Went to see Babylon yesterday despite the lukewarm reviews. Flawed film but I enjoyed it. Exuberant, risky film making with an incredible performance by Margot Robbie. The three hours moves along nicely. Got me interested in reading more about movie-making in the twenties and early thirties.
The leader of the Michigan insurgents who tried to kidnap Gov. Whitmer was sentence to 19.5 years in Federal prison. He'll be close to 70 when he gets out. His co-leader got 16 years.
I wish I was surprised by the number of reactionaries on twitter who were pleased about this, or the loons attributing it to covid vaccinations. Hope he recovers, he seems like a good guy (and I like him as my Congressman so...)
George Santos lied about his mother dying to fish for false-clout. You know he's going to take office and the GOP won't expel him because they would rather have a morally corrupt liar on than accept a vacant seat for two years in a year that they only have a nine seat majority.
After the murder of four U of Idaho students, a Texas influencer has implicated a university professor based on some wingnut theories. The professor sues the influencer for defamation. The influencer seems overjoyed to share her batshit crazy theories in court, which presumably won't go well for her. Mental illness is no joke and this seems sad all around.
Texas Tech had a tribute full-air raid formation for their first play as a salute to Mike Leach. (This in spite of the unpleasant end to his stint there, and the subsequent lawsuit). They didn't run the play, which resulted in a delay of game penalty, which Lane Kiffen respectfully declined.
The Holiday almost always delivers, and this one was no exception. The B1G officiating crew's command of some rules, on the other hand, left a lot to be desired. Fortunately, they didn't alter the outcome.
Saw most of the end of that game. Mack Brown had some questionable clock-management decisions at the end. About 2:30 left in the game and UNC up by 3 and with the ball, on 2nd and 3rd downs, UNC decides to throw two passes that both fell incomplete. They were already in field goal range, and Oregon had all of their timeouts. I couldn't understand why UNC wouldn't run the ball (and the clock) and at least make UO use a couple of their timeouts. UO takes the ensuing kickoff and scores the go-ahead touchdown with 19 seconds left. Not 100% sure if forcing UO to use their timeouts would have made a practical difference because the final scoring drive was remarkably efficient, but maybe it changes their approach to the last drive.
Predictably incompetent Pac 12 officials finally make their appearance after a relatively quiet game and decide to change the rules of organized football and say the ground now CAN cause a fumble…
I'm not consistent from year to year about whether I watch the early bowl games, and this time the world cup took up the usual respite between the end of the regular college football season and bowl season starting. I'll probably watch the Nat'l championship semi-final games and keep an eye on the Cotton Bowl though.
Raiders bench Carr and tell him to go home for the rest of the regular season. Pessimists say that Carr will be shopped around and then cut if not traded. Optimists say he's being preserved for next season.
Raiders would be on the hook for his entire contract for next year if he were to get hurt. This way, they aren't. I don't think they are thinking of trying the Garoppolo gambit, at least not intentionally.
Indeed, free agency has its risks. At least he may be mobile enough to compete for the job in Spav's offense if he withdraws his name and is accepted back. Otherwise, not sure there's a better landing place out there.
An alarming number of people are so convinced (over-confident) of their skills that they just assume there will be some, if not several, places eager and waiting to take them. And whomever is encouraging this (for a percentage) are just trolling for fees, and have no actual interest in or responsibility for the outcomes for the player.
Honestly, may just be as simple as Kai being impatient or having an emotional reaction to coaching changes or Wilcox's decisions. He did show some flashes that could generate interest but he's not good enough for the "jump in early to bid up interest" approach. Needed more of an "intriguing Plan B" approach for schools who lost their QBs or aren't landing a hot candidate.
I’m more taken aback by the fact that he seems to have no plan whatsoever…zero.
Lots of things at play here…maybe Spav told him he’s not in the plans…maybe Musgrave was his everything…maybe he’s just not very good…guess we don’t know.
But at least from his quotes he went from having the line on a starting P12 gig to a whole heap of uncertainty. It just reeks of bad advice.
Andrew Tate Pizzagate! https://twitter.com/NimbyPatrol/status/1608585347042267136
Weather
Got 11 inches of fresh snow at Steamboat yesterday and it was a near perfect ski day.
A lot more snow coming this weekend but we leave on Friday
From wind chills down near zero last week to around sixty this weekend. Probably some rain late Saturday but we'll take it.
Bruh.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/29/us/homes-ice-blizzard-lake-erie-climate/index.html
This is A+ parenting
https://twitter.com/PubityIG/status/1608416867248443392
Board Games
I wish they made board games where you can purposely handicap players to even out play between better/worse players.
Go - you just give the worst players some units spread to start, I think 9 is the max - but even 4 is a lot, and that is what I'd give my opponents.
HOT TAKE
HOTTEOK!
Cal MBB will win on Saturday (I hope so at least, since I'll be there).
Would a moral victory count?
Not with inept coaching for a deep, experienced team in year 4.
HUNGRY
Not after that sandwich for lunch.
DBD AV CLUB
last ep of Slow Horses S2 tonight, I think
is it only 6 episodes a season? I just finished ep 3
Ya, 6 per season.
Just finished. Was good!
And a preview already for S3…they just keep ‘em coming.
I wonder if they filmed S3 and S4 back to back. I think they've already finished S4 of Jack Ryan.
They did S1 and S2 B2B. Maybe they did three at once?
Perhaps that’s something they can do when the seasons are only six eps each?
Me too…I wish Jackson Lamb ran our athletic department.
Seems that our players are slow horses…maybe Lamb could make use of them
I’ll be seeing them in person Saturday
Went to see Babylon yesterday despite the lukewarm reviews. Flawed film but I enjoyed it. Exuberant, risky film making with an incredible performance by Margot Robbie. The three hours moves along nicely. Got me interested in reading more about movie-making in the twenties and early thirties.
I was all set to go see it and then saw it was 3 hours and 10 minutes long and chose to do something else. No movie needs to be that long.
OUR CRUMBLING DEMOCRACY
The leader of the Michigan insurgents who tried to kidnap Gov. Whitmer was sentence to 19.5 years in Federal prison. He'll be close to 70 when he gets out. His co-leader got 16 years.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D, MD-8) announces he has large B-cell lymphoma
https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/28/politics/jamie-raskin-cancer/index.html
Same thing I had 21 years ago. Sounds like they caught it early, in which case he should be ok.
I wish I was surprised by the number of reactionaries on twitter who were pleased about this, or the loons attributing it to covid vaccinations. Hope he recovers, he seems like a good guy (and I like him as my Congressman so...)
George Santos lied about his mother dying to fish for false-clout. You know he's going to take office and the GOP won't expel him because they would rather have a morally corrupt liar on than accept a vacant seat for two years in a year that they only have a nine seat majority.
https://www.mediaite.com/politics/george-santos-claimed-his-mother-died-in-the-9-11-attacks-five-months-before-saying-she-died-in-december-2016/
why did media or opposition not check *any* of these statements?!?
I think it was because he didn't face a Democrat spending $$$ to beat him.
ELSEWHERE IN COLLEGE
Some of the bowl games have been so fucking cold this year they've been almost empty; can't blame the fans.
#20 Texas vs. #12 Washington in the Alamo Bowl. Longhorns favored by 3.
Oklahoma vs. #13 FSU in the Cheez-It Cracker Bowl. FSU favored by 10.
Syracuse vs. Minnesota in the Pinstripe Bowl. MINN favored by 11.
After the murder of four U of Idaho students, a Texas influencer has implicated a university professor based on some wingnut theories. The professor sues the influencer for defamation. The influencer seems overjoyed to share her batshit crazy theories in court, which presumably won't go well for her. Mental illness is no joke and this seems sad all around.
https://lawandcrime.com/crime/texas-tiktoker-insists-a-jury-will-take-her-side-in-defamation-case-by-idaho-professor-over-stabbing-deaths-of-university-students/
Pitt basketball players can hit a three, but he also hit a woman over getting his phone wet
https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/Pitt/2022/12/28/dior-johnson-reinstated-to-pitt-basketball-program-expected-to-redshirt-2022-23-season/stories/202212280080
Texas Tech smokes Ole Miss 42-25 in the Texas Bowl.
https://www.espn.com/college-football/recap/_/gameId/401442031
Texas Tech had a tribute full-air raid formation for their first play as a salute to Mike Leach. (This in spite of the unpleasant end to his stint there, and the subsequent lawsuit). They didn't run the play, which resulted in a delay of game penalty, which Lane Kiffen respectfully declined.
Too many turn-overs for Ole Miss
Jaxson Dart is boo boo
Dook handily defeats UCF 30-13. Mike Elko has engineered a remarkable turnaround for the Blue Devils.
https://www.espn.com/college-football/recap/_/gameId/401442008
#15 Oregon defeats UNC 28-27 as a doinked XP goes in.
https://www.espn.com/college-football/recap/_/gameId/401470891
The Holiday almost always delivers, and this one was no exception. The B1G officiating crew's command of some rules, on the other hand, left a lot to be desired. Fortunately, they didn't alter the outcome.
Saw most of the end of that game. Mack Brown had some questionable clock-management decisions at the end. About 2:30 left in the game and UNC up by 3 and with the ball, on 2nd and 3rd downs, UNC decides to throw two passes that both fell incomplete. They were already in field goal range, and Oregon had all of their timeouts. I couldn't understand why UNC wouldn't run the ball (and the clock) and at least make UO use a couple of their timeouts. UO takes the ensuing kickoff and scores the go-ahead touchdown with 19 seconds left. Not 100% sure if forcing UO to use their timeouts would have made a practical difference because the final scoring drive was remarkably efficient, but maybe it changes their approach to the last drive.
Anyway, Mack Brown losing is *chef's kiss*.
Brown had had the upper hand in game management decisions (a serious weak spot for first year head coach Lanning) up until the end.
Tip drill:
https://twitter.com/DeliveryDace/status/1608289640708034560
Link: https://twitter.com/YahooSports/status/1608320767627853825?s=20&t=mc7qsiA3rgbwhDL1kTWwvA
Arkansas holds off a furious Kansas comeback to win 53-55 in 3OT
https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/35338701/arkansas-got-lucky-end-tops-kansas-liberty-bowl
Predictably incompetent Pac 12 officials finally make their appearance after a relatively quiet game and decide to change the rules of organized football and say the ground now CAN cause a fumble…
I think this is the first bowl game that I'm sorry I didn't watch.
This was wild, and I had to miss most of it, for a combination of several reasons.
Actually, the bowls so far have been pretty decent for the most part. Haven't regretted catching as much of them as I could at all.
I'm not consistent from year to year about whether I watch the early bowl games, and this time the world cup took up the usual respite between the end of the regular college football season and bowl season starting. I'll probably watch the Nat'l championship semi-final games and keep an eye on the Cotton Bowl though.
PRO
RIP Pelé.
https://twitter.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1608538526685229056
The rare instance in which I'm actually a little sad about someone famous dying.
Raiders bench Carr and tell him to go home for the rest of the regular season. Pessimists say that Carr will be shopped around and then cut if not traded. Optimists say he's being preserved for next season.
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/35335730/raiders-bench-qb-derek-carr-start-jarrett-stidham-vs-49ers
Now that he lost his college teammate QB, Devante should request to be thrown passes from a former Cal QB again.
Raiders would be on the hook for his entire contract for next year if he were to get hurt. This way, they aren't. I don't think they are thinking of trying the Garoppolo gambit, at least not intentionally.
Chase Garbers is one injury away from being an NFL starter.
And even more likely may take in-season NFL snaps.
CAL
Veeeeery interesting.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.si.com/college/cal/.amp/news/millner-transfer-decision
I’ll take “Absolutely Horrible Advice From My Handlers” for $800, Mayim….
Indeed, free agency has its risks. At least he may be mobile enough to compete for the job in Spav's offense if he withdraws his name and is accepted back. Otherwise, not sure there's a better landing place out there.
An alarming number of people are so convinced (over-confident) of their skills that they just assume there will be some, if not several, places eager and waiting to take them. And whomever is encouraging this (for a percentage) are just trolling for fees, and have no actual interest in or responsibility for the outcomes for the player.
Honestly, may just be as simple as Kai being impatient or having an emotional reaction to coaching changes or Wilcox's decisions. He did show some flashes that could generate interest but he's not good enough for the "jump in early to bid up interest" approach. Needed more of an "intriguing Plan B" approach for schools who lost their QBs or aren't landing a hot candidate.
Agreed. Given his body of work, he’s competing for a gig no matter where he is…wish him the best, but think he was a bit hasty.
I’m more taken aback by the fact that he seems to have no plan whatsoever…zero.
Lots of things at play here…maybe Spav told him he’s not in the plans…maybe Musgrave was his everything…maybe he’s just not very good…guess we don’t know.
But at least from his quotes he went from having the line on a starting P12 gig to a whole heap of uncertainty. It just reeks of bad advice.
Yuuuuup.
Go Bears!!!