SU was just on CNN. I miss it.
ANYWAY, why, per my last post, am I dreading 26? The people want to know!
Well, for statistical purposes, some organizations use 26 as a cut-off date for being a “youth.”
That means no more discounts! (Not that there are many left anyway, but still.)
I thought the UN was one such organization, but I found out today that the UN actually stops counting you as a “youth” at 24. So I guess I’ve grown up already. lol.
It doesn’t make any difference, really. I haven’t changed, and I still have two more years of eligibility to stay at youth hostels in Bavaria!
MOVIE REVIEW
For some inexcusable reason, today I procrastinated The Shawshank Redemption and Hotel Rwanda for Dave Bidini: The Hockey Nomad.
Nonetheless, I enjoyed it. I had previously read Away Games, which was an awesome gift from my awesome ex-girlfriend back when life was awesome. haha.
Hockey Nomad is similiar-ish. Not really, but if you enjoy one, you’ll likely enjoy the other.
In Away Games, a reporter follows North American hockey players in Europe.
Here, Dave Bidini (I knew the name, but I couldn’t place it. He’s in the Canadian rock group The Rheostatics. Cool name; I own one of their CDs and I don’t really like it) travels to some off-beat hockey destinations and really tries to get to know them.
First, Bidini visits Dubai for the Mighty Camels Tournament (is it cool or pathetic that I knew about this tournament before?). Then, he’s off to Cuic, Romania for the local rivalry against Steaua Bucaresti (is it cool or pathetic that I knew about Steaua before?). Finally, he ends up in Mongolia for pond hockey.
It’s short: under an hour. The production wasn’t flawless, but it was good enough, and the content was very worthwhile. Unlike my last travel movie, the presenter is very respectful and respectable. We see some good hockey, and it’s a good illustration of how glocalization ties us all together with a common thread, while we still manage to hang onto our own identities. Man, I love global sports!
One of the reasons I’m following foreign sports more and more often (ice hockey mostly, and cricket a little) is because I’ve just gotten sick of the fact that American sports are all about glitz and dollar. This gets us away from that and shows us what sports, and what travel, should be.
Four stars out of five.
Random: Every once in a while, people will tell me they like my writing style. I must disagree. I frequently find myself boring.
Link du jour: SelectSmart 2008 Presidential Selector.
It’s never too early to get started!
I’ve always liked this test (they publish one every election) as a good, quick way of figuring out which candidate you should vote for. I wish it were a little more thorough, so that it could be a one-stop-shop. It’s not, but it’s still a good tool. Hopefully it’ll get better as the election draws nearer.
I’ve never tried it this early before, but why not?
Here are my results. I still maintain that I’m a moderate libertarian. I maintain that, theoretically, if people stood for what they’re supposed to stand for, I’d be closer to the republicans than the democrats.
Well, this is what SelectSmart tells me and, given the current reality, I’m hardly shocked:
| Percent Match | Rank | Item |
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(100%) 1: Retired Gen. Wesley Clark (D) Information |
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(100%) 2: Sen. Barack Obama (D) Information |
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(95%) 3: Ex-VP Al Gore (D) Information |
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(95%) 4: Sen. Christopher Dodd (D) Information |
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(91%) 5: Sen. Hillary Clinton (D) Information |
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(90%) 6: Gov. Bill Richardson (D) Information |
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(85%) 7: Gov. Tom Vilsack (D) Information |
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(83%) 8: Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D) Information |
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(83%) 9: Sen. John Kerry (D) Information |
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(77%) 10: Ex-Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) Information |
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(77%) 11: Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) Information |
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(77%) 12: Sec. Condoleezza Rice (R) Information |
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(75%) 13: Gov. Mitt Romney (R) Information |
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(74%) 14: Sen. John McCain (R) Information |
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(70%) 15: Rep. Ron Paul (R) Information |
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(69%) 16: Ex-Sen. John Edwards (D) Information |
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(69%) 17: Sen. Joseph Biden (D) Information |
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(66%) 18: Gov. George Pataki (R) Information |
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(59%) 19: Sen. Sam Brownback (R) Information |
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(58%) 20: Ex-Rep. Newt Gingrich (R) Information |
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(58%) 21: Sen. George Allen (R) Information |
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(53%) 22: Rep. Tom Tancredo (R) Information |
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(45%) 23: Sen. Chuck Hagel (R) Information |
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(32%) 24: Rep. Duncan Hunter (R) Information |
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(0%) 25: |
I’m not sure how they calculate those numbers, because I disagreed with Obama on at least one issue per SelectSmart’s system, and it still gave me a 100% match.
But even still, I like that SelectSmart seems to think I’ll be happy with most anybody. That ain’t bad!
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Currently Watching The Hockey Nomad By Dave Badini see related |
Filed under: Current Events, Life, Movies, Politics
