Revolutionary T-Shirt...

You can buy this...for yourself, or for me, if you're so inclined. I first saw it a while back in a PhillyChitChat.com tweet that said it's on sale at the City Hall gift shop, and I've been meaning to look for it. I found it available at the Independence Visitors Center online gift store (probably can be bought in person at the center as well).

And in case you don't know what this t-shirt is paying homage to...

My 2011 Phillies/MLB Predictions

Ignoring the fact that I still have to turn on my heat, and that areas to the north of the city might get a little snow mixed in with rain tomorrow night, it's spring. And tomorrow (in some cities) and Friday (in others, including Philadelphia), the 2011 baseball season begins. Here are my predictions for the division and wild card winners. Keep in mind that I'm going basically on what little knowledge of other teams I have in my head. I used to avidly follow every little transaction and study up on the teams and their prospects. That was before there was the Internet and a zillion cable television channels and the occasional real-life event to dilute all of the information I may try to gather. I can speak in some detail about the Phillies (and will do so below), but not much about other teams. So these are nothing more than very slightly educated guesses...

American League East: Boston
American League Central: Minnesota
American League West: Oakland
American League Wild Card: New York Yankees

And in reverse order...

National League Wild Card: Atlanta
National League West: Colorado
National League Central: Cincinnati
National League East:
5. New York Mets
4. Florida
3. Washington
2. Atlanta
...and the Phillies to win the division for the 5th year in a row.

That, of course, will take some things going the right way. While I'm amused that, from what I've heard, a lot of the so-called "experts" are picking against the Phils, I'm not surprised.

Quick Review - Battle: Los Angeles

So I went to see a sci-fi movie and a war movie broke out...

There was one thing I was most curious about since I saw the first trailer for "Battle: Los Angeles" a while back: how could the people of Earth possibly defeat alien invaders against overwhelming odds? Seems to me that if beings from another planet ever actually travel across galaxies to invade or destroy our world, they're probably going to be successful. If their technology is good enough to get them here, logic dictates it should also be powerful enough to blow us all to hell. Of course, if that were depicted in a film I'm not sure it would go over well (and limits the possibility of sequels). As much as we like to see famous landmarks blasted to bits in movies, we always need to see some sort of happy ending.

But I digress from my opening point: instead of a lot of science-fiction stuff about aliens, this is a war movie -- or bits and pieces of a number of war movie cliches, to be precise. A series of meteorites landing off coastal areas near major cities around the world turn out to be alien ships, and the invaders attack swiftly. The movie follows a U.S. Marine platoon given the mission of rescuing some civilians from a police station in LA and getting them to a Forward Operating Base before the Air Force bombs the area, so at the start of the movie we learn some of their backstories. There's the staff sergeant (Aaron Eckhart) who's about to retire and is haunted by deaths of soldiers under his command on a prior mission, who ends up assigned to the platoon where the brother of one of those dead soldiers just happens to be a member; the guy who's about to get married; the lieutenant who's the platoon commander yet a lot younger than Eckhart's character; etc.

And, of course, there are setbacks and casualties and heroic deeds and sacrifices. All of that's fine, except I wasn't really planning on seeing a war movie. There's some talk about why the aliens came to Earth (via TV news reports) but the focus stays on the Marines and their mission. "Independence Day" has been mentioned a lot in reference to this movie. "ID4." while corny, made the idea of a world at war with aliens into a spectacle, but "Battle: LA" just tells us that war is hell. My grade: C-minus.

My Week In Comics 3-23-11

Business (or, the number of books I'm buying) has picked up the last couple of weeks, after that barren week where nothing awaited me in the store...

Batman, Incorporated 4: ...and it helps (or hurts?) that this series had an issue delayed, and now comes out with its second issue in three weeks. And they're weaving a story that includes flashbacks and current events, bringing old continuity involving the original Batwoman into play and getting the current Batwoman into the fray, with all of it affecting the situation Batman and El Gaucho are in down in Argentina.

Justice League of America 55: This is the next tie-in to the "Reign of Doomsday." As in the recent "Outsiders" issue featuring this storyline, the Doomsday stuff is squeezed in with other events involving the current iteration of the Justice League, but Doomsday's next target doesn't even show up until the very last page. The story is continued in a couple of weeks in Superman/Batman Annual #5, so why not just put the whole thing there?

Supergirl 62: Blue Beetle and Miss Martian join Supergirl and Robin as they track down the mystery man who created the superhero-tracking app as part of his plan to destroy the young heroes, and his connection to the Cadmus story that Lois Lane is investigating is beginning to make itself known. But it's a five-part story, and this is only the third installment.

Futurama Comics 54: Leela is abducted and taken to the planet Westminsteria, where she's going to be sold at a pet shop to a customer who will enter her in their annual Pet Show. Sound familiar? And in a second story starring Zapp Brannigan, his lieutenant Kif is promoted to captain, thanks to a timely...sneeze?

Quick Review: Limitless

Bradley Cooper was definitely the right second choice for "Limitless," much of which was filmed right here (although it takes place in New York). I read the Wikipedia entry for the movie (as I usually do, to refresh my memory about names and places and such when I write these things), and it says that Shia LaBeouf was originally going to star. I don't think that would have worked at all. Cooper plays Eddie Morra, something of a loser. His apartment's a mess, he's barely started on the book that's overdue to be turned into his publisher, and his girlfriend Lindy (Abbie Cornish) has just dumped him. Then he runs into the brother of his ex-wife, a drug dealer who offers Eddie a sample of a new drug that's supposed to increase your brain's efficiency to the extreme. Eddie tries it, and it works! He cleans his place and writes a bunch of pages of his book. Problem one: it doesn't last too long, and when Eddie visits his ex-brother-in-law he finds the guy murdered. He finds a stash of the drug and some cash, and remakes his life completely, getting his girl back and making stock transactions that draw the attention of a shady tycoon (Robert DeNiro). Problem two: the drug has side effects, one of which is a lapse in memory, and he may have killed a woman during one such blackout. Problem three: Russian mobsters are after him, as is another mysterious man. It's a little preposterous, and the tacked-on additional ending (the one where Cooper, DeNiro, etc. were reportedly brought back here to film) is even more so. Cooper really shows some range, though, going from down-and-out, confused mess to sharp-witted, borderline arrogant success. The movie's worth it just for that (and one shirtless scene) -- Shia LaBeouf couldn't have pulled this off. My grade: B-minus.

Quick Review: Paul

Another example of a movie that started out slowly and then grew on me as it went on is "Paul." It starts out with Graeme and Clive (Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, who've done this before in "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz") coming from Britain to the US to attend the San Diego Comic-Con, and then take a road trip in a rented RV to sites of famous alien encounters such as Area 51. On the trip they have a run in with a couple of homophobic rednecks -- the running joke is that everyone thinks they're a couple -- at a diner (Jane Lynch makes a great waitress),  and then witness a car crash where they meet Paul, a real live alien...well, animated, with Seth Rogen's voice. Paul is escaping from the government agency that's been keeping him around since 1947, when his ship crashed on Earth, and needs help getting to the rendezvous point where he's to be picked up by a rescue ship. At a trailer park they meet Ruth (Kristen Wiig) who runs the place along with her father. They're devout Christians to the point where they don't believe in evolution -- or aliens. This is a problem when Ruth sees Paul, and Graeme and Clive end up taking Ruth along for the ride lest she alert the authorities. The beginning, with all the comic-book stuff and the rednecks, was too obvious and cliched, and the running gag about Graeme and Clive being a couple irritated me. But it's well-acted, and as the movie got into the chase aspect (Jason Bateman, as the lead agent trying to track down Paul, and Sigourney Weaver, as his superior, are excellent), and as Ruth, now questioning everything she believed since she now knows aliens are real, starts to let loose, the humor begins to shine. Lots of nods to sci-fi of all kinds, especially Steven Spielberg (who has a cameo). My grade: B.

A Weird Twitter Account

Before we get to the weird Twitter person(?), I have to mention my download of the Firefox 4 browser. It seems to open faster than previous versions, and although a few menus and such are moved around, I find I like it. One thing I worried about was two of my add-ons: Flashblock and Screengrab.  Flashblock keeps those annoying Flash ads (and anything Flash, actually) from opening unless you click on an icon. Screengrab is pretty much that: a tool to capture an image on your screen. With Firefox 4 being brand new, I feared that neither of these add-ons (essential to my enjoyment of the Internet) would work.

However, the Flashblock has worked fine. Screengrab doesn't -- but, it turns out, there's something called the Snipping Tool that's included in Windows Vista that does the same thing. I just tested it with the images below, as well as a YouTube video, and it seems to work exactly the same. Why didn't someone tell me I never needed Screengrab to begin with? I blame all of you. Anyway, browser-wise I'm fully functional again, and can now present to you the entire Twitter history to date of this account -- that both followed and unfollowed me in the span of two or three days. Read this first one from bottom to top...

Wow. This guy has a serious mad-on for Wal-Mart, huh? Although his Twitter ID is odd, considering...but wait! All of those tweets were done on January 10th. Then, nothing. Until...

Sirius-ly?

Ever since I canceled my Sirius satellite radio subscription, they've been trying to get me back. There was the occasional letter. Recently, there were phone calls. Many phone calls. What started out as an occasional call became at least two calls a day. Both in the morning and in the late afternoon or early evening, like clockwork. I did some Googling and found some discussion board comments saying that they're pretty relentless. (Or desperate, as I mentioned in the above-linked post; the letter I got today again offered the $20 for 5 months' service deal.) An automated calling system dials your number. If you answer, you're then connected to one of their representatives. And even if you ask the caller to stop calling you, to remove you from their system, that doesn't always work.

The first times the calls came in, since I didn't recognize the number showing up in my caller ID I didn't bother to answer. There's never a voicemail (since it doesn't connect to the rep unless you answer). One night I finally answered and the caller said, "I'm calling from Sirius/XM..." At that point I hung up. Then the calls began coming twice a day, every day. So I took a new, more fun approach. If I was in front of my computer when the call came in, and if I was listening to music, I'd pick up but not say anything, and just put the phone down on my desk next to a speaker. After a bit they'd hang up. I did this three or four times in a week.

In the last few days I haven't had any calls. I'm not sure if they've finally given up or not. I had planned to begin vehemently cursing out the callers, but I thought of something else instead. On their website I still have an account setup (where I could log in to make payments, etc.). So I changed the phone number in my contact information. Remember the phone number that we used to be able to call to get weather forecasts? That's my new phone number...as far as Sirius is concerned.

Elizabeth Taylor

Almost non-stop since I heard the news that Elizabeth Taylor passed away, Michael Jackson's song "Leave Me Alone" has been stuck in my head. Of course, that's because of the music video...



In the midst of the surreal carnival ride, there's Michael's "shrine to Liz," and there she is in all her ageless beauty.

Her most iconic movie roles took place before I really began to watch a lot of movies, so I can't really speak about her acting career. For me, she's defined by her powerful advocacy in the fight against AIDS, dating back to the days when the stigma and prejudice was so extreme.

On a less important level, she's defined by a lot of the pop culture buzz that sprang forth from her life. Her many marriages. (Richard Burton, okay, but Larry Fortensky? Really?) Her illnesses. Her treatment at the Betty Ford Clinic. Her weight. Her appearances on "The Simpsons." And, of course, her friendship with Michael Jackson.

Rest in peace, Liz.

MixBlog 3-22-11

Let's discuss a few topics, shall we? We'll start with sports and then move on...

Flyers' goaltending. Is it now back to being a weakness? Tonight's game against Washington, besides being the first of 11 games to finish the regular season, was the start of a five-game stretch which may well determine if they'll finish first in the Eastern Conference. Four of the games are against teams breathing down their necks: Washington, Boston and Pittsburgh (twice). Rookie goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky hasn't had wins in back-to-back games since January. Tonight he let in three weak goals in little over a period, and was yanked in favor of Brian Boucher. After the Flyers stormed back to take a 4-3 lead and were dominating the game, Boucher let in the tying goal late in the third period and was absolutely shredded in the deciding shootout (which shouldn't decide games anyway, but that's another story). The Flyers got a point but are only 1 point ahead of Washington now instead of the 4-point lead they could have had. Can one of these goalies get hot in time for the playoffs, please?

Phillies and Luis Castillo. Even though everyone who's seen him this spring thinks he's washed up, including the Mets, who released him, the Phils decided to bring him in. Since he signed a minor league deal the only way he'll be paid anything by the Phils is if he actually makes the team. So it's essentially a nine-game tryout to see if he can beat out the competition to hold down second base while Chase Utley is out (which, just because of the fact that the Phils brought in Castillo, seems like it will be for quite some time). They basically agreed to terms Sunday night, made it official Monday morning...and somehow Castillo failed to arrive until after game time today. It's been blamed on a "miscommunication," but come on. I'll be stunned if this stiff wins the job. The guys already competing for spots have done fine, from what I've heard.

My Week In Comics 3-16-11

Still alternating between movie posts and comic book posts, so guess what's next? Oh, you've already seen the title of this post? Never mind. This will be really quick, though...

Superman 709: I've been annoyed with this book for some time, with this mopey Walk Across America story, but this particular issue, guest-starring the Flash, was actually an improvement on recent issues. Besides, he's in Boulder, Colorado now, which means he's almost all the way across the country.

Simpsons Comics 176: This fabulous issue can be summed up in three words: Crazy. Cat. Lady.

See? Really quick.

Quick Review: Cedar Rapids

If you read this recent post and also follow me on Twitter, you know that on Thursday I was rushing to see "Cedar Rapids" before noon (the 11:40 showing, to be precise) -- because I wanted to pay the cheaper ticket price and because I feared it was the movie's last day at this multiplex -- and actually missed a small portion at the beginning. Apparently, unlike movies where five or six trailers are shown before it starts, this one started a lot closer to the scheduled time. From what I previously read about it, I believe I got there during the first scene after the opening credits, which showed insurance agent Tim Lippe (Ed Helms) in bed with a female companion (Sigourney Weaver!); reading Roger Ebert's review just now, it seems he is still living in his hometown of Brown Valley, Wisconsin -- and she was his grade-school teacher. Yikes! Tim sees her as a serious girlfriend (his first, I guess), while she's just having a fling. After another agent at his company dies suddenly, Tim is assigned to take his place at an annual insurance industry conference in Cedar Rapids and make sure he brings back a coveted award that the firm has won four years in a row. Tim is naive about almost everything, having lived a very simple life and having never left town before. At times it makes sense, as when he learns exactly how his co-worker died and how said dead guy actually won those awards. At other times it's a bit beyond comprehension, as when he doesn't quite get that he has to go through the TSA screening process to board his plane, or leave a credit card imprint when checking into his hotel ("I was told you would honor travelers' checks.") But Tim eventually gets a little up to speed with the help of other conventioneers, including Anne Heche, Isiah Whitlock and John C. Reilly. The movie is quite funny, as Tim experiences a lot during this convention (including alcohol and drug use) and becomes a little more wise in the ways of the world. And, by the way, it's still playing at the theater I was rushing to last week. With any luck it's still playing at a theater near you. My grade: B-plus.

My Week In Comics 3-9-11

A week after I had nothing to buy, I ended up with five books -- thanks to one featuring a storyline tie-in and another being the final issue of a miniseries. So we'll get to them first...

The Outsiders 37: This is the tie-in book, that story being the "Reign of Doomsday." Much of the book was about the Outsiders themselves, though, and not only was I not interested in that aspect of it, I didn't like the writing throughout very much at all. But hey, just like in the recent Steel special, Doomsday displayed new powers and easily absconded with a severely wounded, if not dead, Eradicator. If you're familiar with the post-death of Superman period in the comics, he had four replacements. Two, Steel and the Eradicator, have now been attacked by Doomsday. So obviously Superboy and Cyborg Superman are in Doomsday's sights.

Victorian Undead II -- 5 (of 5): While this whole "Sherlock Holmes vs. ______" idea was fun, I think it's sort of run its course. After defeating zombies, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and, in this concluding issue, Dracula, I'm not sure they can keep going back to the well. Or can they? Holmes vs. Frankenstein? The Mummy? The Wolfman? For now, my Holmes fix has to come from...

Quick Review: The Adjustment Bureau

Although "The Adjustment Bureau" is a science-fiction tale on the surface -- the titular bureau guides people into certain actions that affect their lives and the lives of others -- it's really a love story. A young candidate for U.S. Senate from New York, David Norris (Matt Damon), loses the 2006 election due to a scandal (not much of one, but then again I'm not as prudish as some). On Election Night he meets Elise (Emily Blunt) hiding in the men's room -- she was crashing a wedding held in the same hotel where David was giving his concession speech. Their encounter leads him to ditch his speech and speak from the heart, and that catapults him back into favor with the voters, setting him up for another run in 2010. It also leaves him enthralled with Elise, whom he never thought he'd see again until they happen to meet on a bus. Then he stumbles upon the Adjustment Bureau in mid-manipulation, and is warned by one of the higher-up "caseworkers" (John Slattery) that he was never meant to see Elise again. Their plan for David is to be elected to the Senate and go on to bigger and better things, while she is to become a world-famous ballet dancer, but if he continues to pursue Elise none of that would happen and they'd be forced to "reset" him -- something like a lobotomy. The movie delves into the conflict between man's free will and God's plan (essentially, the caseworkers are angels and God is "the Chairman," although they don't explicitly identify themselves as such), and what happens if the plan changes, but at its heart it's about the romance between David and Elise, fighting to stay together even as the forces of heaven try to keep them apart. Conveniently, the angels -- sorry, caseworkers -- have some weaknesses that affect their power, giving David a fighting chance. The ending was kind of a cop-out, though. My grade: B-plus.

WTF, George Michael???

This is so awful! George Michael's cover of the New Order classic "True Faith" makes me want to stab my eardrums!



Talk about taking a song and draining the life out of it. It seems to be a charity record (the audio was recorded from BBC radio and the DJ says it's for Comic Relief -- I didn't know that was still around). That would be the only reason for anyone to consider purchasing it.

Here, enjoy the original instead:

The 700 Club

The title of this post may bring me some hits from people looking for information on that sleazy Pat Robertson garbage TV show. (It actually refers to the fact that this is my 700th post.) With that in mind, I should probably post a bunch of nude photos of every imaginable type. However, this blog is not rated X. Other than a rear end or two, there's no nudity. So, I think they should enjoy this, instead:

There. That, and my oft-repeated line that God is a black, Jewish pro-choice lesbian, ought to rile them up.

(Sigh. That "Glee" episode is still on my DVR. I've watched it in full twice, and I've repeated this scene a couple times more.) 

Anyway, I've got a minor SEPTA complaint. I understand that traffic and other circumstances can cause a bus to be running late. But it should not happen when you're waiting for the bus at either end of the route. A bus should at least start out on time on its journey. Tuesday I was waiting for the route 84 bus at Franklin Mills Mall. They changed this route so that, on weekdays, about half of the runs on the route start at Franklin Mills instead of Bustleton Ave. and County Line Rd. When the bus ends its northbound run at the mall, the driver has a short period of time until the return trip to Frankford Terminal. I've noticed they usually drive to one of the nearby parking lots to take this break.

Apparently the driver of this particular bus took a nap or something, because he was 5 minutes late coming to the pickup area. The bus was scheduled for a 4:02 start, and he didn't even get there until 4:07. I wrote down the bus numbers and I'm notifying SEPTA.

Still have to get to those blog posts I mentioned yesterday...stay tuned.

Status Update (And A "Glee" Bit)

Howdy! Haven't blogged in a couple of days so I feel the need to put something up here, but nothing too time-consuming, as I want to try get up early enough to catch a movie tomorrow. The goal is to see "Cedar Rapids," but it's only playing at AMC Neshaminy, which means I have to see it before noon or else pay $9 instead of $6, and since it's been there for at least two weeks now I fear it'll be gone if I don't see it tomorrow. And since Neshaminy Mall isn't as close as Franklin Mills, I need to get up earlier.

I've got only one movie to review ("The Adjustment Bureau") but I'm behind in my comic book updates (and that's even with not buying anything on March 2nd -- the one book I was buying that week got delayed). I still have this great, philosophical idea rolling around in my head -- I've had it for a few weeks and have to sit down and get it out.

But let me just mention last night's episode of "Glee." Something happened that kind of amazed me, and I really am curious to see how it's handled in future episodes.

It's not this kiss, however. (Regarding that, though: swooooooooooooooooooooooooooon. So adorable. Kurt and Blaine are now a couple.)

The wife of Ohio's lieutenant governor (after telling the crowd that "My husband is verbally abusive and I have been drinking since noon") announced that New Directions won Regionals and was headed to New York City for Nationals. At which point Sue Sylvester (who was the coach of Aural Intensity) walked over and punched her in the face, dropping her on the spot. TKO. She then turned and began to walk away as the groups on stage began to react...annnnnnnd cut! On to the next scene.

It was quite stunning, even by Sue standards. But we all know what would happen in real life if someone did this: the Secret Service (or state/local versions of such) throw him or her to the ground, and perhaps get a few shots of their own in while making the arrest. A high bail is set, and the assailant eventually is found guilty and sent off to jail. After all, you just don't punch an elected official's spouse.

But this is "Glee," where a kid in a wheelchair plays on the high school's football team. So when the series returns from rerunville next month, my guess is this will either be forgotten or quickly and absurdly resolved.

Quick Review: Rango

I'm gonna keep this a bit shorter because I want to try and go to bed at a semi-decent hour, after having been up all of last night (until about 11:30 am, actually). Johnny Depp is clearly having lots of fun voicing the title character in "Rango." He's a pet chameleon whose cage is thrown from the back of the car it's in. He ends up lost in the desert, and makes his way to a town called Dirt (populated by various creatures), where water is in extremely short supply and events lead to his becoming the sheriff. It cribs from a lot of other movies -- mostly Westerns, of course, since that's what it is -- but it mixes it all up into a fun, quirky little package. By the way, although it's animated it's not the typical all-ages movie. The youngest moviegoers either will probably be bored or scared. My grade: B-plus.

Quick Review: Take Me Home Tonight

Some things you should know about the film "Take Me Home Tonight" whether you see it or not:

• It was filmed in 2007 and has been sitting around ever since.
• The film takes place in 1988, according to Wikipedia. I knew it was set in the 80s but not specifically which year. More on this in a moment.
• It stars Topher Grace as a college grad who can't decide what to do with his life, so he works at Suncoast Video. He lies about this when he has a chance encounter with his high school dream girl (Teresa Palmer), whom he's always regretted never asking out.
• Later, after seeing each other at a wild party and getting some quality time, she tells him that the thing she likes most about him is his honesty.
• I saw that line coming from ten miles away. The movie is that predictable.
• Grace's character's twin sister is played by Anna Faris.
• I normally love Anna Faris but this film somehow turned her into a version of Drew Barrymore.
• And not a good version of Drew Barrymore.
• An opening scene, which takes place in a record store, shows large displays of 1980s records.
• Record stores back then (maybe they do still this now, but the only chain I have access to is FYE, and their displays don't quite fit the mold) had those large displays to sell current album releases.
• Among the 1980s records displayed: "Touch" by Eurythmics and "Bad" by Michael Jackson.
• "Bad" was released in 1987. "Touch" was released in 1983.
• Perhaps the worst offense of all: of all the 1980s songs in the film, there was one in particular that was missing.
• You guessed it: no love for Eddie Money's "Take Me Home Tonight." My grade: D-plus.

Japan

I was on Twitter and dreading a barrage of Charlie Sheen news (apparently police were raiding his house last night) when the first mention of an earthquake in Japan hit my news feed. It turned out to be so devastating that, at least for now, just about everyone seems to be ignoring Mr. Sheen. I wish it had been something less terrible than this, however, knocking him off the airwaves and Twitter/Facebook pages.

I started switching between CNN and MSNBC, fascinated and horrified. Fascinated because it's not often you see a disaster movie come to life. Horrified because of the destruction, of course, and also because of the quality of television news. Granted, it was the middle of the night in the United States and the anchors pressed into service aren't the most famous names. But I heard some inane commentary.

One woman on MSNBC kept interrupting her interview subject, an NBC producer stationed in Tokyo, to ask if he could see the video that was being shown. At another point, she and a Weather Channel meteorologist were discussing the tsunami warning issued for Hawaii and the two of them couldn't figure out the time difference between Hawaii and the U.S. East Coast. Sample: "If it hits the East Coast at 5 a.m then it's 3 a.m. there..." The two went back and forth until finally someone informed the weather guy that there was a five-hour difference. Of course, it wouldn't be easy for the tsunami in the Pacific to hit the East Coast.

Perhaps the worst came when there was video of the water surging over some farmland. There was a comment -- and I"m not sure which network I saw it on -- to the effect that "it's good that the tsunami hit a sparsely-populated area." There were a number of buildings and vehicles in the area they were showing. Just because it's not a big city doesn't mean it's not populated. Besides, the tsunami didn't just hit one area of the coast. Look at the video below. Those houses came from somewhere.



So often the interviews (of experts and eyewitnesses) make me NOT want to watch the news, even when it's something like this, the interviews are that bad. Just let the cameras show the event. If you have a reporter on the scene, let the reporter talk.

Philly Fans Pushing Panic Buttons?

Surprise: sports content on my blog! It's been a while. However, there are a few things that need to be discussed.

First, let's not go overboard on the Flyers just yet. Sure, they had a four-game losing streak before last night, losing to teams ranging from middle-of-the-pack to the bottom of the standings (including a 7-0 embarrassment against the New York Rangers). And the win that broke that string wasn't exactly impressive (after a dominating first period, they allowed the poor Edmonton Oilers to stay in the game right to the end). But they're still in first place in the Eastern Conference and it's best to get the bad games out of their system before the playoffs start. Also, apparently a combination of a flu bug and -- believe it or not -- too much practice took a lot of energy out of them last week.

On the other hand, it might be time to worry about the Phillies just a little. I repeat: just a little. For now.

Chase Utley hasn't played in a game all spring due to a right knee problem. While it doesn't seem to be getting worse (it's not getting better, either, which is the problem), the pronouncements from the Phillies seem to get a little less optimistic each time. It's gone from "just sore and needs a day or two of extra rest" to "MRI shows tendinitis, needs more rest" to "getting a cortisone shot in the knee" to "doing another MRI, mild patellar tendinitis and chondromalacia." Some (and by "some" I mean rabid talk-show callers) have decided it's time to make a major trade because Utley's out for the season. This is soooooooo way off in the future. They're going to give the knee rest and treatment and worry about possible surgery if that doesn't work.

But it does seem likely that Utley won't be in the lineup at the start of the regular season. The Phils already have the Jayson Werth hole to fill. That right field job seems to be Ben Francisco's to lose, since Domonic Brown went 1-for-16 to start the exhibition season before breaking a bone in his hand and undergoing surgery that will have him out for up to 6 weeks. After that, I'm sure Brown will go to the minors until either Francisco (and other possibile fill-ins such as Ross Gload and John Mayberry Jr.) fails or Brown is crushing triple-A pitching so much that the Phils bring him back. If Utley misses significant time, it'll add a little more pressure on Ryan Howard and the rest of the lineup. Even the Phils' mighty starting pitchers can't win games if the offense struggles.

Although there's no panic button being pushed here, I have to mention the 76ers. They've been on quite the run. They lost tonight in overtime, letting a 5-point lead get away in the last minute, but they've still got a winning record (33-31, 30-18 since their 3-13 stumble from the gates). Everyone who follows basketball says that right now they're a fun team to watch, but that fun isn't selling tickets as their attendance is still terrible. I have a dream, though: that the Sixers knock off that ridiculous Miami Heat team in the first round of the playoffs. It's likely a pipe dream, but wouldn't it be awesome?

Which TV Legend Invaded My Dream?

(Note: This picture of deep-fried Oreos is a placeholder. When the Networked Blogs Facebook app posts this it displays the first picture as a preview, and I don't want it to spoil the surprise.)




Normally I don't remember my dreams after I wake up. Sometimes they linger in my mind a little, and then fade. Now and then I have a dream that is so off-the-wall that it can't help but embed itself into my brain. The best example of this is the one where I was dreaming that I was in bed and someone I used to work with...wait, I'm not ready to discuss that one.

I had two dreams a while back in which guys I've played softball with were actors, or supposed to be actors. In the first, I was walking down the street and saw George sitting in a car. He was dead...or so I thought until someone said, "Don't worry, we're just filming a scene."  I will say that George was a very convincing corpse.

In the other, I was walking around the fields at a city recreational center and in the middle of the baseball diamond there was a big-screen TV there tuned to a show. People in the dream were all talking about waiting to see Freddy on the show. Then, the scene ended and a voiceover said, "Stay tuned for scenes from our next episode." No Freddy! Sorry, dude. I'm sure you were great, though.

This morning's dream, however, may top them all. (Except that first one I mentioned that I'm not discussing, but that's for a different reason.) I was watching a baseball game. I think it was on TV at first. Then, suddenly, up to the plate stepped...

NOT Street Art

One of the local blogs I check out (and follow via Twitter) is Streets Dept., which features photos (and sometimes video) taken around the city, focusing on things like fashion, art, things happening on the streets, or just some nice scenes. (See what I did there? Photos, video...focusing...there's no "off" position on my genius switch, I tell you.) Often you will see on the blog examples of street art -- stickers, graffiti, wheat pastings, even that yarn bombing stuff that seems to be so popular that it still brings some hits to my blog.

I bring this up because (1) I wanted to give a shout out to Streets Dept. and (2) to point out that the picture you see here is NOT street art.

I found a number of these stenciled onto the sidewalks around center city the other day. The Philadelphia Soul is our Arena Football team (in other words, not real football since they play it indoors on the floor of the hockey rink with artificial turf laid on top). They used to be part-owned by Jon Bon Jovi, and they won the league's championship in July 2008. A Philadelphia team winning a title (remember, this was before the Phillies broke through in October of that year) so freaked out the powers that be that the league went out of business, denying the Soul an opportunity to defend their crown. That, and they mentioned something about the economy tanking.

The league came back in 2010, but without the Soul. However, this year...well, you can see from the picture when they return to action. Before they were shut down, they did get some good crowds to the CoreStates First Union Wachovia Wells Fargo Center. We'll have to see if the buzz picks back up after two lost years and one departed rock star/owner.

As for those stenciled ads? I'm assuming this weekend's rain will have washed that stuff away.

People Are Strange

A couple of odd things to discuss -- one in real life and one online. To be precise, the subject of this first story isn't so much as strange as he is sneaky.

I was walking to the corner of Frankford and Morrell Avenues this afternoon to catch a bus. I noticed a young guy -- I'd say in his 20's -- standing there and, as cars pulled up at the red light, went over to the cars to say something. As I arrived at the corner I could hear him, and then he saw me and asked me the same thing he was asking the people in their cars: "Can you spare some change so I can get on the bus?"

"No, sorry," I replied. My judgment was that he seemed a little drunk or high. It was odd because it was mid-afternoon, he didn't look like a typical homeless person asking for money, and my part of the city isn't an area where homeless people congregate. I also noticed earbuds in his ears -- either attached to a cell phone or mp3 player. For a couple of minutes he continued to ask drivers (incluiding a couple who pulled into the gas station on the same corner) for change. Then, finally, success. A driver handed him at least one dollar. Since it was folded I couldn't tell if there was more than one. He then pulled out his phone and began to make a call.  Clearly he wasn't homeless.

Right after that the bus arrived. He got on before I did, and put his fare into the fare box: a single coin. In other words, a bus token! He didn't need any money for the bus after all. What a scam. I was tempted to ask him about it, but I figured I'd like to live a little longer.

Quick Review: Hall Pass

So, is "Hall Pass" based on any sort of reality? Do married couples do this in real life? Rick (Owen Wilson) and Maggie (Jenna Fischer) have been happily married for years, as have Rick's best friend Fred (Jason Sudeikis) and Grace (Christina Applegate), but the boys are a little bored and are constantly looking at hot women. On the advice of Dr. Lucy (Joy Behar), the wives give their husbands a "hall pass" from marriage. For one week they're allowed to live the single life and get everything out of their system. Two middle-aged men trying to hook up with young babes? You wouldn't expect that to go so well, but things get more complicated as the week goes on. Raunchy -- it's from the Farrelly brothers, and one scene is much more disgusting than the hair-gel scene in "There's Something About Mary" -- but sort of predictable, but it's got some laughs (and in one scene, the two extremes of male frontal nudity). I liked it more than I thought I would going into the theater. My grade: B-minus.

Quick Review: Gnomeo & Juliet

You already know that "Gnomeo & Juliet" is basically "Romeo & Juliet" but with garden gnomes. Gnomeo (voice of James McAvoy) is one of the Blue Gnomes, who are feuding with the Red Gnomes from the yard next door. He meets Juliet (Emily Blunt), who is a Red, they fall in love, etc. Since this is an animated movie for kids (which tries hard to be as funny for adults as the better of the "Shrek" films, but falls short) the story isn't quite the same. You may also already know that Elton John executive-produced this and some of his songs are used in the film -- sometimes his original recording and sometimes orchestral versions. You might even know there are a couple of new Elton John songs in the film. But what you didn't know is that one of the new songs is a duet with Lady Gaga. Now, every time you see "you" in the previous sentences, replace it with "I" and you'll understand why I was perplexed just now when I read that Gaga was singing in the movie (although on the soundtrack album only Elton's solo version appears). Either it didn't register in my brain or I didn't recognize her voice at all or something. Next time I'm at the theater, I'll have to try and sneak in at the point it's used in the movie to hear it again. My grade: C-minus.

Quick Review: I Am Number Four

The premise of "I Am Number Four" is this: the planet Lorien was destroyed by alien invaders called the Mogadorians, but nine children (along with guardians) were able to escape to Earth. These kids have special powers and at some point in the future will be able to defeat their enemy, so the Mogadorians are hunting them down. For reasons that aren't clear they have to be killed in order, and at the beginning of the film we see Number Three meet his maker. Hence the title, and the teenager in question (Alex Pettyfer) is in hiding with his guardian (Timothy Olyphant) in Ohio. They had to leave Florida because his powers began kicking in. With faked ID, etc. he enrolls in high school and falls for a girl (Dianna Agron from "Glee"), deals with a bully -- her ex-boyfriend -- and befriends a fellow student whose father disappeared years earlier, and things happen that draw the attention of the Mogadorians. So it's sort of like "Twilight" with a Superman-like twist (alien kid's home planet destroyed, he survives by being sent to Earth, develops super-powers) and a girl from "Glee" who isn't much of an actress. Not horrible but not in any way special. My grade: C-minus.

SI Conspiracy Confirmed!

Remember when Sports Illustrated kept sending me issues of their magazine even after my subscription expired? Then they sent me the Swimsuit Issue? THIS Swimsuit Issue...

...which they clearly sent me because they wanted to convert me to heterosexuality? Remember how I wrote that they couldn't just send me the issue because it would be too obvious, that they had to keep sending me issues weekly before the week of the Swimsuit Issue to make it look like they mistakenly forgot to stop sending me the magazine?

Well, I now have absolute proof that my theory is correct: since the Swimsuit Issue there have been three more issues of Sports Illustrated, including the newest one (cover date: March 7) and I haven't received any of them.

The verdict: guilty! Sports Illustrated, only the fact that the print industry is in such terrible -- possibly terminal -- condition keeps this court from handing down a harsh sentence. As this is a merciful court, I'm letting you off with a warning. THIS time.

My iTunes Shuffle Baker's Dozen 3-1-11

Welcome to March! In exactly one month the Phillies open the 2011 regular season. And about three weeks after that I begin the Final Countdown to Five-Oh. But let's not think about that depressing concept, shall we? Instead, while you wait for me to get to work writing about the movies I've seen in the last week, let's see what iTunes shuffled into my ears today...

Who Makes You Feel - Dido
That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore - The Smiths
Let's Stay Together - Al Green
Why Don't We Live Together - Pet Shop Boys
I Want You - Cee Lo Green
Left Outside Alone - Anastacia
Brian Wilson - Barenaked Ladies
King Without A Crown - ABC
Where Life Begins - Madonna
Lovin' You - Tony Toni Tone
Confusion - New Order
He's A Dream - Shandi
Slave Song - Sade