Food

I guess I don't need to explain anything!
This picture of Rachel and I (taken last Tuesday after a show in Put In Bay, OH) shows exactly how this band LOVES food, especially birthday cakes!!Thanks Potter's Mom!
kisses for all;
amanda

World Cup Anxiety #3 - ANXIOUS!!!

The Bass Player of this band cannot sleep anymore because of the World Cup!

It is so hard for me to know what's going on with all the games and players while being on the road. This has never happened to me before - during the past WCups, I was in Brazil, which made things easier, because nobody would have a gig or rehearsal during a game. Anyway, times are different now, but thanks to (god bless) WI-FI and internet on your cell phone, I am always aware of all the scores and news, but I've been losing some games. Because of all this anxiety, this past weekend on the road I forgot to bring my toothpaste, some stage clothes, jewelry, bus keys, etc...

So far, these are the teams that I would like to comment on:
-England: Too much talk, too little soccer. They are not showing inside the camp a good game, even though they clame to be "good".
-Sweden: Are you kidding me? Larsson is old enough to be my grandpa! (I remember you from 1990!)
-Trinidad: Yeah!!! They are showing an amazing team spirit, what a surprise, for a country that has never been in a WC.
-Italy: Not even with 3 attack players you guys are attacking!
-Germany: Really weak, they are playing at their own house, with everybody cheering for them, and there is no connection between middle camp and attack. I was expecting more...
-Argentina: Great!! They are passing the ball between each other, with a great attack + mid section, but I think they have problems on their defense, as you could see on their game against the Ivory Coast. If you put some "pressure" on their defense, they have a hard time dealing with it... Sorin, has been a little slow, and Ayala has made some mistakes. We'll see how they behave in the playoffs, against stronger teams.
-Spain: Finally, not just being a promise, but a reality.
-Brazil: ... I swear, one of these days my team will give me a heart attack...We have the biggest stars in the world, but the "magic quartet" (Adriano, Kaka, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho Gaucho) is not working. In my opinion, if we want to win we need to change. Somebody needs to come back more to pick up the ball from the mid section to the attack. Ronaldo is out of shape because he is coming back from an injury, Adriano has been in "another world" during the games, and then, we play beautifully, but we don't score. And in soccer, if you don't score your opponent will. Also, our side players Cafu and Roberto Carlos have been too slow (maybe because they are over 30 and it's hard to run against 20 year old kids...), which has been forcing us to play more in the middle where all the teams tend to "close", not leaving us too much space to play. We have great players on reserve, but our coach wants to keep the stars in. For me if we don't change, we will lose.

So far, for me, the quality this WC has been pretty low, in an overall look, there hasn't been any surprises, or amazing talent, it has been sad... but let's wait until July 9th and see what happens.
In the meantime, kisses for all ;
Amanda

P.S. These are my personal opinions, and as a soccer lover, I respect everybody else's, and if you would like to discuss it more with me, it's fine, just come talk to me at the merch table after one of our shows.

Daegu'......I sure hope I spelled it right...

This is a beautiful city and it was a really fun show because it was military appreciation day and the base was open to the public and they had a big festival with tons of things to do..


I have to admit this was one of the coolest things to see while we were there...the sign below is advertising the festival and our name is the only thing in English...I just think it looks cool...









I have to give a shout out to Lewis...Thank you for being so kind to us and for taking such great care of us. Who knew you knew how much we liked to eat? Lewis had more food for us than we could have eaten in a week.....But we sure tried to eat it all.......Thanks Lewis.

With Military Appreciation Day you get to check out all the military equipment.....So of course we had to get on a tank and a helicopter. These machines are amazing. They have so many little gadgets.....I wanted to push every button and yank every wire......But no telling what might have happened so I settled for the photo op. This is Amanda, Rachel, Brenda, Sarah and myself(tobi) It was a great show and looking out at the men and women of the military and the local Koreans it was just a neat show...Thanks for the memories....Tobi

The Nashville Club In Itaewon....

Isn't it great when you can be in South Korea and still get a taste of home? I have to say I am so lucky...This is my second time to Korea and when I was there before I met the most wonderful people and they owned this place in Itaewon called the Nashville Club. I hung out there everynight and they made me feel like I was at home.....



I have to say if you are ever in the Itaewon section of Seoul, Korea. stop by and say hello to Skip and Okie. They truly are great people to meet.....And they serve the best Angus burger on the south peninsula......

South Korea....the food and the advertising......

I LOVE KOREAN FOOD!!!!!!!!! Their most famous dish is KimChi (kim-shee) I can't even tell you what it is because they have a thousand different recipes...I only know it has cabbage in it and it tastes great wrapped in a lettuce or cabbage leaf. This is a picture of just some versions of KimChi.......







We did a lot of traveling because we had to get from base to base so we could entertain as much of the military men and women as possible. We got lucky one day and had to catch the Bullet Train which goes 180 miles per hour. It was pretty fast and actually you couldn't even tell you were going that fast.......But the funniest thing at the train station were the signs that told you were to go when you had to relieve yourself........I will let the pictures do all the talking........Tobi

Korea....The DMZ

It really is unexplainable what it was like to be able to see the DMZ (demilitarized zone) which is the line that divides North Korea and South Korea. We were touring in South Korea blessed with the opportunity to support our troops by performing and in the process we got to visit some of our military men stationed at this high risk area. I will do my best to explain the pictures........to the left are North Korean soldiers and the building behind them are the North Koreans offices. The two buildings on each side are the only places where the North and the South meet for discussions...which from the information I recieved they do not communicate at all with the guards...and only higher officials meet in the buildings which are overseen by the United Nations...But guards Do Not Talk to one another....



In this picture you see a South Korean Soldier standing with his body halfway hidden behind the building and the other half is keeping a close eye on the North Koreans. The reason he does this is to make himself less of a target to shoot at in case a conflict should arise.









Now to my left we have entered a United Nations building which only in this building with military protection can you cross over into North Korea. I took this picture from inside through the window...But as you look at the concrete barrier to the left of the feet of the soldiers....That is the line that divides the North and the South...In this picture I am actually standing in North Korea.













This is a close up of the guys who protect the South...They do not move and they stand ready to fight. You are not allowed to touch them and you can not get too close.


This is called the Bridge of No Return......As we were driving to the Dmz we saw a constant fence that crosses completely across the penisula of Korea and divides North from South. When the conflict happened a lot of families were divided because of living in different parts of the country and still to this day have no communication with one another and are unable to talk or send letters and they only have the hope that one day the North and South will find peace and families can be reunited....Prisoners of war were given the opportunity to choose which side of the bridge they wanted to be on the North or South....Once they walked and made their decision...that was it.....that is why they call it the Bridge of No Return......Thanks to the soldiers who were with us that day.....It truly was an unforgettable experience and I can only hope that the North and the South find peace someday were they can co-exist. Tobi

World Cup Anxiety #2 {North+South} = KOREA?

One of the most interesting things that I learned on our South Korean trip was that both North and South have deep scars between each other. Because of different beliefs and political ideas, both countries are ready to fight at any time, their borders are closed, and nobody is allowed to pass (from one side to the other). Families were separated more than 50 years ago, and since then, lost touch.
Despite all the distance, difference, sadness, hate and many more political issues or feelings, this week the North Korean government got in touch with South Korea's "Department of Unification" asking for help on the airing of the World Cup Games, so that the people in the North could watch the games.
Both countries had a previous and similar agreement 2 years ago for the Olympic Games in Athens, therefore the South Korean T.V. got in touch with FIFA, to see if they will let them extend their signal to the North, since they only bought the rights to show the games in the South.
In North Korea the people are not allowed to see or receive any images or news from oversees, and both radio and T.V. only have shows made by the government. During the last World Cup where the games were in South Korea and Japan, North Koreans got to see only a few moments of the South's game on the semifinal.
And that for me is the beauty of Soccer! Even though they don't talk to each other, they share the same passion, and I think that it would be interesting that if it works out, for one month, both sides will be for the first time in years, united for one cause: to cheer for Korea, for the Korean people, no matter if they are in the North or in the South!!
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Curiosity:
The last time North Korea was in a World Cup, they made a lot of noise, beating Italy and being the first Asian country to qualify for a quarter final. That was in England, 1966.

kisses for all my Korean, American, Brazilian, and worldwide friends,
Amanda



Picture: Me (wearing the Korean official soccer shirt) and Mr. Hwang (one of our entertainment coordinators for the Korean Trip) @ Camp Casey in Korea.