12 Sunday May 2013
Posted in Escapes and Pleasures, Family and Friends
The winners* of the Bush Sr. Pink Socks’
Caption Contest enjoy the results of their
victory.
Much thanks to Gavin Lee for the photos.
*The third winner has yet to receive his prize, but I am hopeful he will send a picture once his pair arrives.
11 Saturday May 2013
(AP Photo)
Several days ago I posted a short piece about Boston Globe’s sports’ columnist Dan Shaughnessy and his interview with David Ortiz about whether his (then) current hitting streak, etc. was a result of the use of steroids. “It’s preferable to question a man face-to-face than to tarnish him by whisper and innuendo,” Shaughnessy said.
Other than my indicating I have never particularly respected Shaugnessy, I refrained from commenting on the interview, preferring, instead, to let Ortiz’s responses be the answer to the ‘charges’.
Yesterday, after several days of controversy about this interview, Boston co-owner and Chairman of the Board Tom Werner published a column on the Red Sox website in response to the Globe column. (Werner has submitted this to the Globe. As of this posting, however, the Globe has not published it, tho it has defended Shaughnessy, saying, “The job of a journalist is to ask these hard questions, and then give a good airing and proper context to the answers.”)
See for yourself what Werner wrote: They had the right but was it right?
10 Friday May 2013
Posted in Escapes and Pleasures
Other Desert Cities, the play currently at Arena Stage (Mead Center) is scheduled to be here through the end of May.
Since my wife Ellen has already seen it, and I have two tickets for Sat., May 25 at 2 PM, I would be glad to have someone join me.
Peter Marks reviewed the play Wednesday in the Post. It also had a successful run in New York. See Ben Brantley’s review.
Let me know if you’re interested.
09 Thursday May 2013
Posted in Escapes and Pleasures
An idea for you to consider.
First, a bit of context.
As some readers of MillersTime may have noticed, I’ve been thinking about what I read, how I read it, and also about rereading.
Recently I spent a wonderful two hours at a Politics & Prose Bookstore discussion with the Washington Post‘s long time book reviewer Michael Dirda about “How to Read a Book”. Perhaps I will write more about that session and insights gained at a later date, but when I asked Dirda about rereading, he said, “Rereading is the best kind of reading.” He mentioned Nabokov’s view that “one cannot read a book: one can only reread it. A good reader, a major reader, an active and creative reader is a rereader.” (See my earlier post, Do You Reread?)
Dirda said, “The second time reading a book, it’s no longer the narrative, you know what’s coming, and it (the book) becomes more like poetry.”
That led me to Patricia Meyer Spacks’ book, On Rereading, and thus an idea this morning that I ask you to consider.
Sometime in the coming Fall (2013), I’d like to have an evening at the Millers with folks who are willing to participate in the following experiment:
08 Wednesday May 2013
Posted in Go Sox
Photo by Matthew Lee/Boston Globe
Does he or doesn’t he?
Dan Shaughnessy, Boston Globe sports writer since 1981, eight times sports writer of the year and seven times named to AP’s top 10 list of sports columnists, etc., clearly has questions about how Ortiz can be performing so well that this stage in his life.
(Personally, I have not be a fan of Shaugnessy, never put him in the category of say a Tom Boswell or a Joe Posnanski. In fact, I’ve often felt he tries to carry on a tradition of Boston baseball writers who take a certain pleasure in being hard (tough, oppositional, nasty, negative, spiteful, you choose the best word) on the Sox and their players. Plus, he doesn’t seem to have much humility. Just saying…)
Nevertheless, Shaugnessy has an interesting article in today’s Globe. As you will see when you read the article, he says, “This (use of steroids) is an uncomfortable topic, but it’s preferable to question a man face-to-face than to tarnish him by whisper and innuendo.” So he went to Ortiz yesterday, and you can read for yourself what Ortiz said:
07 Tuesday May 2013
Posted in Escapes and Pleasures
…actually, three winners in the Caption Contest.
There was a tie for first place between:
Gosh darn it, I forgot to take off Barbara’s socks… Come to think of it, these undies are a little snug, too… (#4)
and
I’m pretty sure Laura said pink was the color to support breast cancer. Crap, what if she’s wrong and it’s actually gay rights?! (#3)
Just missing a three way tie by one vote was
Forever a preppy… (#1)
Taking into account the slight kerfluffle about an incorrect listing of “Forever a Preppy” (I first listed it as “Always a Preppy”), I have ordered three pair of pink socks with black polka dots to send to:
Tiffany L. of Denver, CO (#4)
Elizabeth M. of Miami Beach, FL (#3)
Robert W. of W. Hartford, CN / Palm Beach Gardens, FL (#1)
Prizes will be on their way as soon as I receive them.
(Personally, I liked # 2 the best: Who wears brown with pink before Memorial Day?)
Finally, one alert contestant questioned whether Papa Bush was wearing two different pant legs, one brown and one grey. Just the lighting, or is Bush Sr. on to something new? I’ll need help with this as one of the {many} challenges with which I struggle is a ‘slight’ color blindness in the brown, green, grey, blue areas.)
06 Monday May 2013
Posted in Escapes and Pleasures
The Hunt, the film shown at our Sunday Cinema Club yesterday, is not due to be released nationally until August, 2013.
If you keep a calendar, mark it and keep your eyes open for this film. I don’t know how widely it will be shown as it’s a Danish film with subtitles, not a prime candidate for the big movie houses. But it’s worth searching out.
Mads Mikkelsen, the “Tom Hanks’ of Denmark, according to Bob Mondello who spoke after the film was shown Sunday, won the Best Actor at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. He’s simply terrific as Lucas in The Hunt.
But then so is Annika Wedderkopp, the very young actress who plays the role of Klara, a five year old who unleashes a storm of controversy in a small town and then is caught up in the witch-hunt that ensues.
And these are only two of the half-dozen to dozen actors and actresses who keep you enthralled.
You might note that I have not said much about the plot of The Hunt. Purposively.
The Hunt is a film to see without knowing too much about it. Simply, it is the story of a man whose life is in the process of being destroyed by a lie.
Written by Tobias Lindholm and Thomas Vinterberg and directed by Vinterberg, the film moves along quickly and absorbs you.
* * * * *
The members of the DC Cinema Club gave last month’s film, Twenty Feet From Stardom, a rating of 94.3% (Excellent-61% and Good 33%). They also gave it a Recommend rating of 97.1%.
Also, The Hunt is the third Danish film we’ve seen this year that has been simply outstanding. The other two were A Royal Affair and A Hijacking, each mini-reviewed on MillersTime previously. Those folks are doing something right.
It will definitely be on my Best of 2013 List.
And maybe let’s do a Miller’s dinner and chat about the film after it comes out. Let me know if you’re interested.
04 Saturday May 2013
Posted in Escapes and Pleasures, The Outer Loop
Five finalists in the Caption Contest for the above picture:
1. “Forever a preppy.” **
2. “Who wears brown with pink before Memorial Day.”
3. “I’m pretty sure Laura said pink was the color to support breast cancer. Crap, what if she’s wrong, and it’s actually gay rights?”
4. “Gosh darn it. I forgot to take off Barbara’s socks. Come to think of it, these undies are a little snug too.
5. “George finally came out of the closet with a pair of Barbara’s socks.”
Vote once by leaving your choice for the best one in the Comment section on this post or send me an email (Samesty84@gmail.com). It’s OK to get your friends/foes to vote too.
Deadline for your vote: Monday, May 6 at 4:38 PM, EST.
Winner gets a pair of socks similar to Papa Bush’s, or the closest match I can find.
03 Friday May 2013
Posted in Articles of Interest, The Outer Loop
I saw an article yesterday that reminded me how we so often get focused on the disrupters and often miss the builders in our society. This time, the focus is on young people and what a wonderful antidote to the constant drumbeat of what happened in Boston.
Check out: Young Movers, With a Passion for Change, by David Bornstein, from the NY Times‘ Opinionator, a column that you’ll not see in the newspaper but only online.
It’ll only take you a few moments to read but is a reminder that good things are taking place that are all too rarely reported and that deserve more recognition than the press, etc. usually publishes.
02 Thursday May 2013
Posted in Escapes and Pleasures
Tags
If you live in the DC area (or happen to be here this weekend), love movies, get up at a reasonable hour on Sundays, and/or want to get a taste of the DC Cinema Club, join me this Sunday for a 10:30 AM showing of a movie whose title you will not know until you get to the theater.
As some readers of this site probably know, I’ve been touting the benefits of this ‘sneak preview’ Cinema Club for a number of years. Usually, the films shown have not opened nationally, are often ones that have garnered positives in the various film festivals, and usually are independent films.
Over the past few years, many of the best films I’ve seen I saw in the Cinema Club, including ones that never made it to the big screens or ones that were only shown briefly in a few small(er) theaters.
Often, there are discussions following the film, sometimes with directors or producers or a film critic or someone who knows films. But there’s no need to stay beyond the showing of the Sunday film (usually about an hour and a half).
Anyway, if you are able to get to the Avalon Theater on Connecticut Ave, NW in DC by about 10:15 this Sunday, I’ve got one free ticket as my wife has a work obligation and can’t be there.
Email me: Samesty84@gmail.com.
First to do so, gets the ticket.
30 Tuesday Apr 2013
Posted in Go Sox
If you’ve been a Red Sox fan as long as I have, 62 years, you no doubt understand the headline above.
At dinner last night, my wife of almost 45 years (and a ‘fair weather’ baseball fan — she only goes to games when the weather is fair) asked how the Sox were doing. When I told her they were 18-7, leading not only the AL East but also all of the majors, she said, “I guess they’re setting you up for their August fade.”
Could be.
If they continued at their present W-L rate (.720), they’d win 116 games.
Won’t happen, of course. Tho if they simply played at a .500 rate for the remainder of the season, they’d end up winning between 86-87 games, almost exactly what I predicted on March 18, 2013: Don’t Bother Reading This Post.
Still, Continue reading »
28 Sunday Apr 2013
Posted in Escapes and Pleasures
I’ve got one for you.
Mud ****1/2
I don’t want to ‘oversell’ this film, but if you’re looking for something a bit different and at the same time a bit familiar, something with terrific acting, a good adventure story, and a glimpse into another part of America, put Mud on your ‘to see’ list.
It is written and directed by Jeff Nichols and stars Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Tye Sheridan, and Jacob Lofland. McConaughey (Mud) and Witherspoon (Juniper) may be what draw audiences to this film, but it is the story and performances of Sheridan (Ellis) and Lofland (Neckbone) that make this movie a winner.
26 Friday Apr 2013
Posted in Escapes and Pleasures
Papa Bush is ‘known’ for wearing colorful socks, and yesterday, at the inaugural of his son’s Presidential library, was no exception.
Since I love to run contests, here’s one that doesn’t involve knowing baseball, reading books, knowing history, etc.
Just come up with the best caption for the picture above, and I’ll try to get you a pair of similar socks for your very own wearing (or giving to your father).
Leave your entries in Comment section of this post or send them to me: Samesty84@gmail.com.
Deadline: May 3, one week.
25 Thursday Apr 2013
Posted in Go Sox
Tags
"42", Jackie Robinson, Joe Posnanski, Read This & You'll Never Watch Baseball the Same Way, The Three Toughest Outs in Baseball, Tom Boswell
Readers of MillersTimes, or perhaps more specifically the GoSox portion of the the site, probably know by now that two of my favorite living, active sports’ writers are Tom Boswell and Joe Posnanski.
In fact, I think two of the best postings on GoSox, ones that I believe will change the way you look at baseball, were because of articles written be each one of these guys:
If you haven’t had a chance to read one or both of these, head there now.
If I am overstating the importance of the insights these two articles bring, feel free to let me know.
And as for this post and the title above, “There Are All Sorts of Truths”, I refer you to Joe Posnanski’s review of the new film 42 about Jackie Robinson.
I reviewed it earlier, “42″ – A Home Run, and I stick by my review. But Posnanski fleshes out the film even further and explains, in more detail than did I, the strengths and weaknesses of the film.
Bottom line: he likes the film as an emotional, introduction to Jackie Robinson, but, he writes, “If you are looking for shades of gray storytelling about the most consequential sports story in American history, this isn’t your movie.”
Check out the review. It’s a good one.
24 Wednesday Apr 2013
Posted in Escapes and Pleasures
Tags
"4000 Miles", Amy Herzog, Grant Harrison, Joy Zinoman, Russell Metheny, Tanya Hicken, The Studio Theatre
Photo by Scott Suchman
Thanx to a good friend, I just saw 4000 Miles last night. Otherwise, I might have missed it entirely.
That would have been a shame.
Set in a Greenwich Village apartment in 2007, the play centers around two characters, widely separated by age. Vera (Tana Hicken) is in her 80s, lives alone, and is struggling with the various losses that come with the final years of one’s life.
Leo (Grant Harrison) is 21, has just completed a cross-country bike trip, and is also struggling with a number of issues, many of which become more clear as the play progresses. Vera is Leo’s grandmother (step grandmother?).
As the play opens, Leo appears in the middle of the night with his bicycle and packs and needs a place to stay. What follows is largely what happens between these two characters as their stories unfold in some wonderful dialogue and exchanges. Vera is lonely and seems a bit lost. And so too is Leo, tho in different ways.