The Quadrennial Curse

I realized something Saturday night but I didn't want to bring it up until it was certitude.

Years ago someone realized that Philadelphia's four major sports teams, all in a championship drought, were taking turns getting to the championship in their respective sports in 4 year increments.

1993: The Phillies make it to the World Series and lose.

1997: The Flyers make it to the Stanley Cup Finals and lose.

2001: The 76ers make it to the NBA Finals and lose.

2005: The Eagles make it to the Super Bowl and lose.

And so, when the Philadelphia Phillies made it to the World Series in 2008 (Note: not 2009) I was glad that someone had finally broken the pattern. Far, far more important than that, they actually won. The first championship in this city in any sport in a quarter century and the first of my sports-watching life.

Ghosts exorcised, I put foolish superstitions out of my mind, happy that I had seen at least one championship in my lifetime.

It was Saturday when I remembered the pattern and wondered, where we would be if it were still going. "Well," I thought, "if the curse were to continue it would mean that in the year 2009, the Phillies ... would have to make it into the..... World Series.... and...... lose.

And so here we are 4 days later.

The oddness of the pattern, the fact that I hate it when my team loses and the fact that I hate the Yankees aside, I'm not going to whine about it. Pre-2008 I had always said that any and all teams can lose and suck as much as they want just as long as one team wins just one championship at some point. The Phillies were that team and I'm going to stick to my word. And on some level, just making it to the World Series the year after winning isn't too shabby.

All I'm saying is: all this Mayan calendar 2012 "end of the world" crap is ridiculous. Everybody knows the Philadelphia Flyers have to lose the Stanley Cup Finals in 2013.

The Current Record:

1993: The Phillies make it to the World Series and lose.

1997: The Flyers make it to the Stanley Cup Finals and lose.

2001: The 76ers make it to the NBA Finals and lose.

2005: The Eagles make it to the Super Bowl and lose.

2009: The Phillies make it to the World Series and lose.

Phillie Phanatic Phraud

A closer look at the best mascot in baseball.

"Get To Know The Phillie Phanatic"

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John Cleese Interview

Even though I wasn't old enough to see Late Night with David Letterman, I miss it. There's no show on the air anywhere like it. Not even the Late Show with David Letterman is like it.

There are a million talk shows these days (there are too many talk shows these days) and every single one of them has the same look and feel. They all have a "rocking" (or otherwise upbeat) intro theme, a loud band, a booming announcement "AND NOW HERE'S YOUR HOST...", a raucous crowd, etc.

But while the goal of every current talk show is to be perceived as a cool party every night, Late Night with David Letterman was the cool afterparty every night. The band was four members, the intro theme was subdued, the crowd was small... in general, it had a quietness about it as if we can have fun but we need to be careful not to wake anyone. Basically, it had a "late night" feel in the true sense of the phrase. It's the middle of the night, lots of people are asleep but we're going to have fun.

Unnecessarily long intro aside, John Cleese came on the show July 6, 1988 to promote his new film "A Fish Called Wanda". A wonderful interview, Cleese talks about the British character, fish, cricket, British holidays, etc. This clip doesn't exactly prove my point but it's close. Who can blame the crowd for being excited when they're making toast. Yes, toast!

 

IMDB 250 Challenge Revision 3 Complete

As you probably know, I have a (continuing) mission to watch every movie on the IMDB Top 250. As ratings fluctuate and more movies are released, movies slip out of the 250 and others take their place so I have to continuously revise my list and watch the new ones to keep up. I finished the third revision tonight, finally watching the movie "Moon". Here are the latest movies and a few thoughts.

Up (2009)

My Rating: 9/10.

By far the best movie on the latest revision. It manages to be a kid's movie while not being a kid's movie to a surprising degree. The phrase you always hear with cartoons is that "Kids will love it and there are enough jokes for the adults to keep them from being bored". Pixar is so good at making movies that this is usually true but this movie is a step above the rest in that respect. This movie doesn't strike a balance between kids and adults, it creates characters, drama and comedy that both enjoy simultaneously. The look and use of color looks amazing, and not too "cartooney". I love... LOVE that they had the guts to make a kid's movie where the main character is a ostensibly a cranky old guy. And not the one-dimensional "Oscar the grouch" type of cranky either, the character is fully-realized and sympathetic. The character Dug is instantly one of my favorite animated characters ever. The ending is beautiful and perfect (I teared up, I can admit that) and this movie probably has the most creative/most touching credits (that's right, credits) I've ever seen. If you watch it, you'll see.

Inglourious Basterds (2009)

My Rating: 6/10.

This is a fun movie. It has some excitement and some humor and some nice Tarantino moments. But with one exception there's nothing great here. The movie kept my interest and, being a Tarantino movie, I was expecting a great ending... some great twist or payoff. Instead, it just ended. There isn't enough to this movie for me to really like it in any substantive way. The one exception I mentioned is the first scene which revels in an almost suffocating tension for what seems like hours. It's not far from Hitchcock.

District 9 (2009)

My Rating: 6/10.

This movie is one of the reasons I'm glad I'm not a film critic. The special effects are some of the most seamless in recent memory. The whole "documentary" style is expertly executed by the actors and director. The story is very good. It's a must see for sci-fi lovers everywhere. So there's no reason not to like this movie and yet it didn't grab me for some unknown reason. It was worth watching though but it kind of washed over me.

Star Trek (2009)

My Rating: 8/10.

This is a just a really fun action movie more in the vein of "Die Hard" or "Speed" than "Star Trek 3". Everyone knows Star Trek by now and so the creators of this movie put themselves in an extremely difficult position: attempting to shuffle the deck and produce something new while still satisfying the hardcore critical nerdbase who regard Star Trek as scripture. Somehow they succeeded at both. Some actors impersonate the old characters (Scotty), some go in their own direction (Kirk) and some are in between (Spock). All of them do a good job and the action is quite a departure from the usual Star Trek fare (they gave up and made it like Star Wars). Plus, they successfully set up the possibility for many sequels to come.

(500) Days of Summer (2009)

My Rating: 7/10.

A well done Romantic Comedy. All the "boy meets girl" romantic comedy themes have been played out so many times, it's hard to come up with something original. This movie strives to be "different" and "original" right from a disclaimer at the beginning through to the very end. From non-linear story to dividing the screen in half to show imagination and reality side by side to drawn backgrounds... It almost tries too hard to be different but mostly just succeeds. Quirky story and believable characters - it's a good romantic comedy if you're in the mood for it and Zooey Deschanel doesn't hurt.

The Hangover (2009)

My Rating: 7/10.

Doesn't really need a review, it's exactly what you'd expect. Actually, it's probably better than I expected. It's no "Wedding Crashers" or "Old School" in my opinion, though but I did like it.

Moon (2009)

My Rating: 8/10.

Hype and expectation can be deadly. I really liked this movie. It's weird and thought provoking and sci-fi-tastic. It deals with a deterministic view of the mind, the nature of reality, the nature of consciousness, etc. And yet, I did expect more! I did expect something legendary and it wasn't quite there. I don't want to give anything away... which is cool because this is already waaay to long. If you do see it though, definitely check out this page afterward for some interesting thoughts about what you just saw.

My Man Godfrey (1936)

My Rating: 6/10.

A standard romantic comedy that was probably not so standard when it was made in 1936. A woman finds a hobo on the street, likes his 'tude and hires him to be her family's new butler. It's entertaining if you're desperate for a movie but nothing to hold up as "one of the best of all-time" I don't think.

The Big Parade (1925)

My Rating: 5/10.

A silent World War I movie made just a few years after World War I. The makers of this movie made the interesting choice to make a movie where the "hero" doesn't do anything at all heroic. Instead it focuses on the struggles of the average foot soldier. But that's where the pro's end. It's too long, the characters are pretty much one-dimensional caricatures, the romantic plot is, frankly, stupid and takes up way too much time.

Movies This Revision: 9.

Average Score: 6.88 (of course repeating)

Best Movie This Revision: "Up".

Total "Top 250" Movies Seen: 329.

Talk Show Roundup

Late Night: Last night's episode was the biggest, most amazing episode of 1987! Last night's first guest was Edward Norton (meh). However the second guest was none other than Hulk Hogan. Musical guest? Weird Al Yankovic. It was very unusual, and what made it more so was the serious subject matter of the Hulk Hogan interview. Still, just his presence was enough to make me train, say my prayers and eat my vitamins.

Classic Roots Choice #10, #11: Edward Norton and Hulk Hogan on the same show? Play the opening theme to the classic tv show "The Incredible Hulk" for Norton (who played the Incredible Hulk) and play the theme played at the end of "The Incredible Hulk" for Hulk Hogan. Two "hulks" on one show. Sorted. You might also recognize the end theme from "Family Guy" where it was described as "that sad walking away song".

Late Show: Just as he did in the "Campaign 2000" and "Oprah Log" days, Dave is campaigning. His newest project is to get Sarah Palin on the show. Every day they're calling and reporting any new developments on each show. I don't see it happening but the journey is the important thing.

Tonight Show: Andy's Birthday. Andy's awesome.

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Classic Roots Choice #9

Yesterday I promised a post that would change the future of history and here it is. Imagine you are the Roots and Olivia Munn is on the show, what song do you choose to introduce her? I'll give you a minute to think it over.

Time's up and your choice is pretty good but I think the Roots have done better. To see the song for Olivia Munn, skip to 25:40 here:

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I SUBMIT TO THE COURT THAT THIS SONG COMES FROM WHAT I CALL THE CLASSIC "RAH-GAE" SCENE.

If I am correct, the world as we know it has ceased to be and everything henceforth must be viewed with new eyes.