Phillies: NL East Threepeat!

Blogging under the influence is becoming a tradition for me.

On September 30, 2007, the Phillies won the National League Eastern Division championship for the first time since 1993. From 2001 through 2006 they came agonizingly close to winning the title numerous times, but in 2007 a strong September combined with an epic collapse by the New York Mets allowed the Phils to finally break through on the final day of the regular season. I had a bottle of "champagne" (technically, sparkling wine) sitting unopened. That day, I opened it and polished it off in short order. While drinking, I wrote this post for the Outsports blog.

That year, the Phillies were eliminated in the playoffs as immediately as possible, swept away by the Colorado Rockies. One year later, the Mets seemed poised to win again, but once again they faded late, and on the next-to-last day of the 2008 season the Phils clinched another NL East title. I was fortunate enough to be at Citizens Bank Park to see it in person. When I got home, I drank again to celebrate (this time, Southern Comfort and diet cola) and blogged again.

Unlike 2007, however, 2008 had a happy ending, as the Phillies went on to win the World Series. It was only the second Phils' championship ever, and it was the first title for the city of Philadelphia since the 76ers' 1983 title. Having to go 25 years without a parade, while seeing upstart teams with no history -- and, really, undeserving fan bases (the 2003 Florida Marlins, the 2006 Carolina Hurricanes) -- win championships, was painful. To finally see a Philly team come through was exhilarating. So, once again, I drank (rum instead of Southern Comfort this time) to celebrate. And blogged.

And so we come to 2009. The Phillies struggled early, mainly due to their starting pitchers. Closer Brad Lidge, who was perfect last year, has been far from it this year. The rest of the bullpen has battled inconsistency and injury. But unlike the last two years, the Phillies spent most of the season on top of the division and, despite the pitching conundrums and other issues (such as the horrendous slow start by Jimmy Rollins), stayed on top the rest of the season. Even with a late-season swoon shrinking their lead from 8 to 4 games, setting off some panic from fans old enough to remember the Phillies' historic 1964 choke job, this team kept its cool and reasserted itself in time to win the NL East crown once again, and gave themselves four games to rest their regulars and reset the rotation for the postseason.

What this means for the 2009 playoffs, as the Phils attempt to become the first National League team to repeat as World Series champs since the Cincinnati Reds of 1975-76? Who knows? What I know, right now, is that the Phillies reign over the National League East, and that I am surprisingly capable of writing a coherent blog post even after consuming quite a bit of alcohol. The Phils rock! And so do I!

My Week In Comics 9-23-09

I'm going to start with, sadly, the worst of the books I bought this past week...

The Simpsons' Treehouse Of Horror 15: Just like the TV show, Bongo Comics puts out a special Simpsons Halloween-themed book each year. The problem with this is, the whole thing seems to be an excuse to experiment with different artists and writers. In the past this has included a lot of well-known comic creators. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. This book features a bunch of people, none of whom I've heard of. Between the art and the stories, the entire book reminds me of these comic strips that appear in alt-weekly papers -- the ones with writing that makes no sense whatsoever and art that is often just ugly.

Blackest Night: Superman 2 (of 3): This, on the other hand, continues to impress on all levels. As Superman and Superboy battle Black Lantern Kal-L (Superman of Earth-2), another black ring-wearer arrives and creates havoc in Smallville (one scene in particular is priceless) and Martha Kent is about to fight back against her Black Lantern captor. Meanwhile, there are four pages from New Krypton, where one punch from Supergirl obliterates the top half of her re-animated father's skull, only to watch as it grows back. Ewwwww, creepy!

Supergirl 45: Part 2 of "The Hunt for Reactron" finds Supergirl, Nightwing and Flamebird still on the run after battling "Squad K," a special military anti-Kryptonian unit, while Lois Lane is furious at a fellow Daily Planet reporter's fanning the flames of Kryptonian hatred. I'm furious...well, really just a little annoyed, because this particular storyline won't continue for another 3 weeks, as the Super-books focus on other parts of the larger story for the next two weeks.

Superman: Secret Origin 1 (of 6): The 35, 239th (okay, slightly exaggerating) and definitive re-telling of the beginning of the Man of Steel. As various writers put their own spin on Superman over the years, it becomes necessary to put it all together into one story and put it out for sale. Example: once upon a time Lex Luthor lived in Smallville while Clark Kent was Superboy. Then Clark Kent didn't don the cape and tights until he was grown up and Luthor never lived in Smallville. Now, Luthor did grow up in Smallville after all, and it's safe to say that Clark as Superboy will be back as well. Having said that, this is very well-done, both in story and art; also, it successfully borrows one or two elements from the "Smallville" TV series.

Superman/Batman 64: Still telling stories featuring Bruce Wayne as Batman. In this book we learn that Batman has a spaceship. Where does he get those wonderful toys? Anyway, Batman makes a discovery out in space that is merely a prelude to a story that will occur, according to the title page, three months away. My question is, will it still be Bruce Wayne/Batman that's featured, and if not, will Superman be out of New Krypton by then?

Detective Comics 857: The conclusion of the "Elegy" storyline in which Batwoman goes after her father, being held captive by Alice and the Cult of Crime, who are attempting to murder everyone in Gotham City. And Alice's last line in this book would seem to open up a whole new mystery.

Another Philly Sports 4-Team Update

I thought I'd compile some comments on the big four teams into one post. Let's do this thing!

Phillies: Phrustration, Panic? - The magic number to clinch the NL East remains at 3. The Phils lost a hideous game last night to Houston, and haven't beaten the Astros all year. There are 6 games left in the season starting tonight. The Atlanta Braves keep winning, so it behooves the Phils to win their games. There's way too much talk of 1964 around here, even though the Phils' lead then (not to mention the New York Mets' lead in 2007) was a lot smaller than the current 4-game lead at the same point in their respective seasons. The pitching staff is in a state of flux (especially the bullpen), between injuries and ineffectiveness. That is not a good sign. The hitters are not doing all that well either, which makes things worse.

Eagles? Still A Mystery - There's no real way to know how good the Eagles may be. Their 34-14 win over Kansas City Sunday was just another easy win over a very poor team. They're 2-1, with a blowout loss against a strong team sandwiched by two blowout wins over poor teams. The Birds have a bye this week, and their next three opponents (Tampa Bay, Oakland, Washington) aren't the best, to say the least. So if the Eagles are 5-1 going into their game Nov. 1 against the Giants, they'll finally have another test. Anything less will be a poor sign. That they signed linebacker Jeremiah Trotter, who's been out of football since the end of the 2007 season (and was cut by the Eagles before that season started), to a contract today says that there are still worries about the defense's weakest link.

Flyers: High Expectations - The NHL regular season begins Thursday, and the Flyers take the ice for the first time on Friday at Carolina. The Hockey News has picked the Flyers to win the Stanley Cup this season. There seems to be a consensus that this team will be in the mix, at the very least. The addition of Chris Pronger has to be pushing much of this. It's hard for me to join this chorus, as I worry about the goaltending and I'm still not 100 percent sold on head coach John Stevens.

76ers: Ummmmmm... - No, I still don't really care much. But they started training camp today. They have a new coach (Eddie Jordan) implementing a new system. Will it work with too many of the same old players?

My Sunday Night TV

Now that the networks are bringing out new episodes, there's a bit too much for me at the moment. Too many of the shows I watch regularly are on Sundays: "The Simpsons," "Family Guy," and "Desperate Housewives," all of which premiered tonight. Also, I sampled the "Family Guy" spinoff "The Cleveland Show" -- I don't think I'll give it a second chance. "Mad Men" is in the mix as well, although it started a few weeks ago and there aren't as many new episodes in the season, so it will be out of the way. (I'd include "Robot Chicken" as well, but their new episodes ended last week. Besides, it's a 15-minute show -- actually less, because of commercial time and the credits.)

I could, of course, DVR a lot of this and save it for during the week. That presents problems, though:

• The networks -- Fox, in particular, often skews things so that their shows begin a minute or two before the scheduled time ("The Simpsons" will start at 7:58 or 7:59, for example). Also, if they have a national NFL telecast in the 4:15 pm ET slot and the game runs late that may cause the schedule to be adjusted.
• I don't like to watch shows days later if I can help it. I like to read some recaps of shows on EW.com and I don't want to worry about avoiding spoilers.
• With my DVR I can record one network while watching a show on another network. If I do that, I can't watch the Sunday night NFL games on NBC. If the Eagles are one of the Sunday night teams, that takes away my options further. I have a second TV downstairs (besides my TV with the DVR in the living room) but the screen is smaller and there's no DVR.

I record the shows anyway so I can fast-forward through the commercials, but this generally means I'm either missing the Sunday night football or I only see parts of it, or I'm up really late at night -- like now, for example.

Because of all of this, I'm not watching the new season of "The Amazing Race." It debuted tonight as well. I never watched the show until the most recent season but I was really impressed. If I want to watch this season I'll have to catch up with it online, or perhaps the Travel Channel will have repeats later in the week, as they did last year.

I suppose I'm lucky that I only have this problem one night per week.

Quick Review: Jennifer's Body

I loved "Juno," which was written by Diablo Cody. After watching "Jennifer's Body," also written by Cody, I'm wondering if I was wrong about "Juno." A lame story in which a teenage girl (played by Megan Fox) becomes possessed or something after a fire burns down a bar where she and her supposed best friend (Amanda Seyfried) are watching a band play. She then seduces male classmates, who turn into her victims. Amanda Seyfried is a pretty young woman, but because she's playing the best friend of Megan Fox, they've got her in more frumpy clothes and glasses. (There isn't much of a transformation, though -- it's not like when America Ferrara turns into Betty Suarez on "Ugly Betty" -- which, by the way, returns in about 2 weeks. Yay!) And the way Megan Fox's character acts, even before turning into a serial killer, it makes no sense that they're best friends. (Heh. I used "Megan Fox" and "acts" in the same sentence. Now, if I somehow worked the word "well" in there, that would be amazing.) There are a handful of good lines but for the most part it doesn't work. It's not even cheesy enough to become a cult classic, despite the much-ballyhooed kiss between the two lead actresses. My grade: D-plus.

Media Pet Peeve

This story arrived last week. It seems innocuous enough...

Even as states and jurisdictions made gay and lesbian marriages legal, "The Newlywed Game" has played it straight — until now.

The long-running game show, now on the GSN cable network, said Wednesday it will feature its first gay couple this season on a celebrity edition. George Takei, who played Mr. Sulu on "Star Trek," will appear with his partner, Brad Altman.

Anyone aware that "The Newlywed Game" was even on the air somewhere, raise your hand...anyone?...no one? I thought so. The story goes on with the usual stuff -- comments from Takei, a GSN executive, current host Carnie Wilson (again, who knew?), some notes about the show's history, some hatemongering from a right-wing nut...wait, WHAT?

Dan Gainor, a vice president at the conservative Culture and Media Institute, said the move was a publicity stunt for a show most Americans didn't realize was still on the air. Despite Wilson's views, Gainor said he believed it was a political statement for the California-based show and network, coming in a state where voters banned same-sex nuptials months after Takei and Altman married.

"They're trying to use TV and the movies to set the gay agenda and make it mainstream," Gainor said.

And there we have it. There's no reason for the media to get a comment from these right-wing conservative creeps any time a story that remotely touches on a gay issue is mentioned. This isn't a story about a vote in Congress or an election. It's about a stupid TV show with an undoubtedly tiny audience.

Nearly every TV show in history has pushed and pushed a straight agenda, and no one finds the need to get a comment from gay activists for reports about those shows. No one wanted to know why Ricky Ricardo didn't have a gay brother, or whether Jed Clampett had any lesbian kinfolk back home.

This is simply more proof that the "liberal media" doesn't really exist. When push comes to shove, the mainstream media is much more conservative than anything else. We've seen it over and over. The "journalism" at the beginning of the Iraq War is just one example. This explains why the "birthers" and the "tea baggers" and the "creationists" and the other mental defectives get so much publicity. They're given respect and attention that they just don't deserve.

Please, Phillies, no more Lidge in 2009!

This simply can't go on any longer. Brad Lidge can no longer close out games in 2009. If the Phillies continue to put him out there, this team is GUARANTEED to fail in the postseason. Charlie Manuel has to face the simple fact that this is a lost year for Lidge. Yes, he was perfect in save opportunities in 2008. But he also had some luck. Remember when he gave up what would have been the tying run in Atlanta, except Shane Victorino made a hellacious throw to cut down the runner at the plate? Whether it's due to injury or just dumb luck or whatever, clearly 2009 is a down year for Lidge and there's no reason to think things will magically turn around by the time the playoffs start.

Tonight Lidge was brought into the game at Florida in the 9th with the Phils hanging on to a 6-5 lead, and promptly gave up two runs to lose the game. Todd Zolecki (Phillies' beat writer for MLB.com) tweeted this stat: "Since Manuel pulled Lidge on Sept. 8 in Washington, he is 1-3 with an 11.57 ERA in five appearances. Opponents have hit .391 against him." Actually, he's not 1-3. In his first game after that Sept. 8 game he came in with the team down 8-2 and pitched a scoreless inning. He then picked up three saves -- but gave up runs in every game. So a more accurate stat is: including tonight, in his last 4 games Lidge has given up 6 runs in 3 2/3 innings. That makes his ERA 14.73 for that span.

The problem is, right now there are no good options. Ryan Madson hasn't been any better than Lidge at closing games. Brett Myers is now nursing a strained shoulder and isn't likely to pitch again until next week. The rest of the bullpen is either similarly injured or not experienced enough.

After winning 2 of 3 in Atlanta, the Phils lost 2 of 3 in Florida. They're still up by 6 1/2 games and the magic number to clinch the division is 5. They have 11 games left: 4 at Milwaukee, then 4 at home against Houston and 3 at home against Florida. It is still extremely unlikely the Phils won't be in the playoffs, but with Lidge as their closer, they won't be there for long.

Good for K-Fed...'cept for the reality TV crapfest...

K-Well Fed is going to try and slim down! Kevin Federline is going to appear on the next edition of VH1's "Celebrity Fit Club," reports TMZ. I'm not sure why he doesn't just hire a trainer and chef, with all the money he got from Britney for watching their kids during her tour -- in other words, doing what a father's supposed to do anyway.

Wait, I take that back. Of course I know why he's going on a reality TV show. Like all has-beens and never-really-weres (guess which category he belongs to!) he's doing it for the money, and to feed his enormous...ego. And hey, TMZ says he'll be doing it with his ex-girlfriend Shar Jackson, mother of his two non-Spears offspring. And both will be joined by Bobby Brown, who apparently reacted to the comeback of his ex, Whitney Houston, by eating everything in sight.

K-Fed photos from TMZ...not for the faint of heart.

My Week In Comics 9-16-09

Three books this week...it certainly helps the pocketbook when there are fewer books to buy. Should I wish that the books I buy regularly become so bad that I won't want to spend money on them?

Blackest Night 3 (of 8): The Indigo Girls to the rescue! No, wait, it's the Indigo Tribe -- yet another group wielding power rings representing a color of the emotional spectrum. One of them explains that...I'll try and condense..."In the beginning there was only darkness, then the universe was nothing but white light, then the darkness fought back and white light was splintered into the colors, and now the darkness is fighting back again, thus the Black Lanterns." It seems that combining colors can neutralize the black rings and de-animate the corpses. Of course, this being part 3 of 8, it can't be that easy because there'd be no story left. This story continues to entertain, with more great dialogue between Flash and Green Lantern. Bonus: someone's turned into a pillar of salt!

Action Comics 881: Supergirl, Nightwing and Flamebird figure out that Reactron, who killed Supergirl's father, was involved in the events (in the "Codename: Patriot" arc) that have led them to be dubbed the "Metropolis 3" and wanted for murder, and they need to find Reactron to clear their names. Unfortunately, Supergirl and Flamebird, best friends as kids, aren't getting along so well now. The "second feature" in this book, featuring Captain Atom, is marginally more interesting since it's now definitely tied into the storylines occuring in the Superman books.

Simpsons Comics 158: After Homer runs afoul of the local homeowners' association, a new "friend" persuades him to run for the group's presidency -- and helps him win. Which reminds me of one of my favorite quotes from the TV show. After Homer starts a security company that takes over policing Springfield (Chief Wiggum having been fired for one too many screwups), he tells Marge: "You know, I've had a lot of jobs--boxer, mascot, astronaut, imitation Krusty, baby-proofer, trucker, hippie, plow driver, food critic, conceptual artist, grease salesman, carny, mayor, grifter, bodyguard for the mayor, country/western manager, garbage commissioner, mountain climber, farmer, inventor, Smithers, Poochie, celebrity assistant, power plant worker, fortune cookie writer, beer baron, Kwik-E-Mart clerk, homophobe and missionary--but protecting Springfield, that gives me the best feeling of all." Who knew you could get a job as a homophobe...oh, wait, politicians do it all the time.

Quick Review: The Informant!

The opening credits for "The Informant!" have this cheesy 70s-style look! The movie also has a campy score by Marvin Hamlisch! Who knew he was still alive?! Plus there are separate cameos from both of the Smothers Brothers! (One of them plays a judge! The other, I'm not sure because I didn't recognize him when he appeared earlier in the film! Or maybe I dozed off!) What the hell was Steven Soderbergh thinking?! The trailer made it seem like this would be wildly funny! However, it's not! It actually ends up in a rather sad place! Okay, I'll stop with the exclamation points now!

Matt Damon wore a lame mustache and put on some pounds to play Mark Whitacre, who blew the whistle on a price-fixing scandal at Archer Daniels Midland in the early 90s (which makes me wonder why it looks and sounds more like the 70s). We find out as we go along that there's more than meets the eye. Mark's off-the-wall narration isn't just a sign that he's a goof. Damon plays it very well; the acting in general is fine. The movie could have been a lot better, but the whole thing just falls kinda flat as we learn what else Mark Whitacre was up to and why. My grade: B-minus! Okay, one more exclamation point.

Reminder: there's a link on the home page that leads to a list of my grades for every movie I've seen in 2009.

Amateur plastic surgeons welcome!

More from Craigslist. I wonder how old this person is now?

Know of any body modification artists who can "pixie" my ears? (& more) (Tristate Area)

I've wanted my ears pointed since I was 11 or 12 years old. To do so, i believe you remove a triangle shaped piece of flesh from the top of the ear and stitch it back together into a pointed shaped, creating "pixie-like" ears. If anyone can do this or knows of someone who can, please let me know!

i'm also searching for tattoo artists willing to barter/trade...

aaaand i'm interested in any other mod services available... implants, piercing, scarification ect... i adore this stuff. and i'm an alt model, so help me make my body beatiful!

You're an alt something...that much is for sure...

Eagles Blown Away By Strong Brees

The score (Saints 48, Eagles 22) was more lopsided than expected but today's game went sort of how I figured it would.

There was a lot of concern about how the Eagles would fare with Kevin Kolb at quarterback due to the cracked rib suffered by Donovan McNabb last week. I felt the bigger problem would be the New Orleans Saints' offense, led by Drew Brees. Let's face it, Carolina didn't offer much of a challenge last week. Today would be a much tougher test, and the Eagles weren't up to the challenge. Brees threw for 311 yards and 3 touchdowns, and the Saints' offense rolled up 421 yards against the Eagles' defense.

A telling moment came late in the second quarter with the score tied at 10. It took the Saints two plays to go 54 yards and take a 17-10 lead with 0:43 left in the half. Still, the Eagles got a field goal of their own to make it a 17-13 game, and received the second-half kickoff...briefly. Ellis Hobbs fumbled the ball, it was recovered by the Saints and Brees threw his third TD pass. On the next possession Kolb threw an interception that led to another TD, making it 31-13. After that the Eagles never got closer than 14.

Kolb wasn't that bad. In the first half the Eagles moved the ball decently. Kolb's first-half numbers: 14-for-22, 196 yards, 1 touchdown. On their first possession, already trailing 7-0, Kolb hit DeSean Jackson for a 71-yard score, Kolb's first TD pass of his career. The game plan wasn't dominated by pass plays -- if anything, it was dominated by the Wildcat formation as much as anything. (I guess we can expect more of that next week when Michael Vick is activated.)

Kolb's final numbers reflect the way the Saints opened up the lead early in the second half, making it necessary to abandon the run: 31 for 51, 391 yards, 2 TDs, 3 interceptions (the last two in the last minute of the game really didn't mean much at that point).

The loss today is on the hands of the defense, and especially the hideous special teams; between the Hobbs fumble, the poor punting and the penalties, the special teams need to be put on the short bus and driven far, far away.

My iTunes Shuffle Baker's Dozen 9-21-09

I thought I'd do another one of these. While no Will Smith songs popped up, there were two from George Michael. After compiling the initial list shown below I let the shuffle continue, and as of now there have been no more repeats (of either artist or album).

Outside-George Michael
Numb-Pet Shop Boys
I Got Ya-Freaky Baby
Make Over-Christina Aguilera
You Will Know-Stevie Wonder
Wear My Ring Around Your Neck-Elvis Presley
Flawless (Go To The City)-George Michael
Until The End Of The World-U2
Moondance-Van Morrison
Sunday Morning-No Doubt
One Word (Chris Cox Club Remix)-Kelly Osbourne
Romantic (Single Mix)-Karyn White
Road Man-Smash Mouth

Quick Review: Inglourious Basterds

I don't know if I can do "Inglourious Basterds" justice. I'm not up to speed on all of Quentin Tarantino's films, and all of the things that have influenced him, but it seems like he throws every one of his influences -- other films, music, whatever -- into this movie somewhere, and to me it's kind of jarring. If he refined it, making a film that's an homage to one style or one theme, it would be more focused. It's hard for me to explain, not being a film scholar or a professional critic. At times I thought it was amazing, and there were other times I just found myself saying, "What the f...?" There's a brilliant performance from Christoph Waltz as Col. Hans Landa, the SS officer known as the "Jew Hunter." I wasn't so crazy about Brad Pitt as Lt. Aldo Raine, leader of the Inglourious Basterds, the squad of Jewish-American soldiers in Nazi-occupied France with one goal that is put simply by Raine: "We're in the killin' Nazi business." They do so very violently (so beware if you're squeamish). The premiere of a German propaganda film becomes a chance to take out the entire Nazi leadership, with both the Basterds and a Jewish woman who once escaped Landa's grasp making plans.

If you're a Tarantino fan you'll probably love it. If you really hate his work, you won't want to see it. I'm in the middle, having only seen some of his work and liking some ("Pulp Fiction") more than others ("Grindhouse"). So... My grade: B.

Not too desperate, are we?

More fun with Craigslist...and I thought it referred to Allen Iverson...

A.I. fans
Date: 2009-09-16, 2:47PM EDT

Justin Guarini will be performing on a local TV show on October 1st. We are looking for his fans to be in the audience, tickets are free. Arrival is 9 AM, taping at 10 AM and you will be out by 11:15, :30 AM the latest. if you are interested please email me with the ammount of tickets you would like......

So if you ask for, say, 20 tickets, no problem. After all, it's not about Allen Iverson.

My iTunes Shuffle Baker's Dozen 9-16-09

This shuffle continues to perturb me with its repeats. Two important questions: one, why did two songs from the same Will Smith album play back-to-back, and two, why do I own this Will Smith album?

A Dream's A Dream-Soul II Soul
Jack U Off-Prince
Let's Go Out Tonight-Craig Armstrong feat. Paul Buchanan
Fire-The Pointer Sisters
What's New Pussycat?-Tom Jones
French Kiss (Original Underground Mix)-Lil' Louis
Gettin' Jiggy With It-Will Smith
Big Willie Style-Will Smith
Little Sister-Elvis Presley
I Like To Score-Moby
I'm Going Bananas-Madonna
Do You Remember-Jill Scott
Same Thing In Reverse (Kamikaze Full Popswish Mix)

My Week In Comics 9-9-09

This was a really good week, although I'm still undecided on whether or not to continue buying one series, so we'll start with that one.

Red Robin 4: Concluding, sort of, the first story arc, "The Grail," complete with flashbacks to the final confrontation between two former Robins, Dick Grayson and Tim Drake, before Tim left on his quest to find Bruce Wayne. Said quest leads him to Iraq, of all places, where he finds something that confirms his faith that Bruce is indeed alive. (Nicely tied into the end of "Final Crisis," by the way.) Unfortunately, things take a turn for the worse and into the next story arc, which is why I'm not sure I want to continue with this series.

Adventure Comics 2: This book has everything so far. Superboy continues to establishing his new life in Smallville, trying to make sure he follows in the footsteps of one of his "fathers" (Superman) and not the other (Lex Luthor). Oh, and he has a touching reunion with Wonder Girl. Meanwhile, Luthor and Brainiac escape from General Lane's compound (thus keeping current with the goings-on in the Superman books) and Lex finds out some shocking news.

Superman: World Of New Krypton 7 (of 12): The banner running at the top of the books has been changed from "World Without Superman" to "World Against..." but it's the exclamation on the cover (a variation on a famous phrase from the movie "Superman II") that slays me. It refers to Kal-El's promotion in the New Krypton army. Almost immediately there's a threat to the new planet, and it's not coming from Earth. There's also a moment when Kal-El confronts someone who betrayed him and is not very Superman-like. Very chilling.

Blackest Night: Batman 2 (of 3): The whole "Blackest Night" story is really like a mashup of a superhero story and a zombie horror movie. Here, Gotham City continues to be under attack as the Black Lanterns' rings have gotten a major jump in power levels. Batman, Robin and Deadman, joined by Red Robin, try to stay alive, protect Commissioner Gordon (who has maybe the best line in the book) and Barbara Gordon, and then have to deal with some no-longer-dead relatives.

Y: The Last Man - Whys And Wherefores: The final paperback collection brings us to the end of a sensational story. Brilliant from start to finish. I challenge anyone who thinks they wouldn't be caught dead reading a comic book to pick up the first volume and try not to become hooked.

Strange Days Part 2: Eagles

The Eagles never cease to intrigue. So many question marks going into the season -- the effects on the defense of defensive coordinator Jim Johnson's death, Brian Dawkins taking his leadership to Denver, the season-ending injury to Stewart Bradley; the injuries to the rebuilt offensive line; the health of Brian Westbrook; the sudden, controversial addition of Michael Vick; the eternal analysis of Donovan McNabb's health/leadership qualities/state of mind -- led many local observers to believe that a slow start was in the offing. Some locals felt a subpar season was likely, even while many national observers were saying the Birds would be strong contenders for the NFC's Super Bowl berth.

Does the 38-10 rout of the host Carolina Panthers to start the year answer those questions? Not really. The defense played well except for the opening drive of the game -- the Panthers took more than half of the first quarter to march down and score a touchdown. It should be noted that a dumb facemask grab by the Eagles' Juqua Parker kept the drive going, and it nearly stalled a few times as Carolina used two timeouts and (on first-and-goal from the one) took two false-start penalties.

After that, the Carolina offense completely collapsed. Jake Delhomme lost a fumble that was recovered for an Eagles touchdown, giving the Birds a 10-7 lead. The Eagles' DeSean Jackson returned a punt 85 yards to make it 17-7, and the Panthers just melted down from there. Delhomme was intercepted four times before mercifully being benched, and the Eagles had a total of 7 turnovers. So it's hard to tell how much of this was due to good defense and how much was lousy offense. Game two will provide a better indicator as the New Orleans Saints will bring a much better quarterback (Drew Brees) and a more powerful offense to the Linc for the Eagles' home opener.

The Saints' defense isn't quite as daunting, so we'll also see what happens to the Eagles' offense. This week they only generated 267 net yards, and 185 of that, surprisingly, was on the ground. Westbrook averaged 4.9 yards per carry. The offensive line, missing two starters, held up well enough. Donovan McNabb had only 79 yards passing halfway through the 3rd quarter, when he scrambled 3 yards for the final TD of the game and suffered a fractured rib on a late hit in the end zone. Kevin Kolb -- the only other quarterback on the roster with Vick suspended for the first two games -- did little of note.

It's not known if McNabb will play this weekend but it seems improbable. Kolb, touted as the QB of the future since he was drafted, now has two challengers. Vick can't play until the third game, but the Eagles have brought back Jeff Garcia, of all people. Thus, a little more intrigue. The McNabb camp (particularly his mother Wilma) was rather miffed by the love affair between Garcia and the city in 2006. McNabb was hurt and done for the year. Garcia rallied the team to a surprise NFC East title and a playoff win. How will things turn out this time?

Before ending this, let's give a proper goodbye to A.J. Feeley, who was cut prior to the season because of the Vick addition. Rather than rejoin the Eagles, Feeley has apparently decided to sign with Carolina. Here's A.J. with his girlfriend, pro soccer player Heather Mitts:

Strange Days Part 1: Phils

The two Philly teams in action over the weekend had an unusual few days, so this is a two-part tale. We start with the Phillies, who had four games against the New York Mets, a team expected to contend with the Phils but instead find themselves trying to play the spoiler.

Friday's game found Mets' starter Nelson Figueroa giving up 9 hits and 5 walks in 5 1/3 innings, but only allowing 2 runs. The Phils wasted multiple opportunities, going 4-for-19 with runners in scoring position, and managed only a 4-1 lead going into the 9th. Phils' closer-for-the-moment Ryan Madson gave up a couple of hits, but the only run he gave up came on a double play, and the Phils held on for the 4-2 win.

On Saturday the first five Mets' at-bats against Jamie Moyer, starting again in place of J.A. Happ, went like this: double, single, 2-RBI single (David Wright), 2-run homer, single. Moyer settled down, lasting through the 7th and allowing just a 7th-inning run. The Phils' offense came to life, building up a 9-5 lead through 7. Brett Myers came on in the 8th, got an out, gave up a hit and then served up a 2-run homer (Wright again). The Mets got another run off Myers and Chan Ho Park to make it 9-8. Madson came on in the 9th, got two outs, gave up a hit, and got bashed for a 2-run homer (Wright yet again). The Mets went on to finish off the 10-9 win.

Sunday there was a day-night doubleheader. In the first game the Phils got an unexpected bonus: 7 1/3 fine innings from Kyle Kendrick, and took a 5-2 lead into the 9th. Deposed closer Brad Lidge was called upon, and gave up 3 hits and 2 runs, but managed to save the game.

In the nightcap, Charlie Manuel decided to let Pedro Martinez go as long as possible. Pedro ended up throwing an astonishing 130 pitches, the most he's thrown in a game since 2001, but gave the Phils 8 scoreless innings. He had 119 pitches in his last start. The two-game workload is somewhat insane considering his age, his inactivity for much of the year and his injury issues in recent years. Madson, trying again, got the save as the Phils made a first-inning run hold up. Depsite it all, the Phils took three out of four from the Mets.

With Florida losing two over the weekend to Washington and losing tonight at St. Louis, the Phillies' lead stands at 7 games with 20 games left, starting tomorrow against Washington. This is close to the Mets' 7-game-lead-with-17-left standing in 2007 prior to their epic collapse. The Phils of 2007, however, were playing much better than the Marlins of 2009, so a similar flop by the 2009 Phils remains very unlikely.

However, the continuing struggles of the bullpen -- much too similar to those of the Mets' pen in recent years -- do not bode well for the chances of another late October parade down Broad Street.

Must Have Great Wi-Fi

Another brilliant Craigslist ad...

IN A WELL, NEED LADDER (phila burbs)

I'm offering a reward for the first person who shows up with at least a 25 foot ladder to the well off of rt. 322 and Sugarsbridge Rd. My friends won't come because they think i'm joking. I'm definitely NOT... I have water but have not eaten in two days.

Reward is negotiable depending on how quickly you get here. And FYI to the kid that threw rocks down the well at me yesterday evening, I'm going to find you and do terrible thing (sic) to you.

I hope he has an umbrella keeping his iPhone or BlackBerry or whatever dry, because we've had lots of rain since last night.

Phils leave DC with bad game, bad hair

The Phillies finished a strange road trip with a 2-5 record. After the 4-game sweep at the hands of Houston the Phils won twice in Washington, but looked less than impressive. They finally started scoring runs, but most of them were on solo home runs, and Brad Lidge has finally lost his job as closer (at least for now) after another near-disaster. But last night they failed to finish a sweep against the worst team in baseball. Jimmy Rollins, who hadn't made an error in ages, made two last night. Joe Blanton, who's been stringing together quality starts for the last three months, reverted to his April-May form. The offense got two runs in the first and then were shut down until the 9th, when the woeful Nationals nearly let an 8-2 lead disappear.

An error, an infield hit and a walk was followed by a pinch-hit grand slam by Matt Stairs that ended two streaks. Stairs broke an 0-for-30 slump with his first hit since July (or, as a caller to sports-talk station WIP put it the other day: "The last time Stairs got a hit I had two kids and now I have three" since his wife gave birth recently). The Phils also had hit 17 consecutive homers without runners on base before the slam.

A Rollins single, a wild pitch, a Shane Victorino double and a Chase Utley infield hit later and it was 8-7 with the possible go-ahead run on first. But Ryan Howard grounded into a double play to end the game. The Phils' lead is now down to 5 games over Florida. They return home for 4 against the almost-as-woeful-as-Washington New York Mets.

Speaking of Victorino, what is he thinking with this hair?

Help out a poor struggling artist!

I stumbled upon this ad on Craigslist.

Attention CLUB OWNERS...

Vanilla ICE now taking dates for Club performances or Meet and Greets..

Interested?? contact us...

PLEASE HAVE A BUDGET BEFORE YOU CALL US...

Serious only

Yeah, okay. Here's the budget: pay me and I'll let you perform in my club. And in case you ever make a record again, don't steal any more songs!

Why Am I Not "Glee"-ful?

I've talked about how there needs to be a hook to get me to try out a new TV show, or one I haven't seen before. In the case of the Fox show "Glee," other than the hype and glowing recommendations (from paid media critics and ordinary folks alike), I didn't really feel any hook. I didn't watch the premiere when it aired in May. After a while, though, I watched it online.

I wasn't overwhelmed. It wasn't like it was a bad show. I've come to like Jane Lynch (the cheerleaders' head coach) from recent roles in movies such as "Role Models," and Matthew Morrison (as the glee club's director) is quite adorable. (Here's a recent interview from AfterElton.com.) The singing performances are interesting. But the whole concept just didn't pull me in.

Still, I watched the second episode last night, hoping that I'd see what everyone was raving about, hoping that something would click.

It didn't.

There's a lot that you would think I'd like about it, but I can't seem to connect with any of it enough to want to watch it again. Maybe if the high school was more remotely like what little I remember from my high school experience, or maybe if I had been in a glee club, or something. I can't figure it out.

It just feels like one of these cult shows that will air for a while and, depending on Fox's patience (they've killed off shows after one airing, and even before it got on the air in at least one case), then be canceled. Then there will be blurbs about groups of fans trying to save the show via online petitions or stunts. CBS got a bunch of nuts sent to their headquarters by "Jericho" fans, and decided that the show, having been canceled after one season due to low ratings, should have a second chance. Season 2's ratings were even lower.

So should I keep trying to watch it, or stop wasting my time?

Quick Review: Extract

"Extract" is a pretty solid, amusing film from Mike Judge, creator of "Beavis & Butthead" and "King Of The Hill." Jason Bateman plays Joel, the owner of a factory that makes, you guessed it, extract. He's become unhappy with everything he puts up with at work, and to make things worse he isn't getting any sex from his wife (Kristen Wiig). He gets an offer to buy the factory, but it's complicated by a freak accident -- which also results in the hiring of a temp worker, Cindy (Mila Kunis), whom Joel becomes infatuated with. With the his friend (Ben Affleck with long hair and a beard) and some mind-altering substances, Joel concocts a plan that will allow him to sleep with Cindy and not feel guilty. Jason Bateman does good work -- I like how he overcame his really slow career stretch after his child TV stardom and now gets good roles on a regular basis.

This movie has been described as something of a reverse on Judge's earlier "Office Space," this time with a more pro-management view. Since I still haven't seen "Office Space" I can't really compare them, but I think it's more balanced than that. "Extract" made me laugh a good deal, though, and in that it performs the primary duty of any comedy. My grade: B.

Robert Pattinson is BOTHERED!

This is from "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon." All I can say is: me too, Robert Pattinson. Me too.

Phillies: Time To Panic?

There seems to be a new trend for the Phillies: injuries to pitchers' obliques. Clay Condrey has been out since the end of July and is seemingly less likely to return at all this season. Today it was reported that Ryan Madson was unavailable for the four games the Phils just lost in Houston, and may not be able to pitch tonight in Washington. Most alarmingly, rookie J.A. Happ was supposed to start yesterday but suffered his oblique strain on Saturday -- during batting practice, of all things.

In addition, there's some concern about whether J.C. Romero will be ready soon, and today there are Twitter posts from local beat writers that Scott Eyre, who's inherited Romero's lefty specialist role, felt a pain in his left elbow. He said he's not worried about it, as it was "sharp and quick." The rest of us will be plenty worried for him, though.

Jamie Moyer stepped in as an emergency starter yesterday and, as he did with his three previous bullpen outings since being removed from the rotation, did a fine job. However, the team has stopped hitting. They've scored 4 runs or fewer in their last 13 games. They were 5-4 in the first 9 thanks to strong pitching. Then came the mess in Houston. Cole Hamels regressed (again), Brad Lidge blew a save (again), Cliff Lee got smoked for the second consecutive start, and yesterday Chan Ho Park coughed up the game in the 7th inning.

Despite all of that, the Phils maintain a 6-game lead in the NL East (7 in the loss column). The question is, assuming a Mets-like collapse isn't in the offing (and it likely isn't, because their opponents the rest of the way aren't that strong and the Braves and Marlins have weak spots as well), will this team be ready for the playoffs? The Phils were knocked out of the first round in 2007 by a red-hot Colorado Rockies team. That was not deeply depressing at the time. A similar result this year, after their championship run last year, will not be taken with good humor.

TLFT 8-9-09

TLFT stands for "Too Long For Twitter" -- just a random thought I had that, unfortunately, I can't find a way to shrink to 140 characters. Anyhoo..."Return To Sender" by Elvis Presley came up in the iTunes shuffle, and it occurred to me that modern technology has made it so that song lyrics will never be the same. "Delivery to the following recipients failed permanently" in an e-mail failure notice will never lead to a classic like "return to sender/address unknown/no such number/no such zone." Someday, when snail mail is but a distant memory, who's going to understand what "Return To Sender" is talking about?

My iTunes Shuffle Baker's Dozen 9-8-09

I haven't done an iTunes or iPod shuffle in a while. I've been trying to put together a playlist of my favorite uptempo/dance/disco-type songs, and right now I'm leaning towards a large list with hundreds of songs, because I can't narrow it down to 15 or 20. So I've been listening to that particular collection, still a work in progress.

I'd love to know exactly how iTunes selects songs in shuffle mode. Is it entirely random? Does it take into account how much music by a particular artist you have, or how much of a particular genre? And why does it seem like, in the most recent version, there are more repeats, either of an artist or an album? There's a repeat in this list, just 9 songs apart. It annoys the heck out of me...

Treat Me Right-Adeva
Who Will Save Your Soul-Jewel
I Need You (live)-Eurythmics
Baby You're My Light-Richard Hawley
Could I Have This Kiss Forever-Whitney Houston/Enrique Iglesias
Can't Stop-Madonna
Nails For Breakfast, Tacks For Snacks-Panic! At The Disco
Can You Feel It-The Jacksons
Dear Yoko-John Lennon
Promises, Promises-Dionne Warwick
Together Let's Find Love-The 5th Dimension
(My My) Baby's Gonna Cry-Eurythmics
Your Hurtin' Kinda Love-Dusty Springfield

Quick Review: All About Steve

The good news: Bradley Cooper loses his shirt fairly early. The bad news: it doesn't stay off long enough to distract us from the rest of this movie. Cooper plays Steve, a network TV cameraman (although why a news network would be based in Sacramento is beyond me). He's set up on a blind date with Mary (Sandra Bullock), a creator of crossword puzzles and, well, more than just a non-conformist -- she's an all-around nutcase. The date doesn't go well and Steve ends it quickly, but due to a poor choice of words Mary thinks he's into her. Plot contrivances lead to Mary chasing Steve cross-country as he and his TV crew, in their news van, chase breaking news. Mary takes a bus, then hitches a ride from a trucker, then gets a ride from a fellow oddball she meets along the way. Yet Mary keeps managing to catch up to Steve at all the stops where they're covering breaking news. Incomprehensible. There's a message about being yourself but it's buried by the stupidity. Bradley, if you're going to do crap like this, at least show some more skin. My grade: D-plus.

My Simpsons Love Affair

Back in 2003, to celebrate the 300th episode of The Simpsons, Entertainment Weekly came up with its list of the series' 25 greatest episodes. At the time I came up with my own list, although I didn't rank all 25 in order. I ranked the top 5, and then listed the rest in order by the season in which it aired. Only 7 of EW's top 25 made my list. I think that's more of a reflection of their incompetence than my personal tastes.

I'm thinking of going through that list and ranking them, as well as looking at some other episodes to decide if they may be worthy of my top 25. For now, though, I want to mention one of my picks -- not in my top 5, not on EW's list at all, but it sort of clinched the deal for me.

"Moaning Lisa" was the 6th episode in that first season. Lisa has a case of the blues. She's sent home from school with a note: "Lisa refuses to play dodge ball because she is sad." She meets jazz musician Bleeding Gums Murphy but it doesn't help much. Marge advises her to smile, even though she doesn't feel like it: "Take all your bad feelings and push them down, all the way down, past your knees until you're almost walking on them. And then you'll fit in, and you'll be invited to parties, and boys will like you, and happiness will follow."

Marge drops Lisa off for band practice and watches from the car as Lisa tries to take her advice. Watching the scene, Marge realizes she was wrong, pulls up and yanks Lisa back into the car and drives off, and then says, "Lisa, I apologize to you, I was wrong, I take it all back. Always be yourself. If you want to be sad, honey, be sad. We'll ride it out with you. And when you get finished feeling sad, we'll still be there. From now on, let me do the smiling for both of us."

Of course, that made Lisa smile, and she actually felt like smiling. I don't know why -- maybe it's the sentimental softy side of me -- but that was the moment I fully bought in to the greatness of The Simpsons.

It's CFM (College Football Marathon) Season

Here is your schedule of televised college football games for tomorrow, if you live in my area and subscribe to the same digital cable package as me:

Noon

ESPN: Navy-Ohio State
Comcast Network: Western Kentucky-Tennessee
ESPN2: Minnesota-Syracuse
Big Ten Network: Akron-Penn State
Big Ten XTRA1: Toledo-Purdue
Big Ten XTRA2: Montana State-Michigan State
Big Ten XTRA3: Towson-Northwestern
Big Ten XTRA4: Northern Iowa-Iowa
ESPNU: Kentucky-Miami (Ohio)

3:30 pm

ABC: Georgia-Oklahoma State
ESPN: Illinois-Missouri
Comcast Sportsnet, Fox College Sports Atlantic: San Jose State-USC
NBC: Nevada-Notre Dame
ESPN2: Western Michigan-Michigan
ESPNU: Jackson State-Mississippi State

6:00 pm

Comcast Network: Chowan-Old Dominion

7:00 pm

ESPN: BYU-Oklahoma
Big Ten Network: Northern Illinois-Wisconsin
Fox College Sports Central: Northern Colorado-Kansas
ESPNU: Louisiana Tech-Auburn

7:30 pm

Comcast Sportsnet: Western Carolina-Vanderbilt
Fox College Sports Atlantic: San Diego State-UCLA

8:00 pm

ABC: Alabama-Virginia Tech

9:00 pm

CBS College Sports: Buffalo-UTEP

10:00 pm

ESPN2: Maryland-California
Fox College Sports Pacific: Idaho State-Arizona State

10:30 pm

ESPN: LSU-Washington
ESPNU: Prairie View A&M-Texas Southern

11:30 pm

Fox College Sports Atlantic: Bloomsburg-California (Pa.)

Gee, that's only 29 games! I'm pretty sure that last one is on tape delay. ;-) Also, there was a listing for a game between Colorado and Colorado State on one of the Fox College Sports channels, but the listing said it was only on for an hour, so I'm assuming it's being joined in progress.

There are two scary things to consider. One, this is only the first weekend of college football -- there may be other weeks where even more games are on. Two, it may be even worse during college basketball season because those games are shorter.

Philly Sports 4-team Update

A few bits of news on all four teams, if I may.

Phillies: Just finished off a series win over the San Francisco Giants with a 2-1 victory tonight. Pedro Martinez outdueled Tim Lincecum (both pitching extremely well for 7 innings) and Brad Lidge got the save. The hitters aren't doing a lot but the pitchers are. With the Giants right in the thick of the NL Wild Card chase this was a possible playoff preview, so winning two of three -- including tonight's win over the 2008 NL Cy Young Award winner -- is definitely a positive. The Phils now travel to Houston for four, followed by three in Washington (where plenty of tickets will be available).

Eagles: Michael Vick is apparently (I say "apparently" since I haven't been watching) getting a lot of playing time in the second half of tonight's exhibition finale. I read that he scored a touchdown in the first half as well, although Kevin Kolb played most of that half. Vick will be eligible to play in Week 3 of the regular season, the NFL announced today. By the way, at shops on the Boardwalk in Wildwood, NJ this week I saw t-shirts saying "Hide your beagle, Vick's an Eagle" and "Watch your hound, Vick's in town." While I am not a Vick supporter, these shirts are kind of dumb considering that pit bulls are the dog of choice for dogfighters.

Flyers: Hard to believe that their training camp starts in nine days. Last month, at a camp for Team Canada (in preparation for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics), Simon Gagne strained his right groin. It was said to be a mild strain and the team didn't expect any problems by the time their camp begins, to me this is a concern since Gagne has had injuries in this area in the past and had hip surgery in May.

76ers: Ummmmmmmmm...well, they hired Ed Pinckney as a broadcaster...I guess that counts as news...

Hello? Temple/Daily News Q still needs the A

You may have noticed there's a little box on my site from Feedjit.com. That widget keeps track of where hits to my tiny little slice of the Internet are coming from, and how. In reviewing the live feed it provides, I notice I'm getting a number of hits on this recent post, from people Googling for the same information I asked for when I wrote it. It refers to the Daily News headline on Friday accompanying a photo of Temple's move-in day, a headline that was so bad they felt the need to apologize for it the next day (and again on Monday). Obviously I'm not the only one who missed the paper on Friday, so I'm asking again. If anyone knows or can find out what the photo depicted and what the headline said, please let me know.

I know you Temple people are all excited about tomorrow's football game (at least I hope you are), but that's no excuse. If it was that bad I would imagine there'd have been some talk about it around campus. Please help me and some anonymous Googlers sleep tonight. Thank you.

My Week In Comics: 9-2-09

I only bought one this week. This is so easy I won't be able to procrastinate! Just because I wanted the trip to be worth it, I almost picked up the final volume of "Y: The Last Man" but it wasn't on sale. I want a discounted price. I can buy it from Amazon if I have to, but I'm hoping one of the local comic book shops will have a timely sale. Anyway...

Supergirl Annual 1: There are two stories here. The first is about the repercussions of Supergirl finding a way to end a hostage situation in Metropolis at a time when Superman is away on New Krypton and other Kryptonians have been banned from the planet by the United Nations. The other tells how Lucy Lane, Lois's sister, ended up as Superwoman -- as part of the plan of their father, General Sam Lane, to rid the world of Superman and all other Kryptonians. Without spoiling it, the repercussions of this second story will play out in the weeks to come. For now, revel in Lucy's jealousy. Judging from the sad look on infant Lucy's face as she looks at toddler Lois and their dad beaming at each other, said jealousy started at birth.