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Tuesday, July 23, 2013

The MLBPA is a Joke

Controversial but entirely correct post of the day: The MLBPA is a joke. They wouldn't let Arod join the Red Sox in 2004 because he was willing to take a pay cut - *that* was unacceptable and stirred the union to action. But defend the collective and constitutional rights of the players? Step in and stop MLB from leaking confidential info with impunity? Stop MLB from "enforcing" bans that are not of the stated duration and seem to enacted in reaction to rules that change by the day? Nawwww, they'll let that slide.

Monday, July 22, 2013

Movie Reviews



In the Dark is a  pretty tame thriller about a woman  [Elizabeth Rohm] who becomes the target of the man originally hired to aid her after she is blinded in a car accident. It isn't awful, and Rohm is gorgeous,


 but no one’s going to win any Oscars/Golden Globes/Good Effort Medals for this one.  It also looks to be filmed digitally, which to me always makes the film seem . . . off.




Ooga Booga is awful – quite possibly the worst movie I’ve ever seen. There’s a drunk clown named Hambo that wears a pig nose and fondles himself. There’s a n African-American medical student who is, inexplicably, his greatest fan.  Said student  is killed by a racist cop named – wait for it – White, and his soul is deposited into a two foot high caricature of an African warrior Hambo created, complete with doobie dangling from his mouth. Every white person spotted after the initial ten minutes is a bigot and then killed by Ooga Booga, except for one cop spared only because he has a black spouse.

It is an awful movie, and aside from that virulently racist against Caucasians. If you reverse the color of the characters, this would be decried as Klan propaganda. So why is it ok as is?




The Last Ride is a movie about Hank Williams Sr, played by ET’s Henry Thomas, who in the last days of his life travels across the South on his way to a concert he’ll never get to play. It’s a quiet but entertaining film, somewhat spoiled by the notion that no one ever seems to pick up on who the passenger is, not even the driver that serves as his sole companion on the ride.


Oblivion, starring Tom Cruise and Morgan Freeman, is a better than average sci-fi flick that  places Cruise in the role of a glorified janitor on an abandoned Earth, repairing drones damaged by alien insurgents.  There’s a big twist in the plot that’s worth waiting for, but even before that I was drawn into the world and its characters. I liked it.



Congratulations! A new prince is born!

It's a BOY! Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, has given birth :)

Dennis Farina

Actor Dennis Farina, age 69, has died from a pulmonary embolism. Often typecast as a hardnosed cop or a gangster, his face and voice were unmistakable. RIP. 



Sunday, July 21, 2013

Hostess is back!

Hostess, the snack company that went under last year, is back. That's great for the nostalgia lover in me, but Twinkies? Blech. Here's a couple pics of Junie enjoying a Hostess display at a local grocery store. 



Saturday, July 20, 2013

Helen Thomas

Noted - not necessarily good but noted - White House correspondent Helen Thomas has died at 92. RIP



Aw, How Sweet

On the way out of work I was exhausted and droopy eyed, and voiced the hope that I didn't fall asleep on the freeway and run off the road. To which my  co-worker Mike Steinke blandly responded: "Drive fast. Take risks." Well played sir, well played.

update: soon it became a catchphrase on our shift, but morped to "Drive fast. Take chances."


Monday, July 15, 2013

Question

I have two old 3.5" floppy discs. One contains the complete text of a book I wrote at the turn of the century, the other the only extant copy of my 60 page senior thesis. Both discs were in storage until recently. Neither one works when I try them in the computer, although the book disc does show a directory. Ideas?

Sunday, July 14, 2013

On the possibility of a civil trial in the Zimmerman case

Regarding the possibility of Zimmerman facing a civil suit from the Martin family, which (like the OJ trial) I view as a form of double jeopardy, "If Trayvon’s parents pursue civil action against Zimmerman in state court, they will likely encounter a major obstacle, the “immunity” provision of Florida’s Stand Your Ground law that became part of Zimmerman’s self-defense strategy at his criminal trial. The 2005 law, which allows a person to use force to prevent imminent death or harm to himself, can also shield a defendant from liability in a civil wrongful-death case."

Cory Monteith

Cory Monteith, aka "Finn" of Glee, age 31, has died of a drug overdose. I'm in shock.