We'll start by me saying that the remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still isn't as good as the original, but that's pretty obvious. I still enjoyed seeing Gort, but there was too much blah-ness that overrided anything good. The original came out in 1951, the same year that brought us such notable films as An American in Paris (probably my second-favorite opening scene, behind Patton), A Place in the Sun (reviewed by me here), and A Streetcar Named Desire (not to be confused with "A Streetcar Named Marge". On to more pleasant things:
People here in Natchitoches keep telling me that it must be such a big change going from the big city to back home. I suppose it is, but honestly I don't feel any sort of culture shock at all. I did live here the first 22 years of my life, and came back a few times a year for visits or other purposes. So it's not like I didn't know what to expect. The two biggest differences are driving and Saturday night.
I can't shake the feeling that I'm not as good a driver as I used to be. After not even having a car when I lived in VA, I'm used to just being carried along, rather than bearing any responsibility for the caring. I find myself staring a little too long at things on the side of the road that grab my attention, or being a little lackadaisical about certain things, expecting that they're just going to happen instead of making them happen.
As for Saturday night, there is of course no Sign of the Whale here. And if there were, it wouldn't be THE Sign of the Whale. I need to find a place where I can just sit and relax. Wish me luck.
I am very happy to report, however, that Natchitoches recently got a Dairy Queen (specifically a Dairy Queen Grill and Chill). For decades I wondered why we didn't have one. It seemed like Texas had a state law mandating that all towns of at least 500 people had to have one. Why couldn't we? Well, now we do, and the Snickers Blizzard is marvelous.
LSU's football season did not go the way most hoped or expected. There were weaknesses at the beginning of the season (secondary, LB, QB) that remained weaknesses all season long and didn't get any better. That's a bit of a surprise, but a much bigger surprise was the play of LSU's lines. I would have said (and probably did) at the start of the year that LSU had as good a matched set of lines as you would find in the country. I feel like both the offensive and defensive lines dramatically underperformed this season. The epic failure of the co-defensive coordinators didn't help things, either.
I am very happy to say that I got to go to two LSU home games this season. I hadn't been to Tiger Stadium in probably over 20 years, and I saw them play Tulane and Alabama in consecutive weeks. The Tulane week was a bit blah, but the tailgating for the Alabama game was something I shall not soon forget. I took a very long walk around campus, and I never ran into an area that was not partied upon. It was really something.
Now that my first semester of Heritage Resources grad school is over, I'm looking forward to visiting D.C. for New Year's. I miss some people and places and can't wait to see them again. The American History Museum has reopened, the Pentagon 9/11 memorial is up, It's really nice that I have free places to stay. I love you people.
This is my first post in a while, and it's a bit haphazard. I'll do better next time.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Paul Newman
There's got to be some post limit or date of expiration for old posts on this blog, because when I did a search for mentions of Paul Newman, I only came up with this one. I just can't believe that I haven't talked about more than one movie with Paul Newman in it. Running through his IMDB bio, I know I've seen Road to Perdition, Hudsucker Proxy, Slapshot, The Sting, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Cool Hand Luke, The Hustler, and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Those last six are probably as impressive a list as anybody else can throw out there, and that's just the ones I've seen.
One is the greatest scam/heist movie ever. One is one of the funniest sports movies (I would say THE funniest, but I'd probably get run over by a Caddyshack fan tomorrow). One is one of the greatest westerns. One is one of the greatest prison movies. One is the greatest pool movie ever, and is also a great personal drama/tragedy film. And the last is one of my favorites because it has so much raw emotion packed into every scene.
One is the greatest scam/heist movie ever. One is one of the funniest sports movies (I would say THE funniest, but I'd probably get run over by a Caddyshack fan tomorrow). One is one of the greatest westerns. One is one of the greatest prison movies. One is the greatest pool movie ever, and is also a great personal drama/tragedy film. And the last is one of my favorites because it has so much raw emotion packed into every scene.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
I Know, You Know I Know, But I Know You Know I Know
They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
Last night LSU and Auburn renewed their SEC West rivalry with an exciting and much-too-tense-for-me football game. All LSU-Auburn games for the last decade or so have been nail-biters than leave the caring viewer exhausted and trembling when it was all over. The game even has its own Wikipedia entry (arbiter of all that is true and right). The home team had won eight in a row, and the four most recent games had been decided by a total of 14 points. LSU fans hate this game, mostly because there have been times when LSU was ranked higher and favored to win, only to come up on the short end.
LSU won 26-21 in another great game with a late drive that featured aggressive playcalling and good execution. There's a couple of scoring plays for each team I want to talk about that concern Auburn's defense being so familiar with LSU's offense. (You can see an LSU-based recap of the game here)
The first was an awful play by Jarrett Lee late in the first half. He double- and triple-clutches on a flare pass out left to Keiland Williams, an Auburn DE makes a nice play to intercept it, and he brings it back for a touchdown. Last year, Keiland Williams burned Auburn bad on this same play, which can be seen here. So when Auburn sees Lee in the shotgun with Williams to his left, they're ready. Even before the hesitation by Lee, about five Auburn guys are headed over to cover Williams. The pass never should have been thrown, but it was still a nice play by the defender to gather in the pass and head in for the score. It was a case of Auburn knowing what LSU knew.
Later on in the game, LSU knows that Auburn knows what they know. LSU seems to run a particular play with Keiland Williams about once a game. The formation includes a fullback in front of Williams. Hike, and the QB fakes a dive handoff to the fullback, then pitches it out the other way to Williams. The first time I remember seeing this play was from San Diego with LaDanian Tomlinson a few years ago. Some teams use it regularly. LSU seems to use it more often than most, and Keiland Williams gets it more than anyone else. Auburn knows this well.
So when LSU is down on Auburn's 22 yard line and Williams is lined up behind a fullback, Auburn is ready again. Fake dive handoff, pitch outside to Williams. But instead of running with it, Williams gathers it in and throws a halfback pass to a moderately-open Demetrius Byrd, who had gotten behind two defenders. LSU was able to use Auburn's knowledge of the play against them, showing them something they'd seen, then showing them something else. Nicely done.
Women's Soccer
I was a season ticket holder for all the seasons that the Washington Freedom were in the WUSA before the league folded days before the 2003 Women's World Cup. After the first year the team drafted Abby Wambach out of Florida. Lost in the finals the second year, won the title the third year. The league will be replaced by Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) in 2009. Player allocation of National Team members was a few days ago, and Wambach is back with the Freedom, which makes me happy.
The Freedom are the first and only team I've ever had season tickets to, so I feel like the connection I have to them is different than any of the other teams I root for. Definitely not stronger, but different in a way I kind of like. I think I'm going to get season tickets again, even if I can't go to any games. I'll try to find a way to make one or two, though how I'm going to get to the Germantown Soccer-plex is beyond me. RKF it ain't. I'll probably send someone the tickets to had out as they wish for the games I don't get to.
Interesting note: The NBA logo features a silhouette of Jerry West. The new WPS logo will feature a silhouette of Mia Hamm. That's a nice touch.
By the way, the Chicago team is called the Red Stars. Doesn't that sound like it should be an old Soviet team?
At another level of women's soccer, I've had the chance to attend a few Lady Demon soccer games recently. They're held at the Demon Soccer Complex, which may have been in its infancy when I was a student. It's turned out to be really nice, and is much nicer than any place I ever played. I'm very pleasantly surprised at the crowds that turn out for the games. I told my dad that if you added up all the people who ever watched my league teams play, they wouldn't equal the crowd there. Where did all these people come from? I used to feel like I knew pretty much everybody in town who was interested in soccer. Verily, things have changed.
Come on, ship...Come on, ship...Come on, ship...Come on in.
The biggest news story in this part of the state the last few months has centered around a geologic formation known as the Haynesville Shale. It's really far underground and contains natural gas. Lots of it. Maybe enough to be the fourth-largest deposit in the world. It was long considered too hard to access, but a new drilling technique has opened things up. So if you own a few acres in the right place, you could be looking at a nice chunk of change. If you own more than a few, you could probably retire. Consider (with the warning that I may have no idea what I'm talking about):
Say you own a section of land, 640 acres. You get paid a fee per acre just for the company to drill. I've heard of fees ranging from eight thousand to twenty-five thousand dollars (not too many people own a whole section, I think).
The price of natural gas is based on per thousand cubic feet produced in a section. Recently the price has been about $7 per thousand cubic feet. Some of these wells can produce more than ten million cubic feet per day.
You get a percentage royalty of the overall production, around 16-25% (one-sixth to one-fourth royalty).
Let's do some math with relatively conservative numbers. The exception is owning a whole section. I don't know an example of anyone who does, though I'm sure they're out there.
640 acres with a $8,000 per acre leasing fee: $5,120,000
7 million cubic feet per day at $7 per thousand cubic feet: $49,000 per day
$49,000 per day times 30 days: $1,470,000 per month
$1,470,000 times 12 months: $17,640,000 per year
$17,640,000 with a 1/6 royalty: $2,940,000 per year
The leasing fee is yours, independent of any royalty. You still have to pay taxes on all this, somewhere in the neighborhood of 42%. Whatever the details, good luck to all the landowners who are in line to take home a nice piece of cash. Some of these people have only ever owned land and not had any money to go along with it. Those are the ones I feel pretty good for.
Last night LSU and Auburn renewed their SEC West rivalry with an exciting and much-too-tense-for-me football game. All LSU-Auburn games for the last decade or so have been nail-biters than leave the caring viewer exhausted and trembling when it was all over. The game even has its own Wikipedia entry (arbiter of all that is true and right). The home team had won eight in a row, and the four most recent games had been decided by a total of 14 points. LSU fans hate this game, mostly because there have been times when LSU was ranked higher and favored to win, only to come up on the short end.
LSU won 26-21 in another great game with a late drive that featured aggressive playcalling and good execution. There's a couple of scoring plays for each team I want to talk about that concern Auburn's defense being so familiar with LSU's offense. (You can see an LSU-based recap of the game here)
The first was an awful play by Jarrett Lee late in the first half. He double- and triple-clutches on a flare pass out left to Keiland Williams, an Auburn DE makes a nice play to intercept it, and he brings it back for a touchdown. Last year, Keiland Williams burned Auburn bad on this same play, which can be seen here. So when Auburn sees Lee in the shotgun with Williams to his left, they're ready. Even before the hesitation by Lee, about five Auburn guys are headed over to cover Williams. The pass never should have been thrown, but it was still a nice play by the defender to gather in the pass and head in for the score. It was a case of Auburn knowing what LSU knew.
Later on in the game, LSU knows that Auburn knows what they know. LSU seems to run a particular play with Keiland Williams about once a game. The formation includes a fullback in front of Williams. Hike, and the QB fakes a dive handoff to the fullback, then pitches it out the other way to Williams. The first time I remember seeing this play was from San Diego with LaDanian Tomlinson a few years ago. Some teams use it regularly. LSU seems to use it more often than most, and Keiland Williams gets it more than anyone else. Auburn knows this well.
So when LSU is down on Auburn's 22 yard line and Williams is lined up behind a fullback, Auburn is ready again. Fake dive handoff, pitch outside to Williams. But instead of running with it, Williams gathers it in and throws a halfback pass to a moderately-open Demetrius Byrd, who had gotten behind two defenders. LSU was able to use Auburn's knowledge of the play against them, showing them something they'd seen, then showing them something else. Nicely done.
Women's Soccer
I was a season ticket holder for all the seasons that the Washington Freedom were in the WUSA before the league folded days before the 2003 Women's World Cup. After the first year the team drafted Abby Wambach out of Florida. Lost in the finals the second year, won the title the third year. The league will be replaced by Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) in 2009. Player allocation of National Team members was a few days ago, and Wambach is back with the Freedom, which makes me happy.
The Freedom are the first and only team I've ever had season tickets to, so I feel like the connection I have to them is different than any of the other teams I root for. Definitely not stronger, but different in a way I kind of like. I think I'm going to get season tickets again, even if I can't go to any games. I'll try to find a way to make one or two, though how I'm going to get to the Germantown Soccer-plex is beyond me. RKF it ain't. I'll probably send someone the tickets to had out as they wish for the games I don't get to.
Interesting note: The NBA logo features a silhouette of Jerry West. The new WPS logo will feature a silhouette of Mia Hamm. That's a nice touch.
By the way, the Chicago team is called the Red Stars. Doesn't that sound like it should be an old Soviet team?
At another level of women's soccer, I've had the chance to attend a few Lady Demon soccer games recently. They're held at the Demon Soccer Complex, which may have been in its infancy when I was a student. It's turned out to be really nice, and is much nicer than any place I ever played. I'm very pleasantly surprised at the crowds that turn out for the games. I told my dad that if you added up all the people who ever watched my league teams play, they wouldn't equal the crowd there. Where did all these people come from? I used to feel like I knew pretty much everybody in town who was interested in soccer. Verily, things have changed.
Come on, ship...Come on, ship...Come on, ship...Come on in.
The biggest news story in this part of the state the last few months has centered around a geologic formation known as the Haynesville Shale. It's really far underground and contains natural gas. Lots of it. Maybe enough to be the fourth-largest deposit in the world. It was long considered too hard to access, but a new drilling technique has opened things up. So if you own a few acres in the right place, you could be looking at a nice chunk of change. If you own more than a few, you could probably retire. Consider (with the warning that I may have no idea what I'm talking about):
Say you own a section of land, 640 acres. You get paid a fee per acre just for the company to drill. I've heard of fees ranging from eight thousand to twenty-five thousand dollars (not too many people own a whole section, I think).
The price of natural gas is based on per thousand cubic feet produced in a section. Recently the price has been about $7 per thousand cubic feet. Some of these wells can produce more than ten million cubic feet per day.
You get a percentage royalty of the overall production, around 16-25% (one-sixth to one-fourth royalty).
Let's do some math with relatively conservative numbers. The exception is owning a whole section. I don't know an example of anyone who does, though I'm sure they're out there.
640 acres with a $8,000 per acre leasing fee: $5,120,000
7 million cubic feet per day at $7 per thousand cubic feet: $49,000 per day
$49,000 per day times 30 days: $1,470,000 per month
$1,470,000 times 12 months: $17,640,000 per year
$17,640,000 with a 1/6 royalty: $2,940,000 per year
The leasing fee is yours, independent of any royalty. You still have to pay taxes on all this, somewhere in the neighborhood of 42%. Whatever the details, good luck to all the landowners who are in line to take home a nice piece of cash. Some of these people have only ever owned land and not had any money to go along with it. Those are the ones I feel pretty good for.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Two week notice
It's been an interesting couple of weeks lately. I started my graduate assistantship, where I am scheduled to work all day Monday/Wednesday and half a day Friday. The first week the mayor gave us Friday off. Then Monday was Labor Day. Classes and the office were closed Tuesday and Wednesday due to Gustav. Thursday and Friday I was out of town for a wedding in Florida. So I was basically on a week, off a week. We got sent home early today because of Ike. I walked in at 1 and they told me to go home.
Going to the beach we stayed north for a while and went through Natchez, MS, then on down to Hattiesburg before hitting the coast. On the way back we came through Slidell (north of Lake Pontchartrain, for those of you not familiar with Louisiana geography), over to Baton Rouge, and then on up. For fifty miles outside of Baton Rouge, we saw downed power lines, telephone poles hanging over the highway, collapsed or damaged buildings, and flooding on either side of the road. And this was with Gustav not being as bad as feared. If Ike had taken the same path, he would have been serious trouble for a part of the state that had already been hit hard.
Scotty Williams Health Update: The Monday after we got back from the beach, a voodoo queen exacted a measure of revenge on behalf of some old enemy of mine. I don't know which one. Sitting down to dinner, my back started to itch from should blade to shoulder blade. Not the kind of itch that you can scratch and it goes away. But a deep, intense, mind-numbing itch that consumes 100% of your attention and mocks any attempt at relief. It was likely an allergic reaction to something at the beach, but I don't know what. Other people complained of some sort of reaction. I don't think they had it as bad as I did, though.
As I was lying in bed facedown, trying to relax and get to sleep, the Marie Laveau wannabe went to work, and my right shoulder would jerk back suddenly. Then my left. On and on till 4 in the morning. If we were living in a different age, they'd have called an exorcist. Living as we do now, we went to Walgreens. But as John Astin used to say on Night Court, "I'm feeling much better now."
One of the ladies I work with used to live in Alexandria, VA. So did yours truly. She asked me if I ever hung out in Adams Morgan. "Nah, I mostly hung out at a place on M Street called Sign of the Whale." "Oh yeah, I've been there a lot!" she said. So I moved back to Louisiana to find someone who used to live in the same city and hung out at the same place. It's a crazy world.
I went to the Texas A&M Commerce/NSU game last weekend and had a great time. It had been a while since I'd sat in Turpin Stadium and yelled at the people on the field. Mostly griping about NSU coach Scott Stoker's decision to punt on 4 and 1 inside the opponent's territory in the first quarter. Fortune favors the bold, coach.
In the second half I felt like getting nachos, so I went to the concession stand. The item list said "Nachos: $3.00". THREE DOLLARS!! I almost started to cry. I can't get spat on at RFK or the Verizon Center for three dollars. I thought about getting four orders of nachos just because I could.
There's a story on ESPN about three Saints starters who will miss the game this week against the Washington Redskins. Roman Harper has a pulled right hamstring, and Randall Gay has a pulled left hamstring. Can't they just strap the two injured legs together and compete as a single player, sort of like a three-legged race in the secondary?
Going to the beach we stayed north for a while and went through Natchez, MS, then on down to Hattiesburg before hitting the coast. On the way back we came through Slidell (north of Lake Pontchartrain, for those of you not familiar with Louisiana geography), over to Baton Rouge, and then on up. For fifty miles outside of Baton Rouge, we saw downed power lines, telephone poles hanging over the highway, collapsed or damaged buildings, and flooding on either side of the road. And this was with Gustav not being as bad as feared. If Ike had taken the same path, he would have been serious trouble for a part of the state that had already been hit hard.
Scotty Williams Health Update: The Monday after we got back from the beach, a voodoo queen exacted a measure of revenge on behalf of some old enemy of mine. I don't know which one. Sitting down to dinner, my back started to itch from should blade to shoulder blade. Not the kind of itch that you can scratch and it goes away. But a deep, intense, mind-numbing itch that consumes 100% of your attention and mocks any attempt at relief. It was likely an allergic reaction to something at the beach, but I don't know what. Other people complained of some sort of reaction. I don't think they had it as bad as I did, though.
As I was lying in bed facedown, trying to relax and get to sleep, the Marie Laveau wannabe went to work, and my right shoulder would jerk back suddenly. Then my left. On and on till 4 in the morning. If we were living in a different age, they'd have called an exorcist. Living as we do now, we went to Walgreens. But as John Astin used to say on Night Court, "I'm feeling much better now."
One of the ladies I work with used to live in Alexandria, VA. So did yours truly. She asked me if I ever hung out in Adams Morgan. "Nah, I mostly hung out at a place on M Street called Sign of the Whale." "Oh yeah, I've been there a lot!" she said. So I moved back to Louisiana to find someone who used to live in the same city and hung out at the same place. It's a crazy world.
I went to the Texas A&M Commerce/NSU game last weekend and had a great time. It had been a while since I'd sat in Turpin Stadium and yelled at the people on the field. Mostly griping about NSU coach Scott Stoker's decision to punt on 4 and 1 inside the opponent's territory in the first quarter. Fortune favors the bold, coach.
In the second half I felt like getting nachos, so I went to the concession stand. The item list said "Nachos: $3.00". THREE DOLLARS!! I almost started to cry. I can't get spat on at RFK or the Verizon Center for three dollars. I thought about getting four orders of nachos just because I could.
There's a story on ESPN about three Saints starters who will miss the game this week against the Washington Redskins. Roman Harper has a pulled right hamstring, and Randall Gay has a pulled left hamstring. Can't they just strap the two injured legs together and compete as a single player, sort of like a three-legged race in the secondary?
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Sports and Weather at 11
I know I had all sorts of stuff I really wanted to talk about, but most of it has left my consciousness. Let's see what I can do anyway.
Olympics
I'm willing to believe that the 3rd graders on China's gymnastics team are old enough to compete, as long as China gives us back our nuclear secrets. The nucular secrets they can keep.
My favorite part of watching Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh win the gold medal was seeing them on the podium while the national anthem was played. I mentioned earlier that I liked seeing the women's eight all sing the national anthem. M-T and Walsh didn't sing the whole thing, but they each sang parts of it. I think they were overtaken a little by the amount of emotion you could see coursing through them at the time. It would be insufficient to say they looked happy. I'd use the word "joyful" or "euphoric" instead. I think they embody what I loved so much about the teams of Hamm, Foudy, Fawcett, Chastain, etc. Namely, the obvious love that they played with, both for the game and for each other. They are very worthy champions, great examples for America to show off to the rest of the world, and I wish both of them well in their plans to start having kids with their husbands.
As for women's soccer, the US team won an exciting gold medal match against Brazil thanks to a great strike from Carli Lloyd in overtime. There is no sudden-death in soccer overtime. They play two 15-minute extra periods, regardless of who scores first or how many goals are scored. Lloyd scored in the 6th minute of extra time, meaning the US had to hold out against 24 more minutes of desperate Brazilian attacking.
Brazil has Marta, generally considered to be the best women's player in the world. I'm rather partial to Wambach, but Marta is terrific and very, very dangerous. She carved up the US defense several times, but was stoned either by late defensive play or in one case, a great save by Hope Solo. Solo has had a tough time personally since she spouted off about Greg Ryan's decision to bench her against Brazil in the 2007 World Cup.
Solo was banned by her teammates from playing in the consolation game. She was banned by her teammates from eating with the team. She was banned by her teammates from flying back to the United States with the team. That's bringing down the heavy hammer. She lost a few friends along the way.
I wrote that this sort of thing was pretty unprecedented for this team, and that I didn't want the women's game to become more like the men's game, with players criticizing each other and calling each other out. But part of me feels for her, and sort of likes the fact that she was so open and honest about what she thought. If she had waited a month and then sat down in an interview with some soccer mag, people would have come down on her and said, "Why didn't you say anything a month ago?" and accused her of being whiny. She's a good player, and she hasn't lived the easiest life in the world, so I'm glad to see her take home the gold.
So who "won" the medal count? The United States had the most overall medals, but China finished with 51 golds to 36 for the US. How did they do it? See here. They dominated in Gymnastics and Diving, kept their top status in table tennis, broke the strangleholds of Korea and Indonesia in Archery and Badminton, respectively, and put a lot of effort into some relatively lightly-contested events like Trampoline and Sailing. The biggest surprise to me was the EIGHT golds in weightlifting. I thought the Eastern Europeans had that stuff down pat.
Weather
Gustav is on his way to Louisiana, expected to make landfall with the eye to the west of New Orleans. Meteorology review:
Hurricanes are like big energy machines. They draw energy from warm water areas. The longer they stay over water, the stronger they get. They weaken when they get over land. They rotate counter-clockwise, meaning that the Eastern part of the storm is stronger and more damaging than the Western part. I think of it as a big right hand coming in to land a punch. If Gustav were to the West of New Orleans, the wind and rain would be less severe, since the stronger part would have already come over a bit of land before coming around to reach the city. Of course, that would also be bad news for whoever is sitting a few hours east of N.O.
I grew up in a state that had a general feeling--in spite of having been hit with devastating storms before--of "Hurricanes? Whatever. I'm not leaving my house, thank you very much." Now I'm seeing reports that 90-95% of the Louisiana coast has been evacuated. Some estimates have only 10,000 people staying behind in New Orleans. That's what seeing your city under ten feet of water for days on end will do for you. We'll probably get a lot of rain in Natchitoches, and I expect there will be some wind damage and a lot of picking up limbs in the yard afterwards. Gah.
Football
College football season started this weekend, and I was very happy to watch LSU beat Appalachian State yesterday. Game time was 10am due to evacuation concerns, so I guess tailgating started at 8pm Friday night. I didn't like the sluggish third quarter, but the lines were great, the tackling was good, and the game was never really in doubt. Not a bad way to start the season, and hopefully they'll get better each week leading up to the Auburn game in Week 4.
Sarah Palin
I have seen three pretty funny reactions related to John McCain's selection of Sarah Palin as his VP running mate.
1) Someone writing in to Jack Cafferty saying "If I had known that being an inexperience hockey mom was qualification enough to be vice president, I'd have told my wife to apply for the job."
2) Cafferty apologizing for being late to a segment with Wolf Blitzer to talk about Palin. "Sorry I'm late. I was under heavy sniper fire on the 4th floor." (using a "misremembered" Hillary story for an excuse. I like it) This was followed by Wolf talking to Glenn Beck, who also apologized for being late. "I'm also sorry I was late. I was on the 4th floor adjusting my scope." Now that's funny.
3) This video from the Red State Update guys. I'd never really watched any of their stuff, but this made me giggle.
Olympics
I'm willing to believe that the 3rd graders on China's gymnastics team are old enough to compete, as long as China gives us back our nuclear secrets. The nucular secrets they can keep.
My favorite part of watching Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh win the gold medal was seeing them on the podium while the national anthem was played. I mentioned earlier that I liked seeing the women's eight all sing the national anthem. M-T and Walsh didn't sing the whole thing, but they each sang parts of it. I think they were overtaken a little by the amount of emotion you could see coursing through them at the time. It would be insufficient to say they looked happy. I'd use the word "joyful" or "euphoric" instead. I think they embody what I loved so much about the teams of Hamm, Foudy, Fawcett, Chastain, etc. Namely, the obvious love that they played with, both for the game and for each other. They are very worthy champions, great examples for America to show off to the rest of the world, and I wish both of them well in their plans to start having kids with their husbands.
As for women's soccer, the US team won an exciting gold medal match against Brazil thanks to a great strike from Carli Lloyd in overtime. There is no sudden-death in soccer overtime. They play two 15-minute extra periods, regardless of who scores first or how many goals are scored. Lloyd scored in the 6th minute of extra time, meaning the US had to hold out against 24 more minutes of desperate Brazilian attacking.
Brazil has Marta, generally considered to be the best women's player in the world. I'm rather partial to Wambach, but Marta is terrific and very, very dangerous. She carved up the US defense several times, but was stoned either by late defensive play or in one case, a great save by Hope Solo. Solo has had a tough time personally since she spouted off about Greg Ryan's decision to bench her against Brazil in the 2007 World Cup.
Solo was banned by her teammates from playing in the consolation game. She was banned by her teammates from eating with the team. She was banned by her teammates from flying back to the United States with the team. That's bringing down the heavy hammer. She lost a few friends along the way.
I wrote that this sort of thing was pretty unprecedented for this team, and that I didn't want the women's game to become more like the men's game, with players criticizing each other and calling each other out. But part of me feels for her, and sort of likes the fact that she was so open and honest about what she thought. If she had waited a month and then sat down in an interview with some soccer mag, people would have come down on her and said, "Why didn't you say anything a month ago?" and accused her of being whiny. She's a good player, and she hasn't lived the easiest life in the world, so I'm glad to see her take home the gold.
So who "won" the medal count? The United States had the most overall medals, but China finished with 51 golds to 36 for the US. How did they do it? See here. They dominated in Gymnastics and Diving, kept their top status in table tennis, broke the strangleholds of Korea and Indonesia in Archery and Badminton, respectively, and put a lot of effort into some relatively lightly-contested events like Trampoline and Sailing. The biggest surprise to me was the EIGHT golds in weightlifting. I thought the Eastern Europeans had that stuff down pat.
Weather
Gustav is on his way to Louisiana, expected to make landfall with the eye to the west of New Orleans. Meteorology review:
Hurricanes are like big energy machines. They draw energy from warm water areas. The longer they stay over water, the stronger they get. They weaken when they get over land. They rotate counter-clockwise, meaning that the Eastern part of the storm is stronger and more damaging than the Western part. I think of it as a big right hand coming in to land a punch. If Gustav were to the West of New Orleans, the wind and rain would be less severe, since the stronger part would have already come over a bit of land before coming around to reach the city. Of course, that would also be bad news for whoever is sitting a few hours east of N.O.
I grew up in a state that had a general feeling--in spite of having been hit with devastating storms before--of "Hurricanes? Whatever. I'm not leaving my house, thank you very much." Now I'm seeing reports that 90-95% of the Louisiana coast has been evacuated. Some estimates have only 10,000 people staying behind in New Orleans. That's what seeing your city under ten feet of water for days on end will do for you. We'll probably get a lot of rain in Natchitoches, and I expect there will be some wind damage and a lot of picking up limbs in the yard afterwards. Gah.
Football
College football season started this weekend, and I was very happy to watch LSU beat Appalachian State yesterday. Game time was 10am due to evacuation concerns, so I guess tailgating started at 8pm Friday night. I didn't like the sluggish third quarter, but the lines were great, the tackling was good, and the game was never really in doubt. Not a bad way to start the season, and hopefully they'll get better each week leading up to the Auburn game in Week 4.
Sarah Palin
I have seen three pretty funny reactions related to John McCain's selection of Sarah Palin as his VP running mate.
1) Someone writing in to Jack Cafferty saying "If I had known that being an inexperience hockey mom was qualification enough to be vice president, I'd have told my wife to apply for the job."
2) Cafferty apologizing for being late to a segment with Wolf Blitzer to talk about Palin. "Sorry I'm late. I was under heavy sniper fire on the 4th floor." (using a "misremembered" Hillary story for an excuse. I like it) This was followed by Wolf talking to Glenn Beck, who also apologized for being late. "I'm also sorry I was late. I was on the 4th floor adjusting my scope." Now that's funny.
3) This video from the Red State Update guys. I'd never really watched any of their stuff, but this made me giggle.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Olympics
I picked a pretty good time of year to have two solid weeks with no responsibility. I get to see pretty much all the Olympic events that are on TV if I so choose. I really do enjoy watching certain sports I don't get to see very often, such as badminton, archery, field hockey, and handball. Track and field is on sporadically throughout the year, but I don't pay as much attention then as I do during the Olympics. I really like the Olympics. The idea of somebody from Central African Republic taking on somebody from American Samoa (no idea if this actually happens) makes me smile. Thoughts on some of the action so far:
I always wonder how some countries end up having national uniforms that don't match the colors of their flag. Italy wears blue uniforms, despite the flag being green, white and red. The Italian national soccer team is called the Azzurri (from Azzurro Savoia), which translates roughly as "the Blues". Wikipedia (arbiter of truth in today's world) calls it "the colour traditionally linked to the dynasty which unified Italy in 1861". (the French national team is also called "les Bleus")
The Australian Flag is red, white and blue, but their national uniforms are green and gold, making them look like the Packers. (away soccer jerseys are blue)
I was watching some men's rowing yesterday and saw the 4-man team from Denmark win a gold medal. I think that any Scandinavian team winning rowing gold should immediately rampage through the surrounding countryside, pillaging and burning everything in their paths. Reflecting one's Viking heritage is very important.
I also saw the U.S. women's eight win gold, and let's just say they were happy. Happy when it ended, happy in the interview, and happy during the national anthem. For some reason I was caught up a little watching and listening to several of the women actually singing the anthem. In most cases you just see their lips moving, if they sing at all. They could be using my sister's old trick of singing "cantaloupe, watermelon" when they don't know the words. But in this case I could hear them singing, and combined with the obvious joy on their faces, it made for quite a scene.
From what I know about rowing and the training that goes into it, I'd be thinking "Okay, I've got a medal. I never want to get into that ******* boat again."
I wrote in this post about my favorite overall team being the US Women's Soccer team. I got a chance to watch them this morning against Japan and was relatively pleased. They're playing without three starting players: Leslie Osborne, Cat Whitehill, and (sniff) Abby Wambach (sniff). They lost the opening game of group play to Norway 2-0. Since then they beat Japan and New Zealand to advance to the elimination rounds, beat Canada in overtime and beat Japan again today to reach the finals. This means the team has made the finals in every Olympics since women's soccer was added as a sport. For this to happen without three world-class players is very, very impressive.
Good luck against Brazil in the finals. They're going to need it.
Ato Boldon is doing color commentary for NBC's track and field coverage. I knew he was from Trinidad and Tobago, so I was looking forward to him speaking with a heavy Trinidad accent. I used to work in an office that had a lady from T&T, and I could listen to her talk all day, where I would understand about 2 of every 3 words. Sadly, Ato seems to have lost (or disguised) most of his accent by moving to Queens, NY when he was 14. Zut alors!
Finally, I'd like to direct your attention to this video, which is called "Beijing Welcomes You". It's very nice, very pretty, and very sweet. It's about friendship and camaraderie and how China opens its arms to the rest of the world for the Olympics. It's got Jackie Chan. I'll have it stuck in my head for a week. If they made one like it in America, we would rip it to shreds and make fun of if mercilessly.
Come to think of it, we didn't even wait for an English version, since someone already came up with a version called "Please Ignore the Communism". (Note: both videos appear to have spotty accessibility--I've seen "this video is no longer available" on both, but searching for them seems to work okay). My favorite lines:
"We will get to know each other/nd I am sure you will find love
becomes
"So have fun here and when you leave/please take these extra children"
and
"The evergreen tree grows in my yard/I will tell you my stories"
becomes
"When the Party tells you to dress like Elvis/You dress like ****ing Elvis"
My favorite parts of the parody:
I always wonder how some countries end up having national uniforms that don't match the colors of their flag. Italy wears blue uniforms, despite the flag being green, white and red. The Italian national soccer team is called the Azzurri (from Azzurro Savoia), which translates roughly as "the Blues". Wikipedia (arbiter of truth in today's world) calls it "the colour traditionally linked to the dynasty which unified Italy in 1861". (the French national team is also called "les Bleus")
The Australian Flag is red, white and blue, but their national uniforms are green and gold, making them look like the Packers. (away soccer jerseys are blue)
I was watching some men's rowing yesterday and saw the 4-man team from Denmark win a gold medal. I think that any Scandinavian team winning rowing gold should immediately rampage through the surrounding countryside, pillaging and burning everything in their paths. Reflecting one's Viking heritage is very important.
I also saw the U.S. women's eight win gold, and let's just say they were happy. Happy when it ended, happy in the interview, and happy during the national anthem. For some reason I was caught up a little watching and listening to several of the women actually singing the anthem. In most cases you just see their lips moving, if they sing at all. They could be using my sister's old trick of singing "cantaloupe, watermelon" when they don't know the words. But in this case I could hear them singing, and combined with the obvious joy on their faces, it made for quite a scene.
From what I know about rowing and the training that goes into it, I'd be thinking "Okay, I've got a medal. I never want to get into that ******* boat again."
I wrote in this post about my favorite overall team being the US Women's Soccer team. I got a chance to watch them this morning against Japan and was relatively pleased. They're playing without three starting players: Leslie Osborne, Cat Whitehill, and (sniff) Abby Wambach (sniff). They lost the opening game of group play to Norway 2-0. Since then they beat Japan and New Zealand to advance to the elimination rounds, beat Canada in overtime and beat Japan again today to reach the finals. This means the team has made the finals in every Olympics since women's soccer was added as a sport. For this to happen without three world-class players is very, very impressive.
Good luck against Brazil in the finals. They're going to need it.
Ato Boldon is doing color commentary for NBC's track and field coverage. I knew he was from Trinidad and Tobago, so I was looking forward to him speaking with a heavy Trinidad accent. I used to work in an office that had a lady from T&T, and I could listen to her talk all day, where I would understand about 2 of every 3 words. Sadly, Ato seems to have lost (or disguised) most of his accent by moving to Queens, NY when he was 14. Zut alors!
Finally, I'd like to direct your attention to this video, which is called "Beijing Welcomes You". It's very nice, very pretty, and very sweet. It's about friendship and camaraderie and how China opens its arms to the rest of the world for the Olympics. It's got Jackie Chan. I'll have it stuck in my head for a week. If they made one like it in America, we would rip it to shreds and make fun of if mercilessly.
Come to think of it, we didn't even wait for an English version, since someone already came up with a version called "Please Ignore the Communism". (Note: both videos appear to have spotty accessibility--I've seen "this video is no longer available" on both, but searching for them seems to work okay). My favorite lines:
"We will get to know each other/nd I am sure you will find love
becomes
"So have fun here and when you leave/please take these extra children"
and
"The evergreen tree grows in my yard/I will tell you my stories"
becomes
"When the Party tells you to dress like Elvis/You dress like ****ing Elvis"
My favorite parts of the parody:
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Weekend in New Orleans
I spent the weekend in New Orleans with my parents. Dinner at Galatoire's Friday night (duck crepe, turtle soup, poisson meuniere amandine, coffee chocolate layered over chocolate mousse covered with whipped cream), Insectorium, Riverwalk, WWII Museum and Vincent's Saturday night. Pretty nice.
Saturday morning we were wandering outside the French Quarter and saw three or four guys wearing red dresses. This does not cause one to look twice in New Orleans, especially in the area of the Quarter. You're almost guaranteed to see stranger things than that.
But it didn't end there. Apparently there was a breast cancer run being put on by the New Orleans Hash House Harriers. There were THOUSANDS of people running around in red dresses. Every participant, male and female, was in a red dress of some variety. Even in New Orleans, that's enough to get some attention. The Hash members refer to themselves as "A Drinking Club With a Running Problem".
In closing, if you get a chance to stay at the Ritz Carlton outside the Quarter, take it.
And run with it.
Red dress optional.
Saturday morning we were wandering outside the French Quarter and saw three or four guys wearing red dresses. This does not cause one to look twice in New Orleans, especially in the area of the Quarter. You're almost guaranteed to see stranger things than that.
But it didn't end there. Apparently there was a breast cancer run being put on by the New Orleans Hash House Harriers. There were THOUSANDS of people running around in red dresses. Every participant, male and female, was in a red dress of some variety. Even in New Orleans, that's enough to get some attention. The Hash members refer to themselves as "A Drinking Club With a Running Problem".
In closing, if you get a chance to stay at the Ritz Carlton outside the Quarter, take it.
And run with it.
Red dress optional.
Three Really, REALLY Different Movies
I've seen three movies in the theater over the last month or so, each of which is much different than the others and was seen under different circumstances. So here we go:
Wall-e.
I saw this on a Monday afternoon at Gallery Place in Chinatown while I was wandering around DC taking pictures of things I didn't have on digital camera yet. It's well done and kind of funny, and I could see some people maybe getting a catch in their throat watching the parts meant to be emotional. But overall I just didn't see the big point of the movie. If it was just to show off what Pixar can do, then good job. But Pixar's reputation is already established, so it wasn't really necessary to prove anything. Was it to tell me that pollution is bad and that we should take better care of the planet? I already knew that, and seeing Wall-e didn't pound it home.
I also think that Wall-e is for really, really obese people what 300 was for Persians, just not in the really mean way.
Best thing is getting to experience the work of Ben Burtt, who did so many sounds and voices for the Star Wars movies.
The Dark Knight.
I saw this one at Tyson's Corner with my friends Kathy and Adam on a Saturday morning. It is currently on its way to smashing the box office into tiny bits (in thy mercy). You can make the argument that it's too long, but it's not like the extra 15-20 (or 35-40) minutes were that bad.
A lot of attention was paid to Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker, and I'd say it was richly deserved. I'm sure somebody out there has talked about him exploring the dark recesses of his soul to come up with this version of the bad guy, which was so much different than Jack Nicholson's. I'd resist comparing them simply because each guy was asked to do such different things with the character.
While watching it I was thinking about some of the "ideas" of Batman. I thought about Gordon, and how Commissioner Gordon is one of the reliable characters. I really like what Gary Oldman has done with him in the last two movies. He's played some really crazy/creepy/whacked out characters (none more so than Beethoven, who seemed even stranger than Dracula), so it's a little odd to see him as someone relatively normal. By the way, Immortal Beloved came out in 1994, the same year as Leon, called The Professional in the US. Good movie.
I thought about one of the things that people forget about Batman: Batman doesn't kill, and he doesn't use guns. It's been that way for almost 70 years. The Joker references this once or twice, but I don't know if people understood what he was getting at. Batman could have run over the Joker or let him fall to his death or blown him to smithereens, but he doesn't. Among other things I think it helps keep the plot interesting.
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
Ugh.
I saw this on a Wednesday afternoon at the Parkway Cinema in Natchitoches. The "ugh" is not for the venue, though it's certainly not comparable to the other two. It's not even for the loud commenter sitting in the row behind me or the walrus making and taking phone calls in the row in front of me. The "ugh" is for the movie expecting me to suspend disbelief enough to allow for Brendan Fraser holding his own against Jet Li in a fight. It's not a good enough movie for that to happen. I wish Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh would stop making movies for American audiences. Their straight Chinese stuff is so much better.
On the other hand, I did get to see Maria Bello. I love me some Maria Bello, even if her British accent was just atrocious. I see from her IMDB bio that there's now a director's cut of Payback, a movie I really, really enjoy watching. I'll have to look into that.
Wall-e.
I saw this on a Monday afternoon at Gallery Place in Chinatown while I was wandering around DC taking pictures of things I didn't have on digital camera yet. It's well done and kind of funny, and I could see some people maybe getting a catch in their throat watching the parts meant to be emotional. But overall I just didn't see the big point of the movie. If it was just to show off what Pixar can do, then good job. But Pixar's reputation is already established, so it wasn't really necessary to prove anything. Was it to tell me that pollution is bad and that we should take better care of the planet? I already knew that, and seeing Wall-e didn't pound it home.
I also think that Wall-e is for really, really obese people what 300 was for Persians, just not in the really mean way.
Best thing is getting to experience the work of Ben Burtt, who did so many sounds and voices for the Star Wars movies.
The Dark Knight.
I saw this one at Tyson's Corner with my friends Kathy and Adam on a Saturday morning. It is currently on its way to smashing the box office into tiny bits (in thy mercy). You can make the argument that it's too long, but it's not like the extra 15-20 (or 35-40) minutes were that bad.
A lot of attention was paid to Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker, and I'd say it was richly deserved. I'm sure somebody out there has talked about him exploring the dark recesses of his soul to come up with this version of the bad guy, which was so much different than Jack Nicholson's. I'd resist comparing them simply because each guy was asked to do such different things with the character.
While watching it I was thinking about some of the "ideas" of Batman. I thought about Gordon, and how Commissioner Gordon is one of the reliable characters. I really like what Gary Oldman has done with him in the last two movies. He's played some really crazy/creepy/whacked out characters (none more so than Beethoven, who seemed even stranger than Dracula), so it's a little odd to see him as someone relatively normal. By the way, Immortal Beloved came out in 1994, the same year as Leon, called The Professional in the US. Good movie.
I thought about one of the things that people forget about Batman: Batman doesn't kill, and he doesn't use guns. It's been that way for almost 70 years. The Joker references this once or twice, but I don't know if people understood what he was getting at. Batman could have run over the Joker or let him fall to his death or blown him to smithereens, but he doesn't. Among other things I think it helps keep the plot interesting.
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
Ugh.
I saw this on a Wednesday afternoon at the Parkway Cinema in Natchitoches. The "ugh" is not for the venue, though it's certainly not comparable to the other two. It's not even for the loud commenter sitting in the row behind me or the walrus making and taking phone calls in the row in front of me. The "ugh" is for the movie expecting me to suspend disbelief enough to allow for Brendan Fraser holding his own against Jet Li in a fight. It's not a good enough movie for that to happen. I wish Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh would stop making movies for American audiences. Their straight Chinese stuff is so much better.
On the other hand, I did get to see Maria Bello. I love me some Maria Bello, even if her British accent was just atrocious. I see from her IMDB bio that there's now a director's cut of Payback, a movie I really, really enjoy watching. I'll have to look into that.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Movies and Museums
These two things have taken up a rather large chunk of the time I've spent in the DC metropolitan area. I don't regret that at all. Good thing, too, since that's what I did yesterday. I saw Hellboy 2: The Golden Army. I would tweak the title to read The Golden Duet instead. The duet designation can refer to my two favorite scenes in the movie, which ran back-to-back, or to the actual duet that occurs in movie. You can't go wrong either way. Both were reminders of why I like going to see movies in the theater, because they were just so much fun and so well done. For me, going to the movies is supposed to be an entertaining experience. I don't mind the serious stuff now and then, but I'd rather enjoy myself. The torture porn and scary stuff isn't really for me. I have an overactive imagination as it is, so I don't need any help dreaming up horrible things that could happen to me.
As for the film itself, it's directed by that nice Spanish gentleman who also did Pan's Labyrinth, which got such good reviews. He brought that same visual creativity to Hellboy, and it looks wonderful. The action was okay, nothing that thrilled me. I would like to have seen more of Jeffrey Tambor's character, but I guess I understand why they didn't use him that much.
Two other things that bothered me: 1) Selma Blair is a real downer. She never smiles or looks happy. Maybe she was depressed by bad acting. 2) I never felt any real threat from the bad guy. In movies and in pro wrestling, they say the hero is only as heroic as the villain in villainous (only they probably use simpler words like "good" and "bad"). This bad guy didn't seem all that remarkable. Good fighter, but that's about it. There's no real sense that this guy actually can win, even though we know he's the bad guy and will lose in the end.
This is sort of the opposite of the problem I had with the recent Superman movie, if you will allow me the hubris of quoting myself:
"The only major critique I have would be that I didn't really feel a lot of suspense or danger. He's Superman, for crying out loud. He's going to save the day, and come out pretty much unharmed in the end. Not anybody's fault, but it's just the nature of the adventures of Superman, I guess."
It's hard to feel suspense with Superman vs Luthor because he's Superman. It was hard to feel suspense with Hellboy 2 because Prince Nuada is not like a Doomsday or Darkseid or any of the other titanic bad guys that have challenged Superman.
One more note: I found the Elvish language interesting. It's not the soft, gentle, flowing stuff you get in Lord of the Rings. It's a bit harsher, more earthy. I don't know what they based it on, but it sounded a little Teutonic to me, a reminder that elves originated in Germanic mythology.
--------------------
Some years ago I started to think that everything in life could be related back to one of two things: The Simpsons or Hitler (who said anything about Hitler?). So it was no surprise when I was playing this scene over in my head yesterday:
After the movie I wandered over to the Ripley Museum to see the exhibit of Jim Henson's creations, the Muppets first and foremost. It was nice. Not mind-blowing, but nice. They have an 18-minute film showing highlights of Henson's career. At one point a little girl was sitting to my right. As scenes from the old Muppet Show (one of the five greatest TV shows of all time) and Sesame Street and The Dark Crystal rolled by, I wanted to tell her, "You have no right to be watching this. You don't appreciate it on as many levels as I do." I somehow managed to restrain myself.
As for the film itself, it's directed by that nice Spanish gentleman who also did Pan's Labyrinth, which got such good reviews. He brought that same visual creativity to Hellboy, and it looks wonderful. The action was okay, nothing that thrilled me. I would like to have seen more of Jeffrey Tambor's character, but I guess I understand why they didn't use him that much.
Two other things that bothered me: 1) Selma Blair is a real downer. She never smiles or looks happy. Maybe she was depressed by bad acting. 2) I never felt any real threat from the bad guy. In movies and in pro wrestling, they say the hero is only as heroic as the villain in villainous (only they probably use simpler words like "good" and "bad"). This bad guy didn't seem all that remarkable. Good fighter, but that's about it. There's no real sense that this guy actually can win, even though we know he's the bad guy and will lose in the end.
This is sort of the opposite of the problem I had with the recent Superman movie, if you will allow me the hubris of quoting myself:
"The only major critique I have would be that I didn't really feel a lot of suspense or danger. He's Superman, for crying out loud. He's going to save the day, and come out pretty much unharmed in the end. Not anybody's fault, but it's just the nature of the adventures of Superman, I guess."
It's hard to feel suspense with Superman vs Luthor because he's Superman. It was hard to feel suspense with Hellboy 2 because Prince Nuada is not like a Doomsday or Darkseid or any of the other titanic bad guys that have challenged Superman.
One more note: I found the Elvish language interesting. It's not the soft, gentle, flowing stuff you get in Lord of the Rings. It's a bit harsher, more earthy. I don't know what they based it on, but it sounded a little Teutonic to me, a reminder that elves originated in Germanic mythology.
--------------------
Some years ago I started to think that everything in life could be related back to one of two things: The Simpsons or Hitler (who said anything about Hitler?). So it was no surprise when I was playing this scene over in my head yesterday:
Professor Frink takes over the kindergarten class, drawing equations and
free-body diagrams on the blackboard to explain the workings of one of
those things that kids push which makes the balls pop.
Frink: N'hey hey! Ahem, n'hey, so the compression and expansion of the
longitudinal waves cause the erratic oscillation -- you can see
it there -- of the neighboring particles.
[a girl raises her hand]
[sighs] Yes, what is it? What? What is it?
Girl: Can I play with it?
Frink: No, you can't play with it; you won't enjoy it on as many levels
as I do.
[he chuckles as he plays with it] The colors, children!
After the movie I wandered over to the Ripley Museum to see the exhibit of Jim Henson's creations, the Muppets first and foremost. It was nice. Not mind-blowing, but nice. They have an 18-minute film showing highlights of Henson's career. At one point a little girl was sitting to my right. As scenes from the old Muppet Show (one of the five greatest TV shows of all time) and Sesame Street and The Dark Crystal rolled by, I wanted to tell her, "You have no right to be watching this. You don't appreciate it on as many levels as I do." I somehow managed to restrain myself.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Media Studies
I'm not the only person who has felt a little disturbed watching this Travelers Insurance commercial. A girl at Sign of the Whale said something to me when it came on during the NCAA Tournament. The part that gets me is the strange man walking up to children who are out all alone, offers them a ride, and they just hop on with him. Didn't their parents ever tell them not to speak to strangers? I don't mean to sound like I'm sounding disaster alarms, because it is just a commercial, but the thing that always comes to mind when I see it is, "That's really not a good idea, children. Tell him to get lost."
----------
The Washington Post has the first in a series of articles about the disappearance of Chandra Levy and the ensuing investigation. I quote:
I can confirm that the scandal led to some interesting Letters to Leaders on Congress.org. One asked Condit if he pooped in his pants when he heard a verdict ("Was it large?") and another told him how popular a cute guy like him would be in the big house.
The last serial I paid attention to in the Post was its extremely long and detailed rundown of the DC lobbying industry and the role my former company, Cassidy & Associates, played in the business. I thought they did a pretty good job.
----------
I'm not sure if the current state of the Chicago Cubs qualifies as a media event, but it probably will later this year if the Cubs remain in playoff contention the rest of the season. As you may have heard, the Cubs have not won the World Series since 1908, leading us to the magical 100-year mark. (I once saw a t-shirt that read 1907-08 Back to Back World Champions. I love that stuff). There will be talk of drama and futility and curses and all that on every sports-related (and some non-) that you can think of. So that gives me an excuse to talk about this:
There are those who point to history--ancient and recent--as a reason why the Cubs are of no concern when it comes to the playoffs. They'll choke in big games, lose games they should win, fold when the pressure's on, etc. Whereas some other team--oh, I don't know, let's pick one at random--the St. Louis Cardinals, know how to win and are therefore much better in close games and big games than the Cubs. There's actually an argument to be made for that, seeing as how the Cards are 3 games over .500 in 1-run games, while the Cubs are just one game over.
However, there is zero argument at the moment that can support the Cards actually being a better team than the Cubs. The Cubs have more run, hits, walks, stolen bases and home runs, and a higher batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage. Their ERA/runs allowed, hits, and home runs allowed are all lower. The Cubs' run differential is almost five times greater, and a few days ago was exactly six times greater. Don't forget the 5.5 game lead.
There's my small contribution to the best rivalry in the Midwest.
----------
The Washington Post has the first in a series of articles about the disappearance of Chandra Levy and the ensuing investigation. I quote:
I wonder how the Post will evaluate its own coverage of the case. I seem to remember an article or two showing up in its pages along the way. Who gets labeled "sensational"? I do remember walking the halls of the Rayburn Building that summer and seeing a line of TV cameras outside Gary Condit's office, so the label probably applies to someone out there.
"The serial will show how the sensational nature of the media coverage quickly overwhelmed the investigation."
I can confirm that the scandal led to some interesting Letters to Leaders on Congress.org. One asked Condit if he pooped in his pants when he heard a verdict ("Was it large?") and another told him how popular a cute guy like him would be in the big house.
The last serial I paid attention to in the Post was its extremely long and detailed rundown of the DC lobbying industry and the role my former company, Cassidy & Associates, played in the business. I thought they did a pretty good job.
----------
I'm not sure if the current state of the Chicago Cubs qualifies as a media event, but it probably will later this year if the Cubs remain in playoff contention the rest of the season. As you may have heard, the Cubs have not won the World Series since 1908, leading us to the magical 100-year mark. (I once saw a t-shirt that read 1907-08 Back to Back World Champions. I love that stuff). There will be talk of drama and futility and curses and all that on every sports-related (and some non-) that you can think of. So that gives me an excuse to talk about this:
There are those who point to history--ancient and recent--as a reason why the Cubs are of no concern when it comes to the playoffs. They'll choke in big games, lose games they should win, fold when the pressure's on, etc. Whereas some other team--oh, I don't know, let's pick one at random--the St. Louis Cardinals, know how to win and are therefore much better in close games and big games than the Cubs. There's actually an argument to be made for that, seeing as how the Cards are 3 games over .500 in 1-run games, while the Cubs are just one game over.
However, there is zero argument at the moment that can support the Cards actually being a better team than the Cubs. The Cubs have more run, hits, walks, stolen bases and home runs, and a higher batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage. Their ERA/runs allowed, hits, and home runs allowed are all lower. The Cubs' run differential is almost five times greater, and a few days ago was exactly six times greater. Don't forget the 5.5 game lead.
There's my small contribution to the best rivalry in the Midwest.
Friday, July 11, 2008
The Great Captured Wonder
Over the weekend I wandered into DC with the intention of seeing a movie at Gallery Place, probably Wall-E. But jeezum crickets, the lines were long, and it's not something I want to see that bad. Long lines means crowds, crowds mean crowded theaters, and crowded theaters get on my nerves. And people younger than me, to make it even worse. Bah.
So I kept wandering on over to E Street Cinema, stuck my head in, and was pleasantly surprised to see Mongol starting in about 20 minutes. I've always found Genghis Khan and the rise of the Mongol Empire to be a very interesting subject, so I was pleased yet anxious when I heard they were making a movie about his life. I hadn't really paid attention to release dates, so it was a bit of good fortune that I stumbled on it when I did.
Let's get the standard stuff out of the way first: This is a really good movie, very well made, which tells a very specific story in a very specific way. I think the acting is good, though I sometimes have trouble determining such a thing in foreign-language films. I don't know what the dialogue is supposed to sound like, so it throws me a little bit. The scenery is great, the girl playing Borte is pretty (at least I thought so, an acquaintance disagreed), and all aspects of the movie come together well.
On to particular thoughts on the story:
When I think about Genghis and his eventual empire, I think BIG. At its height the empire covered over fifteen and a half million square miles. The phrase "Mongol Horde" brings to mind visions of vast numbers of men on horseback thundering across the steppes. So I was a little caught off guard at how little of that there is in the movie, mainly because the story focuses on Genghis as a man and his individual relationships with a select group of people: his father, his wife, and his blood brother Jamukha. For the most part, it's very small in scope for a man who would cast such a large shadow later on in his life.
Another thing that keeps the vast armies off the screen: Genghis is always getting captured by his enemies and put in chains. The guy is good at getting away, but largely stinks at staying free. That may be some of the "liberties" that the director took with the script to fill in some holes, but I have done some reading that mentioned at least to imprisonments of Genghis before he became the Great Khan.
My acquaintance said that this was just the first in a trilogy about Genghis, but I haven't seen that mentioned anywhere else. I hope it turns out to be true, and wonder if it will follow just Genghis himself or extend beyond into the later conquests of the horde. I'd sort of like to see the battle tactics that Mongol generals used to conquer China, conquer Central Asia, and kill tens of thousands of Western knights in a single battle.
So I kept wandering on over to E Street Cinema, stuck my head in, and was pleasantly surprised to see Mongol starting in about 20 minutes. I've always found Genghis Khan and the rise of the Mongol Empire to be a very interesting subject, so I was pleased yet anxious when I heard they were making a movie about his life. I hadn't really paid attention to release dates, so it was a bit of good fortune that I stumbled on it when I did.
Let's get the standard stuff out of the way first: This is a really good movie, very well made, which tells a very specific story in a very specific way. I think the acting is good, though I sometimes have trouble determining such a thing in foreign-language films. I don't know what the dialogue is supposed to sound like, so it throws me a little bit. The scenery is great, the girl playing Borte is pretty (at least I thought so, an acquaintance disagreed), and all aspects of the movie come together well.
On to particular thoughts on the story:
When I think about Genghis and his eventual empire, I think BIG. At its height the empire covered over fifteen and a half million square miles. The phrase "Mongol Horde" brings to mind visions of vast numbers of men on horseback thundering across the steppes. So I was a little caught off guard at how little of that there is in the movie, mainly because the story focuses on Genghis as a man and his individual relationships with a select group of people: his father, his wife, and his blood brother Jamukha. For the most part, it's very small in scope for a man who would cast such a large shadow later on in his life.
Another thing that keeps the vast armies off the screen: Genghis is always getting captured by his enemies and put in chains. The guy is good at getting away, but largely stinks at staying free. That may be some of the "liberties" that the director took with the script to fill in some holes, but I have done some reading that mentioned at least to imprisonments of Genghis before he became the Great Khan.
My acquaintance said that this was just the first in a trilogy about Genghis, but I haven't seen that mentioned anywhere else. I hope it turns out to be true, and wonder if it will follow just Genghis himself or extend beyond into the later conquests of the horde. I'd sort of like to see the battle tactics that Mongol generals used to conquer China, conquer Central Asia, and kill tens of thousands of Western knights in a single battle.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Forbidden Home Companion
In the past few weeks I had the opportunity to see two things for which I have particular fondness: a Chinese martial arts movie and Prairie Home Companion. The movie was Forbidden Kingdom, and PHC was playing at Wolftrap, where I'd never been before. Movie first:
I was very excited back in March or so when I heard that Jackie Chan and Jet Lie would be in their first movie together. The 1994 version of Drunken Master is my favorite martial arts movie, and Fist of Legend comes in at second. They've both done a lot of great work over a long period of time, and in pretty different ways. I'd say that Chan is more of a stunt-comedy performer, and Li more straight martial arts, and that may be a reflection of their training backgrounds. Chan was brought up in the Peking Opera, and Li was a Wushu champion. So they have different styles, and it makes for an interesting matchup to watch.
As for the movie itself, here's what I liked:
--The general storyline. Find magic staff, free Monkey King, defeat evil warlord and assorted minions. That works for me.
--Any fight involving Chan and/or Li. The matchup between the two of them was quite good. I got to see Drunken Boxing vs Wushu and Crane vs Tiger. I could have stood a little more.
What I didn't like:
--The kid from Boston. I had a hard time buying him as the "chosen one" character.
--English. Jet Li can't speak it well, and neither could the pretty girl.
--Dialogue. Awful, cliche stuff. Tough to listen to.
I thought more could have been made of what was a pretty solid storyline. Why the first Li/Chan film is in English and made for American audiences is beyond me. I believe it would have been better had it been a straight Chinese movie. It would have allowed a more natural performance from Jet Li, and I wouldn't have had suspension of disbelief issues with the American kid. I think the villains could have been a bit more evil, but this seemed to be a bit kid-friendly, which held it back. I'm glad I saw it for the Chan/Li stuff, but it could have been better.
--------------------
Prairie Home Companion was a lot of fun. Wolftrap has an interesting setup, with people able to sit out on the grass and still see the stage.
I saw the show several years ago in Baton Rouge, and it hasn't changed much since. What was a little different is that this was the Friday night show, rather than the taped Saturday show. The first 15 minutes was us singing along with Garrison Keillor. "Let's sing O Beautiful, for Spacious Skies." So we all sang that for a while. Everybody knows the first verse. Some people know the second verse. Nobody knows the third verse.
"Let's all stand up and sing the national anthem." So we all stand up and sing the national anthem. No fancy arrangement that you get at sporting events, just the straight anthem, just the way I like it.
"Since it's getting close to summer, let's sing 'Summertime'." So we all sing the first verse of the song. The acoustics at Wolftrap are great, so everybody sounds good. I am amazed at the number of people who know the lyrics to "Summertime". It's a great song.
Summertime,
And the livin' is easy
Fish are jumpin'
And the cotton is high
Your daddy's rich
And your mamma's good lookin'
So hush little baby
Don't you cry
They also had Raul Melo, a tenor from the Metropolitan Opera singing Italian love songs and a couple other things. It got me to thinking about singers and performers. If there's somebody you hear on the radio singing R&B, or hip-hop, or rock, or easy listening type of music and you think they can sing, then listen to somebody like Raul Melo and let me know what you think. A lot of the people we like listening to have their blemishes covered up by excellent production techniques. Get them in front of live people, and it's a different story. For guys like Raul Melo, that's not the case. They can SING. They spend all their time perfecting their voice and training it to do exactly what they want it to do. They are a pleasure to see in person.
I was very excited back in March or so when I heard that Jackie Chan and Jet Lie would be in their first movie together. The 1994 version of Drunken Master is my favorite martial arts movie, and Fist of Legend comes in at second. They've both done a lot of great work over a long period of time, and in pretty different ways. I'd say that Chan is more of a stunt-comedy performer, and Li more straight martial arts, and that may be a reflection of their training backgrounds. Chan was brought up in the Peking Opera, and Li was a Wushu champion. So they have different styles, and it makes for an interesting matchup to watch.
As for the movie itself, here's what I liked:
--The general storyline. Find magic staff, free Monkey King, defeat evil warlord and assorted minions. That works for me.
--Any fight involving Chan and/or Li. The matchup between the two of them was quite good. I got to see Drunken Boxing vs Wushu and Crane vs Tiger. I could have stood a little more.
What I didn't like:
--The kid from Boston. I had a hard time buying him as the "chosen one" character.
--English. Jet Li can't speak it well, and neither could the pretty girl.
--Dialogue. Awful, cliche stuff. Tough to listen to.
I thought more could have been made of what was a pretty solid storyline. Why the first Li/Chan film is in English and made for American audiences is beyond me. I believe it would have been better had it been a straight Chinese movie. It would have allowed a more natural performance from Jet Li, and I wouldn't have had suspension of disbelief issues with the American kid. I think the villains could have been a bit more evil, but this seemed to be a bit kid-friendly, which held it back. I'm glad I saw it for the Chan/Li stuff, but it could have been better.
--------------------
Prairie Home Companion was a lot of fun. Wolftrap has an interesting setup, with people able to sit out on the grass and still see the stage.
I saw the show several years ago in Baton Rouge, and it hasn't changed much since. What was a little different is that this was the Friday night show, rather than the taped Saturday show. The first 15 minutes was us singing along with Garrison Keillor. "Let's sing O Beautiful, for Spacious Skies." So we all sang that for a while. Everybody knows the first verse. Some people know the second verse. Nobody knows the third verse.
"Let's all stand up and sing the national anthem." So we all stand up and sing the national anthem. No fancy arrangement that you get at sporting events, just the straight anthem, just the way I like it.
"Since it's getting close to summer, let's sing 'Summertime'." So we all sing the first verse of the song. The acoustics at Wolftrap are great, so everybody sounds good. I am amazed at the number of people who know the lyrics to "Summertime". It's a great song.
Summertime,
And the livin' is easy
Fish are jumpin'
And the cotton is high
Your daddy's rich
And your mamma's good lookin'
So hush little baby
Don't you cry
They also had Raul Melo, a tenor from the Metropolitan Opera singing Italian love songs and a couple other things. It got me to thinking about singers and performers. If there's somebody you hear on the radio singing R&B, or hip-hop, or rock, or easy listening type of music and you think they can sing, then listen to somebody like Raul Melo and let me know what you think. A lot of the people we like listening to have their blemishes covered up by excellent production techniques. Get them in front of live people, and it's a different story. For guys like Raul Melo, that's not the case. They can SING. They spend all their time perfecting their voice and training it to do exactly what they want it to do. They are a pleasure to see in person.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Spring Post--LSU Sports
It's been an interesting few weeks in LSU sports. Let's start with what most people would consider the biggest story: Ryan Perrilloux getting kicked off the team.
Perrilloux had been suspended by Les Miles for much of spring practice for missing class, team meetings, and workouts. Then there was some incident at a restaurant. Then he was suspended for the rest of the spring for not meeting his obligations to the team. At that time, I believed there were 5 main approaches to the RP situation among LSU fans. There may be more, but the ones I thought of were these:
1) The "Get Right" approach. This approach hopes that RP does everything the coaches ask him to do and stays out of trouble. Goes to class, makes the grades, stops staying out late, works hard in the film room, takes control of the offense, and has one of the greatest seasons ever for an LSU QB. This is a very optimistic approach that relies on RP maturing as he gets older and on the coaches being able to handle pretty much any situation.
2) The "Just Win" approach. This approach takes a look at the depth chart at QB, then looks at the SEC road schedule, and figures a troubled RP is better than a RSFR or a Harvard transfer. Yes, he's a headache, but he's also got talent out the wazoo, has been with the program for what will be four years in the fall, and is our best chance to compete in a league that seems to get stronger each year. As long as he doesn't commit, you know, a "serious" crime, he's too important to kick off the team.
3) The "He's Dead to Me" approach. This approach is one of resignation to whatever happens. If RP straightens up and plays, I'll be happy for whatever success the team has due to his performance. If he screws up and gets the boot, then that's fine too, and we'll move on to Jarrett Lee. Either way, I'm not going to invest myself emotionally in RP anymore, because it's just not worth it.
4) The "Get Rid of Him Now" approach. This approach argues that keeping RP is bad for the team. Allowing him so many chances sends the wrong message to the players who are doing things the right way. RP is unreliable and an unnecessary distraction. He also damages the reputation of the LSU football team as a whole. Miles looks like a hypocrite for talking about the importance of character while supporting a player who has shown little.
5) The "We Want Jarrett Lee" approach. A corollary to the "Get Rid of Him Now" approach. The team is better off nixing RP right now and moving on to the Jarrett Lee Era. Get him some experience now, when he's got a good line and good talent all around him on offense. Best case scenario is Sam Bradford's year at Oklahoma as a RSFR, and turning into a 4-year starter with a great career at LSU. There's the added bonus of Lee never getting into trouble (that we know of).
SI's Stewart Mandel had written a previous column stating that RP should get the boot, and he followed it up with this one once the dismissal was announced.
ESPN had a pretty good rundown of what to expect at QB for LSU.
LSU hired Trent Johnson as the new basketball coach, replacing interim coach Butch Pierre, who replaced the fired John Brady. I didn't particularly dislike John Brady, but it was pretty clear that he couldn't be kept on as coach without alienating a big chunk of the fans. Johnson is a good hire who had success in a strong conference at Stanford. I am somewhat optimistic.
The LSU baseball team has won 19 games in a row after beating Alabama in the SEC tournament today. Midway through the season it looked like LSU would miss the NCAA tourney for the second year in a row. Now there's a legit shot at hosting a super regional and playing in Baton Rouge for two weeks (assuming they keep winning) before going to Omaha. Well done, Tigers.
Perrilloux had been suspended by Les Miles for much of spring practice for missing class, team meetings, and workouts. Then there was some incident at a restaurant. Then he was suspended for the rest of the spring for not meeting his obligations to the team. At that time, I believed there were 5 main approaches to the RP situation among LSU fans. There may be more, but the ones I thought of were these:
1) The "Get Right" approach. This approach hopes that RP does everything the coaches ask him to do and stays out of trouble. Goes to class, makes the grades, stops staying out late, works hard in the film room, takes control of the offense, and has one of the greatest seasons ever for an LSU QB. This is a very optimistic approach that relies on RP maturing as he gets older and on the coaches being able to handle pretty much any situation.
2) The "Just Win" approach. This approach takes a look at the depth chart at QB, then looks at the SEC road schedule, and figures a troubled RP is better than a RSFR or a Harvard transfer. Yes, he's a headache, but he's also got talent out the wazoo, has been with the program for what will be four years in the fall, and is our best chance to compete in a league that seems to get stronger each year. As long as he doesn't commit, you know, a "serious" crime, he's too important to kick off the team.
3) The "He's Dead to Me" approach. This approach is one of resignation to whatever happens. If RP straightens up and plays, I'll be happy for whatever success the team has due to his performance. If he screws up and gets the boot, then that's fine too, and we'll move on to Jarrett Lee. Either way, I'm not going to invest myself emotionally in RP anymore, because it's just not worth it.
4) The "Get Rid of Him Now" approach. This approach argues that keeping RP is bad for the team. Allowing him so many chances sends the wrong message to the players who are doing things the right way. RP is unreliable and an unnecessary distraction. He also damages the reputation of the LSU football team as a whole. Miles looks like a hypocrite for talking about the importance of character while supporting a player who has shown little.
5) The "We Want Jarrett Lee" approach. A corollary to the "Get Rid of Him Now" approach. The team is better off nixing RP right now and moving on to the Jarrett Lee Era. Get him some experience now, when he's got a good line and good talent all around him on offense. Best case scenario is Sam Bradford's year at Oklahoma as a RSFR, and turning into a 4-year starter with a great career at LSU. There's the added bonus of Lee never getting into trouble (that we know of).
SI's Stewart Mandel had written a previous column stating that RP should get the boot, and he followed it up with this one once the dismissal was announced.
ESPN had a pretty good rundown of what to expect at QB for LSU.
LSU hired Trent Johnson as the new basketball coach, replacing interim coach Butch Pierre, who replaced the fired John Brady. I didn't particularly dislike John Brady, but it was pretty clear that he couldn't be kept on as coach without alienating a big chunk of the fans. Johnson is a good hire who had success in a strong conference at Stanford. I am somewhat optimistic.
The LSU baseball team has won 19 games in a row after beating Alabama in the SEC tournament today. Midway through the season it looked like LSU would miss the NCAA tourney for the second year in a row. Now there's a legit shot at hosting a super regional and playing in Baton Rouge for two weeks (assuming they keep winning) before going to Omaha. Well done, Tigers.
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Games and Game Theory
My understanding of game theory is limited at best, mostly coming from ecology class in college and some independent reading. I do find it interesting, though. So here's a Slate article on the "weak-bidder" theory as it may apply to how men get chosen by women as they get older.
LSU's women's basketball team made the Final Four for the fifth year in a row, only the second team to accomplish the feat. That is outstanding. The team also lost in the national semifinals for the fifth year in a row. With the exception of last year, when they got blitzed and run out of the building by Rutgers, each loss has come as a result of not being able to throw it in the ocean from farther out than ten feet. It was a problem in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008. You'd think that somewhere along the way, someone would have thought about recruiting a player with shooting skill. Just one, that's all I ask.
This makes me think of something Jim Calhoun said in an interview with Charlie Rose. Rose asked him the difference in the recruiting strategies between Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski. Calhoun replied that Williams goes for athleticism, and Krzyzewski goes for skill. Williams would like skill, and Krzyzewski would like athletes, but given the choice between the two, they differ. LSU's women's team has apparently chosen athleticism, and his has paid off in a very big way. But one skilled player would have been nice.
Now that baseball has started again, be sure to check out the FJM blog, which does an entertaining job of ripping apart bad sportswriting.
LSU's women's basketball team made the Final Four for the fifth year in a row, only the second team to accomplish the feat. That is outstanding. The team also lost in the national semifinals for the fifth year in a row. With the exception of last year, when they got blitzed and run out of the building by Rutgers, each loss has come as a result of not being able to throw it in the ocean from farther out than ten feet. It was a problem in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008. You'd think that somewhere along the way, someone would have thought about recruiting a player with shooting skill. Just one, that's all I ask.
This makes me think of something Jim Calhoun said in an interview with Charlie Rose. Rose asked him the difference in the recruiting strategies between Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski. Calhoun replied that Williams goes for athleticism, and Krzyzewski goes for skill. Williams would like skill, and Krzyzewski would like athletes, but given the choice between the two, they differ. LSU's women's team has apparently chosen athleticism, and his has paid off in a very big way. But one skilled player would have been nice.
Now that baseball has started again, be sure to check out the FJM blog, which does an entertaining job of ripping apart bad sportswriting.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Bill James
60 Minutes had a very pleasant story on Bill James tonight. It's not often I'll intentionally watch something other than the Simpsons or Sunday Night Baseball at 8pm. But this was an exception. They talked about his early yearly abstracts, which sold a few copies. They also showed his Historical Baseball Abstract, which I think is one of the most informative books I've ever read. I recommend it if you've got some time and don't mind things that run a thousand pages. His decade-by-decade breakdown of trends, players, innovations, and lists is outstanding. Supplemented with sections on the minor leagues, independent leagues, and the Negro Leagues, there's just a wealth of information that fans of baseball history will soak up.
The story said he invented Sabermetrics, but there's a good number of people who work in the field, so I don't know if I'd go that far. There's a lot of things about it that I do like, mostly because the explanations of them seem to make sense. It's also fun listening to baseball mystics go into fits over how number crunchers are ruining the game. And of course, without Sabermetrics there would be no FJM blog. And there might not be a Rob Neyer as we know him, and he's the whole reason I signed up for ESPN Insider in the first place. Favorite sabermetric stat: Secondary Average. There's something I like about the formula. I tend to think of it as an expectation for each time a player comes to bat. Rob Neyer answered one of my emails about it, saying he doesn't pay too much attention to the stat. At least that's how I remember it. Oh well.
The story said he invented Sabermetrics, but there's a good number of people who work in the field, so I don't know if I'd go that far. There's a lot of things about it that I do like, mostly because the explanations of them seem to make sense. It's also fun listening to baseball mystics go into fits over how number crunchers are ruining the game. And of course, without Sabermetrics there would be no FJM blog. And there might not be a Rob Neyer as we know him, and he's the whole reason I signed up for ESPN Insider in the first place. Favorite sabermetric stat: Secondary Average. There's something I like about the formula. I tend to think of it as an expectation for each time a player comes to bat. Rob Neyer answered one of my emails about it, saying he doesn't pay too much attention to the stat. At least that's how I remember it. Oh well.
NCAA Tournament
There's a few thoughts I've had about some of the matchups and results to this point:
All four number one seeds in the Final Four for the first time. In UNC, Kansas, and UCLA, you have three of the top programs of all time. UCLA is probably #1, UNC can make a strong claim to #2, though I don't know that you could put them ahead of Kentucky, which has three more titles than UNC. Despite having "only" two titles, Kansas has enough history and tradition to claim a place in the top five. That's a big threesome to start with, and Memphis is no joke. Their tradition is pretty good as well, and they came into the tournament with a single loss, to a Tennessee team that was angling for a #1 seed themselves.
Speaking of Tennessee, I like Bruce Pearl and I think they can be fun to watch, but sometimes I think they're a bit of a head case team as well. They do some really strange things at times.
I watched the UNC/Louisville game last night, and kept thinking that each team plays fast, but they're different kinds of fast. Carolina plays with a fast tempo, pushing the ball up the floor and trying to score on the fast break. They try to catch you off guard and tire you out. Louisville plays a hectic style, one that makes you uncomfortable and forces a lot of turnovers. They press full court and pressure in the half court. Pitino did some of the same things at Kentucky, but those teams seemed like they had players with a bit more basketball skill than his current squad. This team seems like it relies a bit more on athleticism than skill and execution. Not that they don't have the latter, of course.
Carolina pulled off the win with some big late shots from Tyler Hansborough. Deep 2-point jumpers that you wouldn't expect an inside player like him to take. His game is something else to watch. He takes and makes some of the most unorthodox shots I've ever seen. He initiates contact constantly, then sort of fling-heaves (technical term) the ball towards the goal. And it goes in like that! There just doesn't seem to be a way that shots like that go in.
UCLA note: On Kornheiser's show, Hoops Weiss noted that Kevin Love's middle name is Wesley, after Wes Unseld, with whom his father played in the pros.
I'll be pulling for the winner of the UNC/Kansas game in the finals.
All four number one seeds in the Final Four for the first time. In UNC, Kansas, and UCLA, you have three of the top programs of all time. UCLA is probably #1, UNC can make a strong claim to #2, though I don't know that you could put them ahead of Kentucky, which has three more titles than UNC. Despite having "only" two titles, Kansas has enough history and tradition to claim a place in the top five. That's a big threesome to start with, and Memphis is no joke. Their tradition is pretty good as well, and they came into the tournament with a single loss, to a Tennessee team that was angling for a #1 seed themselves.
Speaking of Tennessee, I like Bruce Pearl and I think they can be fun to watch, but sometimes I think they're a bit of a head case team as well. They do some really strange things at times.
I watched the UNC/Louisville game last night, and kept thinking that each team plays fast, but they're different kinds of fast. Carolina plays with a fast tempo, pushing the ball up the floor and trying to score on the fast break. They try to catch you off guard and tire you out. Louisville plays a hectic style, one that makes you uncomfortable and forces a lot of turnovers. They press full court and pressure in the half court. Pitino did some of the same things at Kentucky, but those teams seemed like they had players with a bit more basketball skill than his current squad. This team seems like it relies a bit more on athleticism than skill and execution. Not that they don't have the latter, of course.
Carolina pulled off the win with some big late shots from Tyler Hansborough. Deep 2-point jumpers that you wouldn't expect an inside player like him to take. His game is something else to watch. He takes and makes some of the most unorthodox shots I've ever seen. He initiates contact constantly, then sort of fling-heaves (technical term) the ball towards the goal. And it goes in like that! There just doesn't seem to be a way that shots like that go in.
UCLA note: On Kornheiser's show, Hoops Weiss noted that Kevin Love's middle name is Wesley, after Wes Unseld, with whom his father played in the pros.
I'll be pulling for the winner of the UNC/Kansas game in the finals.
Saturday, March 08, 2008
No Country For Old Men
"Pretty good movie, though they could have cut off about a half hour or so and it would've been just as good." That's one of the comments I had for There Will Be Blood. Well, No Country For Old Men clocks in at about two hours, which works out well.
I'd heard that Javier Bardem's character was really spooky and terrifying, but I didn't find him to be that frightening. He's certainly an impressive villain, however. His face and voice reminds me of Raul Julia. His face is a little rounder and fleshier, but his voice has that same soft elegance to it.
I think the plot is pretty solid, if you ignore the missing motivation and background to the overall story. Certain things seem to be picked up in medias res. I really liked Llewelyn as a character.
How great is the Internet? It allows us to know that Llewelyn and its variations mean "oath of Belenus". Belenus is an old Celtic god associated with fire and healing.
Before seeing it I heard some people say they didn't like the ending. This would be the third movie I've seen this year that has an "ending without an ending", with Cloverfield and There Will Be Blood the others. Maybe saying they don't have an ending isn't the best way to put it. Let's just say they're abrupt, and some people find them unsatisfying.
The movie is still darn good, and I think probably deserving of Best Picture over There Will Be Blood. It's just a tighter movie, and that's something I don't see enough of.
Tightest movie I've seen: 12 Angry Men.
I'd heard that Javier Bardem's character was really spooky and terrifying, but I didn't find him to be that frightening. He's certainly an impressive villain, however. His face and voice reminds me of Raul Julia. His face is a little rounder and fleshier, but his voice has that same soft elegance to it.
I think the plot is pretty solid, if you ignore the missing motivation and background to the overall story. Certain things seem to be picked up in medias res. I really liked Llewelyn as a character.
How great is the Internet? It allows us to know that Llewelyn and its variations mean "oath of Belenus". Belenus is an old Celtic god associated with fire and healing.
Before seeing it I heard some people say they didn't like the ending. This would be the third movie I've seen this year that has an "ending without an ending", with Cloverfield and There Will Be Blood the others. Maybe saying they don't have an ending isn't the best way to put it. Let's just say they're abrupt, and some people find them unsatisfying.
The movie is still darn good, and I think probably deserving of Best Picture over There Will Be Blood. It's just a tighter movie, and that's something I don't see enough of.
Tightest movie I've seen: 12 Angry Men.
Sunday, February 03, 2008
Devices and Desires
Whenever people see the title of the book I'm reading, they get a "look" on their face. It's kinda funny. Let's get to the good stuff.
"They closed the door on him, and he sat back down on the floor. It had been a valid question: what on earth had possessed him to do such a reckless, stupid thing? Unfortunately, he couldn't think of an answer, and he'd been searching for one ever since they arrested him. If they bothered marking the graves of abominators, his headstone would have to read:
SEEMED LIKE A GOOD IDEA AT THE TIME
Wonderful epitaph for a wasted life."
----------
[a prisoner's friend has just paid him a visit and left]
Remarkable, Ziani thought; I've know Falier most of my life and I never knew he had magic powers. Always thought he was just orindary, like me. But he can walk through doors, and I can't.
----------
[one character ponders his relationship with another]
This isn't love, Valens told himself. He knew about love, having seen it at work among his friends and people around him. Love was altogether more predatory. It was concerned with pursuit, capture, enjoyment; it was caused by beauty, the way raw red skin is caused by the sun; it was appetite, like hunger or thirst, a physical discomfort that tortured you until it was satisfied...and so this couldn't be love, in which case it could only be friendship; shared interests, an instructive comparison of perspectives, a meeting of minds, a pooling of resources...Not love, obviously. Different. Better...
[a little bit later, he reflects further]
It was just as well he and the Eremian Duchess were just good friends, when you thought of all the damage a lover could do in the world.
----------
There's an enormous amount of detail in the book about seemingly trivial things. But there's also a good deal of insight and individual asides that are fun and funny. There's a lot of authors whose work I love and admire. But right now, I'd want to write like K.J. Parker.
Back to watching the Super Bowl. I bought some chips and pistachios to eat during the game. So far I've just been drinking tea and blogging.
"They closed the door on him, and he sat back down on the floor. It had been a valid question: what on earth had possessed him to do such a reckless, stupid thing? Unfortunately, he couldn't think of an answer, and he'd been searching for one ever since they arrested him. If they bothered marking the graves of abominators, his headstone would have to read:
SEEMED LIKE A GOOD IDEA AT THE TIME
Wonderful epitaph for a wasted life."
----------
[a prisoner's friend has just paid him a visit and left]
Remarkable, Ziani thought; I've know Falier most of my life and I never knew he had magic powers. Always thought he was just orindary, like me. But he can walk through doors, and I can't.
----------
[one character ponders his relationship with another]
This isn't love, Valens told himself. He knew about love, having seen it at work among his friends and people around him. Love was altogether more predatory. It was concerned with pursuit, capture, enjoyment; it was caused by beauty, the way raw red skin is caused by the sun; it was appetite, like hunger or thirst, a physical discomfort that tortured you until it was satisfied...and so this couldn't be love, in which case it could only be friendship; shared interests, an instructive comparison of perspectives, a meeting of minds, a pooling of resources...Not love, obviously. Different. Better...
[a little bit later, he reflects further]
It was just as well he and the Eremian Duchess were just good friends, when you thought of all the damage a lover could do in the world.
----------
There's an enormous amount of detail in the book about seemingly trivial things. But there's also a good deal of insight and individual asides that are fun and funny. There's a lot of authors whose work I love and admire. But right now, I'd want to write like K.J. Parker.
Back to watching the Super Bowl. I bought some chips and pistachios to eat during the game. So far I've just been drinking tea and blogging.
Five movies
After a hiatus from the movies, I've seen five in recent weeks.
Movie #1: Cloverfield. The best recent example of why I consider the type of movie and what it's trying to accomplish when evaluating it. This is an experimental kind of movie, shown from the viewpoint of a hand-held camera. If you don't like the jarring motion and all that, you'll hate the movie. It did give me a headache. But all in all, I thought it was done okay. People in the theater with me didn't like the ending, but endings are always tricky. Part of me thinks that movie makers have struck back against high expectations by deliberately leaving the audience hanging and unsatisfied. The guy acting as the cameraman was really funny, like your nice-but-stupid friend who can't keep a secret and always says the wrong thing at the worst possible time. I saw where it was called an American Godzilla movie, and that's kind of accurate. There's a little bit of creepy-crawly things that I'm not fond of, but it was effective. I don't expect everybody to like it, but it was all right.
Movie #2: Charlie Wilson's War. Very funny and fun. Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts are good, as they often are. Philip Seymour Hoffman is very entertaining, and I heard several people comment on how good he was. And in case you didn't know, it's about how a Congressman managed to wage war against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. Or something like that. It's based on a true story, so you can't really mess around with the ending too much.
Movie #3: I Am Legend. I saw this mostly because my sister raved about it. It's not really my kind of movie, since it involves creeping around in the dark, waiting for the bad things to jump out. Once the fighting started, I was okay. But the anticipation isn't for me. Will Smith is good. The whole thing is pretty well done, except for the ending. I wouldn't really recommend it unless you LOVE Will Smith and zombie-type movies. And I mean really, really love him.
Movie #4: Bucket List. Touching and funny. It's a comedy, but it does a pretty good job of showing you how serious it is to be in a hospital with cancer. There are some touching moments. But mostly it's funny with a bit of insight. Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson (maybe you've heard of them) appeared like they were having fun with each other, at least on screen. Ending was a bit of a cliche, but it was good. Just because it's cliche doesn't mean it can't work.
Movie #5: There Will Be Blood. Daniel Day-Lewis is great. His character's persona just reaches out from the screen and grabs you. Part showman, part ruthless businessman. It's a long movie, listed at 2:38. The first hour and fifteen minutes to hour and a half are good. Then it gets a little clunky. But the last hour has some pretty good scenes. The final scene, even with a sudden ending, is a great scene. Pretty good movie, though they could have cut off about a half hour or so and it would've been just as good.
Incidentally, this movie has Fletcher Hamilton, who played Julius Caesar in Rome. I could not for the life of me remember where I'd seen him. Turns out he was also Firmin in Phantom of the Opera.
There's something that bothers me about the movie, though, and it's not anything that appears on screen. It's rated R. Why? There's very little violence. There's only two things you could really consider a "killing", and they're not gory or terrible to look at. There's a couple of other instances of people dying, but it's nothing awful to watch. There's no nudity. I remember exactly one curse word. The MPAA warning on the movie says "Rated R for some violence." There's way more violence, sex, nudity, and foul language in dozens and dozens of movies that will be rated PG-13 (or even PG!) this year. I just don't get it.
Movie #1: Cloverfield. The best recent example of why I consider the type of movie and what it's trying to accomplish when evaluating it. This is an experimental kind of movie, shown from the viewpoint of a hand-held camera. If you don't like the jarring motion and all that, you'll hate the movie. It did give me a headache. But all in all, I thought it was done okay. People in the theater with me didn't like the ending, but endings are always tricky. Part of me thinks that movie makers have struck back against high expectations by deliberately leaving the audience hanging and unsatisfied. The guy acting as the cameraman was really funny, like your nice-but-stupid friend who can't keep a secret and always says the wrong thing at the worst possible time. I saw where it was called an American Godzilla movie, and that's kind of accurate. There's a little bit of creepy-crawly things that I'm not fond of, but it was effective. I don't expect everybody to like it, but it was all right.
Movie #2: Charlie Wilson's War. Very funny and fun. Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts are good, as they often are. Philip Seymour Hoffman is very entertaining, and I heard several people comment on how good he was. And in case you didn't know, it's about how a Congressman managed to wage war against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. Or something like that. It's based on a true story, so you can't really mess around with the ending too much.
Movie #3: I Am Legend. I saw this mostly because my sister raved about it. It's not really my kind of movie, since it involves creeping around in the dark, waiting for the bad things to jump out. Once the fighting started, I was okay. But the anticipation isn't for me. Will Smith is good. The whole thing is pretty well done, except for the ending. I wouldn't really recommend it unless you LOVE Will Smith and zombie-type movies. And I mean really, really love him.
Movie #4: Bucket List. Touching and funny. It's a comedy, but it does a pretty good job of showing you how serious it is to be in a hospital with cancer. There are some touching moments. But mostly it's funny with a bit of insight. Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson (maybe you've heard of them) appeared like they were having fun with each other, at least on screen. Ending was a bit of a cliche, but it was good. Just because it's cliche doesn't mean it can't work.
Movie #5: There Will Be Blood. Daniel Day-Lewis is great. His character's persona just reaches out from the screen and grabs you. Part showman, part ruthless businessman. It's a long movie, listed at 2:38. The first hour and fifteen minutes to hour and a half are good. Then it gets a little clunky. But the last hour has some pretty good scenes. The final scene, even with a sudden ending, is a great scene. Pretty good movie, though they could have cut off about a half hour or so and it would've been just as good.
Incidentally, this movie has Fletcher Hamilton, who played Julius Caesar in Rome. I could not for the life of me remember where I'd seen him. Turns out he was also Firmin in Phantom of the Opera.
There's something that bothers me about the movie, though, and it's not anything that appears on screen. It's rated R. Why? There's very little violence. There's only two things you could really consider a "killing", and they're not gory or terrible to look at. There's a couple of other instances of people dying, but it's nothing awful to watch. There's no nudity. I remember exactly one curse word. The MPAA warning on the movie says "Rated R for some violence." There's way more violence, sex, nudity, and foul language in dozens and dozens of movies that will be rated PG-13 (or even PG!) this year. I just don't get it.
Talking Football
Today is Super Bowl Sunday, so let's talk football: LSU football. LSU has more players in the game than any other team, so I can get away with it. Corey Webster has been playing the best football of his life for the Giants the past few weeks. The Patriots have Kevin Faulk (who's gotten a lot of praise lately), Randall Gay, Eric Alexander, and Jarvis Green. They also wear a 91 sticker on their helmets to honor Marquise Hill, who died in an accident during the offseason.
LSU was able to play in the BCS national title game in spite of losing twice during the season, including losing the last game of the regular season to Arkansas. They came back and won the SEC Championship Game (SECCG to you message boarders) with a backup quarterback, and a few other things bounced their way as well. And so it happened that Ohio State would take on the SEC champion in the national title game for the second year in a row.
Based on how things had gone for them a year earlier, (and an 0-8 record against the SEC in bowl games) a lot of people predicted that OSU would get hammered. I felt that they were being undervalued. They were a good team with a great coach, and I thought the talk about LSU's speed advantage was nonsense. OSU had a good offensive line, a great running back, and a good defense. I wasn't prepared to say they deserved the #1 ranking that the statistics awarded them, but they were good.
So as you know, LSU won 38-24. Ohio State got off to a 10-0 lead one a great run by Beanie Wells and a figgie. At the time, I thought LSU holding them to a field goal on the second possession was big. A false start penatly helped. And 10-0 wasn't a big deal considering that LSU had faced ten-point deficits before. "Got 'em right where we want 'em," I thought. I didn't really mean it, but I thought it.
After that, LSU ran off 31 straight points. Gary Crowton had put together a great game plan, got the defense spread out, and Matt Flynn picked it apart. When a yard or two was needed, Jacob Hester got two or three. The receivers held onto the ball, and the offensive line gave Flynn and the running backs plenty of time and room to work with. I don't think LSU's speed on offense was what led to their success, but rather the combination of the plan, execution, and winning up front. Which brings me to the defense:
After the first two OSU drives, LSU controlled the line of scrimmage on defense. I'd watched the OSU-Illinois game and wasn't terribly impressed with Todd Boeckman, though it's not really fair to judge a guy on his worst game of the season. Illinois got some pressure on him early, and as the game wore on he got antsy. He eventually felt pressure that wasn't really there. The same thing happened against LSU. It didn't help that his wideouts had a hard time getting open, which gave the rush more time to get in his face. Aside from letting Brandon Saine get wide open a couple of times, the pass defense was fantastic, knocking down passes, getting two INTs, and tackling pretty well.
More about controlling the line: there's a general point of view that says SEC teams are faster, and Big Ten teams are more physical. LSU was the more physical team up front, and the advantage only grew as the game went on. On defense, Glenn Dorsey was healthy and looked more like the All-American people thought he was. Ricky Jean-Francois was getting back into the swing of things after missing the entire regular season (he played in the SECCG) and came up with a blocked figgie. Tyson Jackson played very well, shutting me up. I'd criticized him a good deal during the season for not pressuring the quarterback as much as I expected. He did get better at the end of the season, and when he had a one-on-one matchup, he did well.
LSU doesn't do a lot of fancy stuff with the running game, so it's mostly pulling, trapping, and straight-ahead mashing. Vernon Gholston was an All-American at defensive end, but outside of a couple of plays where he got pressure on Flynn, I didn't see much from him. Considering that LSU had a converted defensive tackle playing right offensive tackle, that's not that much. So yes, LSU has a lot of speed, but it was the line giving the speed and athleticism of the skill players the opportunity to get to work that made the difference.
(This was actually the best argument to be made for OSU winning the game, and it was made by Todd Blackledge: LSU was a better matchup for OSU than some other teams. LSU's offense really isn't a speed offense like Florida's last year. It's more of a power offense)
LSU's game plan reflected that. There was one deep pass the whole game. Most of passes were short, relying on timing, execution, protection, guys getting open, Flynn being accurate with the ball, and guys holding on to the ball. It wasn't a "let's run away from them" style of offense. It worked. Flynn threw four TD passes.
Special mention goes out to Harry Coleman, who filled in for Craig Steltz at safety. Coleman blitzed and hammered Boeckman on a play that ended in an INT. He also recovered two fumbles, one of LSU's and one of theirs. OSU was unable to take advantage of Steltz's absence, partly because everyone else was playing so well, but also because Coleman had such a solid game.
So congratulations to the players and coaches from LSU. Glenn Dorsey has been a great player for four years, and he has always expressed his joy at playing for LSU. I'm glad he came back. A couple of guys who have waited a while to earn a starting job, Flynn and Steltz, got to walk away with rings. Be Pelini got a nice sendoff before becoming the head coach at Nebraska, where I hope he does well. Ali Highsmith has been LSU's best all-around linebacker for the last three years, and he had a great game. And of course, Les Miles has only gone 35-6 in his three years as head coach at LSU. LSU doesn't always play great, (though most of the time they do) but they always play their guts out for him. Most times, that's been enough.
LSU was able to play in the BCS national title game in spite of losing twice during the season, including losing the last game of the regular season to Arkansas. They came back and won the SEC Championship Game (SECCG to you message boarders) with a backup quarterback, and a few other things bounced their way as well. And so it happened that Ohio State would take on the SEC champion in the national title game for the second year in a row.
Based on how things had gone for them a year earlier, (and an 0-8 record against the SEC in bowl games) a lot of people predicted that OSU would get hammered. I felt that they were being undervalued. They were a good team with a great coach, and I thought the talk about LSU's speed advantage was nonsense. OSU had a good offensive line, a great running back, and a good defense. I wasn't prepared to say they deserved the #1 ranking that the statistics awarded them, but they were good.
So as you know, LSU won 38-24. Ohio State got off to a 10-0 lead one a great run by Beanie Wells and a figgie. At the time, I thought LSU holding them to a field goal on the second possession was big. A false start penatly helped. And 10-0 wasn't a big deal considering that LSU had faced ten-point deficits before. "Got 'em right where we want 'em," I thought. I didn't really mean it, but I thought it.
After that, LSU ran off 31 straight points. Gary Crowton had put together a great game plan, got the defense spread out, and Matt Flynn picked it apart. When a yard or two was needed, Jacob Hester got two or three. The receivers held onto the ball, and the offensive line gave Flynn and the running backs plenty of time and room to work with. I don't think LSU's speed on offense was what led to their success, but rather the combination of the plan, execution, and winning up front. Which brings me to the defense:
After the first two OSU drives, LSU controlled the line of scrimmage on defense. I'd watched the OSU-Illinois game and wasn't terribly impressed with Todd Boeckman, though it's not really fair to judge a guy on his worst game of the season. Illinois got some pressure on him early, and as the game wore on he got antsy. He eventually felt pressure that wasn't really there. The same thing happened against LSU. It didn't help that his wideouts had a hard time getting open, which gave the rush more time to get in his face. Aside from letting Brandon Saine get wide open a couple of times, the pass defense was fantastic, knocking down passes, getting two INTs, and tackling pretty well.
More about controlling the line: there's a general point of view that says SEC teams are faster, and Big Ten teams are more physical. LSU was the more physical team up front, and the advantage only grew as the game went on. On defense, Glenn Dorsey was healthy and looked more like the All-American people thought he was. Ricky Jean-Francois was getting back into the swing of things after missing the entire regular season (he played in the SECCG) and came up with a blocked figgie. Tyson Jackson played very well, shutting me up. I'd criticized him a good deal during the season for not pressuring the quarterback as much as I expected. He did get better at the end of the season, and when he had a one-on-one matchup, he did well.
LSU doesn't do a lot of fancy stuff with the running game, so it's mostly pulling, trapping, and straight-ahead mashing. Vernon Gholston was an All-American at defensive end, but outside of a couple of plays where he got pressure on Flynn, I didn't see much from him. Considering that LSU had a converted defensive tackle playing right offensive tackle, that's not that much. So yes, LSU has a lot of speed, but it was the line giving the speed and athleticism of the skill players the opportunity to get to work that made the difference.
(This was actually the best argument to be made for OSU winning the game, and it was made by Todd Blackledge: LSU was a better matchup for OSU than some other teams. LSU's offense really isn't a speed offense like Florida's last year. It's more of a power offense)
LSU's game plan reflected that. There was one deep pass the whole game. Most of passes were short, relying on timing, execution, protection, guys getting open, Flynn being accurate with the ball, and guys holding on to the ball. It wasn't a "let's run away from them" style of offense. It worked. Flynn threw four TD passes.
Special mention goes out to Harry Coleman, who filled in for Craig Steltz at safety. Coleman blitzed and hammered Boeckman on a play that ended in an INT. He also recovered two fumbles, one of LSU's and one of theirs. OSU was unable to take advantage of Steltz's absence, partly because everyone else was playing so well, but also because Coleman had such a solid game.
So congratulations to the players and coaches from LSU. Glenn Dorsey has been a great player for four years, and he has always expressed his joy at playing for LSU. I'm glad he came back. A couple of guys who have waited a while to earn a starting job, Flynn and Steltz, got to walk away with rings. Be Pelini got a nice sendoff before becoming the head coach at Nebraska, where I hope he does well. Ali Highsmith has been LSU's best all-around linebacker for the last three years, and he had a great game. And of course, Les Miles has only gone 35-6 in his three years as head coach at LSU. LSU doesn't always play great, (though most of the time they do) but they always play their guts out for him. Most times, that's been enough.
"Put the penguins in there. And the weapons."
Of all the strange quotes and comments I heard when I was home for Christmas, that was probably the most bizarre. Speaking of Christmas vacation...
It was nice. The most interesting part was the road trip we took from the 27th-28th. We drove down to Plaquemine, LA and had lunch with my buddy Corey. We had planned on eating at City Cafe, but Corey graciously informed us that it was closed. So upon his recommendation we ate at Miranda's instead, and everybody came away praising the food up and down. And no easy critics, we. I had the sauteed (though, as the waitress noted, it was really more pan-fried) catfish, smothered in crawfish etouffee, served over white rice, with red beans and sausage. It was fantastic. Well done, Corey.
That night we had dinner at Randol's in Lafayette, where they also have Cajun dancing. I partook of the food, passed on the dancing. I had the redfish (love redfish) with crawfish and shrimp etouffee. Not bad. Here's what it looked like:
I skipped the onion rings. The next day in St. Martinville we had a very nice lunch of shrimp stew.
I'm sure there was more to the trip than food. Visited with family and friends and had a great time. I flew through Houston, the greatest airport in the world by reason of having a Popeyes and a Shipley's donuts. A long layover there is heaven on earth, I say.
It was nice. The most interesting part was the road trip we took from the 27th-28th. We drove down to Plaquemine, LA and had lunch with my buddy Corey. We had planned on eating at City Cafe, but Corey graciously informed us that it was closed. So upon his recommendation we ate at Miranda's instead, and everybody came away praising the food up and down. And no easy critics, we. I had the sauteed (though, as the waitress noted, it was really more pan-fried) catfish, smothered in crawfish etouffee, served over white rice, with red beans and sausage. It was fantastic. Well done, Corey.
That night we had dinner at Randol's in Lafayette, where they also have Cajun dancing. I partook of the food, passed on the dancing. I had the redfish (love redfish) with crawfish and shrimp etouffee. Not bad. Here's what it looked like:
I skipped the onion rings. The next day in St. Martinville we had a very nice lunch of shrimp stew.
I'm sure there was more to the trip than food. Visited with family and friends and had a great time. I flew through Houston, the greatest airport in the world by reason of having a Popeyes and a Shipley's donuts. A long layover there is heaven on earth, I say.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)