T.D.

Watching: ice hockey. It's the main team sport I played, and I was better at it than the others. I don't play any more, though. Caveat: I don't watch TV at home any more, so I can't claim to watch many sports, but follow via Internet, newspapers. Participating: cycling. As an old fart with injuries, it's the least painful, and I can see a lot of the outdoors. I follow pro cycling pretty closely on the Internet. I participated seriously in distance running for a long time, but the knees got too sore and the times too slow.

If not Muzak, probably a satellite radio station... It was a small, relatively "hip" store, and I thought there was a slim chance they were really playing the disc, but not likely enough to bother inquiring.

Couple of recent surprises: 1) I was at an art gallery opening, and they were playing a Charlie Parker CD. I hadn't really noticed the music (wasn't playing very loud), but all of a sudden, holy shit, Blues for Alice! 2) Even more surprisingly, a home goods/furnishings store was playing a tune from Stan Getz's People Time album. Didn't stick around long enough to see if they were spinning a whole disc, but I seriously doubt it was radio. Not a really common album, either...

I agree. Was once a big boxing fan, but between the high incidence of Alzheimer's (see just about any ex-pug's obit) and predatory managers like Don King, the sport totally turned me off.

Damn, I'm still trying to recover from that fugly pic you posted. May have to postpone dinner for a couple of hours...

Baseball's almost always done poorly. But occasionally they get an actor who played a lot and is somewhat realistic. I can't remember any hockey films that were done at all well, except for Slap Shot. (US grid) football movies, at least the star roles, never seem very realistic, but they can fill most of the rosters with ex-pro or college players so the result isn't laughable. Maybe a problem with boxing is that very few actors have ever competed in the sport. OTOH, many kids/teens played organized baseball, football, basketball, hockey, soccer...

In the pre-Christmas runup, I heard that a lot of shoppers were "shopping" Circuit City price reductions, buying stuff at other retailers using "price-matching" offers.

Boy Van Poppel R. D. Laing Ettore Boiardi

Richard Feynman Tina Fey Man Ray

Pops was not just a fan, but actually made his living busking. There was a big article on Martin in Sports Illustrated a couple of years ago. Went into detail on the family background. He's from Montreal iirc.

R. R. Kirk, Theme for the Eulipions

CD received, thanks.

Yep.

Thanks! "I'm from Missouri" regarding the supposedly improved images, until I read credible reviews verifying the improvement.

Are these new versions just "remasters," or are they "director's cuts" with previously unreleased footage? Although photography/cinematography are big reasons why I love the films, I'll pass on spending money unless there's new footage...

This'll probably confirm that I'm an old fart, but I quit watching SNL decades ago. It seemed to become unwatchable in the early-mid '80s; "jumped the shark" way before the term was even invented. Being a regular on the show does seem to be more or less a prerequisite for Hollywood comedy stardom, which may say something about the originality of Tinseltown suits... I also enjoyed "Theodoric of York". And Garrett Morris as a butler, announcing "Lord and Lady Douchebag" (as guests at a party for eponyms such as the Earl of Sandwich), sticks in my mind for some reason. Have heard Jason Mraz on the car radio (not a lot of options in a rural area), wondered if he was related to George, but figured "no way."

Walker Percy Jeremiah Trotter Alan Sillitoe

Well that's actually part of the appeal: watching an actor who so fucked up his career getting a second chance and doing something with it. One can't help but note the parallels between Roarke and his character. And I have to add, his character - Ram - has an incredibly tender and endearing side to him. Without giving much away, I loved the scenes of him playing with the kids and working the deli counter. It's quite a fearless performance. I just watched The Pope Of Greenwich Village again and Mickey Rourke has that thing that makes you watch him. He still has it and surprisingly he is just as compelling now as he was at the beginning of his career. I strongly recommend The Wrestler to see a really good story with, I think, one of the few who could embody Ram and be believable. This is not a mercy job given to Rourke because he is down and out. This is great casting. I actually like The Pope Of Greenwich Village a lot, and Rourke was very good in the film. I agree that he's cast well in The Wrestler. Tough to say just why I dislike Rourke. Probably it's because I was living in NYC during his heyday and the start of his decline, which were chronicled in tabloid newspapers. The characters he played on film all seemed to be somewhat assholic, and his off-screen behavior was fully consistent, but taking the assholicity to a much higher level. I know the off-screen life isn't relevant to movie watchers, so my reaction wasn't logical, but something just turned me off.

Bobo Brazil Coco Crisp Dodo Marmarosa

Baile Atha Cliath James Joyce Joyce

Haven't bought much lately, but just picked this up on eBay for under $4 incl. postage:

Haven't seen the remastered films. God knows I've seen the original releases enough times! If the remasters come around here, and prove to add significant footage, I'm in...

I gotta see this, even though I have a profound visceral dislike for Mickey Rourke. Maybe the visceral like for Marisa Tomei will counter it... Re. filming in the neighborhood, my experience in NYC is that it's difficult to miss, because a) big trailers park in the area for several days, b) stuff often gets shot at night w. huge lighting.

Dick Van Dyke Vin Diesel Butch Trucks

Does Joe Morgan still carry so much weight? I get the impression he's turning a lot of people off. Certainly the New York-based "sports media critics" ridicule the bejezus out of him. And I've seen increasing criticism elsewhere.