Wow, man, you sound so angry! I can feel the anger from here! It’s coming off you like… like… like the slow and steady, groovy sound of a reggae tune!

On one hand, sure. She’s a coward. She’s one of the most privileged people in the US, but she’s afraid. She’s not doing her job because she’s afraid, and that’s just allowing the fascists to win.

On the other hand, at least she’s admitting it. That’s a small step in the right direction. You can’t fix the problem until you acknowledge it exists. Being scared of MAGA is rational, and it would be good if more politicians admitted that they were acting out of fear, not because they believed in what these assholes are doing.

So, if she’s scared, maybe she needs support. The US goes on and on about how the 2nd amendment is about keeping the people free from a tyrannical government. So, be like the Black Panthers. They were probably also scared. They were in a lot of danger, much more so than women or non-straight people today. But, they tried to make the other side scared too.

If you just go by performance and ignore the circumstances, I think Saka should be rated a bit lower because he missed a penalty.

If you take the circumstances into account, then you should probably give MLS even more credit because he was a player who just turned 18, playing in his first season, and he handled the pressure of the Bernabeu without an issue. Also, Kiwior deserves even more recognition given that he’s filling in for Big Gabi and has only started there what, 3x so far?

I agree that Rice did well, but he didn’t do any actions that directly affected the final score this time around, did he? He was indeed the engine of the team, but It seems a bit unfair to give it to him when Saka and Martinelli both scored and Merino, playing out of position, provided 2 assists. Those are tangible things you can actually see on the scoresheet.

Like you said, almost nobody played badly. Even Saliba, who gave away a goal, did incredibly well other than that. Even Partey, who got himself carded and will miss the next game, was essential in neutralizing their midfield. I love that it’s a team performance and not one superstar dragging us through.

I’m starting to reconsider if Martinelli maybe deserves MOTM. He scored the winning goal by sprinting almost the entire length of the pitch in the 95th minute. He also nutmegged Endrick. And, he consistently helped out defensively on the left side, giving guidance to MLS. The left side should have been the shakier side with Kiwior and MLS vs. the right with Saliba and Timber, but it didn’t look weak.

I think he probably would have received the MOTM award if the winning goal had been more meaningful. In the end, because of the result from the first leg, it didn’t change anything. But, still. The winning goal for Arsenal at the Bernabeu, and he did almost all of it himself. Yes, the pass from Merino was good, but he beat the defender and GK on his own.

Any one of the forwards could have won it and deserved it. Rice and MLS also deserve to be in the conversation. But man, the winning goal at the Bernabeu!

Other records too:

Arsenal is the only club that Real Madrid has never beaten who they’ve faced more than twice. There are a bunch of clubs that Madrid has faced only once who they didn’t beat in that one meeting. And, in 1973 Ipswich Town faced them twice in the UEFA cup, winning one match and drawing the other, so they’re the only other club who has faced Madrid more than once where Madrid didn’t record a single win. But, Arsenal is unique at more than 2 meetings without Real Madrid ever winning.

Additionally, Arsenal is the only club with a 75% or better win record against Real Madrid who has faced them more than once.

There are a handful of clubs that have 100% win records against Real Madrid that have faced them only once. The year 2000 was especially bad for Real Madrid. In January they played the 3rd place play-off of the Club World Cup, losing to Club Necaxa, a Mexican Club. In November, they played Boca Juniors in the Intercontinental Cup final and lost. Then, in December CD Toledo, a club in Spain’s 5th tier knocked them out of the Copa del Rey. All these were the first and last times these clubs ever played Real Madrid, so they have 100% win records against them. (I wouldn’t be surprised if CD Toledo still celebrates that win today.)

In other years Aberdeen beat them in the Cup Winner’s Cup in 1983. Lille beat them in this season’s CL group stage and since this is the first year where you don’t play teams twice in the group stage, they can also boast a 100% win record against Real Madrid.

Benfica has faced them 3x and won twice. They beat them in the 61/62 European Cup final, then faced them again 3 years later in the European cup quarter finals, winning one and losing one. That gives them a 67% win rate against Real Madrid. And, they actually ran up the scoreline against them. They beat them 5:3 in the 61/62 final, 5:1 in the first leg of the 64/65 quarter finals, then lost 2:1 in the second leg. So, in only 3 games they’ve scored 11 goals against Madrid, vs 6 scored against them.

But, aside from Benfica and Arsenal, no other club has won more than half their matches against Real Madrid. Ipswich has a 50% win rate (one draw and one loss). Uruguay’s Peñarol beat them twice in the Intercontinental cup in 1966, but when they played them in 1960 they drew one and lost one, so they’ve only won 50% of their matches against Real Madrid.

Everyone else has won less than 50%. AC Milan has faced them 16 times, going back to the 1950s, and has won 7, giving them a 44% record against Real Madrid. Chelsea is slightly worse with 4 wins, 2 draws and 3 losses, giving them a 36% win rate. Olympique Lyon has played Real Madrid 10x recording 3 wins, 4 draws and 3 losses, giving them a respectable 30% win rate.

Then, there’s El Classico. Barcelona has played them 259 times, winning 102 times and losing 106 with 51 draws. That gives Barcelona a 39% win record against Real Madrid, and Real Madrid a 40% win record against Barcelona. I had no idea it was that close over such a long time.

FWIW, Arsenal has played Tottenham 197 times, with 84 wins, a 42.6% win ratio. There are only 3 clubs Arsenal has beaten more than Tottenham: Aston Villa (85), Man City (96) and Everton (110).

Anyhow, I better stop before I get sucked into the stats and never leave.

So, Merino playing Odegaard’s position, half #8, half #10?

It’s more aversion to your device suddenly making a phone call that you didn’t expect it to make.

Like, say you’re trying to make this reservation while you’re having a poop in a public restroom. You might have no problem calling to make a reservation when you’re in a more appropriate environment and you have all the information at hand. But, you might not want to unexpectedly have to talk to them while you’re grunting and pushing out a turd.

I had roughly the same thing happen just yesterday. I was clicking on a phone number field assuming it would pop up something letting me copy the number so I could paste it elsewhere. Instead it started calling.

NO! BAD PHONE!

Arsenal typically plays in a 4-3-3 that becomes a 4-4-2 in defence. It’s almost always Odegaard that goes up top with the striker when they switch to that 4-4-2.

Because of that, I don’t know if it would work very well to have what you’re describing, basically a 4-4-2 in attack, that becomes a different 4-4-2 in defence.

Also, right now the midfield 3 is basically a #6, a left #8 who gets forward sometimes, but becomes part of a midfield defence when the ball is turned over (typically Rice) and a #8/#10 whose defensive contribution is mostly pressing opposing CBs and GKs (Odegaard). If you replace Partey with a player who sometimes plays as a striker, you might get caught out with nobody screening the back line. If you made Merino the left #8 and Rice the #6, it’s less risky, but then you lose out on Rice’s forward runs.

Some of the south has public areas that aren’t available to the north, like beaches.

But, I think it’s a bad combination of multiple factors. Cities designed after cars became popular, vs. European cities where they tried to adapt cars to existing roads (while often keeping public squares etc.) Cities designed by European immigrants who came from warmer climates, and didn’t plan for winter spaces. Cities designed by people who worship capitalism, vs. cities designed around a balance between capitalism and socialism.

The term normally shortened to “Habeus Corpus” has a full meaning “habeas corpus ad subjiciendum”, meaning “You (shall) have the body to be subjected to (examination)”

In most cases it’s referring to a person, not a corpse. But, in this case…

1. USA is the world’s only superpower, and puts military bases around the world
2. Saudi Arabia is one of the countries with military bases
3. A Saudi man is angry with US military bases in his country
4. That Saudi man executes a plan to crash airplanes into American skyscrapers
5. USA invokes NATO’s article 5, the one and only time it has ever been invoked

I’m not sure that the famous US military is keeping Americans safe. Crazy as it may be, sometimes a big military makes you a target.

So much of that is about public transit.

When everyone travels by car, there’s not much space for walking around or standing around. Places where people walk around or stand around become places for buskers, artists, small vendors, etc. That turns that space from just a place you pass by into a destination itself.

The other half of the problem is winter. Most of Europe is fairly warm compared to most of the Americas. It’s only really the nordic countries where the daily average high is below freezing. In more than half of the US it’s below freezing for months on end. That means that public outdoor spaces are not really all that usable for just hanging out in the winter.

Part of the problem is cultural. Many of the colder places in Europe do outdoor Christmas markets. Those aren’t exactly consumption-free places, but you can walk around and browse without paying. The US doesn’t even do that, making the cold months a wasteland outdoors.

I don’t know if there’s anywhere in the world that does extensive consumption-free public spaces for use in winter. But, that’s what would really be needed in the northern US and Canada.

You think the sufragette movement was free from violence?

You think gay rights were achieved without violence?

Read a book!

Riots are grenades. You don’t get to precisely target what gets broken and what doesn’t.

Whitewashing is precisely why his music is seen as stoner-feel-good-vibes and not the fiery protest music it was.

Well, I’d say that has more to do with music sensibility. His music used slow tempo, heavy and steady beats, was bass-driven, and melodic vocals. That isn’t angry music for a western audience. Going back centuries, angry western music is fast paced, unsteady rhythms, big changes in volume, discordant sounds and lots of high frequencies.

It’s not whitewashing. It would be very hard to make an angry protest song set to a waltz beat too. The medium is the message, and the medium of steady droning beats is calmness not anger.

There are parts of the world where outdoor spaces are basically unusable for most of the year because it’s either too hot or too cold.

When the temperature is reasonable, you can use parks, forests, lakes, rivers, beaches, pedestrian malls, bike paths, etc. Many cities have public basketball courts, tennis courts, skate parks, hockey rinks, and similar things. In some less busy areas you can even use the streets. Street hockey and/or street futbol are pretty common in some areas.

But, extremely hot weather, or extremely cold weather can mean that being outside is terrible. You can dress warmly for winter, and that’s fine to do sports. So, you could go cross-country skiing in the winter in a park. But, you can’t really just hang out outside when it’s -10C.

It would be great if there were more indoor options for places with bad winters and/or bad summers.

I don’t think Saka’s penalty was that bad. It was a bit slow and a bit low, but T-Bone only got it because he guessed the right side and was able to make a huge adjustment in the air.

Even when Martinelli isn’t passing or shooting well, he’s such a threat because they can’t just let him get behind him. It reminds me a lot of Theo Walcott. For years he wasn’t much good at crossing, wasn’t much good at shooting, and didn’t have the trickery to get around a defender, but was insanely fast. We all wanted him to either become a great striker or a great winger, but except for a brief half-season or so, he was mostly just fast. But, being mostly just fast is still incredibly unsettling. I love it when Martinelli can combine his speed with shooting. But, even when he doesn’t have his shooting boots on, he forces defenders to stay a bit deeper just so they don’t get burned. That opens up options for players who want to play between the lines.

As for PSG, they don’t scare me like Madrid and Barcelona do. I don’t think they’ll be the pushovers they were in the group stage, but I don’t think they’re quite an elite team anymore. I think they’re more at the Borussia Dortmund / RB Leipzig / Newcastle / Nottingham Forest sort of level. They just barely got past Aston Villa, and I don’t consider Aston Villa to be elite either. That isn’t to say it will be an easy game, or that Arsenal will definitely beat them. But, I think they’re the weakest of the 4 remaining teams and there’s no question that Arsenal can beat them.

A lot of the reports I file are very similar month in and month out, with lots of specific, technical language (Patient care).

Holy shit, then you definitely can’t use an LLM because it will just “hallucinate” medical information.

NFTs / blockchains are just a very slow, very inefficient distributed database. They’re only potentially useful in the case where there is no central authority. In almost every use case where someone suggests using blockchain, you can just say “no, just use a normal database”