Swine Lair

Top 100 Movies: 21-25

2009-07-24T09:31:00.000-04:00

25. The Matrix

Similar to Rocky (and has anyone said that about the Matrix?), I wonder if the whole thing would have worked better if it just ended here. While I'm unsure of the answer regarding the pugilist, I'm quite sure of this sci-fi movie: YES. But I'll avoid ripping the two sequels (especially the third in the series) and talk solely about this mind-bending film that shows humans as slaves to a machine race using us as batteries. Basically, the whole world is fake and we are actually plugged into a computer program while sitting in a pod being sapped of our energy and there is a minor resistance that can access the program and unplug those who want to be unplugged. The resistance believes in a Messiah-type and some believe it to be Neo (Keanu Reeves) who can finally defeat the machines and free the human race again. Great stuff and a total shocker when I first saw it in the theater.
Quote: "I'd like to share a revelation that I've had during my time here. It came to me when I tried to classify your species and I realized that you're not actually mammals. Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment but you humans do not. You move to an area and you multiply and multiply until every natural resource is consumed and the only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus. Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet. You're a plague and we are the cure."
Fun Fact: All scenes that take place within the Matrix have a green tint, as if watching them through a computer monitor, while scenes in the real world have normal coloring.

24. Chasing Amy

We're going to have a few Kevin Smith films coming up fast on this list and this one, about a pair of friends and a girl with an adventurous past is one of the funniest and smartest screenplays about friendship, relationships and, well, comics. And while the writing is top-notch (this and Dogma are the two best things Smith has written), the acting stands out as Ben Affleck, Jason Lee and Joey Lauren Adams (who earned a Golden Globe nom) are all outstanding. Lee is really the breakout star here, as he's even funnier than in Mallrats (where he was the bright spot of a very messed up movie).
Quote: "It was a mistake. I wasn't disgusted with her, I was afraid. At that moment, I felt small, like... like I'd lacked experience, like I'd never be on her level, like I'd never be enough for her or something like that, you know what I'm saying? But, what I did not get, she didn't care. She wasn't looking for that guy anymore. She was... she was looking for me, for the Bob. But, uh, by the time I figure this all out, it was too late, man. She moved on, and all I had to show for it was some foolish pride, which then gave way to regret. She was the girl, I know that now. But I pushed her away. So I've spent every day since then chasing Amy... so to speak."
Fun Fact: There are, in fact, two more Kevin Smith movies ahead of this one on the list.

23. Cast Away

Tom Hanks gives what is one of the all-time great performances as present-day man who gets stranded on an island after a plane crash. There is so much to love here, but there are three quick things I want to point out. First, the plane crash scene is horrifyingly filmed. As much as any other in film history, you felt like you were in the middle of it while sitting in the theather. Second, the extended scene following the crash with absolutely no dialogue and how well it works because Hanks is such a fine actor. Third, there are so many little things that work when gets back to his old life, but I really love that there is no perfect Hollywood ending.
Quote: We might just make it. Did that thought ever cross your brain? Well regardless I would rather take my chance out there on the ocean, that to stay here and die on this shithole island spending the rest of my life talking to a god damn VOLLEYBALL.
Fun Fact: Director Robert Zemekis and the entire crew shot What Lies Beneath between filming the first and second parts of this movie so Hanks could lose 50 pounds and grow out his facial hair.

22. Thirteen Days

I'll start with my one issue: The Boston accents, especially Kevin Costner's are HORRID. You must get beyond that to enjoy what is an otherwise terrific movie about all the behind-the-scenes in the White House during the Cuban Missle Crisis. The tag line says it all: You'll Never Believe How Close We Came. As a U.S. History nerd, this movie was made for me and I loved every second of it. All the actors are terrific (minus Costner, really) and I love that it is based so much on the facts from the Kennedy Tapes. It's really more about the fight between the military men and the civilians within the White House on how to deal with the situation.
Quote: "This is not a blockade. This is language. A new vocabulary, the likes of which the world has never seen! This is President Kennedy communicating with Secretary Khrushchev!"
Fun Fact: Features a cameo role for the nephew of John F. Kennedy, Christopher Lawford, who plays a pilot whose plane is fired upon by the Soviets.

21. Rounders

I had no idea how to play Texas Hold Em when I first sat in the theater to watch Matt Damon's first movie after Good Will Hunting. Most of America was almost certainly in the same boat. Not long after, there were weekly card games, trips to the casino, poker books in my bookshelf and massive World Series of Poker ratings for ESPN. It's hard to remember the pre-poker boom wasn't that long ago, but this is what started it for me and many of my friends. The film centers are Damon, a former super card player who lost it all and went straight, being dragged back into the scene when an old friend (played by Ed Norton) named Worm (must be a likeable guy with that name) gets out of prison. It's funny that a lot of things in the movie bug me now that I'm much more educated about poker, but it really changed things for a large group of us back then and certainly remains watchable and fun, with a terrific, terrific cast. Would love to see a sequel if the major players would return, but that's not going to happen.
Quote: "You wanna see the seventh card, stop speaking fucking sputnik! I'm sure you guys were talking about pirogies and snow but let's cut that out."
Fun Fact: Matt Damon and Edward Norton played the $10,000 buy-in Texas Hold ‘Em championship event at the 1998 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. During the first of four days, Matt Damon had pocket Kings and was knocked out by former world champion and poker legend Doyle Brunson who held pocket Aces.

Top 100 Movies: 26-30

2009-07-22T06:07:00.000-04:00

30. Fast Times at Ridgemont High

This classic features a young cast headlined by Sean Penn (as the iconic Jeff Spicoli) and some future stars (Nic Cage, Forest Whitaker, Anthony Edwards, Eric Stoltz). There are a few stories going on here: the ongoing wackiness of stoner Spicoli and the uber-harsh teacher Mr. Hand (classic performance from Ray Walston), the relationships of young Stacy Hamilton (Jennifer Jason Leigh) via a handful of older guys, the senior year blues of Stacy's older brother Brad (Judge Reinhold) along with pieces of other background storylines. The movie was based on Cameron Crowe's undercover book (Fast Times at Bridgeport High) and is funny, charming and heart-breaking.
Quote: "I can see it all now, this is gonna be just like last summer. You fell in love with that girl at the Fotomat, you bought forty dollars worth of fuckin' film, and you never even talked to her. You don't even own a camera."
Fun Fact: Amazing that I went this long without mentioning THE scene of this movie featuring Phoebe Cates. Let's consider it mentioned and move on.

29. Philadelphia

It's amazing now to think about what a groundbreaking movie this was at the time, but Jonathan Demme's film was the first seen by many about a person with AIDS. Tom Hanks establishes himself as a serious dramatic actor in the Oscar-winning role as Andy Beckett, a gay attorney who is fired because, he believes, his firm found out he had AIDS. A powerful movie helped by a powerful soundtrack.
Quote: "We're standing here in Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love, the birthplace of freedom, where the founding fathers authored the Declaration of Independence, and I don't recall that glorious document saying anything about all straight men are created equal. I believe it says all men are created equal.
Fun Fact: Hanks had to lose almost thirty pounds to appear appropriately gaunt for his courtroom scenes. Denzel Washington, on the other hand, was asked to gain a few pounds for his role. Washington, to the chagrin of Hanks, who practically starved himself for the role, would often eat chocolate bars in front of him.

28. Wonder Boys

Shocking, I know, that another writing movie is on here. Curtis Hanson put together a superb cast (Michael Douglas, Tobey Maguire, Frances McDormand, Robert Downey, Jr., Rip Torn, Katie Holmes before she went nuts) in a funny movie about a college professor and novelist (Douglas) who wrote the Great American Novel and then couldn't get a follow-up done. Maguire is his prized (and strange) student; McDormand is his love interest and the wife of the Dean; Downey is his agent, who wants a look at the new novel; Torn is another author, who cranks out book after book and Holmes is, well, a student and a a renter of a room at his house. It's all weird and wonderful.
Quote: "Okay, James, I wish you hadn't shot my girlfriend's dog. Even though Poe and I weren't exactly what you'd call simpatico, that's no reason he should've taken two in the chest."
Fun Fact: Bob Dylan's "Things Have Changed" won an Oscar and is in heavy rotation on my iPod.

27. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

The second installment takes us deeper into Frodo's journey, raises the stakes and introduces new amazement. I had much greater expectations for this movie than the first one and they were all surpassed.
Quote: I know. It's all wrong. By rights we shouldn't even be here. But we are. It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something. ... That there's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo... and it's worth fighting for."
Fun Fact: This was the first sequel to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture when the original film did not win the award itself, and the third sequel to be nominated for Best Picture.

26. Rocky

I like five of the six Rocky movies, but can't help wondering if the whole thing would have been better if it ended when this one did, with Rocky having gone the distance, in a losing effort against the Ali-like Apollo Creed. Taken on its own, this is one of the greatest sports movies ever made; the ultimate underdog story about a never-was boxer who randomly gets a shot at the champ.
Quote: "Apollo Creed vs. the Italian Stallion. Sounds like a damn monster movie."
Fun Fact: The two scenes where Rocky runs up the museum stairs (the first where he can't do it and the second during the "Gonna Fly Now" training sequence where he runs up them triumphantly) were filmed two hours apart. The first before the sun rose, the second afterwards.

Top 100 Movies: 31-45

2009-07-16T06:25:00.000-04:00

45. Walk the Line

I became a Johnny Cash fan while playing hours of Tetris with Chris and Frank in New Hampshire quite a while back, so there were high expectations for this movie and they were pretty much all met. Joaquin Phoenix was terrific in the main role and Reese Witherspoon certainly held her own as June Carter Cash. The two leads (both singing themselves) made the movie and I especially enjoyed the Folsom Prison scene, the absolute highlight that could have gone on quite a bit longer.
Quote -- Warden: "Try not to sing anything that reminds them that they're in prison." Cash: "You think they forgot?"
Fun Fact: As proven by hours of research, listening to Cash and playing Tetris for four hours feels exactly the same as being significantly buzzed.

44. Spider-Man 2

The Spidey sequel held the honor as my favorite comic book movie for some time, as it perfectly blended the requisite action with strong characters and honest feelings. It played well as both a character study and a popcorn flick and I only with the third one had paid it off even better. Still, this one remains fun and relatively smart.
Quote: "She looks at me everyday. Mary Jane Watson. Oh boy! If she only knew how I felt about her. But she can never know. I made a choice once to live a life of responsibility. A life she can never be a part of. Who am I? I'm Spider-Man, given a job to do. And I'm Peter Parker, and I too have a job."
Fun Fact: The new top comic book movie? Keep reading.

43. Cinderella Man

You have to appreciate any sports movie that enters the final match/game/event with you not caring about the result, only hoping the character lives. I went into the true story of Jim Braddock having absolutely no idea what happened to him and entered the main event with thos feelings. Russell Crowe and Paul Giammati own this movie, which is about so much more than puglism.
Quote: "You think you're telling me something? Like, what, boxing is dangerous, something like that? You don't think working triple shifts and at night on a scaffold isn't just as likely to get a man killed? What about all those guys who died last week living in cardboard shacks to save on rent money just to feed their family, 'cause guys like you have not quite figured out a way yet to make money off of watching that guy die? But in my profession - and it is my profession - I'm a little more fortunate."
Fun Fact: After the film's release many boxing analysts and even Max Baer's son, Max Baer, Jr., decried the movie for it's historical liberties taken with Max Baer. Specifically, that he had killed two men in the ring (he did kill one and an opponent he'd KO'd died a few weeks after their bout for reasons unrelated to the fight) and that he took pride in that fact. Max Baer Jr. has said that his father was always haunted by the memories of killing a man in the ring and that it played a prominent part in Max Baer's eventual death from alcoholism.

42. Sideways

Two Giammati movies in a row. This time, he moves into the main role in a film following two friends' trip to California wine country for one's (Thomas Haden Church) bachelor party. Giammati plays the down-in-the-dumps wine snobby best friend who is recently divorced and can't get a book deal for his wait-what-is-that-novel-about-again? novel. Funny, sweet and interesting, even if (like me) you couldn't possibly care less about wine.
Quote: "I am NOT drinking any FUCKING MERLOT!"
Fun Fact: I have a small Merlot wine bottle magnet on my fridge, courtesy of one Mr. Andrew Merritt and my bachelor party. Funny, funny, funny.

41. Almost Famous

Saw this movie about a young journalist as a young journalist, so you can imagine why it worked so well for me. The final scenes of facing a deadline, tearing your hair out and trying to put together something is something I can definitely appreciate. However, the movie is really about music and love and it really, really works.
Quote: "Aw, man. You made friends with them. See, friendship is the booze they feed you. They want you to get drunk on feeling like you belong. ... They make you feel cool. And hey. I met you. You are not cool. ... That's because we're uncool. And while women will always be a problem for us, most of the great art in the world is about that very same problem. Good-looking people don't have any spine. Their art never lasts. They get the girls, but we're smarter. ... Yeah, great art is about conflict and pain and guilt and longing and love disguised as sex, and sex disguised as love... and let's face it, you got a big head start."
Fun Facts: The film is director Cameron Crowe’s semi-autobiographical account of life as a young Rolling Stone reporter. The actual group that Crowe first toured with was The Allman Brothers Band. (Gregg Allman was the one who distrusted him and kept asking if he was a narc.) Crowe’s real-life near-fatal plane crash happened while traveling with The Who. The character of Russell Hammond is based on Glenn Frey of Eagles.

40. Big

Really? I need to sell you on this? A teen is turned into adult Tom Hanks, historic hilarity ensues. You've all seen it.
Quote: "The space goes down, down baby, down, down the roller coaster. Sweet, sweet baby, sweet, sweet, don't let me go. Shimmy, shimmy, cocoa pop. Shimmy, shimmy, rock. Shimmy, shimmy, cocoa pop. Shimmy, shimmy, rock. I met a girlfriend - a triscuit. She said, a triscuit - a biscuit. Ice cream, soda pop, vanilla on the top. Ooh, Shelly's out, walking down the street, ten times a week. I read it. I said it. I stole my momma's credit. I'm cool. I'm hot. Sock me in the stomach three more times."
Fun Fact: According to actor Robert Loggia, on the day they filmed the famous keyboard scene at F.A.O. Schwartz, he and Tom Hanks noticed that doubles dressed like them were on hand just in case the two could not do the dance moves correctly. It became their goal to do the entire keyboard number without the aid of the doubles. They succeeded.

39. Signs

Everyone talks about the Sixth Sense, but this is far and away my favorite M. Night Shaymalan movie. This one is set in a farm owned by a widowed Mel Gibson and his family, including Jaoquin Phoenix. They have some weird things happen at their place, including crop circles and then all hell breaks loose in a very 9/11-type way. The feel of this movie is perfect and I actually liked the ending quite a bit more than many, it seems.
Quote: "There are a lot of things I can take, and some things I can't. But what I can't take is when my older brother, who's everything that I want to be, starts losing faith in things. I saw that look in your eyes last night. I don't ever want to see that look in your eyes again."
Fun Fact: Maybe the list time I watched Gibson on screen without thinking about what a weird dude he is.

38. The Fellowship of the Ring

I knew nothing about the Lord of the Rings before the first time I saw this film's trailer. It immediately made my must-see list and then paid off with a terrific opener to the trilogy. I love this one as the establishing movie and each one got a bit more intense.
Quote: "The Quest stands upon the edge of a knife. Stray but a little, and it will fail, to the ruin of all. Yet hope remains while the Company is true."
Fun Fact: Eight of the nine members of the Fellowship got a small tattoo of the word “nine” spelled out in Tengwar, which is the Elvish script created by Tolkien. They got it at a tattoo parlor in Wellington, New Zealand, to commemorate the experience of the movie. The ninth member, John Rhys-Davies (Gimli), declined and sent his stunt double in his place.

37. The Blues Brothers

Another comedy classic, featuring Dan Akroyd and John Belushi as the dynamic duo. Tons of great music, a classic pair of performances from the headliners and more cameos than you can imagine. It's just a tour de force in all ways. I'll never watch this movie and not think about hanging out with Ryan, my college roommate, back in the day. Good, good times.
Quote -- E: "It's 106 miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses." J: "Hit it."
Fun Fact: The infamous "Bluesmobile" is a 1974 Dodge Monaco. The vehicles used in the film were used police cars purchased from the California Highway Patrol (mocked up to look like Mt. Prospect, Illinois patrol cars), and featured the "cop tires, cop suspension and cop motor - a 440 cubic-inch plant" mentioned by Elwood in the film. A total of 12 Bluesmobiles were used in the movie, including one that was built just so it could fall apart.

36. JFK

God only knows what actually happened in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963, but Oliver Stone puts together some theories (some plausible, some not) in a highly entertaining, somewhat true movie about New Orleans DA Jim Garrison, the only person to try someone for the murder of John Kennedy. Ignore all the horrible accents and this is a good one.
Quote: "That's the real question, isn't it? Why? The how and the who is just scenery for the public. Oswald, Ruby, Cuba, the Mafia. Keeps 'em guessing like some kind of parlor game, prevents 'em from asking the most important question, why? Why was Kennedy killed? Who benefited? Who has the power to cover it up? Who?"
Fun Fact: “X”, Donald Sutherland’s character, is based on L. Fletcher Prouty, Chief of Special Operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff (and, thus, principal liaison officer between the Pentagon and the CIA) during the JFK presidency. He was a technical advisor for the film.

35. The Road to Perdition

I always think of this as the forgotten terrific Tom Hanks movie. Hanks, who went on arguably the greatest run in movie history for a while there, takes a bit of a turn to the dark side as a old fashioned mobster who kills for a living and then has everything turn on him. A great movie about fathers and sons and regret. Oh, and Paul Newman and Jude Law are pretty damn fantastic as well.
Quote: "Natural law. Sons are put on this earth to trouble their fathers."
Fun Fact: The final on-screen acting feature film for Newman. And he's fantastic.

34. Office Space

One of those perfect movie-perfect time movies. Watching this one after working in a cubicle for a summer was jaw-dropping. It was so incredibly accurate, painfully so really Just a brutally funny and true look at the world inside the cubicle.
Quote: "Well, I generally come in at least fifteen minutes late, ah, I use the side door - that way Lumbergh can't see me, heh heh - and, uh, after that I just sorta space out for about an hour. ... Yeah, I just stare at my desk; but it looks like I'm working. I do that for probably another hour after lunch, too. I'd say in a given week I probably only do about fifteen minutes of real, actual, work."
Fun Fact: When Peter is in the meeting room, on the white board behind him there is a complicated flow chart titled "Planning to Plan."

33. The Paper

This one is a little over the top, but hey, it's a well-acted movie about the newspaper business, so of course I love it. Michael Keaton, Glenn Close, Randy Quaid and the great Robert Duval carry a fun and, yes, way over the top, movie.
Quote: "It's a Marx Brothers movie every time I step in my office."
Fun Fact: Fictional papers mentioned are the New York Sun and the New York Sentinel.

32. The Dark Knight

Not the perfect movie by any stretch, but Heath Ledger's performance as The Joker is like Larry Bird in his prime, bringing everything to a much higher level. Everyone else is fine, and I really like what appeared to be the plan before Ledger's death. Now, I wonder what they could do to make it work.
Quote: "A long time ago, I was in Burma, my friends and I were working for the local government. They were trying to buy the loyalty of tribal leaders by bribing them with precious stones. But their caravans were being raided in a forest north of Rangoon by a bandit. So we went looking for the stones. But in six months, we never found anyone who traded with him. One day I saw a child playing with a ruby the size of a tangerine. The bandit had been throwing them away. ... Because he thought it was good sport. Because some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn."
Fun Fact: In preparation for his role as The Joker, Heath Ledger hid away in a motel room for about six weeks. During this extended stay of seclusion, Ledger delved deep into the psychology of the character. He devoted himself to developing The Joker’s every tic, namely the voice and that sadistic-sounding laugh. Ledger’s interpretation of The Joker’s appearance was primarily based off of the chaotic, disheveled look of punk rocker Sid Vicious combined with the psychotic mannerisms of Malcolm McDowell’s character, Alex De Large, from A Clockwork Orange (1971).

31. Ghostbusters

Hmmm, lots of comedy classics in this run of movies. Another great one featuring those "you gonna call" when you run into any ecto-plasm.
Quote: "Ray. If someone asks if you are a god, you say, 'yes!'"
Fun Fact: In the middle of the film’s initial release, to keep interest going, Ivan Reitman had a trailer run, which was basically the commercial the Ghostbusters’ use in the movie, but with the 555 number replaced with a 1-800 number, allowing people to call. They got a recorded message of Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd saying something to the effect of “Hi. We’re out catching ghosts right now.” They got 1,000 calls per hour, 24 hours a day, for six weeks.

Back to the Top 100

2009-07-15T18:23:00.002-04:00

Working on yet another installment of the top 100 movies that will be posted soon. Hopefully I'll be able to get the rest of that thing cranked out before the end of the summer. Meanwhile, I'm working on some exciting stuff at work that will begin in the fall and you can follow my twitter @jpignatiello or right at the Swine Lair home page.

While we're here: UP was an A+ and the second best Pixar movie ever while The Hangover was good, not great, but made me want to listen to Flo Rida over and over again.

Top 100 movies: 46-55

2009-03-31T15:38:00.000-04:00

Okay. It's been a while. Let's pound some of this out to get this sucker moving again.

55. CADDYSHACK
An all-time classic. You can't play golf, even mini-golf, without dropping a whole bunch of quotes from this movie. It's completely idiotic, based around a country club, a caddy, a few members and a groundskeeper. But it's one of those movies that gets better with each viewing, with funny lines under the main funny lines that you only notice on the ninth viewing. Incredibly rewatchable.
Quote: "Cinderella story. Outta nowhere. A former greenskeeper, now, about to become the Masters champion. It looks like a mirac...It's in the hole! It's in the hole! It's in the hole!"
Fun Fact: The scene quoted above was completely improvised by Bill Murray.

54. JAWS
Amazing how little you see the shark in this flick, even during the big chase scenes on the Orca toward the end. The cast is simply amazing, even the smaller parts feel like they grew up in Amityville. But the best scene is on the Orca with Robert Shaw holding court. So much good stuff.
Quote: "We're gonna need a bigger boat."
Fun Fact: (loved this on IMDB) During pre-production, director Steven Spielberg, accompanied by friends Martin Scorsese, George Lucas and John Milius, visited the effects shop where "Bruce" the shark was being constructed. Lucas stuck his head in the shark's mouth to see how it worked and, as a joke, Milius and Spielberg sneaked to the controls and made the jaw clamp shut on Lucas' head. Unfortunately, and rather prophetically, considering the later technical difficulties the production would suffer, the shark malfunctioned, and Lucas got stuck in the mouth of the shark. When Spielberg and Milius were finally able to free him, the three men ran out of the workshop, afraid they'd done major damage to the creature.

53. HOOSIERS
Jimmy Chitwood. Dentine. "It's your funeral." The bus. Ollie at the free throw line. Four on the floor. Getting thrown out of the game. Amazing, amazing sports movie about a little school in Indiana that makes a run to the state basketball championship.
Quote: (Coach Norman Dale to Jimmy Chitwood, the greatest player anyone in the town has ever seen): "You know, in the ten years that I coached, I never met anybody who wanted to win as badly as I did. I'd do anything I had to do to increase my advantage. Anybody who tried to block the pursuit of that advantage, I'd just push 'em out of the way. Didn't matter who they were, or what they were doing. But that was then. You have special talent, a gift. Not the school's, not the townspeople, not the team's, not Myra Fleener's, not mine. It's yours, to do with what you choose. Because that's what I believe, I can tell you this: I don't care if you play on the team or not."
Fun Fact: All but one of the Hickory players were college basketball players in real life. The one: Maris Valainis (Jimmy Chitwood)

52. THE FUGITIVE
Love this story of Dr. Richard Kimble (Harrison Ford) who is wrongly convicted of murdering his wife. He's arrested, tried, found guilty and then escapes in a fantastic crash scene that was surely much, much better on the big screen. That's when the movie really starts, as Kimble spends the rest of the movie running from US Marshalls, led by Sam Gerard (Tommy Lee Jones) while also trying to find the real killer. There's suspense at every turn and the acting is absolutely top notch from everyone. Ford hasn't had a better one since.
Quote: "Where you at Desmondo?"
Fun Fact: The chase through the St. Patrick's Day parade was a spur of the moment thing. You can see how surprised some of the people are when Ford and Jones join in.

51. MEMENTO
The first movie I remember seeing that really screwed with time and place so much, Christopher Nolan became a big-time director with this murder mystery about a man with no short-term memory told backwards. The story is good anyway, but the story-telling device sets it apart. You can watch it multiple times and still not quite have everything.
Quote: "I don't even know how long she's been gone. It's like I've woken up in bed and she's not here... because she's gone to the bathroom or something. But somehow, I know she's never gonna come back to bed. If I could just... reach over and touch... her side of the bed, I would know that it was cold, but I can't. I know I can't have her back... but I don't want to wake up in the morning, thinking she's still here. I lie here not knowing... how long I've been alone. So how... how can I heal? How am I supposed to heal if I can't... feel time?"
Fun Fact: When Burt, the guy at the desk of the Discount Inn, shows Leonard to his room and they get to talking, Leonard says, "You don't have to be that honest, Burt." The thing is, in that scene, Burt never mentions his name. Given his disorder, Leonard should not have remembered his name, thus revealing that his condition is psychological and not physical.

50. ADAPTATION
A crazy story about writing? You know I'll love it. Nicholas Cage may turn in his best performance in this story by Charlie Kaufman in what must be the craziest adaptation of a book ever written. There are so many wonderful layers here that I'm sure I'm still missing some after a dozen viewings. Funny, crazy and wicked smart all at the same time.
Quote: (opening voiceover) "Do I have an original thought in my head? My bald head. Maybe if I were happier, my hair wouldn't be falling out. Life is short. I need to make the most of it. Today is the first day of the rest of my life. I'm a walking cliché. I really need to go to the doctor and have my leg checked. There's something wrong. A bump. The dentist called again. I'm way overdue. If I stop putting things off, I would be happier. All I do is sit on my fat ass. If my ass wasn't fat I would be happier. I wouldn't have to wear these shirts with the tails out all the time. Like that's fooling anyone. Fat ass. I should start jogging again. Five miles a day. Really do it this time. Maybe rock climbing. I need to turn my life around. What do I need to do? I need to fall in love. I need to have a girlfriend. I need to read more, improve myself. What if I learned Russian or something? Or took up an instrument? I could speak Chinese. I'd be the screenwriter who speaks Chinese and plays the oboe. That would be cool. I should get my hair cut short. Stop trying to fool myself and everyone else into thinking I have a full head of hair. How pathetic is that? Just be real. Confident. Isn't that what women are attracted to? Men don't have to be attractive. But that's not true. Especially these days. Almost as much pressure on men as there is on women these days. Why should I be made to feel I have to apologize for my existence? Maybe it's my brain chemistry. Maybe that's what's wrong with me. Bad chemistry. All my problems and anxiety can be reduced to a chemical imbalance or some kind of misfiring synapses. I need to get help for that. But I'll still be ugly though. Nothing's gonna change that."
Fun Fact: This really is an adaptation by a real Susan Orlean nonfiction book, who attended the Oscars that year.

49. INHERIT THE WIND
Every once in a while I was forced to watch something in school that I actually enjoyed. This is one of those cases. I honestly can't even remember what class or even what year or teacher it was, but I watched this classic for the first time at some point during my awe-inspiring run through the Uxbridge public school system and have loved it ever since. This story is based on a real-life case back in the 20s of two superstar lawyers arguing the case of a science teacher accused of the crime of teaching evolution. But it's so much more than that. And it's brilliant. Spencer Tracy, Fredric March and Gene Kelly are all tremendous here.
Quote: "I don't swear just for the hell of it. Language is a poor enough means of communication. I think we should all the words we've got. Besides, there are damn few words that anybody understands."
Fun Fact: Based on the famous Scopes Monkey Trial.

48. THE DEPARTED
I don't really have to break this one down too much, right? Great movie, especially the work by Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio as undercover agents on opposite sides of the law. The cast is tremendously deep and very well played (although Jack Nicholson is a little over the top, even for him). Not Martin Scorsese's best movie, but the one that got him the Oscar, baby!
Quote: "When you decide to be something, you can be it. That's what they don't tell you in the church. When I was your age they would say we can become cops, or criminals. Today, what I'm saying to you is this: when you're facing a loaded gun, what's the difference?"
Fun Fact: This is the movie with the most uses of the F-word and its derivatives (237) to win Best Picture.

47. FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS
Clint Eastwood directs the true story of the six men who (sorta) raised the flag at Iwo Jima. It's a gritty look at war that's very realistic and not at all glorifying. The things that reasonate the most are the governmental junk as the powers-that-be tried to drum up support for the war. It worked especially well in 2006, more than 60 years later.
Quote: "People on the street corners, they looked at this picture and they took hope. Don't ask me why, I think it's a crappy picture, myself. You can't even see your faces! But it said we can win this war, are winning this war, we just need you to dig a little deeper. They want to give us that money. No, they want to give it to *you*."
Fun Fact: Made as a sister movie with Letters from Iwo Jima.

46. NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
No one kinda liked this movie by the Coen brothers. With this one, you either loved it or hated it. Many of the hates came because the ending isn't what everyone expected. But that's what made the movie so damn good. I'll admit that it took a few days of thought to really appreciate the ending, but it stayed with me and I love it. It works so much better the third time, too.
Quote: "Both [dreams] had my father in 'em . It's peculiar. I'm older now then he ever was by twenty years. So in a sense he's the younger man. Anyway, first one I don't remember too well but it was about meeting him in town somewhere, he's gonna give me some money. I think I lost it. The second one, it was like we was both back in older times and I was on horseback goin' through the mountains of a night. Goin' through this pass in the mountains. It was cold and there was snow on the ground and he rode past me and kept on goin'. Never said nothin' goin' by. He just rode on past... and he had his blanket wrapped around him and his head down and when he rode past I seen he was carryin' fire in a horn the way people used to do and I could see the horn from the light inside of it. 'Bout the color of the moon. And in the dream I knew that he was goin' on ahead and he was fixin' to make a fire somewhere out there in all that dark and all that cold, and I knew that whenever I got there he would be there. And then I woke up."
Fun Fact: Javier Bardem's Best Supporting Actor win made him the first Spanish actor to win an Oscar.

50 homers

2009-02-10T00:00:00.001-04:00

This is a messed up list, especially considering this week's news on A-Rod. At this point, can we be confident that any of the guys after Daddy Fielder was clean?

Cecil Fielder 51 (1990)
Albert Belle 50 (1995)
Mark McGwire 52 (1996)
Brady Anderson 50 (1996)

Ken Griffey Jr 56 (1997)
Ken Griffey Jr. 56 (1998)
Greg Vaughn 50 (1998)
Sammy Sosa 66 (1998)
Mark McGwire 70 (1998)
Mark McGwire 65 (1999)
Sammy Sosa 63 (1999)
Sammy Sosa 50 (2000)
Sammy Sosa 64 (2001)
Barry Bonds 73 (2001)
Luis Gonzalez 57 (2001)
Alex Rodriguez 52 (2001)
Alex Rodriguez 57 (2002)
Jim Thome 52 (2002)
Andruw Jones 51 (2005)
Ryan Howard 58 (2006)
David Ortiz 54 (2006)
Alex Rodriguez 54 (2007)
Prince Fielder 50 (2007)

Links

2009-02-06T20:04:00.002-04:00

I can't effin wait for baseball season. Here's a great story on Red Sox prospect flavor of the year Lars Anderson. ... Thought ESPN's Battle of the Budgets is fun.

How to save your newspaper by Time.

Lost remains beyond excellent.

I still love Unbreakable and here are some cool deleted scenes from the movie.

And finally...
Another reason why I love reading Roger Ebert's reviews, especially when he doesn't like the film (in this case, He's Not That Into You:
Ever noticed how many self-help books are limited to the insight expressed in their titles? You look at the cover, you know everything inside. The rest is just writing. I asked Amazon to "surprise me" with a page from inside the best-seller He's Just Not That Into You, and it jumped me to page 17, where I read: "My belief is that if you have to be the aggressor, if you have to pursue, if you have to do the asking out, nine times out of 10, he's just not that into you."

I personally would not be interested in a woman who needed to buy a book to find that out. Guys also figure out that when she never returns your calls and is inexplicably always busy, she's just not that into you. What is this, brain surgery?

I have tried, but I cannot image what was covered in the previous 16 pages of that book. I am reminded of the book review once written by Ambrose Bierce: "The covers of this book are too far apart."

Awesome.

A Couple of Links

2009-01-28T21:22:00.003-04:00

I love this link to the likely rosters for all of the Red Sox affiliates.

While we're no the Red Sox, Hey Jason, TAKE.THE.FUCKING.DEAL. We all just want this to end.

Weird story about the origins of Kevin James' mall cop movie.

Oscar Nominations

2009-01-22T19:20:00.002-04:00

Here's the complete list:

1. Best Picture: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “Frost/Nixon,” “Milk,” “The Reader,” “Slumdog Millionaire.”
2. Actor: Richard Jenkins, “The Visitor”; Frank Langella, “Frost/Nixon”; Sean Penn, “Milk”; Brad Pitt, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”; Mickey Rourke, “The Wrestler.”
3. Actress: Anne Hathaway, “Rachel Getting Married”; Angelina Jolie, “Changeling”; Melissa Leo, “Frozen River”; Meryl Streep, “Doubt”; Kate Winslet, “The Reader.”
4. Supporting Actor: Josh Brolin, “Milk”; Robert Downey Jr., “Tropic Thunder”; Philip Seymour Hoffman, “Doubt”; Heath Ledger, “The Dark Knight”; Michael Shannon, “Revolutionary Road.”
5. Supporting Actress: Amy Adams, “Doubt”; Penelope Cruz, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”; Viola Davis, “Doubt”; Taraji P. Henson, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”; Marisa Tomei, “The Wrestler.”
6. Director: David Fincher, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”; Ron Howard, “Frost/Nixon”; Gus Van Sant, “Milk”; Stephen Daldry, “The Reader”; Danny Boyle, “Slumdog Millionaire.”
7. Foreign Film: “The Baader Meinhof Complex,” Germany; “The Class,” France; “Departures,” Japan; “Revanche,” Austria; “Waltz With Bashir,” Israel.
8. Adapted Screenplay: Eric Roth and Robin Swicord, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”; John Patrick Shanley, “Doubt”; Peter Morgan, “Frost/Nixon”; David Hare, “The Reader”; Simon Beaufoy, “Slumdog Millionaire.”
9. Original Screenplay: Courtney Hunt, “Frozen River”; Mike Leigh, “Happy-Go-Lucky”; Martin McDonagh, “In Bruges”; Dustin Lance Black, “Milk”; Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon and Pete Docter, “WALL-E.”
10. Animated Feature Film: “Bolt”; “Kung Fu Panda”; “WALL-E.”
11. Art Direction: “Changeling,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Dark Knight,” “The Duchess,” “Revolutionary Road.”
12. Cinematography: “Changeling,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Dark Knight,” “The Reader,” “Slumdog Millionaire.”
13. Sound Mixing: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Dark Knight,” “Slumdog Millionaire,” “WALL-E,” “Wanted.”
14. Sound Editing: “The Dark Knight,” “Iron Man,” “Slumdog Millionaire,” “WALL-E,” “Wanted.”
15. Original Score: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” Alexandre Desplat; “Defiance,” James Newton Howard; “Milk,” Danny Elfman; “Slumdog Millionaire,” A.R. Rahman; “WALL-E,” Thomas Newman.
16. Original Song: “Down to Earth” from “WALL-E,” Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman; “Jai Ho” from “Slumdog Millionaire,” A.R. Rahman and Gulzar; “O Saya” from “Slumdog Millionaire,” A.R. Rahman and Maya Arulpragasam.
17. Costume: “Australia,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Duchess,” “Milk,” “Revolutionary Road.”
18. Documentary Feature: “The Betrayal (Nerakhoon),” “Encounters at the End of the World,” “The Garden,” “Man on Wire,” “Trouble the Water.”
19. Documentary (short subject): “The Conscience of Nhem En,” “The Final Inch,” “Smile Pinki,” “The Witness — From the Balcony of Room 306.”
20. Film Editing: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Dark Knight,” “Frost/Nixon,” “Milk,” “Slumdog Millionaire.”
21. Makeup: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Dark Knight,” “Hellboy II: The Golden Army.”
22. Animated Short Film: “La Maison en Petits Cubes,” “Lavatory — Lovestory,” “Oktapodi,” “Presto,” “This Way Up.”
23. Live Action Short Film: “Auf der Strecke (On the Line),” “Manon on the Asphalt,” “New Boy,” “The Pig,” “Spielzeugland (Toyland).”
24. Visual Effects: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Dark Knight,” “Iron Man.”

I'll have more thoughts on the categories and everything as we get closer to the awards (and I see more of the nominated films), but I'd just like to say that if Presto doesn't win Animated Short Film, Josh is going to be one pissed off little boy.

Keith Law's top 100

2009-01-22T18:56:00.001-04:00

Keith Law has posted his top 100 MLB prospects today. A must-read for baseball fans.

Obama headlines

2009-01-21T21:21:00.003-04:00

I always love looking at Newseum whenever something major happens. Here are some of the interesting ones, in no particular order:

Animated Talk Radio

2009-01-08T20:31:00.002-04:00

The Big Show cartoon? I'm speechless.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-23T23:09:00.001-04:00

I won't be on the computer between now and Thursday, so I wanted to wish everyone a Happy Holiday beforehand. Here are a few things that interest me about Christmas.

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Josh playing in the snow

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Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus:

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15 Things I Have To Watch Each December in no particular order
1. Holy Night West Wing Episode
2. Christimas Vacation
3. A Christmas Story
4. Polar Express (Josh's current fave)
5. It's a Wonderful Life
6. The Grinch (original)
7. Elf
8. The Santa Clause
9. A Charlie Brown Christmas
10. Scrooged
11. Muppet Christmas Carol
12. The Santa Clause
13. Santa Claus: The Movie
14. Home Alone
15. Die Hard

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Love going through Ebert's archives for this type of thing. Here is his original review for A Christmas Story. Here is his Great Movies feature for the flick.

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Josh making Christmas cookies with his momma

"F*cking Yankees"

2008-12-23T19:31:00.006-04:00

I was sitting with Josh in our living room this afternoon watching the Polar Express when that popped on phone from a friend. I knew immediately what it meant: The Yankees had swooped into the Mark Teixiera at the last minute and signed the superstar first baseman after the Red Sox had been considered front-runners in the sweepstakes.

No surprise here, although I did wonder about how it would look after they had already signed two pitchers to monster contracts this offseason and the potential uproar regarding their asking the government to foot so much of the bill for their new stadium.

Anyway, here are 9 things to make we Red Sox fans feel better after today's bad news:
1. The Red Sox still have at least as good a team as the Yankees in 2009. A Teixiera signing was more a 2010 and beyond signing for Boston, which we can worry about later.

2. The Yankees go back to being the bad guys after this offseason. It's much more fun having everyone hate them. It was getting close to even between dislike for the Red Sox and Yankees nationally, but now NYY moves back into the pole position in that race.

3. The 6-foot-3, 220-pounder has hit just .194 with one home run and five RBIs in 19 career contests at Fenway Park. Against Josh Beckett, Jon Lester and Daisuke Matsuzaka combined, Teixeira is 2-for-14 (.143) with four strike outs and one walk.

4. Jason Bay is much better than anyone is giving him credit for.

5. Josh Beckett, Mike Lowell and David Ortiz are going to be healthy this year. Jon Lester is going to be even better and the bullpen will be much improved.

6. The Red Sox aren't done yet. They can add another good pitcher and are still figuring out the catching situation. Let's not look at this team as the final version yet.

7. The Yankees needed to make these kinds of signings to catch up to the Red Sox. They haven't remotely surpassed them. And they still have a ton of old, injury-prone players.

8. Lars Effin Anderson

9. Sox 2009 lineup is pretty friggin good:
Ellsbury, CF
Pedroia, 2B
Papi, DH
Youkilis, 1B
Drew, RF
Bay, LF
Lowell, 3B
Lowrie, SS
TBA, C

Christmas stuff coming late tonight.

Links

2008-12-22T21:52:00.003-04:00

Pretty much says it all.

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ESPN has a fantastic feature on Dr. J and his daughter.

BA details the perfect baseball prank.

EW has the scariest movies ever.

I'll have a Christmas post up late Tuesday night. Top 100 movies will continue in the new year.

The story behind THAT card

2008-12-11T20:24:00.001-04:00

You might know the one, the famous Billy Ripken Fleer Card. Here is the story, F-CK FACE.

Awesome Montage

2008-12-06T03:35:00.003-04:00

Swamped (FU Frank) isn't even the word right now for me at work, but I had to post this Shawshank 80s montage. It's amazing. Don't watch it if you haven't seen the movie. (Hat tip: Simmons)

Pixar movies

2008-11-25T23:40:00.002-04:00

Caught up over the past few days, so here it is. This has changed since the last time I did it (I'm getting old):

1. Toy Story 2
2. The Incredibles
3. Toy Story
4. Monsters, Inc.
5. Wall-E
6. Cars
7. Finding Nemo
8. Ratatouille
9. A Bug's Life

Pie Chart

2008-11-20T23:04:00.001-04:00

Why 11/4/08 Mattered (Part I)

2008-11-20T00:03:00.003-04:00

Expect a lot of these leading into the inauguration:

Richard Clarke, who I've mentioned in passing before:

"Obama's election has taken the wind out of al Qaeda's sails in much of the Islamic world because it demonstrates America's renewed commitment to multiculturalism, human rights, and international law. It also proves to many that democracy can work and overcome ethnic, sectarian, or racial barriers.

"Obama's commitment to withdraw from Iraq also takes away an al Qaeda propaganda tenet: that the U.S. seeks to occupy oil rich Arab lands. His commitment to defeat al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan also challenges their plans. Most of all, by returning to American values the world admires, Obama sets al Qaeda back enormously in the battle of ideas, the ideological struggle which determines whether al Qaeda will continue to have significant support in the Islamic world."

Top 100 Movies: 56-65

2008-11-18T23:55:00.000-04:00

65. THE USUAL SUSPECTS

A twisty-turny mob movie that makes you want to watch it again immediately after it ends. I still don't quite have the whole thing perfectly worked out in my head, and I've watched it a dozen or more times. Kevin Spacey is the main guy here, starring as Verbal Kint, the lone survivor of what can only be described as a massive clusterfuck. He tells the story of being mixed in with a group of career criminals and how they came to work for the notorious Keyser Soze. Terrific ensemble cast includes Benicio Del Toro, Gabriel Byrne, Kevin Pollack and Chazz Palminteri.
Fun fact: In a poll on IMDb, the movie was voted as having the best plot twist, beating out The Sixth Sense, The Crying Game, and Witness for the Prosecution.
Quote: "Who is Keyser Soze? He is supposed to be Turkish. Some say his father was German. Nobody believed he was real. Nobody ever saw him or knew anybody that ever worked directly for him, but to hear Kobayashi tell it, anybody could have worked for Soze. You never knew. That was his power. The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist. And like that, poof. He's gone."

64. E.T.:THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL

I know I saw this movie at some point before the 2002 rerelease into theaters, but for whatever reason I don't really remember it and I didn't think much of it. Anyway, when Lisa and I saw it on the big screen, it was an amazing experience of just pure joy and kid-dom that can make Steven Spielberg movies so incredible. And I really can't say enough about John Williams' score, which is so tone-perfect in every single scene, but especially on that flight/chase portion of the climax.
Fun fact: Elliot's last name is never mentioned.
Quote: "I just hope we don't wake up on Mars or something surrounded by millions of these little squashy guys."

63. HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE

This is kind of like when Return of King won the Oscar and we all knew that it was really for the entire Lord of the Ring series (although that's not how I handled LOTR here), but this is the one HP movie on the list and it really stands for all of them in what has, in my mind, become one extremely long movie. I chose this one because of the sense of wonder and innocence that permeates throughout, much moreso than the rest of the series. Here we get to see everything for the first time and wonder what the hell is happening. I think my love for the series is aided by the complete lack of having read the books, which I long ago decided to skip until seeing the final film.
Fun fact: The Hogwarts motto, "Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus" means "never tickle a sleeping dragon."
Quote: "I can't be a wizard. I'm just Harry, just Harry."

62. HIGH FIDELITY

John Cusak is fantastic as a record store owner who is a compulsive list maker. As the tagline says, it's "a comedy about fear of commitment, hating your job, falling in love and other pop favorites." That pretty much sums it up. Also, this is almost certainly Jack Black's best performance.
Fun fact: The "Cosby sweater" line will never grow old at Swine Lair.
Quote: "What came first, the music or the misery? People worry about kids playing with guns, or watching violent videos, that some sort of culture of violence will take them over. Nobody worries about kids listening to thousands, literally thousands of songs about heartbreak, rejection, pain, misery and loss. Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to pop music?"

61. RESERVOIR DOGS

A heist movie that doesn't show you the heist, this is a brilliant Quentin Tarantino film that shows you the before and after of a bloody bank job that goes bad. It features, predictably, some brilliant F-bomb-filled writing, a terrific ensemble cast highlighted by Harvey Keitel and Steve Buscemi as Mr. White and Mr. Pink, respectively.
Fun fact: The F-word is used 272 times in the movie, including a few times below.
Quote: "I'm very sorry the government taxes their tips, that's fucked up. That ain't my fault. It would seem to me that waitresses are one of the many groups the government fucks in the ass on a regular basis. Look, if you ask me to sign something that says the government shouldn't do that, I'll sign it, put it to a vote, I'll vote for it, but what I won't do is play ball. And as for this non-college bullshit I got two words for that: learn to fuckin' type, 'cause if you're expecting me to help out with the rent you're in for a big fuckin' surprise."

60. THE AVIATOR

Here's the link to my original review. In it, I wrote: One plot deals with the transformation of Howard Hughes (DiCaprio) from a young man who inherits a fortune to a visionary superstar of movies, air travel and numerous other ventures. The other plot deals with his fall into insanity, which overcame Hughes down the road. The film moves between the two, showing Hughes put his neck (and money) on the line time and again in risky proposals he is sure will work - and usually do. He is also sliding into serious obsessive compulsiveness and is battling it more and more in the movie.We get a glimpse of how bad it truly got, of the movie stars he made time with, of the battles over air travel and the shrewdness of his enemies.
Fun fact: The second highest-rated DiCaprio film on the top 100.
Quote: "Sometimes I truly fear that I... am losing my mind. And if I did it... it would be like flying blind."

59. LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA

Alongside Clint Eastwood's sister piece, Flags of Our Fathers, this is an incredible piece of storytelling of the famous battle from Japan's point of view. Partnered with FOF, it's interesting to see how each side went into the battle, what was important to each side and what happened from the different POVs. The back stories are just haunting, too.
Fun fact: FOF is rated just a little higher on the top 100.
Quote: "For our homeland. Until the very last man. Our duty is to stop the enemy right here. Do not expect to return home alive."

58. THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS

A huge epic starring Daniel Day-Lewis as a white man who was adopted by Native Americans and fighting in the French and Indian War. The main story if about three trappers who have to protect a British officer's daughters and everything works. The score, the acting, the cinematography. The final scenes are incredibly chilling and Day-Lewis is, not surprisingly, absolutely perfect.
Fun fact: To get ready for this movie, DDL lived in the wilderness where his character might have lived, hunting and fishing and living off the land for several months prior to shooting.
Quote: "Death and honor are thought to be the same, but today I have learned that sometimes they are not."

57. IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE

I can't believe I hadn't seen this before last Christmas, but it is absolutely one of those classic movies that everyone must see and still works incredibly well even today. The film, which came out in 1946, stars Jimmy Stewart as George Bailey, who is given a glimpse of what would have been had he never lived. It's touching and sweet, but also a bit grittier than I was expecting. And I really can't say enough about the chemistry between Stewart and Donna Reed, especially in one scene where she is on the telephone.
Fun fact: Capra and Stewart didn't really see this as a Christmas movie the way everyone now looks at it.
Quote: "Merry Christmas, movie house! Merry Christmas, Emporium! Merry Christmas, you wonderful old Building and Loan!"

56. FAHRENHEIT 9/11

Michael Moore's biggest piece of blatant propaganda, I reviewed it here. It's one of those time and place movies that aren't really the same now, but I tried to give it a spot here based on my original viewing. The world, hopefully, is a little different now. Here's a bit more from the original review: "It’s a terrific anti-war documentary that shows how kids get trapped by our system into thinking the army is the only way out, how they justify killing people and burning cities and how the families are shattered when they are killed in action. The most touching moment of the movie comes toward the end, when Moore is with a woman whose son has died and she reads a letter he wrote home from the week before his helicopter crashed. Then, he follows her to Washington, D.C."
Fun fact: Michael Moore was still fighting with the MPAA over their verdict of giving the film an "R" rating during time it was being played in limited release. Because of the MPAA's indecision, the film was initially released as "Not Rated" until the surprise box office success and inevitable wide release. Moore lost his bid for "PG-13" and the film carried an "R" rating from then onward.
Quote: "While Bush was busy taking care of his base and professing his love for our troops, he proposed cutting combat soldiers' pay by 33% and assistance to their families by 60%. He opposed giving veterans a billion dollars more in health care benefits, and he supported closing veteran hospitals. He tried to double the prescription drug costs for veterans and opposed full benefits for part-time reservists. And when Staff Sergeant Brett Petriken from Flint was killed in Iraq on May 26th, the army sent his last paycheck to his family, but they docked him for the last five days of the month that he didn't work because he was dead."

It's A New Day

2008-11-12T00:46:00.002-04:00

Will.I.Am's new video. Effin' Awesome.

Here are the words:
I went asleep last night
Tired from the fight
I've been fighting for tomorrow
All my life
Yea I woke up this morning
Feeling brand new
'Cause the dreams that I've been dreaming
Have finally came true

It's a new day
It's a new day
It's a new day
It's a new day
It's a new day

It's been a long time coming
Up the mountain kept runnin'
Souls of freedom kept hummin'
Channeling Harriet Tubman

Kennedy, Lincoln, and King
We gotta invest in that dream
It feels like we're swimming upstream
It feels like we're stuck inbetween
A rock and a hard place,
We've been through the heartaches
And lived through the darkest days

If you and I made it this far,
Well then hey, we can make it all the way
And they said no we can't
And we said yes we can
Remember it's you and me together

I woke up this morning
Feeling alright
I've been fightin' for tomorrow
All my life
Yea, I woke up this morning
Feeling brand new
Cause the dreams that I've been dreaming
Have finally came true

It's a new day
(it's a new day)
It's a new day
(it's a new day)
It's a new day
It's a new day!

It's been a long time waitin'
Waiting for this moment
Been a long time praying
Praying for this moment

We hope for this moment
And now that we own it
For life I will hold it
And I ain't gonna let it go

It's for fathers, our brothers,
Our friends who fought for freedom
Our sisters, our mothers,
Who died for us to be in this moment

Stop and cherish this moment
Stop and cherish this time

It's time for you and me
For us and we
That's you and me together

I woke up this morning
Feeling brand new
Cause the dreams that I've been dreaming
Have finally came true
Yea, I woke up this morning
Feeling alright

'Cause we weren't fighting for nothing
And the soldiers weren't fighting
For nothing
No, Martin was dreaming for nothing
And Lincoln didn't change it for nothing
And children weren't crying for nothing

It's a new day
It's a new day
A new day
It's a new day
It's a new day!

Here's his original "Yes We Can" video. Also tremendous:

Top 100 Movies: 66-75

2008-11-11T01:00:00.000-04:00

It's imperative that we get this sucker moving again, so I'm scrapping some of the extras and we're going to pump these out 10 at a time for a few weeks. Once we get into the top 25 or so, I'll get back to breaking out all the posters, etc.

75. RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK

The original Indy movie is the perfect blend of action and fun, as the archaeologist battles the Nazis in search of the biblical artifact. Harrison Ford was made for the role here and the movie, which is set in 1936, is one of the greatest adventure film in movie history.
Quote: "Oh, Marcus. What are you trying to do, scare me? You sound like my mother. We've known each other for a long time. I don't believe in magic, a lot of superstitious hocus pocus. I'm going after a find of incredible historical significance, you're talking about the boogie man. Besides, you know what a cautious fellow I am. [throws his gun into his suitcase]"
Fun Fact: My fave Indy movies are ranked 1, 3, 2, 4. And four is a distant one.

74. CHRISTMAS VACATION

I'm always surprised when people don't include this one in their must-see lists for Christmas. It's THE Christmas classic for my group of friends and you can't go 20 seconds watching it with me without hitting a quotable line. I annoy everyone with this one. This movie kills me. Everything Eddie does (Shitter was full!...that friggin dickey... the dog food...), all of the relatives, the neighbors (I wasn't talking to YOU), so many funny lines.
Quote: (Too many): "Where do you think you're going? Nobody's leaving. Nobody's walking out on this fun, old-fashioned family Christmas. No, no. We're all in this together. This is a full-blown, four-alarm holiday emergency here. We're gonna press on, and we're gonna have the hap, hap, happiest Christmas since Bing Crosby tap-danced with Danny fucking Kaye. And when Santa squeezes his fat white ass down that chimney tonight, he's gonna find the jolliest bunch of assholes this side of the nuthouse."
Fun Fact: My buddy Frank is the ringleader of our fandom and even owns the Clark Griswold Blackhawks jersey. You can't top that.

73. ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN

I'm a sucker for journalism and writing movies and this one, which chronicles reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein and their work on the Watergate story, is certainly top-notch. I love the newsroom, the sound of the typewriters clicking away, the scene where Dustin Hoffman (Bernstein) starts rewriting a story by Robert Redford (Woodward), the way they work the interviewees to get them to confirm stories. It's all brilliantly done. And Jason Robards as Ben Bradlee is effin' perfection.
Quote: "You know the results of the latest Gallup Poll? Half the country never even heard of the word Watergate. Nobody gives a shit. You guys are probably pretty tired, right? Well, you should be. Go on home, get a nice hot bath. Rest up... 15 minutes. Then get your asses back in gear. We're under a lot of pressure, you know, and you put us there. Nothing's riding on this except the, uh, first amendment to the Constitution, freedom of the press, and maybe the future of the country. Not that any of that matters, but if you guys fuck up again, I'm going to get mad. Goodnight."
Fun Fact: The movie was listed on IFC's list of 10 bittersweet patriotic films. It's the only one in the top 100.

72. PLEASANTVILLE

This is one of those overlooked gems that are adored in my house. Geeky Tobey Maguire and his popular sister Reese Witherspoon are transported into Maguire's favorite old-time 1950s TV show, Pleasantville, where everything is "perfect" and in black and white color. The movie uses color (the addition and subtraction of it) to tell numerous stories along with talking about racism, original sin and self image. The movie's tagline: Nothing Is As Simple As Black And White, is perfect.
Quote: [The mayor]: "Up until now everything around here has been, well, pleasant. Recently certain things have become unpleasant. Now, it seems to me that the first thing we have to do is to separate out the things that are pleasant from the things that are unpleasant."
Fun Fact: There are only six black and white movies in the top 100. Roger Ebert would be so disappointed in me.

71. THE GREEN MILE

Frank Darabount sure can turn a good Stephen King novel into a fantastic movie. This one stars Tom Hanks as the head man among the death row prison guards during the Depression. The movie is essentially about three executions, with each one being harder and harder on the viewer. It's also about John Coffey, a huge black man with extraordinary powers who was convicted of doing something incredibly horrifying. There's a combination of sweetness and wonder along with brutality here and really works in the same way that the other good King adaptations do. Hanks is wonderful as usual during this run of movies, as is the entire cast, especially Michael Clarke Duncan, who parlayed this role into a ton of fame and virtually no other good performances.
Quote: "They usually call death row the Last Mile, but we called ours the Green Mile, because the floor was the color of faded limes. We had the electric chair then. Old Sparky, we called it. I've lived a lot of years, Ellie, but 1935 takes the prize. That was the year I had the worst urinary infection of my life. That was also the year of John Coffey and the two dead girls."
Fun Fact: The only time I nearly killed someone in a movie theater was my first time watching this movie. During one of the most stirring moments of a long and wonderful movie, the guy two seats down from us has his cell phone ring. He then answers it and starts talking. A bunch of us went ballistic until he finally left. I'm getting angry about this even as I'm writing it here.

70. THE INSIDER

Russell Crowe, Al Pacino and Christopher Plummer are all terrific in this true story about a chemist who blows the whistle on Big Tobacco on 60 Minutes. Crowe is the chemist, who comes under attack both personally and professionally when he decides to out the truth behind what the tobacco companies did and didn't know about the health risks in cigarettes and when they knew it. Pacino plays a 60 Minutes producer, while Plummer is Mike Wallace, the superstar reporter. Crowe is especially amazing here and the movie both tense and smart. Another journo movie, sue me.
Quote: "You pay me to go get guys like Wigand, to draw him out. To get him to trust us, to get him to go on television. I do. I deliver him. He sits. He talks. He violates his own fucking confidentiality agreement. And he's only the key witness in the biggest public health reform issue, maybe the biggest, most-expensive corporate-malfeasance case in U.S. history. And Jeffrey Wigand, who's out on a limb, does he go on television and tell the truth? Yes. Is it newsworthy? Yes. Are we gonna air it? Of course not. Why? Because he's not telling the truth? No. Because he is telling the truth. That's why we're not going to air it. And the more truth he tells, the worse it gets!"
Fun Facts: I love capitalizing things like Big Tobacco! Big Tobacco!

69. AMERICAN HISTORY X

Edward Norton stars as a former neo-Nazi who is trying to keep his younger brother (Ed Furlong) from following his same path. Talk about a tough movie to watch. I don't think I'll ever see one particular scene ever again, but the violence is needed here and the hate is real. We see Norton's former self through flashbacks and follow the rehabbed one through his return to the old neighborhood. Norton's performance makes this one.
Quote: "So I guess this is where I tell you what I learned - my conclusion, right? Well, my conclusion is: Hate is baggage. Life's too short to be pissed off all the time. It's just not worth it. Derek says it's always good to end a paper with a quote. He says someone else has already said it best. So if you can't top it, steal from them and go out strong. So I picked a guy I thought you'd like. 'We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory will swell when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.'"
Fun Facts: Norton did Rounders this movie and Fight Club consecutively. All of them are on the top 100 list.

68. ROGER AND ME

The original Michael Moore documentary as he tries to hunt down GM head Roger Smith to talk to him about the way his hometown of Flint, Mich. was ravaged by GM's massive downsizing. Moore shows off his reporting abilities and his sense of humor here and you can see how this was the start of everything he's done since. It's very simple, but very well done.
Quote: "My favorite was the exhibit sponsored by General Motors: a puppet auto worker singing a love song to the robot replacing him on the assembly line. The song was called "Me and My Buddy"."
Fun Facts: Moore's message after Tuesday: Pinch Me.

67. KILL BILL VOLS. 1&2

You can't split these two up, it's basically one very long, very funny and very violent movie. It's Uma Thurman who wants to do the deed to Bill and much of the fun of the movie is finding out who he is and exactly why she wants to kill him. The result is a series of fantastic scenes via flashback and real time and a ton of amazing fight scenes. Quentin Tarantino at his near-best.
Quote: "Revenge is never a straight line. It's a forest, And like a forest it's easy to lose your way... To get lost... To forget where you came in."
Fun Facts: (From IMDB): In the restaurant, the Bride (Uma) kills 57 people.

66. SOUTH PARK: BIGGER, LONGER & UNCUT

The most brilliant movie that includes the term "Uncle Fucking" you'll ever see. It's actually about an R-rated movie that the kids sneak into see, start quoting and all hell breaks loose. More than any other movie, this is probably the one that had me laughing the most violently in a theater the first time I saw it. I'm so 12 years old.
Quote: "Remember what the MPAA says; Horrific, Deplorable violence is okay, as long as people don't say any naughty woids! That's what this war is all about!"
Fun Facts: (From IMDB again): In The Guinness Book Of World Records 2001 this film was said to have the most profanity used in an animated film. It contained a total of 399 swear words (the word "fuck" was used 146 times). 199 offensive gestures and also contained 221 acts of violence.

Mr. President

2008-11-05T18:17:00.001-04:00

President-Elect Barack Obama

2008-11-05T00:42:00.002-04:00

I'm completely speechless right now. This is a far more emotional night than I was expecting (Not the best time to be in a newsroom...). I can only add this:

"Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn't matter with me now, because I've been to the mountaintop.
And I don't mind.
Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land!"
-MLK

Inaugaration Day 2009 is the day after Martin Luther King Day.

Virginia?!?!

2008-11-04T23:51:00.001-04:00

I must be dreaming. Really.

Election Day 2008: Part III

2008-11-04T21:07:00.001-04:00

And they call Pennsylvania for Obama right at 8 p.m. WOW! I thought we'd be at least sweating that one out for a while. There are very few ways for McCain to get to 270 now.

Election Day 2008: Part II

2008-11-04T20:36:00.002-04:00

Well, we still haven't seen much aside from two gimmes (Vermont/Kentucky) and I'm just constantly refreshing every site I can get to. Right now, I'm really liking the New York Times' interactive map.

William Ayres breaks his silence.

More in a while.

Election Day 2008: Part 1

2008-11-04T17:58:00.004-04:00

*I'll have updates throughout the night.*

*Deep Breath*

I was on my way home from work late last night, probably 12:30 or so cruising down I-91 at 65 or so when it happened. A deer ran out right in front of me. ...

As I drove home each night, I often see a few of them on the side of the highway, eating the grass just outside the tree line. Many times I've thought it was weird that I hadn't seen one on the road any of those times.

... And then it happens on election day. Luckily, Bambi's mom jumped out of the way just in time to probably save both of our lives. And I've spent the past 17 hours or so wondering if that's a good omen or a bad omen.

Now, if it was a moose, I'd feel much better.

***
It's very dusty in here right now. Very.

Here's the final post from 538 before the election: Obama has a 98.9% chance of winning and it should be a landslide. I'm not convinced of shenanigans at the polling places, though.

Deep Breath

2008-11-03T23:31:00.003-04:00

So, it looks like an Obama landslide is more likely than a McCain win, based on everything I can get my hands on today.

And how do I feel? Like I'm going to puke.

I'm convinced everything is going to go wrong. Everything.

There are already 100,000 complaints from early voters:
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Callers have reported receiving robocalls telling them that Election Day is November 5th.

- Ohio: Voters have been falsely told that they can send in absentee ballots as late as November 14th.

- North Carolina: Fliers were left on cars at a shopping mall instructing Republicans to vote on Tuesday, Nov. 4th (actual Election Day) and Democrats to vote on Wednesday Nov. 5th.

- Louisiana: People who moved out of their damaged homes after Hurricane Katrina are reporting confusion about their registration status and voting precinct.

- New Jersey: The state registration database is operating too slowly to update with the names of recent registrants.

- Maryland and Virginia: Voters report receiving calls from the purportedly from the Obama campaign with inaccurate polling place location.

- Indiana: Early voting centers are closing at noon and many people left standing in line have been sent away without getting to vote. Election law is unclear about this situation.

- Michigan: Many registered voters' names are not appearing on the state web site that verifies registration status. This also means that people can't find their polling location on the site.

- Kansas City, Missouri: Reports are coming in from voters at a largely African American polling location, who are being warned of a 6-8 hour wait to vote (despite the line being short) and forced to put their names on a list while in line to vote.

Rachel Maddow is right, by the way:
This is a poll tax. How much do you get paid for an hour of work? Do you have the kind of job that would be delighted to give you an hour, a half-day, a whole day off work because you were waiting in line at your precinct? Even if it won't cost you your job, can you afford to not work those hours? Are you elderly or disabled, do you not have the physical stamina for this kind of exertion? This is a poll tax... Who is not in those lines — because they can't afford to be?

Andrew Sullivan makes his final case for Obama.

Nate Silver tells you what to watch for tomorrow.

Such sad news about Barack Obama's grandmother passing before Tuesday's election.

I'll be updating a running diary throughout the night tomorrow night. We'll see how that goes.

Eight Things

2008-10-28T19:07:00.004-04:00

Here we go:

1. I'm moderately surprised by people claiming this year's election is another version of the lesser of two evils. I'll admit to being completely biased on this one, but it's hard for me to understand how you can look at Barack Obama as a relative evil. Personally, he has the exact temperament I've ever wanted in a President. He's the type of person to surround himself with people of all viewpoints, here them all out and then make a decision. I don't agree with everything he believes in (his lack of push behind gay marriage is disappointing, etc.), but I always expect it to be intellectually reasoned and honest. At this point, I'm plenty happy with that.

2. The Red Sox must not must not must not MUST NOT trade for Matt Holliday. To give up anything for him to replace one of their other outfielders would be idiotic. Take a look at his home/road numbers and explain to me if you want to give up a couple of top prospects and extra money to get him. He's going to be no better than JD Drew or Jason Bay. Here's what the Red Sox should do: A) Call the Rangers and offer Michael Bowden and Daniel Bard for Taylor Teagarden. When they say no, make them the same offer for Jarrod Salty and a lesser prospect. B) Re-sign Tek if he'll do two years at $6-$8 million per or let him go. C) Stay involved in the Mark Teixiera stuff and if his number isn't insane (say 7 years, $140m), I'd sign him. I don't think this means you have to trade Lowell or Youk. You have four spots and three guys (Ortiz, Lowell, Youk, Marky Mark) and I'm not confident that all four will be 100 percent for most of the season. These things work out and Tex is a young, talented switch-hitter who is excellent with the glove. I'm in.

3. Wow, The Happening was completely dreadful. I've been a huge Night apologist all the way through Lady in the Water, but this movie did nothing, said nothing and showed us nothing. Just a complete piece of junk from start to finish, minus a couple of good performances. Very disappointing.

4. Wait, the Patriots are 5-2? Really? I gave up on the football season in Week 1 and have pretty must just been paying attention to my fantasy teams since then. Nice to see Matt Cassel making himself some money for next year. Maybe he'll be the starter for San Francisco or Detroit in 2009.

5. It's all Matt's fault, but I'm addicted to the Google Calendar. If you haven't used it, I strongly recommend it.

6. I'm currently watching two shows: The Office and Entourage and waiting on two more, Lost and Curb Your Enthusiasm. That's pretty much all I have in me right now. The Office is still going as strong as ever and I'm enjoying this season of Entourage because it's a bit different than in the past.

7. My breakup with Heroes a few weeks ago went like this: "It's not you, it's me. You are fine. I still like what you are showing me, but I just don't have time for you right now. I'm busy with work and family and I can't devote that much time to something I'm just as into as I used to be. Maybe, when things get a little less hectic, we can meet up on DVD, but it's just not going to work out right now."

8. After watching say 100 hours of Thomas and Friends over the past year, I'm convinced that Sir Topham Hat is the British version of Hank Scorpio and he's planning a nuclear attack from the Island of Sodor. That's really the only explanation for all the construction and expansion that is being done to the island, which no one knows the location of.

Bonus link: the Palin Effect. One week away. Here's hoping my dad gets an amazing 52nd birthday present.

8 Days Links

2008-10-27T18:25:00.002-04:00

Yeah, like I'm remotely thinking about movies right now. I'll get back the top 100 after the election. Here's a look at some links as we count down the days until Nov. 4.

Larry David pretty much summed it up for me:

I can't take much more of this. Two weeks to go, and I'm at the end of my rope. I can't work. I can eat, but mostly standing up. I'm anxious all the time and taking it out on my ex-wife, which, ironically, I'm finding enjoyable. This is like waiting for the results of a biopsy. Actually, it's worse. Biopsies only take a few days, maybe a week at the most, and if the biopsy comes back positive, there's still a potential cure. With this, there's no cure. The result is final. Like death.

Five times a day I'll still say to someone, "I don't know what I'm going to do if McCain wins." Of course, the reality is I'm probably not going to do anything. What can I do? I'm not going to kill myself. If I didn't kill myself when I became impotent for two months in 1979, I'm certainly not going to do it if McCain and Palin are elected, even if it's by nefarious means. If Obama loses, it would be easier to live with it if it's due to racism rather than if it's stolen. If it's racism, I can say, "Okay, we lost, but at least it's a democracy. Sure, it's a democracy inhabited by a majority of disgusting, reprehensible turds, but at least it's a democracy." If he loses because it's stolen, that will be much worse. Call me crazy, but I'd rather live in a democratic racist country than a non-democratic non-racist one. (It's not exactly a Hobson's choice, but it's close, and I think Hobson would compliment me on how close I've actually come to giving him no choice. He'd love that!)

The one concession I've made to maintain some form of sanity is that I've taken to censoring my news, just like the old Soviet Union. The citizenry (me) only gets to read and listen to what I deem appropriate for its health and well-being. Sure, there are times when the system breaks down. Michele Bachmann got through my radar this week, right before bedtime. That's not supposed to happen. That was a lapse in security, and I've had to make some adjustments. The debates were particularly challenging for me to monitor. First I tried running in and out of the room so I would only hear my guy. This worked until I knocked over a tray of hors d'oeuvres. "Sit down or get out!" my host demanded. "Okay," I said, and took a seat, but I was more fidgety than a ten-year-old at temple. I just couldn't watch without saying anything, and my running commentary, which mostly consisted of "Shut up, you prick!" or "You're a fucking liar!!!" or "Go to hell, you cocksucker!" was way too distracting for the attendees, and finally I was asked to leave.

A terrific TIME Magazine piece on why Barack Obama is winning:

I asked Obama about gut decisions, in an interview on his plane 17 days before the election. It was late on a Saturday night, and he looked pretty tired, riddled with gray hair and not nearly as young as when I'd first met him four years earlier. He had drawn 175,000 people to two events in Missouri that day, larger crowds than I'd ever seen at a campaign event, and he would be endorsed by Colin Powell the next morning. He seemed as relaxed as ever, though, unfazed by the hoopla or the imminence of the election. Our conversation was informal but intense. He seemed to be thinking in my presence, rather than just reciting talking points, and it took him some time to think through my question about gut decisions. He said the first really big one was how to react when incendiary videos of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright's black-nationalist sermons surfaced last spring. "The decision to make it big as opposed to make it small," Obama said of the landmark speech on race relations he delivered in Philadelphia. "My gut was telling me that this was a teachable moment and that if I tried to do the usual political damage control instead of talking to the American people like ... they were adults and could understand the complexities of race, I would be not only doing damage to the campaign but missing an important opportunity for leadership."

The speech was followed by a more traditional form of damage control when Wright showed up in Washington still spewing racial nonsense: Obama cut him loose. And while Obama has followed a fairly traditional political path in this campaign, his strongest — and most telling — moments have been those when he followed his natural no-drama instincts. This has been confusing to many of my colleagues and to me, at times, as well: his utter caution in the debates, his decision not to zing McCain or even to challenge him very much, led me to assume — all three times — that he hadn't done nearly as well as the public ultimately decided he had. McCain was correct when he argued that Obama's aversion to drama led him to snuggle a bit too close to the Democratic Party's orthodoxy. But one of the more remarkable spectacles of the 2008 election — unprecedented in my time as a journalist — was the unanimity among Democrats on matters of policy once the personality clash between Obama and Hillary Clinton was set aside. There was no squabbling between old and new Dems, progressives and moderates, over race or war or peace. This was a year for no-drama Democrats, which made Obama as comfortable a fit for them as McCain was awkward for the Republican base.

And at the crucial moment of the campaign — the astonishing onset of the financial crisis — it was Obama's gut steadiness that won the public's trust, and quite possibly the election. On the afternoon when McCain suspended his campaign, threatened to scuttle the Sept. 26 debate and hopped a plane back to Washington to try to resolve the crisis, Obama was in Florida doing debate prep with his top advisers. When he was told about McCain's maneuvers, Obama's first reaction — according to an aide — was, "You gotta be kidding. I'm going to debate. A President has to be able to do more than one thing at a time." But there was a storm brewing among Obama's supporters in Congress and the Beltway establishment. "My BlackBerry was exploding," said an Obama aide. "They were saying we had to suspend. McCain was going to look more like a statesman, above the fray."

Matt Drudge will be calling Barack Obama a communist in every possible way between now and next Tuesday.

Andrew Sullivan has 10 Reasons Conservatives (real ones) Should Vote for Obama:

3. Two words: President Palin.

2. Conservative reform. Until conservatism can get a distance from the big-spending, privacy-busting, debt-ridden, crony-laden, fundamentalist, intolerant, incompetent and arrogant faux conservatism of the Bush-Cheney years, it will never regain a coherent message to actually govern this country again. The survival of conservatism requires a temporary eclipse of today's Republicanism. Losing would be the best thing to happen to conservatism since 1964. Back then, conservatives lost in a landslide for the right reasons. Now, Republicans are losing in a landslide for the wrong reasons.

1. The War Against Islamist terror. The strategy deployed by Bush and Cheney has failed. It has failed to destroy al Qaeda, except in a country, Iraq, where their presence was minimal before the US invasion. It has failed to bring any of the terrorists to justice, instead creating the excresence of Gitmo, torture, secret sites, and the collapse of America's reputation abroad. It has empowered Iran, allowed al Qaeda to regroup in Pakistan, made the next vast generation of Muslims loathe America, and imperiled our alliances. We need smarter leadership of the war: balancing force with diplomacy, hard power with better p.r., deploying strategy rather than mere tactics, and self-confidence rather than a bunker mentality.

Those conservatives who remain convinced, as I do, that Islamist terror remains the greatest threat to the West cannot risk a perpetuation of the failed Manichean worldview of the past eight years, and cannot risk the possibility of McCain making rash decisions in the middle of a potentially catastrophic global conflict. If you are serious about the war on terror and believe it is a war we have to win, the only serious candidate is Barack Obama.

This is a pretty incredible story about call center workers walking off the job instead of spreading some of McCain's "Talking Points" about Obama:

A second worker at the call center confirmed the episode, saying that "at least 30" workers had walked out after refusing to read the script.

"We were asked to read something saying [Obama and Democrats] were against protecting children from danger," this worker said. "I wouldn't do it. A lot of people left. They thought it was disgusting."

Obama still pushing back hard against FOXNEWS.

The latest from the absolute must-read: 538.com. More good stuff. And Nate Silver on The Colbert Report.

The 10 worst political ads of the season via Politico.com.

***

If you are into fantasy basketball (I'm not) Bill Simmons has his preview here. Reilly and Obama talk fantasy football.

Tomorrow, I'll have eight random things that would have gotten full blog posts before I had a kid.

"Real America"

2008-10-21T22:10:00.000-04:00

Jason Jones goes to Wasilla. Wow.

Top 100 Movies: 76-80

2008-10-14T06:56:00.006-04:00

80. BATMAN BEGINS
Links: Ebert, Rotten Tomatoes, IMDB

Chris Nolan took a dead franchise and turned it into something completely cool and different with the first in the series featuring Christian Bale as the title character. This is the basic creation -of-the-superhero story, but it strips away all the bullshit left over from the Keaton-Kilmer-Clooney debacle and sets in a real world. The supporting cast is fantastic and the villains (in this case Liam Neeson as Ra's Al Ghul and Cillian Murphy as Scarecrow) are perfectly done as relatively realistic, yet frightful bad guys.

Quote: "They told me there was nothing out there, nothing to fear. But the night my parents were murdered I caught a glimpse of something. I've looked for it ever since. I went around the world, searched in all the shadows. And there is something out there in the darkness, something terrifying, something that will not stop until it gets revenge... Me."
Fun Fact: As you may have guessed, this is not the highest-ranked movie of the series.

79. THE INCREDIBLES
Links: Jim, Ebert, Rotten Tomatoes, IMDB

Another from Pixar's fantastic collection of movies, the Incredibles is about superheroes who are forced to squelch their identities and live in a sort of witness protection program after people start suing them for breaking property (in order to save their lives) or for catching people who are trying to commit suicide. Anyway, Mr. Incredible misses his old life and struggles with the idea of no longer being a hero. It's a nice story about dealing with getting older and trying to hold onto whatever is special in your life. It's also funny, action-packed and sweetly Pixar.

Quote: "No matter how many times you save the world, it always manages to get back in jeopardy again. Sometimes I just want it to stay saved! You know, for a little bit? I feel like the maid; I just cleaned up this mess! Can we keep it clean for... for ten minutes!"
Fun Fact: I have watched parts of Toy Story 2 every day for the past 10 days. Yup, Josh is hooked.

78. RAY
Links: Jim, Ebert, Rotten Tomatoes, IMDB

Every time I write about the greatest acting clinics in recent history, this movie gets mentioned. There is a reason. Jamie Foxx is outstanding as Ray Charles, who as the tagline for the movie says "fought harder and went farther than anyone thought possible." Charles battled racism, and drugs en route to becoming one of the greatest musicians of all-time. The movie is great and the music is even better.

Quote: "Baby, when I walk out that door I walk out alone in the dark. I'm trying to do something ain't nobody ever done in music and business. But I can't do it if I'm alone everywhere I go. I don't wanna be alone here, Bea. Not in my own home. Look, Bea, if you don't understand me, then who will?"
Fun Fact: Forest Whitaker is planning a Louis Armstrong biopic. Felt like that worked here. And yes, I'm leaving now to get in line.

77. APOLLO 13
Links: Ebert, Rotten Tomatoes, IMDB

You know, I really wonder if I'll look at this list in 2012 and think, "Damn, I put Apollo 13 too low." It's such a powerhouse of emotion, so well acted and so beautifully directed by Ron Howard and yet it ends up down here on my list. But make no mistake, I love this movie starring Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon and Ed Harris, among a perfectly created cast that oozes makes this thing feel completely authentic. By the time 13 launched, the country had gotten relatively tired of the space race and already looked at going to the moon as being a been-there, done-that affair. But then the mission ran into trouble and three astronauts lives were hanging in the balance as the objective went from landing on the moon to getting home alive.

Quote: "We've never lost an American in space, we're sure as hell not gonna lose one on my watch! Failure is not an option."
Fun Fact: There are 10 Tom Hanks movies in the top 100.

76. BACK TO THE FUTURE
Links: Ebert, Rotten Tomatoes, IMDB

Do I really need to explain this one? Talk about a classic. Michael J. Fox stars in this 80s movie about a kid who is friends with a scientist (Christopher Lloyd) who develops a time machine. You can imagine where this goes. But instead of falling into some bad Patrick Dempsey-type movie, this one has much more of an Indiana Jones feel with tons of action, comedy and a little heart.

Quote: "I'm sure that in 1985 plutonium is available in every corner drugstore, but in 1955 it's a little hard to come by."
Fun Fact: Robert Zemekis has directed three films in the top 100.

Monday Links

2008-10-06T18:39:00.002-04:00

*I think we are going to stick with a schedule of two weeks on, one week off for the Top 100 Movies for now, so we'll return to the list (Nos. 76 through 80, which include incredible performances from Jamie Foxx and Tom Hanks, the terrific reimagining of a franchise, an awesome Pixar movie and an 80s classic) next week. I'll make it up to you on the odd Tuesdays with some links.*

SNL on the VP debate (so worth the 11+ minutes)

Anyway, we are five Tuesdays from voting and it's official: This campaign is taking a hugely negative turn, even moreso than in the past few months. The McCain-Palin ticket is talking about terrorists and associations and all shots of pure bullshit.

As Andrew Sullivan writes, "If you thought the McCain campaign could go any lower, you were wrong." Elisabeth clearly got the memo.

Rolling Stone on John McCain, the Fake Maverick.

If I can recommend one site for following the ever-changing polls, it's FiveThirtyEight.com, which is an incredibly done look at the electoral college done by Nate Silver, the genius behind Baseball Prospectus. You really have to take a look at this site. It breaks down every poll and every state to determine the real race, not the BS percentages that the networks love to reference and mean absolutely nothing. There are, of course, a ton of other political sites in my links if you are interested in more.

I continue to find Mike Murphy to be a great voice on the Republican side. For whatever reason, I love this chart of the height/weight of presidential candidates over the years.

Richard Clarke is scaring the crap out of me today.

My ex-roommate has been blogging his ass off lately.

***

This is messed up. The 10 creepiest ads ever. I'm definitely going to take a longer look at this site.

Ken Rosenthal talks about the CC Sweepstakes. I know one Johnston, RI resident hoping he'll return to the AL.

Too perfect

2008-10-03T17:28:00.001-04:00

Friday Links

2008-10-03T05:02:00.007-04:00

Even George Will is saying it: She's not qualified folks. And McCain is PISSED at you for thinking so.

Speaking of shockingly unworthy Republicans: Dubya? Historically disapproved. ... Worse than Effin Nixon.

Mike Murphy is one of the few Republicans I can usually deal with on MTP. He's good here too.

Sign me up for this class at Bates College.

Pos writes about sportswriting and life.

This clinches it. Bill Simmons is a moron.

If you just explained the premise of "Flash of Genius" to me, I'd probably not be interested. But with the preview and reviews, I am. ... You know I'll see Religulous.

Sticking with Ebert, he's right on the mark about both McCain and Palin.

Tonight's Debate

2008-10-02T20:05:00.001-04:00

Has anyone in history ever had lower expectations heading into one of these. As long as she doesn't shit on the floor, the MSM will declare it a Palin victory.

Here's Letterman's top 10 from last night:

Things Overheard At Palin Debate Camp
10. "Let's practice your bewildered silence."
9. "Can you try saying 'yes' instead of 'you betcha'?"
8. "Hey, I can see Mexico from here!"
7. "Maybe we'll get lucky and there won't be any questions about Iraq, taxes or healthcare."
6. "We're screwed!"
5. "Can I just use that lipstick-pit bull thing again?"
4. "We have to wrap it up for the day -- McCain eats dinner at 4:30."
3. "Can we get Congress to bail us out of this debate?"
2. "John Edwards wants to know if you'd like some private tutoring in his van."
1. "Any way we can just get Tina Fey to do it?"

Stupid Quick Baseball Predictions

2008-10-01T18:52:00.002-04:00

Quickie picks (I've always been horrible at baseball postseason picks):

American League
Angels over Red Sox in 4 -- Too many question marks for the Sox. If Beckett and Lester were pitching four times, I'd be far more confident heading in. Also, I never pick the Red Sox in the playoffs)

Rays over White Sox in 3 -- I wish the Rays were in the NL, so I could just be a massive fanboy without any guilt. Rays have their pitching set, get a healthy Crawford back and play much, much better defense. Chicago has gone with pitchers on short rest just to get here and will run out of gas.

National League
Cubs over Dodgers in 4 -- Fuck you Manny.
Brewers over Phillies in 5 -- Today's result doesn't change my mind on this one.

Top 100 Movies: 81-85

2008-09-30T05:57:00.005-04:00

85. REVENGE OF THE SITH
Links: Jim, Ebert, Rotten Tomatoes, IMDB

When George Lucas announced that they were going to do three prequels to the original Star Wars Trilogy, this is the movie we were all waiting for. Anakin becomes Darth in a very dark movie that perfectly bridges the flawed Episodes I and II to the near-perfect IV and V. Here's some quick hit thoughts I posted in my original review:

The lightsaber duels are a little underwhelming in that we’ve seen what can be done already and very little is changed. They reached the glass ceiling in the Darth Maul brawl of EP I and haven’t been able to match it. ... The final 30 minutes or so are just tremendous and I loved the final 15 as much as any other sequence in any Star Wars movie. ... Damn, George Lucas really can’t write relationship scenes or get good performances out of actors in those situations. It’s like Lucas has the same level of interest/knowledge of the opposite sex as the non-Anakin Jedi. ... This movie makes you REALLY want to watch Episodes IV through VI. ... McDiarmid is tremendous in this movie. The absolute highlight acting-wise. It's a lot of fun to watch. ... Finally, I reserve the right to change my grade after my next viewing. I saw this at 12:01 a.m. on opening night (morning?) and may have greater issues with it next time.

Quote: "Twisted by the Dark Side, young Skywalker has become. The boy you trained, gone he is... Consumed by Darth Vader."
Fun fact: There are two more Star Wars movies in the top 100.

84. BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE
Links: Ebert, Rotten Tomatoes, IMDB

A Michael Moore doc in which he tries to figure out what the hell is with our obsession with guns as a country. Why do we have so much more gun violence in the U.S. then virtually anywhere else? Brilliantly done, this is the kind of film Moore is great at. He goes in not knowing the answer, points out the ridiculousness of it all and tries to figure it out.

Quote: "The two by-products of that whole tragedy were, violence in entertainment, and gun control. And how perfect that that was the two things that we were going to talk about with the upcoming election. And also, then we forgot about Monica Lewinsky and we forgot about, uh, the President was shooting bombs overseas, yet I'm a bad guy because I, well I sing some rock-and-roll songs, and who's a bigger influence, the President or Marilyn Manson? I'd like to think me, but I'm going to go with the President. ... "Nobody said 'well maybe the President had an influence on this violent behavior' Because that's not the way the media wants to take it and spin it, and turn it into fear, because then you're watching television, you're watching the news, you're being pumped full of fear, there's floods, there's AIDS, there's murder, cut to commercial, buy the Acura, buy the Colgate, if you have bad breath they're not going to talk to you, if you have pimples, the girl's not going to fuck you, and it's just this campaign of fear, and consumption, and that's what I think it's all based on, the whole idea of 'keep everyone afraid, and they'll consume.'"
Fun fact: There are three Michael Moore docs in the Top 100.

83. A BEAUTIFUL MIND
Links: Ebert, Rotten Tomatoes, IMDB

Tremendous performance out of Russell Crowe highlights the mostly true story of a brilliant mathematician who loses his mind. Part of a very nice run for Crowe that included The Insider, Gladiator, Master and Commander and Cinderella Man. Interestingly enough, of those four movies, his least impressive performance was probably the one he won the Oscar for (Gladiator).

Quote: "Find a truly original idea. It is the only way I will ever distinguish myself. It is the only way I will ever matter."
Fun fact: There are three Crowe movies in the Top 100, all listed above.

82. ANCHORMAN
Links: Ebert, Rotten Tomatoes, IMDB

Of every movie on this list, Anchorman probably had my worst initial reaction. I really didn't like this movie the first time I saw it. Maybe I wasn't in the right mood for something so stupid. But, man, did it grow on me. Maybe the most quotable comedy of the decade, Will Ferrell has never been this good since

Quote: Really? I can only pick one? How about "What? You pooped in the refrigerator? And you ate the whole... wheel of cheese? How'd you do that? Heck, I'm not even mad; that's amazing. How 'bout we get you in your p.j.'s and we hit the hay."
Fun fact: There are seven movies about journalism in the top 100 and this one is the only one that I would say is about "journalism."

81. IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER
Links: Ebert, Rotten Tomatoes, IMDB

Daniel Day-Lewis is incredibly powerful in this film about a man coerced into falsely accepting blame for an IRA bombing. The interrogation is intense and so wonderfully shot that you can completely see why he admits to the act, even though you know he didn't do it. Everything that follows is both painful and brilliant. An absolute must-see that I waited far too long to get around to watching.

Quote: "What I remember most about my childhood is holding your hand. My wee hand in your big hand, and the smell of tobacco. I remember, I could smell the tobacco in the palm of your hand. When I want to feel happy, I try to remember the smell of tobacco."
Fun fact: I can't believe I still haven't seen My Left Foot.

Friday Links

2008-09-26T05:25:00.008-04:00

Last week we went politics-free. Not so much this week.

Everyone should know about John McCain and Keating 5. This is still important considering the current issues with the economy.

On Wednesday, McCain tried to PPD this week's debates. Also suspends campaign and cancels on Letterman. Letterman's response: "What are you going to do if you're elected and things get tough? Suspend being president? We've got a guy like that now!"

No Palin medical records until after the election? Offended yet? (PS-Biden needs to release his too. That is also BS)

The 12 lies of Sarah Palin. This is legit. Offended yet.

An inside look at the Wasilla Assembly of God.

Sarah Palin? The possible future VP and (GOD HELP US) P? Not allowed to answer questions, even if she wants to. Wow.

***

On a lighter note: Jon Papelbon's mom completely sold him out on this one. Gotta watch it.

Joel Sherman wasn't thrilled with the Yankee Stadium closing ceremony. I agree with most of this and still can't believe Joe Torre wasn't mentioned.

I continue to have a ridiculous amount of love for FireJoeMorgan.com. Baseball writers really are idiots.

I think Ebert liked Boiler Room more than I did, but I'll admit that I don't really understand it.

***

Finally, Bill Simmons actually wrote something this week that I've been thinking a lot about lately. Here is what he said:

See, here's the thing: Of all the things currently wrong with this country—a trillion-dollar war, a flagging real estate market, a crippled stock market, high fuel prices, Lynne Spears, the Jonas Brothers—the fact that nearly everyone with a platform is terrified to say anything might be the most depressing subplot of all. Whatever happened to freedom of speech? Hell, whatever happened to speech?

Here's what I've been thinking: Where are all the great anti-war songs? Where are all the great political songs? I've got a mix CD called Election 08 (bite me) and almost all of them are old songs. Why? Because there just hasn't been that many great new songs about what's going on right now. There are some on there (some Springsteen, U2, Green Day, Kanye), but you can't get away from Dylan, The Who, Jefferson Airplane, Johnny Cash, Creedence, Hendrix, etc.

And, as Bill sort of mentioned, what the fuck happened at the Olympics? I've never been more disappointed in a group of US athletes in my life. STAND FOR SOMETHING FOR FUCK SAKE!

Top 100 Movies: 86-90

2008-09-23T05:56:00.008-04:00

90. CLERKS 2
Links: Ebert, Rotten Tomatoes, IMDB, Me

Like most of Kevin Smith's movies, I warmed up to this after repeated viewing and I wonder if I'll like it even more down the road.

In my original review, I wonder what, exactly, a guy has to do to get an NC-17 rating nowadays. This movie is certainly plenty filthy. But it's also sweet, intelligent and uproariously funny.

The last time we saw Dante and Randall, it looked like Dante was on the path to finally getting his life together. Well, not so much, as we zoom ahead a decade or so and he's still stuck in a bad job, in the middle of a love triangle and set to move to Florida with his future wife the next day.

The movie does a great job of both feeling like a sequel to the original while also showing that the filmmakers had grown a lot in the time since. It looks back to the first one with Star Wars talks, ridiculously ranchy lines and tons of debauchery. But it looks much better and the acting is far superior.

Quote: "We were just killing time with those classes! One semester we took Criminology, for Christ's sakes. What the fuck were we training to be, Batman?"
Fun fact: Five Kevin Smith movies are in the top 100. None of them are named Jersey Girl.

89. DUMB & DUMBER
Links: Ebert, Rotten Tomatoes, IMDB

Jim Carrey's absolute comedic high point (he's better in a few other more serious movies) comes in a perfectly titled movie that never had a sequel. You hear me? Never had a sequel. Carrey and Jeff Daniels are perfect in the, uh, title roles of two buffoons hell bent on returning a suitcase to a woman they don't know. That's pretty much the entire plot, but this one is a classic that features so many memorable lines it's hard to pick just one. You've all seen it, right? There's no reason for me to talk about all the great stuff in here, right? Anyway, my favorite scene is probably the fantasy Lloyd (Carrey) has about making Mary (Lauren Holly) fall in love with him. It's incredibly dumb, obviously, but also pretty brilliant in the way it uses the stupidity.

Quote: "Yeah I called her up, she gave me a bunch of crap about me not listening to her, or something, I don't know, I wasn't really paying attention."
Fun fact: There was no sequel to this movie. Never happened. Understood?

88. 12 ANGRY MEN
Links: Ebert (N/A), Rotten Tomatoes, IMDB

I'm not sure there could be two less similar movies in the world than Dumb & Dumber and 12 Angry Men, but here we are. Anyway, this is the 1957 classic starring Henry Fonda in Sidney Lumet's incredibly film that takes place all inside a jury room about what seems to be an open-and-shut case against an accused murderer. The film opens with the jurors entering the room right after closing arguments, they vote to see where they are at and the initial tally is 11-1 guilty. Of course, they need to get to 12-0 in one direction or the other, so the one holdout (Fonda) makes his case and slowly starts moving the discussion along and poking holes in what originally seems like an airtight case. An amazing character study about 12 complete strangers that features a fabulous cast. Really, click that IMDB link about and check it out.

Quote: "It's always difficult to keep personal prejudice out of a thing like this. And wherever you run into it, prejudice always obscures the truth. I don't really know what the truth is. I don't suppose anybody will ever really know. Nine of us now seem to feel that the defendant is innocent, but we're just gambling on probabilities - we may be wrong. We may be trying to let a guilty man go free, I don't know. Nobody really can. But we have a reasonable doubt, and that's something that's very valuable in our system. No jury can declare a man guilty unless it's SURE. We nine can't understand how you three are still so sure. Maybe you can tell us."
Fun fact: Somehow, this is the only Lumet movie I've ever seen.

87. O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU?
Links: Ebert, Rotten Tomatoes, IMDB

The Coen brothers have made some fantastic movies over the years and this is certainly one of them. George Clooney, John Turturro and Tim Blake Nelson star in the dark comedy about three men who break out of prison during the Great Depression and go on search for the treasure buried by Everett (Clooney) before he was locked away. Along the way, they meet an odd assortment of crazies to the tune of one of my favorite all-time soundtracks. Clooney is at his goofy best here and the supporting cast is all top notch. The scenes each play out like mini plays and there are equal parts humor and seriousness in a movie that won't appeal to anyone.

Quote: "A woman is the most fiendish instrument of torture ever devised to bedevil the days of man."
Fun fact: The two Coen movies released before this: The Big Lebowski and Fargo

86. FORREST GUMP
Links: Ebert, Rotten Tomatoes, IMDB

This movie will always have a random special place in my heart as it was the one I saw at the theater the night I got my contact lenses. People are split down the middle on this one. Some think it was too-sweet junk and others think it's a piece of fun art. Obviously, I'm in the latter half. It works for me in a pie-in-the-sky way that most of these types of movies don't. But the combination of director Robert Zemekis and Tom Hanks in the title role really works and they appear again later on this list.

Quote: "You died on a Saturday morning. And I had you placed here under our tree. And I had that house of your father's bulldozed to the ground. Momma always said dyin' was a part of life. I sure wish it wasn't. Little Forrest, he's doing just fine. About to start school again soon. I make his breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day. I make sure he combs his hair and brushes his teeth every day. Teaching him how to play ping-pong. He's really good. We fish a lot. And every night, we read a book. He's so smart, Jenny. You'd be so proud of him. I am. He, uh, wrote a letter, and he says I can't read it. I'm not supposed to, so I'll just leave it here for you. Jenny, I don't know if Momma was right or if, if it's Lieutenant Dan. I don't know if we each have a destiny, or if we're all just floating around accidental-like on a breeze, but I, I think maybe it's both. Maybe both is happening at the same time. I miss you, Jenny. If there's anything you need, I won't be far away."
Fun fact: Gary Sinise is in three top 100 movies.

Friday links

2008-09-19T01:08:00.000-04:00

*We are entering a no politics zone for this week only*

FoxSports has the 10 biggest chokers of all time.

Jeff Pearlman's new Cowboys book looks interesting.

TMR has his Week 3 Love/Hate. That will mean nothing to many of you.

Rotten Tomatoes has its favorite movie ghosts.

Ebert on that incident in Toronto that I posted earlier. A little surprised he liked Lakeview Terrace. Four stars? The trailer looked rather blah, but his review makes it sound very interesting. I'm much more likely to Netflix it now.

Did Michael Caine just drop the new Batman villains on us? Works for me if true, but PSH says it isn't.

No movies this week

2008-09-16T19:32:00.002-04:00

It's just not going to happen with the way work is this week. I'll get out ahead of it this week and we'll get back on track on Tuesday.

For now, here's Roger Ebert's Overlooked DVD of the Week: Millions. I couldn't agree more. Great little movie.

Offended yet?

2008-09-14T20:31:00.002-04:00

Note: The movie list usually up on Tuesday will be postponed until Wednesday. Monday is Josh's birthday, so I haven't had time to work on it this weekend (big family party on Saturday) and I'll be spending the day playing with him tomorrow. A back injury last week didn't help my hopes of getting it done earlier.

I think "Offended yet?" should be the title and repeated callback line of a future Obama commercial, but that's just me. I certainly won't charge for its use. :)

So, Sarah Palin didn't really go to Iraq after saying she did? Offended yet?

St Pete Times: "McCain's straight talk has become a toxic mix of lies and double-speak. It is leaving a permanent stain on his reputation for integrity, and it is a short-term strategy that eventually will backfire with the very types of independent-thinking voters that were so attracted to him." Offended yet?

NY Times: "And four months ago, a Wasilla blogger, Sherry Whitstine, who chronicles the governor’s career with an astringent eye, answered her phone to hear an assistant to the governor on the line, she said. ... "'You should be ashamed!' Ivy Frye, the assistant, told her. "'Stop blogging. Stop blogging right now!'" Offended yet?

Here's another from the same story, which has a lot in it:

"Witnesses and contemporary news accounts say Ms. Palin asked the librarian about removing books from the shelves. The McCain-Palin presidential campaign says Ms. Palin never advocated censorship. ... But in 1995, Ms. Palin, then a city councilwoman, told colleagues that she had noticed the book "Daddy's Roommate" on the shelves and that it did not belong there, according to Ms. Chase and Mr. Stein. Ms. Chase read the book, which helps children understand homosexuality, and said it was inoffensive; she suggested that Ms. Palin read it. ... "Sarah said she didn't need to read that stuff," Ms. Chase said. "It was disturbing that someone would be willing to remove a book from the library and she didn't even read it."" Offended yet?

MSNBC: "'You know I think the proof, the proof is in the pudding,' Cantor said. 'And the fact is, Sarah Palin when she was governor of Alaska, rejected the moneys that came from Washington to construct the Bridge To Nowhere.'

"He then faced a now-predictable grilling from Norah O'Donnell, who pointed out the truth that Palin did not reject the money at all -- she kept it and used it for other projects." Offended yet?

Friday Links

2008-09-12T01:58:00.003-04:00

When the ESPN Ombudsman writes, I link. Always worth the read.

Simmons on *SHOCKER* basketball. Actually, it's about the Gold Medal game and it's readable.

Nice story on Tony Romo here.

I've always hated Mark McGwire, even in 1998. I get the feeling that's not going to change any time soon.

Offended yet? Now? Joe Klein is. At what point is it clear? Are we better than this? I can't decide anymore. I really don't know what I'll do if the McCain campaign gets away with all of this and wins in November.

For now, there appears to be little political reason to back down. A Washington Post-ABC News poll taken Sept. 5 to Sept. 7 found that 51 percent of voters think Obama would raise their taxes, even though his plan would actually cut taxes for the overwhelming majority of Americans. Obama has proposed eliminating income taxes on seniors making less than $50,000 a year, but 41 percent of those seniors say their income taxes would go up in an Obama administration.

McCain's pitch as a reformer -- especially as an opponent of pork-barrel spending -- does not seem to have been damaged by media reports of his running mate's pursuit of earmarks, first for her home town of Wasilla and then for Alaska. Obama's once-sizable 32-point advantage on which candidate would do more to change government is down to 12 points.

Alright Charlie...

2008-09-09T21:06:00.002-04:00

Here's a list of must-ask questions for your big interview with Sarah Palin. Let's see if you are a legit journalist or just another shitty one who fawns all over everyone or anyone.

Also, you MUST get into the Bridge to Nowhere bullshit that she's been spinning.

Man, I miss Tim Russert.

So ... About Football Season

2008-09-09T20:48:00.002-04:00

Bill Simmons is always best when bad stuff happens to Red Sox teams. He does a good job describing the Tom Brady situation today.

Here's a small part of a large mailbag:

Q: If we go back to 1:15 remaining in February's Super Bowl, the Pats have (since) suffered the Tyree catch, the Burress TD, the near-miss Hail Mary to Moss and then Brady's season-ending injury at 7:38 of Week 1. Could this be the worst 8 minutes, 53 seconds in NFL history?
-- Howard L., Las Vegas

SG: Apparently, you missed the Rams-Eagles game. Don't rule out the 2008 Rams giving us the worst 960 minutes in NFL history. But you're right, in terms of stomach punches, that had to break the record for "most legitimate stomach punches within nine minutes of NFL action," with Brady's knee injury giving birth to a whole new Level of Losing: The "Left At The Altar Loss," when you're waiting for months and months for the season to start (like planning a wedding), then you have your fantasy drafts (the bachelor party), then you have the rehearsal dinner the night before (making your starting fantasy lineups, making your bets, figuring out which games you'll watch Sunday), then you go to the church for the actual wedding (getting in front of the TV for the 1 p.m. ET games) … and as you're standing on the altar, you find out your bride either changed her mind or got run over by the limo driver. That was me and every other Patriots fan Sunday -- we had our tuxedos on, we were ready to go, and suddenly we were sitting in a waiting room in a hot tuxedo waiting for medical updates on our comatose fiancee and halfheartedly trying to talk ourselves into one of the bridesmaids.

Top 100 Movies: Nos. 91-95

2008-09-08T23:30:00.001-04:00

95. FIELD OF DREAMS
Links: Ebert, Rotten Tomatoes, IMDB

Maybe the ultimate guy-tearjerker of a movie. The baseball movie about fathers and sons, regret, redemption, second chances, love, trust and, yes, baseball.

It’s a beautiful story of Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner), who owns an Iowa cornfield and starts hearing voices telling him to build a baseball field. Everyone in town thinks he’s crazy when he plows his crop (“What’s a crop?”) and starts building the field.

But then one night, the late Shoeless Joe Jackson (Ray Liotta) walks out of the corn and onto the field.

Quote: “Is this heaven?”
“No, Iowa.”
Fun fact: There are five sports movies in the top 100. This is the only one about baseball.

94. JURASSIC PARK
Links: Ebert, Rotten Tomatoes, IMDB

This movie came out years ago, but there was something exhilarating about the first time I saw the dinosaurs (especially the T-Rex) on the big screen. This was an incredible display of special effects and felt like such a huge leap forward at the time. In fact, the effects still hold up pretty well today. Even some more recent movies can’t say that.

Also, this wasn’t just special effects movie, it was a good one. Plenty of suspense and story, good acting and some serious mother-effin dinosaurs. Needless to say, the two sequels are not anywhere on this list.

Quote: "All major theme parks have had delays. When they opened Disneyland in 1956, nothing worked, nothing."
"But, John. But if the Pirates of the Caribbean breaks down, the pirates don't eat the tourists."
Fun fact: There are six Steven Speilberg movies in the top 100.

93. SILENCE OF THE LAMBS
Links: Ebert A, Ebert B, Rotten Tomatoes, IMDB

Anthony Hopkins created one of the greatest movie villains of all-time with Hannibal Lecter, who completely owns the movie, which stars Jodie Foster as an FBI agent using his help to catch another sick, sick criminal (Buffalo Bill, who spawned an incredibly funny moment in Clerks 2).

Dark, intense and interesting.

Quote: "A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti."
Fun fact: Anthony Hopkins was also in one of my Fs (Meet Joe Black).

92. THE DEER HUNTER
Links: Ebert, Rotten Tomatoes, IMDB

Talk about a tremendous cast: DeNiro, Walken, Streep, Cazale. It doesn’t get much better than that, especially at the time this movie came out.

A group of buddies head off to Vietnam, where some are captured and forced into brutal POW camps. The movie opens with a long scene at one of the buddies’ wedding and really helps set up the relationships between the entire group (their families, wives, girlfriends, etc.), which makes what follows even more painful to watch.

Walken really stands out here, but the strength of the overall cast makes the movie, which builds to an almost unwatchable ending. The only reason it isn’t higher is that the movie isn’t very rewatchable.

Quote: "Every time he comes up, he's got no knife, he's got no jacket, he's got no pants, he's got no boots. All he's got is that stupid gun he carries around like John Wayne."
Fun fact: There are three DeNiro movies in the top 100 and you won’t see another one for quite a while.

91. TOY STORY
Links: Ebert, Rotten Tomatoes, IMDB

The movie that put Pixar on the map and set the tone for an incredible run of movies that continues today. This one is about a kid’s toy collection that comes alive when there are no humans around. It’s cute, but the story, about a fancy new toy joining the crew and threatening everyone’s place in their little world, works quite well. Also, it’s a lot of fun.

Quote: "What if Andy gets another dinosaur? A mean one? I don't think I can take that kind of rejection."
Fun fact: There are three Pixar movies in the top 100.

The Clock is Ticking

2008-09-07T19:43:00.000-04:00

Offended yet?

Offended yet? Links

2008-09-05T20:57:00.004-04:00

Now?

Now?

Now? Really? Not yet? What the hell does the RNC have to do to prove that they think you are a fucking idiot?

This do it? This? This? This? This?

OK, what about This?

Gov. Sarah Palin is taking the wrong approach to Troopergate. She should be practicing the open and transparent, ethical and accountable government she promised when running for governor and boasts about now that she's on the national stage.

Instead, Gov. Palin has begun stonewalling the Legislature's attempt to get the bottom of allegations that she, her family or staff violated ethical or state personnel rules.

As a result, the Troopergate allegations hang over Palin's future and cloud her candidacy for vice president.

The allegations are that she, her family or administration improperly pressured then-Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan to fire Gov. Palin's ex-brother-in-law, state trooper Mike Wooten, who had been in the middle of a custody dispute with Palin's sister.

In July, when legislators started talking about conducting an investigation, Palin denied any wrongdoing and said she welcomed an investigation.

"Hold me accountable," she said.

The Legislature took her up on that offer. But this week, she basically told the Legislature, "Never mind."

Palin's lawyer has asked the Legislature to drop its investigation. He had the governor file an ethics complaint against herself, in a bid to turn the entire matter over to the state Personnel Board, which would hire an independent investigator.

This is not an open and transparent attempt to establish Gov. Palin's accountability. It is an attempt to drag out the investigation until after voters decide the fate of her vice-presidential bid.

Finally, here's some more on TrooperGate. I'm so sick of the -Gate suffix.

And yes, this week has really pissed me off. The press was a joke once again. As soon as anyone questions their vetting of Sarah Palin, they back way off and praise the shit out of her incredibly hateful and disrespectful speech. Will they vet her properly or will they be the lapdogs they were for the early portions of the Bush presidency?

Oh, and Palin comparing being mayor of a town of 6,000 20 months ago to Obama's being a community organizer in the fucking 80s is maybe the most insulting thing in what was a fantastically insulting speech. Since being a community organizer, which is a pretty amazing thing in reality, Obama has attended Harvard Law, been the president of the Harvard Law Review, taught Constitutional Law at the University of Chicago, worked as an attorney, served as a state senator and a US senator and ran a nearly two-year national campaign for the D nomination, during which he beat the greatest D brand name since Kennedy because of organization and intelligence.

If Palin wants to make comparisons to Obama's time as an organizer, she should compare it to the same time frame -- right out of college. When she was a fucking TV sportscaster.

Wow

2008-09-04T23:56:00.000-04:00

Maybe the greatest six minutes in Daily Show history.

Top 100 Movies: Nos. 96-100

2008-09-02T22:27:00.002-04:00

Before we get started, I just wanted to say a few things about this list.

Obviously, this is just one person's opinion. I haven't seen every movie in the world and this list definitely skews young. I'm not a big black-and-white movie person. In fact, only three of the top 20 movies are B&W and only one of those was made before color. I know that might offend some serious movie snobs, but this is my taste in movies. They are wide-ranging and almost certain to surprise everyone who reads the list.

This has been an interesting exercise. As far as I can tell, I've seen about 1,400 movies over the years. Some of them were horrible (You saw the Fs last week. I still can't believe I sat through all of My Giant on a plane years ago.). Some of them were inspiring, hilarious or just plain brilliant. It was interesting to me how much the timing of when I saw a movie had an impact on how much I like it. For instance, I don't think I would have appreciated Swingers (which is way up there) as much if I had seen it at other times in my life. But freshman year of college, with Ryan and some of my other friends at UMass, it was the perfect movie at the perfect time. Some of that is reflected in this list.

A while back, I kept a big Excel spreadsheet with every movie I had ever seen. That was the starting point for the list. But things got moved around. I hadn't worked on that list in three years and not only did the newer movies join the list but some had to get knocked out. I loved Private Parts a while back, but it was completely ruined a deemed unwatchable by Howard Stern's divorce not long after. Braveheart didn't just change history in its story, it destroyed it. Some movies (including some on this list) take creative license with the truth, but the things in Braveheart were just too much for me to reconcile.

My other biggest hurdle was the movie series that I view as essentially one long movie. It wasn't easy to break up the Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter movies, which feel like one long movie broken into chapters. At the same time, is it fair to judge 10 or so hours of LOTR against other 120 minute movies? I didn't think so.

Enough rambling. Here is the first installment of the weekly five, counting down from 100 to 1 every Tuesday:

100. UNBREAKABLE
Links: Ebert, Rotten Tomatoes, IMDB

M. Night Shyamalan's follow-up to The Sixth Sense was hated by pretty much everyone who loved his first movie. I reacted the opposite way. This movie is far superior to the "I see dead people" affair.

Bruce Willis returns for his second Night movie, this time as the security guard who may or may not be unbreakable. Samuel L. Jackson, who suffers from a bone disease that makes him ultra-susceptible to breaks (the kids used to call him Mr. Glass), believes there must be someone who is the opposite.

It's extremely slow-moving, but tremendous as essentially volume one of a great comic. The one regret, if there is one, is that the movie didn't do well enough to spawn the two rumored sequels, which would have been a lot of fun.

Quote: "It's hard for many people to believe that there are extraordinary things inside themselves, as well as others. I hope you can keep an open mind."
Fun fact: There is one other M. Night movie on the top 100 list.

99. ESCAPE FROM ALCATRAZ
Links: Ebert, Rotten Tomatoes, IMDB

This is one of my favorite movies to stumble onto at 2 a.m. on TNT. If that happens, I'm staying up to the very end. This Clint Eastwood flick, based on the true story, is a slow build up to the eventual escape attempt.

You can feel the anxiety as the group of inmates first discuss the potential of an escape, then put together a plan and begin to execute it. The slow build works because you get dragged into the feeling of nervousness as the guards come close to stumbling on this or that part of the plan.

Great movie made better if you visit The Rock and take the audio tour, which really brings that escape (and the others) to life all around you. I can't recommend it enough.

Quote: "There's always the possibility that some asshole will be offended. Isn't there?"
Fun fact: There is another prison break movie ranked in the top 10. That one also features an asshole warden.

98. GANGS OF NEW YORK
Links: Ebert, Rotten Tomatoes, IMDB

A brutal look at old New York City with tremendous performances by Leo DiCaprio and Daniel Day-Lewis. The opening pre-battle and battle scene are the true highlights and the movie has a tremendous look to it.

Also, Day-Lewis carried this performance into a similar one, There Will Be Blood, which won him an Oscar, but is a far worse movie. This movie is good enough to use that type of performance well. That one, not so much, but that's the difference between Paul Thomas Anderson and Marty S.

Quote: "We hold in our hearts the memory of our fallen brothers whose blood stains the very streets we walk today. Also on this night we pay tribute to the leader of our enemies, an honorable man, who crossed over bravely, fighting for what he believed in. To defeat my enemy, I extinguish his life, and consume him as I consume these flames. In honor of Priest Vallon."
Fun fact: There are four Martin Scorsese movies in the top 100. There are no Paul Thomas Anderson movies in the top 100 (although on is on the honorable mention list, which will be posted leading up to the top 5).

97. STAND BY ME
Links: Ebert (N/A), Rotten Tomatoes, IMDB

There is something so honest about this coming-of-age movie about four teenage friends who trek into the wilderness to see the dead body of an older kid. This is what Stephen King (the movie is based on his "The Body") does best and it works so well here, as told by Rob Reiner.

The foursome is at that age just before everything else takes over – girls, cars, jobs – and there's something naïve and sweet about their interactions, and the best example is during the campfire scene, when they discuss such important things as who would win a fight between Mighty Mouse and Superman, vomit and one of my all-time favorite movie lines (see below).

Quote: "What the hell is Goofy?"
Fun fact: There are three movies based on Stephen King books in the top 100.

96. BORAT
Links: Ebert, Rotten Tomatoes, IMDB

That Sacha Baron Cohen didn't get an Oscar nomination for his performance as the title character here is one of the biggest snubs in the award's history. You couldn't become your character any more than SBC did here and the movie was utterly hilarious and also an interesting commentary on where we are as a country.

The fact is, the Oscars just don't see the integrity in real comedy unless it's a Juno or Little Miss Sunshine type of movie.

Anyway Borat was filmed as if it was a documentary and no one except the crew was in on the joke, so you get honest reactions as Borat tours the country and eventually becomes obsessed with finding and marrying Pamela Anderson. Truly fantastic. I can't believe I can't pick only one quote below.

Quote: "May George Bush drink the blood of every man, woman, and child in Iraq!"
Fun fact: There are 27 legit comedies in the top 100, but none in the top 12 that aren't DARK comedies.

Friday links

2008-08-29T22:10:00.000-04:00

NOTE: Didn't realize 9/1 was Labor Day as I was planning this. I'm off, so the first round of movies will be posted late on 9/2. Then we'll have two new ones posted every Tuesday.

Well, Barack was amazing on Thursday McCain was shocking on Friday. Obviously, the new VP choice is the bulk of the links. I don't think I need to sell anyone on Obama's speech. OK, that was one, but it was a good one.

Palin on HRC's whining. Palin's corruption as Gov. of Alaska. Worse choice than the potato-e man? The day the R's lost the race?

I liked Jeff Pearlman's take. More reactions. One conservative gets it.

***
As you all know, I *heart* FJM.com. It amazes me that there are still baseball writers out there like this guy.

Roger Ebert rips Jay Mariotti.

I can't believe what I'm reading.

Finally, if you see worthwhile links over the course of the week, feel free to send them to me and they may just get posted in the Friday links. As things get busier at work, I'll need all the help I can get.

8/28/08

2008-08-28T23:04:00.000-04:00

"This country of ours has more wealth than any nation, but that's not what makes us rich. We have the most powerful military on Earth, but that's not what makes us strong. Our universities and our culture are the envy of the world, but that's not what keeps the world coming to our shores. Instead, it is that American spirit – that American promise – that pushes us forward even when the path is uncertain; that binds us together in spite of our differences; that makes us fix our eye not on what is seen, but what is unseen, that better place around the bend. "

Good stuff

2008-08-27T23:39:00.001-04:00

First off, Bill Clinton was amazing tonight. He's like Randy Moss. You hate him when he's not on your team, but love him when he is.

Anyway, two fantastic clips from the Daily Show and Colbert last night:

The Fs

2008-08-26T18:41:00.003-04:00

In working on my top 100 list (which starts Sept 1), I've been whittling away at the couple thousand movies I've seen. Until a few years ago, I had a spreadsheet on my computer with every movie I've seen graded and ranked. It hasn't been touched in a while, but I figured I toss down my Fs on here since I thought they were interesting and I don't remember posting them in the past.

Obviously, I hate each and every one of these movies:

Meet Joe Black
My Boss' Daughter
Batman & Robin
Bicentennial Man
Captain Correlli's Mandolin
Chocolat
Masters of the Universe
Red Planet
Rock Star
Speed 2
Tomcats
American Psycho
Freddy Got Fingered
Godfather 3
Pushing Tin
Rocky 5
Bad New Bears Go To Japan
My Giant

Olympics (Park 2) & Friday Links

2008-08-22T09:00:00.005-04:00

Commence ranting:
NBC should be completely embarrassed its coverage so far of the Games. The complete ball-washing done by the coverage of everything China has been totally ridiculous. There is little mention of everything "faked" from building fronts to pieces of the Opening Ceremony to the government having moved people from the city to help beautify things. Having the more attractive little girl lip-synch a "less attractive" one's national anthem, etc., etc. The network should be disgusted with itself and the IOC should want to vomit with the way it has been used by the Chinese government over the past 10 years. Of note: if NBC comes back next week with all sorts of behind-the-scenes, this is the truth-type of stories, I take back everything I said about them in the previous paragraph. Maybe they are afraid of being detained by the government if they broadcast this stuff before they are out of there.

I thought Rick Reilly's column on ESPN, while done a little cutesy, was very good about this stuff. Also, Sally Jenkins has been phenomenal throughout the Olympics. Here's her latest. Dan Wetzel on a similar topic. Dan has been very good at the Games as well.

A little of Wetzel's column:

BEIJING — Jacques Rogge is so bought, so compromised, the president of the IOC doesn’t have the courage to criticize China for telling a decade of lies to land itself these Olympic Games.

All the promises made to get these Games — on Tibet, Darfur, pollution, worker safety, freedom of expression, dissident rights — turned out to be phony, perhaps as phony as the Chinese gymnasts’ birthdates Rogge was way too scared to investigate.

One of the most powerful men in sports turned the world away from his complicity. Instead, he has flexed his muscles by unloading on a powerless sprinter from a small island nation.

Ranting continues:
The gymnastics were a complete effin' disaster from the very start. The new scoring system is incredibly stupid and confusing. The judges were out of their minds on a ton of events (Shawn Johnson got screwed two or three times and the individual vault scores were among the biggest travesty I've seen on TV). The uneven bar tiebreaker was dumber than a bag of whatevers.

Nevermind the fact that there were clearly Chinese gymnasts who were too young to compete, which the IOC swept under the rug in yet another placation of the Chinese government. Apparently the IOC is afraid of China. Also, Bela and Martha didn't come off well as the commentator/coach, either.

Ranting over. On to the links. We're getting more political here than usual:

Nice to see McCain got a little advantage at that BS forum last week. What a bunch of crap.

Also, McCain doesn't remember how many houses he owns. To me, that's no big deal. When you have as much money as the McCains do (his wife was wicked rich when he left his disfigured first wife to marry her), I can see how you might not remember if you have eight, nine or 10 houses. But, when you have spent months trying to paint the other guy, who grew up in a single-parent house, as elitist, this could be a problem:

Ouch

And more BS here. I hardly remember liking the guy eight years ago. (And yes, there's definitely a "Huge Homer" label for this post.

Definitely looking forward to reading the latest Woodward book.

Gordon Edes has good stuff on the Angels and Rays managers relationship.

The Olympics (Part 1)

2008-08-20T22:40:00.003-04:00

I almost never root for the underdog in individual sports. I know a lot of people like to see the big upset, watch the big name go down and witness the unexpected.

I prefer to witness greatness.

I've never rooted for Tiger Woods to miss a putt, hoped Roger Federer would double fault or wanted Lance Armstrong to fall apart on a mountain stage.

We've seen plenty of that during this Olympiad, as Michael Phelps has taken the nation by storm with an incredible eight gold medals and Usain Bolt's two performances on the track were tremendous.

Phelps first: It was a pleasure to spend last week working around his events and the fun of wondering all day if he could do it once again, only to watch him pull it off. Two events (the 4x100 relay and the 100 butterfly) were among the greatest sporting events I've ever watched and featured incredible endings. The day-in, day-out routine of following his week was a ton of fun and the absolute highlight of the Olympic Games.

As for Bolt, I'm glad he ran out the 200 today (when he broke another world record). It was too bad that he destroyed the field in the 100 (another WR) because I would have loved to see what he would have posted for a time had he not been celebrating for the final 25 or so meters.

The drum performance of the Opening Ceremony was also an incredible and powerful. I loved the anecdote told during the broadcast that the drummers were told to smile more because the performance was too intimidating. It still was.

That's the good stuff. I'll be ranting on here at some point Thursday night.

Five Things: Summer Vacation, etc.

2008-08-19T19:13:00.003-04:00

What I did on my summer vacation
1. Lost a 1-1 vote (that happens a lot) to turn Josh's crib into a toddler bed. It's been hell in the house since and the little man, who used to be an incredible sleeper is still getting used to the freedom of being able to get out of bed.
2. Spent a bunch of time with Dad, Sue and my sisters including taking Josh to Six Flags and the New England Aquarium. I actually getting a chance to watch some Sox games, too, which is pretty rare.
3. Spent a great day with Andy, who I don't see nearly enough, and Josh.
4. Drafted a future third place team in Maxwell's House of Football Replacement League.
5. I watched an ass-load of Olympic coverage (more on that Thursday).

My ideal Red Sox Lineup (when healthy)
1. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
2. JD Drew, RF
3. Kevin Youkilis, 1B
4. Big Papi, DH
5. Jason Bay, LF
6. Mike Lowell, 3B
7. Jed Lowrie, SS
8. Jason Varitek, C
9. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF

I know it is completely unlikely that Papi moves down, but this is the best order for the Sox right now, once they get everyone back. You get three fantastic OBP guys ahead of Ortiz, who will almost never lead off the second inning because at least one of Pedroia (.364), Drew (.408) and Youkilis (.386) will get on base. Plus, you keep the order R-L-R through Bay and allow Ellsbury to hit ninth, taking the pressure off (although he has been better lately) and then become a sort of de-facto leadoff guy once you get through the order once.

Coming soon
Thursday: Tons of Olympic thoughts
Friday: Back to the Friday Links
Starting Monday, Sept. 1: My Top 100 movies of all-time, five per week to be posted every Monday or Tuesday.

Welcome to the Bay State

2008-07-31T22:32:00.004-04:00

You have to respect Theo Epstein. After working overnight on a three-way trade with Pittsburgh and Florida to try to get something reasonable back to for Manny Ramirez, the deal fell through.

Some GMs would give in. Instead, he found a way to get the Los Angeles Dodgers involved and worked out a deal that at least makes some sense. In the end, it just proves how desperately the Sox needed to get rid of Manny. Peter Gammons mentioned on ESPN that Terry Francona had lost 15 pounds this season because he's been so stressed by this situation. Imagine the relief in the clubhouse on Friday.

I like Jason Bay and think he's going to be a good player for the Sox. He isn't Manny, but he's a reasonable replacement and he's very affordable next year ($7.5 million).

Here are their stats from this year:

Manny: .299-20-68 .398 OBP/.529 SLG
Bay: .282-22-64 .375/.519

Similar. Plus, Manny had guys like Papi, JD Drew and Mike Lowell hitting around him this season. Jason Bay had Doug FUCKING Mientkiewiczwiwdciwizcz batting behind him and he was hitting in a major pitchers park.

Here's a look at Jason Bay.

Now, the Sox had to do a lot to get this deal done. They are paying the rest of Manny's $7 million dollars for this year and had to throw in Brandon Moss and Craig Hansen. That's a lot. But Moss was never going to be a starting outfielder here and Hansen clearly needs a new venue if he's going to find himself. The money, meanwhile, is a big who gives a shit. Hell, they are paying Curt Schilling something like $8 million for absolutely nothing this year. They paid more than that just to get rid of Edgar Renteria.

I'm very interested to see what the lineup will be tomorrow.

Here's Shaughnessy on Manny.

*Oh, and this isn't what I was referring to about something new on here, but that will get bumped for now. I'm on vacation from Friday until August 19, so this place might see only a couple of updates until I get back.

Thursday links

2008-07-31T01:01:00.000-04:00

Why Thursday? Because I've got something else coming for Friday, which will kick off a weekly series. More on that Friday.

Above is the preview for Oliver Stone's move, "W".

Five storylines to watch in the Olympics, which start 8/08/08.

And here's FourHorsemenTattoo's dream Olympic roster. An example: Ivan Drago in boxing.

The top 20 baseball quotes of all time.

Lost is still way too far away.

Jon Voight is a crazy old fucker.

Speaking of crazy old fuckers, I have absolutely no idea what John McCain and his campaign are thinking at this point. Here's a response to that attack.

Ladies and Gentlemen, prepare your Swift Boating.

And because it deserves its own post...

2008-07-25T22:53:00.002-04:00

... Butch Stearns is a gigantic jackass who really needs to go away.

Friday Links

2008-07-24T22:39:00.002-04:00

Barack Obama is bad ass. If you haven't seen the speech yet, click HERE. It's worth the 25 minutes.

You know, I can't say this really shocks me, but there is an extra special place in hell for people who cheat on spouses who are fighting a deadly disease.

There are times when I'm really going to miss this White House. ... OK, maybe not. But that statement is incredibly hypocritical.

As Jeff said, this is bullshit. If they wanted to change the policy now, fine. Say that it won't be allowed next time. But to lie to Campbell, the Lions and the NFL is pure crap. Hey DoD, FUCK YOU!

Awesome story about Charles Barkley paying for a busboy to finish college.

Jim Emerson has a great look back at Fight Club.

If I was a Twins fan, this would scare me A LOT. Seattle too. (Good week for FJM).

Scary, scary baseball fight (with links to video).

This is the week to keep refreshing MLB Trade Rumors.

The Dark Knight

2008-07-22T22:00:00.004-04:00

Grade: A

I walked into the theater Thursday at midnight expecting to be let down. After all the buildup about this movie, especially Heath Ledger's performance as The Joker, there was simply no way it could live up to what I was hoping.

And it did.

This is what a summer blockbuster should be about. It's intense, scary, funny and thought-provoking all at the same time.

Let's start with Ledger, who would be getting this level of raves even if he hadn't died after making the film. He's utterly brilliant. There were so many big moments that you'll be talking about (the magic trick, the hospital scene, the stories) etc. and yet the most interesting things are the little mannerisms that make the character. I've written a lot about acting clinics in movies like Cast Away, Ray and a few others.

This performance is at that level. We're talking evil characters like Max Cady and Hannibal Lector level here. It's a train wreck of epic performances and I wonder just what director Chris Nolan has on the cutting room floor for the DVD. Here's hoping for an R version.

Moving on, everyone else is perfectly solid and we get lots of great little moments. I'm sure I missed a bunch, but I plan to see this movie quite a few times and will be watching intently. There were a few callbacks (Scarecrow shows up as one) and there was a little foreshadowing, as well.

Christian Bale does a nice job as Bruce Wayne and a good enough job as Batman, although his Batman Voice is a little distracting. He's a great Bruce Wayne, though, and I like that he isn't a completely good guy here. Batman is willing to go over a certain line to save the city, something that bothers one of his closest friends, Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) and is a direct look at the world we currently inhabit.

I love Freeman, Gary Oldman (James Gordon) and Michael Caine (Alfred) in this series. They aren't stealing scenes and they aren't doing the heavy lifting, but they are solidly in the background, stepping in to move key things along and provide a sort of moral compass behind everything Batman does.

Aaron Eckhart, meanwhile, is good as Gotham's White Knight, District Attorney Harvey Dent, who, if you have scene Batman Forever, you know becomes Two-Face. They didn't exactly play his arc the way I expected, but most of it still worked for me.

Maggie Gyllenhaal isn't great as Rachel Dawes, who is a key character, but isn't given a lot to do. She pretty much just smirks through the movie.

As Ebert said, in the end, this is a movie about choice. The Joker puts people in situations to make horrific choices. Rachel has to make a choice about her future. Batman has to make a few different choices about what he's willing to do to save Gotham. Alfred has to make a choice about an envelope and Dent has to make a choice about whether to believe his own quote: "You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain."

The very end is great, but leaves a lot out there and you wonder what will come next. That's the big discussion from people who have seen the movie at this point. I'm sorry to be relatively vague here, but I just don't want to ruin anything. Just see it. Then we can talk.

Some links

2008-07-21T20:15:00.003-04:00

I'll have something up on the Dark Knight movie late Tuesday night, but I had a bunch of links I wanted to toss up tonight.

A little Batman to kick it off. Here's a look at who should be the villain in the next movie. Don't read it if you haven't seen the Dark Knight.

That Jason Taylor-to-the-Redskins trade happened super fast.

Baseball Prospectus is free this week. And you expect me to get work done?

This is sad news about the Ebert & Roeper Show. I wonder what's next for "two thumbs up."

Add Baseball Think Factory's Newstand page to your baseball links. Definitely worth checking out each day.

Newsday does a Super 100 Hall of Fame. I'm looking forward to hearing Matt's reaction to this.

Stumbled on Jeff Pearlman's (former SI writer, currently does some stuff for ESPN and writest sports books) blog last week. Good stuff.

Friday links

2008-07-04T18:10:00.001-04:00

The MLB all-star teams will be announced this weekend, but ESPN has their choices up now. Here's the inherent problem with all the bitching about the all-star selections: It isn't about the players have the best years it's about the most popular players. That's why they let the fans vote. If more people want to see Dustin Pedroia as the 2B starter than Ian Kinsler, then that's what happens. Talk about something SO not worth bitching about.

***
The New York Times on how Starbucks messed up its brand.

***
This is just absolutely incredible. How could anyone watch a cable news channel that does something like this:

The Fox News channel has gained wide attention today in the blogosphere for airing photos of two New York Times staffers that appear to have been doctored to portray the Timesmen in an unflattering light.

The photos depict New York Times reporter Jacques Steinberg with yellowed teeth, "his nose and chin widened, and his ears made to protrude further," according to a statement today by Media Matters for America. The other image, of Times television editor Steven Reddicliffe, with similar yellow teeth, as well as "dark circles ... under his eyes, and his hairline has been moved back," according to the Media Matters statement.

The photos appear to have been flattened or extended using photoshop tools.

On Wednesday morning's edition of Fox & Friends, co-hosts Steve Doocy and Brian Kilmeade aired the photos while discussing a piece in the June 28 edition of the New York Times. The piece pointed out what the newspaper called "ominous trends" in Fox News' ratings.

***
A Vanity Fair reporter had himself waterboarded for a story discussing whether it is torture. He has no question that it is after this experience. There's a video on the VF site as well that is worth watching.

***
The Big Lead puts together its Ultimate Soccer 11 and plans to do so increasingly as the 2010 World Cup approaches. Yes, I'll be posting links each time. And here's an early look at the US Soccer National Team.

***
Ariana Huffington does a nice job telling Barack Obama not to screw this up.

***
The World Series of Poker Main Event kicked off on Thursday. Here's a look at the history of the Big One.

***
Josh is in full-on train/truck obsession mode, so we're planning to go here for lunch on Saturday. I can't wait.

Hope everyone has a great holiday weekend. CHOO CHOO!

Friday Links

2008-06-27T20:40:00.000-04:00

Remember when I posted that the National League probably isn't the Quadruple-A anymore this year? Nevermind. It still is. Anyway, onto the links.

Norman Chad did a good chat on The Big Lead this week.

The best event at the World Series of Poker started Thursday.

WALL-E is getting incredible reviews. Of course, I always give Pixar the benefit of the doubt anyway. Here's Ebert, who gave it three and a half stars. He also gave Wanted three stars.

Gee, thanks to the Globe for causing two days of 'pink hat' bitching on WEEI. Thanks a lot.

Bill Simmons has his annual draft diary from Thursday night's NBA Draft. It's significantly less than good.

The (essential) death of Seth Mnookin's blog is very, very sad.

Joe Sheehan of Baseball Prospectus has a break down of which teams should be buyers and sellers in the trade market over the next month. Sheehan is terrific and I'm strongly considering subscribing to BP. FYI: The linked story above is free.

EW lists the "new classics" in a cover story. I'll have more on this next week. Jim Emerson reacts in my place for now.

One of my binkys (binkies?) got called up.

Five things

2008-06-26T18:20:00.003-04:00

A few things that should have been long posts over the past few months, but only get a few sentences now.

1) The Boston Celtics 2008 championship may have been the biggest bandwagon celebration in New England sports history (although the Pats first title is close). I think the biggest problem was that the turnaround was so sudden that everyone who jumped on board at the start or middle of the season were rewarded with a title. At least in 2004, the Red Sox "pink hats" had mostly gone through the 2003 ALCS to understand some of the die-hards' suffering of the prior years. But the eruption of green throughout the region over the past month has been insane. How many pseudo-fans were rocking their green jerseys last week at Six Flags? Too many to count.

2) My wife is too thoughtful to think about jinxes, so she thought nothing of buying me a Super Bowl T-Shirt featuring the Patriot and Giant helmets during the two weeks leading up to the Pats' shot at 19-0. We all know what happened after that. Now, I'm not saying that Lisa jinxed the team, but I never would buy anything like that ahead of time. The weird thing is, I DO still wear that T-shirt.

3) What did Nos. 1 & 2 teach me about my fandom? That I'm a Sox fan and that's pretty much it. I love watching football and I root for the locals to do well, but I'm not antsy before big Pats/Celts games. And I certainly wouldn't wear that T-shirt if it was a similar situation that happened to the Sox in the World Series. In fact, it may have caused a trial separation.

4) Obviously, I'm thrilled that Barack Obama is the Democrats' nominee and will be annoying everyone with links and comments as we get closer to the convention and the election.

5) The new version of The Incredible Hulk was OK. Lisa and I saw it this weekend and it was more along the lines of what we expected from the original, which was, of course, hurt by the most overrated director in cinematic history, Ang Lee. Still, I appreciate what Lee was trying to do with the first one and I like the idea. He's just such a horrible director that he couldn't pull it off. Anyway, the second one was good enough and I could watch Edward Norton read the menu at Denny's for two hours and be completely enthralled. I'd probably go with B- for a grade.

See you Friday night with the links.

My Baseball Binky Team

2008-06-23T19:10:00.004-05:00

This changes daily, but here we go. Of course, this is AL-Only and skews very young. Asterisks are players currently on the Royal Rooters.

C-Max Ramirez* (Texas)
1B-Chris Davis* (Texas)
2B-Ian Kinsler (Texas)
3B-Evan Longoria* (Tampa Bay)
SS-No one [But Matt's second choice for marriage is Mike Aviles (Kansas City)]
LF-Carl Crawford* (Tampa Bay)
CF-Jacoby Ellsbury (Boston)
RF-Nick Markakis* (Baltimore)
DH-David Ortiz (Boston)
P-Josh Beckett* (Boston)
P-Scott Kazmir* (Tampa)
P-Joba Chamberlain* (New York)
P-Francisco Liriano* (Minnesota)
P-Huston Street (Oakland)

Catching up

2008-06-20T17:45:00.003-05:00

A lot has happened since I was regularly posting a while back. I'll get to some of the best stuff (Barack Obama, Josh stuff, Celtics, etc.) over the next week or so, but today we're coming back with the Friday links, which I'm hoping to make a more regular feature.

*First, I love Baseball Prospectus. Here are their percentages for each team winning their division, taking the Wild Card and making the playoffs. Basically, they simulated the rest of the season one million times and this is how it broke down.

*Roger Ebert really liked Get Smart and really hated The Love Guru. By the way, Roger is blogging now and it's definitely worth bookmarking.

*The Royal Rooters won't be repeating and have already sold off most of their overpriced players in an effort to rebuild for next year. I'm thinking of calling a press conference to rip my team, Steinbrenner style.

*So 17 girls at Gloucester High School are pregnant. Who knew Shawn Kemp had moved into the state? (I stole that joke from WEEI). I feel like there's also a bad "Perfect Storm" joke in here somewhere, too

*Here's a story on those metal necklaces the Sox pitchers have been wearing.

*This is great. Switch-pitcher vs. switch-hitter.

*Finally, Lisa and I both had to work on Wednesday, so we're heading away for a night (the first time we'll both be away from Josh at the same time overnight). This place is amazing. We'll be there for 2-3 hours on Saturday.

See you Monday night.

3 years

2008-06-18T21:51:00.002-05:00

Today marks the third wedding anniversary for Lisa and I. It seems like a long time ago that we were dealing with planning the wedding and going through the day. It's been an amazing three years (we've actually been together for almost nine years now) and I feel more lucky today to have married such a great person than I did even back then.

I'm truly blessed.

Happy Fathers Day!

2008-06-13T22:16:00.002-05:00

An early wish to all the dads out there, especially mine. Hope Sunday is a great one!

No More Quadruple-A?

2008-05-16T18:33:00.002-05:00

Quickie today:

I've called the National League the Quadruple-A for a while now (before Bill Simmons did, I swear!), as the senior league just hasn't been nearly as good as the AL over the past few years.

I don't think that's the case anymore and I expect it to be clear this weekend as interleague play starts up. Too many great young players have come up in the NL and produced over the past two years, too many good pitchers (led by Johan Santana) have switched leagues.

Happy Patriots Day

2008-04-20T18:39:00.004-05:00

So, is this going to be a tremendous day for 18/19ths of the 24 hours (22.7 hours)? Then the last hour will really, really suck?

It certainly would be fitting, right? All I'm saying is, watch yourself from 10:42 p.m. to midnight.

That reminds me, the next person that calls a sports talk radio show and talks about why the Patriots lost in the Super Bowl is going to get a Jay & Silent Bob Strikes Back-style visit from me.

Get over it already. It wasn't exactly the 2003 ALCS. MOVE THE FUCK ON!

***

Was waiting for tonight's budget to be posted and was tooling around EW.com looking for Lost stuff and found a few things worth checking out.

I liked this: Readers talk about the movies they have walked out on. I don't think I've ever walked out of a movie (although I've thought about it numerous times), but I did fall asleep during at least one.

This is a nice reminder that Al Pacino wasn't always the one-trick "Hoo-Ha" pony he's been since Scent of a Woman. It's his 15 greatest movie quotes.

Here's one: ''What you lookin' at? You all a bunch of f---in' a--holes. You know why? You don't have the guts to be what you wanna be? You need people like me. You need people like me so you can point your f---in' fingers and say, 'That's the bad guy.' So...what that make you? Good? You're not good. You just know how to hide, how to lie. Me, I don't have that problem. Me, I always tell the truth. Even when I lie. So say, 'Good night to the bad guy!' Come on. The last time you gonna see a bad guy like this again, let me tell you. Come on. Make way for the bad guy. There's a bad guy comin' through! Better get outta his way!" — Scarface (1983)

Here's a Q&A with Harrison Ford regarding the fourth Indiana Jones movie, which is set to come out this summer.

Best exchange (BOLD is EW, LIGHT is HF):

George talks about how he only turned to you to play Indy after Tom Selleck fell out of Raiders — he was obligated to do Magnum P.I. instead. And Lucas has said a lot of factors went into your not being first choice. Among other things, there was concern the public wouldn't accept ''that Han Solo guy'' as a new character, and also an assumption that you'd never agree to making all the sequels, because you gave Lucas such a hard time about that on Star Wars.
I didn't sign a contract for the Star Wars films [beyond the first one]. I refused to sign the sequel deal. Which is why we [Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, and I] aren't all living on roots and berries in the jungle somewhere. Because we had a favored-nations clause, the three actors. Which meant that whatever one got paid, all got paid. But when Indiana Jones came along, after reading the first one, and knowing that they had an ambition to do more, I was willing. And I was in a better negotiating position than I had been on Star Wars, for sure. I thought that the character was interesting enough to be able to develop further. I didn't feel there was as much interest in the character of Han Solo.

Why?
I did urge George to kill the character, because I thought that would be his best utility. To die, and give the story some resonance. I call it some bottom. He's got no mama, got no papa — out there all by himself. He's a piece you can move around, or get rid of. You don't need him for the rest of the story. That's what I thought. But I couldn't get George to go along with that. He didn't want to stop making the toys.

***
I'm having one of those Office Space nights. You know, when a copier or a printer is really giving you a lot of problems and all you can think about is that one tremendous scene in the field. Any time this happens (probably once a month or so) that's the first thing I think about.

Back up in your ass with the resurrection. (No, I didn't have to look that up. Sad.)

Baseball Bookmarks

2008-03-31T18:13:00.002-05:00

The baseball season kicked off for real Monday. Here's a look at some websites that are worth bookmarking for this season.

If you add nothing else, this is the one. Here is Joe Posnanski's blog. It's fantastic and he's fantastic. He puts more into some of these posts than many columnists (he's also one of the best columnists in the country) put into their own columns.

Buster Olney's daily blog on ESPN.com is worth the price of Insider all by itself. It is updated six days a week (Friday's off) with links and notes from around the country. It's the fastest way to get up to date and Olney has a great sense of how everything fits.
Sticking with the WWL, I also like Keith Law's stuff quite a bit. Here is Keith's personal blog, too. ESPN also has a bunch of free fantasy stuff that is worth checking out if you are in a league, even if it is run through a different site.
***
MLB Trade Rumors always keeps you up to date on the word around the country. This is especially great during the hot stove league and near the July 31 trade deadline. Rotoworld is also good for news from everywhere.
***
The Globe's Red Sox blog. Rob Bradford's for the Herald. ... More Sox stuff - Hopefully, we'll get more from Seth Mnookin this year. Hacks with Haggs is good stuff.
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Good prospect stuff from John Sickels and also from Baseball America.
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Sabernomics refers to itself as Economic Thinking About Baseball. I always find it interesting.
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Richard Justice is always entertaining.
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There are a bunch more in the links section down the right sidebar. Check them out.

Friday Links

2008-03-28T17:07:00.003-05:00

Hoping to make this a weekly thing.
***
Ruh-Ro. Anyone need an assistant? I buy a mean cup of coffee.
***
Why do Obama supporters so fervently dislike the Clinton campaign? Here's why. Reading it, you might be able to understand why a group of people interested in change would be more than annoyed with these examples of the same old crap.

Bill, meanwhile, is still making new enemies out of old friends, this time in NH.
***
A different side of John McCain.
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Lost nuts, here's an interesting site worth checking out. Not sure I can wait until April 24 for this show to return. It's been an amazing season so far.
***
God, I love FireJoeMorgan.com.
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Sad news from our former home. We loved this place.
***
Coming soon: The must-have baseball links as we approach the (real) regular season. Here's a good one for now: ESPN's Page 2 looks at 100 years of Cubs' futility and what went wrong in each of them.

Huge Bottle of Movie Ketchup

2008-03-27T18:43:00.002-05:00

The best part of Netflix is zooming through TV shows, which I have just done with six seasons of the incredible Curb Your Enthusiasm. But that's a different post.

This one is about all the movies I've watched through the last movie review post, which was quite a while ago. Anyway, here's a quick wrap up. On deck are: Atonement and No Country for Old Men, so I'll probably post something about them around the time I collect social security.

Bee Movie - Not nearly as good as I expected. The first 15 minutes are solid and feel a lot like Monsters, Inc. The rest of it is boring and pretty unfunny, which is sad considering who is involved in it. Grade: C

American Gangster - Long and less interesting than I expected. Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington both give good performances and the story itself is interesting, but the movie doesn't really deliver. Maybe it was the pacing that hurt the movie, I'm still trying to figure it out. Grade: B

Gone Baby Gone - Really terrific directing debut for Ben Affleck, who guides a tremendous cast around an interesting, heartbreaking and thought-provoking story. Grade: A-

X-Men 3 - Not bad, not great. Didn't live up to the first two. Grade: C+

Wordplay - Awesome documentary on the New York Times Crossword includes interviews with celebrities who do it every day (including Jon Stewart and Bill Clinton) along with the annual crossword championship. Enjoyed this a ton. Grade: A-

The Simpsons Movie - Wow, did this suck. Grade: D+

Catch and Release - Rented this solely because I had read Kevin Smith's diary, which included a ton of the making of this movie, which he costarred in. Not bad for a "chick flick" with Smith's performance highlighting things. His commentary with the director was also enjoyable. Grade: B-

Superbad - Solid teen raunch comedy with a little heart and a bunch of laughs. It was one of those movies I probably heard too much about beforehand and therefore had way too high expectations, but it was still darn good. Grade: B

Ratatouille - I'm sorry, I really didn't get this one. I'm a huge Pixar guy. I love pretty much everything they've done (minus A Bug's Life), but this REALLY didn't do it for me. I was bored throughout. Grade: C

Live Free or Die Hard - Another Kevin Smith supporting cast role that was the highlight of the movie. Ridiculous special effects, but fun for an action popcorn movie. Grade: B

Shrek the Third - Loved the first one. Really liked the second one. Hated the third one. Lisa, the biggest Shrek fan I know, agrees. Grade: D

I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry - Better than I expected considering how bad some of the recent Adam Sandler junkfest. But Kevin James continues to do it for me and the combo is perfect. A little ridiculous but pretty funny. Grade: B

Sicko - Best movie Michael Moore has made. This one isn't about politics, it's about our broken medical system. Everyone should see it. Grade: A

Evan Almighty - Another big, unfunny disappointment. Grade: C-

The Devil Wears Prada - Do I have to turn in my Man Card if I admit that I liked this a little bit? It was pretty funny and sweet. Grade: B-

Letters from Iwo Jima - Amazing piece of storytelling from Clint Eastwood in the movie that went alongside another terrific film, Flags of our Fathers. Both are terrific and should be seen. Grade: A-

Knocked Up - This comedy is far more accurate about relationships than it has any right to be, and really, that works a lot better than the comedy, which is still pretty good. I'm a Seth Rogen guy, so this one worked well for me. Grade: B+

Casino Royale - I'm not a huge James Bond guy, but this was enjoyable, even if you won't think about it for a second after the movie ends. Grade: B-

Hollywoodland - It's hard to pull off a crime mystery movie when no one knows what happened, but this movie, about the death of the original Superman (played extremely well by Ben Affleck) comes pretty close. Grade: B

Talladega Nights - I almost didn't make it through this movie. Grade: D

Children of Men - Very cool sci-fi movie with Clive Owen in the leading role. This is one of those "the future is bleak" futures as the entire human race has become infertile. Well almost the entire human race. Grade: B+

World Trade Center - Good, not great. Not much to say here. See United 93 if you can only choose one. Grade: B-

The Fountain - Whacked out sci-fi flick that will have you thinking about rewatching it and then deciding that it isn't worth it. Grade: B-

An Inconvenient Truth - As Roger Ebert said, "In 39 years, I have never written these words in a movie review, but here they are: You owe it to yourself to see this film. If you do not, and you have grandchildren, you should explain to them why you decided not to." Grade: A
Lady in the Water - I'm an M. Night apologist and I liked this one just like I've liked pretty much everything he's done. Grade: B+

The Illusionist - Not quite as good as the Prestige, but almost. Edward Norton and Paul Giamatti are fantastic as usual. Grade: B

In the Name of the Father - Terrific. I can't believe I hadn't seen it. Grade: A-

Lesser of Two Evils

2008-03-25T20:32:00.000-05:00

Why has every election since I've cared about politics come down to the lesser of two evils? Check out what has happened to Barack Obama recently, especially regarding the statements made by his pastor.

Why would anyone like Obama want to put himself through this. God knows what else we're going to hear from the Clinton and McCain camps between now and November, but these ridiculous attacks just keep coming. Obama gives a tremendous, TREMENDOUS speech that talks about raising the level of debate in the country. As Jon Stewart said on the Daily Show, he actually talked to us like we are adults about a topic that no one has touched in that way on such a huge stage. ... And then people started saying that he threw his grandmother under the bus.

Do we even deserve a president who really is the best of the best? I'm doubtful at this point. That's why the West Wing was fiction.

***

By the way, Tina Fey, shut the fuck up. Considering how horrid SNL was while you were head writer, you might want to give the trash talk toward The Daily Show a rest. Stewart is nine times more talented and funny than you are. Keep thanking the heavens that Alec Baldwin and the rest of the cast are carrying your unfunny ass and making the mediocre 30 Rock a hit.

***

I am asked a lot why I won't vote for Hillary in the general election and have, on more than one occasion, been called a bad Democrat because of it. Well, I didn't completely feel that way heading into the primaries, when I backed Barack Obama but was fine with either candidate. Now, I simply won't vote if its Clinton-McCain.

It isn't one single thing that has knocked me off, but it's the continuing reports like THIS ONE of more and more intellectual dishonesty served up by the family that brought you, "It depends on what your definition of is is" and all the other 90s crap that went along with it. I'm not even sure this recent sniper story falls under intellectual dishonesty. That's more just outright lying. Perfect. NEED MORE? And it seems like there's something or another every week like this. I've been waiting for this column for a long time, too. There's so much more, but I'd probably be called sexist by the women on The View and we wouldn't want that.

***

I always enjoy Rob Bradford's blog, although he posted a lot more before he moved over to the Herald. Anyway, he's doing a great job blogging on the Japan trip with a bunch of fun stuff. Dale Arnold has a decent blog about the trip as well.

***

Some great Cookie Monster stuff here. The video is worth watching.

Final edits

2008-03-24T18:41:00.005-05:00

...And we're back...

I've been away for a while as the last (nearly) two months are the busiest of the year for me. I'm going to throw a bunch of stuff up here over the next few days to play some catch up and then hopefully get back to some regular blogging this week.

WORDS, WORDS, WORDS
I like to listen to DVD commentary tracks, especially of good comedies and especially from Kevin Smith movies. There are, in fact, some Kevin Smith movies that are better with the commentary track on (especially Mallrats).

One thing I never understood was that many directors say they haven't watched their movie since it was released or that they never watch their own movies. The first time I heard it, I was surprised, but then I heard it more and more from many different directors.

Now I know exactly what they mean.

Our newspaper has a weekly magazine called Hampshire Life and in mid-February 2007, I pitched a story idea to our features editor for a story for the cover about the recruiting process in women's basketball that would have me follow an AAU team in our area loaded with talented players headed into their senior year and then put together a story for the winter after they had decided where to go. This was along with all my regular work.

So I spent a lot of the summer at basketball practices, summer league games in Springfield and a few out-of-state tournaments. I did a ton of reporting, staying up to date with all of the seniors-to-be on their choices, what they were down to, who they were talking to, when they were going to visit, what the decision would come down to, etc., etc., etc. Not knowing how the story would turn out, I stayed with everyone and figured I (and the editor) would sort it out later and decide on the angle we wanted. The AAU season ends the first weekend in August and the early signing period was in November, I kept in touch with the girls through that time and then one signed early, but the others were all waiting. So we decided to wait until the end of February to run the story in order to give the girls a chance to make their decisions and have that in the story.

So I wrote the first version and it was more than 6,200 words split into a few sections. The writing was the easy part. I knew the topic and had done so much reporting and thinking about it that it all was on the tip of my fingers. The sorting was the hard part. You can't just sit and write a story like that. You have to figure out where everything goes, especially when there are so many moving parts. It took a lot of time (and sleeplessness) to get it right and I never got to the point that I was completely thrilled with it.

But I made my deadline and turned it in, knowing full well that it was way too long and would need some work from the editor, the ultra-talented Deb Scherban, to get to the next level. When she finally had a chance to get through the whole thing, she gave me some mock grief about the length (they normally run stories about 60% as long), but then told me how much she liked it and gave me some good notes, especially with how to cut it down to a workable length.

So for another week (and this is during full-on crazy basketball season), I spent even more late nights cutting it down and cutting it down. The initial cuts were easy, as we streamlined the story to make it focus on one player, but the later ones were really tough. Then you get to the point where you are looking at this really long story and your eyes just cross because you've read the same things over and over.

Finally, it was cut to a decent length and we decided to add a sidebar to include some of the stuff I really wanted in about the other players. We passed it back and forth, with her giving suggestions and my tinkering with everything until we were finally both good with it and ready for it to run, which it did on Feb. 29. By then, I was so sick of it, I just wanted it away from my eyes. It's a good story, but it'll be a long time before I sit and read through the whole thing again.

The final version is around 4,400 words. If you are interested, you can read the story here.

Johan to the Mets & More

2008-01-29T23:26:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure how the Johan Santana trade is going to play out on talk radio and in the newspapers over the next few days, but here's the deal: It's the best possible result for the Red Sox.

Boston didn't need Santana. It didn't need to trade three or four top prospects and then have to pay Johan $120-$150 million dollars in order to be the favorite in the American League. The Red Sox are already the favorite in the American League. It would be one thing if Santana was signed for a few years at an under-the-market rate, but basically you'd be trading some very good guys for one year plus the right to negotiate with him. And let's not even get into the fact that Johan looked bad in the second half last year. That's what Twins fans never understood about these offers. You aren't getting him at the start of a contract. There isn't THAT much value there.

Now, not only does Boston keep its second-best in the MLB minor league system intact (strong at all levels), but Santana doesn't go to the Yankees, who really need him. With Johan, they have a potential rotation equal to Boston and a team that could knock off the defending champs. Without him, they have a bunch of question marks in the rotation.

And Santana doesn't just go to Not-the-Yankees, but he goes to the National League, where he's benefiting the Mets, a team the Sox don't have to deal with unless they make the World Series! Perfect, perfect, perfect.

***

Good result in Florida among the Republicans on Tuesday. I can handle John McCann as a potential president much better than that idiot asshole Mitt Romney. Oh, and Rudy G. ran arguably the worst campaign in American history. They'll be studying it for years in PoliSci classes.

DON'T FORGET TO VOTE ON TUESDAY (but only if you are voting for Barack Obama :))

***

Heath Ledger's death was truly sad and a huge loss for movie fans. The guy could flat-out act and brought a ton of energy into all of his work. I loved his performances in everything from a teen comedy (10 Things I Hate About You) to a fun action movies (A Knight's Tale, The Patriot) to the Oscar nominated and ultra-serious Monster's Ball and Brokeback Mountain (which featured an INCREDIBLE performance by Ledger). The dude was going to be one of the next true superactors, always picking interesting movies/roles and knocking them out of the park. I'll be intersted to see Dark Knight now, but hearing that he may have been haunted by the role not long before his death might make it pretty hard to watch. You imagine he might die at the end of the movie, too.

Here's Roger Ebert's original review of A Knight's Tale. I agree completely with every word. Here's Brokeback Mountain, a movie which I had some issues with (Ang Lee's direction and editing), but thought was an incredible piece of acting by the leads. You can read my review of the movie here.

Andrea Bocelli and Elmo

2008-01-25T23:32:00.001-05:00

If I'm not posting rantings about the Clintons, it must be more Sesame Street. Seriously, this is awesome.

A tremendous speech and a tremendous link

2008-01-20T21:25:00.000-05:00

The Scripture tells us that when Joshua and the Israelites arrived at the gates of Jericho, they could not enter. The walls of the city were too steep for any one person to climb; too strong to be taken down with brute force. And so they sat for days, unable to pass on through.

But God had a plan for his people. He told them to stand together and march together around the city, and on the seventh day he told them that when they heard the sound of the ram's horn, they should speak with one voice. And at the chosen hour, when the horn sounded and a chorus of voices cried out together, the mighty walls of Jericho came tumbling down.

There are many lessons to take from this passage, just as there are many lessons to take from this day, just as there are many memories that fill the space of this church. As I was thinking about which ones we need to remember at this hour, my mind went back to the very beginning of the modern Civil Rights Era.

Because before Memphis and the mountaintop; before the bridge in Selma and the march on Washington; before Birmingham and the beatings; the fire hoses and the loss of those four little girls; before there was King the icon and his magnificent dream, there was King the young preacher and a people who found themselves suffering under the yoke of oppression.

And on the eve of the bus boycotts in Montgomery, at a time when many were still doubtful about the possibilities of change, a time when those in the black community mistrusted themselves, and at times mistrusted each other, King inspired with words not of anger, but of an urgency that still speaks to us today:

"Unity is the great need of the hour" is what King said. Unity is how we shall overcome.

What Dr. King understood is that if just one person chose to walk instead of ride the bus, those walls of oppression would not be moved. But maybe if a few more walked, the foundation might start to shake. If a few more women were willing to do what Rosa Parks had done, maybe the cracks would start to show. If teenagers took freedom rides from North to South, maybe a few bricks would come loose. Maybe if white folks marched because they had come to understand that their freedom too was at stake in the impending battle, the wall would begin to sway. And if enough Americans were awakened to the injustice; if they joined together, North and South, rich and poor, Christian and Jew, then perhaps that wall would come tumbling down, and justice would flow like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream.

Unity is the great need of the hour - the great need of this hour. Not because it sounds pleasant or because it makes us feel good, but because it's the only way we can overcome the essential deficit that exists in this country.

I'm not talking about a budget deficit. I'm not talking about a trade deficit. I'm not talking about a deficit of good ideas or new plans.

I'm talking about a moral deficit. I'm talking about an empathy deficit. I'm taking about an inability to recognize ourselves in one another; to understand that we are our brother's keeper; we are our sister's keeper; that, in the words of Dr. King, we are all tied together in a single garment of destiny.

We have an empathy deficit when we're still sending our children down corridors of shame - schools in the forgotten corners of America where the color of your skin still affects the content of your education.

We have a deficit when CEOs are making more in ten minutes than some workers make in ten months; when families lose their homes so that lenders make a profit; when mothers can't afford a doctor when their children get sick.

We have a deficit in this country when there is Scooter Libby justice for some and Jena justice for others; when our children see nooses hanging from a schoolyard tree today, in the present, in the twenty-first century.

We have a deficit when homeless veterans sleep on the streets of our cities; when innocents are slaughtered in the deserts of Darfur; when young Americans serve tour after tour of duty in a war that should've never been authorized and never been waged.

And we have a deficit when it takes a breach in our levees to reveal a breach in our compassion; when it takes a terrible storm to reveal the hungry that God calls on us to feed; the sick He calls on us to care for; the least of these He commands that we treat as our own.

So we have a deficit to close. We have walls - barriers to justice and equality - that must come down. And to do this, we know that unity is the great need of this hour.

Unfortunately, all too often when we talk about unity in this country, we've come to believe that it can be purchased on the cheap. We've come to believe that racial reconciliation can come easily - that it's just a matter of a few ignorant people trapped in the prejudices of the past, and that if the demagogues and those who exploit our racial divisions will simply go away, then all our problems would be solved.

All too often, we seek to ignore the profound institutional barriers that stand in the way of ensuring opportunity for all children, or decent jobs for all people, or health care for those who are sick. We long for unity, but are unwilling to pay the price.

But of course, true unity cannot be so easily won. It starts with a change in attitudes - a broadening of our minds, and a broadening of our hearts.

It's not easy to stand in somebody else's shoes. It's not easy to see past our differences. We've all encountered this in our own lives. But what makes it even more difficult is that we have a politics in this country that seeks to drive us apart - that puts up walls between us.

We are told that those who differ from us on a few things are different from us on all things; that our problems are the fault of those who don't think like us or look like us or come from where we do. The welfare queen is taking our tax money. The immigrant is taking our jobs. The believer condemns the non-believer as immoral, and the non-believer chides the believer as intolerant.

For most of this country's history, we in the African-American community have been at the receiving end of man's inhumanity to man. And all of us understand intimately the insidious role that race still sometimes plays - on the job, in the schools, in our health care system, and in our criminal justice system.

And yet, if we are honest with ourselves, we must admit that none of our hands are entirely clean. If we're honest with ourselves, we'll acknowledge that our own community has not always been true to King's vision of a beloved community.

We have scorned our gay brothers and sisters instead of embracing them. The scourge of anti-Semitism has, at times, revealed itself in our community. For too long, some of us have seen immigrants as competitors for jobs instead of companions in the fight for opportunity.

Every day, our politics fuels and exploits this kind of division across all races and regions; across gender and party. It is played out on television. It is sensationalized by the media. And last week, it even crept into the campaign for President, with charges and counter-charges that served to obscure the issues instead of illuminating the critical choices we face as a nation.

So let us say that on this day of all days, each of us carries with us the task of changing our hearts and minds. The division, the stereotypes, the scape-goating, the ease with which we blame our plight on others - all of this distracts us from the common challenges we face - war and poverty; injustice and inequality. We can no longer afford to build ourselves up by tearing someone else down. We can no longer afford to traffic in lies or fear or hate. It is the poison that we must purge from our politics; the wall that we must tear down before the hour grows too late.

Because if Dr. King could love his jailor; if he could call on the faithful who once sat where you do to forgive those who set dogs and fire hoses upon them, then surely we can look past what divides us in our time, and bind up our wounds, and erase the empathy deficit that exists in our hearts.

But if changing our hearts and minds is the first critical step, we cannot stop there. It is not enough to bemoan the plight of poor children in this country and remain unwilling to push our elected officials to provide the resources to fix our schools. It is not enough to decry the disparities of health care and yet allow the insurance companies and the drug companies to block much-needed reforms. It is not enough for us to abhor the costs of a misguided war, and yet allow ourselves to be driven by a politics of fear that sees the threat of attack as way to scare up votes instead of a call to come together around a common effort.

The Scripture tells us that we are judged not just by word, but by deed. And if we are to truly bring about the unity that is so crucial in this time, we must find it within ourselves to act on what we know; to understand that living up to this country's ideals and its possibilities will require great effort and resources; sacrifice and stamina.

And that is what is at stake in the great political debate we are having today. The changes that are needed are not just a matter of tinkering at the edges, and they will not come if politicians simply tell us what we want to hear. All of us will be called upon to make some sacrifice. None of us will be exempt from responsibility. We will have to fight to fix our schools, but we will also have to challenge ourselves to be better parents. We will have to confront the biases in our criminal justice system, but we will also have to acknowledge the deep-seated violence that still resides in our own communities and marshal the will to break its grip.

That is how we will bring about the change we seek. That is how Dr. King led this country through the wilderness. He did it with words - words that he spoke not just to the children of slaves, but the children of slave owners. Words that inspired not just black but also white; not just the Christian but the Jew; not just the Southerner but also the Northerner.

He led with words, but he also led with deeds. He also led by example. He led by marching and going to jail and suffering threats and being away from his family. He led by taking a stand against a war, knowing full well that it would diminish his popularity. He led by challenging our economic structures, understanding that it would cause discomfort. Dr. King understood that unity cannot be won on the cheap; that we would have to earn it through great effort and determination.

That is the unity - the hard-earned unity - that we need right now. It is that effort, and that determination, that can transform blind optimism into hope - the hope to imagine, and work for, and fight for what seemed impossible before.

The stories that give me such hope don't happen in the spotlight. They don't happen on the presidential stage. They happen in the quiet corners of our lives. They happen in the moments we least expect. Let me give you an example of one of those stories.

There is a young, twenty-three year old white woman named Ashley Baia who organizes for our campaign in Florence, South Carolina. She's been working to organize a mostly African-American community since the beginning of this campaign, and the other day she was at a roundtable discussion where everyone went around telling their story and why they were there.

And Ashley said that when she was nine years old, her mother got cancer. And because she had to miss days of work, she was let go and lost her health care. They had to file for bankruptcy, and that's when Ashley decided that she had to do something to help her mom.

She knew that food was one of their most expensive costs, and so Ashley convinced her mother that what she really liked and really wanted to eat more than anything else was mustard and relish sandwiches. Because that was the cheapest way to eat.

She did this for a year until her mom got better, and she told everyone at the roundtable that the reason she joined our campaign was so that she could help the millions of other children in the country who want and need to help their parents too.

So Ashley finishes her story and then goes around the room and asks everyone else why they're supporting the campaign. They all have different stories and reasons. Many bring up a specific issue. And finally they come to this elderly black man who's been sitting there quietly the entire time. And Ashley asks him why he's there. And he does not bring up a specific issue. He does not say health care or the economy. He does not say education or the war. He does not say that he was there because of Barack Obama. He simply says to everyone in the room, "I am here because of Ashley."

By itself, that single moment of recognition between that young white girl and that old black man is not enough. It is not enough to give health care to the sick, or jobs to the jobless, or education to our children.

But it is where we begin. It is why the walls in that room began to crack and shake.

And if they can shake in that room, they can shake in Atlanta.

And if they can shake in Atlanta, they can shake in Georgia.

And if they can shake in Georgia, they can shake all across America. And if enough of our voices join together; we can bring those walls tumbling down. The walls of Jericho can finally come tumbling down. That is our hope - but only if we pray together, and work together, and march together.

Brothers and sisters, we cannot walk alone.

In the struggle for peace and justice, we cannot walk alone.

In the struggle for opportunity and equality, we cannot walk alone

In the struggle to heal this nation and repair this world, we cannot walk alone.

So I ask you to walk with me, and march with me, and join your voice with mine, and together we will sing the song that tears down the walls that divide us, and lift up an America that is truly indivisible, with liberty, and justice, for all. May God bless the memory of the great pastor of this church, and may God bless the United States of America.

-- Barack Obama's sermon to a church in Atlanta, 1/20/08

***

One more Obama thing (get used to it). Obama on the debate when he said he had a messy desk.

Obama began by recalling a moment in Tuesday night's debate when he and his rivals were asked to name their biggest weakness. Obama answered first, saying he has a messy desk and needs help managing paperwork — something his opponents have since used to suggest he's not up to managing the country. John Edwards said his biggest weakness is that he has a powerful response to seeing pain in others, and Clinton said she gets impatient to bring change to America.

"Because I'm an ordinary person, I thought that they meant, 'What's your biggest weakness?'" Obama said to laughter from a packed house at Rancho High School. "If I had gone last I would have known what the game was. And then I could have said, `Well, ya know, I like to help old ladies across the street. Sometimes they don't want to be helped. It's terrible.'"

"Folks, they don't tell you what they mean!" he said. Obama chuckled at his own joke before riffing on another Clinton answer in the debate, when she said that she is happy that the bankruptcy bill she voted for in 2001 never became law.

***

Esquire has a timeline of Roger Clemens being an ass. It's wonderful.

Nice to see that Obama...

2008-01-14T00:47:00.000-05:00

... Reads Swine Lair around all the busy running-for-office stuff that takes up most of his time.

About time he jumped on that. Bill, meanwhile, is in danger of losing his luster with 40-50% of the Democrats.

***

Really, we're getting back into this? Hasn't this been covered? Wasn't it in a book written by...Hmm, who wrote that book?...Oh yeah, FUCKING BARACK OBAMA. Is America really this dumb? Do the Clintons really think so? They may just be right. I guess we'll have a better idea on Feb. 5.

Oh, and Bill, we all believe that you didn't inhale. Of course, that would depend on what your definition of "is" is, right? Jackass.

Bill Clinton is pissing me off

2008-01-12T01:39:00.000-05:00

(Don't miss the Sesame Street posting below. How's that for back-to-back topics!)

Let me show you why. Here is his defense for calling the Obama movement a fairy tale. Fine, I don't really care about that at all. It's his argument regarding Obama's statements on 2004 regarding the war:

"We went through 15 debates," Clinton told Sharpton, "and the Obama campaign made the argument that his relative lack of service in the Senate was not relevant because he has better judgment than all the Democrats because he'd always been against the Iraq war in every year."

"I pointed out," Clinton continued, "that he had never been asked about his statements in 2004 that he didn't know how he would have voted on the war resolution, and there was, at that time, no difference between his position and President Bush's."

"Look," Clinton continued, "there could be a perfectly good explanation for it. Maybe, he just meant, that once it was done, everybody wanted it to work, including the UN. But the point is, it disproves the arguments that he was always against it, and everybody else was wrong and he was right. So I said, 'that's what those debates were for, and how many of you knew those two facts, in the audience?' And I said, 'So that story is a fairy tale.' Now that doesn't have anything to do with my respect for him as a candidate or as a political figure in this campaign. He has put together a great campaign. It's clearly not a fairy tale; it's real. And I have gone out of my way not express any personal disrespect for him or his campaign, even when they've been fairly critical of me and Hillary."

Now, I like Bill Clinton. I've defended him more than his actions have deserved, but he's far too smart to pull this shit. In 2004, Kerry and Edwards were the nominees in the general election. Obama, who had caused quite a stir with his speech at the convention, was asked about his feelings on their votes in favor of the war in Iraq. Obama, being a team player, pretty much said that he didn't know how he would have voted at the time because he wasn't in their position. Of course, he had been outspoken against the war since before it started, but his answer was his best way to not knock the party's hopes of winning the nomination. There is nothing wrong with that.

Bill Clinton knows this completely and understands it completely, but he thinks the American public is dumb enough to take this as flip-flopping. He's insulting all of our intelligence with this shit.

Five things: Sesame Street

2008-01-12T00:26:00.000-05:00

This is a tremendous site. As a parent with a 16-month old who watches the show every day, here are five worthwhile searches:

1. Cookie Monster Rap (Letter of Day:R)
2. Ernie Imagine That
3. Count's number of the day: 20 (SHHHHHTOPPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!)
4. Doin' the pigeon (It may make you remember Merton Hanks)
5. Super Grover's Super School

Yes, I'm completely aware that I've lost my mind, especially because the Cookie Monster Rap really cracks me up (kick it!).

Need an imaginary hip black friend?

2008-01-11T18:36:00.000-05:00

Vote Obama. At least, that's what a Clinton aide thinks of Obama's support. Thankfully, Obama isn't dumb enough to get into this fight that the Clintons are just DYING to have.

And no, I won't vote for Hillary in a general election unless it's Clinton vs. Romney.

Well NH...

2008-01-08T23:12:00.000-05:00

You fucked up.

***

Here's a fantastic story on what this election means. Read it. It's an amazing look at what our country has gone through over the past 30 years. If Obama wins the White House, which I'm doubting now since American intelligence continues to befuddle me, Political Science majors will be hearing lectures like this forever.

Here are some pieces of a long story:

Obama’s candidacy in this sense is a potentially transformational one. Unlike any of the other candidates, he could take America—finally—past the debilitating, self-perpetuating family quarrel of the Baby Boom generation that has long engulfed all of us. So much has happened in America in the past seven years, let alone the past 40, that we can be forgiven for focusing on the present and the immediate future. But it is only when you take several large steps back into the long past that the full logic of an Obama presidency stares directly—and uncomfortably—at you.

At its best, the Obama candidacy is about ending a war—not so much the war in Iraq, which now has a momentum that will propel the occupation into the next decade—but the war within America that has prevailed since Vietnam and that shows dangerous signs of intensifying, a nonviolent civil war that has crippled America at the very time the world needs it most. It is a war about war—and about culture and about religion and about race. And in that war, Obama—and Obama alone—offers the possibility of a truce.

***

Given this quiet, evolving consensus on policy, how do we account for the bitter, brutal tone of American politics? The answer lies mainly with the biggest and most influential generation in America: the Baby Boomers. The divide is still—amazingly—between those who fought in Vietnam and those who didn’t, and between those who fought and dissented and those who fought but never dissented at all. By defining the contours of the Boomer generation, it lasted decades. And with time came a strange intensity.

The professionalization of the battle, and the emergence of an array of well-funded interest groups dedicated to continuing it, can be traced most proximately to the bitter confirmation fights over Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas, in 1987 and 1991 respectively. The presidency of Bill Clinton, who was elected with only 43 percent of the vote in 1992, crystallized the new reality. As soon as the Baby Boomers hit the commanding heights, the Vietnam power struggle rebooted. The facts mattered little in the face of such a divide. While Clinton was substantively a moderate conservative in policy, his countercultural origins led to the drama, ultimately, of religious warfare and even impeachment. Clinton clearly tried to bridge the Boomer split. But he was trapped on one side of it—and his personal foibles only reignited his generation’s agonies over sex and love and marriage. Even the failed impeachment didn’t bring the two sides to their senses, and the election of 2000 only made matters worse: Gore and Bush were almost designed to reflect the Boomers’ and the country’s divide, which deepened further.

The trauma of 9/11 has tended to obscure the memory of that unprecedentedly bitter election, and its nail- biting aftermath, which verged on a constitutional crisis. But its legacy is very much still with us, made far worse by President Bush’s approach to dealing with it. Despite losing the popular vote, Bush governed as if he had won Reagan’s 49 states. Instead of cementing a coalition of the center-right, Bush and Rove set out to ensure that the new evangelical base of the Republicans would turn out more reliably in 2004. Instead of seeing the post-’60s divide as a wound to be healed, they poured acid on it.

***

With 9/11, Bush had a reset moment—a chance to reunite the country in a way that would marginalize the extreme haters on both sides and forge a national consensus. He chose not to do so. It wasn’t entirely his fault. On the left, the truest believers were unprepared to give the president the benefit of any doubt in the wake of the 2000 election, and they even judged the 9/11 attacks to be a legitimate response to decades of U.S. foreign policy. Some could not support the war in Afghanistan, let alone the adventure in Iraq. As the Iraq War faltered, the polarization intensified. In 2004, the Vietnam argument returned with a new energy, with the Swift Boat attacks on John Kerry’s Vietnam War record and CBS’s misbegotten report on Bush’s record in the Texas Air National Guard. These were the stories that touched the collective nerve of the political classes—because they parsed once again along the fault lines of the Boomer divide that had come to define all of us.

The result was an even deeper schism. Kerry was arguably the worst candidate on earth to put to rest the post-1960s culture war—and his decision to embrace his Vietnam identity at the convention made things worse. Bush, for his part, was unable to do nuance. And so the campaign became a matter of symbolism—pitting those who took the terror threat “seriously” against those who didn’t. Supporters of the Iraq War became more invested in asserting the morality of their cause than in examining the effectiveness of their tactics. Opponents of the war found themselves dispirited. Some were left to hope privately for American failure; others lashed out, as distrust turned to paranoia. It was and is a toxic cycle, in which the interests of the United States are supplanted by domestic agendas born of pride and ruthlessness on the one hand and bitterness and alienation on the other.

This is the critical context for the election of 2008. It is an election that holds the potential not merely to intensify this cycle of division but to bequeath it to a new generation, one marked by a new war that need not be—that should not be—seen as another Vietnam. A Giuliani-Clinton matchup, favored by the media elite, is a classic intragenerational struggle—with two deeply divisive and ruthless personalities ready to go to the brink. Giuliani represents that Nixonian disgust with anyone asking questions about, let alone actively protesting, a war. Clinton will always be, in the minds of so many, the young woman who gave the commencement address at Wellesley, who sat in on the Nixon implosion and who once disdained baking cookies. For some, her husband will always be the draft dodger who smoked pot and wouldn’t admit it. And however hard she tries, there is nothing Hillary Clinton can do about it. She and Giuliani are conscripts in their generation’s war. To their respective sides, they are war heroes.

In normal times, such division is not fatal, and can even be healthy. It’s great copy for journalists. But we are not talking about routine rancor. And we are not talking about normal times. We are talking about a world in which Islamist terror, combined with increasingly available destructive technology, has already murdered thousands of Americans, and tens of thousands of Muslims, and could pose an existential danger to the West. The terrible failures of the Iraq occupation, the resurgence of al-Qaeda in Pakistan, the progress of Iran toward nuclear capability, and the collapse of America’s prestige and moral reputation, especially among those millions of Muslims too young to have known any American president but Bush, heighten the stakes dramatically.

Perhaps the underlying risk is best illustrated by our asking what the popular response would be to another 9/11–style attack. It is hard to imagine a reprise of the sudden unity and solidarity in the days after 9/11, or an outpouring of support from allies and neighbors. It is far easier to imagine an even more bitter fight over who was responsible (apart from the perpetrators) and a profound suspicion of a government forced to impose more restrictions on travel, communications, and civil liberties. The current president would be unable to command the trust, let alone the support, of half the country in such a time. He could even be blamed for provoking any attack that came.

Of the viable national candidates, only Obama and possibly McCain have the potential to bridge this widening partisan gulf. Polling reveals Obama to be the favored Democrat among Republicans. McCain’s bipartisan appeal has receded in recent years, especially with his enthusiastic embrace of the latest phase of the Iraq War. And his personal history can only reinforce the Vietnam divide. But Obama’s reach outside his own ranks remains striking. Why? It’s a good question: How has a black, urban liberal gained far stronger support among Republicans than the made-over moderate Clinton or the southern charmer Edwards? Perhaps because the Republicans and independents who are open to an Obama candidacy see his primary advantage in prosecuting the war on Islamist terrorism. It isn’t about his policies as such; it is about his person. They are prepared to set their own ideological preferences to one side in favor of what Obama offers America in a critical moment in our dealings with the rest of the world. The war today matters enormously. The war of the last generation? Not so much. If you are an American who yearns to finally get beyond the symbolic battles of the Boomer generation and face today’s actual problems, Obama may be your man.

I BEG YOU TO READ THE WHOLE THING.

Thank you Iowa...

2008-01-04T19:56:00.000-05:00

...Because it's time to have a general election that isn't simply "the lesser of two evils."

...Because the younger generation is finally ready to take a stand.

...Because being able to inspire people to action is important.

...Because it's time to move the country away from the 60s.

...Because we need a leader who hasn't fucked up virtually every big decision he/she has made.

...Because the Oval Office should be about the best and the brightest.

...Because it's time for a leader who wants to communicate with both our allies and our enemies in a world that isn't black and white or red and blue, but filled with shades of gray.

...Because there's a million other reasons, I say thank you to Iowa.

Now, New Hampshire, DON'T FUCK IT UP.

The Christmas Post

2007-12-21T20:13:00.001-05:00

I'm really looking forward to this four-day weekend. It's been a long time since I've had even two straight days with Lisa and Josh and after missing all of the Thanksgiving because of work, it'll be nice to spend some serious time with the family this week.

Here are a few Christmas-themed things to get us in the spirit:

Top 10 Christmas Songs
1. O, Holy Night - The Whiffenpoofs
2. The Christmas Song - Hootie and the Blowfish (slightly ahead of Nat King Cole)
3. Happy XMas (War is Over) - John Lennon (No other versions allowed)
4. Carol of the Bells - John Williams (Version from Home Alone)
5. Run Rudolph Run - Chuck Berry (someone should use this in a Guiliani-running-for-Pres. montage)
6. Wonderful Christmastime - Paul McCartney
7. Little Saint Nick - The Beach Boys
8. Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree - Brenda Lee
9. White Christmas - Bing Crosby
T10. Jingle Bell Rock - Bobby Helms
T10. Santa Claus is Coming to Town - Bruce Springsteen

If you are headed to the movies, here are a few of Roger Eberts links for some of the big stuff out there right now:

Charlie Wilson's War
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
National Treasure: Book of Secrets

And here is his top 10 list for the year, and some other stuff.

Top 10 Christmas Movies
For fun, I've linked their Movie-Mistakes.com page. Always a good time.
1. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
2. It's a Wonderful Life
3. Die Hard
4. A Christmas Story
5. A Charlie Brown Christmas
6. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Both)
7. Elf
8. The Santa Clause
9. Family Man
10. Home Alone

Honorable mentions: Santa Claus: The Movie (great opening, everything in present day is horrid); Scrooged; Polar Express; Love, Actually; The Family Stone.

Best Christmas Episode Ever: West Wing's "Holy Night"

And finally, something to look forward to in the New Year.

Ellsbury for Santana?

2007-12-03T20:25:00.000-05:00

Should the Red Sox trade Jacoby Ellsbury for Johan Santana?

When the idea first came out that the Sox might be working on a deal with the Twins for the best (second?) pitcher in the world, my initial reaction was "Any of the kid pitchers, but don't trade Ellsbury."

Now it may come down to that, as all media outlets are reporting that the Sox have put Jacoby on the table. I wanted to see what the SOSHers thought of the whole thing. Here is the message board thread if you are interested.

I'm slowly talking myself into this, but I'm still not thrilled.

75 Christmas Songs

2007-11-30T18:20:00.000-05:00

Over the past couple of years, I've been working on putting together a serious Christmas music collection. This year, with the help of Chris Whitten, I think I've got a pretty good top 75 that I broke into three CDs for Lisa, Josh and I to listen to.

Warning, we skew young (because of Josh) so there are some little guy songs and we skew classic, so there are a lot of older songs. If you have any that you love that aren't on the list, feel free to share in the comments section.

For the record, my favorite of all-time (I'll probably do a top 10 at some point this X-Mas season) is the Whiffenpoofs version of O Holy Night, which was used in one of my favorite West Wing episodes and one of my favorite Christmas episodes of any TV show ever.

Here we go (they are in no particular order):

1. You're A Mean One Mr. Grinch - Jim Carrey
2. All I Want For Christmas Is You - Mariah Carey
3. Boogie Woogie Santa Claus - The Brian Setzer Orchestra
4. The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late) - The Chipmunks
5. Christmas Vacation - Mavis Staples
6. Dominick The Donkey - Lou Monte
7. Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer - Elmo & Patsy
8. Here Comes Santa Claus - Gene Autry
9. Holly Jolly Christmas - Burl Ives
10. Jingle Bells - The Brian Setzer Orchestra
11. Little Saint Nick - The Beach Boys
10. Nuttin' For Christmas - Barry Gordon
11. Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree - Brenda Lee
12. Run Rudolph Run - Chuck Berry
13. Sleigh Ride - London Voices
14. Something Stuck Up In The Chimney - Bob Rivers
15. We Wish You A Merry Christmas - John Williams
16. Wonderful Christmastime - Paul McCartney
17. All Alone On Christmas - Darlene Love
18. A Christmas Long Ago (Jingle Jingle)
19. Deck the Halls - Trans Siberian
20. Feliz Navidad - Jaci Velasquez
21. Happy Holidays - Bing Crosby
22. It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year - Andy Williams
23. Up On The Housetop - Gene Autry
24. Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas - John Williams
25. Baby, It's Cold Outside - Dean Martin
26. Blue Christmas - Elvis Presley
27. The Christmas Song - Nat King Cole
28. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) - Mariah Carey
29. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - Frank Sinatra
30. I'll Be Home For Christmas - Fats Domino
31. I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm - Dean Martin
32. Santa Baby - Eartha Kitt
33. Silent Night - Boyz II Men
34. Somewhere In My Memory - John Williams
35. O Holy Night - Jewel
36. You're My Christmas Present - Jimmy Beaumont & The Skyliners
37. Auld Lang Syne - Frank Sinatra & Dean Martin
38. Christmas Collage - Kathy Mattea
39. Hark, The Herald Angels Sing - Nat King Cole
40. Little Drummer Boy - Tori Amos
41. White Christmas - Bing Crosby
42. Winter Wonderland - Tony Bennett
43. Carol Of The Bells - Vocal Majority
44. Home for the Holidays - Perry Como
45. O Come All Ye Faithful - Bing Crosby
46. Where Are You Christmas? - Faith Hill
47. Silver Bells - Dean Martin
48. Medley: Here We Come A-Caroling/O Tannenbaum/I Saw Three Ships - Arthur Fiedler
49. Carol Of The Bells - John Williams
50. O Holy Night - Whiffenpoofs
51. The Christmas Song - Hootie & The Blowfish
52. Do You Hear What I Hear? - Bing Crosby
53. Happy Christmas - John & Yoko
54. Jingle Bell Rock - Bobby Helms
55. Little Drummer Boy/Peace On Earth - Bing Crosby & David Bowie
56. My Christmas Tree - The Fox Albert Choir
57. Silent Night - Nelson Eddy
58. Sleigh Ride - Johnny Mathis
59. Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer - Gene Autry
60. Happy Holidays - Bing Crosby
61. The First Noel - Pat Boone
62. 'Twas The Night Before Christmas (Spoken Word Recording) - Don Williams
63. Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town - Bruce Springsteen
64. 12 Pains of Christmas - Bob Rivers
65. Deck The Halls - Bing Crosby
66. Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy - Don Jackson conducting The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
67. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas - Judy Garland
68. It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas - Perry Como & The Fontane Sisters
69. Away In A Manger - Bing Crosby
70. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen - London Voices
71. Jingle Bells - Perry Como
72. Joy To The World / Angels We Have Heard On High - Robert Shaw Chorale
73. O Little Town of Bethlehem / Silent Night - Buddy Clark
74. I'll Be Home For Christmas (If Only In My Dreams) - Frank Sinatra
75. Let It Snow! - Dean Martin

Gangsta Wiggles/Doodlebops

2007-11-29T21:31:00.001-05:00

As someone who watches the real version of these songs daily, I got a kick out of the YouTube videos synced up with Gangsta Rap music. Pretty funny.

Gangsta Wiggles

Gangsta Wiggles 2

Gangsta Doodlepops

Snoogers

2007-11-04T23:02:00.000-05:00

I got home after work Friday night (1:45-ish) to learn that Josh was dealing with his first real cold. Needless to say, the little guy and his parents (especially his mom) had a tough weekend, as his nose wouldn't stop running, his fever came and went and he had a ton of trouble sleeping. Josh is a tremendous one year old. He almost always sleeps through the night. He goes to bed without a fight and he's always got a smile on his face. So it was pretty tough to see him completely inconsolable times.

I'm sitting here at work waiting for the Sunday night football game to end hoping that both he and Lisa are catching up on some much-needed and well-deserved sleep.

Here are five things from this weekend.
1) I thought the Pats played like crap and am pretty shocked that they won. The Colts out-hit them, out executed them and, for much of the game, plain outplayed them. Joseph Addai is really friggin' good.
2) Let's not go too crazy over the Pats winning that game. There are two things that matter from it. First, New England likely will have home field through the postseason, which is key for the AFC title game. Second, we have to hear at least two more weeks of "perfect season talk" which will be incredibly annoying.
3) I've said since the start of the year that Boston College is probably the 20th best college football team in the country (if that). I continue to feel that way.
4) UMass football lost a slopper to URI 12-6 in OT Saturday. The Minutemen scored six points on three safeties. What more can you say?
5) Tournament play started late last week and we've got a bunch of games to cover this week. Plus, I've got jury duty on Wednesday. Oh, joy.

So, how was your weekend?

2007-10-29T18:56:00.000-05:00

10 things
1. I said it elsewhere during the ALCS, but I wouldn't trade Terry Francona for any manager in baseball right now. The guy has the perfect mentality for Boston, is a good in-game coach and deals with all of these personalities and expectations perfectly well. Yes, there are some moments that you can question (what the hell was Javier Lopez doing pitching there in Game 4?), but you can do that with any pro coach. At this point, I hope he gets the credit he deserves and the overall benefit of the doubt from the fans. We're lucky to have him.

2. What are the big memorable moments you'll take from this playoff run? In 2004, it was the history of it all and the shock that it was actually happening above anything else and sharing it with your friends/family. Second was Ortiz's amazing performance in the ALCS. Right now, there are three things that stick out from this year: 1. Beckett's complete dominance. 2. Jon Lester's storybook ending. 3. JD Drew's grand slam.

3. It's amazing what good shape this team is in. They are so young. Ellsbury, Pedroia, Papelbon, Beckett, Dice-K, Lester, Buchholz, Delcarmen are all considered "pre-prime." Plus they still have a bunch of minor league depth and a couple of guys named Ramirez, Ortiz and (hopefully) Lowell and Schilling. Simmons has more on this.

4. A-Rod/Scott Boras' announcement during Game 4 was the ultimate Bush League move. Gammons calls him out.

5. I'm completely convinced that Jon Lester would be a top No. 2 pitcher in the NL right now. It's easy to see why Beckett took a year to understand that fastballs alone don't work in the AL. Yes, the Cardinals got lucky with a matchup of young Detroit arms that fell apart (look at the Indians this year) and threw the ball away, but as I've said since the start of last year, the NL really sucks.

6. That being said, I still can't decide what I think would have happened if the Indians beat the Sox and played the Rox in the World Series. With Sabathia and Carmona gassed, wouldn't Cleveland be a whole lot like the Tigers last year? I honestly think the Rockies would have won it.

7. I've said it all along. Beckett's just from 2006 to 2007 = Dice-K's jump from 2007 to 2008.

8. Mike Timlin's words to Tim Wakefield on NESN were so touching, it got a little dusty in the newsroom. Can't find it on YouTube anywhere, but it was excellent.

9. You can find a link to virtually every story from the Boston media HERE.

10. So, how's the local football team doing?

They won it in Josh's lifetime!

2007-10-28T23:48:00.000-05:00

Millions of 1-and 2-year-old Sox fans rejoice!

I'll be back Monday for a bunch of thoughts, links and pics.

10 Thoughts

2007-10-23T19:29:00.000-05:00

Before I get started, Matt Vautour was in Boston today and will have a fun little story on being at Fenway one day before the World Series in Wednesday's paper. Not sure if it'll be for subscribers only, so here is a nugget:

*Within 10 minutes around 3:45 p.m. at Twins Souvenirs across the street from Fenway Park, I watched two separate people purchase J.D. Drew jerseys.Not the $25 T-shirts, but the $150 game model, gray with red lettering J.D. Drew jerseys.A few good days in October overcomes an awful lot of bad ones from April to September.

Catching up on everything I've missed with a list:

1. Yes, I did post something not long ago. If you saw it, you'll recall that it was posted just after Game 4 of the ALCS. As you can imagine, I'm in a much better mood now.

2. I'm amazed at how much different this whole experience is after 2004. Sure, I was pissed after Game 4 and I've watched every game with that gnawing feeling in my stomach, but the smallest edge has been taken off and it's makes a world of difference.

3. JD Drew earned at least $11 million of his $14 million dollars this year on one swing. Honestly what was that grand slam worth? If he ends the inning there, who knows how Game 5 turns out?

4. Manny Ramirez is officially allowed to take three or four weeks off each September.

5. We didn't name our son after Josh Beckett, but we might someday say we did.

6. You have to love Boston, where something as idiotic as Papelbon's dance can become the latest craze.

7. Passed along by a friend. Something they heard at work the morning after Game 7:
"It doesn't seem fair to me that they take them out of the game right after they did badly." God bless the Pink Hats.

8. Holy crap, Sunday could be an absolutely amazing Boston sports day. The Pats going for 8-0, halfway to a perfect regular season and Game 4 of the World Series. Of course, I was knocking on wood as I wrote that.

9. Speaking of the Pats, Greg Easterbrook, who writes the Tuesday Morning QB column for ESPN and has been going after Bill Belichick ruthlessly since CameraGate, wrote a column on next week's Colts-Pats game being about good vs. evil. Here's a little something on "good" coach Tony Dungy from USA Today a while back:

The Super Bowl-winning coach "embraced" the stance of an Indiana organization supporting an amendment to the state constitution that would ban gay marriages, and he added Tuesday night at a gathering of the Indiana Family Institute that he's "on the Lord's side."
"We're not trying to downgrade anyone else," said Dungy, coach of the Super Bowl champion Indianapolis Colts. "But we're trying to promote the family — family values the Lord's way," Dungy said. "IFI is saying what the Lord says. You can take that and make your decision on which way you want to be."

God bless equality, which is clearly evil-based. Oh, and TMQB, GFY.

10. Bill Simmons has good stuff for huge Red Sox homers in Tuesday's column.

Bonus: I still think Dice-K will prove worth the money in the end. The mental toughness he showed in Game 7, to bounce back from his dreadful previous performance, was impressive. He needs some tweaking in the offseason, but he's going to be a good one.

I'll be back later this week with some Josh stuff.

Ouch

2007-09-30T21:05:00.000-05:00

David Letterman was at his best Friday night in an interview with Paris Hilton. Definitely worth a watch as she clearly was dying to get out of there and the crowd was in hysterics.

OK, that's a little much

2007-09-28T16:35:00.000-05:00

So, I was watching some of the Today Show earlier, um, today, and former all-pro running back turned all-pro whiner/all-mediocre "journalist" was doing a story on how to react when your kids sports heroes get into trouble.

I was interested in whether Barber would have anything new to say on the topic, since he was a star player so recently, and left the channel on. As he's opening his piece, they show pictures of athletes who went from hero to goat because of a major indiscretion -- Mike Tyson, Pacman Jones, Michael Vick, Pete Rose, Bill Belichick, Andr.... WAIT, BILL BELICHICK?! ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS?

Look, I've made it perfectly clear on here that I'm pissed about what Belichick did and I'm still pissed about it. At the same time, there have been some interesting that have come out about the situation: Ravens coach Brian Billick accused Eric Mangini of cheating, the NFL dropped all additional charges on the Pats and no one has been able to explain exactly what advantage this would give a team other than maybe knowing when a coordinator is slow to send his subs in (which is what Peter King wrote recently).

Also, here's what Jimmy Johnson (who also admitted that he tried it, but didn't think it helped him at all) said on the NFL Pregame show the week after Cameragate happened: "Bill Belichick was wrong because he videotaped signals after a memo was sent out to all of the teams saying not to do it. But what irritates me is hearing some reactions from players and coaches. These players don't know what their coaches are doing. And some of the coaches have selective amnesia because I know for a fact there were various teams doing this. That's why the memo was sent to everybody. That doesn't make him right, but a lot of teams are doing this."

OK. So this is the same thing as being convicted of rape? Of betting on/against your team? Of organizing dog-fighting for gambling purposes/murdering animals?

For a second I had to make sure I wasn't watching Sesame Street's "One of these things is not like the other" game.

READ THIS

2007-09-25T20:56:00.000-05:00

SL Price had a feature this week in Sports Illustrated on Mike Coolbaugh, the minor league first base coach who was killed by a foul ball earlier this year.

It's long and you've probably never heard of Coolbaugh unless it was because of his death.

I don't care. It's an amazing piece of reporting and writing. READ IT NOW.