The new year has begun.

Calenders have been flipped over. Resolutions have already been broken. Some places have all sorts of portable eats. One can watch the old tv adaptation AND the new movie version of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, both of which have much to recommend. That football stuff is still going on, I hear. There is a royal visit of some kind in Texas of all places. Some sort of baseball trade went down.

oh, and ...

WHITE CHRISTMAS :SNOW (via TheVinnyVan)

Now we have reached Christmas Eve, and everyone is scattered about, driving hither, sitting yon, enjoying some quality family time. Unless, of course, you have already reached that moment when you say, "Excuse me but I really have to check my email, honestly, it won't be a moment" and hare off to hide in that spare room with the computer and start surfing for anything that will tide you over yet another discussion of Aunt Helen's corns.

So .... continuing the holiday traditions theme-- is there a movie that you have to watch each Christmas Day? A particular holiday cd/LP that gets dragged out each year? Something more recent that bids fair to becoming a new tradition (coughDoctorWhoChristmasSpecialcough)?

If you managed to hold out on checking LL until Christmas day, did you try something new this year, foodwise? A different side, a turducken, some new baked item that won't be making a return?

November 17 is the 321st day of the year (322nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar.

There are 44 days remaining until the end of the year.

1558 Queen Elizabeth I of England ascended to the throne upon the death of her half-sister Queen Mary.

1800 Congress met in Washington, DC, for the first time.

1810 Sweden declares war on its ally the United Kingdom to begin the Anglo-Swedish War, although no fighting ever takes place.

1855 David Livingstone becomes the first European to see the Victoria Falls.

1869 The Suez Canal opened in Egypt.

1877 - The first production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s opera, "The Sorcerer", was presented -- in London.

1968 Night of the "Heidi bowl:" NBC switched from football to movie of Heidi. In the missing 42 seconds, the lagging Raiders scored two touchdowns, defeating the Jets.

1973 President Nixon said "I am not a crook."

1989 The beginning of the "Velvet Revolution," which led to the downfall of communism in Czechoslovakia.

Fall is upon us (where was Summer?)  and like the annual turn of the seasons, other things seem that they will always be with us.

Road work messing up traffic.

Wet winters.


Jamie Moyer? He fully intends to pitch next year and Gillick thinks he can. What would be the book on it happening in Vegas?

Shakespeare? Whether you think he did write those plays or you don't, they still get performed-- sometimes by unexpected people. Have a production you could not believe, for the good or the bad?

Halloween? coming soon, and it will bring its usual panoply of appalling costume ideas and clever ones ...  best (or worst) costume you have ever seen, or worn?  I was fond of my Spanish Inquisition costume, because a) nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition and b) it fulfilled the 3 Essentials: you could sit wearing it, you could eat wearing it, and you could use the bathroom without getting trapped.

On Monday mornings it can make it hard to concentrate on what you are supposed to concentrate on... so, here are a few things you can mull over at your desk, with the appropriate "working hard" expression.

What if Rick Ankiel was still a pitcher? Even if it means not seeing plays like this?

Why shouldn't Helen Mirren have played just about every iconic movie role?

What if advertising guys had meddled in classic novels?

Why aren't there better alternate history movies?

Any one else have some food for thought? Other than, say, fake food like these.

After my experience with the helpful, kindly folks here, how about a new OT, with more space for help & kindliness:

Day trip suggestions, with Seattle as the starting point, for someone who may be taking the occasional Fridays off this summer, in lieu of a real vacation?

Food you never thought you'd like, and were pleasantly surprised when it was cooked right?

Advice, and advice you'd wish you had gotten?

Online services everyone should have?

Help Faux script retarded crap in Powershell?

So, what are the plans for the upcoming weekend? 

How many are planning to take Friday off, and make it a four day weekend!?!    [hand waving over here]

How many are going to at least one baseball game this weekend!?!     [hand waving over here]

How many are taking the cover off the grill!?!     [possible hand waving over here]

How many are going to watch 1776 again!?!  [humming some of the songs over here]

How many are going to sit in the sun with a beer and read patriotic comic books!?! [well, the sun, maybe. and a beer.]

so, if you don't want to venture outside in this glorious Summer weather ... coming soon to a theater:

The Trip wherein Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon tour Northern England

Submarine-- Richard Ayoade's film about a 15-year-old  who isn’t happy to see his mother dating

Green Lantern. So, where does Green rank-- just above The Submariner?

The swell season-- a docu follow-on to Once, with Hansard and Irglova. Hmm.

If you can't even get off the couch, Mike Hale at the NY Times tells us [their opinion] about these fine upcoming shows:

FALLING SKIES (TNT, June 19) Steven Spielberg’s name is on this new science-fiction series, starring Noah Wyle, about the survivors of an alien invasion. Of course Steven Spielberg’s name has also been on “Pinky and the Brain” and “SeaQuest DSV.”

TORCHWOOD (Starz, July 8) For its 10-episode fourth season, this “Doctor Who” spinoff moves to Starz from BBC America. It also moves the scene of its action from Wales to America, in a story arc that begins with the end of death: people stop dying, although they don’t stop aging, or being gruesomely disfigured in traffic accidents and fires. The alien-fighting Torchwood Institute has been disbanded after the tragic events of Season 3, but when duty calls.... Mekhi Phifer, Bill Pullman and Lauren Ambrose join the cast, alongside the holdovers John Barrowman, Eve Myles and Kai Owen.

ALPHAS (Syfy, July 11) Yet another prime-time superhero show, this time about a five-person team under the supervision of a benevolent scientist (David Strathairn).

ZEN (PBS, July 17) Rufus Sewell, last seen building cathedrals in the medieval mini-series “Pillars of the Earth,” plays a detective named Aurelio Zen  in three BBC mysteries based on novels by Michael Dibdin and shot in Rome. It’s the only new addition to the “Masterpiece Mystery” lineup on PBS this season.

THE HOUR (BBC America, Aug. 17) This six-part thriller starring Dominic West (“The Wire”) and Romola Garai is set against the glamorous backdrop of the BBC newsroom in the 1950s.

 

Weekends, weekends. What to do on a weekend.

I assume grilling and beer will be involved?  What kind of grilling? Is there a hibatchi-like grill that doesn't use charcoal and could I afford it?

Of course games will be watched, but what about movies? Section331 mentioned "2012" recently-- any other crap films that demand multiple viewings?

Air-conditioned theatres for Super 8? Has anyone going to anything at SIFF this year?

Physical activities? Not that I personally actually do anything, but I imagine there are those that do.

Humbled Fan has requested a forum to talk about the end of Michael Scott's management of The Office.

How about some links--

Michael meets David Brent

A Michael vs David quizaroo

A nice summation of why the in-office salute to Michael worked last week

And for those of you looking forward to another British tradition ... there is a wedding on tv tonight.  You can watch it live at the Queen Mary tea shop if you like.  yum, crumpets.

When not watching scintillating baseball as played by the Hometown 9, doing all the usual daily stuff, and hoping that Spring will finally arrive, of late I have been filling my hours with the Collected Oeuvre of David Simon.

With a hit-or-miss re-watching of The Wire, and having finally seen season one of Treme, I took advantage of my local library (visit your local library) and got The corner and Generation Kill out, both of which fit neatly into the Simon/Burns/Overmyer world. I also checked out (on impulse) the first two seasons of Homicide, which I haven't seen in nigh on 20 years...

So, questions ...

what are you doing with your spare time?

does it also involve alcohol?

 

A few things to tide us over until a real OT is fashioned.

Rather cool story behind Ken Rosenthal's continued wearing of the bow tie, on-air. (I wonder where that blue silk one I used to have is ... it might have gone off to the Drama School's Costume Shop.)

any stories of bucking fashion trends?

Apparently, Warners will never let go of re-inventing Batman.

Worst take on an icon?

I just got my copy of  21: the story of Roberto Clemente, a gorgeous graphic novel by Wilfred Santiago

Any thoughts on the graphic novel?

So the February Snowpocalypse is upon us, and hence, what traditionally follows --- Danger Jim Foreman in a yellow parka and everyone checking the various news sites and weather forecasts.

Is there a particular place you go for what passes for accurate forecasting in this region known for screwing with meteorologists heads?

For me, the blog that Cliff Mass (UW professor, in the Atmospheric Sciences program) writes is a go-to spot, and Scott Sistek at KOMO (co-author of the entertaining book "Somewhere I Was Right: Why Northwest Weather is So Predictably Unpredictable") has both a blog and often writes up the regular KOMO weather forecast.

As Kirby Arnold put it this morning, in an early-bird blog post:

"Good morning from Peoria, Ariz., where the sun is rising into a cloudless sky and most of the action on the first day of the Mariners’ spring training camp will happen indoors.

It’s physical exam day for the pitchers and catches, so while the temperature outside heads toward a forecast high of 83, it figures to be a bit more frigid inside where the poking, prodding and coughing will be going on."

It looks like @kirbyarnold and @LarryLaRue are already in place, @shannondrayer arrives later today; Geoff Baker is already posting videos of himself. Spring has sprung.

So, they say that one of the 14 St Valentines was the first St. Valentine.

And then there is all sorts of stuff about the Romans and Lupercalia and mid-February.

Paper valentines began to be exchanged in the 5th century, with a real peak in popularity in the Victorian era.

Esther Howland is credited with the commercial American valentine industry, and the Greeting Card industry now hands out a Esther Howland Award for greeting card visionaries.

Personally, I have never really understood the allure of Valentine's day-- aside from the spike in the availability of cinnamon candy

Wow, Almost 1300 comments ... so, here is another one to start filling up.

FAN FEST! FAN FEST!  what to do, what to do... Swing Ichiro's bat, try on Chone Figgins' batting glove or hit a simulated Felix Hernandez fastball.

It's Hawaii weekend at the Seattle Aquarium, plus hula dancers! Ukulele virtuosos!

See the baby tortoises (tortois?) at the Woodland Park Zoo

It's the NHL All Start Weekend (as I am sure you all know) and a columnist in Calgary thinks it needs spicing up

What else is happening this weekend .. well, Cher plays The Colosseum at Caesars Palace...

Time for a new OT, and look!  Pictures from the awarding of the Cy Youngs, tonight in New York!

 

Felix and Roy with Bob Engle  and Felix' award, courtesy of @TheRealMariners

 

what else about Felix?

 

Miguel Cabrera was asked which pitcher gives him the most trouble. He said it's Felix Hernandez, the Seattle right-hander who won last season's American League Cy Young Award. Cabrera is 7-for-14 lifetime off Hernandez, with no homers and two RBIs.

On the other hand, Hall of Famer Fergie Jenkins wasn't happy with the vote this year-- “I thought that was ridiculous,” Jenkins said of Seattle’s Felix Hernandez winning the award despite a 13-12 record. “He didn’t help his ballclub at all. CC Sabathia helped his team get into the playoffs. He (Hernandez) was almost a .500 pitcher. The voting’s been really, really ridiculous.”

It is Wednesday, in the middle of a topsy-turvy* week, and I am finding it hard to get my mind to work in a linear fashion. Some might say that is not an unusual occurrence, but be that as it may.

Hot Stove League on tonight at 6 on 710 radio -- this week with Tony Blengino (yay!) in studio. Send in your questions now for Tony.

Waiting to be watched at home is Please murder me, a 1956 noir with Raymond Burr and Angela Lansbury. How can you not watch it, just to see what the two of them are like together, even if the movie isn't on any "best of film noir" lists...

I finally cracked my bottle of HP Sauce, hand-carried from Australia several months ago, only to be discovered on the shelf at Fred Meyer the following week. No idea if the recipes are the same.

 

 

* topsy-turvy 1520s, "but prob. in popular use from an earlier period" [OED], likely from tops, pl. of top (1) "highest point" + obsolete terve "turn upside down, topple over," from O.E. tearflian "to roll over, overturn," from P.Gmc. *terbanan (cf. O.H.G. zerben "to turn round").

 

Things I would like to see.

A complete lunar eclipse ("which begins at 9:29 p.m. PST Monday with the peak of the eclipse set for 12:18 a.m. Tuesday morning. It'll be all over at 3:04 a.m.")  The clouds will likely obscure it here, but NASA will broadcast it

Ichiro playing golf. And what Ichiro would wear while playing golf.

Proper adaptations of some historical novels by a British author named Georgette Heyer; there was one once but it was crap. She has a sense of humor and the adaptation seemed to have missed that.

I'm sure there are many other things I'd like to see (which don't include gifs of people getting hit by trains) -- I have often found myself saying "I'd like to see that", but darned if I can remember them off the top of my head.

oh, how I wish that SCTV's "coming up later tonight" ad for their tv-movie Mr. Know-It-All: The Life of Nostradamus
was available online (“I knew it! I knew that was going to happen!”) 

However the ad for Liberace's Christmas special with guest star Elton John is up, as is Stan and Yosh Schmenge's Christmas in Leutonia, Lola Heatherton's Christmas special with the Juul Haalmeyer dancers, and of course, Beer Nog

Questions ...

Anything you are still waiting for on dvd?  I'm still hoping for The Canadian Conspiracy -- which has been uploaded to YouTube, but that isn't really the same thing, now, is it.

Any progostications you'd like to make, a la Nostradamus? (I knew it!)

December 6th.

Not the anniversary of an unprovoked attack on the United States. Not the birthday of chatty Terrell Owens, author of other kinds of unprovoked things.

some different chatty queries....

Ever know anyone with a Chatty Cathy?  She had a place in her side (not unlike a cd player) where you would put a small record so that she would say various things

What was the first thing you bought with money that you'd earned yourself?

How can the Veterans Committee be so stupid on the subject of Marvin Miller? Ok, that is really more of a rhetorical question. Look at how they were with Ron Santo and Buck O'Neil.

 

Looking for something else to discuss while the clock ticks down to 11:00 Pacific?

 

Well, as Larry Stone reminds us, November 18th is also the birthday of one Jaime Moyer:

@StoneLarry   Happy 48th birthday to Jamie Moyer. Saw him yesterday at a Dave Niehaus celebration and he's looking much younger than his years.

 

Entertain yourself by thinking of things that are younger than Jamie Moyer. And no, the answer is not "everything".

What else happened on November 18th?  Mussolini came to power. Jim Jones got his followers to drink the kool-aid, thus cursing us with a facile line used by every sport talking head. In '49, Jackie Robinson became the first black player to win the MVP Award, beating Stan Musial, Ralph Kiner, and Pee Wee Reese. Sandy Koufax retired at 30 because his elbow hurt so much.

Oh, and Doc Gooden & Bret Saberhagen, ages 20 and 21, won the Cy Youngs in 1984. Which brings us back to the original topic.

You know, the world was a different place around the year 1240 ...

A Novgorodian army led by Alexander Nevsky defeats the Swedes in the Battle of the Neva, and heads off to take on the Teutonic knights and the Hungarians.

Mongols under Batu Khan occupy & destroy Kiev and Krakow, continuing the Golden Horde's hold on what became the Russias.

The Catholic Church went through several popes -- Pope Coelestinus IV and Pope Innocentius IV

The Habsburg dynasty began in a very small way in Swabia.

The Aztec dynasty began to consolidate in the New World.


On the plus side, it would be another 90 years or so before the rats and the dreaded bubos would spread across the East and into Europe.

Jeff's post about Ichiro's birthday made me think-- what do you get a suave worldly fellow, who already pretty much has everything? (except a tasteful World Series ring of his own) . 

Any shopping mavens out there with some good ideas?

Some new jeans?

Some new art for his home?

or maybe a little something for Ikkyu-- like a new dog house? Dancing lessons?

 

For the rest, there are still on-going topics from the last few OTs, including beer, beer, and Halloween.

hmm, wonder who Ichiro would dress up as for Halloween....