Pentagram @ Purdue

What a gutty win that was.  The Fighting Illini improved to 13-1 with 71-67 overtime victory at Purdue, raising eyebrows across Big 10 country.  For those of us who’ve been following the team closely this is less of surprise.  The team has continued to improve since December and is clearly capable of playing with about anyone.  You might have been wondering how they’d fare against top-flight competition, which the Boilers certainly are; well wonder no longer.  These Illini, with veteran guards and a rotation of players who’ve bought in to the Weber style and philosophy, will not beat themselves.

That said, Purdue is the perfect team for Illinois to upset.  They have a skilled but slender frontline that presents less problems to the similarly skinny Mike & Mike rotation than other more bruising teams, and our coaches know them like they know themselves.  It will be interesting to see how the boys do against more rugged forwards and centers.  Michigan, with its match-up zone, presents an entirely different challenge

The pentagram…

Movies: The Spirit

…written and directed by Frank Miller; starring Gabriel Macht, Samuel L. Jackson, and Eva Mendes.

The Spirit is a lot like that girl you never should’ve dated but did anyway: the one that was a little too crazy, a little too vapid, but too damned good to look at it to leave alone.  The movie kind of bounces around all over within the confines of an overly familiar boilerplate superhero script.  Here’s The Spirit (not Will Eisner’s version, let’s be clear), an amalgamation of Wolverine, Dick Tracy, and Batman playing the boyscout/rake in the dark bleak city.  Here are vintage 40s and 50s autos along with cellphones and super guns.  There’s crazy-ass Sam Jackson playing the villainous Octopus with over-the-type Jim Carrey-ish glee.  And there goes Eva Mendes as Sand Seraf, the Spirit’s old flame, in yet another ridiculously hot ensemble.  Story?  You want to complain about story?!?

Merry Christmas

…to you and yours. 

We’re breaking protocol and posting a photo of the kids (though I’ll probably take it down later).  It’s the official Christmas pic:

 
Santa has been good to us this year, as the PS3 has arrived, been installed, and is fully functional.  But my best present comes courtesy of the wife, who procured a little something special — something every red-blooded geek asks for at some point…

And your clues are, bad Jabba!  Tatooine…  smuggler rescue…  The force will indeed be with me.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Books: YBFH 2007

The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror 2007, edited by Ellen Datlow, Kelly Link, and Gavin J. Grant.

This series has long been hailed as vital reading for connoisseurs of short speculative fiction.  The 2007 edition, which is the twentieth in the series, headlines Joyce Carol Oates, M. Rickert, and Gene Wolfe, and clocks in at more than 250,000 words (452 pages).  I am glad to report I enjoyed most of the stories in this volume and only failed to finish a handful*.

Any time you’re reading a Year’s Best compilation, what you’re really getting is the best according to the series’ editors.  In Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror this is doubly so as these collections are published before the annual awards are announced in the summer.  In this case we have Datlow, former editor of Omni and Sci Fiction (the late lamented original sci-fi/fantasy webzine hosted at scifi.com; if I ever meet the shiftless corporate boob who cancelled Sci Fiction, it’s on…), and we have Link and Grant, who run Small Beer Press, publishers of the zine, Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet and other stuff.  These are excellent editors and true professionals, no doubt about it, but that doesn’t mean we can’t question a few of their choices.

Blago vows to fight… Yay

In a classic bit of staged political melodrama, Illinois’ proud Governor Blagojevich claimed he is “not guilty of any criminal wrongdoing” and vowed, “I will fight.  I will fight.  I will fight.”  Terrific.  Just what this state needs: more laughing stock material and ineffective state government.  For those of us familiar with Blago and Illinois politics, the Gov’s statements came as no surprise — especially after he hired Chicago hotshot defense attorney, Edward Genson earlier in the week.  The Illinois General Assembly already appears to be back-peddaling in their impeachment attempts, which move forward nonetheless.  But there are two points that have really really raised our ire around here…

• Blago’s heinous use of Kipling in his statement
• The gall of the man in actually requesting state funds for his criminal defense expenses

Recommended: The Dead Kid

New fiction online by Beemsville ally and former co-couch-congflagratuer, Gillian.  You can read it over at Carve Magazine, which has lots of good stuff.

‘The Dead Kid’ is creepy, clever, and concise.  It features a refrigerator, a dump, and an excellent recollection of childhood.  The story will also appear in Carve’s Best of… anthology next year and was nominated for a Pushcart prize.  Excellent reading, all in all.

Check it out…

Holiday Films 08

The Holiday season always brings the release of some anticipated filmage.  While nothing could possibly compare to the legendary run of 2001-2003 (thanks again, Peter Jackson), we do have several movies we’re looking forward to viewing.  Three in particular…

Gran Torino – Directed by and starring Clint Eastwood.  This one has Clint playing a stubborn and grouchy old veteran who finds himself drawn into the familial ties of his Chinese immigrant neighbors when one of them tries to steal his car to placate a local gang.  Much like Unforgiven was a coda to his many great westerns, I see this movie in the same light for Dirty Harry.  Could be wrong, but we’ll go see it nonetheless.

Blago, oh, Blago

It’s just too easy.  Take a look at the quote sheet.

Blago on Monday:  “I don’t care whether you tape me publicly or privately…  I really feel like the sun is shining brightly on me.”

Blago on Tuesday morning*: “F%^#.  What are you f%^#ing guys doing here?  What?  Put on my Blue track suit and go to Federal Court?   Are you f%^#ing crazy? F%^# it.  Well, at least let me fix my hair first…”

We don’t even really have to try, it’s so easy.  Watching Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert today, they didn’t try that hard either.  They just sort of played the tape and took the obvious shots, (though Stewart’s joke about Beaver-pelt smuggling  being included with the next round of allegations was golden).  Presumably, SNL, with several days to work up something special, will not disappoint.  For now, bask in the warm glow of Rowdy Rod’s ride to justice…

Here in Beemsville, we’ve been assuming for months that it was only a matter of time.  Patrick Fitzgerald doesn’t show up in your neighborhood just to hang out.  And due to the allegations, the Governor’s basically avoided public appearances for six months now, never mind any attempts at effective governing…  Our chief remaining question: why did you do it, Rod?  Why did you turn loose that mountain lion in rural downstate Illinois? We know you don’t like us, and the feeling is more than mutual…

Movies: Australia & Hot Fuzz

Melodrama on the Barbie!

Baz Luhrmann’s Australia, an aspirant romantic epic, pits plucky Lady Ashley (Nicole Kidman) against the Outback of northern Australia, evil Cattle Barons, and the Imperial Japanese Army circa 1939.  Along the way she falls for Wolverine the Drover (Hugh Jackman), adopts a mixed race boy-shaman called Nullah, learns about true love, and decides that institutionalized racism is bad.  The movie has grand scale and epic vistas and impressive set pieces.  It has ambition.  It also hits every single melodramatic note in the book.

If you’re in the right mood, you won’t notice it that much during initial viewing.  The cheese, spread in thick ample quantities, kind of melts over you as the movie progresses.  That’s because Australia is gorgeous and famliair.  At some point though, you start to see the romantic-action formulas coming at you like a herd of stampeding Aussie beef.  As a director, Luhrmann seems to have chops for visual styling and empathy for feminine sensibilities, but he forgot the key component for the true Epic film – characters.

U of I v. Clem

The Fighting Illini registered their first loss of the season against a talented Clemson team, 76-74.  The result is not unexpected but frustrating nonetheless.  If you have an 8 point lead at halftime and then give up 44 points in the second, you get what you deserve.  Five points in the pentagram…