Beltmann

Over the weekend I received one of the coolest birthday presents ever: The Dickson Baseball Dictionary, which is a comprehensive listing of the language of baseball. Sample entry, abridged: Baltimore chop: A batted ball that hits the ground close to home plate and then bounces high in the air, allowing the batter time to reach first base safely. "[bill] Hinchman broke loose with a single that bounded over [Dave] Altizer's head. The revival of the ancient Baltimore chop was appreciated" (The Washington Post, July 20, 1907) First use in print: 1905. "[Joe] Kelley netted a high bouncing bin

Been listening to this a lot... I love when the whistling kicks in. It's a really great version!

Good grief, that was fantastic!

I'm reminded of the football trivia test in Diner.

Holy hell, is this movie a lot of fun. Had a blast.

No replies to this yet? Odd. I don't have much to add right now--I have not yet heard either album--but I'll say that I enjoyed reading your thoughtful take on them.

I am still pure. At this point, it's nothing more than just a test of my willpower... kind of like my pal who wanted to see how long he could go without hot dogs.

After the band debuted "While You Wait for the Others" on Conan last April (2008), I became fairly obsessed with that song. It's probably one of my favorite single tracks of the last few years. I still don't have the new album, but I am going to pick it up soon.

I was just watching a DVD of the 1999 Rockpalast show, and pointed Jay out to my daughter, who is four. Her only reply was, "Is he a girl?" Man, Jay's hair was a blast.

I've been following this news all night... what a strange and awful journey from initial shock to being convinced it is a hoax to being convinced it is true. Rest In Peace, Mr. Bennett. Your contributions to the world of music have meant--and will continue to mean--a great deal to me.

Is Sugar, which charts a season in the life of single-A Dominican pitcher Sugar Santos, the best baseball movie ever made? If you prefer your baseball movies to be realistic, honest, unsentimental, and overflowing with details about life in the system, it might be. (At the very least, it's light years better than Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck's last feature, Half Nelson, which was wonderfully acted but also a total crock.)

As it turns out, it lasted another hour. Gallardo looked off all night.

It's been fun. After that awful 4-9 start, the Crew has gone 21-5 and looked like a real ball club. The starting pitching continues to surprise me; I wonder how long it will last.

I may actually be depressed about this. For the first time, it was joy to watch Rickie play... all those years of futile rooting seemed to finally be paying off. Gallardo last year, Weeks this year. Maybe Gamel can help offset the loss. That homer tonight was a line drive rocket.

I did not agree with every word of your post, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Intriguing observations and insights. Thanks for posting it!

Everyone feels that way, of course. Trouble is, the heart will always let us down. No adaptation will ever equal the movie running in our minds. Ironically, it's the head that can protect our love of the material, by giving us an avenue to let go of our preconceptions and try to enjoy an adaptation as a possibly interesting version of the story--the version running in someone else's mind. Some books are so dependent upon their literary qualities that they just can't be adapted without losing their core. For example, I can't imagine how Updike's In the Beauty of the Lilies could be turne

I don't go to parties, ass. People get me down.

The day after the leak, three of my former students emailed me to ask my opinion. I guess they took something away from American Literature!

Happy birthday, Jesse! Thanks for everything over the years!!

Viggo Mortensen, one of Hollywood's true artists, working with John Hillcoat, the man responsible for the dirty, barbaric, smart The Proposition? I'm not going to let a trailer--made by ad men, not the filmmakers--to ruin my high hopes. I'll reserve judgment until I see the actual movie. Besides, fidelity is vastly overrated when it comes to screen adaptation. A filmmaker's first loyalty should be to making good cinema, not necessarily a faithful recreation of the book. What makes a great book great is usually its literary qualities, but what makes a great movie great is usually its cine

And this is hardly the first thread hotly debating the chronology of Wilco albums. But many controversial subjects require lengthy, intense discussion between those who are right and those who are simply wrong.

Thanks for bringing up the most traumatic event of my childhood. The high fastball from Bruce Sutter that fanned Gorman Thomas to end Game 7 was child abuse.

I tend to agree, but I'm open to the idea that 3D has artistic potential, and might eventually be used to deepen the storytelling rather than merely provide window-dressing. No one has figured out how to do that yet, but as it evolves, someone might.

"All Wilco All The Time"

My dad managed a record store for a while, but had (and continues to have) a rather narrow wheelhouse. Still, that wheelhouse had some great stuff in it. As a kid I had a steady diet of Elvis, Buddy Holly, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, Carl Perkins, Chuck Berry, Les Paul, Jerry Lee Lewis, Patsy Cline, etc. I was introduced to the music, but also all the history and backstories, too. I believe that foundation is what helped me survive my Pseudo Echo era with no permanent scars.