I am Your Sunshine

It’s been gloomy for all of us. (Me, especially, when I’m sick and everyone assumed I just didn’t wanna go to work. Is it my fault that I don’t show it when I’m extremely unwell? I’m really sick when I say I am. ) And it surely didn’t seem like a good day for A’s baseball. We’ve already prepared ourselves to embrace the humiliating 10th Lost. Seriously, with what we’ve been witnessing lately, and the knowledge of Lenny DiNardo pitching, how can we be optimistic?

But, no, the A’s WOWed us today.

In the bottom of 2nd inning, Swish walk, Ellis single, Kots on base for an E, Scoot single RBI, Crosby walk RBI, Zook strike out, Buck sac-fly, Stew single RBI, Cust walk, Swish ground-out. A 4 run inning with 3 hits. We still cannot be qualified as a team that hits, but heck, we finally have some runs and a lead! A 4-0 lead!

With the help of our defense, Lenny D. and our solid RP/CP Casilla pitched a shutout game. The A’s even managed to score more runs in 7th and 8th!

6-0 game set. I bet no one was really comfortable until the last strike Casilla threw out.

Go A’s

Match Point (2005) B+
Love the setting in London and the mood built up beautifully in the first half of the movie. However, later it all went down to cliche, and frankly it’s kinda a drag. I gave it B+ for the aesthetic enjoyment it brought me the first 30 minutes, the British accent and lovely attire of Emily Mortimer.

There’s really nothing much to talk about the plot itself. Chloe was infatuate with Chris the very first time she met him; however, Chris clearly is way out of her league and only she and her family couldn’t see it (because of all the money they have.) Not that she’s the only one to blame for this failed relationship, Chris intentionally misled her to believe that their feelings were mutual. If not so, any woman with dignity will not step into this (yeah right. like we’ve never seen a woman goes head over heel for some undeserving guy.)

Anyways, the movie was a bore and has no point except, if you insist, that luck plays a crucial part in life. Woody Allen is supposed to do better than this. (Not that I like him.)

About a Boy (2002) B+

Adapted from the novel by Nick Hornby.

I didn’t have time to read it, so I figure I can just watch the movie. But after watching the movie, I wanna read the book cos there’s definitely more in the book.

It’s a cute and enjoyable movie :)

Pro: Nick Hornby, Hugh Grant (but he looked old), British accent

I think the A’s is literally killing me…

我就是要在球隊很可悲的時候繼續看, 來宣示忠誠(?)

I was there when we were crap.*

不過是不是 A’s 最近可怕的表現造成我這幾天的嚴重心悸啊? 如果是的話… orz

Anyways, 今天 A’s 回到 Coliseum 對戰西區最弱的 Rangers, 這個再不贏, 那我真的只能說… 還好 07/08 賽季再一個月就到了. 今天先發投手是 *dong dong dong* Dallas Braden, 他在前幾場比賽出任 RP 有不錯的表現, 於是在這場… A’s 不知道要叫誰先發的比賽, Joe K 確定被下放到牛棚, Braden 則被提了上來. 另外打擊總是被人罵得亂七八糟的 Kendall 被 Chicago Cubs 交易走了. 其實有點感傷, 我一直都還蠻喜歡他的. (我不信任 Suziki 啦!) 不過他好像本來就會走, 現在換點新人來還是好事?

lineup: Buck, Stewart, Swish, Cust, Crosby(!), Kotsay, Ellis, Scutaro, Suziki

* 這句是很多老牌 Chelsea fan 怕別人誤會自己是 glory hunter 的一份子時為自己辯護的話.

(因為 PTT 一整天連不上, 就先寫在這邊好了)
20070714 Chelsea vs Club America

在比賽兩天前才知道 Chelsea in America 這個討論區, 看到他們招眾藍軍在賽前先到 Palo Alto 的一家英國小酒吧 Rose & Crown 聚集, 喝酒唱歌, 在一起走路到球場.

經過千辛萬苦 (兩個跟我相約的朋友不約而同地遲到+迷路, Grrr… 其實讓我很不爽, 不過後來在路上看到幾個穿切爾西球衣的人, 心情就莫名其妙好起來了.) 我們來到很不起眼的 Rose & Crown, 裡面只有大約十幾個人, 我先認識了 Chelsea in America 的兩位大佬 Chris (Chelsea season ticket holder, 幾乎每場 away game都會去) 以及 Beth (德州藍軍總部負責人.) Chelsea 的各式各樣旗子已經掛在酒吧外的 patio, 裡面還有一幅巨大的 Peter Osgood 畫像. 我們晃了一圈之後決定先去 University Ave 上的義大利餐廳吃午餐, 一路上看到幾個穿 Chelsea 球衣的人, 擦身而過時都會跟我們相視一笑. 除了 Chelsea 迷之外, 還看一些穿 West Ham, Barca, Arsenal, Liverpool… 總之各個球隊的球衣. Chelsea 來到灣區, 已經不只是 Chelsea 球迷的事, 而是全北加 (對 MLS 看不上眼的) 足球迷一起共襄盛舉的大事.

吃完飯回到 Rose & Crown, 裡面已經聚集好幾十個人, 我們 JT 幫應該是最浩大的, 另外也有好幾個 Lampard, Shevchenko, Ballack 在酒吧裡走來走去, 還有閃亮新客場的 Essien, Special 1, Maka 4 (燙字越少越便宜嗎? XD) Mad Mark, New York Blue 等人. 我們點了幾杯啤酒, 擠到電視前面去跟大家一起看 Copa America 季軍賽.

只見人越來越多, Chris 忽然站到椅子上開始唱 Carefree, 整個酒吧裡的人也跟著一起唱. 接著又唱了好多首歌, 像是 Blue is the Colour (不過明顯地大部份人記不住兩段歌詞 XD), Celery, When The Blues Go Steaming In, Zigga Zigga, F**k Them All, We All Follow The Chelsea, Ten Man Went to Mow(註), Blue Flag, You are my Chelsea, 最後還對著 Osgood 的旗子舉杯唱 Osgood, King of Stamford Bridge. 後來有兩個身穿 West Ham United 球衣的人走進來, 大喇喇地坐在正中央的位子, 大家也就毫不客氣地對著他們大聲唱針對 West Ham 的歌 (但是我沒聽懂 orz) 他們也很有風度的聽完. 我一直慫恿 Supasizeit 站到桌子上唱 You’ll Never Walk Along, 可是他不肯. /_\

四點半我們起身前往球場, 一路上 Chris 等人一直輪流帶動唱歌. 走到球場前那條大馬路時, 只見路上要去看球賽的車陣塞得動彈不得, 車子有些人看到我們一群藍色浩浩蕩蕩地過馬路, 也興奮地按喇叭或揮舞藍色球衣大喊 Chelsea, Chelsea. 其中有一輛車好像是曼聯的吧, 忘記他們叫囂了什麼, 我們就對著他們喊 “Who are you! Who are you!” 還有 “Your support is, your support is, your support is fucking shit!” x N 以及其他經典的 Chelsea 挑釁歌.

超 high 的~

註. 不知道有沒有人寫過, 我一直很好奇 Ten Man Went to Mow 這首歌到底哪裡來的, 後來在 Chelsea in America 看到有人解釋, 有一群人開車去 Chelsea away game, 一路上他們只有一卷兒歌錄音帶, One Man Went to Mow 是英國小孩學數數的歌, 當他們抵達球場時那首歌在他們腦中陰魂不散, 最後他們就在球場上唱了起來… 結果後來 Chelsea 球迷在比賽時都會唱這首歌. XD
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07/08 的球衣跟訓練服, 看來只有 A. Cole 身上那件比較好看. 不過好貴喔.

ps. 今天 A’s 完成了他們的七連敗, 我真是非常感謝足球季就要開始了.

聽了幾局, 跟 chun 碰面之後便毅然決然摘下隨身聽, 吃飯去. 那時 3-0, Twins.

今天的先發投手是 Lenny DiNardo, 大家都覺得他是犧牲品. 面對 AL ERA 排名第二, 明星賽後總有可怕表現的 Johan Santana, 與其派目前還是 AL ERA第一但總是得不到 run support 的 Dan Haren (而且他星期二才投過) 或是雖然上一場比賽大爆發但基本上還是 A’s 的王牌投手之一的 Joe Blanton, 我想下駟對上駟的策略是明智的. 而且 anything can happen in baseball, Nico @ AN 在開賽前, 在這個 A’s 已經四場連敗的十三號星期五寫了一篇動人的文章. 80 年代的 A’s 在 Fenway Park 打球, 通常國歌還沒唱完就已經 5-0 落後. 但在 1986 年基本上已經分崩離兮的 A’s , manager 剛被開除的 A’s, 面對 Roger Clemens, 基本上就是現在的 Johan Santana, 而 A’s 甚至還不確定要讓哪個投手先發… 結果卻上演了讓人下巴脫臼的戲碼.

DiNardo 對 Santana 加上我們乏力不振的打線, 這場比賽贏了是賺到輸了是應當, 不過它卻讓我看到了一件比輸贏還要來得更重要的事.

吃完飯, 買好芹菜 (嘿嘿~) 回到車上我轉開電台繼續聽 A’s 的比賽. 原來比賽已經進行到九局上, 比數 5-2 Twins, A’s 的兩個得分都是在這局拿的. Nick Swisher 觸身上壘, 而後 Chavez 擊出本賽季第十四支全壘打. 接著 DJ fly-out, Ellis 打了脆響響的一支 single, 然而接下來的 Crosby 讓我在車裡哀嚎 “Why, Bobby, Why?” Crosby 滾地球 force out 了 Ellis, 他這已經不知道是第幾次把壘上的 Ellis 弄死了, Ellis 在你前面打一定很怨吧. 九上兩人出局的情況下, 接下來的 Kendall 身負重任. 我在車上也忍不住抓緊方向盤, 雖然知道追平極其渺茫, 我仍不希望聽到 strike 1, 2, 3 Kendall byebye 來結束這場球賽. 沒想到, 在滿球數下, Kendall 打出一個 RBI double 送 Crosby 回來, 我幾乎要哭出來了. 接下來 Shannon Stewart 有一點爭議性 ground out 結束了這場比賽.

然而聽到這時, 輸贏真的不是那麼重要了. 因為 A’s 讓我們看到了 (okay, 聽到) 一點不一樣的東西. 我不願意將九局上的努力歸為 A’s 一如往常在無濟於事的時候打出無關緊要的安打, 得了無關勝負的分. 我真的覺得有什麼東西在九局上半改變了, 也許我們太把一些巧合當徵兆, 但身為球迷除了相信之外, 我們又還能做些什麼呢? 而我很感激我趕上了最後半局的轉播, 如果只是回家看到比分, 我相信自己不會有這樣的感動, 不會認知到, 除了勝負之外, 對於我這樣的一個球迷來說, 感受到球員的努力, 他們的成長, 在困境中團隊的彼此扶持, 是比什麼都還要珍貴的. 勝敗, 就交給運氣吧… (還有瞎了眼的主審.)

忽然發現最近電影版, 電視版, 散文版在討論的話題竟有異曲同工之妙.

Falider 在散文板說, “… 只是你到底有多少青春可以拿來在一堆廢紙裡找出稀稀落落的人生箴言？” 話是沒有錯, 但難道人看書就是為了找出人生箴言嗎? 當電影板上有人嫌 300 沒有教化意義, 當電視板上有人不屑英國劇集傷風敗俗時, 我忍不住懷疑我們的教育究竟教出了什麼樣的人. 我是可以了解這樣的思考模式的. 從小當我盯著電視目不轉睛時, 媽媽會說服自己我這樣可以練英文聽力, 而在我偶爾看日劇時試圖把電視關掉, 說 “看影集還對你英文有幫助, 看日劇幹嘛?” 這就是功利主義嗎? (註一) 不管做什麼事一定要有得到什麼才行, 得到的東西一定要對未來發展有正面效益才行. 稍微放鬆娛樂隨之而來的是幾乎要把你吞噬的罪惡感 (註二), 人生不一定得每分每秒都有生產力吧. 有時候要提醒自己跳脫這樣的思考模式.

註一. 不是要說媽媽壞話啦!
註二. 我知道, 我知道…我早就超越”稍微放鬆”的程度了.
註三. 這篇大概放了兩個月, 完全忘記還要寫什麼…

A-

And after watching the bonus feature – “60 Minutes” interview with Stephan Glass, I have to give credit to Hayden Christensen, who played Glass in the movie. He portrayed Glass’ ingenuity in a subtle yet articulate way. Glass is very manipulative and apparently a compulsive liar. It’s pretty disgusting. But the movie itself is great.

Futher reading:
Stephen Glass
Through a Glass Darkly by Samuel Hughes

My recent obsession over baseball has led me toward the decision of reading Fever Pitch, written by a gooner about his relationship with football, with Arsenal FC in particular, which is the archenemy of Chelsea FC, at least it is for me.

I have different obsessions over the years. During different periods of my life, I have obsessions grand or tiny, over TV shows, over fictional characters (the most recent case is The Scarlet Pimpernel portrayed by Richerd E. Grant), over celebrity (the most recent case is Mark Ellis, obviously), over sports clubs, over bands… For some, the zeal cooled off quite fast; for some, I have put them down and picked them up again years later; for some, they linger like ghosts in a deserted town. Obsession, in dictionary definition, is a compulsive preoccupation with a fixed idea or an unwanted feeling or emotion, often accompanied by symptoms of anxiety. How perfectly precise it is.

Nick Hornby’s gonna provide me with view of a veteran supporter and what a proper fandom is like. Loving the blues (or the green and gold, take your pick) or moreover, being a blue, the joy and pain can both be immense. I remember jumping sky high as if I was possessed alone in my room and I also remember the tear ran down on my face when I drove back to the office after the UCL Liverpool match. The losing streak the A’s pulled kept me depressed for days but a simple ’86 uplifting story (the hapless A’s against the Red Sox empire, which turned out to be the overture of a series of memorable Stewart/Clemens matchups) gave me a ray of hope. They’re probably not gonna love us back, but seriously, who cares? They might make us miserable, but they might also cheer us up on a unbelievably blue day. But most importantly, they are the outlets for our passion and they are the links between our fellow kindred souls.

And this is the prologue of my reading of The Fever Pitch.

最近我的 blog 很無聊 T^T

可是它就是很誠實地承現我最近的生活呀~
我已經很努力寫看書跟電影的心得了耶 (總不會要我連溫柔一刀的心得都寫吧?)

Help! Am I extra susceptible to music lately or what?

Had a enjoyable dinner and got home after 11, I took out Electric Soft Parade’s [Holes in the Wall] and it was so good, as if I’ve never listened to it before! And I went on to play their other albums, [The American Adventure] and [No Need to be Downhearted] and both of them are incredibly good too.

I can’t believe it and I can’t describe it other than the word “good”.

It’s not that I haven’t heard anything better. But they’re fresh stuff to me. And it’s soooooooooo good! It’s not too heavy but not to airy either. It’s delightful but not yippie-yappie happy. It’s just so…. right.

Oh my gosh, I don’t think I can take it anymore. Too much good stuff, it’s overflowing. Seriously!

—
好恐怖, 怎麼這麼好聽啦!!!!

Live Free or Die Hard (2007)
A-

渾身血肉模糊一人拯救世界.

Die Hard 系列我應該只有看過第三集, 因為我不太喜歡血肉模糊的電影. 對 DH 的印象除了血肉模糊之外只有 Bruce Willis 掛著 “I hate niggers” 大吊牌在大街上走.

單就 Live Free or Die Hard (每次下手都會不小心打成 Live Long and Pr… err) 來說娛樂性非常十足. 我喜歡 Mac Guy, 也喜歡 Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Sky High 裡面的 Gwen), 還有 John McClane 根本就是個瘋子! (<-這是稱讚)
Transformers (2007)
B

期待已久, 但沒有我想像的那麼好看. 我覺得 Michael Bay 還是拍人類的動作片比較適合.
Pro: 機器人, 配樂好聽, Even Stevens 長大了耶!

Well, well, well, see who’s back to the DL? Hate to say I told you so. But still…
told ya so.

Some said that it’s because he throws too hard which reminds me of the Coincidence commercial:

…Harden throws hard, and Haren… has a lot of hair.

I have no problem with the hair part. (Haren is so darn cute at the All-Star game.) But I was thinking perhaps Harden should change his last name into Hurtless or something like that. Anyways, seeing the last two column in Probable Pitchers section with To be announced is kinda sad.

Game 1
So the the lineup looks like this: Stew, Kots, Swish, Cust, Chavy, DJ, Ellis, Cros, Kendall. And the starting pitcher: Chad Gau-dinnnnnnnnnnnn.

Off to AN, ciao~

Editors 一直無法在我腦海裡成功註冊, 於是在這個被 Nick Hornby, Hugh Grant 與 Badly Drawn Boy 好好寵溺過後的晚上, 我又拿出 An End Has a Start, 有終畢有始.

Smoke Outside the Hospital Doors 前奏一響起, 我就知道我喜歡這個團. (那為什麼還記不得他們呢?) 不過我不是很喜歡主唱 Tom Smith 的嗓音, 但也不至於很討厭. 不像之前哪個團, 第一首歌出來嚇死我了, 難聽到讓我想要吐, 完全無法忍耐的口音及嗓子耶!

Editors 這張真的很棒, 完全是我愛的調調.

Didn’t watch it. I forced myself to go to the movies before I suffocate myself with baseball to death.

But I did record it… haha… had to see our Danny Haren. :)

Something funny on AN ASG thread:

Monkeyball commented:

WHY IS KENDALL STARTING?!? (0 / 0)
Whoops. Sorry. Forgot to disable my game-thread autofill.

LOL

And I first saw it on A’s board that some said Jeter moved too slowly and gave up a run. Later I read it on AN, clearly referring to the same incidence, crying, “Haren…” and “Ellis would have got that.” You’re darn right! (Even though I didn’t see it.)

And the whole thread is filled with Ellis woulda had that, Chavez woulda had that, Kots woulda had that. Cust woulda had that(!), Nick Swisher woulda had that, Buck woulda thrown out the runner. But mostly is Ellis woulda had that and Ellis woulda had that better.

Anyways, I had a fun night. Will catch up with ASG later.

Dan Haren 是先發投手, 其實我有點又愛又怕.

另外 Copa America 這兩天是準決賽, 今天有巴西, 明天有我的第二國家隊 Argentina. 在周末 Chelsea 比賽之前, 是該浸潤一下足球比賽了… 但是好多電影要看. orz

each unfinished story, or if I can extend it to every piece of writing I’m working on, is like a fetus. You carried it in you everywhere you go.

It’s not good to carry one, or even more than one, too long. It’s not healthy.

I’m now carrying five of them, four stories and one memoir, and that is not counting the pieces that stuck in my drafts (in my blog) which are, ergh, more than 11.

Block told me just to sit down everyday and write for one hour. You’ll be prolific enough as a Sunday writer. However, where did those one-hour’s go?

請自行填空.

最近因為 A’s 而搞得自己心情很沮喪, chun 就對我說 You love the A’s, but have they ever loved you back? 這句話出自於美國版的 Fever Pitch (我不確定是 Hornby 寫的還是改編劇本的人加的.) 真是如當頭棒喝. 要怎麼在對球隊不離不棄的同時, 也不讓它(們)太過影響自己的生活? 不論是藍軍魂還是綠帽迷, 我都算是新到不能再新, 比起那些隨便就如數家珍的老兵差得多了. 不過我一股腦投入的衝勁也是非常熱烈. 所以我決定去看 Hornby 的書, 即使內容是關於 Arsenal, 我可能會看得很痛苦… XD

想要找看看這句話有沒有出現在原版的 Fever Pitch (by Nick Hornby) 裡面, 也許 Hornby 被朋友挑戰說 “You love the Gunners, have they ever loved you back?” 結果看我找到了什麼!

在一個利記的 forum 裡, 我看到有人完全 misquote 這部電影. 把 Red Sox 張冠李戴成 Yankees. 他說最近看了一部電影 Fever Pitch 之後, 他調整了自己對待足球的態度, 進而解釋, “在電影裡瘋狂棒球迷的女朋友對主角說, 你這麼愛洋基, 他們有愛回來嗎?” 看得我啼笑皆非. 一來 Fever Pitch 本來就是一個足球迷的紀事, 他卻繞了一大圈, 從足球到棒球再回到足球. 二來他竟然把 Red Sox 迷當 Yankees 迷. 就我認知中, Red Sox 迷跟 Yankees 迷可是非常不同的人.

A
I LOVE it!

The fact that RD Jr is the leading character of the film is sufficient for me to love it. I’ve always been a big fan of his, even though the number of his films that I’ve watched is less than 3. (Not even in Ally McBill.) He’s just too cute to be true, don’t you agree?

pro: the casting is perfect!