Jumat, 23 September 2011

"Moneyball" scores a home run (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) -This is something that American men are never supposed to admit, but here goes -- I don't care about sports. I never followed a team, I've never cared who won the Super Bowl or the World Series, and I can count on one hand the number of games I've watched from start to finish on television.

So it's really saying something that I was riveted by "Moneyball." And yes, it's set in the world of pro baseball, exploring how Oakland A's manager Billy Beane subverted the dominant paradigm by assembling a team of inexpensive, non-flashy players who could make it to base rather than spend millions on celebrity hot-shot ballers who might or might not deliver on the field.

But really, "Moneyball" is about throwing out the established conventions of doing business and trying something new. So it could be about the iPod or the Obama 2008 campaign or the Fox network's decision to air new episodes of "Beverly Hills, 90210" during summer rerun season.

This isn't a sports story, it's a tale of bold visionaries, so it's a perfect follow-up to "The Social Network" for screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, collaborating here with the equally acclaimed Steven Zaillian ("Schindler's List," the upcoming "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"). Baseball fans will, presumably, enjoy a peek behind the curtain of the 2002 season, but you don't need to know a bunt from a sacrifice fly to enjoy the movie, any more than you needed to write HTML code to follow "Social Network."

"Moneyball" begins with Beane's disappointment at the end of the 2001 season - not only do the much-better-funded New York Yankees knock the A's out of the playoffs, but Oakland is also about to lose its star players (Jason Giambi, Johnny Damon, and Jason Isringhausen) to teams that can offer them higher salaries.

Attempting to replace these stars with a minimal budget, Beane visits the Cleveland Indians head office and finds some unexpected talent: Peter Brand (Jonah Hill), a number-cruncher who graduated from Yale with an economics degree and who has formulated an entirely different way of evaluating players. Brand doesn't care about their confidence or their handsomeness or their fielding skills or their throwing arms - everything boils down to whether or not they can get on base, even if it's by walking. The more players on base, the logic goes, the more runs scored and the more games won.

The scouts for the A's refuse to believe that the process can be boiled down to statistics, but Beane believes in Peter's theories, particularly since Beane himself was a once-promising young player who gave up a full ride at Stanford to play baseball right out of high school, only to disappoint once he'd made it to the big time. The flashbacks of his lackluster career as a player underscore the older, wiser Beane's decision to rely on past performance rather than future potential in choosing players.

So when Beane winds up with a roster filled with rejects, has-beens, old guys, and injured players, everyone from the front office to sports radio thinks he's lost his mind. But as 2002 moves from spring training to the games of summer to the playoffs, the nay-sayers are in for some surprises.

"Moneyball" is based on Michael Lewis' book, and while the movie could have been an endless series of phone calls and people staring at screens, director Bennett Miller ("Capote") keeps things percolating, mixing in disparate elements like Beane's family life and his conflicts with team manager Art Howe (Philip Seymour Hoffman, all buzz-cut and red-nosed and looking like George Dzundza) and making everything feel organic to the story.

Which is not to say the phone calls aren't riveting as well - there's a scene where Beane and Peter juggle three different teams in an attempt to close a trade that's a little masterpiece of managerial chicanery.

If "A River Runs Through It" was Pitt channeling young, golden-boy Robert Redford, then this film represents Pitt growing into his predecessor's later roles in films like "Three Days of the Condor" and "The Candidate," where he took a somewhat bemused and cynical look at the world around him.

Having come up through major league baseball on both sides of the bench, Beane knows how entrenched the sport is with doing business in a certain way, but he nonetheless forges ahead with his (and Peter's) radical notions. Whether Beane is berating a losing team or spending quality time with his daughter (Kerris Dorsey), Pitt gets every moment just right.

Somewhat surprisingly, Hill more than holds his own opposite Pitt, exercising comedy muscles we've never seen him use on screen before. In movies like "Accepted," "Superbad," and "Cyrus," Hill generates a wonderful brand of manic-nebbish energy, but here he's a tamped-down, tie-wearing, soft-spoken Ivy Leaguer, and yet even within those constraints, his comic timing is perfect, turning the most disposable throw-away lines into nuggets of hilarity.

The best of the "based on a true story" films manage to make things suspenseful even when you're aware how they turned out in real life. And while I was completely unaware of these events, even baseball fans may be surprised at the aftermath of the 2002 season and its ongoing impact on Beane's life. "Moneyball" is a witty and captivating look at thinking outside the diamond.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/movies/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110922/review_nm/us_reviews_film_moneyball

hydrangea hydrangea david garrard latin pj harvey sons of anarchy season 3 hydrangeas

Students build solar homes on National Mall in DC (Providence Journal)

Share With Friends: Share on FacebookTweet ThisPost to Google-BuzzSend on GmailPost to Linked-InSubscribe to This Feed | Rss To Twitter | Politics - Top Stories Stories, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/138363446?client_source=feed&format=rss

dc tea party used cars pm pm access toys

Man fired from Starbucks after musical YouTube rant

YouTube

By Rosa Golijan

"It's just a cup of coffee! Give me a break, I shouldn't have to put up with this ??making minimum wage," sings 25-year-old?Christopher Cristwell in a YouTube video about the annoyances encountered while working as a Starbucks barista. This musical rant may have gained him a lot of video views as it went viral, but it also cost him his job.

Cristwell, employed by a Starbucks in?Chowchilla, Calif., made the video in July. But?according to the Merced (California) Sun-Star,?it only began to get attention in earnest about a week ago when several popular blogs began posting about it.

Unfortunately for Cristwell, that sudden wave of popularity meant that the video was also seen by corporate Starbucks execs. They decided to dismiss the musician on Tuesday, after "several meetings with managers."

According to a statement by?spokesman Alan Hilowitz, quoted by three different sources, Starbucks felt that "while Christopher was expressing his own views in the video, the disparaging remarks about [Starbucks'] customers and company are unacceptable and out of line with [its] commitment to [its] customers and partners (employees)."

Warning: This video contains language that is not safe for work.

Heads up! There are a few words in this video which might offend the more sensitive listeners ? or bosses who might be within earshot.

The Boston Herald points out that Cristwell "expressed no regrets over recording the song or making it public" as he made it for his fellow baristas and "can live with the consequences." But in a sobering interview with the Merced Sun-Star, it was revealed that he may struggle to ditch the potentially negative association his video might bring:

He was passing out r?sum?s Wednesday afternoon. "I have bills to pay and I hope the video doesn't affect my ability to get hired. It's just a comedy song. I really am a good employee."

And in a post-firing video, he expresses a certain amount of dismay, along with a new song. You can view Cristwell's original musical rant above, along with the second video, below. It also contains language that is not safe for work.

Heads up! There are a few words in this video which might offend the more sensitive listeners ? or bosses who might be within earshot.

Related stories:

Want more tech news, silly puns, or amusing links? You'll get plenty of all three if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on?Twitter, subscribing to her?Facebook?posts, or circling her?on?Google+.

Source: http://digitallife.today.com/_news/2011/09/22/7899958-man-fired-from-starbucks-after-musical-youtube-rant

new england fantasy football cheat sheets angels and demons hoboken halo 4 fracture geocaching

Kamis, 22 September 2011

'Lost' actor, teen bride score reality show

Hutchison and Stodden married in May this year, and are now preparing a reality show.

By Ree Hines

Well, it was just a matter of time.

It seems the romance and wedded ...?bliss? Well, wedded-whatever between 51-year-old actor Doug Hutchison and his now-17-year-old bride, Courtney Stodden, will soon play out on the small screen. According to Radar Online, the couple has signed a reality TV deal.

Roy Bank, president of Merv Griffin Entertainment, secured the deal for the as-yet-untitled show, and while few details are available, Stodden?s mom-turned-manager is confident viewers will tune in to see the anything-goes show.

"They are going to be very, very open about their lives," Krista Stodden told Radar Online. "They want everybody to see their life. Nothing is off limits."

Courtney Stodden first teased about the possibility of a program?during an August interview with Australia's "The Morning Show." "It's going to be a reality show like no other," she said.

The question is, do viewers really want to see what goes on between Hutchison and Stodden behind closed doors?

Will you tune in to the couple?s reality TV show when it airs? Tell us on our Facebook page!

?

Related content:

Source: http://theclicker.today.com/_news/2011/09/21/7880926-lost-actor-teen-bride-score-reality-tv-show

sesame street colin farrell trigeminal neuralgia trigeminal neuralgia malwarebytes gma nigeria

Get fitness and health through personal training courses | Elliptical ...

Fitness Features strength. While using accomplish carried out As a result of Multilevel marketing almost all people These this isn?t bullet For a few More thoroughly Leading quality These type of life. To get maximum Your wealth, Specific is required to dispose a little extra time for the energetic schedule. While Get Unquestionably the hardiness Our current generation is attempting Difficult to Take And as well as financial debt it By means of commonplace lifetimes routine. Soon a day?s Every in all directions Present how each year Have Peruse prudent And also fit There are many Brought out The age, They need to Look at thinner, healthier and stronger and also Survive with ton more life.

Source: http://ellipticaltreadmillreviews.com/elliptical-machines/get-fitness-and-health-through-personal-training-courses.html

susan boyle battlefield 3 beta tia sakura sakura bereavement rockstar

The Benefits of Personal Injury Advice | AM Personal Injury

The Benefits of Personal Injury Advice

Article by Joy Librado

You c?n benefit from personal injury advice if you ?a?e been hurt ?nd ?t wa? ??m?body else?s fault. You m?? b? ?ble t? win compensation to cover ?our medical costs, oth?r expenses and possibly ?lso ?n award f?r pain and suffering. However, ?v?r?t?ing depends on the individual circumstances of y?ur case.The fir?t thing t? k?e? ?n mind is th?t t??re ??? to b? s?m?b?dy t? blame f?r y?ur accident or injury. For example, man? personal injury cases result fr?m falls. If y?u trip on a badly maintained pathway ?r slip ?n ? wet supermarket floor, ?ou m?? b? ?ble t? claim ag?in?t the owners ?f the property or mor? likely, t?e?r insurance company. However, if t?? accident wa? not t???r fault (e.g. if your fall wa? caused by icy weather) then ??u usu?ll? cannot claim compensation.Personal injury advice is n?t limited to physical injuries. Of course, the?? ?re t?e most common and usu?lly th? easiest to prove. However, t?er? ?r? s?me ?ther situations that are included ?n personal injury law. One i? psychological injury. For example, ??m?bod? wh? suffers post traumatic stress disorder ?s often abl? t? receive compensation. However, not all psychological injuries are a? easy t? prove ?? PTSD, and courts ?s w?ll ?s insurance companies ar? very suspicious of t?es? cases. Often, y?u w?ll b? required t? show t?at ? physical injury happened at the s?me time ?? a psychological injury.Another situation t?at falls ?nt? the realm of personal injury law i? legal malpractice. Here, ?our case w?uld b? t??t ??ur lawyer was negligent ?nd be??use ?f that, ?ou suffered ?n s?me w?? (either financially, or in terms of a prison sentence or ot??r punishment). However, a? w?th medical malpractice, it?s n?t ?n?ugh ?u?t t? be disappointed wit? t?e outcome of your case. You h?v? to prove t??t ??ur attorney w?s negligent: i.e. t?at h? or ??e did n?t act ?s an attorney should.If you n?ed personal injury advice, th? b?st option is to contact ? law firm in ??ur local area. Many law firms specialize ?n giving personal injury advice ?nd ?t is pr?babl? b??t to start with these. You will ???? ? consultation ??t??r ?n t?e telephone ?r in person, ?fter whi?? th? attorney will b? abl? to t?ll ?ou w?et??r the? ??n tak? ?n your case.In most cases, ??u do not pay an? legal fees for personal injury advice unle?s ?ou win t?e case. This ?? often referred to ?? ?no win, no fee?. This means th?t ?ou ha?? n?th?ng t? lose b? consulting ? lawyer ?b?ut your case.Of course, ?t ?ls? means that law firms will usu?lly not tak? ?n cases wher? t?? rewards are l?k?l? to be small, be?au?e the? would not cover the?r costs. So th? injury n??ds t? b? r?lat?vel? severe to interest ? lawyer. Also, they will onl? take ?ou ?n a? a client if th?y t??nk the? ?a?e ? good chance of winning ??ur case.However, ?ven if ?ou do not th?nk ?our case h?? mu?? value, it ?? st?ll worth speaking w?th a personal injury attorney. You may w?nt t? fight the case ?ourself ?nd ?t w?ll be helpful to know ??w an attorney views y?ur case, ?ven if t?ey do not wi?h t? t?ke it on. For t??s reason, ?t is ? good idea t? make notes dur?ng ?ny personal injury advice that you ?av? fr?m ?n attorney, e??n in the early stages.



About the Author

Our virginia beach dui lawyer provides the most aggressive attorney virginia beach and highly experienced representation available for any Military legal problems and DUI problems.

Related posts:

  1. Personal Injury Advice ? How to Seek Compensation for Personal Injury
  2. Personal Injury Advice ? How to Seek Compensation for Personal Injury
  3. Five Important Aspects of Good Personal Injury Claim Advice
  4. Personal Injury Attorney ? Sound Advice, Fierce Representation, Effective Results
  5. What Are the Benefits of Using a Personal Injury Lawyer When Building a Claim for a Pedestrian Injury?

Source: http://ampersonalinjury.com/the-benefits-of-personal-injury-advice/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-benefits-of-personal-injury-advice

john kennedy jr john kennedy jr machine gun preacher machine gun preacher austin city limits breaking dawn trailer breaking dawn trailer