Wino slug fest!

Amy Winehouse, gotta smack some bitches before the emphysema totally kicks in. I hope no one paid for this performance...
I think a drunken Colleen sang this song better karaoke-ing in Myrtle Beach :)

Everyone loves a pregnant girl.

So I was reading my Time magazine the other day, and apparently there’s a high school in Gloucester, Mass. where 17 girls in the senior class were preggers. Things in this small fishing town seemed a bit “fishy” when girls were coming to the school clinic and getting tested for pregnancy multiple times, and then seeming disappointed if the results were negative.

After some questioning of these biddies, school administrators were able to find out that the girls made a pact to get pregnant and raise their babies together. You know, like when you talk with your friends and say things like “let’s all live on the same street and our kids will be best friends.” Only they the whole buying houses near each other step and just going right to the shootin’ out a baby phase of the process.

The principal also found out some information about one of the baby daddys that probably made the girl’s parents a bit uncomfortable. And anyone else who hears it: “We found out one of the guys is a 24-year-old homeless guy,” the principal says, shaking his head. First of all, if you were the principal of this school, would you really release this information to the press? That some messed up girl in your school wanted a baby so bad she banged a homeless dude? She couldn’t find some horny high school guy? I think she wasn’t looking hard enough.

And forget celebrating high school sports—these girls cheerlead for the baby-making team. Apparently after the girls found out they were pregnant in the clinic, some reacted to the news by high-fiving each other and making plans for baby showers. Sure, the miracle of life is something to celebrate, but do these girls realize they’re going to have stretch marks at the age of 17? I wonder if they’ll still be raisin’ the roof when they’re changing diapers.

I think the most ironic part is the fact that when the school nurse and doctor decided that maybe they should make birth control available in this school of fertilized eggs, they got resistance, even from the mayor. “Dr. Orr and Ms. Daly have no right to decide this for our children,” said Mayor Carolyn Kirk. Orr and Daly resigned in protest.

And I agree with them. I resign too. To the fact that teenage girls are crazy!!!! Sleepovers galore! We can talk about cute boys, baby names, stroller companies, and natural childbirth.

Count me in.

…and five things I like about nyc.

With the aim of not sounding like a completely ungrateful Miserable Marci, I’ve decided to include a list of things I *like* about living here in the Big Apple. Well there’s one thing right off the bat. The apples I mentioned in the previous post (that I spilled all over the ground) are actually delicious, some of the best apples I’ve ever had. And now with that glass half full attitude we all love to hate, here’s a list of 5 things I kinda like about my new lifestyle:

1. being able to go to Yankees’ games.
I love the Bronx Bombers! And it’s cool that when I have nothing to do at work I can just browse craiglist and/or stubhub and score some bleacher seats to basically whatever game I want. Even a game on a weeknight! Sure, the two games I’ve been to so far have been extreme cases in weather (the hottest 98 degree Sunday afternoon ever and a Wednesday night hour and a half rain delay), but nothing compares to hanging at Yankee stadium, hearing the girl in the row behind me talk on her cell phone about how “fucking hot Derek Jeter is,” and watching the field crew dance to the YMCA during the seventh inning stretch. You can almost see little thought bubbles emerging from their heads—“this whole dancing thing is not worth seeing every game for free.” But it really is worth it.
best part about this nyc perk: the Jason Giambi “power of the stash” graphic they put on the video screens when he bangs a hit out.

2. hanging with my bro.
Another key to things that make me happy around here is the fact that my broseph is around to chill with. He’s been here since his college days, so not only is he a good guy to cook dinner with after a hard day at the office, but he’s a reliable resource to call for: directions anywhere, what to do when the subway is being worked on and they won’t take me to my usual stop, and what plays are good to see. Even though he takes offense to my rants about hating city-life, he’s a good guy to have around none-the-less for some family when you need it most. And his friends are funny, too!
best part about this nyc perk: he always walks to my apartment to hang out so I can maximize laziness

3. Jersey City/the Chili’s in Jersey City
I love Jersey City. My friend Hoover lives there in this amazingly huge, bright, beautifully decorated apartment that I like to refer to as home on the weekend. Sleeping on the orange couch in the room formerly known as the “no girl’s allowed” room just makes me very happy. It’s so much quieter then the city, there’s a real live shopping mall just down the street, they’ve got a sick view of the city (it’s nicer to be outside looking in), and the kicker – a pool! Who would have thought I could find a place to plant myself next to a beautiful chlorinated oasis and suck up the hot rays of the sun in New York? After my stint in LA last summer, I’ve got to keep at my run towards skin cancer. There’s already some suspicious spots on my neck…

But back to Jersey City. Because even though everything I’ve told you about the Disney World of an apartment complex Hoover lives in is great, I haven’t shared the best part. There’s a Chili’s across the street. Only the greatest restaurant ever. Just thinking of those frozen margaritas and bottomless baskets of salty chips and salsa makes the sides of my mouth turn up in a slight grin. This quickly changes to a full, blown out SMILE once I step inside. The wait staff is friendly, the drinks are tasty, and the Cajun Chicken Sandwich is out of this world. I’ve been there at least once a weekend since my nyc debut, and I’m looking forward to keeping that up.
best thing about this nyc perk: big screen tv’s, PJ Ryan’s, and a rockstar bartender named Jamal.

4. my unlimited ride metro card.
If I’m going to be forced to ride these devil trains, I may as well be able to swipe my damn card anytime I want. Unlimited access to the subway kind of feels like being a VIP at a party you didn’t want to go to in the first place. But hey, as long as you’re there you might as well be treated like royalty…

Well I guess just because I pre-pay for my subway rides every month doesn’t make me much of a celebrity. But it’s satisfying every time I walk by the people standing in line at the machines to buy their LIMITED ride subway cards. Because with my metro card, traveling the humid tunnels of underground Manhattan…is limitless.
best thing about this nyc perk: gas prices up the wazoo.

5. Ithaca people. everywhere.
Who would have guessed that after I graduated college I would come in contact with more Ithaca people than nyc people? We pretty much own the place I where work, the copywriter above me graduated the year before me, as did three account people on the floor above me, and a senior level guy here graduated about 20 years ago. Which may explain the tendency to hire new Ithaca-grads…

All of the Jersey City people I love to stay with are Ithaca people, and we even ended up at a bar on Saturday night in Manhattan that was just opened—by an Ithaca grad! Who was a senior when we were freshman…he’s doing pretty well for himself.

And in the bathroom at that bar, as I stood by the sink, I saw a girl who was in one of my classes in college who told me to send her my resume and she’d get me a job! And all I had to do was wash my hands!

Thanks, all of Ithaca, for moving to nyc so I can see you and make those so called important “connections” people keep saying are so important to get a job. And it’s pretty nice to see people you know around in a big scary place as well.
best thing about this nyc perk: seeing a guy wearing a Cortaca Jug shirt on the subway.

JC Penney loves Teenage Sexcapades??

hehehe a fake JC Penney's commercial. Apparently the company's got their knickers in a knot about it. They don't want loyal mom shoppers to turn in their JC Penney credit cards because the company condones their kids gettin' it on...

noticed something watching Friends tonight...

New Yorker.

So I moved to New York City. For the summer at least (an internship and a sublet won't get me past August, so if I want to stay I've got some work to do). I wanted to write something about an aspect of being here, everyone's been asking how it is, how I like it. But I couldn't really decide what to focus on. And a writer with no focus produces work that (usually) is hard to focus on.
So I sifted through my impressions of the city, things I could comment on. And I've come up with a list of let's say… 6 things that I would like to talk about in regard to my new place of residence. Here they are (in no specific order) –

1. Subways.
I really had to give up my beautiful blue spaceship car to ride in these crowded, dirty, loud, uncomfortable underground railroads? Every morning, despite the fact that I have to wake up before I feel like it and go sit inside for eight hours while the sunshine of the outdoors is begging to shine down on my pre-cancerous bronzed skin, I also have to wait in a muggy, smelly subway station until a train rolls in and I finally think, "thank goodness, air conditioning." Until it brakes with the sound of Whoopi Goldberg in Sister Act 2 dragging her fingernails against the blackboard and the doors open to already full cabins of miserable people going to their miserable jobs and I have to file in with the masses and push and shove my way into this horrible train I don't even want to be so it can take me to a place I don't even want to go.

And once you get on a train, even though it takes you out of the horribly humid, hot station, you are forced to stand in uncomfortably close quarters with strangers you don't want to be near. And there's always that one person who shoves themselves into the space right by the doors that they don't fit in right after the helpful, polite robotic subway man has clearly stated "stand clear of the closing doors please, " so then everyone who was already shoved into the train car gets pushed that much closer to one another.

And then there are the metal bars that you must clench in your once-clean hands to ensure that you don't get jostled into the passengers around you. Because even though people are for the most part very apologetic and understanding on the subway about people accidentally brushing against others, there's always one person who genuinely takes offense to the fact that someone has nudged them and feels the need to respond with an over aggressive "Excuse me," or a comment to a friend they are standing near about how "bitches will best stop bumping me or I'll smack them." To which I always respond to (in my thoughts, for fear of starting a subway riot) with "we're on a really crowded subway I'm sure they don't really want to touch your gross body anyways but thanks for making everyone else's morning that much more pleasant with your passive aggressive bullshit. Why don't you just really smack someone so we can get the party started and do this up right?"

And when I finally get to my destination, it's a struggle to weave through the mess of people, around the group of tourists who somehow find it enjoyable to "culture themselves" by standing around a group of musicians who are playing as loud as they can in the echoing enclosed space of the muggy subway station, around the slow moving people who apparently enjoy moseying around the ol' subway station and finally file up the stairs until you hit the light of day again. And your cell phone commences to work once more.

Even though gas prices are at an all-time high and blah blah blah, every morning (and evening) during my commute I yearn to sit in my car with the windows down and one of my cd's blaring. I almost miss sitting in the horrifying LA traffic last summer on the way home from work. Because I'd much rather rock out to my jams in the privacy of my clean, personal vehicle than turn my I pod up way to high for my ear's sake, attempt to not fall forward and make out with the weird man standing face to face with me in the jammed packed compartment, and try to drown out the most horrible sound of all – "Ladies and gentlemen we are delayed because of train traffic ahead of us."

2. My Apartment (specifically, my bedroom)
So my apartment is in Brooklyn, in the hipster neighborhood of Williamsburg, and I guess it's not too bad of an area. But the apartment is small. Very small. And my bedroom is – very, very small. If I was some sort of gnome I might be rejoicing, but since I am a full-grown person with lots of things I like to keep in my room, it's not the ideal situation. I don't mind the cramped space, there's just enough space to fit my bed, nightstand, small fold up table for my computer and the closet provides just enough space to shove in most of my clothing, but the kicker is that there's no windows. A room with no windows.

I could walk in the room at one in the afternoon and it would be dark. If there were no clock on my nightstand, I'd never know what time it was. My body is confused. It wakes up in the morning and wonders why it is the same level of darkness that it was when I went to bed. It tells me, "don't get up yet – it's still dark." But it's not still dark in any normal room with windows. It's just still dark in my small dungeon room.

And when it gets hot – like two weekends ago when it was reaching the high 90's to 100 degrees, my apartment becomes a pressure cooker of heat and sweat. Just sitting on the couch produces the sweat output of a hard 30-minute run, and fans must be dragged out and positioned in front of wherever your immediate position is in order for living to even be tolerable.

But it gets worse. When it's really hot and you live in the room with no windows, your room is UNBEARABLY hot. Like, so humid you can't breathe and all you have is a small fan that hardly even helps because the small amount of cool air it produces cannot cut through the heavy heat filled air that is stifling around your room and you're sweating even with no sheets on you and by the slight chance that you actually fall asleep in your uncomfortable state, you wake up naked because your natural body's response has been to rip all clothes off to try and survive. And you're still sweaty. You get the idea.

So that's the deal with the small apartment.

3. Nowhere to Work Out
So at school, in return for me paying thousands upon thousands of dollars to sit in several classes every day, I also got a free membership to the Ithaca College gym. Which actually was a very nice gym. If you got there before or after the 4 o’clock treadmill rush, you could basically do any workout you pleased with the equipment there – they even had rowers and the girl-sized padded bar weights. But here, in the city of dreams, I can’t afford a gym. There’s actually a place by my work that’s touting it’s big “Summer Sale!” with banners outside and brochures on a little table. So I picked up one of these handouts and called about it (I should have known it was out of my price range when the prices weren’t specifically stated on the postcard…) For one month, their special price is $219. Now I don’t know how much other gyms cost around here, because I haven’t really shopped around too much, but if I decided to take this summer gym deal, it would cost me about one-sixth of my hefty intern salary. And the little apartment I live in – would be an additional 2/3 of my monthly stipend. So going to a gym is not in the stars for me. It would mean that I definitely couldn’t afford to eat at Chili’s in Jersey City once or twice a weekend. And if I can’t do that, it’s not worth getting up in the morning.

On the brightside, there is a park about a half-mile from my apartment. With a track! While this is a free easy place to go run and stay in shape, it is always absurdly crowded. With runners, walkers, little kids riding their bikes on the track, people playing numerous soccer/Frisbee games on the field in the middle of the track, racquetball court players, families just sitting around, and teenagers just hanging around on the track. Now I’m not that anti-social that I hate being around people, I just hate being around them when I’m trying to work out and they are in my way. I don’t mind weaving in and out of the other joggers/walkers when I’m trying to run around the track and no one is following the convention of leaving the inside lanes open for faster runners, but I also have to be on constant lookout for stray soccer balls, Frisbees, racquetballs, and teenagers moseying around the track. The first time I was there I was in my running zone when all the sudden I was struck on the leg, mid-stride, by a soccer ball. I didn’t fall or anything, but it scared me! And if it happens again, and I was to fall, it would be so embarrassing because of the sheer amount of people around hanging out at the track.

And who hangs out at a track anyways? Teenagers, the country is talking about the absurd amount of overweight young Americans, and I’m glad you are taking note. But merely planting yourself at the track and hanging out with friends while others struggle to run around you to get by does not qualify as exercise. Lace up those running shoes and get moving.
It’s also hard for me because I was really getting good at pull-ups (or assisted pull ups on the machine at least). But now I have nowhere to practice my sub par pull-ups, no machine, and even if I could find a bar I wouldn’t be able to pull myself up even once. Come to think of it, that may be my own fault for being too weak to lift my own bodyweight. I’ll work on that.
So I guess there is a place to workout if I really want to – the track is sufficient, and I even have room in my little backyard to swing my 20 lb kettlebell around. It’s just hard to leave the comforts of a gym and end up at an overcrowded track. With no rowers.

4. Elevators at Work
Going to work isn’t something I necessarily enjoy. And once I’m there, even getting to my desk becomes a hassle. Riding the elevator up to my floor (36 out of 38) is a task that takes forever. First, the wait in the lobby for the elevator to arrive seems to take forever, and if you’re there during rush hours (anytime around 9:30 in the morning or lunch time), as you wait for an elevator to arrive more and more people flood the waiting area. So when the “ding” of the elevator finally arrives, you have to be strategically placed in front of the correct elevator door to have a chance of squeezing in.

Then the ride begins. I’m usually squished somewhere near the back or side of the small enclosed area, and I’m glad that I am not a person who is frightened by riding elevators, because it’s not a straight shot of a ride. We usually stop about at about 7 to 8 floors before we finally reach my humble floor of 36. And since the car is so packed, once you get to each floor its usually the person standing all the way in the back who says “excuse me,” and then everyone files out, giving them room to exit, and then everyone files back in, ready to stop at the next floor. It’s also funny when the jam packed car stops at a floor and the doors open to someone waiting to get on who takes one look at the full to the brim elevator, looks confused for a moment as if they want to try to squeeze in but know they really can’t do it, then steps back and lets the door close once again.
And lastly, probably the most uncomfortable part is the unwritten rule of elevators that you can’t really talk to people who you don’t know, but in the case of this elevator, you’re actually with them for an extended period of time. At least long enough to make an acquaintance. Or even a friend. But instead you just stand looking up at the floor numbers and count how many are lit up, mere stepping stones on your way up to your desk.

5. Grocery Shopping / Laundry-doing
As I mentioned before, I gave up my wonderful car when I moved here because of the availability of the wonderful subway system and lack of parking. One thing that my car had is a lot of trunk space. For groceries. Let’s compare the amount of groceries I can carry in my car:


To the amount of groceries I can manually carry the six blocks home from the grocery store:


As you can see, the difference is staggering. And the other thing about the grocery store (besides the fact that anywhere you go that’s not Wegman’s is a downgrade), is that you have to go to the grocery store for most items, and then a separate store for your fruits and vegetables. Why must we make things more complicated than they have to be? And as I showed before, since I don’t have my car for transport and two hands can’t hold that much, it’s always a task to carry all the grocery bags and make sure all the fruit and veggies don’t fall on the floor. Last week I spilled my apples all over the store. Not only embarrassing, but I had to eat bruised apples all week.

The last problem I have with grocery stores here is that they don’t have all the things I like! Last week they didn’t even have original Triscuits. Only those weird flavors. Come on, get the plain ones.

I’ve also decided to group laundry doing into this itemized rant because it is another chore that is made harder because it takes a five-minute walk to get to. Then you must get about 5 dollars worth of quarters to get just one load done. And since I don’t really want to spend hours of my day sitting in the Laundromat, I have to walk there, drop my stuff off, walk home, do something that cannot last more than 20 minutes, walk back, transfer to dryer, walk home, do something that cannot last more than 50 minutes, then go back to get my clean clothes. I miss the days when doing laundry meant walking into the room next to mine throwing my stuff in (for free!) then leaving it there until I felt like moving it. Or my roommates yelled, “Whose stuff is in the dryer!” Then I simply had to walk next door and get it. Those were the days.

6. Crowds and/or Noise
And the last item that I can think of that really upsets me as a New Yorker is the fact that it’s always loud. And crowded. Wherever you go. Whenever I’m doing any of the other things in New York that upsets me (subway riding, grocery shopping, etc) it is usually accompanied by loud noises and lots of people. Even just walking down the street involves careful weaving through and around people, and even when you’re just standing on the subway, the squealing of the train on the track can sometimes be enough to make your face scrunch up.

For example, I’ll get out of work and want to chat with someone on my phone as I walk down the street, but we won’t be able to have a conversation of any sorts because a bus or truck will be motoring by, people are yelling, cars are beeping for no apparent reason other than to promote noise pollution, and some sort of emergency vehicle will have it’s siren blaring and will be headed in my direction. Apparently anytime I talk on my cell phone triggers an emergency of some sort. Maybe I should lay off the calls and numerous fires/crimes will be avoided.

And even if you are walking down the street with someone who is physically present, right there next to you, there are numerous times in a two block radius where you cannot hear a thing they are saying. And sometimes, if you want to walk briskly, you’ll lose the person you’re with completely. Especially when you’re in high traffic areas (Times Square) crossing a street. It’s a block of people crossing a block of people and it’s hard enough not to smack into anyone without trying to stay next to your friend as well.

And get this - the subways are so loud when they roll into the station, or even when you are on them, that I can have my I pod buds in my ears, and have the music turned almost all the way up, and not hear anything except the roar of the train. Which I think is probably really bad for my ears. So mostly now I just reserve myself to the fact that I can’t leisurely listen to music when on the train, but instead I have to hear the loud sounds of the underground subway machine. And whatever crying kid is on my subway car.

And it’s not like I don’t like people—I think people are very wonderful for the most part; I’m not a hermit or anything—but I hate large crowds of people. When they prevent me from doing something, like moving. Or getting where I want to go. And that seems to happen a lot here.

So, there you have it. 6 reasons preventing me from buying a 5$ tee shirt from the next street vendor I see and proudly proclaiming to the world:


And I would like to take this last sentence to apologize for sounding like a huge miserable Debbie Downer throughout this whole post.

“But Marci, there are so many things to do in New York, you’re lucky to be living in a city where dreams come true for millions of people… …”




Waaaah Waaaaah.

Karaoke Superstar.

I have a tee shirt that says Karaoke Superstar on it. I didn’t buy it because I think it’s funny, or stylish, or because it’s just that right shade of green. I don’t take the slogans on shirts lightly. I honestly believe that I am a Karaoke Superstar. And it’s not because I have a really good voice, because I don’t. It’s also not because I have a really awful voice that’s fun to imitate (William Hung). In fact, I’m not really sure why I think I’m a Karaoke Superstar…

Maybe it’s because last summer in LA I lived down the street from DIMPLES, the first ever Karaoke bar in America. And the first time I went there, I performed Celene Dion’s “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now” with my roommate who I didn’t even really know that well. And we rocked the shit out of it. I’m not just saying that because I felt good up there. Or because I was drunk. Because I was completely sober. I’m saying it because when the song started, the completely packed house was moaning because of our selection. But by the end of our rendition, after I growled out the climactic “BABY, BABY, BABY,” the audience was screaming for more. And for us to make out. So as I stood up there, watching the video play back on their large projection screen, and seeing the gems on the crown I had put on shine as I belted out lyrics from my favorite French Canadian diva, I just knew that me and Karaoke were meant to be.

That summer, my roommate and I took every opportunity we could to hone our karaoke skills. We were the only people to sing songs in English every Margarita Monday night at our favorite Mexican joint down the street, we continued to frequent Dimples regularly, and we even sang among the child stars at the open mic night in the Oakwood Community we called home. I think I finally knew I hit the big time after we performed at one such open mic night (Kelly Clarkson’s “Breakaway”) and was approached by a showbiz mom who eagerly told me, “I love your voice. It’s very unique.” What she was thinking was “I wish you were my daughter. I would have had you in auditions at the age of four.” That moment was when I graduated from Karaoke novice, to Karaoke Professional.

How did I become a superstar, you ask? Well after leaving Los Angeles, I sort of fell out of my Karaoke ways…back at school in Ithaca I wasn’t accustomed to the places that provided the sport of imitation singing, and I seemed to be busy every Wednesday night, the one day each week the locals came out to sing their hearts out at The Haunt. But I kept at it, singing in the shower, and sometimes jamming out to Oxygen OnDemand, which allows you to perform primitive Karaoke in your own living room. But it just wasn’t satisfying my itch. I needed a stage, I needed an audience…I needed – Spring Break.

Mrytle Beach. March 2008. Six girls and one dude (mega pimp) trucked it down to South Carolina to lie on the beach during the day, and drink the nights away. After a pricey dinner at Senor Frogs, and a frustratingly expensive tequila shot, we decided to try and find a cheaper way to spend our first Spring Break night. We found it. And boy did we love it. It was called Broadway Louie’s. And it just so happened they had Karaoke every night of the week. After two of us were selected to be judges for the Karaoke Contest that night (and given a $40 bar tab), we decided this was the place for us and sat back to enjoy the show. It took a little while to get back into my singing to the masses mode, but I decided to sign up to sing my girl Rihanna’s “Shut up and Drive.”

As I found my way to the stage and looked out into the audience, I thought to myself, “This is it. This is what I’ve been dreaming of.” So I sang that song. And I did not hold back. I dished out RiRi’s lyrics with the grace of a woman, not the timidity of a girl. And as I held my microphone out into the crowd of my friends in front of me so they could sing the famous “Shut up and Drive” line for all to hear, I knew that I had finally become – A Karaoke Superstar.

Every night that week we frequented Broadway Louie’s. And every night we rocked the house, acquiring fans and friends. We may have left Myrtle Beach at the end of the week, but we were forever in the hearts of the folks at Broadway Louie’s. They even took a photo of us as we left on that last faithful Friday night and posted it on the homepage of their website.

And that’s the most important thing I’ve learned about being a Karaoke Superstar – that even though it’s about the fun and glory, you gotta look out for your fans. Because when it comes down to it, they’re counting on you for a great time. So as I pick my next Karaoke hit to grace the stage with, and look out at the drunken masses I sing to, I will smile and sing my heart out.

Because I am a Karaoke Superstar.

My Sport Psych Paper

So I've been doing a lot of writing things for classes lately, which is probably why I've been neglecting the update of this great blog (or maybe just because I don't write in it that much). But since I did do an expose on A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN a few months ago, I thought that my Sport Psych paper on this movie would be a great follow up.

Enjoy!


“But Girls? Playing Baseball?” –
A Sport Psychologist’s Guide to A League of Their Own

A League of Their Own is probably one of the best movies ever made. Hands down. Take a star studded cast, a sibling rivalry, a country at war, America’s favorite past-time and some damn good characters, mix them all together, and you get one hell of a story. We start the film in the present, where our protagonist, Dottie Henson, is on her way to the induction of the All American Pro Girls League into the Baseball Hall of Fame. As she arrives, we FLASH BACK to when she was way younger, a time when America was at war and girls needed to play baseball while our boys were away. What we see unfold is the creation of a league, the stories of women on these teams, and the transformation of the league from a joke to a beloved pastime. And along the way, as in any great sports movie, we see how characters are psychologically affected in their sport. Though there are many great examples of sport psychology skills in this film, I will focus on three: The group and team dynamics inherent in the Rockford Peaches (Dottie’s team), the confidence level of Dottie’s kid sister Kit, as well as the response to injury from Jimmy Duggan (the team’s manager who used to play in the big leagues before a dehabilitating knee injury).

The first issue I will address is the team dynamics of the Rockford Peaches. First of all, the Peaches qualify as a team because they are a group of people with common objectives (winning) and they rely on each other to help achieve a goal. For instance, it doesn’t matter if Dottie catches all the fly balls in the world, because if on the next play Evelyn misses the cutoff man, runs will be scored. It is this interdependence that is central to the theory of a team. This is the team we follow for the majority of the movie, and since the league is just beginning as we watch, we get to watch the evolution of the team from tryouts to their ultimate loss in game 7 of the World Series. A real tearjerker. Returning our focus back to Sport Psychology, it is quite simple to follow the Peaches through the linear theory of group development. There are four stages to the linear theory: forming, storming, norming, and performing. Let’s look at each of these in more depth.

In the forming phase, a team comes together for the first time. People compare themselves to those around them, develop some sort of structure, and become familiar with each other. At tryouts, Dottie and Kit become familiar with Doris (played by Rosie O’Donnell) and her friend Mae (played by Madonna) in a way that leads to social comparison. As they first meet, Dottie and Kit ask if everyone will get to play in the league. Mae and Dorris say that there’s too many girls so “some of you are gonna have to go home.” Kit stupidly responds, “What do you mean some of us?” Then Doris proceeds to whip a baseball in their direction. Dottie BAREHANDS it, no problem! Doris and Mae are flabbergasted at her skill. Once they get put on the same team, they will start to compare themselves to the skill of Dottie and others as well. In the movie, there is a very clear time at which the team forms – when the lists are posted at the end of tryouts and all the Peaches sit on the grass together learning the rules of the league. Thus, a team has been born.

Next comes the storming phase. This characterized by is resistance to the leader, as well as interpersonal conflict. I think one scene that really personifies this stage is when the girls are on the bus traveling to a game and Evelyn’s son, Stillwell Darling, is being a brat and annoying everyone. The bus pulls over because the bus driver has quit (due to Stillwell). At this point, Mae picks up a baseball bat and says, “I’m sorry Evelyn but I am going to have to KILL your SON!” She then starts to chase him around the bus. This is one interpersonal conflict between players. Moments later, the girls plot to break league rules and go out to a bar that night. The way they plan to sneak out is by poisoning the dinner of Miss Huthbert, a leader and den mother of the team. Another problem with the Peaches is a constant jealousy that Kit has of her sister Dottie. In a way, Kit seems to hold the team in the storming phase because she can’t accept her role on the team. This comes to a head when Kit wants to finish pitching a game but Jimmy thinks she’s done. Dottie, who is a catcher, says she agrees with Jimmy. Kit gets taken out of the game, and she’s not happy about it. After the game, a fight ensues with Kit and Dorris. After this all goes down, Kit gets traded to Raccine, finally allowing the Peaches to advance to the next stage of group development.

In the norming stage, the team starts to come together to accomplish team goals. People appreciate their roles, and a sense of unity is created. At about this time in the movie, we see the Peaches in the locker room before a game getting ready. Evelyn plays her ukulele, and the team sings a song that helps to show the sense of unity that they all have created. They are not only playing at this point, but playing as a team.

The last stage is the performing stage. This is when things are going really well, and the team is performing at their peak. Players help one another succeed, and interpersonal relationships stabilize. This is where the Peaches are as they head into the playoffs and ultimately into the World Series. They are supporting each other, accepting their roles, and channeling all their energy towards success. We see examples of this during the World Series game, when Ellen Sue pitched one clearly into the dirt; Dorris encouraged her from third base, yelling, “It looked good to me!” This is one example of how the team evolved to support one another.

And since the Rockford Peaches reached this stage as they came into the end of the season, they probably weren’t in it very long until new players arrive for the next season and the process will start itself again. This is how a team develops.

Another psychological skill the movie highlights is confidence, specifically through the character of Kit. She always feels inferior to her older sister Dottie, who has been deemed the league’s “Queen of Diamonds” and always seems to one up her lil’ sis, even without trying. Confidence is the belief in one’s ability to be successful in a given activity. It is determined primarily by self-image, self-esteem, self-efficacy, and self-expectations. Let’s examine Kit’s self-image.

Kit’s self-image is not very good. She does not see herself in a positive manner, because her whole life people have been comparing her to the grand accolades of her sister. Let’s go through the Self-Image Cycle with Kit’s behavior as we meet the sisters at a farm game in their home state of Oregon. Kit is about to go up to bat and Dottie pulls her aside and points out a big hole in left field. She also tells her to “lay off the high ones.” Kit replies, “I like the high ones.” Then Dottie calls Kit a “mule” and Kit retorts “nag!” Now Kit goes up to bat. Her self-image, how she sees herself, leads to her attitudes in the situation. Since Kit sees herself as being inferior to her older sister, her self-image is low. Therefore, her attitude about being in a key hitting situation is going to be negative. Her attitudes then help mold her expectations of a certain situation. Since her attitude about hitting is negative, her expectation is probably to either strike out or get thrown out. Now that she has these expectations, they feed into her behavior – since Kit thinks she isn’t going to succeed, she probably is not thinking about the strike zone as much as she should, and is just swinging away. She also may not swing at something she could hit because her expectation is to fail. In this case, she swings at the high ones. And misses. STRIKE OUT. Her behavior in the situation ultimately led to her performance, which turned out to be poor. Now this performance helps shape her self-image for the next time she finds herself in a similar situation. And so goes the cycle. Maybe if Kit had a different self-image going into the situation, she would have had positive attitudes, different expectations and behaviors, and maybe she would have gotten a hit. But she didn’t. And since Dottie batted after her and hit a homerun, it probably further confirmed her initial feelings that her sister is better than her. It’s a tough life for Kit.

Now let’s look at ways in which Kit can build her self-confidence. One strategy involves the “Thought-Action Relationship.” This theory preaches that thoughts and actions have a cyclical relationship. Therefore, thinking confidently will eventually make someone act confidently, and acting confidently will help the mind follow. In Kit’s case she can “fake it ‘til she makes it.” Although she always gets put down and compared to her sister, if she acts confidently and like she knows she’s a great pitcher and player, her thoughts will eventually follow. I think this is what partially happens in the final play of the last game of the World Series. Kit ignores the hold up sign at third base and charges towards home plate. The throw is in time, and Dottie stands waiting to tag Kit out. Kit then BARRELS her over, showing no mercy to her elder sister. In this moment, Kit has decided to act with confidence. She is acting like she can take on her superstar sister. Dottie falls to the ground and…DROPS THE BALL. The Peaches lose the Series, and Kit becomes a star. She is finally thinking confidently, her thoughts have followed in the footsteps of her actions. Therefore, Kit has finally broken her streak of low self-image, esteem, efficacy, and expectations. She has developed self-confidence (maybe in part to Dottie throwing the game? Just a theory…).

The last skill I will touch on in this paper is the psychology of injury. In the movie, the manager of the Rockford Peaches, Jimmy Duggan, used to be a great ball player until he messed up his knee (in an un-game related alcohol incident). Now we see him struggle with the plight of a former superstar who now cannot even walk without a limp. This makes him an ideal candidate for an example of psychological reactions to injuries. When an injury happens, athletes go through something that is called the “Grief Response.” It has five phases – denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.

Although Jimmy’s injury happened many years ago, as we meet him, he still seems to be stuck in the anger phase – being rude to others, not taking his job seriously, and resenting the girls for their opportunity to play baseball. If someone does get stuck in one of the stages of the Grief Model, they may display signs such as anger, obsession and mood swings. Jimmy demonstrates all of these traits. His anger is shown as he screams as Evelyn for missing the cutoff person, causing her to cry. Jimmy then goes nuts, telling her repeatedly that there’s “no crying in baseball!” When the umpire comes over to tell him to calm down Jimmy proceeds to tell him he looks like a “penis with a little hat on.” Then Jimmy gets thrown from the game. His anger was apparent in this scene. He shows signs of obsession through his drinking problem, which is demonstrated as he is constantly slurping from a flask, as well as his addiction to chewing tobacco. His mood swings are shown as he is happy one moment and screaming the next. These are all signs of poor adjustment to injury, and that Jimmy Duggan is still stuck in the Grief Response after several years.

The fact that Jimmy will never again play baseball is another reason why it’s hard for him to adjust to his injury. He is facing identity issues, for instance he can’t go fight against the Nazis because of his knee. He references it to Dottie, showing his trigger finger and saying that it is sufficient to kill Nazis. Also, his body image has probably gone way down. He was used to being able to crush baseballs and make big plays, now he has trouble just walking. This is a big adjustment that Jimmy seems to have trouble with. Hopefully he will eventually reach a stage of acceptance with his injury, as well as himself. He seems like a good guy at heart.

So, as you can see, A League of Their Own is not only a gem of a film, but also a showcase of Sport Psychology and it’s various topics. The characters all lend themselves to psychological scrutiny, both on and off the field. If you wanted to, you could write an entire BOOK on the psychology inherent in the movie. But I don’t want to bore you. I hope you have a great day, and if you have a couple hours, pop in A League of Their Own, and get a box of tissues ready! (I needed a couple…)

Oscar Predictions

Tonight I will be babysitting. And at exactly 7:45 pm I will force the children to go to their beds so I will be able to get ready to start enjoying the Oscars. I know I’ll miss most of the red carpet festivities, but I can get all that stuff by flipping through a STAR magazine later this week. What I’m really pumped for is the winners. The Oscars are really exciting for me for some reason. I’m not really invested personally in any of the nominations, but I’m just curious to see who will reign supreme this year, especially after reading all the coverage on the event in Entertainment Weekly and other various news outlets. And I like to predict the winners. This year I will do so publicly, mostly because none of my roommates wanted to throw $5 down for a little Oscar prediction showdown. So, in my mind, the winners will be…

BEST ACTOR – easy schmeezey. Daniel Day-Lewis. And I didn’t even see that movie yet.


BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – Javier Bardem – No Country For Old Men – he plays the really creepy dude masterfully.

BEST ACTRESS - Gonna go with Marion Cotillard – La Vie En Rose; although for some reason I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a little Juno winner, Ellen Page…

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – Although Ruby Dee from American Gangster has been sweeping up some other awards in this category, I think Cate Blanchett in I’m Not There will take the trophy.

WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY) – including this category because I’m currently writing an original screenplay for class, so I know firsthand that it’s not easy to do. Anyway, I gotta go with Juno – Diablo Cody. First time screenwriter. Mad props.

BEST DIRECTOR – Coen Brothers, No Country for Old Men.

BEST PICTURE – No Country for Old Men. I’m excusing the ending, which I thought was a pretty terrible digression from an otherwise wonderful story.


And those are the only categories I feel like predicting right now. So lay off me. I’ll leave the rest up to the Academy. And if I get all of these right, someone owes me a beer. Wait, it’s the Oscars. A glass of wine.

"Now I'd like to bring out Miss Beyonce..."

Superbowl Ads: the good, the bad, and the ugliness.

Yesterday was the superbowl! What a great time – it was a fantastic game, good triumphed over evil, and we got to see new commercials that are hyped to be super special since they sell for so much. I’ve noticed lately however that superbowl ads haven’t really been delivering over the past few years, this one was no exception. There were some good ads, as always, but there were a bunch that made me wonder why a company would spend the superbowl ad dollars to display a unsuper ad.

Without further ado, here’s my take on the ads of the superbowl 2008:

The Good:

-The Coke spots were great – they always are, Coke does a great job. The democrat/republican spot for Coke Classic was nicely done, and the spot with the floats during the Macy’s day parade was fun to watch and nicely shot. Coke definitely caught the attention of viewers in a positive manner and continued to deliver delightful ads.
-E Trade baby spots – they were funny, and made people pay attention. At least in the room I was in, when that commercial started people started paying attention to the tv – and they laughed. The spots were relevant, amusing, drove the message home, and made us laugh. Nicely done.
-The Bridgestone spot where the squirrel almost gets hit by a car and screams – and so do a lot of other animals – was cute and funny. And memorable. Makes you giggle. All good things.
-Budweiser stuff was mostly good – the Dalmatian training the Clydesdale was nice, inspirational stuff. The ability to breathe fire from Bud Light spot was pretty funny, just because it’s absurd and out of the blue, it works. Also – the spot with Will Ferrell as his character in the upcoming movie “Semi Pro” worked well. I don’t think you can really go wrong with Will Ferrell. So, kudos Bud.

The Bad:
-Vitamin water. Shaq riding a horse. In a race. That wasn’t exciting to watch (probably because I didn’t have money on it). Honestly, I would have rather watched him shoot some free throws. And that’s not even good to see. Weird and it didn’t work.
-Planter’s Nuts – So an ugly lady walks around and everyone loves her. Wanna know why? Because she rubs Planter’s Nuts all over herself before she leaves the house. Was that the pitch for this commercial? And everyone in the room was like, “Yeah that sounds great!” Too bad no one with a peanut allergy was present during that decision.
- Sobe – Dancing lizards with Naomi Campbell? What does that even mean? And Geico should be thanking you, because they didn’t even buy a spot but people are gonna think they did…way to use a character that is more recognizable as some other brand’s property. Just didn’t do it for me.

The Ugly:
-SalesGenie.com – I don’t even think I have to explain this one. Stereotypes, no real concept, and poor production value. They should have just thrown their money into a toilet instead of putting these ads on the air.
-Under Armor – Didn’t really make much sense. You have such a cool product, and it fits so well with what is happening (the Superbowl?), why don’t you tap into that instead of giving us this weird speech from your high Under Armor horse that reminded me more of someone trying to create a master race than achieve athletic greatness. Poor.
-Ice Breakers – It’s like they got the go ahead to put Carmen Electra in their commercial and then panicked because they couldn’t think of anything to do with her. Except have a skinny guy offer her gum. Just didn’t work.



So there’s my post Superbowl wrap up. Until next year, we’ll just keep fast-forwarding with our tivo’s.

and I can't end this post without mentioning the cameo of Donkeylips from the popular Nickelodeon show of my generation, “Salute Your Shorts" in the AMP spot. Glad to see he’s still getting work.

Cloverfield -

...was a movie for this generation, for sure. Just watching it you see all these reminders of the techno world we now live in – the fact that it is shot entirely from someone’s video camera (which you think one might put down at some point when trying to escape a huge ass monster), to the way that people in the movie rely on cell phones not only in the background, but as ways to further the plot of the movie. Great use of technology – the way technology was used in the movie, and the choice to shoot the whole thing from the “video camera perspective” kind of makes the movie that much more believable when you’re in the theater watching…although I don’t know how seriously it can be taken once you realize the thing attacking New York City is a giant monster (but you know, on LOST Abrams has us all believing that white smoke can kill people, so this isn’t too far of a stretch).


Putting the technical aspects of the movie itself aside, I wanted to comment quickly on the marketing of the film. On MarketingBlurb, there’s a great post about how the way they advertised this movie was pretty cool. Making everything such a tease to the audience, and not really ever giving away too much about plot, characters, etc. made the experience of going to the movies and seeing this film that much more appealing. And note the experience card – the marketers of Cloverfield successfully made people want to go to the movies and experience this. It was an event. It was a monster attacking New York. That’s something that brings audiences in, especially if you keep it under wraps like they did, it makes people want to know what happens in the movie.

The website, www.1-18-08.com , is pretty vague in that it only contains pictures from the day of 1-18-08, when the film is set. They make you wonder what the hell is going to happen in the movie. It’s a great tease. And finally, the poster of the movie, the statue of liberty with her head blasted off, is just one more way to get people talking about this film.

Basically, I think the marketers of Cloverfield revealed the perfect information to pique the public’s interest in the film, and released details that brought people into theaters. I guess it’s not too hard to market this fantastical monster film and get people interested, but if they revealed too much, it would have served to keep people away from the theaters.

Good marketing.

Atonement just blew my mind...

I just watched Atonement and it was absolutely beautiful. Breathtaking. It made me literally say out loud “that is so beautiful.” The cinematography in this film is staggering. I cannot believe that they could get that many stunning shots in one film. Right from the beginning when Briony is wandering around the house with her prized play, the way the shots move and are framed blew my mind. I am so impressed.

And I thought the acting was top notch, too. I just cannot say enough for this movie. I loved it. I read the book previously and knew everything that was going to happen; yet I could not unglue myself from this movie. And even now I don’t know why I’m still awake but I had to write down quickly my initial reaction to the beauty of it. And the costumes were great too.

The last scene where we look into Briony’s blue eyes so full of regret, of sorrow, it just connected with me so much more than the book.


And as I learned about in screenwriting class today – set up a world, a character, something happens, a rise to climax, then we see this character again in the same world, yet changed somehow from what’s happened. Watch this movie and you’ll see a transformation in each of these main characters. And this especially rings true with Briony, it’s quite obvious in her case actually.

Anyway, the images were amazing. I guess that’s what I’m getting at. This definitely deserves the nominations and awards (Golden Globe so far…) that it is receiving. Breathtaking.

silly

Barack Obama...Robin Williams...Gena Davis - he is following in the footsteps of great Commanders in Chief.

(thanks liz for posting this on faceload)

The Ol' Bucket List

The Bucket List – a mediocre movie starring two people who I expected more from, yet I guess even the best acting cannot save a somewhat slow moving romp that tries a little too hard to summon deep emotion laced within comedy. The humor is dragged down, and the somber moments don’t connect fully with the audience. My mom says I didn’t enjoy it because it’s “for an older audience,” but I’m interested to hear her thoughts after viewing the film. (note: parents watched the film last night and...enjoyed it! maybe I am too young)

One thing the movie does adhere to is the rule that Morgan Freeman must provide voiceover for the narration of any movie he is involved with, as two men who discover they don’t have much time left to live try to accomplish everything on their “bucket lists,” things they want to do before “kicking the bucket.” I’m sure you are aware of this plotline from the movie’s trailer (which generally will save you about an hour and a half if you just decide to watch that instead of the movie). In other words, the movie is basically a remake of A Walk To Remember, replacing Mandy Moore with two older men.

And since the timeframe to post about the “Top ____ Moments of 2007” has passed, I’ve decided to share the embarrassing “My A Walk to Remember List” with you that I wrote sometime in late middle school/early high school:

(enjoy!)

1. Read one book by everyone we learned about in English
2. Learn to play the guitar
3. Take a roll of film using a good camera trying to be artistic (hahaha)
4. Go to France (and the reason I picked France out of anywhere in the world…?)
5. See a Redwood tree in real life
6. Be famous (I once read a statistic that some crazy proportion of teenagers believe they are going to be famous. But that discussion is for another post)
7. Send someone I don’t know that well a nice note if you see them in the paper (this was prompted by a nice note I received from like my Grandma’s friend’s daughter who saw my name in the paper…)
8. Learn how to speak a different language fluently!
9. Go to Israel (Now I’ll change that to “Revisit Israel”)
10. Fall in love
11. Write a book
12. Write a movie (or direct)

SJP on Project Runway

Last week’s episode of Project Runway featured a challenge where designers had to create a two-piece look for the new line of a very special fashion conscious celeb --- Sarah Jessica Parker! It was such a good idea all around – the show got to feature Sarah Jessica Parker, a New York City fashion goddess ever since Carrie Bradshaw hit the scene; and SJP was able to spread awareness about her new clothing line, Bitten.

The show allowed Sarah Jessica a platform to announce her line, and also include the fact that is being sold at Steve & Barry’s stores, therefore helping communicate that this is going to be an affordable line for everyday women. SJP came across as very intelligent and having great fashion sense, and through her comments seemed very concerned in making sure all the pieces in her collection can be worn by women of different shapes and sizes – and still be flattering.

The challenge had designers (who by the way were extremely excited to see SJP come into their workroom) create a two-piece look for Bitten, but the catch was that the entire outfit had to retail for under $40, making their budget $15! This was incredible in that I’m sure most viewers thought it would be impossible to create such an outfit, but also told viewers that this line really was going to be affordable, and SJP was looking to follow the mantra of her brand, “Fashion is not a luxury.”

The winning design is currently being sold at Steve & Barry locations, and an indication that the product integration worked – my friends and I headed over to the store yesterday to check out her collection. I got a shirt.

BANG IT!

So kudos to SJP and Project Runway for a job well done. This integration was relevant and interesting, and that’s why it worked.

"Has Anyone Seen My New Red Hat?"

A League of Their Own. Quite possibly the greatest movie of all time. It's timeless, funny, heartfelt, hilarious, and rewatchable. I find that really well made movies have a high rewatchability factor. Movies you can watch again and again, until you memorize almost every line of dialog in the movie, allowing for the recitation of lines in sync with characters onscreen (or several seconds before the words are actually spoken, making you seem like a movie prophecy, or just generally annoying the people around you). If I had the time to sit here for several hours, I could probably recreate the entire script of A League of Their Own through memory alone, including all song lyrics ("We had a moment, just one moment, that will last beyond a dream, beyond a lifetime..."). Fortunately for you, I am not going to do that (although I did subject my teammates to sporadic yelling of lines on the bus ride home the other day, and captivate my brother and friend at lunch today with limitless quotes, morsels of League of Their Own goodness). I have given much thought as to how I want to structure this post, and it's been really hard because I find myself wanting to express so much about my love affair with this movie, but I've finally decided on a suitable outlet for my thoughts. So without anything further on the timeless themes of the movie, or the ball scratching capability of Jimmy Duggan, I give you: my top-5 list of A League of Their Own characters - those wonderful gems that make the movie really shine.


5. Shirley Baker - aka:The Girl Who Can't Read - The girl can play ball, but she can't read. And we find out in a really embarrassing way - At tryouts! Who can forget the scene where Miss Baker stands in front of the team lists like a lost puppy, in those ol' jean overalls of hers. She just wants to play. Thank goodness for Helen Hayley, the caring Rockford Peach who had the compassion to go forth and ask , "Can you read, honey?" The answer was obvious. And the rest is history, they find her name, she's a Rockford Peach! With that the Peaches erupt with pure joy at the new illiterate addition to their squad. You can say one thing for those Peaches, even though they lost the World Series (still a sensitive subject), they cared about each other. Mae even took time during bus trips to help Shirley learn to read using sex books. So why'd Shirley make the list? It's always the ones that can't read who do well in life. Take Fantasia Barrino for instance. Have you heard anything about her since she learned to read? Didn't think so.

4. Betty Spaghetti - There's not too much to say about Betty Spaghetti I guess, but she does have a fun nickname. She's not that pivotal in the movie, except to be used as a pawn to make us think that Dottie's husband has died in the war, only to have Jimmy Duggan announce at the last second "I'm sorry Betty." (Note: it was appropriate of him not to add the Spaghetti nickname at this somber time). I still have nightmares where I can hear Betty's pained cries of "No! George..." before she is led out of the locker room. They'll probably haunt me forever.

3. Miss Cuthbert - Poor lady...She's got the worst job in the world, trying to keep these young things from running around, dancing with boys, and smoking their cancer sticks. It's a job best left to the strong-willed, and after seeing her throw up the dinner that Mae poisoned ("In all my years practicing medicine, I've never seen anyone throw up that much"), I think she is just the woman for the job. One thing is for sure, this woman always gets shit on. When Lou quits driving the bus because Stillwell Darling covered his eyes while he was driving, it's Miss Cuthbert who chases after him, because "the girls have a game!" And you know what she gets for that? DIRT IN THE FACE, compliments of Lou. So then, being the responsible den mother she is, she tries to wake up Jimmy Duggan to get the bus moving again - he wakes up, obviously in an altered state, and kisses her passionately before realizing it's her and letting out a blood curdling scream. He then has to swig from his flask and spit it out all over the bus floor just to get the taste of her out of his mouth. To put the icing on the cake, while this is happening, Mae is plotting to poison the damn lady's dinner so the team can go dancing. And did Miss Cuthbert ever complain? No. And who did Betty Spaghetti turn to when she found out her husband died overseas? Yeah, that's right, Miss Cuthbert. The unsung hero of the Rockford Peaches.


2. Evelyn (and Stillwell ) - Evelyn, Evelyn, Evelyn... putting aside the fact that she can't hit the cutoff girl to save her life, and this is a skill that should probably be mastered before your team is going into the final game of the World Series, and looking further past the point that she cried during a game ("There's no crying in baseball!"), I'd have to say that I am most appalled by the child rearing skills of this woman. Stillwell behaves horribly, has chocolate constantly smeared all over his little pig face, and is not even enough of a little gentlemen to keep his eyes covered in the locker room (don't think I didn't see you peaking, you little perv). This duo makes the movie go from good to GREAT, giving us great gems of scenes like when Jimmy Duggan screams at a crying Evelyn, and when Mae chases Stillwell Angel around the bus with a bat, only to stop when Evelyn offers him another candy bar and the little brat is more than excited to eat it ("gimme gimme gimme gimme.") You also have to give props to the scene where Stillwell is prancing around in front of the dugout and Jimmy Duggan throws a glove at him to topple him over. Classic stuff. I'll tell you one thing - thank goodness Evelyn's husband did not want Stillwell at home with him alone (a smart man), because the Evelyn/Stillwell duo make the movie that much more timeless.


1. Marla Hooch - As much as I wanted to put Jon Lovitz's scout as my number one pick, seeing as he's just playing a baseball scout version of himself, I couldn't fail to mention the extreme charm of Marla's awkwardness. From the moment we lay eyes on her hitting the crap out of balls in a gymnasium on a rainy day, and see her up close for the first time, we know Marla is going to be one of the best parts of the film. We see a transformation of this girl through the movie, from awkward, scared, small town girl, to awkward, karaoke-singing, married woman. The transition starts in beauty school ("What do you recommend for her?...A lot of night games."), where Marla learns the skills she needs to get wasted at a bar later on and belt out "It had to be you" to her new beau ("I'm singin' to Nelson!"), and eventually the girl we thought was only good at hitting is leaving the team to run off with her new hubby. Only thing I regret about Marla is that she left the team in the middle of their World Series run to go on a honeymoon with her new man. A real ballplayer wouldn't leave the team, and frankly I'm a little skeptical of how the Peaches continued their winning streak after they lost their best hitter (Marla), number one pitcher (Kit to Raccine) and catcher/star (when Dottie goes home with her hubby). It'd be like the Yanks losing A-Rod, Wang, and Posada at the same time then just goin' on like it didn't matter. But let me get back to the point. This movie would not be what it is without the ungraceful charm of the Hoochanator.

I know this post is getting really long, but I just have to close with some words to my LEAST favorite character:
You know what Kit, you kinda piss me off. You're always complaining about Dottie being better than you, but the fact is, Dottie is better than you. And in all the bus scenes you wear your stupid little dirty red Rockford Peach hat backwards like your five years old. You act like a five-year-old most of the time, actually. Like when you found out you were getting traded to Raccine, and you threw a baseball through the window of the team house to express to Dottie how mad you were. Kit, you wouldn't even be in the league if Dottie wasn't around. You'd be feeding Harvey chocolate bars to the constipated cows on your farm back home, playing mediocre softball with the other village tomboys, and striking out frequently because you don't know how to lay off the high ones. If you spent half as much time training as you spend feeling sorry for yourself, you might be a decent ballplayer. And at the end of the movie when you win the World Series because Dottie felt so sorry for your pathetic ass that she dropped the ball on purpose, you act like you're the greatest thing ever and talk it up to those little girls like you're the best ballplayer who ever lived. Well, you're not! In fact, I might take Evelyn over you if we were playing backyard ball, because even though she cries during baseball, you whine all the time. So f you Kit, go train Free Willy or something.
Thanks for throwin' back to 1992 with me to reminisce about a great movie and some even greater characters. Next time... Doris and Mae - were they a couple?

With the emergence of rap in our culture comes the wonderful new sect of comedy that is based on watching children, babies or otherwise unlikely candidates partake in singing, dancing, or enjoying the hip hop culture in any way. Who wouldn't love to see their gym teacher dance to "hey ya," and the video of the little boy dancing and lip synching to beyonce (and taking it way too seriously) is a comedic gem. Although I think sometimes parents go a little overboard with posting videos of their babes donning hip hop personas and droppin' it like it's hot, I sometimes find a laugh from watching these videos. But tonight, I found something much funnier than a toddler bustin' a cap could ever be. Cartoons performing rap songs. Check out the Lion King below performing Crank Dat Soulja Boy. One thing's for sure, Simba's one bad ass motherfucka. And if you can't get enough (like I couldn't), check out the equally entertaining Pooh Bear , Barney , and Spongebob versions. Enjoy!

RIP Goulet

Robert Goulet passed away yesterday...just want to wish him farewell and thank him for all the joy he's put into my life indirectly. Mostly through Will Ferrell, actually. But one thing's for sure -- he was a true entertainer. Enjoy the video of Robert Gouuuuleeeettttt!

PS - I'd also like to thank him for the Emerald Nuts Superbowl Commercial last year...

New Dove Viral Video

Check it out - Dove's follow up to its critically acclaimed "Evolution" video.
Tagline "talk to your daughter before the beauty industry does" is pretty self explanatory after seeing about a minute of ways the industry corrupts little girls.

Good concept, well produced, but do people still want to hear what dove has to say? Some skeptical comments on YouTube talk about how this video is Dove's "lame attempt at creating something controversial so they can get free publicity"

Hello buzz marketing.

Publicity is happening.

But overall, I like Evolution better. Felt more grass roots and real. This one is a bit overproduced and can kind of feel contrived.