Month: October 2003

Want some free popcorn and a chance to see the greatest non-superhero comic book movie since “Ghost World?”

Then this Friday, get yourself over to the San Marco Theater in downtown San Marco. A spruced up, old-fashioned theater that features lounge seating and serves both beer and dinner, will begin a limited run of “American Splendor,” the acclaimed new film based on the works of Harvey Pekar which is an absolute must-see for any comic fan.

But how and why do denizens of this website rate free popcorn? Because my eldest daughter, Shana, works there part time. She’ll be the 22 year old behind the candy counter. So just come up to her, say “Your dad sent me” and she’ll give you a bag of popcorn on the house.

Oh, and she might give you a free soda if you can prove that you’ve fled Chicago for Florida to avoid retribution because you meddled with a catchable foul ball at last night’s game. Not that she’s a baseball fan, but because you probably need all the charity you can get right now.

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So there’s the sportscasters during the ill-fated (for Chicago) Cubs/Marlins game, stating repeatedly that they hoped the fans in the stands who got in the way of a catchable foul ball would not be ill-treated by Cubs fans the next day. Meanwhile, just to make sure that everyone in Chicago can ID these guys on sight, they keep replaying the sequence at various angles with assorted degrees of close-ups.

In case you weren’t watching, the caught fly ball would have left the Marlins with two outs. Instead, because a fan practically knocked the ball out of the fielder’s mitt (the fielder was visible on camera repeatedly saying the “F” word afterwards) the batter had the opportunity to ignite a rally that sent the Marlin to an eight-run eighth inning, leaving the Cubs and their fans shellshocked. Apparently two fans, a youngster and a guy in his late teens or early 20s, were responsible for grabbing at the ball instead of getting out of the way. Technically it wasn’t fan interference since the fielder had to reach over the stands to get at it. But Cubs fans likely won’t see it that way.

Perhaps the fans involved would be well-advised to get out of town, at least until game 7 is over. If the Cubs win, it’ll be an unimportant footnote. If the Cubs lose, well…they’ll probably get a heroes welcome in Florida.

Oh…Red Sox lost. I’m not sure which is less inspiring for their prospects: That they’ve only beaten one Yankees pitcher this series, or that they’d have to take two in Yankee Stadium. Still, the Sox have done well with their back against the wall lately, so we’ll see. The game of choice for anyone with true love for baseball is Sox/Cubs. If it’s Cubs/Yankees, at least it’ll be the first Cubs series appearance since 1945, and their first chance at a win in close to a century. If it’s Yankees/Marlins, the only ones who’ll give a dámņ are Yankees and Marlins fans, and World series ratings will likely suck.

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Just came back from a same-day trip to Boston and back, driving the visiting Gwen home and relocating her cat, Treat (named for actor Treat Williams) to her Boston residence. He’s always been her cat, and he’s been slapping around the other cats pretty good lately (he’s near as big as a Main Coon), getting a bit antisocial as he gets older. So we (in consultation with the vet) decided that relocation would be the best for all concerned. It’ll probably take him a few days to adjust to the new environment, but once he has we expect he’ll be much happier.

I didn’t hang around in Boston, though. If nothing else, I figured my car with the New York license plate might get keyed or worse by wandering Red Sox fans.

And hey…series tied up at 2. I think Yankees fans just hate to admit how evenly matched these teams are, and that any of the games could break either way.

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Oh wait… he is.

No dandelion patch is safe.

I really didn’t think we’d see a bench-clearing brawl at Fenway until at least game 4, or more likely game 5. I figured, y’know, get a brawl in game 3, gives you nowhere to go drama wise…unless of course the crowd mood gets progressively uglier and by game 4 or 5–particularly if the Yankees keep winning–frustrated and berserk fans start storming the field, figuring the only way to end the rivalry is with their bare hands. You can just imagine one of the fans acting like the Inspector in “Young Frankenstein,” growling, “A riot…is an ugly thing! And I think it’s about time that ve had vun!”

I’m of two minds on Martinez. On the one hand, he sure didn’t help himself between plunking that guy and then pointing at his head (I’m not sure what he was shouting: Maybe “We all have this buzz cut, so shut up!”) On the other hand, when you’ve got Don Zimmer coming at you like a rhino, you’re hip deep in Kobayashi Maru territory. If you defend yourself, it’s, “Bullying strong young athlete lays smack down on senior citizen.” If you backpedal or run, it’s “Gutless strong young athlete runs away from senior citizen.” From watching it, it looks to me like Martinez didn’t actually throw him down. Zimmer was moving like a freight train. Objects in motion tend to stay in motion. Martinez grabbed his head and aimed it to the side and down, and Zimmer’s own momentum did the rest. It wasn’t a bad martial arts move, actually. But, jeez, Zimmer could have broken a hip or something at his age. On the other hand, at his age he should know better. Martinez should have known better. The whole lot of them should have known better.

I’m reminded of old Casey S. shouting “Can’t anybody here play this game?!”

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The internet is hotwired with items about Bill Jemas being on his way out at Marvel.

Frankly, I’m feeling kinda guilty. I know I shouldn’t, but I am. Because from a creative point of view, Jemas took his first major hit because of me.

I threw down the challenge to the company in an endeavor to keep “Captain Marvel” alive. This led to the publication of “Marville.” Up until “Marville” was published, Bill Jemas had some degree of creative cred thanks to his name being attached to several indisputable Marvel hits. Then “Marville” came out and it was…how to put it delicately…not successful. If I hadn’t issued my “But I Digress” challenge, who knows? “Marville” might never have been published and Jemas might never have fallen so badly on his face in his first solo endeavor.

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