Wales, Pt. 2

And we are back.

I had intended here a section about all the great things that increased my love of Wales, and a few things that are cool anyway. But rather than do all that, I will just talk in general about being a Walesophile (or whatever you want to call it).

I have a tattoo on my right arm of Y Draig Goch, the Red Dragon, which is the Welsh emblem, found on their flag, some local beer labels, and assorted other Walesful things. The most common first question regarding this is something along the lines of "What's the deal with the dragon?" The second is usually "So, are you Welsh." It's a natural question, to which my answer is usually "No, I'm just a fan."


Fig. 2a. A dragon on my arm, or an army of my dragon?

No one overtly seems to judge me for this, but then actively criticizing someone's tattoo is rather a faux pas, so they could just be polite. But, reactions in general are usually at least "oh cool," and at most "that's awesome!" The only situation related to the tattoo that has had me at a loss for proper reaction is when I met someone else who wasn't from Wales who had the same tattoo. It was the foreignese/Eurotrash employee of a local cafe; he pointed out my tattoo, said he had the same one, showed me (it was slightly further up his arm than mine, and it also had more friends), and we talked about how Wales is great and we both have visited and loved it. At first I was a little put off just by having the same tattoo as someone else, but once that had sunk in, I enjoyed the encounter quite a bit. Someone else understanding on that level really helped me feel less awkward about my generally Wales-influenced mental state.

I have been trying to teach myself the Welsh language for a couple years now, but it is very slow going. This is not because it is exceptionally hard to learn (the pronunciation is by far the hardest aspect and I've had that down for a while), but because it is hard to learn a language independently and completely removed from other speakers. If anyone wants to learn Welsh with me and speak it to the end of confusing others around us, and essentially having our own secret language in almost any situation, feel free to let me know.


Fig. 2b. Curiously, this is a google image search result for "Welsh language"

I have taken something of a liking as well to Welsh music. Wales' folk music is actually surprisingly different from Irish or Scottish music, bearing some resemblence to mainland northern European folk music in its tonality and flow. The most widely known form of indigenous Welsh music is male vocal choirs. Also popular among people who are me are the Super Furry Animals (who often sing in Welsh) and Tom Jones (who sadly does not). There are two annual festivals in Wales that I positively ache to attend. One is the National Eisteddfod (ay-steth-vod), the largest Welsh cultural event there is. This year it was in Mold; next year it will be in Cardiff. The other is the Fishguard Folk Festival. Fishguard is on the southwest coast of Wales, in Pembrokeshire, and the festival looks to be a sort of Welsh Folklife. Count me in, sirs.

I take interest in Welsh or Wales-themed literature and film. I cheer for Welsh teams when they pop up in sporting events (which is generally just in international rugby, unless I am paying attention to second-tier British football leagues). Sometimes, I bake Welsh cookies and cakes. Basically, two roads diverged in a forest, and I take the one that is Welsh. And that has made all the difference.

FootBULL!

Last night at work, we had Monday Night Football on. It was a big event this week, because it's the first game played by the Saints back in the Super Dome, and everyone is happy, sad times are getting better, etc. So ok, that's cool, bully for them. BUT! They decided to make it a heinous hullaballoo of an event. It was really nauseating scene for several reasons.

First, Green Day and U2 performing together before the game and at halftime. I know U2 are all about tragedies and stuff these days, and Bono and The Edge are the all time rock start philanthropy gods, but Green Day? And how are these bands appropriate for rechristening the NEW ORLEANS Super Dome? New Orleans! Jazz! Blues! Not this hideous uber-whiteness! Also, when did Billy Joe decide on the Robert Smith look-alike act?

Next on the list of grievances was the man tossing* the coin before the start of the game: George Herbert Walker Bush. That's right, the former president, the father of Bungly Joe, the husband of that elloquent, compassionate woman Barbara Bush, who had so many wonderful things during the Katrina crisis, flipping the fucking coin in the Super Dome! I'm surprised that the audience did not run him out on a rail.

Lastly, there was the game itself. Aside from the fact that the whole situation was very unfair to the poor Atlanta Falcons (who could bring themselves to even try to beat the disenfranchised New Orleans team?), there were the announcers, who could only seem to focus on how surprised they were at how happy everyone looked, and how they were actually SURPRISED that the people seemed to be trying to forget about the tragedy that had befallen them. Of course! What a surprise it is that people don't want to think about the fact that their homes and possessions were destroyed? Why, they should be ashamed of themselves for not constantly grieving their misfortunes.

If only I had had some respect to begin with for producers and announcers of NFL games, I'd be able to lose it.

*and notably, he seemed to be taking the term "coin toss" a bit too literally: this was no flip, it was a straight up lob of the coin.

Hangin' on the World Tree

So with work and the new quarter at school in full swing, I haven't had time to put much into this lately. I'll try and write a big entry tomorrow night, but for now it'll be more World Cup action.

Some things have been going pretty much how I predicted them (for example, Brazil dominating their group, Germany dominating theirs, and no good news for Serbia or Togo). There have, however, been a couple surprises. For one thing, I expected France to do better than Switzerland, but such has not been the way (I'm still thinking South Korea will pull out ahead in that one). But the biggest surprises have been from Group E, which is home to the US, the Czech Republic, Italy, and Ghana. The first two games (Italy/Ghana and CR/US) turned out pretty much how I would have guessed. But the second two were shockers: Italy and the US tied, and Ghana beat the Czech republic! The results there will be seen tomorrow, as the US plays Ghana and the Czechs play the Italians. My predictions are Ghana over US and a tie in the other game. But we shall see.

Since I haven't been able to watch games lately, I invested in a soccer video-type game for the PS2. I also got a collection of the first 8 Mega Man games. Both are most excellent.

Wild World Cup Action

I've been watching the World Cup lately, and it's been awesome -- especially the hot Italian guy pile in the Italy/Ghana game after the second goal! I felt kind of bad for Ghana though, as they put up a pretty fierce resistance and yet seemed like really nice guys, always helping fallen Italian players up and patting them on the back, shaking hands with them, etc. But the bottom line is that the Italian team (who also seemed like a class act) were truly the superior one in this game. Sort of like in the USA/Czech Rep. game. Boy were we ever destroyed. The Czechs might be the great hope against Brazil this year.

Another team I wish had won was Angola. In the case of their game against their former colonial botherers Portugal. In this case, I think the match was a lot closer to even. Angola really put up a savage fight and seemed like they really deserved it. But of course, it's not over for any of these teams yet, as the first round goes on. Angola could still beat Mexico and Iran, and Ghana could still beat the US and CR (although I really doubt it).

Anyway, here's how I see things turning out (and here's what I'd like to see happen):

Round 1
Group A: Germany (Germany)
Group B: England (Sweden. Fucking Bechham)
Group C: Argentina (Cote D'Ivoire)
Group D: Mexico (them or Angola would be cool)
Group E: Czech Republic (Italy)
Group F: Brazil (Croatia, but I mean really now)
Group G: South Korea (France)
Group H: Spain (Spain)

After that,
Germany over England (hoping so too)
Argentina over Mexico (but go Mexico)
Probably Brazil over Czech Republic (but go Czechs, seriously)
South Korea over Spain (I'm pretty neutral on this one)

Then,
Argentina over Germany (but go Germany)
Brazil over South Korea (South Korea go))

Finally,
Brazil over Argentina (but go Argentina this time)

So that's that. Forza Italia! Forza mucchio caldo del tipo!