I Like These Things

2008-12-31T11:28:00.000-08:00

This page contains links to many of my favorite websites, as well as access to lots of other useless crap for which I couldn't find a suitable main category.

Bellini's Reading List :: Quick notes on what I've been reading.
Best 100 Novels :: The Bellini-100, a collection from four lists.
Tottenham Hotspur FC :: Come on You Spurs!
Glory-Glory.co.uk :: Glory! Glory! Message Board.
English Premier League :: The world's finest soccer.
Major League Soccer :: America's soccer.
European Football 101 :: Understand the beautiful game.
Bellini World :: Mom and Dad attempt to use technology.
Hiking Links :: My growing database of places to get out and hike.
Lonely Planet :: Start your next trip with the Worldguide.
American University :: My college in Washington, DC.
Wikipedia :: My entry.

Hiking Notes

2008-09-25T11:50:00.000-07:00

Georgia State Parks and Historic Sites :: Click-able Map
GORP :: Georgia Hiking Guide

Amicalola Falls :: Info goes here.
Fort Mountain :: Info goes here.
Panola Mountain :: Info goes here.
Red Top Mountain :: Info goes here.
Sweetwater Creek :: Info goes here.
Tallulah Gorge :: Info goes here.

Jarrett's 100 Thing Challenge

2008-06-09T08:37:00.000-07:00

CLOTHES [Total: ##]
01. Item

MUSIC [Total: 07]
01. Upright Bass (w/ stand)
02. Acoustic Bass (w/ stand)
03. Electric Bass (w/ stand)
04. Acoustic Guitar (w/ stand)
05. Electric Guitar (w/ stand)
06. Bass Amp
07. Tuner

ELECTRONICS [Total: ##]
01. Mac PowerBook G4
02. Lacie External Hard Drive
03. Epson Printer/Scanner
04. iPod (w/ armband)
05. Canon Camera (old)
06. Canon Camera (new)
07. Cell Phone
08.

CAMPING/OUTDOORS [Total: ##]
01. Item

MISC. [Total: ##]
01. Item

ITEMS THAT DO NOT COUNT [Total: ##]
01. Blackberry

Year in Review :: 2008

2008-02-15T13:44:00.000-08:00

January

[1st] Rang in the New Year with Soul Stew Revival
and North Mississippi Allstars

[13th] Brought Mikey home

[19th] Saw Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings at Variety
Playhouse and then drove to Smith's Olde Bar
to catch Grace Potter and the Nocturnals

[22nd] Tottenham Hotspur beat Arsenal 5 - 1 to
advance to the Carling Cup Final

[25th] Touched the Stanley Cup

February

[3rd] Covered the Super Bowl in Phoenix for CNN.com

[10th] Did a shoot in Palm Beach for CNN

[24th] Tottenham Hotspur beat Chelsea 2-1 in extra
time to win the Carling Cup Final

March

[1st] Saw Dark Star Orchestra at Variety Playhouse
with pre-party BBQ at my place

[9th] Covered the Kobalt Tools 500 NASCAR race
for CNN at Atlanta Motor Speedway

[14th] American University defeats Colgate to win the
Patriot League Championship and an automatic spot
in the NCAA tournament... for the first time ever

[14th] Storng F2 Tornado rips through downtown
Atlanta... lost power, but suffered no damage

[19th] Spurs and Chelsea play to a 4-4 draw at White Hart Lane
in what may have been one of the most exciting matches of the year.

[21st] American University plays its first ever NCAA Tournament
game, and managed to stay even with #2 seed Tennessee for most of the contest.

[21st] Saw Alex Ovechkin score his 60th goal of the season
as the Washington Capitals beat the Atlanta Thrashers 5-3.
Ovechkin's became the NHL's first 60-goal scorer in 12 years.

[28th] Saw Biscuit Burners and Trampled by Turtles at
Eddie's Attic in Decatur. Something else also happened
today - something important - but I'm not going to share
it in this forum or with anyone else. But it was fairly monumental.

[30th] Completed the ING Georgia Half-Marathon in 2:09:35

April

[12th] Attended Ryan and Emily's wedding

[18th] Saw Chatham County Line at The Earl

[20th] Saw Grace Potter and the Nocturnals at
Sweetwater 420 Festival

[26th] Watched the Twilight bike races
in Athens

[26th] Saw Old Crow Medicine Show in Athens
at the Georgia Theater

May

[4th] Saw Hot Tuna and Little Feat at Variety Playhouse

[7th] Attended Shake at the Lake's 'The Servant
of Two Masters'

[8th - 12th] Visited Harrisonburg, VA with Cyerra

[21st] David Carrocci died

[30th] Saw North Mississippi Allstars at Variety Playhouse

[31st] East Atlanta Beer Festival

June

[5th] Saw Railroad Earth and Bobby Lee Rodgers at Variety Playhouse

[6th] Cyerra's Surprise Party

[7th] Virginia-Highland SummerFest at 991 Rupley

[8th] My BIG car accident

[13th] Tim Russert died

[14th] Saw 'Songs of the Living Dead' at Dad's Garage

[15th] Tiger Woods sinks a long birdie on the 18th to push
the U.S. Open to a next day playoff

[15th] Turkey comes back from 0-2 to defeat Czech Republic
3-2 in a Euro 2008 thriller

[21st] Bought my 2008 Saturn Vue XE

[21st] Saw Blues Traveler at MidSummer Music Fest

[22nd] George Carlin died

[29th] Went Zorbing for CNN.com in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee

[30th] Went indoor skydiving for CNN.com in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee

July

[4th] Ran my 5th Peachtree Road Race

[5th] Mikey's first time in real water... swam like a pro
in Lake Allatoona at Red Top Mountain

[6th] Nadal defeats Federer in a Wimbledon classic

[10th - 13th] AllGood Festival in West Virginia

[18th - 20th] Me, Jason, Joe, and David spent time with
Grandma and Grandpa in Florida

[25th] Randy Pausch died, so I watched the entire
"Last Lecture" in one sitting.

August

[1st - 3rd] Brian and Liz Liebman spent the weekend
at my place, checking out Atlanta

[2nd] Strangest (but most wonderful) dinner ever at Panita Thai Kitchen

[9th] Saw Gov't Mule a Masquerade Music Park

[10th] Watched the men's U.S. Olympic swimming team win
one of the most exciting relays ever

Year in Review

2008-02-15T13:41:00.000-08:00

A Half-Hearted Attempt to Keep
Notes on My Own Life

2008

Best Novels - The Bellini 100

2007-08-04T12:18:00.000-07:00

[ Click Here for Bellini's Personal Reading List ]

A Reader's Guide to Great Novels
In 1998, Random House created the Modern Library list of the 100 Best Novels written in the English language. Alongside their compilation, they also included the top 100 titles chosen by readers. Their hope in spearheading this controversial project was to create a new wave of dialogue for literature. To help achieve this goal, Random House then requested a third list to be created by the world-renowned Radcliffe Publishing Course. Later, in 2003, the BBC conducted The Big Read, a survey among British readers, asking them for their favorite novels. List-Mania had gone global. While, certainly, there can never be one definitive answer for the best 100 novels, this page contains an itemized table of the 77 books that appeared on at least two of these lists. I added 23 more notable one-timers to round things off.

[ Books That I Have Read ]

The Following Books Appear on All Four Lists

1984 by George Orwell
Ulysses by James Joyce
Catch-22 by Josephy Heller
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
Animal Farm by George Orwell
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
On the Road by Jack Kerouac
Brideshead Revisted by Evelyn Waugh

The Following Books Appear on Three Lists

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolien
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
A Portrain of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Invisible Man by Ralph Eillison
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemmingway
Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller
Light in August by William Faulkner
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemmingway
The Call of the Wild by Jack London
Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
The Magus by John Fowles

The Following Books Appear on Two Lists

A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute
Dune by Frank Herbert
Watership Down by Richard Adams
The Stand by Stephen King
Beloved by Toni Morrison
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
The World According to Garp by John Irving
The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
My Antonia by Willa Cather
The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie
Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Naked Lunch William S. Burroughs
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
The French Lieutenant's Woman by John Fowles
Sons and Lovers by D.H. Lawrence
Under the Volcano by Malcolm Lowry
I, Claudius by Robert Graves
An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
Native Son by Richard Wright
A Passage to India by E.M. Forster
The Wings of the Dove by Henry James
Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald
All the Kings Men by Robert Penn Warren
Howards End by E.M. Forster
Go Tell it on the Mountain by James Baldwin
Women in Love by D.H. Lawrence
The Naked and the Dead by Norman Mailer
The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
The Moviegoer by Walker Percy
Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather
Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham
Main Street by Sinclair Lewis
Finnegans Wake by James Joyce
Kim by Rudyard Kipling
A Room with a View by E.M. Forster
Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad
Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
Sophie's Choice by William Styron
The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles

Notable Books Appearing on One List

For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemmingway
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe
A Separate Peace by John Knowles
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig
Sometimes a Great Notion by Ken Kesey
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemmingway
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Farenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
We the Living by Ayn Rand
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
The Godfather by Mario Puzo
Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler
The Way of All Flesh by Samuel Butler

AP: Widespread Panic Article

2007-08-03T17:48:00.000-07:00

From Widespread to Stones, concerts moving to big screen

By DOUG GROSS
Associated Press Writer
(I'm Quoted in the Last Paragraph)

CHAMBLEE, Ga. (AP) -- After attending more than 100 Widespread Panic concerts, Julie Stevens knew what she was talking about when she said a show this month at Atlanta's Fox Theater was different.

"You can see a lot better and you can hear the music and there's no smoke," said Stevens, 27, of Atlanta, during a break between sets. "That's cool because it's been a long time since I've seen them up close."

The difference? Stevens was watching this concert live on a big screen 12 miles away from the Fox at a movie theater in this Atlanta suburb.

Widespread Panic, the jam band from Athens, Ga., that has built a massive following based on the strength and carnival atmosphere of its live shows, joins acts like the Rolling Stones, Bon Jovi and Green Day who in the past year-and-a-half have rolled out concerts simulcast on big screens offsite. Sometimes way, way offsite.

Combining rock shows and movie theaters is an idea at least as old as 1970's "Woodstock," the movie version of the previous year's legendary three-day festival. But advances in technology are making it easier to pull off events like the May 9 Widespread Panic show -- when the concert was beamed live to 114 theaters around the country, from California to Florida.

And an increasingly competitive marketplace is making the special events attractive for bands looking to reach new audiences and offer something special for their existing fans.

"The artists, the managers, the promoters ... have all come to see there is a terrific value in bringing their music to movie-theater screens so fans can gather together to see them nationally -- but in a very local and personal way," said Dan Diamond, vice president of digital programming for Big Screen Concerts.

The Denver-based company is jointly owned by three of the world's biggest movie theater chains -- AMC, Cinemark and Regal -- and has the capacity to broadcast concerts and other special events in as many as 850 theaters nationwide. Other companies have occasionally simulcasted concerts, but not as frequently and to as many theaters as Big Screen Concerts.

The company kicked off by offering recorded performances by bands like KISS, Rush and the Grateful Dead in 2003. But with changes in technology, the number of live simulcasts has steadily increased in the past two years.

Big Screen broadcast 21 concerts in 2004, including Phish, Jimmy Buffett and Prince, and 10 last year. They've done six already this year -- most recently a May 16 show by Pink Floyd's David Gilmour.

Tickets range from $10 to $20, depending on the group and whether the event is live or, as in still a few cases, recorded. And most concerts are scheduled for weeknights -- when the vast majority of movie theater seats are typically empty.

"Clearly, we're primarily focusing on nontraditional, non-peak nights," Diamond said. "We're not trying to compete with our core movie business."

The company's most successful event was a simulcast of the last concert by jam rockers Phish. About 40,000 tickets were sold for the August 2004 show.

Widespread Panic vocalist John Bell said simulcasting a concert allows the usually hard-touring group to still reach out to fans without the rigors of an extended tour.

He also called it a chance for the band, formed in 1986, to continue a tradition of exploration that has kept music-making exciting for the group's members after two decades.

"The kids buy into the novelty of it, just the way we do," said Bell, hours before their recent simulcast show. "It's a new way to have that concert experience with your friends in your hometown -- and you get to buy popcorn."

Buck Williams, the group's manager and agent, sees a different upside to the simulcasts in movie theaters. He said an estimated 25 million to 40 million people would see the band's name on posters, trailers or other theater promotions for the concert event.

The Fox Theater May 9 broadcast marked the first time Widespread Panic performed in concert all the songs from "Earth to America," its new album due for release June 13. The show also featured songs performed with full brass and string sections -- which Bell said the band never would be able to bring along for an extended tour.

At Hollywood Stadium 24 in nearby Chamblee, a couple dozen fans geared up for the show by tailgating in the parking lot -- lounging in lawn chairs and drinking cans of beer from coolers, as Widespread music blared from their car stereos.

When the band tore into "Pigeons," a driving, groove-based rocker and the second song of their first set, the movie theater audience hooted and cheered. Pockets of fans danced in the aisles and in the back of the theater as others were content to sit in place -- albeit cheering and clapping at the end of each song and, in some cases, even shouting out requests at the screen.

Several fans said they were enjoying themselves, but didn't feel the same energy they feel when attending a concert in person.

"It's nice seeing things I don't normally see and hearing things I don't normally hear," said Jarett Bellini, 27, of Atlanta, who has seen the band live about five times. "That being said, I'd still rather be at the Fox."

Bellini's Reading List

2007-08-03T17:40:00.001-07:00

[ * Titles Marked with Asterisk Appear on the BEST NOVELS List ]
[ Click HERE to View the List]

-- 2010 --
01 Oil!
by Upton Sinclair
Apparently, Paul Thomas Anderson based the movie 'There Will Be Blood' on the first 150 pages of this book. Having finished it, I can completely understand why - it was the best 150 pages. The latter 400 had their moments, but were mostly filled with long-winded subplots about socialism. GRADE: C+
02 Freakonomics
by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
When I finally got around to reading this book I had heard so much about, I was slightly disappointed that it was actually rather short. Disappointed because it was a really fun read. Maybe not as amazing as the buildup had suggested, but I have found myself asking interesting questions and thinking somewhat differently. GRADE: B
03 No Angel
by Jay Dobyns (and Nils Johnson-Shelton)
Outstanding! It's not often that book allows me to say that I couldn't put it down, but this memoir by an ATF agent in Arizona who, for two years, went undercover with the Hells Angels was nothing short of spectacular. Every page, every story, every detail was gripping and the stuff of movies. Overall, it left me frustrated for the man and for our legal system. GRADE: A+
04 Who Moved My Cheese?
by Spencer Johnson, M.D.
This is a really REALLY short book - the kind you can finish in about an hour. However, short as it may be, it is sweet with equal acclaim. Basically, it's about accepting and adapting to change in your life. My mom and dad both read this and left it at my house during their recent visit. I decided to give it a whirl, and I found it pretty inspiring and uplifting. Anyway, it doesn't take much effort to get through this, and it's worth it. GRADE: B+
05 Happy Hour is for Amateurs
by The Philadelphia Lawyer
This was just a fun, easy read authored by a nameless lawyer. From sex to drugs to alcohol, he lets us enter his past life of going through law school and working his way up in the legal field. It's funny and somewhat interesting, but it's not a life-changing piece of literature. I enjoyed it for what it was, and that was good enough for me. GRADE: B
06 What is the What
by Dave Eggers
This was one of the best books I have ever read. Though technically a novel, it is true life tale of a Sudanese Lost Boy who endures more hardship than one could ever imagine, only to eventually come to America and face even more suffering. No spoilers, here. The story goes back and forth between his new life in the United States and his old life in Africa. This is the second Dave Eggers book I have read, and I'm convinced he is a true genius. GRADE: A+
07 Garcia: An American Life
by Blair Jackson
Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead are, without question, the artists who fill my personal airwaves more than anyone else. So, it was great to dive into this very thorough and honest look back at his life. In some regards I was disappointed in his self-destruction and awful parenting, but, overall, you come to realize that this was a brilliant and complicated man whose own daughters even understood that, despite his massive failures, he was special beyond words. A great read for any serious Dead Head! GRADE: B+
08 Nam-A-Rama
by Phillip Jennings
This was amazingly similar to Catch-22, but set during the Vietnam War. At times it was a bit too zany, but, overall, it was a fun work of fiction. The characters were amusing and well thought out, but the overall plot was sort of over the top to the point of absurd. GRADE: B
09 The Boys from the Mersey
by Nicholas Allt
In progress...

-- 2009 --
01 Crime Scene -- Mitch Gelman
Great memoir of crime reporting in NYC. Worked w/ Mitch at CNN.com.
02 Merle's Door -- Ted Kerasote
A beautiful, thought-provoking read for anyone who loves dogs.
03 Heart of Darkness* -- Joseph Conrad
Good book. Not great. Apocalypse Now definitely took it further.
04 Treasure Island* -- Robert Louis Stevenson
Loved it! Gripping throughout. Perfect for kids and adults.
05 The Big Necessity -- Rose George
A book all about human waste and sanitation... fascinating! Go hug your toilet.
06 Are YOU Dave Gorman? -- Dave Gorman & Danny Wallace
Fantastic! Two Brits go on a pointless journey to meet 54 other Dave Gormans.
07 My Traitor's Heart -- Rian Malan
Fantastic look at racial conflict in South Africa, as told by the Afrikaner author.
08 Where Men Win Glory -- Jon Krakauer
Wonderfully researched (frustrating) account of the death of Pat Tillman.
09 Chasing Lincoln's Killer -- James L. Swanson
Apparently written for young adults, but still a great history of John Wilkes Booth.

-- 2008 --
01 The Grapes of Wrath* -- John Steinbeck
Wonderful! Relevant! Deserving of its masterpiece status.
02 The Miracle of Castel di Sangro -- Joe McGinniss
Fantastic from start to finish, though thoroughly depressing at the end.
03 Brave New World* -- Aldous Huxley
An unimpressive combination of Atlas Shrugged, 1984, and Walden Two.
04 Losing My Virginity -- Richard Branson
Women want him. Jarrett wants to be him. Inspiring read.
05 Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency -- Douglas Adams
Final third was lame, but the rest was classic Douglas Adams.
06 Slash -- Slash w/ Anthony Bozza
Great behind-the-scenes look into the train wreck that was GNR.
07 Them -- Nathan McCall
Novel set in Atlanta's Old 4th Ward... good read, unclear message.
08 Brideshead Revisited* -- Evelyn Waugh
Beautifully written. Worthy of its masterpiece status.
09 Valley Boy -- Tom Perkins
Page-turning autobiography of the world's greatest venture capitalist.
10 How Wall Street Created a Nation -- Ovidio Diaz Espino
Fantastic account of how the U.S. raped Panama for the canal.
11 The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul -- Douglas Adams
Strange as usual. Funny, smart, quick, easy, dumb.
12 Keane -- Roy Keane
A page-turning autobiography by the famed Irish international.
13 Waiter Rant -- 'The Waiter'
Fantastic! You'll never see your server the same way again.

-- 2007 --
01 Lucky You -- Carl Hiaasen
Another entertaining beach read. Nothing more. Nothing less.
02 Round Ireland with a Fridge -- Tony Hawks
"A totally purposeless idea, but a damn fine one..." Triumphant!
03 Full Time -- Tony Cascarino w/ Paul Kimmage
His secret life on and off the pitch... fantastic soccer autobiography.
04 The Kite Runner -- Khaled Hosseini
I can't think of a better, more profound book that I've read in years.
05 Dry -- Augusten Burroughs
Similar to James Frey's books... not as powerful, but funnier.
06 The Picture of Dorian Gray -- Oscar Wilde
Dark. Had its moments, but not spectacular. A so-so read.
07 A Good Walk Spoiled -- John Feinstein
One year on the PGA Tour (1994). Fantastic read for golf fans.
08 Searching for the Sound -- Phil Lesh
Grateful Dead... greatest band ever. Touching and insightful.
09 A Thousand Splendid Suns -- Khaled Hosseini
Amazing! Two for two! Might even be better than The Kite Runner.
10 Under the Banner of Heaven -- Jon Krakauer
A frightening portrayal of fundamentalist Mormonism. Fascinating.

-- 2006 --
01 1984* -- George Orwell
Fantastic. The parallels to today's society are eerie.
02 A Million Little Pieces -- James Frey
Believe the hype. One of the best books I've ever read. Ever.
03 One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich -- Alexander Solzhenitsyn
It has it's moments, but remains unspectacular.
04 A Walk Across America -- Peter Jenkins
Easy, fun read. Makes you want to see America.
05 How Soccer Explains the World -- Franklin Foer
Misleading title, but a fantastic look at social issues and soccer.
06 Anna Karenina -- Leo Tolstoy
Too wordy. Too long. Meh.
07 The Kingdom by the Sea -- Paul Theroux
A very good read, but I was ready for it to be over near the end.
08 The Glory Game -- Hunter Davies
Fantastic! One year of Tottenham Hotspur FC. I'm biased. I know.
09 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time -- Mark Haddon
Amazing. Touching. Insightful. Fast.
10 My Friend Leonard -- James Frey
Fiction. Non-Fiction. Doesn't Matter. Loved it.
11 Term Limits -- Vince Flynn
Page-turning spy thriller... a fun read, but a bit over the top.
12 A Confederacy of Dunces -- John Kennedy Toole
Wonderful! Think: An entire novel based on Comic Book Guy.
13 Dude, Where's My Country? -- Michael Moore
Call him crazy, but he said a lot of what I'm thinking. Wait. Damn.

-- 2005 --
01 A Farewell to Arms* -- Ernest Hemingway
It's good, but it didn't really knock me over.
02 Convention -- Richard Reeves
What happened at a political convention... mostly boring.
03 Naked -- David Sedaris
This is Sedaris's best book.
04 Fahrenheit 451* -- Ray Bradbury
Horrible. Why are all these classics classics?
05 The Gringo Trail -- Mark Mann
Fantastic read. Makes you want to travel South America.
06 Catch-22* -- Joseph Heller
One of the best books I've ever read. War is stupid.
07 Animal Farm* -- George Orwell
So, it wasn't just cute barnyard animals. Interesting.
08 Eats, Shoots & Leaves -- Lynne Truss
Everyone should read this and learn how to use punctuation.
09 On the Trail of the Assassins -- Jim Garrison
The book that inspired Oliver Stone's JFK. I'm convinced.
10 The Lord of the Rings* -- J.R.R. Tolkien
A gem. Tolkien is a visionary.
11 A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius -- Dave Eggers
Best book I read in all of 2005.
12 The Death of Ivan Ilyich -- Leo Tolstoy
A guy dies. Pretty boring.
13 The Rise and Fall of Adolf Hitler -- William L. Shirer
It turns out, this was a children's book. Informative, nevertheless.
14 Winesburg, Ohio -- Sherwood Anderson
Worst book I've read in years.
15 A Beautiful Mind -- Sylvia Nasar
Film shares one consistancy with the book... a window was opened.
16 Lord of the Flies* -- William Golding
Lame.
17 Grown-A$$ Man -- Cedric the Entertainer
I found this dusty, unread book on a desk at work. Stupid.
18 We the Living* -- Ayn Rand
Rand's best work. When she is on, nobody writes better. Nobody.
19 The Art of Travel -- Alain de Botton
Some good tips on ways to further enjoy traveling. Thanks, Drew.
20 Skinny Dip -- Carl Hiaasen
Hiassen is always good for a laugh. Another fun read.
21 Feel This Book -- Ben Stiller & Janeane Garofalo
This book is so bad it's scary. I left it at the airport in Japan.
22 Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance* -- Robert M. Pirsig
Starts off great. Slows in the middle. Finishes strong. Cool book.
23 Turbulent Souls -- Stephen J. Dubner
Further proof that organized religion is rather suspect. Good read.
24 Frankenstein -- Mary Shelley
Not bad, but I still don't see how this was so scary.

-- 2004 --
01 -- Running with Scissors -- Augusten Burrows
Best (and most disturbing) book I read all year.
02 -- Atlas Shrugged* -- Ayn Rand
Hyperbole to the Nth degree. Good in parts, but bad overall.
03 -- The Da Vinci Code -- Dan Brown
Ending was lame, but gripping throughout.
04 -- The Great Gatsby* -- F. Scott Fitzgerald
I hated The Great Gatsby. Why is this so popular?
05 -- On the Road* -- Jack Kerouac
A classic beat generation novel. Lived up to the hype.
06 -- Mayor -- Ed Koch
Ed's the man. This is a fun read. Overly-detailed at times.
07 -- Following the Equator -- Mark Twain
I thought this would be so much better.
08 -- Seabiscuit -- Laura Hillenbrand
Second best book I read all year.
09 -- Big Russ & Me -- Tim Russert
Fast. Fun. Pointless.
10 -- Among the Russians -- Colin Thubron
Good, but only if you plan to travel to or study Russia.
11 -- The Lost Continent -- Bill Bryson
You can never go wrong with Bill Bryson.
12 -- Kidnapped -- Robert Louis Stevenson
Read this in Ecuador. Entertaining. Nothing special.
13 -- Basket Case -- Carl Hiaasen
Read this in Ecuador. Great book. Funny and fast.

European Football 101

2007-08-03T17:22:00.000-07:00

European football 101
Follow basics and you'll love the sport as much as I do
By Arash Markazi

It's a conversation I endure regularly this time of year. Friends and co-workers are a) bewildered that I watch European soccer almost as much as any U.S. sport and b) confused by the number of leagues and tournaments that will culminate in the coming weeks.

The notion that there could be more than one "major league" in a particular sport and about half a dozen trophies just as prestigious as the Vince Lombardi is as foreign to them as the grounds that these matches are played on. So for them and for you, readers who might also be confused by the wide word of European football, here's a crash course on the subject.

For viewing convenience, we will highlight the five "top tier" soccer leagues in Europe: the English Premier League, Spanish Primera Division ("La Liga"), Italian Serie A, French Ligue 1 and the German Bundesliga, with apologies to the Portugal SuperLiga and the Dutch Eredivisie. These five leagues are very similar in structure. Each is comprised of the top 20 teams in their respective countries (the Bundesliga only has 18 teams), with each team competing against each other twice, once at home and once away, for a total of 38 matches per season (34 for the Bundesliga). At the end of the season, the team with the most points (three points for a win, one point for a tie) wins the league championship. There are no playoffs, tournaments or BCS computers involved. Much like college football, the season is the playoff and every game means something.

In addition to league play, which runs from about mid-August through mid-May, there are also several other tournaments that teams compete in that have nothing to do with league standings. The most prominent is the UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) Champions League, an 11-month competition in which 74 teams from 52 countries compete to determine the top football club in Europe. You've probably stumbled upon a few of these games on a Tuesday or Wednesday afternoon on ESPN. Another is the UEFA Cup, a similar competition for top European clubs that fail to qualify for the Champions League and those that are knocked out of the Champions League before the 32-team group stage. Think of it as the NIT to the Champions League's NCAA basketball tournament.

At the end of each season, the top two teams in each of the top five leagues automatically advance to the group stage of the Champions League, while the third- and fourth-place finishers advance to the third qualifying round of the Champions League. (The Bundesliga and Ligue 1 only send their third-place teams.) The teams ranked fifth and sixth in the leagues (fourth and fifth in France and Germany) advance to the UEFA Cup, as does the winner of each country's annual domestic cup competition, the FA Cup (England), Copa del Rey (Spain), Coppa Italia, Coupe de France and German Cup. Also, the bottom three teams in each league are relegated to the country's second division -- the Football League Championship (England), Segunda Division (Spain), Serie B (Italy), Ligue 2 (France) and Second Bundesliga (Germany) -- while three of the top teams in that lower division are promoted.

Can you imagine if this was the case with American sports leagues? Take, for example, the NBA last season. The Detroit Pistons would have been awarded the league championship at the end of the season, the San Antonio Spurs would have likely won the domestic tournament and the New York Knicks, Portland Trailblazers and Charlotte Bobcats would have been relegated to the D-League while the Fort Worth Flyers, Albuquerque Thunderbirds and Florida Flame would have been promoted to the NBA, finally setting up that dream interstate matchup between the Heat and the Flame we've all been waiting for.

For fans in the States, who are used to watching one top league to which the best players in the world come to compete, and where every team has one singular goal -- winning the league title that is often referred to as a "world championship" -- European soccer, or international soccer in general, is not the easiest sport to follow or understand, since most clubs begin the year with dreams of holding two ("the double") or three ("the treble") trophies at season's end. There aren't many casual fans who have the time to follow the hundreds of teams that play in the dozens of leagues and tournaments abroad. And of the top six or seven leagues, no one league can truly say it's better than another and no team can claim to be the "world champion." Simply look at the Champions League for confirmation -- five different teams from five different countries have won the competition the past five years.

For soccer fans, however, there's nothing quite like it. There's never an offseason. Most leagues and competitions run for about 10 months. International tournaments, such as the World Cup and the European Football Championship, along with friendlies and preseason matches, take place during the short time leagues aren't in place. For most soccer fans abroad, the sport isn't so much followed as it is lived, with every match dictating the lives of its supporters. As legendary football manager Bill Shankly once said, "Some people believe football is a matter of life and death. I'm very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that."

(Originally posted on SI.com on April 14, 2006)