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Bartles

Certifiably Surly
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Everything posted by Bartles

  1. Wonder who the first money-grubbing conference will be to consider having a June tourney in the name of the hard-working kids who want to play for a trophy (while the ADs make a few bucks off tickets and ESPNU coverage)
  2. Wikipedia summary makes it out like it really was as simple as it looked - they found him, they killed him. But definitely a season 2 hook in a mid-credits scene which I did not watch:
  3. Bartles

    SNL 45

    Weeknd's bloody face continues a storyline from his music videos. Who knew? (not me) Surely they could have done a better Debbie Downer, but it was cool to see her and there were a couple laughs. Lots of pre-taped stuff, which is fine with me since they're usually pretty funny. Bond actually getting on a hot craps roll was the highlight for me.
  4. That is awesome. I would tag with "When I get to the front of Panda Express line and they just ran out of orange chicken"
  5. American is also doing the no-change-fees for fares booked by March 31. Taking advantage of that to book whatever 2020 work trips I can confirm during March. Fares are way down too, and maybe could go lower. I suspect they'll extend the no-change policy well into the spring. But I also suspect a lot of flights will cancel eventually due to lack of fliers, so we will have to make a bunch of (free) changes.
  6. Pac-12 mandating their teams play no more than one game in NCAAs
  7. I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide was featured somewhere in the second half of the show. But your point reminds me another thing that was striking - pretty sure there wasn't a single word spoken about the lyrics of any song...motivations, meanings, even fan reaction. It was all about the musical style. Which is fine, just unusual for one of these docs.
  8. I continue to love these band-approved docs (or biopics like Bohemian Rhapsody) where they can play the actual music. I'm sure they sanitize some things, but ZZ feels like they've just always been the characters we see on screen. I forgot Howard Bloom did some PR for them, as he also worked with Michael Jackson, Prince, Joan Jett and others in that era. In '94 he wrote The Lucifer Principle which to me remains probably the most influential book I've ever read. Basically a quasi-scientific explanation of the entire field of sociology. I was the perfect age to discover ZZ on Eliminator and through the videos. It wasn't until I heard Springsteen cover "Nationwide" on the Born in the USA tour that I learned there was a pre-Eliminator ZZ Top and they were much more raw.
  9. OK, two episodes in, still really like the vibe. It's definitely got a Michel Gondry feel (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotted Mind) with colorful, somewhat bizarre visuals and frequent diversional elements that add context and move the story along. Not a lot of LOLs, but I've never felt bored or rolled my eyes at anything, which is rare for me and TV. The plot as we know it follows four lead characters who have all opted to join a social mission (or is it a game?) with strangers. Our heroes quest is to find a girl named Clara, but we have little idea why. There are two organizations apparently competing for their assistance: Elsewhere Society and the Jejune Institute. It's well done. Not a typical show this board would follow, and I have to admit I might not stick it out very long if not for the Philly location. But it moves pretty quickly and definitely not predictable, so far.
  10. I highly recommend Narcoland: The Mexican Drug Lords and Their Godfathers by journalist Anabel Hernandez. It tells the real story of these exact characters, and I think the show is pretty faithful for the most part. Published in 2014 so El Chapo is still in the midst of his capture-escape-capture-escape sequence at the time.
  11. I feel like I have to watch every episode, as it was filmed all over Philadelphia last year (turns out my apartment is in the JeJune Institute!) so it will be cool to see how it ended up. Jason Segel became a local legend and there are tons of anecdotes around the city of how approachable and friendly he was. One episode in, it's hard to follow the plot, but the show doesn't take itself too seriously so that helps with the lighthearted, hopeful vibe. And the four lead actors have some chemistry and obvious talent/experience. I'll post another update after I catch up on tonight's ep.
  12. It seems like any year people say it's gonna be wacky, we get maybe one rando in the Final Four and everything else is the usual. If anything, last year was wacky with a #3 Tech and #5 Auburn getting there, and even the #1 Virginia hadn't been in forever. As of today, Michigan State, Kentucky and Kansas are among the hottest teams in the country. Other popular Final Four picks Oregon and Gonzaga are setting up for very high seeds. So that's all business as usual. Duke, Virginia and more obviously UNC don't look like they'll be around long in March, so that will be different at least.
  13. Having the NY and LA teams suck is not an ideal business plan for a new league
  14. I'm afraid we've entered the phase of Stephen King works where the more out-in-the-open the supernatural bit gets, the sillier the whole thing becomes. Also none of these characters is very likable anymore. Maybe the cop that has the crush on Gibney, but that's on a path to end with some sort of cringeworthy connection. And sorry if this is mean but imo the show would be exactly the same without Ralph having a dead kid, especially now that his coach Bateman has been gone so long.
  15. That quote is hilarious...stop painting the guy as a villain just because he comes in, identifies the worst characteristic(s) of the team and mouths off about it to people who will spread the word. Basically the definition of a villain. That said, nothing in the quote is inaccurate and I wish we still had him in Philly instead of fucking Horford
  16. FML...his eyes look ridiculous. This is all to try to legally control his image as the 35-year copyright expires
  17. I stayed at Hilton Garden Inn which was perfect. It's still a decent walk to security. I also stayed at the Steigenberger which was nicer with a good bar/restaurant and is only a 5-minute free shuttle ride away.
  18. Rudolph kind of has to see this through. Garrett's career will be fine either way, Mason probably isn't long for the NFL and especially not if he lets an accusation like that float out there.
  19. Were they not trying to kill Hopper in the fight by the giant machine? But then they just decide to ship him to Siberia? Also, I had forgotten the final scene as described by wiki: "In Kamchatka, Russian guards are instructed to feed a prisoner, but "not the American", to a captive Demogorgon."
  20. So this is more like an Ole Miss football or SMU basketball where it's like, there's no way you're this good without cheating and sure enough they were (though SMU was kinda bullshit charges imo)
  21. The tweets above are helpful, but can someone dumb down for me what their advantage was? Is there a Cam Newton out there who obviously got them trophies they wouldn't have won otherwise? If it's just a matter of City secretly having more to spend on salaries, how would that not be obvious right away? Aren't all the salaries and transfer fees made public?
  22. I think Uber/Lyft has its own area now similar to the taxis, so you don't have to go to the garage and it's easier to find your paired vehicle. But I can't wait to hear people brag how they cabbed to MGM for $19 and walked across to NYNY to save $4.
  23. Girl Talk is skipping Philly, so it's the reverse phenomenon of when I lived in Dallas and would bitch that so many acts I wanted to see didn't come through. He's at Emo's on May 18 and Granada on May 19 (no Houston). So this has become an excuse for an anniversary trip to Toronto for a weekend. Hope this means he has new updated mashups coming out. I know that's not as much of a thing now as 10-15 years ago, but he was so good at it. And his producing/backing career for lesser rappers hasn't been that great
  24. AA seats are so bad half the time I end up reclined without even knowing it. Then the flight attendant has to raise her voice to get me to fix it for landing, and the person behind me is even more pissed off that I didn't realize what happened.
  25. Sometimes cashing in one huge rolls as a new player can be a curse. I know I just assumed those were pretty common after it happened at one of my first tables. Eventually I learned that you can go years without seeing a 50-60 minute roll, if you're like me an only play in Vegas one or two trips per year.
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