verreauxi

Well, to be perfectly honest, it's to see Everton play, since both me and GF are big fans. We both got very lucky at our home university and applied for sabbatical leaves of absence and we both got them, so we have the whole year "off" (which basically means we have to do research/publish but no teaching). So we have some flexibility about how to spend the year and so long as we are doing some sort of research, our university doesn't care where we are. And given that there is a great university in Liverpool (and Everton!!) we decided to try to work with some folks at the University of Liverpool. My girlfriend studies a few things having to do with running/walking: biomechanics of sports injury, sports shoe design, evolution of barefoot running, and the locomotion (movement) of lemurs. There are some labs in Liverpool that she wants to work with. For me, there is a lab that studies the biology of lifespan and aging, and the genetic/physiological basis of getting old. I'm gonna get in touch with these guys since the species of lemur that I study in Madagascar are very odd; they are house-cat sized animals but they live to about 35 years of age (if you scaled this up to human size, it would be like humans living to about 130), so we are interested in seeing what genetic/physiological factors allow them to live so long. I also am working on a textbook, so I'll probably be spending lots of time in the library during the week and we'll be traveling to games on the weekends.

Well f*ck me. I'm turning into Brazil. I looked good during the opening rounds but when it comes to crunch time, I flounder! I guessed both semis wrong.

Coming down to the wire here. Many thanks Steve for keeping the scores up to date!

All season for Chelsea, and also in this tournament, Schurrle comes off the bench and makes an immediate impact. Of course, last night it didn't matter, but I really like that guy.

So I just rolled back into my house here. It's 11pm and let me tell you about this crazy night I had. It started out as a very normal afternoon on my friends porch around 2pm. We were getting excited about watching the upcoming WC semi-final, scheduled for 4pm our time (here in the USA). We were sipping beers casually, they way organized adults do. Small talk with the occasional imprecations, belches, and chortles. But then my friend unveiled a few hidden secrets from his cupboard. First up: shots of Absinthe, which is a mild hallucinogenic. "Sure, I'm fine with that" I thought to myself, but I won't do much beyond this. I'll just stick to beer and absinthe. Well, the absinthe was warm and smooth, they way I envision Brazilian female beach volleyball player's thighs. So I sit there in my warmth, just smiling and dreaming of cappuccino skin. And we continue on with our chat. But then my friend says to me, "hey, you ever smoke crack?" And I'm like "no way, never." But he's like, "take a hit, it'll be fine." So I do. And now with the beers and absinthe and crack, I'm a bit out of my orbit. The type of disorientation where you feel like cartoon images on food-packaging labels will start to talk to you (e.g., Captain Crunch or the homosexual rabbit from Trix will regale you with a boring story about getting lost in Detroit). Anyways, it seems that we eventually make our way to a pub to watch the match, but at this point I'm rolling pretty hard. Dangling by a string, to be truthful. And we are in a group gathered around a large 55" flat screen Samsung, and the beers keep flowing, and there are lots of strangers around us. What seems like about 2 hours later--maybe it was just 47 seconds, who knows--we are still gathered around the screen. There is lots of shouting and cheering. Just at that moment my friend comes up to me and says, "hey, you ever do PCP?" And I'm like "What?!...WTF are you talking about?!" And he's like, "just try some, it'll be fine" And because I wasn't raised up properly with a strong father figure, I am weak and impressionable. I fold like a cheap lawn chair. PCP is now in my system. And about 14 minutes later I'm thinking "WOW, PCP is good" and I'm fairly certain I said that out loud despite being in a pub watching the world cup semi-finals and despite the fact that lightning bolts and gerbils were shooting out from my pant cuffs. I tried to tell the waitress that I needed another beer. But eventually I start to feel okay, despite the beer, absinthe, crack, and PCP in my system. That was because I was riding a unicorn along the beach in Rio. And every time I said "Maracana" as loud as I could, as I pumped my fist in the air from atop my galloping unicorn, the unicorn would fart a rainbow. Not sure how the rest of the evening played out after that. But in any case, I'm home now and after drinking 9 pints of beer, 3 shots of absinthe, 4 hits of crack, and 6 hits of PCP, I have this hilarious notion that Brazil lost to Germany 7 to 1. Ha! Yeah right! Must have been the drugs. I'll check the real score tomorrow.

That's where we are leaning toward. Thanks for the affirmation.

I honestly have no idea about these games...just hoping they are good. My picks: Brazil (1)2 Germany (0)1 Netherlands (1)2 Argentina (0)1

Thanks everyone! I'm gonna talk it over with my girlfriend. I've sent a few emails to some places but I suspect, as most have pointed out, that getting anything for shorter than a 6 month stay will be difficult. But thanks again!

Hi all, My girlfriend and I will be spending two months in Liverpool this fall (or possibly spring). We'll be working at the University of Liverpool, so we'll want to stay near there, though proximity to the university isn't too much of a factor so long as we are not in the middle of nowhere. Through the university they have a furnished 1-bedroom apartments w/kitchen, private bath, lounge area that are 200 pounds a week and include all utilities, free wireless, and a cleaning service. Is this about an average price for an apartment near the university for two adults? Or is this a bit high or low...should I keep looking? I realize what I'm asking is a bit vague but are there any websites that I should be checking for medium-length stays in liverpool (e.g. furnished apartments)? If I rent from a private owner (i.e., not through the university) are there any hidden fees or other things to keep in mind? (for example, when I rented in Boston long ago, the ad said 1100 per month, but they failed to mention an initial one-time "finders fee" of 1100$ until I set up a viewing). I'm assuming, as in the USA, electricity/heating are generally seperate from the weekly/monthly rent, yes? The university apartments seem like an easy option but if anyone has suggestions regarding other websites/rental agencies to check out, please let me know. It'd be great to meet some of you folks when we are there. thanks in advance, rich "verreauxi"

Fuckin'A...Ticos taking the Dutch to PKs. And subbing in Krul. Who woulda thunk?!

What's Roberto doing on the pitch, wasn't he banned for lending out his press credentials?

They need to sub Witzel--he's getting beat handily. And De Bruyne, possibly, as well.

Well done again MikeO and doc_bump! I should have went with my head on the Germany-France game, but hindsight is always 20/20. Didn't expect the French to roll over and die in the second half. No leadership on that team.

Pathetic performance from France from about the 65th minute onward. Their body language suggested that they had collectively given up despite a few nice individual attempts. Giroud...what a joke.

Tim Howard is going to be given the world's first joint Congressional Medal of Honor/Nobel Peace Prize (and some coupons to Taco Bell), all for losing a game against a country the size of New Hampshire.

And it appears that that page is already taken down

I couldn't believe Chile's coach when I saw him...WTF! Why is Agassi coaching Chile I thought. Then there is this: Croatia's coach and Joseph Gordon Levitt

Here are my predictions but @#$%&!!...I am so torn on that Belgium game! France (0)2 Germany (0)1 Brazil (0)2 Colombia (0)1 Argentina (1)2 Belgium (1)1 Netherlands (1)3 Costa Rica (0)1

By the way, why isn't Tim Krul starting for the Dutch? Is he hurt? Cillessen looks very under-confident.

One thing for sure, his widely-watched performance yesterday is gonna make more than a few Americans take a look at Everton as a team to support.

MikeO...well done!

This is gonna be a tough round. The Belgium-Argentina game is a coin-toss and when it's a coin-toss, history shows that we should go with the tried and true...Argentina. Same for France-Germany. Where are my tea-leaves, or chicken-entrails, or magic 8-ball, or Thai Bookies, or Ghanaian witch doctor, or that one jerk-off--John Edward--who claims to speak to the dead?

Utterly shameful. But I could see some bar-owner thinking s/he was doing the "right thing" by preventing a fight and/or some tired nod to patriotism. Neither is excusable.

And Lukaku just wrote this: What a result! What a game!!! So happy for our country! It feels good to be in this position... Shoutout the us team! They're real good competitors and will definetly be a stronger team in the upcoming years also @timhow1 you're one the best teammates i ever had! You're right up there! Today you showed why as always why u are one of the best in goalkeeping. Thanks for your shirt god bless you all!

Belgian players appear to be good sportsmen; Kompany has tweeted "respect" to Tim Howard, and De Bruyne didn't need to manifest such concern after kicking the ball inadvertantly in Jones's broken nose, but he did. He coulda kept playing.