He lived both a very tragic and a very interesting life as he was once married to 27 women (!), but he died of AIDS-complications.

Kuti was also a political radical who supported The Black Panther Party and that lead to his own social rebellion in Nigeria. He made the hit 1977 record "Zombie" which was politically focused on the oppressive nature of the Nigerian military.

His music can still be heard frequently today as it was featured on the soundtrack of the critically acclaimed independent film "The Visitor" (2007).

As for the Nigerian soccer team, they had a difficult World Cup with losses to Argentina and Greece, but they tied South Korea 2-2 in their final game.

Here is the quote from Kuti, which is unsurprisingly an overt political one in nature:

"In Nigeria they convict by law, not by the truth."

Quote of the Day- Algerian Writer Mohammed Dib

Initially, we were not certain that we could go through with today's quote from the late Algerian writer Mohammed Dib (1920-2003) since Team America was playing the Algerians today in The World Cup. We were afraid that if Algeria won we might look unpatriotic even though we have quoted Che Guevara (on a lark) here on this blog....many times!

But, Team America scored a late-game goal by Landon Donovan to reach the second round with a 1-0 win.

One might expect that relations between The United States and Algeria, the only pre-dominantly Muslim country in the World Cup to be slightly tense these days, but according to an article by Adam John Waterman in the current issue of the progressive journal "The Utne Reader" (originally published in "Bidoun") there is actually a cultural link between Algeria and Iowa!

Waterman said that the town of Elkader, Iowa, founded in 1846 and named after 19th century Algerian revolutionary fighter Abd al-Qadir, is sister cities with Mascara, Algeria. And, the town has a very unique history which many folks at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines might be unaware of: "By the same token, the name Elkader, with its vague Arabesque exoticism, distinguished the town in a field crowded with biblical allusions, Indian rebels, and wartime heroes."

So, this brings us to today's quote which comes from Dib, who is still considered to be Algeria's most well-known writer, though some may say that distinction belongs to the late French writer Albert Camus who was born in Algeria and spent much of his life there (alas, Camus died at age 46).

This is a point that Dib makes in his quote about Camus, who also happened to be a good friend and a contemporary of his:

"Albert Camus is an Algerian writer, yet we generally think of him as a Frenchman, and as an existentialist, and regard his North African settings as almost beside the point; just backdrops for investigations of life and fate."

As for the World Cup games, there are many places where one can watch them.

In Chapel Hill, NC, there is the Turkish restaurant/bar Talulla's that is showing many of the soccer games. Talulla's might well serve the best manti (a Turkish pasta dish) this side of Istanbul. Their menu also features chicken pide, falafel and the eggplant dish Imam Bayildi.

And, in another college town, there is Big Al's Sports Bar in Blacksburg, Va., home of the Virginia Tech Hokies. In addition to showing the futbol matches, Al's features chicken tenders, cheezy fries, spuds and corndog nuggets---which I've honestly never had before!

Quote of the Week (Slovenian Philosopher Slavoj Zizek)

We continue our series of 32 quotes from 32 people associated with the 32 countries in this year's World Cup with a quote from the great Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek, born in 1949.

Zizek, who was the subject of a 2005 documentary film, has written many books, including "Iraq: The Borrowed Kettle" (2004) which was reportedly very critical of the war in Iraq.

The Slovenian philosopher is also a socialist and an atheist and his other books include "In Defense of Lost Causes" (2008) and the current release "Living in the End Times" (2010)---yes, I think that's a strange title for a book by an atheist too!

Zizek wrote an op-ed in 2006 for "The New York Times" which said that atheism was a great legacy of Europe, and he has said that all churches should be converted into culture halls (I would prefer cinemas!).

As a fellow film enthuiast, I chuckled when Zizek listed the horror film sequel "Freddy Versus Jason" (2003) as one of his favorite 'guilty pleasures' for an article in "Film Comment," even though I have never seen the movie.

Zizek is also known for his contribution to both political theory and film theory.

And, as this quote indicates, he even has opinions about food!:

"The same rightists who decades ago were shouting, 'Better dead than red!," are now often heard mumbling, 'Better red than eating hamburgers."

The World Cup, incidentally, is the latest entry for the highly popular blog "Stuff White People Like," which became a book of the same name.

SIDEBAR: If one is residing in the DC-metro area, they may want to check out World Cup coverage at The Wing Hub on Cordell Ave., in Bethesda, Md., where Thursday night is also Poker Night!