The season is over. That makes me sad.
The Rangers and their fans are undoubtedly bummed out today. I feel bad for them. But the Cardinals making comeback after comeback, going two months back, is a great story. I feel good for them and their fans.
It's another 15 weeks or so before pitchers and catchers report for 2012 spring training. The wait will be excruciating.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
The Pit And The Pendulum
So I'm up way too late last night, doing a little channel surfing to put off going to bed, when I stumble across a Turner Classic Movies running of 1961's The Pit and the Pendulum, directed by Roger Corman and starring Vincent Price. (It's Halloween week -- every cable channel is airing whatever scary stuff they can find.) I remembered seeing this movie as a child, and I remember it scaring the bejeezus out of me. So I settled in, anticipating some nice late night shivers.
What a disappointment. Everybody in the cast not named Price was slow, wooden, dull, and boring, which matched the pacing of the movie. It only runs 80 minutes to begin with, but it felt like they could have cut it down to 40 easily and not left anything out.
Some reviews (posted to the film's IMDb page) praised how it set a disquieting, disturbing mood, but the only thing that kept me watching was the payoff at the end, when Vincent Price finally gets his brother-in-law beneath the titular Pendulum. But even that was a disappointment compared to what I remember. I'm no gore hound, but I guess I've still been desensitized by the CSIs, and Bones of the world. I wanted a little sliced flesh, not a slit shirt and smidge of red. What a comedown.
So in what other ways have my childhood memories turned out to be completely off? Do I want to know?
What a disappointment. Everybody in the cast not named Price was slow, wooden, dull, and boring, which matched the pacing of the movie. It only runs 80 minutes to begin with, but it felt like they could have cut it down to 40 easily and not left anything out.
Some reviews (posted to the film's IMDb page) praised how it set a disquieting, disturbing mood, but the only thing that kept me watching was the payoff at the end, when Vincent Price finally gets his brother-in-law beneath the titular Pendulum. But even that was a disappointment compared to what I remember. I'm no gore hound, but I guess I've still been desensitized by the CSIs, and Bones of the world. I wanted a little sliced flesh, not a slit shirt and smidge of red. What a comedown.
So in what other ways have my childhood memories turned out to be completely off? Do I want to know?
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
More Love for October
Last night a cool front blew through, giving us the perfect Texas fall day: Brilliant blue sky, bright sunshine, dry air in the 70s, and a breeze that rustled the trees. This is the day the Chamber of Commerce should bottle for when businesses with an eye for moving to Texas come calling.
And the Rangers are in the World Series, though I'm starting to get a nagging feeling that the Cardinals are this year's Team of Destiny(TM), a team that's not as good on paper, but gets hot at the right time, gets some clutch performances from middlin'-to-average players, and pulls it out. (See Giants, 2010 and Cardinals, 2006.) But Texas has been fairly hot, too. I will root for the home state team, but do it very nervously.
And I should mention the fun time I had weekend before last, getting together with my old friend Matt Forbeck, who was in town for the Game Developer's Conference Online. Matt organized via Twitter a party at the Cedar Door, a fine downtown dining and drinking establishment, and we got caught up on all sorts of stuff both family and professional. Also got to talk to Allen Varney, Jesse Scoble, and a few more first-name-only folks. And I discovered the Cedar Door's signature libation, the delicious, potent, and expensive Mexican Martini, sort of a margarita on steroids. Yum.
And the Rangers are in the World Series, though I'm starting to get a nagging feeling that the Cardinals are this year's Team of Destiny(TM), a team that's not as good on paper, but gets hot at the right time, gets some clutch performances from middlin'-to-average players, and pulls it out. (See Giants, 2010 and Cardinals, 2006.) But Texas has been fairly hot, too. I will root for the home state team, but do it very nervously.
And I should mention the fun time I had weekend before last, getting together with my old friend Matt Forbeck, who was in town for the Game Developer's Conference Online. Matt organized via Twitter a party at the Cedar Door, a fine downtown dining and drinking establishment, and we got caught up on all sorts of stuff both family and professional. Also got to talk to Allen Varney, Jesse Scoble, and a few more first-name-only folks. And I discovered the Cedar Door's signature libation, the delicious, potent, and expensive Mexican Martini, sort of a margarita on steroids. Yum.
Friday, October 14, 2011
I (Heart) October
October is my favorite month. The weather in Texas is pretty much as good as it's going to get, with cool dry air and a lot of sunshine. It's the month that gave us Halloween, the kickoff of the holiday season in America. I know, a lot of stores had their Santa stuff up back in August, but I refuse to get involved before Halloween.
And of course, there's the baseball postseason. There have been a ton of exciting games, dramatic finishes, clutch performances, and two weeks or so more to go. I'm not very good at picking winners, so I won't bother with predictions. But I am rooting for the Rangers and Brewers to advance to the World Series.
And it would be an even better month if I were a football fan, but I'm not, not really. I mean, I know who the good teams are, and when they do the scores and highlights on ESPN I notice, but I don't really watch the games themselves.
Enjoy your October!
And of course, there's the baseball postseason. There have been a ton of exciting games, dramatic finishes, clutch performances, and two weeks or so more to go. I'm not very good at picking winners, so I won't bother with predictions. But I am rooting for the Rangers and Brewers to advance to the World Series.
And it would be an even better month if I were a football fan, but I'm not, not really. I mean, I know who the good teams are, and when they do the scores and highlights on ESPN I notice, but I don't really watch the games themselves.
Enjoy your October!
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Too Much TV
We love our DVR. It's become the most-used appliance in our house. But like many "indispensable" conveniences, it has exacted a toll.
Used to be, when there were two shows on at the same time, we would have to make a hard decision about which one to watch, and we had to make that hard decision right then. Now with the DVR, we can just tape one for later. Easy peasy.
Until you start doing it with a couple of time slots a night. Which is OK, until the DVR reaches its capacity. Then you have to make even harder decisions. You're not just not watching one particular show, you're actively deleting -- murdering -- shows that you were fond of. I mean, you made a conscious decision to save that show, so now you have an emotional investment in it. It's kind of like a digital version of Hoarders, except the pile of 15-year-old magazines is an 8-month-old episode of Burn Notice.
The DVR has also enabled us to watch too much TV. The number of shows we are currently recording is staggering, so much so that I won't embarrass myself with a list. (I went through it in my head, and broke 30 without much effort). And we don't subscribe to any of the premium cable channels, or it would be a whole lot worse. Fortunately, a lot of the shows don't run year-round, so there's some stagger. But it's still completely unmanageable.
Used to be, when there were two shows on at the same time, we would have to make a hard decision about which one to watch, and we had to make that hard decision right then. Now with the DVR, we can just tape one for later. Easy peasy.
Until you start doing it with a couple of time slots a night. Which is OK, until the DVR reaches its capacity. Then you have to make even harder decisions. You're not just not watching one particular show, you're actively deleting -- murdering -- shows that you were fond of. I mean, you made a conscious decision to save that show, so now you have an emotional investment in it. It's kind of like a digital version of Hoarders, except the pile of 15-year-old magazines is an 8-month-old episode of Burn Notice.
The DVR has also enabled us to watch too much TV. The number of shows we are currently recording is staggering, so much so that I won't embarrass myself with a list. (I went through it in my head, and broke 30 without much effort). And we don't subscribe to any of the premium cable channels, or it would be a whole lot worse. Fortunately, a lot of the shows don't run year-round, so there's some stagger. But it's still completely unmanageable.
Friday, October 7, 2011
A New Home
Hello. After years of blogging on LiveJournal, I have decided to switch over to Blogspot. More people, better platform, LiveJournal is on its last legs, etc., etc.
I don't think the platform will make any difference. This blog will still be mostly about me. There will be a pinch of media recommendations (games, music, movies, TV), some mild discourses about politics and/or religion, and occasionally some commentary and predictions about baseball that should demonstrate that while I love the sport, I'm not very good at picking winners.
Lots of other stuff should come up, too. My original LiveJournal blog was mostly therapeutic in nature, getting some feelings out and trying to figure myself out. When I was a kid, I assumed adults had life completely figured out and that I would have it completely figured out, too. I still remember the huge shock it was when I discovered that there was nothing magical about hitting 18, or 21, or 25. Some adults were still undependable, dishonest, and just plain wrong. Later, I revised "some" up to "most." And now that I've soldiered on to the ripe late-middle-age of 53, I realize that "most" includes me a lot of the time.
That's it for now. More to come.
I don't think the platform will make any difference. This blog will still be mostly about me. There will be a pinch of media recommendations (games, music, movies, TV), some mild discourses about politics and/or religion, and occasionally some commentary and predictions about baseball that should demonstrate that while I love the sport, I'm not very good at picking winners.
Lots of other stuff should come up, too. My original LiveJournal blog was mostly therapeutic in nature, getting some feelings out and trying to figure myself out. When I was a kid, I assumed adults had life completely figured out and that I would have it completely figured out, too. I still remember the huge shock it was when I discovered that there was nothing magical about hitting 18, or 21, or 25. Some adults were still undependable, dishonest, and just plain wrong. Later, I revised "some" up to "most." And now that I've soldiered on to the ripe late-middle-age of 53, I realize that "most" includes me a lot of the time.
That's it for now. More to come.
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