|
Post by d o harris on May 28, 2006 10:10:37 GMT -6
Leyton, a truly unfortunate aspect of life in 21st century America is that the most talented people working in comedy in a visual medium are making TV commercials, and, apparently, nothing else. The best of them surpass by far what passes for comedy coming out of Hollywood. Not all, of course, but some of these commercials approach the visual comedy genius of silent film stars, Buster Keaton, Laurel and Hardy for example, or Harold Lloyd. Some even display a quality of verbal humor near to the radio comedians of the 30s & 40s. It may be more remunerative to make 30 & 60 second spots than 90 minute films.
|
|
|
Post by d o harris on May 28, 2006 10:37:17 GMT -6
Alfuso, Guinness Stout gets 5 stars plus. My gratitude to Sam Adams is, first it is a good beer, and secondly, it demonstrated micro-brewing could be economically successful. We have micros all over America now that can equal the best of the European brews. We did not have that in 1980. Unfortunately, my beer drinking has been curbed by an allergy that remains dormant unless I drink a beer. Then my nose flows like an open tap. I limit myself to one half-liter on Friday evening, and two bottles on Saturday while watching the Cubs. Frankly, watching the Cubs these days is comparable to chugging Grain Alcohol laced with Iodine, and almost a necessity.
|
|
|
Post by fred on May 28, 2006 13:03:42 GMT -6
... drink a beer. Then my nose flows like an open tap. I limit myself to... two bottles on Saturday while watching the Cubs. DO-- Watching the Cubs? I'm surprised it's your nose that's running, not your eyes! Best wishes, Fred.
|
|
|
Post by Tricia on May 28, 2006 14:03:18 GMT -6
Fred--
As far as my beloved Cubbies, I stopped crying years ago. You learn to have a sense of humour when it comes to a team whose curse was caused by a restauranteur and a bad mannered billy goat! My grandmother lived every single day of her ninety-two year life without a Cub series' victory, so though I may hope each April, I am prepared to go to my grave ... alas, unfulfilled.
It doesn't help to have a fan named Berkman, either--or any black cats in the neighborhood.
LMC
|
|
|
Post by d o harris on May 28, 2006 15:07:14 GMT -6
Fred, watching the Cubs my nose does not run. It turns. Up. This years' edition reminds me of the first year of the Mets, when Casey Stengel asked, not entirely rhetorically, "Does anybody here know how to play this game?" Still, we Cub fans return year after year, like medieval flagellants who believe scourging is a purifying and ennobling experience. If hope springs eternal in the human breast then Cub fans must be the most human of all.
|
|
|
Post by fred on May 28, 2006 16:41:28 GMT -6
DO, Leyton--
I have to give you guys credit; you are purists! I do not know how you can do it otherwise. There has to be an innate love of the game in there somewhere. I would have walked away from that mob years ago, just like I did the Dodgers. No one loved baseball or a team more than I loved the Brooklyn Dodgers & even when they left NY I remained a loyal fan. Maybe when it became impossible to relate to the players-- the inconsistency, the retreads, the losing of guys who would come up through the system-- maybe all of that spoiled it for me. Is there anybody on that team whose best years haven't been w/ someone else?
I hate to say it, but when Buck Showalter came to the Yankees & loud-mouthed Charlie Bracken was relegated to Never-never Land for a couple of years, then they brought up youngsters like Jeter & Bernie Williams, signed a gut-wrenching tiger like Paul O'Neill who never understood the meaning of the word quit (remember that walk at the end of his career?), I finally said enough & began rooting for my hometown boys. Old Dodger fans would nail me to a cross, but when you can no longer drink bottled water, it eventually becomes time to drink out of the nearest puddle.
Enjoy the rest of the holiday you guys.
Best wishes, Fred.
|
|
|
Post by d o harris on May 28, 2006 18:32:47 GMT -6
Paul O'Neill, Pete Reiser, Eddie Stanky, Pete Rose, the game used to be loaded with players like these. Today's players seem to think "hustle" is an expurgated version of a porno magazine. I was getting used to the idea that Cub outfielders have the notion that a throw to the relay man must go via the dog star, and a second baseman, with a runner on first and a groundball to third, feels it is his responsibility to back up the right fielder. Today I saw another. After scoring four in the ninth to tie Atlanta, they managed to lose in 11 when a routine infield popup hit the 3rd baseman on top of the head, after which he did the sensible thing and continued to stare skyward as though the ball lingered above. One thing I noticed at Wrigley today. Long before the game was over the stands began to empty out. There was even a smattering of boos.
|
|
|
Post by El Crab on May 28, 2006 22:19:15 GMT -6
d a harris give me a Guinness. Now that's a drink you can drink with a fork. alfuso I'll take a Guinness as well. When I go out to a bar for a drink, its either Guinness or a Jack and Coke.
|
|
|
Post by d o harris on May 28, 2006 22:30:56 GMT -6
Jack and Coke? This is a joke, right?
|
|
|
Post by El Crab on May 29, 2006 0:06:12 GMT -6
Jack and Coke? This is a joke, right? Nope.
|
|
|
Post by Tricia on May 29, 2006 8:09:52 GMT -6
DO--
Regarding Ramirez' error ... the only time that kind of thing happens is when a team is in a 9-24 slump. I've never seen a play like that before (it wasn't the sun, for certain), and one sure doesn't see it whilst an organisation is winning. Then there was Perez' "triple." Had anybody other than a Cub hit that ball yesterday, it would have bounced off the yellow rope and into the basket, instead of back onto the field! D. Lee is supposed to get that cast off in a few days, Prior pitches for Peoria today, but I'm not holding my breath.
I am starting to wonder who our sole representative to the All Star game is going to be. I'm guessing it'll be Derrek, but he will not get the start, I'm sure. Pujols is having one hell of a season.
BTW ... I've learned to never ever leave Wrigley early, especially when the wind is blowing out. And even then, the wind didn't help the Cubs one iota yesterday. Even the weather is conspiring agains the 2006 Men in Blue!
Regards, Leyton McLean
|
|
|
Post by fred on May 29, 2006 8:27:45 GMT -6
C'mon, Crab! Jack & Coke? We used to call that the high school drink. It's like rum & Coke. At least if you are going to drink JD, dump it over some ice-- by itself. I got sick on that stuff once, when I was in college, & I have not been able to touch it since. That & screwdrivers. I love vodka, but I can't touch it w/ orange juice. Whew! Gin, too. Love the stuff; Bombay, Boodles (the best!), Plymouth.
And DO-- it is interesting that you brought up the name: Pete Reiser. Unknown. Few people understand-- understand!, mind you-- how great this man could have been. When you talk about an all-time outfield of maybe Ruth, Cobb, Williams or DiMaggion, you would have had to put Pete Reiser in there if it wasn't for... !
Pete Reiser... wow. Remember?
Best wishes, Fred.
|
|
|
Post by fred on May 29, 2006 8:40:02 GMT -6
And let me ask you something else. They keep talking about this cheating idiot Barry Bonds & that he was a shoo-in, first round lock for the Hall of Fame, before 1998 or whenever it was he began his steroid use. Is that true? I never thought he was that good. OK, maybe Hall of Fame, but there are plenty of guys in the Hall who would never be considered first- or second-team greatest. I mean, look at Don Sutton or Niekro. There is always that business of the compilers versus the dominators. Sandy Koufax: what 5 years? 6?
The most intriguing of all-- & I hate to call him a "compiler," but-- Nolan Ryan. OK... he is the all-time strike-out king & there are those 7 no-hitters, but I do not believe the man ever led the league in ERA, he won 20 games only once (twice?). Yet he lasted 28 years. Maybe his arm should be enshrined & not the whole man. Or maybe the Hall should be divided up into the "longevity" Hall & the "great" Hall.
Bronze vs. Porcelin. It could be the "Great" Hall of... of... China!
I need a drink!
|
|
|
Post by bubbabod on May 29, 2006 9:18:57 GMT -6
Fred, speaking of the Hall of Fame, how could you (the Hall) not have the all-time strikeout king who just happened to throw 7 no-hitters not be in the Hall of Fame? I mean, both are pretty famous accomplishments, ones that we'll never see duplicated again. Ever. Especially the no-hitters. Maybe it would have helped if he'd pitched for the Yankees or Red Sox or perrenial winners. I must confess I don't know Ryan's win-loss record or whether he ever played in a World Series, but, jeez, 7 no-nos and the strikeout king? He's gotta be in there. Now I'm gonna stir the pot up some more. With the recent retiring -- never mind. I'll start a new thread in Around the Campfire. Introduce that.
|
|
|
Post by alfuso on May 29, 2006 10:02:17 GMT -6
El Crab
depending on my mood, I sometimes put a shot of Irish into the Guinness. Smooths the stout.
alfuso
|
|