The Red Sox, The Fog,

The Yankees have lost, again, today and as i type this trail the Boston Red sox by 7 games in the division. The Red Sox currently lead the White Sox 7-1 in the 7ths, so it looks like it will be 7 1/2 games shortly. In other words, as I have been saying to the Yankee faithful all year, you ain't catching the Red Sox. I hope the Red Sox grab this sinking Yankee ship and squishes it, crushes the spirit and life out of it, and leaves it behind, to miss the playoffs entirely.

Recently rewatched TheFog by John Carpenter. I'm a huge John Carpenter fan, even if I am not usually a horror film type of guy. The flick has to be a very good movie to pull me in if it's a horror film, whereas my standards are lower for an action film. This film is a perfect example of how to make a spooky ghost story type of horror film, with great casting, a scary soundtrack, and a tight 90 minute shooting script.

The premise is simple. On the 100th anniversary of a seaside towns founding, a terrible secret is discovered concerning an evil deed by the towns founders. Leprous ghosts come a calling, looking for revenge for the horrible wrong done to them. The casting includes Hal Holbrook at the drunken priest,the grandson of one of the towns founders. The always sexy Adrienne Barbeau is the single mom/radio station owner dj with a sexy voice and the navigator for the listeners caught up as possible victims of the wrath of the ghosts. Jamie Lee Curtis is the young hitchhiker who strikes up a relationship with the goodhearted driver who picks her up. John Houseman starts off the movie telling the ghost story about the fog to a bunch of children. Janet Leight also stars as a councilwoman who has ties to the towns founders as well.

Hey Bitches!

I sort of randomly pulled up some pictures from my pics file, basically going through the pics in alphabetical order and grabbing those that grabbed my attention.

Then I looked at the pics. And thought of the following story pitch:

Towelie, the Dude, Amy Lee, Dice-K, and Boston. The .... that may well be the stupidest idea I've ever had... .and that's saying something.

This guy is killing the team!!!!

Another blown save, negating a sweet comeback, a nice performance by Beckett, and a possible sweep of a doubleheader with the second best team in baseball, which would have guaranteed no worse than a split for the weekend. Down the tubes because this f'in guy can't get his shit together.... hmmm, perhaps this is an elaborate plot, in which Gagne secretly is being paid by the evil empire to blow games for Red Sox Nation, and the real Gagne and his A-Game will be signed for big money next year for the empire to help the declining Mariano Riviera..... Nah, I think maybe this guy (Gagne) just sucks!!! - Red Sox fans need to know one way or another soon, this can not continue.

Big Weekend

And now everybody knows why I haven't been too concerned about the
evil empire. Pitching, Pitching, Pitching. Yanks are now on a 3 game losing streak, being shut down by Bedard from the orioles and then having Mike (I couldn't even win 20 games in my prime) Mussina get bombed yesterday in the first inning by the offensive juggernaut that is the Detroit Tigers. (A-Hole's error helped)

then today, with the Sox facing 15 game winner John Lackey, pitching for the second best team in baseball, the Anaheim Angels. 8-4 win for the Sox, Lackey gets rocked for 6 runs in the first, and now the Sox lead by 6 over the Yankees. Josh Becket, another 15 game winner goes tonight. If things go right, the Sox could extend this thing to 7 games. Also nice was Clay Buckholz , a 23 year old rookie making his first major league start. Stat line - 6 innings, 3 earned runs. Not bad, and possibly another peace for the world series run come september.

ET TU, Mr. Millar?

Well let the abuse begin, since I will take a lot of crap tomorrow as the footsteps of the Evil Empire are now closing in on the Red Sox. Todays walk off 3 run homer by old friend, Mr. Cowboy up himself, the self described dirt bag Kevin Millar blasts a HR off Kyle Snyder and the Orioles beat the Red Sox 6-3. The Yankees completed a sweep of the Cleveland Indians and show no signs of slowing down. Definitely a nice time for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays to roll into Boston, and hopefully this Baltimore team continues to play well and gives the evil empire a hard time.

The only positive to be taken is another decent start from Schilling. 6 innings, 0 ER, 5 hits. I can live with that. The real problem is lack of offense (again) and Eric Gagne. 3 runs against the Orioles, and starter Steve Traschel? That just isn't good enough!!

Here's a brief recap of the Gagne debacles: "Gagne, obtained from Texas on July 31 to fortify the back end of the bullpen, endured another damaging performance. Seeking to hold a 3-1 lead in the eighth, the right-hander entered with a runner on and promptly yielded a tying home run to Tejada on a 3-2 pitch.Gagne retired the next two batters, but he has allowed seven runs in four innings over seven games. On Friday, Gagne got one out while blowing a four-run lead in a 6-5 defeat. "

Here comes the G.D.M.F. Evil Empire

So here comes the f'in Yankees. 5 games back now and rolling along like a juggernaut. The Sox blow a come from behind rally against the Orioles, and new bullpen stud Gagne absolutely implodes, followed by a loss from Asian wonder Okijima. A bad day overall for those of us in Red Sox Nation. - The positives from last night are simple, the rally back and the stat line of Dice-K.
7 innings - 4 hits-1 Earned Run - 7 strike outs. - I will go on record right now. Anything less than the World Series is a failed season for the BoSoX. (Actually, after Gagne, I felt that anything less than winning the world series, but I am beginning to doubt that at this point). So today is now big, because if it hits 4, then the 6 games against the evil empire get even scarier. If the Yankees win 5/6 they would take the A.L. East... I'm excited that I at least get to watch the Sox on tv today, since it's been a while since they've been on TV. HOpefully things go b ack to 6, with Beckett on the mount for the Sox, and Mussina on the mound for the Yankees (He is due for a stinker)

Beast

Movie Review: Bourne Ultimatum

I took a comp day on Friday and spent the day with my wife. She had been away for the week, starting last Sunday. This came on the heels of last Saturdays sad demise of Pumpkin, and mrs. savvybeast and I really didn't get much of an opportunity to spend time together. - The plan friday was to see the new film in the Bourne series, the Bourne Ultimatum.

I loved the Bourne Identity. Directed by Doug Liman (Swingers, Go) it felt like an old school spy thriller, with an amnesiac man trying to figure out why he was so damned good at kicking ass! The nice part of the film was the gritty feel it presented, rather than a too smooth, too polished, Michael Bay style of monstrosity. The inclusion of Clive Owen as a killer and Franka Potenka rounded out a solid start to the film series, and a quick addition to our DVD library. The sequel was also very good, but my wife was very irked because of the death of the Franka Potenka's character. I enjoyed the sequel, (The Bourne Supremacy) and also liked the addition of Brian Cox, Julia Stiles, and Joan Allen.

The amazing part of the newest film is that it is actually better than the first 2! It is fairly rare that movie series get better over time, although there are many notable exceptions. Empire Strikes Back as the best of 6. Lethal Weapon 2 better than Lethal Weapon. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom the worst of the 3 Raiders movies. (I lean to the original). Bourne Supremacy is superb. The film plays it honest, and while Matt Damon's Jason Bourne is on a mission to find out the truth he is relentless, haunted, and feels real. No pithy, John McClane style one liners here. Julia Stiles returns and hints at a previously untold piece of the puzzle, left open to tickle the mind. David Straitharn shows up as a slimy, evil, Bush regime type of fella, and Albert Finney appears as... well, I don't want to spoil it for anyone. Joan Allen is back, and the film is shot with handheld cameras, location shots, and real stunts! How refreshing, to see people in tense situations, going through difficult situations, and reacting honestly. No CGI, no over the top explosions;, no huge movie star smiles with snappy patter. A great film, one of the best of the season, and it consistently brought to mind a couple of other films I recommend you check out. Ronin, The Long Kiss Goodnight, and of course the first 2 Bourne flicks.

Beast

Sad Week

There is dignity in silence, and a picture is worth a 1000 words, so the short, sad truth is this. Our baby, our kitty, our friend passed on last Saturday. I haven't been able to write anything since it happened, and I plan to write a lengthier blog post soon, but for now, take a moment to appreciate one of the finests felines to grace the earth with her presence; Pumpkin. This pic captures everything about out baby, from her "sleepy love" eyes, her enjoyment and contentment she felt with us, (and us with her), and her love of a good nap. A happier cat couldn't be found, and neither could two luckier friends than my wife and I. (We didn't "own" her, we were graced with her presence.
R.I.P. - Pumpkin. June 2000 - Jan. 2001 (she entered our lives) - July 28, 2007