I am Your Sunshine

Game 1 2-1 Yankees
Mark Ellis 又一美技, 沒收 Jeter 的 base hit + RBI. 百看不膩啊!
請看 Jun29 OAK @ NYY

Game 2 7-0 A’s
Ellis is moved back up to 2nd. I like to see him batting 2nd. Not that I don’t like Kotsay.
今天的比賽看得很舒服. 請綠帽再接再厲! :)
(Kendall HR 就會有好事發生呢. <- 這本身就是件不可思議的好事. XD) Game 3 11-5 A’s
為了看 A’s 的比賽, 一早八點多起來去教會作早堂的主日. 回家路上剛好聽到精彩的第二局, 我在車上手舞足蹈的. Crosby single, Kendall single, Kotsay single, Suzuki single RBI, Stewart fly-out, Ellis sac-fly scores Kendall, Cust 3-run Homer, Chavy double, DJ 2-run homer, Crosby ground-out 結束二上. MLB.TV 上的精華有 A’s 的 7 run 2nd inning, Jack Cust 跟 DJ 的 HR, 主播都很咬牙切齒地說, “going, and going… SEE YA!” 聽起來真爽快! XD

最後九下 Ellis-Crosby-DJ double play 結束了這場比賽, 有什麼比看到 A’s 贏球 + Ellis involved in the final play 還要更棒的事呢? (大概就是A’s贏球 Ellis 又打個 cycle之類的吧!)

開心的一天, 啦啦~

*昨天 Yankees 的 RP Proctor 在大家(包括他的隊友)都離開球場之後, 在場上燒了他的球衣跟手套. 他今天是唯一一個沒有被打出去的投手, 看來 Yankees 應該一起開個營火晚會.

*A’s ended a bumpy road trip with 2-1 won over the series against the Yanks (spanked the Spankies!) Coming home, they are gonna face the Blue Jays on Monday night. Rock on!

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but I don’t wanna go to sleep just yet. Felt like I haven’t done anything much today.

I’m listening to Guster right now cos we might go to their concert in Sept. Well, it’s still too early to do the marinating. But in fact, I was listening to Editors and decided they are too loud for the night. I like calmer music when it’s all quiet, when it’s supposed to be all quiet. Serene would be the word. However, I used to listening to loud music, so I ended up either Keren Ann or Diana Krall… or even Chopin, which sometimes stirred your emotion too much hence not an ideal choice. What I’m saying is, the choices are too limited and I got tired of all of them easily.

I’m listening to [Lost and Gone Forever] and I started to look forward to their concert. I wasn’t sure if I’m gonna go. If chun’s certain of going, I’d definitely accompany her that’s for sure. However, I wasn’t that enthusiastic about paying over $30 for them. I’d have gone to their concert at Stanford last year if I like them that much and by then the ticket only cost 10 something. Their music is really beautiful. Well, I don’t have too much vocabulary or imagination that I can describe music so vivid so that you can actually hear it. Guster sound pure and sincere. Nothing fancy, not affected, not trying to make a big deal out of something, just plain old singing from and with your heart. That’s what touches people the most, isn’t it?

Did I mentioned that I got Moneyball and Shelby Lynne [I’m Shelby Lynne] and Eliot Morris [What is Mine is Yours] and Spring Awakening OBC and SPIN. Listened to all of them and read none.

Anyway, I’m expecting a lay back and hopefully spiritual weekend. Got books and magazine’s to read (I really like what I’ve been reading on the Believer.), movies to watch (both DVDs and in theatres), and stories to write. My brain is urging me to crash but I don’t want to.

Oh, and watched Hustle s2e2 (I’m saving them), it’s really very The Grifters-inspired-esque.

Cheers! TGI Friday.

用小畫家做的 XD
My clubs and my men.

由左而右, Chelsea, John Terry (+Frank Lampard), Carlo Cudicini, Nick Swisher, Mark Ellis, Oakland A’s

(Lampard 老是跟 JT 一起出現, 讓他撿了現成便宜 XD)

昨天本來要去看電影, 結果 880 S 靠 101 路段有車禍, 塞車塞了好久. 到的時候都已經七點了, 電影六點五十開始, 就索性不看. 跑到 Borders 去看書. 看了六月的 442 跟 Shoot, 但沒有仔細看. 老實說, 最近心思全放到 A’s 上, 對足球有點淡, 真是對不住. /_\

不過 442 上 Essien 的專訪還是看得我很樂. 之前在 meja 的 blog 上就看她提過了, 再看一次原文還是覺得很好笑. 尤其是看到他最大的興趣是睡覺. “如果現在不是在這裡給你訪問, 我一定是在家睡午覺的咧!” 依據他的說法, 他一天要睡上十二個小時才行, Essien 以前在 Olympique Lyonnais 的教練也說, “Essien 如果不是在吃飯或踢球就是在睡覺.” 真是可愛的人耶! 除了愛睡覺之外, Essien 也非常尊重長幼秩序, 他說他從來沒有頂嘴過, 他過去的教練也說他是個聽話的乖孩子. :)

把足球雜誌翻完後 (基本上我只有在看到有藍色衣服時才會停下來), 就繼續看 LB 的 Hit List, 看了一章就決定去找 chun 吃飯. 本來打算隨便吃吃趕十點回家看 Burn Notice 的 premiere, 沒想到我們在經過左岸時看到它的蒸淡菜看起來很好吃, 就跑進去了. 結果我們叫了蒸淡菜, 裙子牛排, 我點了杯 Louis Latour 的 Pinot Noir. 裙子牛排明明就該是 medium rare 的, 送上來肉都灰灰的, 這是well-done吧! 我們請 waitress 來主持公道, 她皺著眉說 “I agree. It’s supposed to be pink.” 於是去請廚房再幫我們準備一份, 這次要確定是真的 medium rare. 沒想到新的一份送上來時竟然有前一份的兩倍份量 (大概這樣比較不容易 over cooked 吧. orz) 害我們吃得超飽的. 加上蒸淡菜一盤竟然超過四五十隻! 連義大利餐廳份量都沒那麼多呀~

雖然吃得很撐, 來左岸怎能不吃甜點, 於是我們又叫了個 chocolate fondue. 它們的巧克力是用 Valrhona 的, 入口滑順後味有點苦, 真是超好吃的啦!

最後挺著肚皮離開左岸時, 都已經十一點多了… orz

* 不過今天會這麼累的主因是昨晚一直在看 A’s 的東西, 還發現原來有前兩年的廣告可以看, 一不小心就弄到三點半才睡…

[updated]
Game 1
Chad Gaudin 主投, Mark Ellis 跟 Travis Buck 都沒上, Buck 手肘有傷, 不過明天應該還是會上. Ellis, 應該只是休息吧? 不然就是他的膝蓋…
今天的 Line-up 是 SSSCCCJKK (可惜 Dan Johnson 不姓 K 開頭 XD):
Stewart, Scutaro, Swisher, Chavez, Cust, Crosby, Johnson, Kotsay, Kendall.

在克里夫蘭重新振作吧!

啊啊啊… 我一開始聽之後從領先變成落後了. 難道真的是我害的? 中間去上課半小時沒看, 結果 3-2 還穩穩守住 (Rich Harden 第七局上來又有漂亮演出), 結果我八局下半開始看, 又被笑臉人打了兩分, 最後兩人出局兩三壘有人的情況下, Kotsay 被三振…

明天是 A’s 的 Ace, MLB 現在戰績最好的投手, Dan Haren 先發, 我真是想看又不敢看, Haren 一定要贏啊!

/20070625 21:25/

Game 2
有沒有這麼令人沮喪的比賽? 我一點也不想多寫了.
今天落後, 追平, 落後, 追平, 領先, 九上再一分保險分, 九下如大江東去…

敗掉 Haren 的勝投, Embree 看起來很自責很可憐, 但我還是想怪他.
枉費 Ellis 今天打得那麼好 (差點又再次拿下一個 cycle!)
Ellis homer
* 最近每次主播球評在 Ellis 有所表現時就會提到, Ellis 自從當爸爸之後像變了一個人似的, 打擊不錯. 每次聽到他們這麼說心裡都覺得很怪, 大概是入戲太深吧. 這就是寫真人fan fic的風險.

* 聽說當天穿哪件球衣是先發投手決定的. A’s 這一系列的 road trip 比賽都穿綠底的 alternative jersey, 今天換成灰底的 road jersey, 沒想到還是沒有轉運.

louismg @ Athletic Nation summed it up perfectly. And seriously… I’m trying not to swear.

/20070626 19:51/

Game 3
Travis Buck 回來了! 希望他的手還好. Crosby 與 Kendall 都被拿下, 換上 Scutaro 與 Suzuki. 這陣子被批得亂七八糟的 Chavez 還是穩穩排在… 唔, 後退了一棒, 第五棒.

今天克里夫蘭的天氣聽說很奇怪. Indians batting practice 結束之後就下起大雨, 害 A’s 無法 BP, 比賽要開始時卻又放晴了. 不過在 walk, flyout, walk 之後, Cust 來個 3 run HR 帶大家回家, (這時真的很慶幸 Chavez 不是被放在第四棒. AN 上有人很毒的說, He knew Chavez was in the on deck circle, so he took it upon himself to get it done. XD) Korach 說搞不好就是要這樣, 不被 BP 影響心情, 上場打就是了.

二局上半, Scutaro single, Suzuki HR! (AN 馬上有人說, Jason who? 不過我還是蠻喜歡 Kendall 的, 他的經驗以及對各投手的熟悉度, 我比較相信他的配球, 雖然說他的打擊真的很糟糕.) 接著 Buck double, Stewart single, Swisher double, Cust sac-fly, Chavy double, Ellis single, DJ single, Scutaro pop-out, Suzuki walk, Buck ground-out. 拿了六分終於結束了二上. 某人說的好, “Isn’t it like the A’s? To use a weeks worth of offense in one game and struggle the rest of the way.” sigh…

氣象預報說將會有雷雨, 很擔心到手的這九分就這樣飛掉 (若在五局完成前因天候得暫停的話, 似乎就算 rain out, 比賽會重新開始.) 還好提心吊膽地撐到五下結束, 9-2 A’s. 直到七局下半 11-5 才 rain delay. 最後 13-7 A’s, 結束了可怕的 road trip 5 連敗.

明天請 June Blanton 也加油. Offense 也要給點面子啊! Go A’s.

The “MAN” in capital letters. Jack Cust! 5RBI

/20070627 20:26/

Game 4
My bad. I was too excited that the losing streak has finally ended and forgot that there’s one more game left in this series. Today, Kendall and Crosby are back to the starting line-up: Stewart, Kotsay, Swisher, Cust, Chavez, Ellis, Johnson, Crosby, Kendall. Joe Blanton starting pitch. (I want Travis Buck!)

Simply put, A’s is not hitting, AGAIN. The last two innings were really nerve wrecking. It was not another 10-1 hopeless game, if that meant A’s is improving on this horrifying road trip. However, the lack of arms in the bull pen is really giving A’s a hard time. I just hope that even though we lost again today, we’re still heading a right direction and do something good in New York in the next few days.

[updated]
Oh, by the way, even though A’s lost 3-4, still there are some actions worth mentioning. Aside from DJ’s 4-4, there was a smoking play by my twin bro (not that we look anything alike) Nick Swisher (but we both talk a lot which is a fact.) According to the radio broadcaster, he made a impossible diving catch to save A’s from being tied (even though the next pitch to Jason Michaels made it seem a bit pointless.) People on Athletics Nation groaned about not being able to see the spectacular play because of, darn, work, and I’m so glad that they did put it on MLB.TV. Great job, Swish! =D

okay, I lied. 其實我手邊還有另一張 FM 的專輯.

[Time] 發行於 1995 年, 算是 Fleetwood Mac 歷史中比較特殊的一張專輯, 它是自 1975 年 Stevie Nicks 與 Lindsey Buckingham 加入之後, 唯一一張兩人沒有列為團員的專輯.

我在前一篇文章提過, Fleetwood Mac 成團四十年以來, 只有 Mick Fleetwood 與 John McVie 兩人一直在團員名單上面. 然而他們兩人一個是鼓手一個是貝斯手, 一向不是 Fleetwood Mac 的創作中心. 從創團初期的 Peter Green 到 Christine McVie, Bob Welch, 直到後來幾乎定義了 Fleetwood Mac 全盛時期的 Lindsey Buckingham 與 Stevie Nicks. 就像是不同的音樂靈魂在不同的時期選擇附身 Fleetwood Mac 這副軀體.

[Time] 由 Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Christine McVie, Billy Burnette, Dave Mason 以及 Bekka Bramlett 聯手錄製, 風格較偏向藍調. 完全不及之前的成功. 錄製完畢之後, Christine McVie 宣佈退出 Fleetwood Mac, 而 Billy Burnette 與 Bekka Bramlett 也一起離開朝鄉村路線發展.

也許這張專輯算是 Fleetwood Mac 一路走來的異類, 沒有亮眼的成績也不是大眾認定的組合. 然而單獨拿出來聽, 不加上 Fleetwood Mac 的歷史包袱, [Time]其實很好聽. Bekka Bramlett 的嗓音很舒服, 恰到好處的清新, 不會太過甜膩或太輕飄, 又不至於太粗獷老練. 即使沒有令人特別驚豔的歌, 也不會讓人忍不住想快轉跳過, 有時候, 這樣就夠了, 不是嗎? :)

美洲盃開打 (好像一陣子了)

一個多月沒看足球, 冷下來很多, 尤其現在是我討厭的轉會期.
所以我的心思全部灌注到了 A’s 身上.

七月中 Chelsea 就要來了, 我還是趕快找回對足球的熱情吧!
才不會到現場才開始興奮, 但該作的事前準備都沒做, 那可是會很傷心的
(這種事我幹過好幾次, 通常都是演唱會.)
正好灣區的西班牙語電視台都會轉播 Copa America, 這就來看吧!
明天是我第二喜歡的國家對 Argentina v Estados Unidos
可是… 可是明天說好要去看電影了 orz

remember this?
It’s the cover of Nirvana’s studio album Nevermind

and This is what he looks like now.

那天心情不好加上很想隨時隨地就可以拿起 Moneyball 看, 於是在 Amazon 訂了

書:
Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis
CD:
Spring Awakening (2006 OBC)
I Am Shelby Lynne by Shelby Lynne
What’s Mine Is Yours by Eliot Morris

昨天收到 McSweeny 的信說 Hornby 的兩本書已經寄出了, 剛剛 Amazon 也告訴我 Moneyball, Spring Awakening 與 Shelby Lynne 也在路上. Amazon 通常都從 Richmond 出貨, 後天應該就能拿到, 真開心! 剛好我最近有點沒書看. 哀豔是童年有點難讀下去, Songbook 需要比較安靜的環境, 溫柔的刀看完了, 張靄珠老師(忘記有沒有修過她的課)的小說也看完了, 不太想打開 The Time Traveler’s Wife, 這本應該要一口氣看完, 但是 Moneyball 入手後我會想看那本. 書快快寄來吧!
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7/14 (sat) Palo Alto (Stanford) Chelsea FC v Club America
7/17 (tue) SF (Bottom of the Hills) No Use For A Name
7/29 (sun) Mountain View (Shoreline) Projekt Revolution Tour
8/05 (sun) Alameda (Altarena Playhouse) Oh! My Godmother!
8/25-26 Camping
8/28 (tue) SF (Orpheum) Avenue Q
9/18 (tue) SF (Orpheum) Mamma Mia

這種時候記事本非常重要! 我上次就差點在同一天 book 兩個活動 XD

Autour de Lucie 第三次上標題.

今天在整理我的音樂, 又把 Autour de Lucie 拿出來聽, Valérie Leulliot 的嗓音實在很棒. 想把他們的專輯也都收一收, 有時候就是會很需要外語歌, 像是早期的 Keren Ann, Nena, Silbermond 以及超甜美的 Annett Louisan, 但這些人的 CD 都超難入手的. Hope of the States 的 Left 也是 /_\

然後我發現之前不小心把 Lisa Ekdahl 放到 Gothic 去了 (還是因為要找 Faith & Disease 才看到的) 真是對不住啊~

After all these years, the song still gives me thrills. Marvelous video.

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終於把一副秋天樣子的theme 換掉了 (其實只是換配色跟header image啦!)
對配色很沒概念, 只能一次再一次的 trial and error 的我, 這真的是很大的工程.

太刺眼再跟我抗議吧~

在圖書館隨手帶了 Fleetwood Mac 回家, 當天就在 The Perks of Being a Wallflower 裡面讀到 Charlie 錄的 mix tape 裡面選了他們的歌. 如果能夠的話, 我也想多編一點, 比如說隔天我又在電視上聽到 Eric 跟 Steve 討論 Fleetwood Mac, 我實在喜歡這種暗示命定的巧合. 不過很無奈的, 我跟 Fleetwood Mac 的交集就只有圖書館與壁花而已, 直到我將這張專輯放進 CD player… Continue Reading »

(Our quest for Surf’s Up still awaits…)

Evan Almighty (2007) B
Evan was not as “lucky” as Bruce. He wasn’t given supernatural, God-like power but an impossible and bizarre task – Genesis 6:14 Make thee an ark of gopher wood. It seems that a few words were omitted in the title of the film; it should be Evan and the Almighty.

The part I love the most is when Morgan Freeman told Lorelai Joan, “When people pray for patience? Does God give them patience? No, He gives them the opportunity to be patient.”

And also at the end, Morgan Freeman told Evan, “It’s time to do the dance.” And they danced freely like children under the big tree on the prairie. It reminded me of what pastor Dale said last week. To invite God to join whenever and whatever you’re doing. Imagine if you ask Him to join you on a motorcycle ride, wind blowing through your hair and his, having a good time together. He enjoys doing things with you, even if it’s not “work”, not “good deeds”, not “spiritual”.

Other than those, I love seeing all kinds of animals. It’s such a treat. The ending was pretty fun to watch, too.

如龐然大物，排山倒海而來

Nancy Drew (2007) B+

didn’t let us down. Classy looks rule!!! the story was pretty okay too!

Josh Flitter, the kid, was awesome! But I do hope he’ll lose some weight in the future. (cos chun said “is he gonna be another Jack Black?”) Don’t get me wrong, I like Jack Black. But I do hope the kid become something other than just another fat comedian. He’s way too talented. (Not that I think Jack Black is only a fat comedian and not talented.)

and it’s so nice to see Rachael Leigh Cook (She’s All That) again.

Oh, and watched Ordinary Decent Criminal during the week.

Ordinary Decent Criminal (2007) B

Gotta love Kevin Spacey.

and I like Linda Fiorentino; she has a mysterious charm.

and I like how detective Noel was like a worthy rival.

Game 1.
那個… 106.9 的主播是支持哪隊的呀… 怎麼 Swisher 盜壘失敗他那麼 high /_\
(106.9 明明就是 your Oakland A’s radio………………….)

What… what a disaster. I’m falling asleep.
原來, the worst is yet to come…
不知道 Harden 今天到底會不會上, 好想回家睡覺啊

Rich Harden 投了局好球, 但仍是無力回天.
9-1 Mets

Game 2.
死守到第九局 0-0, 最後最後最後在九局下半被拿下一分. 可憐的 Joe 胖, 我知道你投得很好…
1-0 Mets

跟 Angels 越拉越遠了啦! 然後又被 Mariners 迎頭趕上… \ _ /

明天 Kennedy 萬事拜託了!

<- 新歡

我平常不太聽 Good Charlotte 的, 即使是在兩年前極愛 punk rock 時他們也沒有成功在我心裡佔下一些地位. 不提前三張專輯聽起來究竟如何 (我一點印象也沒有), 這張 Good Morning Revival 實在蠻對我胃口的. pop punk 就該像這樣, 聽起來非常有生命力又舒服.