Time After Time (1979)

Yesterday, one of the errands I managed to squeeze in between the raindrops, was my weekly drop off of due materials & pickup of requested items at the local library. One of the items that was on hold for me was a recent DVD re-release of the movie Time After Time. I had seen the movie only once on broadcast television sometime in the early 80’s – CBS I believe – but I couldn’t remember a thing about it. It was, of course, broken up by several commercial breaks over a two hour time span, but I seemed to recall really liking the movie. So when I saw it was listed as part of the library items on order I reacted to this fact from my memory and placed a request for it, looking forward to catching up with it once again.

I just finished watching it and I must say my tastes have changed considerably. The idea of placing H.G. Welles and Jack the Ripper into the same story is a first-rate idea, with plenty of possibilities. There are several story layers here trying to converge into a great film, but it simply just doesn’t work. And the number of plot holes the story introduces are huge enough for a fleet of Peterbilts to drive through. Someone clearly wasn’t paying attention when they wrote it – or has a mild contempt for their target audience.

Storyline: In the early 1890’s H.G. Welles (Malcolm McDowell) is at home entertaining a close knit group of his gentlemen friends, one of which is John Leslie Stevenson (David Warner), who unbeknown to everyone is the infamous Jack The Ripper. Welles takes the group to his basement where he entrusts them with a secret – he has invented a machine which will transport him back & forth in time. Several minutes later, while the group is debating the merits of Welles invention, two inspectors from Scotland Yard pay a visit. They are searching houses for Jack The Ripper who has just claimed another victim. During the search one of the policemen recovers a doctors bag with incriminating evidence. They also discover that the doctor, John Leslie Stevenson, has vanished without a trace. Later that evening Welles realizes that Stevenson has used his time machine invention to escape. Welles uses the same invention to follow his friend into the future where he ‘disappeared’, find him and return him to England to face justice.

For a movie designed as a chase thriller there’s precious little chasing that happens. The opening of the film establishes that Welles and Stevenson are geniuses, yet there’s no witty dialogue or clever & elaborate traps, rescues or escapes. Instead the film wastes far too much time on a clumsy and ‘cute’ romance between Welles and the foreign currency exchange clerk he meets at a local bank, Amy Robbins (Mary Steenburgen). Some of the dialogue for their scenes is excruciating to get through – it’s embarrassingly and badly dated. It was obviously designed to be a comment on the differences between the era of the century of Welles’ existence (late 19th century) and a somewhat concise survey of the (then) present times. It doesn’t play well at all 30 years later.

Another annoyance within the film is the occasional use of novelties which don’t come off good at all. When Welles eats at a local McDonalds he notes with an intense level of amazement that, “fries are pomme frites.” The way this observation is filmed makes him seem more like Forest Gump than the brilliant, creative genius H.G. Welles was. Later, during a dinner conversation with Amy, he tells her the food at the diner is better than the food he had at “that Scottish restaurant, MacDougals.” Painful!

Additionally the plot is constantly creating loopholes that any smart viewer will immediately pick up on. Near the middle of the film Welles & Amy abscond with a newspaper from two days in the future which provides the details of two of Stevenson’s victims. Welles explains to Amy that now that can defeat him because they know when and where he will be. Hey, genius! Why don’t you just return to your own time and…well, I shouldn’t have to explain to you how this bit of logic should be played out.

It’s not a wonder that I found Time After Time forgettable, either then or now. In retrospect it may have played better with commercial breaks as some movies often do. This probably also prevents some viewers from seeing the story’s weaknesses and errors. Still, for a movie about time it did manage to kill it – just not in a good way!

A few reflections on album collecting 30 years ago

Can you remember what your album collection looked like 30 years ago? I was looking through CDs at the used music store last weekend and happened across a CD that had been released thirty years ago in 1979. That was the year I began collecting albums by the truckload – not literally of course, but damn close. As my reflections went further back, I found that I had to really scratch my head and dust the corners of my memory banks to come up with a list of my favorites from that year. I then dutifully went to allmusic.com to confirm the year of release for each of them. I had to eliminate a few because I had the year wrong and I discovered a few others that I had forgotten. Here’s my list…in no particular order save for number one which was far and away my favorite in ‘79:

1. London Calling - The Clash

2. Unknown Pleasures – Joy Division

3. The B-52s – (self-titled)

4. The Wall – Pink Floyd

5. Armed Forces – Elvis Costello

6. Rust Never Sleeps – Neil Young

7. Look Sharp! – Joe Jackson

8. Fear Of Music - Talking Heads

9. Labour Of Lust – Nick Lowe

10. Regatta De Blanc – The Police

Honorable Mention: One album I didn’t list here but got plenty of play on my turntable back then is the Kinks’ Low Budget. Many people I knew at that time didn’t care for it because of the inclusion of the disco hit ‘(Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman’, but I’ve never been bothered by that – either then or now.

Now, on the surface my list has all the appearance of  a very standard normal collection that any average 20-yr. old white guy would own. But what I’m completely camouflaging from you is that fact that I was one of the idiots that purchased a copy of the breakthrough album of that year by a then unknown musician – the self-titled release by Christopher Cross. I couldn’t possibly stomach a listening of that album now even after all these years. And actually that strikes me as a good name for the album, Hard To Stomach. Anyway, the ladies liked it – a lot – and it was in your best interest to have a copy available in your collection.

I’d like to hear any thoughts from others on what your tastes were like back then. Please leave your comments.

Predictions

Well, certainly enough of the season has been played for me to make some reasonably good guesses as to who will be the award winners at the end of the year. Here they are:

Cy Young -

AL – Zack Greinke, KC. Although he’s had a few shaky outings the past few weeks he’s still a lock for the award IMHO. Toronto’s Roy Halladay provides stiff competition and Detroit’s Justin Verlander should be considered a dark horse candidate for the award.

NL – Danny Haren, Arizona. Both Tim Lincecum & Matt Cain of San Francisco are making strong cases for the award and it does help that they are playing for a contender while Haren pitches for a team that is able to stay out of the cellar only because they are in the same division as the pathetic San Diego Padres. Still, Haren looks mighty tough and I’ll be surprised if either Giants pitcher stays as strong down the stretch as they each appeared to have reached their peak performance level.

Batting Average -

AL – Ichiro, Seattle. He doesn’t have to play his 1/2 inning of work as a fielder crouched behind the plate and I think that makes a huge difference fatigue wise. If the Twins are completely out of the pennant race by September though I’d expect them to give Jose Morales more time to get comfortable behind the plate and give him more major league ABs which will allow to Mauer get considerable time as the DH. If that happens then I’d have to place all bets on Mauer.

NL – Hanley Ramirez, Florida. He’ll win it walking away.

MVP -

AL – Justin Morneau, Minnesota. He’s putting together another monster year statistically which by all appearances will go to waste. The Twins continue to unravel and lose to teams they should be dominating – that might work against Morneau’s possibility of being named MVP. I’m counting on the voters to not be fickle.

NL – Albert Pujols, St. Louis. Duh.

Rookie of the Year -

AL – I honestly don’t have a clear cut favorite here. If the Yankees continue to dominate down the stretch – and they show few signs of weakening – then centerfielder Brett Gardner stands a chance at winning the honors. He isn’t putting up any truly noteworthy numbers as a hitter by any means, but his play has helped the team fill a serious need.

NL – Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh. The kid is having a truly great season at the plate for rookie. He deserves all the press he’s been getting.

Paging Johan Santana!

I’ve never missed Johan Santana more than I do right now following the Twins weekend thumping by the Angels. Los Angeles pounded out 52 hits & 35 runs in three games – one of those contests went 11 innings. The Twins starting rotation is in a shambles right now. This is the same young group of pitchers that far exceeded any expectations and brought them to within one game of the playoffs last season. Slow starts by both Francisco Liriano & Scott Baker, who emerged – surprisingly – as the ace of the staff last year, have now taken their toll. Kevin Slowey was 10 – 4 before season-ending surgery and Nick Blackburn, who carried the rotation for months with several strong performances, has gotten shelled in his last three starts; Glen Perkins hasn’t been the same since returning from the DL and I don’t expect him to rebound either. Additionally, continual early exits by those starters have overworked the Twins relievers and has exposed a lack of depth in the bullpen.

Why GM Bill Smith didn’t work out a trade for a middle inning reliever (which we desperately need) or a veteran starter to take the burden off the young Twins pitchers is beyond me. Yes, the middle infield was a weak spot both on the field and (most especially) in the batting order, but what we needed – and still don’t have – are the two pitchers they are lacking to stay competitive in the AL Central. Instead they settled for Orlando Cabrera, a solid veteran shortstop, who is swinging a hot bat currently and will undoubtedly help with run production. But that doesn’t take the pressure off the starting rotation or add depth to the bullpen. And Cabrera is here only until the end of the season as I don’t foresee the Twins tendering him a contract.

Both the Tigers and White Sox added a quality starter to their rotation at the trade deadline which makes the Twins lack of doing so even more frustrating to fans. Chicago worked out a trade for San Diego’s Jake Peavy that the Twins could have easily matched; Detroit swapped two minor league pitchers to net Seattle’s Jarrod Washburn who is having a terrific year. Peavy is currently on the DL and it’s still not known how soon he’ll be available to pitch or even how well he can at that time. The White Sox may have pulled the trigger on a deal that might come back to bite them and knock them out of playoff contention. They surrendered young starter Clayton Richard who was their fifth man in the rotation so this leaves them with finding a substitute for the duration of Peavy’s stay on the DL – or possibly the remainder of the season. Detroit on the other hand really strengthened their chances of winning the AL Central by acquiring Washburn.

Smith’s inability to come through with a much-needed trade to bolster the team has left Minnesota in a real bind. For the Twins to stay in contention and avoid wasting the usual exceptional contributions from Justin Morneau & Joe Nathan, the monstrous year that Joe Mauer is putting together and Jason Kubel’s breakout season, the rotation will now have to find some way to tap into mental toughness to go with those fastballs, knuckleballs, sinkers and sliders as the pennant race gets hot. If you’re looking for Twins rookie Anthony Swarzak to take the heat off don’t forget to factor in all those minor league innings he pitched before coming up to the club. Right now it doesn’t look good for the Twins – but there’s always the chance of an injury to a key player on a contender that could be the turning point that catapults them into first.

Twins Trivia Question – 8/2/09

Q: Which Twins player recorded the first official hit in the Metrodome during regular season play?

As usual leave your answer in the comments section and I’ll email you to let you know whether you’re correct or not.

7 Lists Of 7

7 reasons the Twins can’t win the AL Central in ‘09

1. Giving too many at-bats to inferior hitters. Nick Punto, Delmon Young, Alexia Casilla, Matt Tolbert, Brian Buscher and Carlos Gomez all fall into this category.

2. Sticking with Francisco Liriano as a starter. Despite his 102 strikeouts I would have traded him for a few viable MLB pitching prospects.

3. Lack of consistent middle inning relief. Luis Ayala, Sean Henn, Philip Humber and Juan Murillo were all underwhelming; Jesse Crain & R.A. Dickey continue to falter.

4. Lack of versatility in the batting lineup. Without Denard Span the team has no true leadoff hitter; Brendan Harris & Gomez are a ‘poor man’s substitute’.

5. Jason Kubel & Michael Cuddyer. They waffle too often in the clutch when it really matters – and it’s become quite wearisome.

6. Lack of bench depth. If the M & M boys were injured and we used their replacements…it was problematic enough having to play without Span!

7. Twins management. GM Bill Smith has been abysmal. It’s time to admit the Matt Garza/Jason Bartlett trade for Young/Harris was (and is) a flop. Paging Terry Ryan!

7 Yahoo! Fantasy Baseball players that have disappointed me the most

1. Jimmy Rollins, SS, Phillies. Easily the biggest failure my fantasy teams have suffered. Can he recover to finish strong? The critics say so…but I’m still waiting!

2. Geovany Soto, C, Cubs. Simply awful. Victimized by the infamous ’sophomore slump’ perhaps? Currently on the DL.

3. Brad Lidge, RP, Phillies. Yes, it’s known he was playing through pain & discomfort yet he still appears sketchy in closing situations.

4. Armando Galarraga, SP, Tigers. Stricken by the ’sophomore slump’…so close to a permanent move to ‘Dropsville’.

5. Edinson Volquez, SP, Reds. Season-ending elbow surgery makes this move moot. Major cause of concern: he was the number 1 starter on every pitching staff I drafted.

6. Scott Kazmir, SP, Rays. He sucked from Day 1 and then just got worse. He’s performed considerably better since returning from the DL though.

7. Manny Ramirez, OF, Dodgers. Statistically he’s a monster but the 50-game ban for steroid use, well…Manny, I probably lost the championship because of that.

7 people I’d never give a talk show to

1. Joe Buck (way too obnoxious)

2. Joe Buck (swaggering arrogance is offensive)

3. Joe Buck (too disingenuous – even for a talk-show host!)

4. Tim McCarver (sickeningly self-aggrandizing)

5. Tim McCarver (much too overbearing)

6. Tim McCarver (he’s simply not funny)

7. TIE – Joe Buck & Tim McCarver (please fill this space with your own comments)

7 places I most often get lunch at during work

1. Subway

2. Jimmy John’s

3. China Max

4. Taco John’s

5. Arby’s

6. Wendy’s

7. Zantigo

7 Best Bob Dylan albums

1. Blonde On Blonde

2. Highway 61 Revisited

3. Bringing It All Back Home

4. Blood On The Tracks

5. Infidels

6. Desire

7. The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan

7 favorite books of poetry in my library

1. What Matters Most Is How Well You Walk Through The Fire by Charles Bukowski

2. The Spell Of The Yukon by Robert Service

3. Passing Through by Stanley Kunitz

4. The Sanity Of Earth And Grass by Robert Winner

5. The Lady In Kicking Horse Reservoir by Richard Hugo

6. A New Path To The Waterfall by Raymond Carver

7. The Panther And The Lash by Langston Hughes

7 favorite Star Trek episodes (the original series)

1. The City On The Edge Of Forever

2. Balance Of Terror

3. The Squire Of Gothos

4. The Enterprise Incident

5. Shore Leave

6. A Piece Of The Action

7. Spectre Of The Gun

Twins Trivia Question – 3/1/2009

Q: Who was the first Twins player ever to hit four extra-base hits in a single game?

As usual leave your answer in the comments section and I’ll email you to let you know whether you’re correct or not.

Twins & Crede agree on 1 yr. deal

Well, it happened anyway. The Minnesota Twins and free agent third baseman Joe Crede struck an agreement for one year that will net Crede $2.5 million and possibly as much as $7 million in incentives. I realize I’m in a very small majority of Twins fans when I say I really don’t like this deal that much. I think the Twins were already fine with a platoon of Brian Buscher and Brendon Harris at 3B and the addition of Crede very likely means that Buscher will remain at Rochester when spring training ends – delaying his development as a major leaguer yet one more (unnecessary) year.

With lefties Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau and Jason Kubel in the middle of the lineup, the Twins have been trying to find a right-handed hitter with power since losing Torii Hunter in free agency. Before the start of last season they traded prized pitching prospect Matt Garza to Tampa Bay as part of a package for outfielder Delmon Young who hit just 10 homers in his first season in Minnesota. And while that was a disappointment I fully expect that Young will rebound with a 20 plus homer season for the Twins in 2009 – provided he is the team’s starting leftfielder. Young has wrongly – and quite callously – become a focal point for the Twins failure to succeed and many out there in Twinsland were very vehement about a trade of Young for a third baseman. That would have been sheer stupidity as Young will most definitely become a dynamic offensive weapon and for the first time in many, many seasons the team has multiple capable major league ready outfielders that provide a solid & very deep bench. Besides, the lack of home run production didn’t hurt the team in 2008 – after all they finished third in the AL with 829 runs scored.

The Twins front office, as well as manager Ron Gardenhire, were enthusiastic supporters of this signing, touting his power-hitting numbers and Gold Glove winning defense. Crede did get off to a great start in 2008 hitting 16 home runs and making the All Star game – but he managed just one homer after the All Star break and played sparingly in the second half because of recurring back trouble. He worked out for MLB scouts during an early winter session and Minnesota attempted to negotiate a contract then with no luck. Reportedly Crede’s agent, Scott Boras, wanted a $7 million per year contract and the Twins found that entirely too much – and they should have! Boras also stated (multiple times in fact) over the winter and even into the beginning of spring training that San Francisco was ‘a strong suitor’ for Crede also. I don’t think this was ever the case but rather just a negotiating chip Boras was using to try to get leverage. Why else would Crede have agreed to just $2.5 million and have the rest placed in incentives? Because nobody else was trying to sign him that’s why!

Crede will have an impact on the Twins batting lineup no doubt and his contributions should give the team a few extra wins in 2009. We’ll have to wait and see if his power effect & Gold Glove defense are with us for all of 2009 or discover that playing on the artificial turf of the Metrodome is bad for his back. 

Twins Trivia Question – 2/22/09

Q: What Twins pitcher holds the team record for most consecutive complete games pitched?

As usual leave your answer in the comments section and I’ll email you to let you know whether you’re correct or not.

Twins off-season moves not dazzling but assured

It’s unbelievable to realize how many Twins fans are whining about the front office lack of activity during the off-season. No…check that. It’s actually not the lack of activity that has fans worked up but more of a demand to sign a marquee free agent to supplement the club. Why? I’m not sure at all.  How quickly so many forget that the Twins extended the regular season by one game – losing a winner-take-all showdown with Chicago for the AL Central crown. The Twins were a very young club entering into 2008 and were not expected to be competitors but proved to be vastly different than those early perceptions. There’s no reason to believe that will be any less competitive going into 2009 – in fact I honestly believe they have improved with the few additions they made (minus the R.A. Dickey signing). First I want to address those whiners who are complaining – and quite vociferously – that we resigned Nick Punto to be our everyday shortstop and are entering into the season with a platoon of Brian Buscher and Brendan Harris at third base. Bear in mind that when the Twins won the World Series in 1991 they did it with a platoon of journeyman Mike Pagliarulo  and rookie Scott Leius at 3B.

I don’t understand what all the urgency is behind some fans clamoring for the Twins to sign former White Sox 3B Joe Crede. This one boggles my mind and I have just one thing to say about it – ENOUGH ABOUT CREDE!!! Let’s look at a few stats OK? Crede has been an active MLB player for nine seasons now. He had a career year in 2006 hitting 30 homers, driving in 94 RBIs and posting a .283 BA. Previous to that he had just 1 year where he drove in 75 RBI. Yes, that’s right – just 1 year. His best OBP was .323 (that’s less than one-third of his plate appearances!) and in four full seasons only once has he hit over .261 and his career BA is .257. As stated he hit 30 HRs once and has 22 & 21 in two other seasons, 19 and fewer in all other seasons. In terms of the MLB definition of a 3B he is a below average hitter. Period. His last two years combined he had 502 ABs posting a .237 BA, a .412 slugging %, his OPS was a lousy 649…in other words very Puntoesque. Also, he’s been sidelined repeatedly with back pains for most of the last two years and his defense has become marginal at best. And he’s asking for a 40% increase in base pay? Is it any wonder nobody else has signed him??? For all of you crying we need Crede you are simply not looking at the facts. Give your collective heads a shake to clear the cobwebs. Punto brings well above average defense and is capable of producing as good or better BA, OBP and maybe even OPS numbers than that over a full season. And I have no doubts that Buscher and Harris can combine to produce the kind of run production we need from the third base position.

Relief pitcher Luis Ayala is the other recent signing that has caused some others to hang their heads. Again why? I’m very happy with the acquisition of Ayala who I believe will develop into the setup man the team needs. The Twins pitching coaches have a great track record of getting pitchers back on track and I just don’t see Ayala as either erratic or in decline. Sure, he’s had consecutive bad seasons but he’s coming to us at the right price and after playing for a perennial loser for 4 1/2 seasons (Nationals) he’ll be revived and I predict we will see the Ayala of 2004-2005 & 2007. Instead of the Ayala signing many Twins fans preference was for a Juan Cruz signing. Cruz, recently of the Angels, is a solid reliever and I agree he would have been a great pickup for the team. But as a Type A free agent the Twins would have lost their 2009 first round draft pick to the Angels and it just isn’t worth that cost. Now, before any of you assume that first round draft picks don’t matter here’s a recent sampling of current & former Twins who were drafted in the first round:

1997 – Michael Cuddyer; 2001 – Joe Mauer; 2002 – Denard Span; 2004 – Glen Perkins; 2005 – Matt Garza. Not bad at all…