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Book 2 (of 52) – The Girl With The Lower Back Tattoo

The Girl With The Lower Back Tattoo – Amy Schumer

Comedian Amy Schumer checks in with her first book, The Girl With The Lower Back Tattoo, where she covers her childhood growing up in and around New York, her rise through the comedy ranks, and her current success.  Schumer’s humor helps her cover difficult topics as well, including her parents fall from the upper middle class, the sexual assault that took her virginity, and the debilitating disease that has struck her father.  The one topic not dealt with humorously is the theater shooting in Louisiana during a showing of her film, Trainwreck.

I’ve been a fan of Schumer’s for some time, even seeing her perform live during my trip to Toronto a year or so ago.  Reading her book does nothing to lessen that.  One of these days, when I have a free minute or three, I hope to catch up on her show.

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FB2: Week 49

A nice bounce back week after the disappointment of last week ended 2016 on a down note.  The week, and the year, got off to a slow start on Sunday, as New Year’s Day kept me down below 3000 steps.  Monday was a nice rebound, finishing over 7000 steps on my last day of vacation.  Tuesday was time to go back to work, where I managed to stay pretty steadily at or above 7000 steps for the remainder of the week.  Saturday avoided the usual weekend drop-off to finish above 7600 steps.

Total steps: 47,530

Daily average: 6790

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2016: The Year In Movies

Movie_Reel_22

2016 saw a bit of an uptick in movie watching for me, with the vacation over the past 3 weeks of December helping to greatly boost my total to its highest level since 2011.  I managed to watch 88 movies last year, 19 more than last year, though my fifth consecutive year under 100.  Again, many things contributed to this, chiefly the insane amount of TV I’ve been watching, the greater effort made towards going out for walks, and the awful amount of time I spend either at work or getting to and from work.

Here’s a look back at the first 50 movies I did manage to watch last year and what recollection, if any, I have of them. The films are listed in the order I saw them.

RU Awake? (2015)
A short film starring the lovely and talented Molly C. Quinn.

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2011)
A young kid tries to solve a mystery connected to his father who died in the 9/11 attacks.

The Pact (2012)
A bad horror film starring TV’s Caity Lotz.

Tell Tale (2010)
A short that I have no real recollection of.

Let’s Be Cops (2014)
Two Purdue alums find that impersonating cops is better than their normal lives.

John Wick (2014)
Keanu Reeves returns in a surprisingly good turn about a mourning hitman who returns to work after his former boss turns on him.

If I Stay (2014)
A teenage girl faces a choice to live or die after a car accident puts her in a coma.

Two Night Stand (2014)
A snow storm forces a hookup to last much longer than either participant anticipated.

Hot Pursuit (2015)
Reese Witherspoon is a no-nonsense cop who learns to bend the rules while trying to arrest Sofia Vergara.

Backcountry (2015)
A city couple gets lost in the woods while camping. Continue reading →

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iTunes Top 200 Artists: #185-194

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.

Today, we begin with the 10 songs tied for 194th place, along with the first 3 tied for 185th.  These 13 bands and performers are all newcomers to his list, thanks to its expansion to 200 artists since the last time we did this.

#185: The Juliana Hatfield Three
iTunes stats: 25 plays
Previous ranking: N/A

Juliana Hatfield’s band after breaking up with the Blake Babies makes the list thanks to 2 tracks, including one from the Reality Bites soundtrack.

#185: Tony! Toni! Toné!
iTunes stats: 25 plays
Previous ranking: N/A

The soul and R&B group split their total between 2 songs.

#185: Travis
iTunes stats: 25 plays
Previous ranking: N/A

The Scottish band rode only 1 song, a live cover version of Britney Spears’ …Baby One More Time, to this lofty position.

#194: 4 Non Blondes
iTunes stats: 24 plays
Previous ranking: N/A

The one hit wonders have 2 songs contributing to their total.

#194: Dakota Fanning
iTunes stats: 24 plays
Previous ranking: N/A

The actress covered a song while playing Cherie Currie in The Runaways.

#194: Great White
iTunes stats: 24 plays
Previous ranking: N/A

The band probably more famous now for their role in a 2003 club fire that killed 100 people make the list thanks to only 1 song.

#194: Jill Sobule
Continue reading →

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Team Stats: Stolen Bases

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. After a brief hiatus for the holidays, we continue today back on the offensive side of the ball with stolen bases.

Based on the raw numbers, the White Sox and Cubs are far and away the leaders in this category, as they are far and away the teams I’ve seen the most. When you adjust the numbers per game, the California and Anaheim versions of the Angels and the Devil Rays jump to the top of the heap.  The White Sox fall to the bottom of the middle third and the Cubs are squarely towards the low end, with less than 1 SB every other game.  The Braves are the worst team that I have seen somewhat often, at less than .3 SB per game, while the Miami incarnation of the Marlins have yet to steal a base in a game I have attended.

Stolen Bases
Team Name Stolen Bases
Chicago White Sox 303
Chicago Cubs 176
Kansas City Royals 36
Milwaukee Brewers 34
Cincinnati Reds 32
Houston Astros 30
Texas Rangers 28
Minnesota Twins 27
Cleveland Indians 26
Detroit Tigers Continue reading →
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#46 – Tom Seaver

Name: Tom Seaver

Rank: 46

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 1984-1986

Looking to bolster their starting rotation for another run at the AL West crown, the White Sox claimed Tom Seaver from the Mets on January 20, 1984 as compensation for Dennis Lamp leaving as a free agent.  Seaver, upset about leaving New York and his family, contemplated walking away from the game.  “Was retirement a serious option? Sure it was,” Seaver said.  “The first thing I asked the White Sox for was a no-trade contract.  I didn’t want them to make another off-season move and send me 3,000 miles away to Seattle–and I never play an inning in a White Sox uniform.”  Getting the security he desired, Seaver reported to the White Sox.  While the team faltered in 1984, Seaver was a steady force in the rotation, going 15-11 with a 3.95 ERA in his first go around through the junior circuit.  The highlight of the year came on May 9, when he pitched the final inning of a suspended, 25 inning contest from the day before and then started the regularly scheduled game against the Brewers, earning the victory in both.

With LaMarr Hoyt traded in the offseason, Seaver was on the mound for opening day in 1985, breaking Walter Johnson’s record of 14.  On August 4, back in New York against the Yankees, Seaver threw a complete game to earn his 300th career victory.  He finished the year with a 16-11 record and a sterling 3.17 ERA.

Seaver again got the opening day nod in 1986, extending his record to 15.  With the White Sox going nowhere, Seaver, now 41 years old, was looking to return to the east coast to be near his family after the death of his mother in May.  When a bum shoulder put him on the disabled list, he informed the White Sox he was thinking of retiring.  ”Another week or so and I was going home,” Seaver said. ”I made the club aware of that. I was totally, emotionally spent. I had my mom’s death, then my shoulder went on the blink, and there was the LaRussa situation.”  When manager Tony LaRussa was fired on June 20, his replacement, Jim Fregosi, said Seaver’s wishes should be honored.  On June 29, after going 2-6 with a 4.38 ERA in 12 starts, Seaver was traded to the Red Sox for Steve Lyons.

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

Continue reading →

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And I Would Walk 5,000,000 More Redux

Way back on May 2, 2014, after 2 years and 42 weeks of the GlobalFit program, I hit 5 million steps.  Yesterday, in the 49th week of year 2 of using the Fitbit, I’ve once again hit the milestone, coming right on the heals of hitting 2500 miles the Monday before Christmas.  That’s a pretty decent improvement, if I do say so myself.

If you add the two programs together, I’ve put up 11.5 million steps in a little over 5 1/2 years.  I hope the next 5 1/2 years are even more fruitful.

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FB2: Week 48

A disappointing week, due to holidays and illness, that caused me to fall shy of my weekly target.  Things got off to a slow start on Sunday, due to it being Christmas.  Unseasonably warm weather on Monday led to a great day, thanks to a nice elongated walk around the neighborhood.  Tuesday managed to just barely squeak past the 6000 step barrier.  Wednesday and Thursday were about even, with only 121 steps off between them.  Friday fell below the mark, thanks to spending the day with Danny and Michael.  Saturday fell well below, with Danny and Michael having spent the night and a lack of sleep due to illness taking a toll.

Total steps: 39,103

Daily average: 5586.1

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Book 1 (of 52) – A Bloody Storm

A Bloody Storm – Richard Castle

The third, and final, installment of the trilogy returning Derrick Storm from the dead finds Richard Castle’s hero leading a team of fellow ghosted CIA operatives to rescue FBI agent April Showers and find the gold stolen from the Communist party and hidden by the KGB.  By the end of the mission, Storm learns who betrayed him in Tangiers and that the gold is still out there, waiting to be found.

This novella wraps up the story started in A Brewing Storm.  While I get the impetus to split the story into thirds and release them individually, it would have worked better as one whole tale, with the necessary repetition removed and replaced with more action.  At the time, though, there was no way of knowing how much of an audience there was for a Richard Castle novel that was not a more-direct tie-in to Castle.  Enough of one for a full length novel, Storm Front, to be released the following year.

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52 Books in 52 Weeks – 2017 Edition

bookshelfA new year is once again upon us, and it is time to start year eight of the goal to read a book a week for the entire year, totaling 52 books in 52 weeks.  In year one, I only made it to 8 books.  Year two doubled that total.  Year three used graphic novels to improve once again, finishing with 24.  Year four was the first where I dropped from the year before, only finishing 18 books, which was well short of the ultimate goal.  Three years ago, I bounced back to finish with 23 books.  Two years ago, I had my best year since starting this challenge, not to mention my best reading year ever, finishing with 31 books.  Last year, I matched that high point in total books, though far surpassing it in total pages read thanks to reading the entire Harry Potter series.

I’m going to give it another go this year.  I’ve got a few new books loaded in the Kindle app on my iPad, plus a few new purchases from Amazon, not to mention birthday and Christmas presents, so I’ve got a good pile to start with.  As a reminder, the rules I am using are:

  • You can count a book as read as long as you have completed the book in 2017 and at least 50% of that reading takes place in 2017
  • Any book counts as long as you’re not embarrassed to count it.
  • Poetry collections do indeed count.
  • Re-reading a book is okay as long as it isn’t done this year. (Reading Twilight twice in 2010 only counts as 1 read)
  • Audiobooks also count.

My first book of the year looks like it will be A Bloody Storm, the third part of Richard Castle’s Derrick Storm novellas.  All told, 2017 should be another good year.