Edgy MD

Pretty softball telling, I thought. I guess I'm a jerk, but stuff like learning that Al Jarreau was Al Jarrunk, and kept stepping on Dionne Warwick and Willie Nelson, was pretty compelling. And yet his voice was terrific. There were supposedly at least 40 people told "No, thank you, please don't show up, and we're not telling you where we are anyhow." These included the likes of Madonna, and the politics involved that had so many of the invites dependent on whether you were with the same agency as Lionel Richie must have caused some bitterness. It was really interesting when Quincy ceded the floor to Bob Geldof at the beginning of the session. Bob tried to explain to them why they were there, and what it's like to watch somebody suffer and die in front of you of a very preventable cause, and nobody could meet his eyes except Dylan, who was dead locked on him.

Netflix documentary covering the 1985 recording of the single "We Are the World" by an assemblage of stars from across the pop music spectrum pulling an all-nighter. [fimg=450]https://cdn-p.smehost.net/sites/4788b7ad6b5448c1b90d9322361f98f3/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/240129-billyjoel-wearetheworld.jpg[/fimg]

Threads! These films could use threads!!

It's not a question of what's available. I have the money available to buy a boat, but it probably wouldn't be the wisest move.

Fun fact: I feel like I spent the year watching **** on screens, but the only nominated film I saw was Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, nominated for Best Score. I'm such a shlub.

When the field of nominees for Best Film is expanded to 10, but the field of nominees for Best Director remains capped at five, it's almost like they are engineering this sort of controversy into the process. I'm probably not going to get too animated.

And he's attempting to perform under (supposedly) stricter PED enforcement.

I feel like we're hitting a curious era of Wes Anderson-y movies that aren't Wes Anderson movies. It'll probably lead to some weak derivatives, but also open up some new avenues for other talented folks. I'm happy to see early returns here suggest this might be the latter.

Mark Ruffalo is amazing in that all his characters maintain the untenable balance of being constantly uptight while simultaneously seeming like they've smoked way too much weed.

I have this cued up. I fear that this sort of movie is hard to make work anymore. It's hard to make folks feel like the corporation is beatable, or is even the enemy. DuPont (and it's seemingly always DuPont) should be convincing enough as a universal villain.

I like to think of Local Hero of the godfather of all these types of movies, but some may see precedents much earlier, in films such as Sullivan's Travels. What's clear is that Britain and Ireland (and Scotland and Canada, etc.) generally do this sort of film much better than the US does, as an American leading man leaving it all behind to join a community of neighborly people trying to live decent lives always rings false from the get-go. This film nonetheless feels over-formulaic, with too much of the cinematic story — like Moneyball, but moreso — superimposed onto a non-fiction book sold in the business section. The protagonist of the source memoir — the titular Dave — is even shoved aside in favor of building the story around Dave's young solicitor, who may or may not be entirely fictitious. It's got enough good will for its audience, certainly, that you likely won't turn it off, and that's not nothing. The appearance by (insert big-shot dinosaur butt-rock act here) feels a little like they went to turn the film into the studio, but were told that they needed a marketing hook, and so they were sent back out to re-shoot a couple of scenes with (insert same big-shot dinosaur butt rock act here). As an aside: The Dave of the title is played by Rory Kinnear, son of great British character actor Roy Kinnear who plays nervous, dishonest, glad-handers in all almost everything British and funny from 1964 to 1990.

Its very much of a piece with any number of British — and not a few Irish — films from the 90s (and some earlier). Suit from the big city is taken by business to a colorful backwater. Despite initial cynicism, he is taken by the decency and pure-heartedness of locals, and romance + personal transformation draw him into their fight, which is a microcosm of a larger counter-modernist struggle across British or Irish (or Scottish or Welsh) or global society. Despite the Hallmark-iness of such themes, what makes or breaks such films is usually the tone. The leading man, in this case, is the guy who played the roadie in Yesterday.

A successful, self-made car dealer, scandalized by the British financial system's failure during the 2008 global financial crisis, along with the subsequent public bailout, quixotically tries to bring financing back to the people by opening the first new bank in Britain in 150 years. The system gets rocked.

Rude Boy fell off a little down the stretch, finishing at .271 / .414 / .449 // .862. That'll still be a terrific look sharing the outfield with Luisangel Acuña next season in Syracuse. That is, if the injury sustained in the second half doesn't continue to hamper him, and that's an open question, as the Mets have never specified the nature of the injury. Hey, maybe this is the case that got Billy Eppler in trouble.

This is a GOOD pick.

Thursday evening, Julio broke out of a 10-at-bat hitless mini-slump, going three-for-four with a homer and four RBI. His 39 RBI leave him tied for fourth in the massive (50-team) DSL.

When irony becomes substance and substance becomes irony and people are trying to get with the program but aren't sure whether they're being sincere or camping it up ... kind of makes this feel like 2023's most 1990s movie.

Born in 1999 in Kankakee, IL, the year the city was rated (by somebody) as "America's Worst Place to Live," in response to which David Letterman (or The Late Show) donated a pair of gazebos.

.328 / .387 / .612 // .999 To say Julio is coming back down to Earth is technically true. But "Earth," in this case, means the peak of Everest. And if he's not performing all the time at peak level, it's only because, like Will Hunting doing higher-level math at MIT, he's just bored with the idea that the game is supposed to be so damned challenging. Friday night against the DSL Giants, he went 3-for-4 with a homer and three RBI. It was his third three-hit game in his brief career. He's struck out eight times in 76 trips to the plate. And again, that's only because he sometimes gets bored.

He's 17, and that means I'll likely be dead before he makes it to the majors, if he makes it to the majors, and he's a catcher, so that means he'll have to find a way to insert himself into a role that is more likely to be dominated by Francisco Álvarez and Kevin Pareda. But I've developed a rooting interest in Julio, because all great Mets are named Julio, and in his first eight games with the DSL OrangeMets (as opposed to the BlueMets), he's gone .462 / .500 / .962 // 1.462 in 29 plate appearances. Of his 12 hits, four have been doubles and three have been homers. In other words, that ".962" isn't an OPS. It's a slugging percentage. That's the way you do it! And yeah, it's a small sample size. But you know what else is small? YOUR FACE!

“Slowly, he’s opening everybody’s eyes as one of the better outfield prospects in our organization.” — Mets Farm Director Kevin Howard “We had a great talk in spring training about his injury history. When he was healthy enough to play in the past, he did a lot of things right. He didn’t chase, he didn’t swing and miss in the zone. A lot of the metrics that you look at you go man, he’s got a lot of things going. Really work on the approach. Then, just understanding how good he can be. I think he’s done a good job of building as he has gone up.” — Rumble Ponies Hitting Coach Darin Everson “He’s had an incredibly hot start, but it’s not just the hot start. His at-bats look more controlled. He’s just a really tough, pesky out. He’s got a knack for the barrel, and he doesn’t swing and miss, which is typically the trait that you see out of guys that do get up to the big leagues and have success.” — Also Mets Farm Director Kevin Howard “He’s great on defense. He’s great on the bases. He’s just a really good player that doesn’t start to stand out until you start watching him play every day. So he’s been the biggest pleasant surprise at the upper levels.” — That again is Kevin Howard, speaking of me I blasted this homer the other day, which I stood and watched to see if I could hit some poor kid in a pool. [TWEET] [/TWEET]

... and I'm batting .297 / .441 / .514 // .955 in 51 games at AA. And I'm 5'6". That on-base percentage, again, is .441.

I hope some day he's a Vermillionairre.

There are probably dozens of useful comps out there, depending on which criteria you favor. Chris Davis, Paul Goldschmidt, José Abreu ... .

Ryan Howard's precipitous decline was accelerated by having to regularly face Pedro Feliciano. And Jon Niese, for that matter.