Googling the Alphabet

This only works if you don’t clean out your history in your browser. Type each letter of the alphabet into google in your browser and what is the first thing that comes up with that letter. This could be interesting

A – Adrian Peterson – I must have been scouting for fantasy football

B - Baseball America top prospects 2010 – Yes, I am a baseball geek

C –Calgary Herald – The local paper in Calgary. I wanted to get the opponents viewpoint on a Black Hawks game.

D – David Hoffman – He was running for senate here in Illinois and I wanted some more info on the guy.

E - Ebuddy – E Buddy is a web messenger site that links all your IM’s together.

F – Fritz Weaver – I was watching an episode of the Twilight Zone and I knew I knew the main actor in it. But, I had to google him to figure out from where.

G – GROTA – Stands for Goat Riders of the Apocalypse – It is a Cubs fan blog.

H – Here go buy yourself a Star War – This is a quote from Arrested Development. Why I googled this I have no idea.

I – Illinois License Plate Renewal – Obviously I needed to renew my plates

J – Jay’s Potato Chips – The best chip on earth.

K – Kyrie Lyrics – Well this one is embarrassing. I have no defense.

L – Lost –I was looking for some Lost info and blogs.

M – Meister Brau – I wanted to prove to someone that Miller Lite is basically the same recipe as this long forgotten beer. And I was proven right.

N – News Askew – A site I sometimes visit to get some info on Kevin Smith

O – Orbitz – Must have been from when I was looking to book my last Vegas trip.

P – Peter Frampton – I was watching the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club band movie from the 70’s one night a couple of weeks ago. (It is so bad, that is like a car crash. You simply cannot look away. Anyway this led me to google Frampton for some reason.

Q – I have never googled anything beginning with the letter Q. How Strange.

R - Reverse Phone Look Up – Someone must have called my cell and I did not recognize the number so, I used this site to see if I could figure out who it was.

S – Salon – One of my favorite political sites

T –The Heckler – A sports humor site I have been known to visit.

U – Urban Dictionary – Another very humorous site that will define almost any slang saying or term for you.

V- Verizon – At one time I was thinking of switching cell phone companies.

W - WDRV – I think I wanted to listen online at work one day, which is strange as usually I just listen to the IPod.

X – Don’t have an X either.

Y – Yellow Pages – I think I am the only one that still uses them.

Z – Zillow – A site you can go on to see what your home may be worth.

Nick's 2010 Hall of Fame Ballot

The 2010 Baseball Hall of Fame class will be announced on Wednesday. Every year, I cast my own ballot just for fun. Here it is.

Roberto Alomar – Yes. Alomar was a lifetime .300 hitter who swiped 474 bags during his career. Some of his numbers may not jump out at you, but my criteria is always was he the best player at his position when he played? Alomar was without a doubt the best 2^nd baseman of the early 90’s. He won 10 gold gloves, was an all star 12 times, and received MVP votes in 7 different seasons. Clearly, at least in my mind he is a HOF’er.

Kevin Appier – No. Appier was a nice pitcher who made a grand total of one all star game appearance. He should not get one vote.

Harold Baines - No. A very good and consistent hitter, but being a DH for a vast majority of his career hurts him. Baines was a solid Major Leaguer but in order to get in as a DH you need to put up astronomical numbers in my book and Baines simply did not do that.

Bert Blyleven – No. If there is a Hall of Fame for very good players and nice guys then Blyleven would be a shoe in. However, I cannot induct a guy who won only 20 games once and while he played 22 seasons was only an All Star twice. In 22 years he only got Cy Young votes in 4 years. Blyleven played a long time and because of that some of his stats look better than they are. I saw him pitch and he was never an elite starter.

Ellis Burks – No. Burks was a solid major league outfielder for a time in the early to mid 90’s. But Burks was never an elite ball player. He padded his numbers with a couple of big seasons in Colorado but in no way was Burks a Hall of Famer.

Andre Dawson –Yes. It seems every year I type the same thing endorsing the Hawk. Am I biased in that I saw him play every day for six seasons, probably. But, that does not mean the guy doesn’t belong. Dawson, was a five tool player that was MVP on a last place team in 1987. In 9 different seasons Andre received MVP votes. He was an all-star 8 times. He won 8 gold gloves for his defense. He hit 438 homers and stole 314 bases playing a large part of career in the knee killing dome in Montreal. Last year Jim Rice got in and Rice in my opinion didn’t have as strong of a case as Dawson does. Hopefully this year the writers at long last elect the “Hawk.”

Andres Galarraga –No. Galarraga is another player that padded his career stats playing in the thin air of Colorado. If you look at his splits his numbers are very pedestrian outside of Coors Field. The Big Cat was a good fielding first baseman that was a nice player but that is all he was.

Pat Hentgen – No. Hentgen won the AL CY young in 1996 and that was the apex of his time in the big leagues. Injuries derailed him after that season and he never again approached the type of numbers he put up in 96.

Mike Jackson – No. Jackson was for the most part a middle reliever for his career. He closed for a couple of seasons in Cleveland but he was under .500 and was never dominant.

Eric Karros – No. Karros was the NL rookie of the year in 92 but that is about it for his highlights. He was a .268 career hitter and that is all that I need to say about his candidacy.

Ray Lankford – No. In 15 seasons Lankford was an All star a grand total of one time. Next.

Barry Larkin – No. This is a close one and one I may revisit in future years. Larkin has a lot of pluses on his side. He was a 12 time all star. He won the MVP in 95 and got votes in 6 different seasons. But, I just don’t think Larkin was one of the best short stops of all time. He only had 2,340 hits and he played 19 seasons. That isn’t very impressive for a guy who was a singles hitter. His .295 average is respectable but all his injuries he complied hurt his case. In no other offensive category do his numbers jump out at you. If he gets in then Tramell should get in as well. I agree he was better than Ozzie Smith, but I never thought Ozzie belonged either.

Edgar Martinez – No. Martinez was a DH for the vast majority of his playing time. As I stated with Baines, in order to get in as a DH you have to put up phenomenal numbers as in my book you are only half a player. I am not here to debate whether Edgar was a good hitter because, I agree he was. You don’t hit .312 for a lifetime without being a good hitter. But, again he was a DH and his other numbers just aren’t that awe inspiring. He hit 309 homers, and only one season did he hit over 30. He did drive in 100 in 6 seasons but is that hall of fame worthy? Sorry if you are a DH you need to have out of this world numbers and Martinez simply does not have them.

Don Mattingly – No. I will say he is close and every year, I lean more to voting yes. His biggest problem is that he only played 14 years. However, during a 6 year run that began in 1984 he was one of the best players in either league. He was over .300 each season, knocking in over 100 each year except one in that stretch. Another plus is that he received MVP votes in 7 of his 14 seasons winning the award in 1985. With all that evidence, I still have a hard time thinking of Mattingly as a HOF’er. His career was short and that hurts him, a lot. For some reason he retired at 34. If he played another four or five productive years I would be all for him getting in. As it is I cannot vote for him. But he has a compelling case.

Fred McGriff – No. A simple look at the numbers would suggest McGriff should be included. 493 homers, 8 seasons of at least 100 rbi’s, he got MVP votes in 8 different seasons. With all that evidence I still lean no on him. First he played first base and badly, I might add. First base is a power position and even though he did drive in 100, 8 times his career high for a season was 107. McGriff was very consistent during his playing days and was a great power hitter. But, I never considered him the best first baseman in the game when he played. That says a lot.

Mark McGuire – No. This has zero to do with steroids. McGuire was an awesome power hitter. That’s all he was. He never hit for average, nor was he very good with the glove. I know he was paid to hit the long ball and he was very good at it. But, I cannot forgive his other glaring deficiencies of which there are many.

Jack Morris – No. No way a guy with that ERA should get in. If he were to get elected it would be highest ERA ever for a pitcher to be enshrined. In 18 seasons Morris won 20 games once. In 18 seasons he never won a Cy Young. As a matter of fact he never finished higher then third in the voting. His supporters point to the fact that he won more games in the 80’s then anyone else. I ask who won the most games from 85-95? My point is that it is a useless statistic. He was great in the postseason and that means something to me. But, in no way was he ever in my mind a Hall of Famer.

Dale Murphy – No. Murphy was great for a couple of seasons. But, when he lost it he lost it in a hurry and he was not even a shell of his former greatness. Just can’t vote for a guy who didn’t play at a high level long enough.

Dave Parker – No. But, he is another player that gets overlooked. For awhile in the late 70’s to early 80’s Parker was one of the most feared hitters in the game. He received MVP votes in 9 seasons. He had a rocket arm and won 3 gold gloves. He is hurt by the low power numbers. In 19 seasons Parker only hit 339 homers and that is troublesome and keeps him out.

Tim Raines – No. Of all the players on last year’s ballot I took the closest look at Raines as he got a lot of support last year. Raines was a very solid major league ballplayer. He put up some really good years in the 80’s with the stolen base and is fifth all time in that department. However, he was only adequate in the outfield and while his average is nice at .294 for a singles hitter that is not high enough. Also he had only 2,600 hits in parts of 23 seasons. Just cannot look past that.

Shane Reynolds – No. Really, do I need to say anything about Reynolds? He never won 20 games and finished with an ERA of 4.09. Let’s move on.

David Segui –No. Segui’s name appears prominently in the Mitchell report. Not that he had the numbers to get in anyway.

Lee Smith – No. I loved Lee Smith and still am pissed the Cubs traded him when they did. With that said Smith was the king of the one inning save and was never someone I would ever consider dominant. In 19 seasons he received Cy Young votes in 4 of them. He was a great closer but not in the same league as Sutter, Gossage, and Rivera.

Alan Trammel –No. I really gave a good and hard look at Trammel this year after I read some information about him touting his candidacy. And you know I have underestimated him. But, not enough to believe he should be in the HOF. Trammel did receive MVP votes in 8 seasons. He was an All Star 6 times and wound up with some very impressive numbers for a shortstop. Still, he is not what I would call a HOF player. Trammel was a very good all around shortstop and again while he was good, I just don’t think his numbers are what anyone would call great.

Robin Ventura – No. Ventura was a nice player who had a couple of decent seasons but was only an all star twice and finished his playing days with a .267 batting average. Sorry that isn’t anywhere near good enough.

Todd Zeile – No. Another guy who was pretty mediocre and who won’t be on the ballot next year.

Merry Nickmas

Every year, I write about why I hate Christmas. I guess I should amend that sentence. I don’t hate Christmas. Hate is a pretty strong word and I don’t think I hate the holiday, in fact there are many facets to it that I like. However, there are many more things about it, I dislike and for me personally, the bad outweighs the good.

But to prove that I am not a total Grinch and also to prove that those seven Kmart Christmases didn’t totally jade me I am going to list ten things about holiday that I do like. If you are someone who prefers me being the grumpy old man, then please read the post I wrote two years ago about things about this time of year that drive me nuts. Here is a link to that post http://10withamop.blogspot.com/2007/12/some-xmas-bitching.html#comments

The Single Line – One of the best trends to start in the last couple of years is retail stores during the holidays having one huge line form and then having a store employee at the front of it directing the consumers to the next open register. This makes the line you are in move and it also prevents one (and I always do this) from picking the line with the old woman who will want a price check for the perceived dime overcharge and will then proceed to write a check for her purchase.

My Aunt Kathy’s Lasagna – My Mom and Aunt used to make the homemade ravioli for Xmas back in the day. They would roll the dough themselves and stuff them with ricotta cheese. But that is a pretty big undertaking so, I get that they decided to put a halt to that one. Now my Aunt uses the holiday to make some kick ass lasagna. Lasagna is always a gamble. I love it, but I never order it at a restaurant because more times than not it is not made to the high standards that I am used to. My Grandfather on my Mom’s side was a cook at an Italian restaurant and I believe this recipe is what was passed down to my Aunt and my Mom. Don’t believe me in how good it is, just ask my wife. She looks forward to it as much as I do now.

Hearing Do They Know it’s Christmas by Band Aid – I would say 95% of Christmas music is pure shit. However, there is still one song that I really dig that I look forward to hearing every winter and that is Do They know it’s Christmas. I guess it is stems from the fact that this one was recorded right in my wheel house. It sends me back to the early 1980’s when I watched MTV with regularity. (Nowadays I am not even sure what channel it is on anymore.) The Bob Geldof classic to help raise money for Africa is a catchy tune that one day I want to hear covered at our annual Xmas party. Which brings me to,

The Annual Christmas Party – Back in the mid 90’s when a number of my friends lived in the “log cabin” house in Oak Lawn a Christmas party was thrown. From that was spawned the annual Xmas celebration that Wally and Chris organize. It has turned from a nice house gathering into a party at usually The Grove which used to be Little Richie’s. One year according to legend we set the record at the bar for the most beer ever sold in one night. It is always a good time as it is a chance to catch up with friends that try as you might to stay in touch becomes difficult as responsibility sets in. Usually a band or two made up of our posse gets up on stage and puts on a rocking show. I look forward to it every year and I don’t think I have missed one since the inception.

Watching A Christmas Story – With all due respect to It’s A Wonderful Life, this is the quintessential film of the holidays. I have probably watched it a hundred times and I still laugh when Ralphie feels up the leg lamp. So many great moments in the film and so many great stories it is hard to pick a favorite. To think this movie kind of tanked when it was released. But, I guess that is what makes it a cult classic

Giving Gifts – I know it is passé to say this, but it fits for me. I much prefer giving gifts to getting them. I always feel awkward getting a gift and never know how to react when I open them. I get much more satisfaction watching someone open I gift that I (or for the most part Joyce) has picked out for them. Yes, shopping is brutal but with the invention of the internet it has become much more tolerable. Hell, when you buy something from Amazon they even give you the option of shipping it to you already wrapped.

Working – A lot of people prefer to take vacation Christmas week, not me. I love working this week. First off since so many people are off, it is slow as hell. I can use the time (like this year) to catch up on a bunch of stuff I put off because I didn’t have to deal with it. Also, the people that are here are all laid back with their minds already on spiked eggnog. This morning I got to work in almost half the time as there was no one on the streets. Back in the day the train was dead. I get it why many want these days off but, I love working this week.

The Deals – Retailers will usually give you humongous discounts this time of the year. Joyce and I are pricing flat screens televisions and the deals we are seeing are crazy. If you need to make a big purchase for yourself I highly suggest doing so if you can afford it to make it during the season. Preferably if you can get it done online thus avoiding the craziness of the store itself.

The German Christmas display at Daley Plaza in the Loop – With the exception of 1997, I had worked in the loop for every Christmas. A trip to the Xmas Village was a must. First you could rock some killer hot chocolate, with a bowl of cream of potato soup and a potato pancake. Then for desert you head into the heated shelter and a cup a glogg which would warm you right up. (And knock you on your ass if you weren’t careful.) I am stuck in Downers this year and didn’t make it downtown this Christmas. But, in years past it was something I always made sure I hit at least once.

Spending Time with the Family – For as much as I bitch about the travel (and trust me I do put in some miles) I do enjoy seeing everyone. First is the Francone Fest with my Dad. Usually we play a game or two of 500 rummy and our “boxes” game. Then we have a pot luck dinner where everyone brings one item. We have a grab bag and exchange gifts at some point in the evening. This usually is like a week or two before December 25^th.

Then on Christmas Eve it is time to celebrate with my in laws. We usually hit my brother-in-law Alan’s house in the city. There we eat some ham (usually we bring a honey baked but this year Joyce is going to attempt to make a ham on her own) and some other assorted food. Then I usually put in some Uncle Nick time with our nephews AJ and Nathan. We rock some more gift giving and then I play with the toys I bought for the two boys.

On Christmas Day, it is time to hit my Mom’s side of the family. We usually start the day at my Mom’s house and eat some homemade breakfast and exchange gifts with her and Lou. We kick it there for awhile before we venture to Plainfield to my Cousin Kristie’s house. There we knock back my Aunt’s aforementioned lasagna and watch Danny and starting this year Matthew open their gifts. I then B.S. with my Uncle John and Lou as we try to fix all the problems that the Chicago sports teams are having.

The whole thing is a tradition that I know I will truly miss if and when it goes away. I still like to bitch about all the other stuff, but I know how lucky I truly am to have a great family (make that families) that make the Xmas days something to look forward to.

Retail Hell

I often talk about my seven years working at Kmart for good reason. For the most part I had a blast working there and most of my social life to this day is spent with friendships I made with people who worked there with me. When I worked there I used the store as the base of pretty much my entire life. My friends all worked there and the ones that didn’t were all friends of friends that worked at the mart. I dated a girl there, I played on the softball team at the store, even when I was off I was there most nights. It was just a great time in my life.

However, there were a couple of days a year where working there sucked. I had a routine when I worked the floor. (If I wasn’t in the Pharmacy, I was a stock boy in the health and beauty and party goods sections.) I would punch in and make my rounds socializing. I would make sure the sale ads were stocked and then pretty much spend the rest of the night flirting with apparel and checkout girls with the occasional break to put away unwanteds.

I am a man of routine. So, when said routine is messed up I become grumpy. I am not as bad as I used to be but when I was 19, well I was not as good as dealing with shit as I am today. With that said, here are the five worst days to work at the mart. I knew if I was scheduled to be there any of these days I was in for a long one.

The 4^th of July – There is nothing worse than being stuck in a K Mart on the 4^th of July. First off, why the fuck would anyone want to go shopping at a K Mart on a summer day in July in the first place? You add on to that, it is the holiday of all holiday’s in the summer so you can use your imagination on what kind of people would come into the store. Other then the patrons who were coming in to grab a last minute bad of charcoal (those people were fine) you had all the losers of the world who had nothing better to do on a day off of work then to spend it shopping at K Mart. I am sure you can imagine the clientele. Add on top of this, I always had something going on that night that consisted on knocking back some beverages it just felt like time dragged the whole day.

Usually the apparel manager Mr. Fields would throw this huge blowout were someone would make this jungle juice and we would stay up all night drinking and then go golfing the next morning. So, all you wanted to do was have your shift end so you could go to the party. (I have a whole other blog on those parties. They were monumental.) Instead you were stuck with all the friendless bearded ladies in the Bridgeview area who had nothing better to do then to spend time at K Mart.

Black Friday – Back in the late 80’s and early 90’s Black Friday was about 20% of what it is today. So, I can’t even imagine the insanity of what it is like now, because it was a living hell even back then. First off we opened at 7 AM. So, that would mean I would have to drag my teen-aged carcass out of bed at like 6:30 which went against every bodily instinct I had. Then I would get to the store and just brace myself for what was about to come.

The old bags and lepers of the world would already be lined up waiting to get in when I pulled up. We usually had a sale that would run from like 7 AM to 11 AM. And all in the name of trying to save $5 these people would be waiting for us to open the doors. And as soon we did the rush was on. We would exhaust our entire shopping cart inventory in record time. Women in curlers would madly rush to the toys department throwing elbows trying to find a Teddy Ruxpin. And then the blue light specials would start and all hell would break loose. In all seriousness if you worked that day you deserved battle pay.

December 24^th – Christmas Eve was a whole other matter. There is a certain personality that waits until the very last day to go Christmas shopping. I am not talking about someone who forgot to buy one gift. I am talking about the people who would come in with their entire Christmas shopping list in hand and then frantically run through the aisles trying to find the perfect gift for Grandma with the store closing in fifteen minutes. I didn’t work checkouts. But, I had a register bag, which meant if the lines up front got busy they would page people who worked the floor to come up to the registers and open up. My girlfriend at the time was often times in charge of calling people up from the floor. Well, who do you think the first person she would call up to open would be?

So, one Christmas Eve I get called up there early and my line never stopped. Then I had some trailer park mama and her daughter come in with two shopping carts full of shit. This is not an exaggeration. It took me a half hour to ring them up. Their total came to like 2 grand. The mother then reached into her bra and pulled out a sweaty stack of twenties and just started counting them of and handing them to me. Needless to say I hit the eggnog pretty good that year to try to wash that memory from my consciousness.

December 26^th – This day may quite possibly have been the worst day of them all to work. You see you had every K Mart reject in the world that would come in to return those shitty gifts that their thoughtless relatives bought two days earlier. A person from each department was positioned at the return counter to handle the mayhem. I always used to wonder, was your gift that bad that you had to run out the very next day to return it? On top of that you had all the scammers out there that would try to return other unwanted items that they have had in their possession since the Eisenhower administration that they no longer wanted, because they knew the return policy on that day was much more lenient.

I saw used toilet seats trying to be returned. I watched as a lady got pissed when she tried to return a men’s tie that had a Sears tag on it and was rejected. You would see shoes that looked like they had 1,000 miles on them and people with a straight face would try to tell you they were new. It was comical.

If all that wasn’t bad enough the store was also filled with all the bargain hunters who were there to buy all the marked down Christmas shit that didn’t sell. They would rummage through the ugliest wrapping paper and bows and fill their carts with the items all to get that 50% off discount on things that cost $3 to being with. (Sadly this was my department so, I was usually dealing with these people for an entire eight hour shift.)These shoppers all tended to be the worst of the worst and would give me one gigantic headache.

January 1^st – It would always amaze me how anyone could get up a six in the morning on New Year’s Day to go shopping. It puzzles me at 40 but at 20 it blew my mind. I would spend New Year’s Eve saluting the year away in hard liquor shots and drinking games. Even if I knew I had to work the next morning that didn’t stop me. (My logic was I am young and I am going to enjoy my youth, my $5.00 an hour job be dammed.) This of course led to the inevitable hangover the next morning.

Dealing with your average K Mart shopper completely sober was bad enough. But you add a hangover to the mix along with the fact that the people who are at a Kmart on January 1^st at 7 AM are not exactly the upper crust of society and it makes for a lethal combination. My goal would be just to get through the day the best I could. But, it was never easy. I would usually be running some blue light that my sadistic manager would set up. And then all the blue hairs would come running at me to get their 25 cent bag of expired potato chips. I know when I go to hell (and I am going) it is going to be me re-living like New Years day 1989 for eternity.

Nick's Top 10 Films of the Decade

There will be plenty of best of the decade lists coming out in the coming weeks. To get a head start on all of that, here are my top ten films of the last decade.

1. Mulholland Drive (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0166924/) – I know some people just hate this movie but to me this was just a brilliant piece of filmmaking by David Lynch. I watched it and then immediately had to re-watch it just to see if I could figure out what I just saw. Amazing performances in what I now think is Lynch’s masterpiece. (Of the many Oscar oversights over the years, I will never understand how someone could think A Beautiful Mind was a better movie then Mulholland Drive, but oh well.)

2. United 93 (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0475276/) – This is just another amazing piece of filmmaking. I dare you to watch this and not think it is a documentary. This is truly a tragic film and one that I don’t know if I can ever bring myself to watch again. It brought the events of 9/11 right back upon viewing and I know a lot of people avoided this movie because (and I truly get this) who wants to re-live those feelings. With all that said, this movie is simply a masterpiece.

3. 28 Days Later – (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0289043/) – To me what made this movie so amazing is it took a genre that has been made to death in zombies and gave us a fresh take on it. Also, when the film makes a left turn in the third act (and if you’ve seen it you know what I am talking about) it is scarier than any zombie eating your brains. I didn’t dig the sequel as much, but judged on its own 28 Days Later is truly remarkable

4. Traffic (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0181865/) – I know some people don’t like this movie as well, and I truly don’t get it. To me this was an addictively watchable film. So many stories and so many points of view yet somehow Soderbergh melds it all together to make a movie that I could re-watch a thousand times.

5. Capturing the Friedmans – (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0342172/) – This was in my mind the best documentary of the decade. If you haven’t seen it, I implore you to rent it. It sucks you right into the hell that was the Friedmans life at the time of the arrests. It doesn’t state weather they feel Jessie is innocent or guilty, and after watching it I still don’t know. But, because of all the home movie footage that was shot, it gives you a rare glimpse into a family as it falls apart.

6. The Royal Tenenbaums (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0265666/) - This is Wes Anderson’s last really good film. Here everyone gives great performances but, Gene Hackman just steals it. I still love that last scene with Ben Stiller and Hackman riding on the back of the garbage truck right before Royal passes away. It always hits me right in the gut. This movie gets better and better each time I watch it.

7. O’ Brother Where Art Thou? (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0190590/) - I am a Cohen Brothers fanatic so, of course I have to include at least one from the boys. If you watch this movie and it doesn’t put a smile on your face then you need to have your pulse checked. So funny and so much fun to watch, it is simply impossible not to like.

8. American Splendor (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0305206/) – I don’t know what it is about Harvey Pekar, but I just find him and his stories interesting. You could not have picked a better actor then Paul Giamatti to play Pekar. This is another one that in the end it leaves you with a very warm feeling somehow despite Harvey’s somewhat bleak views on life.

9. Frailty – (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0264616/) - This won’t make many ten best lists but, I had to include it in mine. Joyce and I went to the movies not knowing what we wanted to see. We picked this for I am still not sure what reason, and we both walked out amazed at just how good it was. This is a movie that keeps you guessing right until the end and pays off with a great finish.

10. The Bourne Identity (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0258463/) – The first in the Bourne series is still my favorite. This is a great action flick that from the first scene doesn’t let up until the credits roll. The whole series was really done well and tied together nicely. I still give a slight edge to the first one but all three are really good.

Honorable Mention: Memento, There Will Be Blood, No Country For Old Men, Almost Famous, Bad Santa, Bully, Secretary, Spiderman, Best in Show and Snatch.

Netflix Reviews

I haven’t written a blog in awhile (I am going through some serious writers block right now) so, I figured maybe if I write a ten second review of the last ten Netflix films I caught that may start the creative juices flowing again. Anyway, here goes.

Hellcab – I rented it because it was filmed in and around Chicago. I can’t say it was a bad movie and it is an interesting premise, but in the end it just wasn’t that great and the ending was a tad to melodramatic for me.

Charley Varrick – I have always been a huge Jack Lemmon fan. I also really liked Walter Matthau but never spent enough time watching his films. This is one of his from the 70’s that I never saw. Somehow even if it is a tad dated, it still works. A good cops and robber’s movie that kept me interested the entire time.

21 Grams – I am a big Sean Penn guy yet somehow I never got around to peeping this film. That was a mistake and Penn as usual gives a solid performance as does Benicio Del Toro. Even if it is a downer, it is still a very good movie.

The Foot Fist Way – I really dug East Bound and Down, the HBO series starring Danny McBride as Kenny Powers. So, that led me to check out the movie that launched his career, The Foot Fist Way. It is a flick made on a shoestring budget but, if you are a fan of his HBO series you will like this one.

The Towering Inferno – I saw this as a little kid but remembered nothing about it. I figured a movie with Paul Newman, Steve McQueen and O.J. Simpson had to have some redeeming qualities. And it did. A bit long, but still interesting enough and worth a rental for the 70’s of it all.

The Seventh Sign – I watched a lot of movies in the 80’s in Dell’s basement that because I had one too many cans of Stroh’s I don’t remember much of. This was one of those films. So, I figured I would re-watch it and see if I liked it or not. Well, this was a swing and a miss. I won’t say it sucked but, it is not worth one’s time. There is a reason time forgot about this one.

Charlie Wilson’s War – I am not a big Tom Hanks guy and I loathe Julia Roberts. Yet, I enjoyed this movie. Phillip Seymour Hoffman is again the balls here. A movie based on a true story about one time Texas congressman Charlie Wilson who while he was a flawed man did some truly great things.

A/k/a Tommy Chong – The fact that Tommy Chong served time in jail for selling bongs over the internet is just further proof that the Regan era war on drugs is a complete failure. At some point doesn’t common sense take over? At least as Chong says, it gave his career a boost and made him something he never thought he would be, a crusader.

Betrayed – I read a book awhile back about the shooting death of Alan Berg, a talk radio host who was shot and killed in Denver by a group of white nationalists. Two movies were made based on that shooting. One was the very good Eric Bogosian film Talk Radio. The other was this one which was not as good. If you have never heard about the case, I suggest reading the book it is better than either film.

One False Move – I saw this movie back in the day at Harlem Corners. Yet, all I could remember about it was that it starred Bill Paxton. (Who for one reason or another I actually like.) This movie is interesting enough but not as good as I remembered it if that makes any sense.

The MIxed CD

A lot of times I will find old cd’s that are left in a client’s pc’s cd rom after I have upgraded them. That happened again today as I was going through some equipment I brought back from my trip to Wisconsin a couple of months ago. It is a mixed cd that someone took to the time to create to get them through their workday, here is what was on it.

Track 1 – Dream On, Aerosmith – God I fucking hate Aerosmith. They have been living off of what they put out a million years ago and truth be told even that stuff wasn’t that great. Then they sold out like no other band in history. (Am I the only one that remembers the Britney Spears and Stephen Tyler Walk this Way duet during halftime of the Oakland – Tampa Bay super bowl?) Dream On was a decent track oh, the first 10,000 times I heard it.

Track 2 – The End, The Doors – Really? I mean I love the Doors as much as the next guy, but The End? Nothing like breaking up the monotony of a routine workday then a song about Jim’s oedipal complex issues.

Track 3 – How Long, The Eagles – Oh, you know where I am going with this one. In all my years on this planet I will never get the fascination with the shit merchants that make up the most over rated band in American music history, The Eagles. Maybe you have to be from California to get them? The lyrics to this song in particular are so 7^th grade poetry class worthy that I seriously have to ask someone to try to defend this one.

Track 4 Tiny Dancer, Elton John – Okay this cd had to come out of a chick’s old computer right? I mean even if you are male and like this song to admit so, calls into question oh so many things.

Track 5 – Wonderful Tonight, Eric Clapton – If you went to a wedding between the years 1987 and 1997 I can guarantee this song was played at some point in the evening when for whatever reason this tune came back into the mainstream consciousness. It isn’t a bad ditty per say, it is just that now since it has been so overplayed it has lost any sentimentality it ever had.

Track 6 Touch of Grey, The Grateful Dead – Of all the great Dead jams, this is what you pick to listen to at work? This is the official song of the Grateful Dead poser fan club. To say they mailed it in on this one is an understatement.

Track 7 – Stairway to Heaven, Led Zeppelin – I am not kidding. I mean didn’t they have classic rock radio stations where this lady grew up? If anyone can come up with a more over-played song I would love to hear a nomination.

Track 8 – Tuesday’s Gone, Lynard Skynard – She almost makes up for all her past misdeeds by the inclusion of this one. I won’t nuke it because I can’t.

Track 9 – Wish You Were Here, Pink Floyd – To listen to Pink Floyd in any place other than an insomnia ward can be harmful to your health. Pink Floyd is the perfect example of a band in which every member is insanely talented and then goes out and produces some of the most overblown, overproduced music imaginable. If there was a band that is the Bizarro Clash it is Pink Floyd.

Track 10 – Forever Young, Rod Stewart – Do I even have to make a comment on this one? It is a strange world out there and hey, to each their own. But, if you like this one you really need to open up your personal musical library. This is the worst Rod Stewart song. That is like being the worst Michael Bay movie.

Track 11 – Last Dance with Mary Jane, Tom Petty – I have to admit I kind of like this one. I am not a huge Tom Petty guy. I don’t dislike him or particularly like him. This song does not hurt nearly as much as many of the other tracks so, I will give it a pass.

Track 12 – Baba O’Reilly, The Who – Well, I will never diss the Who. They are the perfect rock and roll band. Again, this is a tad of an obvious choice but I won’t nuke it other than to say if the Who were a bike, Baba O’Reilly would be its training wheels.

Track 13 – Who Are You, The Who – Wow two Who songs to close it out. Not my favorite jam by the guys but, again I cannot nuke it.