Weekend Open Thread
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References -
Check it:
--Brevis esse laboro, obscurus fio.
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)Some band nerd is rocking the doublebass...yo. Also, these nuclear physicists appear to have way to much time on their hands.
--Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you criticize them, you're a mile away and you have their shoes. -JH
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| parent )get back into your lab and solve some physics equations you geeks!
... fun video tho.
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| parent )flippin' the switch on that beast zaps us all into the nethers, here's a link which allows you to watch our approaching doom.
I suspect that web traffic to it will be increasing, so have your affairs in order and a well-prepared drink in hand before trying to connect.
--Excess on occasion is exhilarating. It prevents moderation from acquiring the deadening effect of a habit. - W. Somerset Maugham
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| parent )Oh boy oh boy oh boy!
Link's broken, btw. :(
--Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you criticize them, you're a mile away and you have their shoes. -JH
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| parent )confidence-inspiring, now is it?
Maybe countdown timers are just harder to do than massive particle accelerators?
Either way, I'm not gonna start reading anything longer than a magazine article tonight.
--Excess on occasion is exhilarating. It prevents moderation from acquiring the deadening effect of a habit. - W. Somerset Maugham
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| parent )My first prediction for the Beijing Olympics: the United States of America will win the gold medal in men's basketball--and they will do it convincingly. The main reason why was on display on Tuesday, and in stark contrast to the team of second raters the US sent to Athens four years ago. Four years ago, the US team lost a tune-up game to Puerto Rico weeks before the Olympics, and team captain Allen Iverson dismissed the disgraceful performance as "just practice." Yesterday, the US team completed its undefeated tune-up schedule with an eleven point win against a team that had recently almost defeated the defending Olympic champion Argentinean team--and they were openly apologetic for a poor performance. Along with a vastly improved level of talent, there are no Allen Iversons to be found here. This team will play its guts out in Beijing--and if some team manages to beat them out for the gold medal, it will either be the result of a performance that is the stuff of legend, or another incident of officiating misconduct of the kind that helped make the 1972 Olympics the most notorious in history even if one ignores terrorism.
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)but in the spirit of your comment I will also go out on a limb here, and predict that an American team will win the next Baseball World Series. Just as they have won every World Series event since the competitions inception, Impressive!
--GW Bush, leading contender for worst President ever.
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| parent ). . .two things.
One, if you mean "US team" by "American team", the 1992-1993 World Series Champion Toronto Blue Jays would like to have a word with you.
Two, the United States has failed to win the Olympic Men's Basketball gold medal on three occasions since the sport was added to the competition in 1936: 1972, 1988, and--more to the point--2004.
Anything else you want to add?
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| parent )and everybody won in 1994.
--GW Bush, leading contender for worst President ever.
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| parent )Evan Bayh's stock seems to be bullish. With the Olympics starting on Friday, Obama needs to move soon or risk losing a running mate bump in the polls. Under ordinary circumstances, I'd say Bayh was a sensible choice (personally, I've got nothing against the man), but with HRC still lurking along with her unhappy followers, things could get ugly if "friendly-looking white guy" ends up #2 on the Democratic ticket.
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)What you said brings up another reason why I still think HRC is it. Unlike McCain who's sure to get some little bump when he announces a running mate, if Barack announces anyone other than Hillary it's immediately going to open the old wound and he'll lose points.
So, if you're going to lose points, try to do it earlier so you can put it in the past -- and not have it steal all the thunder from the convention.
--Steven Palmer Peterson
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| parent )This is that baseball guy...Who ran the statistical models that beat every polling firm for accuracy in the primary.... He is running 10,000 models a day on the presidential race... Interesting site...
http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/
--Ask courageous questions. Do not be satisfied with superficial answers. Be open to wonder and at the same time subject all claims to knowledge, without exception, to intense skeptical scrutiny. Be aware of human fallibility. Cherish your species and your
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). . .pointed me in that guy's direction a few weeks back. I bookmarked the site, but haven't really looked at it much yet.
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| parent )I have been working on my diary review of 4th edition D&D today, but I'm not satisfied with my progress and am unwilling to force the issue and thereby put forth an inferior product. Therefore, I'm going to shelve the project until after the Olympics. In the meantime, if anyone has any questions about 4th edition D&D that they are curious about, ask me about them with a comment in any open thread diary, and I'll do my best to answer them.
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)Deleted
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)Big Brown avoids second consecutive upset, blows by Coal Play in the home stretch to win Haskell Invitational by 1 3/4 lengths.
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). . .I finally saw The Dark Knight yesterday, and--regardless of whether he gets a posthumous Oscar for it--if there's any justice at all it will be his performance as the Joker that is remembered as Heath Ledger's signature performance when his name is brought up fifty years from now--an astonishing piece of work.
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)I think that his performance as the Joker will make the Joker one of the key characters that future generations of actors will want a chance to interpret. You already see that in comic book writers wanting a crack at doing lengthy Joker stories.
--Steven Palmer Peterson
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| parent )If we want to break the bondage of our Oil Dependency, solutions are everywhere to be found.
The only thing lacking is a willingness to change.
Watch it here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7535307.stm
Best Wishes, Traveller
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)If you're walking along minding your own business and happen to see Aaron Rodgers on top of a tall building with a large object in his hands, run for cover. Quickly. Your life may depend on it.
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)But yeah, I have to admit I'm a tad skeptical about Dara Torres, too.
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)Technique is vitally important in swimming, far more than in running for example and it does not decline with age at the same rate as other things. I would be more skeptical if she competed in the longer events since endurance comes into play there but she is a sprinter.
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| parent ). . .every time someone lays down seven figures for this baseball card, if they've bothered to take the time to look at the numbers and the story of the greatest shortstop who ever walked onto a baseball diamond. There is something bizarre about the fact that Honus Wagner's most lasting legacy is a small number of pieces of hundred year old cardboard for which people with a great deal of money are willing to spend enough cash to buy ten Lamborghinis to possess. Nevertheless, it is true.
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)My son (going into 2nd grade) loves the Dan Gutman baseball card series of books
The gimmick is that the hero (a young boy) can travel back in time by holding an old baseball card and he meets whatever player is on the card. He gets home by taking a current year's card along with him.
Chicago's Goodman Theater did a stage play version of "Honus and Me" last summer that we all enjoyed.
--Fence post turtles -- They don't get up there by themselves, some moron had to put 'em there.
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| parent ). . .is "Ray and Me," and will apparently feature Ray Chapman, the Cleveland Indians shortstop killed by a fastball to the temple in 1920. Presumably, the hero will try to save him (and probably fail). A sad ending for the youngsters.
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| parent )sells itself short by playing it safe. I've seen some great stuff there, but they rarely take chances. Haven't been in a year or so. But it's one of the nicest, best designed spaces for a play anywhere.
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| parent )and began subscribing the same season their new theater opened.
Their last production was a brilliant (IMHO) play within a play about a theater company putting on a film version of Comedy of Errors.
It was "written" by Barbara Gaines and Ron West and I'll betcha this new version goes out on tour, and will some day become a film.
More background
Fence post turtles -- They don't get up there by themselves, some moron had to put 'em there.
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| parent )I wonder if I'll ever be able to get a decent price for my near mint 1973 Schmidt rookie card, now that 548 home runs seems like chicken feed.
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| parent ). . .the best third baseman who ever lived, unless you want to count A-Rod as a third baseman (which I wouldn't, since only the egos of Derek Jeter and his fan base kept Jeter at shortstop when A-Rod arrived in New York). I'd hold on to that Schmidt card.
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| parent )Well, yer talkin' to a guy whose screen name (handle) is based on his childhood favorite ballplayer, Brooks Robinson! But surely Schmidt was a better overall hitter, and I'm not disagreeing with you.
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| parent )He's clearly the best glove man ever to play the position, and was a solid contributor to a very dangerous lineup in his prime. Schmidt, of course, managed ten Gold Gloves (Brooks had sixteen, the second most at any position to Greg Maddux's seventeen as a pitcher), so he was the best fielding third baseman of his era along with his hitting. Among Hall of Famers or eligibles at the position, I'd only put four players ahead of Robinson: Schmidt, Eddie Mathews, George Brett, and Wade Boggs--and Boggs is a close call. All four were either first ballot Hall of Famers or should have been (in the case of Mathews). If Chipper Jones finishes with over 500 HR, I'd have to put him ahead of Robinson (unless one chooses to categorize him as a left fielder, in which case there's a lot of guys better than Chipper).
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| parent )All that is probably reasonable, though I'd have to check stats, particularly weighing Boggs' and Bretts' higher averages vs. what I assume was Robinson's superior power. Also, while number of Golden Gloves is a good parameter, it's hard to measure and factor in the difference between a fielder who makes few errors and makes some difficult plays vs. a fielder who makes few errors and makes a lot of amazing, base hit-stealing plays.
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| parent )Baseball Reference.com doesn't list league leaders for assists, but I remember some of Bill James' early statistical analyses of fielding stats from the late seventies and early eighties and Schmidt was dominant at making the most plays at third. I can't remember any particularly spectacular plays he made, but he was covering the ground nicely.
Brett had marginally more power than Brooks (career total and AB/HR)--Brooks obviously had far more power than Boggs (who only hit ten or more HR in a season twice).
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| parent )The Mummy sucked. It's not the kind of movie I'd pick, but it was the girlfriend's turn to pick. Basically my reaction was the same as my reaction to the recent Indiana Jones flick. I just don't see how anyone over 9 years old could like it. I mean, chase scenes and special effects that just don't seem special anymore, plus really stupid dialogue, just made it range from painfully boring to painfully stupid (same for the Indiana Jones flick).
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)I caught a few minutes of Hannah Montana this weekend and as with Pokemon I’m not sure why the young people like it so much. Sure, I watched terrible shows that made absolutely no sense when I was a kid, but at least shows like Land of the Lost had dinosaurs, and aliens (however crude).
--"That Sam-I-am! That Sam-I-am! I do not like that Sam-I-am!"- Dr. Seuss
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| parent )but the future "whatever-her-name-was" who went back in time to help them was a TOTAL babe. An' that chick who played "Isis"(different show) was hot too! I still have a "thing" for chicks with black hair! Or maybe it was all those vampire movies!
"Mommmmmm, watching this vampire movie makes me feel 'funny'!"
"Ohhhhhh, I told you not to stay up late and watch that! Now, you'll be too scared to go to sleep!!!!!"
"No! I meant 'funny" in a different way!!!" :)
--I had discovered a great secret. That everyone loves themselves more than they love anybody else. And if I wanted them to love me, I better be like THEM!... Ken Nordine
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| parent )"That Sam-I-am! That Sam-I-am! I do not like that Sam-I-am!"- Dr. Seuss
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| parent )It's hard to explain why -- they have a gleefully self-conscious stupidity that makes them a lot of fun. Kind of like Airplane with more action. Or more like Pirates of the Caribbean (both the ride and the movies).
But 3 has a different writer & director, and I think they might've lost the magic.
--Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you criticize them, you're a mile away and you have their shoes. -JH
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| parent )I didn't see Mummy 1 or 2, nor Pirates. I loved Airplane, and actually saw parts of it just the other day and still enjoyed it (and loved the Naked Gun movies). As for "self-conscious stupidity", I said to my girlfriend after the movie that the humor was typical dumb action movie humor, corny and stupid, but not even bad enough to be good. But YMMV. And if you liked the recent Indiana Jones flick, disregard my opinion of Mummy completely. (I enjoyed the original Raiders when I saw it in the theater -- I have no idea if I'd like it today or not)
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| parent )Didn't hear much good about it. What Kierk says about 1 & 2; they embrace what they are (dumb action movies) with such gusto they charm you into going along with it. Also, elegantly simple scene work -- not a shot wasted in either film. Well, assuming a shot of Brendan whacking a mummy's head off and watching him juggle it before performing a coup de grace can be considered elegant.
--Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you criticize them, you're a mile away and you have their shoes. -JH
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| parent )Oh, I should mention the one part that kept me from shouting "fire" in a crowded theater just to get away: verrrry cute chick (the young Asian one).
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| parent )to recommend them, strong cast, amiable plot conceits, clever dialogue. Exactly the sort of role Frasier excels at. In some ways they were truer to the spirit of the original 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' than its own sequels.
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| parent )There's "a sort of role Fraser excels at"? He seems like a pretty lousy actor to me.
Just speaking of movies, I recently rented The Boxer with the great Daniel Day Lewis. I highly, highly recommend it.
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| parent )I mean, can you imagine William Atherton playing a romantic lead role? But when it comes to playing insufferable p****s, he's brilliant.
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| parent )Here's another one who's conquered a niche. He appears to personify "steady work".
--Excess on occasion is exhilarating. It prevents moderation from acquiring the deadening effect of a habit. - W. Somerset Maugham
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| parent )that being able to play against type indicates versatility, but is that better than being absolutely perfect in a particular type of role, as you point out? It's hard to say.
--I blame it all on the Internet
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| parent )There is only one actor in the world who truly personifies acting range: Tony Danza. Man, what versatility!
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| parent )a thunderingly mediocre actor, as his version of 'Bedazzled' proved. However, he is also a sweetly amiable presence in several of his semi-comic action vehicles. Certainly Buscemi, Turturro, or Malkovich would be unable to carry them off so well.
No one could accuse Gary Cooper of being a great actor, either--but in the right role he was irreplaceable.
You sure your gf doesn't just have a crush on Fraser? ;)
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| parent )a sweetly amiable presence in several of his semi-comic action vehicles
But to me he's mostly unwatchable.
He made a reasonable showing for him in 'The Quiet American', but still dragged that movie down.
That reminds me, God bless Michael Caine.
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| parent )difficult to determine, is an actor "better" because they are more versatile or because they fit a particular role so perfectly? They seem to be considered "better" by critics and academies if they excel at some variety of dramatic role, but many "serious" actors don't appear to be able to do a light comic role (and vice versa). I'm still undecided on this one.
--I blame it all on the Internet
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| parent )Manny, Blake Go Deep--Dodgers Beat Diamondbacks 4-2.
Unfortunately, Torre has decided to make Ethier the fourth outfielder again, keeping Pierre in center in spite of his sucktastic numbers (the D-Backs started a right hander tonight: Pierre is hitting under .250 with both OBA and SLG under .300 against righthanders, whereas Ethier is hitting .299/.355/.470 against them. To compound the stupidity, Torre started Jones instead of Pierre or Ethier last night against Randy Johnson--Jones is hitting worse against lefties than either of them; in fact, Pierre is hitting .375 against lefties, meaning that Torre is declining to squeeze the tiny bit of value remaining in Pierre out of him because he can't be bothered to read a statistical report. Idiot.).
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)