World Cup fever has taken over my office, and I have thoroughly enjoyed listening to the groans and moans of coworkers shouting about their disdain for every bad call, missed goal, and score for the other team. (Working in an officle - a cubicle with a door - means I get the pleasure of overhearing a lot of fabulous things that others may not realize they are sharing with me.) Now, I’m not an avid follower of soccer (aka- el fútbol americano - yes, I paid attention in high school Spanish class), but I definitely don’t enjoy missing out on things (what Marc would refer to as ‘FOMS - Fear of Missing Something’), so I decided to join in the fun by creating a fantasy pool on Yahoo! Sports.

Shocked that I’m not an avid follower? Didn’t I play soccer in my childhood, like most other elementary school kids? In all actuality, I did, for two years (to my knowledge), before dropping out during the third year. Let me explain. My first two years, I served as the goalie (at least, in my mind, this is what happened. I have no idea if this is true or not - but I definitely know that in my mind, I was the best goalie to ever play on the Loveland Parks and Recreation team. Definitely.) I am fairly certain I spent much of the time standing in front of the goal and thinking about how great of a goalie I was.

In my third season, my parents dropped me off at practice wearing a red hoodie. (In all actuality, they may have been there watching the practice, but again, in my mind, I was all alone. Hopelessly alone.) The coach lined up the kids, and started calling out different field positions, and each boy would take his turn running to the field triumphantly to show the other guys that he knew what he was doing. Given my not-so-extensive-yet-self-congratulatory experience in the world of soccer, I watched as the other boys ran to their positions and I kept creeping closer and closer to the front of the line. My anxiety rose steadily as I watched boy after boy run onto the field, seemingly knowing everything about the sport. These guys were geniuses - and I quickly realized I was not. Instead of watching and learning from their brilliant knowledge, I panicked as I realized that I only knew of one position - goalie.

My spike in blood pressure due to my nerves was exacerbated by the teasing of the bully behind me in line, who made it very clear that red hoodies were not in style that season by repeatedly pulling the hood over my head and laughing maniacally. (I still have an aversion to red hoodies. Jerk.) As the last kid before me reached the front of the line, the coach yelled, “Oh this one’s easy - GOALIE!” And as he ran to his position on the field (I mean, who doesn’t know where the GOALIE stands? Clearly, he won this round…), I started bawling. Needless to say, that was the end of my soccer journey, which may have contributed to my not-so-avid followership of the sport.

So why get into the sport again now? Other than my regular battle with FOMS, I must admit I had an additional incentive to join the World Cup fun in the office this year. Meet my motivation:

“Hello. My name is Michael Ballack, and I am ridiculously attractive. Also, I am a German Midfielder in the lovely game of soccer.”

“What’s a midfielder, you ask?”

“Don’t ask JBrady.”

“PS- I hurt my ankle, and won’t be playing in the World Cup.”

Wait, what? That’s right, Ballack is out of the game (at least for now, to my knowledge. Then again, we’ve already established my expertise in all things soccer…). But it’s okay. My pool is actually doing pretty well, thanks to the advise I got from my coworker. “Just cheer for Mexico. Jose (our admin associate/friend) would want you to.” That, and the fact that soccer players are generally a rather attractive group.

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAL!

As the state Supreme Court case over the California ban on same-sex marriage comes to a close this week, Frank Rich provides an outstanding op-ed in The New York Times, blending pop culture references and factual political evidence eloquently in his support for marriage equality. His compelling argument in ‘Two Weddings, a Divorce, and ‘Glee’ (linked above) includes this gem:

Domestic partnerships and equal economic benefits aren’t antidotes, Boies explains, because as long as gay Americans are denied the same right to marry as everyone else, they are branded as sub-citizens, less equal and less deserving than everyone else. That government-sanctioned stigma inevitably leaves them vulnerable to other slights and discrimination, both subtle and explicit. The damage is particularly acute for children, who must not only wonder why their parents are regarded as defective by the law but must also bear this scarlet letter of inferiority when among their peers.

Regardless of the ruling, it is likely that the case will be heard in the Federal Supreme Court in the upcoming years, and will certainly be an interesting time to live in America. I hope Rich’s words above (and the rest of his outstanding article) are read by people on all sides of the debate, and don’t fall on deaf ears. Check out the complete article above.

Dear Fashionistas,

Bonnets are back. That’s right, you heard me correctly - all the latest rage.

Now I am not talking about the traditional mid-18th century brimless house bonnet – those are so last century. I am referring to the ever-so-brilliant calash bonnet, with the intensely large stiff brim – you know, to protect your hair from the gale. (Thank you, Wikipedia, for clarifying such an important distinction in headdress history.)

How do I know they are back in style? Well, as Susan and I were leaving campus on Thursday, we caught a glimpse of a woman walking across campus wearing a burnt orange UT shirt and a daffodil yellow bonnet with a tiny pattern (perhaps floral?) – she was really too far away to tell what the pattern was. Since Austin is the fashion capital of the world, we see plenty of trendsetters walking our campus.

Don’t believe me? Consider the following t-shirt:

Not-so-fashion-forward, you say? InStyle Magazine, Teen Vogue, College Fashion, and the Fashionable Housewife (among others) beg to differ. Perhaps we’ll see tie dye bonnets soon.

Admittedly, tie dye shirts can be seen around town on many-a-fashion-forward Austinite, whereas the bonnet has yet to achieve such mass appeal. That being said, one can definitely understand how I might have questioned my initial assessment of this woman’s sleek and saavy sense of style. I decided to put out a feeler into the social media world and see what kind of responses I could get. I shared the following letter on facebook:

Dear Random Woman walking across campus, Susan and I want to know why you are wearing a bonnet. Please advise. Sincerely, Justin

Over the next twenty-four hours, I received a handful of outstanding conversational comments, including:

MR: is she the sun maid raisin girl? that would be fun…that is the only person I can think of who wears a bonnet :)

CK: Or, Holly Hobbie!

MR: oh fun game! Maybe strawberry shortcake?

JB: Perhaps a Precious Moments model?

TR: Perhaps she is Menonite

AM: Perhaps its Baby Jane.

LD: Omg can’t a girl wear a bonnet anymore!??? Maybe she was honoring one of the many fashion icons from little house on the prairie!

While the comment game provided some great entertainment, it also demonstrated the general population’s discomfort with fashionistas. I am truly sorry, 2010 Bonnet - perhaps the world just isn’t ready for you.


(Old woman in sunbonnet, (c. 1930) - Special thanks to Doris Ulmann for this fabulous photo)

The following blogs are participating in the 2010 Summer Blog Challenge.

Critically Acclaimed - JBrady

Pocket Susan - Susan B.

Finding Focus - Richard Dedor

Waiting on the World to Change… - Tara Kermiet

Exchanging Keys - Regina Lattimore

Droplets: Even the Ocean Was Created by Rain - Kelly McDowell

Enjoy, and Happy Reading!

-JBrady

As we honor the LGBT Americans who have given so much to our Nation, let us remember that if one of us is unable to realize full equality, we all fall short of our founding principles. -President Barack Obama

On Friday, May 28, President Barack Obama released this Presidential Proclamation that June would officially be recognized as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month.

Obama’s proclamation discusses the progressive changes the LGBT community has seen under his administration, and claims that further change needs to continue - and will - during his time in office. His bold statement includes:

Much work remains to fulfill our Nation’s promise of equal justice under law for LGBT Americans. That is why we must give committed gay couples the same rights and responsibilities afforded to any married couple, and repeal the Defense of Marriage Act. We must protect the rights of LGBT families by securing their adoption rights, ending employment discrimination against LGBT Americans, and ensuring Federal employees receive equal benefits. We must create safer schools so all our children may learn in a supportive environment. I am also committed to ending “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” so patriotic LGBT Americans can serve openly in our military, and I am working with the Congress and our military leadership to accomplish that goal.

Will America see such grand changes in the next two years, or are these simply words to appease LGBT Americans and their allies? I certainly hope his actions match his promises, but regardless if everything mentioned is accomplished, it is encouraging to see verbalized support for LGBT Americans from the President.

I encourage you to read the entire proclamation, linked above.

Bloggers Unite!

Susan and I have created a Summer 2010 blog challenge, and you’re welcome to participate if you’d like!

To participate in the Weekly Summer Posts Challenge, bloggers must post at least one blog entry during each week, starting May 30 and continuing through September 4. For the purposes of the challenge, the blog entry must be posted anytime between Sunday at noon - Friday at midnight. Simply uploading a video, picture, quote, or link will not count for this challenge - the blog post should be something the blogger wrote (although bloggers are welcome to include videos, pictures, links, and quotes in addition to their writing). Participating bloggers are encouraged to read and comment on each other’s weekly posts, to add more motivation.

Want to join the challenge? We’ll create a running list in a post on our individual blogs of all participants. Simply send your blog name and address my way, and we’ll include you in the running list, too!

Hooray for writing!