Tuesday, January 31, 2012

NBA notes

I know Derek Rose is a stud scorer but I watched him against the Heat this weekend and don't think I ever saw him make an effort to run an offense. All he did was look for his shot. His stats are good, but the rest of the team sputtered and they lost. LeBron also seemed happy to make the game a personal shootout with Rose.
I love to check Rickey Rubio's line after every game. His assists to turnovers rate is excellent and he adds free throw shooting and steals to the package. He's a fun player.
Imagine a Laker-Clipper playoff series.
The Magic should trade Dwight Howard for a big man or two and draft picks. The drama has to hurting that team.
Joe Johnson has stepped it up for the Hawks since the injury to Horford, but Atlanta had to add some depth up front. I love Zaza but they need more. I wish they could get Scola from Houston.

Monday, January 30, 2012

"Invaders' devouring Everglades mammals

From National Geographic. Pythons demolishing ecosystem.

Movies

I've seen some real odds and ends of late. The best of the bunch was "JW Coop" starring the fine Cliff Robertson as a just-freed convict determined to return to the top of the rodeo world. Robertson also wrote and directed the film which has a great cast of character actors in key roles.
The movie obviously meant a lot to Robertson who infused it with energy and loving detail. It has a real "60s vibe" with Coop battling the system every step of the way. Definitely worth watching.
Bela Lugosi fans might like the poverty row cheapie "Bowery at Midnight" which is a cut above the usual Sam Katzman-produced crap. Lugosi heads up a Bowery mission which is a cover for a criminal enterprise. There's some real weirdness here and the ragged story and production holds up tolerably.
"I Start Counting" may be the lamest serial killer movie of all time. Artsy-Fartsy look at young English teen (a lovely Jenny Agutter) who has a secret crush on an older man she comes to believe may be the killer of young woman. Dull, dull, dull film directed by David Greene.
"Tucker and Dale Versus Evil" is a gore drenched spoof of slasher movies. It's very funny, with hilarious performances by the two leads. Highly recommended.

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Braves minor leaguers

The reason the Braves can even talk about trading Jair Jurrjens is the logjam of starting pitching talent near ready for the majors. Expect to see super prospect Julio Teheran get a call up this season. He is the best pitching prospect in baseball according to many.
Arodis Vizcaino and Randall Delgado should also pitch in Atlanta this year and lefty Sean Gilmartin has his fans too.
There's less help rising for the offense. Tyler Pastornicky may get the starting shortstop job. He can play defense and get on base some. Don't look for a lot of offense from him.
A possible replacement for Chipper one day may be Edward Salcedo, who I saw at Rome last year. I wasn't blown away but the organization is high on him. The same is true for catcher Christian Bethancourt who can hit for average but needs to develop his power. He has a cannon arm but isn't smooth at all behind the plate. Bethancourt really struggled with bad pitches when I saw him and he needs a ton of work or a position change.
Andreth Simmons is predicted by many to surpass Pastornicky but he is still very raw.
The system has developed several good starters the last few years, including Venters, Kimbrel, Heyward, Freeman and Jurjjens, but an infusion of young hitters is needed. Hopefully if the Braves do move a player or two, they can net a minor league hitter with some thump to the deal.
Look for the young pitchers this year; ?????? on when some bat help will come up.

Monday, January 23, 2012

Too late

Wilson Betemit signed with Baltimore.

Braves should look at Betemit

If they could get him for a reasonable price the Braves would do well to bring back utility infielder Wilson Betemit, who is a free agent. He hits from both sides and can play second and third, though not well.
Team him with Diaz and Hinske and you've got some solid bats on the bench, as well as some needed positional depth.
Betemit has disappeared this offseason. His name rarely comes up, even though he hit well last season.

10 movies you should see

1. John Carpenter's "The Thing" is the director's best work, a thrilling take on the Howard Hawks' "we're in it together so let's work together" storyline. But instead of pulling together as a group in danger, as in the 1951 version produced by Hawks, this modern collection of individuals quickly fractures and falls apart. However, that concept is truer to the original idea of The Thing, which was based on a John Campbell short story.

2. "King Rat" is a dark, cynical World War II prison story with a twist. The hero, played by George Segal, is a louse. It's a great role for Segal and he's up to it and the movie definitely catches the flavor of the James Clavell novel it was based on.

3. "Kanal" is a great war film made in the 1960s in Poland. It's about the final days of the ghetto resistance as the Nazis hunt down the few remaining rebels, most of whom who have fled into Warsaw's sewer system. Tough, brutal filmmaking.

4. Hammer Films was in its death throes n the early 1970s when the company released the atmospheric and exciting "Vampire Circus." It flopped, which is a shame because it's a great looking film with some first rate scare scenes.

5. Michael Caine is at his coolest as Harry Palmer in "The Ipcress File," a mid-1960s espionage thriller made with style and wit. Two sequels followed but neither came close to the sharp edged "File."

6. For a classic film "Night of the Hunter" remains unknown to a lot of fans. Robert Mitchum plays the psychotic "preacher" who terrorizes an old lady and two young kids in the rural South. He's after hidden money and willing to do anything to get it. Charles Laughton directed from a script by James Agee.

7. Director Walter Hill made a string of very cool movies in the late 1970s. One of the best, though least appreciated, was "Southern Comfort." Set in bayou country, the film oozes atmosphere, in part because of the terrific Ry Cooder score. There's a ton of action and Keith Carradine and Powers Booth are great as the "heroes."

8. "The Big Sky" is an old fashioned outdoors adventure with a rollicking Kirk Douglas playing a mountain man on an expedition into the Great West. It's fanciful and larger-than-life and makes for grand adventure. It's the kind of movie that if I saw it as a kid I would immediately set up my tent and plan on camping out. In fact, I still would.

9. 'A Mighty Wind" and "First in Show" are great ensemble comedies, but Chris Guest's "Waiting for Guffman" is just as good. Fred Willard and Parker Posey stand out in a wonderful cast and the laughs come regularly.

10. "The Day the Earth Caught Fire" works on several levels ... as a classic end-of-the-world sci fi tale and as a cool newspaper movie. It's more subtle than you might expect thanks to slick direction by veteran Val Guest. This flick rarely is mentioned by genre fans. Their loss.

Books

Prolific author Ron Goulart is best known for his work in science fiction, but he's done a lot more than that. I just finished "Groucho Marx, King of the Jungle," one of six Groucho novels chronicling the great comedian's (mythical) side job as an amateur detective. In this one the irrepressible Groucho re-teams with screenwriter pal Frank Denby to figure out who killed Randy Spellman, star of the Ty-Gor (think Tarzan) film series.
As in the other books in the series, the jokes comes fast and furious with the mystery solving serving as a launching pad for Goulart's perpetual wisecracking Groucho.
Goulart has a good feel for old Hollywood and isn't afraid to lay on the sleaze, if in the PG 13 range.
The series holds up pretty well but by "King of the Jungle" the format has grown overly familiar. Still is was fun while it lasted and worth a look for anyone wanting an amusing, easy not-so-thrilling mystery to digest.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Movies

I'll watch anything with Robert Duvall in it and this was proven recently when I suffered through The Lightship, a 1980s piece of German made junk featuring the worst performance of Duvall's career. Channeling Truman Capote, he plays the fey leader of a trio of on-the-run criminals who take over a Coast Guard lightship.
Klaus Brandauer plays the ship captain and changes expressions exactly one time. Michael Lyndon, as his son, does even less emoting in a failed bid to be his generation's James Dean.
The movie is lousy.
Duvall's performance is fascinating in it's laughable wretchedness and the story makes little sense.
Watch at your own risk.

Monday, January 16, 2012

1781: The Decisive Year of the Revolutionary War

Robert Tonsetic's book (published last year) offers a concise and well written account of the fighting in the American South which eventually led to the siege of Yorktown and the collapse of mainstream support of the war in England.
Tonsetic's hero of the hour is not George Washington. In fact he makes it clear that Washington consistently opposed the shift to a "Southern strategy" which would prove decisive. Only the insistence of French Gen. Rochambeau (and Washington's need for French support) pushed the American commander in chief to link up with the forces of LaFayette and Nathaniel Greene at Yorktown.
It is Greene who reaps the most praise, both for his battlefield tactics and overall strategic sense. Greene's bedraggled army, assisted by the maraudings of Pickens and Marion and the like, bedeviled the arrogant Cornwallis, who seemed to shift strategy at the slightest reversal.
Greene took charge of the Continental Army in South Carolina following the disastrous defeat at Camden. He rebuilt the army as a fighting force and fine tuned his tactics to take into account the relative weakness of the lightly trained militiamen who made-up much of his command.
Examples?
Strategically, Greene brilliantly preyed on the British's reliance on long supply lines back to Savannah and Charlestown and the invaders' need to garrison numerous supply depots, which made fine targets for the mobile Americans.
Tactically, his use of cavalry (often led by the under appreciated William Washington) in both defensive and offensive capacities was superb.
Tonsetic also does a fine job of describing the "end game" at Yorktown, where the gathered American and French forces put Cornwallis' veteran army in a vise they could not escape.
A fascinating subject told well.

Cracker Barrel founder dies

This man deserves his own national holiday. I'll eat some pancakes in his honor.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Rams needs in free agency

Hiring Jeff Fisher was a solid move but I am very interested in who the franchise brings in as general manager. This team has to get more out of the draft and build its talent base. Making a decision on trading down in the first round for extra picks will be big. Free agency needs to be more productive as well.
Also, the makeup of Fisher's staff is vital.Everyone is looking at coordinators, but I am very interested in who will coach the offensive line. The Rams have a ton of work to do there and reshuffling positions is likely. They have to get better up front and a strong position coach is vital.
It's possible they will draft OT Matt Kalil of USC and install him at LT. That means Saffold moves to right tackle and Jason Smith shifts inside where his pass blocking weaknesses aren't as pronounced.
It's going to be a big job.

Newspaperin'

Georgia journalism icon dies. A man told me one time he had a journalism degree from Georgia; he didn't know who Conrad Fink was. The man was a lousy liar.

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Movies

Kill the Irishman is a competently made gangster film that covers absolutely no new ground. Ray Stevenson plays the targeted Irishman, Danny Greene, who rises from a job as a laborer to successful racketeer in 1970s Cleveland. On the way up, he angered much of the local gangster hierarchy, particularly the Sicilian mobsters who had run the town's crime world for many years.
Stevenson is OK in a dull lead role. There's a world of well known actors in key roles, including Christopher Walken (wasted in too small a part), Vincent D'Onofrio, Val Kilmer and Robert Davi.
The movie proceeds about like you would expect. There's enough action to keep you watching but the whole thing seems perfunctory.

Friday, January 13, 2012

Mariners, Yanks make major deal

Yankees, Mariners swap young talent. This deal could have long term impact for both teams.
The Yankees got hard throwing Mariner righty Michael Pineda and minor league standout Jose Campos, giving up highly touted catcher Jesus Montero and pitcher Hector Noesi.
Pineda was 9-10 with a 3.74 ERA last season in 170 innings for the Mariners. He looks like a solid No. 2 starter for years to come. Campos struck out six batters for every one he walked in a great year in A ball last season. He is a Top 5 Mariner prospect.
Seattle, which needs a lot of help on offense, added No. 1 Yankee prospect Jesus Montero. Montero appears to be a serious major league bat but his defense behind the plate is lousy and he could wind up at first or DHing. Ideally he'll catch for the Mariners who haven't had a good backstop in years. In his brief MLB debut last season Montero showed he may well be ready to make an impact.
Noesi looks like "one of the guys," but he is ready fr the majors now and has an impressive minor league background.
Potentially this is a god deal for both teams, but right now the Yankees adding a fine starter with 17-plus innings experience looks like a particularly deft move. The fact that they have 3-4 highly rated catchers with ability in the system behind Montero is also a plus.
he Mariners were ask encouraged by the fact that they have several very well thought of pitching prospects almost ready to make the big league squad. Keep an eye on Danny Hultzen; he could slide into Pineda's slot this season.
If Montero, Ackley and Smoak can fulfill their potential this could be a very interesting team in the near future.
By the way, the Yankees also added Hiroki Kuroda ( 1 year, $10 million). Suddenly their starting staff looks a lot better.

Convention center glut

Is there a better example than in Dalton? Too many options swamp the market, but they keep being built. Thanks to Charles Oliver for this link.

Kyle Wingfield

South Georgia plant converts millions of taxpayer dollars to bankruptcy. Remember when they talk 'public-private partnership" that means the private knows it doesn't make business sense.

Paul returns loot

Why is this news? Shouldn't they all be doing this?

My absence

I'm going to try and revive this blog after several months of no activity.
As some of you already know, I have a very serious, potentially fatal heart disease. In October I entered St. Joseph's Hospital in Atlanta for testing. My condition was so poor that I was told I needed to do something quickly. My best option was the insertion of a device known as an lvad (left ventricular assist device) which would assist my failing heart in pumping blood and hopefully extend and enhance the quality of my life. Breathing, I have discovered, is one of life's most underrated pleasures.
Hopefully I will be put-on the list for a heart transplant in the next few months. I may get a heart quickly and do well; I may never get one.
After getting the LVAD installed, a grueling procedure and one that usually takes about five weeks to recover from, it was obvious that I was not getting better adequately. I had a serious problem with a weakened right lung and resulting fluid build up. So, I had a second surgery (also done by the gifted Dr. Jeff Miller) and that added another month to my stay in the hospital.
St. Joseph's treated me like a king and I dearly love the people who cared for me. I owe them my life.
Still, the desire to come home was insatiable until that beautiful, cold drizzly Friday afternoon when my brother-in-law Kip Allen (another hero of mine) brought me back to Dalton.
I am recovering slowly at home now. I am limited in what I can do, mostly by my lack of stamina and strength. The LVAD is powered by large, heavy batteries which I have to be plugged into constantly, unless I am plugged into the wall like a refrigerator.
I weigh about 182 pounds, the lightest I have been since my junior year of high school. I have no muscle mass and tire easily.
But I am getting better and am battling back. My morale rises and falls daily, butI remain determined to get better.
That's one reason I want to get back to blogging.
I also want to get back to work as soon as possible at The Summerville News and as a freelancer.
I need the money and I need the normalcy.
Anyhow, I am pushing on every day and hope to be back in flu swing before too long.
That's it for now; I hope you'll tune back into this blog regularly. I am going to try to write more for it and increase the articles links of local interest, as well as link to the stuff that interests me (sports, politics, movies.)
I hope to talk to you or exchange emails soon.

Espy

Golfer has two heart transplants

All I wanted to do was stay alive. Compton makes PGA tour after surviving a "widow maker."