Here they are, according to Rotten Tomatoes.
I was almost through the list thinking I'd managed to miss every single one, but then I remembered the horror that was Fear Dot Com.
Consensus: As frustrating as a 404 error, Fear Dot Com is a stylish, incoherent, and often nasty mess with few scares.
This well may be the kind of post in which I manage to offend everyone who reads it. Or it might not. It might just be the kind of post that everyone agrees with.
I doubt the latter, but raise it only as a possibility because my conclusions seem so "true" to me that it is indeed hard for me to understand the opposite opinion.
That's not true with politics; even though I vehemently disagree with lots of political viewpoints, in most cases it's not hard to understand that a different outlook and perspective can cause you to see the world wholly differently.
But here? That is harder. Let's break it down.
First, on Michael Vick -- I actually just looked back for the post in which I originally wrote this - and then realized I never did. But here's what I would have said:
What Vick did was morally, ethically and apparently legally indefensible. And whether or not you think the two year prison sentence he got was too lenient or too harsh, he had a trial with a sentence that he served. Some folks were upset that an NFL team signed him, arguing that he should never be allowed to play football again.
That's wrong -- no team should have to sign him, but he served his time. Our legal system said that what he did - which was so disgusting and against what I stand for that I actually have a hard time even thinking about it - was worth 23 months in prison. He did that, and along the way lost his personal fortune. I shed no tears for Vick, because he did inhuman things to helpless animals, and then lied point blank on camera, to the league and to all his fans. My sympathy quotient for his crimes is nil. I wouldn't be happy if he had signed with my 49ers, because I wouldn't want to pay for tickets that helped pay his salary. But he HAS served his time - let him try to work for a living.
The same cannot, however, be true for director Roman Polanski. For those unaware, Polanski is accused of drugging and having nonconsensual sex - that means RAPE - with a 13-year old girl back in the 1970s. Actually, I don't think I even have to say "accused" because he's pled guilty to doing it. Polanski pled guilty, served 42 days in jail, and then fled the country when he determined that his jail time was going to exceed the month-plus he'd already served.
Let's be clear: Polanski has never come back to the country because he didn't want to possibly face a jail sentence for raping a (barely) teenager. Recently, he was apprehended in Switzerland and now faces the time for his crime.
And suprisingly, some people are outraged about this. People like Martin Scorcese, Woody Allen and David Lynch are publicly asking for his release, claiming his arrest is a "miscarriage of jusice."
On the flp side, you have Jewel tweeting that:
"Polanski-admitted raping a 13 yr old-whys every1 in the arts upset hes facing jail? cause hes a gifted director? what am i missing?
Hence, my confusion. Perhaps it's because I am the father of a daughter, but I doubt it. Polanski did a horrible thing, just like Vick. In fact, he bettered Vick in that he didn't deny it when it happened. That's because, basically, he didn't even think he had done anything wrong. And despite 42 days in jail being no picnic, he's never served any penalty for this besides winning an Oscar, directing more films and having to avoid ever coming to the United States. That's a tradeoff I can't imagine he's upset about. I'm a huge fan of Polanski's work. "Chinatown" is one of my favorite movies of all time, "Rosemary's Baby" is a masterpiece, and he richly deserved the Oscar he won as best director for "The Pianist." He's a great artist. Maybe his next film will be a prison movie.
...
In general, I agree with the European view that Americans tend to be prudish and hypocritical about sex. But a grown man drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl? That's not remotely a close call. It's wrong in any moral universe -- and deserves harsher punishment than three decades of gilded exile.
...
Much has been made of the fact that Polanski's victim, now 45, has said she no longer feels any anger toward him and does not want to see him jailed. But it's irrelevant what the victim thinks and feels as a grown woman. What's important is what she thought and felt at age 13, when the crime was committed. Those who argue that there's something unjust about Polanski's arrest are essentially accepting his argument that it's possible for a 13-year-old girl, under the influence of alcohol and drugs, to "consent" to sex with a man in his 40s. Or maybe his defenders are saying that drugging and raping a child is simply not such a big deal.
As far as I'm concerned, it's a huge deal. Even in France, it should be a big deal. This isn't about a genius who is being hounded for flouting society's hidebound conventions. It's about a rich and powerful man who used his fame and position to assault -- in every sense, to violate -- an innocent child.
And it's about a man who ran away rather than face the consequences of his actions. Before any sentence could be imposed, he absconded like a weasel to live a princely life in France.
That's the sort of protagonist, a great director like Polanski must realize, who doesn't deserve a happy ending.
People who call themselves "Libertarians" are, generally speaking, simply people who don't want to admit to you or themself that they always vote for Republicans.
This message has been sponsored by the reality-based community.
-- I posted this from my iPhone, please excuse the mess.
My brother turned me on to this site, Flip Flop Fly Ball, for one of the pages about a hypothetical fantasy team between the E Street Band and the Wu Tang Clan.
No, I don't quite get it either.
But while there, I found a LOT of other pages, most which have GREAT visual design. The owner of this site is really quite good at expressing concepts through visual layouts.
For instance, we all know that the Yankees, aside from being the Evil Empire on the East Coast (as the Dodgers have that firmly wrapped up over here on the West Side) have exorbitant ticket prices. But how different are they than the rest of the league?
Check it:
(Click to expand, but you can simply note that the bottom line is the Yankees. Wow.)
Some other good ones are about the Best Record in Baseball, the American town farthest from a major league team, and humorously, a guide for teenagers on how to remove labels from a new baseball cap.
Check out the whole site, why don't you?
Just because I have to...
The force is strong within you, young Paduan...
Thanks to Kottke.org for the photoshopping...
OK, I flat out love this bit from Matt Maiocco's recent column:
Niners defensive coordinator Greg Manusky was gushing over the play of defensive lineman Justin Smith, who played almost every snap in the opener. After the 49ers' coaches' film review, Smith was credited with 13 quarterback pressure and nine hits on Kurt Warner to go along with his one sack.
Said Manusky, "I've been in the league for a long time and I haven't seen a defensive lineman do what he did in all 20 years of playing and coaching. . . . I've never seen a guy play at that high a level for that amount of snaps and be as effective as he is. He had a good game."
When told of Manusky's remarks, Smith said wryly, "He's full of crap."
The last drafted player to sit out an entire NFL season because he couldn't agree on a contract was the largely forgettable Kelly Stouffer. (His namesakes do make a good pizza, though.)
And it is the first app I have paid for. ($0.99, but still.)
Just testing out the photo option here; this is from the Dale Chihuly exhibit last year.
Hmm, this blog post could be the descriptions of a lot of things in my life, and I'm not sure that's a bad thing.
In any event, I saw a tweet referencing a NY Times article about the house next to the Obamas being for sale and on a whim looked it up on MapQuest. (Why not Google Maps? I DON'T KNOW!)
And while I knew that I'd lived in the same general area as this when I was at school at the University of Chicago, I hadn't realized exactly HOW close.
The big red star is the Obama's house (or, technically, the house next door that is for sale.) The red circles are approximately my two apartments during the two years of grad school.
Like I said, I'm not sure what this means. Wait, actually I am. It means nothing. But it's sort of cool nonetheless.
The 49ers began this season by beating the reigning NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals 20-16. It's worth noting that this sounds a wee better than it typically would be; the Cards didn't exactly dominate last season, but crested at the right time and played best when it counted through the playoffs until the Super Bowl itself, when they simply got beat.
But, still. They won the NFC, and the 49ers beat them to start the 2009 season. This is nothing but a good thing for the Red and Gold. However, it's not just that they won - it's the way they did it - that really pleased me.
The gameplan going into the season, at least as the Niners coaching staff made it sound, was a staunch reliance on the running game, letting QB Shaun Hill manage the games, not win them. Given the fact that #1 draft pick Michael Crabtree is content to lose money and respect instead of play, it's not like the team has an elite corps of wideouts actually playing. 95-year old Isaac Bruce is their #1 guy. (Josh Morgan does have a significant potential which I'm happy about, of course.)
In any event, the game. The running game absolutely stunk. Frank Gore went nowhere and pre-season superstar Glen Coffee looked no better. Instead, the Niners won it with a great defensive performance, and a winning drive led by Hill and the receivers.
This isn't the way the team will win games this year, at least not on the offensive side of the ball. But the fact there was a legitimate pass rush is jaw-dropping for a team that's been stymied there for years. If that's legit for the year, the Niners are strong enough elsewhere on defense that they'll stay in almost any game. And if Hill continues to show the poise and accuracy he has since the middle of last season, I'm thinking this is going to be a fun year to watch.
God, the folks who say there is a huge liberal media bias are just flat out wrong. Headlines are just that, but there's something very, very wrong with this:
I took the screenshot because it's very easy to change a headline. But read this through and then think about what the headline really should be. The portion of the article that the headline refers to is highlighted in yellow. The rest of the article? It's about how Bush was talking smack about John McCain and Sarah Palin.
Is it that the Republican President thought that the guy who was running against Bush's policies, ripping him daily in the press, etc., just didn't get it? Or...is a bigger story that Bush thought McCain was doomed, and that Sarah Palin was grossly unqualified?
(Let's not get into whether pots are calling kettles black or not, but let's just say when the worst President in the history of the country thinks you are unqualified, and you remain one of the darlings of your party, that your party has issues.)
This is just sloppy, biased headline writing and worth pointing out. Move along with your day.
Yep, that's my fantasy team name this season, and I have to say, I'm pretty happy with it. (Next year, I may even go with "The Dwayne Bowe Coalition.") I resisted the temptation to post my thoughts immediately after our draft, but now that a week's worth of games are in the book, it's time to let that fly.
Realizing that this is of interest to approximately one person, and I know what it's going to say, I'm putting the rest of this bad boy under the fold. Just assume that by the photo here that you know who my first pick was, and that I'm pretty happy about it.
So, if you play fantasy football, you not only know that's Adrian Peterson above, but that in order for me to have him, I had the first pick in the draft. Truth. A few other caveats for those interested: We start 1QB, 2RB, 3WR (no TE), 1PK, 1D/ST and a Flex -- but that Flex can be a QB which greatly increases their value in our league. (Almost everyone starts two QB each week.) It's also a reasonably performance heavy league, if such things matter.
With that, my picks and current thoughts:
1 (1) -- Adrian Peterson, RB Minnesota Vikings. The best running back in the league and the obvious lock for #1 pick overall. His 180 yard, three touchdown performance yesterday against the Browns wasn't necessary to reaffirm this, but it sure didn't hurt.
2 (20) -- Calvin Johnson, WR Detroit Lions. I loves me the Megatron; some worry that he has a rookie QB but there's no way it can be worse than last year. Had a long TD not been erroneously called back, Johnson would have had over 150 yards and that TD - as it is, 3 catches for 90 yards isn't shabby.
3 (21) -- Brandon Jacobs, RB New York Giants. He didn't look strong yesterday with about 50 yards and a weak average, but I'm psyched to have him as my second running back. I expected him to be long gone.
4 (40) -- Jay Cutler, QB Chicago Bears. Remember, this is a QB-heavy league (in fact, the top five went in the first 16 picks). Cutler looked pretty pathetic in the first half yesterday, then much stronger in the second including a gorgeous long bomb to Devin Hester. I think he'll be fine as one of my two QBs all season long.
5 (41) -- Matthew Schaub, QB Houston Texans. On the other hand, Schaub looked like poop. I think that Cutler and Schaub together give me what I need, with the potential to actually be strong, but I can't say that 166 yard, 0 TD performance didn't make me a bit nervous.
6 (60) -- Darren McFadden, RB Oakland Raiders. Here is where the draft got dicey for me; this pick was met with general guffaws, mostly because people don't believe DMC is for real. I admit, I have my concerns -- but I clearly need both receivers and running back depth, and it was either him or Pierre Thomas who was incredibly still on the board. (Ray Rice, my main choice, was taken by my brother just two picks earlier...) With Thomas missing Week 1 and potentially having to share carries with Mike Bell, I'm feeling better about this. Plus, DMC looked strong against the Chargers.
7 (61) -- Anthony Gonzalez, WR Indianpolis Colts. This was also met with disapproval, and I admit now, I wanted Brandon Marshall, but I just couldn't handle the risk. Well, no matter what, he's going to be better than Gonzalez, who ripped his knee three ways till Sunday. I'll be dropping him in two short days, and he was destined to be my WR2. (Yes, he'll be back this year but with three tears in his knee, I'm not optimistic.)
8 (80) -- Larry Johnson, RB Kansas City Chiefs. Look, I hate LJ. I think he's pretty much done for. But as my fourth running back? You can't - or shouldn't - pass up that kind of depth. Would I have been better doubling up on receivers with this and my next pick? Perhaps.
9 (81) -- Hines Ward, WR Pittsburgh Steelers. Loved him as my third wideout, especially after his big opening night game. But now he's my WR2 and I feel decidedly less confident. Still, great value this deep in the draft.
10 (100) -- Leon Washington, RB New York Jets. I couldn't be happier with this -- I'd been meaning to take Ahmad Bradshaw, but he got snapped up just before this pick. Washington has huge upside this year and as my fifth running back? Quite happy here.
11 (101) -- Donnie Avery, WR St Louis Rams. At this point, the talent level got pretty thin, and I went with the young, fast WR -- even though he has a crap QB and plays for what is quite possibly the worst team in the NFL.
12 (120) -- Steve Breaston, WR Arizona Cardinals. I am not expecting 1000 yards again, and Breaston (like Lance Moore of the Saints) only has real value if someone else gets injured. But the upside is just there, and seriously, it was getting real thin at this point.
13 (121) Kerry Collins, QB Tennessee Titans. For bye weeks only, he just missed out on having the best QB performance of my trio. Totally passable, but I could have gotten a stronger option had I filled this slot during the prior turn.
14. (140) Nate Burleson, WR Seattle Seahawks. My last skill position pick, I was happy to snare Burleson who was off most folks radar after missing last season. With Housh in Seattle, he's going to get a lot of single coverage and certainly maximized that yesterday.
15. (141) Chicago Bears, DEF/ST. Yeah, I was feeling better about this before Brian Urlacher was lost for the season. I'll be trading up soon.
16. (160) Nick Folk PK Dallas Cowboys. It's a kicker, so who cares?
All in all, I like it - but of course, only time will tell.
Just read this, though Buster Posey finally did appear as a pinch hitter tonight:
Buster Posey still hasn’t made his big-league debut, and manager Bruce Bochy is asked almost daily when the kid will get in a game. Bochy said he’s sticking with Bengie Molina and Eli Whiteside and would catch Posey either in an emergency or a one-sided game. As for pinch-hitting, that hasn’t happened either. When Bochy needed a pinch hitter Wednesday, he summoned Jesus Guzman.
I am one of those people who seems to be slaughtered by mosquitoes when they are out, while people sitting right next to me go largely unscathed. Now, it seems the reason might just be my blood type of all things.
:
A 1972 study in Nature found that mosquitoes were more likely to bite people with type O blood than other potential victims, while people with type A got the fewest bites. ... Conclusion: to quote a favorite line from the Straight Dope Message Board, if you're a type O secretor, to a mosquito you look like caramel-covered crack.
Other studies have cast doubt on this phenomenon, claiming that factors such as sweatiness are more likely to influence victim selection. But a Japanese study from 2004 seems convincing. Researchers exposed 64 volunteers to a swarm of hungry female mosquitoes, each of which had had its proboscis — the part it bites with — amputated. (One can imagine the outraged e-mail this surely elicited from PETA.) Since the mosquitoes couldn't bite (and thus couldn’t drink their fill), the researchers were able to compare how often they landed on the skin of different volunteers. They found type O secretors were twice as attractive to mosquitoes as type A secretors.
How do mosquitoes know about chemicals on your skin? Smell, probably.
Apparently, Curt Schilling - the ex-baseball playing, World of Warcraft fan - is considering running for the seat left open from Ted Kennedy's death. To be clear, Schilling is a hard conservative, and did 'robo-calls' for George W. Bush in 2004, etc. While it's unlikely that Massachusetts would choose to fill Kennedy's seat with a red meat Republican, you never know, right?
But before folks think that he's the guy who helped Boston win in 2004 with the bloody sock, etc., remember that Curt Schilling has his own blog. Where he posts such gems as this:
Ann Coulter might be extreme, but damn the woman is intelligent in ways that piss so many people off. You have to think that with as much anger and hatred as she elicits, she has to be hitting too close to home for some.
I disagree with some of what she says, I do wish she was more subdued so more people would listen to the actual content of what she says, but she has an opinion and really doesn’t give a damn what people think, there’s something admirable about that...most of the time.
“We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity. We weren't punctilious about locating and punishing only Hitler and his top officers. We carpet-bombed German cities; we killed civilians. That's war. And this is war.”
“My only regret with Timothy McVeigh is he did not go to the New York Times Building”
“Earth is yours. Take it. Rape it. It's yours.”
“Whether they are defending the Soviet Union or bleating for Saddam Hussein, liberals are always against America. They are either traitors or idiots, and on the matter of America's self-preservation, the difference is irrelevant.”
