I know I haven't done a post in FOREVER. The main reason is because I am currently juggling two part time jobs, which really cuts into my free time. But, what with Labor Day weekend and all, I finally have some extra free time, which means I not only have time to blog again, but I also had time to finally watch the second Thor movie!!!
Overall, I enjoyed it. It was a little weirder than the first one in some respects, but it also had a lot more emotion in it, so I can't decide which one I like better. I was kind of surprised by it, though, because even though I had read the basic storyline some time back, I had gotten the impression from the trailers and clips I had seen that some things happened in a different order than they actually occurred (which was actually kind of nice). Since both my blog about the first Thor movie and about the Avengers movie were done in a character-analysis format, I'm going to do this one in the same way.
Thor: He is still absolutely wonderful. Brave, honourable (it seemed appropriate to use the British spelling), loyal, gentle, funny, and as good looking as ever. And he still has his knack of creating cool entrances.
He doesn't even need to be moving to create a great entrance. ;)
Jane: Boy, she gets put through the ringer in this movie. First she's trying to get over the heartache of thinking that Thor has forgotten her, then she gets sucked into some strange kind of space warp and gets infused by the all-consuming AEther. Then Thor pops up again and whisks her out of the polices' clutches and off to Asgard to try to find a treatment, then Thor's mom Frigga dies protecting her (I know! I was almost in tears). Then they go through a harrowing escape from Asgard in which they have to rely on the unreliable Loki, THEN she gets the AEther taken out of her in a way that wasn't all that gentle, and then she has to help save the world from being thrown into eternal darkness and Thor almost gets killed (again), and then he has to leave her again to try to patch things up with Odin. After all that, she deserves a month-long vacation in Hawaii or something. But at least Thor does come back again in one of the post-credit scenes and makes everything ok. :) (Interesting side note: The woman Chris Hemsworth is kissing in that scene is not Natalie Portman, but actually his own wife! That's why it's so sweet and wonderful).
Loki: Loki is a lot more understandable in this movie. While in the others he seemed to have some kind of personality disorder, from the very beginning of this one you can tell that he is just plain bitter. Bitter about everything and everyone. But then the woman who raised him and loved him is killed, and even though he had told her that she wasn't his mother he cannot deny that it hurts him to the core, and that gives him something outside of himself to live for: revenge. That is what causes him to show that when he wants to he actually CAN be a good guy! He also gets to show more of his wonderful quick wit (the scene of their escaping Asgard is my favorite out of the whole movie because of that and his and Thor's sibling bickering). But the end of the movie...what does that mean?!?!? Was Loki saying "Thank you" for giving him a chance to redeem himself and for what Thor said in his honor? Or does he have another scheme up his sleeve? I hope not! I like the better, helpful Loki.
Darcy: Jane's assistant has a bit more of an important role in this movie. She's not only the one responsible for getting Jane interested in her work again, but she's also the one who has to hold down the fort in London while Jane's in Asgard and Eric (the other scientist) is being held in a medical ward for mental examination. And I have to admit, I'd probably be handling it about the same way she did: "Will somebody PLEASE tell me what the heck I'm supposed to do here?!?" I feel for you, girl. But through it all she is still her funnily honest self.
Sif: Her loyalty is really put to the test in this one. Not only does she have to meet the woman who has claimed Thor's heart, but she also has to be the one to break her out of prison so that they can escape. But her love for Thor is enough where she does it no matter what her personal feelings are. In some ways she's the strongest character in the whole movie.
Volstagg: He isn't quite as much of a teddy bear in this movie, but once he has all his bases covered, he's up for anything! And he'll enjoy it the whole time. :)
Fandrel: You get to see a bit more of him in this movie than in the first one, and one thing that I love about him is that, while everyone else was threatening Loki to behave, he just goes ahead and mocks him. You definitely get to see why he's called Fandrel the Dashing. (And what's even better is that in this movie he is played by the same guy that voiced Flynn Rider in "Tangled". I totally need to see Zachary Levi play a character like Zorro or something. That would be so cool!)
The one thing I would have changed about this movie was having more of Frigga in it before she got killed (which really was heart-wrenching! The fact that Thor got there a split second after it happened...) She was such a strong character, and a pretty good fighter, too. So, to finish up this post, I am including a deleted scene from the movie which would have really been helpful if it had been left in which explains a bit more about her and her relationship with her two sons.
I recently re-watched "The Lone Ranger". And I mean the 2013 version, not the old, old classic version.
It's hard to believe it's been a year since the former came out. And I still don't get why it received such a bad rap from critics. I mean, yes, it does have its downsides, but overall I think it was very well done. Here's a quick list of what I see to be the pros and the cons.
Pros:
The action. There is nothing that gets your adrenalin pumping like a couple of horsemen galloping at top speed with their pistols blazing while "The William Tell Overture" is being played in the background by a full orchestra. But even if they didn't have all those components, the various action sequences are very impressive (for example, the Lone Ranger riding Silver along the top of a moving train), with some of the stunts being a bit reminiscent of "The Pirates of the Caribbean".
Armie Hammer in a Stetson.
'Nuff said. :)
The acting and character development. I personally think the best acting job in the movie was done by William Fichtner, the guy who played the nastiest and crustiest of the bad guys (Butch Cavendish). From watching an interview clip with him and the other stars, it really showed what a great job he did. Also, the way you see both the Lone Ranger and Tonto "grow up" during the movie is well presented. They were both adults, but they hadn't quite matured into real men yet. It is also really great how they made Tonto into an almost dual-main character along with the Lone Ranger, going into his back story and showing the two of them forming a partnership instead of what Tonto had been during the radio and TV series (which at the beginning at least was just someone for the Lone Ranger to talk to. I guess it's kind of hard to keep a radio audience interested when the main character can only talk to his horse).
The humor. This is also a bit reminiscent of "Pirates of the Caribbean", with snappy dialog and good one-liners. (I think the director or somebody on the production end of this movie also worked on the "PotC" movies, which is why there are some similarities).
Cons:
The movie is rated PG-13 for a reason. Actually three main reasons.
1) There is some gore. They do show some pretty realistic-looking blood in parts of the movie, and one of the bad guys practices cannibalism. They don't actually SHOW him doing it (thank heavens), but they do enough implying of it (aka seeing him with a knife, "juicy" sound effects, and one of his companions vomiting) that it's almost as bad as if they did. There is also one part with some carnivorous rabbits, which is super creepy.
2) There is some promiscuity. At one point in the movie the Lone Ranger and Tonto visit a "house of ill-fame" that is located in a "hell on wheels" (a moving town that followed the railroad crews) to get some information from the owner about the bad guys, and at other points there are innuendos about other "rated" stuff.
3) The language isn't the cleanest. The profanity actually isn't any worse than some PG rated movies, but it's still there.
There is some kind of weird Indian "religious" stuff thrown in, and Tonto talks about having visions from the Great Spirit and nature being "out of balance" and some other stuff like that. You can kind of ignore it, but it still might bother some people.
There is one fairly important historical inaccuracy. The movie is somewhat focused around the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad, but it's also supposed to take place in Texas. The Transcontinental RR went from Omaha, NE to Sacramento, CA. There is no way it could ever have gone through Texas. They do have the site of the two halves joining correct, Promontory Point, UT, but that isn't anywhere near Texas, either. This is the kind of thing that will only bother you if you're a history buff like I am.
Overall, I think the good outweighs the bad. Here is a synopsis of the storyline (I apologize that it's a bit long, but the movie is close to two and a half hours so a lot happens in it). Since the movie was done in a bunch of flashbacks, I'm going to do this mostly in chronological order and not quite in the order it comes in in the movie.
The movie starts in 1933 at a fair in San Francisco.A young boy dressed as the Lone
Ranger walks through a large tent that has a wide variety of Wild West themed
displays, and he runs into an ancient Native American man who claims to be the real
Tonto.The boy doesn’t believe him at
first, so the old man starts to tell him the true story of the Lone Ranger.
The movie flashes back to Texas in the year 1869, and
young attorney John Reid is on a train headed home after being in the east for
nine years.Also on the train is
notorious outlaw Butch Cavendish, who is being taken back to the town of Colby as a
prisoner to be hung.In the boxcar with
the shackled Cavendish is another prisoner, an Indian (Tonto).Cavendish’s gang
ambushes the train, and when John hears footsteps on the roof of his train car he
follows them to the car where the prisoners are held and sees through a crack
in the door that Cavendish has killed his guards and is about to kill his
fellow prisoner.John breaks in the door,
and after a lot of back and forth which is greatly complicated by the fact that he doesn't believe in violence,
John winds up handcuffed beside Tonto while Cavendish and his gang ride away
from the runaway train.Through the open
door of the car they see the station of Colby whip by,
and see John’s older brother, Dan, waiting there with the rest of his fellow
Texas Rangers to get Cavendish off of the train.Tonto is able to get their chains unhooked
from the floorboards and they escape to the roof of the train together.From up there they see that they are nearing
the end of the completed railroad and that the train is going to crash.Dan and his men catch up with the train and
he, Tonto and John unhook the passenger cars from the engine, which can’t be
stopped, and it carries Tonto and John off towards the end of the line.They surprisingly survive the following
crash, and then John tries to re-arrest Tonto, but Tonto’s having none of it
and tries to get away.But Dan and his
men show up and stop him and take them both back to town.
During all of this, you get the impression that there is
some kind of strain between the two brothers, although there is affection as
well, which is seen much more a bit later.You learn what that strain is when they get back to town and John
sees Rebecca, his old sweetheart and Dan’s wife.He also meets his nephew Danny for the first
time, as well as a man named Latham Cole, who is the head honcho of the railroad
doings in the area.Dan gets his band of
Rangers together to go out after Cavendish and deputizes John so that he
can/has to join them.As they are riding
along, they notice a white horse way off in the distance, and Dan tells John
that the Indians called it the “spirit horse”, and jokes that that meant that
John was going to die soon.After riding
for more than a day, the posse approaches a canyon, and after sending their
scout up into it they deside to risk it and start to ride through.It was a big mistake.They are caught in the middle of an ambush
and all of their companions (except for the scout, who is a traitor) are killed.Dan almost makes it out, but after John’s
horse is shot Dan goes back to get him and gets shot himself.Then while John is trying to drag Dan out he
gets shot and they fall side by side.Then Cavendish and his men ride up.
The next few minutes of the movie is a part that you can fast forward through, because…you
remember I said that one of the bad guys practices cannibalism?This is the spot where they show it.And you won’t miss anything important.You just learn that Cavendish and Dan have a
bit of a history, and then Cavendish cuts out the still alive Dan’s heart
and…and you also learn that John is still alive, but only subconsciously,
because you see one of his eyes crack open while all the horribleness is going
on.When you see Cavendish and his men
leave the canyon, you can quit fast-forwarding and get back to watching.Which is exactly what Tonto had been doing
from high up on the canyon rim.Tonto
digs graves for the Rangers, but before he covers the bodies with dirt, he sees
the Spirit Horse approach John’s grave and stand next to it.Tonto
tries to talk the horse into bringing Dan “back to life” instead of the
“useless” John, because, like everyone who’s watching the movie, he had become
enamored with Dan the first time he'd seen him in action.But nope, the horse keeps going back to John,
who still isn’t quite dead. So finally Tonto gives in,
does what the horse wants and gets John healthy again.After John has recovered, Tonto explains that
a vision had told him that a “spirit walker”, someone who cannot be killed in
battle, would help him on his quest to get revenge on the men who killed his
family.John is about as thrilled with
the idea of the partnership as Tonto is, but they both realize that they don’t have much
choice.Tonto makes a mask out of Dan’s
vest for John to wear so that no one will recognize him, because, as he
explains to John, a dead man strikes more fear into people than a live one.
John and Tonto head out to a hell on wheels to get some
information about why the Rangers' scout might have betrayed
them.After a lot of finagling that
doesn’t really work, they gain the wary trust of a saloon owner called Red who
has her own personal reasons to hate Cavendish.She tells them that Dan and the scout had come in some time back and
had a big argument about something they had found out in the desert, and that
they paid her with a chunk of raw silver.While they are talking a mob forms because someone had seen Tonto, and
because of that John and Tonto learn that there had been some Indian raids
along the border of the Indian/settler lands.This makes John scared for Rebecca and Danny’s safety on their farm, so
he and Tonto escape (barely) and make their way to the homestead.They get there to find it in smoldering ruins,
and after examining the dead body of the hired hand, Tonto proclaims that the
raid was not done by Indians at all.They soon
find proof of that by discovering a few of Cavendish’s men in Indian get-up who
had stuck around to plunder.Thanks to a very lucky shot, John kills two of the men, and the third
one escapes to tell Cavendish that there is still one Ranger around who is mad
and bent on revenge.When that man gets
to Cavendish’s camp, you learn that Rebecca and Danny are being held prisoner
by the outlaws.Cavendish then tells the Rangers' old scout to take them and shoot them.The man can’t bring himself to do it, so he
tells them to run.While they are
running a man on horseback comes up and shoots the scout.
Meanwhile, John and Tonto have headed out into the desert to
try to find Cavendish.Instead, they
find railroad tracks, which must have been discovered earlier by Dan and which violate
the treaty with the Indians.After
they discover the tracks, they are taken prisoner by a band of Comanches.While in their camp, John learns the truth of
Tonto’s past.As a boy, Tonto had
rescued two white men in the desert and had ended up showing them some
mountains which were rich with silver.The men killed all of Tonto’s family to keep the mountains a
secret.One of those men was
Cavendish.Tonto, unable to live with what
he had done, became a little crazy and made up stories for himself to help him cope with it.The
Indians end up leaving John and Tonto behind as they go out to fight the
cavalry troop that has been sent out to pay them back for the raids that they had
supposedly done on settlements.John and
Tonto go to find the mountains where the silver is, and as a result they find
Cavendish’s camp.After a successful ambush on the camp, which is followed by a big argument
where John confronts Tonto about his true past, John rips off his mask in disgust
and takes Cavendish back to civilization to face trial.He finds Cole’s railroad camp and, seeing
Cole as a pillar of civilization and progress, hands Cavendish over to him to
be incarcerated.But soon after John is
invited into Cole’s private railroad car, he learns several important things.One, that Cole was the other man who killed
Tonto’s people; two, that he doesn’t intend on seeing Cavendish punished
because they are still partners; three, that he has gotten the commander of the
cavalry on his side so John has no one in the law to turn to; four, that he is
holding Rebecca and Danny prisoner; and five, that Cole intends to make sure
that John doesn’t get in his way like his brother had tried to do.Soon John finds himself facing a firing
squad.But thanks to Tonto doing a
little work behind the scenes and the Comanches deciding at that very moment to
attack, John is able to make it out alive and escape from Cole.After a harrowing escape through some
railroad tunnels and a river, both he and Tonto come to live-changing
realizations.As Tonto watches the
remnants of the Comanches final stand float down the river in the darkness, the
memories of his childhood come back to him and he has to accept what he did all
that long time ago.And John realizes that
just because something is done in the name of the law does not make it
right.As he says to Tonto, “If these
men represent the law, I’d rather be an outlaw.”Tonto hands him his mask.And they set to work on a plan to destroy
Cole’s empire.
They decide to stage
their attack on the day that the two halves of the Transcontinental Railroad
are joined, and, with some help from Red, they set off a chain of events which
end in Cole, Cavendish, and the cavalry captain all getting their just
reward.After everything is over, the
railroad offers John a job, saying that the railroad can always use a lawman on
its side.John declines, says goodbye
to Rebecca and Danny, and rides off with Tonto, the two of them bickering about
what name John should go by.
While the movie isn’t the best ever, or even in my top 5, it
does hold a special place in my heart.Here’s why.Back before the movie
was first released, I saw quite a bit of advertising about it, and from what I
saw I became pretty interested.So I told
my dad about it and suggested that we go see it sometime.At the time he was battling melanoma, so he
said, “We’ll have to wait and see how I’m doing when it gets to our local $2.50
theater.If I’m up to it then,
definitely!”In September my dad passed
away.During all the running around my
mom and I had to do afterwards, I happened to notice that the theater had
gotten the Lone Ranger.So I asked my
mom if she wanted to go (even though she isn’t really into that kind of movie)
just as a way to escape for a couple of hours.She agreed, and while she didn’t like the movie as much as I did, she
did think that parts of it were well done. And it did (unintentionally) give us something to laugh about.After the movie was over and we were talking about it, I happened to say
that “Dan’s death just rips your heart out!”My mom looked at me and said, “That wasn’t a very good choice of words!”Oops! :)
Good grief, it's been almost a month since my last post. Looks like it's time to do another one! Let's see, how about a sequel to my top MLB commercials post with the focus this time being on ESPN?
A little while back, the MLB Fan Cave came up with a list of their top 10 "This is SportsCenter" baseball commercials. I don't really watch ESPN, but I do think they have come up with some pretty great commercials over the years. And I don't quite agree with the Fan Cave's list. I'd say that maybe half of the commercials they picked deserve to be on the list, but not in the order they put them in. So, here is MY Top 10 "This is SportsCenter" MLB commercials. :)
10: Andrew McCutchen, the Pirate*
*Note that will make this more understandable/enjoyable: "Lox" is minced, brined salmon that is put on bagels. I guess since these guys are "seafarers", they really like fish.
9: Jose Reyes, "It's in the Hips"
Totally not what you were expecting. ;)
8: Josh Hamilton hits long home runs
This was from back in 2010 after Josh participated in the Home Run Derby, breaking the record for home runs hit by a player in one round.
7: Jason Heyward on bat making
The tree is the mascot for Stanford University. Poor guy.
6: Tim Hudson sees something weird
This isn't actually a "This is SportsCenter" commercial, but it is still by ESPN. (The reason I'm including it is because the commercial I had been PLANNING on using is no longer on YouTube, darn it). I miss seeing Huddy in a Braves uni. I bet somebody in the Braves' front office has been kicking themselves after seeing what a year Huddy's been having, too.
5: Tim Lincecum and his voice mail
I have to admit, I've never really cared for Lincecum all that much, but this proves that he does have a sense of humor. :)
4: Buster Posey and the Umpire
One thing I noticed about this commercial: it takes three strikes to get a batter out, and three outs before the team on defense can go back to their dugout. The umpire asks three questions, and then Buster says he's going "Out." Very subtle moving, SportsCenter...
3: Clayton Kershaw, slow day at the office
That's why he's won a Cy Young, y'all. ;)
2: David Ortiz, "Traitor"
"It's not what you think!"
1: Derek Jeter and his razor
This is even funnier when you know that Jeter has/used to have (I don't know if he still does or not) an endorsement with Gillette. So "naturally" he's very picky about his razor.
To finish up, I've included one that doesn't really have to do with any sport at all, but has a pretty funny/cute exchange between some of the SportsCenter broadcasters.
I finally got back to a Braves game!!!!!!!It’s been over a year since I last got to go,
so it was pretty exciting to finally get back to Turner Field again.I would have had this post up sooner, but I’ve
had to work the past few days.:/
Back in September 2012, a friend and I drove to Atlanta for
a game and spent the night, and ever since then we’ve talked about needing to do
it again.But what with one thing and
another it wasn’t until this past Friday that we were able to make it happen.After finagling our work schedules and a lot
of discussion, we and another friend headed out on Friday afternoon and got to
Turner Field about ten minutes before the game started.Our other friend was especially excited
because she had never been to a Major League game before.The friend I had gone with the first time had
gotten our tickets for us ahead of time (thank goodness!), so we were able to go right on in to the stadium without having to stand in line. As we looked for the "got your tickets ahead of time express entrance", I saw a family with two boys, and they were all wearing Medlin #53 shirseys. Pretty much right then I knew the evening was going to be good. ;) And then after we got inside the stadium and went looking for our seats, we found out that we were just two
rows behind the right field wall!When we realized how close we were to the field, I looked at my
friend and said, “Girl, you’re wonderful!”
As we had expected, what with it being Memorial Day weekend,
it was a pretty well attended game.The
people that sat in front of us were fortunately not too tall to block our view
(and one of them looked a lot like Giancarlo Stanton, which was a little weird).We were also several seats over from the guy
that dresses up like an Indian at a bunch of games.Since we were behind right field, the players
we saw the most of were Jason Heyward and Michael Cuddyer, which wasn’t too
bad.I’ve really liked Cuddy since his
days with the Twins, and if any of the Rockies players HAD to get a homer to
tie the game in the 6th inning, I’m glad it was him (especially
since we won anyway).It was sometimes
hard to see what was happening in the infield, especially during the early part
of the game when the sun was still showing over the stadium walls, but
fortunately my camera has pretty good zoom on it so I was able to get some
fairly decent pictures.And after the sun
went down it wasn’t bad at all, especially with the almost constant breeze
we had.
I was really happy to get to see in person some of the guys that have
joined the team since we had last been to a game, specifically Chris Johnson,
who has become one of my top favorites.So when I looked at the scoreboard during the third inning and saw that
his name had been replaced in the lineup, I was a little upset, wondering why
the heck he had been taken out of the game.Was he hurt?WHAT HAD HAPPENED TO
MY BOY?!? (I refer to my favorites as "my boys". It's short for "my favorite boys on the team".)Then an inning or so later the
Rockies put in a new third baseman, too, so it seemed pretty ironic. I vaguely wondered if the managers had made a deal about their third basemen or something. Then after I got home Saturday afternoon and got
on the Internet, I found this article explaining what happened.ChrisJ…calm down, buddy.At least he’s willing to apologize for
letting his temper get a hold of him.
Anyway, here are some funny/cool things that happened during
the game, both on and off the field.
Off the field -
A vender came near us and called out “Snow
cones!Get them while they’re hot!”I don’t know if that was unintentional or
whether he was doing it to get peoples’ attention, but either way it got our
attention! But, since we didn't want hot snow cones (or cold ones, either, for that matter), we didn't buy any. ;)
When BJ Upton came up to bat in the 6th,
someone in our section started a chant of “Let’s go, BJ!” *clapclap clapclapclap*
and pretty much the whole right field bleachers joined in (BJ ended up getting
a walk).
When Brandon Barnes was brought in to pinch hit
in the 7th the song “Old MacDonald” started playing over the
loudspeaker.
During the 6th Justin Upton hit a
ball to shortstop and unfortunately most of his broken bat followed it (and Troy
Tulowitzki was somehow able to get the ball and not the bat. If it had been me, I would have probably grabbed the bat, or else been too distracted by it to find the ball. That's one of the many reasons I'm not a baseball player)
At one point Justin made a good play at the wall
in left field and afterwards JHey looked at him and shook his hand around like
“Yow, dude!”
·And then, of course, in the bottom of the 8th
we were tied 2-2.Ramiro Pena, who had replaced
ChrisJ at third, hit a double.Then both Simba and Dan Uggla struck
out.Then up came Gerald Laird, the
catcher for the night.And he hit his second
double of the night, sending Pena home and breaking the tie!And that meant we
got to see Craig Kimbrel!And of course
Kimmie came in and did exactly what he was supposed to, striking out the side and bringing the number of
saves between his record and John Smoltz’s down to two. And unfortunately I *just* missed seeing a Freddie/Huggla hug after the game ended. I had been watching to see if the bullpen boys were going to run out and join their teammates and happened to glance back at the infield right as Freddie and Huggla were letting go of each other. Drat. So much for getting a Braves huggy picture. Oh, well, hopefully there will be a next time. ;)
After the game was the fireworks show.I thought it was a little, I guess you could
say interesting, that they played classical music while the fireworks were
going on.You could only really hear it
between rockets.Soon after I realized
that that was what they were doing, I thought, “They need to play "The William
Tell Overture"'.They must have read my
mind, because that is what they played for the finale.And it fit nicely (although I think I prefer
the slightly revamped version of the overture that was made for the newest “Lone
Ranger” movie).
After we left the stadium and were trying to figure out
which direction we needed to head in to get to our parking lot, we heard
drumming off to one side.I thought that
it might have been the Braves’ drum corps, but when we joined the crowd that had
gathered around the source of the sound, we found out that it was just one guy,
playing on plastic buckets.And he was
amazing!He has figured out how to get
all different kinds of sounds out of those buckets by angling them with his
feet, making them spin, and all other kinds of cool tricks.He was also a good showman.At one point he told us that he was going to
do a one-handed drum-roll, and then told us all to say “No way!” (which we
did).And he did it!Wow.Then at the end of his performance he gave a little background on
himself to get us to give him a donation, and he mentioned that he used to be a
school teacher.When he said that some
guy in the crowd called out, “No way!” ;)
It really was a fun trip.I’m so glad that my friends and I were finally able to pull it off!Hopefully we’ll get to do it again sometime.
Here are some of the best pictures I got from the game.Enjoy!
This was the view from our seats!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hey, JHey.
ChrisJ and Simba.
JHey made a good basket catch RIGHT IN FRONT OF US!!!! And he's like "Piece of cake." ;)
ChrisJ at (his only) at bat.
Huggla on base with Laird at the plate. If you don't understand Uggla's nickname, see here.
JHey: "Yow, JUp!"
BJ at bat and JHey on base, ready to go. JHye's stance reminds me a bit of when Jackie Robinson was stealing bases with his crab-like shuffle in the movie "42".
Huggla (and the Rockies' dugout).
This was during one of the Instant Replay breaks. JHey would watch the footage for a while, while BJ just ignored it like, "Whatever, the umps are going to do what they want to, anyway."
For a couple of innings I ended up standing on the main concourse while I waited for my friends to get back from doing a little shopping, so of course I stationed myself above the bullpen. Unfortunately, the only guys who came out while I was there were coach Eddie Perez, bullpen catcher Alan Butts, and newbie reliever Ian Thomas. Oh, well.
See all those white specks on the ground? I think somebody likes his sunflower seeds. Like, really likes them. You could see him spitting them throughout the whole game.
Aw, c'mon, Cuddy, I was just picking. Seeds are definitely a better habit than some others you could have.
Freddie, Justin Morneau, and Cuddy.
Freddie and Huggla. <3
Part-way through the game, I noticed that they didn't have enough room on the board to put a space between "Tulowitzki" and "SS", so it's really "Tulowitzkiss". ;)
Kimmie runs too darn fast for me to get a good picture of him running in (here's hoping for next time!), so I had to settle for a good pic of BJ in front of Kimmie's flames.
The bullpen boys going back to the dugout after the win. I'm guessing the guy in the jacket is David Hale, the one next to/behind him has to be Alex Wood, the one with the backpack is Thomas, and the last one is Anthony Varvaro.
I got this during the fireworks show. Made me think of "The Star Spangled Banner."
Got this as we left the stadium parking lot. I guess since they are going to be replacing the stadium in a few years they probably won't bother fixing the wacky-jawed-ness of the sign's coloring.
As we drove away from the stadium, we found ourselves looking at this beautiful view of downtown. A great way to end a wonderful evening. :)
Yes, TV can be educational, if you are watching it with the mindset to learn. Of course, I'm really talking about TV shows from the 60s through the early 90s. I don't watch any current shows, and while there are probably some pretty decent ones out there (I've watched one episode of "Once Upon a Time" with a friend before, and if I had cable I could probably get hooked), but with a bunch of the shows on today pretty much all you learn is how to NOT do the stupid things the characters do, or that it's ok to mess around before you're married, or that *supposedly* kids are really smarter than adults (Spoiler: it ain't true. Most of the time, anyway. You do occasionally come across a pretty dumb adult or a very sharp, perceptive kid). I was really fortunate during my childhood in that, after I outgrew "PBS Kids", my parents introduced me to a bunch of the TV shows that were on when they were growing up and when they were young adults. And I LOVED them! I still do. In fact, I recently made a deal with my mom where I bought all three DVD seasons of "Gilligan's Island" from her so that she could buy a season of a different older show. We both won that deal. ;) Anyway, here is my compilation of older TV shows that you can learn something from, if you put your mind to it (I will admit, I am going to be stretching things a bit for some of the shows, but it's all in fun). Most of these shows are clean, too, although the ones that came out during the 80s and onward can get a bit PG.
The Andy Griffith Show
Clockwise from bottom right: Barney, Andy, Opie, Gomer
Air Dates: 10/1960 - 4/1968
The Show: If you grew up in the South, you have at least heard of this show, if not seen most of the episodes often enough to quote them by heart (don't get me started on "Opie's Charity"!). The show is about widower Andy Taylor who is the sheriff of the small, backwoods North Carolina town of Mayberry. He lives there with his young son Opie, his Aunt Bea, who keeps house for them, his faithful (albeit bumbling) deputy Barney Fife, and many other good friends and neighbors.
The Lessons: A part of the reason the show has been so popular for so long is because of its strong stress on family values, of being honest, kind and true to your word. Many of the talks that Andy and Opie have together are full of little pearls of wisdom, from both ends of the conversation. You also learn how fun it can be to pick on somebody who takes everything seriously (aka Barney).
Murder, She Wrote
Jessica Fletcher
Air Dates: 9/1984 - 5/1996
The Show: The main character is Jessica Fletcher, a retired English teacher from the small town of Cabot Cove, Maine, who becomes a world famous mystery writer after her nephew publishes the manuscript she had written while recovering from her husband's death. After she becomes published, she encounters murder mysteries every time she turns around, and solves every single one of them.
The Lessons: It is very important to be observant and notice details. It is always those little things that get overlooked that help Jessica piece together what really happened. It is also very important to research whatever it is you are investigating so that you understand it thoroughly.
Alias Smith and Jones
Left: Hannibal Heyes Right: Kid Curry
Air Dates: 1/1971 - 1/1973
The Show: I know I've already talked in-depth about this show in a different post, but I thought it was worth mentioning again, because...
The Lessons: ...it is chock full of little history lessons. It teaches you about nitroglycerin, how safes used to be cracked, the Bannerman Detective Agency, different kinds of gambling schemes that were used in the Old West, that the practice of fingerprinting was begun in the 1880s/90s, and many more little gems. For a history buff like me, that's pretty cool.
The Monkees
Clockwise from top right: Mike, Peter, Davy, Mickey
Air Dates: 9/1966 - 3/1968
The Show: The show is about four friends, Mike, Mickey, Davy and Peter, who make up the rock band "The Monkees". They go through many misadventures as they try to get work in and around LA, such as stumbling into spy rings, being mistaken for other people, competing with other bands, and getting Davy out of his frequent romantic issues.
The Lessons: First off, stick to your friends. Even though the guys all come from different backgrounds and have different personalities, they are always there for each other, even when their knee-jerk reaction is to run the other way. You can also learn that sometimes it's ok to just have fun and be goofy! Life was meant to be enjoyed, as long as you do it in a harmless way. Let the inner kid in you loose, ride with the windows down, try imitating Davy's English accent and sing along at the top of your lungs! (Speaking of singing, the Monkees also had some pretty good songs. My personal favorites are "Daydream Believer","Sometime in the Morning","She", and "I'm a Believer").
Gilligan's Island
Clockwise from right: Skipper, Mary Ann, Gilligan, Professor, Mr. Howell, Mrs. Howell, Ginger
Air Dates: 9/1964 - 9/1967
The Show: Their theme song pretty much sums up the show, so I'll just share it instead of explaining it myself. :)
The Lessons: If you know the basics of how a bicycle works, you can make just about any kind of machinery that you might need anywhere. (Ok, ok, this is one of the ones where I'm stretching it a bit. But you have to admit, all the different contraptions the Professor comes up with in that way are pretty amazing). You also learn the importance of carefully checking the weather forecast before taking a trip! Especially one on the water. ;)
Columbo
Lt. Columbo
Air Dates: 1968 - 1978, 1989 - 2003 The Show: The main character is Lt. Columbo of the LA Homicide division (you never, ever learn his first name. He is always just "Lieutenant"). He always acts like he doesn't quite know what's going on, but in reality he has a razor sharp mind. One interesting part of this show is that at the beginning of each episode you see the murder actually occur, so you know all the time who did it and get to watch Columbo figure it out.
The Lesson: Sometimes it's an advantage to not appear intelligent. People begin to underestimate you, and then at the right moment you can zing them with the fact that you've had them figured out all along.
F Troop
Left to Right: Sgt. O'Rourke, Cpl. Agarn, Capt. Parmenter, Wrangler Jane
Air Dates: 9/1965 - 4/1967
The Show: Have you gotten the idea that I like Westerns? I do. But this one is a bit different from most others in that it shows "how the West was fun!" (quoted from the back of the DVD case). F Troop is a US cavalry fort that is commanded by the sweet, naive and accident-prone Captain Parmenter. His two assistants are Sgt. O'Rourke and Cpl. Agarn, who run an (illegal) souvenir business behind the Captain's back with the nearby Indian tribe, the Hicawis. All of the soldiers in F Troop have problems which prevent them from being really professional soldiers, e. g. a bugler who's tone-deaf, a lookout who has "20-900" vision, and so on. And in the nearby town lives Wrangler Jane, who has her Stetson set on marrying the Captain.
The Lessons: That no matter how sneaky you are (or try to be), you're never going to win 100% of the time. Many of O'Rourke and Agarn's schemes end up blowing up in their faces, sometimes literally. So it's better to be open and above-board with everything you do.
Home Improvement
Top to bottom: Tim, Jill, Brad, Randy, Mark
Air Dates: 9/1991 - 5/1999
The Show: The show follows the Taylor family: dad Tim, who is the host of the DIY show "Tool Time"; mom Jill, who is trying to become a working mom but always ends up staying home; and the three boys, athlete Brad, smart-elec Randy, and momma's boy Mark. Between family misunderstandings, the boys growing up, and Tim's great ineptitude as a handyman (and his obliviousness of the fact), the Taylors are kept on their toes.
The Lessons: My mom pointed out to me some time back that this show has a lot of good lessons for marriage in it. Unlike most TV couples, Tim and Jill don't just have an argument and then have a mushy make-up after both begin to feel guilty about their part in it. These two have an argument, brood on it for a bit, try to make it up, have another misunderstanding, think about how they might have been a part of the problem after all instead of it being all the other person's fault, and then eventually come to a compromise. They work through their many differences and come out as better people and a closer couple at the end of it. That's what you have to do in real life, work things out and come to a mutual agreement where both people give up something for the good of their relationship. If I ever get engaged, I'm letting the Taylors be my marriage councilors. ;)
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