Ferrablog

Well, not direct payback, but it was with great schadenfreude that I watched Gonzaga and Manhattan each lose. Cinderella teams are great, and I root for 'em too, but when they beat your team it's another story. Manhattan, of course, sent the Gators packing the other day, but I still can't bring myself to root for Gonzaga after they kept the Gators out of the Elite Eight in 1999. And for the 'Zags, a #2 seed, the Nike was on the other foot today, as they were upset by 10th-seeded Nevada. Meanwhile, the Jaspers fell to Wake Forest 84-80. I know this is all kind of petty, but sometimes I can't help myself.

Thoughts going in: Two things I like: ensemble films, and English/Irish films. And with a cast featuring Colin Farrell, Cillian Murphy (28 Days Later), Colm Meaney and the luscious Kelly MacDonald, I'm there.

Thoughts going out: Enjoyable, if a bit slight. Best way to describe this film would be "Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels" meets "Love Actually", as various romantic stories interlock with a doomed crime caper. Kind of ingenious marketing at play here - get the guys in for the gunplay, and the women in for the chick flick angle. None of it adds to up to a whole lot, but everyone gets their just desserts/comeuppance/rewards in the end (right down to the asshole boss from the warehouse club where Murphy works), and it's never boring. Great soundtrack, too: Ron Sexsmith, The Magnetic Fields, and the piece de resistance, Farrell warbling "I Fought The Law" (or "Lore" as he "sings" it) over the closing credits.

Rating (1-100): 71.

Thoughts going in: Had heard quite a bit about this Hong Kong comedy that mixes soccer and martial arts, and finally got a hold of an import DVD. This film will be released in NY and LA next Friday and may expand wide.

Thoughts going out: An extremely goofy, yet fun flick. Broad slapstick? You betcha. Kind of an HK equivalent to a Jim Carrey/Tom Green-type movie, with Crouching Tiger-like martial arts thrown in for good measure. Several recurring comic bits are featured - my favorite was Shaolin brother "Iron Head" being periodically bashed over his noggin with a wine bottle whenever the film's momentum began to flag. Both the soccer and the martial arts will be laughable to purists of either, and like any sports movie worth its cliches, it all leads up to The Big Game. Only this time the opponent isn't just a rival, it's The Evil Team. Even though I come down somewhere in the middle, this is one of those movies that people are likely to either love or hate.

Rating (1-100): 66.

The Lightning dropped a key 5-4 decision to the Bruins today, with their Eastern Conference lead down to two points pending the outcome of the Flyers-Rangers game today. The Lightning will now have to wait until next season (or perhaps the playoffs) to look for their first win in Boston in nearly 10 years. It sure looked like the skid would be over when the Lightning raced out to a 3-0 late first period lead, thanks to the relentless forecheck they rediscovered against Buffalo the other night. But a late Bruin goal in the period gave them momentum, and within a few minutes of the second, Boston had come all the way back. The winning goal came in the third when the Lightning had a very bad line change, allowing Boston's Michael Nylander to skate in alone on Khabibulin and score. Speaking of Khabibulin, he was pretty mediocre today, allowing one howler when Sergei Gonchair's fluttering shot skipped off his glove and into the net. The Lightning will have to lace it up in less than 24 hours against the Islanders tomorrow in Uniondale.

Been a relatively uneventful day....this is interesting, but it pretty much confirms what we knew. Mostly watching the NCAAs today, with some disgust as all my upset picks ended up only upsetting me (E. Tenn St., W.Michigan [sweet 16 my ass], Utah). Only lower seeds to win so far have been those beasts of the West (Pacific, Nevada), and the upset that really wasn't (Manhattan). Best entertainment of the day was the first 30 or so minutes of Kentucky-Florida A&M, as those Rattlers made Kentucky sweat for the win for the longest time. Whuda thunk A&M would be toughest opponent from the Sunshine State that the Wildcats have faced this year?

After a shocking two-game skid against Carolina and the Islanders, the Lightning get back into the win column with a 3-1 victory over the Buffalo Sabres. More important than the victory itself, however, was the effort put forth by the Lightning tonight. After a sluggish first ten minutes or so that featured some defensive zone giveaways, the Bolts buckled down and played their best game in weeks. They forechecked relentlessly, played physically on defense, and hustled for every loose puck. Cory Sarich, in particular, was a beast tonight, making defensive stops and doling out some huge hits, while Nikolai Khabibulin gave the Lightning their best performance in the nets in quite awhile as well. And the winning goal was a thing of beauty: Dave Andreychuk won the offensive zone face-off, bulled past his opposing centerman, and then slid a pass to Tim Taylor, who buried his shot in a wide-open net. If they play with this type of effort every night, they'll go far in the playoffs.

Plus, there was good news on the scoreboard as well, as Philly fell to Toronto, and Boston is on the verge of losing at home to Minnesota, of all teams.

Also in today's USA TODAY, John McCain implicitly tells folks to not buy into the culture of fear and insecurity the Bush administration is trying to create these days:

''Get on the damn elevator! Fly on the damn plane! Calculate the odds of being harmed by a terrorist! It's still about as likely as being swept out to sea by a tidal wave!''

''Suck it up, for crying out loud. You're almost certainly going to be OK. And in the unlikely event you're not, do you really want to spend your last days cowering behind plastic sheets and duct tape?

''That's not a life worth living, is it?''

Truer words have never been spoken. It's a cliche, but if you live your life in fear, the terrorists win. Nothing sets humankind back more than irrational fear, and it's tool of choice for those who try to influence us.

UPDATE: More words of wisdom from McCain. The NY Times runs this story today:

Senator John McCain added a rare bit of restraint to the escalating tone of the presidential campaign today, rejecting assertions by other Republicans that his colleague, Senator John Kerry, would endanger national security if elected.

``I don't think that,'' Mr. McCain said on CBS this morning. ``I think that John Kerry is a good and decent man. I think he has served his country. I think he has different points of view on different issues and he will have to explain his voting record. But this kind of rhetoric, I think, is not helpful in educating and helping the American people make a choice.''

Mr. McCain also defended Mr. Kerry in an appearance on NBC's "Today," saying in response to a question that he did not believe Mr. Kerry was "weak on defense."

One perk of being your own boss is getting to come home early for the first round of the NCAAs, and I'm watching the Gators and Manhattan right now. I plan to periodically update my takes on the game, and the Gators got off to just an awful start, turning the ball over on their first three possessions. Fortunately, though, Manhattan hasn't done much themselves, missing numerous shots, and the Gators now enjoy an early 4-3 lead.

MID-FIRST HALF UPDATE: With about 9 minutes to go, the Gators are down 20-18. They've still been too careless with the ball, and Manhattan's press has given them some trouble. Rasheed Al-Kaleem just came off the bench and knocked down a 3, while Bonnell Colas (despite a few plays that make me call him Bonehead Colas) leads with 6 points. Although they've allowed some offensive rebounds, the Gators seem to have the edge inside right now, and need to pound Lee, Colas and Moss some more. Manhattan has hit their last three 3s.

HALFTIME UPDATE: Gators down 36-29. Pretty pathetic performance - they got worse as the half went on. No interior defense, no defensive rebounding. Other than a couple of steals, Matt Walsh has been terrible. And it's mostly been mental (poor shot selection, failure to get back on defense) than physical (his hurting foot). Flores for Manhattan starting going wild once they went from zone to man-to-man. Meanwhile, this pick (the Gators) and my Charlotte pick (down 14 at the half) already may have my picks in tatters, although I had neither going past the 2nd round.

MID SECOND HALF UPDATE: More of the same, with the Gators now down 50-40, and this after cutting the lead from 14. The only thing going for them down is the fact that they're in the bonus, but they're still getting killed on the offensive boards. Going to take a minor miracle now.

FINAL THOUGHTS: They lost 75-60, and the score wasn't really that close, as Manhattan led by as many as 19 (I believe). Not much more to say - they are now 2-4 in the tourney since the 2000 championship game run, with both wins coming over overmatched small conference teams. Texas Tech beat Charlotte, so i'm 0-2 on the first two results.

From a story in today's USA TODAY:

The nation's population will rise 49% to 420 million by 2050, and Americans who are white but not Hispanic will make up only half the total, according to projections by the Census Bureau to be released today.

Now of course, Hispanics (the largest-growing segment of the population) are more culturally conservative than blacks, but still more likely to support the Democrats on economic issues.

I know it's rarely done when running against an incumbent President, but there might be something in it for Kerry to run against Cheney to some extent, too. At the end of a Washington Post article this morning chronicling his entry into the fray, it's noted that Cheney's favorability rating is a scant 35 percent. Given these strong negatives, it might be wise for Kerry (or the independent groups) to run some "contrast" ads featuring Cheney (preferably in black and white and hovering over the shoulder of Bush) that will play up Halliburton, Chalabi, the Plame scandal (which centers around Cheney's office), etc. It could even tap into the whole perception of Cheney pulling the strings, ending with a "Who's really running the show?" tagline. This would have two effects - it would play up Cheney as the evil puppet master, and make Bush look like his puppet.

After all, running against Newt Gingrich worked in 1996 and 1998.

The album's been out since August, but I've only had this blog since about a week ago, so now's a good a time as any to hype Josh Rouse and his latest release, 1972. (The link on the album title is an excellent and perceptive review by All Music Guide).

Rouse is a singer/songwriter in the Freedy Johnston pop/rock/folk vein, and since Johnston's last two albums were less than brilliant (and the last of those came out in 2001), Rouse is really filling a void. The standout tracks, as noted in the review, are the cheesy but fun single "Love Vibration", and the almost-perfect album closer "Rise", maybe my favorite tune of 2003. "Rise" doesn't sound like much at first, but burrows under your skin after repeated listens.

As good as 1972 is, though, his previous release, Under Cold Blue Stars, is even better (although AMG has it a half-star lower). Songs like "Nothing Gives Me Pleasure", "Miracle" and "Feeling No Pain" are some of the most tuneful, buoyant pop gems you'll come across. I highly recommend both these albums.

Lost their second in a row for the first time since 2003, 3-1 to the Islanders. Only managed to see maybe half the game tonight, so this post is more for completeness than analysis. The bright spot, for me at least (being almost as much an Islander fan as Lightning fan), is that the Islanders picked up 2 points and moved that much closer to a playoff spot. Watching Lightning-Islander games is really hell for me, as I'm usually too conflicted to get excited either way. My rule of thumb has been to pull for the team that needs the points most, but tonight they both needed the points - the Lightning to stay #1 in the East and get home ice through at least the conference final, and the Islanders just to make it in. Of course if things go the way I want them to for both teams, I'll have to suffer through an entire first round series I'd almost rather not watch, since they're currently #1 and #8 in the East, as the Islanders can't finish better than 8th. OK, my head hurts continuing to try to think about what I want to see happen, so I'll stop here and go to bed.

Edmund Sylvers, lead singer of the 70s R&B group The Sylvers, passed away last week. Although the CNN article references their biggest hit, the #1 "Boogie Fever", it oddly omits their second-biggest hit, "Hot Line" , which hit #5, while mentioning several other non-hits of theirs. Damn liberal media! (just felt like throwing in that non-sequitur).

Picked up the The Very Best of Jackson Browne, a 2-CD collection that came out today. Nothing wrong with the content, but the packaging might be the cheesiest and flimsiest I've seen for a multi-CD set. First off, it comes in a cardboard foldout, not a jewel case. The carboard foldout opens in three parts. First on the left is the booklet, inside a sleeve. Nothing wrong there. But the two discs are held in place on the other two parts by small round pieces of foam rubber glued to the cardboard. These pieces of foam rubber are barely big enough to fit into the CD hole, and when I opened mine, disc 2 was loose. My 2-year-old could make a better package than this. Even AMG, in their review, made note of the flimsy package.

...by making them out to be more of a factor than they are. I speak here of the recent elections in Spain, a subject which has been blogged ad nauseum the past few days. It's been argued that this is yet another topic onto which the left/right template is superimposed, and here's an excellent piece that sets forth this notion and discusses the events in Spain in a clear, rational manner.

The only thing I'd like to add to the points made in this article, with which I agree almost completely, is that if anything, the right's knee-jerk reaction to the results as an "appeasement of terrorism" does more for Al-Qaeda and their ilk than the result itself. Here's what I just recently posted on RMAS along those lines:

So since (in the absence of detailed and nuanced exit polling) we don't know for sure how the election would have turned out without the attack, it seems to me that playing up the theory that the attacks decisively swung the election plays into the hands of the terrorists more than anything else. If perception is allowed to become (or at least be recognized as) reality, then they will have achieved their goals. If Al-Qaeda or their sympathizers believe that we (the democratic world) believe they can swing our elections, then we make them more powerful and give them greater control over our lives. The "terror" in "terrorism" doesn't come from the act itself - it comes from how we react to the act. And by annointing Al-Qaeda the ultimate swing voter instead of making the effort to show that other factors were decisive in the result, all we do is encourage them to act again in this fashion. In other words, the hysteria on the right over this election plays more into their hands than the result of the election itself.

 

(or the two or three people reading). While I'm not a big fan of bloggers going on about their personal lives (who cares, for example, what someone had for breakfast or what color his cat is?), I have to make an exception today, and publicly say "Happy Anniversary" to my wonderful, beautiful wife of 13 years, Joann. I've told her about the blog, and haven't really asked her if she reads it regularly, but she's been subjected to my opinions nearly 24/7 for these 13 years and the 2 1/2 we knew each other before the wedding, so I don't blame her if she uses her time at the computer (which I tend to monopolize) to look at something else. Happy Anniversary, Sweetheart!

Feeling a little like Navin R. Johnson today, as I've just found out that Ferrablog can now be found through Google. Not only that, but one other link appears, from something called BlogPulse, since I linked to a Washington Post story on the Raimondo controversy last week. Now I just have to hope M. Emmet Walsh doesn't randomly pick my name out from a google search and start shooting at me: "Random son-of-a-bitch blogger! Run-of-the-mill blogging bastard!"

Thoughts going in: The Rock, Christopher Walken, jungles of South America - could this be a return to the decent action movies of the 80s?

Thoughts going out: Yeah, it just might be. Dwayne Johnson (a/k/a "The Rock") acquitted himself well here, taking care of the one-liners and the bad guys with equal aplomb. Seann William "Stifler" Scott is the Gen X (or is that Gen Y) Tom Arnold, providing the comic relief, and Walken, as usual, is in a world unto himself. Plus, there's a cameo from Ah-nuld himself, symbolically passing the torch with a "haff fun" to The Rock as he enters a nightclub in the pre-credits sequence. I'm also a character actor afficionado, and the sublime Jon Gries (a real find carrying the Polish Brothers' Jackpot) is good fun as Walken's hapless henchman, spending much of the film wearing a nose bandage a la Jack Nicholson in Chinatown. All in all, good fun.

Rating (1-100): 72.

In today's White House press briefing, spokesman Scott McClellan called on John Kerry to reveal the names of the world leaders he claims support his election. "Either he is straightforward and states who they are, or the only conclusion one can draw is that he is making it up to attack the president," McClellan said.

Bush should be wary of talking about imaginary world leaders - we all remember Prime Minister Poutine, now, don't we?

From today's New York Times:

U.S. Videos, for TV News, Come Under Scrutiny
By ROBERT PEAR

Published: March 15, 2004

WASHINGTON, March 14 — Federal investigators are scrutinizing television segments in which the Bush administration paid people to pose as journalists praising the benefits of the new Medicare law, which would be offered to help elderly Americans with the costs of their prescription medicines.

Now if they can only get similar segments on Iraq and the economy planted, they just might win re-election.

You heard it here first.

Rather than list the 32 first-round winners separately, I'll just note my matchups for the round of 32 with upset winner (other than 9 over 8) noted with an asterisk:

Round of 32: Kentucky over UAB, Kansas over Providence, Georgia Tech over Utah*, Gonzaga over Michigan St, St. Joe's over Charlotte, Wake over Florida ;(, Pitt over Richmond*, Oklahoma St over Memphis, Duke over Arizona, Illinois over E. Tenn St.*, Texas over N.Carolina, Miss. St. over Louisville*, Stanford over Bama, Maryland over Syracuse, W.Mich* over NC State, UConn over Dayton. (As you can tell, Western Michigan is my Sweet 16 cinderella pick).

Sweet Sixteen: Kansas over Kentucky, Gonzaga over Ga.Tech, Wake over St. Joe's, Pitt over Okla. St., Duke over Illinois, Miss.St over Texas, Maryland over Stanford, U.Conn over W.Mich.

Elite Eight: Kansas over Gonzaga, Pitt over Wake, Duke over Miss. St, U.Conn over Maryland.

Semifinals: Kansas over Pitt, U.Conn over Duke (rematch of 1999 final which I attended).

Final: U.Conn over Kansas.

There you have it. Place your bets accordingly.

It was my turn today to get the stomach bug going through the house, and to add insult to injury, I still managed to watch the Gators get blown out by Kentucky in the championship game of the SEC tournament. No great surprise, but still no fun to watch. To make matters worse, I had to hear Verne Lundquist continually refer to freshman forward Chris Richard as "Cliff Richard".

Nevertheless, the Gators still managed to nab a 5 seed, about as well as could be hoped. They'll play Manhattan and already Manhattan appears to be a trendy upset pick. We'll see...I remember a lot of folks picking them to lose in the opening round in 2000, and they made it to the championship game. (Yes, it took a buzzer-beating bucket from Mike Miller to beat Butler in the opener, but they still won). Nevertheless, this team is not the 2000 squad, and if the shots aren't falling for Roberson and/or Walsh, they'll be home before the weekend.

As most of you are aware, the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform act requires candidates in their advertisements to state "I'm so-and-so, and I approved this ad". The purpose of this requirement is to cut down on negative advertising by making the candidates less likely to run negative ads when they have to take explicit credit for it. And just about every ad to date has the simple disclaimer quoted above. John Kerry's new ad, "Misleading", however, is the first ad I've seen to take this tagline and put it to work in the context of the ad. After rebutting Bush's recent negative ad, Kerry states: "I’m John Kerry and I approved this message because we need to do what’s right for America’s economy".

Interestingly, in the negative (I'm sorry, "contrast" - the more politically correct term) ads run by Bush this past week, Bush gives the disclaimer at the start of the message, and then there is a nearly full-second pause before the ad begins. Given that the usual m.o. of political advertising is to cram as much into a 30-second ad as possible, there's no question that this is an attempt to separate the message from the messenger.