Freaky Flicks: Paranormal Activity: Evidence of a Haunting

January 2009

Hello readers! As you may know, on the TAGO blog I started a new blog series called "Freaky Flicks" where I will inform you of some new scary movies that are coming out or are just rumors at this point. Today I come to you with a movie that has no official release date yet, but has already spooked the crap out of many film fest fans. It is called Paranormal Activity: Evidence of a Haunting.

The premise is fairly simple:

"A young couple suspects that their house is haunted by a malevolent entity. They set up video surveillance to capture evidence of what happens at night as they sleep. Their surveillance and home videos have been edited into the 99 minute feature film "Paranormal Activity".

This is a film, much like The Poughkeepsie Tapes, that has been tossed around, seen by few, and doesn't have a clear release date. This film was shown at a film festival called Slamdance a few years back (2007) and was a huge success. So big in fact that Dreamworks Pictures loved it and bought the rights to the film. Initially their plan was to remake the film and "Hollywood-ize" it which many fans on message boards really hated. The original film was receiving rave reviews out of the festival, especially remarks for being incredibly daring and original, not to mention scary as hell. So fans could not fathom why Dreamworks would want to fix something that was clearly never broken.

My thoughts were that maybe Dreamworks doesn't think a film like this, that is very low budget would hack it in the box office. But honestly, most horror films don't. I picture them casting some fairly big names, and doing away with the hand held camera effect. Now I haven't seen the original film, but to me the no name actors and the hand held effect are the things that would make the movie great. Recently someone announced Dreamworks has decided to pull the plug on the remake and just release the original film (which again is just a rumor I saw online, and have NO proof of this statement) and still there is no release date for any version of this movie.

Yes, the whole movie is hand held camera. I know it's been done a lot lately, especially since the success of The Blair Witch Project and more recently, Cloverfield. But to me, this is the type of film where this style of film making would work the absolute best. It makes for a more realistic and gritty horror film. The effect practically would put the audience in the shoes of the characters in the film. We would essentially be experiencing the ghostly happenings just as they do, which for me makes a very, very creepy and bone chilling movie.

I would like to share with you some of the reviews the film did receive from the film festival. People have gone as far to say that Paranormal Activity may very well be the single most terrifying film ever made. Yikes! Here are some review snipets:

"Paranormal Activity is great: calculated, subtle, authentically scary
without being overtly manipulative. Better than Blair Witch."
--Eric Kohn, New York Press"Possibly the Scariest Movie Ever Made and the Best Reason
to Wear Diapers at the Cinema... Paranormal Activity
is not for the weak hearted and is one of the few films that stays with you
after you’ve left the theater to the point that you wished it wouldn’t.
Paranormal Activity is our generation’s The Exorcist" -
BlueBomber

"The entire auditorium was freaked out of their minds...people were actually physically shaking..." - Dread Central podcast (Minute 18)

"Scary as hell" - In This Week

"Paranormal Activity managed to do something that almost no other haunted house movie in the past 25 years has managed to do: actually be scary." - Bloody-Disgusting

"I was so freaked out after watching this film, I did not want to step foot into my house thinking there might be something I can't see waiting for me." - Jorge Ameer, Hollywood Independents

"I hate to use cliches like ‘spine tingling’, but that's what my spine appeared to be doing numerous times. Really scary stuff.”
- Carl Ellsworth (writer, Disturbia)

So as you can see, this movie scared the heck out of a LOT of people. There are more review snipets on the movies website (which is a pretty generic looking site for now). You can view the site by clicking this link: Paranormal Activity.

Also, check out the pretty creepy trailer of the film right down below! There is another even more scary trailer on the film's website which I linked up above! Enjoy!

--Mike--

"Paranormal Activity" trailer - Watch more Free Videos

Andy Was the Better Choice

January 2009

During the millennium-long negotiation between Andy Pettitte and the Yanks, all of us Yankees fans were looking at the availability of Ben Sheets and salivating at the prospect of adding him to our rotation. ERAs of 2.70, 3.33, 3.82, 3.82 and 3.09 over the past 5 years, 2 straight impressive all-star game appearances, and 'tools' and 'stuff' up the yin yang made the majority of us want to bid farewell to Andy and replace him with the flamethrower from Milwaukee.

I admit that I too was mesmerized by Sheets' potential. Signing him, however, would have definitely been the wrong move.

We already signed an injury question mark (AJ Burnett) this year. We signed an ace who lead both the AL and NL in complete games last year, and leads the universe in innings pitched the last 3 years (CC). We have a young pitcher who has never thrown more than 100 innings before in the majors already slotted into our rotation (Joba). We are counting on another starter who made only 15 starts last year (Wang). 

We NEED someone who we can count on to throw 200 innings, and who knows what pitching and winning for the Yankees is all about. Pettitte will be the guy that ALL of these pitchers can go to and that Joe G (and we as fans) can count on to take the ball and compete every start.

While Sheets was sexier, signing Pettitte was the right move.

Hip Hip - HOF

January 2009

When asked about having concern for the health of Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera in 2009, GM Brian Cashman responded to the effect that a potential Hall of Fame catcher like Posada is impossible to replace. That got me thinking...is Jorge HOF worthy?

Let's compare Jorge with 4 catchers already in the Hall of Fame - Yogi Berra, Johnnie Bench, Gary Carter and Carlton Fisk.

Yogi Berra - over 19 seasons posted 285/348/482

Gary Carter - 19 seasons 262/335/439

Johnnie Bench - 17 seasons 267/342/476

Carlton Fisk - 24 seasons 269/341/457

Jorge Posada - 14 seasons 277/380/477

Over their respective careers, Jorge has posted a higher batting average, a higher on base percentage and a higher slugging percentage then Carter, Bench and Fisk, has a higher career OBP then Yogi, and compares very well with Yogi in BA and slugging.

Yogi - 9 times 90+ RBI 

Bench - 7 times 90+ RBI

Carter - 5 times 90+

Fisk - 2 times 90+ RBI

Posada - 5 times 90+ RBI

Assuming health and considering the Yanks' strong lineup, I see no reason Jorge won't equal Bench's 7 years of 90+ RBI, and currently is equal to Carter and beyond Fisk in this category.

Yogi - 358 HR (18.84/season)

Bench - 389 HR (22.88/season)

Carter - 324 HR (17.05/season)

Fisk - 376 HR (15.66/season)

Jorge - 221 HR (15.78/season)

While Jorge has plus power for a catcher, his HR numbers are not quite as good as Yogi, Gary Carter or Johnnie Bench. 

All things considered, Jorge either compares extremely well or surpasses the credentials posted by the 4 other Hall of Fame catchers listed here. Jorge is certainly no Yogi Berra, but his numbers are certainly every bit as good (better!) as Carlton Fisk and Gary Carter. Considering that Jorge currently owns 4 (and will shortly be fitted for his 5th!) World Championship rings, his induction 5 years after retirement should pretty much be a no-brainer.

The Phoenix Lights

January 2009

I'm not going to write much about the "Lights over Phoenix" because I attached a couple of videos showing this phenomena. On March 13, 1997, around 8:30 pm many Phoenicians and others all over Arizona, stepped out of their homes to catch a glimpse of the Hail-Bob or sometimes referred to as Hale-Bopp comet. What they saw moving in the night skies was something much more, a series of strange lights. In the distance the lights appeared to be independent of each other but as they got closer to the observer, it looked like an upside down V shape with lights on it. This wedge like object was reported to be moving South, slowly through the state of Arizona. People have stated seeing it in Tucson around 8:45 pm, giving the same description as was reported in Phoenix. There is no logical explanation for the lights but some evidence explains the lights as airplanes. Video evidence shows the lights as separate entities moving individually and not as a single object. The explanation is that some of the witnesses may have had their eyes play tricks on them forming the illusion of one object.

I've watched all the documentaries on this phenomena and found it interesting. The videos are stronge evidence showing the lights from different angles, forming a V shape traveling over the skies of Phoenix. Since it happened in my backyard, I am sorry that I missed the whole event. I was probably doing something much more exciting like watching TV.

--Julie--

Pettitte Close To Return To Pinstripes

January 2009

ESPN:

The New York Yankees and Andy Pettitte are close on a deal that will bring the veteran left-hander back for a year, Major League Baseball sources told Buster Olney on Monday.

The deal, sources told Olney, could be done as soon as Monday afternoon. It would pay Pettitte nearly $6 million, with incentives that could make it worth as much as $12 million.

Pettitte was 14-14 for the Yankees last season with a 4.54 ERA. He started 33 games. Pitching with a sore shoulder, he was 2-7 with a 6.23 ERA in his final 11 starts and missed his last turn of the season.
It was his second season back in New York after three seasons with the Houston Astros.

Pettitte began his career with the Yankees, pitching his first nine big league seasons in pinstripes. After last season, indications were that Pettitte and the Yankees wanted to make a deal, but were unable to come to terms on a dollar figure -- until talks heated up this weekend.

Pettitte earned $16 million last season.

If he signs, Pettitte would join a projected starting rotation featuring CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Chien-Ming Wang and Joba Chamberlain.

CC The Grizzly

January 2009

Got this article an email from Tom over at Serious Sports News Network He wanted me to pass it along to you guys. Hilarious.

Here is the beginning...click the headline below to jump to the whole article.

Yankees Assign Mark Teixeira To Wake Up CC From Hibernation/SSNN:

With spring training just around the corner, the New York Yankees are beginning their final preparations for the season. This year, that includes the daunting task of waking up pitcher CC Sabathia from his three-month hibernation.

“Yeah, someone’s gotta go up there and rustle CC,” said manager Joe Girardi. “Not fun.”
In late October, Sabathia consumed approximately 200,000 calories woth of food, which is four times his normal daily intake. Then, he went to the Catskill mountains in upstate New York, where he found a suitable cave for his three-month slumber. 

He stripped naked, curled into a fetal position, and went into a trance-like sleep that would allow him to wake up refreshed and ready for the season, and have the added benefit of allowing him to survive the cold winter, where food is scarce and harder to come by. This is the first year that the Yankees have had to wake up Sabathia from his annual hibernation.

“It’s not fun, from what I understand,” said Derek Jeter, who heard about the challenge from Sabathia’s former Cleveland Indians teammate Grady Sizemore. “Wait, unless, do you like waking up a raging 300-lb ginormous mammal? No? Okay, then, yeah, it’s not fun.

He may be a giant mammal, but he's our giant mammal!!!

Ouija Board: Spirit Board or Just a Game

January 2009

Most of us have checked out Ouija boards at one time in our lives. For me, it was when I was in middle school. My friends and I would spend the night at one of our homes on the weekends. There were usually six of us and we loved getting scared. Our night would usually consist of cheesy scary movies, junk food and playing games. The games weren’t your typical board games but anything that might give us a scare. We might start out with: light as a feather, stiff as a board; or a séance; or we would pull out the Ouija board, which someone conveniently had. We would all put a finger on the triangle pointer and ask questions. The excitement would build when the pointer started moving. Of course we all swore that we didn’t move it. Nothing major happened, just a group of silly adolescent girls having fun.

Even though we had nothing happen afterwards, the same can’t be said for a friend of my daughters and her two roommates. They decided to check out the Ouija board one night that April had purchased. They asked all the questions and got movement from the pointer. After having fun, the board was put away and they went to bed. The next morning several of the kitchen cabinet doors were opened. They blamed each other for playing a prank but no one would fess up. The doors were shut and the two roommates went to work while April took a shower. When she returned to the kitchen, some of the cabinet doors where opened. She called her roommates to see if one of them returned and opened the cabinets, but they were already at work. Creepy feelings came over her at this point. This was only the beginning of many unexplained phenomenon to happen in that apartment. All April’s life strange paranormal activity kept happening to her or around her. This seemed to another chapter in the spooky life that was April’s. (I hope to write some blogs about some of these chapters). After a month or so of the paranormal activity in the apartment, they all moved out! Did some type of spirit, good or bad, get released when they used to Ouija board? I don’t know but the paranormal activity was real.

Ouija board (pronounced “weejah”) has been known as a spirit board or talking board. The board is made up of letters, numbers, and symbols all to help communicate with spirits. The triangle pointer (as I call it) is called a planchette and aides in spelling out the messages from the questions asked. Although “Ouija” is a trademark name, the term “Ouija Board” is abandoned as a registered trademark. The Ouija board goes as far back as 1200 B. C. and used by the Chinese as a method called “planchette writing”. On February 10, 1891, the Ouija board was patented, looking much like the board we use today.

The scientific explanation for the Quija board is that we are using our subconscious mind in directing our thought process. Some people believe that the Ouija board is so powerful that they a not aware that they are moving the planchette. They are so caught up in the moment and believe that some kind of spiritual force is answering their questions. Experiments were conducted to try and prove this theory right and concluded with different results.

A spiritualist explains the Quija board as vessel for spiritual contact. Some say that the contacted spirits may use the talents of a medium to get their messages across. The medium’s eyes are a vessel for a spirit to use and be able to point at the letters in order to form the message it needs to convey. Some don’t believe that the board has any mythical powers but used as a tool for a medium to communicate with spirits.

Of course, where would we be without the skeptic’s view? They feel that it is used to fool people, a prank, and that one person is indeed moving the planchette. Maybe, more than one person is in on the joke, with all moving the planchette slowly, having the unaware person thinking that it is moving on its own. Also, they may keep a straight face or show shock, keeping up with the prank. The skeptics believe that the planchette can only move by human power and not spiritual power.

Although many think of Ouija board as a simple game and harmless, some revere it as evil and dangerous. What may seem like a friendly spirit could be a demon spirit instead playing tricks on an unsuspecting victim. People have reported being haunted by ghosts, hearing voices and other unknown phenomenon after using the Ouija board. This is what happened to April and her roommates. There are many other stories similar to these that can be found on the Internet. What do you think? Is the Quija board evil or just a game?

--Julie--

GAK!

January 2009

A quick question...

Why the hell is George King a panelist on the Yes Hot Stove show?

The guy is dour, dumb, and makes absolutely no contribution to the show. He is as dynamic as a houseplant and basically has no clue. 

Jay Mohr Knows Red Sox Fans

January 2009

(h/t to Sliding Into Home)

The Bronx Stop Is Still Alive

January 2009

The Bronx Stop is still alive.

I have been super busy with school (graduation in just one more semester!) and work and have not had a lot of time to update this offseason, which was not what I wanted to happen.

However, I plan on resuming activity on the site possibly as early as this week.

So please...do not delete your bookmarks and your RSS links!!!

The Bronx Stop will be back, and better than ever, I assure you!

100+

January 2009

Thanks to RLYW for backing up my expectations of a 100+ win season with more nuts and bolts then I provided!

See the info here

How the Yanks Could Sign Manny

January 2009

The potential problem with signing Manny to a 3 or 4 year deal is that you never know if he will pull another stunt like he did with the Red Sox and leave the signing team holding the bag for $50-$80 million. I have a fix for that-

Sign Manny to a 2 year deal for a guaranteed $40 million. Add an incentives clause based on top 15 MVP for an additional $5mm per year bring him to the $25mm per he desires. Then, add 2 vesting years based on 120 games played structured the same way as the 1st 2 years ($20mm guaranteed with $5mm per for top 15 MVP). This contract would allow Manny to attain the 4 year $100mm contract he desires, so long as he plays in more than 120 games per year, and is among the top 15 in MVP voting each year. Any player making $25mm per year had BETTER be in the top 15 in MVP voting! 

Manny has been in the top 15 in MVP voting in 9 of the last 10 years.

Manny has played in 120 or more games every year but 1 since 1995.

This contract would allow the signing team some degree of comfort that Manny would be motivated every year, and allow Manny to attain the contract he wants so long as he is as productive as he has been for his whole career.

What do you think?

Expectations

January 2009

In my previous post I wrote that I expect the Yanks to push the 100 win mark in 2009. A reader very fairly commented that there are a number of potential pitfalls that could keep that number a good 5-10 wins below that 100 win mark. In response to that comment I thought I'd write about what I expect to happen in '09-

I expect:

Damon and Jeter to hit 300 and score 100 runs.

Tex to hit at least 285 with more than 30 hr and 100 RBI

Arod to hit at least 300 with more than 35 HR and 110 RBI

Matsui to be healthy and post in the area of 285/385/485

Posada to post numbers in-line with his career norms and catch 100+ games (270/380/485)

Nady to hit 275/20/85

Cano to hit +/-300/20/85

Melky/Gardner to stay above the mendoza line and play plus defense.

This is what I EXPECT- I hope for more. If all we get is the expected numbers, we should be comfortably above 900 runs scored for the year.

As for the starters, I expect:

Pettitte will have no problem at worst duplicating his 2008 numbers. Andy pitched the second half with a mild shoulder strain that kept him from properly finishing his pitches and he therefore was up in the zone from August on. While a 3.75 ERA might be too optimistic for a guy on the wrong side of 35, I believe he will do better than 4.54 he posted in '08.

I expect CC to get off to a slow start. Everyone knows Carsten leads the universe in innings pitched the last 2 years, and if you look at his splits he is a consistently slow starter. As the Yanks have said they plan to bring him along cautiously in spring training, I think that slow start is a given for '09. After May 15th, however, I expect he'll be the best pitcher in the AL.

I expect AJ to make 25 starts and post a 4.00 ERA.

I expect Wang to be Wang; the best #3 in the game, challenge for 20 wins and have a sub 4 ERA.

I expect Joba to make 20-25 starts and have an ERA under 4.

I expect Phil Hughes to make 20+ starts and have a 4-ish ERA.

I expect the Yankee pen to be very solid and build off of last year's success.

I don't feel that any of my expectations for '09 are unrealistic; they are pretty much based on the back of the baseball cards for each player. I don't expect 35 starts from AJ (though he could surprise), I don't expect a 2.50 ERA from Joba (though, again, it could happen)- everything above should happen, and might be too conservative.
Granted (as evidenced last year!) injuries are the potential fly in the ointment, but short of limiting Joba and AJ's starts there is no way to forecast them.

Therefore, and based on the above expectations, I see 100 wins.

What do you think? Are any of my expectations unrealistic?

Many Moves....But Are we Any Better?

January 2009

Let's assume that the Yanks are pretty much done for the off season and we'll be going to war with the currently situated roster (including Andy as I still think that is a foregone conclusion). There is no doubt that we are a different team, but are we a truly better team? Many pundits and posts have forecasted that while the Yanks will be better, it will only be marginally so. Let's take a look at the new roster when compared with 2008 and see if we agree - 

2008 Line up-

Damon LF/DH

Jeter SS

Abreu RF

Arod 3B

Giambi 1B

Nady LF/DH

Cano 2B

Molina C

Melky/Gardner CF

Our 2009 version features the following substitutions-

Posada for Molina

Teixeira for Giambi

Matsui for Abreu

The worst swap here is Matsui for Abreu, which is likely a wash. The other 2 swaps are significant upgrades.

The 2008 rotation saw the following (# starts/ERA)-

Mussina (34/3.37)

Pettitte (33/4.54)

Rasner (20/5.40) 

Ponson (15/5.85)

Wang (15/4.07)

Kennedy (9/8.17)

Hughes (8/6.62)

Pavano (7/5.77)

Joba (12/2.60*)

Geise (3/3.53*)

Aceves (4/2.40*)

Igawa (1/13.50)

(*combined starting/relieving ERA)

Of the 161 starts in 2008, 50 (31%) were made by either Rasner, Ponson, Pavano, Geise, Aceves or Igawa; OUCH!

For the rotation in 2009, if we assume that CC provides only the same season that Moose gave us last year (though he should provide more), and that Pettitte is exactly the same (though I expect better without the shoulder strain), we would be replacing all of the non-Moose/Pettitte starts with an additional 15-20 from Wang and Joba each, and 30+ from Burnett/Hughes. 

I might be dumb, but it sure seems that this is a massive upgrade to me!

We won 89 games last year and have made significant upgrades to both our lineup and our rotation - anyone who is looking for less then 100 wins in 2009 is not paying attention!

Sign or Get Off the Pot

January 2009

Let me start by saying I love Andy Pettitte. I think that by him coming back we would have the one thing we are currently missing form our rotation - someone who has won (and won big) as a Yankee before. Don't underestimate the importance of Pettitte's ability to play the 'been there...won that' card.

I also have developed a serious man-crush on Phil Hughes. I am expecting that by the 3rd year of CC and AJ's new contract they will both be slotted in behind Phil Phranchize on the depth chart.

That being said, we have to resolve our last rotation spot. Our offer to Andy has been gathering dust for a couple of months now and I think it's time to shake things up a bit.

Kernan of the Post suggests Oliver Perez - nah. If we wanted a young, immensely frustrating kid with huge potential we could have signed Daniel Cabrera for a relative bucket of balls.

No; there is only one direction to move in - Ben Sheets.

Take the same offer made to Andy, add a team option for 2010 and put it on the table as well to Sheets; the first to sign wins.

If we land Sheets we get a guy who has the 'stuff' and ability to be an ace. A guy who is every bit as good as the Boston god (he's a god according to the Gammonites, anyway) Josh Becket.

If it forces Andy to sign then we have the guy we wanted to begin with.