I don't know why dad was text messaging me, but soccer went well. I played a tournament on Saturday in Amsterdam, near the Amstel station. I met the team at Leiden Centraal, but then I got to go in one of the cars. Best I can figure, our driver was the boyfriend of a girl on the team who is currently studying abroad. The other driver was another boyfriend too I think. It was the smallest car I've ever been in, but nice not to have to take the train and buy a ticket.

The tournament was four 25 minute games. We tied our first one, 0-0, lost the next two, and then won the final one 1-0. We were there from 10:30 to 7. The weather stayed relatively nice the whole time. Sunny, and just a little bit windy. I didn't get too badly burned though, thanks to a combination of sunblock and the Dutch sun being different from other suns. I played right fullback in most of the games. The final game, the one we won, we didn't even have enough players. There is going to be another tournament this weekend in Delft, but it is Elena's birthday and I have a lot of work, so I'm not sure if I'm going to go, but Delft is really close, so I could always go to some. I talked to most of the girls on the team. Two of them are American, which of course makes it easier. I've started to sort out the Dutch player's names, majors, ages, etc. more and more, but it isn't always easy.

I went to the China embassy this morning in The Hague. It wasn't nearly as painful as I thought it would be. I took a cab from the train station to make sure I didn't get lost, but then I only had to fill out one form and wait a little under half an hour. My actual exchange at the counter went very easily, all I needed was the form, my passport, and a picture. I'll have to pay seventy Euro to pick it up after Friday. The consulate is only open between 9-12 which is a little annoying, but not a major problem. I should have a two-month two-entry. I splurged for the extra twenty Euro in case I get a chance to go to Taiwan or Korea or something while I'm there) visa, no problems.

I spent the rest of the afternoon walking around The Hague, which Rae probably remembers some from the Escher museum visit. I have a class there now, so I tried to get to know the area around the Leiden University building, but I lost my bearings frequently. Oh well, I think I could find my class now on my own if forced to, I just hope it doesn't come to that if time ever matters.

Oh, and I played Boggle the night before last and Scrabble last night. Everyone has a lot of work in the next couple of weeks, but I think everyone is hard up for personal contact as well. It is Pentecost or something, everything was closed on both Sunday and Monday.

Driving many of the initiatives is a two-man, Asia-based consultancy that acts as the brainpower behind the China Council. Scott Harrison, who once oversaw the entire operations of the Central Intelligence Agency in China, left the agency in 1999 to found his own consultancy that specializes in Chinese business. His partner in China is Zhihai Zhai, who served as a high-ranking military intelligence officer for 22 years for China's People's Liberation Army, where he was an American specialist.

--Neal Vitale

It was at my father's behest that I went to see the last episode of the Star Wars prequel. I was underwhelmed by the first two, and was ready to write off the third one. The only reason I was willing to see this movie was Anakins' mythic change from good to evil. I already knew what was going to happen, but I wanted to see how it would happen; how the writers and producers would tell the story.

Right off the bat, the story-telling was very different. The fight-scenes were more gripping, both because of pacing and because each fight felt like it really mattered. They acted as a litmus test of evil Anakin was and where he was psychologically. I don't remember if the robots that look like they had vacuum cleaners as heads said "ouch" and said things like "we have to run away" in the other two movies, but they did in this one to great effect. I probably wouldn't have noticed Obi-Wan's green alien-horse squashing that robot extra if he hadn't reacted. It also a nice tension reliever for the otherwise serious tone of the battle scenes.

The best part of this movie revivified the mythic qualities that renowned anthropologist Joseph Campbell's lauded in the original Star Wars trilogy. Revenge of the Sith was very much like a Greek Tragedy. Anakin's fatal flaw was his desire for control, and his reversal of fortunes, was a psychological one instead of a financial one. The use of foreshadowing in the first two movies, the audience's knowledge of the sequel, and the talk of prophecy and destiny make Anakin's descent into darkness the product of fate. In addition, the character's simple dialogue puts the emphasis more on the situation and outside forces than on the characters themselves, making them appear more as archetypes than fully-fleshed out characters which is entirely appropriate for this epic story.

One example of the masterful use of language is Anakin expressing his desire to save his wife. He does this in several different scenes, but this single phrase is not repetitive, instead the audience gleans the new meaning from the preceding events. The story-telling of this movie is amazing because it has a very simple premise, and everyone knows the outcome, but the pacing, emotional intensity, and high stakes make it very gripping.

Important Sidenote: Only one shot of Jar-Jar Binks and he doesn't talk. That alone greatly improved the quality of the movie.

--Rae Schindler

--Neal Vitale

After reading what happened, click the "here" link at the start of the "Surfin Sailboat (part deux)" section to view the photos. On the page that comes up, there's a picture on the top left, click the "Boat capsizes" link. It'll do a slideshow of all the images.