I finally had a chance to watch the 2012 Class AA Minnesota Boys Hockey State Championship game on DVR. The March 10 game featured Benilde-St. Margaret's, looking for their first Class AA boys hockey title, against state tourney regular Hill-Murray. Both teams were unseeded coming into the tournament. The major story surrounding the Red Knights' presence was the terrible on-ice accident suffered by Jack Jablonski during a December 30 junior varsity game against Wayzata. Jabs and his family were at the X-cel center to watch the title tilt from a suite above the BSM student section.
The pace of the game during the first period was furious, and it appeared to me that the Pioneers had a slight advantage, managing to keep the puck in the Benilde end more often than the Red Knights could dominate at the other end of the rink. Stellar goaltending by BSM's Justin Quale kept the game scoreless. Then Red Knight forward Grant Busse scored, and once that happened HM couldn't stop him, even when the Pioneers went on the power play. Busse ended up with all five BSM goals (three short-handed), leading his team to a 5-1 victory.
Every time the Red Knights scored, the cameras would pan into the Jablonski suite, where Jack managed to celebrate by raising his arms. The smile across his face was heart-warming to say the least. This was a story the whole state of Minnesota, if not hockey fans worldwide, was following. As the game progressed it became apparent that a second major story line would be the exploits of Busse, who kept putting the biscuit in the basket. The announcers heaped obviously well-deserved praise on Besse for his once-in-a-lifetime feat.
Other than the Jablonski and Besse focus, there was a third, albeit relatively minor, human interest story going on which I found fascinating. With 9:13 left in the final period and the Red Knights leading 3 to 1, BSM defenseman Jake Horton, one of BSM's two senior captains, was called for spearing Hill Murray's Andy Faust. The play started out innocently enough when Horton was chasing down a long pass into the corner of his defensive end. Faust was hot on his tail, but Horton reached the puck first and swept it up ice. A second later, both Horton and Faust came face to face, and Faust delivered a legal check up against the boards. At the instant of the collision, both players had their sticks and gloves chest high, Faust to administer the check, and Horton to defend himself. It looked like words were exchanged, and as they skated out of the corner, Horton speared Faust in the stomach with a quick jab, causing Faust to double over momentarily and fall. Unfortunately for Horton, the referee was close by, and Horton was not only assessed "five for fighting" but was disqualified from the game (hockey talk for "kicked out"). Thirteen seconds of playing time later, Besse scored his second short-handed goal of the night to make it 4 to 1, and play-by-play announcer Clay Matvik guessed that the happiest guy in the arena was probably Horton, banished to solitary confinement in his locker room. At least, thanks to that Besse goal, Horton's stupid spearing penalty was not going to cost Benilde a state championship. If HM had scored after the Horton penalty, it might have been the turning point leading to a Pioneer comeback.
When the final horn sounded, the victorious Red Knights leaped on their goalie, Quale, in celebration, the teams shook hands, and the all-tournament team was announced. Finally, each Pioneer and Red Knight was called up individually to receive their silver and gold medals. Only one thing was missing: Horton. Apparently, State High School League Rules (or its policies) prohibit a disqualified player from taking part in the awards ceremony on the ice. This became obvious first when Horton did not line up on the blue line for the medals ceremony, and again when the team captains were called forward to receive the championship trophy. Captain Christian Horn, together with alternate captains Besse and TJ Moore, skated up to the trophy table, but there was no sign of Horton. As I was watching this, my heart bled for Horton. Sure, he deserved the major penalty and the disqualification, but come on! Did the punishment fit the crime? High school is about making memories. Horton served his time, viz., the five minute major and the game disqualification, but was being deprived of a once-in-a-lifetime moment in the sun because of an impulsive mistake made in the heat of battle. By the way, Faust was not seriously injured by Horton's spearing. In fact, Faust played several more shifts thereafter.
Apparently Horton's fellow captains felt the same way as I. Horn, Besse and Moore accepted the trophy, but did not raise it. They had something else in mind. Instead, they skated over to the BSM bench where Horton had reappeared and presented him the golden prize over the boards. Horton held it high above his head. Now, when he shows the DVD of the game someday to his kids, he will have his theretofore deprived seconds of glory. After a few moments, Horton returned the trophy to his teammates, who then skated over to the student section to give their schoolmates an up-close look at the award. Incredibly, the announcers did not say anything about this chain of events. Louie Nannie was preoccupied with repeating, for seemingly the hundredth time, that Hill Murray should have shot more and passed less. Yes, the two main story lines were Jablonski and Busse. But the mini-drama involving Horton was a study in human nature, and what it means to be a teammate.
The last chapter of the story was not televised: the hockey team hooked up with Jabs after the game in the locker room, and he had the privilege of taking the trophy home for a night.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Thursday, March 15, 2012
My Personal Final Four
Just about every hoops fan in America has filled out brackets for the NCAA tournament, which got underway Tuesday night. One of the beauties of participating in an office or on-line pool is that you don't have to know anything at all about basketball to join in the fun. Most folks just go with "the chalk," i.e., they bet on the higher seeded team for each game. I have already seen a number of "experts'" predictions in which they simply bet on the # 1 seed in each region (Syracuse in the East, Kentucky in the South, North Carolina in the Midwest and Michigan State in the West) to make it to the Final Four. But, beware! Last year that strategy did not come close to working, as the Final Four featured Virginia Commonwealth (an "11 seed"), Butler (8), Kentucky (4) and eventual champion UConn (3). It was the first Final Four not to include at least one of the top two seeds from any of the four regions.
My own Personal Final Four has a little bit of a different spin to it. It is comprised of the four teams whose coaches I could not possibly bring myself to support. In other words, they would be the last, final four I'd cheer for. Regardless of how I complete my brackets in the pool organized by my son, Michael (an investment of $10 which I could have otherwise used to buy two pints of my favorite adult beverage), I will be pulling for the opponents of these teams:
1. Kentucky, coached by John Calipari. "Coach Cal," as the media likes to call him, reminds me of Pete Carroll, the guy who was the head football coach at Southern Cal for nine years before escaping to the Seattle Seahawks in 2010 when the NCAA was about to lower the boom on his program's unethical and prohibited practices. The Trojans were handed harsh penalties, including bowl game banishment and scholarship limitations. Similarly, Calipari took two teams, UMass (in 1996) and Memphis (in 2008) to the Final Four, but those schools' appearances were vacated from the record books due to NCAA violations under Calipari's watch. That did not prevent Calipari from signing a lucrative deal (like Carroll) with Kentucky, a school obviously more obsessed with basketball than with its reputation. Calipari and his employer also have no problem recruiting high school kids to play for the Wildcats when they know those players will jump to the NBA after their freshman year. They are unaffectionately called "rent-a-year players." A recent USA Today headline labeled Calipari the "One And Done King." I thought the players were supposed to be student athletes, on a path toward graduation. Silly me.
2. Syracuse, coached by Jim Boeheim. Syracuse is currently under NCAA investigation (again!) because of rumors and reports that, for the last ten years, the Orange have had several players who tested positive for drugs. Somehow, the test results never surfaced until a few months ago. Boeheim brushes it off as if nothing happened, apparently never having heard of the saying that where there's smoke there's fire. He told the press that it would be business as usual, a double entendre if there ever was one. The alleged drug problems aren't the first scandal to hit the 'Cuse, nor is it the only time Boeheim was accused of hiding things from the NCAA. For example, after the Tournament Selection Committee gave Syracuse the relatively easy path of a # 1 seeding for this year's tournament, Syracuse declared that its starting seven foot center, Fab Melo, was ineligible. If you think Boeheim and his employer just happened to find that fact out after the seedings by the Selection Committee, you are naive. Boeheim is being sued for defamation by two former ball boys who alleged that long-time assistant Bernie Fine molested them when they were part of Boeheim's program. Boeheim called the accusers liars, then shortly thereafter threw Fine under the bus when things got hot, even though as of this writing no charges have been filed against Fine. On the Notre Dame fan website, ND Nation, basketball fans hold Boeheim in such low regard that they have instituted a principle known as "The Boeheim Exception." According to that axiom, an Irish fan is permitted to cheer for a team playing Syracuse even if a win by the Orange would benefit the Irish in the rankings. Check out this post by Kayo on ND Nation:
http://ndnation.com/boards/showpost.php?b=faq;pid=3;d=this
3. Connecticut, coached by Jim Calhoun. UConn is yet another team which has recently run afoul of NCAA rules. Calhoun was actually suspended earlier this year for ignoring the ban on contacting high school recruits during the NCAA dead period. If you look up the word "arrogant" in the dictionary, you will see a picture of Calhoun right there. He has been disgruntled with Notre Dame for participating in the Big East Conference in all sports except football, even though ND's arrangement with that conference requires them to play a set number of football games (usually three) against Big East teams. Calhoun would have been better off complaining about Boston College, Virginia Tech and Miami, all of which defected from the Big East to the ACC, plus Pitt, West Virginia and Syracuse, which are lame duck Big East members prior to their scheduled defection.
4. Duke, coached by Mike Krzyzewski. I almost chose not to include Duke on this list for the simple reason that it is nearly a cliche to write disparagingly about the Blue Devils. They are low hanging fruit when it comes to reasons to root against them: the flopping by its players after mild - - or in some cases, no - - contact, the punk attitude of several of its players like Christian Laettner and JJ Riddick, the constant and definitely unwarranted complaining to the refs by Coach K about the lack of calls the Blue Devils get from the zebras, the love affair the media (especially Dukie Vitale) has with Duke, the inordinate number of times Duke has been assigned to play tournament games in nearby Greensboro against opponents who had to travel cross-country to get there, and the atmosphere in which Krzyzewski allows the seniors to torment the underclassmen, almost in some years to the point of hazing. The topper for me, though, was the decision by Coach K not to count the last two-thirds of the disastrous 1994-95 season on his record, even though the players were recruited by him, coached by him for the first third of that season, and in the program created and overseen by him. His reason? He was recuperating from off-season back surgery and was counting on his assistant, Pete Gaudet, to run the team. Do you think Krzyzewski would have counted the last two-thirds of that season on his record if the team had made it to the Final Four? There is no doubt in my mind that the answer is yes. For a good laugh, check out this post which originally appeared on RamblingBeachCat:
http://www.1500espn.com/link/want_to_know_how_to_hate_duke_here_is_a_stepbystep_guide
Having teams not only to root for (such as your alma mater, a favorite conference representative, your bracket picks, or a decisive underdog), but also to root against, adds a whole new dimension to one's tournament watching experience. With a few exceptions, I'll be pulling for the lower seeds, you know, the teams in the dark jerseys. Everyone loves a Cinderella story. And, I will always root for the opponents of my Personal Final Four.
My own Personal Final Four has a little bit of a different spin to it. It is comprised of the four teams whose coaches I could not possibly bring myself to support. In other words, they would be the last, final four I'd cheer for. Regardless of how I complete my brackets in the pool organized by my son, Michael (an investment of $10 which I could have otherwise used to buy two pints of my favorite adult beverage), I will be pulling for the opponents of these teams:
1. Kentucky, coached by John Calipari. "Coach Cal," as the media likes to call him, reminds me of Pete Carroll, the guy who was the head football coach at Southern Cal for nine years before escaping to the Seattle Seahawks in 2010 when the NCAA was about to lower the boom on his program's unethical and prohibited practices. The Trojans were handed harsh penalties, including bowl game banishment and scholarship limitations. Similarly, Calipari took two teams, UMass (in 1996) and Memphis (in 2008) to the Final Four, but those schools' appearances were vacated from the record books due to NCAA violations under Calipari's watch. That did not prevent Calipari from signing a lucrative deal (like Carroll) with Kentucky, a school obviously more obsessed with basketball than with its reputation. Calipari and his employer also have no problem recruiting high school kids to play for the Wildcats when they know those players will jump to the NBA after their freshman year. They are unaffectionately called "rent-a-year players." A recent USA Today headline labeled Calipari the "One And Done King." I thought the players were supposed to be student athletes, on a path toward graduation. Silly me.
2. Syracuse, coached by Jim Boeheim. Syracuse is currently under NCAA investigation (again!) because of rumors and reports that, for the last ten years, the Orange have had several players who tested positive for drugs. Somehow, the test results never surfaced until a few months ago. Boeheim brushes it off as if nothing happened, apparently never having heard of the saying that where there's smoke there's fire. He told the press that it would be business as usual, a double entendre if there ever was one. The alleged drug problems aren't the first scandal to hit the 'Cuse, nor is it the only time Boeheim was accused of hiding things from the NCAA. For example, after the Tournament Selection Committee gave Syracuse the relatively easy path of a # 1 seeding for this year's tournament, Syracuse declared that its starting seven foot center, Fab Melo, was ineligible. If you think Boeheim and his employer just happened to find that fact out after the seedings by the Selection Committee, you are naive. Boeheim is being sued for defamation by two former ball boys who alleged that long-time assistant Bernie Fine molested them when they were part of Boeheim's program. Boeheim called the accusers liars, then shortly thereafter threw Fine under the bus when things got hot, even though as of this writing no charges have been filed against Fine. On the Notre Dame fan website, ND Nation, basketball fans hold Boeheim in such low regard that they have instituted a principle known as "The Boeheim Exception." According to that axiom, an Irish fan is permitted to cheer for a team playing Syracuse even if a win by the Orange would benefit the Irish in the rankings. Check out this post by Kayo on ND Nation:
http://ndnation.com/boards/showpost.php?b=faq;pid=3;d=this
3. Connecticut, coached by Jim Calhoun. UConn is yet another team which has recently run afoul of NCAA rules. Calhoun was actually suspended earlier this year for ignoring the ban on contacting high school recruits during the NCAA dead period. If you look up the word "arrogant" in the dictionary, you will see a picture of Calhoun right there. He has been disgruntled with Notre Dame for participating in the Big East Conference in all sports except football, even though ND's arrangement with that conference requires them to play a set number of football games (usually three) against Big East teams. Calhoun would have been better off complaining about Boston College, Virginia Tech and Miami, all of which defected from the Big East to the ACC, plus Pitt, West Virginia and Syracuse, which are lame duck Big East members prior to their scheduled defection.
4. Duke, coached by Mike Krzyzewski. I almost chose not to include Duke on this list for the simple reason that it is nearly a cliche to write disparagingly about the Blue Devils. They are low hanging fruit when it comes to reasons to root against them: the flopping by its players after mild - - or in some cases, no - - contact, the punk attitude of several of its players like Christian Laettner and JJ Riddick, the constant and definitely unwarranted complaining to the refs by Coach K about the lack of calls the Blue Devils get from the zebras, the love affair the media (especially Dukie Vitale) has with Duke, the inordinate number of times Duke has been assigned to play tournament games in nearby Greensboro against opponents who had to travel cross-country to get there, and the atmosphere in which Krzyzewski allows the seniors to torment the underclassmen, almost in some years to the point of hazing. The topper for me, though, was the decision by Coach K not to count the last two-thirds of the disastrous 1994-95 season on his record, even though the players were recruited by him, coached by him for the first third of that season, and in the program created and overseen by him. His reason? He was recuperating from off-season back surgery and was counting on his assistant, Pete Gaudet, to run the team. Do you think Krzyzewski would have counted the last two-thirds of that season on his record if the team had made it to the Final Four? There is no doubt in my mind that the answer is yes. For a good laugh, check out this post which originally appeared on RamblingBeachCat:
http://www.1500espn.com/link/want_to_know_how_to_hate_duke_here_is_a_stepbystep_guide
Having teams not only to root for (such as your alma mater, a favorite conference representative, your bracket picks, or a decisive underdog), but also to root against, adds a whole new dimension to one's tournament watching experience. With a few exceptions, I'll be pulling for the lower seeds, you know, the teams in the dark jerseys. Everyone loves a Cinderella story. And, I will always root for the opponents of my Personal Final Four.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Baseball Expands Its Playoff Format
Greetings from Phoenix, Arizona, home of the Cactus League where fifteen MLB teams have their spring training. It seems fitting to write a baseball post from this location, so that is what follows.
There is little question that, of the four major professional sports, the NFL is the most popular league in the country. There are several reasons for this, such as the time of the year in which football games are played, the popularity of fantasy football, the ability of the league to keep fan interest up even during the off-season with things such as the February combine and the April draft, the ease of following teams which play only once a week, and the omni-present television cameras. One very important feature of the NFL is that, unlike the NBA and the NHL which both admit sixteen out of their respective thirty teams into the post-season playoffs (53%), the NFL's playoff structure makes room for only twelve of its thirty-two teams (38%). One quite obvious upshot of this arrangement is that it makes the regular season games much more important. You have to have a fairly decent record during the sixteen game regular season to qualify for the playoffs. There have been times when even a team with a regular season record of ten wins and six losses does not qualify for post-season play. Any team which encounters a three game losing streak really has an uphill climb.
Major league baseball, once (still?) our "National Passtime," announced last week that it is expanding the number of its playoff participants from eight to ten out of its thirty teams. For all you "numbers" peeps out there, that's a jump from 27% to 33%, still the lowest percentage among the pros. Starting this season, the baseball qualifiers will be the three division champs plus the two best non-champs (i.e., wild card teams) from each of the American League and the National League. Each league's wild card teams can come from within the same division (e.g., the American League East Division), so it's quite possible that a team which finishes third in its division can still make the playoffs. Is this good for the game of baseball?
As someone who attends many regular season games and watches way too many on TV, I am generally against any movement which dilutes the importance of those games. Attending a Twins game, for example, usually entails an expenditure in the neighborhood of $150 to $175, when you consider the cost of the tickets, parking, the requisite beers at the Bullfrog and inside Target Field, and of course a couple of Tony O's Cubano sandwiches. Although there's a lot to enjoy in connection with attending a game, including simply socializing in the great outdoors, I'd like to think that the primary reason for going is to see a baseball game which has some impact on the overall season. If that were not true, why would most teams' attendance figures sag when their success on the field diminishes? The fewer number of teams allowed to qualify for the playoffs, the more important each individual regular season game becomes, and accordingly, the more bang each paying fan is getting for her buck.
Notwithstanding all of the reasons why I should not favor the new expansion of the playoffs to include two (instead of one) playoff teams from each league, I hereby submit that the change is a good one. The new format will call for the two wildcard teams in each league to square off in a one (ONE!) game series (if, indeed, you can call it a "series") at the higher seed's home park. Whoever loses that game is one and done. The winner goes on to play the division champ with the best record in a five game series, while the other two division champs play each other in a five game set. The rest of the playoffs continue using the same format as in most recent years.
The one game wildcard series is fascinating. Does a manager start his # 1 pitching ace on the theory that there is no tomorrow if his team loses, or does the manager save his # 1 ace for the division series opponent because that team will be tougher to beat than the wild card opponent? The manager will look pretty silly saving his best pitcher for a game that may not ever happen. Some managers might choose not to manipulate their rotation at all; whoever's turn it is to pitch on the day of the wild card game gets the call.
I also like the fact that teams won't be able to semi-intentionally "tank" the last few weeks of the season, realizing that they will be in the playoffs anyway, so why not rest their regulars. Under the old format, the league's division champions had no real benefit over the wild card team, other than a home field advantage (which, of course, would be wiped out if the division champ lost the first game of the division series). If a playoff spot was assured, there was no compelling need to try to overtake the division leader. Under the new format, there is a tremendous difference between being one of the league's three division champs and being one of the two wild cards, because the wild cards have to win that one game series to stay alive, while the division champs are idle, better able to set up their rotations and rest their position players.
Already, some managers, such as the Twins' Ron Gardenhire, are complaining that a one game wild card series is too short and unfair to the team that loses. Although I like Gardy a lot, my response to his whine is this: You'd better go out and win your division; then you won't have to cope with the one game wild card series.
There is little question that, of the four major professional sports, the NFL is the most popular league in the country. There are several reasons for this, such as the time of the year in which football games are played, the popularity of fantasy football, the ability of the league to keep fan interest up even during the off-season with things such as the February combine and the April draft, the ease of following teams which play only once a week, and the omni-present television cameras. One very important feature of the NFL is that, unlike the NBA and the NHL which both admit sixteen out of their respective thirty teams into the post-season playoffs (53%), the NFL's playoff structure makes room for only twelve of its thirty-two teams (38%). One quite obvious upshot of this arrangement is that it makes the regular season games much more important. You have to have a fairly decent record during the sixteen game regular season to qualify for the playoffs. There have been times when even a team with a regular season record of ten wins and six losses does not qualify for post-season play. Any team which encounters a three game losing streak really has an uphill climb.
Major league baseball, once (still?) our "National Passtime," announced last week that it is expanding the number of its playoff participants from eight to ten out of its thirty teams. For all you "numbers" peeps out there, that's a jump from 27% to 33%, still the lowest percentage among the pros. Starting this season, the baseball qualifiers will be the three division champs plus the two best non-champs (i.e., wild card teams) from each of the American League and the National League. Each league's wild card teams can come from within the same division (e.g., the American League East Division), so it's quite possible that a team which finishes third in its division can still make the playoffs. Is this good for the game of baseball?
As someone who attends many regular season games and watches way too many on TV, I am generally against any movement which dilutes the importance of those games. Attending a Twins game, for example, usually entails an expenditure in the neighborhood of $150 to $175, when you consider the cost of the tickets, parking, the requisite beers at the Bullfrog and inside Target Field, and of course a couple of Tony O's Cubano sandwiches. Although there's a lot to enjoy in connection with attending a game, including simply socializing in the great outdoors, I'd like to think that the primary reason for going is to see a baseball game which has some impact on the overall season. If that were not true, why would most teams' attendance figures sag when their success on the field diminishes? The fewer number of teams allowed to qualify for the playoffs, the more important each individual regular season game becomes, and accordingly, the more bang each paying fan is getting for her buck.
Notwithstanding all of the reasons why I should not favor the new expansion of the playoffs to include two (instead of one) playoff teams from each league, I hereby submit that the change is a good one. The new format will call for the two wildcard teams in each league to square off in a one (ONE!) game series (if, indeed, you can call it a "series") at the higher seed's home park. Whoever loses that game is one and done. The winner goes on to play the division champ with the best record in a five game series, while the other two division champs play each other in a five game set. The rest of the playoffs continue using the same format as in most recent years.
The one game wildcard series is fascinating. Does a manager start his # 1 pitching ace on the theory that there is no tomorrow if his team loses, or does the manager save his # 1 ace for the division series opponent because that team will be tougher to beat than the wild card opponent? The manager will look pretty silly saving his best pitcher for a game that may not ever happen. Some managers might choose not to manipulate their rotation at all; whoever's turn it is to pitch on the day of the wild card game gets the call.
I also like the fact that teams won't be able to semi-intentionally "tank" the last few weeks of the season, realizing that they will be in the playoffs anyway, so why not rest their regulars. Under the old format, the league's division champions had no real benefit over the wild card team, other than a home field advantage (which, of course, would be wiped out if the division champ lost the first game of the division series). If a playoff spot was assured, there was no compelling need to try to overtake the division leader. Under the new format, there is a tremendous difference between being one of the league's three division champs and being one of the two wild cards, because the wild cards have to win that one game series to stay alive, while the division champs are idle, better able to set up their rotations and rest their position players.
Already, some managers, such as the Twins' Ron Gardenhire, are complaining that a one game wild card series is too short and unfair to the team that loses. Although I like Gardy a lot, my response to his whine is this: You'd better go out and win your division; then you won't have to cope with the one game wild card series.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Movie Review: "A Separation"
"A Separation": A-. Nader and Simin have been married for fourteen years, but their marriage is coming to an end. In the opening scene, Simin tells a judge that she wants to leave Iran, and has only forty days before her exit visa expires. Nader replies that he can't leave because he has the responsibility of caring for his aged father, Omar, who is suffering from Alzheimers. (For purposes of this post I'm calling Nader's father "Omar," though he is not given a name in the credits.) Simin would leave the country anyway, were it not for the couple's eleven year old daughter, Termeh. The family lives in the Omar's apartment. The judge won't grant the divorce, but Simin moves out to live with her mother in another part of the city. Nader hires Razieh to look after his father during the day while Nader goes to his bank job and Termeh attends school. Nader explains to Razieh that her main duties are to give Omar his meds and, most importantly, to keep him from harming himself. Razieh brings her little girl Somayeh with her to play in the apartment while Razieh performs her caregiving and housekeeping tasks.
We get a grueling up-close look at what it's like to care for Omar, who is incapable of performing even the simplest tasks. The job is too much for Razieh, but her husband can't take over because his creditors have had him jailed for failing to pay his debts. In fact, for religious reasons Razieh has not even told her husband that she has taken on this job. One day, when Nader returns home early and finds Omar near death and no sign of Razieh, he desperately tries to resuscitate his father. While all this is going on, Razieh returns and Nader erupts. To add fuel to the fire, he accuses Razieh of theft. Razieh admits she left Omar home alone for a very brief time to attend to a personal matter, but vehemently denies stealing Nader's stash of hidden cash. Nader forcibly ejects Razieh from the apartment.
There are a lot of things going on in this movie: the pending divorce, the care of and concern for Omar, the clash between Nader and Razieh, and the plight of Termeh, who is trying to cope with all that is going on before her young eyes. When Razieh's husband gets involved, another layer of confrontation evolves, much of it playing out in another courtroom. Emotions run high, to say the least.
Nader and Razieh each have their secrets, and they also have their faults. Neither is a bad person, as evidenced by their efforts to be good parents to their respective daughters, yet sometimes bad things happen to good people. The movie is a study of how a single decision, viz., the decision of Simin to move out of her family's apartment, can start a domino effect of (probably) unforeseen events. Some of the scenes in the movie, particularly that of an early conversation at the dining room table between Simin and Termeh's tutor, don't seem particularly important when shown, yet have eventual major inpact in the evolution of the story. The same can be said about the scene in which Nader kicks Razieh out of the apartment, and a scene when Omar briefly leaves his apartment to go to a newsstand across the street. If you pay attention to detail, you will be rewarded with a higher level of appreciation of this gripping tale.
The acting is superb, with a special tip of the hat to Sareh Bayat who plays Razieh. And Kimia Hosseini, who plays little Somayeh, is just about the cutest little kid I've ever seen on the screen. "A Separation" has been nominated for two Oscars, Best Foreign Language Film and Best Original Screenplay. It will take an excellent movie to defeat "A Separation" in either category.
We get a grueling up-close look at what it's like to care for Omar, who is incapable of performing even the simplest tasks. The job is too much for Razieh, but her husband can't take over because his creditors have had him jailed for failing to pay his debts. In fact, for religious reasons Razieh has not even told her husband that she has taken on this job. One day, when Nader returns home early and finds Omar near death and no sign of Razieh, he desperately tries to resuscitate his father. While all this is going on, Razieh returns and Nader erupts. To add fuel to the fire, he accuses Razieh of theft. Razieh admits she left Omar home alone for a very brief time to attend to a personal matter, but vehemently denies stealing Nader's stash of hidden cash. Nader forcibly ejects Razieh from the apartment.
There are a lot of things going on in this movie: the pending divorce, the care of and concern for Omar, the clash between Nader and Razieh, and the plight of Termeh, who is trying to cope with all that is going on before her young eyes. When Razieh's husband gets involved, another layer of confrontation evolves, much of it playing out in another courtroom. Emotions run high, to say the least.
Nader and Razieh each have their secrets, and they also have their faults. Neither is a bad person, as evidenced by their efforts to be good parents to their respective daughters, yet sometimes bad things happen to good people. The movie is a study of how a single decision, viz., the decision of Simin to move out of her family's apartment, can start a domino effect of (probably) unforeseen events. Some of the scenes in the movie, particularly that of an early conversation at the dining room table between Simin and Termeh's tutor, don't seem particularly important when shown, yet have eventual major inpact in the evolution of the story. The same can be said about the scene in which Nader kicks Razieh out of the apartment, and a scene when Omar briefly leaves his apartment to go to a newsstand across the street. If you pay attention to detail, you will be rewarded with a higher level of appreciation of this gripping tale.
The acting is superb, with a special tip of the hat to Sareh Bayat who plays Razieh. And Kimia Hosseini, who plays little Somayeh, is just about the cutest little kid I've ever seen on the screen. "A Separation" has been nominated for two Oscars, Best Foreign Language Film and Best Original Screenplay. It will take an excellent movie to defeat "A Separation" in either category.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Winter Under Where
Admit it, you thought I confused "where" and "wear" in the subject line above. Actually, it's a play on the made up Latin phrase "hiems sub ubi," which translates into the three English words "winter," "under" and "where." My Latin IV teacher at Bishop Ryan High School, Father John O'Leary, used to tell us tongue-in-cheek that those words formed the phrase "winter underwear." His other so-called joke was to ask, "Habesne sed?" The translation of "habesne" is "Do you have?" "Sed" is the Latin conjunction for "but." Put it together and it translates into "Do you have a butt?" Yep, even though Latin is accused of being a dead language, there were times when it was fun to learn. Father O had us rolling in the aisles.
Most adults in the US probably did not study Latin. The main reason I did was because my first high school, Assumption High, only offered Latin or Spanish to the boys, and I was afraid of the bullwhip-wielding Spanish teacher, Father Colonese. Therefore, I took Latin by default. Regardless of whether or not you have studied Latin, there are three English abbreviations, each having Latin roots, which I strongly advise you to learn. They are: "e.g."; "i.e."; and "viz." The first two I have seen erroneously exchanged for one another by people who should know better, and the third one is simply underused.
-----------------
The abbreviation "e.g."stands for the Latin term "exempla gratia," which means "by the grace of an example." You use that abbreviation to introduce examples of what you wrote before.
Example: I have traveled to several southern states, e.g., Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida.
It is often useful to separate your examples from the rest of the sentence with parentheses.
Example: There are a few NFL teams (e.g., the Patriots, the Packers and the Rams) which are unlikely to draft a quarterback in the first round.
---------------
Don't use "e.g." when you should be using "i.e." The abbreviation "i.e." stands for the Latin term "id est," which means "that is." You do not use "i.e." if you are about to show examples. Instead, you would employ the abbreviation "e.g." Conversely, "i.e." is usually used to show a specific identification of what you wrote before, similar to an appositive.
Example: The meteorologists warned their viewers of the hazardous road condition which is the most difficult for a driver to see, i.e. black ice.
Example: Momma Romano waited until she retired from the restaurant business before she revealed her secret ingredient, guanciale, i.e., cured pork jowl.
--------------
The third abbreviation which I commend for your consideration is "viz. " The full Latin word would be "videlicet," but in shorthand English it's translated as "namely." As I wrote above, the use of "viz" is minimal, perhaps due to the fact that the difference between "viz." and "i.e." is subtle. Both abbreviations are used to introduce something specific (rather than a set of examples) to an antecedent. A good writer will use variety, both in choice of words and in sentence structure. Instead of using "i.e." repeatedly, try substituting "viz." occasionally. Maybe you can fool people into thinking you're a Latin scholar.
Example: Lennon and McCartney were inspired to keep changing the style of their music compositions by the competition they faced from their chief contemporary rivals, viz., Jagger and Richards.
Example: NASA is mostly interested in exploring the two planets which are closest to the earth, viz., Venus and Mars, although missions to more distant planets are also part of the space program.
------------------
Finally, and since we're on the topic of Latin-rooted abbreviations, I would like to throw in a short warning about the term "et cetera," which is abbreviated "etc." Be careful not to pronounce that term "EK setera." Phonetically, it's "ET setera." The Latin word "et" means "and"; the Latin word "cetera" means "other" or "other things." Thus, "et cetera" is translated to say "and other things."
-----------------
I was going to finish this post with another Latin joke, but I'm afraid I've used up the only two I know in the first paragraph. So, I simply bid you "Vale!"
Most adults in the US probably did not study Latin. The main reason I did was because my first high school, Assumption High, only offered Latin or Spanish to the boys, and I was afraid of the bullwhip-wielding Spanish teacher, Father Colonese. Therefore, I took Latin by default. Regardless of whether or not you have studied Latin, there are three English abbreviations, each having Latin roots, which I strongly advise you to learn. They are: "e.g."; "i.e."; and "viz." The first two I have seen erroneously exchanged for one another by people who should know better, and the third one is simply underused.
-----------------
The abbreviation "e.g."stands for the Latin term "exempla gratia," which means "by the grace of an example." You use that abbreviation to introduce examples of what you wrote before.
Example: I have traveled to several southern states, e.g., Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida.
It is often useful to separate your examples from the rest of the sentence with parentheses.
Example: There are a few NFL teams (e.g., the Patriots, the Packers and the Rams) which are unlikely to draft a quarterback in the first round.
---------------
Don't use "e.g." when you should be using "i.e." The abbreviation "i.e." stands for the Latin term "id est," which means "that is." You do not use "i.e." if you are about to show examples. Instead, you would employ the abbreviation "e.g." Conversely, "i.e." is usually used to show a specific identification of what you wrote before, similar to an appositive.
Example: The meteorologists warned their viewers of the hazardous road condition which is the most difficult for a driver to see, i.e. black ice.
Example: Momma Romano waited until she retired from the restaurant business before she revealed her secret ingredient, guanciale, i.e., cured pork jowl.
--------------
The third abbreviation which I commend for your consideration is "viz. " The full Latin word would be "videlicet," but in shorthand English it's translated as "namely." As I wrote above, the use of "viz" is minimal, perhaps due to the fact that the difference between "viz." and "i.e." is subtle. Both abbreviations are used to introduce something specific (rather than a set of examples) to an antecedent. A good writer will use variety, both in choice of words and in sentence structure. Instead of using "i.e." repeatedly, try substituting "viz." occasionally. Maybe you can fool people into thinking you're a Latin scholar.
Example: Lennon and McCartney were inspired to keep changing the style of their music compositions by the competition they faced from their chief contemporary rivals, viz., Jagger and Richards.
Example: NASA is mostly interested in exploring the two planets which are closest to the earth, viz., Venus and Mars, although missions to more distant planets are also part of the space program.
------------------
Finally, and since we're on the topic of Latin-rooted abbreviations, I would like to throw in a short warning about the term "et cetera," which is abbreviated "etc." Be careful not to pronounce that term "EK setera." Phonetically, it's "ET setera." The Latin word "et" means "and"; the Latin word "cetera" means "other" or "other things." Thus, "et cetera" is translated to say "and other things."
-----------------
I was going to finish this post with another Latin joke, but I'm afraid I've used up the only two I know in the first paragraph. So, I simply bid you "Vale!"
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Movie Review: "Carnage"
"Carnage": A- Penelope (Jodie Foster) is the mother of Ethan Longstreet, an eleven year old boy who was struck by chum Zachary Cowan with a stick during a playground argument. She and her husband Michael (John C. Reilly) ask Zachary's parents, Nancy (Kate Winslet) and Alan (Christoph Waltz), to come to their New York City apartment to have an adult conversation about the scuffle. After some minor disagreement over the choice of words (Was Zachary "armed" with the stick or "in possession of" the stick?) on a statement which Penelope types up, it appears that things are settled and the Cowans are headed for the door. They have not, at this point, even removed their coats. But tightly wound Penelope can't resist making a comment which the Cowans won't let pass, and before you know it the Cowans have settled in for a longer duration. Although Alan is a litigation attorney, he does not seem eager to get into a verbal jousting match with Penelope; he lets Nancy, an investment broker, do most of the talking in defense of Zachary. Meanwhile, Michael, who is a laid back hardware parts salesman, tries to keep things light with his smile and his sense of humor.
Ethan has suffered some dental damage which is covered by the Longstreet's insurance. But Penelope feels that the conversation should be about more than that, and if the Cowans aren't attuned to that reality, Penelope is bent on making sure they see her point of view before they leave. The discussion turns to deeper yet related themes such as child rearing, discipline and punishment, apologies, bullying and even gangs. In spite of the divergent points of view, the Longstreets are nevertheless aware of their roles as hosts, even offering Penelope's prized cobbler to the Cowans while the four of them continue their discussion. All too frequently, Alan answers his cell phone and carries on conversations with his pharmacuetical company client regarding a prescription drug which may be defective. It's obvious he has his mind on more pressing matters than two eleven year olds' mishaps in a park, even if one of those kids happens to be his son. These interruptions are annoying to the other three, but then Michael's elderly mother starts calling too. As it turns out, she has been taking the same questionable medicine that Alan's client has been manufacturing. One of the funniest bits in the movie occurs when Michael puts Alan on the phone. Michael's mother thinks Alan is a doctor!
The script for "Carnage" is brilliantly written. At first it is the Longstreets against the Cowans in a civilized manner. Your instinct tells you that the serene atmosphere won't last forever. Then, before you know it, the two men take sides against the women, one of the characters gets violently sick, and Alan's cell phone stops ringing for a surprising reason. When Michael decides to break out his eighteen year old single malt scotch and Cuban cigars, that is a game changer.
It is often said that great athletes have the ability to bring out the best in their teammates. If one were to test that theory as it applies to acting, "Carnage" would be offered as Exhibit A. All four leads are on top of their game. Austrian Christoph Waltz, who was brilliant in 2009's "Inglorious Basterds," is probably the least well known of the four to American audiences, but he is an amazing actor, having the ability to send out mixed signals with the utterance of a sentence or two coupled with subtle facial expressions. If you have ever said, "I'd like to be a fly on the wall" to eavesdrop on a lively private argument, you won't want to miss this movie.
Ethan has suffered some dental damage which is covered by the Longstreet's insurance. But Penelope feels that the conversation should be about more than that, and if the Cowans aren't attuned to that reality, Penelope is bent on making sure they see her point of view before they leave. The discussion turns to deeper yet related themes such as child rearing, discipline and punishment, apologies, bullying and even gangs. In spite of the divergent points of view, the Longstreets are nevertheless aware of their roles as hosts, even offering Penelope's prized cobbler to the Cowans while the four of them continue their discussion. All too frequently, Alan answers his cell phone and carries on conversations with his pharmacuetical company client regarding a prescription drug which may be defective. It's obvious he has his mind on more pressing matters than two eleven year olds' mishaps in a park, even if one of those kids happens to be his son. These interruptions are annoying to the other three, but then Michael's elderly mother starts calling too. As it turns out, she has been taking the same questionable medicine that Alan's client has been manufacturing. One of the funniest bits in the movie occurs when Michael puts Alan on the phone. Michael's mother thinks Alan is a doctor!
The script for "Carnage" is brilliantly written. At first it is the Longstreets against the Cowans in a civilized manner. Your instinct tells you that the serene atmosphere won't last forever. Then, before you know it, the two men take sides against the women, one of the characters gets violently sick, and Alan's cell phone stops ringing for a surprising reason. When Michael decides to break out his eighteen year old single malt scotch and Cuban cigars, that is a game changer.
It is often said that great athletes have the ability to bring out the best in their teammates. If one were to test that theory as it applies to acting, "Carnage" would be offered as Exhibit A. All four leads are on top of their game. Austrian Christoph Waltz, who was brilliant in 2009's "Inglorious Basterds," is probably the least well known of the four to American audiences, but he is an amazing actor, having the ability to send out mixed signals with the utterance of a sentence or two coupled with subtle facial expressions. If you have ever said, "I'd like to be a fly on the wall" to eavesdrop on a lively private argument, you won't want to miss this movie.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Album Review: "Emotional Traffic" - Tim McGraw
"Emotional Traffic": B+. In 2010 Mary and I journeyed to Milwaukee with our friends, Bob and Sue Cipolle, to attend a couple of baseball games featuring the Twins and the Brewers. We also purchased tickets to see a Summerfest concert featuring Tim McGraw and Lady Antebellum. In order to familiarize myself with McGraw's body of work before the concert, I listened to several of his albums and made a mix of my favorite nineteen McGraw songs, which were all that would fit on a burned CD, to enjoy en route from the Twin Cities. Before then I had admired his talent, but that weekend I actually became what could fairly be labeled a fan.
Two weeks ago, McGraw released his first album, "Emotional Traffic," since the four of us went on that Sudsville trip. "Emotional Traffic" is his eleventh studio album of original material. I will admit up front that I have not perfected a grading system to use for music like I have for movies. (See my January 12, 2012 post, "Prelude To 2011 Movie Ratings Recap.") Yes, I know that it is presumptuous of me to think that I've created a perfected system for anything, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and on this blog, yours truly is the beholder. The way I see it, a movie can't be saved, or conversely deemed to be excellent, based on a few scenes, whereas if an album has a few superb ditties sprinkled in among the rest of the set list, it can at least be labeled above average if not higher. Another way to put it is this: A movie must be rated based on its entirety, whereas an album has the capacity to enable a few terrific songs to weigh more than an equal number of clunkers. As for rating "Emotional Traffic," the challenge was a little easier than normal, as my question was this: How many of its twelve songs were good enough to be included on that 2010 mix I made if I could expand the capacity beyond nineteen songs? My answer is two for sure, maybe as many as four.
"Emotional Traffic" has been marketed with McGraw proclaiming, "This is my best ever album," but my reaction after my initial listening to the first five tracks was, "Meh." (I have always wanted to use the word "meh" in a sentence ever since discovering it several months ago. What you just read was my big opportunity!) Then I played Track # 6, "Better Than I Used To Be," and recalled the new Budweiser Light tag line, "Here we go." That song is vintage baritone McGraw, admitting past indiscretions but promising to get better. He tells the listener, "I ain't as good as I'm gonna get, but I'm better than I used to be." For some reason it called to mind Toby Keith's 2005 hit, "As Good As I Once Was," when he sang, "I ain't as good as I once was, but I'm as good once as I ever was."
The other song on "Emotional Traffic" that I'd rate top notch is Track # 11, his duet with Ne-Yo titled "Only Human," which is about having lofty aspirations that sometimes must be trimmed back to something more realistic. To be honest, I did not know Ne-Yo from J Lo, other than I once heard his singing style referred to as "whine-hop" (as opposed to hip-hop, I guess), but he sings great on this duet and I'm going to check out some of his other, solo work. The album title "Emotional Traffic" comes from one of the early lines of this song.
The four songs between "Better Than I Used To Be" and "Only Human" are all worthy too, including a song about unexpected miracles (Track # 7, "Touchdown Jesus"), a story about a singer who had to leave her hometown to be appreciated as a star (Track # 8, "The One That Got Away"), and two upbeat story songs about meeting someone new in a bar toward the end of the evening ("Felt Good On My Lips" and "Hey Now," Tracks # 9 and 10, respectively). The set closes with "Die By My Own Hand," a deep reflective song reminiscent of Journey's "Faithfully" and Kenny Roger's "She Believes In Me." It's not easy for a woman to be in love with a music man.
Does "Emotional Traffic" live up to Tim McGraw's proclamation as his best work? I am going to say "no." I still think his 1995 album "All I Want" remains his best. However, as you have seen from my grade of B+, I do highly recommend "Emotional Traffic." But start with Track # 6.
Two weeks ago, McGraw released his first album, "Emotional Traffic," since the four of us went on that Sudsville trip. "Emotional Traffic" is his eleventh studio album of original material. I will admit up front that I have not perfected a grading system to use for music like I have for movies. (See my January 12, 2012 post, "Prelude To 2011 Movie Ratings Recap.") Yes, I know that it is presumptuous of me to think that I've created a perfected system for anything, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and on this blog, yours truly is the beholder. The way I see it, a movie can't be saved, or conversely deemed to be excellent, based on a few scenes, whereas if an album has a few superb ditties sprinkled in among the rest of the set list, it can at least be labeled above average if not higher. Another way to put it is this: A movie must be rated based on its entirety, whereas an album has the capacity to enable a few terrific songs to weigh more than an equal number of clunkers. As for rating "Emotional Traffic," the challenge was a little easier than normal, as my question was this: How many of its twelve songs were good enough to be included on that 2010 mix I made if I could expand the capacity beyond nineteen songs? My answer is two for sure, maybe as many as four.
"Emotional Traffic" has been marketed with McGraw proclaiming, "This is my best ever album," but my reaction after my initial listening to the first five tracks was, "Meh." (I have always wanted to use the word "meh" in a sentence ever since discovering it several months ago. What you just read was my big opportunity!) Then I played Track # 6, "Better Than I Used To Be," and recalled the new Budweiser Light tag line, "Here we go." That song is vintage baritone McGraw, admitting past indiscretions but promising to get better. He tells the listener, "I ain't as good as I'm gonna get, but I'm better than I used to be." For some reason it called to mind Toby Keith's 2005 hit, "As Good As I Once Was," when he sang, "I ain't as good as I once was, but I'm as good once as I ever was."
The other song on "Emotional Traffic" that I'd rate top notch is Track # 11, his duet with Ne-Yo titled "Only Human," which is about having lofty aspirations that sometimes must be trimmed back to something more realistic. To be honest, I did not know Ne-Yo from J Lo, other than I once heard his singing style referred to as "whine-hop" (as opposed to hip-hop, I guess), but he sings great on this duet and I'm going to check out some of his other, solo work. The album title "Emotional Traffic" comes from one of the early lines of this song.
The four songs between "Better Than I Used To Be" and "Only Human" are all worthy too, including a song about unexpected miracles (Track # 7, "Touchdown Jesus"), a story about a singer who had to leave her hometown to be appreciated as a star (Track # 8, "The One That Got Away"), and two upbeat story songs about meeting someone new in a bar toward the end of the evening ("Felt Good On My Lips" and "Hey Now," Tracks # 9 and 10, respectively). The set closes with "Die By My Own Hand," a deep reflective song reminiscent of Journey's "Faithfully" and Kenny Roger's "She Believes In Me." It's not easy for a woman to be in love with a music man.
Does "Emotional Traffic" live up to Tim McGraw's proclamation as his best work? I am going to say "no." I still think his 1995 album "All I Want" remains his best. However, as you have seen from my grade of B+, I do highly recommend "Emotional Traffic." But start with Track # 6.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)