Quotes of the Month: April 2011

Quote of the Month: “People like crap.”

-Getty Lee on popular music



Stupid Quote of the Month: “I don’t trust your kind.”

-LeBron’s mom to the police



Political Quote of the Month: "Our leaders are stupid, they are stupid people. It's just very, very sad."


-Donald Trump (he had a big month)


And the rest:

“Will the universe end? many ask. Yes. Not with a bang but a whimper. Not in fire, but in ice. Not in light, but in darkness.”

-Neil deGrasse Tyson

"I see the same [expletive] you guys see. Exactly the same [expletive]."

-Ozzie Guillen on his team’s bullpen problems

“Take the vehicle. I have 10 more.”

-Allen Iverson after the police pulled his Lamborghini over.

“Your cat does not love you. It tolerates you day to day.”

-George Takei

“The WH has been remarkably consistent...in changing nearly all of his campaign positions.”

-Dana Perino

"Why don't you just arrest me?"

-Nicholas Cage to police

History Shorts: Caesar Marches on Rome (49 B.C.)

Four decades after Sulla marched on Rome and purged the city of his opponents, Julius Caesar marched his troops on the capitol. Caesar made many enemies while serving as consul. He left town to avoid prosecution and persecution to serve as governor of Gaul. He spent nearly a decade campaigning in Gaul and earning fame. His opponents grew jealous and demanded he submit to the Senate. Submission meant probable death. Caesar had to act and marched on the city to protect himself. At the same time, Caesar hoped to end nearly a century of strife between classes within the Republic.



Crossing the Rubicon: (Audio from Gods and Generals narrated by Jeff Daniels and video from HBO's Rome):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZGUQUjRljo

From HBO's Rome:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqoCRsZG1ZQ&feature=related

Top 200 Albums of All Time: "J" Artists

Off the Wall: Michael Jackson (1979)


Off the Wall has become a trendy pick amongst critics for MJ’s greatest work. The album signaled Michael Jackson’s move away from Motown and included funk, disco, pop, soul, jazz, and soft rock influences. Off the Wall had been forgotten as music fans wanted to forget the seventies and in the wake of Thriller’s success.

Key Tracks:

Don’t Stop ‘til You Get Enough
Rock With You
She’s Out of My Life

Thriller: Michael Jackson (1982)

For a time, Thriller was omnipresent. Michael Jackson continued his exploration of the same musical influences present in Off the Wall. With Thriller, he really puts his stamp on pop culture and music. Additionally, Jackson broke down racial barriers through MTV with hit after hit. “Beat It” and “Billie Jean” still receive radio airplay nearly 30 years later and the title track has become a Halloween anthem.

Key Tracks:

Beat It
Billy Jean
Thriller
Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’

Billy Joel: The Stranger (1977)

Billy Joel broke through with The Stranger. His previous four albums achieved little-to-moderate success. The album is filled with classic tracks and four singles charted.

Key Tracks:

Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)
The Stranger
Just the Way You Are
She’s Always a Woman
Scenes from an Italian Restaurant

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road: Elton John (1973)

Elton John did not plan to record a double album. However, he and Bernie Taupin wrote enough material for two albums. The record uses nostalgia for maximum effect. The most memorable works all harken back to simpler time whether its childhood or young adulthood.

Key Tracks:

Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleed
Candle in the Wind
Bennie and the Jets
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

Robert Johnson: King of the Delta Blues Singers (1961)

Robert Johnson died in 1938. In 1961, Columbia released sixteen tracks that had been on 78. Throughout the sixties, blues grew more popular particular with the British Invasion acts. As the decade progressed, his works were covered by the Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, and Led Zeppelin.

Key Tracks:

Cross Road Blues
Terraplane Blues
Traveling Riverside Blues
Hellhound on My Trail

British Steel: Judas Priest (1980)

1980 was a very good year for metal. Judas Priest was in the middle of the action with the release of British Steel. Scott Ian claimed the album defined heavy metal because it eliminated the blues influence that permeated and influenced the genre from the late sixties. On top of this, the album included the iconic and genre defining songs “Breaking the Law”, “Living After Midnight”, and “Metal Gods.”

Key Tracks:

Breaking the Law
Living After Midnight
United
Metal Gods

Chicago Cubs Top 10 Moments

Cubs win the World Series (October 12, 1907): The 1907 Cubs won 107 games during the regular season and then defeated the Detroit Tigers in the World Series. The two teams tied 3-3 in Game One. Afterward, the Cubs took over and swept the series while surrendering three runs in the final four games. The 1907 Cubs were the best team of the “Dead Ball” Era.


Merkle’s Boner (September 23, 1908): The Cubs and Giants were battling for the pennant. On September 23, 1908, the two teams squared off tied for first. With the score tied 1-1 and one man on for the Giants in the bottom of the 9th, Fred Merkle singled the winning run to third. Al Bridwell hit what appeared to be a walk off single. However, Merkle did not advance to second as the crowd rushed onto the field in celebration. Cubs second baseman Johnny Evers saw Merkle’s base running error, found a baseball, and tagged second. The umpire called Merkle out and nullified the run. The game ended in a tie and the Cubs won the rematch which provided the winning margin in the pennant race. Chicago beat New York and Pittsburgh by a single game.

Repeat! (October 14, 1908): The Cubs won their second world title after beating the Giants for the pennant. Once again, they played Detroit in the World Series. Once again, they beat the Tigers in five games. To date, the Cubs have yet to win another championship.

Homer in the Gloamin’(September 28, 1938): The Cubs and Pirates were battling for first place when they met at the end of September. With the score tied 5-5 in the 9th, and darkness threatened the game, Gabby Hartnett hit a walk off home run to propel Chicago into first place. The Cubs eventually won the pennant and then ran into DiMaggio’s Yankees thus ending their dream. The term “Homer in the Gloamin’” was a play on a popular song “Roamin’ in the Gloamin’” .

Banks hits 500 (May 12, 1970): Ernie Banks became the 9th member of the 500 homer club on May 12, 1970 off Atlanta’s Pat Jarvis. The Cubs won the game 4-3 in 11 innings.

Milt Pappas almost Perfect (September 2, 1972): Armando Galaragga’s recent imperfect perfect game in 2010 brought back memories of Milt Pappas. Like Galaragga, Pappas had a perfect game through the first 26 batters when an umpire intervened. With a 2-2 count on pinch-hitter Larry Stahl, umpire Bruce Froemming called the next two pitches balls. The pitches were extremely close. Stahl walked costing Pappas his perfect game. He did pitch a no-hitter.

The Sandberg Game (June 23, 1984): Ryne Sandberg announced his candidacy for the MVP on a nationally televised game. His performance made Sandberg a household name. The Cubs trailed 9-8 in the 9th with Sandberg coming to the plate against St Louis Hall of Fame relief ace Bruce Sutter. Sandberg tied the game with a blast into the left field stand. Undaunted, the Cardinals scored two in the 10th for the lead. In the bottom half of the frame, Sandberg tied it with a two-run shot off Sutter. Chicago won in the 11th on a RBI single by Dave Owen.

Sutcliffe goes 16-1 and Cubs win NL East (1984): The Indians have a habit of trading Cy Young winners. Before Lee or Sabathia left the Tribe, Rick Sutcliffe was sent to Chicago. In the summer of 1984, “Red Beard” went 16-1 for the Cubs (20-6 overall) leading the team to its first postseason appearance since 1945. He won the 1984 Cy Young Award for his effort.

Wood K’s 20 (May 6, 1998): Kerry Wood seemed destined for greatness. He pitched one of the greatest games of all time on May 6, 1998 against Houston. The Astros lineup included Hall of Famers Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell. Wood allowed only a single hit and walked none in his 20 strikeout performance. This was total dominance.

Cubs win the first post season series since 1908 (October 5, 2003): The Cubs and Braves LDS went to a climactic fifth game. In Game 5, Kerry Wood defeated the Braves 5-1 for the franchise’s first postseason series victory in 95 years. Alex Gonzalez and Aramis Ramirez each homered in the victory. In the 95 years in between series victories, the Cubs had lost seven World Series and three playoff series. They went on to lose the 2003 NLCS and were later swept in the 2007 and 2008 NLDS.

Top 10 Twilight Zone Episodes

These are some of my faves. I guess I like the apocalyptic and time travel scenarios...

1. Nightmare at 20,000 Feet: Imagine being trapped in a tube at 20,000 feet with some creature determined to sabotage your flight. On top of this, no one believes your story. That is what makes this episode so effective. The claustrophobic environment, the helplessness, the knowledge that no one could help, and the monster itself. Having a young William Shatner, aka James T. Kirk, in the title role furthers the ambient fear.


2. Time Enough At Last: Burgess Meredith stars as a man that wants to be left alone with his books. He falls asleep in a bank vault as nuclear explosions signify the end of the world. Meredith awakens to find his dream has come true and then breaks his glasses.

3. Back There: Russell Johnson (the Professor from Gilligan’s Island) finds himself teleported back to the night Lincoln was shot. After some initial confusion, he desperately tries to alert the authorities and comes to the attention of John Wilkes Booth. In the end, Johnson can not change history on the macro level. However, he does manage to change the fortunes of a porter in his high society club after an encounter with the man’s ancestor. When he returns to 1961, the porter is now a rich club member.

4. The Dummy: Before Chucky, there was Willie. A ventriloquist (Cliff Robertson) believes his dummy (Willie) is alive and evil and locks it in a trunk. Why do wooden dummies scare people? Well, in the Twilight Zone, the evil Willie ends up switching places with the ventriloquist. The episode is made especially creepy by the mood lighting, shadows, and Willie’s cackling laughter.

5. The Howling Man: World War I devastated Europe. David Ellington (H.M. Bryant) is wandering through the postwar countryside and gets lost. He stops at a castle for help and collapses. The monks help Ellington who discovers they are holding a man captive. The man begs Ellington to help him escape, but Brother Jerome (John Carradine) warns that the captive is the Devil and if he is set loose, the world would suffer. Ellington does not believe Jerome and sets the Devil loose to launch World War II. Years later, Ellington tracks the Devil down and locks him up. It is his turn to warn his housekeeper to leave the man locked up, but she curiously removes the bar from the door.

6. The Midnight Sun: The world is ending. Earth is flinging itself toward the sun. Or is it? Just as it appears the world is going to be burned to a cinder, it appears that it is actually hurdling away from the sun. The Twilight Zone loved the apocalypse and this episode was prescient in that it predated the global cooling craze which was followed by the global warming craze.

7. The Masks: A dying millionaire makes his family wear masks to supposedly celebrate Mardi Gras. His real aim is to make them wear masks representing their horrid personalities. He forces them to keep the masks on until midnight or be disinherited. They acquiesce and when they remove them, they find that their faces have morphed into their masks.

8. The 7th Is Made Up of Phantoms: Three national guardsmen from the present day end up in 1876 at the Little Big Horn. When their comrades search for the missing men, they find their names on a monument to the fallen.

9. A Stop at Willoughby: A poor, overworked, henpecked businessman wants to get away from the modern world. He sleeps on the train ride home from work and is transported to a pleasant turn of the century small town called Willoughby. The people are friendly and life is quiet. He longs for peace and rest. Eventually, he decides to stay in Willoughby rather than wake up. The townspeople embrace him and he goes off happily. His smiling body is found by the train conductor. The man jumped off the train in his sleep and was killed. Willoughby was the funeral home that took his body.

10. A Hundred Years Over the Rim: Another time travel episode…only this one has a happy ending! Cliff Robertson is a pioneer from 1847 and his son is sick with a high fever. So, he sets out searching for water and lands in the 1960s. While there, he procures the medicine that saves his son’s life. As a result of his time travel, the boy becomes a famous doctor.

Sci Fi History: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne (1869)

A mysterious sea monster attacks ships on the high seas. The U.S. government commissions an expedition to destroy the monster. The expedition fails to find the beast, but encounters Captain Nemo and his submarine. Nemo operates independently of any government and is interested in exploration and vengeance against the modern world. The book describes the use of electricity seven years before Edison’s light bulb, diving suits, and the aforementioned submarine. The crew also battles a giant octopus. Eventually, the members of the original punitive expedition escape from Nemo who disappears into a maelstrom. Other than the futuristic use of electricity and underwater technology, the book delves into issues surrounding the industrial revolution and various revolutions from 1848. Jules Verne also alludes to the 1857 Indian Mutiny. Nemo is presented as a champion of the underdog and a modern day Odysseus. As a result, Verne’s work not only predicts future technology, but also includes political commentary disguised as an underwater adventure.

History Shorts: Sulla becomes Dictator of Rome (82 B.C.)

Rome experienced dramatic social upheaval from the end of the Third Punic War (149 B.C.) until the Battle of Actium (31 B.C.). Conflict between upper and lower classes and Roman citizens and non-citizens dominated politics. In 82 B.C., Sulla decided to end the upheaval by marching his army into Rome, seizing power, and ushering in “reform” designed to strengthen the upper class. As part of his program, he purged the city of political opponents. He stepped down as dictator in 81 B.C. His reforms did not stand the test of time. However, he established a precedent which many generals followed in the subsequent centuries. Julius Caesar remembered the dictatorship and pogrom and followed in Sulla’s footsteps. However, Caesar did not willingly relinquish power nor did he murder his political opponents. Sulla’s actions provided an example to Caesar.



Marius vs. Sulla:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0mWa1zqpm8&feature=related