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I know that to some degree the no-hitter is a statistical fluke, not an indicator of much besides one pitcher having a good night and one team having a bad night. But I still love them. Even if the next start, the pitcher who tossed the no-no is likely to be a lot more mortal, as Mr. Musgrove showed.
Mets still just barely doing much wi…
I know that to some degree the no-hitter is a statistical fluke, not an indicator of much besides one pitcher having a good night and one team having a bad night. But I still love them. Even if the next start, the pitcher who tossed the no-no is likely to be a lot more mortal, as Mr. Musgrove showed.
Mets still just barely doing much with the bats, outside of Nimmo and Dom Smith, but I always prefer starting pitching doing its thing. Today we have a scheduled day game, but it's going to rain again.
At the end of the day, I can't really say I care much about the Wilpons being conned by Madoff. Unlike many, they didn't lose everything, and I don't know how much sympathy I have when rich people lose money but are still rich. Madoff's biggest crime wasn't making the Mets mediocre. It was taking the endowment of my alma mater, Yeshiva University, and swallowing it whole in his ponzi scheme. A lot of Jewish and NYC nonprofits were harmed badly by his deeds, and unlike the Wilpons, there is no way to sell your charity to recoup your loses. He was the worst.
I read LA Confidential at some point and didn't care much for it. I suspect that many of the flaws you point to weighed on me at some level. I haven't read any more Ellroy. But some years later, I saw the movie, having forgotten I read the book, and loved it. The seeds of a great story were in place, but needed to be edited in some way. And maybe also handed to a stellar cast (his crimes aside, I rarely like Kevin Spacey but liked him here, God help me, and I still don't know why Guy Pearce isn't as big as star as Russell Crowe).
I found the L.A. Confidential book to be good, but I agree, the movie is a deft edit, and makes it stronger. A filmed version of the book, which would have to be a mini-series, would not be nearly as good. The material needs to be taut and it needs to be a story, not an epic, which was what the book aspired to be.
This is very astute but the trouble is, if it's not an epic I'm not nearly as interested. Therefore I prefer the book, which works perfectly well. Clandestine and The Big Nowhere are the two great Ellroy numbers nobody ever talks about. His staccato style sure did become annoying though.
The Cold Six Thousand and Blood's A Rover can be tough reads just because of how much he leans into the staccato style. It seems like he went back to a more "normal" writing style for Perfida and The Storm.
Elloy is an interesting cat. I always wonder how much of his problematic personality is actually him and how much is a schtick.
Titanic winning Best Picture over LA Confidential is something I knew was gonna happen for months before it did, but still pisses me off 23 years later.
I've become convinced that the ego dwells in one of the lower glands, because if it were a property of the brain James Cameron's skull would have exploded long ago.
Yes on no hitters. Has to be the best single-game accomplishment in sports that doesn't involve breaking a record.
I was horrified to read in one of the obits that Elie Wiesel was one of those conned by Madoff. And then was even more horrified that I hadn't known that previously.
I didn't know either. Well, that piece of shit had been a Chairman of NADAQ, so who was going to doubt him?
There's no reason to be chagrined at liking Kevin Spacey in a role, any role. You don't need to respect the way he behaves offscreen - nor should you - but he is a superlative actor. There wasn't one single role in which he appeared before becoming toxic he didn't light up with intensity and originality. Even the first time I saw him, in a minor role in "Outbreak," I thought he brought his character to vivid life and figured he would become a star.
I would point out that he also invested a lot of time and energy in bringing young, aspiring screenwriters to the attention of agents and studios via his web site "Trigger Street." He asked and received nothing for that; I don't believe his name even ever appeared on the site.
Anyway, I might not particularly want him over for dinner, but I refuse to negate his brilliant performances because he behaved like a cloaca in private. He will probably be back eventually; he's just too good at what he does not to be, and we don't even sentence many murderers to life terms anymore. We have far too many cookie cutter actors out there these days.
He was a superlative actor in The Usual Suspects. Then he inexplicably won an Oscar for American Beauty and that convinced him he was a leading man and maybe no one could have redeemed that role, but it really didn’t work.
I’m not sure what happened with House of Cards. On paper it should have been perfect for him, in practice he chewed the scenery like a beaver on meth. Maybe it was the dinner theatre accent? I don’t know. He’s a good host, though.
I gotta disagree with you about American Beauty; I thought Anette Benning was the scenery chewer in that one (though I don't think the screenplay really gave her much choice) and he was terrific, and even understated, as the husband fed up with being an upper middle class sheep with an uncomprehending, unfaithful wife. But "chewing the scenery like a beaver on meth" is definitely a keeper. Let's see how cur responds to it.
PS - Guy Pearce is one of those actors who likes to take chances on offbeat scripts and roles, like his knockout turn in "Memento," whereas Russell Crowe strikes me as mainly guided by his agents and financial managers. In Australia and Europe, Pearce is very much appreciated for his impressive talent.