JamieZ

Some bands, you want to watch grow and evolve over time, but Franz Ferdinand, you pretty much just want to sound like Franz Ferdinand.

I don't hate them, per se, they just bore the pants off me. Oh, and speaking of highly-acclaimed artists that bore the pants off me, the last track on the most recent Bon Iver album is really nice. It sounds like a collaboration between Peter Cetera and the Dream Academy.

I agree. 'Mykonos' is the only Fleet Foxes song that doesn't make me want to hang myself with my belt.

Nice pick. Tearwave are actually from my hometown of Buffalo, New York.

Just got back from a good run. I saw four wild boar, which was a first for me. I was curious and went in for a closer look, but there was a young one and the others started to act agitated, so I backed off and went on my way. I used to see deer, turkey, and the occasional coyote while running in the States, but never anything I thought might actually charge me.

Sounds like minor achilles tendinitis, which is something I've been dealing with, too. It's an overuse injury, and usually occurs when you take on too much too quickly—or in my case, when you switch to a minimal shoe too rapidly. There's all sorts of advice out there about how to treat it, but I just tread lightly when it's particularly sore—although it's rarely an issue during a run—and try to do some light massaging/stretching in the morning before I step out of bed and put my full weight on it. Some people wear compression sleeves, but I can't speak to their efficacy.

Jesus, how awful. Tell me about it. But everyone needs to be prepared to make some sacrifices.

Agreed. I thought the last couple albums were disappointing, but this one is an emphatic return to form. It may end up being my favorite yet.

Just moved to Haifa, Israel this past week and have tried to pick up running relatively where I left off back home. The thing about this place is that the city is built quite literally on a mountain and that there is no way to run anywhere without doing some serious, serious hill work—to the extent that most of the time, you're either trudging up a killer hill or bracing yourself down such a decline as to make it more of a job to control your descent than a welcome rest from the uphill running. It makes a five or six mile jog feel like an ordeal. I ran down to the Mediterranean the other day to check out the beach and (in)conveniently forgot that the second half of my run was necessarily up a mountain. It made for the most intense half-marathon-distance run I've ever done. I think my bottom line is that in several months, I'm either going to have calves of steel or several debilitating overuse injuries. Oh, and it's stop-and-wring-out-your-shirt hot here.

Arctic Monkeys - AM

Great idea. I majored in history at university and love to discuss it with other sorts of people who aren't totally bored to death by it. I studied primarily antiquity and the early medieval in Europe and the Near East, but I love WWII (especially the Eastern Front) and plenty of other topics in modern and early-modern history.

I'm enjoying the Jagwar Ma. I'd had the 'The Throw" single on heavy rotation for a while and only recently discovered they'd released the full length.

I see you did your homework. Picking the #1 team in Israel for that past 20 years (albeit being a bit behind Maccabi Tel Aviv in recent years) is a sure bet. You could pick Hapoel Haifa - their local rivals. If you appreciate the occasional win - that's the team for you They seemed to me to have the most cosmopolitan fanbase of the teams, as well. I'm really looking forward to the new stadium!

I just wanted everybody to know that Christian Benteke's brilliant week has been down to the fact that at the last minute I decided to replace him on my fantasy roster with Romelu Lukaku. You're welcome, everybody. Just be warned that since I have just traded to put him back on my team, this weekend against Liverpool, he will be positively useless.

Prague's quite nice, as well. Lived there for a while and it's hard to find a more beautiful city.

Don't forget the tidy assist to Eddie Johnson! I considered both Bony and van Wolfswinkel as possible great value options, but decided on starting Jozy up front alongside Benteke and Lukaku.

International: United States - Americans are country before club as a rule and I'll admit I'm never so patriotic as when I'm watching the United States national team. U.S. Soccer embodies the aspects of America I would most like to see encouraged: it's a melting pot of hard-working players that is engaging with the world on the world's terms, rather than making up its own games, playing by its own rules, and declaring itself the best. The German-American in me is also really excited about our Germerican players. Club: Aston Villa (England) - I followed English soccer for some time as a neutral, but after trying several different teams on, I settled on Villa during the Mellberg/Laursen era. After suffering through the last several years, I think it's fair to say it's stuck. St. Pauli (Germany) - Punk rock ist nicht tot! Portland Timbers (MLS) - I briefly lived in Portland and it's one of my favorite cities in North America. Football fan culture in the Pacific Northwest is fantastic and it's the closest thing we have to Europe. Maccabi Haifa (Israel) - I am in the process of relocating to Israel for work and Maccabi Haifa will be my local club. Following the team is one of the ways I look forward to connecting with the city. I already have my least favourite club lined up in the unapologetically racist and xenophobic Beitar Jerusalem.

This was my CD find of the day. Cha-cha and meringue covers of Kreftwerk songs. All of it.

As I said above with the team you have you will only have ten in GW3. Okore, Mata, Benteke, Lukaku, Guzan do not play this week because of the double week GW1 Only ten assuming every other player is starting, not injured. Isn't that the point of transfers?

I'm a fantasy neophyte, but from what I understand, it's all about picking players who are going to put up big numbers rather than players who would actually play well together in any kind of real world scenario, right? Here's what I've got going into week one, at least until I change my mind at the last minute. Mignolet Caulker Okore Baines Michu Bellamy Giaccherini Mata © Soldado Benteke Lukaku Bench: Guzan, Campaña, Williams (Ashley), McShane (Paul)