Monthly Archives: November 2017
Posting Up Against Giants
Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, and Steven Spielberg walk into a newsroom…
Journalism, not the shouting on cable news, is invaluable in a democracy. More specifically, the gritty, old-school reporting approach with pen marks galore, endless stacks of paper and the pursuit of revealing the greater truth to an “off-limits” story instead of merely getting there/yelling something inflammatory first is increasingly becoming a relic of the past.
And it’s in this pre-digital past that Steven Spielberg ventured into for a modern-day reflection. Plus, Mr. Spielberg was able to bring Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep together for the first time for a major motion picture.
Steven Spielberg’s forthcoming film The Post isn’t necessarily aiming to revitalize print journalism as much as it seems to be directed towards reigniting the spark of a thoughtful, determined American media.
Considering the times we live, in which news in the political, sports and entertainment spheres are indistinguishably blurred together and run and broadcasted by powerful insiders (former athletes, political operatives, and commentators on both sides, etc.), the question that lingers is, “Who can those on the outside trust?”
It is likely that The Post won’t comprehensively answer this critical question, but this film will transport audiences back to a time when there was information you knew and information you didn’t know. “Metrics” and “analytics” hadn’t yet become fancy synonyms for information. Journalists took a breath, focused and refocused a few times, went to work all day and night while framing a report in a context that far exceeded the words and margins of the said story.
Even when the story was (like in this film) larger-than-life and full of high-level risks and stakes for a nation asking important high-level questions.
The leaking of the Pentagon Papers had its fair share of controversy. It will be interesting to see how the legendary director chose to tell and frame historically significant events involving real people. Nonetheless, the Pentagon Papers and the Washington Post have received the top-shelf Spielbergian treatment in The Post that stars Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep set for theatrical release this Christmas.
And then set for ordering on Amazon several months later.
Jerry Being Seinfeld
Kesha = That lingering Monday feeling.
Jerry Seinfeld = All of us.
The quintessential Jerry Seinfeld moment seen above from this past summer confirmed everything we thought (and frankly hoped) the legendary comedian would be like in real life. The title of Jerry’s amazing 2017 Netflix comedy special is Jerry Before Seinfeld, chronicling the stand-ups early days. In Huggate, it’s simply Jerry acting like his character in Seinfeld. In many ways, Seinfeld acts the way we want to in countless social situations. He does and says what he thinks and wants to without worry, which is an incredible skill, believe it or not. Importantly, we should be occasionally reminded to break unwritten social norms.
‘Tis the benefit of being a professional comedian, possessing the strength to reject the absurd, including the stranger hug.
And that’s not nothing folks.
Happy Monday
Winston Churchill’s resolute strength + Hans Zimmer’s emotional instrumental inspired by Christopher Nolan’s dramatic storytelling of Dunkirk =
Wise people say that history repeats itself. That’s certainly an eternal truth. However, what these wise people don’t specify is the manner in which this repeating occurs. Therefore, in whatever fashion this epic musical and oratorical collaboration inspire you, let it. And then do something positive to change yourself and the world around you in a profound manner.
Bravery and sacrifice never get old.
Have a Better Week Than Last Week.
We Saw You, Precourt. Did You See (& Hear) ALL of Us?
“C-R-E-double U” — the rest of this chant may have partly contributed to the long face seen below as it’s a safe bet that Anthony Precourt heard the personalized chants with his name from Crew fans on Halloween loud and clear.
(Columbus Crew owner Anthony Precourt overwhelmed with joy watching his club lead NYCFC 2-nil in the playoffs at home in Columbus)
Unbelievably, the unbridled deception of scumbag Columbus Crew owner Anthony Precourt has yet another chapter to report. And the word of the day is:
Attendance.
Here’s former Crew forward Dante Washington via Twitter last night regarding the Columbus Crew vs. NYCFC playoff game a few days ago on Halloween.
I’m still having a tough time processing announced attendance of 14.5K. I’ve played in that stadium enough and there were more than that.
–Dante Washington, former Crew forward
Speaking as someone who was also at this game and has been a spectator for countless games at Crew Stadium for 18 years, the 14,500 figure has to be wrong. There’s no way that Crew Stadium was nearly 30% empty. Impossible. If you follow the conversation via Dante’s original Twitter post above, you’ll see that Twitter users posted pictures of long, long lines of fans waiting to get into the game as the first goal was scored just minutes into the match. You’ll also read Twitter user Brett Stewart’s comment:
Apparently, the official count happens at kickoff. Never heard that being the criteria before. Tons of us (you included) still in line at KO.
–Brett Stewart
The second word of the day is:
Sabotage.
Again, the 14,500 figure from the electric atmosphere for the Columbus Crew vs. NYCFC game earlier this week has to be wrong. Just another lie from scumbag Anthony Precourt. But recall that snake in the grass Precourt has cited unsatisfactory attendance numbers throughout his tenure as one of the key metrics for moving stealing the Crew and transplanting the team to Austin, Texas in 2019. So, how likely is it that Precourt and Co. fixed the attendance number by holding fans up at the gates, unable to get inside by kickoff, in order to report as low as an attendance number as possible? Remember that, according to Precourt, an attendance of around 14,500 reveals a failing MLS club.
Hint: The answer, sadly, is highly likely.
According to a Nov. 2nd story from FOX 7 reporter Ashley Paredez in Austin titled “MLS2ATX event regarding Columbus Crew,” Precourt Sports Ventures (PSV) President Dave Greely said the proposed stadium in Austin will be built with a 20,000 seat capacity.
Yes, you read that correctly.
Presume the Crew moves to Austin and after a few home games, or seasons, the third MLS club in Texas isn’t winning every game and/or at the top of the table with 3-4 goals scored every game with world-class talent and tactics. Attendance will, most likely, take a natural dip. And when this drop happens, the attendance for Austin would likely hover around the “supposedly” and completely unacceptable number of 14,000-15,000 fans per game. But wait, scumbag Precourt and his Precourt Sports Ventures goons have made it clear to Columbus that 14,000-15,000 fans/game (or even a minuscule 20,000 capacity stadium, like Crew Stadium) reveal a failing club and disinterested fanbase? Hmmm…
You can’t make this up. But you can lie about it, which is PSV’s credo.
FYI – Middle of the table Girona defeated global powerhouse Real Madrid (yes, that Real Madrid) in a La Liga match last Sunday 2-1 in front of, wait for it…12,743! Girona’s team quality and really low attendance when hosting one of the top football clubs in the world appear sustainable for competing in the far superior and competitive La Liga and against monetary and talent-rich goliath Real Madrid. There are countless variables that affect attendance, as well as countless variables that can act to suppress attendance, like in the completely random scenario of an owner wanting to sabotage the team’s home city in the Midwest throughout a four-year period by actively plotting to move the said club to a new city in Texas through deception, purposefully bad business deals, backdoor meetings and a refusal to address any of this lying in public.
Ladies and gentlemen, the supposed lack of attendance and lack of broad community support whining from PSV is deceitful garbage and complete nonsense coming from sleazy people who know nothing about the sport of soccer.
The fix against the Columbus Crew has been in since scumbag Anthony Precourt bought the Crew in 2013 and scumbag MLS Commissioner Don Garber acted in concert with and supported the clear deception to destroy and erase the Crew’s storied history, legacy and importance in U.S. soccer through repeated acts of purposeful incompetence and fraud.
Thankfully, the honorable fix (ie-solution) to keep the Crew in Columbus is ever-evolving by the day. This daily support for the Crew in Columbus and around the country, if measured by an attendance metric, would be immeasurable because it’s off the charts.
There’s no gate or presumed deceitful tactic that can contain or suppress the #SaveTheCrew movement.
The Columbus Crew will play the offensively potent NYCFC at Yankee Stadium (that beloved soccer-specific stadium) in the second leg of the Eastern Conference Semifinal with a 4-1 aggregate advantage this Sunday at 5 p.m. on ESPN.
Let’s Go Crew!
Jimmy's Daily Planet 