More Than You Think

So I finished off Soccer Explains the World and I’m pretty convinced. The subtitle is “an (unlikely) theory of globalization” and it’s one of the better theories I’ve come across. Soccer doesn’t explain the whole damn world, but it explains more than you think.

The book is in fact a road trip story as the author goes from soccer (and world) hotspot and looks at how the beautiful game crosses paths with politics, religion, culture and trade. The stories that Foer tells are just fascinating. How Arkan, one of the most murderous thugs to emerge from the Balkans, recruited his militia from Belgrade soccer hooligans. How Nigerian strikers come to play for Ukrainian professional clubs. The struggles of women in Iran to just watch the game live in the stadium.

To be honest, these stories don’t add up to one single, unified, pithy theory of soccer and globalization. There’s no causation. Understanding Brazilian soccer will show you how the Nation of Brazil works, but soccer reflects, rather than makes the societies if comes from. This is a book that’s really about using to soccer to show us the world.

Which brings us to Iraq's run in the Asian Cup. The National team has had an amazing run, scored major upsets and made its way all the way to the finals. But fifty people died when bombers struck the celebrating crowds. Soccer will not solve Iraq problems any more than George Bush will. But it helps us understand.

Entertainment Report

Rather then dwell on the mind boggling incompetence of Bush's appointed head of FEMA, I will spend time on what you should be watching and reading. At the movies I highly recommend The Constant Gardener. A very smart, well acted thiller. Grand Global conspiracy involving drug companies in Africa. This one will stay with you. I saw it Sunday and it's still in my head which is more than I can say for the movies I've seen this summer.

For you stay at home types I would recommend Layer Cake now out on DVD. British Gang-sta film, funny/violent, not as frantic as Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels or Snatch, but definitely along those lines. Our hero, who is never named but played by the tastefully named actor Daniel Craig, is trying to stay smart, safe and civilized in a drug business that isn't any of that. He's sure he's got the system beat, but the system is about to beat on him.

For those who prefer to read for their entertainment, might I suggest Dies the Fire, which I read a couple of months back but am now taking a fresh look at in the wake of Katrina. The premise is that a mysterious world-wide phenomenon has cause all electric devises to stop working. The book explores the same issues of lose of technology and lose of civility that we have been seeing play out on our TV's in the wake of the hurricane. Makes you wonder about the slender thread that our humanity hangs on.

So there you go three uplifting entertainment picks to brighten your day.