Tag / Corona Virus

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Fitbit 6: Week 42

Week 35 of working from home due to the corona virus started well, both step and weather wise, but then saw a big drop in both midweek.  The week got off to a decent start on Sunday, finishing over 4600 steps.  Monday took advantage of the nice weather and came just 7 steps shy of 8500 thanks to numerous short walks throughout the day.  Tuesday was again over goal, with over 7500 steps, despite a morning of duct work and a break in the weather in the late afternoon.  Things fell off on Wednesday, as I finished over 3100 steps despite a nighttime trip to a funeral home to say goodbye to a dead cousin.  Thursday fell 99 steps lower, as I spent a good portion of the day in a meeting.  Friday saw a slight increase up to 3400 steps, as I went to get my license renewed at the local Secretary of State’s office.  Saturday, I finished just over 4000 steps despite not leaving the house all day.

Total steps: 34,339

Daily average: 4905.6

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You Ought To Be In (28) Pictures

Movie_Reel_22Many 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, and thanks to a corona virus inspired uptick to my movie watching this year, it is time to look at the 100 actors that have starred in at least 10 films that I have seen, as of July 1.

Today, we continue with the actor that has starred in 28 movies that I have seen.

Nicolas Cage

Nicolas Cage can also point to special circumstances behind his high film total: real estate issues and IRS trouble.  After being accused of owing the government over $6.5 million in unpaid taxes and losing millions in bad real estate deals, Cage filed a $20 million lawsuit against his business manager and started taking any and every role offered to him.  7 of his films that I have seen have come since, including 4 in 2010 alone.  My first exposure to a starring Cage role was likely 1987’s Raising Arizona.  There have been 8 years since where I have seen multiple Cage films.  After a 3 year absence from my screen, Cage returned earlier this year with Vengeance: A Love Story.

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Fitbit 6: Week 41

Week 34 of working from home due to the corona virus sees a slight uptake, as I continue to be somewhat respectable, yet still an overall disappointment.  The week got off to a slow start on Sunday, finishing just over 2500 steps.  Monday doubled that total, coming in with 5000 steps.  Tuesday dropped back down a bit, finishing just over of 3200 steps.  Wednesday jumped back up to 6500 steps.  Thursday was the high point of the week, thanks to unseasonably warm weather and an afternoon walk, which pushed me all the way up to 7550 steps, my first day over goal in some time.  Friday fell back down again to 4700 steps, as I was getting a furnace installed.  Saturday, I finished a step shy of 6800 thanks to a trip to the grocery store.

Total steps: 36,377

Daily average: 5196.7

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You Ought To Be In (26) Pictures

Movie_Reel_22

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, and thanks to a corona virus inspired uptick to my movie watching this year, it is time to look at the 100 actors that have starred in at least 10 films that I have seen, as of July 1.

Today, we continue with the 1 actor that has starred in 26 movies that I have seen, the same as 3 years ago.

Raymond Burr

Raymond Burr is a bit of an anomaly as every single one of his appearances have been TV movies where he has played the same character.  In 1985, NBC brought back Perry Mason, Raymond Burr’s starring vehicle from the 50s and 60s, for a TV movie.   The ratings were high enough to justify a recurring series of films, 26 in fact, over the next several years, ending in 1994 following Burr’s death the previous year.

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By The Numbers – 91

In 1929, uniform numbers appeared on the back of baseball jerseys for the first time, thanks to the Indians and the Yankees.  By 1937, numbers finally appeared across all uniforms, both home and away, across both major leagues.  Since that time, 81 distinct numbers have been worn by members of the White Sox, while the Cubs boast 76.

Today, we continue our look at those players, picking our favorite, if not the best, player to wear each uniform number for both Chicago teams with #91.  Once again, a single player has donned #91 while playing in Chicago, for the 2020 White Sox.

Rookie Luis Gonzalez (no, not that one) wore two uniform numbers, including #91, for the White Sox during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, making his major league debut on August 18.  He managed to get in to 3 games and nab 2 plate appearances before being returned to the secondary site in Schaumburg.

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2020 BBWAA Award Predictions

The Baseball Writers of America have announced the finalists for their awards for the just completed shortened baseball season, which will be announced next week.  It is a good bet that few of my original predictions for the winners will be accurate.  Hopefully, these new predictions will be slightly better, especially since I’ll have a 33% chance of being right.

American League

Most Valuable Player: Jose Abreu, D.J. LeMahieu, Jose Ramirez

Well, my pre-season selection to win the award this year, Yoan Moncada, got taken down by the corona virus, but I’m expecting (and hoping) that it stays in the same clubhouse and that Jose Abreu wins.

Cy Young Award: Shane Bieber, Kenta Maeda, Hyun-Jin Ryu

My initial guess was that Blake Snell would take home the prize, but this has Shane Bieber written all over it.

Manager of the Year: Kevin Cash, Charlie Montoyo, Rick Renteria

Once again, I didn’t make any predictions for this award prior to the season.  Kevin Cash is the likely winner, though wouldn’t it be funny to see Renteria bring home this award a month after losing the job he was being recognized for?.

Rookie of the Year: Christian Javier, Kyle Lewis, Luis Robert

Another award I didn’t predict prior to the season.  Had you held the election at the end of August, Robert would have been the odds-on favorite.  However, a month long slump in September probably puts Kyle Lewis in the driver’s seat.

National League

Continue reading →

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You Ought To Be In (25) Pictures

Movie_Reel_22

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, and thanks to a corona virus inspired uptick to my movie watching this year, it is time to look at the 100 actors that have starred in at least 10 films that I have seen, as of July 1.

Today, we continue with the 2 actors that have starred in 25 movies that I have seen, the a slight uptick over 3 years ago.

Tom Cruise

Top Gun was likely my first introduction to Tom Cruise’s starring roles.  2000 was the biggest year for his films, as I saw 4 of them, the only time I had seen more than one in a year until the second half of the last decade.  Since then, I saw multiples in 2015 (2), 2018 (3), and 2019 (2).  I took a 5 year break from his films after seeing War Of The Worlds in 2007, but have made up for lost time.  The last film of his that I’ve seen was Mission: Impossible – Fallout in 2019.

Harrison Ford

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, Harrison Ford entered the national consciousness as Han Solo in the original Star Wars trilogy. Those 3 films, along with the two entries in the Indiana Jones series, form the basis of Ford’s place on this list. I have seen two of his films in four different years, 1996, 2000, 2012, and 2020, which were the last of his films that I’ve seen, thanks to Frantic and the Jackie Robinson biopic 42.

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Fitbit 6: Week 39

Week 32 of working from home due to the corona virus is a total mess.  The week got off to a decent-enough start, comparatively speaking, on Sunday, finishing just over 3500 steps.  Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday all hovered around 2200-2300 steps.  Thursday rebounded somewhat, but was still only 5200 steps.  Friday was a little better, rising up to 5500 steps.  Saturday, I came 20 steps shy of 2400 steps to end the week on an embarrassing note.

Total steps: 23,524

Daily average: 3360.6

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You Ought To Be In (24) Pictures

Movie_Reel_22

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, and thanks to a corona virus inspired uptick to my movie watching this year, it is time to look at the 100 actors that have starred in at least 10 films that I have seen, as of July 1.

Today, we continue with the 3 actors that have starred in 24 movies that I have seen, a position that was left empty 3 years ago.

Ben Affleck

The first Ben Affleck starring role that I saw was in 1997, when I saw both Going All The Way and Chasing Amy.  In 1999, he kicked off a 6 year run where I saw 11 of his films, including 3 films in both 2000 and 2003.  There were 5 years total where I had seen multiple Affleck outings, most recently in 2011.  He’s picked up 2 additional films since the last time we did this, the most recent being Jay And Silent Bob Reboot from earlier this year.

Sandra Bullock

Scoring the highest total for a woman, Sandra Bullock burst on the scene in 1994’s Speed, but Dennis Hopper took home the second starring slot in that one, so her starring role the following year in The Net was likely her first entry on this list.  That kicked off a 9 year run where I saw a movie where she had a starring role.  I have seen multiple films starring her in 6 different years, first in 1997 and most recently in 2019.  Her most recent entry was the second of 2019’s flicks, the 2018 effort Ocean’s Eight.

Robert Downey Jr.

My first experience with Robert Downey Jr. was likely 1987’s The Pick Up Artist.  Things were a little slow after that, as I racked up only 7 films through the mid-2000s, likely in part due to Downey’s notorious partying.  Things picked up in starting in 2007, thanks to his taking on two classic roles in literature adaptations, Iron Man and Sherlock Holmes.  Those franchises have contributed 10 films to his total.  His greatest output in one year was 2008, when I saw four of his films.  My most recent experience with Downey’s work was last year, when I saw his final entry in the MCU, Avengers: End Game.

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You Ought To Be In (21) Pictures

Movie_Reel_22

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, and thanks to a corona virus inspired uptick to my movie watching this year, it is time to look at the 100 actors that have starred in at least 10 films that I have seen, as of July 1.

Today, we continue with the lone actor that has starred in 21 movies that I have seen, the same number, and actor, as 3 years ago.

George Clooney

George Clooney was bouncing around Hollywood for a while before becoming a superstar on a little show called ER, whose pilot movie was his first entry on this list.  That launched him to great film success.  2 films is my high water mark for Clooney, one which I have reached 5 different times, most recently in 2012.  My most recent Clooney experience remains to be Money Monster, which I saw back in 2017.