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Fitbit III: Week 34

A decent week with one tremendous day that made the overall total look great.  The week got off to a pretty good start on Sunday, with over 7300 steps to my credit.  Monday just squeaked past 6500 steps, as the drama from the week before reignited with everyone back at work.  Tuesday combined the Sprint & Stride, helping Val buy and set up a TV in her new apartment, and Season Ticket Holder Family Day at Wrigley Field for my 3rd 20,000 step day of the year and 6th overall.  Wednesday had a tremendous drop off, finishing a mere 28 steps above my daily goal.  Thursday improved a bit to back over 8000 steps.  Friday was back down around 6600 steps.  Saturday used a night trip to Guaranteed Rate Field to wrap up the week with nearly 6800 steps.

Total steps: 61,961

Daily average: 8851.6

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2017 Predictions Revisited

Six months ago, as the 2017 baseball season was scheduled to kick off, I made my annual predictions as to who would win what.  Now that the regular season has come to an end, it is time revisit those predictions and see what, if anything, I got right.

American League

East: Red Sox

1 for 1 so far, as the Red Sox held off a late surge from the Yankees to clinch on the season’s second to last day.

Central: Indians

The Indians finished with the best record in the American League thanks to a 32-4 run to close out the season.

West: Mariners

Well, I was a little off on this one, as the Mariners finished in third place, a mere 23 games behind the Astros.

Wild Cards: Blue Jays, Tigers

Both teams finished in last place in their respective divisions, with the Tigers finishing with the worst record in baseball.

AL Champion: Red Sox

It’s a good sign that my pick made the playoffs.

Cy Young: Chris Sale

There is a very good possibility of this coming to fruition.

MVP: Francisco Lindor

There is very little possibility of this coming to fruition.

National League

Continue reading →

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You Ought To Be In (22) Pictures

Movie_Reel_22Many 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, it is time to look at all of the actors that have starred in at least 10 films that I have seen, as of July 1st.

Today, we continue with the 4 actors that have starred in 22 movies that I have seen, a total not seen 3 years ago.

Ben Affleck

A 3 spot rise for Affleck, thanks in part to his casting as Batman in the DC cinematic universe.  His most recent film that I’ve seen is The Accountant, which I watched earlier this year.

Sandra Bullock

A 4 spot rise for Bullock, who takes the reign as the highest placing actress.  Two films in both 2014 and 2016 have put her in the lead, with Our Brand Is Crisis and Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close being the last things I have seen her in.

Robert Downey Jr.

Robert Downey Jr. rises 2 spots, thanks to his work in the Marvel cinematic universe.  2016’s Captain America: Civil War would have been the last thing I have seen him in, at least as of July 1.

Harrison Ford

The return of Star Wars has pushed Ford up 1 spot, with his final appearance as Han Solo coming in 2015’s The Force Awakens.

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Book 19 (of 52) – Fate Of The Union

Fate Of The Union – Max Allan Collins with Matthew V. Clemens

For the second installment in the Reeder and Rogers series, Max Allan Collins returns, along with co-author Matthew V. Clemens, to the Washington beltway for another round of political intrigue that puts the US government at risk.  Former Secret Service agent Joe Reeder teams up again with FBI agent Patti Rogers on the death of an old colleague and a serial killer case the FBI has been working, eventually determining that they are one case.  They need to find the killer, and whoever has hired him, before he wipes out the entire government during the State of the Union address.

To be honest, I was a little concerned when Collins brought in a co-writer this early in the series run.  But, the two have worked together previously and the two put together another tight story here, so it turned out I had nothing to worry about.  There’s a third installment out there, which I will have to keep an eye out for on the Kindle deals site.

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2017 New Fall Season – Fridays

old-tv-set1Our final look at the new fall season gives us Friday’s amazing slate of shows.

7:00

Blindspot – A 2 year time jump gives the third year show a soft reboot as it moves to the deadzone of Friday nights.

Once Upon A Time – For some unknown reason, the show returns for its 7th season minus 6 cast members.

8:00

Hawaii Five-0 – An eighth season of the show that doesn’t really impress, but doesn’t really disappoint, loses Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park from the main cast.

Jane The Virgin – The telenovela returns for its fourth season with a surprising move to Friday nights.

The Exorcist – FOX’s reboot of the movie franchise was surprisingly entertaining in its first season.  We shall see if they can keep it up for another year.

Marvel’s Inhumans – With the rights to the X-Men tied up by FOX, Marvel has tried to make the Inhumans their new go-to team, both in the comics and now on television.  Early reviews show that this will not be a winning formula.

9:00

Blue Bloods – The first family of the NYPD returns for an eighth season.

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2017 New Fall Season – Thursdays

old-tv-set1Thursday night is traditionally the busiest night of the week for my television viewing habits. Here’s what’s on the slate for this season.

7:00

Grey’s Anatomy – The medical drama enters its 14th season, which is astounding considering the number of remaining original cast members.  After the hospital blew up at the end of last season, some changes are bound to be afoot.

The Big Bang Theory – The show returns to Thursdays in early November, following the midpoint of the NFL season.

Gotham – I haven’t watched the show since the middle of season 2, so who knows if I’ll even come back to it.

7:30

The Good Place – After the shocking reveal at the end of last season, Ted Danson and Kristen Bell return to heaven.  Or hell.

Young Sheldon – Is too much Sheldon a bad thing?  CBS hopes not, as this spinoff of The Big Bang Theory goes back to Sheldon’s childhood in Texas.  Will it work?  Only time will tell.

8:00

Arrow – The team goes through another shakeup after the events of last season.

9:00

S.W.A.T. – Shemar Moore returns to CBS with this update of the 70s show (and 2003 film). Continue reading →

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2017 New Fall Season – Wednesdays

old-tv-set1We have reached the half way point of our look at the offerings for the new fall season.  Here’s what Wednesdays have on tap for the fall.

7:00

Riverdale – The sexy version of the Archie comics returns for its second season.

The Blacklist – Now that the mystery of Red’s relationship to Liz has been cleared up, things promise to take a lighter tone in season 5.

8:00

Modern Family – The comedy, entering its ninth season, is really starting to show its age.  It’s still fun, but the plots are starting to get a little out there.

SEAL Team – David Boreanaz returns to television mere months after the end of Bones in what is likely to be another CBS procedural.

9:00

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2017 New Fall Season – Tuesdays

old-tv-set1Continuing our look at the new fall season, here are the offerings that I may find myself interested in for Tuesdays.

7:00

The Flash – Barry returns from the speed force a changed man for the fourth season of the show.

8:00

Black-ish – For its fourth season, the show moves out from Modern Family‘s shadow and gets to lead off its own hour.

This Is Us – The one breakout hit from last season returns to emotionally manipulate us once again.

DC’s Legends Of Tomorrow – With time shattered at the end of last season, the team has to put things right.

8:30

The Mayor – A rapper runs for mayor to gain publicity for his mixtape and accidentally wins.  With Yvette Nicole Brown on board, I’ll give it a shot.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine – Season 5 starts with Jake and Rosa in prison, framed for crimes they didn’t commit.

9:00

Kevin (Probably) Saves The World – Jason Ritter returns to television in this show about a layabout who learns its up to him to save the world.

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2017 New Fall Season – Mondays

old-tv-set1We continue our annual look at the new fall season with Monday night’s offerings, which features some returning favorites and a few new shows with some potential.

7:00

The Big Bang Theory – Once again, The Big Bang Theory moves back to Mondays until late October to accommodate the NFL.  With Sheldon’s proposal to Amy at the end of last season, this year looks to be shaking things up a bit.

Supergirl – With her boyfriend banished from Earth, Supergirl decides to focus on being a hero and push aside her “human” side.

8:00

The Gifted – FOX brings a new entry in the superhero fold, this time in the world of the X-Men.

9:00 Continue reading →