SONG FOR THE DAY

LOST FINALE

I really loved the LOST series finale.  It was what it was supposed to be.  That show has been an endless cycle of frustration and questions for me.  Most of the questions I had were never really answered.  That's okay with me though.  It would have somehow cheapened the whole thing if they'd kind of went around and addressed all the confusion. The show was weird and touching and frustrating, but it really made me think.  It's one of those shows that I'd be thinking about the next day, not really even thinking about it, but rather, it was just on my mind for a day or so after most of the episodes.  I miss all of them already.  They were a part of my week, every week, in and out, during every season.  It almost feels like when a good friend tells you they're taking the job on the west coast.  You know you'll see them again eventually, but you know things will never really be the same between the two of you.  LOST had gotten us used to the idea that we'd lose friends along the way.  That pretty blonde girl that Sayid was in love with died, her brother, Hugo's girlfriend died, Charlie died, Jack's dad died, Juliette died, hell even that dude that "ran" the island died.  And I guess in the end that's what the show was about.  Death.  How very fun and entertaining for us all.  Death, and suffering.  What have we become as a society?  I guess death and suffering are some of the more common literary themes that have ever existed.  

So, what do we take away from this series?  That is a good question.  I really loved all the characters, good and bad.  I loved how it pissed me off every week.  I loved how me and my friends would talk about it the next day.  I loved all the theories about who they were, what the island was, why they were there.  Hugely entertaining for me.  And I realized that the actors on that show were very good actors.  Jack, Charlie, Desmond, Locke, Ben...they are all terrific thesps.  I hope they all go on to have greater careers.  They were all very interesting.  My take away is that when you get a group of actors casted perfectly, and have great writing, something happens magically.  And when that magic happens, you just enjoy it, ride it, and try not to kill it.  We all knew the end of the show was coming for like four years.  I didn't miss a show since they announced it would come to an end.  Fabulous show. Fabulous ride.  I guess after watching LOST for years, now I'm the one that's LOST...

24 FINALE

Since I haven't watched the finale of LOST yet, I can't speak to it yet.  But tonight I did watch the 24 series finale and I have to admit, I'm really gonna miss that damn show.  Jack Bauer was one of the coolest, toughest, iconic TV characters ever in the history of TV.  Sometimes we'd go "oh yeah, right", but we'd just tune in next week to see how Jack survived whatever was thrown at him.  And yes, there was a more than average amount of predictability in the finale, but who cares.  I enjoyed it.  And when the last few minutes were happening in the final act, I started to dread that it was over.  I really felt the show ending.  And they did the final 5 minutes so well...perfect images, perfect music,  perfect tone, perfect acting.  It was tough not to be more than a little sad about the whole thing ending.  But I guess I should just be thankful that the very success of the show was what allowed it to end it's run on it's own terms.  It could've gone down like when Laverne and Shirley moved to California, then so did Lenny and Squiggy and the Big Ragu, Carmine Ragusa too...

So, in the end, I'm very happy with the entertainment I've received from 24 and I'm thankful that the network allowed the writers to go where they wanted with the scripts and the messages therein.  That show made me think alot and it entertained the hell out of me.  I'm gonna miss ya 24.  Cheers. 

I TRY NOT TO THINK ABOUT IT...BUT JUST FOR A FEW MINUTES HERE TONIGHT...

When my brother died in a house fire, about 15 years ago, there was lot's of speculation about how it happened.  The coroner told my Pop and me and my mom how Jim died close to the door, struggling to get out.  He wasn't burned, he was just trying to get out.  He died of smoke inhalation.  He was 28 or 29 at the time I guess.  Poor bastard.  He led a troubled life.  No, it wasn't troubled, it was awful.  He was hopelessly lost from birth.  The medical file from when he was born (he was adopted like me) said he didn't have enough oxygen to his brain when he was born and he'd forever be plagued by a learning disability.  Forever plagued he was.  Maybe not forever, but for his lifetime, yes, it was plagued.  He was always the kid in trouble.  He was always the kid that did the wrong thing.  He was always the one that took the hard way.  He always made the wrong decisions.  But that doesn't mean he was stupid.  Stupid he was not.  He knew more about how things worked than anyone I've ever met.  He was one of those guys that just "got it" when it came to mechanical things.  If he didn't understand it by just looking at it, he asked questions until he did.  He asked a million questions.  He had to find out how things worked.  I sometimes wonder what he'd be doing now in the digital age.  I know he'd google everything like me.  I know he'd use the internet to do bad stuff.  But the guys who do the wrong things with the internet ultimately know how it all works.  He definitely was a black hat kind of guy.  

So when he died it was shocking, as young deaths always are.  But surprising it wasn't.  But this isn't really a post about how I felt and what I went through.  I'll never get over that one.  No matter how awful my relationship was with my big brother, I'll never get over the loss of him.  In many ways he was like my little brother.  

Now then...

Tonight on "the News" at 11:00, the lead was about a local man who was killed in Iraq, and how the locals were dealing with it.  They had a quote from the deceased father and on and on.  Peace be to their family for sure.  I hate stories like that.  But it reminded me of when my brother died, (i don't say "passed" like to make it sound less emphatic, the dude died, he didn't pass).  Jim died sometime in the night, late as I remember, like after midnight, before dawn.  I don't really remember.  I only remember that it was on Saint Patrick's day and that the coroner showed up at our house before I was awake.  Let me rephrase that.  I had closed the bar (working not drinking) the night before, and my mom woke me up in my bed screaming and crying.  Might've been 11:00am or 7:30, I don't really remember.  But soon thereafter, the coroner and a cop showed up to tell us the details and to schedule a time for my folks to come and view the body...a formality to identify the body.  

Anyways, It was that night, after a million phone calls from friends, neighbors, work associates, and people we hadn't heard from in years had called.  The 11:00 news came on, and Jim was the third or fourth story.  I was watching because back then I usually watched it when I was home.  They read the story and mispronounced our last name (of course), then mentioned that when contacted, my Dad had no comment.  What a shitty night.  And it was St. Pat's and I should've been at the bar making my biggest tips of the year.  And, believe it or not, I was going in to work, but my boss talked me out of it. 

There's no real resolve to this post tonight.  I was just reminded of the day when I heard about the local young man dying and it was the lead story.  I'm so sorry for his parents.  I've watched parents grieve.  I can't imagine it.

Hug your kids.... 

CELEBRITY APPRENTICE

Okay, I know that so called reality shows are not exactly about reality.  And I've had my times with many of these shows.  Usually I'm "all in" for a season or two or maybe every other season for a few years.  I've loved The Real World and Survivor and whatever that Ozzy Ozbourne show was called.  I really liked The Mole but didn't really enjoy The Celebrity Mole so much.  I've like some seasons of The Apprentice with Donald Trump but I have LOVED each season of Celebrity Apprentice.  I don't know what it is.  That show makes me smile and giggle.  Trump is so damned over the top at times, but seeing celebrities in these situations, using their famous contacts and doing a lot of marketing just makes me smile.  This season, with Brett Michaels and Cindy Lauper there, it's a total hoot.  And if Brett doesn't win the whole thing, well, then Mr. Trump is as stupid as he looks.  I mean, yes, Brett Michaels was the lead singer of Poison, who was a big part of my teenage years.  But he's been mostly irrelevent for a decade if not more.  But he has remained true to music (his music sucks btw) and to himself.  And he's really skilled at this job on the apprentice.  Anyhoo, if you haven't checked it out yet, give it a look-see and let me know what you think.  Sunday nights at 9 on NBC. 

IS TODAY TOMORROW?

Sarah asks me this all the time.  "Is today tomorrow?"  I'm not sure what she means.  I always say "yes" though because today is tomorrow.  If it's not, you're dead, and there is no tomorrow.  And today will always be yesterday, though it will always be yesterday even if you die tomorrow.  Follow?  Okay, so if today is tomorrow and today is always yesterday, then is tomorrow the day before yesterday?  And if tomorrow never comes, will it ever be day after tomorrow?  Just kiddin. Of course tomorrow always comes.  It has to.  Even if the Earth exploded, tomorrow would continue to happen, day in, day out.  Yesterdays will always happen too.  That's what I think is so cool about "time" in general:  it always happens.  You can't stop time.  You can't manipulate it, you can't change it.  It has no variables...it is what it is.  And like I said if the Earth blew up and the sun collided with the moon, and if the only thing left of our galaxy was space dust, tomorrow will still happen.  And when tomorrow gets here, today will be yesterday.  

Hootie and the Blowfish had a song called Goodbye and the lyrics started like this...

Tomorrow used to be a day away
Now love is gone and you're into someone far away
I never thought the day would come
When I would see his hand not mine
Holding on to yours because I could not find the time
And now I can't deny
Nothing lasts forever
But I don't wanna leave and see the teardrops in your eyes
I don't wanna live to see the day you say goodbye

Ok, so, tomorrow used to be a day away?  that's a constant, tomorrow will never be more or less than a day away.  He never thought the day would come?  Never?  The day always comes, Darius.  Couldn't find the time?  Nothing lasts forever?  Doesn't want to live?  Good God man.  Whoever wrote this song has some serious high school love going on for someone.  Who talks like that?  Seriously.  

Well, The good news is that tomorrow will be here soon.  Today is almost yesterday and yesterday...well, yesterday...all my troubles seemed so far away.  Now it seems a place to hide away, oh i believe in yesterday.  

BACK TO WORK

Well, no news is good news they say.  My news is that I'm back to work, or actually, will be back to work in another week or so.  I've enjoyed my time off, it's been six months.  I wish I would've traveled a little more in my time off, but no worries, no regrets.  I've been saying that I'll be thankful one day that I got to spend so much time with my kids at these good ages, and the truth is, I'm thankful now. 

But a man has to work, no matter the size of his bank account.  And some men (me included) aren't really destined to be stay at home dads.  If it was some dumb job, or a Mc-Job, I wouldn't go back to work right now.  But to be back in the world of advertising, where I spent several very successful years, is a career move, not a  job.  And it's funny how I waded through several ideas, and interviews and jobs and thoughts about going back to school.  And finally, this opportunity just landed in my lap.  Of course, like anything else, this career move will be for me exactly what I put into it.  I'm charged up, I'm excited.  I feel like I could go through a wall sometime soon.  The worm is definitely turning for me.  Life is good.  And for the first time in very long time, I feel hopeful about the future.  I have a job that I find interesting and challenging, I have money in the bank, I have beautiful kids, my house is being fixed up finally.  Now I might just have to go and replace the Honda and my whole life will be updated.  Here's to hope!  Cheers mate!

WELCOME TO NEW LAYOUT

So, yeah, I've changed the look, blogger and google made me an offer I couldn't refuse, and since I'm a moron when it comes to these things, when the opportunity comes, you take it.  It was free and was simple, and I really like the new looks I can get on this blog.  I need to write more, I need to think more.  Mostly, I just need to blog more.  I hope the new look doesn't scare you off.  I promise it WILL change again soon.  Enjoy the day...

SONG FOR THE DAY

ROCK PAPER SCISSORS LIZARD SPOCK

AVATAR ON DVD

Today is Earth Day, so naturally it was the perfect day to release Avatar on DVD. Wait, what? I'm not sure about the symmetry there, but I'm not really trying to flex my brain muscles on that one tonight.

So I bought Avatar today. Avatar was has a special place in my heart. No, it's not the best story ever. Yes, it was somewhat predictable in spots. Yes, it was visually the best movie I've ever seen. No it wasn't as good in 2-D as it was in 3-D but hey, no shit. Yes I loved it both at the theater and on my couch. It was good to see Jake Sully again. His voice mesmerizes me. The tone of the movie captured my senses like not many films do. It didn't make my cry or even feel like I wanted to cry. But it did make me cheer. It did make me root for the hero and boo at the villain. I really enjoyed all three hours of it. I've seen it four times now. The sights, and the music and the editing of this movie, along with the epic landscapes and incredible effects all combined to make my senses tingle with a feeling of complete satisfaction in a movie-going experience.

I've read many who thought that Avatar was over done, over the top, too many effects, not enough character development, not enough original idea. I have to disagree with all of that. My opinion is that Avatar is very close to movie watching nirvana, a sort of bliss. Why wouldn't we want to see the most incredible thing ever put on celluloid? Why wouldn't I want to watch that? I find it incredible to think that most of what we saw in Avatar doesn't exist in the real world, yet it totally looks like it does. I mean, it's flawless. It's not cartoonish. It's not like seeing a science fiction movie where you can tell where the effects are on the screen. It's not like watching Toy Story. It's an amazing accomplishment in story telling and it's an amazingly interesting movie experience.

My all time favorite movie, ever, is Raising Arizona. That movie is as basic and low-tech as it gets. Funny writing, quirky acting, great characters. Me and a friend I used to work with watched it dozens of times after closing the bar late. I used to have a good solid working number of how many times I'd seen that movie. I think the number was somewhere in the 60's. I lost track over the years how many times I've seen it, but let's say I've seen it 70 times, and that's a real number, not a bullshit number...no exaggeration at all. And now that I own Avatar, I can see watching it dozens of times. Yes, it's twice the length of Raising Arizona and no it won't overtake Raising Arizona as my all time favorite movie. But it will be in my top ten movies of all time. And here's the thing...for me, for my movie taste, there is no question that it's a beautiful, poignant piece, which has transformed movie making forever. This is the picture that has turned the corner of movie making,or perhaps it's turned movie making on it's collective ear. Everyone has opinions about the finished piece of art. Opinions are fair. I like opinions and i believe everyone has their right to their opinions. But what I don't like is when I read that someone is calling Avatar "crap" or something negative. First of all it was one man's dream, his vision to make this movie the way it was made. And the second thing is, to help him make his dream a reality, he enlisted fellow dreamers and fellow artists and fellow technicians to make it happen. And when they figured out they couldn't make something happen on film, they invented a way to do it.   THEY INVENTED IT.  It's a collective dream piece mastered by this industries finest and brightest talents. It was a ten year trek that led them all through dreams and nightmares and visions. I'm sure at times their faith in their work was tested and they questioned themselves many times. But what makes it great is that the hundreds and hundreds of people who gave themselves to the creation of this fine film were rewarded with the biggest box office in history, and with the single most ground breaking (technically speaking here)movies ever. Maybe of all time.

In the end, I want Avatar to get the respect that it deserves. It does deserve that. If you were in an art museum and you saw something you didn't care for, you'd still respect the painter and the style and the effort that was a made.

OPEN WINDOW

What is it that fascinates kids about an open car window? I remember being fascinated by them. Yesterday I watched Sarah (4 yr old) as she waved her hand around outside her window as I drove her to school. I watched her for 3 miles as she just watched her own hand and arm flailing about in the wind. Her head practically laid on her own shoulder while she just watched her arm out there, crooked smile on her face. knucklehead smile. I remember doing it too. Dogs do it, kids do it. It's actually very pleasing if it's not too hot outside and if you're not driving too fast. Once I'm going a certain speed, it's windows-up, I get annoyed. I'm driving with the windows down tomorrow.

VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR? NOPE.

On August first of 1981, I was a ten year old boy about 6 weeks from turning eleven. I have no idea what I was doing on that day but I do know something of significance happened then...MTV was launched at 12:01am and the first video they played was "Video Killed the Radio Star" by the Buggles. It's a catchy tune and today it's a legendary video because it marked the first video on the music channel.

MTV was huge part of my life as a pre-teen and all the way through high school and for years beyond that. I remember reading that MTV only employed people under the age of 30 because they wanted the channel to remain the voice of the young and didn't want it represented by "older" people. When I read that, i was younger than 30. I thought that was a very cool idea. But an interesting thing happened over the years. MTV became a mockery of it's once "all music all the time" theory.

You, dear reader, maybe still watch MTV. I don't. In fact, I don't even know what channel it is on Direct TV, and with like a thousand channels, I don't have the time or the inclination to find it. It's not a very interesting channel anyway, they lost touch with their own musical efforts years ago. They became a reality TV show network. I loved The Real World, especially the first year in New York, and I enjoyed many of the subsequent years in New Orleans and San Francisco. But mostly, the music channel of my youth ceased to be a music channel. I guess it's sad, but maybe not so sad. I kind of wish that MTV wouldv'e aged with me. Instead they decided to pander to the reality show (even though reality had very little to do with most of their shows).

MTV lost it's way. It'll never be the same. I know that they play blocks of music here and there, but it's not the same. Music is the minority on MTV now. MTV was on the verge of taking over the music world with some cool programming like the game show REMOTE CONTROL and the aforementioned REAL WORLD as well as shows like Headbanger's Ball and THE WEEK IN ROCK and YO MTV RAPS and the countdown shows. They had lot's of cool "rockumentary's" and had some great awards shows. But now, it's really an irrelevant channel.

In their song "Video Killed the Radio Star" the Buggles said this, "Video killed the radio star, pictures came and broke your heart". These words were true for a time, but maybe they just seemed true. What actually happened is video changed the radio star. Form over substance became big with such bands as Creed and others. And in the end, the video star killed MTV. The irony is that the very medium by which MTV defined itself was the very thing that devoured and cannibalized it's own existence. So video hurt the radio star, but the radio star survived and moved on to places like I-tunes and Amazon. So in the end, it was the music that prevailed, the true art that was the basis for the channel won out. The music found a way to live. And live it does.

They used to have that slogan "I WANT MY MTV"...well I still want my MTV. I just don't want this MTV. I want what MTV was supposed to be and what it was for two decades...music videos and music news. I want to rush home from school again to see the Michael Jackson Thriller world premier. I want to see Kurt Loder read the music news to me on the tens and fourty-fives. I miss Axl Rose and Kurt Cobain. Mostly, I just miss my MTV.

IT'S CALLED COMMITING TO THE SCENE, ASSHOLE

A few weeks ago, I was flipping through the channels and somewhere on HBO or Showtime, I found the movie Swordfish starring John Travolta and Halle Berry. The movie had already started but i tuned in anyway. Not because it's a good movie, because it's really not a very good movie, but because i knew that the scene where Halle Berry displays her nakedness for the world to see was coming up soon. Hey, sue me, I'm a boy...boys like boobs, and Halle Berry is one of the prettiest, sexiest women in the world, with nice boobs (they were naked). So, I enjoyed the boobs scene and watched the rest of the movie. When I was done thinking about Halle Berry and her "friends" I started thinking about John Travolta's career. What a bad streak of movies he's been in for a long time. And it's not the movies themselves, it's what his presence in them does to them. He makes movies worse. That's right. He's become a bad actor, making bad choices. He gets paid ridiculous amounts of money to be in movies that most actors would pass on. He has lost it. But let's not get ahead of ourselves.

I was going to say that he's done 2 good movies since Pulp Fiction: Get Shorty and Broken Arrow. But, I can't really stick to that, because while Broken Arrow was sort of entertaining at times, it was in no means a good movie. So, since Pulp Fiction, he's been in one good movie...Get Shorty. That makes Get Shorty the exception that proves the rule. He gave a good performance in that movie, as did all the other actors on that flick. I really like that movie. But Pulp Fiction came out in 1994. That was 16 years ago. Yes, some of his movies were hits and some weren't. And yes, I feel horrible that he lost his son last year, that's a horrible tragedy and my heart goes out to him. And I'm not mad at him, I just think he's lost his way. And there's not much chance of me plunking down any of my money at a movie theater to see any of his crappy movies. Again though, I'm getting ahead of myself.

If you go back further than Pulp Fiction in 1994, and look at ALL of his movies, you start to realize that John Travolta has made mostly all bad movies. And guess what? He made them all worse. And more over, we realize that John Travolta isn't much of an actor. In fact, I'll contend that he's been good or decent in about 4 movies and hes' been in around 60 of them. Here's his IMDB page, scroll down and look through the list. I'm right aren't I?

Travolta was good in Grease, that was a good movie. And he was good in Welcome Back Kotter, playing the quintessential doofus good looking idiot we know as Vinny Barbarino. He was good in the TV movie Boy in a Plastic Bubble. He was good in Pulp Fiction. But the funny thing is that even in Pulp Fiction he wasn't really that good. He was kind of playing himself...a guy who's looks had passed him by, who's career was on the back nine, who was almost out of luck. The role was written for him by Quentin Tarrantino and it would've been a very bad choice for almost any other actor to play Mr. Vincent Vega. But almost every role he's had since has been pretty bad. Yes, he had those talking baby movies, and yes, he was in Saturday Night Fever, but he was also the sequel Staying Alive which sucked ass. But here's the most important thing about his career, and you really have to pay attention to this...he's made a kajillion dollars playing some sort of riff of himself, and that's been bad. He's had a short or long dance in almost every movie, which is weird. He's had bad hair in almost all of his movies, which is odd. He's smoked in many movies and he's not a smoker. And this goes to the acting part of acting, even if you don't smoke in real life, you have to inhale onscreen. If you're playing a smoker and you don't inhale, you look like a puppet with a cigarette dangling out of your little wooden hand. It's called COMMITTING TO A SCENE. Travolta can't commit to a scene. He uses bad voices, bad hair, bad cadence and cliched movements to make it seem as if he's acting. He's terrible. Most of all of his movies, I can't concentrate on them because I'm always thinking "gee, that Travolta got paid $20 million to do this?" It's always Travolta, not the character. Grease was good. Pulp fiction was "ok" but what else? And don't tell me Urban Cowboy, I thought his accent was terrible and never got over the fact that it was Travolta dressed up as a cowboy. Why? Who likes that movie?

In the end, Travolta's the winner here. He's made a king's ransom to go through the motions as a movie star. But being an actor for him, has never really seemed to be that important to him. He missed his calling as a singer, because he really can sing. But as an actor? I ain't buying it. If you're a smoker, you inhale. It's called committing to the scene, asshole.

Computer Issues

Finally got my computer fixed (again) and now all I have to do is reinstall everything i've ever had on here. I've had lots of thoughts about lots of things. I hope to be writing them all down in this here blog soon. Please stay tuned. And I hope you see everything.

SONG FOR THE DAY

IT NEVER ENDS WELL

I've been thinking about baseball quite a bit lately. It happens this time of year, every year. Spring training begins, and every year I get hopeful that this is the year for my Beloved Reds. There's some good vibes coming from the Reds this year. And yes, this is the time of year when every baseball writer writes a column from spring training mentioning something like "this spring, hope springs eternal" or blah blah blah. But baseball is coming full speed. And opening day is a month or 6 weeks away. So it's on my mind. And there's a train of thought in my head about how old baseball players fade away. I see Barry Larkin on MLB TV every night, and he's very good at the commentating gig he's landed on the network, very polished. I remember about ten years ago, he did some play by play in the post season for FOX or whoever had the post season games. And I thought then that Larkin could be an excellent broadcaster. He is very good and very smooth on air. And I've been thinking about the contract that Carl Lindner gave him when he was about 37 years old. Something like $9 million per year for 3 years I think. That's not a great deal for a club that doesn't have really deep pockets. Uncle Carl gave him the deal, I think, more as a tribute to Barry's long service with the Reds more than anything else. And Uncle Carl probably figured that someone else was going to pay Barry that kind of money anyway, so he did the deal and kept Larkin as a Red for the final years of his excellent career. So what I've been thinking about is how it just never ends well for old baseball players. It doesn't. It never does. It probably can be true in football or basketball, but I know more about baseball, so I'll stick with what I know best for this article.

Larkin was injured quite a bit in his final years on the diamond. Shortstop takes it's toll. It's an extremely demanding position. I'm 39 right now, and I know I couldn't have done any of the things Larkin did at 39, no way. Larkin should get into the Hall Of Fame. He was that good. If he doesn't get in, then the Hall is broken. He has the numbers, the awards, the championship, the authority of his position. But baseball players are human. Humans break down. Humans get brittle. And that's what makes Hall of Fame careers so incredible. HOFers are lucky enough to have side stepped any career threatening injuries. Or in Jr. Griffey's case, they are so dominant in the first ten or 12 years of their careers, they get their HOF credentials in early. And Junior is a good topic right about now. He's my age. He graduated the year I did. He's been playing baseball year in and year out for 20 years since he got out of high school. He practically had his legs replaced over the last 6 or 7 years. And he still came back each time, and produced on the ball field at a high level. You can work out and run and take care of yourself and eat right and do all that you can do. But the human body breaks down. And there's no way that most people can go through what these guys go through year in and year out. To play professionally for 20 years is a huge accomplishment. To be productive long past when most players flame out is amazing. Junior is a lucky guy. Science and medicine have worked well on those ol' legs of his. I can't imagine going through what he's gone through. I've had some leg surgeries as well as my back surgery. No way.

So back to Larkin. It never ends well. Look at Barry Bonds. No, let's not. Look at Pokey Reece. Really? Yes really. Pokey was one of the most gifted infielders this game had seen in a long while. He was a magician and had the best hand eye coordination i've ever seen. But what happened? It didn't end well for him. He just fizzeled out. Life got in the way. Personal issues and family and life just didn't conspire to help him get through baseball that long. It happens. Look at Bret Boone, another gifted infielder. When it goes it goes. Was Bret on steroids? Probably, not sure, don't care. But when it goes, it's just gone. And it's not pretty to watch. You see these once gallant ball players, swinging at pitches they shouldn't. Pulling on balls that should be pushed. They can't run like they used to. The fans boo them. I can't imagine doing the things that they have to do every day. I can't. Yet the fans don't care. They boo when they strike out, they boo when the get thrown out or picked off, they call them bums when they walk to their positions. They're old. Old for baseball. Let's put it this way. Say you're an accountant. You've been an accountant for 40 years and you're 60 years old. You kind of feel like you can do your job with your eyes closed. And for many years you could do your job with your eyes closed, and you were good at it. But at a certain point, you reach the peak of your career and then you start losing it little by little. You don't keep up with all the tax codes like you should, you take a few short cuts here and there. And before long, you're an overpaid partner that really can't carry the workload any more. Same with mountain climbers, you train to climb. And climb you do, and finally you climb to the summit and you start down the other side of the mountain. Yet all you've trained for is climbing up. You always strived for the top, the summit was your goal. And then you're climbing down the dark, cold side of the hill. You trip some, gravity pulls you, you roll down the hill a bit. All this happens in a blink. And before you know it, you're in a crevasse, covered in snow, with no rope and no communication. And what do you do about it? You trained to climb, not to get out of a freaking crevasse. And that's the way it goes with baseball players. It's tough to watch. See Jim Edmunds flailing around Wrigley Field or Jim Thome coming off the bench for the Dodgers. It happens. The fans want them, the owners want to get one final good season out of their horses, and you know the players don't want to quit. They're baseball players, they don't know anything else. It's not just a job it's a way of life for them. And for those few that are lucky enough to get to the pinnacle of their careers and still flourish for years after that, well those are the lucky ones. Luck does happen. I hate to see the stars of yesteday fading in front of us. It happens though. It happens all the time. So I'm glad to see Barry Larkin doing something he's really good at again. He's not the captain over on MLB TV, at least not yet, but he really could be. And did I mention that Opening Day is a month or 6 weeks away? Can't wait.

THE READER

I love when I see a movie that I know nothing about. With all of the media access points available to us today in papers and magazines and websites and blogs and radio and TV, it's tough to not know anything about movies. So when one comes along that I know nothing about, and I literally have no idea even what the movie is about, and I see it, and it actually turns out to be a good film, man, that's a good feeling. And thank the maker for DVR's. I wouldn't see most of the movies and tv shows that I do if it weren't for the DVR. So a week or two ago I saw "The Reader" on HBO and decided to record it. It sat there for a week or two before I even thought about watching it. I remembered that last year at the Oscars it was nominated for and won some awards. So I taped it, not really expecting much. And I watched it. And I loved it. I was so surprised by that movie. I literally knew nothing about it and had no expectations about it at all. All I can say is that it moved me. The acting was so top notch, it was so real. Kate Winslet deserved the Oscar for her portrayal of Anna Schmitz. Ms. Winslet is a terrific actor, and she's beautiful and she's damn sexy. The movie felt authentic and real. I felt like I was sitting at that dinner table with Michael Berg and his family because of the detail in the actor's costumes, the silverware, the bowls they were eating soup out of. I'm not going to get into any moralistic discussion here about what's right and what's not when i comes to affairs of the heart and when people mix the underage/legal age of affairs. I don't care about that discussion really at all. I do care about the Nazi war crimes trial but that's not what I'm here to write about either. The point of me writing this short little post is that I loved the movie, but moreover, I loved being surprised by such a great piece of art. Cinema is art. It is a collaborative effort of love and creativity and technical magic. The lighting was excellent, the direction was brilliant and the acting was so perfect. Just a great work of art. It wasn't at all the chick flick I thought it was going to be. It wasn't a chick flick at all. Yes, it was part love story, but what's wrong with a love story? One of my favorite movies, The Princess Bride is a love story. When Harry Met Sally is a terrific love story. But The Reader was incredible, it could've won the Best Film Oscar. If you haven't seen it, you should. It has such an unexpected twist in the middle, it's really quite compelling and thought provoking. Rent it, tape it, watch it. You won't be sorry.

SEEN IT 3 TIMES. YOU SHOULD TOO...AT THE THEATER

Jake Sully: The Sky People have sent us a message... that they can take whatever they want. That no one can stop them. Well, we will send them a message. You ride out as fast as the wind can carry you. You tell the other clans to come. Tell them Toruk Makto calls to them! You fly now, with me! My brothers! Sisters! And we will show the Sky People... that they can not take whatever they want! And that this... this is our land!

PITCHERS AND CATCHERS REPORT TOMORROW

Holy Moses. Spring training is about to start. With 2 feet of snow on the ground here in Ohio, it's hard to believe that the Reds are in Arizona, and it's 80 degrees. I sent a picture of my deck covered in snow to my sister who lives in Tempe, and she replied "I hate to rub it in, but its 80 degrees here, and we're all wearing shorts. But yeah, we fry in the summer time." This is kind of like her summer time. They can't really do much when it's 118 degrees in the summer, now can they? Even the pools are empty out there in the middle of summer. Too freaking hot. But I digress. It's baseball time. I caught a little bit of the Hot Stove League on the radio last night, with Marty and Thom Brennamen. Marty's voice alone makes me think baseball. He's been there doing that job my whole life. Nuxhall was there too until he died. I miss the ol' left-hander, he was like everyone's grandpa, and not a bad bone in his body. I met Nuxie one time. I was running a bar in Mt Adams, and Clearchannel (which owns 700 WLW) was directly across the street. We always had sports and music celebs in there. and one day in walks Joe Nuxhall, sits at the bar and orders a Bud Light. We got to chatting for a minute, he knew my Dad, he used to go to our church. And nothing really phenomenal happened, i just got to talk to the guy that i'd heard on the radio so many years of my life. Nuxie was a gentleman and a gentle man. God bless him. I don't even think we talked about baseball.

But baseball is on my mind for sure. I can't wait to see the green grass of the outfield, and the crisp white lines of the infield. And i can't wait to dedicate 3 hours a day, six days a week to listening to people discuss the game of baseball playing out in front of them. And i can't wait to pump my arm in the air and watch as a Joey Votto smash bounces off the left field wall and rolls quickly back to the infield, while two runs score and Votto pulls into second with a stand up double and two ribeye steaks. God I can't wait. Soon...soon...soon.

NOT A CABIN FEVER POST

How many bloggers have typed a "Cabin Fever" post lately? I don't think I'm going to do that, but who knows how this post will end. Rarely do I know where I'm going with this damn blog. Mostly I know what I'm talking about by the end of the rant, not at the beginning. I think maybe that's why I haven't been writing much lately. I haven't really wanted to rant. My "passion-bucket" has been on low lately. Currently, I'm just kind of going through the motions of my life. Being a temporary stay at home dad is really sucking the life out of me. I really need to get out and experience people and the world. I have gotten caught up on lots of movies. I have seen 5 of the 10 Best Picture nominees for the Oscars this year. That's more than I usually see, percentage wise. I understand that the Academy has widened the field for Best Picture nominations from usually 5 (i think) to ten this year. A wise move, as I usually I haven't seen but maybe one of the Best Picture noms. Here's my rundown of what I've seen:

-Avatar-I loved it, saw it three times with Hannah. I love everything about this movie. It's really groundbreaking and is exactly what a best picture nominee should be.

-District 9- This was a weird movie, with weird actors and weird acting but good special effects. I have no idea why it is a best picture nominee though. It doesn't stand a chance.

-The Hurt Locker-Good movie, great acting, intense feel. If it wins, it will not be only because of the movie, but because they are doing a huge marketing campaign to get the votes. it's everywhere on the internet. I don't think you should be allowed to campaign like that. But what do I know?

-Inglorious Basterds-I love Tarantino movies, I always will. And this one had all the classic Tarantino elements...quirky acting, a good story, great dialogue, good actors, good star quality, and was fun to watch. I never thought it was a great movie though. And if this won Best Pic, that would just be an insult to Pulp Fiction.

-Up-Best kid movie of the year. I've seen it 5 or 6 times. Could be a dark horse.

-the others-

-An Education-never heard of it

-Precious-small film, lots of women in it...not interested

-A Serious Man-no clue

-Up in the Air-i keep trying to see this and hope i do before the Oscars. George Clooney again knocks it out of the park, and apparently its a really good watch.

-Blind Side-heard great things about this one, and Sandra Bullock is a hottie. Will wait for video.

And so I guess in the end, Avatar wins it. Avatar should win it.

And back to my post, which isn't about Cabin Fever....
I joined the Aquarium, which is a steal, if you plan on going more than one time per year, it pays for itself. It's equal to about one and a half times a single admission. Girls love it, and it never gets old. Plus, it's right by the Party Source, which has wine and booze. What's not to love? Then I joined the Cincinnati Museum Center. This is a killer day for the kids and myself. Four hours is minimum, but 7 hours could happen very easily. Better to eat before you go. And I got our season passes for Kings Island again this year, which we love. And we have our Zoo pass too. So I've got things to do every weekend. We've painted pottery and gone shopping. So, it's not like i've been sitting around. But the life that i need to write the things that i want to write isn't happening. Even now as i sit here at my kitchen table, i can barely concentrate because of the noise of Aloha Scooby Doo in the back ground.

But I'm close on work. Don't want to jinx it, but I'm close. And when I get back to the grind, and when there doesn't feel like there's enough time in the day, and when I feel like I'm running through the weeds with my hair on fire, I will remind myself that when I was a temporary stay at home dad, the days were long, too long in fact. And i will remember that the writers block that came from boredom was incredibly thick. I could wear this boredom like a warm down blanket. And I'll remember that it was a blessing to drive Hannah to school and to stay home with Sarah. And before you start rolling your eyes about how bad I have it, please spare me. It's just life. Meanwhile, I have some time to write a little bit about baseball. So that's what I'm going to do now. Pitchers and catchers report tomorrow!!! thank the maker.

IF I WERE PRESIDENT

If I were President of the United States, I would outlaw winter. And cold. And snow. Think how many jobs we could create by getting rid of winter! There would be millions and millions of Americans who would work these super turbine facilities located along the border states of the country. No cold air would be allowed in and no warm air allowed out. I'm not kidding. How many jobs would be created in the tech sector with science guys trying to invent year round summer? Shit man, it's not like they'd have a choice. I'm the President, I say no more winter...you're the geeks that invent shit, make it happen (make it so (Star Trek)). Then there'd be all the airplanes that would have to be modified to burn fuel on top of the plane to keep the cold air from sneaking in from above. There'd a ton of jobs there. And then, there'd be no planes sitting around, they'd all have to be up in the air at all times...all the pilots would have jobs again! we'd be consuming quadruple the amount of fuel as prior to my no winter edict. So this whole no winter thing would actually help stabilize the fuel market, so the price of gas would go back down to like a buck fifty, right? And if gas goes down, spending goes up by the american consumer, right? And if spending goes back up, as gas goes down, the big gas hog cars and trucks are being sold all hot and heavy again, so I've saved the auto industry too huh? I'm the freakin MAN! And with all the people moving to the border states, the housing market goes through the roof, the new and existing home sales soar like it's 1999 all over again. So, yeah, I'll put a few TV Weathermen out of work, but those guys are all assholes anyhow, so SCREW EM! I can't think of one reason why the President shouldn't do this plan. He can even say he thought of it. I don't really care, because then i'll sue him for a hundred bazillion dollars for stealing my intellectual property. He'll be impeached, disbarred, embarrassed, divorced (hello Mz Obama...ooh la la). But as long as he gives the order before he's kicked to the curb, the no winter law is a law. I should go into politics. this shit is easy. NEXT!?!!?

HI, IT'S ME. THE BLOGGER THAT DOESN'T BLOG

Hi, hello, welcome. Yeah, so maybe you've been wondering where I've been? Maybe you've checked in just to see the same thing posted every day for a straight month now? Sorry bout that. I just haven't felt up to writing. Actually, i've written a little here and there, just uninspired to finish anything. Work (or lack thereof) and life and the winter has me feeling a little blue and like i said, uninspired. Whaddya gonna do huh? And I don't really have too much to talk about tonight, but I promised a friend and told another friend that I would write tonight, so here I am. Let me dust off the keys here...spray a little windex on my screen....squirt a little WD-40 on my laptop hinges...there we go, good as new. Now then...

If you've read my stuff, i've told you before, my theory about me being the human caesura, that maybe my whole life is just a pregnant pause, since it's possible that my soul did something really evil or great in a former life...this life maybe the breather my soul needed. Could be, just thinking here.

American Idol is good this year. I usually take a season off every other season. I didn't watch last season with Freaky Adam Lambert. I just don't get that guy. But this season really seems to have made me smile a ton more than i remember, and Ellen hasn't even started. Ellen makes me smile. I really enjoyed Neil Patrick Harris (Doogie Howser MD) as guest judge tonight and I think he should replace Simon Cowell next year. He's funny, he's got talent, he's got the resume. He's got a ton of attitude, and he's just cool. He's got my vote. The show doesn't need another Simon, they just need a big personality, Doogie's got that. And who was that other guest judge? The Jonas Brother's dog or something? That mut said like 3 words the whole show. Shouldn't you have to have done SOMETHING to be a guest judge? come on! This is American Idol, not the sixth grade Christmas Show. Bad call on the Jonas mutt.

Have you seen Avatar yet? I've seen it twice. I'm going again. The story is quite predictable, and the writing is very subpar, but visually it's the most amazing thing i've seen in a theater. It's historic for what it's done for filmmaking. All I can say about what i experienced there is HOLY SHIT! If you haven't gone, go. It won't be the same on TV on DVD or whatever. See it at the theater IN 3-D!!!!

I saw Public Enemies with Johnny Depp. I have to admit, i was disappointed. I love Depp, I think he's a fine fine actor, but for me, the movie was just kinda blah. No offense. I liked the girl though...the French girl.

Back later...talk amongst yourselves...