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2023 All Star Break Standings

For the first time since 2001, the Midsummer Classic returns to Seattle and T-Mobile Park.  As the stars of the baseball world gather in the Pacific Northwest for tonight’s showdown, it’s time to take a look at the team records for the 24 games, featuring 60% of the teams in the league, that I attended in the first half of the baseball season, a disappointing one on both sides of town.

2023 Team Records

Team Name Won Loss Winning Pctg
Philadelphia Phillies 2 0 1.000
Toronto Blue Jays 2 0 1.000
Miami Marlins 1 0 1.000
San Francisco Giants 1 0 1.000
Cleveland Guardians 1 0 1.000
Chicago Cubs 3 1 0.750
Chicago White Sox 10 10 0.500
Tampa Bay Rays 1 1 0.500
St. Louis Cardinals 1 1 0.500
Seattle Mariners 1 1 0.500
Baltimore Orioles 1 1 0.500
Detroit Tigers 0 1 0.000
Houston Astros 0 1 0.000
Milwaukee Brewers 0 1 0.000
New York Mets 0 1 0.000
Pittsburgh Pirates 0 1 0.000
Boston Red Sox 0 2 0.000
Kansas City Royals 0 2 0.000
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You Ought To Be In (11) 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 fourteen actors that have starred in exactly 11 movies that I have seen, up one from 3 years ago.

Kevin Bacon

Our first newcomer of the week, Bacon first showed up on my screen prior to the start of my database, either with 1988’s She’s Having a Baby or 1991’s He Said, She Said.  After that, he showed up in spurts, with two films each in 1996, 1998, and 2001.  He laid fallow for 17 years before returning in 2018 with 2017’s Patriots Day.  His eleventh, and most recent appearance, came earlier this year in 2020’s You Should Have Left.

Halle Berry

Berry moves up, having racked up starring roles in four different decades now.  I first saw Berry in 1992’s Boomerang, which I saw in a screening at Stewart Center at school.  After notching five films during the 2000’s, she had a seven-year quiet period before returning to my screen in 2020 with John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum.  Her most recent film that I’ve seen was last year’s Moonfall.

Jim Carrey

There has been no change for Carrey since I last encountered him back in 2009, when I saw the previous year’s Yes Man.

Jennifer Connelly

As a 16-year-old in the spring of 1991, I fell in love with Jennifer Connelly thanks to the ads for Career Opportunities, which is very likely the first film of hers that I saw.  2000 was my most prolific Jennifer Connelly year, when I saw a whopping two movies starring her, followed by pretty consistent appearances throughout the decade.  After a thirteen-year absence, she returned to my screen in a starring role last year alongside Tom Cruise in Top Gun: Maverick.

Daniel Craig

Daniel Craig first appeared on my radar in a starring role in 2007, when I watched his initial outing as James Bond in Casino Royale.  I had two three-year mini-streaks, with films in 2007 through 2009 and 2011 through 2013.  His two most recent appearances both came in 2022, thanks to the two franchises that account for seven of his eleven films: 2021’s No Time To Die, his final film appearance as James Bond, and 2022’s Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, his second go-around as Benoit Blanc.

Chris Evans

Chris Evans first appeared on my screen in 2002 thanks to the previous year’s Not Another Teen Movie and has been a pretty steady presence ever since.  In 2011, he debuted as Captain America in Captain America: The First Avenger and picked up an additional five films for the remainder of the decade, ending with his final appearance in Avengers: End Game in 2019.  His most recent appearance came earlier this year in Ghosted.

Hugh Grant Continue reading →

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Book 31 (of 52) – Kisscut

Kisscut – Karin Slaughter

When police chief Jeffrey Tolliver is forced to kill a young girl to stop her from shooting another kid outside the local roller rink.  The investigation into why she had been threatening the older boy turns dark, leading to discovery of incest, sexual abuse, and the type of pictures and magazines that earns one a visit from the FBI rather quickly.  Can Tolliver unravel the strings in the case in time to save another young life?

Now that I am up to date in her Will Trent series, I decided to dive headfirst into Karin Slaughter’s older Grant County series, starting, unfortunately, with entry #2, Kisscut.  Thankfully, due to the crossovers between the two and series and the sharing of some characters, I pretty much had the lay of the land.  While the subject matter at hand was deplorable, to say the least, Slaughter handled it in a good way, never losing sight of the damage being done to the children in the story.  There are six books total in this series, and I already pretty much know how it will end, so I’m sure I’ll be diving into the rest sooner rather than later.

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Fitbit IX – Week 23

Another decent week, as I managed to extend my streak of 30,000-step weeks to seven.  Things got off to a pretty good start on Sunday, finishing with 5200 steps thanks to a tilt between Sox Red and White at Guaranteed Rate Field.  Monday slowed down a bit, dropping to 3700 steps.  A slight increase on Tuesday left me just 19 steps shy of 4200.  A last-minute request on Wednesday led me to sitting at the computer most of the day, needing 16 more steps just to get to 2100.  Eleven days of vacation started on Thursday, with an afternoon meet and greet session at Wrigley Field with Nico Hoerner followed by a nighttime game between the Cubs and the Phillies pushed me up to 9600 steps, easily the high point of the week.  Friday saw a huge drop, going down to 2800 steps.  A slight rebound on Saturday ended the week with 3900 steps.

Total steps: 31,640

Daily average: 4520

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Book 30 (of 52) – Lessons In Chemistry

Lessons in Chemistry – Bonnie Garmus

A headstrong woman, with a masters in chemistry, finds it hard to be taken seriously in the world of science in the 1950s.  When her life partner dies unexpectedly, she finds herself alone, pregnant, and jobless.  While trying to find a new path, she unexpectedly finds herself on television, teaching cooking through chemistry, and becomes something of a celebrity.  Meanwhile, her daughter and neighbor start to bring together a found family to replace the one she never had.

Bonnie Garmus’ debut novel, Lessons in Chemistry, won the 2022 Goodreads Choice Award for Best Debut Novel and was a nominee for Best Historical Fiction, which explains how it would up on my list of books to read.  I’ll confess that this really wasn’t my type of book, as I kept waiting for something to happen, but it just told a story of how women were treated by society in the not-so-distant past.  An adaptation for Apple TV+ is due this fall, with Brie Larson taking on the role of Elizabeth Zott, which I think will be a better medium for this particular tale.  At least for me.

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You Ought To Be In (10) 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 start today with the 27 actors that have starred in exactly 10 movies that I have seen, even from 3 years ago.

Jessica Alba

After a string of eight films in six years in the mid 2000s, there has been nothing new for Jessica Alba since I saw her in 2010’s Valentine’s Day in 2011.

Dan Aykroyd

No change in Aykroyd’s total, with it going on 21 years since I last saw one of his starring roles.

Elizabeth Banks

Banks first graced my screen in a starring role in 2006 thanks to The Baxter.  After a dry spell in the early 2010s, she bounced back with seven films in five years, finishing up with 2018’s The Happytime Murders, which I saw in 2019.

Kate Beckinsale

It’s been a quiet six years for Beckinsale, who I last saw in Underworld: Blood Wars in early 2017.

Emily Blunt

Our first new entry, Emly Blunt’s first starring role was in 2007’s Wind Chill.  Thanks to three films in 2014 and another two in 2018, her latest, 2021’s A Quite Place Part II, gave her ten appearances.

Gerard Butler

The Scottish actor first appeared on my screen thanks to 2003’s Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, which I saw in 2005.  The Has Fallen franchise gave him three additional appearances, in 2013, 2016, and 2020.  He last made a mark in 2022 with two films, 2016’s A Family Man and 2022’s Last Seen Alive.

Chevy Chase Continue reading →

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Hey Now, You’re An All Star

With just one week left before the All-Star break, the reserve rosters were announced today for both leagues.  The Cubs scored three All Stars, with shortstop Dansby Swanson and pitcher Marcus Stroman both making the team for the second time in their careers while pitcher Justin Steele makes it for the first time.  For the disappointing White Sox, center fielder Luis Robert Jr. earns his first All Star nod.  The four will be heading to Seattle for next Tuesday’s festivities.

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Get Your Bets In (Well, Not Quite Yet)

Back in 2001, the Cubs received approval to build a two-story, 22,350-square-foot structure at the corner of Sheffield and Addison, which would be home to a DraftKings Sportsbook at Wrigley Field.  This week, that sportsbook took a big step closer to becoming a reality, opening to the public as a sports bar while waiting for approval from the Illinois Gaming Board.  To align with Major League Baseball rules, the building is open to anyone 21 and over, with no ticket to that day’s game necessary.  At the present time, there is no way to cross from the sportsbook into Wrigley Field itself.

I’m sure at some point I will make a visit, even if it is just to sample the menu, provided by Levy.  The place appeared to be packed following last night’s Cubs game as I walked past on my way to the El, which bodes well for both DraftKings and the Cubs.

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Book 29 (of 52) – Sea Of Tranquility

Sea of Tranquility – Emily St. John Mandel

A blip in the matrix ties together an exiled Englishman forced to move to Canada in the early 20th century, a young woman with a video camera in the late 20th century, and a novelist from the early 23rd century.  An investigator goes to visit all three, hoping to determine if reality is a simulation or not.  When he goes off script and tries to change the past, he finds the true cause for the blip may be closer to home than he realized.

Sea of Tranquility, the latest from Emily St. John Mandel, was the Goodreads Choice Awards winner for best science fiction release in 2022.  I am not familiar with her or her work at all, despite watching some (but not finishing) the adaptation of her 2014 novel Station Eleven.  I wasn’t all that sure where this one was going, and almost thought it was going to be a collection of short stories based on a similar theme before the actual story kicked in and tied it all together.  I don’t read as much science fiction as I used to, the odd Star Trek novel aside, so I may need to look more into her work going forward.