By Steve Rhodes
1. A song:
Go, Rays, Go!
Go, Rays, Go!
Tampa Bay, whaddya say
The Rays are gonna win today!
2. “Cub Fans Erect Shrine To Futility.”
3. “After a chilly afternoon in which neither the bounces, the breaks nor the outcome went their way in a 5-3 loss, the Rays talked a lot about how difficult the conditions were and how dangerous the Sox are,” the St. Petersburg Times reports.
“And though they are still ahead two games to one in the best-of-five Division Series, it’s not nearly as clear who has the advantage going into today’s Game 4.”
4. “Zero. That is the number of times the Dodgers had used their division-series-winning lineup before the division series,” Bill Plaschke writes in the Los Angeles Times. “The eight position players who took the field for the opening game against the Chicago Cubs had never before started a game together. Never.”
5. “It has been a long time since I enjoyed 60 minutes of Bear football more than Sunday’s dismantling of the Lions,” our very own Jim Coffman writes in SportsMonday. “Most importantly, thanks ever so much to Lovie and the guys for quickly changing the subject after the Cubs debacle. The only bright side after the North Siders succumbed so incredibly meekly was that at least they got off the stage before kickoff Sunday.”
6. What are the chances that 137 people were wrong and Streets and San was right?
7. Do you really want a state’s attorney who doesn’t know who Stephanie Izard is?
8. With this article in hand, Sun-Times staffers are rushing into editor-in-chief Michael Cooke’s office and coming out with raises. Ahem.
9. Gleaned from Lynn Sweet’s column about Tuesday’s presidential debate:
* John McCain is apparently working with the debate coach from Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University.
* Apparently no follow-up questions. So unchallenged lying will be at a premium.
Remember, as Sweet’s column somewhat shows, these debates are highly coordinated affairs between the parties designed to protect the candidates, not serve the public. Might be better if an organization like the League of Women Voters organized the debates and set the rules – and the candidates could show up and play by them or stay home.
10. U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. says he reversed his vote in favor of the bailout because Barack Obama promised to be an aggressive regulator should he win the White House. And if not, well, too bad.
11. It’s reminiscent of one of Obama’s excuses for folding on FISA – that we should take comfort that he’d be the one snooping should he win the presidency. And if not, well, too bad.
12. This is irrelevant now, but still worthy of comment:
“Speaking of the two-inning moratorium [on Wrigleyville alcohol sales], county commissioner Mike Quigley said, ‘Who wants to be obliterated when you have a chance to see history?'”
Welcome to Earth, Mike. Let me explain a few things to you.
13. “According to an eye-opening report released Tuesday, 60 million people whom you would never talk to, would never be in a position to talk to, and wouldn’t even be able to talk to if you tried will be voting for the other candidate in this year’s presidential election, and there is nothing you can do about it,” the Onion reports.
14. “The third reported big walleye in the last year was caught in downtown Chicago,” Dale Bowman reports. “Within a few years, the IDNR might not have a choice but to acknowledge a growing number of walleyes off Chicago.”
Beware the walleye transfer tax.
15. Once again, we are blessed to have our very own indomitable Marilyn Ferdinand covering the 2008 Chicago International Film Festival, running October 16-29. I’ll provide blurbs and links here to Ferdy on Films, etc., where you can follow all the films and events. Let’s get started.
*
Let The Right One In is an unconventional vampire film and an even more unconventional love story from Sweden and opens Ferdy’s pre-festival coverage.
Ferdy writes:
“Oskar lives with his divorced mother, pines for his father who lives a good distance away, and goes to a school where his intelligence, shyness, and status as a child of divorce makes him an object of torment for bullies. Eli, a vampire who looks like a ’12 year old, more or less’ girl never really had a chance to live as a human. A real love grows between them as the town where they live is gripped in terror by a series of horrifying murders. This is no trite or gimmicky love story, however. A more emotionally rich, honest, and harrowing film – properly wrapped in the conventions and graphic horrors of vampire tales – you’re not likely to see for some time.”
Here is the trailer:
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The Beachwood Tip Line: Like a ray of sunshine.
Posted on October 6, 2008