things to do before I die

[jdl22]

These can be somewhat revealing. What events or plans do you wish to carry out before you hit the muck?

I want to do these non-poker activities:
- watch Sevilla-Betis from the north stand of Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium
- watch the Eddie Aikau surf contest
- go to the Feria de Abril and Semana Santa in Sevilla at least once more
- watch Oregon play in the Rose Bowl (ok I don't have full control of this one)

So two of these are in Sevilla, Spain. As for the Eddie, I'll be on Oahu each of the next two Decembers, hopefully the waves are big enough. Also I hope my ducks can win the pac 10 in a year that the BCS national title game isn't in the Rose bowl or not get screwed out of the national title game a year that it is.

On the poker side:
- make enough money to be able to travel in the summer (I'm planning on teaching in HS or less likely at a university)
- take a trip to Vegas and make enough playing poker on that trip to pay for the expenses
- play at least in the side games at the WSOP
- improve my ABC poker skills so that I can do some serious multitabling
- improve my NL game so that I can play in proper big bet games

Feel free to add your own things.

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

Did you get to see Oregon whup Colorado in the Fiesta Bowl in '02? I was there and the block party the night before was a great time.

I see you have some great memories from Sevilla. I've been there, too, but I have to say that given the choice, I'd take Barcelona any day. Getting back there again before I die is at the top of my list.

[jdl22]

I was.

The block party on New Year's Eve was a blast but nothing compared to watching Joey rip apart their defense and our defense completely shut them down. They were cocky and knew that they were going to stuff us. You could see it in their eyes during the block party and around the stadium before the game. Fortunately they were wrong.

Sevilla and Barcelona are my two favorite cities on Earth. I studied in Sevilla from January to May 2000 and it was an incredible experience. The people in Sevilla are amazing. I have many friends there.

Hasta la muerte!

[nicky g]

I didn't like Seville that much either. I mean it was nice, but on balance I wish I had have gone to Grenada or Cordoba for my trip down south. Still yet to see either.
I just came back from Barcelona last weekend. I think I told you lived there a while ago. It was great, even better than I remember. The neighbourhood I used to live in has become much livelier, I always loved it but it's so much fun now. I was worried that the big influx of weekend stag parties and the like might have spoiled it but noone sensible would want to go where they do anyway. My wife and I are talking about moving there in January. In fact we agreed we would but I'll believe it when I see it /images/graemlins/tongue.gif. Here's hoping.

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

I never made it to Granada, but spent a couple of days in Cordoba, in the old city. For a great place to eat, check out El Caballo Rojo, a couple of blocks from La Mesquita.

[jdl22]

OK so my lame idea for a thread is officially off. That's good though since Spain along with soccer and poker are my three favorite topics to discuss.

I haven't been to Granada but everybody that went there said it was absolutely fantastic. The Al Hambra is incredible apparently. It is one thing I will definately check out when I go back.

Cordoba is ok. There isn't much to do or see there except for the mosque but the mosque is fantastic. The downtown area is ok in the sense that it is typically mediterranean in that the buildings are are old and the streets are narrow and mazelike.

To me the thing that sets Sevilla aside is the people. The general relaxed atmosphere is great and it's a very friendly city. The people are extremely proud of their city. All you have to do if you feel lonely is head down to any bar in the city and ask the guy next to you about the city in general or about football. Really all you have to do is ask "eres de aqui?" (are you from here) and await a conversation about their favorite local urban legends or perhaps a discussion of different neighborhoods. As for football discussion it's as easy as "Sevillista o Betico?" at which point you will most likely hear about how the other team sucks and their preferred team is better. Really there should be no debate there since Sevilla is clearly better than Betis. We haven't lost to the putos beticos in 7 years.

As for Barcelona I think that would be my favorite city to live in if I actually had to live and work there. It's a modern city where as Sevilla is traditional. It's really beautiful as well with all the Gaudi buildings and the Mediterranean Sea port. In case you haven't been (which I'm sure is incorrect) I would highly reccomend the Parc Guell which was designed by Gaudi and has the best view of any city I've ever seen.

[nicky g]

Sorry I kind of forgot about the topic. I'll try to think of some tings for tomorrow. I wasn't in Seville for long and I didn't really meet any locals. Also my friend got ripped off and I ended up paying for it, which kind of left a sour taste. But that does sound like fun, hopefully I'll gett to give it anohter try.

Funnily, I actually find that Catalans aren't that friendly to strangers/foreigners, although they are incredibly sweet once you get to know them. Kurn, thanks for the tip.

[Cyrus]

You are so worldly, it's scary. /images/graemlins/cool.gif

Kudos for your excellent, excellent taste.

[nicky g]

Gah. I spent half an hour writing a long list of things and I lost it all when I tried to post. I'm an idiot. Usually I copy what I write to the lipbaord but I forgot. /images/graemlins/frown.gif I'll sum it up: get out of London and live a bunch of cool places, travel, learn something useful, find a job/occupation I enjoy, make some money at poker, write a book.

[jdl22]

Not sure if you're serious or not and I don't think you are but the implied odds of me asking are too good. So I have two questions:

1. Were you serious?
2. Are you a Sevillista as your post implies?

FORZA SEVILLA, un solo grito sera
en el magico gol norte del Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan...

Hasta la muerte!

[BadBoyBenny]

I wholeheartedly agree that Parc Guell is incredible. Before going to Barcelona I heard tons about the Casa Milla and The Sagrada Familia but not much about the park. In my opinion the best of Gaudi's work.

One place I recommend to anyone travelling to Europe is Dubrovnik Croatia. The most beautiful city on the Mediteranean and dirt cheap. Google for some pictures of it. You can dive right off the cliffs into the ocean.

[Cyrus]

"1. Were you serious?"

Yes.

"2. Are you a Sevillista as your post implies?"

No, I am not. What was implied in my post was straightforward : it is rarely that one encounters in these here boondocks a true aficionado and connoisseur of the finer things in life, such as La Liga.

I (deeply) appreciate the whole package to be honest.

[jdl22]

La liga is the nuts. Seriously it's the best football league in the world. That makes it all the more fascinating that the Spanish national team seems to always be [censored] in international competition.

As for liking Sevilla that pretty much comes from the first match I attended being a Sevilla match. Had the prices of Betis been reasonable and hence I gone to a Betis match first then I would probably be gilipollas just like them. For an American that likes soccer attending any match in Europe is incredible. The first match I went to over there was Stoke City vs. Preston North End in the English 2nd division (3rd flight). The atmosphere was like none I had ever encountered.

[smudgex68]

[ QUOTE ]
These can be somewhat revealing. What events or plans do you wish to carry out before you hit the muck?

[/ QUOTE ]

Co-incidentally, this links into a business proposition that I'm currently developing and would be interested to hear people's views on viability.

Assuming you "hit the muck" quite soon, what would you do with all your porn. I think this is a very common issue that many men are not fully addressing before, as you say "you hit the muck". It was also highlighted some years ago by Bill Hicks, and mentioned on Friends!

A colleague and I have registered a website called Pornbuddies (not constructed yet).Link is www.pornbuddies.com. (http://www.pornbuddies.com.)

The idea is we assign you a pornbuddy (based on your location), so when you shuffle of this mortal coil, they can pop around to your house and remove your online and offline porn, before your wife/mother/mother-in-law find it and suffer a heart attack.

To do this, it would mean providing security information to your pornbuddy such as passwarod protected sections of your cmputer where you hide your porn. You could also carry a "pornbuddy" card (like an organ donor card). Intructions would also be left to inform your next of kin that a (porn) buddy will come around to visit the house to collect "some items they had loaned" (but really to clear the mags/DVDs, and clear the downloads). /images/graemlins/smile.gif

Does anyone think this could be a useful and profitable business approach. Does anyone wish to sign up for the service.

Let me know who needs a pornbuddy

[JoeU]

[ QUOTE ]
La liga is the nuts. Seriously it's the best football league in the world.

[/ QUOTE ]

C'mon JDL, did you think you'd sneak this line through the forum and not hear from me! /images/graemlins/grin.gif

I do admire your soccer knowledge, but Serie A is definitely stronger than La Liga. After Real Madrid, there is not much to speak of. Serie A goes from Milan, to Inter, to Roma, to Juventus, to Lazio, so on and so forth.

Oh boy, another soccer chat! And so close to Euro 2004!

Joe

PS: I would like to add going to Spain to my wish/goal list. I have been to Italy, but it's been 23 years. I'm planning to take my daughter there soon. If I can just get her out of the diapers! /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[jdl22]

[ QUOTE ]
After Real Madrid, there is not much to speak of.

[/ QUOTE ]

Fortunately you're off here!

1 Valencia 77
2 R. Madrid* 70
3 Barcelona* 69
4 Deportivo* 65
5 Villarreal 54
6 Athletic* 53
7 Atlético* 52
8 Málaga* 50
9 Sevilla* 49
10 Osasuna* 48
11 Betis* 46
12 Mallorca* 45
13 Albacete* 44
14 R. Sociedad* 42
15 Zaragoza* 42
16 Racing*** 42
17 Espanyol* 40
18 Celta* 39
19 Valladolid* 38
20 Murcia* 23

With 2 matches to go Valencia is already Champion of Spain! Basically what this means is that "Los Galacticos" won absolutely nothing this year. Maybe at some point that will teach them to buy a decent defender or defensive midfielder but apparently that point has not arrived yet since all the talk in the Spanish papers is about van Nistleroy, Totti, Emerson, Henry, or Joaquin all attacking midfielders or strikers.

Also notice the position of Sevilla. I already won 10 bucks from my friend because Real Madrid didn't win the title. If Sevilla finish 9th or higher I win another 10. If they finish 11th or lower I lose the 10 I won and if they finish exactly 10th we call it even and I'm only up 10.

As for your point it's well taken. The Serie A is quite good and is better in terms of the teams that are not the top 3 or 4. In Spain there is quite a drop off after that. However I prefer the style of play in Spain where the play is much more open and the players don't dive every time there is a little contact. Just my preference, but you are correct that top to bottom the teams are better in Italy.

Funny the way threads turn. This one started with vague lifelong plans, turned into open discussion about favorite sites in Barcelona, what happens to your porn when you die and finally a debate about which league is better the primera liga or serie a. We'll see what's next. If anybody wants to discuss the Giro d'Italia I'm game.

[Cyrus]

One of the most gratifying experiences I ever had from watching sports was the one I had this year by following Real Madrid's miserable triple failure --- in the Spanish championship (beaten by Valencia to it and by 7 points too!), the Spanish Cup (defeated in the final by Zaragoza) and the European Champions League (humiliated by Monaco).

The pleasure is because of the firing by the Real Madrid owners of the very successful manager Del Bosque - because, according to the brass, "he did not look like a Real Madrid manager"! Yep, this must rank as the most stupid reasoning of all time for a sports club and there is a hell of a competition in stupidity in sports. Because Del Bosque "looks like a co-op super" (he does) they fire him. The mind boggles.

And this is the best football team in the history of football we are talking about.

Much as I admire the skill of its players and the flashes of team brilliance, I wish Real Madrid more of the same next season.

[jdl22]

Don't forget that the guy that scored against them in Monaco was Morientes who scored the goal that put them away. This is the same Morientes that they got rid of (technically he's away on loan but they're sure to sell him this summer) because he wasn't a "galactico."

I just wish it had been Sevilla to knock them out in the semis of the copa del rey. We came close losing 2-1 on aggregate.

As for the best team in the history of football I would certainly say they are the most talented but they have no ball winners on the entire team including the defenders. I think getting rid of Del Bosque as you say and selling Makelele their only player that would win the ball before has done them in. If they don't buy another player like him it will be more of the same next year which is great.

[Cyrus]

"Don't forget that the guy that scored against them in Monaco was Morientes who scored the goal that put them away. This is the same Morientes that they got rid of (technically he's away on loan but they're sure to sell him this summer) because he wasn't a galactico."

Well, that's one of their rare recent wise moves, IMO!

Morientes would have been crowded out in Real's offence by the crowd-pulling stars. Now Real get to have their stallion in full form (since his talent is being freely deployed with Monaco), its stars happy and get the Monegasque moolah.

"As for [Real Madrid being] the best team in the history of football, I would certainly say they are the most talented."

No, they are indeed the most successful football club ever. Check their trophy website (http://www.realmadrid.com/web_realmadrid/templates/palmares/palmaresfutbol.jsp). Unsurpassable!

[jdl22]

Sorry I misunderstood. When you said they were the best team in the history of football I thought you were arguing that the current lineup is the best team in the history of football, not that Real Madrid is the best team in terms of overall history. There are certainly better teams in history than the Real Madrid of today (Real Madrid in the 1950's, Liverpool in the 1970's etc.)

However, considering which club is the best overall in terms of history you are 100% correct and there is no close second. They lead every category by a long shot other than the Copa del Rey which their rivals to the Northeast have held more often. The state of the club is pretty bad. We'll see what terrible moves they make this summer.

[jdl22]

[ QUOTE ]
One of the most gratifying experiences I ever had from watching sports was the one I had this year by following Real Madrid's miserable triple failure --- in the Spanish championship (beaten by Valencia to it and by 7 points too!), the Spanish Cup (defeated in the final by Zaragoza) and the European Champions League (humiliated by Monaco).

[/ QUOTE ]

Just thought I would give a little update now that the liga is over. Real Madrid had an amazing late season run losing each of their last 5 matches! This includes a loss to Barca as well as Murcia the worst team in the first division by far. They finished the season fourth. What is more amazing is that they finished below Barcelona - at one point in the season they were 20 points ahead of the Catalans.

As for my Sevilla I have never been as excited about a sporting event I didn't attend than the Sevilla - Osasuna match yesterday. I'm still trying to get over it. Sevilla had to win and have Villarreal not do the same against Valladolid to qualify for the UEFA cup. In the first half Valladolid had scored against Villarreal and so it was pretty clear that all Sevilla had to do was win (they played the matches simultaneously). The first half was brutal, Osasuna came out very intense and very physical (I listened to the game on the biased SevillaFCradio) fouling like crazy. There was even a brawl in the first half between the benches. In the second half Sevilla scored in the tenth minute and despite a couple chances for Osasuna managed to hold on. Villarreal ended up losing 0-3 so Sevilla are going to play in the UEFA cup next year! This is pretty sad, but during the match I was actually jumping up and down and swinging my Sevilla scarf around - and I was by myself. It was just incredible. I'm going to try to get out there next year. It's the centenary year of the club. If I can manage to run over the poker tables I should have the funds.

On a gambling note I won both bets with my Spanish friends. They are from Barcelona but oddly enough like Real Madrid. About 6 or 7 matches before the end I bet them that Real Madrid wouldn't win the Primera and that Sevilla would finish above 10th. On both bets I was easily good.

HASTA LA MUERTE!!!

edit: if you wish to hear the excitement, check out the play by play of the goal (http://www.sevillafc.es/radio/goles/baptistaosasuna1-0.mp3).