Yesterday, the Cincinnati Reds won their tenth game in a row. That's hard to do. I don't care if the last six games were against the Colorado Rockies and the lowly Houston Astros. It's hard to sweep any major league baseball team let alone do it against them at their ballparks. The Reds have not had this long of a winning streak since the special year of 1999. They did all of this winning without their best player, first baseman Joey Votto. They stand a whopping twenty one games over .500 and are now three games ahead of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Reds won yesterday by good starting pitching and clutch hitting. Drew Stubbs homered again. And yes, I'm one of those who's criticized Drew Stubbs for his strikeouts and failure to hit with runners in scoring position. Is it time to believe in him? I don't know. Anyway the Reds won by a of 7-2. Here's the story with video.
Monday, July 30, 2012
Guns and The Dark Knight Rises
After the Aurora shootings at a midnight The Dark Knight Rises premiere, is it time to talk about gun control? I hear conservatives say no. And there's no evidence that gun control could have stopped the killer from commiting his act.
The irony of all this is that Batman doesn't use guns. (MTV piece by Alex Zalben) He's not an executioner. We found that out in Batman Begins (2005) when he refused to execute a criminal that the League of Shadows wanted killed.
Maybe Batman's distaste for guns comes from seeing his parents being killed by a handgun. And by the way I'm talking about personal firearms not the cannons in the Batmobile or other vehicles. In The Dark Knight Rises, Director Christopher Nolan makes it a point that Batman doesn't use guns. In one scene, Catwoman (Anne Hathaway) wants to kill a Bane henchman and Batman (Christian Bale) stops her. He says no guns and says no killing. Later in a pivotal moment, there's a joke about using guns. Still, Batman won't use them.
But after the murder of innocent people at the theater, it's time to have a discussion about gun control. The Aurora shootings come a little more than eighteen months afer a crazed gunman tried to kill Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. (R-Arizona) Six people were killed in that mass murder. Why is it a problem to see if we can do anything to stop the carnage? Yes, gun control may not have stopped Aurora. Gun rights are not absolute. But is there a way we can limit the amount of lives lost by these gunmen? Yes. Limit the size of a rifle's magazine. It may not stop mass murder but we can save some lives by stopping a killer from having so many bullets for so many victims. It's not un-American to have reasonable gun control.
The irony of all this is that Batman doesn't use guns. (MTV piece by Alex Zalben) He's not an executioner. We found that out in Batman Begins (2005) when he refused to execute a criminal that the League of Shadows wanted killed.
Maybe Batman's distaste for guns comes from seeing his parents being killed by a handgun. And by the way I'm talking about personal firearms not the cannons in the Batmobile or other vehicles. In The Dark Knight Rises, Director Christopher Nolan makes it a point that Batman doesn't use guns. In one scene, Catwoman (Anne Hathaway) wants to kill a Bane henchman and Batman (Christian Bale) stops her. He says no guns and says no killing. Later in a pivotal moment, there's a joke about using guns. Still, Batman won't use them.
But after the murder of innocent people at the theater, it's time to have a discussion about gun control. The Aurora shootings come a little more than eighteen months afer a crazed gunman tried to kill Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. (R-Arizona) Six people were killed in that mass murder. Why is it a problem to see if we can do anything to stop the carnage? Yes, gun control may not have stopped Aurora. Gun rights are not absolute. But is there a way we can limit the amount of lives lost by these gunmen? Yes. Limit the size of a rifle's magazine. It may not stop mass murder but we can save some lives by stopping a killer from having so many bullets for so many victims. It's not un-American to have reasonable gun control.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
A big win for the Cincinnati Reds
Championship seasons are made of wins like the one the Cincinnati Reds won against the Houston Astros last night. The final score was 5-3. For the second night in a row, the Reds rallied in the ninth to win a game. The hero in both games was the much maligned outfielder Drew Stubbs. Tuesday night he blasted a two run homer. Last night he hit a two run double. Both hits put the Reds ahead in the ninth. The Reds won't quit. They keep fighting till the end.
What I'm going to say is arbitrary. But as lifetime baseball fan, I always felt that playoff bound teams must have at least one winning streak of seven games or better. Yesterday's Reds victory was the seventh in a row. This is beginning to look like a season to remember for the Reds.
Here's the story with video.
What I'm going to say is arbitrary. But as lifetime baseball fan, I always felt that playoff bound teams must have at least one winning streak of seven games or better. Yesterday's Reds victory was the seventh in a row. This is beginning to look like a season to remember for the Reds.
Here's the story with video.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Greenland is melting
Greenland's ice sheet is melting. According to NASA, Greenland's thawed ice has increased from 40 per cent to 97 per cent. Yet, conservative Republicans like former presidential candidate Rick Santorum deny the existence of global warming. Previously, I wrote about the danger of conservatives getting things wrong. Now conservatives endanger the whole planet by getting global warming wrong. Here's a piece from Chris Matthews and Hardball.
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The Dark Knight Rises IMAX review
Looking to see The Dark Knight Rises this week and wondering to see it in IMAX? Let me help. I've seen the movie in the regular format and IMAX. This review is to help you decide whether you should shell out the extra bucks for the IMAX version of The Dark Knight Rises. The extra money differs from city to city. Here in Cincinnati, Ohio, it costs five dollars more. For the general review of this exciting and thought provoking film, go here.
A little background about IMAX. IMAX screens are taller and bigger than most movie screens. You get better picture resolution. And the sound is crisper. I prefer IMAX 3D to the regular 3D at the cinemas. IMAX 3D gives better depth and pop than regular 3D. However, The Dark Knight Rises is a 2D movie.
As for The Dark Knight Rises, Director Christopher Nolan shot a whopping 72 minutes of IMAX footage for the film. (New York Times article.) If you see it in IMAX, the special footage will fill up the screen whereas the regular footage will appear as letter box. Don't worry the effect is seamless.
The problem with the film in IMAX is ironically the strength of the IMAX presentation. It's the sound. The Dark Knight Rises is one loud film. The musical soundtrack, even though its orchestral, is very loud. So loud, I don't recommend you take young children to this movie. The IMAX sound gave the film a kind of reverb or echo effect at times. While low level dialogue can be heard clearly, Bane's words can get lost in the volume.
But it's the picture that is usually the focus of any IMAX film. Nolan filmed the big action set pieces in IMAX. He also used the process for other scenes, some quieter ones and of course, beauty shots of the city of Gotham. The picture is so clear and crisp that you feel like you are seeing the scenes in real life. You're part of the picture. It's just gorgeous.
Since there is quite a bit of the film that was shot in IMAX, I recommend that if you are going to see The Dark Knight Rises, you see it in the IMAX version. There is a difference. But if you are cash strapped, you won't miss anything by seeing it in a regular theater.
A little background about IMAX. IMAX screens are taller and bigger than most movie screens. You get better picture resolution. And the sound is crisper. I prefer IMAX 3D to the regular 3D at the cinemas. IMAX 3D gives better depth and pop than regular 3D. However, The Dark Knight Rises is a 2D movie.
As for The Dark Knight Rises, Director Christopher Nolan shot a whopping 72 minutes of IMAX footage for the film. (New York Times article.) If you see it in IMAX, the special footage will fill up the screen whereas the regular footage will appear as letter box. Don't worry the effect is seamless.
The problem with the film in IMAX is ironically the strength of the IMAX presentation. It's the sound. The Dark Knight Rises is one loud film. The musical soundtrack, even though its orchestral, is very loud. So loud, I don't recommend you take young children to this movie. The IMAX sound gave the film a kind of reverb or echo effect at times. While low level dialogue can be heard clearly, Bane's words can get lost in the volume.
But it's the picture that is usually the focus of any IMAX film. Nolan filmed the big action set pieces in IMAX. He also used the process for other scenes, some quieter ones and of course, beauty shots of the city of Gotham. The picture is so clear and crisp that you feel like you are seeing the scenes in real life. You're part of the picture. It's just gorgeous.
Since there is quite a bit of the film that was shot in IMAX, I recommend that if you are going to see The Dark Knight Rises, you see it in the IMAX version. There is a difference. But if you are cash strapped, you won't miss anything by seeing it in a regular theater.
Monday, July 23, 2012
A special kind of stupid
Congresswoman Michele Bachmann's (R-Minn.) McCarthesque witch hunt of Muslims has now turned ugly. If you recall she and four other conservative congressmen have called for investigations of possible Muslim infiltration of the government by the Muslim Brotherhood. The other four Congressmen were Trent Franks, R-Ariz., Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, Thomas Rooney, R-Fla., and Lynn Westmoreland, R-Ga. No surprise they're all Republicans.
Now it's become dangerous. There has been allegedly a threat made to one of Bachmann's targets, Huma Abedin, aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Ms. Abedin was specifically named. Anderson Cooper of CNN debunked this nonsense. In essence, Cong. Bachmann connects Ms. Abedin's deceased father with a possible supporter of the Muslim Brotherhod. It's time to call the Republicans out. There are some racists in the party and I've previously written about this. Ms Abedin is no Muslim extremist. How absurd is this? Ms. Abedin is married to former Congressman Anthony Weiner who is Jewish.
I'm kind of tired of Cong. Bachmann's stupidity. (Here are ten crazy comments from Bachmann.) Look this woman is not a member of the fringe of the Republican Party. She ran for President. And she did well enough to win the Ames Iowa Presidential Straw Poll. We need Jon Stewart to show how crazy and stupid Cong. Bachmann is. Here's a funny piece where Stewart easily links Cong. Bachmann to Islamic terrorists. Maybe we should investigate Bachmann.
:-)
Now it's become dangerous. There has been allegedly a threat made to one of Bachmann's targets, Huma Abedin, aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Ms. Abedin was specifically named. Anderson Cooper of CNN debunked this nonsense. In essence, Cong. Bachmann connects Ms. Abedin's deceased father with a possible supporter of the Muslim Brotherhod. It's time to call the Republicans out. There are some racists in the party and I've previously written about this. Ms Abedin is no Muslim extremist. How absurd is this? Ms. Abedin is married to former Congressman Anthony Weiner who is Jewish.
I'm kind of tired of Cong. Bachmann's stupidity. (Here are ten crazy comments from Bachmann.) Look this woman is not a member of the fringe of the Republican Party. She ran for President. And she did well enough to win the Ames Iowa Presidential Straw Poll. We need Jon Stewart to show how crazy and stupid Cong. Bachmann is. Here's a funny piece where Stewart easily links Cong. Bachmann to Islamic terrorists. Maybe we should investigate Bachmann.
:-)
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Colbert on the LIBOR scandal
Look, it's not the funniest news story, but it's an important one. I'm talking about he LIBOR scandal where banks in England set interest rates in a wrongful manner. Check out his Stephen Colbert's funny and educational piece.
The Colbert Report
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