Rambles

 Well, my intent to try to post daily was a good one, but not entirely sustainable.  Because even in December, things get busy.  

And I'm forgetful.

And sometimes there are things on TV that are fun to watch.

And sometimes there are things to go do.

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My buddy Micah and I wandered out to a Mexican joint we frequent for their Trivia Night.  We usually do well.  And we like the fact that we can beat the team with eight to twelve members....the rest of the room usually likes that, too, as they tend to be the Big Dog in the Room for that particular branch of pub trivia.

Last night's game took a weird turn, as it became an unannounced Christmas Movie Trivia game.

At first, Micah and I felt comfortable.

It was soon apparent that our confidence was misplaced.

It would seem that I need to revisit a couple of the classics:  Miracle on 34th Street, which I didn't care for the last time I watched it decades ago, and White Christmas.  (We performed admirably enough on It's a Wonderful Life).

It was the more recent faire that we struggled with, to be honest.  I have never seen a Santa Clause movie.  And I know that I've seen Polar Express, but I retained zero from it, it would seem, and this despite it being my mother's favorite Christmas movie.  This became troublesome because the night contained no less than 3 different questions about plot points.  Just as a hint, at no point is a 24pack of Busch Light a plot point in Polar Express.

We managed a 4th place finish despite being a distant 7th at half time.  So, we were pleased, even if our Xennial proclivities seemed to limit our Christmas Movie knowledge to A Christmas Story, Christmas Vacation, Die Hard and Elf.

I would like it noted for the record that there were no questions about Gremlins, which is as much a Christmas movie as Die Hard.

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I've seen it noted in a meme that the one bit of Christmas merchandising that is missing is a dark green Gremlin with glowing red eyes that you can hide in the middle of your Christmas tree.  I need somebody to get on this, in addition to the Kiss Kiss Bang Bang commemorative ornaments mentioned in a previous post.

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Thursday, the trailer for James Gunn's Superman movie drops, and I'm gonna be honest, I'm kinda stoked for it.

I'm rooting for it.  There is part of me that very much wants somebody who cares and understands what Superman stands for to knock it out of the park.  

Too much of that film legacy got mucked up rolling around in the mud with Zack Snyder.

I'll also say that I recently started the Superman & Lois show, since it's in its final season, and I'm kinda digging it, too.

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A couple of Cubs trades to speak on:

I'm really stoked about Kyle Tucker coming over from the Astros.  That's the middle of the order bat they've needed since 2021.  That's the middle of the order bat they hoped Cody Bellinger might be.  I'm just hoping this isn't a one-year rental.  I'm not real sad to see Isaac Parades go, and I'm happy Hayden Wesneski will be in a position to get some regular starts, something he wasn't going to get in Chicago.  I'm nervous about giving up Cam Smith.  I was excited to get to watch him play in local Double A ball this year, so it kinda sucks that he's moving on....but I also had a feeling he wasn't going to stay in Knoxville long.  I thought that there was an outside chance you saw him playing in Chicago in late 2025, especially if no real answer showed up at third base.  

That all said....Cam Smith is a heavy price to pay if Tucker only sticks around for one year.

And I'm not real confident that the Ricketts family will go all in on Tucker when he starts looking for 25 or 30 or more million dollars a year.  The Ricketts are perfectly happy fielding a just over .500 team so long as the Polyanna Crowd keeps visiting the Friendly Confines.

The rest of us, who visit the Friendly Confines once a decade or so, could give a shit about the amusement park atmosphere.  

Build me a winner I can watch on TeeVee.

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I haven't been to Chicago in more than a decade.  

There's something called SporcleCon in Chicago this year.  It's a Trivia Con.  I'm interested.  The Cubs are in town that same weekend.  I wonder if I can swing in financially......