Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (1989, Spain) This perverse satire of heteronormative courtship—initiated by violence, flirting with Stockholm Syndrome—shouldn’t work but does because of the charisma & performances of leads Antonio Banderas & Victoria Abril and the light touch of writ/dir. Pedro Almodóvar.

Robinson Crusoe (1954) A faithful but poorly acted adaptation of this seminal castaway story from writ/dir. Luis Buñuel, who deemphasizes/undermines the religious aspects while leaving the racism in plain view. TCM print is in rough shape due an outdated color process & aging. For completists only.

Houseboat (1958) A film so incompetently scripted, directed, and shot that it manages to make Cary Grant unlikeable & unattractive. A romcom that’s neither romantic nor funny and has no recognizably human characters. Sophia Loren is the best part, but she isn’t reason enough to watch this stinker.

Loves of a Blonde (1965, Czech) Writ/dir. Miloš Forman’s second feature is a an entertaining, gently cynical, occasionally slapstick comedy about the romantic searching of a young woman who attracts men but never the right ones, set against militarized and industrialized mid-60s Czechoslovakia.

The Secret Agent (2025) This slow burn is a tribute to writ/dir Kleber Mondoça Filho’s home town of Recife, Brazil, & his parents’ generation, which endured the destabilization & tragedy of military dictatorship. Compelling but overlong & somewhat meandering, powered by Wagner Moura’s soulful lead.

Oh man, grape Bonkers were so good . . .

The whole Johnny Sylvester thing was 1926, six years before the Called Shot. Both stories are embellished but based in fact.

Aaron Boone wore a jersey on Sunday (I think it was Sunday), and my jaw . . . dropped.

Part of being a good editor is staying quiet while the author goes on that journey of realizing you're right and immediately moving on once they get to that point. This technique is also helpful in romantic relationships.

Today's Games to Watch:

4:10 pm ET: TEX (Gore) @ SEA (Woo), MLB. tv/local

4:35 pm ET: DET (Valdez) @ BOS (Crochet), MLB. tv/local

That show was appointment viewing in my house. It was my MTV before we had MTV.

Romance on the High Seas (1948) Doris Day’s debut is a Technicolor musical comedy confection (emphasis on the comedy), filled with fan-favorite supporting actors (Janis Paige, Oscar Levant, S.Z. Sakall, Eric Blore) and songs by Jule Styne & Sammy Cahn (“Put ‘Em in a Box” is a delight). Good fun.

Deathtrap (1982) Very fun, highly self-referential drawing-room thriller based on Ira Levin's hit play, directed by Sidney Lumet & starring Michael Caine, Christopher Reeve & Dyan Cannon. If the rest fails to live up to the first act, you can at least enjoy the fact that it points that out itself.

Gimme all of your lovin' (every little bit)
Gimme all that you got (every bit of it)
Every bit of your lovin (oh, c'mon live a bit)
Never want it to stop

Yeah, but are you gettin' it? Armageddon it!
Ooh, really gettin' it? Yes, Armaggedon it!

C'mon, Steve . . .

Glad to see this. Even on TV, Yankee Stadium games are unwatchable when the home team is at bat, and it's impossible to talk to you seatmates when you're there. It's punishing and clearly makes many fans, young and old, miserable.

Hell yeah!

Amid nine nearly identical posts from MLB Transaction Bot reading "[Position, Player] changed number to 42" is one from me reading "OF Cliff Corcoran changed new fort's name to 42."

I made a perfect joke and you missed it.

OF Cliff Corcoran changed new fort's name to 42.

Today's Game to Watch:

1:40 pm ET: MIA (Alcantara) @ DET (Skubal), MLB. tv/local

Also:

Yankees try to avoid sweep/snap 4-game losing streak behind Schlittler (@ TBR [Rasmussen], 1:40). Pirates go for sweep of Cubs behind Chandler (vs. Taillon, 2:20), both also MLB. tv/local.

10 (1979) Blake Edwards’s hit midlife-crisis sex comedy is better, & more self-aware, than I expected, because it has little sympathy for Dudley Moore’s protagonist, b/c there’s a lot more Julie Andrews (great in a well-written part) than Bo Derek, and because Edwards is a terrific comedy director.

The Young Philadelphians (1959) Peak-hotness Paul Newman is the only reason to watch this soapy melodrama adapting a novel about a young man’s rise to prominence as a lawyer, although the cast is uniformly excellent, esp. Barbara Rush, Alexis Smith, Billie Burke & a young, Oscar-nom’d Robert Vaughn.

A Star Is Born (1937) The first A Star Is Born is a landmark technicolor comedy packed with wit (Dorothy Parker co-wrote) until the turn to tragedy in the final 30 min. Janet Gaynor & Fredric March are winning leads (she does great voices), and the film speeds along until the protracted ending.

Project Hail Mary (2026) Lord & Miller’s welcome return to directing is a sci-fi/fantasy film about bravery, heroism & sacrifice. From the writers (novelist Andy Weir, screenwriter Drew Goddard) behind The Martian, it’s less linear, w/ more abstract science & requires more suspension of disbelief.

Today's Games to Watch:

2:20 pm ET: PIT (Ashcraft) @ CHC (Cabrera), MLB. tv/local
6:10 pm ET: NYY (Fried) @ TBR (Martinez), MLB. tv/local
9:40 pm ET: HOU (McCullers) @ SEA (Castillo), MLB. tv/local

Jerry Lee Lewis in 2008, age 73, in a black jacket in front of a microphone and piano, looking very much like the now-64-year-old Axl Rose in the clip at the top of this thread.

It's Jerry Lee Lewis in his 70s:

This Weekend's Series to Watch: Astros @ Mariners (4-game set, wraps around to Monday)

Today's Game to Watch:

9:40 pm ET: HOU (Imai) @ SEA (Hancock), MLB. tv/local

Also notable: Season debuts by NYY's Luis Gil (@ TBR, 7:10 pm ET) and TOR's Patrick Corbin (vs. MIN, 7:07 pm ET), both MLB. tv/local

I love these two and I'm rooting for their relationship, which appears to be built on a very strong foundation of communication and honesty. (Please, no one milkshake duck them.)

Garfield, Nov. 9, 1986, a Sunday strip with 7 panels: 1) Garfield offers Jon a snack. 2) Jon: "Why, thank you, Garfield." 3) Jon: "Dog food! Quick! Gimme Something to Drink!" 4: Jon: "Hot Sauce! I'm Burning Up!" 5: Jon gulps down the water Garfield gave him. 6: Jon: "Goldfish water! Antidote! Antidote!" 7: Jon: "AARRGH! ANCHOVIES!!" Garfield, breaking the fourth wall: "This could go on for days"

The administration's decision-making process:

To me, it looks like a college jersey, halfway between Aggies and Longhorns. (FWIW: The weave on the cap isn't vintage, it's something new. It would be vintage if they did the jersey lettering like that.)

relative to previous CCs:

ATL: Downgrade
BAL: Upgrade
CIN: parallel, both are bad
KCR: Downgrade
MIL: Upgrade, but still not good
SDP: Downgrade
PIT: Upgrade
Rangers: Upgrade

I dislike the CC program in general, but the previous ATL & KCR looks were among the best of it.