My Top 5 Favorite Baseball Films

As you may or not know by reading my blog at this point, you probably have figured out that I am a huge baseball fan. I have a Web site called www.thisgreatgame.com with my very talented partner Eric Gouldsberry, and I interview retired baseball players for SABR, the Society of Baseball Research. So, I thought it would be cool to rate my top 5 baseball movies. I am doing a top 5 on everything I find important, and baseball movies surely fit into that category, so here goes:

5.) Bull Durham: (1988) A funny, well-written movie produced by Ron Shelton, the king of sports films, this movie deals with things that have never been addressed before or since about life in the minor leagues. The love triangle between Susan Sarandon (Annie) as the baseball groupie with a soul; Tim Robbins (Nuke LaLoosh) as the clueless pitcher with a good arm and no brain; and Kevin Costner as the career minor league catcher named Crash Davis, is priceless.
4.) Eight Men Out: (1988) John Sayles is a great filmmaker and this movie truly captures the era and the story of the Chicago Black Sox throwing the 1919 World Series. Memorable performances by Jon Cusack as Buck Weaver, Charlie Sheen as Oscar “Hap” Felsch, John Mahoney as Kid Gleason, and David Strathain as Eddie Cicotte make this a special period piece that will always have a place in the history of great baseball movies.
3.) The Natural: (1984) Although this movie is more of a fable than a story with any truth to it, it is fun to watch and even though I always know how it will end, I still love it. People complain that it is too mythological and not realistic enough, but I don’t care. Robert Redford, playing Roy Hobbs, is a character based on real-life ballplayer Ed Waitkus, who was shot in 1949 by an obsessed fan named Ruth Ann Steinhagen. When Hobbs names his favorite bat “Wonderboy”, it’s a takeoff on Shoeless Joe Jackson’s renowned bat, “Caroliney”. Redford is perfect in the role of the washed-up underdog who makes an incredible comeback, and Michael Madsen as the cocky Bartholomew “Bump” Bailey is also great, as are Richard Farnsworth as coach Red Blow, and Wilford Brumley as embattled manager Pop Fisher.
2.) A League of Their Own: (1992) Penny Marshall’s creation about the Women’s All-American Baseball League of the 1940’s is a wonderfully balanced and poignant story about a group of women asked to entertain those at home on the baseball fields of small-town America while the boys are at war. Tom Hanks plays the washed-up drunk manager, Geena Davis is excellent as the best player in the league, and awesome performances by Lori Petty, Madonna, and Rosie O’Donnell make this film a must-see for fans and non-fans alike.
1.) Field of Dreams: (1989) This film has it all – reincarnated ballplayers, a ball field in Iowa that people are mysteriously drawn to; the story of one man’s search for truth and his pursuit of something pure -- is so unique that nothing else can compare to it. Once again, Kevin Costner (Ray Kinsella) is there to tell the story, along with great performances by Ray Liotta as Shoeless Joe Jackson, Burt Lancaster as Midnight Graham, and James Earl Jones as Terrence Mann -- all of whom make this a one-of-a-kind baseball movie. This film coined the phrase, “If you build it they will come,” which has been used and overused to describe so many things non-baseball that it’s become part of our culture.

9th Annual Yuletide Yuckfest Announced Today

My annual comedy fundraiser for Toys for Tots is called the Yuletide Yuckfest and we’re announcing the date and the headlining comedian today. The date of this year’s Yuckfest is Sunday night December 3rd, 7 pm at Rooster T. Feathers comedy nightclub in Sunnyvale. Our headliner is a comic named Clinton Jackson, who is really funny and squeaky clean, which is good for a benefit like this. Admission to the show (which is our 9th annual, by the way), is $15 with an unwrapped toy or $20 without a toy.

As we get closer to the date, I’ll be adding a bunch more comedians to the lineup. As usual, Chubby’s All-Stars, considered the greatest carport band in the bay area, will be opening the show at 7 pm with great music. Here is some press on Clinton Jackson. Stayed tuned for more details on this great event. I hope to see you all at the Ninth Annual Yuletide Yuckfest!!

Born Clinton Page Jackson in Oakland California, Clinton is the youngest of three and the only son. An imaginative child inclined to perform, Clinton stood empty handed at "Show & Tell", told his jokes, and officially claimed his identity as comedian at the age of nine.
Clinton honed his craft in San Francisco's thriving comedy scene. As a stand-up, he has appeared on numerous national stand-up television shows. He recently taped his own half hour comedy special "Comedy Central Presents" which debuted in the spring of 2004. Clinton's CD titled "Clinton Jackson - 'Nuff Said" was released on Uproar Records.
On stage Clinton moves about as if he were in a boxing match delivering material that is not only hilarious to hear but brilliantly visual as well. He's clever and engaging with a unique point of view. He works clean on stage, earning him the respect of his peers and giving him a broad cross over appeal.
Following his acclaimed performance at HBO's prestigious Aspen Comedy Festival, Clinton moved to Los Angeles to pursue his other love - acting. He was then cast as science teacher "Mezz Crosby" appearing for two seasons on the WB's "Nick Freno". Clinton also guest starred in "Cybill" as well as "Dharma & Greg". True to form, Clinton has appeared in several shows on family friendly networks such as Nickelodeon, and most recently, the Disney Channel's "That's So Raven".
Clinton has also been cast in numerous commercial campaigns including Jeep, Circuit City, AC Delco, and Old Navy.
In addition to a career in acting, Clinton's dream is to achieve excellence and permanence in the art of stand-up comedy.
"Clinton Jackson is more a monologist than a joke machine; his good natured presence and knack for spinning a tale draw an audience into his confidence. He has an effortless, easygoing delivery and an actor's gift for mimicry. The man is clean, clever and engaging.”
Michael Snyder
The San Francisco Chronicle
To find out more about Clinton Jackson, visit his web site at: www.clintonjackson.com.

Talking Parrots & Life with Mark Bittner (Part II)

(I recently sat down with Mark Bittner, author and the subject of the award-winning documentary, "The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill." Here is a part of that interview:)

ERA: Have you found that people recognize you now since “The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill” came out and was such a success?

MB: Oh, yeah, it’s strange. On some days, no one will recognize me. And, then on other days it just happens all day long. For instance, two days ago, it happened several times. At one point we were at a stop sign and somebody ran over to the car and that was kind of funny.

ERA: Is it gratifying, annoying?

MB: It’s neither, really. I mean, in a certain sense it’s gratifying, because you want to touch people, of course you want it to reach out to people. But, you know, it’s small. Fame doesn’t mean anything to me. I’ve always thought that fame was like nonsense. And now I can see it even more so. But, even on the small level on which I encounter it, it IS nonsense. You know, people are nice and it’s never been a problem. I’m not inundated by it, but I can see where if I were, it could get very annoying. Because I’m used to just walking around thinking about stuff that I’m working on, and if people were interrupting me constantly throughout a day, that would just be hell.

ERA: I know that some people who saw the people criticized the couple who owned the property and made you move. Was there any animosity toward them on your part?

MB: No, and that’s been kind of terrible in a way, because when we first showed the film at a test screening, a lot of people acted negatively to them, so we added some extra voice over to make it clear that they were actually being good to me. And the book makes it very clear that I had no animosity toward them. But, if you just see the film and you’re not paying real close attention – I mean, I say in the film that they’ve been real good to me and I meant it, but some people just see it as they made me leave. You know, a film only shows so much, because you only have so much time to tell the story in a movie. The facts of the matter were complicated. The building was falling apart. I was ready to go. I didn’t want to keep doing what I was doing. I had been doing it for six years and I had never intended on being the parrot man my whole life. So, when they said we’re sorry, we have to do something because this building is falling apart, that was true and I was grateful to them, because I had always felt I was on a path of some sort and I wanted something to naturally end it. So, I was grateful to them rather than being upset with them.

ERA: In what other ways has the film changed your life?

MB: Well, in many ways both the book and the film have changed my life. My issue coming into this whole thing was how to make a living. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do to make a living. I’ve always wanted to devote myself wholeheartedly to something, but I couldn’t find what that was. And, so the parrots opened the door. It wasn’t like tending the parrots was my answer, which is the way some people look at it. It was more like they just opened the door. It gave me a story to tell, for one thing. I’d always liked writing, but for a variety of reasons I had always discounted writing as a way of making a living. But, now I finally had a story to tell, it was a unique story and I thought it should be told. And the book did well so that kind of thing is open to me now. I’ve traveled all over the world giving talks.

ERA: Was there a moment when you remember saying to yourself, “These parrots are going to open this door for me?”

MB: No, not really. It wasn’t like that. It was like when I was doing it I wasn’t sure why I was doing it. That was always a big puzzle to me. I felt at first like I was being diverted. Because I was very conscious of where I was going, always, even though it looks to a lot of people like I was aimless, it was never that. I was very focused, but when I first got involved with the parrots, I thought they were a diversion and a danger, in that sense. But, I couldn’t get away from them and as I got deeper and deeper into it, all of this good stuff started happening to me. So, I finally just gave up. And it turns out that they represented a door opening for me, but it was a gradual realization. I wrote a story about the parrots to a parrot magazine, and that gave me the idea of writing a book. Then, Judy came along wanting to make the film. At first, it was just going to be a hobby film. But, it just kept growing. It was like everything with this. There was never any goal. Things just kept growing. And then we recently got married.

ERA: Yeah, I wanted to ask you about that. Could you see that you were getting attached to her during the filming of the movie?

MB: No, not at all. In the beginning it was really all just work, work-related and being kind of polite around each other, because it was kind of a professional relationship at first. I just felt comfortable around her, even though I didn’t view her romantically at all.
After awhile, we just started spending more and more time together, and it really all just came together when she wanted to film a baby parrot being born and I had always wanted to see that. So, the babies were late that year. They usually came out around the first of September, but that year they were as many as three weeks late. So, we had to go to the same place every morning and hang out under this one nest that we knew about and sit around in her van, waiting for this baby to come out, and day after day they weren’t coming. So, we spent more and more time, just sitting around and talking and getting to know one another. I knew I liked her and I had hoped it was mutual.

(More to come…)

THE RATDOG REPORT

We have a little Chihuahua mix and his name is Ratdog. I named him Ratdog after Bob Weir’s band and also because he looks like a large white rodent. His owner, a friend of mine whose been dead for three years now, tried to give him to the Humane Society but I stepped in and saved him from the doggy gallows. He’s deaf and yips and yaps all the time at vibrations, like garbage trucks, motorcycles or the wind. He doesn’t have a cornea or something in his eyes and he’s basically an albino. When you take his picture it looks like he has perpetual red-eye. He eats stuff most pooches won’t touch – like garlic, tangerines, tomatoes, cucumbers and even onions. He loves to be cradled in your arms like an infant, but only by people he knows really well. If another dog tries to mess with him, Ratdog will bite the offending mutt without hesitation. He’s a tough little guy.

For some reason, he’s also very popular, especially with the ladies. One female friend of mine actually tried to buy him from us for $500! Can you believe it? My question is: Why are people so attracted to this ugly little mutt? What is it that makes him so darn endearing? Everybody who knows me is always asking about him – How’s Ratdog? What’s up with Ratdog? Why didn’t you bring Ratdog? They rarely ask me about our other dogs, Shelly and Kaido. They hardly ever bother to ask how Angelina and I are doing. No, they want the latest news about Ratdog and I have yet to fully understand why. Maybe it’s because he’s the ultimate underdog. His bark is so annoying it makes you want to scream. He’s not particularly attractive. He’s licked his front paws so many times over the years that they’re orange-colored. He’s always a tad stinky, even after a bath. He’s got bad breath 24/7 and no matter how many times you brush his teeth, they’re always a shade of light brown.

Last year, Angelina and I made a 5-minute movie for a short-film contest here in San Francisco. It was called “Our Dinner with Ratdog” and starred you-know-who. The finished product was terrible, it hurts us just to watch it now, but Ratdog was great. Doing the movie was a learning experience to say the least. When we did the film, half the crew was drunk, Angelina got into it with the director and the entire process cost me major bucks I didn’t have. But, Ratdog was awesome. He hit his mark every time and was a real trooper.

Now and then, I’ll give you a report on how Ratdog is doing. That way, my friends can stop asking me all the time. Maybe then they’ll actually inquire as to how we’re doing once in awhile!

Kaido has to Go!

It's absolutely breaking my heart, but Angelina and I decided today that we have to give one of our dogs, Kadio, up for adoption. The woman next door has been complaining that the dogs are barking when we're not home and it seems as though Kaido is the main culprit, so he has to go. Believe me, this dog is not a chronic barker, but because we live in snobby SF, even if they bark a little, people freak out!

Three dogs is also just way too many to have in Pacific Heights anyway, especially since we don't have a yard for them to play in. They sit in their crates all day when we're gone, so of course when they hear noises (something this neighborhood is full of) they are going to bark. That's what dogs do! So having them live like this is basically unfair to the animals. We still plan on keeping Shelly and Ratdog (I will move before I give them away!)

So, if you know someone who is looking for a really great dog, tell them about Kaido. He is the sweetest mutt in the world. He is loving and faithful and fun. He is great with children and is of course potty trained. We really don't know exactly what type of dog he is, but people have told us he's a flat coat retriever.

We really want to give him to a good family. Part of the deal would be that we could come and visit him once in awhile. I am crying while writing this. I know I must sound like a complete wimp, but giving away a dog or any animal you've grown attached to is always hard. It's going to be a tough couple of weeks, believe me. If you know anyone, please e-mail me at: era39@aol.com.

Move Over, Birdman of Alcatraz! Meet Mark Bittner, The Passionate Parrotman of Telegraph Hill

“The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill” is a fascinating documentary about a flock of approximately 45 wild parrots that live and breed in the North Beach/Telegraph Hill area of San Francisco. It’s an award-winning film directed by well-known documentarian Judy Irving. For a long time, the movie made its way around the country as an underground sensation, popular with animal lovers, naturalists and people from all walks of life. Folks just seem to be drawn to this amazing story of human beings and animals living together and changing each other’s lives forever. The film is now available on DVD, and is doing quite well in both the rental as well as sales markets.

Every day around this time of year, I can see these wonderful birds through my office window. There is a tree directly across the street where they squawk and eat juniper berries. I love watching them for hours at a time and I’m always quite depressed when they fly off. They’re like neighbors – fun to look at and a little noisy every now and then.

The central character in the film is Mark Bittner, a 40-something free spirit who came to San Francisco from Vancouver, Washington in 1972 in hopes of becoming a successful singer and musician. Things didn’t pan out in SF for Mark the way he had hoped they would, and soon he found himself homeless and living on the streets of North Beach. After squatting in a few places and living on peoples’ roofs, he eventually was allowed to live rent-free in a cottage below the house of a yuppie couple who lived near the parrots of Telegraph Hill. He began to feed the birds several times a day. He learned who the different parrots were and gave them names. Bittner eventually had to move out of the place when the owners of the property decided to renovate it into a high-priced rental property. Suddenly, Mark found himself homeless again and separated from his family of wild parrots.

I recently got an opportunity to meet with Mark Bittner and ask him about the film, his book that preceded the movie, and his life since. We met in North Beach last week and chatted for almost an hour. The man is so cool and just a great guy. I know this sounds cliché, but I feel as though I’ve known him forever. I got a big brother vibe from the guy right off. The movie and his book have completely changed his life in so many ways. The interview will be appearing on my blog sometime this week in a condensed form, so stay tuned.

In the meantime, if you live in this city, especially in the areas of Telegraph Hill, North Beach, the Marina or Pacific Heights, keep your eyes peeled for these parrots. Their unique personalities are just as colorful as their plumage and markings. They are truly a special part of San Francisco and its culture. We’re an animal-loving city, and one can’t help but fall in love with these birds once you’ve seen them playing, eating, breeding and just being.

To learn more about Mark Bittner and “The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill”, visit his web site at: www.wildparrotsbook.com.

To be continued……

Kobayashi: The King of Consumption

Eating contests are something I know a little about. When I was in college I ate 24 plate-sized pancakes in 30 minutes, a fraternity record that still exists today as far as I know. Another time on a dare I ate 68 pieces of sushi. (Not sashimi but nigiri – the kind with the rice, which is much tougher to eat a lot of.) The mistake I made with that feat of gluttony happened when I drank a lot of water with the sushi, causing the rice in my stomach to expand. They had to carry me out of the restaurant and I was sick for three days. Then, of course, there’s the classic thing we do at ballgames called a “Babe Ruth.” This is where you eat one hot dog every inning at a baseball game. If the game goes into extra innings, you’re in big trouble.

In my younger days I could consume a lot of food and actually got 86ed from a couple of those all-you-can-eat buffets. The end result is that now I suffer from diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. At one time I actually weighed 355 lbs! Man, was I fat! Now I’m down to around 270 and dieting and eating right with the help of my wonderful fiancée Angelina. The difference between her and I is that we both love food, but it’s just not as big a priority in her life. Plus, she can go without eating meat, which I find difficult. I still eat well, and I get to have the occasional burger or steak every now and then, it’s just that now it’s a special occasion and not an every day thing. Once in awhile I’ll still sneak some chocolate or ice cream like a little kid, and almost every time Angelina will catch me. One of my favorite places in the world is called Coca Bella, a chocolate store down on Union Street in SF. It’s funny – I never realized how much of a sweet tooth I had until I learned I was diabetic!

This kid Kobayashi is an amazing consumption machine. He doesn’t look like a big eater – He’s a little guy who’s skinny as a rail. But, man can he pack it in. Joey Chestnut from San Jose Calif. is a great eater too, but he will always be in Kobayashi’s shadow as long as Takeru is in the speed eating game. Kind of like when Steve Young was backing up Joe Montana. Young never became a star in the NFL until Montana left the 49ers. Then, he cashed in.

Check out what Kobay-san did recently:

SHEBOYGAN, Wis. (AP) - Takeru Kobayashi downed 58 bratwursts in 10 minutes Saturday to set a new record at the Johnsonville World Brat Eating Championship.
The 27-year-old Japanese man, considered one of the world's greatest eaters, won $8,000 at the contest in Sheboygan.
"They're good," said Kobayashi, who won Nathan's hot dog eating contest in July. "I want to take some home."
Defending champion Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas was unable to defend her title, eating only 34 brats, half a brat less than last year. At the time, her performance set a new world record.
Joey Chestnut came in second by downing 45 brats before thousands at the annual Brat Days in Sheboygan.
The 160-pound Kobayashi, of Nagano, Japan, ate 54 hot dogs to win the contest in New York in July.
"Brats are a little bit harder to eat," he said. "With hot dogs, it's more volume. You're actually dipping the buns in water."
If you're interested in finding out more about eating contests, the International Federation of Competitive Eating (IFOCE), which is also a chapter of the International Federation Association Regarding Terrible Smells (IFARTS), their web site is: www.ifoce.com.

Wendy Diamond knows Squat About Dogs and Human Relationships

“Animal Fair” magazine founder Wendy Diamond is also the author of the book, “What a Lucky Dog! How to Understand Men through Their Dogs”. She claims in a recent article I saw on Yahoo! that you can surmise a lot about a man by the kind of dog he owns.

For instance, she says that Chihuahua men are very demanding as a rule and like to be the center of attention. She says Rottweiler men are overly protective when they sense their loved ones are in danger. And she claims that guys who own Golden Retrievers aren’t above going through your closets and drawers when you’re not home. Diamond believes that dogs can sniff out whether a relationship will work or not.

This kind of pop psychology is a complete pile of stinky dog poo. No wonder Wendy Diamond is still single. This woman needs a long walk and then she needs to be put in her crate! I lift my leg on her ridiculous theories. Dogs live to hump the couch and sniff other dog’s hey-nanny-nannies. They know just about as much about human relationships as Diamond does. Next thing you know she’ll be telling us that Dalmatians can do marriage counseling or that Poodles can sense when your significant other is hot to trot. She’ll probably also try to get us to believe that Great Danes know if someone is cheating in a relationship and show it by relieving themselves on the leg of the offending party.

Get a clue, Wendy and stop being so silly. Guys are a little smarter than dogs (in most cases) and can see right through this kind of garbage. If you want to find a good guy, go down to the Humane Society and pick one up. If you were my girlfriend I’d probably run out into traffic or ask to be put to sleep.

Wendy Diamond’s web site is: www.animalfair.com.

Dem Bums Gone Rise Again!

Just when you thought the LA Dodgers were dead and gone, they come back! After the all-star break, the Blue Crew went on a bad run, losing 13 out of 14. Now they're in the midst of a nine-game winning streak and the team has found a whole new way of winning. Just when things were looking bleak, this team is back on track. With the Giants, Rockies, Padres and D-Bax playing mediocre baseball, the race to the finish in the NL West is about to get really interesting. Watch out Cardinals, Mets, et al -- this team is young, aggressive and pumped up!! With a nucleus of rookies and veterans, and the addition of guys like Maddux, Lugo and Betimet -- the Dodgers are rolling and poised to make a run. Jeff Kent who? Nomar who? We would like our injured vets to come back, but in the meantime the young kids are getting it done. It should be a fun MLB season the rest of the way!

It's Jerry Garcia Day Today in San Francisco

Today is Jerry Garcia Day in San Francisco. Jerry, as most of you probably know, was the leader of the Grateful Dead. He would have been 64 this week. Here is the press release on the event today:

On August 6th, 2006 the Excelsior Cultural Group, Excelsior District Improvement Association, and the San Francisco Parks Trust will present the 4th Annual Excelsior District Jerry Garcia Birthday Celebration (Jerry Day 2006) at the Jerry Garcia Amphitheater, located at 40 John F. Shelley Drive. Jerry Garcia, as most people know, was one of the biggest musical icons of our time, the leader of the Grateful Dead, and a native son of the Excelsior who grew up at 87 Harrington Street. This community celebration of Jerry Garcia originated in 2002 and has since gained a wide range of support across the Excelsior District and Southeast Community of San Francisco. Due to its success we are seeing a tremendous amount of increase in the use and awareness of the Jerry Garcia Amphitheater, as well as a great deal of positive press! Once again, we look forward to filling the Jerry Garcia Amphitheater with a great community event celebrating the Excelsior District's Native son - Jerry Garcia on August 6th! Stay tuned for details on some cool fundraising events in the near future. For more information (or to get involved) please feel free to contact the Jerry Day Committee at jerrydaysf@hotmail.com.
Fiscal Sponsorship for Jerry Day is provided by the San Francisco Parks Trust
Come and celebrate the life and music of Jerry in the Excelsior District, the neighborhood where he grew up!
Created By: Hitesh N. Chudasama