Making a Case for Gangster Squad

I'd hoped for more from Gangster Squad, and I bumped it from my birthday plans after seeing what a hard time the critics were giving it.  Even so, after readjusting my expectations and saving 25% on my ticket by seeing it during the daytime, I'm left a little aggravated that the pros piled on with the negative reviews (at one point, the films trajectory was more in line for a mid-50's, nearly "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes) and likely discourages (on some level) the creation of more genre-pieces like this from unlikely sources.

The cons as a whole simply didn't add up to the sum of their parts, though.  Despite finding a lot to pick at in Gangster Squad - none of the weaknesses make it a bad movie, even when considered altogether.

Emma Stone played a fresh tomato to Ryan Gosling's... his... uh... moldy... cheese...?

The Most Annoying Part of the Movie

Josh Brolin's Badge - I'll spare the specifics since it would technically constitute a spoiler.  However, keep an eye on it.  The movie was many names into the closing credits before I noticed I was still rolling my eyes and shaking my head like clockwork.

Honorable Mentions: Ryan Gosling's Voice, Goofy One-Liners
 

The Best Parts of the Movie

The Violent Action - Here's a point that I saw listed as a weakness numerous times - mainly because of the amount of it - in critical reviews of the movie.  I rather liked the execution (and respected the amount) of the violent stunts in the movie, especially the car chase scene.  Sure, it was a lot.  And it was unapologetic.  But I wasn't overwhelmed by any feeling that it was just too much.  Some more thought and time could have been given to character development, at the cost of some action - like the appended Chinatown scene - with value added.  Even so, taking the movie as it was, this was roughly my line of reasoning as I walked out of the theater thinking about the complaints of excessive violence:

• In case anyone missed it, this movie was called Gangster Squad, which 
• suggests it somehow involves, I don't know, some sort of... "Gangster Squad", which 
• suggests we'll see the story of this "Gangster Squad" from its point of view, which 
• involved a violent-as-necessary approach to busting Cohen's rackets, an objective which 
• would require a heavy-handed approach from a group of uninhibited unknowns, which 
• was the design - cops initially unrecognized by Cohen with the freedom to use brutal force.

The Visuals - I'm a sucker for crime stories set in LA during this era.  Despite its flaws, I expect mid-century Los Angeles to somehow be represented in my version of heaven, if it exists and I make the cut.  Gangster Squad was full of eye candy, ever-beautifully capturing the architecture, fashion, and mood of the noir style.  The femme fatale exceeds expectation, and should have had an even bigger role.  Slapsy Maxie's looks cooler here than it ever really did, I'm sure.  Another pretty noir-style film in recent memory - The Black Dahlia - was as awfully performed as it was gorgeous.  Despite having an incredible amount of material to draw upon from my favorite author's book, the film version remains one of the only movies I've begun enthusiastically only to refuse seeing it through to the end.  In Gangster Squad, you don't have a perfect film (and were you expecting perfection, really?), but you do have enough entertainment value to have not rendered its beauty a terrible waste.

Honorable Mentions:  Emma Stone's Over-achievement, GS Social Media Presence


Key Points of Summary

I generally concurred with one synopsis (Peter Rainer's) in particular.  The movie's self-identity seemed to be a little bit off at times.  Some aspects (dialogue in particular) seem to parody the noir style, while (I think for the most part) the goal was to keep the story honestly moving forward along the admittedly narrow plot line.

I generally disagree with the practice of forcing a comparison between Gangster Squad and some of the greatest directors (like Scorcese) and movies (like LA Confidential or Chinatown) of the gangster genre in the last four decades.  Maybe a comparison to The Untouchables is more fair, given the plots of the films, but Gangster Squad simply is not as bad as 2/3 of the "professional" critics seem to think.  And I'm saying this from a position where I see most of their complaints.  But virtually the same proportion of critics liked/disliked The Black Dahlia, with the Rotten Tomatoes consensus seeming to pity that it had to be compared with the best gangster films.  But you know what?  Brian DePalma - having directed Scarface and The Untouchables - at least had some practice in the genre before driving The Black Dahlia off the road and squandering Ellroy's good work.  It seems more fair to hold DePalma and The Black Dahlia to such an standard than to expect so much from Ruben Fleischer and Gangster Squad.  I'm not saying give it a free pass - I had plenty of gripes about Gangster Squad - but I also had no reason to believe that Fleischer was going to come from Zombieland (the best on his short list of features, but which I did like) and get Ryan Gosling (Ryan Gosling) to turn in a performance that would rival Jack Nicholson, Robert Deniro, or even Guy Pearce for that matter.  Sorry if you expected that.  If you haven't seen it, maybe do yourself the same favor I did and drop your expectations to a more realistic level, save a few bucks by seeing a matinee, and enjoy Gangster Squad for its strengths: beauty and entertainment.

Overall, I come back to where I started: Gangster Squad isn't a great movie because it has numerous flaws.  On the other hand, I don't think I'm being overly forgiving when I reiterate that those flaws don't detract from the experience enough to actually make it a lousy, "rotten" movie.  And maybe I should clarify that it's really the critics I disagree with here, since two-thirds of the viewers (as opposed to only one third of the critics on Rotten Tomatoes) could appreciate the film without over-sensitively crapping on it because of valid (but minor) peeves.

I gave the film 3.5 stars out of 5 (it averages 3.7 with the Rotten Tomatoes audience), primarily carried by the aesthetic and entertainment values.  I think I'd have considered going with a solid 4 until the aforementioned Josh-Brolin's-Badge-joke-of-a-scene.

Review By Haiku: Philomath Culture Edition for September/October/November/December 2012

Television

Louie

Depress and depress

and depress and depress then

sometimes make me laugh.

Movies

Django Unchained*
Inefficient but
good by most standards, par-at-
best Tarantino.

Limitless

Would kill to access

the other eighty percent

of my brain with drugs.

Red River

In case you're tempted,

can't grade lab reports while Duke

goes on his manhunt.

Thor

Now, if I'd just watch

the new Hulk movie, I could

see the Avengers...

Serpico 

Think my new rule on

'70s films is just watch

Lumet's, skip the rest.

Groundhog Day

Bill Murray made peace

with rodents, so much so he

taught Phil how to drive.

Jackie Brown*

Heard the argument

this is Tarantino's best.

Heard it can't see it.

Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Not as expected,

much more happens in twilight

of life than I thought.

The Hitch-hiker

Public domain flick,

deserves more respect than its

fellows on YouTube. 

Glengarry Glen Ross

More rain and cursing

than I judged from cover,

crushed expectations.

The Artist

Based on his last line,

it's a wonder Valentin

could converse off-screen.

Night Train to Munich

Cool ending, and Paul

Henreid plays the opposite

of Victor Lazlo.

A Bronx Tale

Game: Look up current

pics of actors who played C,

guess which is in jail.

Extract

Love the idea

of baiting a spouse so you

can then cheat. Wait... No.

Books

1984
Ignore the movie,
read the book. But not in front
of a telescreen

Notes from the Underground 
Even to dabble
in Dostoeyevsky is to
test your own patience.

100 Heartbeats
Reading Jeff Corwin's
travel tales leaves me jealous
if not more informed.

Sports

The Reds broke my heart,

and now I have none, until

next year. Maybe. Nah.

Suck for Luck, strong for
Chuck. Colts only quadrupled
 my expectations.


*Note: Pulp Fiction > Kill Bill Vol. 2 > Reservoir Dogs > Inglorious Basterds > 
Django Unchained > Kill Bill Vol. 1 > Jackie Brown

Epilogue to the Hunt for Red October

The end is more bitter than sweet, but I was relieved to see the worst case scenario (a Cardinals-Yankees World Series) averted.  While hardly anybody could deny that the Reds should have been in the picture longer – at least ousting the Giants in the NLDS to reach the NLCS, if not eventually playing the Tigers for the World Championship – I guess I’m marginally comforted by the fact that the Giants won the whole thing.  More comforting yet was the fact that they came back on the Cardinals, too.

Maybe next year will be better…

As I’ve alluded, there were promising developments this past season: the emergence of Todd Frazier, the hints that Homer Bailey is finally nearing his potential, the ability of the team to not just weather (but excel despite) Joey Votto’s injury.

MY PREDICTIONS (Put Abruptly to Rest):

World Series:  Rangers 4, Reds 2

 Totally off. But at least I picked playoff teams, right?

MVPs: Curtis Granderson and Andrew McCutchen

Taking half-credit for the McCutchen pick because of the third place finish in NL MVP voting and the fact that he was the apparent MVP for a good part of the year.

Cy Youngs: Justin Verlander and Tim Lincecum

Obviously full credit where it's due with the safe pick of Verlander, make that 1.5 for the Philomath.

Wait, what?  David Price?  Oh, right.  Justin Verlander finished a close second.  Rather, make that a clean 1-for-6 after I grant myself half-credit on Verlander too.  Official scorer doesn't rule in my favor, though, so make it 1-for-6 in my head and 0-for-6 for those scoring by the rules of the game at home.

Betting anyone I match or best that line next season.

Processing the Fear of Violence

I'm writing off-the-cuff a bit tonight because I can't sleep.  Regardless of whatever time this post will claim to publish we just cleared 5am in Indianapolis.  I should be asleep, or at the very least working to prepare lectures and grade for my classes.

But tonight, Indianapolis had its 99th murder* of calendar year 2012.  My heart isn't beating the same, my lungs are respiring shallow rations of air, and my imagination is kicking around like a ping-pong ball between dichotomous thoughts: peace and violence, peace and violence.

Recently, I've grown extra aware of homicides in the local news.  I don't think that the rate is up, necessarily, and maybe it's the change of season that has my mind latching on to the depressing aspects of life.  It's overly simple to blame cooler weather, lack of greenery, and shorter days for our problems, but these factors are very real contributors to a dreary disposition like the one I have.

Even so, the first 98 murders did a lot less to keep me up at night.  Tonight, though, the crime was reported at a store I've patronized.  It was committed even closer to home, along a major street I use and/or cross almost daily.  The nearness of the shooting has opened my eyes and my imagination, after they were cracked by an armed robbery (thankfully no shooting) in the same area about a week ago.  When I say the same area, though, I don't really mean just any old area.  I mean my area.  My wife's area, and therefore my family's area.  We make our home - our first - in this area.  When I clicked on the Google map showing the immediate neighborhood around the crime scene, I found us.  And it's not like we were on the edge of the map.

I'm not allowing myself to be afraid to admit that I'm afraid. 

I'm afraid of guns.  I don't know what they can do, or how they really even work, but I know they can kill me or anyone else.  Over 3/4 of the victims on the 2012 homicide list* died by firearm.

I'm afraid of the dark.  But I'm so afraid of the light and the attention that it may draw that I sit in the dark while I type.

I'm afraid to talk about it.  Yet I'm afraid to sit quietly and pretend nothing is wrong.

I'm afraid of misunderstandings.  I'm usually quiet to avoid misunderstandings, even though silence can be as confusing as poorly-chosen words.  The following isn't as carefully deliberated as you might expect from me, but this is already a rare post in that it isn't driven by cerebral or witty notions:

I don't expect a potential murderer to read a blog that nobody else reads, but these sentiments are meant for everyone or no one, as it may be.  They're even for me a little bit, to remind myself of how humbled and mortal I feel tonight.

Speaking from the side of fear, intimidation is an effective tool.  It's one I feel we should leave in the shed, though, and guns and murder are tools that shouldn't even be at our disposal.  Why are people content to be the next cycle in history, the next wave of violence, and the next statistic in the crime blotter?  Bigger and better movements, interactions, and headlines are so clearly in reach with the right mix of common sense and common decency.  People are flawed, but I think it's pathetic to accept such dearths of security, kindness, compassion, and peace as human nature.  We are so much more alike than we are different.

We are all virtual clones of one another, yet we play up differences which are dictated by a fraction of a percent of our genome.  Beyond nature, even our environments are not without key similarities.  With few exceptions, we are all struggling in numerous ways.  Not least of all financially.  Yet some very knowingly add to myriad suffering when they respond to their stressors with violence.  The person perpetrating whatever wrongs they endure is suffering too.  Is there no way to see this, appreciate common bonds and shared experiences, and have a meaningful dialogue?  How can it be that the answer to the problems is digging ourselves, each other, and our communities further into the pit of despair and disorder?

As I write this and seek catharsis which may not be attainable in such haste, I'm not sure what/where to conclude my plea.  I'm left with so many more questions than answers, and I hate to think of how I would take the news if such a crime hit this close to home in any sense other than the geographical.  The truth is I'm very lucky but others around me are not, and luck can run out on anybody at anytime even though we live in a world in which we shouldn't need so much luck anymore.

We are the human species, and if we are the top of the top like we think we are we should be able to change our environment to promote security and common goals.  We have to stop using the fact that we're "human" as an excuse for doing all the stupid and hurtful things we feel inclined to do, and start using the fact that we're "human" as a standard for responsibility, ingenuity, and compassion that too few of us demonstrate.  We are all capable of these qualities and of peace, we should strive to attain them, and honestly we really must in order to pass a life worth living in this country and this world onto the next generation after enjoying it for ourselves.

The fear brings me to a few conclusive thoughts for the night:

I am at times gripped with a fear that becomes increasingly rational, validated, and intense.  My life (and its quality) is one among all in this world that depends upon the good sense, kindness, and simple control of violent impulses from everyone around me.  I'm grateful, despite many struggles, to have an objectively good life.  Despite frequently lacking the ability or initiative to do more and do good with my life, I'm thankful to those who allow me and help me to live it at the standard it meets.  I ask all the powers that be - including those around me - for continued patience and opportunity as I seek to better reach my potential to do good for myself and for those around me.  I ask for the same patience and opportunity for everyone.  Please begin or continue to set aside aggression, greed, hate, ignorance, envy, pride, and all the other counterproductive distractions to human decency so that we can all set aside at least some of our heartache and fear.

*My source appears to be politically biased, but it has a great deal of key data in a simple presentation.

It's Not a Race! Or Is It?

I recently gave a biology exam to twelve students, and I was alarmed at the pace they set in completing it.  Actually, my students surprised me in multiple ways, and here I’ll share the experience and a vague recap of the results to show you what I mean.

This was the second exam of the semester, and a few students who were particularly fast on the first exam again finished the earliest.  In fact, by simple observation of the extreme cases the relative speed at which students worked was fairly similar.  The fastest workers were the same, the slowest workers were the same in either case.

On the other hand, the absolute speed at which students worked was startling.  Based on the extremes again, the fastest students were done in just 10 minutes while the last student still finished in under 40 minutes.  I had students working for up to 80 minutes on the first exam, so the pace of the class overall was startling.  Though my observations are driven by the extreme cases for clarity, the students in-between submitted their exams at a relatively steady pace (fairly balanced, overall).

I was curious to know if I had written an anomalously easy exam, and I even asked a student who finished surprisingly early, “Too easy?”  The response seemed to suggest that the exam had been just that.  This was early on (less than 20 minutes), and I kept the exams sorted in order of completion to see if there would be any difference between those who spent less than a minute with each question and those who took more time to think.

To my increasing surprise, though, exam after exam was submitted in fairly rapid succession.  There was a detectably confident air in the room as folks packed up to leave.  And none of my students spent more than a minute per question, on average (there were 50 questions total). Thus, Figure 1 includes the averages for 12 students who virtually all worked at a noticeably quicker pace than they had previously.  Recall that the first few students finished in about 10 minutes, the last few students finished in about 40 minutes. 

My initial instinct to separate the earliest from the latest finishers changed with added perspective.  Instead, as I look at Figure 1 I am more tempted to compare these results to those from the first exam.  The main thing I notice is that the average was actually lower on the second exam (66.5) than on the first exam (70).  This comes despite the speed and seeming confidence with which students approached the second exam.

Of course, how do you really interpret such a result?  Perhaps the additional 3.5 points on average would not be worth the same as the time saved for an average student.  In a case like this, it may be that speed doesn’t kill.  Instead, speed is just speed.

I know the dynamics of my surprise – first at the speed, then at the confidence, then at the results – which are so-called because I can’t discern any real correlation.  In fact, Figure 1 depicts scores on exams submitted within a half-hour window and shows no clear relationship between exam score and order (time, by proxy) of completion. What I would have expected, going in, would be an upside-down bell curve spanning a larger window of time (at least an hour between first and last submissions).  My prediction at 20 minutes into the exam would have been much the same, only with a narrowed range between the high and low scores (the confidence was not exclusive to star students).

I’m not left with much to conclude, though my main goal was less to diagnose anything and more to share my striking observations.  There may be some classroom psychology phenomenon at work - I'd be interested to know if that's the case.  All I really know is that it was an interesting and quick day in class, and a lot of things (obviously) grabbed my attention.  My guess is that any or all of the following factors were at play, in no particular order of importance:

                - Confidence as test-takers

                                - Especially among those who have already performed at a high level

                                - Cushion from previous performances allows for a few small mistakes

                - Overconfidence as test-takers

                                - Especially among those who have less experience/success in the sciences

                                - Recognizing/choosing related but incorrect answers without careful reading

                - Freedom to go home after the exam and impatience at doing so

                                - Consideration of weather, which was inclement and worsening

                                - Weariness at this later stage in the semester

                                - Less incentive to hurry on first exam, as a lecture was scheduled to follow

                - Perceived pressure to rush at seeing others complete the exam so quickly

                                - Perceived correlation between exam success and speed of completion

                - My wording/selection of questions

                                - Subjects more numerous/difficult than first exam

                                - Questions themselves perhaps less specific/difficult than first exam

                               

Here to Save the Day... of THE DEAD

The Day of the Dead - more authentically known as Dia de los Muertos - is only a week away and I realized how little time I have to prepare between now and November 2!  Worse yet, stores like Halloween City have popped up in our neighborhood but there are no offerings specific to Dia de los Muertos.

In an effort to strike a compromise - as I'm sure Halloween lovers have already torn the tags off their Jason masks and sultry nurse outfits - I encourage those without costumes (or with a face open) to don a skeletal mask.

But not just any skeletal mask!  In an effort to help extend the reach of Dia de los Muertos to celebriphilic Americans (like myself), I realized that one approach might be to make the skeletal decor of the day more recognizable.  A huge chunk of the Halloween costume market depends upon pop culture references and celebrities.  Thus, I have started a line of celebrity-inspired Dia de los Muertos skull masks, starting with three of the most familiar (well, familiar to me) faces from Mexico:










Fernandomania continues into the afterlife!  That is, hypothetically will continue, since Fernando Valenzuela is thankfully still very much alive.  Be sure to hold a baseball and glove high above your head so the poor guy has something to look at.  Don't put those eyes to waste! 

I was looking through a gallery of some of Frida Kahlo's artwork the other night.  This rendition incorporates details from a few of the more striking pieces (though they are all rather striking).  In homage to one in particular, Diego and I (1949), the skull of Diego Rivera makes a cameo appearance here.

Finally, here's a mask that can serve at least triple-duty over the next few weeks.  You've got Halloween.  TV news is abuzz with Mitt Romney's poor performance in the race against President Obama to sell Halloween masks.  But the Romney masks are missing two important features: 1) the "Little Face" Mitt, of Tumblr fame and 2) the skull angle!  I know, it's probably so obvious to you now.  You get one day to rest, then it's on to the Dia de los Muertos parties in your LFM mask.  You may or may not know that Romney's dad was born in Chihuahua, Mexico, making him a suitable likeness on a technicality (while also benefiting from Fernando's being-alive technicality).  You almost certainly know Governor Romney as the GOP nominee for US President, though, and therein lies your third opportunity.  Wear a miniature expression of his confidence and enthusiasm across your much larger face when you go to vote.  Note: This mask is perhaps best worn ironically.


If I saved your Halloween/Dia de los Muertos/Election season like I think I did, you're mighty welcome.  You're a good person if you've come to my humble blog (I have filters for that sort of thing), and you deserve the best! 

The Hunt for Red October: A Tragedy

I don't want to say a lot, but I thought maybe there'd be some catharsis in processing a little of what happened in the NLDS last week.  My fellow Reds fans and I are picking up the pieces, and since I made the mistake of really believing in their chances (especially after bringing a 2-0 lead back from San Francisco) it's a pretty sour taste in my mouth.  Anyway, as you'll see, I have at least one more horse in the race.  Maybe I'll follow up on that later and see how I end up, but just a snapshot of my predictions so far show me why I never put money on anything.

MY PREDICTIONS (Revisited):

World Series:  Rangers 4, Reds 2

So my World Series prediction was... wrong.  I did at least pick playoff teams, and even going into Game 5 of the NLDS I made myself believe in the Reds.  Guess I learned my lesson.  Back to negativity, and anything good that ever happens to the Reds in my lifetime will just be a pleasant surprise.  The Rangers finished their collapse a week earlier, and their uncertainty with free-agent Josh Hamilton suggests their door is less open than Cincinnati's.  Maybe I'll have better guesses next year, and maybe I'll even pick the Reds again once my disappointment subsides.  Todd Frazier emerged as Scott Rolen's heir-apparent at third base, sadly emphasizing Rolen's underachievements in the playoffs.  Frazier filled in at first during Votto's injury, though, and the team managed to look good without their star.  He was also responsible for my best memory at GABP this season: with the Reds hosting the Braves in Chipper Jones' last series in Cincinnati, Frazier walked up to the plate to a Sinatra tune and lined a walk-off homer.  The place was electric.

MVPs: Curtis Granderson and Andrew McCutchen

I'm not going to fact-check myself, but I don't think there are any MVPs with averages as low as .232, which was Granderson's line this year.  In the MVP discussion last year, he added 3 more homers (43 vs. 40) at the expense of 30 points off his average (.262 last year).  Not a great bargain.  McCutcheon was actually in the hunt for the batting title and led the NL in hits.  I felt pretty good about this guess but it looks like McCutchen and Posey were trending in opposite directions at season's end.

Cy Youngs: Justin Verlander and Tim Lincecum

With Lincecum pitching out of the bullpen against my Reds and coming of a season leading the NL in losses and runs allowed, I didn't make the safe prediction I thought I did.  Verlander, though, may redeem me.  He looks virtually unhittable in the playoffs, and he's riding momentum that started in the final weeks of the season.   

Review By Haiku: Philomath Culture Edition May/June/July/August 2012

Just a couple mugs after they offed a postal detective (Appointment With Danger, 1951).  Years later, they'd be rehabilitated and serve as poster boys for LAPD's brand of law and order (Dragnet, 1967).

Disclaimer

Writing a thesis

leaves little time, energy

to accrue culture.

Television

Battlestar Galactica
I'm not exactly
flying through, may as well be
a radio show.

Mad Men

Crazy fifth season.
A lot of change but Glen is
still giving rape vibes.

Girls

Even though I find

Lena Dunham's characters

appalling, I watch...

Community

I like this show but
c'mon! Jack Black mixed in with
allusions to M*A*S*H?

Happy Endings

Holy crap this show
cloned me and all my friends. If
I were a Wayans.

Workaholics

They got sex and drugs
minus sex plus sweet bear coats.
Cath'rine Zeta-Jones.

Movies

The Dark Knight Rises

This movie gives three-
hour thrillride and three-day bout
with Bane voice fever.

Captain America
I'd be paranoid
and blubbery, one Super
Soldier Serum hit.

Black Legion
Here you've a film where
Bogart should have made his name
but he didn't... yet.

 Appointment With Danger
Wait, did I just see
Friday and Gannon on the
wrong side of the law?

No Man of Her Own
"Real" Patrice Harkniss
by actress Phyllis Thaxter:
ladies, rest in peace.

The Devil Inside
OK with "horror
documentary" gag then

remembered Blair Witch...

The Whales of August
Crabby old Bette
with sweet old Vincent and old
Lil, cuter than hell.

Tiny Furniture

See the description

of Girls above because, yes,

it applies here too.

Piranha 3D
Chomp chomp chomp chomp chomp,
toothy fish rip spring breakers
limb from limb. Deserved.

Battle Royale
With one million ways
to die, time allowed for like
forty bloody ways.

Reservoir Dogs 
Sometimes less is more
and, again, saw how much can
come of so little. 

Books

The Plague
 Camus was so cool
that, translated, still has great
vocabulary.

The Lady in the Lake
Typical Chander,
one part substance, two parts style,
twist, turn, twist, turn, solved.

Batman: Year One
What ever happened
to Sarah Essen? Never
made movies I've seen.

Sports

Reds pulling away,
Votto or not, hope Pirates
reach October too.

B-ball fan, you have
no cable? Check Olympic
synch swimming. Same diff.
  

Grandpa

Thank you

                For my mother

                For your service

                For your hard work

                For being there

                For being fair

                For being the keystone and patriarch of our family

                For your generosity

                For sharing your experience, work, resources and time

                For being so responsible and holding us responsible

                For being forgiving, positive, and supportive

                For bringing me to interesting places

                For your personality – including all the characteristics and habits that I’ll always 

                        recognize as uniquely yours

                For showing your support for me – in baseball, in school, at my wedding

                For being such a sweet man, even after so much of your strength had been reduced

                For everything

You have been one of the most positive influences I ever hope to have in life.  Your creativity, hard work, loyalty, guidance, and caring will be my example for as long as I live.  I hope my life will be as long and meaningful as yours was, and that I learn to live it with as much passion and positive impact on others as you had.  And I know you wish that for me and for all of the family that remains and is to come.  You are my hero and, I expect, the greatest man I’ll ever know.

 

Thank you and I love you.

Time Travel Baseball - Part 4

Line-up: I finally found the Donovans' intended batting order.  It's no Murderer's Row, but they seem to have planned the best they could with what they have.  Unfortunately, what they have is a bunch of Donovans.

No sign of them actually playing any games, however.  It appears the Donovans scheduled games with some of the all-time worst teams in Major League history.  They seem to insist on having a fighting chance since they were/are to such trouble and expense to revive and time-transport a team boasting just a .221 batting average as a group.  I don't know the ins and outs of time travel, so it's anyone's guess why there are no results.  Maybe they are forthcoming.  If they ever show, I'll pass them on. What a shame if they come so close but never play.  For now though, I'll leave you their schedule to look over.  Might get an idea of what bets you want to place, just in case.

Schedule: All series are scheduled for the second weekend of October in the years indicated, three or four games each over Friday, Saturday (occasional double-headers), and Sunday.  None of these are playoff teams, so their seasons will be/were finished by mid-October.

• 2003 Detroit Tigers
• 1962 New York Mets
• 1935 Boston Braves
• 1899 Cleveland Spiders
• 1890 Pittsburgh Pirates
• 1916 Philadelphia Athletics
• 1904 Washington Senators
• 1898 St. Louis Browns
• 1942 Philadelphia Phillies
• 1932 Boston Red Sox
• 1911 Boston Rustlers
• 1909 Boston Doves
• 2010 Seattle Mariners
• 1965 New York Mets
• 1979 Oakland Athletics
• 1969 San Diego Padres
• 1981 Toronto Blue Jays
• 2004 Arizona Diamondbacks
• 1955 Baltimore Orioles

Player-Manager "Wild Bill" Donovan sports the team's alternate away uniform.

Hopefully the team did/will get the chance to wear this get-up in action.