I personally think the team that turned Major League Soccer into the hot property today was Toronto FC.  They had fans

from day one attending games and filling up their stadium.  They even added more seats this year and replaced their field turf with real grass.  Since TFC entered the league, other expansion teams have come into the league with similar support.

Do I feel sorry for their fans though.  The product on the field has much to be desired.  TFC brought Mo Johnston as their coach, but he decided to move into the front office where he can’t seem to find the right mix of players to play attractive Football on the field.

Last night was no exception.  The new Philadelphia Union were in town and pretty much owned TFC on the field for much of the 1st half.  TFC were lucky not to go down to 10 men after their right back went studs up tackle on a Union player.  Then TFC got a break as Danny Calif elbowed DeGuzman in the neck to receive a red card.

Eventually against 10 men, TFC ended up winning but not without help.  Both their goals were on set pieces and not in the run of play.  And, the fact that Philadelphia was only playing with 10 men helped.  In the end, I think Philadelphia was still the better team.

TFC’s style of play is so British.  Hoof the ball from the back to the front and have your forwards jump up for head balls.  Forgetting the fact that they have some of the best in DeRosario and DeGuzman to work the ball.  Midfielders are for defensive purposes.

I love Toronto as a city and think their fans are fantastic.  MLS owes those fans a lot of thanks for it was the Toronto franchise that got fans in the other MLS markets to step up and be heard.

Mo, put a decent product on the field for them.  You owe it to them, the league owes it to them.  Give those poor people something to cheer about.  They deserve it.
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An earthquake in China took place today.  It was a doozy that registered over 7.0 on the richter scale.

Image is a copyright of the Associated Press

As I am going through and reading the reports, the news media are focused on the death and destruction of the event.  Reports are 400 dead and possibly 10,000 people injured.  The usual suspects causing the death and destruction – poorly built houses that are not earthquake proof.

Yet, in any of the reports, there is no explanation as to why there is an earthquake in the region in the first place.  See, the region where it has occurred is not on the edge of a tectonic plate.  So, why is the media not educating us why it happened and reporting on the geologic changes that are occurring underneath us? The earth is one big puzzle of pieces that collide and move.  Could the earthquake in Chile have transported energy to the Indian plate which then has pushed itself up against the Asian plate?

I guess we will have to wait for Pat Robertson to give us the explanation.  I am sure there was some ancient deal made where the Tibetans shunned Christianity to follow the bald headed guy in robes.  The earthquake is obviously a punishment from God.

With these natural events happening all over the world, couldn’t we put the death and destruction angle down for once and talk about the science behind it happening?  Not only are we a nation of geographically challenged, we are also a nation who are geologically ignorant.

Come on media, put some of the shock and awe away and include some education in your reports.  If you need the shock and awe at the beginning to grab attention, fine.   Put the education into the article to make us smarter for reading it.
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My cousin in Hungary has renovated an old home in a small town north of Budapest called Göd. He did a fantastic job modernizing the home with a new kitchen to a 2 car garage with opener. It is a home that has a small moment in history as the last place that Admiral Horthy the leader of Hungary during the interwar period stayed before his exile to Portugal.

My cousin is selling the home because the kids are all grown up and they are downsizing. He asked me to post it on some Real Estate sites here to attract Hungarians that may want to move back. After all, since Hungary is no longer a communist country, there is an attraction for some to go back home.

What has happened? I have had some legitimate inquiries into the home from people I am trying to attract. Hungarians that are looking for a nice home back in Hungary.

However, I have also attracted the most bizarre scams. I like this one from a gentlemen professing to be a Colonel Glen Parent of NATO forces in Iraq. There is a real person name Glen Parent who is in NATO, but this guy is just too funny. He obviously has taken on the persona. HIs English is a lot to be desired.

Here is his message to me:

“Hello ,

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Ives Galacerp has written a very detailed account of the recovery of Charlie Davies, a US National Soccer Team forward who was

Photo by ISIphotos.com

involved in a terrible car accident back in October. He woke up 3 days later in the hospital and did not know where he was and thought he was in Honduras having his organs harvested.

His accident happened in October 2009.  He broke most of the bones in his right leg.  Fractured bones in his face.  And, fractured bones in his elbow.  He also injured his posterior cruciate ligament.  The miracle is his bones have healed and he is on the treadmill already.  He has one more surgery to remove the plate and screws from his elbow.  He is schedule to return to France and start training with his club Sochaux at the end of February.

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is freaking unbelievable.

You can read the full article here at Soccer by Ives and his published article at ESPN Soccernet.

I have to admit, I was one of the people guessing we have to scratch Charlie Davies from the World Cup.  Let’s hope he can continue on his recovery.  He was one of the bright spots in US Soccer in 2009 as we led up to the World Cup.
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I worked for American Airlines when Bob Crandall was running the company. To this day, I love to read or hear what it is he has to say. He is a tell it like it is kind of guy and always has been. The the difference between Bob Crandall and a lot of so called, “Tell it like it is guys today”, his commentary on the airline industry is based on fact and experience.

I was in International Sales at American Airlines in the early 90s. When we started running flights Internationally, we hired the Israelis to provide us with security consulting. The 5 layers of which he speaks, American Airlines has been doing since 1990 on International flights. If you research the shoe-bomber case, the AA security people in Paris red flagged Richard Reid and did their job.

Bob Crandall is right. it is about finding the people, not the things. The security theater we all experience at the airport actually puts us at risk because the time they are checking the little old lady, they may miss the real threat getting on a plane. This point was made at the beginning of the report when bomb making material made it on a plane as a test as carry on because the screener missed it. Which does not surprise me. An eyeball can not be mindful of details on a screen for a prolonged period of time.

Good security is about intelligence and human behavior.

Bob Crandall is right. Not every Muslim is a terrorist, but today, most terrorists are Muslims. It is a fact.

President Obama, hire Bob as your new Transportation Secretary. He would do it to serve his country, just like Mr. CR Smith did for President Johnson in the 1960s. He is right, we need Managers running these large organizations not political appointees. If we have an inefficient transportation system, this economy will continue to suffer and the terrorist have won. (This problem is not a Democrat or Republican issue, they both do it wrong).

Michael Chertoff, the former Homeland Security Chief is touting the $150,000 scanners on national TV. His firm happens to represent the company that makes the scanners. Boo to Mr. Chertoff. Let’s just add some more tax to your airline ticket to pay his consulting fee and his client’s new boat.

Ok, so my wife tells me, “I got you and Andrew concert tickets for “Star Wars in Concert” for your birthday.“ I have to admit, I did not jump up and down. “Ok”, I said with a one eye brow raised.

If you have kids and you have kids that love music, take them! It is kind of expensive at $65 a ticket, but it was worth it.

We saw the concert at Conseco Field House. Surprisingly, the sound was excellent. I leaned over and ask my son, “Is this live, or is this Memorex?” He gave me a puzzled look of course because he is not familiar with the old Aretha Franklin commercials from the 1970s-1980s.

The real point of this post is, “Community Orchestras can learn something from the Star Wars in Concert series.” The concert combined visual montages with the music. People were clearly entertained. (I am still shaking my head at the quality of the sound. The orchestra was so tight).

I remember when classical music was taught to me. I finally learned about classical music while on a study abroad program in Austria. Our Professor taught us the significance of Mozart, Beethovan, Hadyn in the context of their time. He was so enthusiastic about the music that I finally go it.

John Williams film music is very easy to get because we have the visual support of the film to help convey what the music is saying.

What if Symphonies started applying some of the same techniques to traditional Mozart, List, or Beethoven pieces. After all, we are an easily bored society. People want to be entertained by our standards today which include video or visual stimulation. Maybe we should have a video running that accompanies the music being played by the Orchestra.

Think I am crazy? Well, Conseco Fieldhouse was full. So, something tells me people are ok with orchestrated music. They just want to be entertained with it.

It was a great concert. I recommend it to anyone.

Two Face - Character from Batman comic book

What is it about being in front of a computer that can sometimes bring out the worst in people?

Hiding behind email

In the office, email is the weapon of choice.  How often have you received a nasty email from a co-worker who says things they would never say to your face?  I had a boss that used email to say what he really thought, yet he had a hard time communicating it in person.  After reading it, you would scratch your head and ask, “What was that all about?”

Back in the day before all the electronic communication, if you had a problem with someone, you would spar with them in some form to settle the dispute.  Today, we hide behind email.

I like my wife’s rule to my kids.  If you can’t say it to their face, then don’t say it at all.  She can’t stand the “hide by email” effect.  She is a direct person and tells it like she thinks it is.

Message Board Rage

Another phenomenon I have been observing is what I call  “Message Board Rage”.  I participate in several boards and blog discussions.  There is another guy in some part of the country or world.  He has never met the other person, yet he is spewing a vitriolic hatred for the other person.  In many cases, it is because the other person just does not agree with what they are saying.

Growing up as a 1st generation Hungarian boy, respect is a very important concept in my family.  I grew up in the era of respect your elders.  Now that I have reached my mid-40s, I understand what experience really means.  There is an absence of this long held value in message board culture.  Not only can you show disrespect, you can down right destroy someone you do not really know.

Which begs the question, what drives this behavior?  Are these individuals so unhappy in their real lives that they feel power to take it out on people half a world away?  As my wife says, would these people do it in person?  Chances are not.

Twitter Rage

Recently, we observed some Twitter rage.  An individual did not like something another person said, so he attempted to totally destroy the credibility of the other person.  It was not an intellectual banter of professionals.  It was a vitriolic dialog akin to something seen on the Jerry Springer show.  Is there no professional respect in the world?

The individual tried to engage me.  I pointed out, this will become a circular argument.  Why even have it?

The individual that was getting the rap is guy anyone would like to have a beer with.  He is funny, witty, and just a decent human being.  Yet, this guy from another part of the country had no qualms about trying to destroy this person’s reputation online.

Binary World

Everyone today is right and the other person is wrong.  Convictions are so important that basic human communications have degraded into a disrespectful shouting matches.  The current economic situation does not help matters, as people are full of fear.  The anger out there certainly does mask that fear.

So, what should be done to change the bad behavior in electronic communication?  Simply, start with your own behavior.  Ask yourself, why am I allowing this person I don’t really know, pissing me off?  Is what I am writing, what I would say to him/her in person?  If not, don’t write it.  It’s a start.\

Online Golden Rule

“If you can’t say it to a person’s face, then don’t write it in an email, message board, blog or twitter post.”

Let’s bring the concept of mutual respect back into our dialogs.  We can solve more problems this way.  Maybe even help one another in the process.

I had lunch with my best friend yesterday who is African-American.

I witnessed a red-neck blow smoke on him on purpose. I was totally shocked and could not believe what I saw. Why all the hate? What is in people’s hearts today that someone would be so disrespectful to another human being? I am angry and sad to think this world is so polarised that people openly display their racism to others.

To expand our thoughts on the subject, maybe I can answer my own question.

Racism is a learned behavior. It is something we teach our kids and it gets passed on from generation to generation. Racism is something that not only covers skin color, but ethnic group. IE All Italians are in the mafia, All Hungarians steal, Jews have big noses and are good with money.

While a lot of people say they are not racist, in their hearts, they are. Why? Because we have been taught by the groups in which we associate to look upon other groups with disdain or blame.

I find myself doing it too from time to time. I will challenge anyone and say their hearts carry racist and prejudiced thoughts.

It’s a human problem. And yes, there are African-Americans that do it too.

To change, we need to challenge ourselves and our kids to follow the simple rule:

“To live in a world where people are not judged by the color of their skin, but the content of their character.”

An asshole is an asshole, no matter their race or creed.  Why are we now becoming a nation of them?

We need to get ourselves out of this polarized world we are creating. Us against them. Black and white. Right and wrong. Liberal and Conservative. Good vs. Evil.  Have computers been a prime reason for a move into our binary world?  You either hit the right button, or it does not work.

It’s this polarity that is infecting people’s hearts to do what that man did to my buddy yesterday. 

Last night, my Son and I watched Nostradamus on the History Channel.

According to the program, my Son and I learned that Napoleon was the first anti-Christ in his prophecies.  Wait?  What?

He was a change agent for his time.  He invaded Europe to eliminate the Monarchial structures.  After his defeat, the royal families quickly put them back.  They continued their repressions, until the 1848 revolutions which forced a compromise to their rule.

Now, the whole Hitler idea made sense.  But, when the guy tried to explain that Nostradamus predicted 9/11 by using numbers that if you convert them to something else, it comes up 9/11/11.  See, he had secret code because he did not want people to know they were the one.  Wait? What?

I used to have an employee that was a born again Christian.  We would have heavy discussions about religion, satan, etc.  He made reference to someone being an anti-Christ.  I said, “Of course he is, if you want to believe.”  “For all you know, I am the anti-Christ!”  I gave him an evil look and I think he almost pooped his pants.

As I was watching the show, the construction of the essay, I realized that we can see the things they were sharing, if we want to see it.

Who is Mabus that they speak of?  Well, if you move the letters and assign mathematical equation to the the letters, Mabus is Bush.  Wait?  What?  I thought he just had a hard time speaking English and had a “I don’t get any respect from my Daddy syndrome.”

If you Google the question, who is Mabus.  The answers are all over the place.

The anti-Christ is who we want to see.  For right wing Republicans, it is Obama.  For Liberals, it is Bush and Cheney.  According to Google search, it is a host of Middle Eastern leaders whose names mysteriously translate to Mabus.

I think the solution to all of this is simple.  If we would spend a little more time loving each other rather than hating each other, the world would in fact be a better place.  If we stopped listening to other people’s opinions about how things are and should be and start loving, things could get better.  Maybe we need to aspire to a higher level of consciousness.  A consciousness that understands our fears, our anger, our sadness, and embraces the joy, instead of allowing others to manipulate our fears and convert it into anger.   This could free us from ourselves to truly experience the love we all want and raise us to a higher consciousness.

Ah…who am I kidding.  We fear and hate because it feeds our egos.  Love is for suckers and hippies.

“You can go from boom to bust, from dreams to a bowl of dust, you can fall from rockets red glare down to brother can you spare another war, another wasteland, another lost generation”

Neil Peart – Between the Wheels

When I go back to Flint, this line in a Rush song always comes to mind. See, Flint, MI is a case study in boomtowns gone to bust. At its peak, General Motors in Flint employed 82,000 people at plants around the city. This does not include all the industries that support General Motors. Today, General Motors only employs about 8,000 workers.

Back in the day when folks would travel north from Detroit or south from Saginaw, you would be greeted with a very proud sign that declared Flint, Buicktown. See, back in the day, Buicks used to roll off the lines in Flint. I remember the big Buick Park Avenue friends of ours had. One of my favorite cars we owned as a family was our Buick Riviera. It had a powerful V-8 that moved when you pressed the pedal. Flint was not a beautiful town, but parts were charming. It boasted a fantastic cultural center that included museums, a theater, and planetarium – all the things that patriarchal wealth from the Mott family bought. It always seemed that Flint started to die when Mr. Mott died.

Today, the big billboard that would boast you were entering Buicktown now advertises the greatest economic development solution for all struggling economies – a Casino. (I guess Mr. Potter won, we are transforming all our struggling economies into Potterville).

Go around town and you will find that its mighty past has been dismantled – literally. The factories that my Grandfathers, Grandmothers, Uncles all worked – no longer there. One of the largest manufacturing facilities that stretched 2 miles on the north side of town – gone.

Today there are a lot of weeds growing between the pavement throughout the town. Flint could become an episode of “Life after People” on the History Channel.

I have friends that are still making a life of it in Flint. A couple have their businesses downtown and are doing their part to make something happen. The bright spot being the investments being made by the University of Michigan into downtown Flint.

Where is the next Billy Durant and what industry will bring to the community? Or, is Flint just a footnote in the history of communities that have gone from boom to bust?

Maybe they should just shut portions of the city down, give it back to nature, and become a lumber town again. Sometimes, we have to go backwards to go forwards again. Maybe that is what a community like Flint should consider.

The one bright spot – they still have the best hot dogs/coney dogs in the world there.