Movies of 2019

Like most people these days, I’m watching more movies at home on Netflix and fewer of them on the big screen in cinemas. That’s not entirely by choice, but because most cinemas aren’t programming movies for people like me - cinephiles over 50 without children. If theater managers reserved at least one screen for something more interesting than the latest Disney or Marvel feature, I’d be more likely to trek out more often. Regardless, here are the movies that caught my eye most this year:

1. Where’d You Go, Bernadette? - I was delighted to see Richard Linklater’s latest masterpiece receiving a well-deserved wide release along with critical acclaim this past summer. And no wonder - it’s a real knockout, featuring intriguing performances from Cate Blanchett, Billy Crudup and Kristen Wiig. It takes a while to get going - at the beginning of the movie, it’s difficult sympathizing with Blanchett’s character and her extremely privileged Seattle family. But then we learn about her past as an architect and become absorbed in the complex narrative. By the time the movie switched to Antartica, we’re thoroughly engrossed.

2. Stan and Ollie - I grew up laughing along with the hi-jinks of Laurel and Hardy around a black and white tv set. So, it was a delight to see this loving look at the classic comedy duo’s later years, with Steve Coogan and John C. Reilly perfect in the roles. Of course they did an amazing job with set-pieces such as the Hospital Sketch but what endures is the love and friendship between the two men.

3. The Goldfinch - I’m always worried when I see that someone has adapted one of my favorite books. I needn’t have worried, though, as Joe Crowley’s adaptation of Donna Tartt’s third novel is masterful, with some wise casting couches (e.g., Jeffrey Wright as “Hobie”) and some superlative acting performances from the kids. In the end, Tartt's winding and nuanced story is the star - just as it should be.

4. Us - In the space of a couple of years, Jordan Peele has gone from a one part of a duo on Comedy Central to one of the country’s most important filmmakers. The iconic imagery in Us, nominally a horror movie about a family of doppelgangers, shows that Peele a true student of film.

5. When They See Us - Ava DuVernay’s three-part Netflix film about the Central Park jogger case couldn't be more relevant in the Trump era, given that Trump himself took out a full-page ad in the New York Times urging the death penalty for the teenagers who were later exonerated by DNA evidence, but also, and more importantly, because the racial injustice at the heart of the justice system is part of parcel of the struggle today.

6. The Last Black Man in San Francisco - Joe Talbot’s surrealistic view of contemporary San Francisco is the kind of movie that seems like a miracle in this age of reboot dreck. In it, Jimmie, a young African American man obsesses over a beautiful Victorian home that he believes was built by his grandfather. When it becomes abandoned, he takes the opportunity to move in while he refurbishes it.

7. Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood - I haven't had so much fun in a Quentin Tarantino movie since “Jackie Brown” some 20 years ago. Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt have a blast playing an aging actor known for his Western roles and his longtime and loyal stunt double. Tarantino obviously relishes painting the backdrop leading up to the notorious Manson Family murders in vivid and lurid detail.

8. Yesterday - Danny Boyle’s fantasy about a world without the Beatles is the movie that most made me smile this year. Part of its charm is its East Anglian seaside setting in Lowestoft where a young, failing musician rediscovers his career after a cosmic blip removes all memory of the Fab Four. He begins spinning out Lennon and McCartney tunes to an astonished audience that comes to include ginger phenom Ed Sheeran who does a great job playing himself. The best comment I saw about the film was from Macca himself who when interviewed on Colbert simply said, “Well, it’s very flattering, isn't it?

9. Echo in the Canyon - Andrew Slater’s loving look at the early 70s Laurel Canyon music scene in LA was my favorite music documentary of a year full of great music docs. The music created by the likes of Joni Mitchell, Crosby, Stills, and Nash and Neil Young and many, many others still resonates in the work of many contemporary singer-songwriters today.

10. Joker - Anyone who pays attention to my movie rants knows that I am certainly no fan of Marvel comic book movies and generally agreed with Martin Scorcese’s critique this year. But “Joker,” with its incendiary performance by Joaquin Phoenix, mined emotional territory in the origin story of the Batman foe, that most comic book movies haven’t dared to attempt.

Notable Others:

* Above Us Only Sky

* Cold Pursuit

* The Dirt

* Hustlers

* Rolling Thunder: Martin Scorcese Presents

* Teen Spirit

I’d love to hear what you were watching this year.

The Last Matches of 2019!

Morning, chaps! I'm here to enjoy the last matches of 2019 this morning. It all starts at 9am EST with a London Derby between Arsenal v. Chelsea. At 10am, the Championship matches, including Birmingham v. my beloved Leeds United, kick off. The presumptive title winners, Liverpool kick off at 11:30am. Then finally, Citeh take on Sheffield Utd at 1pm.

I'll be around for as much of it as I can get away with today. Join me?

The Nocito LOB Reunion at Old Trafford

I'm taking the liberty of reposting here a fabulous picture of the three Nocito members of the LOB family, The Saint, UWS and Red Dragon. I'm only imagining how much fun they had while those four goals were flying in at Old Trafford against Newcastle yesterday. Well done, lads - have fun!

Boxing Day Footer!

Jingle bells, ManYoo smells, Chelsea ran away. Oh what fun it is to see Leeds win on Boxing Day-ay!

A very good Boxing Day to all of you out there in LOB-land. We have a long, long festive day of the good stuff today. I'm in Richmond visiting my in-laws and am going to try to steal away from the festivities long enough to watch at least this early one between Spurs and Brighton. That's followed by the 10am EST kick-offs including Chelsea v. Southampton on NBC Sports. I'll be waiting patiently all day for my Leeds boys who are home to PNE today in a crucial promotion fixture on ESPN+. If you still need more, there's the small matter of first v. second - Liverpool v. Leicester at 3pm. Wow!

Music of 2019

In 2019, I’m still looking for new music in the same way that I have done for decades - through music criticism, through NPR radio shows, through word of mouth, and through my brother and fellow music lover Steve. That may sound anachronistic, and it is, but I just can’t get exicited about streaming musical content. I still prefer to have control and ownership of my music and I still consume my music largely through whole albums as music statements. Long may people still release them; these were the ones that captivated me this year:

1. Jessica Pratt - “Quiet Signs:” LA based singer-songwriter Jessica Pratt made my favorite record this year, an album that I came back to again and again, as a soothing balm in a nerve-jangling year. The moment that the flute comes in on “Fare Thee Well” was my musical moment of the year.

2. Anderson .Paak - “Ventura:” I discovered Anderson, who I had slept on for several years, largely because I had dismissed him because of the silly punctuation in his name, in 2019. He’s making the music that Stevie Wonder would be if he could be bothered, a sunny, warm r 'n' b sound that pulls from disparate sources.

3. The Highwomen - “The Highwomen:” How can you go wrong with a country supergroup featuring the immense collective talents of Brandi Carlisle, Maren Morris, Amanda Shires and Natalie Hemby? The title track, a rewrite of the Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson classic, was a call to action, but it was “If She Ever Leaves Me" that cut the deepest for me.

4. Tegan and Sara - “Hey, I’m Just Like You:” Canadian sisters Tegan and Sara reached back into their high school journals to churn out the best set of new wave tunes not made in 1985.

5. Vampire Weekend - “Father of the Bride:” Vampire Weekend are now basically Ezra Koenig and whoever he wants to work with (which probably means he’s, um, difficult to work with). No matter - Koenig is still making some of the smartest pop music around.

6. Lizzo - "Cuz I Love You:” Lizzo’s second album was a collection of singles stitched together rather than a true album statement; but, what bangers those were! “Juice” was the undeniable song of the summer 2019, a completely irresistible blast of feel-good pop.

7. Mercury Rev - “The Delta Sweete Revisited:” Jonathan Donahue, the leader of Buffalo’s own Mercury Rev, decided to return to a favorite album, 60s country maven Bobbie Gentry and cover it in full. The project is elevated by the presence of the some of the finest female vocal talent in the country, including Norah Jones, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucinda Williams.

8. Rickie Lee Jones - “Kicks:” Twenty years ago, Rickie recorded a collection of jazz standards called “Pop” that is still a favorite of mine. Her 2019 covers album “Kicks” has a more acoustic folk, Laurel Canyon feel to it, with songs such from the likes of Steve Miller, Bad Company and America, including the sublime version of “Lonely People.”

9. Post Malone - “Hollywood’s Bleeding:” The biggest surprise of 2019 for me. One night after class, I was complaining about the state of hip hop and a student recommended “Sunflower,” the summer hit off this LP. Almost immediately, that sing-songy hook had wormed its way into my brain. A hint for my peers: don’t ever look at a picture of Post Malone - just drop the needle on the record and let the music speak for itself. You might be surprised.

10. James Blake - “Assume Form:” Another lovely slab of bedroom memo dubstep from a master of the form and frequent collaborator (e.g., Beyonce, Bon Iver).

Notable Others:

* Flying Lotus - “Flamagra”

* Brittany Howard - “Jaime”

* Chrissie Hynde - “Bone Valve Woe”

* Jenny Lewis - “On the Line”

* The National - “I Am Easy to Find”

* Sharon van Etten - “Remind Me Tomorrow:”

Disappointment:

Norah Jones - “Begin Again:” Ever since winning an armful of Grammys for her debut “Come Away With Me,” Jones has struggled to find her way. She clearly doesn’t just want to repeat that successful blend of Texas swing-infected country and jazz but her forays into punk and indie rock have left her core audience, including me, cold. This EP-length record was neither here nor there.

I’d love to hear what you’ve been listening to this year.

Premiership Plus Predictions Game - Week 17 Update

Greetings from snowy Fredonia! It's time to take stock of our PPP standings for this week. Not a lot of changes this week. Liverpool continue their march to the inevitable title grab this season. Spurs have replaced United in the European slots; most of us picked both sides in the top six, so little change there. The bottom three remain the same this week.

Sadly, my beloved Leeds dropped to second after that spectacular collapse against Cardiff on Saturday. WBA are on top, Leeds are second and the gap with the rest of the pack is still fairly big, so there's that at least.

In Europe, Barca and Inter remain on top in La Liga and Serie A. Our resident Leipzig fan, Pink Kits, picks up two points this week as the upstarts are top of the heap in the Bundesliga. Jamie Vardy notched another goal - he's on 17 now; and KDB got his tenth assist in a quite scintillating performance on Sunday.

So here's where we are as we enter the busy holiday period:

1. MOT the Hoople - 37 points
2. Blue Devil - 31 pts
-   West Ham Rising - 31 pts
4. Swansong - 30 pts
5. Someone Said - 29 pts
6. Pink Kits - 25 pts
7. Yellows - 19 pts
8. Man Utd Rules - 16 pts
9. United We Stand - 15 pts
10. The Bee's Knees - 14 pts
11. Red Devil 1FCK - 13 pts
-   What's Up Wheaton Simon - 13 pts
13. Red Dragon - 11 pts
14. The Saint - 10 pts
15. Gooner71 - 9 pts

Happy Birthday, MUR!

Many happy returns to MUR as he celebrates his birthday today. Enjoy the day, young man!

Books of 2019

It's that time of the year again, LOBers! Every year in December we take stock of the cultural artifacts that have sustained us over the past year, something that I'd dare say is even more important in the Trump Era. We need reasons to be cheerful and here are some of them. 

1. Coleson Whitehead - The Nickel Boys: Whitehead’s last novel, the award-winning The Underground Railroad, reimagined the history of the freedom struggle. If anything, The Nickel Boys, Whitehead’s latest,hits even harder, forcing all of us to take a good look at ourselves and our educational institutions. Its portrayal at a recently-shuttered reform school in Florida is devastating, especially for those of us who have taught in Florida.

2. Chuck Klosterman - Raised in Captivity: Over the years, Klosterman has become one of my favorite essayists. He no longer writes exclusively about music (and sometimes doesn’t write about music at all) but, like Nick Hornby, his prose shines so bright that loyal readers like me are willing to go along for the ride for his tangents. In his latest book of short stories, he covers a myriad subjects but the connective fiber is unusual relationships between unusual people. My favorite story, which made me laugh out loud, features a weird high school football coach who insists on running the exact play over and over again.

3. Patricia Leavy - Spark: Sociologist Patricia Leavy wrote the most surprising novel of the year. In Spark, Leavy invents a mysterious conference set in Iceland that draws talented academics and artists from around the globe. The unspooling story has a lot to tell academics and those outside academia about the ways in which we can all work together collegially and collaboratively in order to better our world.

4. Nate Chinen - Playing Changes: Critics have been predicting the “death of jazz” for longer than I’ve been listening to the music. Yet, in this provocative survey, Chinen predicts great things for the future of the art form, largely by cross-pollinating with other forms. Jazz may never again be considered truly popular music - it’s been consigned to a position of art music played in conservatories and concert halls for decades - but Chinen is optimistic as he looks forward.

5. Richard Russo - Chances Are….: A new Richard Russo novel is always a welcome thing. In his latest, Russo places a group of aging college friends on a weekend trip to Martha’s Vineyard, where they reminisce about their glory days in the early 70s and try to uncover the mystery of a friend who disappeared forty-five years before.

6. Tim Alberta - American Carnage: In the Trump era, pundits have been scratching their heads about how a draft-dodging, areligious billionaire playboy suddenly captured the populist energy of the country and the Republican Party with it. Politico correspondent Tim Alberta provides some of the answers in this searching survey of conservative politics over the past 30 years.

7. Garth Cartwright - Going for a Song: Having spent an inordinate amount of time in my youth combing through the racks of used record stores, I thoroughly enjoyed this exhaustive study of the record store business in the UK. I especially enjoyed the section on East Anglia and my record store chain Andy’s Records. Cartwright’s words brought back a million sense memories of those lost days.

8. Dan Camilli -Reeya’s Earth Day: My student teaching mentor from Danvers High School on the north shore of Boston wrote a captivating novel about social justice pedagogy this year. Reading Reeya’s Earth Day, which portrays a day in the life of a group of bright, engaged high school social studies students, brought back many warm memories of those days.

9. Wayne Journell - Unpacking Fake News: In 2016, my Facebook feed was inundated with deliberate misinformation about candidates (#Pizzagate, anyone?). With the 2020 Presidential election looming, it’s imperative that social studies educators find ways to encourage effective media literacy work in our schools. This new compendium edited by Wayne Journell is a critical starting point to that work.

10. Randy Laist and Kip Kline - Cinema U: This year, I was proud to see the publication of a chapter in this wonderful new edited volume on mass media portrayals of college life. Beyond my humble piece, the essays point the way toward a new framework for understanding issues related to the public image of higher education.

Notable Others:

• Jared Diamond - Upheaval

• David Jaffe - Reckless Daughter: A Portrait of Joni Mitchell

• Rebecca Traister - Good and Mad

Disappointment:

• Robert Putnam - Our Kids: Robert Putnam’s Bowling Alone was groundbreaking work on social malaise in 2000, digging deep into the alienation of modern American life. I was thus anxious to read his book on social class and the prospects for American children. Sadly, I found that Putnam has absorbed many of the conservative tropes about working class and poor communities and his pronouncements are the height of cultural insensitivity. What a shame.

I’d love to hear about the books that have kept you up late reading this year. :-)

Snowy Sunday Footer

The weather gods provided us with a fresh blanket of lake-effect snow here in Fred-Town, so I'm settling in for a morning of the good stuff. It all starts with with United v. Everton and Wolves v. Spurs. Then later on we've got a big one - Arsenal v. City. Grab yourself a cuppa and join me.

A Spot of the Good Stuff

I'm up with the chickens as usual, looking forward to a morning of the good stuff. First up today is the presumptive champions Liverpool hosting relegation strugglers Watford. At the 10am hour, we'll be treated to Chelsea v. Bournemouth on NBC Sports. I'll also have my eye on the LUFC text following our home match against Evil Cardiff. That will probably be all that I'm able to manage today, as Kate and I are planning a Christmas shopping trip later on, but there is a late one - Southampton v. West Ham - on NBC.

Join me for all the fun.

Premiership Plus Predictions Game - Week 16 Update

Happy Friday, everyone! I'm here again at the end of another busy week at work and in the football world to update you on our standings before we head into another big weekend. At this point, with only 16 matches in, it appears that Liverpool's lead at the top of the Premier League is unassailable. It's hard to see Liverpool dropping three matches in the second half of the season; it's also hard to imagine Leicester repeating their miracle season.

At the bottom of the Premier League, Norwich and Watford are now in deep, deep trouble, with only the 18th spot seemingly up for grabs between the likes of Southampton, who are currently in that slot, and Everton, Bournemouth, West Ham and Villa.

In the Championship, the top two - my beloved Leeds and West Brom - are similarly starting to pull away from the pack. In Europe, however, it's still fairly tight at the top of the respective leagues, with Barca, Monchengladbach and Inter still at the top.

Jamie Vardy has increased his goal tally to an incredible 16 in 16 matches could easily best 30 goals this season. Kevin de Bruyne and his Citeh pals have been a bit out of sorts recently, but he's still on top of the assist bracket with several players in hot pursuit.

All that means that the four Liverpool backers are in pole position, as they're somewhat guaranteed 10 points in the game at this point. Here are the current standings:

1. MOT the Hoople - 35 points
2. Blue Devil - 33 pts
-  West Ham Rising - 33 pts
4. Swansong - 32 pts
5. Someone Said - 28 pts
6. Pink Kits - 23 pts
7. Yellows - 20 pts
8. United We Stand - 17 pts
-  Red Dragon - 17 pts
10. Man Utd Rules - 16 pts
-  The Saint - 16 pts
12. The Bee's Knees - 15 pts
13. Red Devil 1FCK - 14 pts
14. What's Up Wheaton Simon - 13 pts
15. Gooner71 - 10 pts

A Very Busy Tuesday Evening

As the snow is falling outside my office window, I'm settling in to follow this afternoon's footie action. We've got a full slate of Champions League and Championship fixtures. In the CL, Liverpool are currently leading 0-2 away to Salzburg. At 3pm, Chelski take on Lille.

In the Championship, my eyes will be firmly affixed on Elland Road, where my beloved Leeds United host Hull City on sacred turf. We've won six on the trot now, so I'm hoping for another big win that will take us to the top of the league again.

Come on, you Whites! MOT!

Sunday Football

Sunday's are big day for football these days. Gone are the 3 o'clockers on Saturday as a norm. Yesterday, there were only three! We have four games on the docket today.
Join me for my last appearance on LOB until 202

UWS

Derby Day!

It's Derby Day across The Pond and I couldn't be more excited about it. I'm up early to watch the police-enforced lunch-time kickoff of the Yorkshire Derby between Huddersfield and my beloved Leeds United. The Terriers are languishing in 19th, so we'll need three more big points against them today. After that, we've got the usual 3pm GMT kick-offs, including Bournemouth hosting the champions-elect Liverpool. Finally, at 12:30pm, we've got the Manchester Derby from the Etihad. United are fresh off a big win against their former boss, so they'll be on a high.

You know you'll need to join me today, right?

Premiership Plus Predictions Game - Week 15 Update

Happy Friday, LOBers! It's been a busy week of footer, so I thought I'd wait until this afternoon to update our standings. As we head into the hurly burly of another weekend of the good stuff, Liverpool are still streets ahead of their title rivals. Leicester are improbably in second but eight points ahead. The presumptive favorites for the title, Man City, are now 11 points adrift in third! Chelsea and Wolves make the other European hopefuls. At the bottom, Everton have slipped into the drop zone after their mauling at Anfield in midweek and subsequent sacking of Marco Silva. Watford also sacked their manager, Quique Sanchez Flores, and are on track to break the record of manager sackings in a single season.

At the top of the Championship, WBA and my beloved Leeds are beginning to pull away from the promotion wannabes, most notably Fulham who are in good form. In Europe, Barca and Monchengladbach remain on top of their leagues, while Inter have pipped Juve in Italy.

Jamie Vardy has extended his lead at the top of the scoring charts to 14 goals from 15 now, while KDB is running away with the Assists category.

So, here are the current standings:

1. MOT the Hoople - 32 points
2. Someone Said - 28 pts
3. Swansong - 27 pts
4. West Ham Rising - 26 pts
-   Blue Devil - 26 pts
6. Pink Kits - 21 pts
7. Yellows - 15 pts
8. Man Utd Rules - 14 pts
9. United We Stand - 12 pts
10. The Bee's Knees - 10 pts
-   Red Dragon - 10 pts
-   The Saint - 10 pts
-   What's Up Wheaton Simon - 10 pts
14. Red Devil 1FCK - 9 pts
15. Gooner71 - 5 pts

Midweek Premiership Blowout!

It's a big night of big midweek matches in the Premier League tonight, including the return of Jose Mourinho, the newly minted Spurs manager, to his old stomping grounds at Old Trafford, and a Merseyside Derby. Bloody hell!

Join me if you're watching this afternoon!

FA Cup 3rd Round Draw Live!

The draw for the FA Cup 3rd Round will be held this afternoon. Of course, I'm hoping for a nice home draw against a lower league club for my beloved Leeds United.

Who do the rest of you lot want for your clubs? Join me around 2pm EST for the draw live.

A Busy Premier League Sunday Morning , Some FA Cup Matches and Another One Bites the Dust

It's a busy Sunday Morning and it wouldn't be the Premier League of we didn't have a pair of sackings. We all know that the Gunner's Board was bored with Emery and had him walk the plank on Friday. About an hour ago the Pozzo family sacked Quique Sanchez- Flores after only ten matches in charge.
  Talking about the Gunners, the first match on NBCSN is the Canaries vs Gunners with former Gunners favorite, Freddie Ljunberg in charge as caretaker manager. The late match on NBCSN is United vs Villa and it's a must win match for United. Wolves vs the Evil Blades is the early match on Gold while the Foxes vs the Toffees is the late match on Gold.
   There are ten FA Cup Second matches this morning as well, so join me for all the action on an action packed Sunday morning.