He Really Captured the Spirit of the Thing

Reggie Dunlop motivating his team: I am personally placing a hundred-dollar bounty on the head of Tim McCracken. He's the head coach and chief punk on that Syracuse team.

Unless you've been under a rock this weekend you've no doubt heard that Paul Newman has lost his battle with cancer.

While there have been plenty of tributes throughout the weekend, all of which recount his incredible acting career, his love for racing and probably most importantly on a human level his tireless philanthropy, there has been one glaring omission in almost all of these tributes:

Reggie Dunlop on the Hanson Brothers: They're too dumb to play with themselves. Boy, every piece of garbage that comes into the market and you gotta buy it!

His portrayal of Coach Reggie Dunlop in one of my favorite movies of all time, Slap Shot.

I understand the omission especially when you weigh Slap Shot against some of his other movies and characters. Hud, Butch Cassidy, Fast Eddie Felson, The Verdict, The Sting, Cool Hand Luke and about 100 more that resonate more with the public than his portrayal of a down and out minor league hockey coach.

It's my favorite Paul Newman role and I have read in a few different places that Slap Shot was one of his favorite movie shoots. Maybe it should be given more consideration than it gets. At least he didn't take out a full-page ad to apologize for playing Coach Dunlop.

So if heaven has a low, low minor league hockey team, I hope Paul Newman is the player coach and I hope he motivates his players as well as he did in the movie.

Thanks Mr. Newman.

Reggie Dunlop on the Chiefs' fans: They spent their own dough to get here, and they came here to see us! All right, let's show 'em what we got, guys! Get out there on the ice and let 'em know you're there. Get that fuckin' stick in their side. Let 'em know you're there! Get that lumber in his teeth. Let 'em know you're there!

[All pictures courtesy of the awesome Slap Shot Tribute site]

Did the Focus Groups Know Major Tom Dies in His "Tin Can?"

As much as I enjoy David Bowie, Cat Power and Lincolns (well, five dollar bills and Abe I guess) this latest entry in the "WTF Were the Ad People Thinking" files is brought to you by Mr. Bowie, Ms. Power and the fine people at Lincoln's ad house:



Seriously? You want me to equate your gas guzzling SUV with an ill-fated space flight in a capsule likened to a tin can that, oh yeah did I mention, ends up being the eternal resting place of one Major Tom?

I've said it before and I'm sure I'll be saying it again...and again...and again, I hate this stuff.

This is Cat Power/Chan Marshall. She is nice to look at and has a very nice voice. I don't blame her for this stupid ad.

It's Either a Flesh-Eating Virus or the Virulent Spread of a Soul-Eating Store

From the very excellent Sociological Images website comes this graphical representation of the coverage of the US by Walmart.



What's more scary than the final product is how it happened. Click the link at Sociological Images and you'll get to see how this virus has slowly quickly taken over our country...

True story: I had to go to West Virginia on business and I flew into Roanoke, VA at around 11:30 p.m. US Air managed to lose my bag, though I was one of maybe seven people on the flight. I asked at the Roanoke airport where I could get some necessities at that late hour. Taking into account the 3 hour ride I still had ahead of me, they suggested I stop at a 24 hour Walmart. I did that. It was one of the scariest experiences of my life. Places like that should not be open 24 hours a day. I believe it may be the only outfit in the word actively recruiting in the CHUD community.

9/11/08

Briefly:

Today takes the wind out of me. Think about the innocents that died today, 7 years ago, and hopefully you will feel it too. Think about the Middle East while you are at it.

I walked through my city this morning on an errand before work and people went on talking, texting… whatever it is they think is important today, right through when the first plane hit 7 years ago.

That’s good. That’s what those who lost their lives may have wanted. And those that took those lives do not want.

But I’m alive, and I want you to remember.

Please take a moment to remember everyone involved in 9/11, those left behind and the way the world is today. Say a prayer if that floats you boat.

Do something.

Would Adam Eaton Have Been Any Worse?

Sweaty's review of Kyle Kendrick's 1 and 1/3 inning, 6 hit, 7 run appearance last night against the Marlins (with an assist to Homer Stokes):

Kyle Kendrick has done more damage to the reputation of the letter K than the Ku Klux Klan. He used a Confederate Flag as a Miss-ILE!

Pretty much sums it up succinctly.

My Morning Jacket: A Review

Tonight was the My Morning Jacket show at the Festival Pier on Penn's Landing.

They seriously tore it up. Completely. They came on at 7:45 and finished at 10:15. Unbelievable. A great combination of old stuff, really old stuff, and awesome new stuff.

I got chill from What a Wonderful Man He Was and Golden put a tear in my eye as usual.

I stink at typical reviews, since all I can say is how freakin great the entire show was. And that would get boring. I don't know the first thing about describing music other than whether it was good or not. I blame Professor Cottle and his soul-sapping Music Appreciation class for that.

To put it in Friendly Friend Picturebook fashion:

7:45 pm to 10:15 pm:




So instead, here are my random observations from a night on Festival Pier, the second worst concert venue in the Philadelphia Area (Great Plaza I'm looking at you):

First, I'm now officially old. The first thing I did when we finally got in was to find a bench to sit on. Festival Pier is a standing room only venue but they provide a few benches that provide zero view of the stage. I sat down. First thing. I didn't have any desire to crush up near the front. I did eventually get up to get a beer and I did sand to watch the show.

Second,I like to collect doppelgangers for people I know, as well as for famous people when I'm in a crowded situation. Tonight I collected exact doubles for the following five people: FFMatt, Mrs. Jewbacca's Brother, Weird Al Yankovic, Kristen Dunst and MC Serch. Every one of them caused me to do at least a triple take.

Third,why do people feel the need to talk constantly through a concert. There were two couples in front of me who literally spent the entire concert talking to each other. The guys talked to each other, the girls talked to each other. During. The. Entire. Concert. Every single song, every break between songs, the entire f'in time. Why? Next time take your Abercrombie and Eagle Hollister whatever the heck popped collars and sit at a bar and talk. Leave me be when I'm enjoying live music.

It was pretty damn awesome, if I haven't mentioned it yet. If MMJ comes to your town, go see them.