As summer kicks in to high gear, we turn to Michael, wearing a sweatshirt and wool cap, running the bases during an early spring Family Day last year at US Cellular Field.
Author / admin
You Ought To Be In (14) 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, it is time to look at all of the actors that have starred in at least 10 films that I have seen, as of May 30th.
Today, we look at the 6 actors that have starred in 14 movies that I have seen.
Samuel L. Jackson
20 years ago, I first made the acquaintance of Samuel L. Jackson in 2 polar opposite films, Pulp Fiction and National Lampoon’s Loaded Weapon 1. Aside from 1994, I also saw 2 Jackson films in both 2000 and 2006. The last starring role of Jackson’s I took in was in 2010, when I saw Lakeview Terrace.
Scarlett Johansson
I was first introduced to Scarlett Johansson in 2001 when I saw the comic-book adaptation Ghost World. Starting in 2004, there was a 6 year run where I saw 11 of the 14 films that make up this total, including 5 in 2006 alone. My most recent experience with her was earlier this spring, when I headed to the Arclight Theater in Pasadena to take in Captain America: Winter Soldier during my California adventure.
Winona Ryder
I first became aware of Winona Ryder in the hit film Beetlejuice, but her first starring role that I saw came in 1990, when I saw the dark comedy Heathers. My biggest Ryder year was 2000, when I saw 2 of her films. The last films of her’s that I saw was 2002’s Mr. Deeds, which I finally got around to watching in 2011.
Adam Sandler Continue reading →
Wasting The Summer Away
For reasons any right-thinking person could not possibly understand, traffic this summer has been particularly brutal. No matter what time I leave work, it will take at least 2 hours to get home. One example of this was this past Thursday, when I took off around 3:40 and pulled into my garage just after 5:46. Because of this, I’ve been able to listen to a lot of music. Here is Thursday’s playlist, which kept from killing people in the cars around me.
| Cult Of Personality | Living Colour | Monsters Of Rock [Disc 2 Of 2] | 6/26/2014 3:46 |
| Dreams | The Cranberries | Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We? | 6/26/2014 3:51 |
| Only You | Garfunkel and Oates | Music Songs | 6/26/2014 3:53 |
| I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) | The Proclaimers | Living In The 90’s (Disc 2) | 6/26/2014 3:56 |
| I Won’t Forget You | Poison | Poison’s Greatest Hits 1986-1996 | 6/26/2014 4:00 |
| Sk8er Boi | Avril Lavigne | Let Go | 6/26/2014 4:03 |
| Jane Says | Jane’s Addiction | Nothing’s Shocking | 6/26/2014 4:08 |
| The Tra La La Song (One Banana, Two Banana) | Banana Splits | Here Come The Banana Splits | 6/26/2014 4:10 |
| I Saw Red | Warrant | Cherry Pie | 6/26/2014 4:14 |
| What The World Needs Now Is Love | Jackie De Shannon | Forrest Gump (Disc 1) | 6/26/2014 4:17 |
| Smells Like Teen Spirit Continue reading → |
#224 – Danny Darwin
Name: Danny Darwin
Rank: 224
Position: P
Year With White Sox: 1997
41-year old Danny Darwin signed with the White Sox for his 20th big league season on February 7, 1997. Darwin was 4-8 with a 4.13 ERA in 17 starts for a White Sox squad that found itself only 3 1/2 games out of first place in the AL Central on July 31. Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf did not see a bright future for the team, however, and allowed general manager Ron Schueler to pull the trigger on what would become known as the “White Flag” trade, sending Darwin, along with Wilson Alvarez and Roberto Hernandez, to the Giants in exchange for Keith Foulke, Bob Howry, Lorenzo Barcelo, Ken Vining, Mike Caruso, and Brian Manning.
Darwin called it “one of the most bizarre trades I’ve ever seen” and predicted that future free agents may think twice about joining the South Siders. “If they need one or two players to get over the hump, it may hurt them in the future,” Darwin said. “I think (the trade) will be in the back of some guys’ minds–`Do I want to go over there?’ You hear (Reinsdorf) say: `You’ve got to be crazy to think we’re going to catch Cleveland.’ Do you want to play for someone like that?”
Darwin’s numbers in a White Sox uniform were:
Good Riddance, Scott Downs
After a week that saw the White Sox drop 6 out of 7 games, all of which they had an opportunity to win if their bullpen wasn’t made out of swiss cheese, the team started to purge itself of the dead weight by designating Scott Downs for assignment. Downs, who signed a one year deal for $4 million during the offseason with an option for 2015, displayed no actual pitching talent this season beyond coming in to walk the one left handed batter he was brought in to face.
His last appearance on a mound for the White Sox came Wednesday night, when he sported a giant smirk on his face after being brought in to face Chris Davis and walking him to load the bases before a grand slam tied the game. He finishes his White Sox career with a 6.08 ERA and 15 walks in 23 2/3 innings, but, because he is left handed, he will likely be given additional chances to blow games for someone else this year.
GlobalFit III: Week 50
A tremendous week, despite a lackluster Sunday, that ended with 6 days over 6000 steps and 3 over 8000. A concerted effort to get out during the day during some lull times has helped during the work week. Saturday benefited from 3 trips to the grocery store and a walk around the neighborhood. Sunday was spent relaxing my sore feet.
Total steps: 48,796
Weekly average: 6970.9
You Ought To Be In (13) 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, it is time to look at all of the actors that have starred in at least 10 films that I have seen, as of May 30th.
Today, we continue with the 5 actors that have starred in 13 movies that I have seen.
Cameron Diaz
I first encountered Cameron Diaz back in 1996, when I saw her in a little indie film called The Last Supper. She managed to get 2 films on my list in 4 different years, most recently in 2010. I’ve drifted away from her output in recent years, as the last one I’ve seen was 2011’s Bad Teacher.
Brad Pitt
In 1994, I saw a little film called Kalifornia, which introduced me to Brad Pitt. While he would become a mega-star over the next few years, I was a bit of a late comer to his films. Other than watching A River Runs Through It in 1997 during the Sports in Literature class I took during my last semester of college, it was 2000 before I saw another Pitt film. Making up for lost time, I plowed through 3 films in 2000. Pitt currently has a 4 year streak on the line, starting in 2010 and continuing through last year, when I saw World War Z.
Natalie Portman
The first starring roles of Natalie Portman’s that I saw were in 2001, when I watched a double feature of Where The Heart Is and Anywhere But Here. Her appearances in the Star Wars prequel trilogy and the Thor franchise have accounted for 31% of her overall total. 2011 was a big Portman year for me, as I saw a whopping 4 of her films. My last experience with her work was last year’s Thor: The Dark World.
Keanu Reeves Continue reading →
#225 – Gene Nelson
Name: Gene Nelson
Rank: 225
Position: P
Years With White Sox: 1984-1986
With the White Sox struggling to repeat as AL West Champions in 1984, they swung a deal with the Mariners on June 27 to swap relief pitchers, sending Salome Barojas out west in exchange for Jerry Don Gleaton and Gene Nelson. Nelson, who had been in Triple A for the Mariners, came to the big leagues with the White Sox and split his time between the rotation and bullpen, starting 9 of his 20 appearances.
In 1985, Nelson was penciled in to work strictly out of the pen. “It was tough to adjust after starting for so long,” he said. “It was a matter of learning the mental parts of the game in the bullpen.” However, an injury to Richard Dotson and the ineffectiveness of Bruce Tanner forced manager Tony LaRussa to move Nelson back in to the rotation in early July. By year’s end, Nelson had completed his first full big league season with 46 appearances, 18 of them as a starter.
1986 saw Nelson back in the bullpen full time, save one emergency start due to the death of Tom Seaver’s mother. He appeared in a career-high 54 games and posted his best ERA to date. In December, the White Sox packaged Nelson with Bruce Tanner and sent him to the A’s in exchange for second baseman Donnie Hill.
Nelson’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were: Continue reading →
Post Mortem – Almost Human
The people behind Fringe returned to FOX with a futuristic tale of a police force trying to battle crime with android partners. After the premiere was delayed two weeks, the show managed to snag over 9 million viewers for its first episode. Soon, though, things came crashing back down to earth. As is their custom, FOX aired the episodes out of order, leading to a mish mash of subplots that were difficult to follow.
Despite the best efforts of the network, there was the beginnings of an interesting show here. Unfortunately, it will not be given a second season to see where things could go.
GlobalFit III: Week 49
A tremendous work week, with every day above 6000 steps and 2 days checking in over 10,000, followed by another in a long line of lackluster weekends. The week started off with a bang on Monday, with a 10,000 step day thanks to a conference call that I took while walking around the campus. The rest of the week was pretty ordinary until Friday, which was Family Day down at Wrigley Field. My nephews, my sister, and I headed downtown to take a trip to the Bean before heading north for the festivities at the Friendly Confines, including a spirited game of catch in the outfield grass. Saturday and Sunday both featured trips to US Cellular Field for exciting White Sox baseball, but very little in ways of steps.
Total steps: 46,445
Weekly average: 6635