Sunday reading ...

Some of the good reads that caught my eyes during the last week ...

Politics ...
a Clinton Uses Birthday to Raise Funds
a Pressed on administration role for Gore, Obama says possible but unlikely

Baseball ...
a Mitchell investigation raises questions
a On the Mark: Boston Glee Party
a Schilling's genius, Lowell's hustle, Rockies' struggles
a Mile-High Madness
a Pennant Race Collapses
a SI Flashback: This Year's Phenom
a Zell: 'I don't understand' Cubs' business
a 'Sodfather' begins renovation of field

Music, art & entertainment ...
a Arrested Development pumps up the positive energy
a The Art of the American Snapshot, 1888-1978: From the Collection of Robert E. Jackson
a Fall TV shows that should go away now

Wildfires

We've been marveling all week at the photos coming over the wires from the wildfires in California ...

They're both tragic and beautiful. Check out these slideshows here and here ...

And check out this video I found on YouTube. Crazy. I can't even begin to imagine ...



It is good to know, however, the chaos is more controlled than it was during Katrina ... if there is such a notion.

Bye, bye Indians

Ok. So the Red Sox won the ALCS last night ...

But really. Is anyone that surprised they came back from 3-1 to win the series in seven? I'm not.

I had hoped the Indians would close it out the other night at Jacobs Field. But they didn't; they couldn't field the ball. As soon as that happened and the series went back to Fenway for games six and seven, it was over -- for the Red Sox.

At least it makes my decision for which team I'm going to root for in the World Series easier ...

Go Rockies.

Good reads ...
a Red Sox rout Tribe to complete ALCS comeback
a Something old, something new in Series
a Will drought ever end for Cleveland?

Sunday reading

A likely conversation between some of our neighbors this afternoon as they watched me in our front yard ...

(Imagine an honory elderly woman)

Harold, look across the street! That man's spreading chicken wire all over his flower beds. What is he doing that for!?

(A little while later ...)

Now's he's spraying something too! What's in Sam's name is he doing over there!? He's ruining his yard!

Yes. Our front yard now looks, for lack of a better term, a little retarded.

See, I spent most of yesterday planting nearly 100 bulbs in our front and back gardens. But we also have some of the boldest and brash squirrels you've ever known in our neighborhood, a learned trait I attribute mostly to one of our neighbors who feeds the little pests ... These squirrels, which are black by the way, have proceeded to bury food, dig up and wreak havoc on much of what I've planted all summer long. And today, I came outside to finds holes, like an expired mine field, throughout the areas I'd planted.

So I declared war.

Today, I finished planting the bulbs I had left, and tried replanting the ones I found scattered. Covered the areas with a wire mesh. And then doused everything with Critter Ridder ...

Got a lot of funny looks from people passing by (including one elderly woman who, after I explained what I was doing, said she's had the same problems in her yard and has given up her fight -- but she jubiliantly wished me luck and said she'd try to scare them off for me whenever she walked by ...), but at this point I'm desperate.

Here's some of the good reads that have my eye the last few days ...

Politics ...
a Al Gore: the anti-Bush
a Obama: Clinton 'mission accomplished' premature

Entertainment ...
a Viacom to offer all clips of 'Daily Show' online
a Shadows linger in late-night TV succession
a Leno keeping NBC up at night

a Chicago Theatre to be sold to major New York producer

Music ...
a Joy Division is multiplying

Baseball ...
a Playoffs now born to be wild
a Fans pay for networks' strategy; Manny strikes a pose
a Beckett's focus, the turning point, Manny's nonsense
a World Series-bound Rockies have captivated Denver
a10 toughest coaching jobs in sports
a Yanks look disorganized, cowardly after Torre's exit
a Despite fair offer, Torre knew it was time to go
a Injuries not markedly greater using alloy bats compared with wooden models
a Steroids: Take one for the team
a 50 years of Dodger baseball

Life & other stuff ...
a Boys' deaths altered Chicago
a BACK OFF! I'M NOT DEAD YET.
a Honey, I promise to love, honor and argue
a Mounting evidence finds even moderate drinking may increase your risk of breast and colon cancer
a What's happened to the missing socks?
a Show us your Google Street View Chicago finds

The Onion ...

Conceptual Terrorists Encase Sears Tower In Jell-O

CHICAGO—The attackers made it clear America's outdated notion of terrorism has been challenged, and that true terror lies in the futility of human existence.

Patriots Stunned By Mere 17-Point Victory

BOSTON—The Patriots organization is reeling this week following their narrow 34-17 victory over the lowly Browns, taking stock of their game-planning methods, philosophy, and indeed their entire season in the aftermath of a game in which...

Torre, Steinbrenner Have Most Awkward Bathroom Encounter Of Their Lives

NEW YORK—The tension and unspoken hostility between Yankees manager Joe Torre and owner George Steinbrenner following the New York Yankees'...

Across the Universe

So Kates and I went out on the town last night and caught "Across The Universe."

That was one trippy film.

A trippy love story, actually.

Kates and I were blown away when we caught the trailer for the musical/film on TV a few weeks ago. That was the only time we saw anything regarding the film, and it was playing in limited cities ...

This weekend we discovered it had come to ours, so we broke at the chance to see it ...

Without giving too much away, the film takes place in the 1960s as a young British lad travels to America in search of his father, who he'd never met. In the states, he befriends a rebellious college student and his sister. They eventually fall in with a bohemian enclave with whom they share an apartment and embark on a journey that's full of love, romance and anti-war sentiment ...

If you know your Beatles stuff. It's all there, and it makes the movie a lot more fun ... The main characters are Jude and Lucy. Their friends include Maxwell. Sexie Sadie. Prudence. JoJo. Mr. Kite. Dr. Robert. And Rita, though she was contortionist, not a meter maid ...

A lot of Beatles lyrics and references are smartly thrown in some of the dialogue as well. Early in the film an elderly man tells Jude: "I thought I'd be doing something different when I'm sixty-four." ... When Prudence arrives in the apartment, the characters point out she came in through the bathroom window. ... While Sadie is giving Max a tour of the apartment she comments that Max seems like a guy who could have murdered his grandmother with a hammer. And in another scene Max is holding a silver hammer ... Jude, an artist, is seeing drawing an apple, like the Apple Records logo ... There's also a rooftop concert at the end of the film ...

And though I would've liked to to see it once more to be sure, there's a split-second shot at the end of the film with Lucy standing on the top of a building, and there's a railing in front of her. The camera angle portrays her with a perfect blue sky behind her, and I swore the railing in front of her was decorated with diamonds = Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.

(Wikipedia does have a good post about some more of the film's insights ...)

Having had some time now to think about it and take it in, I thought the film was pretty good. Not great, though ...

At times, especially throughout the first half, the film feels disjointed and clunky and forced -- as though a group of writers, who happend to be huge Beatles fans, sat around a table and said "Hey! Let's try to write a Beatles movie that incorporates a bunch of Beatles songs!" It's a genius concept, that doesn't necessarily translate well on film ... But I can't blame the creators for trying, because it's something I'd try to do too ...

I've been a fan of Evan Rachel Wood's for awhile, and I thought she succeeded again here, along with Jim Sturgess as Jude, grouped with a decent supporting cast ... Joe Cocker and Bono were added bonuses too.

Really, for me, the highlights of the film were almost all of the musical numbers, each of them built like their own little music video ... with "I've Just Seen A Face," (this is only a snippet of the video, so you won't see the dazzling visual effects as the cast dances across the bowling lanes...) "Dear Prudence," and "Because" among my favorites. Though all of the Beatles songs are given a refurbished edge for the film, all of it proves once again just how defining and remarkable the band was ...

If you're a Beatles fan, I say go see it ... and go with an open mind.

Internet fun

... So my cohort, Laura, was doing some research this week for a project we were woking on about different tree species and their leaves ...

When she logged on to Wikipedia and searched for white poplar, the first paragraph read like this ...

The White Poplar (Populus alba) is a species of poplar, most closely related to the aspens (Populus sect. Populus). It is native from Spain and Morocco through central Europe (north to Germany and Poland) to central Asia. It grows in moist sites, often by watersides, in regions with hot summers and cold to mild winters.[1][2]One time i saw someone humping a white poplar ...

Ok. So typing it now makes it seem pretty moronic and juvenile ... But we tend to be a loopy bunch, and when Laura pointed it out to me, we both burst out laughing. And by the time we could show it to our podmate, the wiki page had already been edited. It was pure luck that we caught the prank at the right moment ... ah, the joys of Wikipedia.

* * *

Last night I was surfing through videos on MySpace and came across this one. Pretty amusing ...

Funny Bathroom Mirror Prank


And then there was this one, whch features a kid who's not very bright ... But man, did I enjoy it! As I was downloading the video it stalled at a point where I could see exactly what was about to happen, and I burst out laughing before even seeing the outcome. Then the video resumed, of course, and I couldn't stop laughing ... I proceeded to watch it multiple times. Continued to laugh. Showed it to my loopy cohorts this morning. All of us watched it multiple times together. And laughed until we had tears in our eyes.

The inconvenient truth

Going through Cagle's blog tonight, and here's two cartoons that had me laughing out loud ...


... and there's a lot more here.

Sleepyhead

... So I got off my Regina Spektor kick.

And found a new flavor of the week.

Belle & Sebastian.

Quite honestly, I'm feeling ashamed for not taking notice of them sooner. I've been reading and hearing for years how great this band is. Sure, I added them to a list I keep of bands whose music I think I should hear more of, but I kept putting them off ...

Finally, over the weekend, I took the plunge.

Uh, yeah. They're pretty amazing ... I'm kicking myself for taking this long to add them to my collection.

Fresh pop hooks. Bouncy vocals. Smart, witty lyrics. Nods to '60s and '70s pop/rock. It all collides for a complete sound that is oh, oh, so sweet.

I haven't had this much fun listening to an album in a long time ... Ok, maybe since I got Wincing The Night Away, which actually compares pretty closely to Belle & Sebastian ...

But seriously. "The Blues are Still Blue," "We are The Sleepyheads," "Funny Little Frog," (Hey, isn't that the Grassroots "Temptation Eyes"?) "Sukie In The Graveyard," and "White Collar Boy" (Hello, Norman Greenbaum's "Spirit in the Sky" ?) are some of the coolest songs ever ...

And their videos are dang cool and imaginative too ...



Ok. I'm done gushing. For now.

* * *

Tonight, I'm basking in a reprieve. From the baseball.

I never thought I'd say this but ... I don't know if I've ever been so ready for a baseball season to end ...

These late games are kicking my butt.

I've managed to stay awake to catch every last out of all the games, including Friday's Rockies-D-Backs extra-inning thriller and Saturday's extra-innning Red Sox thrashing. And I wondered if I was the only one that was having trouble with the schedule ...

Turns out I'm not the only one, after all. Phillip Lerman's piece in the Washington Post last weekend was right on ...

The signs of fall are upon us: The days are shorter. The leaves are falling.
And dads are sitting in their basements, watching the baseball playoffs and getting ready for the World Series. Alone.

... For the last two weeks -- or however long we've been in the postseason; the days have been pretty blurry lately -- I've spent the late nights huddled in our basement, watching the small TV, and squelching my volcanic cheers so as to not wake up Kates ...

And I worry what it's going to be like for our kids.

Every time this subject comes up, I think of October 1988 ... One of the first significant baseball memories I have, that fall is also the first clear memory I have of watching any postseason baseball: The Oakland Bash Brothers and Dave Stewart's menacing stare againt the Red Sox of Wade Boggs, Ellis Burks, Mike Greenwell, Dwight Evans and Roger Clemens. And of course, it was the year I fell in love with the Dodgers -- Orel Hershiser, Kirk Gibson, Steve Sax, Alfredo Griffin, Mickey Hatcher, Mike Scioscia -- as they beat the heavily-favored Mets in seven games in the NLCS and then took down the A's too ...

Yet, I missed one of the greatest moments in baseball history, Kirk Gibsons's homerun to win game one ... because I was in bed. The memory of my parents excitedly explaining the dramatic ending while Joel and I sat, jaws agape and hanging on their every word, at the breakfast table is cemented in my brain. It's a great memory of mine in its own right ... and don't get me wrong, I can't blame them. They did what they had to do. We deserved to be in bed, and our children will likely face the same fate ...

And it sucks.


But, hey, how 'bout those Rockies.

I said it before, and I'm saying it again: These guys are a team of destiny. I called their NLCS sweep after game one. Now I understand what everyone else has been saying all year about how good Matt Holliday and Troy Tulowitzki are. The team's defense has been as solid and dazzling as their namesake ...

How exciting was the final out of Monday night's game!?! Eric Byrnes hits a soft-roller to the left side, Tulowitzki charges it and snaps an off-balance throw to first. Todd Helton makes the stretch to catch it just before Byrnes slides headfirst over the bag ...


Last week, I remarked to a cohort about how crazy it was to see the Rockies and D-backs, two teams that didn't exist 15 years ago, facing each other in a championship series. And now, crazy as it sounds, the Rockies, a team whose expansion draft I remember racing home to watch on TV, are heading to the World Series ...

I'm having a ball watching their run right now ... and I shudder to think what an eight-day break before the World Series is going to do to their momentum. It certainly didn't help the Tigers ...

Lord also knows I'm loving watching the Indians run too, including last night's seven-run fifth inning and, well, watching Kenny Lofton swiping bases like it's 1995.

Last night, as we watched the game Kates asked who I'd cheer for in a Rockies-Indians World Series. I just threw up my arms and shook my head ...

It's gonna happen too. I'm betting the Indians close it out tomorrow night at Jacobs Field.

Good reads ...
a 6-run 4th seals fate for Diamondbacks
a Helton finally is delivered
a LINCICOME: Rockies a team broomed to glory

Sunday rambling

Toured haunted houses on Friday night ... Worked around the house yesterday ... Stayed up late to watch the Sox-Indians game last night ... And just finished watching the Packers-Redskins game, which neither team apparently wanted to win today ...

Now I'm wondering where the weekend went again ...

* * *

Kates and I just finished eating supper. Pierogis with sausages and an array of peppers. Good stuff.

Afterward, Kates tells me “You’re on dish duty.”

“Wha?” I say. “I got a baseball game to watch.”

“Whatever. I got papers to grade. Masters papers to write. I got people calling me. I’m a busy woman.”

Whatever? I’m always on dish duty. We need a dishwasher …

* * *

I still can't stop listening to Regina Spektor ...

Here's two weeks worth of good reads that caught my eyes ...

Entertainment ...
a To Leno, it's guilty until proven innocent
a Can Lindsay save herself from Britneyville?

Music ...
a Sell your old CDs at your own risk. It won't be long before you get a yen to sing along with them again
a Sting tops Blender’s list of worst lyricists
a Are record companies still relevant?
a The folks who brought you 'American Idol' turn voters loose on bands
a Josh Ritter Eschews Politics for Heartland Rock on 'Historical Conquests'
a Kid Rock has an 8-track mind
a Radiohead, the savior of 21st century rock?
a 'Kurt Cobain About a Son' an intimate portrait of the artist

Business...
a Is Apple losing some of its shine?
a The end of the Wal-Mart era
a Newspapers, bloggers now on same page

Washington & politics ...
a Arlington National Cemetery Plans to Move Beyond Its Borders
a Hillary Chuckles; Pundits Snort
a Chill out: Stop fighting over global warming -- here's the smart way to attack it.

Baseball ...
a As Bonds and Giants Part, BALCO Limps On
a Cubs' baggage gets heavier
a Song Makes a Comeback Along With the Cubs
a GM job of no interest to Stone ... thank goodness. I got a little bit nervous this week when I read he could be the GM.
a Yanks' loss may mean end of an era
a A-Rod could solve a lot of problems
a On the Mark: A-Rod fails to shine again
a Meet the Mets: They're not what they seem
a Where does Mets' collapse rank?
a Oh baby, what's a Sox fan to do?
a Times change. To his credit, so did Bud

Life & other stuff ...
a Whatcha Doing Now? ... And Now?

Aunt Threatens To Devour Helpless Newborn's Toes

WALDEN, TN—While family members stood silently by and did nothing, visiting aunt Debbie Koeler proclaimed her desire to consume the "tiny...

Indulging

... Another screwed-up day at work.

... Today my cohorts and I adopted the theme for "Young & the Restless" as our theme song. We tend to be a goofy bunch.

... Plus we got these fancy new chairs a few weeks ago that are supposed to be ergonomically correct and offer better support and yada, yada, yada. They have neat armrests and all these gadgets and gizmos ...

Yeah. They suck. My cohort Laura and I agree our backs and necks have never been so stiff ...

And given all the changes and looming decisions that have been consuming me and clouding my head lately, I found my horoscope particularly interesting today (Not that I'm a big believer in horoscopes, but isn't it crazy how right-on they can be so often!? ...)

More than likely, you are on the brink of completing a major move of some sort at this time, dear Cancer. Your first reaction may be to sit in solitary deliberation as you wrestle with the pros and cons of each piece of the situation. Try not to overload your head with too many small details. Instead, look at the overall picture. Perhaps you will find the answer you seek when you decide to go out for a refreshing walk, during which time you can clear your head of unnecessary clutter.

So what do I do on my lunch break to help put my mind at ease ...

I head to the thrift store to pick up a record or two.

I got three.

The Moody Blues: Days of Future Passed.

Simon & Garfunkel: Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme.

And the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack.

Classics.

All for under 10 bucks.

It's even better when you buy the records and you have a clerk who relates to the music and understands the urge to have it ...

After I handed the records to the clerk, she began looking at the price stickers and punching them into her register. She looked at the Moody Blues record, not realizing which record it was, and saw the 3.99 sticker ...

"3.99!" she gasped. Then she flipped over the record. "Aw, it's Days of Future Passed. That's why they've got so much on it."

I smiled.

Then she added, "How come I only see these records when they're on their way out?"

I just nodded.

But in my head I was thinking about the answer: It's because audiophiles like me still know where to find and appreciate good, original music; I'm just glad that people are still buying these albums and keeping them alive ...

Yankee fallout

... In a replay of my activities around this same time last fall -- several late nights in a row, concerts and postseason baseball -- I arrived home last night at about 1 a.m. from the Regina Spektor show ... and stayed up until past 3 watching the Indians-Yankees game on the DVR.

C'mon I couldn't go to bed without knowing the outcome of the game! And for that, I got just over three hours of sleep.

But hey, the Indians wiped out the Yankees! Sweet bliss ... What'd I tell you: Indians in four.

Now -- while I try to decide who I'm going to root for in the ALCS ...

(While I greatly admire Big Papi and the Red Sox Nation, I think I'm going to lean toward the Indians for these reasons ...

• The Red Sox are just three years removed from their last world championship, but the Indians haven't won it all since 1948.


• The Indians beat the Yankees after going winless against them during the regular season; that's heart. Experience, schmerience.


• And you gotta love a team that's made it this far with a roster that's had barely any posteason experience, aside from Kenny Lofton's 84 playoff games.


• I loved the '95 and '97 Indians. I loooove Kenny Lofton.)

... the real fun begins.

The Yankees soap opera.

First of all, Steinbrenner and his band of suits would be fools to get rid of Joe Torre ... The guy has returned pride to the Yankees, won 10 division titles, including nine straight, in his 12 years as manager. And he's got the utmost respect of his players ... No matter how successful they've been in their respective playing/managerial careers, I honestly can't see Don Mattingly, Joe Girardi or Tony LaRussa faring any better managing the Yankees ...

I could care less what happens to Mariano Rivera. I think he's overrated and it won't make any difference whether the Yankees have him next season.

Roger Clemens needs to stay home for good.

And that brings up Alex Rodriguez and the churning speculation of whether he's staying or going ... If I were Alex Rodriguez, I think I'd want to get the heck out of the chaotic Bronx, no matter who's calling me a quitter, and go to a franchise that's committed to building a winner around the right players for the team, not because they're sluggers or power pitchers who can be lured by throwing money at them, even if I have to renegotiate my contract and accept a pay cut. I'd want to go to a team where I could have fun playing again, go back to playing shortstop and earn the respect of the fans ... Then again, I'm not A-Rod.

... And if I were the Cubs, I'd forget about trying to make a run at Rodriguez and go instead for the veteran catcher who's a proven leader and a guy who can handle my pitching staff. That'd be Jorge Posada ...

The evolving workplace

We've been having a lot of discussions within our office about updating our technology and our changing work environment ...

I actually used these words at work today:

... render the mechanism. Sort it from ascending and descending order. And toggle it ...

wow.

Speaking of evolving workplace, NASA appears to be having similar problems ...

NASA Announces Plan To Bring
Wi-Fi To Its Headquarters By 2017

HOUSTON—Still relying on a single dial-up modem, NASA employees continue to get disconnected when someone at the Johnson Space Center picks up the phone to dial out.

Classical Spektor

I saw the multi-talented maestra known as Regina Spektor last night in Milwaukee.

It’s been almost a year since I caught on to Spektor; I’ve loved “Fidelity” since the first time I heard it, but remained only lukewarm on the album. Still she was on my list of artists I wanted to see live.

… So a few weeks ago, I discovered she was appearing at The Rave -- on the same night that Mute Math (who was on my list of artists I’d like to see again) was scheduled to play there, but on a different stage. Tough choice, but I went with Spektor for the simple fact I had already seen Mute Math live, and I feared it might be tough to duplicate the excitement of the first time …

Where do I start!?

The girl is oh so talented. I liked her music before -- but now I fully appreciate it. I listened to the album all the way home last night and I've been listening to it all day in my car.

She’s got a smile that’s wide as the sea and a glee about her that’s so infectious. A personality that‘s so humble it almost seemed like she was embarrassed by the applause.

Sitting at her shiny black grand piano for most of the night she held us captive, showing off her classically-trained abilities as though she was center stage in a giant concert hall and other times playing and whaling like a lounge act.

With no band to back her, her songs were stripped of the hip hop beats and synths that fill her studio tracks. Instead it was just her. Weaving the beautiful, delicate piano melodies with her quirky, emotionally-charged lyrics. And playing like she didn’t care who was watching. One bar her voice was soaring, the next she was groaning or making some odd, innovative sound effect into her microphone.

(Note: I forgot to bring my little notebook with me for this one, so I'm basing the setlist all from memory ... The songs that I could remember are linked to clips of the live performances that best represent the performances Spektor pulled off last night ...)

Spektor started her 24-song set, standing alone on the darkened stage, serenading the mic with the a capella “Ain’t No Cover” (again, soaring). There was joyous applause and Spektor seated herself at her piano …

“It’s so good to be in Milwaukee!” she shouted. “Hey, do they call you Mil-wookies?” Funny!

And then she offered a small public service announcement. “So what’s up with you guys smoking indoors?” she asked. … “Could you do me a favor and not smoke during the show?”

Then she took off on the snappy “On The Radio.” I love that song. And it was then, as Regina cued the audience to clap, that a smile spread over my face and I knew: There was no other place I wanted to be on this night.

The show flowed as she spun out one song after another: “Sailor Song,” “The Flowers,” and the uber-entertaining “Baby Jesus” and “Music Box.” For “Poor Little Rich Boy” she played her piano with one hand and used the other hand to beat a chair with a drumstick. Amazing.

About midway through the gig, she strapped on a teal green electric guitar for “Bobbing For Apples,” and then kept on the guitar for the cool retrospective “That Time.” (another favorite!)

She rounded out the set with “Apres Moi,” “Better” (yet another favorite!), “Summer in the City,” and a song from the John Lennon songbook, “Real Love,” before thanking the crowd and leaving the stage ...

By that point, she had been playing for almost an hour, and there was no doubt in anyone's mind whether she was coming back -- because she had yet to touch her best songs.

And boy did she raise the bar.

To start the encore, in what had to be the highlight for everyone in the crowd, she brought out Only Son, who opened the show (and frankly, I didn't pay much attention to him because he was rather uninspiring ...). He beat boxed while she sang for a giddy rendition of “Hotel Song” that brought the house down. Lucky for you, and for me, someone has uploaded the actual performance for me to share here (though it really doesn't serve the justice of experiencing it live ... for a better quality video of the Chicago performance earlier this year go here. I'm telling you -- super cool!) ...



Then she brought out “Fidelity.” And added the “Field Below.”

Then! she showed Milwaukee some love again, pulling out a song, called “Dead Rat,” simply because it had a reference to Milwaukee. Again, I give you the actual performance ...



Finally, there was only one song left to play. “Samson,” which interestingly had drawn the most shout-out requests throughout the night. It proved to be every bit as beautiful live as it is on the album ...

As usual, I stayed around afterward for a quick meet and greet with Regina, got my CD signed, and I was on my way back home ...

Listening to the album. Fully appreciating what I had just experienced.

Related reads ...
Two good reviews here from The Marquette Tribune and The Badger Herald.

Relaxed and ready.

Kates and I went to the farm this weekend to celebrate our anniversary and get away from the city life …

It was great. We caught up on some movies. Read. Hiked. Caught up on sleep. And ate … a lot of good food.

Now we're relaxed and refreshed for a new week.

Although it was weird not to have a little dog running round the house with us for the weekend.

And I didn’t like not having cable TV to watch the baseball -- but we did manage to flip on a radio late Saturday night to find out the D-Backs swept the Cubs. Figures. But you won’t see me shedding any tears over this one; I was never sure the Cubs belonged this year …

Oh yeah, and it’s 70 degrees outside … I’m wearing shorts -- during the first weekend of October in central Wisconsin. Unreal.

So about those movies …

The Girl in the Café … Not at all what we expected, and yet it was one of the most inspiring movies I’ve seen in a long time. From the writer of “Love Actually,” and “Four Weddings and a Funeral,” the movie features a Lawrence, a private and reserved man who has dedicated his life to working for the UK … One day he walks into a crowded café, the only open seat is next to a young woman, Gina, who is just as private … The two have barely known each other when Lawrence invites Gina to the G8 Summit in Iceland. There, the relationship between Lawrence and Gina flourishes, and Lawrence speaks his mind about the issues of poverty to Gina -- but not to world leaders at the summit. In the end, Gina’s not afraid to make her displeasure of the policies known … It’s slow-moving, but it’s wonderfully acted and it’s worth it, in my opinion …

North Country … Humbling. A fantastic story that will get your blood curdling at how badly the women working in this Minnesota mine were treated. Great performances by Charlize Theron and Frances McDormand … A worth watch.

Little Black Book … A hideously funny and immoral movie about a girl /associate producer of a trashy daytime talk show (Brittany Murphy) who gets a hold of her boyfriend’s palm pilot. She starts contacting his ex-girlfriends. She weaves a web of lies. And it all leads to a colossal, humiliating ending that plays out on live TV … Also starring Ron Livingston, Holly Hunter, Kathy Bates and Bob the dog … A decent watch.

And on Sunday night, we watched the Packers game!? … The Packers dominated the first half (Is it just me or is Brett Favre playing like a completely different quarterback this year!?), and they could have buried the Bears had it not been for James Jones’ two fumbles … which allowed the Bears to stay in the game and eventally take the touchdown lead in the fourth quarter …

But, hey, we didn't care. There's no worries or cares when you're on the farm.

The trials of being a Cabbage Patch kid

Best commercial on TV right now ...

Who should you vote for?

... So according to this quiz ...

I'm supposed to be voting for Dennis Kucinich. With Hillary and Barack not far behind.

Interesting.

TV talk

Ok. So I just finished cleaning off the DVR and watching the first round of premieres. This is a rare year for TV: I haven't been overly impressed or blow away with anything I've seen this time around; Or maybe I'm just becoming jaded and more picky in my old age ...

Here's a rundown of the few highlights ...

Reaper. I never would have imagined watching this one. I saw it on a what-not-to-watch list. It looked terribly cheesy. And it's on the CW. But my friend Liz said she wanted to watch it and suggested I might actually like it ... The plot revolves around Sam, a 20-something guy who works with his buds at a Home Depot-like improvement store. He discovers that his parents sold his soul to the devil after he was born and now must do the devil's work by capturing the bad guys ... It turned out, the more I watched the premiere, the more I got into it -- and the more I caught myself laughing out loud -- although I could've done without the blood and gore of the guy getting sucked up by the Zamboni. But the writing is smart, the character chemistry is charged and the hilarity of Sam having to use a Dirt Devil as his "vessel" to suck up the fire-throwing arsonist, and then having to go to the DMV /"Hell on Earth" /The Portal to turn in the vessel, was beyond comical. The icing on the cake is Tyler Labine as Sock; loved him in the dearly-departed Invasion and I think I'm gonna love him in Reaper ...

The Big Bang Theory. Also didn't expect to be watching this one, but I figured CBS put it in with their Monday night sitcoms -- there has to be something to it. So I watched -- and I liked it ... It's about a group of science geeks and their trials and travails in life and relationships. The episodes are way overloaded with nerd talk and science-geek references (We get it! They're nerds!) ... But the chemistry and banter among the characters is strong enough to keep me entertained. I found myself doing double-takes at Sheldon, played by Jim Parsons -- his character is reminiscent of David Hyde Pierce's Niles on Frasier, and I love it! And Kaley Cuoco as Penny, the girl across the hall, is surprisingly good, mature and fun to watch, far from the eldest daughter she played on 8 Simple Rules ...

Pushing Daisies. Talk about huuuuuge expectations ... I'm a sucker for anything that's as wildly colorful and whimsical as this show -- it reminds me of "Big Fish" ... More great character chemistry! Lots of potential! I'm in ...

Cavemen. Call me crazy, but I expected a little more out of this one ... It was awful. I stopped after the first commercial.

Private Practice. Ok, so I said I was boycotting it ... But I had to watch the first episode, just to be sure. Yep. I'm sure now. It's nonsene. And I'm not watching it ...

And the old favorites? ...

Survivor ... Eh. I'm not really digging the whole China thing, or this season's cast for that matter ...

Grey's Anatomy. I've settled on the notion that it's never going to be as good as the first season ... But I think Lexie's gonna grow on me ...

Heroes ... It's still mystifying, but the lust is wearing off this one too ... especially after that anti-climatic season finale last May ...

How I Met Your Mother ... still good. Mandy Moore in the premiere?! I'm set for another season ...

Two and a Half Men. Sorry guys. It's been fun ... but after watching the premiere, I have to say the jokes are wearing thin, and Jake has grown beyond them. Kates and I have removed it from our DVR ...

The Office ... Jim & Pam are dating! Dwight killed Angela's cat. And Michael hit Meredith with his car. Good stuff!

But my thing with The Office is this: As a whole, I don't think it's consistently funny. Rather, it's individual scenes that make it so good; they're instant classics. So in honor of the HA-larious-ness that is the The Office, I give you my three favorite Office scenes of all time ...

Enjoy.

Rockies rollin'

My tagline for the week:

Hey, I'm just happy I can start cheering for the Cubs whole-heartedly ...

Check this out and hear what Lou Piniella is saying.

More Cubs stuff ...
Chicago Tribune multimedia
99 things every real Cubs fan should know

* * *


How about those Rockies!?!

How about that game last night!?!

Going into the game, I couldn't say I was rooting for one team more than the other; I barely knew anything about either team. But as the game went on, the Rockies, their exciting lineup and their exuberant fans started to win over my heart …And when the Padres came from behind to tie the game at six in the eighth, I was all but certain it signaled the beginning of the end for Denver’s run …

Then the Padres put two on the board in the top of the 13th and send Trevor Hoffman, arguably the greatest closer this game’s ever seen, to the mound. Seriously -- game over … Nope. Kaz Matsui doubled. Troy Tulowitzki doubled. Matt Holliday tripled and drove in the tying runs … all with no outs.

I was doing all I could to squelch my clapping and screams, and not wake Kates.

Then Jamey Carroll hit the sacrifice fly to right field that sent Holliday sprinting to home plate, planting his chin in the dirt as he skidded past Michael Barrett, clearly not touching home plate for the winning run.

The unfortunate part of it, though, is that we’re going to have to listen for the rest of the week to ESPN and all the other sports talkers berating the umpires' disputed calls and pushing for instant replay in baseball. If you ask me, Tim Kurkjan put it best immediately after the game -- It was a heckuva ballgame, you’ve got the Colorado fans going crazy and you can’t say, “Oh, wait a minute, we have to review this play.” Then you take 10 minutes to review it, find out he did or didn’t touch the plate and oh yeah, now you can celebrate …

Nope. The absence of instant replay is part of what makes baseball, for lack of another word, pure.

And seriously, how awful was TBS’ coverage!? … Ugh. Good thing I'm a huge baseball fan and the game was exciting ... First of all, the announcers were such no-names TBS could've pulled any guy from the street into the booth and we wouldn't have known the difference -- Any stories or insights they provided were about as exciting as a pair of college-aged amatuers auditioning for their first internships. Plus the graphics were too gimmicky and large to digest, and Cal Ripken, sitting in the studio, looked as though he was in just as much disblelief at the unintelligent questions his partner was tossing him ... The last straw was when I caught one of the analysts say something like “Barrett has done a great job since coming over from the Mets” (He was traded from the Cubs, you idiot! He‘s never played an inning for the Mets in his career …) Worse yet, the analyst never bothered to correct himself, which leads me to believe the researchers or producers working behind him weren't any more competent ...

And we have more several more games of dealing with this.

I miss Jeanne Zelasko, Joe Buck and Tim McCarver.

* * *

Here’s what I’m thinking about the playoffs …

A couple weeks ago, I was saying Angels-Cubs.

But frankly, I’m not high on any of the National League teams right now …

I don’t believe the Phillies or the Diamondbacks are strong enough to advance, which leaves the Cubs and the Rockies. I’d like to think this could be the Cubs’ year, but c’mon it’s the Cubs, and they‘ve faded down the stretch.

The Rockies, however, are on a roll that’s going to be hard to stop -- check last night’s game as exhibit No. 1 -- They’ve won 14 of 15 games, and I would not be surprised if they blow through the postseason the same way last October’s Cardinals did … They're looking like a team of destiny.

In the American League, it’s the opposite. Angels-Red Sox, Yankees-Indians -- I could see any one of those teams taking it all … But injuries have slowed the Angels, and now I’m seeing the Red Sox rolling through the playoffs …

… And Yankees-Indians? Don’t even talk to me about the Yankees vaunted lineup and Mariano Rivera in the bullpen. At least the other three AL teams in the postseason have heart; the Yankees are robots. The Yankees have blown enough postseason games since 2001 (in addition to the fact they buy their pennants, rather than nurture players …) to lose their rights to be playing in October. It’s gonna be the Cleveland Indians in four games.

The Rockies will take the Cubs in five games; the Red Sox will beat the Indians in six.

Red Sox win the World Championship in a high-scoring seven-game series.

Baseball reads ...
a Burning questions: Race is over, now what?
a Here’s what the Sox need to get by the Angels
a Phillies celebration could be short-lived against a Rockies team of destiny

A very special Full House

That Full House Episode Where They Meet The Beach Boys Is On Tomorrow At 3 P.M.

WASHINGTON, DC —Officials have advised all Americans to remain indoors, huddle close with their loved ones, and stay completely silent unless it's a commercial.

... I loooooooooooved that episode!