Jules

Yeah, that's the name. I need to see it.

Has anyone seen the documentary on Lamb of God here yet? I hear it's really good. Focuses - unintentionally, it happened just as they started filming - on the time the singer was charged with a manslaughter / bodily harm case after he pushed a fan off the stage who had climbed on without permission and the kid hit his head and died.

Very few groups I'd consider particularly dangerous. Two top teams and two lesser teams quite clearly in almost all. With Kevin De Bruyne leaving Wolfsburg, United have it very easy. Arsenal should be alright in theirs too. City have it toughest, with Gladbach as a dangerous outsider for years now and Juve getting better. Not a bad draw for anyone really. Groups C and H are by far the least interesting.

It's why foreign hockey fans watch the NHL: you want to watch the very best. The MLS is certainly not that for soccer. It's getting better, absolutely, and I'll tune in if it's on and I really don't have much else to do or watch, but right now, that's about it. I don't think I've ever seen a full MLS game and I'm someone who gets up early on Saturday and Sunday to watch Premier League on NBC every single weekend. Now, I grew up in Europe, so that's maybe a little different, but not watching MLS to me is similar to not watching much women's soccer either, it doesn't provide me with what I really like about the sport, including the atmosphere. Most games I tune into come from really bland stadiums. There are so many cookie cutter venues and so many teams with zero players to really be excited about. They are trying and I think the league has taken some big steps, but despite being a huge soccer fan, it really hasn't been able to draw me in... and that says a lot, because I wish MLS and soccer in the US the very best and I actively root for its growth.

Good luck, man. Where?

I have a friend who has his own land in the Midwest and he hunts deer for the meat and eco-conservation. He has regularly extended invitations to vegetarian and vegan friends who criticize him to come help in the spring to clear the starved carcasses of animals that died over winter due to a lack of food from the deer eating everything in sight. It's a simple equation. Either they die by our hands and we benefit from it, or other animals will starve, die, maybe go extinct, and we get to clear that mess when the snow melts. I know my pick. The dead lion, though... killed for the thrill of death. Fuck that.

Today was a lovely morning. I bike to work and some mornings I go straight into the bathroom to change shirts. Fortunately, everybody wears workout and team gear and shorts all day here.

I'm so sorry, man. What you're going through here is very normal. You said you knew it was coming, but it came at a particularly bad time. That's definitely additional hardship on those left behind and you are right to feel for your father and what he goes through besides the grief of losing a parent.

Oh, not sorry at all. I was actually quite amused. Hiddink has lost the plot and the team is a bunch of divas. They thought they were all hot shit after the surprise World Cup result and, obviously, they are not. It's a one-man team and without Robben it's hopeless. The quicker they realize it, the better. Also, anything that puts soccer in a good spotlight in the US is thumbs up from me!

I actually really liked the episode. It finally feels like the show is going somewhere this season. It was a lot of the same people in the same place. I didn't always love the execution of it, I'll give you that, but all in all... good. Maybe the second best episode of the season for me. I felt like Sansa getting in the jab about bastards was excellent, only to be torn down by the woman's death and Reek's betrayal. That was really powerful after what happened last week - which I felt was a completely unnecessary scene and could've been handled a lot better production wise - but it shows she's getting into the game and her taking whatever that sharp object was, seems like a thing to remember. The scene with Bronn was dumb and the gratuitous nudity made me laugh, but Myrcella being stone cold to Jamie made me laugh harder. She's such a teenager and has no idea of the truth here. That makes her puppy love with the Dornish kid so much better and a crucial turn. The whole Tyrion-Jorah-Dany moment was stupid. So they get bought by a random fighter trader, who kills off his own men amongst each other in front of a crowd of a dozen people, making no money, and right when the queen randomly shows up, oh myyyy, Jorah is there to impress her and Tyrion waddles into the screen with a funny oneliner to give Jorah a chance to make things right. It was tacky, it was weird and felt cheaply scripted. In a world full of twists and turns, this suddenly came together perfectly in a matter of two scenes. Dumb. Cersei though, that's a great turn. Shit's about to go down between the fanatics and everybody else and obviously Tommen, that dumb little twat. God, he annoys me so much with his naive behavior. What a dipshit. He makes me long for Joffrey. At least Joffrey stood for... something.

Time flies. I've been living in America for a year today.

I thought last week was a mediocre episode at best, very few riveting and great moments. This week was the opposite and had me at the edge of my seat for a while, with a lot of awesome and gutting new developments. Sansa is the unluckiest girl in the world. Tyrion has lost some of his smarts. Jon Snow is a boss. The cat fight between Margaery and Cersei was fantastic. Can't wait for next week!

A lot of whiskey drinkers have bottles for regular drinking and a bottle or two for occasions. Might as well point him in the right direction. I sometimes go back to Gentleman Jack as a regular, but would I recommend it when asked?

Hudson's four grain bourbon is pretty cool. Awesome NY product, but sometimes hard to find.

Don't post streams here, please. That's illegal.

Show up at your first office gig at 8.15AM to be a little early, nobody there. Manager texts me, "sit in my office, I'm not making the commute today, call you there." Okay. We all went home at noon, closed tomorrow. LOL.

He would always tell me how much he hated Metallica, knowing how big a fan I am, but loved when they did Budgie's "Breadfan". Blastin' it in your honor, Tom!

Yeah, because we aren't taking it any longer.

I have a friend who loved his experience at Carnegie Mellon. Any other cool schools among that dozen?

Dare I say... UEFA got one right for a change. That's a hilarious decision to give them the points, then take them away. Excellent.

I'm going to the US Women's National Team game in Philadelphia tomorrow as press. Should be fun.

Some of you might've seen it on Facebook already... but I got my Green Card approval this morning. I can stay and work now! :)

It's a good thing you are not on 4chan or Reddit right now, because I'm not getting anything done anymore this weekend. :o

That was what was proven publicly. What was implied by some women was even worse.

Grace and her boat (women's quadruple sculls; four people, two oars each) have won bronze at the World Championship. What a fantastic result for them in tough conditions. Germany took gold in a world record time, China took silver.