brewizard

Imperial Tobacco Only Because I Love http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3264/2567637448_c03471bd40_m.jpg

I hear the players don't like the manager. That doesn't worry me so much. What worries me is that they don't respect him either. But I could be wrong. I've never been in the clubhouse.

I assume this will be even more fodder for the Yost-infection crowd

Methinks Hardy may be spending some time away from baseball this summer. Argh.

My wife wants to sell hers.

I mean, I hate to root for guys to get injured, but wow. As a Brewers fan, I really couldn't have asked for a better group of three players to all go down at the same time. Now for Zambrano. Maybe he'll accidently break his Id.

I'd say Brokeback counts as a neo-western. Possibly The Last Picture Show too. But RobertR, you get mega points for mentioning Nashville! Mega-points. I've often said that Nashville is the best movie ever made - one of my all-time favorites. Of course, most people would disagree with me. (I admit that the first two times I tried to watch it, I fell asleep or didn't get it at all. It wasn't until I saw it on the big screen, and read a little about HOW it was made that I understood exactly what Altman had achieved.) Anyway, I've often said that you could remake Raiders of the Lost Ark a hundred times before you could remake Nashville. Some kids with a video camera proved me right: http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2004/03/raiders200403 But it still won't crack the Epic genre. And also, Gone With the Wind is a major DUH!

No Country for Old Men! Of course! I totally forgot about that one. Awesome. Can you think of any other neo-westerns? (The Wild Bunch is almost one - but it still fits in the strictly western genre.) I'd say The Apartment works as a RomCom. It fits the genre better than Some Like It Hot. I agree about Harry and Sally and Bull Durham. But I think AFI likes to strike that balance between populist and artistic. I think Raging Bull, Rocky, and Field of Dreams all fit the bill. But is Sea Biscuit really one of the best sports movies ever? I hope not. Epic - Lawrence, Titanic, Ben Hur, Spartacus, (Does Gandhi count? Does it have to be made by an American?)

You forgot High Noon and Shane! Red River has a shot because it is Howard Hawks, and because Bogdanovich always talks up that movie. But I'd say that Shane has a much stronger chance than Winchester 73. Stagecoach and The Searchers are both obvious. But what about The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance? If Josey Wales or Fort Apache make the list, then something has gone wrong at AFI. And the thing that ticks me off is that there is never a category for the neo-western. What is that? I'm talking about movies like Dirty Harry, Midnight Cowboy, Hud, Giant, and Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia. They are all Westerns, just set in a more modern era - hence the NEO-Western. But none of them are traditional westerns and they won't be considered... (Giant, though, has a shot at the Epic category.) Oh, and we can pretty much guarantee that Harry and Sally will be in the romantic comedy. And Bull Durham in the sports genre.

Agreed. 100 percent. Wow. Thanks for the link. I can't help but notice how Banksy has his own style entirely. He's a non-derivative, fully evolved, original graffiti artist. I have never personally encountered any graffiti like it anywhere - and I guess it shows there is an exception to everything under the sun. This is the graffiti I see: http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-images/Arts/Arts_/Pictures/2007/09/24/graffiti460.jpg Yuck.

Should Dave Bush still go?

Already there, thanks to the cross pollenation of hip hop styled sampling. You miss the point entirely. Forget the Amen break already. A real drummer will, like a snowflake, be different. Human. Sampling, on the other hand, is essentially copying and pasting OTHER ARTIST'S WORK and running it through a computer to change it up - a process which - to me - produces the most sterilized, derivative sound yet. But that's just me. I honestly don't understand the popularity of such sterile, derivative music.

The way I see it, "influenced by" and "derived from" are the almost the same thing, but there is an important difference. Every human being is unique, and that means artists and musicians too. However, they're all still human, and they all fall into human patterns. One basic human pattern is to absorb and be influenced by what one sees. Monkey see, monkey do. All the great artists of the 20th century were influenced by somebody, and they created art which was somewhat derived from the art that came before them. However, what is unique and relevant about digital sampling is that it allows people to actually use actual pieces of the original copyrighted commercial art to create a new copyrighted commercial art. In this case, "derivative" is a completely appropriate description. This derivative art is something which copyright laws were enacted precisely to protect against. So, yes. Hip-hop and rave culture are based on a derivative art which was created and is apparently sustained through outlawism. Basically the video argues at the end that the potential commercial value of this kind of derivative outlawism outweighs the commercial value of the original copyright. I disagree. I think derivative outlawism in art leads to boring, derivative artistic culture. Why? In this case, the worldwide fascination with that six seconds of the Amen-break, recorded in 1969, has led to many years of derivative artistic navel gazing. Using the Amen break over and over and over and over and over again in modern recording is the artistic equivalent of replacing the world's library books with the Cliff's notes. It is ultimately artistically lazy, and leads to overindulgent, unlistenable crud. On a worldwide scale. Even the video's author seemed to agree on that point. Don't agree that derivative outlawism leads to boring, derivative artistic culture? Ever seen a graffiti artist that blew your mind with originality? I personally wish the lawyers had stepped in in the early eighties and shut this stuff down. If they had, we wouldn't currently be in the position of having to "dismiss the vast majority of human culture" as derivative. Why recording producers can't just hire a drummer is beyond me. Oh, right. According to the video, it was because it was cheaper and easier to make these sampled recordings for the club-scene. Basically, the artistic musical value received by the listener was thus reduced by sampling because the artist could 'sample it in the morning, press it in the afternoon, and give it to a DJ that night.' Imagine if the Beatles had recorded Sgt. Peppers in a day. It would have sucked. It would, by the nature of the time frame of its production, have been much more derivative. Fascinating video. Fascinating subject. Thank god for copyright laws, lawyers and big corporations. That derivative hip-hop explosion won't happen again. Whew.

Our offense is offensive and our defense is indefensible! Endaround and casey are grumbling about the definitions of "consistency" and "regression!" It is only May 26 and Yost is clearly praying that the Brewers get hot in August! I've wasted too much time caring about the Brewers! I blame this man's black magic: http://l.yimg.com/img.tv.yahoo.com/tv/us/img/site/48/38/0000034838_20061021020603.jpg Since the Brewers tangled with him, they have played .400 ball! Argh!

How my mind's eye pictured the season on Feb 25: http://www.itechnews.net/wp-content/uploads/2006/12/Toyota-FT-HS-Hybrid-Sports-Car_2.jpg How it feels now: http://www.terragalleria.com/images/us-sw/usnv9198.jpeg

I've been hearing that a lot lately. Me too. I've been watching the Brewers long enough to know their M.O. Ya think? Many have been saying that since the moment Yo was done for the year. The team knows it too. Why do you think they didn't expect to win in Boston?

That's not how I remember it. I think that is factually incorrect.

Gee. If only we had a player with Arod talent returning to the team soon...

Are you all asking "Who's the boss?" I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Our Ryan Braun is really Tony Danza! http://milwaukee.brewers.mlb.com/images/2008/05/15/MKM7T6FY.jpghttp://www.freewebs.com/whoistheboss/postwtb8.jpg

Or a giant CHIP on his shoulder... http://assets.espn.go.com/photo/2008/0219/mlb_ap_cecil_prince_300.jpg

http://www.spokane.wsu.edu/academic/engineering/Rumsey/Mortz/dynamite.jpg

Hmm... Shouldn't Ned Yost get some credit here? Does anybody remember reading about a mechanics flaw that Ned helped Kendall correct? Or was that just something Ned said?

I think if, at the beginning of Spring Training, you had told me that by May 15: 2 of the following 3 pitchers would be out for the year: Sheets, Capuano, Gallardo, with the third missing at least one start in April Turnbow would be DFAd Gagne would have blown five saves and been removed from the closer role (even temporarily) Weeks, Hall, and Cameron would be below the Mendoza (Uecker) line Carlos Villanueva and Dave Bush both would have ERAs around 6, and Manny Parra would be at around 5 and the Brewers would be in fourth place at .500 ... I think I would have burned my Brewers gear on the spot. No wonder Mark Attanasio is willing to spend more now while there's still time.

I would pee my pants... ...but no.

I think it is possible, even likely, that the Brewers go on a warmer streak than they've been on lately. However, given the general level of play that I've seen so far this season, I find it unlikely the Brewers will go on another 24-10 run anytime soon. I've been drinking Kool Aid for a long time. I'm finally willing to admit it.