The site is legit and growing, and Tony, Curtis and the boys recently launched a podcast called the Goalmouth Scramble. On the July 10th edition, Curtis was nice enough to have me on to talk about loyalty in soccer and I got to do previews of Arsenal and Middlesbrough for the 08/09 season. In an effort to boost the # of listeners for the moment, friends, family and subscribers to TGS should go give it a listen.

Curtis is a big Manchester United fan so that kinda sucks, but they pulled off the “double” last year and they have the Prince of the Pitch sporting #7 for them. I suppose they aren’t a tough team to root for these days. My pick for the title this year? Chuck’s boys over at Liverpool. Tune in to FSC and Setanta on weekends this fall for more. It sure beats watching whatever else is on.

So in a recap of a recent 13 day excursion that took me to many picturesque locations in Europe, and upon completing Jared Diamond’s “Collapse”, I offer this dear readers - revel in the sunshine. Don’t be upset when tomorrow brings clouds, or even unyielding darkness. Be an insignificant little speck in the behemoth of our planet and our kind’s history, but know that there is good in that role.

Diamond’s book takes a look at a series of societies that have collapsed over the past few thousand years - and by “collapse” I mean they basically ran themselves out of existence. What did they do wrong? Usually they did not adapt well to their environments, and made many mistakes amongst their cultures, politics, and values that eventually led back to screwing themselves out of a livable habitat. In a time where populations are rising to previously unforeseen levels and human impact on the planet is astronomical, it’s hard to not have doubts about our ability to support the lifestyle we currently enjoy here in the U.S. We may in fact be able to hold out at the expense of other countries and other continent’s natural resources, but essentially buying yourself the right to be the last to die is something that Diamond warns against.

Sitting on the Greek island of Santorini, hopping around through southern Europe, it all makes it seem a bit more “real”. The people there are just like you and I and there’s no way to think that even if disaster were to befall on them, or in Asia or Africa, that it doesn’t come back to haunt America. I’m not a doomsday artist and I’m not here to give a book report (especially not a Boston-area book report on Oliver Twist - “Does that encapsulate you?”). I’m just putting it out there that shit like volcanic eruptions, loss of food supply, politically-motivated genocide, all happens and it’s not a big surprise. All the same, if you lose your job or your dog gets hit by a car, don’t feel special. The sheer mathematics of what is seen as catastrophic or sad, the loss of a lifestyle or of life or whatever, is insane. Insignificant little speck. The times we live in may see a continued prosperity or they may see the complete downfall of it all.

One person we encountered on our trip was an ex-pat from California who had moved to Nice in the 70’s because she was appalled by what happened in Cambodia, especially in the wake of the Vietnam war. It upset me to hear her reasoning for leaving her home, only to get a little salvation when she said the main thing she’s learned in the past 30 years of living in South France is that there are problems everywhere. She couldn’t run from them by leaving the country. I just hated the reasoning - it all would’ve happened regardless of her existence, her interpretation, and how she decided to react. Why uproot your life for that? Uproot your life for love, for adventure! What if she would’ve been out to dinner when the news report from Cambodia hit the 6 o’clock news? If you want to learn about this world then don’t expect to get the endings you do in fiction. Reality defies fiction in every way - that’s the basis of fiction.

There’s no way for me or for anyone to get the low-down on every event that passes in our world. She thinks that Cambodia was unique? That shit is everywhere and always has been. Don’t forget you’re only just a speck. It is human nature to both forget that and for those things to happen.

I know I mentioned that there are ways to revel in that role of being a “speck”, that the macro factors of society and perhaps our planet are beyond your direct control. It’s just a matter of perspective and deciding how to react to that type of stuff. Learning about these tragedies, just like the way you can learn about “neat” things like the history of some Greek winery, is all just food for the mind. Accept them both and smile at the sunny parts, the sunny days. Travel. Read. Spend some money and let yourself be. Don’t be selfish about your place in the world, it’s all fleeting anyhow. Only then will you feel like it’s all a great success.

Pictures from Coyle’s Camera

Pictures from Mango’s Camera

Update: Pics from Jay’s Camera of Barcelona

Some of my favorites:

The Barksdale

The Chill

The Classic

Boys in a Foreign Land

Red car interiors
Off-brand cereal
White tube socks
Receipts
Ice Mountain water
White bread
Wrangler jeans
Backless seating
Deep fryers
Gravel
Sharpening pencils
T-shirts with the neck stretched out
Shop ‘n Save
Manual toothbrushes
Bar soap
Manual can openers
Putting cane sugar on rice
The Florida panhandle
Branson, MO
Truck stops
Skiing in jeans
Economic stimulus package checks
Sharing a bathroom
Bad weather
I want to re-state this one: The 6 o’clock news
Culver’s
Retail shopping
Network television
Kids
Exclamation Points!

When you’re a kid, it seems like the ultimate alibi is having good grades in school. Like the fellas in Better Luck Tomorrow, “as long as our grades were there we were trusted”. You can steal, skip, smoke, sell drugs, have sex in the bathroom and cuss out a teacher if you are a straight A student. For the most part anyway , , , I can cite first hand examples of people doing them all, and if you can’t, you’re a tool.

Furthermore, school is in many ways a microcosm of society. One can start to draw simple parallels between these behaviors and the alibis that protect them in the ‘real world’. How about one that works when you’re young and really works when you’re older? Good athlete. If you’re a good athlete, even if it’s only the BMOC complex in your small little part of the world, you can get away with quite a bit. Teachers will boost your grades (possibly under duress of a fat man in gym shorts). People will overlook your discretions. The cops will give you a break - at least they should, what the fuck is wrong with Columbia, MO? When you pull over a car and Jeremy Maclin is in it, you shake his hand and send him on his way. Revered athletes can gamble, cheat, steal, kill, do copius amounts of drugs and alcohol, and get the special treatment. Alibi.

Back to those that the average man has a better shot at using - how bout good looks? If you are attractive you get the benefit of the doubt in most life situations. How about race? Depending on your time and place in history, it’s probably going to be beneficial to be of one race and not another. This is blatantly obvious and switches as quickly as the local weather (as to which side you “should” be on). Race can be an alibi. Isn’t that sad? That’s humans for you.

Along the same lines as race is religion. If you get confronted by someone with a knife, you better have the right answer to “Which God is your God?”. Just the same as dating someone - grandma ain’t going to like it if your little sex partner is Lutheran when you’re family is Jewish. No alibi.

What I’m saying is, as soon as a point of conflict arises in any situation, you want to be able to provide as many useful alibis to benefit your case. “Man, why you going to call me out? I’m a straight A student who loves Jesus and could throw a ball over that building. I’m cool.”

A lot of domestic crap can be used as an alibi in this sense as well. Having money. Being married. Owning a house. Having kids. I just envision news reports and talking heads coming down on people because they are clearly not a participant in the circles that do any number of these honest, hard working things. In a question of character or wrong doing, people will look at you different based on how many check marks you can accumulate on the side of these “good” alibis.

Consider yourself warned. It’s like Super Mario though, you can head out and collect alibi coins any time you want. If you have the chance, I say go get ‘em. Cause you know as well as I do that they don’t mean shit when it comes to other people determining a person’s actions, thoughts, or motivations. They just plain look good.

Now we are engaged in a great war with the passing of time, the obligations of lives gone on, testing whether this party or any party so conceived and so dedicated can long endure. We are met here on our great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of this field as a final resting-place for those who here gave their lives and their livers that that party might live.

But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and drunk, who struggled here have emboldened it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what we did here. It is for us in the present rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished games which we who have fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.

It is for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored efforts in the past we take increased devotion to that cause for which we have given the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that our friends shall not have drank in vain, that this Olympiks under God shall have a new birth of freedom each Spring, and that party of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth. That is my promise to you, and your promise to me. Long live Special Olympiks, and let the games begin.

Interview with a Friend takes a run on the wild side this week, coming to you live from Key West, FL and Spring Break ‘08 (Year of Nate). Taking time to nustle up on the sand with us for a little talkie-talkie this time around is Bryan Rahn, a man who knows a thing or two about intimate one-on-one conversation. Uh-huh . . . conversation.

TGS: I’ve got a lot to say to you . . .
BR: I Notice your eyes are always glued to me. Keeping them here, and it makes no sense at all.

TGS: What do you think of the infamous, lawless land of Key West so far? Bout time you jumped on the bandwagon, only 48 years left of this.
BR: Let’s be honest, in my condition it’s probably more like 8 years left. But Key West has provided me with a weekend of sunshine, excess booze and lots of male nakedness. I was disappointed to find that apparently the 55 Vodka Red Bull tradition was replaced with 55 baskets of peel and eat “shrimps.”

TGS: I’m personally offended that Jarad Lanham is not in attendance this year. As “Karad” mania engulfs the nation’s attention, we sit here sans a founding member of the trip.
BR: He is a changed man. It’s a different trip without him tackling the Wild Turkey creature, but let’s face it. Without Kara, Jarad would probably be living in a dumpster.

TGS: I notice you’ve quickly been revamping your wardrobe out of the dark ages into a fashion-chic, skate/mid-range denim and striped top montage. What is at the center of your style?
BR: Call it where Junior High meets young executive. I like to consider myself to be an older version of the Tom Kissell Holliser. Sort of Nate’s GQ style on a budget. Like if I were in Junior High and worked at the mall, for example. Don’t worry though, I still have all my straight legged jeans, plaid button up short-sleeve shits and black boots for when they come back in style. Still, I don’t even wear high end denim.

TGS: It’s kind of the silent, yet visible manifestation of a revolutionized man isn’t it? I could drop a pic on this post from the ‘05 tailgate with a current photo of yourself and you would see a new man.
BR: Did you ever stop to ponder that mayhaps you all changed your style to match mine over the years and I didn’t change at all? Like in Jerry’s bizzaro world? No, that can’t be it. But I have so many people to thank for this. Just know that as I traverse the world, I carry a little piece of each of you with me. Seriously.

TGS: You’re an accomplished gambler and bookie. I myself owe my growing talents in roulette, craps and apparently Blackjack, to your wisdom. Give me some odds on these things below.
BR: 1. Deepak will eat 16 pieces of pizza tomorrow night. 3:1 - Though it is pronounced – PEE-zah.
2. Brant will name his 2nd child “Ron”. 1000:1. Jen never lets him name his kids after me.
3. You will move to Phoenix inside of 2 years. 2:1. And not just for the weather.
4. Big Joe, Nolte and Brant will start to recruit an “All-Balding” flip-cup team for tailgate ‘08. 4:1. And Donkey will shave his head in a feeble attempt to be accepted by anyone, at anytime, for any reason.
5. Brant over you in the first round (by TKO) of the coming pre-Special Olympiks V boxing match. Not sure what that’s about, Vegas has me as a 2:1 favorite.

TGS: Lollipop, lollipop coming up. Backscratcher. Bougeois, schwougeois.
BR: Apple Bottom Jeans. Sand Sniz. Muffdive?

TGS: Have you accomplished your goal of befriending women from each state and country yet? Which ones do you have left to check off?
BR: Lately I’ve hit the Eastern Bloc countries hard. I’m not sure if all of them are even countries anymore. I am well known around the Pacific Rim, and I terrorized the ladies of the south not long ago. Unfortunately the World Health Organization got word of my floozing and shit that shit down. I’m afraid I never really made it to Big Sky Country. Or the dark continent.

TGS: Name every team in the Mountain West conference.
BR: I cycled thru this just the other day. Also made it thru the Sun Belt and the Colonial before go time. I bet you’ve been impressed with the San Diego Toreros lately? Proud members of the West Coast conference.

TGS: What is your favorite memory of you and I, non-sexual?
BR: Does the bath circa Vegas ‘05 count? I found that comforting in a non-sexual way. If not then Vegas ‘07 when we robbed Bellagio and the Red Sea parted for us to go to the club where I did work. Then Big Joe bought a girl a Mandarin Vodka and Coke. Classy. This was followed by Clint telling Kristi – “You tell me what he’s doing? He sure as hell isn’t checking her for ticks.”

TGS: Talk to me a little about the old country. I know it was cold, but there had to be some hot moments. What did the cool kids do up in MN? Personal biases aside, I can’t imagine they were all in the band.
BR: It’s true. Most of the cool cats in the Great State of Minnesota get drunk and crash their snowmobiles into each other. Then they sink their pick ups in the lake because they thought ¼ inch of ice would hold it when they try to ice fish. Not too swift the Northerners. Hot Moments? Most of those took place in the back of a ‘94 red For Taurus. It’s a reasonable and practical family sedan.

TGS: Peak or valley?
BR: Life is all about peaks and valleys. This trip: Standing in line like poor people - Valley. Vodka Rocks – Peak. Flying commercial like poor people – Valley. Sunshine – Peak. Getting kicked of the beach and hotel within 1 hour - Valley. Ironing – Peak. Scavenging for scraps of food like pheasants – Valley. Fat Tuesday’s – Peak. The Dragon – Peak.

TGS: What does everybody get at Bangkok?
BR: Brant - Number 2, chicken, no onions at a 4. (He’s never met a vegetable he likes)
Brittany – Number 1, chicken, no peanuts, at a 2. (She will eat only two bites max)
Dipps – The special. (Sandwiched between jokes about Cablelesschick)
Cullen – Number 1, chicken, no peanuts at a 3. (I am not fully sure he embraces the Cock however.)
Nate – 15, chicken, 3. (This will be inhaled in 3.7 minuets flat)
Burcheck – Whatever Nate got. (He will also be wearing the same shirt, jeans and shoes and talking about his new favorite sport, hockey and the sweet goal Arsenal had on Fox Soccer Channel last night.)

TGS: Since you are a long-time Columbia local, humor me and tell me where the drink spots are on each night of the week. You can add any notes about said nights as well.
BR:
M – If I am forced to sit thru an insufferable ‘date nite,’ Monday night works well because there is no chance anything else is going on. I can use this opportunity to booze at dinner well she tells me how sophisticated she is. Yeah Right.
T – Tuesdays have a $1 bottle scent, a hip hop beat and a Russian feel.
W – Wednesdays I try to trick Nate into a sushi and sake nite. I am very good at this. Sake is the life water.
H – Jay Blue Jay and I have taken over for From and become Big 12/Tonic Thursday regulars. I just showed up to the party 7 years too late. But yeah, that’s right, they know us by name. Or at least the Southwest Visa card. I’m kind of a big deal.
F – Getting tanked at Studio 54, Las Vegas, Nevada
S – If it is not a tailgate, you will find me bellied up at the pub circa 5pm. I usually let Matt “The Biggest” Wanerski make the call here. I pretend I don’t want to go to the Vu with him, but secretly I demand it.
S – Even I don’t drink on the Sabbath. Ok that’s a lie. I booze lonely and by myself in my crappy apartment while I cry myself to sleep.

TGS: In the old SEGA days, who was better - You or Burcheck?
BR: I worked him all over the ice back then, and I will today. He usually blamed this on his (and only his) controller not working. We would switch, the result was the same, Calgary by 2.

TGS: As a player, you brought the body every night for the Senators. 5-time Norris Trophy winner.
BR: I am a notorious blue liner. If you sake into the zone with your head down, I’m going to deck you.

TGS: No no Danny? Thank you Danny?
BR: Yes thanks, I know.

TGS: Solve this math problem: 4 x 200 x 10 + 8.
BR: Oh ha, ha. The number of gin and tonics I drank in Key West plus the number of chicks I slept with while on the Island. Very funny. Dick. (Editor’s Note: The answer is “BOOB”).

TGS: Right on right on. Time to hit the old Flats -> Tuesdays -> Rick’s routine I say. Cheers from Florida dear readers. We’ll hit the Chopin for you.
BR: Agreed. I need to find someone to HH with. Let me close with a question for TGS. Recently you spent 9 of 11 days witnessing first hand the life of a nomadic, alcohol ridden lifestyle. Describe your experience in intimate detail.

TGS: Well I don’t think it would be proper for such a renowned blog to get into intimate details about a near-2 week likefest that involved a lot of heavy petting, licking, back rubs and airport spooning. When we were in that little plane from Ft. Myers it could have all ended and the one true regret would’ve been not having the materials to play Up-Down-Red-Black as we crashed into the Everglades. And I’m still impressed you didn’t drop your plate at the Wynn buffet. That was not a man, it was a disaster.

On a more serious note, even the most primitive of web users are keen to the online video craze. Ideas and information can be more effectively conveyed through video. It definitely has taken the web some time to be able to support the media, but companies are catching on. I thought it time for us to take the leap.

Kudos to Steve Twitchell Production for a job well done. They are actually based in Columbia, MO and Steve’s done work all over the country. Next time you’re at the Omnimax in the STL, you’ll hear his voice telling you where to exit after the show. He was great to work with and a cool guy.

I doubt I have any readers that are Veterans or Active-Duty military, but if you are, the video might actually even be useful for you to watch. Everyone else can just tell me how they think the big calculator is funny and how it’s kind of cheesy. Yeah, well, it’s in the SERPs bitch and that’s all that counts.

Interview with a Friend is back this week after a little hiatus.  And what better way to make a splash than to feature everyone’s favorite friend, the Local Donkey.  Yes, you read that right.  Let’s get to know the beast.

TGS: Would you liken yourself to George Costanza?  That episode where he gets fired on Friday and then comes back to work Monday like nothing happened kind of parallels your current situation doesn’t it?
LD:  There is certainly evidence supporting your theory “Hi, my name is George, I’m unemployed and I live with my parents.”  I prefer to think of myself as more of a Kramer.  Sleep, do nothing, fall ass-backwards into money, mooch food off my neighbors and have sex without dating.  That’s me, except for the sex part.

TGS: Has your mom ever walked in on you during heat?
LD:  Nah, the grunting and the neighing usually get pretty loud so she knows when to steer clear of my room.

TGS: Do you have any conceivable reason for even getting up in the morning?
LD:  I like to get the Daily News.

TGS: I will say, I have been impressed with your ability to grill meats, create drop shadows, and burn CDs.  There’s a place for us all in this world.  Speaking of the meats, I sometimes like to talk about which of my friends I would eat first and why.  Please fill in what you think each of these people would taste like and why.
LD: Brant – Brant probably tastes like money.  Not old money though, just new money.
Rahn – Although I would never actually eat anything remotely Rahn related, I’m convinced that if I did, it would taste like an old tennis shoe, maybe a Chuck All-Star some homeless guy has been wearing since the late 90’s.
Jay – Very lean, like a good steak, if marinated correctly.
Nolte – Lot of fat here, very bacony.
Mike – I imagine Mikey would taste like these Hot Gyro Fries I had this past weekend.  French Fries (steak cut) with some hot feta cheese on top.  Add some cooked up gyro meat and some swiss on top of all of that and that’s what Mike would taste like.
Dipps – When you cook Dipps I think the room will permeate with that new car smell but he’ll actually taste pretty similar to Mike’s Worst Nightmare.
Your Sister – I’m not sure how I’m supposed to answer this.  Chicken?

TGS: Omar got got yo!
LD:  Oh indeed.

TGS: Please describe to me in 1 sentence your career in these sporting situations.
LD: High school wrestling:  Saw the lights of a lot of high school gyms as a wrestler.
High school soccer:  The bench was nice, Big Gay Rob and Jerry McD were pretty funny.
Touch football on Stankonia:  Torn ACL waiting to happen.
Indoor soccer in ‘06:  A lot of heart, a lot of hustle, and a distinct lack of skills.  That actually sums up my life pretty accurately.
O’Snaps softball:  Can’t hit, can’t run, can’t catch, you guys won’t let me off the bench, and I still got hurt.
SEGA hockey:  I feel I was a fine replacement for Mr. Blackmon and a fast learner.  Lead man gets the puck, always forecheck, bury the one timers.

TGS: 7 shots, 8 shots, 9 shots, 10 shots.  Hot damn boy that’s a lot of alcohol.
LD:  That would’ve been a really bad night for everyone if I hadn’t puked up those shots and the laxatives you and Jenkerson were putting in them.

TGS: How much did it cost for you to get the steering wheel moved from the right side to the left side in that Volvo wagon you used to drive?
LD:  I think that was the bulk of the $2,000 we paid for the car.

TGS: What South County bar is the best?
LD:  They’re all equally bad.  O’Leary’s is decent because I know the bartenders and get discounted drinks, always a must for an alcoholic.  I would never go to Hessler’s, but their pitchers couldn’t possibly get any cheaper.  Plus who doesn’t like running into Tiffany Trolinger, any combination of Baker brothers, Andy Luese, and Bobby Reese.  I hate my life.

TGS: Do you think you’ll always be a token SoCo bar rat?  Maybe later we can go grab some Whitie’s, cruise L-bergh and gain weight.  I can’t wait to go to your wedding at Two Hearts banquet center.
LD: No.  I will leave SoCo forever as soon as price isn’t the only determinant of where I go to drink, so maybe I won’t actually leave.

TGS: What is the key to making a great 3 bowls of pasta?
LD:  You’ve got to boil the water just right.  Oh, and copious amount of parmesan cheese.

TGS: Describe to me the progress you have made in the last few years in your efforts to revitalize the city of St. Louis.  If you want, I can leaflet the West End and try to get you elected alderman.  Or I can roofie Joe Edwards and you can take advantage of him.  You can give him the old 1-2 with a flamingo, live or stuffed.
LD:  As of right now the only progress I’ve made is pumping more money than I thought I had into the South County bar and restaurant scene.  Apparently I’m big on procrastination.  If I wasn’t I’d be spending all my time figuring out how to fix a broken schools system, lower crime, or at least the perception of crime, and get people to move into and stay in the city.

TGS: There’s a little segment in With Honors where Joe Pesci’s homeless character (who kinda looks like you) asks the anal roommate, “Why do you think the kids tease you so much Jeffrey?”.  He responds, “There jealous because I’m so handsome.”  Pause.  Pesci responds, “Do you know why you hate me so much Jeffrey?  Because I look the way you feel.”  Now, first of all, do you think the reason people like to razz on you so much is because of your good looks?  Also, do you look the way you feel?
LD: Yes and yes.  Pesci had a beard in that movie, didn’t he?

TGS: How many hours did it take you to shave your back before going to Vegas?
LD: It wouldn’t have taken so long if one of you guys had helped me out.

TGS: They don’t call you the best wheel man in the business for nothing.
LD:  Funny how they stopped calling me that after I used a curb to destroy a tire on your car.

TGS: Thanks for your time Gringo D., I’ll see you around the way.  Well, probably at Ronnie’s.
LD:  All in the game yo, all in the game

“Initiative is the most significant differentiator in life. Ideas are plentiful, but action is the catalyst.”

Unfortunately the bold ideas that are in all of our heads don’t manifest themselves as successes through telepathy. Only through physical action does anything in this world get accomplished. I mean really, there’s nothing that should stand in the way of you taking a certain idea or desire and making it reality except yourself. We get in the way of ourselves. People let insignificant obstacles become significant all on their own. The tendency to do so is apparently part of human nature, so I think it’s important to always be on guard.

Nothing is going to get done without you doing it. Genius! I always think about Jack Black in Orange County, telling his brother Shaun - “I’m going to do something with my life. Yeah man. I got these ideas . . . I don’t know, like a t-shirt that says “LOSER”. That shit would sell. You know the guy that started Stussy? He started that in his garage, now he parties with models. He gets to party 24/7 in Hawaii.”

That’s not a direct quote but it’s the gist of it. The point I want to make is Jack Black’s character is just a drugged out dude sitting on his parents couch, worried about his parole officer and whatever else. But there isn’t much of a difference between the idea he talks about (selling shirts) and the on the guy that seriously did start Stussy had once. The guy that started Stussy just woke up the next morning and started getting shirts together, got a printer, registered a business and started looking for a way to sell his stuff.

Every group of people I’ve ever been around sits around the campfire and talks about grand plans and ideas. Some are about business, other’s are about trivial stuff like having a themed party or going on a trip or starting a bowling team. Most of them never happen. Why? Because talk is cheap motherfucker. Whatever gap exists between what you want to get done and accomplishing it - chalk it up to ignorance, fear, comfort, risk (ok, it’s always fear of some kind) - either you get past that by creating action or the idea fizzles away.

Yes it’s as simple as filling out a form. Yes it’s as simple as reading. Yes it’s as simple as asking some friends to go in with you. Just do it MJ, just do it. Otherwise the moment just passes you by. You won’t get to bowl with your friends and you sure won’t get to party in Hawaii 24/7. Move!

P.S. I quoted DMX, My Best Friend’s Wedding and Red Jumpsuit Apparatus in this post. But I still said something useful I think. God bless them all. They inspire me.