What have you been watching for this last week? What will you watch for the next month. Here’s my guess: it rhymes with Corld Wup. Well, you’re not the only one. Welcome to the viewing pleasure of FIFA World Cup 2010.

Any where from the controversy of the Jabulani ball that has slipped the hands of more than one goalie to the excitement over Ghana’s win as the first African country on African soil to ever take the winning game title, this world cup has everyone on their seats. Who am I rooting for? The team who wins of course! I’m kidding. I’m hoping our friendly Brazilian friends from South America wins.

Cuju

So where did football start? There was a  military document found in China that corroborated a game called Cuju, played around the second century B.C. It  involved a sport very similar to modern day football; it was played by “kicking a leather ball through a small hole in a piece of silk cloth strung between two high poles.”

FIFA

In 1904, Frenchman Robert Guerin founded FIFA. Today, it includes 208 member associations. FIFA stands for Fédération Internationale de Football Association.

*SPOILER ALERT* If you haven’t watched the games and don’t want to know information about the 2010 FIFA World Cup, don’t continue! *SPOILER ALERT*

The Talk Around the Block

I would love to shed some light on some topics that have caused some ruffles in the FIFA community. Please do share your thoughts in the comment section!

First: the ball. The Adidas Jabulani has raised some eyes ever mostly since goalkeeper Robert Green let go of the ball that sealed a tie between England and USA, which otherwise would have just been a win for England. And, seeing their last game, England probably need that win. You tell me. Is it the fault of the new and “perfect” ball or the fault of the players?

Click here to watch: Robert Green Mistake.

Second: the referee. Koman Coulibaly “disallow[ed] a Maurice Edu goal in the 2010 World Cup match between USA and Slovenia” that has heads buzzing. The goal obviously went in and everybody saw it go in, but because of this unnecessary move, USA tied with Slovenia in what clearly should have been a win.

Click here to watch: Koman Coulibaly.

Third: the French fight. Not only did France catcha big surprise with  Zinedine Zidane in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, they caught us again. On half-time on the game with Mexico, striker Nicolas Anelka got into a dispute with manager Raymond Domenech which caused his immediate dismissal from the team. The next day, team captain Patrice Evra and team trainer Robert Duverne got into a heated argument that resulted in the team’s practice having to be canceled. Let’s hope France picks up the mess and returns to our dear hearts soon!

Click here to watch:Robert Duverne VS. Patrice Evra

Fourth: the vuvuzelas. Ech! The buzzing sound heard in the background of the World Cup games is a little instrument called a “vuvuzela”. According to published news reports, the players and viewers have been trying to ban them from the World Cup, but the FIFA President will have none of it. He believes since they are in South African soil, they should adapt to South African culture, much like the vuvuzelas themselves. But, of course, that won’t stop football fans watching from their homes to swiftly press the mute button. After all, it’s really about the game, isn’t it?

That’s all the controversies and it has barely been two weeks! But, what really counts are the goals. If you go to: http://g.sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/schedule/, Yahoo! will provide you with every score (Like Portugal’s AMAZING 7-0 game!!) of every 2010 FIFA World Cup score so far and upcoming games AND times.

World of the Week

ensign (noun): a flag or banner; a badge of office or authority; a sign, token, or emblem; the lowest commissioned officer.

Picture of the Week

Book of the Week

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.

Synopsis (B&N): 

The celebrated author of The Last American Man creates an irresistible, candid, and eloquent account of her pursuit of worldly pleasure and spiritual devotion.

By the time she turned thirty, Elizabeth Gilbert had everything a modern, educated, ambitious American woman was supposed to want—a husband, a house in the country, a successful career. But instead of feeling happy and fulfilled, she was consumed with panic, grief and confusion. She went through a divorce, a crushing depression, another failed love and the complete eradication of everything she ever thought she was supposed to be.

To recover from all of this, Gilbert took a radical step. In order to give herself the time and space to find out who she really was and what she really wanted, she got rid of her belongings, quit her job, left her loved ones behind and undertook a year-long journey around the world, all alone. Eat, Pray, Love is the chronicle of that year. Gilbert’s aim was to visit three places where she could examine one aspect of her own nature, set against the backdrop of a culture that has traditionally done that one thing very well. In Italy, she studied the art of pleasure, learning to speak Italian and gaining the twenty-three happiest pounds of her life. India was for the art of devotion, where, with the help of a native guru and a surprisingly wise Texan, she embarked on four months of austere spiritual exploration. Finally, in Indonesia, she sought her ultimate goal: balance—namely, how to somehow build a life of equilibrium between worldly enjoyment and divine transcendence. Looking for these answers on the island of Bali, she became the pupil of an elderly, ninth-generation medicine man and also fell in love in the very best way—unexpectedly.

A memoir of self-discovery, Eat, Pray, Love is about what can happen when you claim responsibility for your own contentment. It is also about the adventures that can transpire when a woman stops trying to live in imitation of society’s ideals. This is a story certain to touch anyone who has ever woken up to the unrelenting need for change.

Song of the Week

Live It – Cherryholmes