"People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do, I stare out the window and wait for spring." - Rogers Hornsby

:: Saturday, February 15, 2003 ::

Movie Review: "Gangs of New York"

In some ways, this movie is a mishmash, because it attempts to compress several true stories into one film, and doing that is always problematical, even if you do have two hours and forty-eight minutes.

Part of the film tells the story of the fights and conflicts between the Irish who were immigrating to this country in great numbers between the Irish potato famine of 1845-46, and the US Civil War, and the "nativists" who hated everything non-American, and particularly Catholics, who they viewed at the time as being ruled by the Pope.

Then there's another part which talks about the draft riots that occurred in New York in 1863, after the Union began its first draft of soldiers, shows how you could get out of it for $300 (a huge sum of money in those days), and culminating in the riots which burned parts of New York for four days, and even hit the wealthy parts of town, then as now, along Fifth Avenue.

Daniel Day-Lewis is terrific as Bill "The Butcher" Cutting, leader of the "natives", who at the beginning of the film kills an Irish leader, Priest Vallon, played by Liam Neeson in what amounts to not much more than a cameo. His small son, Amsterdam, witnesses this, and 17 years later returns, suddenly looking like Leonardo DiCaprio, and much of the rest of the film talks about the personal conflict between these two.

Priest and Amsterdam Vallon aren't real individuals, but composites (and although "Priest" dresses like a priest, it's not made clear whether he really is one, and of course if he is, why would he have a son?

However, Bill Cutting really existed, and other real people, among them Horace Greeley, and the head of NY's Tammany Hall, William "Boss" Tweed, who's played by the English actor Jim Broadbent as a feckless loser controlled by the gangs.

Cameron Diaz has a nice role as Jenny, Amsterdam's love interest, and an accomplished pickpocket.

Don't get me wrong -- I did like this film. It captures you and delivers nonstop action, but I'll warn you it's tremendously bloody. It just didn't seem to me to wrap itself up in a neat little package, although the final scene is one of immense power.

This is a terrific directorial achievement by Martin Scorsese, although my vote for the DGA director's award is going to Roman Polanski, as I mentioned in yesterday's review.

But I think the motion picture Academy is going to honor Scorsese for this effort.

AYRating: *** 1/2

:: posted by Al at 1:33 PM [+] ::
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Movie Review: "The Pianist"

Wow.

Not since "Schindler's List", which was on the topic of Holocaust horrors, have I been as deeply affected by a film.

The movie is the autobiographical story of Wladyslaw Szpilman, a Jewish concert pianist in Poland, whose family, as were so many families, was wiped out during the Germans' merciless occupation of Poland, and subsequent move of Jews into the Warsaw Ghetto, and later to concentration camps.

Directed by Roman Polanski, himself a Holocaust survivor, the film is relentless -- it begins with Szpilman playing Chopin on Polish radio, as the first German bombs are going off. Some other Holocaust films, notably "Schindler's List" and the TV miniseries "Holocaust", show some signs of hope. Not here. Every scene shows the descent into which Warsaw Jews were plunged. Szpilman's survival is more a matter of luck than anything else; at one point he survives the trains to the concentration camps simply because a friend of his, one of the Jewish "policemen" hired by the Nazis to keep order, pulls him out of line. There are other similar chance or lucky breaks for him, including an incredible scene near the end of the film involving piano playing, which I otherwise won't spoil here.

This is difficult material; it both absorbs and horrifies, but it is a must-see, because the horrors of the Holocaust must never be forgotten. Szpilman does survive, and that's not a spoiler, because obviously if he didn't, we wouldn't have his story to tell. He lived until 2000, in Warsaw, going back to become a concert pianist again after the war.

Adrien Brody is incredible and totally believable as Szpilman, and if you do check out Szpilman's website, you'll see he bears more than a passing resemblance. Though this is Brody's first major film role, he's up for Best Actor, and though he's got formidable competition, I could see the Academy honoring him, as well as Polanski, whose career has been checkered with his statutory rape conviction, but who has made the film of his, or maybe anyone's, career here.

Don't miss this important film.

AYRating: ****

:: posted by Al at 9:03 AM [+] ::
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Eric Zorn of the Chicago Tribune Says, Shave Your Head!

Okay, he's doing it for a good cause, raising money for the National Childhood Cancer Foundation, (note: Chicago Tribune requires free registration), and like me, Zorn has been cutting his hair shorter and shorter over the last few years.

I mention this to point out a couple things -- first, the column's pretty funny, asking which local celebrity you'd like to see with a shaved head (my pick would have to be Gov. Rod Blagojevich -- I mean, wouldn't you love to see that mop of black hair cut off?

And second, to mention that I'd be happy to join the St. Baldrick's organization, the group organizing this head-shave fundraiser, and do it myself, except for two things: first, I'm going to be out of town on March 14, the date they're doing this, and second, I already shave my head, and have been doing so for several months now... and I want to recommend to everyone that you do this, at least once in your life. I started doing it because I didn't like the gray hair that was beginning to show a little too much, and it was starting to thin a bit on top, and after I did it... well, it felt great, it felt liberating, and I think it makes me look younger.

So, if you're thinking about doing this, go to the St. Baldrick's site, sign up and do it for a good cause. But do it anyway, whether you're male or female, young or old. You won't be sorry.

:: posted by Al at 3:35 PM [+] ::
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Duck And Cover, 21st Century Style

That's what the latest fearmongering feels like to me, like the old black and white film from the 50's that supposedly would have helped you survive a nuclear attack. People built fallout shelters in their homes, cities built them, and some people think we still have to have them.

Yes, there's danger from al Qaeda, and will be until we can wipe them out. We saw that on 9/11, we have seen that recently with the nightclub bombing in Bali, and the attempted shooting down of an Israeli airliner, and the recently revealed Bin Laden tapes, in which he now says he wants to be martyred at "the eagle's belly", which has been interpreted to mean the USA.

But to run out and buy duct tape and plastic? I still think it's fearmongering. I will not change my life, I will not let them rule me, I am still going to Arizona for spring training, and whatever happens is going to happen.

I would like to think that 9/11 shocked us into better preparation and intelligence, and the revelations of the possibilities of an attack perhaps would even mean that it won't happen. What if such warnings had been given in early September, 2001? Would the hijackers have called off their plan? Would we have been able to catch one or more of them?

Be vigilant. Be aware of your surroundings. But live your life. Don't have a bunker mentality.

Because then the terrorists really will have won. I know those words are said these days, mostly dripping with irony. But I'm dead serious here.

:: posted by Al at 9:19 AM [+] ::
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Do You Tatu?

Have you heard of the Russian pop duo Tatu?

Well, I hadn't either, till today, and I'm still not quite sure what they're all about. But the photo below was listed as one of Yahoo News' most e-mailed photos of the day for Wednesday, and I pass it along to you here without comment.

:: posted by Al at 8:25 PM [+] ::
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Politics of the Bizarre

It appears that former US Senator Carol Moseley Braun, as noted here a couple of weeks ago, actually is going to run for President.

Well, I laughed out loud then, and I did the same earlier today, so I'll stifle my laughter and simply say that if Moseley-Braun really did want to redeem her sad-sack term in the Senate, she'd attempt a rematch against the eminently defeatable Sen. Peter Fitzgerald, perhaps the most vulnerable Republican Senator in the 2004 elections, and help take the Senate back for the Democrats. Instead, she's running this ridiculous campaign for President, destined to help make the Democratic opponent for Bush a laughingstock.

The same website that contains the article about Moseley-Braun's bid (abcnews.com) also contains today, this article about potential Iraqi agents in the US. Can you imagine a President Moseley-Braun dealing with this possible threat? She'd be too busy heading back to her Nigerian dictator pals.

This bid is a colossal waste of time and money. Carol, give it up.

:: posted by Al at 8:19 PM [+] ::
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You Have Got To Be Kidding Dept.

Okay, I dissed Michael Jordan last week here. But I do feel sorry for the guy for one thing -- the ridiculous golddiger Karla Knafel, who Jordan is suing, claiming she is trying to extort $5 million from him. She is countersuing, claiming he promised her the money after a sexual relationship in the early 1990's.

As part of this suit, Knafel's lawyer produced this photo today:



OK, let me say right now:

WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!

That photo is so obviously a fake, I can't imagine any self-respecting lawyer (OK, maybe that's an oxymoron) would try to have it admitted in court. The lighting's all wrong, the angle of Jordan's head is all wrong, and unless Knafel's about six-foot-four, the guy is waaaaay too small to be Jordan. And another thing: who TOOK this photo? Who was hanging around in hotel rooms with these two, oh, just coincidentally, with a camera?

This ought to get this lawsuit laughed out of court. It sure gave me my laugh for the day.

:: posted by Al at 2:45 PM [+] ::
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Hey Bloggers!

I'm trying to set up an archive for posts here, because I see that some of you are coming here through web searches, and you're searching on posts that Google has found, but that are more than a week old, and I haven't yet set up an archive.

OK, I've set up an archive directory and an archive format. But how do I set up a proper link on my blog page to it? And how do you set up links to the posts?

If anyone out there knows how, please e-mail me and let me know. Many thanks.

:: posted by Al at 2:35 PM [+] ::
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Jay Stone for 32nd Ward Alderman

A while back, I said that the Chicago municipal election on Feb. 25 is a yawner and a bore, and at least the mayoral portion is, since Mayor Daley has no credible opposition and will probably poll at least 80% of the vote. I know a lot of you don't live in Chicago, and even those of you who do don't live in my ward, so bear with me today.

There is a way that those of us in the city can begin to take our city back, and one of them is to vote for Jay Stone for 32nd Ward alderman.

Stone's a breath of fresh air after Ted Matlak, who is really the epitome of the old-style, machine alderman. First of all, why is my house in the 32nd Ward in the first place?

Well, Terry Gabinski, (who's another machine hack himself), the former 32nd Ward alderman, now retired, bought a townhouse across the street from my house. To retain his seat, he strongarmed our block into the 32nd Ward (the ward boundaries are on both Matlak's and Stone's websites, but the maps disagree, and I'm not sure which is the current map). Then Gabinski retired, and Matlak was appointed, then elected to the seat, and Gabinski has since sold his townhouse, but... we're still stuck there.

It's time to start returning the city to its people, rather than keep seeing the sweetheart deals for Mayor Daley and his pals slammed through the increasingly rubber-stamp City Council. On Feb. 25 I'll be voting for Jay Stone; if you live in the 32nd Ward, I hope you will too.

:: posted by Al at 10:06 AM [+] ::
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Political Correctness Run Amok

PC stuff these days generally drives me nuts, but this one really put me over the top.

If you've ever flown Southwest Airlines, you know that the flight attendants are encouraged to use humor to try to entertain the passengers.

Well, not long ago, a SW flight attendant used the children's rhyme "Eeny, meeny, miny, mo" to try to lighten up the atmosphere just before takeoff, and to get people in their seats.

Now, according to the Kansas City Star, she's being sued by two African-American women, who accused her of being racist.

(begin rant)

This is so absolutely ridiculous that I can't even fathom it. I mean, LIGHTEN UP, PEOPLE! A quote from the flight attendant, Jennifer Cundiff, in the above article, I think, sums this ludicrous situation up best:

"The statement I made on Flight 524 was not racist or discriminating, and I am offended that because I have white skin suddenly I am a racist. Maybe those that run around pointing fingers yelling racist should stop and turn that finger around."

We're not ever going to get along in this country unless we go along, and have a little bit of humor along the way. There are enough real threats to the future of this world, to allow something like this to get to us in this way. I think Ms. Cundiff has it exactly right, and I'll be rooting for her to win her case, big time.

(end rant)

Thanks to my friends at alt.fan.cecil-adams for bringing this story to my attention.

:: posted by Al at 6:57 PM [+] ::
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Answer to Monday's Trivia Question

On April 27, 1995, just before the strike-delayed season started, the Cubs and White Sox played an exhibition game at Wrigley Field, in which Michael Jordan, White Sox farmhand, played right field and went 2-for-4.

:: posted by Al at 9:24 AM [+] ::
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The Oscar Nominations...

were announced this morning.

That is, everywhere except on ABC-7 in Chicago, where Good Morning America failed to switch its usual tape-delayed feed to a live feed so that local viewers could see it at 7:40 Chicago time. I shouldn't complain too loudly, as this is my employer we're talking about, but hey -- they screwed up!

Maybe it's time, as Richard Roeper wrote in today's Chicago Sun-Times, to make the nominations a prime-time special, rather than air them live at the crack of dawn, Pacific time. You'd think someone in the network or Oscar hierarchy would have thought of this by now, especially since the nominations are made during February, ratings sweeps time for networks and local stations.

As far as the nominations go, "Chicago", the brassy musical, topped the list with 13, including one for Best Picture. "Chicago" was indeed a terrific film, but I have yet to see two of the other nominees, "The Pianist", and "Gangs of New York", which I'll see and review here later this week.

The proliferation of televised awards shows cheapens most of them, and I won't watch most of them. But the Academy Awards still hold that special magic, despite the fact that they drone on forever. I'll be watching on March 23, along with the rest of you. It's by far the highest-rated awards show, and one of the top-rated TV programs of any year.

:: posted by Al at 9:21 AM [+] ::
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Give It Up, Michael

I am sick of Michael Jordan.

I didn't always feel this way. Through most of Jordan's illustrious playing career, I enjoyed following him and the Bulls. It really was like watching Babe Ruth play -- there really was no one in basketball history, with the possible exception of the late Wilt Chamberlain, who redefined a sport the way Jordan did.

I even forgave him his first retirement -- though he claimed it was because of the murder of his father, the rumors persisted that Jordan was asked to stay away from the NBA for a while because of gambling problems. His foray into baseball was silly, but all it proved was that he was a remarkable enough athlete to come back and play three more seasons at peak level.

Now why would you take a career that ended so perfectly in 1998, and tack this soggy two-year epilogue on the end of it? Selfishness is the only thing I can think of. He didn't need the money. He wasn't and isn't going to win another championship. He put the lie to his declaration that he'd "never play for anyone other than Phil Jackson" -- though he did have the choice to do that, he turned it down. Oh, the Jerrys aren't blameless here. "Organizations win championships," J. Krause bleated. Gee, you've won a lot of them in the last five years, Mr. Krause.

But Jordan's time has passed. Sure, maybe he deserved one last time in the limelight, but the coverage the Chicago Sun-Times gave him today was ridiculous -- the back page, plus two big-name columnists. The Chicago Tribune (free registration required) had it about right -- on page three. All Jordan did was take the spotlight away from the man who did deserve it, China's Yao Ming, who is the real future of the NBA.

Jordan reminds me of that sad picture of Willie Mays, hands in the air after being tagged out in the World Series, at the age of 42, a shadow of what he once was.

At least Mays ended his career in a World Series. Jordan could have had that, but selfishly took that legacy away from himself, and all the rest of us.

Trivia question: During Jordan's baseball career, he played one exhibition game at a major league ballpark. Which one?

answer tomorrow.

:: posted by Al at 2:08 PM [+] ::
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Happy Birthday to the World Wide Web!




It was ten years ago this month that Al Gore invented the Internet.

No, just kidding. But it was ten years ago, February, 1993, when the first graphically-based web browser, Mosaic, was released for UNIX-based computers by Marc Andreesen and his associates at the University of Illinois. This browser was the first step in making the web as we know it today possible; and of course it eventually morphed into becoming Netscape Navigator.

Communications and commerce have been irrevocably changed by the web; I could make smartass comments here about music sharing and, uh, certain kinds of photo sharing via the web, but all I'll say is that we who are computer-savvy live our lives much differently now, meeting people we never would have met otherwise, enhancing our lives, and being able to visit places that we wouldn't otherwise know about, thanks to Mosaic and its successor web browsers.

:: posted by Al at 9:13 AM [+] ::
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BASEBALL IS BACK!!!

Okay, so it's not quite time for Cubs spring camp to open (that doesn't happen till Thursday), but today, the Seattle Mariners' pitchers and catchers reported to camp in anticipation of their early opening series against the A's in Japan, March 25 and 26, becoming the second teams to open the season in Asia. Wanna go? The Tokyo Dome hotel is running specials. No, I'm not going. I did go three years ago, but that was the Cubs playing at that time. I'll be satsfied seeing the Cubs play in Arizona, starting on March 13.

Much more baseball news will be here once the Cubs pitchers and catchers report.

:: posted by Al at 12:01 PM [+] ::
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