Yes, the weather was miserable yesterday, and yes, having the home opener a week later might lessen the chances of that kind of weather, but that totally misses the point of Opening Day.
Opening Day just wouldn’t be the same after a week of games. What’s great about Opening Day is the sense of newness and optimism. Every team is 0-0 and there’s still that chance for the Reds to go 162-0. If they started on the road then all that is ruined. When the team comes back 4-3, 3-4, or 0-7 then why even bother? Then reality has set in. Opening Day isn’t about reality. It’s about hope and rebirth and the belief that this year anything is possible.
On the idea of the reds opening on the road
My top and bottom movies of 2008
Limited of course to the movies I’ve seen.
The Best of 2008:
1. WALL-E
2. Synecdoche, New York
3. Slumdog Millionaire
4. The Wrestler
5. The Dark Knight
6. Frost/Nixon
7. Gran Torino
8. Revolutionary Road
9. Milk
10. Iron Man
11. Vicky Cristina Barcelona
12. Rachel Getting Married
13. The Reader
14. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
15. Doubt
16. In Bruges
The Worst of 2008:
1. The Happening
2. Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay
3. Run, Fat Boy, Run
4. Yes Man
5. How to Lose Friends & Alienate People
6. The X-Files: I Want to Believe
7. Be Kind Rewind
8. Eagle Eye
9. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
The 2008 Movies I’ve Seen
Once again it’s time for the annual list of movies from the previous year which I’ve seen, timed with the Oscars to give me a chance to see the films that take some time to make their way to Ohio.
| January, 18 | Cloverfield |
| January, 18 | Cassandra’s Dream |
| January, 25 | Rambo |
| February, 8 | In Bruges |
| February, 14 | Definitely, Maybe |
| February, 14 | Jumper |
| February, 22 | Be Kind Rewind |
| February, 22 | Vantage Point |
| February, 29 | The Other Boleyn Girl |
| March, 7 | Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day |
| March, 7 | The Bank Job |
| March, 14 | Horton Hears a Who |
| March, 21 | The Hammer |
| March, 28 | 21 |
| March, 28 | Run, Fat Boy, Run |
| April, 4 | Leatherheads |
| April, 11 | The Visitor |
| April, 18 | Forgetting Sarah Marshall |
| April, 25 | Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay |
| May, 2 | Iron Man |
| May, 9 | Speed Racer |
| May, 16 | The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian |
| May, 22 | Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull |
| June, 6 | Kung Fu Panda |
| June, 13 | The Incredible Hulk |
| June, 13 | The Happening |
| June, 20 | Get Smart |
| June, 27 | Wanted |
| June, 27 | WALL-E |
| July, 2 | Hancock |
| July, 11 | Hellboy 2: The Golden Army |
| July, 11 | Journey to the Center of the Earth |
| July, 18 | The Dark Knight |
| July, 25 | The X-Files: I Want to Believe |
| July, 25 | Man on Wire |
| August, 1 | Frozen River |
| August, 6 | The Pineapple Express |
| August, 13 | Tropic Thunder |
| August, 15 | Vicky Cristina Barcelona |
| August, 22 | Hamlet 2 |
| September, 12 | Burn After Reading |
| September, 19 | The Duchess |
| September, 26 | Eagle Eye |
| October, 3 | Rachel Getting Married |
| October, 3 | Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist |
| October, 3 | How to Lose Friends & Alienate People |
| October, 10 | City of Ember |
| October, 10 | Happy-Go-Lucky |
| October, 24 | Synecdoche, New York |
| October, 24 | The Changeling |
| October, 31 | Zack and Miri Make a Porno |
| November, 7 | Role Models |
| November, 12 | Slumdog Millionaire |
| November, 14 | Quantum of Solace |
| November, 21 | Bolt |
| November, 26 | Milk |
| November, 26 | Australia |
| December, 5 | Frost/Nixon |
| December, 10 | The Reader |
| December, 12 | The Day the Earth Stood Still |
| December, 12 | Gran Torino |
| December, 12 | Doubt |
| December, 17 | The Wrestler |
| December, 19 | Yes Man |
| December, 25 | The Curious Case of Benjamin Button |
| December, 25 | Valkyrie |
| December, 26 | Revolutionary Road |
That’s 67, the most since I’ve started keeping track.
2007
2006
2005
2004
My 2009 Oscar Checklist
“X” marks the movies I’ve seen.
Best Picture
X – “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
X – “Frost/Nixon”
X – “Milk”
X – “The Reader”
X – “Slumdog Millionaire”
Best Actor
X – Richard Jenkins – “The Visitor”
X – Frank Langella – “Frost/Nixon”
X – Sean Penn – “Milk”
X – Brad Pitt – “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
X – Mickey Rourke – “The Wrestler”
Best Supporting Actor
X – Josh Brolin – “Milk”
X – Robert Downey Jr. – “Tropic Thunder”
X – Philip Seymour Hoffman – “Doubt”
X – Heath Ledger – “The Dark Knight”
X – Michael Shannon – “Revolutionary Road”
Best Actress
X – Anne Hathaway – “Rachel Getting Married”
X – Angelina Jolie – “Changeling”
X – Melissa Leo – “Frozen River”
X – Meryl Streep – “Doubt”
X – Kate Winslet – “The Reader”
Best Supporting Actress
X – Amy Adams – “Doubt” (Miramax)
X – Penelope Cruz – “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
X – Viola Davis – “Doubt”
X – Taraji P. Henson – “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
X – Marisa Tomei – “The Wrestler”
Best Director
X – “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” – David Fincher
X – “Frost/Nixon” – Ron Howard
X – “Milk” – Gus Van Sant
X – “The Reader” – Stephen Daldry
X – “Slumdog Millionaire” – Danny Boyle
Best Animated Feature Film
X – “Bolt”
X – “Kung Fu Panda”
X – “WALL-E”
Best Adapted Screenplay
X – “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
X – “Doubt”
X – “Frost/Nixon”
X – “The Reader”
X – “Slumdog Millionaire”
Best Original Screenplay
X – “Frozen River
X – “Happy-Go-Lucky”
X – “In Bruges”
X – “Milk”
X – “WALL-E”
Best Cinematography
X – “Changeling”
X – “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
X – “The Dark Knight”
X – “The Reader”
X – “Slumdog Millionaire”
Best Art Direction
X – “Changeling”
X – “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
X – “The Dark Knight”
X – “The Duchess”
X – “Revolutionary Road”
Best Costume Design
X – “Australia”
X – “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
X – “The Duchess”
X – “Milk”
X – “Revolutionary Road”
Best Documentary Feature
– “The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)”
– “Encounters at the End of the World”
– “The Garden”
X – “Man on Wire”
– “Trouble the Water”
Best Documentary Short Subject
– “The Conscience of Nhem En”
– “The Final Inch”
– “Smile Pinki”
– “The Witness – From the Balcony of Room 306″
Best Editing
X – “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
X – “The Dark Knight”
X – “Frost/Nixon”
X – “Milk”
X – “Slumdog Millionaire”
Best Foreign Language Film
– “The Baader Meinhof Complex” – Germany
– “The Class” – France
– “Departures” – Japan
– “Revanche” – Austria
– “Waltz with Bashir” – Israel
Best Makeup
X – “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
X – “The Dark Knight”
X – “Hellboy II: The Golden Army”
Best Original Score
X – “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
X – “Defiance”
X – “Milk”
X – “Slumdog Millionaire”
X – “WALL-E”
Best Original Song
X – “Down to Earth” – “WALL-E”
X – “Jai Ho” – “Slumdog Millionaire”
X – “O Saya” – “Slumdog Millionaire”
Best Animated Short
– “La Maison en Petits Cubes”
– “Lavatory – Lovestory”
– “Oktapodi”
X – “Presto”
– “This Way Up”
Best Live Action Short
– “Auf der Strecke (On the Line)”
– “Manon on the Asphalt”
– “New Boy”
– “The Pig”
– “Spielzeugland (Toyland)”
Best Sound Editing
X – “The Dark Knight”
X – “Iron Man”
X – “Slumdog Millionaire”
X – “WALL-E”
X – “Wanted”
Best Sound Mixing
X – “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
X – “The Dark Knight”
X – “Slumdog Millionaire”
X – “WALL-E”
X – “Wanted”
Best Visual Effects
X – “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
X – “The Dark Knight”
X – “Iron Man”
–1/26: Added “The Wrestler” and “Rachel Getting Married”
–2/7: Added “Revolutionary Road”, “The Duchess”, “Man On Wire”, and “The Visitor”
–2/9: Added “Happy-Go-Lucky”
–2/14: Added “Frozen River”
–2/22: Added “Defiance”
Syracuse 10 – Cincinnati30
B
S
“Cheer Cincinnati, Cincy will win. Fight to the finish, never give in. You do your best boys, we’ll do the rest boys. Onward to victory!”
Seriously people?!
A week and a half ago 300,000 people were without power here. Traffic lights weren’t working for days.
Today the power goes out again in large parts of Kettering, Centerville, and Beavercreek and people STILL DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO WHEN A TRAFFIC LIGHT ISN’T WORKING?!?! Seriously?! A week and a half ago NO traffic lights were working. How have people not figured it out yet?!
Thank God Paul Hackett didn’t win his election
Former Democratic Congressional candidate and wunderkind Paul Hackett on Daily Kos:
Both elements of strategy, an offensive and defensive plan appear to be absent in Southern Ohio.
The solution rests with local surrogates on the ground spreading the attack face to face coupled with an air campaign via radio and TV.
The message is simple and the professionals can refine it but essentially it should contain these elements:
“Sarah Palin? Can’t keep her solemn oath of devotion to her husband and had sex with his employee. Sarah Palin? Accidentally got pregnant at age 43 and the tax payers of Alaska have to pay for the care of her disabled child. Sarah Palin? Unable to teach her 16 year old daughter right from wrong and now another teenager is pregnant. Sarah Palin? Can you trust Sarah Palin and her values with America’s future? John McCain? Divorced from his first wife one month and marries a billionaire influence peddler and convicted felon. John McCain, a record of rash and impulsive decisions. That’s not change that’s more of the same.”
–Daily Kos: Obama is losing Ohio
Stay classy Paul Hackett.
McCain’s Speech
My admittedly biased take…
It wasn’t the most soaring of rhetoric, and with McCain it was never going to be. But to a certain extent I think I fell in love with the idea of John McCain somewhere between the beginning of the introductory video and the end of the speech. The idea of a man who has truly given his life to his country and a man who has put his country first. Senator McCain may have fallen in love with his country while in another person’s country, but I think I fell in love with John McCain when I fully realized the love he had for his country. There’s a real power to his character and a real contrast with Senator Obama. You can really see that contrast just in their bio videos. Obama’s was a video about… Obama. About his search for himself. John McCain’s was a litany of the ways in which he has devoted himself to his country. What he has done for his country.
I went in to the speech with a McCain pin alongside a McCain button on my shirt, but I don’t think I truly appreciated John McCain’s story.
Some are going to say he doesn’t stand a chance, but they’ve been saying something similar for 8 years straight. There is a path to victory for John McCain here if they play their cards right and for the past month they’ve shown that they can in fact play their cards right.
It’s on.
And that is why McCain picked her
She’s certainly a fighter. She’s authentic, she’s serious, she’s gotten results in the past, she gives a darn good speech, she won’t be backing down to Joe Biden, and she won’t be backing down to Barack Obama.
The constant attacks on Palin
The constant attacks on Gov Palin have been staggering (and probably entirely predictable). In the past we’ve been able to diagnose this as “Bush Derangement Syndrome”, but I have a feeling we’ve moved into a new era here and are in need of new terminology. As such I would like to humbly offer this:
Palinoia: The belief that the subject’s lack of knowledge about another person is evidence of that other person’s lack of knowledge.