Author Archives: Dazzling Erin

Guess Who Beat Cleveland Last Night?

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

Last night, the Rangers beat the Guardians 6-3 and, dare I say it, they’re finally starting to look like a playoff team to me!

Again, I’m trying not to jinx them by getting too excited.  Whenever I get too excited or too confident, it seems like they always end hitting a bad streak.  I am trying to trick the Baseball Gods into thinking that I’m “Comfortably Blasé,” as my sister puts it.  But it’s not easy to stay calm when your team has a good night!

I love this.  I my Rangers.  I love America.  And I love the great American pastime.

GO RANGERS!

(By the way, in the video below, ignore the annoucners when they try to dismiss the American League.  Everyone knows that baseball media is biased in favor of the National League.)

I watched In My Dreams (2014, Dir. by Kenny Leon)

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

Natalie Russo (Katharine McPhee) and Nick Smith (Mike Vogel) are two singles who are both unlucky in love.  Natalie manages her family’s Italian restaurant, where opera is constantly playing.  Nick is an architecht whose mother (JoBeth Williams) keeps setting him up on dates.  They both toss a penny in the magical Hayward Fountain and wish for a chance to find their one true love.  Despite having never met, they start dreaming about each other.  Even though Natalie is being pursued by a volatile chef (Antonio Cupo) and Nick’s mom has set him up with another woman (Chiara Zanni), Natalie and Nick fall for each other.

That’s romantic, right?  The problem is that the fountain has some dumb rules. Once you toss your penny and start dreaming, you only have seven days to find your perfect mate or you’ll lose them.  That seems pretty mean-spirited to me.  To quote Sigourney Weaver:

This is a Hallmark film so you never doubt that Nick and Natalie will find each other.   I did get frustrated because it seemed like they should have spent more time in their dreams disccussing where to meet up and maybe exchanging numbers,  But I guess that’s not the way the magic works.  Still, it’s a sweet movie.  Katharine McPhee is really pretty and Mike Vogel is really handsome.  They probably would have fallen in love eventually even without the fountain.

I enjoyed In My Dreams.  After watching that Steve Guttenberg soccer movie, this daffy but nice romantic comedy was just what I needed.

 

So, I Watched Home Team (1998, Dir. by Allan A. Goldstein)

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

I asked Tubi for a soccer movie and this is what I got.

Steve Guttenberg plays Henry Butler, an American soccer player whose love of gambling gets him arrested.  He’s given a year’s probation and ordered to work as a handyman at a “boys’ home” that is managed by Karen (Sophie Lorain).  Karen wants the boys to start playing soccer so that they can feel good about themselves and Henry just happens to know something about that.  The team might not be any good but Henry teaches them to believe in themselves and Henry finally stop loathing himself.  Then the boys’ home burns down but luckily, Henry and the cook (Michel Perron) make enough money at the horse races to build a new one.  Sometimes, gambling is good!

This sucked.  All of the boys were obnoxious and Steve Guttenberg spent the whole movie talking extremely fast and jumping up and down.  A typical recurring joke was that the flatulent goalie’s shorts kept falling down.  One of the boys was played by Christian Slater’s younger brother but he didn’t sound like Jack Nicholson so who cares?  There’s a whole other subplot about Karen blackmailing the local funeral home into sponsoring the kids so that they can goet uniforms.  Karen and Henry fell in love but I didn’t.  Even the soccer games were boring.

This movie had a kick, straight to the head.  It didn’t have the fighting spirit of the best baseball movies.

 

Get Ready For The 4th With These American Paintings!

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

by Tom Cannady

We are just a few days away from the 4th of July and the 250th birthday of America.  Here to help you get in the mood are a few paintings that capture America and Americans at different times over the past 250 years.

by Mort Kunstler

by Tom Lovell

by Graig Kreindler

by Gil Cohen

by Gil Cohen

by Tom Cannady

by Graig Kriendler

by Tom Cannady

by Graig Kriendler

by Gil Elvgren

by Max Ginsburg

by Max Ginsburg

by Tom Lovell

Artist Unknown

by Alan Bean

by Alan Bean

by Juan Valesquez

The Rangers Are 42-42!

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

I’ve been trying not to write too much about the Rangers because I’m worried that I might jinx them.  It seems like every time that I get excited and start posting about them, they hit a rough streak.  So, I have been keeping quiet and not getting ahead of myself.  The Rangers have broken my heart a few times this season but they’ve made me cheer too.

I’m cheering right now.

Finally, we’re in first.  Our record isn’t great.  42-42.  .500.  But the last few games have got me excited.  We just swept the Blue Jays.  That’s a big deal for a Rangers fan.  The Rangers and the Blue Jays don’t exactly have the best histroy.

Even though Jose Bautista is no longer playing and Rougned Odor is no longer a Ranger, it’s impossible for me not to think of this wonderful moment whenever the Rangers play the Blue Jays.

The All-Star Game will take place on July 14th.  It’s always pointless to speculate too much about the playoffs until after the All-Star Game.  The Rangers are starting a series against the Guardians later today and who knows how that will go.  (The Guardians helped the Rangers move into first place by defeating the Mariners.  Thank you, Cleveland!)  But right now, I’m feeling good.

I love baseball.

Go Rangers!