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Book 4 (of 52) – Don’t You Cry

Don’t You Cry – Mary Kubica

I was a little hesitant in going back to the Mary Kubica well after being somewhat disappointed in her previous effort, but I had already spent the money on the next one so I figured I would go ahead and hope for the best.  Thankfully, this was more of a return to form, living up to the expectations coming out of her first novel.

Don’t You Cry centers around a Chicago woman whose roommate has gone missing and a Michigan teen who falls for a new girl in town.  While the big twist was close to, though not exactly, what I thought it would be, it still kept my attention and made me interested in the characters.

Based on this outing, I am once again looking forward to future efforts from this author.  Her next novel is due this summer.  If I catch a good deal, I just may pick it up.

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iTunes Top 200 Artists: #167-179

3 years ago, we first counted down the then Top 100 artists in my iTunes library.  Since that time, I’ve successfully managed to migrate my music collection to a new PC with the stats intact.  So, I figured it was time to take another look, expanding out the field to the top 200 artists, based on number of plays from late 2007 through January 1, 2017.

After a brief hiatus, we pick up this week with the final 2 bands/performers tied for 179th place and the first 8 tied for 167th, including a few radio personalities.

#167: Fall Out Boy
iTunes stats: 27 plays
Previous ranking: N/A

1 song from Fall Out Boy, used as the intro music for the White Sox in 2015, drives their inclusion on this list.

#167: Gnarls Barkley
iTunes stats: 27 plays
Previous ranking: N/A

The collaboration between CeeLo Green and DJ Danger Mouse has 2 songs to make up their total.

#167: Live
iTunes stats: 27 plays
Previous ranking: N/A

The Pennsylvania band used a pretty even split amongst 3 different tunes to mark their spot on the chart.

#167: Mott The Hoople
iTunes stats: 27 plays
Previous ranking: N/A

One track, featured on the Juno soundtrack and written by David Bowie, makes up the total for English rock band.

#167: Naughty By Nature
iTunes stats: 27 plays
Previous ranking: N/A

2 mega-hits from the hip hop trio make up their total.

#167: Nerf Herder
iTunes stats: 27 plays
Previous ranking: N/A

The band, who got their name from a Princess Leia quote in Star Wars, contributed the theme song to Buffy The Vampire Slayer.

#167: OutKast
Continue reading →

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Team Stats: Walks

With 3 months until baseball in Chicago returns, I thought it would be interesting to look at the all time rankings in both offensive and defensive categories for all iterations of the current 30 teams for the 833 games I’ve identified that I have attended. We continue today on the offensive side of the ball with walks.

Based on the raw numbers, the White Sox and Cubs are far and away the leaders in this category, as they are the teams I’ve seen the most.  When you adjust the numbers per game, the California iteration of the Angels lead the way with an exceedingly high 9 walks per game.  8 teams averaged less than 3 walks per game, with the Miami version of the Marlins bringing up the rear with just 2.5.

Walks
Team Name Walks
Chicago White Sox 1543
Chicago Cubs 1202
Minnesota Twins 153
Cincinnati Reds 151
Pittsburgh Pirates 147
Cleveland Indians 144
Milwaukee Brewers 141
Houston Astros 133
Kansas City Royals 128
Detroit Tigers Continue reading →
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#43 – Freddy Garcia

Name: Freddy Garcia

Rank: 43

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 2004-2006, 2009-2010

Freddy Garcia was acquired by the White Sox, along with Ben Davis, from the Mariners for Mike Morse, Miguel Olive, and Jeremy Reed on June 27, 2004.  Garcia, a friend of White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, was cautiously optimistic about the move.  “You’ve got to be a professional,” Garcia said.  “Everybody knows he’s my friend, but I want to do business.  I’ll go there and pitch the way I can pitch.”  General Manager Kenny Williams thought the move gave the White Sox the ability to “challenge for the division in a better way.”  Garcia went 9-4 for the White Sox over the second half of the season, with a 4.46 ERA as the team did not exactly challenge for the division title.

Things fell into place for Garcia and the White Sox in 2005.  In 33 starts, Garcia went 14-8 with a 3.87 ERA as the White Sox did indeed earn that division title.  Garcia then added an additional 3 wins in 3 appearances during the post-season, including the clinching game 3 of the ALDS against the Red Sox and game 4 of the World Series against the Astros, where he threw 7 scoreless innings.

The 2006 season started under a bit of a cloud for Garcia, who tested positive for marijuana during the World Baseball Classic.  Once the season started, Garcia set numerous personal milestones, including his 1000th career strikeout and, on April 29, becoming the winningest Venezuelan native in baseball history, surpassing former White Sox hurler Wilson Alvarez.  He finished the year 17-9 with a 4.53 ERA.  On December 6, he was traded to the Phillies for young pitchers Gavin Floyd and Gio Gonzalez.

Garcia rejoined the White Sox organization on June 8, 2009, more than a month after being released by the Mets.  He made his first start in the big leagues on August 18 against the Royals, giving up 5 runs in only 4 1/3 innings.  He made 8 additional starts for the team and finished 3-4 with a 4.34 ERA.

He returned to the starting rotation in 2010, making 28 starts and going 12-6 with a 4.64 ERA.  After the season, he became a free agent.

Garcia’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:

Continue reading →

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Midseason Review – Fridays

old-tv-set1We finish up our look back at the fall season with Friday’s amazing slate of shows.

7:30

Dr. Ken – Ken Jeong returns for season 2 of his show that, while not great, is watchable, especially with nothing of note on against it.

Eh, this is not a great show.  If it was on any other night, I would have dropped it by now.

8:00

Hawaii Five-0 – A seventh season of the show that doesn’t really impress, but doesn’t really disappoint, adds Claire Forlani to the cast.

Claire Forlani didn’t last long.

The Exorcist – FOX’s reboot of the movie franchise may be worth a look.

This was surprisingly good.

9:00

Blue Bloods – The first family of the NYPD returns for a seventh season.

Like the Energizer bunny, it keeps going and going.

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Midseason Review – Thursdays

old-tv-set1Time for our look back at Thursday nights, which has traditionally been the busiest night of the week for my television viewing habits.

7:00

Grey’s Anatomy – The medical drama enters its 13th season, with the last 8 episodes of season 12 still sitting on the DVR waiting to be watched.  Since I don’t know how last season ended, I’ve avoided looking at what lies ahead this year.

Surprisingly still watchable here in season 13.

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

The show has focused on personal growth this year, with Sheldon and Amy moving in together and Bernadette and Howard having a baby, opening up new avenues for comedy.

DC’s Legends Of Tomorrow – The grouping of DC’s also-rans returns for its second season, with a promised appearance from the Legion of Doom.

The show is moving to Tuesdays with their revamped team lineup.

7:30

The Great Indoors – Former Community star Joel McHale returns to network TV with this comedy about the new generation gap in the workplace.

Well, I had planned on trying this, thanks to Joel McHale.  Sadly, I never got around to it.

8:00

Pitch – Strangely, I don’t usually enjoy movies or TV shows about baseball despite loving the sport in real life, which means I don’t know if I’ll get in to this tale of the first female professional baseball player.  Having Gregg Olson and Chad Kreuter on board as technical advisers certainly can’t hurt.

The first season has come and gone and it went surprisingly well.  I’m hoping for a second season.

9:00

The Good Place – Kristen Bell stars as a new arrival to the afterlife in this new comedy from the creator of Parks and Rec.

A big swerve at the end of season 1 leaves me wanting a second season.

Continue reading →

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Midseason Review – Wednesdays

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

7:00

Arrow – Season 5 finds Oliver Queen trying to save the city, both as the Arrow and as mayor.  This also promises to be the last season of flashbacks, making me look forward to season 6.

Honestly, Arrow’s new team isn’t really clicking with me.  Hopefully the spring switches back to the old configuration.

Lethal Weapon – FOX reboots the movie series with Damon Wayans.  Might be worth a look, at least.

I made it through a couple of episodes before bailing. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t really anything special.

8:00

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

A strong first half of the season for the long time favorite.

Criminal Minds – The show returns for its twelfth season minus original stars Shemar Moore, who left last spring, and Thomas Gibson, who was fired for attacking a writer in the early going of this season.  To fill the void, Aisha Tyler has been bumped up to a regular cast member and Paget Brewster returns as Emily Prentiss.

A few new faces have joined the BAU and they continue to solve crimes.

Frequency – The CW reboots the movie, replacing Dennis Quaid with the fetching Peyton List.

The first season wraps up tonight, as father and daughter fight crime together, separated by time.

8:30

Black-ish – After a strong second season, the show returns looking to improve yet again.

This might be my favorite comedy currently airing.

9:00

Continue reading →

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Midseason Review – Tuesdays

old-tv-set1Continuing our look back at my thoughts on the new fall season, with the offerings that I found myself interested in for Tuesdays.

7:00

Brooklyn Nine-Nine – Similar to Gotham, I still have the final 4 episodes from last season sitting on the DVR waiting to be watched.  Unlike Gotham, I am looking forward to doing so.

The show continues to deliver the funny.

The Flash – The end of season 2 seemingly rewrote the entire timeline of the first two years of the show, so who knows what we will get as season 3 kicks off.

The first half of the season dealt with the fallback from Barry changing the timeline.  Hopefully the second half moves on from that to get back to what made the show entertaining.

7:30

New Girl – The quirky comedy returns for its 6th season, with some changes in the relationship statuses amongst the roommates causing issues.

The show is still entertaining, but it is starting to show its age a bit.

9:00

This Is Us – To be honest, I’m not entirely sure what this show is about.  But, I’ve seen some good things online and it has a few stars I like, so I might give it a chance.

A highly manipulative look at family dynamics that somehow manages to entertain.  This easily fills the Parenthood hole in the TV schedule.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – Season 4 moves back an hour and, following the events of Captain America: Civil War, has yet another new status quo.  Oh, and Ghost Rider is slated to show up.

The show motors on, introducing LMDs to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Now let’s look at the new shows premiering in the spring on Tuesdays:

Bones – The veteran show returns for a final season on FOX.

 

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Midseason Review – Mondays

old-tv-set1Day 2 of our look back at my thoughts on the new fall television season and what is new for the winter and spring..

7:00

The Big Bang Theory – Once again, The Big Bang Theory moves back to Mondays until late October to accommodate the NFL.  The show continues to be a ratings powerhouse, so I assume the move won’t shake things up too much.

I’ll save my comments for Thursday.

Supergirl – Despite a successful first season, CBS jettisoned the show and now the second season will air on The CW.

Moving to The CW seems to be working out for Supergirl.  So far we’ve seen appearances from Superman, Maggie Sawyer, and the Flash.

Gotham – I still have the last 9 episodes of season 2 sitting on the DVR, so things don’t look that great for my continued interest in Gotham this year.  But, you never know.

The backlog has grown to include those 9 season 2 episodes and all of season 3 to date.  I need to make a decision soon as to whether or not to cut bait.

7:30

Man With A Plan – Matt LeBlanc returns to network television in this comedy about a contractor who takes more responsibility at home after his wife returns to work.  It should be worth at least a shot.

One episode of this piece of garbage was more than enough.

8:00

Jane The Virgin – At this time last year, I was worried that this show would be a one-season wonder and that I would tire of the telenovela aspect of the show.  Those worries turned out to be unfounded, as the show continued to be a solid, entertaining watch.  I’m expecting more of the same this year.

My expectations have been met, as I continue to enjoy the now mistitled show.

2 Broke Girls – A 6th season for this crass show that has never been as good as it should be, given the talents of the leads.

This year has been more of the same.  It’s a shame to waste the talents of the two likeable leads on such a mess of a show.

9:00 Continue reading →

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A Snuffed Out Star

For the second time in 4 months, a young pitching star in Major League Baseball saw his life tragically come to an end.  Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura was killed in a car crash in his native Dominican Republic earlier this morning.  He was 25.

Ventura, who joined the Royals in 2013, was 38-31 with a 3.89 ERA in his career, helping the team to back-to-back World Series appearances in 2014 and 2015.  His death comes on the heels of Marlins star Jose Fernandez, who died in a boating accident this past September.

I saw Ventura pitch 3 times, where he went 1-1 with a 4.24 ERA.  He had a bright future in front of him, if he managed to control his temper, but will now join the list of major leaguers tragically cut down in their prime.  My condolences go out to his family and the Royals nation.