(no subject)

I actually left the house today! I mean, to go somewhere other than work. I went downtown, failed to buy the cigarettes I wanted at the place I wanted, failed to find a Wells shirt, failed to spend less than ten bucks on an early dinner, and returned rentals that I failed to watch or return on time! It was awesome.

Then I got home, and Rikki was all, "Wnna go see Constantine? Because we have to leave NOW." So I put my shoes back on and we left.

Oh, I love Keanu. I am eternally fascinated by his steadfast lack of talent. However. Keanu did not suck in this movie. I have noticed a certain trend in his, uh, acting - the less pleasant his character, the more believeable he is. The best performance I've ever seen from him (and, having gone through a Keanu phase, I've seen plenty) is his sociopathic serial killer in The Watcher. There are scenes in that movie where he's actually scary. Sure, there are also bits where he sounds like he memorized his lines phonetically, because at the end of the day he's really not that bright (either that or he's a genius pulling the wool over our eyes), but he actually acts in that movie. Ditto Constantine. He plays the hero, yeah, but John Constantine is an unpleasant human being. Keanu does very well with that. So I guess what I'm trying to say is that Keanu ought to play more villains and anti-heroes, because that's what he can do. (But he shouldn't play any more chainsmokers. He was great with the Zippo, but didn't look too comfortable with the cigarettes.)

Oh, yeah, and the movie itself was terrific. The story is absorbing - it also helps that I am a sucker for stories based on Christian mythology - and it doesn't spell every last detail out for us (for example, not once does anyone mention Constantine's initials. We are left to work that one out on our own). It contains actors I was pleased to see (specifically, Rachel Weisz and Shia LaBoeuf, and why didn't anyone ever tell me that Gavin Rossdale is pretty hot?). It has good special effects and dialogue. It has ( minor spoiler cut only because this one is more fun to find for yourself )

. It's not perfect - Shia's character disappears for a big chunk of the movie and then suddenly comes back to be all crucial and stuff, and I really good have done without the Artistic Doom-y Atmosphere created via the Dramatic Significant Shots of Random Objects Technique - but it's a good movie and I highly recommend it.

And just in case you thought I was going to make it through an entire entry without mentioning baseball or the ongoing Princess Saga, you lose. I'm done with non-baseball stuff, so you can safely skip to the next entry on your friends list.

Varitek and Arroyo have weighed in now. And the Yankees are still pretending A-Rod doesn't exist (although they are discussing David Wells, who isn't even a Yankee any more, which makes it even funnier). And A-Rod is still pretending that A-Rod doesn't exist.

From the Herald, because what else would I read? The Globe?

Varitek, pointedly not naming names, and we're all pretending that we just have NO IDEA who he could POSSIBLY be talking about: "As for defending the work I do in the offseason and still being a father, I don't need to boast or to show people. I know what work I do and I know how hard I work, and I don't have to worry about what someone else does." When you can OWN someone without mentioning his name, I think that means you get to be king.

Arroyo, who also has a picture of him trying to look cool and cheerful while squinting with his entire face into the sun: "When I hit him, I thought he was out of line just because I wasn't throwing at him. But as far as the play at first base, I wouldn't fault him for it. You do what you've got to do to try to win." Okay, now I love Arroyo, too, because if anyone would have the right to hold a grudge and do some bitching, it's him, but instead he goes and presents the Infamous Slap from A-Rod's perspective. Again: my boys have some class, they do.

He also addresses the concern that he might accidentally hit A-Rod with a pitch again (which could happen, because he's hit just about every damn player in the American League at this point): "If I do, I definitely think that he'll think I was throwing at him on purpose on July 24 and then we'll probably have problems." Well - yeah. God, I can already feel the suspense of each at-bat A-Rod will have against Arroyo this year. I can also guarantee that if Bronson does hit him, it will be an accident, because that's not the kind of shit he pulls. Not that it will really matter, because you just know that A-Rod won't let it pass.

Also, according to this article from the New York Post (thanks to piney61 for the link), Arroyo's not-love for A-Rod goes way back to high school, when they played against each other in a game: "At the time I thought he was the cockiest dude I ever saw. I'm on second base and he walks up to the umpire in the infield, with a straight face and says, 'Hey man, tell the guy behind the plate we get those calls back home.' He was 18 years old. I couldn't believe that he said it. I said, Holy [cow], look at this guy, a high-school kid talking to an umpire like that." (Yes, New York Post, I fully believe that he said "cow." Anyway.) For what that's worth.

I'd like to close by repeating this little fact: The Yankees won't say a damn thing for A-Rod, who is a MEMBER of the TEAM, but several of them, including the manager, have made a point of saying that they are (or thought they were) on good terms with David Wells. Who left the team over a year ago. I think that says everything we need to know about where A-Rod ranks with them at this point.