Hah! Take that!

A new post! On the OTHER blog!

Review of Eagle Eye is up. Enjoy, either at the movie blog or at Hollywood Bitchslap/eFilmCritic

Dennis Lehane

The girl and I went to a book signing last night with bestselling local guy Dennis Lehane. 

At this point, most people know him as the guy who wrote Mystic River and Gone Baby Gone. I got to know him a couple years ago, flying back from Florida after a visit to family down there. I stopped in the airport bookstore and picked up Sacred, which features the same characters from Gone Baby Gone. It was a great read, one that I very nearly finished on the plane trip from Florida to Maine, but I didn’t think too much of it after that. 

Flash forward a few years later, and my current girlfriend sort of reintroduced me to Lehane, because she and her father both love his books. The Kenzie-Gennaro detective novels are great – they are really great portraits of Boston, both in description and attitude. Getting to hear Lehane talk about those characters, however briefly, was a real treat. 

He was promoting his new book, The Given Day, which revolves around the 1919 Boston Police union strike, walkoff and riots, along with the events that led up to them. I haven’t yet read the book (still working through Michael Chabon’s The Yiddish Policemen’s Union), but after the reading last night, my interest is certainly piqued. After reading a short chapter, Lehane took about a dozen questions from the audience, mostly revolving around his writing process and the experience of watching his work get translated to the big screen. It was a fun talk, and if he’s coming anywhere near you, it’s worth it. (Dennis Lehane’s tour schedule)

After the talk at the Coolidge Corner Theater, we all went across the street and got in line for the signing. I had picked up the book before the talk, so we jumped right in line. It was actually the perfect wait – the line was definitely moving, so he was getting through people, but it was moving at such a pace that made it clear that he was taking a minute to talk to everyone when they got to the table. When we reached the front, I had the opportunity to ask him about the film rights to the new book, which I had seen a report on. It’s a particularly perfect storm for me, because not only is Lehane a favorite of mine, but the director currently attached to the project is Sam Raimi, hands down my favorite. Lehane said that was the current situation, which he was pleased with, because he loved A Simple Plan (as do I… sadly underrated, somewhat forgotten movie of Raimi’s. Surprising since it picked up two Oscar noms). Sadly, Lehane said he didn’t have an awful lot of input on the director besides standing off to the side and giving the thumbs up. We’ll see how it goes. 

All in all, a good night. If you like Lehane, or you’re a historical fiction junkie (as I am becoming), he’s definitely worth a listen. 

Zune 3.0 Update

Months back, I got a first-generation 30GB Microsoft Zune through club.live.com. It’s Microsoft’s casual game site, designed solely to promote the Live search engine. Play the games, get the tickets, get free crap. There’s one particular game that I can blow through in about 2 minutes and get 25 tickets. After many months of doing this, I cashed in and got the Zune. The price was definitely right, and it’s a nice little device. Certainly removes any need for me to get an iPod, which I really, really don’t want anyway.

Microsoft just released a software and firmware upgrade on Tuesday, and all around, this should be what allows Microsoft to take a small chunk out of the Apple iPod armor. A lot of it is optimized and improved if you have a Zune pass ($15 for unlimited song access as long as you have a pass), but the functionality is there for everyone.

On the firmware front…

• Games. It’s a small touch, and it drains the battery life with new speed and efficiency, but I have a 25-40 minute commute on a bus or train to work. Zoning out with music on and playing poker is fantastic.
• Clock. It’s a tiny little digital thing in the upper right corner, but it was sorely needed.
• Device-based song buying. I don’t have a Zune pass, but this update is increasingly making me feel that it might be worthwhile. If you do, there’s now a couple different ways you can find some new music. The first, most direct way is to search for it by name. That’s what the Marketplace button allows you to do. You can also browse top song and album lists, and download straight to the player. You can also tag songs for download if you happen to hear something you like on the player’s FM tuner. I’ve read this doesn’t work quite as well as one would hope, mostly because the formatting isn’t perfect on station tags, but the idea is a great one. Radio is still how most people discover new music, and this lets people immediately tag songs they like to be added to their collection.

On the software side:

• MixView. The big addition is MixView, which presents a graphical take on song and artist relationships. It’s a lot of fun to use, and if you have a Zune pass, it can be a great way to quickly expand your collection. Starting on any artist, song, album or Zune user, related items pop up around that item. These can be other songs by the same artist, artists who influenced that artists, artists who are influenced by that artist, etc. It lets you pretty quickly jump from point to point and find new stuff fast. I guess it is comparable to Genius, which shipped with the new version of iTunes (which I am yet to use, because I kind of hate iTunes*), and that the general consensus is that Genius has a slightly more standardized recommendation engine – more consistent quality recommendations – while MixView combines some quality, some boneheaded, and some mind-blowing recommendations. And MixView is prettier.
• Channels and Picks. Recommendation-based content that you can subscribe to in order to find new stuff. I think one is for podcasts, which I may try out, but the other is for songs, and only works with a pass.

Despite the renewed focus on a pass, the new stuff is definitely worthwhile. The pass really is a good deal, too, if you can spend an hour or so a month finding new music you want. There have been rumors about an iTunes subscription system for awhile now; I’m shocked they haven’t pulled the trigger on it yet. I do understand the aversion to music subscriptions, but I think there is a market for people who will spend a little bit of time finding new stuff they like, new releases and old. I’m not quite at the point where I would do it (I have enough auto-charging subscription services in Netflix and Tivo), but I definitely think it would be worth the money.

* I do. I hate iTunes. It has become something that I begrudgingly use, because of all the instant-access music stores – iTunes, Rhapsody, Amazon, etc. – it has the best selection by far. But it’s just such a pain in the ass. If you’re an Apple person, it’s fine. The songs you download from iTunes will play perfectly well on your iPod, iPhone, iMac, iDock and fit perfectly into your little iLife. But I'm not. I have a PC and a Zune, cause the price was a helluva lot closer to right on those, and I wanted a larger selection of software (yes, I admit it. That means games). So if I use iTunes, which I inevitably have to every so often, I immediately burn and re-rip whatever it is I bought. Again, pain in the ass. The beauty of MP3s was that it seemed like we had finally hit a nice, decent-quality universal format that everyone could agree on. Then Apple had to mess it up. Granted, other people have jumped on the DRM bandwagon since, but Apple’s iTunes DRM was the one that really forced people to accept this as a standard. 

Bruce Campbell in the New York Times

Not sure how he pulled this one, but Bruce Campbell got a short profile in last Friday's New York Times. Blame his new stint on Burn Notice for the attention, but I don't think any fans are going to complain. It's short and sweet, but writer Joe Rhodes does nail one or two points on why people, myself included, like the guy. Specifically:

Mr. Campbell, with his masculine looks and comedic inclinations, seemed poised for a traditional Hollywood action-hero career. He moved to Los Angeles in 1988, did his share of TV drama guest shots, and had recurring roles on “Xena” and “Hercules” and his own series on Fox in 1993, “The Adventures of Briscoe County Jr.” But he was always just a little too twisted to be a leading man.

“I’m not interested in playing the straightforward square-jawed type. I never was,” he said. “I’d be doing soap operas and hourlong dramas right now if I was really into that. But I was always looking for stuff that was more off-kilter.”

For the rest of the piece, head over here: Bruce Campbell's Prime-Time Moment

On a related note for any Bruce fans who might stumble across this blog because I just typed his name, check his website for the city closest to you that he'll be bringing My Name is Bruce. Like he says, "Low-budget movies aren't released; they escape."

A Very Cool Day

So because my company spends money to advertise, we occasionally get invited to events put on by media outlets as a sort of "thank you." Granted, they have to get fairly far down the list of advertisers to get to us, but every so often...

The Boston Globe had an event this afternoon. Softball at Fenway Park. My boss is nice enough to offer some of the baseball-themed events to me, so here's a taste. They had a miniature diamond set up in the outfield - no way we were getting on the infield. Afterwards, a mini tour of the park - box seats for some team history, press box for a rundown of the park's history, and monster seats for... well... to sit in the monster seats. One hour, and the three best seats I'll ever have. Afterwards, some free ballpark food at the Absolut lounge, and thus concluded my Fenway adventure.

Create a Free Slideshow

Not shown - my one at-bat in the softball game. I had a bat. I hit a ball. I reached a base. I can now forever say that I got a base hit at Fenway Park. A-MA-ZING.

The Manny Debate

Figured I'd return from a nearly 9 month vacation to throw out a couple thoughts on the Sox. Fair warning... this ended up as much longer than I thought it would.

At this point, anyone who knows what a baseball looks like is probably aware that the Boston Red Sox shipped Manny across the country to the LA Dodgers this week, thus ending 7+ years of unpredictability and varied levels of Boston-based discontent for one of the best hitters who ever lived. Manny leaves with two World Series rings, a World Series MVP, and lots of memories, though not all of them are about him playing great baseball.

In return, the Sox wind up with former Pittsburgh Pirate Jason Bay. There's more to this deal - Boston also sent Craig Hansen and Brandon Moss to Pittsburgh, while the Dodgers sent Andy LaRoche and Bryan Morris to Pittsburgh as well. But I'm in Boston, so I'm gonna look at the impact of the two big pieces - Manny and Jason Bay.

I will say from the start that, given my choice on the matter, Manny wouldn't have gone anywhere. Attitude issues aside, the man is a threat to beat the leather off of a baseball every time he steps in to bat. I have no reason to believe that this would have changed over the next two months had Manny stayed in Boston. But Theo Epstein does not (yet) ask my opinion about roster moves and adjustments, so Manny was sent packing.

Over his tenure as The Powers That Be at Fenway Park, Epstein has gotten more right than he has wrong. Bronson Arroyo for Willy Mo Pena? Wrong. Edgar Renteria? Wrong. Kevin Cash over Dougie Mirabelli... ugh. Even Coco Crisp and the offensive black hole that is Julio Lugo... wrong. But on the other side... Pedroia. Youkilis. Papelbon. Ellsbury. Lester. Buchholz (despite current struggles). Drew (even though we all hated him until the World Series last year). Dice-K. Okajima. Potential in Masterson and Lowrie.

Theo knows how to separate out the good from the bad. The trade of Nomar Garciaparra in 2004 was a gut-wrenching, heart-breaking affair... but ultimately, it was the right move. It dropped pressure in the clubhouse, and let the team get back to being that... a team. From Theo's perspective, he had the very daunting task of looking at this one player, a player who had for years been the face and heart of the team, and saying whether or not that was worth keeping him around if his play was suffering. Weighing Nomar's value as a symbol or character against Nomar's actual value at shortstop and in a batting lineup... I don't think I could have made that call. But he did. And four years later, the Red Sox have 2 world titles. After a lackluster stint with the Cubs, Nomar only played in 62 games for the Dodgers in 2005. This year, he's played in only 27 of their 99 games. And his numbers have never touched those of the late '90s. Love the guy, but the Sox dodged a bullet. (Keep in mind, this isn't Nomar's fault. Something happened when he was hit on the wrist in late 1999, and the most dominant shortstop in the game never got back to that level. Had Al Reyes never thrown that pitch, Nomar might never have changed from the next Ted Williams.)

Pedro went a similar route. Apparent bad blood between the two sides, with repeated claims that Pedro had been disrespected by the management. This was again, sad as it was, a player in decline. He, like Nomar was absolutely stunning at the turn of the century. 23 wins, 313 strikeouts in 1999. Won Cy Young, finished 2nd in MVP voting. Similar numbers in 2000, an off, injury-shortened year in 2001, back to good old Pedro in 2002 and 2003. The Grady Incident in the ALCS was the killer. One inning too many. That was how close Pedro came to deleting the Red Sox ugly history. Pedro's number in 2004 were by no means bad, but they lacked the dominance that he had shown previously. Once again, Theo had to look at this guy, weigh the emotional value vs. the baseball value. Once again, baseball value had to win. And once again, Theo was right. Pedro declined his offered contract from the Sox... he seemed insulted by the contract offered. He signed with the Mets, had one good season in 2005- good for that Pedro, but mediocre for Pedro the Baseball God. Fro 2006 to the present, he is 15-11 in 38 games, mostly because he hasn't been able to get through the last two years without a significant injury. Another potential catastrophe avoided.

Incidents since have been smaller. Johnny Damon was a textbook example of Theo's negotiating process, which is setting a value on a player and not going over that value. The Yankees apparently valued Damon more than the Sox did. What really seemed to lower Damon's value in Theo's eyes - and what the Yanks didn't see coming - was that Damon's speed and versatility were on their last legs. He by no means done as a player, or as a good player, but the attributes that made him unique and attractive to the Sox were on the outs. On a side note, the personality lobotomy he apparently had to endure when he shaved his facial hair - a requirement of joining the Yankees - didn't help him on any fronts either.

Curt Schilling is another chapter that is still being finished. Controversy arose that Schilling knew he wasn't healthy prior to the Sox signing him to a one-year deal for 2008. Schill hasn't thrown a pitch in a regular season game this year. At this point, it's really just his word against his, and it could very well never get conclusively resolved. Personally... it doesn't seem like Schilling's style. On top of that, I think the Sox were right to sign him to the deal, if only to get the guarantee that Curt will retire with the Sox. He's a definite Hall of Famer, and if that $8M guarantees that he ends his career here, where he made such a profound impact, so be it.

All that leads me to Manny. In 7 1/2 seasons with the Sox, Manny belted 294 home runs, averaging just over 39 a season. His other offensive numbers are equally impressive. Every Boston year but last year, Manny earned a Silver Slugger award. But that's the trick. Last year. Last year, his HR production dropped to 20 from 35 in 2006, which itself had dropped from 45 in 2005. RBIs dropped similarly. Once again, he's still one of the best hitters in the game, but that doesn't mean quite as much as it did two or four years ago.

Bottom line, really, is that Manny is getting old(er). He turned 36 in May, and his numbers are doing what you would expect from any slugger in his mid-30s. He's still more than capable, and if the game is on the line and Manny's at bat, Dodgers fans can feel good, because they have a chance to win it. But the Red Sox have made it clear over the past couple years that they will do whatever they need to do in order to contend. At the end of this year, the club held a $20M option on Manny. $20M for a 36/37 year old slugger in decline to play on the Sox in 2009. Because it is Manny, this isn't necessarily a bad deal. Like I said, every at bat is a potential screamer over the wall. But with Jason Bay, the Sox get a guy with numbers not too far off from Manny. They have him next year for $7.5M (the last year of the deal he signed with the Pirates before 2006). And all of that is in a guy 6 years younger than Manny. If Bay can hold his numbers on the pace he's on now, the deal is worthwhile. If he improves, and Manny at all continues his current decline this year or into next year, the trade was a steal. Unfortunately, I really don't think we'll know the final outcome until the end of the regular season at the earliest.

What has become somewhat bittersweet about being a Red Sox fan is that the vast resources at Theo Epstein's disposal allow him to always get the best of the best. Trust me, I am in no way complaining that the Sox have the money to get anyone they want. It's great when those players are at the top of their game. What makes it difficult, and what Theo is apparently better than I am at dealing with, is the attachment. As fans, it is sometimes difficult to take a player that is beloved and recognize that it is time to move on. Nomar and Pedro are prime examples of this. Fan favorites doesn't cover it. They were icons. Despite that, Theo recognized that as good as they were, it had reached the point where he could put together a better team without them. He did it. He made the tough call. He took some heat for it at the time, but history has proven him correct. Will it with Manny? I don't know. But I trust him.

To a certain extent, I almost hope that this is a "bad" trade. Not that Jason Bay falters, but that Manny rebounds and puts up numbers in LA that are so stellar they remind us of Manny in 2001-2004. Because great as he is, he doesn't have much time left where he has a chance at those numbers. I hope he tears up the NL West just like he did the AL East. (I can say that with some confidence, since the chance that any team from the NL West would be meeting the Red Sox or any team from the AL in the 2008 World Series are very slim. I doubt even Manny at his best can handle that burden.) I hope he gets the deal he wants from someone at the end of the year, even if it won't be the Red Sox. Ultimately, I find that I can wish Manny well and send him on his way with no ill will, despite all the controversy, because like so many of the great players who have come and gone through Fenway Park, I know that we had him at his best.

Thanks, Manny. Good luck.

The bi-monthly update...

I think I may very well be the world’s worst blogger. My apologies to the two of you. Anyway, a rundown of what’s been happening down this way

- I got salaried. It’s nice. Somehow, I wound up keeping the same job I’ve had since my sophomore year of college, but now instead of doing the tour guide thing that I was doing, I’m doing their accounting, managing the marketing mailings, and slapping together an outline (slowly but surely) of the next project. So now they’re paying me enough to justify working me like a dog J and also giving me insurance, paid vacations, all the good stuff. I like the work and the people well enough that I have no problem putting off my eventual westward movement another year or three.

- I saw some movies. Since we all know I’ll never actually get around to writing full reviews for them, here’s the minis:

o American Gangster: Meh. Decent enough, but nothing hugely special. Denzel is basically playing the same guy he’s been playing for the last fifteen years, and Russell Crowe is better in 3:10 to Yuma.

o No Country for Old Men: Tied in my head for best movie of the year thus far with the aforementioned 3:10 to Yuma. Josh Brolin is great, Tommy Lee Jones is great, Javier Bardem is goddamned scary. I expect one Oscar nom to be thrown at the Coens for Best Adapted Screenplay, but I fear Brolin and Bardem might cancel each other out for acting nominations. It’s a shame. Jones might have a shot at a supporting nod, though.

o Rape of Europa: I saw this awhile back at the Coolidge, but in light of Pear Harbor Day yesterday, I feel it warrants mentioning. This is a documentary about what happened to what the Nazis referred to as “Degenerate Art” during their conquest of Europe – anything owned or produced by Jews, and spoils of war from Russia, Poland and any of the other countries affected by the European theater of World War II. It also talks a bit about the US concerns for art once they came into the war – it’s a scary thing when you’re talking about carpet-bombing cities in Italy that are home to some of the greatest sculpted, painted, and architectural masterpieces in the world. The military established a group called the Monuments Men, one of whom would be attached to the very first units to enter a city after Allied bombings. It was their job to see what could be done to preserve or rescue the priceless pieces of art that were at risk because of the attacks. Amazing stories, all around. The sheer volume of cultural wealth that was unearthed during and after the war – and the amount that is still missing – is staggering. It’s well worth a look. Check out RapeofEuropa.com for more information, and to see if it is playing near you.

- Another cheap plug – a buddy I went to college with is now appearing in a web series. It’s a fun little story about a group of friends at a fictional college. He plays Shucks, and it’s well worth a look. They just posted their second episode over at Fivetosix.com

- On the Sox front, this Santana trade rumor crap is not really what I wanted this off-season. I was kind of looking forward to people clamoring after our players, and Theo completely shutting them down. I was hoping for a deal to lose Coco and Lugo to get a new shortstop, but that’s not happening. The big thing that bothers me about the Santana rumors is that Jacoby Ellsbury is involved in them now. Lester, I didn’t really have a problem with. Good kid, decent pitcher, great story, but we’re kind of loaded at the front end for next year (Beckett, Schilling, Dice-K, Wakefield, the possibility of Buccholz), and I would gladly slide Buccholz into the bullpen for a year while Santana tears it up. But I don’t want to lose Ellsbury AND Lester. That strikes me as too much. From the looks of things now, that’s not going to happen anyway. I kind of feel like if there was a deal to be worked out there, it would have happened by now. It sounds like the Twins would have been willing if both Ellsbury and Lester were available, but Theo said no way to that – so far. Hopefully it’ll stay that way.

- For the first time, everyone in my family is coming down to my brother’s place in Cambridge for Christmas. It’s an idea that sprung up from my other brother, because he and his wife are going to be down here to see her family for Christmas, and wouldn’t it be easier if we all did so we could all be together? It’s cool, cause it saves on travel costs (Jay and I aren’t taking the bus up north, nor trying to lug any packages to or from), and it slims down on the number of people who are present. The last few years have been a little nuts – don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy having the entire extended step-family around, cause there’s lots of cute kids who seem to get cuter each year, but I wouldn’t mind cutting down and slowing down a little bit, either. Besides, we have the cutest of the cute (my niece), so we win. At some point in the next week or so, I’ll head out to Cambridge to help Jay lug a tree back to his house and get it into a stand. In the meantime, I still haven’t gotten my mini tree set up at home, because we have a cat now, and I’m pretty sure she’d tear that thing to shreds if we didn’t do something to prevent it. I’m gonna get some of that spray cats don’t like the smell of, and douse the damn thing.

I got a Zune! For FREE! I had an RCA Lyra, which held 4 gigs, and was pretty decent, if a little underimpressive. But a few months back, Microsoft started club.live.com, which is a very badly-veiled advertisement for their new search engine. Thing is, you play the games on there, earn tickets, and then cash them in for schwag. I was saving up for one of the Xbox 360 Pro bundles, but they pulled it off the site. That made me mad. So I cashed in all the points I had, and nabbed a 30 gig Zune. Naturally, they have recently put the Xbox back up as a prize, but since they’re not shipping any till April or so, I’m not too upset. The Zune is pretty sweet. A hefty firmware upgrade after I got it added all the wireless capabilities… the sound quality is good, I’ve been downloading some silly video podcasts… and I have my entire music and picture library on the damn thing, and it only takes up 4.32 gigs! I’m a happy camper.

Yeah… that just about covers the last few months. I got a year older in October… didn’t really notice. I think I’ve past that point where birthdays begin to lose some meaning – I’m not gunning for gifts, and I’m past the point where there are friends constantly around who want to celebrate by drowning our livers. It was low-key and nice. Much like the rest of my life right now. I can handle it.

Till next time… whenever that might be…