Tag / Boiler Up!

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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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Future Football On The West Coast

The Big Ten dropped their 2024 and 2025 football schedules yesterday, the first to include UCLA and USC.  With sixteen teams, the conference is abandoning its divisional format and moving to a “Flex Protect Plus” model, where each school will play nine conference games each season and will play every other conference opponent at least twice, home and away, in a four-year period.  In addition, there are eleven protected matchups that will be played annually, featuring a combination of historic and geographic rivalries along with trophy games.  The Big Ten Championship game will feature the top two teams in the conference standings, with tie breakers to be determined.

So, what does this mean for Purdue?  First off, they will have two protected rivalries to be played every season: Illinois and, of course, Indiana.  They will face USC at home in 2024, their first visit to West Lafayette since 1976.  UCLA makes their first appearance on the schedule in 2025, where Purdue will make their first appearance in Los Angeles since the 2001 Rose Bowl.  Over the course of the two seasons, Purdue will play every other Big Ten team at least once.

Unfortunately, Danny will be out of school before any of this takes effect.  Maybe we can look at that 2025 UCLA trip as a chance to meet up.  I know of a pretty good breakfast place that I think he would like.

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Yet Another Mix Tape Monday – Volume 20

33 years ago, during my sophomore year of high school, I put together the first of what would eventually become a nearly 20 volume collection of mix tapes, containing my favorite songs that I had gathered either from the radio, a cassette tape, or (eventually) CD.  Today, we revisit those mix tapes for the fourth time and see how, or if, the soundtrack of my youth still resonates in today’s digital world and how much has changed over the past four years.

At some point during the 1995-1996 school year, I noticed a slowdown in the tape players on my boombox.  It bothered me enough that I brought it in for repair multiple times, getting new heads installed, but nothing seemed to work.  Or, at least nothing made me feel like they worked and I, at least, still heard a lag.  On the plus side, I did manage to come home with a Blizzard of Oz cassette, which one of the techs must have used for testing it and left in the compartment when it was returned to me.  But, my frustration with the ongoing effort led to end for this series of tapes, with the last volume just barely stretching on to Side B.

We wrap up our look back with Volume 20, which stretches over late 1995 and the fall semester of the first of my two senior years of college, while I was living in Hilltop Apartments.

Side A

Smashing Pumpkins – Bullet With Butterfly Wings
iTunes stats: 22 plays, most recently on 7/13/2022

Winner of the 1997 Grammy award for Best Hard Rock Performance, the first single from the Pumpkins double album opus picked up only five new listens over the past four years.

Melissa Etheridge – Your Little Secret

The first single from Melissa Etheridge’s under-performing follow-up to her smash hit album continues to be missing from my collection.

Lisa Loeb – Do You Sleep
iTunes stats: 23 plays, most recently on 2/11/2020

The third single from Lisa Loeb’s major label debut, which peaked at #18 on the Billboard charts, was last heard prior to the global shutdown in March of 2020.

Goo Goo Dolls – Name
iTunes stats: 13 plays, most recently on 8/24/2022

A mere eleven play increase over the past decade for this breakthrough hit, which reached #5 on the Billboard charts.

Collective Soul – The World I Know
iTunes stats: 14 plays, most recently on 9/12/2022

The band’s highest charting single in Canada, it has picked up only five listens since mid-2018.

Edwyn Collins – A Girl Like You
iTunes stats: 10 plays, most recently on 7/8/2021

Featured on the Empire Records soundtrack, the song went years without being heard, but managed to pick up an additional five plays in the last four years.

Garbage – Queer
iTunes stats: 28 plays, most recently on 5/14/2021

Originally recorded off of Q101, the breakthrough hit, which led to nine concerts over the past 20 years added just five listens since 2019.

Side B

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Running It Back

Last month, after winning nearly every accolade available this past season, Zach Edey announced that he was entering the NBA draft while maintaining his college eligibility.  Tonight, he announced he was returning to Purdue for his senior year.  The 7’4″ center has very little left to prove in college basketball, at least in the regular season.  I assume avenging March’s loss in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, not to mention dropping both meetings with IU, will fuel his game for the upcoming campaign.

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Fitbit IX – Week 17

After a slow start, I managed to put together a six-day streak of days over 4000 steps while crossing the 30,000-step plateau for the first time in over a month.  Things got off to a really slow start on Sunday, where 18 additional steps were needed just to get to 2200.  A big increase on Monday pushed me up close to 4700 steps.  A small drop on Tuesday put me at 4000 steps.  Wednesday saw a nice bounce back up to 4500 steps.  An afternoon trip to the ballpark on Thursday pushed me up over 5100 steps.  Michael’s graduation from JJC on Friday saw me fall just shy of 4900 steps.  Purdue Alumni day at Guaranteed Rate Field helped keep things rolling on Saturday, ending with 4800 steps.

Total steps: 30,241

Daily average: 4320.1

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Yet Another Mix Tape Monday – Volume 16

33 years ago, during my sophomore year of high school, I put together the first of what would eventually become a nearly 20 volume collection of mix tapes, containing my favorite songs that I had gathered either from the radio, a cassette tape, or (eventually) CD.  Today, we revisit those mix tapes for the fourth time and see how, or if, the soundtrack of my youth still resonates in today’s digital world and how much has changed over the past four years.

On October 14, 1994, I hopped in the car with some friends, crossed the Wabash River into Lafayette, and pulled into the local movie theater.  I hadn’t heard of the movie before, but I was up for an entertaining time.  Over the next 154 minutes, a tour de force was unleashed upon the screen, thanks to John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, Tim Roth, Ving Rhames, and Uma Thurman, among others.  That’s right, I had somehow managed to see Pulp Fiction on its opening night.

Over the coming weeks, it was everywhere: quotes flying around campus, songs from the soundtrack on the radio, and its stars all over late-night television.  The movie was inescapable.  Nearly 30 years later, it still is, in some ways.  I can’t tell you the last time I watched it, though I have a special edition DVD sitting on the shelf behind me.  But it has permeated pop-culture so thoroughly that it feels like I’ve just seen it all over again.

Volume 16 takes us from the early fall of 1994 towards the end of the year and the first semester of my junior year of college. The song selection is nearly completely alternative, with just one or two hip-hop and pop hits to go along with it.

Side A

Hole – Doll Parts
iTunes stats: 34 plays, most recently on 11/4/2021

The band’s first release after the death of bassist Kristen Pfaff in June 1994 picked up an additional six listens over the last four years.

Live – I Alone
iTunes stats: 21 plays, most recently on 11/23/2022

Ranked as the 62nd best song of the 90s by VH1, the band’s second single added five listens over the last four years.

Deadeye Dick – New Age Girl
iTunes stats: 16 plays, most recently on 12/31/2022

The one hit wonder, featured on the Dumb and Dumber soundtrack, doubled its listens.

Nirvana – About A Girl
iTunes stats: 31 plays, most recently on 10/10/2022

An additional eight listens for this performance from MTV Unplugged, which reached #1 on Billboard’s Modern Rock Tracks chart.

Aerosmith – Blind Man
iTunes stats: 17 plays, most recently on 8/21/2020

The extra B-side thrown onto Aerosmith’s then-current greatest hits package picked up five new listens, despite not being heard in over two years.

Real McCoy – Another Night
iTunes stats: 15 plays, most recently on 10/5/2019

Last heard a good four months before anyone had heard of the corona virus, the international dance hit, ranked as both the 63rd best single of 1994 and the sixth best of 1995, added five new plays to its total since last we checked.

Warren G – Do You See
iTunes stats: 10 plays, most recently on 10/4/2021

A 250% increase in plays for this Warren G release, which failed to make the Top 40 in the US and hasn’t been heard over a year.

Urge Overkill – Girl, You’ll Be A Woman Soon
iTunes stats: 30 plays, most recently on 11/5/2021

The Neil Diamond cover, featured on the Pulp Fiction soundtrack, added seven additional plays over these last four years.

Side B

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Yet Another Mix Tape Monday – Volume 15

33 years ago, during my sophomore year of high school, I put together the first of what would eventually become a nearly 20 volume collection of mix tapes, containing my favorite songs that I had gathered either from the radio, a cassette tape, or (eventually) CD.  Today, we revisit those mix tapes for the fourth time and see how, or if, the soundtrack of my youth still resonates in today’s digital world and how much has changed over the past four years.

Volume 15 takes us into through the summer of 1994 and into the fall and my junior year of college. The song selection is, again, mostly alternative with some west coast gangsta rap.

Side A

Frente! – Labour Of Love
iTunes stats: 24 plays, most recently on 1/31/2022

Originally recorded via Chicago’s new rock alternative, Q101, the hit from Marvin! The Album picked up seven additional listens.

Mazzy Star – Fade Into You
iTunes stats: 37 plays, most recently on 5/13/2022

Ranked at #19 by Pitchfork Media on their Top 200 Tracks of the 90s, the mesmerizing tune from Hope Sandoval and company increased its play total by eight over the last four years.

Nirvana – Verse Chorus Verse
iTunes stats: 23 plays, most recently on 11/1/2019

Released as a hidden track on the AIDS-benefit compilation album No Alternative, the posthumous B-side from the trio from Seattle added five new listens despite going unheard since the COVID pandemic.

Warren G – This D.J.
iTunes stats: 14 plays, most recently on 10/29/2021

Peaking at #9 on the Billboard charts, the second single from the rapper’s debut album added four new listens over the last four years.

Cracker – Eurotrash Girl
iTunes stats: 24 plays, most recently on 9/2/2022

Six new listens for the hidden track, originally recorded off the radio via Q101.

Stone Temple Pilots – Interstate Love Song
iTunes stats: 33 plays, most recently on 10/26/2022

Named the 58th best hard rock song of all time by VH1, the latest hit from STP added eleven new listens over the past four years.

Gin Blossoms – Allison Road
iTunes stats: 22 plays, most recently on 7/6/2022

Peaking at #20 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, the Gin Blossoms hit added just three new listens over these last four years.

Weezer – Undone (The Sweater Song)
iTunes stats: 33 plays, most recently on 11/11/2022

Nine new listens for the debut single from Weezer, which hit #6 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart.

Side B

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Off To The Pros?

Earlier this week, Zach Edey announced that he was entering the NBA draft while maintaining his college eligibility.  After winning nearly every accolade available this past season, there is little more for him to prove in college basketball (except maybe a decent showing in the Tournament).  The big question is going to be how his game translates to the NBA, where the center position has become less and less prominent over the past decade.

If I had to guess, I’d say Edey winds up back in West Lafayette for another go-around.  My guess is he would be a second round pick, at best, and that he’d end up spending more time in the development league than on an NBA roster.  He can probably make more money through NIL deals back in school.  But, only time will tell.  The NBA draft is June 22.

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Travelling The 50 States – Wisconsin

Over my 48 years, I’ve done my fair share of travelling across these United States.  I thought it would be an interesting experiment go look back at those trips to each of the 31 states I have visited (62% isn’t bad, is it?) and see if, and when, I may be returning.  Working in alphabetical order, we wrap things up today with the 30th state to be added to the Union: Wisconsin.

State: Wisconsin
Joined the Union: 1848
Visits: 15

Over the years, I’ve made fifteen trips to the Badger State, first in 1993 and most recently in 2019, the majority revolving around sports.

I made my first trip to Wisconsin, and my only visit to County Stadium, with Scott and Joe for a White Sox/Brewers tilt on July 18, 1993.  Back in the days before cell phones and GPS, we were left to our own devices as far as directions.  I remember one of the signs for the highway saying it would take us to Madison, and, not wanting to go to Madison, Scott decided to get off the highway.  Which put is somewhere in Milwaukee with no idea of how to get to the ballpark.  Eventually we made it in time to see the White Sox pull off the victory thanks to a 2-run single by Bo Jackson in the 9th inning.

At some unknown point, I made a trip up to the woods of Wisconsin with my friend Mike, his father and brother, and Scott to clean up an old family cabin.  I have no idea where we were or how long we were there, but it was certainly an experience.

My next trip came in April of 1995.  When Michael Jordan returns to the NBA and every game in Chicago is a sellout, the next best thing is to take the long drive 90 miles to the north to see the Bulls battle the Bucks at the Bradley Center.  Despite 33 points from Michael Jordan, Glenn Robinson led the Bucks to a 104-100 victory, scoring 36.

With the opening of their new ballpark in 2001, the Brewers drew me back to Milwaukee in May.  In a pitching battle, the Cubs outlasted the Brewers 7-6 as closer Tom Gordon picked up his first save with the team.

I returned to Milwaukee in April of 2022, when Tina and I drove north to see The Kids In The Hall reunion show at the Riverside Theater.

My next three trips to Miller Park came in May of 2003 and July of 2004.  On May 12, I saw the Cubs, behind home runs from Damian Miller, Moises Alou, and Troy O’Leary, beat the Brewers 11-5.  The next July 5, Ben Sheets outdueled Matt Clement as the Brewers topped the Cubs 1-0.  Three weeks later, the Brewers topped the Cubs once again, winning 6-3.

After nearly a decade away, I returned to Wisconsin in October of 2013 for Keith Longwell’s bachelor party.  I travelled to the faraway land of Kewaunee, where the festivities included nights of video games and cards, nine holes of golf, where I mostly sat in the cart, and a trip out to some local bars, until we were asked to leave due to some drunken tomfoolery.

In July of 2014, Danny, Michael, and I stopped in Madison on our way to Minneapolis to do some miniature golfing at Vitense Golfland.  The highlights of the stop include Michael falling into one of the water hazards and plenty of picture opportunities, like with the Bucky Badger figure above. Continue reading →