phillies: 11 marlins: 1

my dad and a few other docs went in on some phillies season tickets this year. which is amusing to me, since my dad's affinity for sports begins and ends with his rifle collection (with which he shoots paper targets in the basement and cans in the backyard, both to the dismay of my mother.)

but he and my mom have been going pretty regularly to watch the games, so last night i went with him to see what all the fuss was about.

1.) the seats are fantastic, seven rows from the field, right behind the dugout. the best part is, you can watch as the players come back - from having been struck out, from a home run, at the end of the inning. and you can actually make out their facial expressions. these expressions, as those of you who go to baseball games often or are familiar with the players already know, are priceless.

2.) quite possibly my favorite part of the game was looking at the humongous electronic scoreboard. not for the score of course, that wouldn't be that exciting - especially for phillies fans, but for the camera. the camera that catches everyone when they aren't ready to be caught on film. and when they finally do realize they're on the big screen, they can't quite figure out which way to look so you can see their full face. my personal favorite last night was the "flex cam." a giant illustration of a muscle was posted on half of the scoreboard and the camera proceeded to pan around the stadium, looking for people to flex their guns. fantastic. the camera showed us 5 or 6 hefty guys showing off their masculinity, and then zoomed in on a couple of 16 year old boys, eager to prove they were men too, and finally caught a brother and a sister, blissfully unaware of the camera, digging into their ice creams. now they had the right idea. equal parts candid camera and 15 seconds of fame, this was entertainment.

3.) another moment in contention for my personal favorite: just after the 4th inning, the camera focused on a couple and, across the gigantic scoreboard, equally gigantic words: JASON IS PROPOSING TO ERIN!!! but erin was a bit oblivious, and as jason kneeled down, his girlfriend questioningly looked around to figure out what was going on. she said yes though, and the camera stayed with them as they hugged for a good 2 minutes, after which Jason triumphantly shot his hands up in the air, puffed up his chest, and - what do you know - flexed his muscles for all to see (via the scoreboard of course.)

the devil came on horseback

last night, on the recommendation of a fellow india adventurer, i went to see the documentary "the devil came on horseback." a well made film, the documentary provides an inside look at the crisis in darfur through the eyes of former marine brian steidle. the filmmakers (both women are dartmouth grads) guide us through steidle's background to help us understand why he volunteered for the african union in sudan, his work to document the cease-fire that was declared in April of 2003, and his return home after his disgust with the lack of assistance to the communities in and surrounding darfur.

steidle skillfully explains the situation in sudan and darfur in simple terms; the politics and dynamics that exist there. the arab population in the north and the christians in the south. the sudanese government and its relationship to the janjaweed militia. why china is a key player. how rape is used as a tool of war. his tragic photos and heartbreaking stories help document what has been going on in this region for the past three years.

only after many months have g.w and his people decided to label what is going on in darfur genocide.

what matters now is that both the united states and the united nations are fully aware of these atrocities. what matters is that after armenia, after the holocaust and after rwanda, after cambodia and after the balkans, we have another genocide occurring, right now. americans across the nation, both in d.c. and beyond, are turning a blind eye.

this makes me ashamed to be an american.

please. go to www.savedarfur.org - learn about the film and learn about what is happening.

setting off...to nj

i just returned home to new jersey and am in a state of minor shock. how quickly two years have passed! how much has happened! tumultuous jobs, wonderful relationships, and the death of my closest friend. i feel a bit older, a bit wiser, and yet very much like i am still a fraud in the grown-up world. which i guess is fine by me.

i am happy to be back in moorestown, running errands and enjoying the company of the two best dogs alive. tobias, our golden retriever, is simply a wonder. his diet today -in addition to the boring bland dog chow - included the following: an unripe apple from a tree in our garden, fresh basil from the same location, his own shit along with the shit of a fellow pooch, and a tasty bit of runover squirrel from the street (aka squirrel jerky.) really now, he is one classy gourmand. he is currently passed out on our red velvet sofa in what i can only imagine to be a blissful state of pure gluttony.

the here and now in san francisco

things i'll miss about san francisco, in no particular order:

-vegetarian food: www.anandafuara.com,
-beautiful houses & fun californian design: sfgirlbybay.blogspot.com
-sea lions at fisherman's wharf: http://www.sftravel.com/sealionsfishermanswharf.html
-dog parks & all the dogs: http://www.fetchthepaper.com/
-the balmy weather
-my fantastic baby apartment

things i won't miss about san francisco:
-hills
-all the hipsters
-ridiculously high rent