With the sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays the Orioles end the 2009 season on a high note. We can forget the 13 losses before then, because all is forgiven when you win. So, so long to the Birds of Baltimore. It was a fun season, frustrating at times, but fun none the less. We’ll see you in 2010.
Just got back from the Orioles game. It’s a WIN! They won’t lose 100 games this season. Close, but no cigar.
We went to the game early. Ate at Faidley’s again. Oysters, fried clams, and crab cakes. Plus a beer. Then we stroll down Howard to Camden Yards and get our tickets. I love that we suck, because you can get any seat in the house. I choose center left against the fence.
We get a beer at Pickles Pub waiting for the gates to open. When they do we collect our Orioles tankard, and wish we could’ve joined the Octoberfest festivities in the picnic area in center field. We go shag some fly balls in the bleachers during the Blue Jays batting practice. I get a ball!! It ricocheted off the back wall and into my glove. Sweet! We then switch up and shag balls near our seat. Nothing comes close as they tail off towards the foul poll.
The O’s win! Can’t wait for the last game of the season. See you there!
The Informant! is Homer Simpson. Most everytime that Matt Damon opened his mouth and talked about ADM I was thinking that he was Homer Simpson brought to life on the big screen. The cluelessness and the profound stupidity was all there. Matt Damon can do no wrong in channelling the buffoon, Homer Simpson.
The only problem Matt Damon is Matt Damon. I could not get past fat Matt Damon to imagine the actual protagonist which distracted me all movie long because he was supposed to be portraying a real man. Fat Matt Damon is still Matt Damon rather than the guy who brought ADM ignominy.
The film though was awkward. It was rated R, but I don’t think there was any profanity, nudity, violence, or adult themes to warrant that rating. It was supposed to be a comedy, but wasn’t of the Something about Mary type. It was very Coen-ish. It looked like the seventies, with clothes from the eighties, taking place in the nineties, and funky sixties fonts. The story was rambling. I couldn’t tell the time frame when the actual events took place. Did he meet with the FBI months later? Or was it next week? No idea, because it all seemed to take place in a compressed time frame. One scene wasn’t directly related to another scene in time. Awkward.
In the end, the film sorta rambled then it ends. It’s an ending at least.
2 of 5 stars.
"There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call the Twilight Zone."Opening monologue to "Twilight Zone" season 1
Really cute asians can make you cry.
Because I’ve seen another movie since I saw this one, I have to write up my thoughts and/or review on the latest Mike Judge film, Extract. But, for real, I completely forgot I saw this film until TheSeed, as we were leaving the theatre reminded me.
Extract follows the same Mike Judge movie release M.O: A misleading ad campaign, a less than stellar opening weekend, an early, ignominious exit. Maybe it would follow the rest of his other movies and become a hit on video and constant rotation on Comedy Central. Maybe. It’s got a chance. It fits right in after Waiting and before Employee of the Month.
The bad ad campaign starts with the misleading idea that Mila Kunis is the love mistress there to steal Jason Bateman’s heart. She’s there, but her story is completely different.
The movie is terrible. Not very funny. Completely forgettable. Don’t watch until it comes on Comedy Central. Although, it did make Kristen Wiig look kind of cute. But that’s not enough.
2 of 5 stars.
The summer anime season has come to an end. Here’s a quick hits on the ones I watched.
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. Started out awesome, then we got into the Endless Eight loop for fucking six episodes. SIX EPISODES of the same damn thing. NOTHING changing but their clothes. I can’t wait for this on DVD. The final couple of episodes encapsulating The Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya was slower than I would’ve liked. But we did get Nagato. C+
Tokyo Magnitude 8. Alright, but I didn’t want to get death, and got it anyway. B-
Taishou Yakyu Musume. Baseball girls of the Taishou period. Awesome. B+
Sora no Manimani. Great astronomy club school comedy. A
So what to watch in the upcoming season?
"Go to DMC! Go to DMC!"That would be the crowd chant for Detroit Metal City fans as it is translated into English.Who is Detroit Metal City?You've got to read the manga to find out, but be forewarned, it's pretty offensive. And hilarious. And cruddily drawn, but don't let that stop you from asking me to borrow it. You'll be laughing your ass off and wondering what will Soichi do.The story is about Soichi a college grad who is the lead singer for Detroit Metal City, a death metal band. DMC is a mixture of Kiss and Gwar. They are a up and coming band. Good for them, but bad for Soichi who just wants to write sugary sweet bubblegum pop music. As the lead singer for DMC, Krauser II, Soichi is bad. As himself, he's good, but in reality, which role is the real Soichi. He comes so naturally to the Krauser role that his sweet normal self is almost a sham. He likes to become Krauser to express his more aggressive self.There are also fun aspects to the book. DMC's manager is a woman who loves to talk about how much DMC's awesomeness makes her wet. Soichi's band mates are also as bland as he is when they too aren't dressed up. And there's the love interest who thinks Soichi is a sweet guy, but he wants to do things, bad things, to her as Krauser.
I read the Wyman’s post on summer reading, and it reminds me that I, too, did some heavy summer reading. Heavy in the sense that I read more books in the past few months than I had done in a long time. And, no, they weren’t filled with 2D girls or men in tights, they were real books with words, sentences, and paragraphs. Stories, persuasive arguments, colorful anecdotes. All there in the books I read. I’ll divide the books into the genres I was reading to highlight what piqued my interest for the summer.
The first subject I devoured relates to the grand old national pastime, baseball. It began with Alyssa Milano’s recollection of her life filtered through the joys of the boys of summer: Safe At Home. Admittedly, I picked it up because as an 80s kid, I had a crush on her, and I want to find out her views on the game. She’s very knowledgeable about the game. It’s rather intimidating as I only know it superficially enough to get by in the stands, but she knocks ’em out of the park with her experience (and love for the game.)
I also read an interesting account of the 1966 World Series, Black And Blue. The Orioles first World Series. It seems so long ago as compared to the sad, sad team they are today, but we were champions once. It’s an interesting read, but I think all sports books kind of have the same ebb and flow: here’s team A, then here’s team B, then they meet, post-mortem. It really should’ve been Black and Orange as the tale (and the Series) was mostly about the Orioles.
I read about Ichiro and his impact on the game. I have the prequel and intend to read it, but it languishes on my nightstand.
The next genre was new urbanism. I got through James Howard Kuntsler’s tirade, Home From Nowhere and slogged through Traffic. It’s almost making me want to move into high-density, public transportation ready cities. I’m currently reading Jane Jacob’s polemic, The Life and Death of Great American Cities.
I did geek out. Besides Oscar Wao I managed to read the light novel, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. It’s the original source for the anime. It’s decent, but exactly like the anime. I’m catching up with Suzumiya-sama by starting in on The Sighs of Haruhi Suzumiya. Kami-sama saves.
