July 24, 2023July 22, 2023 by admin

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. Given those guidelines, it is time once again to look at the now 107 actors that have starred in at least 10 films that I have seen, as of July 1.

We continue today with the six actors that have starred in exactly 13 movies that I have seen, even from 3 years ago.

Gene Hackman

The retired Hackman, who is now 93 years old, first entered my movie consciousness when I saw the original Christopher Reeve Superman. My most recent experience with his work remains 1971’s The French Connection, which I saw in 2018.

Woody Harrelson

In 1992, I headed to the theaters to see White Men Can’t Jump, where I first encountered Woody Harrelson in film. That was followed by six more films between 1994 and 2000, after which there was a long lull. Harrelson came back in to my world in 2008, then added two more in 2010. His most recent appearance came in 2022, when I saw the previous year’s Venom: Let There Be Carnage.

Katherine Heigl

Katherine Heigl first burst on to the scene in 1994’s My Father, The Hero, which I took in the following year. After achieving television stardom, she leaped back to the big screen in a big way in the mid-2000s, including four films in three years between 2006 and 2008. She last showed up on my screen in 2018, with the ironically titled Unforgettable.

Tommy Lee Jones

Tommy Lee Jones first showed up on my screen back in 1993 in The Fugitive. My big Tommy Lee Jones years were 1997 and 2000, when I saw him in two films per year. After a few years away, my most recent experience with him was in 2020, in 2019’s Ad Astra.

Mila Kunis

After years on That ’70s Show, Mila Kunis first moved to my movie screen in 2003, with the unfortunate American Psycho II: All American Girl. After a six-year break, she came back with a vengeance, appearing in seven films I saw between 2009 and 2011. I last saw her work earlier this year, thanks to 2022’s Luckiest Girl Alive.

Al Pacino

My first experience with Al Pacino was in 1997, when I saw him in City Hall. I splurged on his films in 2000 and 2001, when I took in five, including The Godfather and The Godfather II. After a twelve-year absence, Pacino returned to my screen twice in 2020, in 2017’s horrible Hangman and 2008’s Righteous Kill.

July 23, 2023January 24, 2023 by admin

Hall Of Fame Batting Leaders

The Hall of Fame Class of 2023, former Phillie and Cardinal third baseman Scott Rolen and veterans committee choice Fred McGriff, get enshrined in Cooperstown today. With two new hitters joining the list of Hall of Famers I’ve seen play live, let’s check back in with the leaders on the offensive side of the ball amongst Hall of Famers for all of the games I’ve attended between 1984 and 2022.

Home Runs

Name	Total
Jim Thome	35
Frank Thomas	15
Scott Rolen	7
David Ortiz	6
Vladimir Guerrero	6

Hits

Name	Total
Jim Thome	110
Frank Thomas	54
Ken Griffey Jr	32
Fred McGriff	28
Scott Rolen	25

Runs

Name	Total
Jim Thome	82
Frank Thomas	42
David Ortiz	16
Scott Rolen	14
Ken Griffey Jr.	12

RBI

Name	Total
Jim Thome	84
Frank Thomas	38
Fred McGriff	23
David Ortiz	19
Continue reading →

July 22, 2023 by admin

Book 33 (of 52) – Clark And Division

Clark and Division – Naomi Hirahara

A Japanese family is living out the American dream in California until war breaks out between their homeland and their adopted country. Forced to leave their lives behind, they head to the internment camp together before being released to start a new life in Chicago. However, the death of the oldest daughter, who was released earlier than the rest of the family, haunts the youngest, who is determined to find out what happened to her in Chicago before the rest of the family arrived.

Clark and Division, by Naomi Hirahara, grabbed my attention not so much because of the subject matter but because of the setting. While many of the businesses are no longer the same, the locations, streets, and neighborhoods ring true. Whether it was walks on the beaches of Lake Michigan, to dances at the Aragon back when it was an actual ballroom, to the subway stop at the titular street corner, the locales of the work ring true of a Chicago gone by. There is a second book in the series, which follows the characters back to California after the end of World War II, but I don’t know if I’m invested enough to go along for the ride.

July 18, 2023 by admin

Book 32 (of 52) – Blind Spots

Blind Spots – Thomas Mullen

After a global pandemic destroys the world’s ability to see, technology steps in to fill the void. When reports of criminals who are able to blur themselves out reach the police, they are skeptical until one of their own experiences the same thing. While he tries to figure out what is going on, the rest of the department looks at him as the likely culprit of a number of murders, leading to a standoff just as the President is coming to town.

Thomas Mullen makes his debut appearance on my shelf with Blind Spots, which made its way onto a best of 2023 list so far earlier this month. After my recent good experience with contemporary sci-fi, I decided to give it a shot. I had a hard time getting into it at first, but things picked up about a third of the way through. Overall, it was a good time. If I happened to come across more of Mullen’s work in the future, I would definitely give it a go.

July 17, 2023July 2, 2023 by admin

You Ought To Be In (12) Pictures

We continue today with the nine actors that have starred in exactly 12 movies that I have seen, down one from 3 years ago.

Kristen Bell

The Veronica Mars star made her first “big screen” appearance in my life with the television remake of Reefer Madness in 2005. She’s been a pretty steady presence since, with a two-year gap in 2015 and 2016 being her largest. 2018’s Like Father, which I saw in 2020, remains my most recent exposure to her in a starring role.

Leonardo DiCaprio

A small bump up for DiCaprio, who first appeared on my movie screen in 1996, with The Basketball Diaries. After a three-year run to start, I had a gap of eight years between his films, from 2002-2009. 2011 was his most prolific year, with three different films. The most recent film of his that I’ve seen was 2021’s Don’t Look Up.

Michael Douglas

I have not seen a Michael Douglas starring project since 2015’s Ant-Man.

Aaron Eckhart

Aaron Eckhart first showed up on the list of film actors I’ve seen way back in 1999 with Your Friends & Neighbors. Since then, his appearances have been a little haphazard, with nothing more than three two-year streaks over the past 21 years. The most recent film of his I’ve seen was 2014’s atrocious I, Frankenstein, which I unfortunately saw in 2020.

Corey Haim

My final Haim film was 1993’s Just One Of The Girls, which I saw in 2004. Haim passed away in 2010, so he is not likely to be moving up this list anytime soon.

Helen Hunt

I first came across Helen Hunt back in 1987’s Project X. She racked up nine of her twelve films between 1994 and 2006, with a double shot in 1996 thanks to Trancers and Twister. After a fifteen-year hiatus, she returned to my screen in 2021, thanks to 2019’s I See You.

Anna Kendrick

Kendrick, who packed nine films into just three years, started in 2016, when Pitch Perfect 2 was the first of four films I saw starring her. She followed that up with another four in 2017, an additional two in 2018, and single outings in 2019 and 2021, when I watched her in Stowaway.

Liam Neeson Continue reading →

July 16, 2023 by admin

Fitbit IX – Week 25

A week mostly without baseball ended my streak of 30,000-step weeks at eight. Things got off to a decent enough start on Sunday as I finished with 4500 steps finishing out the first half of the season at Guaranteed Rate Field. Monday was my first day of work in well over a week, yet still finished with 4300 steps. A big drop on Tuesday put me at just 2700 steps. A nice bounce back on Wednesday saw me land 32 steps away from 3900. Thursday saw a slight decline, dropping down to 3200 steps. Friday jumped back up again, needing a mere 11 steps to reach 4000. Saturday was a lost cause, failing to reach 2200 steps by 26.

Total steps: 24,862

Daily average: 3551.7

July 15, 2023July 13, 2023 by admin

Looking Ahead To 2024

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Using the extra off day in the All-Star break, Major League Baseball released their tentative 2024 schedule on Thursday. For the second year in a row, MLB is keeping with a balanced schedule, playing 52 games against division opponents, 64 games against non-division opponents in the same league, and 46 interleague games, with series against every team in the opposite league. With the White Sox entering an uncertain second half of 2023 following a disappointing year and a half during what should have been the prime of their contention window, and the Cubs looking to take the next step forward in their rebuild, the 2024 season looks to be an interesting time in the city of Chicago. So, for one day, at least, let’s turn our attention to next summer for both teams.

The White Sox open their season on March 28 against the Tigers, kicking off a six-game homestand that also features the Braves.

Aside from the Braves, the new interleague schedule sees the Pirates, Reds, Dodgers, Braves, Mets, Rockies, and Nationals travelling to Chicago, while the White Sox will go on the road to face the Phillies, Marlins, Cardinals, Brewers, Diamondbacks, and Padres. The rivalry with their north side foes continues with a two-game series at Wrigley Field in early June followed by a mid-August tilt at Guaranteed Rate Field that leaves both teams the rare Sunday off-day.

After a west coast trip in mid-September, the season wraps up with a mid-week home battle against the Angels followed by a trip to Detroit to finish up the year.

On the north side, the Cubs also open their season on March 28, heading out on the road for the first time in five years to battle the Rangers. After a three-game series, they open the home portion of the schedule against the Rockies.

Aside from the Rangers, the Cubs will head out on the road to face the Mariners, Orioles, Guardians, Red Sox, and Royals, while the A’s, Twins, Angels, Yankees, Blue Jays, and Tigers will be coming to Wrigley.

Only six of their 26 games in September are against their NL Central rivals, which could make a difference if the Cubs find themselves in contention. They end the year with a three-game tilt at home against the Reds.

July 14, 2023July 13, 2023 by admin

Fitbit IX – Week 24

Things continue to look up, as I extended my streak of 30,000-step weeks to eight. Things got off to a slow start on Sunday as I finished with just 3400 steps. Monday saw a nice improvement, going up to 5200 steps. The Independence Day holiday on Tuesday left me just 16 steps shy of 4000. Wednesday saw another decline, dropping down to 3700 steps. A double header on Thursday between the White Sox and the Blue Jays left me 15 steps away from 6800. Another long day at the ballpark, thanks to a batting practice session, helped Friday finish with 6500 steps and another autograph and picture with Harold Baines. I decided to take a day off on Saturday after nearly fifteen hours at the ballpark over the previous two days, but dinner out for Angela’s birthday helped me get to 4900 steps.

Total steps: 34,643

Daily average: 4949

July 13, 2023July 10, 2023 by admin

2023 All Star Break Pitching Leaders

The second half of the season kicks off tomorrow, so let’s finish off our look back at the 24 games I attended in the first half with the leaders on the defensive side, beginning with everyone’s favorite pitching stat:

Wins

Name	Total
Aaron Bummer	2
Marcus Stroman	2
Taijuan Walker	2
18 tied with	1

Losses

Name	Total
Kendall Graveman	2
22 tied with	1

ERA (> 6 IP)

Name	Total
Gregory Santos	0.00
Jose Berrios	0.00
Marcus Stroman	1.29
Michael Lorenzen	1.29
Taijuan Walker	2.19

Strikeouts

Name	Total
Lucas Giolito	28
Continue reading →

July 12, 2023July 10, 2023 by admin

2023 All Star Break Batting Leaders

With the All-Star Game in the books and a few days of rest before the second half kicks off, let’s take a look at the first half offensive leaders for the 24 games I attended at three different stadiums, starting with: