Wednesday, April 28, 2010
what i have seen lately
Friday, October 23, 2009
Top 100 of the 1970s
1. Taxi Driver, (1976)
2. Godfather: Part II, The, (1974)
3. Chinatown, (1974)
4. McCabe and Mrs.Miller, (1971)
5. Godfather, The, (1972)
6. Apocalypse Now, (1979)
7. Conformist, The, (1970)
8. Aguirre: The Wrath of God, (1972)
9. Picnic at Hanging Rock, (1975)
10. Young Frankenstein, (1974)
11. Long Goodbye, The, (1973)
12. Alien, (1979)
13. Badlands, (1973)
14. Cries and Whispers, (1972)
15. Don't Look Now, (1973)
16. Performance, (1970)
17. Carrie, (1976)
18. Blue Collar, (1978)
19. Day For Night, (1973)
20. All That Jazz, (1979)
21. Celine and Julie Go Boating, (1974)
22. Scenes from a Marriage, (1973)
23. Mean Streets, (1973)
24. Murmur of the Heart, (1971)
25. That Obscure Object of Desire, (1977)
26. Clockwork Orange, A, (1971)
27. Star Wars, (1977)
28. Monty Python and the Holy Grail, (1975)
29. Iceman Cometh, The, (1973)
30. Gambler, The, (1974)
31. Pennies from Heaven, (1978)
32. Deer Hunter, The, (1978)
33. Woman Under the Influence, A, (1974)
34. Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, (1973)
35. Jaws, (1975)
36. Conversation, The, (1974)
37. Claire's Knee, (1970)
38. Stroszek, (1977)
39. Dog Day Afternoon, (1975)
40. Deliverance, (1972)
41. Ali: Fear Eats the Soul, (1974)
42. Last Picture Show, The, (1971)
43. Last Detail, The, (1973)
44. Solaris, (1972)
45. In a Year with 13 Moons, (1978)
46. Lacombe Lucien, (1974)
47. Walkabout, (1971)
48. Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, The, (1972)
49. Fingers, (1978)
50. Dawn of the Dead, (1978)
51. Vengeance is Mine, (1979)
52. Ceremony, The, (1971)
53. Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia, (1974)
54. Death in Venice, (1971)
55. Breaking Away, (1979)
56. Halloween, (1978)
57. Five Easy Pieces, (1970)
58. Real Life, (1979)
59. Exorcist, The, (1973)
60. Mon Oncle Antoine, (1971)
61. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, (1975)
62. Invasion of the Body Snatchers, (1978)
63. Suspiria, (1977)
64. Amarcord, (1973)
65. Harlan County, U.S.A., (1976)
66. Autumn Sonata, (1978)
67. Lenny, (1974)
68. Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The, (1974)
69. Straw Dogs, (1971)
70. Martin (1977)
71. Blazing Saddles, (1974)
72. Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx, (1972)
73. Barry Lyndon, (1975)
74. Day of the Jackal, The, (1973)
75. Junior Bonner, (1972)
76. 3 Women, (1977)
77. Gates of Heaven, (1978)
78. Tragedy of Macbeth, The, (1971)
79. Man Who Fell to Earth, The, (1976)
80. Nashville, (1975)
81. Enter the Dragon, (1973)
82. Close Encounters of the Third Kind, (1977)
83. California Split, (1974)
84. Promised Land, The, (1975)
85. Assault on Precinct 13, (1976)
86. King of Marvin Gardens, The, (1972)
87. Wise Blood, (1979)
88. Fat City, (1972)
89. Killer of Sheep, (1977)
90. Sunday Bloody Sunday, (1971)
91. Stay Hungry, (1976)
92. Cockfighter (1974)
93. Mr. Klein (1976)
94. Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant, The, (1972)
95. Cocksucker Blues, (1972)
96. Hearts and Minds, (1974)
97. Chloe in the Afternoon, (1972)
98. Hospital, The, (1971)
99. Spirit of the Beehive, (1973)
100. Two-Lane Blacktop, (1971)
2. Godfather: Part II, The, (1974)
3. Chinatown, (1974)
4. McCabe and Mrs.Miller, (1971)
5. Godfather, The, (1972)
6. Apocalypse Now, (1979)
7. Conformist, The, (1970)
8. Aguirre: The Wrath of God, (1972)
9. Picnic at Hanging Rock, (1975)
10. Young Frankenstein, (1974)
11. Long Goodbye, The, (1973)
12. Alien, (1979)
13. Badlands, (1973)
14. Cries and Whispers, (1972)
15. Don't Look Now, (1973)
16. Performance, (1970)
17. Carrie, (1976)
18. Blue Collar, (1978)
19. Day For Night, (1973)
20. All That Jazz, (1979)
21. Celine and Julie Go Boating, (1974)
22. Scenes from a Marriage, (1973)
23. Mean Streets, (1973)
24. Murmur of the Heart, (1971)
25. That Obscure Object of Desire, (1977)
26. Clockwork Orange, A, (1971)
27. Star Wars, (1977)
28. Monty Python and the Holy Grail, (1975)
29. Iceman Cometh, The, (1973)
30. Gambler, The, (1974)
31. Pennies from Heaven, (1978)
32. Deer Hunter, The, (1978)
33. Woman Under the Influence, A, (1974)
34. Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, (1973)
35. Jaws, (1975)
36. Conversation, The, (1974)
37. Claire's Knee, (1970)
38. Stroszek, (1977)
39. Dog Day Afternoon, (1975)
40. Deliverance, (1972)
41. Ali: Fear Eats the Soul, (1974)
42. Last Picture Show, The, (1971)
43. Last Detail, The, (1973)
44. Solaris, (1972)
45. In a Year with 13 Moons, (1978)
46. Lacombe Lucien, (1974)
47. Walkabout, (1971)
48. Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, The, (1972)
49. Fingers, (1978)
50. Dawn of the Dead, (1978)
51. Vengeance is Mine, (1979)
52. Ceremony, The, (1971)
53. Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia, (1974)
54. Death in Venice, (1971)
55. Breaking Away, (1979)
56. Halloween, (1978)
57. Five Easy Pieces, (1970)
58. Real Life, (1979)
59. Exorcist, The, (1973)
60. Mon Oncle Antoine, (1971)
61. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, (1975)
62. Invasion of the Body Snatchers, (1978)
63. Suspiria, (1977)
64. Amarcord, (1973)
65. Harlan County, U.S.A., (1976)
66. Autumn Sonata, (1978)
67. Lenny, (1974)
68. Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The, (1974)
69. Straw Dogs, (1971)
70. Martin (1977)
71. Blazing Saddles, (1974)
72. Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx, (1972)
73. Barry Lyndon, (1975)
74. Day of the Jackal, The, (1973)
75. Junior Bonner, (1972)
76. 3 Women, (1977)
77. Gates of Heaven, (1978)
78. Tragedy of Macbeth, The, (1971)
79. Man Who Fell to Earth, The, (1976)
80. Nashville, (1975)
81. Enter the Dragon, (1973)
82. Close Encounters of the Third Kind, (1977)
83. California Split, (1974)
84. Promised Land, The, (1975)
85. Assault on Precinct 13, (1976)
86. King of Marvin Gardens, The, (1972)
87. Wise Blood, (1979)
88. Fat City, (1972)
89. Killer of Sheep, (1977)
90. Sunday Bloody Sunday, (1971)
91. Stay Hungry, (1976)
92. Cockfighter (1974)
93. Mr. Klein (1976)
94. Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant, The, (1972)
95. Cocksucker Blues, (1972)
96. Hearts and Minds, (1974)
97. Chloe in the Afternoon, (1972)
98. Hospital, The, (1971)
99. Spirit of the Beehive, (1973)
100. Two-Lane Blacktop, (1971)
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Top 100 of the 1980s
1. Raising Arizona, (1987)
2. Once Upon a Time in America, (1984)
3. Singing Detective, The, (1986)
4. Blue Velvet, (1986)
5. Ballad of Narayama, The, (1982)
6. Do the Right Thing, (1989)
7. Ran, (1985)
8. Au Revoir Les Enfants, (1987)
9. Fanny och Alexander, (1982)
10. Thin Blue Line, The, (1988)
11. Brazil, (1985)
12. Shining, The, (1980)
13. Right Stuff, The, (1983)
14. Blind Chance, (1982)
15. Raiders of the Lost Ark, (1981)
16. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, (1982)
17. Come and See, (1985)
18. Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters, (1985)
19. Raging Bull, (1980)
20. Empire Strikes Back, The (1980)
21. Sunday in the Country, A, (1984)
22. Purple Rose of Cairo, The, (1985)
23. Sans soleil, (1982)
24. Amadeus, (1984)
25. Fly, The, (1986)
26. Thing, The, (1982)
27. Dekalog, (1988)
28. Road Warrior, The, (1981)
29. Vagabond, (1985)
30. Pee-wee's Big Adventure, (1986)
31. This Is Spinal Tap, (1984)
32. Fast Times at Ridgemont High, (1982)
33. Mauvais sang, (1986)
34. Last Temptation of Christ, The, (1988)
35. Elephant Man, The, (1980)
36. Die Hard, (1988)
37. Atlantic City, (1980)
38. Videodrome, (1983)
39. Field of Dreams, (1989)
40. Pennies from Heaven, (1981)
41. Midnight Run, (1988)
42. Hannah and Her Sisters, (1986)
43. Killer, The, (1989)
44. Platoon, (1986)
45. Ferris Bueller's Day Off, (1986)
46. Boot, Das, (1981)
47. Airplane!, (1980)
48. Out of the Blue, (1980)
49. Sherman's March, (1986)
50. Mephisto, (1981)
51. Lola, (1981)
52. Fish Called Wanda, A, (1988)
53. Say Anything..., (1989)
54. Gallipoli, (1981)
55. Untouchables, The, (1987)
56. Matewan, (1987)
57. King of Comedy, The, (1983)
58. Sid and Nancy, (1986)
59. Demon Lover Diary (1980)
60. Emperor's Naked Army Marches On, The (1987)
61. Princess Bride, The, (1987)
62. Wings of Desire, (1987)
63. Green Ray, The (1986)
64. Dead Ringers, (1988)
65. Terminator, The, (1984)
66. Burden of Dreams, (1982)
67. Jesus of Montreal, (1989)
68. Sacrifice, The (1986)
69. Full Metal Jacket, (1987)
70. Heathers, (1989)
71. Vanishing, The (1988)
72. Bad Taste, (1987)
73. Lost in America, (1985)
74. Top Secret!, (1984)
75. Empire of the Sun, (1987)
76. Meaning of Life, The (1983)
77. Better Off Dead..., (1985)
78. Long Good Friday, The, (1980)
79. Cutter's Way, (1981)
80. Breaker Morant, (1980)
81. Stunt Man, The, (1980)
82. Repo Man, (1984)
83. Nightmare on Elm Street, A, (1984)
84. Excalibur, (1981)
85. Hope and Glory, (1987)
86. Black Rain, (1989)
87. Local Hero, (1983)
88. Unbearable Lightness of Being, (1988)
89. Night of the Shooting Stars, The, (1982)
90. Testament, (1983)
91. Tampopo, (1986)
92. Something Wild, (1986)
93. My Favorite Year, (1982)
94. Angel Heart, (1987)
95. Aviator's Wife, The, (1981)
96. Back to the Future, (1985)
97. Kagemusha, (1980)
98. Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)
99. Danton, (1982)
100. Ghostbusters, (1984)
2. Once Upon a Time in America, (1984)
3. Singing Detective, The, (1986)
4. Blue Velvet, (1986)
5. Ballad of Narayama, The, (1982)
6. Do the Right Thing, (1989)
7. Ran, (1985)
8. Au Revoir Les Enfants, (1987)
9. Fanny och Alexander, (1982)
10. Thin Blue Line, The, (1988)
11. Brazil, (1985)
12. Shining, The, (1980)
13. Right Stuff, The, (1983)
14. Blind Chance, (1982)
15. Raiders of the Lost Ark, (1981)
16. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, (1982)
17. Come and See, (1985)
18. Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters, (1985)
19. Raging Bull, (1980)
20. Empire Strikes Back, The (1980)
21. Sunday in the Country, A, (1984)
22. Purple Rose of Cairo, The, (1985)
23. Sans soleil, (1982)
24. Amadeus, (1984)
25. Fly, The, (1986)
26. Thing, The, (1982)
27. Dekalog, (1988)
28. Road Warrior, The, (1981)
29. Vagabond, (1985)
30. Pee-wee's Big Adventure, (1986)
31. This Is Spinal Tap, (1984)
32. Fast Times at Ridgemont High, (1982)
33. Mauvais sang, (1986)
34. Last Temptation of Christ, The, (1988)
35. Elephant Man, The, (1980)
36. Die Hard, (1988)
37. Atlantic City, (1980)
38. Videodrome, (1983)
39. Field of Dreams, (1989)
40. Pennies from Heaven, (1981)
41. Midnight Run, (1988)
42. Hannah and Her Sisters, (1986)
43. Killer, The, (1989)
44. Platoon, (1986)
45. Ferris Bueller's Day Off, (1986)
46. Boot, Das, (1981)
47. Airplane!, (1980)
48. Out of the Blue, (1980)
49. Sherman's March, (1986)
50. Mephisto, (1981)
51. Lola, (1981)
52. Fish Called Wanda, A, (1988)
53. Say Anything..., (1989)
54. Gallipoli, (1981)
55. Untouchables, The, (1987)
56. Matewan, (1987)
57. King of Comedy, The, (1983)
58. Sid and Nancy, (1986)
59. Demon Lover Diary (1980)
60. Emperor's Naked Army Marches On, The (1987)
61. Princess Bride, The, (1987)
62. Wings of Desire, (1987)
63. Green Ray, The (1986)
64. Dead Ringers, (1988)
65. Terminator, The, (1984)
66. Burden of Dreams, (1982)
67. Jesus of Montreal, (1989)
68. Sacrifice, The (1986)
69. Full Metal Jacket, (1987)
70. Heathers, (1989)
71. Vanishing, The (1988)
72. Bad Taste, (1987)
73. Lost in America, (1985)
74. Top Secret!, (1984)
75. Empire of the Sun, (1987)
76. Meaning of Life, The (1983)
77. Better Off Dead..., (1985)
78. Long Good Friday, The, (1980)
79. Cutter's Way, (1981)
80. Breaker Morant, (1980)
81. Stunt Man, The, (1980)
82. Repo Man, (1984)
83. Nightmare on Elm Street, A, (1984)
84. Excalibur, (1981)
85. Hope and Glory, (1987)
86. Black Rain, (1989)
87. Local Hero, (1983)
88. Unbearable Lightness of Being, (1988)
89. Night of the Shooting Stars, The, (1982)
90. Testament, (1983)
91. Tampopo, (1986)
92. Something Wild, (1986)
93. My Favorite Year, (1982)
94. Angel Heart, (1987)
95. Aviator's Wife, The, (1981)
96. Back to the Future, (1985)
97. Kagemusha, (1980)
98. Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)
99. Danton, (1982)
100. Ghostbusters, (1984)
Top 100 of the 1990s
1. Goodfellas (1990)
2. Rushmore (1998)
3. Chungking Express (1994)
4. Dead Man (1995)
5. Straight Story, The (1999)
6. Groundhog Day (1993)
7. Wild Reeds, The (1994)
8. Silence of the Lambs, The (1991)
9. Flirting With Disaster (1996)
10. Three Colors: Red (1994)
11. Fearless (1993)
12. Hana-bi (1997)
13. Mother and Son (1997)
14. Se7en (1995)
15. After Life (1998)
16. Boogie Nights (1997)
17. Big Lebowski, The (1998)
18. Pulp Fiction (1994)
19. English Patient, The (1996)
20. Before Sunrise (1995)
21. Magnolia (1999)
22. Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)
23. Barton Fink (1991)
24. All About My Mother (1999)
25. Crying Game, The (1992)
26. Three Colors: Blue (1993)
27. Schindler's List (1993)
28. Dead Man Walking (1995)
29. L.A. Confidential (1997)
30. Miller's Crossing (1990)
31. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
32. Fight Club (1999)
33. Fargo (1996)
34. Secrets & Lies (1996)
35. Talented Mr. Ripley, The (1999)
36. Sonatine (1993)
37. Happiness (1998)
38. Maborosi (1995)
39. Unforgiven (1992)
40. Promesse, La (1996)
41. Ed Wood (1994)
42. Donnie Brasco (1997)
43. Limey, The (1999)
44. Vanya on 42nd Street (1994)
45. Show Me Love (1998)
46. Topsy-Turvy (1999)
47. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
48. Human Resources (1999)
49. Babe (1995)
50. Crumb (1994)
51. Heavenly Creatures (1994)
52. Les Amants du Pont-Neuf (1991)
53. Hard Boiled (1992)
54. Khrustalyov, My Car! (1998)
55. Quiz Show (1994)
56. Twelve Monkeys (1995)
57. Ceremonie, La (1995)
58. Election (1999)
59. Toy Story 2 (1999)
60. Naked (1993)
61. Schizopolis (1996)
62. JFK (1991)
63. King of the Hill (1993)
64. Wind Will Carry Us, The (1999)
65. A Taste of Cherry (1997)
66. A Bronx Tale (1993)
67. Underground (1995)
68. Carlito's Way (1993)
69. Leaving Las Vegas (1995)
70. Close Up (1990)
71. Beauty and the Beast (1991)
72. Heat (1995)
73. Thin Red Line, The (1998)
74. Waco: Rules of Engagement (1997)
75. Gattaca (1997)
76. Dreamlife of Angels, The (1998)
77. Menace II Society (1993)
78. Beau Travail (1999)
79. Trust (1990)
80. American Dream (1990)
81. Being John Malkovich (1999)
82. Hoop Dreams (1994)
83. Lorenzo's Oil (1992)
84. Out of Sight (1998)
85. Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills (1996)
86. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)
87. Exorcist III, The (1990)
88. Days of Being Wild (1991)
89. Miami Blues (1990)
90. Titanic (1997)
91. Little Dieter Needs to Fly (1997)
92. Lone Star (1996)
93. Once Upon a Time in China (1991)
94. Irma Vep (1996)
95. Civil War, The (1990)
96. In the Name of the Father (1993)
97. Lessons of Darkness (1992)
98. Player, The (1992)
99. Fast, Cheap, & Out of Control (1997)
100. Raise the Red Lantern (1991)
2. Rushmore (1998)
3. Chungking Express (1994)
4. Dead Man (1995)
5. Straight Story, The (1999)
6. Groundhog Day (1993)
7. Wild Reeds, The (1994)
8. Silence of the Lambs, The (1991)
9. Flirting With Disaster (1996)
10. Three Colors: Red (1994)
11. Fearless (1993)
12. Hana-bi (1997)
13. Mother and Son (1997)
14. Se7en (1995)
15. After Life (1998)
16. Boogie Nights (1997)
17. Big Lebowski, The (1998)
18. Pulp Fiction (1994)
19. English Patient, The (1996)
20. Before Sunrise (1995)
21. Magnolia (1999)
22. Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)
23. Barton Fink (1991)
24. All About My Mother (1999)
25. Crying Game, The (1992)
26. Three Colors: Blue (1993)
27. Schindler's List (1993)
28. Dead Man Walking (1995)
29. L.A. Confidential (1997)
30. Miller's Crossing (1990)
31. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
32. Fight Club (1999)
33. Fargo (1996)
34. Secrets & Lies (1996)
35. Talented Mr. Ripley, The (1999)
36. Sonatine (1993)
37. Happiness (1998)
38. Maborosi (1995)
39. Unforgiven (1992)
40. Promesse, La (1996)
41. Ed Wood (1994)
42. Donnie Brasco (1997)
43. Limey, The (1999)
44. Vanya on 42nd Street (1994)
45. Show Me Love (1998)
46. Topsy-Turvy (1999)
47. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
48. Human Resources (1999)
49. Babe (1995)
50. Crumb (1994)
51. Heavenly Creatures (1994)
52. Les Amants du Pont-Neuf (1991)
53. Hard Boiled (1992)
54. Khrustalyov, My Car! (1998)
55. Quiz Show (1994)
56. Twelve Monkeys (1995)
57. Ceremonie, La (1995)
58. Election (1999)
59. Toy Story 2 (1999)
60. Naked (1993)
61. Schizopolis (1996)
62. JFK (1991)
63. King of the Hill (1993)
64. Wind Will Carry Us, The (1999)
65. A Taste of Cherry (1997)
66. A Bronx Tale (1993)
67. Underground (1995)
68. Carlito's Way (1993)
69. Leaving Las Vegas (1995)
70. Close Up (1990)
71. Beauty and the Beast (1991)
72. Heat (1995)
73. Thin Red Line, The (1998)
74. Waco: Rules of Engagement (1997)
75. Gattaca (1997)
76. Dreamlife of Angels, The (1998)
77. Menace II Society (1993)
78. Beau Travail (1999)
79. Trust (1990)
80. American Dream (1990)
81. Being John Malkovich (1999)
82. Hoop Dreams (1994)
83. Lorenzo's Oil (1992)
84. Out of Sight (1998)
85. Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills (1996)
86. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)
87. Exorcist III, The (1990)
88. Days of Being Wild (1991)
89. Miami Blues (1990)
90. Titanic (1997)
91. Little Dieter Needs to Fly (1997)
92. Lone Star (1996)
93. Once Upon a Time in China (1991)
94. Irma Vep (1996)
95. Civil War, The (1990)
96. In the Name of the Father (1993)
97. Lessons of Darkness (1992)
98. Player, The (1992)
99. Fast, Cheap, & Out of Control (1997)
100. Raise the Red Lantern (1991)
Monday, February 19, 2007
For the Record: 2006 Edition
Not counting Army of Shadows, here's my ranked list of movies that US-debuted in 2006, with links to capsules, where applicable:
1. Inland Empire
2. The Departed
3. The Good Shepherd
4. United 93
5. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
6. Pan's Labyrinth
7. Brick
8. Dave Chapelle's Block Party
9. The Prestige
10. When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts
11. 4
12. The Fountain
13. The Queen
14. Fateless
15. Gabrielle
16. Letters from Iwo Jima
17. Marie Antoinette
18. Happy Feet
19. Volver
20. Police Beat
21. The Descent
22. L'enfant
23. Children of Men
24. Half Nelson
25. A Scanner Darkly
26. Our Brand is Crisis
27. Flags of Our Fathers
28. Clean
29. The Death of Mr. Lazarescu
30. Wordplay
31. The Science of Sleep
32. Unknown White Male
33. C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America
34. V for Vendetta
35. Why We Fight
36. 49 Up
37. The Lake House
38. Running Scared
39. Casino Royale
40. Find Me Guilty
41. Sophie Scholl: The Final Days
42. Down in the Valley
43. Duck Season
44. Iron Island
45. Bubble
46. This Film Is Not Yet Rated
47. Snakes on a Plane
48. Superman Returns
49. I Am a Sex Addict
50. The Road to Guantanamo
51. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
52. Street Fight
53. Battle in Heaven
54. The Illusionist
55. Little Fish
56. Three Times
57. Something New
58. X-Men: The Last Stand
59. Miami Vice
60. Idiocracy
61. The Break-Up
62. Mission: Impossible III
63. Cars
64. Inside Man
65. Thank You For Smoking
66. The Proposition
67. The Black Dahlia
68. Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story
69. Little Miss Sunshine
70. A Prairie Home Companion
71. The Puffy Chair
72. Night Watch
73. Art School Confidential
1. Inland Empire
2. The Departed
3. The Good Shepherd
4. United 93
5. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
6. Pan's Labyrinth
7. Brick
8. Dave Chapelle's Block Party
9. The Prestige
10. When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts
11. 4
12. The Fountain
13. The Queen
14. Fateless
15. Gabrielle
16. Letters from Iwo Jima
17. Marie Antoinette
18. Happy Feet
19. Volver
20. Police Beat
21. The Descent
22. L'enfant
23. Children of Men
24. Half Nelson
25. A Scanner Darkly
26. Our Brand is Crisis
27. Flags of Our Fathers
28. Clean
29. The Death of Mr. Lazarescu
30. Wordplay
31. The Science of Sleep
32. Unknown White Male
33. C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America
34. V for Vendetta
35. Why We Fight
36. 49 Up
37. The Lake House
38. Running Scared
39. Casino Royale
40. Find Me Guilty
41. Sophie Scholl: The Final Days
42. Down in the Valley
43. Duck Season
44. Iron Island
45. Bubble
46. This Film Is Not Yet Rated
47. Snakes on a Plane
48. Superman Returns
49. I Am a Sex Addict
50. The Road to Guantanamo
51. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
52. Street Fight
53. Battle in Heaven
54. The Illusionist
55. Little Fish
56. Three Times
57. Something New
58. X-Men: The Last Stand
59. Miami Vice
60. Idiocracy
61. The Break-Up
62. Mission: Impossible III
63. Cars
64. Inside Man
65. Thank You For Smoking
66. The Proposition
67. The Black Dahlia
68. Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story
69. Little Miss Sunshine
70. A Prairie Home Companion
71. The Puffy Chair
72. Night Watch
73. Art School Confidential
Sunday, December 03, 2006
The best film of the year.
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
A.L. R.O.Y.?
I can't remember a year when there were so many worthy candidates for Rookie of the Year.
American League
Francisco Liriano: 107 IP, 12-2, 1.93 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 125 K, 29 BB
Jonathan Papelbon: 51 IP, 0.53 ERA, 0.71 WHIP, 29 Saves, 52 K, 9 BB
Justin Verlander: 130.1 IP, 13-4, 2.69 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 88 K, 36 BB
Jered Weaver: 47 IP, 7-0, 1.15 ERA, 0.79 WHIP, 40 K, 11 BB
National League
Andre Ethier: .344 BA, 8 HR, 29 R, 36 RBI
Prince Fielder: .290 BA, 18 HR, 51 R, 52 RBI
Josh Johnson: 97.2 IP, 8-5, 2.49 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 86 K, 48 BB
Hanley Ramirez: .265 BA, 9 HR, 74 R, 27 SB
Takashi Saito: 49 IP, 2.02 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, 8 Saves, 65 K, 14 BB
Dan Uggla: .299 BA, 14 HR, 62 R, 54 RBI
Ryan Zimmerman: .286 BA, 12 HR, 54 R, 64 RBI
The A.L. list, though shorter, is more impressive. Liriano is probably the favorite so far. I guess Fielder is the favorite in the N.L.?
American League
Francisco Liriano: 107 IP, 12-2, 1.93 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 125 K, 29 BB
Jonathan Papelbon: 51 IP, 0.53 ERA, 0.71 WHIP, 29 Saves, 52 K, 9 BB
Justin Verlander: 130.1 IP, 13-4, 2.69 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 88 K, 36 BB
Jered Weaver: 47 IP, 7-0, 1.15 ERA, 0.79 WHIP, 40 K, 11 BB
National League
Andre Ethier: .344 BA, 8 HR, 29 R, 36 RBI
Prince Fielder: .290 BA, 18 HR, 51 R, 52 RBI
Josh Johnson: 97.2 IP, 8-5, 2.49 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 86 K, 48 BB
Hanley Ramirez: .265 BA, 9 HR, 74 R, 27 SB
Takashi Saito: 49 IP, 2.02 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, 8 Saves, 65 K, 14 BB
Dan Uggla: .299 BA, 14 HR, 62 R, 54 RBI
Ryan Zimmerman: .286 BA, 12 HR, 54 R, 64 RBI
The A.L. list, though shorter, is more impressive. Liriano is probably the favorite so far. I guess Fielder is the favorite in the N.L.?
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Amelia June Vorndam
b. 4/20/2006 @ 4:10 pm
w. 8 lbs, 8 oz
l. 21.5"
She is so awesome.
w. 8 lbs, 8 oz
l. 21.5"
She is so awesome.
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
for the record
I think I've seen everything I wanted to see, so here's my ranked list of the movies released in the U.S. in 2005:
1. Tropical Malady
2. Kings and Queen
3. Grizzly Man
4. The New World
5. Downfall
6. Pulse
7. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
8. Good Night, and Good Luck.
9. 2046
10. The Squid and the Whale
11. Head-On
12. Mysterious Skin
13. Cache
14. The 40 Year Old Virgin
15. Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
16. Oldboy
17. Brokeback Mountain
18. Land of the Dead
19. The Beat That My Heart Skipped
20. Last Days
21. Munich
22. Oliver Twist
23. The Holy Girl
24. The Ringer
25. MirrorMask
26. War of the Worlds
27. Junebug
28. Saraband
29. King Kong
30. Joint Security Area
31. 3-Iron
32. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
33. Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
34. Memories of Murder
35. Syriana
36. A History of Violence
37. My Summer of Love
38. Layer Cake
39. The Constant Gardener
40. The White Diamond
41. The Aristocrats
42. Ong-bak
43. Match Point
44. Hustle & Flow
45. Look at Me
46. Capote
47. Tony Takitani
48. The Devil's Rejects
49. Dear Frankie
50. Punk: Attitude
51. Cinderella Man
52. Me and You and Everyone We Know
53. The Brothers Grimm
54. Murderball
55. Broken Flowers
56. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
57. Nobody Knows
58. Kung Fu Hustle
59. Darwin's Nightmare
60. Millions
61. Elizabethtown
62. The Wedding Crashers
63. Batman Begins
64. Palindromes
65. Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
66. Pretty Persuasion
67. Walk the Line
68. The World
69. Unleashed
70. Red Eye
71. The Island
72. Sin City
73. 9 Songs
74. Off the Map
75. Mr. & Mrs. Smith
76. Funny Ha Ha
77. Just Like Heaven
78. The Upside of Anger
79. Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist
80. Fever Pitch
81. Dallas 362
82. Turtles Can Fly
83. Lord of War
84. Crash
1. Tropical Malady
2. Kings and Queen
3. Grizzly Man
4. The New World
5. Downfall
6. Pulse
7. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
8. Good Night, and Good Luck.
9. 2046
10. The Squid and the Whale
11. Head-On
12. Mysterious Skin
13. Cache
14. The 40 Year Old Virgin
15. Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
16. Oldboy
17. Brokeback Mountain
18. Land of the Dead
19. The Beat That My Heart Skipped
20. Last Days
21. Munich
22. Oliver Twist
23. The Holy Girl
24. The Ringer
25. MirrorMask
26. War of the Worlds
27. Junebug
28. Saraband
29. King Kong
30. Joint Security Area
31. 3-Iron
32. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
33. Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
34. Memories of Murder
35. Syriana
36. A History of Violence
37. My Summer of Love
38. Layer Cake
39. The Constant Gardener
40. The White Diamond
41. The Aristocrats
42. Ong-bak
43. Match Point
44. Hustle & Flow
45. Look at Me
46. Capote
47. Tony Takitani
48. The Devil's Rejects
49. Dear Frankie
50. Punk: Attitude
51. Cinderella Man
52. Me and You and Everyone We Know
53. The Brothers Grimm
54. Murderball
55. Broken Flowers
56. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
57. Nobody Knows
58. Kung Fu Hustle
59. Darwin's Nightmare
60. Millions
61. Elizabethtown
62. The Wedding Crashers
63. Batman Begins
64. Palindromes
65. Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
66. Pretty Persuasion
67. Walk the Line
68. The World
69. Unleashed
70. Red Eye
71. The Island
72. Sin City
73. 9 Songs
74. Off the Map
75. Mr. & Mrs. Smith
76. Funny Ha Ha
77. Just Like Heaven
78. The Upside of Anger
79. Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist
80. Fever Pitch
81. Dallas 362
82. Turtles Can Fly
83. Lord of War
84. Crash
Sunday, February 19, 2006
What I'm listening to...
...on my computer, at any rate. Anyone else use this? I'm always the last to hear about these social networking sites that are taking over the world.
Monday, January 23, 2006
And now, my moment of Zen....
Monday, January 09, 2006
where it's at
My movie-related blog posting is going to largely be confined to Cinemarati. Capsule reviews will still be at OOFnet and random lists on listology (where you can view my Netflix queue). What does that leave for this site? I'm still trying to figure that out.
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
fantasy baseball postmortem
I ended up improving my standing in most of my leagues. From worst to best again...
9. sluggin' uvula
Yahoo! Private League, 6x6 (OPS, K/9), 12 teams
7th place (77 pts.)
I pulled it together in the hitting department, with Helton and Hafner having huge second halves. The only downside was a loss of position flexibility. Beltran never panned out though. I feel like my lineup at the end of season was as good as anyone's in the league. Too bad it's not a Keeper.
8. scrumtulescent
CBS Sportsline Public League, 5x5, 10 teams
5th place (57 pts.)
No movement here. I basically gave up on this league and lost interest due to its weekly roster move restriction.
7. San Ramon Uvula
Yahoo! Winner League, 5x5, 12 teams
4th place (76 pts.)
Added a couple points but didn't go anywhere in the standings (though I briefly claimed 2nd place). The guy who won was ahead all year by a healthy margin. Having Delgado, Kent, Reyes, A-Rod, Andruw Jones, Jason Bay, Furcal, Pedro Martinez, K-Rod, Zach Duke, Colon, Beckett and King Felix will do that for you, I guess.
6. Fistful of Uvula
Yahoo! Private League, 11x11 (includes 1B, 2B, 3B, K, E, OPS for hitting, and CG, SHO, GIDP, HLD, K/BB, K/9 for pitching), 8 teams
3rd place (119 pts.)
I moved up, but not enough to win. I would've done better if not for the bullshit categories like errors, shutouts and batting strikeouts. I feel sorry for the guy who finished second because he had two more batting k's than the guy in first. I hate 'negative' stats (except for Turnovers in h2h Basketball, which are a necessary hedge against over-rotating one's roster). I also did poorly in pitching Strikeouts. Mark Mulder was a pretty worthless fantasy player in this league.
5. Mean Mr. Moutard
Yahoo! Private League, h2h, 20 teams
1st place, 121-74-15, lost in the first round of the playoffs, then lost the consolation to finish 4th
That's the thing that sucks about a h2h league, especially in a long baseball season. I beat out 19 other teams to claim the #1 seed in the playoffs, and then my lineup suddenly stopped hitting. Thanks Miguel Tejada.
4. scrumtulescent
Yahoo! Winner, h2h, 12 teams
1st place, 125-83-12, won the playoffs
At least I didn't blow this one. In fact, it wasn't even close, as I won the finals 9-1. My starting lineup was awesome: V-Mart, Pujols, Lugo, Cabrera, Peralta, Tracy, Berkman, Holliday, Reyes, with Chavez and Lofton on the bench. Matt Cain and John Patterson were good second half pick-ups for the rotation.
3. chubby earls
Yahoo! Public League, 5x5, 12 teams
1st place, 95 pts
Came from behind to win the only non-Winner public league I played in. My already imposing lineup was beefed up by Ryan Howard and Jonny Gomes, and it was just a matter of judiciously spotting my starters to keep my ERA and WHIP down.
2. San Ramon Uvula
ESPN Public League, 5x5, 10 teams
1st place, (80 pts)
So apparently I win a t-shirt or a pennant or something for winning an ESPN league. This one wound up not even being close, as my pitching continued to dominate and I slowly raised my average and power stats.
1. Vorndam Scrumtulescent
ESPN Keeper League, h2h, 12 teams
1st place, (154-106), won the playoffs
I scraped by with a narrow playoff victory. Thanks Jimmy Rollins! However, I don't think he'll be one of my five keepers. Right now, I'm thinking Vladimir Guerrero, David Wright, Roy Oswalt, Ben Sheets and Carl Crawford. That leaves out Mr. Rollins, A.J. Burnett, and scores of promising rookies (Cain, Blanton, Maholm, Morneau). I firmly believe in the "play for this season, not the next season" philosophy for Keeper Leagues.
So I won 4 of my 9 leagues, and finished in 1st during the regular season in 5 of them. Not bad. I'm hoping to get into some highly competitive leagues next year, and would be interested in any openings, particularly if you're starting a keeper league.
Lastly, my votes for the awards would be:
AL MVP: Alex Rodriguez
AL Cy Young: Johan Santana
NL MVP: Albert Pujols
NL Cy Young: Roger Clemens
AL Rookie of the Year: Huston Street
NL Rookie of the Year: Ryan Howard
9. sluggin' uvula
Yahoo! Private League, 6x6 (OPS, K/9), 12 teams
7th place (77 pts.)
I pulled it together in the hitting department, with Helton and Hafner having huge second halves. The only downside was a loss of position flexibility. Beltran never panned out though. I feel like my lineup at the end of season was as good as anyone's in the league. Too bad it's not a Keeper.
8. scrumtulescent
CBS Sportsline Public League, 5x5, 10 teams
5th place (57 pts.)
No movement here. I basically gave up on this league and lost interest due to its weekly roster move restriction.
7. San Ramon Uvula
Yahoo! Winner League, 5x5, 12 teams
4th place (76 pts.)
Added a couple points but didn't go anywhere in the standings (though I briefly claimed 2nd place). The guy who won was ahead all year by a healthy margin. Having Delgado, Kent, Reyes, A-Rod, Andruw Jones, Jason Bay, Furcal, Pedro Martinez, K-Rod, Zach Duke, Colon, Beckett and King Felix will do that for you, I guess.
6. Fistful of Uvula
Yahoo! Private League, 11x11 (includes 1B, 2B, 3B, K, E, OPS for hitting, and CG, SHO, GIDP, HLD, K/BB, K/9 for pitching), 8 teams
3rd place (119 pts.)
I moved up, but not enough to win. I would've done better if not for the bullshit categories like errors, shutouts and batting strikeouts. I feel sorry for the guy who finished second because he had two more batting k's than the guy in first. I hate 'negative' stats (except for Turnovers in h2h Basketball, which are a necessary hedge against over-rotating one's roster). I also did poorly in pitching Strikeouts. Mark Mulder was a pretty worthless fantasy player in this league.
5. Mean Mr. Moutard
Yahoo! Private League, h2h, 20 teams
1st place, 121-74-15, lost in the first round of the playoffs, then lost the consolation to finish 4th
That's the thing that sucks about a h2h league, especially in a long baseball season. I beat out 19 other teams to claim the #1 seed in the playoffs, and then my lineup suddenly stopped hitting. Thanks Miguel Tejada.
4. scrumtulescent
Yahoo! Winner, h2h, 12 teams
1st place, 125-83-12, won the playoffs
At least I didn't blow this one. In fact, it wasn't even close, as I won the finals 9-1. My starting lineup was awesome: V-Mart, Pujols, Lugo, Cabrera, Peralta, Tracy, Berkman, Holliday, Reyes, with Chavez and Lofton on the bench. Matt Cain and John Patterson were good second half pick-ups for the rotation.
3. chubby earls
Yahoo! Public League, 5x5, 12 teams
1st place, 95 pts
Came from behind to win the only non-Winner public league I played in. My already imposing lineup was beefed up by Ryan Howard and Jonny Gomes, and it was just a matter of judiciously spotting my starters to keep my ERA and WHIP down.
2. San Ramon Uvula
ESPN Public League, 5x5, 10 teams
1st place, (80 pts)
So apparently I win a t-shirt or a pennant or something for winning an ESPN league. This one wound up not even being close, as my pitching continued to dominate and I slowly raised my average and power stats.
1. Vorndam Scrumtulescent
ESPN Keeper League, h2h, 12 teams
1st place, (154-106), won the playoffs
I scraped by with a narrow playoff victory. Thanks Jimmy Rollins! However, I don't think he'll be one of my five keepers. Right now, I'm thinking Vladimir Guerrero, David Wright, Roy Oswalt, Ben Sheets and Carl Crawford. That leaves out Mr. Rollins, A.J. Burnett, and scores of promising rookies (Cain, Blanton, Maholm, Morneau). I firmly believe in the "play for this season, not the next season" philosophy for Keeper Leagues.
So I won 4 of my 9 leagues, and finished in 1st during the regular season in 5 of them. Not bad. I'm hoping to get into some highly competitive leagues next year, and would be interested in any openings, particularly if you're starting a keeper league.
Lastly, my votes for the awards would be:
AL MVP: Alex Rodriguez
AL Cy Young: Johan Santana
NL MVP: Albert Pujols
NL Cy Young: Roger Clemens
AL Rookie of the Year: Huston Street
NL Rookie of the Year: Ryan Howard
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Barbara Bel Geddes (1922-2005)
Thursday, July 21, 2005
My top 100 films of the 1960s
1. 8 1/2
2. Jules and Jim
3. Persona
4. The Wild Bunch
5. The Exterminating Angel
6. 2001: A Space Odyssey
7. The Manchurian Candidate
8. The Battle of Algiers
9. Repulsion
10. Psycho
11. Rosemary's Baby
12. Once Upon a Time in the West
13. Vivre sa vie
14. Yojimbo
15. Viridiana
16. Kwaidan
17. Point Blank
18. Death by Hanging
19. Ride the High Country
20. The Leopard (New: 8/31/05)
21. Salesman
22. My Night at Maud's
23. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
24. Bonnie and Clyde
25. Peeping Tom
26. Sanjuro
27. La Jetee
28. My Fair Lady
29. Pierrot le fou
30. Shock Corridor
31. High and Low
32. Le Samourai
33. The Servant
34. Band of Outsiders
35. Belle de Jour
36. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
37. Sword of Doom
38. Cruel Story of Youth
39. The Innocents
40. I Am Cuba
41. Don't Look Back
42. Medium Cool
43. The Lion in Winter
44. Branded to Kill
45. Seconds
46. The Great Escape
47. Seance on a Wet Afternoon
48. An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge
49. La Dolce Vita
50. Lawrence of Arabia
51. Planet of the Apes
52. If...
53. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
54. Night of the Living Dead
55. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
56. Au Hazard Balthazar
57. A Shot in the Dark
58. Dr. Strangelove
59. Harakiri
60. The Birds
61. Hud
62. The Hustler
63. The Spy Who Came In from the Cold
64. The Loves of a Blonde
65. The Gospel According to St. Matthew
66. L' Avventura
67. Shoot the Piano Player
68. La Notte
69. The Young Girls of Rochefort
70. Woman in the Dunes
71. This Sporting Life
72. Une femme est une femme
73. The Human Condition III
74. Purple Noon
75. Le Trou
76. The Graduate
77. Week End
78. Black Sunday
79. Mary Poppins
80. Goldfinger
81. When a Woman Ascends the Stairs
82. Fail-Safe
83. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
84. Z
85. Pretty Poison
86. A Man For All Seasons
87. Coming Apart
88. Marnie
89. Chimes at Midnight
90. The Naked Kiss
91. The Silence (New: 8/28/05)
92. The Virgin Spring
93. Stolen Kisses
94. Come Drink With Me
95. The Shop on Main Street
96. Samurai Rebellion
97. Lolita
98. Faces
99. Fistful of Dollars
100. Fahrenheit 451
2. Jules and Jim
3. Persona
4. The Wild Bunch
5. The Exterminating Angel
6. 2001: A Space Odyssey
7. The Manchurian Candidate
8. The Battle of Algiers
9. Repulsion
10. Psycho
11. Rosemary's Baby
12. Once Upon a Time in the West
13. Vivre sa vie
14. Yojimbo
15. Viridiana
16. Kwaidan
17. Point Blank
18. Death by Hanging
19. Ride the High Country
20. The Leopard (New: 8/31/05)
21. Salesman
22. My Night at Maud's
23. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
24. Bonnie and Clyde
25. Peeping Tom
26. Sanjuro
27. La Jetee
28. My Fair Lady
29. Pierrot le fou
30. Shock Corridor
31. High and Low
32. Le Samourai
33. The Servant
34. Band of Outsiders
35. Belle de Jour
36. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
37. Sword of Doom
38. Cruel Story of Youth
39. The Innocents
40. I Am Cuba
41. Don't Look Back
42. Medium Cool
43. The Lion in Winter
44. Branded to Kill
45. Seconds
46. The Great Escape
47. Seance on a Wet Afternoon
48. An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge
49. La Dolce Vita
50. Lawrence of Arabia
51. Planet of the Apes
52. If...
53. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
54. Night of the Living Dead
55. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
56. Au Hazard Balthazar
57. A Shot in the Dark
58. Dr. Strangelove
59. Harakiri
60. The Birds
61. Hud
62. The Hustler
63. The Spy Who Came In from the Cold
64. The Loves of a Blonde
65. The Gospel According to St. Matthew
66. L' Avventura
67. Shoot the Piano Player
68. La Notte
69. The Young Girls of Rochefort
70. Woman in the Dunes
71. This Sporting Life
72. Une femme est une femme
73. The Human Condition III
74. Purple Noon
75. Le Trou
76. The Graduate
77. Week End
78. Black Sunday
79. Mary Poppins
80. Goldfinger
81. When a Woman Ascends the Stairs
82. Fail-Safe
83. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
84. Z
85. Pretty Poison
86. A Man For All Seasons
87. Coming Apart
88. Marnie
89. Chimes at Midnight
90. The Naked Kiss
91. The Silence (New: 8/28/05)
92. The Virgin Spring
93. Stolen Kisses
94. Come Drink With Me
95. The Shop on Main Street
96. Samurai Rebellion
97. Lolita
98. Faces
99. Fistful of Dollars
100. Fahrenheit 451
Thursday, July 14, 2005
My top 100 films of the 1950s
1. Vertigo
2. Sansho the Bailiff
3. Rear Window
4. All About Eve
5. The Searchers
6. Ugetsu
7. In a Lonely Place
8. Nights of Cabiria
9. A Man Escaped
10. The Seven Samurai
11. Singin’ in the Rain
12. Invasion of the Body Snatchers
13. Umberto D
14. The World of Apu
15. Sunset Blvd.
16. The 400 Blows
17. The Night of the Hunter
18. Touch of Evil
19. Los Olvidados
20. Les Enfants terribles
21. Wages of Fear
22. On the Waterfront
23. Sweet Smell of Success
24. North by Northwest
25. Pather Panchali
26. Hiroshima, mon amour
27. The Big Heat
28. A Star is Born
29. The Cranes are Flying
30. Ashes and Diamonds
31. Strangers on a Train
32. Rebel Without a Cause
33. A Place in the Sun
34. The Killing
35. The Bad and the Beautiful
36. Rio Bravo
37. Wild Strawberries
38. Night and Fog
39. Kiss Me Deadly
40. The Naked Spur
41. Paths of Glory
42. 12 Angry Men
43. El
44. The Human Condition I
45. Rififi
46. The Importance of Being Earnest
47. Life of Oharu
48. Les Diaboliques
49. Johnny Guitar
50. The River
51. Rashomon
52. The Band Wagon
53. Written on the Wind
54. Winchester ‘73
55. Attack!
56. Madame de…
57. Nazarin
58. Fires on the Plain
59. Night and the City
60. A Streetcare Named Desire
61. The Human Condition II
62. Elevator to the Gallows
63. Bob le flambeur
64. Ride Lonesome
65. Pickup on South Street
66. Smiles of a Summer Night
67. M
68. Tokyo Story
69. The Man from Laramie
70. Some Like It Hot
71. The Tragedy of Othello: The Moore of Venice
72. The Gunfighter
73. Senso
74. Lust for Life
75. A Night to Remember
76. The Far Country
77. Rio Grande
78. The Bridge on the River Kwai
79. The Day the Earth Stood Still
80. The Hidden Fortress
81. Kansas City Confidential
82. Dial M for Murder
83. The Seventh Seal
84. Scaramouche (New: 10/17/05)
85. D.O.A.
86. The Ladykillers
87. The Man Who Knew Too Much
88. Aparajito
89. A Face in the Crowd
90. Hobson’s Choice
91. Diary of a Country Priest
92. Bend of the River
93. 3:10 to Yuma
94. Anatomy of a Murder
95. High Noon
96. Eyes Without a Face
97. Throne of Blood
98. White Nights
99. The Crimson Pirate
100. The Narrow Margin
2. Sansho the Bailiff
3. Rear Window
4. All About Eve
5. The Searchers
6. Ugetsu
7. In a Lonely Place
8. Nights of Cabiria
9. A Man Escaped
10. The Seven Samurai
11. Singin’ in the Rain
12. Invasion of the Body Snatchers
13. Umberto D
14. The World of Apu
15. Sunset Blvd.
16. The 400 Blows
17. The Night of the Hunter
18. Touch of Evil
19. Los Olvidados
20. Les Enfants terribles
21. Wages of Fear
22. On the Waterfront
23. Sweet Smell of Success
24. North by Northwest
25. Pather Panchali
26. Hiroshima, mon amour
27. The Big Heat
28. A Star is Born
29. The Cranes are Flying
30. Ashes and Diamonds
31. Strangers on a Train
32. Rebel Without a Cause
33. A Place in the Sun
34. The Killing
35. The Bad and the Beautiful
36. Rio Bravo
37. Wild Strawberries
38. Night and Fog
39. Kiss Me Deadly
40. The Naked Spur
41. Paths of Glory
42. 12 Angry Men
43. El
44. The Human Condition I
45. Rififi
46. The Importance of Being Earnest
47. Life of Oharu
48. Les Diaboliques
49. Johnny Guitar
50. The River
51. Rashomon
52. The Band Wagon
53. Written on the Wind
54. Winchester ‘73
55. Attack!
56. Madame de…
57. Nazarin
58. Fires on the Plain
59. Night and the City
60. A Streetcare Named Desire
61. The Human Condition II
62. Elevator to the Gallows
63. Bob le flambeur
64. Ride Lonesome
65. Pickup on South Street
66. Smiles of a Summer Night
67. M
68. Tokyo Story
69. The Man from Laramie
70. Some Like It Hot
71. The Tragedy of Othello: The Moore of Venice
72. The Gunfighter
73. Senso
74. Lust for Life
75. A Night to Remember
76. The Far Country
77. Rio Grande
78. The Bridge on the River Kwai
79. The Day the Earth Stood Still
80. The Hidden Fortress
81. Kansas City Confidential
82. Dial M for Murder
83. The Seventh Seal
84. Scaramouche (New: 10/17/05)
85. D.O.A.
86. The Ladykillers
87. The Man Who Knew Too Much
88. Aparajito
89. A Face in the Crowd
90. Hobson’s Choice
91. Diary of a Country Priest
92. Bend of the River
93. 3:10 to Yuma
94. Anatomy of a Murder
95. High Noon
96. Eyes Without a Face
97. Throne of Blood
98. White Nights
99. The Crimson Pirate
100. The Narrow Margin
Friday, July 08, 2005
My top 100 films of the 1940s
1. The Big Sleep
2. Children of Paradise
3. Citizen Kane
4. His Girl Friday
5. The Third Man
6. It's a Wonderful Life
7. Notorious
8. Out of the Past
9. Letter From an Unknown Woman
10. The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
11. Casablanca
12. The Lady Eve
13. Double Indemnity
14. Sullivan's Travels
15. A Matter of Life and Death
16. White Heat
17. Odd Man Out
18. Great Expectations
19. The Grapes of Wrath
20. The Killers
21. The Red Shoes
22. Ball of Fire
23. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
24. Unfaithfully Yours
25. Orpheus
26. The Woman in the Window
27. Force of Evil
28. Laura
29. Rebecca
30. The Best Years of Our Lives
31. Red River
32. Meet Me in St. Louis
33. Kind Hearts and Coronets
34. My Darling Clementine
35. The Magnificent Ambersons
36. Late Spring
37. The Philadelphia Story
38. Open City
39. Body and Soul
40. Pinocchio
41. Shadow of a Doubt
42. Gilda
43. The Shop Around the Corner
44. La belle et la bete
45. Black Narcissus
46. The Bicycle Thief
47. Foreign Correspondent
48. Rope
49. The Lady from Shanghai
50. Brief Encounter
51. Shoeshine
52. Day of Wrath
53. Hail, the Conquering Hero!
54. High Sierra
55. The Palm Beach Story
56. Hamlet
57. The Fallen Idol
58. Pursued
59. Now, Voyager
60. The Ghost and Mrs. Muir
61. Meet John Doe
62. On the Town
63. Dumbo
64. To Be or Not To Be
65. They Live By Night
66. Kiss of Death
67. Ministry of Fear
68. Fantasia
69. Criss Cross
70. The Miracle of Morgan's Creek
71. Dead of Night
72. The Devil and Daniel Webster
73. And Then There Were None
74. The Ox-Bow Incident
75. Scarlet Street
76. Mildred Pierce
77. The Stranger
78. The Glass Key
79. Phantom Lady
80. Bambi
81. The Strange Love of Martha Ivers
82. The Maltese Falcon
83. Meshes of the Afternoon
84. The 47 Ronin
85. The Talk of the Town
86. Stray Dog
87. She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
88. Monsieur Verdoux
89. The Sea Hawk
90. The Bank Dick
91. La Terra trema
92. Louisiana Story
93. Gentleman Jim
94. Ivan the Terrible, Part I
95. Gaslight
96. Detour
97. The Big Clock
98. The Postman Always Rings Twice
99. Cabin in the Sky
100. The Story of G.I. Joe
2. Children of Paradise
3. Citizen Kane
4. His Girl Friday
5. The Third Man
6. It's a Wonderful Life
7. Notorious
8. Out of the Past
9. Letter From an Unknown Woman
10. The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
11. Casablanca
12. The Lady Eve
13. Double Indemnity
14. Sullivan's Travels
15. A Matter of Life and Death
16. White Heat
17. Odd Man Out
18. Great Expectations
19. The Grapes of Wrath
20. The Killers
21. The Red Shoes
22. Ball of Fire
23. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
24. Unfaithfully Yours
25. Orpheus
26. The Woman in the Window
27. Force of Evil
28. Laura
29. Rebecca
30. The Best Years of Our Lives
31. Red River
32. Meet Me in St. Louis
33. Kind Hearts and Coronets
34. My Darling Clementine
35. The Magnificent Ambersons
36. Late Spring
37. The Philadelphia Story
38. Open City
39. Body and Soul
40. Pinocchio
41. Shadow of a Doubt
42. Gilda
43. The Shop Around the Corner
44. La belle et la bete
45. Black Narcissus
46. The Bicycle Thief
47. Foreign Correspondent
48. Rope
49. The Lady from Shanghai
50. Brief Encounter
51. Shoeshine
52. Day of Wrath
53. Hail, the Conquering Hero!
54. High Sierra
55. The Palm Beach Story
56. Hamlet
57. The Fallen Idol
58. Pursued
59. Now, Voyager
60. The Ghost and Mrs. Muir
61. Meet John Doe
62. On the Town
63. Dumbo
64. To Be or Not To Be
65. They Live By Night
66. Kiss of Death
67. Ministry of Fear
68. Fantasia
69. Criss Cross
70. The Miracle of Morgan's Creek
71. Dead of Night
72. The Devil and Daniel Webster
73. And Then There Were None
74. The Ox-Bow Incident
75. Scarlet Street
76. Mildred Pierce
77. The Stranger
78. The Glass Key
79. Phantom Lady
80. Bambi
81. The Strange Love of Martha Ivers
82. The Maltese Falcon
83. Meshes of the Afternoon
84. The 47 Ronin
85. The Talk of the Town
86. Stray Dog
87. She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
88. Monsieur Verdoux
89. The Sea Hawk
90. The Bank Dick
91. La Terra trema
92. Louisiana Story
93. Gentleman Jim
94. Ivan the Terrible, Part I
95. Gaslight
96. Detour
97. The Big Clock
98. The Postman Always Rings Twice
99. Cabin in the Sky
100. The Story of G.I. Joe
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
Midseason Analysis
Time to assess my managerial skills at the halfway point of the fantasy baseball season. I have 9 teams, so in order from worst to first...
9. sluggin' uvula
Yahoo! Private League, 6x6 (OPS, K/9), 12 teams
10th place (67 pts.)
Ugh. The sad thing is, this is the league I care about the most, too. It's comprised of friends from the Rotten Tomatoes boards --our third year playing together. Lots of smack talk, and we only play for pride. Where did I go wrong?
Second base has been a disaster. In the first of many managerial blunders, I dropped the guy I drafted, Chase Utley, because he wasn't starting at the beginning of the season. As of today, Utley is .303-11-38 with 37 runs and 7 stolen bases for the 5th-place team. I quickly scooped up Clint Barmes from free agency and enjoyed his run while it lasted. [Thanks, venison asshole.] Now I'm plattooning Rob Mackowiak, Antonio Perez and Bill Hall, all of whom are cold at the moment. Nothing like carrying 3 frigid utilitymen on the roster! One of them will be gone before the week is through.
I drafted Jason Kendall at catcher, thinking he'd at least be good for average. When I finally dropped him, he was hitting .240. I switched to Michael Barrett, who was hot for awhile but has cooled off big time. Now I don't know whether to go back to Kendall (who's predictably heated up once he was no longer owned by me), or to sink to LaRue and Barajas levels. I should've made a play for Victor Martinez when I had a chance.
My first pick was one of the year's biggest busts --Todd Helton. How can you second-guess picking him at #10? (Or and under-performing Ichiro at #14, whom I recently traded away for that other Big Bust, Carlos Beltran?) That's just bad luck. Bad management is when I picked up Morgan Ensberg and dropped him a week later (to be fair, he hit .152 during his tenure as a sluggin' uvula.) Carlos Guillen, despite hitting for average, has been worthless at shortstop. Pretty much the only batter who's performed to expectations is Adam Dunn. I did make a nice trade for Travis Hafner (giving up Andy Pettite).
If Beltran and Helton come around, and I find solutions that aren't black holes at catcher and 2nd based, there's no reason I shouldn't make up considerable ground in the batting categories. I'm middle-of-the-pack in the pitching categories, and happy with my current rotation (Sheets, L. Hernandez, Vazquez, Zito, Penny, with Hudson on the DL). Prediction: This team will pull together and I'll make a run for respectability, finishing 4th. No way I catch Tony or Shay though.
8. scrumtulescent
CBS Sportsline Public League, 5x5, 10 teams
5th place (57 pts.)
This team has been the victim of my having too many teams. I've barely looked at this team and have resigned myself to whatever fate the roster provides. The reason is because the CBS public leagues are set for weekly roster moves only, which encourages people like me to forget about managing. I've probably missed out on dozens of waiver wire pick-ups, trades, etc. Also, because CBS Sportsline isn't a site I regularly visit, my team gets screwed there as well. I don't think I'm going to do this next year.
That said, my team MVPs are Miguel Tejada, Andruw Jones and Pedro Martinez. Too bad the rest of my starting pitching has spent time on the DL. Prediction: A slide to 6th or 7th place. I think the bottom-feeders gave up long ago.
7. Fistful of Uvula
Yahoo! Private League, 11x11 (includes 1B, 2B, 3B, K, E, OPS for hitting, and CG, SHO, GIDP, HLD, K/BB, K/9 for pitching), 8 teams
4th place (106.5 pts.)
A fun league I've been in with some friends for several years. Trying to do well in all the categories is a nightmare. The best strategy (I've won this league twice) is to concentrate in categories that overlap with each other. Still, it's awfully hard to predict things like shutouts (although, curiously, the guy with Dontrelle Willis isn't leading the league in that category). I'd thought I'd have Complete Games and Shutouts covered when I drafted Sheets, Buerhle, L. Hernandez, Mulder and Harden, but alas. In an 8-team league, it's possible to draft an entire roster of good-great players and still finish 4th. I should probably dump Mulder; I'm just waiting for Adam Eaton to come off the DL.
I'm last in the league in Strikeouts (for batters) and Errors. I hate negative statistics. I hate them in Fantasy Basketball, and I hate them here. I shouldn't have chosen a catcher who doesn't catch (Inge) or a "rookie" 3rd-baseman (Wright) --that's 27 errors right there. And everyone except for Pujuols has at least 46 k's to their name. On the plus side, I am leading in the hard-to-capture triples category, thanks to Inge and Jose Reyes. I don't know what I can do to move up in this league. I'm just going to keep playing my high-OPS players and hope for better consistency from my pitching staff. Prediction: 2nd place
6. San Ramon Uvula
Yahoo! Winner League, 5x5, 12 teams
4th place (74 pts.)
Draft busts: Garciaparra, Oliver Perez, Greg Maddux, Erubiel Durazo, Justin Speier, Michael Cuddyer
Draft steals: Podsednik (5th round), B.J. Ryan (1oth round), L. Hernandez (12th), Utley (13th)
Bone-head moves: Dropped Kevin Mench, Jorge Cantu, Danny Haren, Yancy Brazoban, Dustin Hermanson, traded for Jim Thome
Good moves: Added Willie Taveras, Bobby Crosby, Placido Polanco, Ken Griffey, Chris Young, Tyler Walker
It's amazing I'm doing as well as I am considering the talent I've given up. The guy who's winning this league is way out in front, but I think I stand a good shot of finishing second if I can get my ERA and WHIP down. Somehow, even with Podsednik and Taveras I'm not winning stolen bases. That should change.
5. scrumtulescent
Yahoo! Winner, h2h, 12 teams
3rd place, 71-50-9
For some reason, I'm doing much better in head-to-head leagues this year. That's not the way I'd like it. You can always sneak into the playoffs with a so-so record and then pull a title out your ass. It's much harder to come from behind in roto leagues.
My weakness in this league is my starting pitching, which can either be dominant or can shit the bed. At various times, Dan Haren, Greg Maddux, Jeremy Bonderman, Victor & Carlos Zambrano, Josh Beckett and Joe Blanton have pitched like Cy Young and Cy Endfield. That's okay in a roto league, where it all averages out, but it can kill you in h2h leagues.
I had the first pick and drafted Pujols, knowing full well that he'd have twice as many stolen bases as Beltran at this point (ha!). I bombed on closers, picking Shingo Takatsu and Mike Adams, but recovered through the waiver wire (Derrick Turnbow has been much better than I ever thought Adams would be). I just added Wily Mo Pena. I should get extra points for homers that travel more than 450 feet. Prediction: My roster is as strong as the two teams' in front of me, but I'll play it safe and predict a 2nd place finish.
4. Mean Mr. Moutard
Yahoo! Private League, h2h, 20 teams
3rd place, 67-43-10
I'm coming up on a soft part in my schedule and, as I announced to the league, I will assume 1st place within the next couple weeks. This is a league consisting of regular users of http://www.mockdraftcentral.com. We all wanted to try a really deep league, and it's been fun, even if quality free agents are scarce. There's been alot of adding on speculation (I've been happy with Robinson Cano and Brian Moehler), and the draft saw me using my chrystal ball (Kreskin wisely chose Dan Haren and Willie Taveras, but whiffed on Nick Lowry and Salomon Torres). I had a good feeling about my chances when I was able to grab Miguel Tejada with the 6th pick (you try finding 20 quality shortstops) and Pat Burrell in the 9th round.
I like my chances to win this league. I have power (Tejada, Burrell, Klesko, Palmeiro, Wright), speed (Taveras, Roberts, Clark), and saves (Hoffman, K-Rod, Bruney --not for long). I just hope my young pitchers can keep it up through September.
3. chubby earls
Yahoo! Public League, 5x5, 12 teams
2nd place, 87.5 pts
I wasn't planning on managing this team very closely, since I originally just wanted to get another live draft in. But it's turned into a successful team (I'm only two points out of first) and might be my best bet for a roto league title. Frankly, my hitting is awesome. I've weathered slow starts from Victor Martinez, Eric Chavez, Aubrey Huff and Todd Helton (all hitting well now) thanks to the unbelievable Brian Roberts, Carlos Lee and Bob Abreu. Rafael Furcal and Adam Dunn perform their roles and Felipe Lopez was a huge free agent pick-up.
The pitchers have also come around and now that I've built up a solid foundation of wins and strikeouts, I went after lowering my ERA & WHIP and adding saves, so I've amassed five closers. Barring injury, I think I will win this league.
2. San Ramon Uvula
ESPN Public League, 5x5, 10 teams
1st place (tied), (69 pts)
At least I'm doing well in the leagues I paid money to play in. In contrast to most of my other teams, my starting pitching is dominant. So dominant, in fact, that I've been able to trade away some of my starters to bolster my struggling offense. I still have Chris Carpenter, Roy Halladay, Rich Harden, Adam Eaton, Josh Beckett and Oliver Perez. Yes, there are some injury concerns, but that's actually a good thing, since I was exceeding the Games Started limit. The bullpen is strong, with B.J. Ryan, Miguel Batista, Ryan Dempster, and Brian Bruney (all of whom were either bargains or off-the-radar on draft day. Unless you're in an AL or NL-only, or a 20-team league, never pick closers early in the draft).
I've got good speed, and the home runs are starting to come along, but my team average is an embarrassing .267, (though only four of the current players on my team are below that: Furcal, Patterson, Palmeiro and Frank Thomas). I've got to raise that, and I hope my early grab of Mark Loretta off the waiver wire yesterday will help (and if Helton can pull a Hafner and bust out). I dunno, this one's going to come down to the wire, as my pitching could regress while my offense catches up. Prediction: I'm in first now, why predict otherwise?
1. Vorndam Scrumtulescent
ESPN Keeper League, h2h, 12 teams
1st place, (73-57)
I wouldn't be winning this league if it were a roto league, but my players have come together at the right times against the right opponents. My only real weakness is in saves, where I have two closers and have been frantically searching for a third all season. My starters are usually solid --who knew Greg Maddux would be biggest headache? I don't have a single great power hitter (except perhaps Guerrero), but all 15 of my players have at least 7 home runs. Similarly, Crawford and Rollins lead in stolen bases, but four other guys have at least seven. I don't think I've been beaten badly in a single match-up yet, but there's a good chance with this team that I'll lose 4-6. Even though this is currently my most successful team, I wouldn't be surprised if I were knocked out early in the playoffs.
9. sluggin' uvula
Yahoo! Private League, 6x6 (OPS, K/9), 12 teams
10th place (67 pts.)
Ugh. The sad thing is, this is the league I care about the most, too. It's comprised of friends from the Rotten Tomatoes boards --our third year playing together. Lots of smack talk, and we only play for pride. Where did I go wrong?
Second base has been a disaster. In the first of many managerial blunders, I dropped the guy I drafted, Chase Utley, because he wasn't starting at the beginning of the season. As of today, Utley is .303-11-38 with 37 runs and 7 stolen bases for the 5th-place team. I quickly scooped up Clint Barmes from free agency and enjoyed his run while it lasted. [Thanks, venison asshole.] Now I'm plattooning Rob Mackowiak, Antonio Perez and Bill Hall, all of whom are cold at the moment. Nothing like carrying 3 frigid utilitymen on the roster! One of them will be gone before the week is through.
I drafted Jason Kendall at catcher, thinking he'd at least be good for average. When I finally dropped him, he was hitting .240. I switched to Michael Barrett, who was hot for awhile but has cooled off big time. Now I don't know whether to go back to Kendall (who's predictably heated up once he was no longer owned by me), or to sink to LaRue and Barajas levels. I should've made a play for Victor Martinez when I had a chance.
My first pick was one of the year's biggest busts --Todd Helton. How can you second-guess picking him at #10? (Or and under-performing Ichiro at #14, whom I recently traded away for that other Big Bust, Carlos Beltran?) That's just bad luck. Bad management is when I picked up Morgan Ensberg and dropped him a week later (to be fair, he hit .152 during his tenure as a sluggin' uvula.) Carlos Guillen, despite hitting for average, has been worthless at shortstop. Pretty much the only batter who's performed to expectations is Adam Dunn. I did make a nice trade for Travis Hafner (giving up Andy Pettite).
If Beltran and Helton come around, and I find solutions that aren't black holes at catcher and 2nd based, there's no reason I shouldn't make up considerable ground in the batting categories. I'm middle-of-the-pack in the pitching categories, and happy with my current rotation (Sheets, L. Hernandez, Vazquez, Zito, Penny, with Hudson on the DL). Prediction: This team will pull together and I'll make a run for respectability, finishing 4th. No way I catch Tony or Shay though.
8. scrumtulescent
CBS Sportsline Public League, 5x5, 10 teams
5th place (57 pts.)
This team has been the victim of my having too many teams. I've barely looked at this team and have resigned myself to whatever fate the roster provides. The reason is because the CBS public leagues are set for weekly roster moves only, which encourages people like me to forget about managing. I've probably missed out on dozens of waiver wire pick-ups, trades, etc. Also, because CBS Sportsline isn't a site I regularly visit, my team gets screwed there as well. I don't think I'm going to do this next year.
That said, my team MVPs are Miguel Tejada, Andruw Jones and Pedro Martinez. Too bad the rest of my starting pitching has spent time on the DL. Prediction: A slide to 6th or 7th place. I think the bottom-feeders gave up long ago.
7. Fistful of Uvula
Yahoo! Private League, 11x11 (includes 1B, 2B, 3B, K, E, OPS for hitting, and CG, SHO, GIDP, HLD, K/BB, K/9 for pitching), 8 teams
4th place (106.5 pts.)
A fun league I've been in with some friends for several years. Trying to do well in all the categories is a nightmare. The best strategy (I've won this league twice) is to concentrate in categories that overlap with each other. Still, it's awfully hard to predict things like shutouts (although, curiously, the guy with Dontrelle Willis isn't leading the league in that category). I'd thought I'd have Complete Games and Shutouts covered when I drafted Sheets, Buerhle, L. Hernandez, Mulder and Harden, but alas. In an 8-team league, it's possible to draft an entire roster of good-great players and still finish 4th. I should probably dump Mulder; I'm just waiting for Adam Eaton to come off the DL.
I'm last in the league in Strikeouts (for batters) and Errors. I hate negative statistics. I hate them in Fantasy Basketball, and I hate them here. I shouldn't have chosen a catcher who doesn't catch (Inge) or a "rookie" 3rd-baseman (Wright) --that's 27 errors right there. And everyone except for Pujuols has at least 46 k's to their name. On the plus side, I am leading in the hard-to-capture triples category, thanks to Inge and Jose Reyes. I don't know what I can do to move up in this league. I'm just going to keep playing my high-OPS players and hope for better consistency from my pitching staff. Prediction: 2nd place
6. San Ramon Uvula
Yahoo! Winner League, 5x5, 12 teams
4th place (74 pts.)
Draft busts: Garciaparra, Oliver Perez, Greg Maddux, Erubiel Durazo, Justin Speier, Michael Cuddyer
Draft steals: Podsednik (5th round), B.J. Ryan (1oth round), L. Hernandez (12th), Utley (13th)
Bone-head moves: Dropped Kevin Mench, Jorge Cantu, Danny Haren, Yancy Brazoban, Dustin Hermanson, traded for Jim Thome
Good moves: Added Willie Taveras, Bobby Crosby, Placido Polanco, Ken Griffey, Chris Young, Tyler Walker
It's amazing I'm doing as well as I am considering the talent I've given up. The guy who's winning this league is way out in front, but I think I stand a good shot of finishing second if I can get my ERA and WHIP down. Somehow, even with Podsednik and Taveras I'm not winning stolen bases. That should change.
5. scrumtulescent
Yahoo! Winner, h2h, 12 teams
3rd place, 71-50-9
For some reason, I'm doing much better in head-to-head leagues this year. That's not the way I'd like it. You can always sneak into the playoffs with a so-so record and then pull a title out your ass. It's much harder to come from behind in roto leagues.
My weakness in this league is my starting pitching, which can either be dominant or can shit the bed. At various times, Dan Haren, Greg Maddux, Jeremy Bonderman, Victor & Carlos Zambrano, Josh Beckett and Joe Blanton have pitched like Cy Young and Cy Endfield. That's okay in a roto league, where it all averages out, but it can kill you in h2h leagues.
I had the first pick and drafted Pujols, knowing full well that he'd have twice as many stolen bases as Beltran at this point (ha!). I bombed on closers, picking Shingo Takatsu and Mike Adams, but recovered through the waiver wire (Derrick Turnbow has been much better than I ever thought Adams would be). I just added Wily Mo Pena. I should get extra points for homers that travel more than 450 feet. Prediction: My roster is as strong as the two teams' in front of me, but I'll play it safe and predict a 2nd place finish.
4. Mean Mr. Moutard
Yahoo! Private League, h2h, 20 teams
3rd place, 67-43-10
I'm coming up on a soft part in my schedule and, as I announced to the league, I will assume 1st place within the next couple weeks. This is a league consisting of regular users of http://www.mockdraftcentral.com. We all wanted to try a really deep league, and it's been fun, even if quality free agents are scarce. There's been alot of adding on speculation (I've been happy with Robinson Cano and Brian Moehler), and the draft saw me using my chrystal ball (Kreskin wisely chose Dan Haren and Willie Taveras, but whiffed on Nick Lowry and Salomon Torres). I had a good feeling about my chances when I was able to grab Miguel Tejada with the 6th pick (you try finding 20 quality shortstops) and Pat Burrell in the 9th round.
I like my chances to win this league. I have power (Tejada, Burrell, Klesko, Palmeiro, Wright), speed (Taveras, Roberts, Clark), and saves (Hoffman, K-Rod, Bruney --not for long). I just hope my young pitchers can keep it up through September.
3. chubby earls
Yahoo! Public League, 5x5, 12 teams
2nd place, 87.5 pts
I wasn't planning on managing this team very closely, since I originally just wanted to get another live draft in. But it's turned into a successful team (I'm only two points out of first) and might be my best bet for a roto league title. Frankly, my hitting is awesome. I've weathered slow starts from Victor Martinez, Eric Chavez, Aubrey Huff and Todd Helton (all hitting well now) thanks to the unbelievable Brian Roberts, Carlos Lee and Bob Abreu. Rafael Furcal and Adam Dunn perform their roles and Felipe Lopez was a huge free agent pick-up.
The pitchers have also come around and now that I've built up a solid foundation of wins and strikeouts, I went after lowering my ERA & WHIP and adding saves, so I've amassed five closers. Barring injury, I think I will win this league.
2. San Ramon Uvula
ESPN Public League, 5x5, 10 teams
1st place (tied), (69 pts)
At least I'm doing well in the leagues I paid money to play in. In contrast to most of my other teams, my starting pitching is dominant. So dominant, in fact, that I've been able to trade away some of my starters to bolster my struggling offense. I still have Chris Carpenter, Roy Halladay, Rich Harden, Adam Eaton, Josh Beckett and Oliver Perez. Yes, there are some injury concerns, but that's actually a good thing, since I was exceeding the Games Started limit. The bullpen is strong, with B.J. Ryan, Miguel Batista, Ryan Dempster, and Brian Bruney (all of whom were either bargains or off-the-radar on draft day. Unless you're in an AL or NL-only, or a 20-team league, never pick closers early in the draft).
I've got good speed, and the home runs are starting to come along, but my team average is an embarrassing .267, (though only four of the current players on my team are below that: Furcal, Patterson, Palmeiro and Frank Thomas). I've got to raise that, and I hope my early grab of Mark Loretta off the waiver wire yesterday will help (and if Helton can pull a Hafner and bust out). I dunno, this one's going to come down to the wire, as my pitching could regress while my offense catches up. Prediction: I'm in first now, why predict otherwise?
1. Vorndam Scrumtulescent
ESPN Keeper League, h2h, 12 teams
1st place, (73-57)
I wouldn't be winning this league if it were a roto league, but my players have come together at the right times against the right opponents. My only real weakness is in saves, where I have two closers and have been frantically searching for a third all season. My starters are usually solid --who knew Greg Maddux would be biggest headache? I don't have a single great power hitter (except perhaps Guerrero), but all 15 of my players have at least 7 home runs. Similarly, Crawford and Rollins lead in stolen bases, but four other guys have at least seven. I don't think I've been beaten badly in a single match-up yet, but there's a good chance with this team that I'll lose 4-6. Even though this is currently my most successful team, I wouldn't be surprised if I were knocked out early in the playoffs.
Thursday, June 30, 2005
My top 100 films of the 1930s
1. M
2. The Rules of the Game
3. City Lights
4. Grand Illusion
5. The Scarlet Empress
6. L' Atalante
7. My Man Godfrey
8. The 39 Steps
9. The Story of the Late Chrysanthemums
10. The Wizard of Oz
11. All Quiet on the Western Front
12. Holiday
13. You Only Live Once
14. A Day in the Country
15. Queen Christina
16. Show Boat
17. Wuthering Heights
18. The Roaring Twenties
19. Easy Living
20. Scarface
21. Le jour se leve
22. I Was Born, But…
23. A Tale of Two Cities
24. Mutiny on the Bounty
25. Bride of Frankenstein
26. Quai des brumes
27. The Lady Vanishes
28. Las Hurdes
29. Dodsworth
30. Fury
31. Freaks
32. Trouble in Paradise
33. Angels with Dirty Faces
34. L'Age D'or
35. Duck Soup
36. The Thin Man
37. Twentieth Century
38. Ruggles of Red Gap
39. Bringing Up Baby
40. Midnight
41. Libeled Lady
42. Boudu Saved from Drowning
43. King Kong
44. Counsellor at Law
45. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
46. Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde
47. Pygmalion
48. The Adventures of Robin Hood
49. Modern Times
50. La Signora di tutti
51. 42nd Street
52. Monkey Business
53. Love Me Tonight (New: 11/3/2005)
54. Beau Geste
55. Zero for Conduct
56. Gone with the Wind
57. Gold Diggers of 1933
58. A Star Is Born (New: 9/16/05)
59. Little Caesar
60. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
61. Man of Aran
62. Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse (New: 10/9/05)
63. Lost Horizon
64. Dracula
65. La Bete Humaine
66. Secret Agent
67. Swing Time
68. Shanghai Express
69. The Dawn Patrol
70. Stage Door
71. The Public Enemy
72. Ninotchka
73. The Blue Angel
74. Captain Blood
75. Top Hat
76. Stagecoach
77. Frankenstein
78. The Women
79. The Hunchback of Notre Dame
80. Morocco
81. Earth
82. Tabu
83. Dark Victory
84. It Happened One Night
85. Young and Innocent
86. The Invisible Man
87. Design for Living
88. You Can't Take It With You
89. Sabotage
90. Dragnet Girl
91. Destry Rides Again
92. That Night's Wife
93. The Blood of a Poet
94. The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex
95. Jezebel
96. One Way Passage
97. Only Angels Have Wings
98. A Night at the Opera
99. Nothing Sacred
100. Pepe le Moko
2. The Rules of the Game
3. City Lights
4. Grand Illusion
5. The Scarlet Empress
6. L' Atalante
7. My Man Godfrey
8. The 39 Steps
9. The Story of the Late Chrysanthemums
10. The Wizard of Oz
11. All Quiet on the Western Front
12. Holiday
13. You Only Live Once
14. A Day in the Country
15. Queen Christina
16. Show Boat
17. Wuthering Heights
18. The Roaring Twenties
19. Easy Living
20. Scarface
21. Le jour se leve
22. I Was Born, But…
23. A Tale of Two Cities
24. Mutiny on the Bounty
25. Bride of Frankenstein
26. Quai des brumes
27. The Lady Vanishes
28. Las Hurdes
29. Dodsworth
30. Fury
31. Freaks
32. Trouble in Paradise
33. Angels with Dirty Faces
34. L'Age D'or
35. Duck Soup
36. The Thin Man
37. Twentieth Century
38. Ruggles of Red Gap
39. Bringing Up Baby
40. Midnight
41. Libeled Lady
42. Boudu Saved from Drowning
43. King Kong
44. Counsellor at Law
45. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
46. Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde
47. Pygmalion
48. The Adventures of Robin Hood
49. Modern Times
50. La Signora di tutti
51. 42nd Street
52. Monkey Business
53. Love Me Tonight (New: 11/3/2005)
54. Beau Geste
55. Zero for Conduct
56. Gone with the Wind
57. Gold Diggers of 1933
58. A Star Is Born (New: 9/16/05)
59. Little Caesar
60. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
61. Man of Aran
62. Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse (New: 10/9/05)
63. Lost Horizon
64. Dracula
65. La Bete Humaine
66. Secret Agent
67. Swing Time
68. Shanghai Express
69. The Dawn Patrol
70. Stage Door
71. The Public Enemy
72. Ninotchka
73. The Blue Angel
74. Captain Blood
75. Top Hat
76. Stagecoach
77. Frankenstein
78. The Women
79. The Hunchback of Notre Dame
80. Morocco
81. Earth
82. Tabu
83. Dark Victory
84. It Happened One Night
85. Young and Innocent
86. The Invisible Man
87. Design for Living
88. You Can't Take It With You
89. Sabotage
90. Dragnet Girl
91. Destry Rides Again
92. That Night's Wife
93. The Blood of a Poet
94. The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex
95. Jezebel
96. One Way Passage
97. Only Angels Have Wings
98. A Night at the Opera
99. Nothing Sacred
100. Pepe le Moko
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
YDM
Could the Cubs, Braves, Royals & Reds just choose a closer and stick with it? And now the Marlins are going to closer-by-committee? grumblegrumble
Monday, May 16, 2005
reverseblog
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
what. the. fuck.
Brian Roberts is making a mockery of the game.
Thursday, April 14, 2005
there's no bcdfghijklnopqrsuvwxyz in team
I have an unprecedented 9 fantasy baseball teams this year. One at CBS Sportsline (the only one with weekly roster changes), two at ESPN (one's a keeper h2h, the other is 5x5), and six at Yahoo! (incl. 2 winner's leagues). I think there are money/prizes involved in the CBS and ESPN leagues, but the only leagues I really care about are the Yahoo! league with my RT friends and the Yahoo! league with my local friends, both of which have been running for a few years now.
Player (# of teams)
David Wright (6)
Michael Cuddyer (6)
Ben Sheets (5)
Erubiel Durazo (5)
Adam Dunn (4)
Danny Haren (4)
Greg Maddux (4)
Khalil Greene (4)
Miguel Cabrera (4)
Todd Helton (4)
Brady Clark (3)
Chin-hui Tsao (3)
Eric Chavez (3)
Jason Kendall (3)
Jeremy Affeldt (3)
Jose Reyes (3)
Kevin Mench (3)
Livan Hernandez (3)
Willie Taveres (3)
A.J. Burnett (2)
A.J. Pierzynski (2)
Albert Pujols (2)
B.J. Ryan (2)
Brad Wilkerson (2)
Brandon Inge (2)
Bronson Arroyo (2)
Corey Patterson (2)
David Roberts (2)
Francisco Cordero (2)
Francisco Rodriguez (2)
Guillermo Mota (2)
Jeremy Bonderman (2)
Johnny Estrada (2)
Josh Beckett (2)
Lance Berkman (2)
Lyle Overbay (2)
Matt Holliday (2)
Miguel Batista (2)
Miguel Tejada (2)
Nick Lowry (2)
Nomar Garciaparra (2)
Oliver Perez (2)
Orlando Hernandez (2)
Rafael Furcal (2)
Rich Harden (2)
Roy Halladay (2)
Scott Kazmir (2)
Shingo Takatsu (2)
Tim Hudson (2)
Trot Nixon (2)
Victor Martinez (2)
Adam Eaton
Alfonso Soriano
Andruw Jones
Andy Pettitte
Aubrey Huff
Austin Kearns
Billy Wagner
Bobby Abreu
Brad Lidge
Brad Penny
Brad Radke
Brandon Lyon
Brian Giles
Brian Roberts
C.C. Sabathia
Carl Crawford
Carlos Guillen
Carlos Lee
Carlos Zambrano
Chone Figgins
Chris Carpenter
Clint Barmes
Damaso Marte
D'Angelo Jimenez
Eddie Guardado
Freddie Garcia
Geoff Jenkins
Ichiro Suzuki
J.D. Drew
Jason Bay
Jason Giambi
Javier Vazquez
Jimmy Rollins
Joe Blanton
Joe Borowski
Joe Mauer
Joe Nathan
Joel Pineiro
John Thomson
Jon Lieber
Jorge Cantu
Justin Morneau
Kerry Wood
Luis Rivas
Manny Ramirez
Mark Bellhorn
Mark Buehrle
Mark Mulder
Mike Adams
Mike Mussina
Odalis Perez
Pat Burrell
Pedro Martinez
Reggie Sanders
Richard Hidalgo
Roy Oswalt
Ryan Klesko
Salomon Torres
Sammy Sosa
Scott Podsednik
Shawn Green
Steve Finley
Tom Gordon
Trevor Hoffman
Ugueth Urbina
Vernon Wells
Vladimir Guerrero
Zack Greinke
Notes:
I ended up with David Wright so many times because I saw third base as a particularly deep position this year, with the top 12 players all worth starting. Thus, I usually filled other needs in the draft and didn't get around to selecting a third baseman until at least the tenth round, by which time Wright was the best available option. I guess the Rolen comparisons are holding up so far, inasmuch as Rolen sucks this year and Wright hasn't been much better. I think he'll come around though. I have Cuddyer six times because he's always available in the 20th round and how can you pass up a guy who plays 1B/2B/3B/OF with 20 home run potential that late? He's an excellent spot starter.
My A's bias is probably showing in Durazo cropping up five times. He's been a dud so far, too. I may cut him soon if he doesn't come around. If your only eligibility is in the Util position, you've got to bat higher than .161 to retain a roster spot.
Adam Dunn (you can start stealing those bases you promised any time bud)
Dan Haren (more A's bias!)
Greg Maddux (I'm not worried yet)
Khalil Greene (was ranked absurdly low by Yahoo!)
Chin-hui Tsao (the result of my tendency to wait until the last second to select closers, especially if there's been a run)
Jason Kendall, Eric Chavez (A's bias... but anyone would want them on his team)
Kevin Mench (not worth much if he doesn't play every day)
Livan Hernandez (underrated; I scooped him up later than I ought've in a few drafts)
Willie Taveras (I think he will keep his roster spot when Berkman returns, but I usually have Berkman on the same teams I have Taveras, just in case)
Jeremy Bonderman (I'm skeptical)
Josh Beckett (not skeptical; kicking myself for not drafting him more often)
Miguel Tejada (my first pick in the 20-team league, you have to love a guy who's not only clearly the best player in a shallow position, but who never misses a game either)
Oliver Perez (he will come around --he just had a short Spring)
Orlando Hernandez (Hernandez bias!)
Scott Kazmir (I'm officially worried)
Trot Nixon (worth platooning --just have to be diligent in checking to see if the Sox are facing a lefty)
Victor Martinez (very disappointing so far --a good example of why you shouldn't overreach at catcher)
Adam Eaton (on the waiver in most leagues, but shouldn't be)
Brian Roberts (must've been eating his Wheaties in the offseason)
Ichiro Suzuki (will still be hitting .400 at the All-Star break)
Javier Vazquez (we'll see how he does today)
Joe Blanton (these A's pitchers are good for your WHIP)
Justin Morneau (I hear he has dropsy now)
Pat Burrell (wish I'd picked him up in more leagues, still pissed that he burned me two years ago)
And that concludes another edition of what's unintentionally becoming my sportsblog. I promise no more NCAA predictions ever.
Why so many leagues? I wanted to experiment with different formats. One league consists of 20 teams managed by regulars at MockDraftCentral, and affords me the chance to play around with marginal players like Luis Rivas and Willie Taveras. Another league uses no less than 22 categories, including Holds, GIDP, and Errors.
Believe it or not, it's not too difficult to manage this many leagues. As I mentioned above, one league only allows weekly roster changes, so it's pretty low maintenance. Most of the roto-leagues have maximum games played and innings pitched settings that thwart active roster rotation. So there's really only the h2h leagues where I have to be on top of things every day. The only bad thing about having so many teams is that it makes it difficult to root for players. It seems like every game involves a few of my players, and how am I supposed to react if Albert Pujols (owned on two teams) homers off Guillermo Mota (two also)? To help prioritize my rooting interests, I made a master list of all the players owned on all of my teams.Player (# of teams)
David Wright (6)
Michael Cuddyer (6)
Ben Sheets (5)
Erubiel Durazo (5)
Adam Dunn (4)
Danny Haren (4)
Greg Maddux (4)
Khalil Greene (4)
Miguel Cabrera (4)
Todd Helton (4)
Brady Clark (3)
Chin-hui Tsao (3)
Eric Chavez (3)
Jason Kendall (3)
Jeremy Affeldt (3)
Jose Reyes (3)
Kevin Mench (3)
Livan Hernandez (3)
Willie Taveres (3)
A.J. Burnett (2)
A.J. Pierzynski (2)
Albert Pujols (2)
B.J. Ryan (2)
Brad Wilkerson (2)
Brandon Inge (2)
Bronson Arroyo (2)
Corey Patterson (2)
David Roberts (2)
Francisco Cordero (2)
Francisco Rodriguez (2)
Guillermo Mota (2)
Jeremy Bonderman (2)
Johnny Estrada (2)
Josh Beckett (2)
Lance Berkman (2)
Lyle Overbay (2)
Matt Holliday (2)
Miguel Batista (2)
Miguel Tejada (2)
Nick Lowry (2)
Nomar Garciaparra (2)
Oliver Perez (2)
Orlando Hernandez (2)
Rafael Furcal (2)
Rich Harden (2)
Roy Halladay (2)
Scott Kazmir (2)
Shingo Takatsu (2)
Tim Hudson (2)
Trot Nixon (2)
Victor Martinez (2)
Adam Eaton
Alfonso Soriano
Andruw Jones
Andy Pettitte
Aubrey Huff
Austin Kearns
Billy Wagner
Bobby Abreu
Brad Lidge
Brad Penny
Brad Radke
Brandon Lyon
Brian Giles
Brian Roberts
C.C. Sabathia
Carl Crawford
Carlos Guillen
Carlos Lee
Carlos Zambrano
Chone Figgins
Chris Carpenter
Clint Barmes
Damaso Marte
D'Angelo Jimenez
Eddie Guardado
Freddie Garcia
Geoff Jenkins
Ichiro Suzuki
J.D. Drew
Jason Bay
Jason Giambi
Javier Vazquez
Jimmy Rollins
Joe Blanton
Joe Borowski
Joe Mauer
Joe Nathan
Joel Pineiro
John Thomson
Jon Lieber
Jorge Cantu
Justin Morneau
Kerry Wood
Luis Rivas
Manny Ramirez
Mark Bellhorn
Mark Buehrle
Mark Mulder
Mike Adams
Mike Mussina
Odalis Perez
Pat Burrell
Pedro Martinez
Reggie Sanders
Richard Hidalgo
Roy Oswalt
Ryan Klesko
Salomon Torres
Sammy Sosa
Scott Podsednik
Shawn Green
Steve Finley
Tom Gordon
Trevor Hoffman
Ugueth Urbina
Vernon Wells
Vladimir Guerrero
Zack Greinke
Notes:
I ended up with David Wright so many times because I saw third base as a particularly deep position this year, with the top 12 players all worth starting. Thus, I usually filled other needs in the draft and didn't get around to selecting a third baseman until at least the tenth round, by which time Wright was the best available option. I guess the Rolen comparisons are holding up so far, inasmuch as Rolen sucks this year and Wright hasn't been much better. I think he'll come around though. I have Cuddyer six times because he's always available in the 20th round and how can you pass up a guy who plays 1B/2B/3B/OF with 20 home run potential that late? He's an excellent spot starter.
My A's bias is probably showing in Durazo cropping up five times. He's been a dud so far, too. I may cut him soon if he doesn't come around. If your only eligibility is in the Util position, you've got to bat higher than .161 to retain a roster spot.
Adam Dunn (you can start stealing those bases you promised any time bud)
Dan Haren (more A's bias!)
Greg Maddux (I'm not worried yet)
Khalil Greene (was ranked absurdly low by Yahoo!)
Chin-hui Tsao (the result of my tendency to wait until the last second to select closers, especially if there's been a run)
Jason Kendall, Eric Chavez (A's bias... but anyone would want them on his team)
Kevin Mench (not worth much if he doesn't play every day)
Livan Hernandez (underrated; I scooped him up later than I ought've in a few drafts)
Willie Taveras (I think he will keep his roster spot when Berkman returns, but I usually have Berkman on the same teams I have Taveras, just in case)
Jeremy Bonderman (I'm skeptical)
Josh Beckett (not skeptical; kicking myself for not drafting him more often)
Miguel Tejada (my first pick in the 20-team league, you have to love a guy who's not only clearly the best player in a shallow position, but who never misses a game either)
Oliver Perez (he will come around --he just had a short Spring)
Orlando Hernandez (Hernandez bias!)
Scott Kazmir (I'm officially worried)
Trot Nixon (worth platooning --just have to be diligent in checking to see if the Sox are facing a lefty)
Victor Martinez (very disappointing so far --a good example of why you shouldn't overreach at catcher)
Adam Eaton (on the waiver in most leagues, but shouldn't be)
Brian Roberts (must've been eating his Wheaties in the offseason)
Ichiro Suzuki (will still be hitting .400 at the All-Star break)
Javier Vazquez (we'll see how he does today)
Joe Blanton (these A's pitchers are good for your WHIP)
Justin Morneau (I hear he has dropsy now)
Pat Burrell (wish I'd picked him up in more leagues, still pissed that he burned me two years ago)
And that concludes another edition of what's unintentionally becoming my sportsblog. I promise no more NCAA predictions ever.
Friday, March 25, 2005
Sport und Spiel
I have no idea what to do with this blog. I orginally just wanted a place to store links for my own reference, but now that I've been linked to pigsandbattleships I feel obligated to post something.
I filled out a dozen brackets for the NCAA tournament this year, and I'm doing awful in 10 of them. Bucknell can kiss my ass in my opinion. I'm doing pretty well here, but my lofty rank of 284,424 on CBS Sportsline's pool isn't going to make Magic Johnson look over his shoulder anytime soon. When you fill out this many brackets, you have so many different combinations of teams advancing that it's impossbile to find anyone to root for in the first week. But now that I'm down to two brackets that haven't turned into complete turds, I can safely root for Illinois and North Carolina (the two teams I would've rooted for anyway).
For the record, my predictions for tonight:
Duke over Michigan State (I still think Duke isn't worthy of a top seed, but they haven't played anyone particularly tough yet).
North Carolina St. over Wisconsin (Hodge seems like he's on a mission, and Wisconsin just bores the hell out of me).
Utah over Kentucky (The Utes are playing with fire in their bellies and the Wildcats have been lackluster).
North Carolina over Villanova (Would've picked 'Nova over any other team tonight though).
I filled out a dozen brackets for the NCAA tournament this year, and I'm doing awful in 10 of them. Bucknell can kiss my ass in my opinion. I'm doing pretty well here, but my lofty rank of 284,424 on CBS Sportsline's pool isn't going to make Magic Johnson look over his shoulder anytime soon. When you fill out this many brackets, you have so many different combinations of teams advancing that it's impossbile to find anyone to root for in the first week. But now that I'm down to two brackets that haven't turned into complete turds, I can safely root for Illinois and North Carolina (the two teams I would've rooted for anyway).
For the record, my predictions for tonight:
Duke over Michigan State (I still think Duke isn't worthy of a top seed, but they haven't played anyone particularly tough yet).
North Carolina St. over Wisconsin (Hodge seems like he's on a mission, and Wisconsin just bores the hell out of me).
Utah over Kentucky (The Utes are playing with fire in their bellies and the Wildcats have been lackluster).
North Carolina over Villanova (Would've picked 'Nova over any other team tonight though).
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
surprise!
