15…

1. El gabinete del doctor Caligari (Robert Wiene, 1920)

Sinopsis: Francis (Friedrich Feher) cuenta a un amigo lo que le pasó hace algún tiempo, cuando una feria ambulante llegó a Holstenwall (Alemania) y, con ella, el Doctor Caligari (Werner Krauss) y su espectáculo del sonámbulo Césare (Conrad Veidt). Curiosamente, nada más llegar la feria, empiezan  a suceder una serie de extraños asesinatos y nadie sabe a quien culpar.

Trastorno: Trastorno de Identidad Disociativo (TID). Es la presencia de dos o más personalidades dentro de la misma persona. El afectado adquiere una personalidad u otra de forma recurrente. Además, no recuerda información personal importante.

2. Psicosis (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960)

Sinopsis: Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) es una secretaria que se ve obligada a huir de la ciudad porque comete un robo. Se detiene para descansar en un motel de carretera, donde la atiende Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins), que lleva el hotel y vive con su madre en la casa de al lado. Más tarde, mientras se da una ducha, Marion es brutalmente asesinada.

Trastorno: trastorno psicótico no especificado. Realmente, el trastorno de Norman Bates no se ha podido especificar aún, pero si hay uno que se le acerca, es este. El trastorno psicótico se caracteriza por ideas delirantes, alucinaciones, comportamiento catatónico durante los episodios y dificultad en el lenguaje.

3. El resplandor (Stanley Kubrick, 1980)

Sinopsis: Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) se traslada con su familia al hotel Overlook, en Colorado, para ocuparse del mantenimiento del mismo durante el invierno, ya que en esta temporada el hotel permanece cerrado. Al principio todo parece tranquilo, pero a medida que pasa el tiempo Jack va desarrollando un comportamiento extraño e inquietante. Además, se suceden algunos hechos paranormales, ya que hace algún tiempo en el hotel hubo un asesinato.

Trastorno: esquizofrenia. La esquizofrenia es una distorsión del pensamiento. Los que la padecen tienen frecuentemente el sentimiento de estar controlados por fuerzas extrañas. Poseen ideas delirantes que pueden ser extravagantes, con alteración de la percepción, afecto anormal sin relación con la situación y autismo entendido como aislamiento.

4. Rain Man (Barry Levinson, 1988)

Sinopsis: Charlie Babbitt (Tom Cruise) es un joven egoísta e inaccesible, que descubre que tiene un hermano autista cuando muere su padre. Al principio, Charlie intentará conseguir la mitad del dinero que su hermano ha heredado (ya que su padre sólo le dejó un coche y sus rosales), pero terminarán conectando.

Trastorno: autismo. Según el Manual Diagnóstico y Estadístico de los Trastornos Mentales (DSM IV), los síntomas del autismo son: alteración cualitativa de la interacción social, incapacidad para desarrollar relaciones con los compañeros, alteración cualitativa de la comunicación, ausencia de juego realista o espontáneo, endurecimiento de un patrón de comportamiento, preocupación absorbente por uno o más patrones estereotipados y adhesión inflexible a rutinas no funcionales.

5. Forrest Gump (Robert Zemeckis, 1994)

Sinopsis: la película narra la vida de Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks), un niño con deficiencia mental. Esto nunca supuso un impedimento en su vida, ya que le llegaron a nombrar héroe de guerra por participar en la Guerra del Vietnam. Además, fue pescador, ganó una fortuna y se hizo famoso por recorrerse los Estados Unidos corriendo. Pero, a pesar de todo, se podría decir que el mayor objetivo de su vida era estar con Jenny, la chica de la que llevaba enamorado desde pequeño.

Trastorno: retraso mental. Funcionamiento intelectual menor que el de la mayoría de la gente. Afecta al 1% de la población y cualquier raza puede padecerlo. Los efectos de esta patología en la vida diaria dependen de la gravedad del retraso. El de Forrest, por ejemplo, era leve.

6. Seven (1995)

Sinopsis: dos detectives (Morgan Freeman y Brad Pitt) se enfrentan a un nuevo caso en el que un asesino se dedica a matar a sus víctimas basándose en los siete pecados capitales.

Trastorno: Psicopatía. El psicópata es aquel que tiene unas necesidades concretas y las resuelve de una forma atípica. Puede ser cualquier persona, ya que el psicópata no siempre actúa de esa manera, sólo se le pude identificar cuando comete un acto psicopático. Las características de un psicópata son: sortear las normas (no todas), encanto superficial, egocentrismo, incapacidad de amar, poca reacción afectiva, vida sexual impersonal, amenaza de suicidio, mentiras, consumo de sustancias nocivas, inteligencia, comportamiento fantasioso, manipulación y no toleran el fracaso.

7. Las dos caras de la verdad (Gregory Hoblit, 1996)

Sinopsis: Martin Vail (Richard Gere) es un ambicioso abogado que defiende a un chico (Edward Norton) acusado de asesinar al arzobispo de Chicago.

Trastorno: Trastorno de Identidad Disociativo (TID). Es la presencia de dos o más personalidades dentro de la misma persona. El afectado adquiere una personalidad u otra de forma recurrente. Además, no recuerda información personal importante.

8. Mejor… Imposible (James L. Brooks 1997)

Sinopsis: Melvin Udall (Jack Nicholson) es un escritor maniático, cascarrabias y desagradable, que un buen día se ve obligado a cuidar del perro de un vecino. El animal hará que Melvin se ablande y se humanice.

Trastorno: Trastorno Obsesivo Compulsivo (TOC). Se caracteriza por presentar obsesiones y compulsiones  que son reconocidas por las personas como excesivas e irracionales provocando un malestar clínicamente significativo e interfiriendo con la rutina del individuo y en sus relaciones (tanto laborales como sociales). Hay poca consciencia del trastorno.

9. Mercury Rising (Al rojo vivo) (Harold Becker, 1998)

Sinopsis: Art Jeffries (Bruce Willis) es un policía al que le asignan el caso de Simon (Miko Hughes), un niño que es autista y cuyos padres han sido asesinados. Simon resulta tener la increíble habilidad de poder descifrar códigos que ningún especialista ha podido descifrar.

Trastorno: autismo. Según el Manual Diagnóstico y Estadístico de los Trastornos Mentales (DSM IV), los síntomas del autismo son: alteración cualitativa de la interacción social, incapacidad para desarrollar relaciones con los compañeros, alteración cualitativa de la comunicación, ausencia de juego realista o espontáneo, endurecimiento de un patrón de comportamiento, preocupación absorbente por uno o más patrones estereotipados y adhesión inflexible a rutinas no funcionales.

10. El club de la lucha (David Fincher, 1999)

Sinopsis: Jack (Edward Norton) lleva una vida aburrida e insulsa. En un viaje en avión conoce a Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt), un vendedor de jabones que representa lo contrario a Jack. Es guapo, carismático y su filosofía se basa en que la autodestrucción es la clave de la vida. Juntos forman un club de lucha secreto que se extiende por todo Estados Unidos.

Trastorno: Trastorno de Identidad Disociativo (TID). Es la presencia de dos o más personalidades dentro de la misma persona. El afectado adquiere una personalidad u otra de forma recurrente. Además, no recuerda información personal importante.

11. Memento (Christopher Nolan, 2000)

Sinopsis: Leonard (Guy Pearce) sufre amnesia desde que, en un robo en su casa, recibió un fuerte golpe en la cabeza. Como consecuencia, pierde su memoria a largo plazo. La noche del robo asesinaron a su mujer y desde entonces el objetivo de Leonard es vengar su muerte. Para recordarlo cada día cubre su cuerpo de tatuajes y deja notas por todos lados.

Trastorno: trastorno amnésico debido a enfermedad médica. Es un deterioro de la memoria por el cual el afectado no es capaz de construir nuevos recuerdos o de recordar lo que le ha ocurrido previamente. En este caso, la amnesia la produce un traumatismo craneoencefálico.

12. Una mente maravillosa (Ron Howard, 2001)

Sinopsis: John Nash (Russel Crowe) es un matemático que al principio de su carrera descubrió una fórmula que revolucionó varios campos de la ciencia. Este descubrimiento catapultó a Nash al éxito y la fama, pero su cerebro le juega malas pasadas, ya que padece esquizofrenia. Logró superar la enfermedad gracias a la ayuda de su esposa Alicia (Jennifer Connely).

Trastorno: esquizofrenia. La esquizofrenia es una distorsión del pensamiento. Los que la padecen tienen frecuentemente el sentimiento de estar controlados por fuerzas extrañas. Poseen ideas delirantes que pueden ser extravagantes, con alteración de la percepción, afecto anormal sin relación con la situación y autismo entendido como aislamiento.

13. Yo soy Sam (2001)

Sinopsis: Sam Dawson es un padre con retraso mental al que los servicios sociales declaran incapaz de cuidar de su hija (Dakota Fanning). Sam intentará con la ayuda de su abogada (Michelle Pfeiffer) que no se lleven a su hija.

Trastorno: retraso mental. Funcionamiento intelectual menor que el de la mayoría de la gente. Afecta al 1% de la población y cualquier raza puede padecerlo. Los efectos de esta patología en la vida diaria dependen de la gravedad del retraso.

14. Los impostores (Ridley Scott, 2003)

Sinopsis: Roy (Nicholas Cage) tiene un socio llamado Frank (Sam Rockwell), con el que se dedica a timar a la gente vendiendo depuradoras de agua a un precio desorbitado. Roy tiene serios trastornos (presenta los dos especificados más abajo), lo cual le causa problemas en su trabajo cuando un día, sin querer, tira las pastillas por el sumidero. Debido a esto, Roy acude al psiquiatra, que le receta de nuevo unas pastillas y que además saca a la luz el escabroso tema de la vida sentimental de Roy, el cual tiene una hija (Alison Lohman)  que no conoce. Decide contactar con ella y, sorprendentemente, se empiezan a llevar tan bien que ella cambiará la vida de su padre.

Trastorno: agorafobia y Trastorno Obsesivo Compulsivo (TOC). El primero se caracteriza por el miedo a los espacios abiertos. Aunque, en la actualidad, la definición de agorafobia es más amplia, incluye el miedo a salir de casa, a cruzar la calle, a viajar en cualquier medio de transporte, a situaciones de las que no puedas escapar fácilmente, a lugares donde no puedan ayudarte o a encontrarse en medio de una multitud de la que sea difícil salir. Y el segundo, Se caracteriza por presentar obsesiones y compulsiones  que son reconocidas por las personas como excesivas e irracionales provocando un malestar clínicamente significativo e interfiriendo con la rutina del individuo y en sus relaciones (tanto laborales como sociales). Hay poca consciencia del trastorno.

15. El aviador (Martin Scorsese, 2004)

Sinopsis: Biopic del magnate Howard Hughes (Leonardo DiCaprio), que llegó a Hollywood con dinero heredado de la fábrica de su padre y logró hacerse una fortuna gracias a la producción cinematográfica y a la radio. Fue dueño de la RKO Radio Pictures y lanzó la carrera de Jean Harlow.

Trastorno: Trastorno Obsesivo Compulsivo (TOC). Se caracteriza por presentar obsesiones y compulsiones  que son reconocidas por las personas como excesivas e irracionales provocando un malestar clínicamente significativo e interfiriendo con la rutina del individuo y en sus relaciones (tanto laborales como sociales). Hay poca consciencia del trastorno.

… +1

Alguien voló sobre el nido del cuco (Milos Forman, 1975)

Sinopsis: Randle McMurphy (Jack Nicholson) es un preso que está cumpliendo condena en la cárcel, pero que se las ingenia para que le saquen de allí y le lleven a un psiquiátrico. Una vez allí, se gana el cariño de sus compañeros, ya que no los trata con tiranía ni como si no pudieran entender nada. La mujer que los trata así es la enfermera Mildred Ratched (Louis Fletcher), que impone unos castigos excesivamente severos cada vez que no se cumplen las normas. Randle le declara la guerra a la enfermera, que decide castigarle dándole un fuerte tratamiento de electroshock.

Trastorno: esta película la he querido situar la última por distintos motivos. Uno de ellos es, por supuesto, que al ser la película que le da el nombre al blog le quería dar un lugar especial, y el segundo motivo es que esta película no trata los trastornos mentales como las anteriores. En las 15 previas, el protagonista es el que tiene el trastorno, en mayor o menor medida, pero siempre es él. Además suele estar claramente representado. Sin embargo, lo que se trata en Alguien voló sobre el nido del cuco es más el papel del psiquiatra, que coarta la libertad de aquel que quiere pensar libremente y que nos siembra la duda de si los trastornados son realmente los enfermos o lo son los enfermeros. Podéis encontrar una amplia explicación de esto aquí.

*i have no idea where i got the most of those pictures, but if you know just let me know.

Yeah, so what, I just got to see this for the first time last night.  My girlfriend bought it on DVD, a three pack at Wal-Mart with “Dead Man Walking,” because her mom was an extra in that film, and “Raging Bull,” some boxing film starring the De Niro, nonetheless.

Anyway, I think Dustin Hoffman and co, nailed the autism-adult character for this film.  Valeria Golino plays the Italian girlfriend.  Tom Cruise was perhaps at his finest as a typecast, as well, and it did win Best Picture for 1988, so I guess I’m not going to trash it any.  It was pretty good.  It did though seem like every other scene was Tom Cruise hanging out in one room and Dustin Hoffman in another, then something would happen and they’d meet up.  The whole movie was like this.  And there was some weird jungle sounding music going on in it.

What has director, Barry Levinson, been up to since then?  Don’t worry, all kinds of stuff.  Try the whole HBO series “OZ” for starters.  He’s one of those regular Mr. Hollywoods.  As for the writers, Barry Morrow has had a much quieter career since “Rain Man,” than Ronald Bass, whose career soared throughout the 90’s.

On Friday night I attended a production of Rain Man at the King’s Theatre in Edinburgh.I must confess prior to attending the show I hadn’t seen the film starring Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman and that my only reference to the show was a Ricky Gervais observation about Karl Pilkington, who he believed shared traits with Hoffman’s character.I must also admit that I am not much of a theatre aficionado – aside from a Standard Grade in Drama and occasional visits (to mainly musicals) I can’t say I am a great luvvie.However, I’d like to think I know great theatre when I see it and Rain Man was it.  Seeing as was apparently the only one in the world who hasn’t seen the film I won’t bother recapping the plot but focus instead on the two key performers – Neil Morrissey and Oliver Chris, both of whom were superb.  Morrissey is well-known to British audiences having appeared in numerous good television shows and occasionally some bad British films.  Playing Raymond, a severely autistic character is as far removed from his previous roles and it was great to see someone who clearly has abundant natural charisma having to play a role that restrained that aspect of his craft.  Equally good was Oliver Chris who you may recognise from The Office and Green Wing, where he plays eminently likeable if slightly cocky characters – it was the flipside of these characters we see in Rain Man where is charismatic but not likeable until his relationship with Raymond grows stronger.The production is on tour throughout the UK and well worth getting tickets to.

Sad news from Mars this week as NASA officials are openly questioning the future of the Spirit rover, which has been cruising the surface of the red planet for six years. It’s not out of batteries or anything. It’s just kind of, well, stuck:

In April, Spirit’s wheels broke through a hard crust on the Martian surface and encountered loosely packed fine sand beneath. Initial attempts to drive the rover out ended up with it instead sinking deeper into the trap.

Engineers set up a sand box at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., and positioned a sister rover inside to try to figure out a way for Spirit to free itself.

“We’ve pretty much exhausted all the possibilities, all the things that we can do on the ground,” rover project manager John Callas told Discovery News.

With the cold Martian winter on its way, the Spirit could be in danger of dying if it can’t get out of the soft sand and toward the sun — where its solar panels could collect enough energy to keep it alive during the winter. I think I speak for all robot enthusiasts when I say “Beeeep boop, brave Spirit. Beep boop beeeeeep.”

The songs:

Save us S.O.S. — Hot Hot Heat
My Little Corner of the World — Yo La Tengo
Naked as a Window — Josh Ritter
Everybody Knows that You Are Insane — Queens of the Stone Age
Hold Time — M. Ward
Bright Lights — Pete and the Pirates
Dominos — The Big Pink
How To Fight Loneliness — Wilco
Your Southern Can is Mine — The White Stripes
Let’s Not Shit Ourselves — Bright Eyes

Bonus video:

Brooklyn Zoo — Ol’ Dirty Bastard (Kind of a requiem on the 5-year anniversary of his death)

The Rules: The Friday Random 10 is exactly that — random. We open up our iTunes, set the thing on shuffle, and listen to 10 songs. We are not permitted to skip any out of embarrassment or fear of redundancy. Commenters are encouraged to post their own.

Not a new release for the LIFF, this is a pre-Bond Daniel Craig film where he plays a middle aged man beset by mental illness and paranoia and denial about his condition. He doesn’t trust the pills his brother (David Morrissey) is giving him and he finds it hard to relate to other people and communicate in a way we consider socially acceptable.  He then falls into a relationship with a Scottish girl (Kelly MacDonald) who is pregnant by her ex-boyfriend, but he loves her and the happiness she brings convinces him that he doesn’t need medical help, so he goes on a hiatus from the pills and things slowly spiral downwards from here on in.

I didn’t recognise Daniel Craig at all when the film began as he looks so different – older actually, compared to how he is now! He is excellent in this, managing to portray a difficult and complex condition in an authentic and discerning way.  I’m not a huge fan of Daniel Craig, but this is certainly one of his break out performances. It’s a very strong British ensemble actually – and that adds to the credence of the film and the characters. The relationship between Ray and Laura is lovely to watch because you are routing for them both to be happy together. And there are some overly romantic implausible scenes to enjoy as well – watching as she comes out onto the balcony to see him standing on the beach in the middle of a crop circle he has drawn in the sand is pure gooey.

The problem was the script – it was all too neat; too much of an exemplary tick the boxes screenplay. He meets girl, he’s happy, he gives up pills, he starts becoming paranoid, he becomes erratic and unstable, there’s a big explosive climax, and then an ending where he’s recovering and EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE OK. I think they could have been a bit more inventive and imaginative with the storyline and his behaviour. If he had been a bit more up and down throughout the film it might have created a bit more excitement and interest about what’s going to happen in the end. Instead it was pretty predictable and unoriginal. That said, the film didn’t over schmaltz things too much (there is all the cooking scenes with his brother…) and that saves the film from being completely innocuous.

It reminded me of a film I saw recently called ‘Adam’ – where the girl needs saving by someone who thinks and sees the world differently to her but ultimately that difference means they can never permanently be together.  I think it’s nye impossible to have a good mental illness/disability film with romance being a key genre, and I don’t expect there to ever be one (this coming from a girl who hasn’t seen Rain Man or A Beautiful Mind – shhhh!).

The acting and chemistry between all the cast was  good and this was definitely one of the better efforts coming out of the British film house. It’s worth seeing if it’s ever on but don’t expect to be profoundly blown away by it.

by Christian McBride

picture courtesy of fctt.co.uk

Over two decades on from when Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise took to the screen together in what would become a classic, Neil Morrissey and Oliver Chris will now bring their own version of the hit film Rain Man to Edinburgh’s King’s Theater. The 1988 film scooped academy awards for best picture, best actor in a leading role (Hoffman) and best writing among others, big shoes to fill indeed for Morrissey and Chris.

The two are certainly not new faces, the pair both having made British television fame in Men Behaving Badly and The Green Wing respectively. But these are comedic shows. These men are comedy actors. And though there is a comedy element to Rain Man there is a very real, very touching, dramatic side to the story.

Mary McBride, a community nurse dealing with those with learning disabilities, has said that, “Hoffman did a good job of capturing a lot of the characteristics of autism like communication difficulties but I think it gave the public the wrong impression at the time, that autistic people all have some extraordinary abilities. But it did well to bring autism to the public sphere”

Morrissey would do well to be aware of the risks playing an autistic man. His past may lend itself to the comedic side of autism and there are those that may see this as a mockery of the condition.

But, this is to prejudge him, Morrissey may be looking to expand and enrich his acting by taking on this serious role.

Rain Man, showing at King’s Theater, Edinburgh, Tue 10th – Sat 14th November, 7.30pm tickets from £15

Today started out good but became very blah when my friend left. She came over yesterday because we had a half-day at school & then she asked if she could sleepover & she did & we watched Across The Universe. Then we went to sleep & today we ate breakfast then she had to go home. After that I didn’t do too much. I watched some seinfeld episodes then cleaned & watched the movie Rain Man & then inbetween ate lunch & played Kararoke Revolution. All in all I didn’t do anything really exiciting today besides my friend sleeping over last night. So thats it so peace out!

~beautifulballerina15 aka Cassie

Speaking of cult status, which we were — try to keep up — there are several luminous examples among the screen media — among literature in general, in fact — of titles with especial resonance for certain niche groups. Let me be precise: groups which are obviously united by their neurology or their response to societal norms are often, in ways that are sometimes only loosely intuitive to the outside observer, drawn to specific works of literature. It’s true.

For example, it’s fairly easy to understand why those who identify as Gothic would also identify with, say, Tim Burton. It’s all the black scary things. Simple. But the part that is actually intriguing is the fact that goths everywhere (a certain type of goth, anyway) have an uncannily strong affinity with Alice, adventurer in Wonderland. Crazy blonde hair, powder-blue frock, poor self-control — it is easy to imagine her appealing to some groups. Pre-teen Disney fans, yes; socially inept bookish children, yes; lonely mathematicians with questionable motives, indeed. But the fact remains: dive into the world of Alice appreciation and you’ll inevitably find yourself rubbing shoulders with a gaggle of Gothic fans. Some will be delightful whimsigoths hanging out at Gorey Details; some, enterprising artists sharing their Tenniel hairpieces on Etsy; some lining up to see (and note the felicitous congruence here) Tim Burton’s adaptation, or Erich Hoeber’s, or one by Marilyn Manson too ghastly to link.

Consider another group, autistic people (variously known, depending on the decade, as autists, idiot savants, or the cuttingly dismissive “people with autism”). The modern history of autism, curiously, is punctuated by the 1988 Barry Levinson film Rain Man — for better or worse, the film is a seminal portrayal and a cultural baseline. But the text that unites autistic people with remarkable consistency is Thomas the Tank Engine. This phenomenon is well-documented in the journals. A young man of my acquaintance, usually non-verbal, used to speak mainly in two circumstances: when I pointed to his phone number, and when I got out the Thomas cards and feigned ignorance about which one was Annie and which one was Clarabell. (We taught him PECS: a breakthrough came when, after a long afternoon of picture drills, he stood up and said, with perfect diction, “I want to go home”.)

The reasons for the average autistic person’s affinity with Thomas are many. Ringo Starr narrates beautifully, for one: calm, collected, unobtrusive, he states the obvious, which is reassuring, and doesn’t go on about it, which is a relief. The trains’ emotions are simply classified into different faces, easy to understand. Thomas is happy. Percy is sad. The Fat Controller is angry. Simple. Satisfying.

And such iconic-yet-lefthanded touchstone texts must abound. It’s difficult to explain, otherwise, why certain groups are attached not just to the Jesus movie or Joan of Arc, but to Chariots of Fire. Not just Rent or Priscilla but The Wizard of Oz. Not just Dungeons and Dragons but The Princess Bride. It’s nifty. Also, intriguing. Comment at will.

So I’m pretty excited that we’re getting enough readership that people have actually bothered me about not posting anything in the past 11 days. And by “people” I mean Mike Block, Friend of the Blog and Sometime Fantasy Sports Antagonist. But contrary to popular opinion, I do occasionally have busy weeks at work (2 of them in a row), and I actually might be in danger of failing my first grad school class. Plus with the playoffs and all, I’ve been watching games in public instead of at home, which means that by the time I get home I’m too tired to write anything. So I didn’t die while doing the cigarettes, pasta, and baseball challenge that I had previously posted.

So on to the World Series, after a few housekeeping points.

First of all, an update in the standings for the Phriends and Phamily Phredictions. That  NLCS means that the bottom 2/3 or so of the standings is fixed, with certain of us (including me) having completely whiffed on the World Series. So here’s the way we stand:

1) Ashley (6 for 6, 2 correct WS teams)
2) Mike Block, Friend of the Blog and Sometime Fantasy Sports Antagonist (5 for 6, 2 correct WS teams)
3) Ben (4 for 6, 1 correct WS team, plus NLCS MVP)
4t) Kate(4 for 6, 1 correct WS team)
4t) Paul (4 for 6, 1 correct WS team)
4t) My dad (4 for 6, 1 correct WS team)
7) Jeff (4 for 6, 1 correct WS team)
Tim (3 for 6, 1 correct WS team)
9) Me (3 for 6, no correct WS teams)
10) My mom  (1 out of 6 series, no WS teams)

Tiebreakers:
1) Correct World Series pick
2) Number of Correct MVPs
3) Correct length of World Series
4) Correct World Series MVP pick

What this means, from  a practical standpoint, is that my mom, my brothers, and I are all frozen at the bottom because all of our world series winners have been eliminated. Likewise, Blockie and Ashley are the only ones still alive to take the whole pot. If the Phillies win, Blockie  will beat Ashley on the first tiebreaker. If the Yankees win, Paul’s GF bats 1.000 for the postseason and wins. And for the 5 participants stuck at 4-for-6, Paul and my dad picked the Yankees to win it all, and Ben and Kate picked the Phillies. Jeff picked the Dodgers, so he’s out.

Ok. Now that that’s over with, let me tell you a little story. The last Phillies postseason game that I’ve been able to watch on television and didn’t see to its conclusion was Game 5 of the 1993 World Series, the Schilling complete game. Until last Monday night. I was so exhausted that I went to  bed after 8 innings and missed my favorite player hitting a  2-out walkoff double. F me in the A. Needless to say, I will be glued to the TV for every 9th inning this series.

So. The World Series. Back-to-back pennants. Been done by 4 teams in my lifetime: 1988-90 A’s (3 in a row), 1991-92 Braves, 1992-93 Blue Jays, 1995-96 Braves, 1998-2001 Yankees (4 in a row, 3 WS titles). For my money, the best 2-year runs in baseball since 1970 were the  1972-73 A’s, 1975-76 Reds, 1992-93 Blue Jays, and 1998-99 Yankees. I think if the Phillies pull this one off, it would rank up there with anything anyone’s done since the Stengel Yankees of the 1950s. [EDIT: On second thought, I think I was getting a little ahead of myself there, but the Big Red Machine parallels are striking.]

However, any Phillies fan who was rooting for the Yankees in the ALCS because beating them would somehow validate this team and this city is hitting the crack pipe. This Yankees team, from where I’m sitting, has two weaknesses: lack of depth and Joe Girardi’s alarming tendency to overmanage. Everyone gets on base. Everyone hits for at least a modicum of power. I’m trying to think of a team that had a better pair of corner infielders. Ever. Maybe the Cardinals earlier in this decade, with Pujols and Rolen? Probably not, but maybe. This is a team with very few weaknesses, an ass of confidence, and a deep lineup. In short, the kind of team that’s very difficult to take 4 times in 7 games.

So how are the Phillies going to beat them? Well, first of all, Cliff Lee needs to at least battle CC Sabathia to a draw. Second, we  need one ace-quality start each out of Hamels and Pedro. Third, the hitting needs to continue. If Howard and Ruiz have cooled off since the NLCS, we’re screwed. Fourth, and most importantly, there can be no bullpen hanky-panky the way there was in the National League playoffs. This Phillies team is good enough to hang with the Yankees for 7 innings, but if the difference between Hughes/Rivera and Uncle Cholly’s 8th inning cavalcade/Lidge is 2 runs a game,  it’s going to end in 4 or 5 games.

Ok. Next stop, the DH. The Phillies, it’s pretty certain, will go with Francisco in left against Sabathia in Game 1 (and, should there be a Game 6 pitched by Andy Pettitte, probably then as well), with Raul Ibanez at DH. Good. Defensive upgrade in left, resting an older player, plug Disco in somewhere between 7 and 9 with Feliz and Ruiz. Makes perfect sense.

It’s Game 2’s DH that presents an interesting option. With the righty Burnett on the mound, Uncle Cholly could go with Francisco again, play for defense and say to hell with the platoon advantage. Which is a perfectly sane option. Or he could go for broke and stick Matt Stairs at DH. Matt Stairs has been an intriguing player to  me this season. He went literally 2 months without getting a hit, but he still scared the bejeezus out of opposing pitchers every time he came up.  Either one could work.

On to the starting pitching. This has been a source of much discussion in the national media of late. The general consensus is that the Yankees will throw Sabathia out there for games 1, 4, and 7, Burnett for game 2, Pettitte game 3. My speculation would be that they go with Chad Gaudin in game 5 (assuming they’re not facing elimination), then go with either Burnett on full rest or Pettite on short rest for Game 6. I could be wrong.

Uncle Cholly, much to my delight, continues to have absolutely no idea who’s going to pitch for him 2 days from now. We know it will be Lee in Game 1. Jayson Stark said on Mike and Mike this morning that it’s likely, but not certain, that Pedro gets the ball Thursday night, with Hamels starting Game 3 at home. Dave Cameron of FanGraphs thinks this is a bad idea. I don’t. I think that the Phillies and Yankees are in the exact same boat for their top 3 starting pitchers. Each has one red-hot former Indian to start with, one youngish and recently inconsistent No. 2 and a No. 3 who is relatively reliable and has a ton of postseason experience, though you’d much rather have the 1999 version.

Now the guys at ESPN Baseball Today’s podcast seem to think it’s certain that Uncle Cholly will mirror Lee with Sabathia, having him pitch games 1, 4, and 7. I don’t know how afraid of CC we should be, but that’s certainly an option.

At this point, I’m thoroughly convinced that in Uncle Cholly’s mind, he knows that Cliff Lee will pitch to Derek Jeter to start tomorrow night’s game, and we’ll figure it out from there. And it’s worked so far, so I’ll trust him. It’s like betting blackjack with Raymond Babbitt.

Part of me hopes that Hamels starts Game 3, just so we can consolidate 90 percent of the pickoff moves into one game. A close Hamels-Pettite game goes five hours, at least an hour and 15 minutes of which will be consumed with keeping runners close to first.

Ok. A few quick-hitting points and we’ll be done

• It’s amazing how my mindset as a Phillies fan has completely turned around in the span of 15 months. The Phillies are starting their second World Series in a row tomorrow and I’m just sort of OK. Last year, I was pissing my pants. Pissing my pants. It’s a strange thing, expecting to win. Also, I forgot this week that the Eagles were playing a division game on Monday Night Football. I don’t even remember the last time that happened.
• Is anyone else struck by how quickly Cole Hamels has squandered 5 years of goodwill? He’s very close to running himself out of town, particularly if Cliff Lee keeps pitching well and Cole keeps running his mouth.
• Keep me in your thoughts and prayers. I stopped growing when I was 15, at which point I was 5-11 and about 140 pounds. I filled out by the end of high school at about 165, got up to 205 or so by the middle of my sophomore year, started watching what I ate, dropped down to 170 or so by that April. Well starting with my senior year, I started eating 5,000 calories a day again and now I’m well north of 200 pounds and barely fit into size 36 pants. I’ve picked World Series week to start doing something about this. So I’ll be doing the last 10 days of the playoffs on about 1200 calories a day, plus beer.
• I had never seen the Family Guy Star Wars episode until last night. I don’t remember the last time I laughed so hard.
• I just thought I should let you know that my ongoing vendetta against Mrs. Cole Hamels has brought unexpected readership. You see, I mentioned Mrs. Hamels’ appearance in Playboy in that post, along with a passing mention of Chase Utley’s better half. WordPress lets us see the search engine terms and links that bring people to the site, and by looking over those stats I’ve noticed that, like clockwork, at least one person every day ends up here by Googling “Jen Utley Playboy.” If that’s you, then welcome.
• Speaking of hot WAGs, I’m very interested to see the 10 shots per game of Kate Hudson this week. As a practicing Christian, I am well aware of Exodus 20:17 that says, thou shalt not covet, among other things, thy neighbor’s wife. Thank goodness A-Rod doesn’t live in my development.

At least one game this series will hinge on which of Uncle Cholly or Joe Girardi overmanages. For that eventuality, I leave you with the wisdom of Radiohead as quoted by Mark Ronson. Enjoy your World Series and may the best team not win.

Rain Man that features no rain dance, I was very dissapointed!

Fast-talking yuppie Charlie Babbitt is forced to slow down when he meets a brother he never knew he had, an autistic savant named Raymond (Dustin Hoffman, in an Oscar-winning role) who’s spent most of his life in an institution. When their wealthy father dies, leaving everything to Raymond, Charlie takes his unusually gifted older brother on a life-changing cross-country odyssey that neither is likely to forget.

Rain Man is one of those films that just look OK but then out of nowhere becomes amazing. This certainly happened to me as I was expecting a OK film, when what I got was one of the most touching films I have ever seen.

The film starts out as a normal drama fest packed with a lot of strong drama dialogue but then out of nowhere turns into a road- film that ends up being a heart warming comedy.

Director Barry Levinson, makes a premise we have all seen before and change it into something totally new and fresh. His direction is impressive in that some scenes that are very serious actually turn out to be quite funny and without this the film would’ve been a total bore fest. I also think that Levinson’s screenplay works as not many of the lines are cliched and very witty and actually very quotable.

I did have some problems with Rain Man however. I didn’t like how this film focused a lot on Cruise’s character as I really didn’t like him and find him as appealing as Hoffman’s, and I felt this took away a lot of what could’ve came to this film. I also didn’t like the little side story of Cruise being all against his father. It was so your typical bad guy hates father motive that is way too over-used and I though really wasn’t need as many others.

The one thing to acknowledge in this film is that throughout Cruise is trying to change Hoffman, since he doesn’t like how he is weird and autistic, and by the end of the film Hoffman ends up changing Cruise. This film has a lot of reality that all the people you see are real, and nothing will change about them.

Hoffman gives one of the greatest performances of his career as Raymond, and shows he can be any character. Mostly to his deliverance of the lines, Hoffman makes this film watchable with his witty lines, and just overall his very believable look into a new person. I also liked how Hoffman didn’t act like a stereotypical autistic. He didn’t talk funny, he didn’t say weird stuff, he was just awkward and different and that’s what I like about this film. Tom Cruise believe it or not, actually does not get upstaged in this film. In every scene it seems like Hoffman and Cruise are just trying to one up each other with these two obviously different characters.

Consensus: Though you have seen it before, Rain Man is an impressive and witty look on family values, and features some strong messages with two very strong performances from Cruise and Hoffman.

9/10=Full Pricee!!!

Bacau… ploaie mocaneasca cca 5 grade Ceslius, orele 14 si 30 de minute… Honda rezista! Cizme nou noute – 160 lei la reducere, costum din tercot cu captuseala – 700 lei (cea mai buna investitie facuta la viata mea), casca (vai de mama ei, tunata cu niste burete de izolat geamuri de la nea Petrica) – 80 euroi acum 3 ani, manusi de vara – 30 euro ranforsate pe interior cu o pereche de manusi din lana – 4 lei; optional manusi chirurghicale – 1 leu, pe care din pacate nu le-am putut folosi. Ideea insa merita apreciata. Plimbare cu motorul pe o vreme caineasca – PRICELESS.

Incarcatura, ca de obicei. Cateva toale murdare in rucsac, geanta de rezervor cu maruntisuri in ea. Curios, nu prea se mai gaseau bagaje. Ca si cum nimic nu vroia sa participe la ceea ce avea sa urmeze. Castile in urechi cu acorduri fine, si la drum. Opresc la benzinarie pentru “beutura”. Viziera se aburea tot mai des. Aveam doua variante la dispozitie, ori merg cu ea intredeschisa, ori viteza maxima pentru a creea un curent adecvat care sa echilibreze temperatura din interior cu cea de afara! Directia e cam cu cantec, si necesita putina finete, mai ales la trecerea peste marcajele soselei. Acolo poti aluneca mai ceva ca pe gheata daca nu esti atent.

Primii 20 km i-am parcurs foarte bine, pana cand ploaia mi-a penetrat intocmai cum cearneala penetreaza celebra creta, manusile. Simteam o amorteala teribila dupa inca 20 de km. Cand am ajuns la Adjud, am oprit la benzinarie pentru a ma incalzi cu un ceai. Era sa scap ceasca din mana de amortita ce era (mana). Era senzatia aceea de inghet pe care o ai iarna cand cu mainile inghetate intri intr-o incapere incalzita, ori bagi mainile in apa calda, sau banala apa rece ti se pare fierbinte uneori. Cizmele nu meritau dupa nici 50 km pretul pe care il platisem. Simteam apa in ele. Probabil datorita faptului ca am bagat “paltalonii” in ele, si apa a gasit loc sa se strecoare pe langa ei. Savurez cu placere ceasca de ceai fierbinte. Eram undeva la 40% din drum. Vreo doi musterii se minuneaza pe langa “fata mea”.

Adjud, 15 si 40 de minute, aceeasi ploaie mocaneasca de la inceput, parca si mai intensa acum ca ajunsesem pe meleaguri vrancene, Honda rezista! Mai departe. Drumul intre Adjud si Marasesti, nu mi se paru foarte lung, din contra, parca ma teleportasem. In schimb aceleasi probleme apar la maini.

Opresc la un han langa Marasesti. Stupoare, cand intru, faceam pliosc-pliosc. In cizme era lac. Comand un ceai si ma retrag in glorie la o masa. Apa din cizme imi murasera cartoafele urat de tot. Ma gandeam ca nu mai am mult pana acasa, poate rezist totusi. Dar vad o tanti ca duce gunoiul. Fuck. Imi vine o idee geniala la momentul respectiv. Ma duc la baiatul de la bar si il rog frumos sa imi dea 2 saci menajeri. Merg la baie, ma sterg bine pe picioare, eram terminat. Mi se incretise pielea. Imi pun o pereche de sosete uscate, nu si curate! Bag picioarele in saci, si apoi in cizme. Eram cel putin uscat.

Focsani, 16 si 40 de minute, Honda rezista, costumul rezista, popic nu mai rezista. Mainile imi erau gheata, simteam de acum durere la incheieturile mainilor. La cotesti, ma opresc pentru a ma incalzi putin la motor. Avea sa fie o gura de oxigen, pentru ca nu stiu daca ajungeam pana la Gugesti fara acest neplanificat pit-stop.

Orele 17 si 25 de minute, ajung in sfarsit in spatele blocului. Descalaresc si ma reped in casa. Bag un resou in priza si incerc sa imi incalzesc picioarele inghetate. Nu stiu de ce in 30 km, mi-au inghetat in conditiile in care 80 poate mai bine de km nu au reusit acest lucru. Cu un dus rece care mi se parea fierbinte, incet incet unghiile incep a capata culoarea fiziologica a unui viu!

Prevad un week-end de cosmar, si sun pe Andy sa-mi prescrie ceva pentru o previzibila raceala. Ma bag intens pe ceaiuri si vitamina C, fervex si altele. Fara scapare, ma trezesc a doua zi dimineata mort in pat. Ma prins, o raceala care mi-a dat drumul din brate numai pe vreo marti.

Am tras la garaj motorul pentru iarna, si ma mai gandesc daca imi iau o casca mai buna la primavara ori il fac pe 4 roti. Dar cum sangele apa nu se face, la mai multe raceli baieti si fete pe motoare, ca viata e scurta si trebuie traita! Atata timp cat ai cine sa iti faca o frectie, si sa-ti dea o aspirina si un mar, merge si o raceala de toamna. Ca doar n-om fi efemeri!

Pe curand!

Here is a great video where a guy speaks about common misconceptions of Asperger's Syndrome:

Posted via email from HikiCulture

Due to a recent surge in magnetic bumper ribbons across the country, the “Autism Awareness” bumper ribbon has raised puzzle awareness by more than 44% in the past two years.
The Autism bumper ribbon has caught the attention of motorists with it’s vibrant yellow, red, purple, green and blue puzzle pieces, making drivers ponder the fun of puzzles.

Honestly, when was the last time you sat down to a good puzzle?

“People take puzzles for granted,” said Jonathon Rivers, 29. “I mean, I know I did. But then I got stuck in traffic behind this mini-van with the Autism ribbon on it’s bumper, and I thought, ‘Jon,when was the last time you sat down and completed a puzzle?’ And you know what, I never gave it much thought until then. Now, I’m a puzzle fanatic!”

It’s true. So far, Jon has completed over 3 puzzles per month, and is not slowing down. But Jon isn’t the only one. In a recent university double-blind study, 86% of Americans are more prone to buying a puzzle after seeing the Autism ribbon, as opposed to .07% who did not see the ribbon, and therefore, did not even give puzzles a thought.
Harriet Phillips, owner of the Vermont Puzzle Factory is ecstatic about the recent trend.

“I am just so happy that the Autistic community has raised awareness of a once dying industry, and has now returned it to the upper echelon of American hobbies where it belongs. We are now even thinking of expanding and making pornographi

c puzzles which will reach a demographic we once thought was out of reach. Thanks, Autism!”

On the other side of the coin, however, the Autistic Awareness community feels as though the message has somehow been lost on the American population. “It’s nice that puzzles are popular again,” said Jane Mendez, Chairwoman of the Autistic Awareness Board, “but Autism is a serious illness, and everyone should know that. We are not asking for money, or any kind of charity, but we want people to be aware of Autism because…it…well… umm…” Jane refused any further comment.

Newfound puzzle fans report that they are already aware of Autism. Said William Klondike of Pasa

dena, “Autism? That’s what Dustin Hoffman had in that movie, right?” The film Klondike is referring to is Rain Man, released in 1988, where Dustin Hoffman portrayed an Autistic man, and traveled across the country with his long lost younger brother played by Tom Cruise. Hoffman won an Academy Award for the role. After the release of the film, Autism awareness shot up nearly 90%, but has been in steady decline ever since. It seems that a mere bumper magnet cannot compete with the explosive awareness a Hoffman/Cruise tag-team can provide. Currently, the Autistic Awareness Board is trying to push Hollywood to come out with a 23rd anniversary DVD of Rain Man in order to reestablish it’s original message, otherwise it is back to calling random households across the country and making sure they are aware of Autism.

Stories of autism grip the headlines: from John Travolta’s poignant memories of his son, Jett, to the Center for Disease Controls new study that highlights the growing pervasiveness of autism.

Brought to light in the movie Rain Man, autism is a condition that only 15 years ago was estimated to affect 1 in 2000 children. Today, it affects 1 in 91, with new research from the journal Pediatrics now estimating the lifetime medical costs being born by families coping with autism to be $1.6 million.

Autism has become irrefutable.

And thankfully, Health and Human Services Secretary, Kathleen Sebelius recognizes this: “We need a new focus and new resources because autism has emerged as an urgent public health challenge”

As we come together as a society to find the resources to address the needs of our our children and the families that care for them, perhaps we should pause and watch what an indominitable spirit can accomplish.

As in the words of Raymond Williams, “to be truly radical is to make hope possible.”

I am proud to announce that I have been cast to star in a major motion picture along side Tom Cruise. Rain Man 2 is the followup to the 1988 smash starring Dustin Hoffman. I am thrilled to be playing the role of young Raymond Babbit and working with Tom Cruise has been a life long dream of mine. Although we have been taping for the last 2 weeks, I was forced to keep the project under wraps for legal reasons. I was able to sneak out of the studio with some secret footage of the climactic scene in which I flip out for no apparent reason. As a loyal fan of the Casual Mafia, you get to see it first!

this evening, courtesy of the theatrical adaptation of Rain Man at the Theatre Royal.  First half= dire. Second half much better, but overall just didn’t hold it together compared to last week’s Pitmen Painters.  Actors too influenced by the film-’ dare to do your own thing’, I wished to cry, ‘go on, make me care!’.

It was my Dad’s birthday on Friday so my sisters and I took him to see Rain Man in The New Theatre, Cardiff as a surprise.  All the actors gave a great performance although Neil Morrissey (from Men Behaving Badly and Waterloo Road) gave the best performance as Raymond Babbit, an autistic savant.  Other actors included Oliver Chris (from Green Wing) as Charlie Babbit and Charles Lawson (from Coronation Street).  We all thought it was a really good show and it was a great evening out.

girl,interrupted &  rain man