Dunn Goes to Hollywood

I cringe every time Adam Dunn, the White Sox strike out king, comes to the plate.  Dunn, with the big contract and the puny performance record, is the one guy on the team  I really love to hate. So, I'm going to surprise myself today, cut him some slack, and actually admire him.

I learned that Dunn agreed to invest in the movie "The Dallas Buyers Club." I had heard that this story of a courageous early-on crusader for people afflicted with aids had kicked around Hollywood for years trying to find funding.  When it finally got made, with help from people like Dunn, it earned rave reviews and is up for an Academy Award.

So Adam Dunn is going to be in the Oscar audience Sunday night where he has no chance of striking out because the film is already a winner.

And yes, I'll start hating him again the first time he whiffs with men on base and walks back to the dugout bat in hand.

Oscar Night

This year I'm going to be in Los Angeles for the Academy Awards broadcast.  If Bill is not at the theater in the audience, I'll get to watch it with him at home.  What fun!  I have not seen all of the films, deliberately passing up "Twelve Years a Slave" and not getting around to watching "Dallas Buyers Club."  One of the perks of having an Academy member in the house is that Bill has DVDs of all of the nominated films.

There's so much buzz right now about Woody Allen the man that Woody Allen the creative artist is getting lost.  Whatever you think of Woody, I don't think you'll dispute that bad men can make great art.  And, if you want to boycott his movies, essays and comments to the press, that's fine.  But, I believe the work of art, once accomplished, stands on its own.  If it's good, it's good.  Maybe notorious in the eyes of some, but still good. Woody has made some great films.
I hope the controversy won't hurt Cate Blanchette's chances of winning for best actress because she was marvelous.  But, if Judy Dench wins for whatever reason, I won't be disappointed.

My two favorite films were "Gravity" and "Her."  One is on a unversal scale and one a private scale, but both deal with man's encounter with technology.  Both films gave me lots to think about as the "crazy caroussel" spins faster and faster, just like Jacques Brel said it does.