We wrap up the 2020 edition of the family calendar with this shot from Disneyland at the end of 2018, when we were there for Danny’s performance in the Rose Parade. Which explains his absence, but the inclusion of a giant mouse named Mickey.
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You Ought To Be In (34) Pictures
Many years ago, using the weekly TV guide that came with the Sunday Chicago Tribune, I started keeping track of all of the movies I had seen over the course of my lifetime. The guide would list the two main stars for each movie, and that is a tradition that I’ve carried on in my database ever since. So, given those guidelines, and thanks to a corona virus inspired uptick to my movie watching this year, it is time to look at the 100 actors that have starred in at least 10 films that I have seen, as of July 1.
Today, we conclude with the actor that has starred in 34 movies that I have seen.
Bruce Willis
The actor that I have seen in the most films is Bruce Willis, who maintains a four picture lead over his closest competitor. I first saw him in 1985’s Moonlighting, the pilot to the television show that introduced him to America. His first big screen work that I saw was 1988’s Die Hard. His greatest streak was 4 years from 1995 through 1998. He is only up three films over the last 3 years, adding Glass and Death Wish in 2019, making that the 8th year that I’ve seen multiple films starring Willis, and Once Upon A Time In Venice earlier this year.
By The Numbers – 79
In 1929, uniform numbers appeared on the back of baseball jerseys for the first time, thanks to the Indians and the Yankees. By 1937, numbers finally appeared across all uniforms, both home and away, across both major leagues. Since that time, 81 distinct numbers have been worn by members of the White Sox, while the Cubs boast 76.
Today, we continue our look at those players, picking our favorite, if not the best, player to wear each uniform number for both Chicago teams with #79. Once again, a single player has donned #79 while playing in Chicago, debuting in 2014 for the White Sox.
It’s a shame that Jose Abreu is the only player to wear #79 in White Sox history, as he would easily beat out the competition had there been any. He was signed by the White Sox in October of 2013 after defecting from Cuba in August. He made his major league debut the following March and took home Rookie of the Year honors in 2014. He topped that this past season, bringing home the MVP in the corona virus shortened season, leading the White Sox to the post-season for the first time since 2008. He wears #79 because it was picked by his mother. so that people would remember him. She wasn’t wrong.
Book 20 (of 52) – Shills Can’t Cash Chips
Shills Can’t Cash Chips – Erle Stanley Gardner
Originally published in 1963, Shills Can’t Cash Chips was the 22nd installment of the Cool and Lam series Erle Stanley Gardner wrote under the pseudonym of A. A. Fair, and the 5th republished by Hard Case Crime. When Cool and Lam are hired for a seemingly legitimate job to help investigate an insurance claim, things take a turn and Lam finds himself wanted for murder. In order to clear his name, Lam must figure out the secret of the car accident at the center of the insurance claim and how all of the different players tie together.
These pulps bring you back to a different, simpler time, where the world wasn’t wired (in more ways than one) the way it is today. Reprinting episodes from this series still appears to be a yearly event, so I look forward to the next installment sometime next year.
Book 19 (of 52) – Undone
Undone – Karin Slaughter
A simple traffic accident turns in to so much more when Detective Will Trent finds a cave and, after a search, a dead body in Undone, the third entry in Karin Slaughter’s Will Trent series. When another pair of women go missing, Trent and his partner try to find out what links them together in order to find out who took them.
This is now my fourth entry in the series and I’m glad to see that it has broken from the pattern established in the previous three, where there was a personal connection between Trent and one of the primary players in the investigation. This time it was all old fashioned police work that led the detectives to the killer/abductor.
I know I have a few more entries sitting on the Kindle, so I look forward to continuing the series in the future.
College Basketball Tipoff
The Purdue Boilermakers kick of the 2020-2021 season today, meaning it’s time to take our third ever look at the results of the now whopping 16 college basketball games I have attended in my lifetime. You’d think it would be more, since I was a big fan and we had a great team while I was in school, but for some reason I only made it to 2 games while enrolled in college. The other 14 have been post-graduation, including two new games last season at Illinois and Northwestern. Anyway, without further ado, here are the standings for those 16 games.
| Team | Won | Loss | Winning Pctg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virginia Commonwealth Rams | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Butler Bulldogs | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Purdue Boilermakers | 10 | 5 | 0.667 |
| Northwestern Wildcats | 2 | 3 | 0.400 |
| Illinois Fighting Illini | 2 | 3 | 0.400 |
| Vermont Catamounts | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
| Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
| Long Beach State 49ers | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
| Iowa State Cyclones | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
| Houston Cougars | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
Fitbit 6: Week 43
Week 36 of working from home due to the corona virus was an absolute shit show. The week got off to a crap start on Sunday, finishing with over 2300 steps. Monday saw a slight improvement, but only up to 3100 steps. Tuesday was spent in meetings all day, leaving me 12 steps shy of 1300 steps. Things got slightly better on Wednesday, as I made it all the way up to 1900 steps. Thursday was a bell-weather day, as I managed to surpass 2000 steps. Friday, the start of my Thanksgiving vacation, saw an actual increase, all the way up to 5100 steps. Saturday was even better, as I finished over 5500 steps thanks to a trip to Mariano’s and Target.
Total steps: 21,576
Daily average: 3082.3
You Ought To Be In (30) Pictures
Many years ago, using the weekly TV guide that came with the Sunday Chicago Tribune, I started keeping track of all of the movies I had seen over the course of my lifetime. The guide would list the two main stars for each movie, and that is a tradition that I’ve carried on in my database ever since. So, given those guidelines, and thanks to a corona virus inspired uptick to my movie watching this year, it is time to look at the 100 actors that have starred in at least 10 films that I have seen, as of July 1.
Today, we continue with the actor that has starred in 30 movies that I have seen.
Tom Hanks
In 1984, Tom Hanks splashed on to the movie scene in the aptly titled Splash. My biggest Tom Hanks year was 2017, when I saw 4 of his films, and there were 6 other years where I saw at least 2 of his films. He has added 5 new films, moving into second place. The two most recent, both coming earlier this year, were 2002’s Road To Perdition and 2019’s A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood.
By The Numbers – 84
In 1929, uniform numbers appeared on the back of baseball jerseys for the first time, thanks to the Indians and the Yankees. By 1937, numbers finally appeared across all uniforms, both home and away, across both major leagues. Since that time, 81 distinct numbers have been worn by members of the White Sox, while the Cubs boast 76.
Today, we continue our look at those players, picking our favorite, if not the best, player to wear each uniform number for both Chicago teams with #84. Once again, a single player has donned #84 while playing in Chicago, for the debuting in 2019 for the White Sox.
Dylan Cease was acquired by the White Sox, along with Eloy Jimenez, in a 2017 trade that sent Jose Quintana to the Cubs. He made his major league debut on July 3, 2019, picking up the victory in the first game of a double header against the Tigers. Cease claims to have selected #84 for its meaning in yoga.
2021 Hall Of Fame Ballot – The Newcomers
The BBWAA recently released their ballot for the Hall of Fame class of 2021, with the results of the vote due to be revealed on January 26th. Assuming the corona virus is under control by then, induction would take place July 25th. With Derek Jeter and Larry Walker getting elected in last year’s voting, the new ballot contains 14 holdovers along with 11 newcomers, which may potentially continue the logjam caused by the current BBWAA rules which limit the number of votes on one ballot to 10 and the ongoing refusal by some writers to vote for players tainted by PEDs, leaving too many qualified candidates fighting for limited spots.
Yesterday, we looked at the returning candidates. Today, it’s time to look at the newcomers and who may be thankful come January.
Mark Buehrle
While he is one of only three pitchers, along with Cy Young and Sandy Koufax, to have a no-hitter, a perfect game, and win a World Series title with the same organization, I don’t see any way he will make it. Hopefully he will get enough votes to remain on the ballot for another year.
A.J. Burnett
I don’t see him getting much in the way of support.
Michael Cuddyer
I wonder what it feels like to be placed on the ballot knowing that you won’t earn even a single vote.
Dan Haren
I can see him getting a vote or two, but not enough to stick around.
LaTroy Hawkins
I mean, he had a nice career and all, but no.
Tim Hudson
My initial reaction was no, but he was the first one to make me look up his numbers. His predictive numbers are actually very similar to Buehrle’s, so I’m going to have to say no here as well. It’ll be interesting to see how their vote totals match up considering how close their predictive scores are.
Torii Hunter
Probably the most interesting case out of the newcomers. I can see him sticking around for the entire 10 year run, but I don’t see him getting in.
Aramis Ramirez
While a local favorite, I don’t see him getting a lot of support.
Nick Swisher
F this dude and anyone who votes for him.
Shane Victorino
No.
Barry Zito
The start of his career looked promising, but those later Giant years were brutal.