2024: My Life is Going Well as The Country Goes to Hell

In one hour from now, 2024 comes to a close. Some reflections are in order.

As one might detect by the title, I am content with my own lot in life although I cannot say the same for what is happening around me.

So, let's start with the good stuff.

The highlight of 2024 was getting promoted at work. Given the tumult I experienced in moving from Boston to New York to Atlanta and back to Boston/Cambridge in the space of less than three years, this development has been immensely rewarding. I have been in the new position for just under two months with much to learn but I believe I am more than equal to the challenge and have the support to back it up.

Back in March, I made my first trip back to Canada in far too long going to Thunder Bay for my Mom's 80th birthday. There were several visits to New York to see Dad including one visit with my older brother Ezra. There were also lunches and dinners with various friends including a daytrip to Providence, Rhode Island back in August to see my former roommate Christopher Kain (who I shall be seeing tomorrow to watch the Marx Brothers Movie Marathon at the Brattle Theatre). I also renewed acquaintances with Fanny lead guitarist June Millington when she appeared at the Boston Public Library in October. 

But most of my free time was spent alone engaged in relatively simple pleasure - be it walking from Cambridge to Boston and back, swimming, candlepin bowling, posting my song of the day on Facebook, going to the movies and the occasional concert or looking for and finding Remy the Harvard cat. 

Now onto the bad stuff. 

When I wrote my year end dispatch on this day in 2023, I was acutely worried about two things - the future of American democracy with Donald Trump's possible return to the White House and rising anti-Semitism in this country. 

Unfortunately, my worst fears have come to pass. Trump will return to the White House in less than three weeks and anti-Semitism is becoming mainstream in this country on both sides of the political spectrum. Neither of these things bode well for the future. Alas, these developments are of our own making. 

In view of these circumstances, I wonder how long it will be before these two things directly interfere with my day-to-day life. Would I lose my job for writing a blog post critical of Trump or defending Israel? Then there is the larger question as to whether our rights will be abridged be it through Trump suspending all or part of the U.S. Constitution or whether government or other institutions will see fit to discriminate against Jews amid objectives to render Israel into a pariah state. 

It is quite possible that the current feuding between the MAGA base and Elon Musk could curtail the worst excesses of a second Trump Administration. That this exercise is likely to result in incompetence is of cold comfort. The incompetence of the last Trump Administration resulted in more than 400,000 deaths under their watch on an account of COVID. It doesn't say much for us that we chose to ignore this incompetence and have asked for more. 

It is also not very comforting to know that many among us, especially on college campuses, celebrate the slaughter of Jews at the hands of Hamas, a man who caused the death of a homeless man was celebrated by the incoming President and Vice-President while others lionize a man who murdered the CEO of a health insurance company as if that would do anything to lower their premiums. Such a sickness is not easily treated especially in the absence of public trust.

Nevertheless, I know that much of causes me distress and sorrow are things over which I have almost no control. I can voice my opinion but not much else. With that said, I am further distressed at the prospect that I might soon not be able to voice my opinion lest it ruin my livelihood. 

I can see that I have written twice as much about the bad stuff as I have about the good stuff. By this quantitative measure, it does not represent an accurate reflection of my state of being. Of course, I cannot ignore the bad things which are making things go to hell in this country. But even under the best of circumstances life is fragile.

I do my best to direct my energies on things on which I can control or have a reasonable chance of success. It is one of the reasons why I have thrived with my current employer. I have also accepted the life is full of annoyances and inconveniences and that one must choose one's battles with discretion and wisdom. 

One of those battles was lodging a complaint with the Massachusetts Attorney General after the Wilbur Theatre denied me entrance to the Emmylou Harris concert last March because of the bag I was carrying. It took some time to attain a satisfactory resolution, but justice was done. In the grand scheme of things, $75 is pocket change to many in this day and age but it was the principle of the matter and standing firm upon it.

I might not have got to see and hear Emmylou Harris in concert, but I did see and hear Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Joan Osborne, Frankie Valli, Yoko Miwa, Leonid & Friends, Wild Taxi plus some laughs from Ben Bailey. Hopefully, I will get to see and hear Smokey Robinson next year after a postponement earlier this month. I've also been thinking of taking in a show from "Weird Al" Yankovic when he comes to Boston in July.

Whatever trepidation I might have about 2025 and beyond is tempered by the fact that I will have things to which to look forward be it work, walking, swimming, candlepin bowling, sharing my love for obscure 1960s and 1970s music on social media, concerts, movies and renewing acquaintances with friends as well as the possibility of meeting new people and discovering interests which might have never occurred to me. 

As long as I have these possibilities before me then my life can continue to go well even if the country continues to go to hell. Whatever outer war there is going around me is tempered by my inner peace.

Let Me Say Debrina Kawam's Name

Last week I shared some thoughts about the woman was burned to death on the F train in Brooklyn:

Let us suppose she is soon identified. Now let us further suppose that the victim turns out to be an illegal immigrant herself, possibly homeless. Should this come to pass, I don't think either the New York Post or Fox News will pursue this story with the same vigor as they are now. I suspect that these news outlets will shift their emphasis to crime on NYC subways in general as NY Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul is receiving sharp criticism for stating that crime on the NYC subways is down only hours yesterday morning's incident. Mind you, Hochul is probably right but the timing her of statement struck the wrong chord.

The reason I mention this possibility is because the woman was attacked while she was sleeping aboard the train. In my experience in both Boston and New York, when people are asleep aboard a subway car, they usually have nowhere else to go. Of course, it is entirely possible the victim might not fit this profile at all. Nevertheless, I don't think we can discount the possibility. 

The long and the short of it is this woman died in as painful and violent a manner as you can imagine, and she ought to be mourned with compassion regardless of what her station was in life. 

Today, the woman's identity became public. Her name was Debrina Kawam, a 57-year-old woman originally from Toms River, New Jersey. New York City Mayor Eric Adams noted that Kawam had briefly spent time in the city's homeless shelter system.  

How long Kawam had been homeless isn't clear. According to the AP, she had been employed with Merck from 2000 to 2002 "but her life at some point took a rocky turn." That rocky turn would be met with the most violent of ends. 

Yet somehow, I don't think Marjorie Taylor Greene will be saying Debrina Kawam's name and demanding others do the same as she did with Laken Riley, the University of Georgia in Athens student who was murdered while jogging by an illegal immigrant from Venezuela back in February. Nor do I think the New York Post, Fox News or other conservative media outlets will pursue this horrific crime with the same level of outrage given Kawam's history of homelessness. I cannot imagine a Republican member of Congress introducing an act in Kawam's name as was done with Laken Riley.

I do think these outlets will turn their attention to the lack of safety of the NYC Subway system and not without justification. Just today, a man was pushed onto the tracks at the 18th Street Station and struck by the 1 train. Fortunately, the victim is expected to survive. Nevertheless, given this incident happened less than 10 days after Kawam's murder, fear and anxiety of the NYC Subway system is bound to rise. 

Then there is the ongoing demonization of illegal immigrants which will only accelerate once Donald Trump returns to the White House in just under three weeks. Even if one is favorably inclined towards mass deportations, millions of illegal immigrants cannot and should not be held responsible for the actions of the man who killed Debrina Kawam. 

Naturally, there is much we don't know about Debrina Kawam and the circumstances which led her to her violent death. But whatever those circumstances, we should be prepared to offer her the same level of compassion and sympathy as we would with Laken Riley. 

But if we are not prepared to offer the same level of compassion and sympathy to Debrina Kawam then we must ask why and continue to ask why until we get a straight answer even if it is an answer we might not like to hear. From there, we can figure out how to do better so that others will be spared the fate which befell Debrina Kawam. R.I.P.

Lenny Randle Put Baseball on the Map...in Italy

While I was on Facebook, I saw several posts indicating that former MLB player Lenny Randle had passed away yesterday at the age of 75. However, I did not see any kind of official confirmation until I saw the Seattle Mariners' X account. 

Randle was a baseball and football standout at Compton High School in Los Angeles. He would be drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 10th round of the 1967 MLB Draft but opted to attend college at Arizona State University where he would play college ball under legendary coach Bobby Winkles and would capture the College World Series title in 1969. 

The Washington Senators would draft Randle as a first-round pick in the secondary phase of the 1970 MLB Draft and would make the big-league club the following year with Hall of Famer Ted Williams as his manager. It would be the Senators' last year in D.C. forfeiting their last home game when unruly fans prevented the final out from being played.

Randle moved with the team to Dallas-Fort Worth where they were rechristened the Texas Rangers. As with his rookie season, Randle primarily played at second base. He would spend most of the 1973 season in Triple AAA. But when Billy Martin took over the reins of the club from Whitey Herzog in 1974, Randle got his chance playing a mix of second, third and in the outfield hitting .302 and stealing 26 bases for a team which gave the back-to-back World Series champion Oakland A's a scare in the AL West.

However, Randle's season was overshadowed by an incident in late August against the Cleveland Indians when he bunted off Tribe pitcher Milt Wilcox. But instead of going to first base, he charged Wilcox with a flying tackle precipitating a brawl. Five days later, the two teams would meet with Cleveland during "10 Cent Beer Night". While there was bad blood between the Rangers and Indians, the two teams would need to join forces to fight off drunken fans. For the second time in his career, Randle was part of a forfeited game. 

In 1975, Randle drove in a career high 57 runs. He would steal 30 bases in 1976, but his average had dipped to .224. In 1977, Randle would lose his job at second base during spring training to Bump Wills (son of base stealing legend Maury Wills). Randle would confront Rangers manager Frank Lucchesi about the demotion. Lucchesi allegedly responded by calling Randle "a punk" which prompted Randle to beat up his manager. Unfortunately, Lucchesi suffered a broken jaw and would later be fired by the team. Lucchesi blamed Randle for his sacking and sued him. The two settled out of court.

For his part, Randle was suspended without pay and fined $10,000 before being traded to the New York Mets. Randle was one of the few bright spots on a bad Mets ballclub hitting a career high .304 along with a career high 33 stolen bases. Randle's Mets tenure, however, is best remembered for him being at the plate at Shea Stadium against Ray Burris of the Cubs when the New York City blackout hit. 

Randle's numbers diminished with the Mets in 1978, and he would be released at season's end. He would start the 1979 season with the San Francisco Giants but would play only at Triple-AAA Fresno before being sent to the Pittsburgh Pirates along with Bill Madlock. Randle could have played on a World Series winner but again Randle was relegated to the minor leagues before being sent to the New York Yankees where he would play only 20 games hitting .179 and not stealing a single base.

In 1980, Randle would join the Chicago Cubs where he would rebound hitting .276 with 5 HR along with 39 RBI and 19 stolen bases. Randle spent the final two seasons of his MLB career with the Seattle Mariners. He is best remembered for a game against the Kansas City Royals at the Kingdome. Playing third base, Amos Otis hit a slow grounder which looked like it would stay fair for a base hit until Randle went down on his hands and knees and blew the ball foul. However, the umpires would reward Otis with a base hit. But Randle got his highlight reel. I would be remiss if I didn't mention that Randle also recorded a novelty rap song while with the Mariners called "Kingdome". 

In 12 MLB seasons, Randle played in 1138 games collecting 1016 hits for a lifetime batting average of .257 with 27 HR, 322 RBI and 156 stolen bases. 

And then his life got really interesting.

Randle ended up playing baseball in Italy and living there on and off for the last four decades of his life.

On a personal note, my parents saw Randle play baseball with his Nettuno based team when they visited France in the summer of 1983. Dad couldn't believe he was seeing baseball in France much less a former big-league player at the center of it. 

Through good and bad, Lenny Randle found joy in living while making his own unique contribution to baseball. R.I.P.

What if Linda Lavin Had Remained on Barney Miller?

Actress and singer Linda Lavin passed away yesterday following a recent diagnosis of lung cancer. She was 87.

Lavin was best known for starring in the sitcom Alice which aired on CBS for 9 seasons between 1976 and 1985. Alice was the TV adaptation of Martin Scorsese's film Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore. 

Lavin was also accomplished in the theatre appearing in numerous Broadway productions before and after Alice earning a Tony Award for Best Actress in Neil Simon's 1987 production of Broadway Bound. With a career that had spanned since the late 1950's, Lavin was still a working actress this year having appeared in the Netflix comedy No Good Deed alongside Lisa Kudrow, Denis Leary, Ray Romano and Luke Wilson which debuted earlier this month. She was also to set to appear in a sitcom to air on Hulu next year with the working title of Mid-Century Modern alongside Matt Bomer and Nathan Lane though it is unclear now what will come of the series with Lavin's passing. 

Yet the role for which I remember Lavin was her portrayal of Detective Janice Wentworth on Barney Miller. Lavin only appeared in a handful of episodes. She had a guest spot in the first season and audiences liked her so much she was brought back for a few episodes in the second season in which she was romantically paired with Sgt. Stan "Wojo" Wojciehowicz as played by Max Gail. 

I have no doubt the intention was to make Lavin a full cast member and the only female cop at the 12th precinct. It certainly would have added another dimension to an already wonderful sitcom. But Lavin shot the pilot for Alice and CBS decided to pick up the series. Needless to say, Lavin would have been crazy not to have jumped at the chance to star in her own TV show.

But had CBS or any other network had balked on Alice, I think Lavin would have thrived on Barney Miller. Who knows? Perhaps Detective Wentworth would have received a spinoff kind of like Detective Fish (as played by Abe Vigoda) had with Fish. 

While it is always interesting to speculate on what might have been, Linda Lavin lived a long life and enjoyed a long career on her own terms. R.I.P.

Why I Saw "A Complete Unknown" Again

 

On Christmas Day, I saw the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown. It left me wanting more as it only covered Dylan's life from 1961 to 1965. A great deal happened in his life happened after 1965:

Bob Dylan was truly only just beginning in 1965. He continued his electric play with The Band picking up where the Paul Butterfield Blues Band left off. From there, he would have his motorcycle accident, settle in Woodstock, make amends with Pete Seeger, dig into country music (which brings Cash back into the picture), his return to political activism (i.e. Chile and Reuben "Hurricane" Carter) and the Rolling Thunder Revue. I could easily envision a sequel or two additional films to cover Dylan's life between 1965 and 1976. A working title for such a film could be Keep on Keeping On (or perhaps Positively 4th Street and Tangled Up in Blue if two more films were in order).

The question is whether Chalamet would be prepared to reprise his role as Dylan even at a different stage of his life. The same could be said of several of his co-stars. After all, Dylan is depicted as not wanting to play "Blowin' in the Wind" forever. I'm sure Chalamet wants to move on to other projects. Then again if Chalamet can play Paul Atreides in Dune more than once it is entirely possible that he could play Robert Zimmerman once more.

Should this come to pass, I would likely need to wait a few years. Until then, I will probably end up seeing A Complete Unknown again before it leaves theatres.

So, last night, I made my way back to the Kendall Square Cinema to see A Complete Unknown again. This is significant because it marks the first time that I've seen a movie during its initial run in the theaters since Pulp Fiction 30 years ago when I saw it in both Canada and in the U.K.  

I wouldn't claim that A Complete Unknown is quite on the same level as Pulp Fiction much less be talked about in the same way Pulp Fiction is now circa 2054-2055. Nevertheless, there is something compelling about A Complete Unknown which motivated me to see it again above and beyond the desire to get out of the house on a Saturday night. 

There is my lifelong love of Dylan's music as well as the music of that era and that we have it out in the open in the public domain in a major motion picture in 2024. We now live in a time where the 1980's, the 1990's and even the 2000's are viewed with nostalgia and, for the most part, it just doesn't resonate with me in a meaningful way. For me, when it comes to music, movies and TV, I pine for the late 1960's and early 1970's.

I am mindful of the fact that the events of A Complete Unknown take place before I came into the world. But Dylan's peak also covers the early years of my life and albums like Blood on the Tracks and Desire were played around the house in the time they were released, and I remember those times. Granted, I was a toddler but Dylan's music from the mid-1970s (along with the Nashville Skyline album from 1969) comprise some of my earliest memories. The sounds from those Bob Dylan albums are hardwired into my mind, heart and soul. A movie like A Complete Unknown keeps the hardwiring in circulation and in working order.

My Thoughts on the Passing of Former President Jimmy Carter

This afternoon came the announcement that Jimmy Carter, the 39th President of the United States, had passed away today at the age of 100. 

On a personal note, Carter was the first U.S. President of whom I was sentient. I would know who Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford were but only became aware of their import after they had left the White House. I remember when my parents would watch the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite, he invariably led off the broadcast with, "President Carter today....." Mind you, I wasn't yet attuned to anything else Cronkite or his correspondents had to say about the events of the day. But sometime between the ages of four and five, I had become aware that Jimmy Carter held the most powerful office in the world. My awareness would grow during the Iran Hostage Crisis and the 1980 presidential election in which he was decisively defeated by Ronald Reagan. 

Carter was the longest living U.S. President reaching his 100th birthday back in October despite having spent nearly two years in hospice care. When Carter turned 100, he was determined to cast an absentee ballot for Kamala Harris and did so just over two weeks after his birthday. Sadly, Harris did not prevail, but Carter will be spared the indignity of a second Trump presidency. 

There are a number of things over which I have profound disagreements with former President Carter namely around Israel. But those disagreements are for another day. 

Whatever his successes and shortcomings, on balance, Carter was an honorable public servant who did not use his office to enrich himself. Carter's greatest legacy arguably came to pass after he left the White House with his longstanding association with Habitat for Humanity. Carter along with former First Lady Rosalynn Carter would be involved in the construction of housing for people with low incomes in the United States and abroad. In this respect, former President Carter left the world a better place than how he found it. R.I.P.

Former Cy Young Winner Corbin Burnes Signs with D'Backs

On Saturday, free agent pitcher Corbin Burnes signed a 6-year, $210 million contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The D'Backs are considered are a surprising choice to some as he was reportedly offered more money by both the San Francisco Giants and the Toronto Blue Jays, but Burnes does reside in Arizona, so the move makes sense from that standpoint. Burnes can opt out of the contract following the 2026 season. 

Burnes, 30, pitched this past season with the Baltimore Orioles after having pitched the previous six seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers. A fourth-round pick by the Brew Crew in the 2016 MLB draft, Burnes made his MLB debut during the 2018 season going 7-0 with 2.61 ERA in 30 appearances out of the bullpen. However, Burnes would struggle in 2019 posting a 1-5 record with a ghastly 8.82 ERA in 32 appearances (28 out of the bullpen) earning a demotion to both Triple-AAA and Double-AA ball.

During the COVID shortened 2020 season, Burnes was converted into a starting pitcher going 4-1 with a 2.11 ERA in 12 appearances (9 starts) and would finish 6th in NL Cy Young balloting. In 2021, Burnes would win the NL Cy Young with an 11-5 record and a league leading 2.43 ERA. Burnes also earned the first of four consecutive All-Star Game selections (3 in the NL and one in the AL). In 2022, Burnes would lead the NL in strikeouts with 243 alongside a 12-8 record with a 2.94 ERA finishing 7th in NL Cy Young balloting. 

Following the 2023 season, the Brewers traded Burnes to the O's. Burnes would finish 5th in AL Cy Young balloting after winning a career high 15 games with a 2.92 ERA.

Burnes should be a nice fit in the D'Backs and help them regain their 2023 form as NL champions joining Zac Gallen at the top of the rotation. Burnes enters 2025 with a record of 60-36 with a 3.19 ERA striking out 1051 batters while walking only 254 in 903.2 innings pitched over 199 career appearances (138 of those starts). 

I Just Saw Olivia Hussey in "Black Christmas" Less Than 2 Weeks Ago

A short time ago, I read of the passing of actress Olivia Hussey at the age of 73. Hussey had battled cancer on and off for a better part of 15 years. 

The Argentinian born British actress is best remembered for her portrayal of Juliet in Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 film adaptation of Romeo and Juliet when she was a teenager opposite Leonard Whiting. 

Hussey would later co-star with Keir Dullea in the 1974 horror film Black Christmas which I saw at the Brattle Theatre less than a fortnight ago. Having seen Hussey in that film so recently makes her death quite jarring. 

Hussey never became a full-fledged leading lady but enjoyed a solid career in TV movies (Ivanhoe, Psycho IV: The Beginning), mini-series (Jesus of Nazareth and Lonesome Dove: The Series) and occasional guest spots (Murder, She Wrote and Boy Meets World) before transitioning into voice work (Star Wars: Force Commander and Star Wars: The Old Republic). R.I.P.

Will Ex-Yankee Gleyber Torres Roar with The Tigers?

Gleyber Torres, who has played for the New York Yankees for his entire 7-year MLB career, has signed a one-year, $15 million contract with the Detroit Tigers.

Torres, who turned 28 earlier this month, originally signed with the Chicago Cubs as an amateur free agent during the 2013 season. The Venezuelan born Torres would be traded to the Yankees during the 2016 trade deadline which brought Aroldis Chapman to Wrigley en route to the Cubs' first World Series title in 108 years. 

Torres would make his MLB debut with the Yankees in 2018 and was a sensation finishing third in AL Rookie of the Year balloting behind Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels and then Yankees teammate Miguel Andujar while earning an AL All-Star Team selection. He would be even better in 2019 posting a career best .278 batting average with 38 HR and 90 RBI. 

However, by 2021, Torres began to struggle at the plate hitting .259 with 9 HR and 51 RBI. Torres' numbers did improve in 2022 and 2023. While he hit .257 in 2022, he belted 24 HR with 76 RBI. In 2023, Torres' batting average improved to .273 with 25 HR and 68 RBI. In 2024, Torres took a step back hitting .257 with 15 HR and 63 RBI. 

Torres has alternated between short and second base and isn't particularly good at either position. Worse still, Torres suffers from a lack of hustle and his defensive lapses rendered him out of favor with Yankees management. Torres muffed a throw from Juan Soto during Game 1 of the 2024 World Series which enabled the Dodgers to tie the score to force extra innings and Freddie Freeman did the rest.

Still, Torres has youth on his side and perhaps a fresh coat of paint will do him some good. Torres will be the Tigers everyday second baseman which will move Colt Keith from second to first and a possible one-way ticket to Palookaville for Spencer Torkelson. Nevertheless, the Tigers are proceeding cautiously only committing one year perhaps wary of the lengthy contract given to Javier Baez which is considered by some the worst in all of professional sports. Perhaps the short contract will provide Torres with the incentive to roar with the Tigers.

Torres enters 2025 with 870 career hits in 888 games played for a lifetime batting average of .265 with 138 HR and 441 RBI. 

A Complete Unknown Left Me Wanting More

 

When Christmas Day comes around, I usually don't have much to do except perhaps go for dinner at a Chinese restaurant, a ritual I completed a short time ago.

But this Christmas was unlike other Christmas passed with the premiere of the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown starring Timothée Chalamet and directed by James Mangold. I took in a screening at the Kendall Square Cinema.

Bob Dylan has been part of my musical consciousness since very early childhood. When I first heard Dylan's voice, I would liken it to drinking Coca-Cola for the very first time. It was both hard and sweet. 

Three of Dylan's albums in particular Nashville Skyline, Blood on the Tracks and Desire were frequently played in our household during my formative years in Thunder Bay. While Dylan has long been maligned for his singing, I have long been fascinated by his voice. The contrast between the relaxed country croon of Nashville Skyline and the hard gravel in sand vocals on Blood on the Tracks and Desire leaves me in wonder to this very day.

In August 1992, Dylan paid a visit to my hometown to play a show at the Fort William Gardens which I attended with a date. I would not see him again in concert for more than two decades when Dad and I saw him perform at the Beacon Theater in December 2014, less than two months after Dad had undergone lifesaving triple bypass. 

While I know that Chalamet, who turns 29 the day after tomorrow, is one of Hollywood's most acclaimed actors, it would be the first time I have ever seen any of his work. But even in the sneak previews, I could see and hear that he captured the essence of Dylan. Indeed, it is Chalamet who is actually singing all of Dylan's material in the movie. Ditto for Edward Norton, Monica Barbaro and Boyd Holbrook in their portrayals as Pete Seeger, Joan Baez and Johnny Cash, respectively. Norton completely imbues Seeger's spirit in both form and substance and anything short of an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor would be a travesty. 

A Complete Unknown covers Dylan's life from his arrival in the Greenwich Village folk scene in New York in January 1961 to going electric at the Newport Folk Festival in July 1965. As one might expect, there is a certain amount of dramatic license deployed. A Complete Unknown focuses a great deal on Dylan's romantic involvement with Joan Baez and Sylvie Russo (as played by Elle Fanning). In reality, there is no Sylvie Russo. She is intended to represent Suze Rotolo (who appears on the cover of Dylan's second album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan). Dylan personally requested that Rotolo's name not be used in the film. Dylan would also meet his future wife Sara Lowndes during this period, but she is not depicted in the film at all.

Another example of dramatic license in the film is Dylan meeting Bob Neuwrith at the height of his fame at a New York cocktail party in 1965. In reality, the two had met at the inaugural Indian Neck Folk Festival in Branford, Connecticut in 1961.

In A Complete Unknown, the commotion over Dylan going electric at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival more closely resembled the Rolling Stones 1969 Altamont concert. While there were those in the audience who didn't like Dylan going electric, he was not pelted with foreign objects, nor did Pete Seeger try to sabotage his set by attempting to cut the cable. Seeger was miffed regarding the sound quality and being unable to hear Dylan's lyrics to "Maggie's Farm". However, Dylan's manager Albert Grossman and Newport Folk Festival organizer Alan Lomax did get into a physical altercation as depicted in the film.

I did enjoy the inclusion of Al Kooper (played by Charlie Tahan) in A Complete Unknown finding his way to play organ on "Like a Rolling Stone". Kooper, who later founded The Blues Project and Blood, Sweat and Tears, is a longtime resident of Somerville and I remember seeing him perform at the House of Blues when it was in its original Harvard Square location.

A Complete Unknown left me wanting more. This was driven a great deal by the prominence of Johnny Cash in the film. As mentioned earlier, Nashville Skyline was regularly played in our house. That album opens with a duet between Dylan and Cash on a re-recording and rearrangement of "Girl from the North Country" which Dylan originally recorded on The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan and is featured early on in A Complete Unknown. While Cash is identified with songs such as "Ring of Fire" and "A Boy Named Sue", I shall always and forever associate him with the second verse of "Girl from the North Country":

See for me that her hair's hangin' down

It curls and falls all down her breast

See for me that her hair's hangin' down

That's the way I remember her best

That's the way I remember Johnny Cash best. 

Bob Dylan was truly only just beginning n 1965. He continued his electric play with The Band picking up where the Paul Butterfield Blues Band left off. From there, he would have his motorcycle accident, settle in Woodstock, make amends with Pete Seeger, dig into country music (which brings Cash back into the picture), his return to political activism (i.e. Chile and Reuben "Hurricane" Carter) and the Rolling Thunder Revue. I could easily envision a sequel or two additional films to cover Dylan's life between 1965 and 1976. A working title for such a film could be Keep on Keeping On (or perhaps Positively 4th Street and Tangled Up in Blue if two more films were in order).

The question is whether Chalamet would be prepared to reprise his role as Dylan even at a different stage of his life. The same could be said of several of his co-stars. After all, Dylan is depicted as not wanting to play "Blowin' in the Wind" forever. I'm sure Chalamet wants to move on to other projects. Then again if Chalamet can play Paul Atreides in Dune more than once it is entirely possible that he could play Robert Zimmerman once more.

Should this come to pass, I would likely need to wait a few years. Until then, I will probably end up seeing A Complete Unknown again before it leaves theatres.

Musk & Vance Praise Germany's Anti-Semitic AfD Party

(Justin Merriman - Bloomberg via Getty)

Here's a depressing thought just in time for both Christmas and Chanukah.

A few days ago, Elon Musk heaped praise upon Germany's AfD (Alternative for Germany) amid the collapse of the government led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Musk stated on his X platform, "AfD is the only hope for Germany",

To make matters worse, Vice-President-elect J.D. Vance defended the AfD when Ivana Stradner of the conservative Foundation for the Defense of Democracies criticized Musk's praise on X:

This is SO dangerous. If this is not clear enough - that's what he also wants to do in USA.

If the AfD wins in Germany, we are going to have a very different world. AfD is not only dangerous for Europe but also for USA.

Too bad that many people can't connect the dots...

Vance took to X to state:

It's so dangerous for people to control their borders. So so dangerous. The dangerous level is off the charts. I wonder how much money this person's employer gets from the American taxpayer? 

And I wonder if Vance tells his children the Holocaust never happened.

Aside from Vance's snarky disposition, he is basically telling us that anyone from an organization which receives funding from the federal government will lose it if they criticize Musk.

Let's be clear. Both Musk and Vance are giving their blessing to a political party which tolerates Holocaust denial among its ranks. They are also giving their blessing to a political party who would subjugate Jews in Germany by banning kosher slaughtering and with it a ban on its import. Last I checked, Republicans were supposedly in favor of religious freedom - but evidently not for German Jews. 

Red Sox Pick Up Walker Buehler

Two-time World Series winning pitcher Walker Buehler has signed a one-year contract with the Boston Red Sox worth $21.05 million. 

Buehler, 30, has pitched his entire 10-year professional career with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers selected Buehler in the first round of the 2015 MLB Draft out of Vanderbilt University. Buehler would have a cup of coffee with the Dodgers in 2017 before finishing third in NL Rookie of the Year balloting in 2018 behind Ronald Acuna, Jr. and Juan Soto (now that's some rookie class).

In 2019, Buehler earned his first of two NL All-Star selections en route to a 14-4 record with a 3.26 ERA fanning 215 batters in 182.1 innings pitched while finishing 9th in NL Cy Young balloting. After earning his first World Series ring in the COVID shortened 2020 season, his second NL All-Star selection took place in 2021 when he went 16-4 with a 2.47 ERA striking out 212 batters in 207.2 innings pitched. Buehler finished fourth in NL Cy Young balloting behind Corbin Burnes, Zack Wheeler and Max Scherzer. 

Unfortunately, Buehler got hurt in 2022 and would require Tommy John surgery which forced him to miss most of that season and all of 2023. His return this season was a mixed bag. Buehler was ineffective during the regular season. In 16 starts, Buehler went 1-6 with a 5.38 ERA. However, Buehler did acquit himself well in the post-season earning a victory in Game 3 of the World Series pitching five scoreless innings against the New York Yankees. This would earn him a second World Series ring.

Notwithstanding his contributions to their second World Series in five seasons, the Dodgers declined to tender a qualifying offer making him a free agent. Buehler spent 2024 getting the kinks out of his arm. I think he will return to form in 2025 making him an even more attractive free agent. That is assuming the Red Sox don't lock him up to a long-term deal. 

Buehler enters 2025 with a 47-22 record along with an ERA of 3.27 striking out 754 batters against only 190 walks over 713.2 in 131 career appearances (122 of them starts). Let me put it this way. I will not be the least bit shocked if Walker Buehler is your 2025 AL Cy Young Award winner.

Some Thoughts for The Woman Who Was Burned to Death Aboard the F Train in NYC

Yesterday morning, a woman aboard the F train at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station in Brooklyn was killed by another passenger who set her on fire. 

There is a male suspect in custody named Sebastian Zapeta who is a Guatemalan national and, in this country, illegally. This is the main reason the New York Post (Illegal immigrant Sebastian Zapeta faces murder rap for allegedly burning woman to death on NYC subway as DA promises ‘most serious consequences’) and Fox News ("Suspect accused of burning woman to death on NYC subway is previously deported illegal immigrant") are interested in this story. 

From where I sit, Zapeta's immigration status is immaterial. Most immigrants, even those here illegally, manage to go through life without deliberately burning someone to death. As for Zapeta, he did a heinous thing, and he deserves the severest form of punishment possible for his actions up to and including the death penalty. 

Yes, the argument can be made that had Zapeta not been here this crime would never have happened. That's all well and good but it would suggest that this act would have been somehow less heinous had it been committed by a native born American. 

On a personal note, when I lived in NYC, I used to ride the F train to Brooklyn from time to time to go bowl at the now defunct Shell Lanes (which has since become Bowl 360 Brooklyn) across the street from the Avenue U station - only four stops away from where this incident occurred. 

With that, let us turn our attention to the woman who died aboard the F train. As of this writing, the woman has not been identified. Because of the severity of her injuries, she would most likely be identified by her dental records. 

Let us suppose she is soon identified. Now let us further suppose that the victim turns out to be an illegal immigrant herself, possibly homeless. Should this come to pass, I don't think either the New York Post or Fox News will pursue this story with the same vigor as they are now. I suspect that these news outlets will shift their emphasis to crime on NYC subways in general as NY Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul is receiving sharp criticism for stating that crime on the NYC subways is down only hours yesterday morning's incident. Mind you, Hochul is probably right but the timing her of statement struck the wrong chord.

The reason I mention this possibility is because the woman was attacked while she was sleeping aboard the train. In my experience in both Boston and New York, when people are asleep aboard a subway car, they usually have nowhere else to go. Of course, it is entirely possible the victim might not fit this profile at all. Nevertheless, I don't think we can discount the possibility. 

The long and the short of it is this woman died in as painful and violent a manner as you can imagine, and she ought to be mourned with compassion regardless of what her station was in life. 

Some Brief Thoughts on the Christmas Market Terrorist Attack in Magdeburg, Germany

When I heard about the deadly attack on the Christmas Market in Magdeburg, Germany on Friday, I immediately thought about the ISIS attack on the Christmas Market in Berlin nearly 8 years to the day and thought the incident in Magdeburg might have been committed to commemorate the previous attack. The 2016 attack claimed the lives of 12 people.

Friday's attack in Magdeburg claimed the lives of 5 people including a 9-year-old boy. Although the suspect in the Magdeburg attack is a Saudi national identified as Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, he is not a member of ISIS or any Islamic terrorist organization. Indeed, the suspect fled Saudi Arabia for Germany in 2006, renounced Islam and spent his time trying to help others flee Saudi Arabia. However, his social media posts had grown much darker accusing the German government of promoting Islamism and expressing support for the far-right AfD (as has Elon Musk). The suspect wrote on X earlier this year, “German terrorism will be brought to justice. It’s very likely that I will die this year in order to bring justice.” 

Well, the suspect survived the attack and will now stand trial for his actions. It would seem that al-Abdulmohsen is much closer in inspiration to Anders Behring Breivik, the man responsible for killing 77 people in a terrorist attack in Norway in 2011. Killing people gathered in a Christmas market is wrong whether it is in name of Islam or in the name of denouncing Islam. 

Paul Goldschmidt to be Yankees First Baseman in 2025

Free agent first baseman Paul Goldschmidt has signed a 1-year, $12.5 million contract with the New York Yankees.

Goldschmidt, 37, has spent his entire 14-year MLB career in the NL. He spent 8 seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks and the past six seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals.

An 8th round draft pick of the D'Backs in 2009, Goldschmidt made his MLB debut in 2011. His breakthrough season came in 2013 when he finished runner up in NL MVP balloting to Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen. Goldschmidt led the NL in HR (36), RBI (125), SLG (.551), OPS (.962) and OPS + (160) and would win the first of his four Gold Gloves, his first of five Silver Sluggers as well as the first of his seven NL All-Star Team selections. Goldschmidt would finish runner up in NL MVP balloting again in 2015 this time to Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper. In 2017, Goldschmidt would finish 3rd in NL MVP balloting behind winner Giancarlo Stanton of the Miami Marlins and Cincinnati Reds slugger Joey Votto. 

The D'Backs would trade Goldschmidt to the Cardinals prior to the 2019 season. In 2022, Goldschmidt earned the elusive NL MVP leading the Senior Circuit in SLG (.578), OPS (.981) and OPS + (177) while batting .317 with 35 HR and 115 RBI. 

Goldschmidt's production has fallen off since his MVP season, however. In 2024, Goldschmidt hit a career low .245 with 22 HR and 65 RBI - his worst RBI total since his rookie season. Still, that is infinitely better than how Anthony Rizzo was doing at the plate. But in a lineup with Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Anthony Volpe along with the newly acquired Cody Bellinger, Goldschmidt has a chance to rebound in 2025.

Goldschmidt enters 2025 having played in 1928 games collecting 2056 hits for a lifetime batting average of .289 with 362 HR and 1187 RBI. He has been a very durable player during his career. Aside from the COVID shortened 2020 season, Goldschmidt has played fewer than 145 games only once in his career. In 2014, Goldschmidt's season came to an end in early August when he fractured his left hand. Barring any bad luck, the Yankees can expect to get a good 150 games out of Goldschmidt in 2025. 

Kepler Signs with Phillies After 15 Years with the Twins Organization

Outfielder Max Kepler, who has played his entire professional baseball career in the Minnesota Twins organization, is now a member of the Philadelphia Phillies. 

Yesterday, Kepler signed a 1-year contract worth $10 million contract and is expected to be the team's starting left fielder in 2025. 

The German born Kepler, 31, signed with the Twins back in 2009 and reached the big-league club at the tail end of the 2015 season. His best overall season came in 2019 when he hit .252 with a career best 36 HR and 90 RBI. Kepler's offensive output has been inconsistent since then. In 2023, Kepler belted 24 HR with 66 RBI, but this past season fell to only 8 HR and 42 RBI. 

It could either be the case that Kepler simply needed a change of scenery or that he is amid a decline as a big-league player. In 10 seasons with the Twins at the big-league level, Kepler played 1,072 games collecting 893 hits for a lifetime batting average of .237 with 161 HR and 508 RBI. 

Whatever he does going forward, Kepler does have the distinction of being the best German born player to wear a big league uniform.

Rickey Henderson Was in a Class All His Own

This is a shock to my system.

A short time ago I read of the passing of MLB Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson. He died five days shy of his 66th birthday on Christmas Day. Henderson succumbed to pneumonia. 

To me, Henderson had always looked like the picture of health. Among his last public appearances was at the Oakland Coliseum less than three months ago when he and Dave Stewart threw out the first pitch during the A's last home game in Oakland before their move to Sacramento next year. Hell, he looked like he could still play and probably could have. 

Rickey Henderson was in a class all his own. He is best remembered as MLB's all-time stolen bases leader finishing his career with 1406. Henderson had nearly 500 more stolen bases than Lou Brock had been baseball's all-time stolen bases king from 1974 to 1991 finishing his career with 938 thefts. Yet this only scratches the surface.

Born in the back seat of an Oldsmobile in Chicago, Henderson lived in Arkansas before his family moved to Oakland when he was 7. It was in Oakland where Henderson to come into his own excelling in sports - baseball, football, basketball and track. Although Henderson was highly sought after to play college football, his mother persuaded him to play baseball due to longevity. 

Henderson's adopted hometown Oakland A's picked him in the fourth round of the 1976 MLB draft. He would make his MLB debut during the 1979 season when he was only 20 years old. It was in 1980 when Henderson put the league on notice with 100 stolen bases playing under the tutelage of Billy Martin earning the first of AL All-Star Team selections. Henderson would lead the AL in steals every season during the 1980's except for 1987 when Seattle Mariners second baseman Harold Reynolds was atop the leaderboard. 

During the strike shortened 1981 season, Henderson finished runner in AL MVP in balloting to Milwaukee Brewers closer Rollie Fingers - himself an A's legend. After reaching the post-season in 1981, the A's would regress in 1982. But Henderson didn't as he set an MLB single season record with 130 stolen bases surpassing 118 stolen bases by Lou Brock in 1974. 

After two more seasons in Oakland, the A's would trade Henderson to the New York Yankees in a six-player deal. The trade would reunite Henderson with Billy Martin. In 1985, Henderson finished third in AL MVP balloting behind Yankees teammate Don Mattingly (who won the award) and Kansas City Royals legend George Brett. Henderson led the AL in steals with 80 and runs scored with 146 as the Yankees fell one game short to the Toronto Blue Jays in the AL East.

While Henderson was productive in a Yankee uniform, they would never reach the post-season during his tenure in the Bronx. In the middle of the 1989 season, the Yankees returned Henderson to Oakland and he proved to be the spark plug they needed to get over the hump. Henderson earned ALCS MVP honors against the Blue Jays and would win the first of two World Series rings. In 1990, Henderson won his lone AL MVP leading the Junior Circuit in stolen bases (65), runs scored (119) and OBP (.439). Henderson would reach his second consecutive World Series appearance but the A's would be swept in four games by the Cincinnati Reds.

In 1991, Henderson would surpass Brock on MLB's all-time stolen base list when he swept his 939th career base on May 1st of that year against the Yankees. During an acceptance speech, Henderson said, "Lou Brock was a symbol of great base stealing. But today, I am the greatest of all-time." Coming from anyone else, it might have come across as arrogant and disrespectful. But Rickey was simply stating a fact which he could back up. Henderson would lead the AL with 58 that season. It was the 11th time in his career he would lead the AL in stolen bases. 

The A's would send Henderson to the Blue Jays during the trade deadline in 1993 and earn his second World Series ring. The trade amounted to a loan as he would return to the A's for his third stint spending two more seasons in his adopted hometown. In 1996, Henderson would join the San Diego Padres where he helped the team make its first post-season appearance since winning the NL pennant in 1984. Henderson would split the 1997 season between the Padres and Anaheim Angels before returning to Oakland for the fourth and final time in 1998. Henderson would enjoy a renaissance season in 1998 leading the AL in stolen bases for the 12th and final time with 66 bags. He also led the AL in walks that season with 118. Not a bad encore for a 39-year-old.

Henderson would spend 1999 with the New York Mets while splitting the 2000 season with the Mets and Seattle Mariners making the post-season both years. In 2001, Henderson would return to the Padres for his second stint surpassing Ty Cobb as MLB's all-time leader in runs scored while collecting his 3,000th hit on the final day of the regular season. In 2002, I would get to see Henderson play in a Boston Red Sox uniform before he finished his big-league career with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2003 at the age of 44. 

In 24 MLB seasons, Henderson was not only MLB's all-time leader in stolen bases with 1406 but MLB's all-time leader in runs scored with 2295. In 3081 games, Henderson collected 3055 hits for a lifetime batting average of .279 with 297 HR and 1115 RBI. Of his 297 HR, 81 of those bombs led off a game. 

The BBWAA elected Henderson to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in his first appearance on the ballot in 2009 garnering 94.8%.

Rickey Henderson played for 9 teams but will forever be identified with the Oakland A's. With apologies to the greats on the A's World Series championship teams from 1972-1974, Rickey Henderson is the greatest to wear an Oakland uniform. His passing truly cements the death of the A's in Oakland. R.I.P.

Astros Add Christian Walker; Bye-Bye Bregman

Yesterday, free agent first baseman Christian Walker signed a 3-year, $60 million contract with the Houston Astros. 

Walker, 33, has ten years of MLB service. A fourth-round draft pick of the Baltimore Orioles in 2012, Walker had cups of coffee with the O's in 2014 and 2015. In 2017, Walker bounced around the waiver wire with the Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds before landing with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

However, it would not be until 2019 that Walker got a chance to show what he could do when the D'Backs traded Paul Goldschmidt to the St. Louis Cardinals. In 2019, Walker hit .259 with 29 HR and 73 RBI. Walker would struggle in 2021 when the team lost 110 games but has enjoyed three consecutive productive seasons between 2022 and 2024 winning three Gold Gloves batting .250 belting 95 HR with 291 RBI. Walker also got a taste of World Series play as the D'Backs won the NL pennant in 2023. 

In joining Houston, the Astros will now definitely say goodbye to Alex Bregman with Walker at first base and the recently acquired Isaac Paredes at third. It is worth noting the Astros did try to acquire Nolan Arenado from the Cardinals, but he nixed the deal as he would rather be a Dodger.

Well, evidently Christian Walker is proud to be an Astro.

Elon Musk Endorses Tucker Carlson's Anti-Semitism....Again

Elon Musk took time from his busy schedule as President-elect Donald Trump's errand boy to shut down the federal government just in time for Christmas to praise yet another piece of anti-Semitic discourse from Tucker Carlson.

This time, Musk endorsed a conversation between Carlson and Columbia University professor Jeffrey Sachs during which both men engaged in apologia for deposed Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad blaming Israel for his ouster while claiming Israel controlled U.S. foreign policy. Musk called their conversation, "A very interesting interview." 

Back in September, Musk also thought Carlson's conversation with Holocaust denier Darryl Cooper was, "Very interesting. Worth watching." Cooper claims Hitler did not conceive of the Final Solution against the Jews. In November 2023, Musk praised a tweet in which a white supremacist argued Jews pushed hatred against whites writing, "You have said the actual truth." At the time I wrote:

Of course, none of it is true and all of it is defamatory which is precisely the point.

When one says Jewish are promoting hatred against whites what is actually being said is the old blood and soil argument that Jews aren't white and therefore deserve everything that is coming to them.

And Elon agrees.

When the richest man in the world openly promotes anti-Semitism at a time when anti-Semitism is already surging, he is throwing gasoline onto the fire.

Musk did "apologize" for the November 2023 tweet but pretty much said the same thing about the ADL two months earlier.

The one difference between his praise of Carlson's conversation with Sachs is that Musk is now serving President-elect Trump under the auspices of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency. If Musk is making these statements while working for the incoming Trump Administration, then it is reasonable to ask if Musk's views of Israel also represent Trump's views. 

Unfortunately, I don't think there will be inclination among Democrats to pose these questions. Why? Because more than a critical mass of Democrats is every bit as hostile to Israel and to Jews as Musk is - or at the very least are willing to look the other way. 

Cody Bellinger Will Be a Good Fit For The Yankees

The New York Yankees have acquired outfielder-first baseman Cody Bellinger from the Chicago Cubs for pitcher Cody Poteet and cash considerations. 

The Cubs practically gave Bellinger away after signing him to 3-year contract extension worth $80 million. 

There was a time when Bellinger was arguably the best offensive player in MLB. 

The son of former MLB pitcher Clay Bellinger, the younger Bellinger was a 4th round draft pick of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2013. In 2017, Bellinger earned NL Rookie of the Year honors. In 2019, Bellinger won NL MVP honors hitting .305 with 47 HR and 115 RBI while also earning a Silver Slugger and a Gold Glove.

But by 2021, injuries caught up to Bellinger. Calf, hamstring and rib injuries limited Bellinger to 95 games in which he hit a paltry .165 with 10 HR and 36 RBI. While healthy for most of the 2022 season, Bellinger didn't get much better hitting .210 with 19 HR and 68 RBI. One could make a case that he had some decent production, but it was quite a fall from where he had been. The Dodgers simply gave up on Bellinger. 

Bellinger would sign with the Cubs prior to the 2023 season and rebounded significantly hitting nearly 100 points higher at .307 along with 26 HR and 97 RBI as well as a career high 20 stolen bases earning a second Silver Slugger while finishing 10th in NL MVP balloting. For good measure, Bellinger was also named 2023 NL Comeback Player of the Year. Unfortunately, Bellinger took a step back in 2024 hitting .266 with 18 HR and 78 RBI. Bellinger could have opted out of his contract but decided to stay. At which point, the Cubs decided Bellinger had to go. 

Bellinger enters 2025 with 942 hits in 1,005 games for a lifetime batting average of .259 with 196 HR and 597 RBI. In joining the Yankees, Bellinger, 29, succeeds Juan Soto. Soto is now the player Bellinger was five years ago. Yet I think Bellinger can be that player again. Bellinger is going to see a lot of good pitches hitting behind Aaron Judge and will enjoy the short right field porch in Yankee Stadium. 

Who knows? If there is a Yankees-Dodgers rematch in the 2025 World Series perhaps it will be Bellinger who tips the scales in favor of the Bronx Bombers.

Could Freeland's Sudden Resignation Mean Trudeau's Days as Canadian PM Are Numbered?

Chrystia Freeland, Canada's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, abruptly announced her resignation from Justin Trudeau's cabinet.

Freeland has been Trudeau's most trusted lieutenant having served as Deputy Prime Minister since 2019 and Finance Minister since 2020. She previously served as Canada's Minister of International Trade from 2015 to 2017 and Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2017 to 2019. 

Her resignation came the morning she was deliver an economic statement to Canada's House of Commons. But as her resignation letter revealed, Trudeau informed her she was being relieved of her duty as Minister of Finance and to be reassigned to another (presumably lesser) portfolio. Freeland wrote in part:

Upon reflection, I have concluded that the only honest and viable path is for me to resign from the cabinet.

To be effective, a Minister must speak on behalf of the Prime Minister and with his full confidence. In making your decision, you made clear that I no longer credibly enjoy that confidence and possess the authority that comes with it.

For the past number of weeks, you and I have found ourselves at odds about the best path forward for Canada.

Our country today faces a grave challenge. The incoming administration in the United States is pursuing a policy of aggressive economic nationalism, including a threat of 25 per cent tariffs.

We need to take that threat extremely seriously. That means keeping our fiscal powder dry today, so we have the reserves we may need for a coming tariff war. That means eschewing costly political gimmicks, which we can ill afford and which make Canadians doubt that we recognize the gravity of the moment.

That means pushing back against 'America First' economic nationalism with a determined effort to fight for capital and investment and the jobs they bring. That means working in good faith and humility with the premiers of the provinces and territories of our great and diverse country, and building a true Team Canada response.

I know Canadians would recognize and respect such an approach. They know when we are working for them, and they equally know when we are focused on ourselves. Inevitably, our time in government will come to an end. But how we deal with the threat our country currently faces will define us for a generation, and perhaps longer. Canada will win if we are strong, smart, and united.

While Freeland did not elaborate what she meant by "eschewing costly political gimmicks", she presumably was referring to Trudeau's proposed 2-month GST holiday and $250 tax rebates for Canadians earning less than $150,000.  

Freeland's announcement caught everyone in Ottawa off guard and now faced with the gravity of the situation, Trudeau is weighing all options including resignation. After all, the Liberals have a minority parliament and the opposition NDP and Bloc Quebecois along with angry Liberal MPs could join the Tories in bringing down the government. Resignation might be Trudeau's only option to save face.

In the meantime, Trudeau has named Minister of Public Safety Dominic LeBlanc to be his new Finance Minister. However, Trudeau had reportedly wanted to replace Freeland with former Bank of Canada Governor and Bank of England Governor Mark Carney. However, Freeland's resignation made that appointment untenable. 

It also remains to be seen how tenable Trudeau's future at 24 Sussex Drive is. There have been increasing calls for his resignation within the Liberal Party and Freeland's departure will only accelerate these demands. 

Should Trudeau resign then Freeland would be a natural successor. In which case Freeland could be Kamala Harris to Trudeau's Joe Biden, and this has not been lost on some observers. Though I doubt the Liberals would want the same outcome. 

However, in this scenario, Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre becomes Donald Trump and, unlike here, Trump is not popular in Canada. If Freeland can convince Canadians that Poilievre would be Trump's puppet then perhaps the Liberals would have a chance. But the odds are very long. Not only do the Tories have a 2:1 lead over the Liberals (44%-21%), the Liberals are in a tie with the NDP which could give the NDP an opportunity to supplant the Liberals as Canada's main center-left political party. Should Trudeau resign and Freeland (or anyone else) succeed him, the Canadian election is still Poilievre's to lose. 

Who says Canadian politics are boring?

Black Christmas Was Full of Stocking Stuffers (Or Perhaps Stalking Stuffers)

 

Last night, I attended a 50th anniversary screening of Black Christmas at the Brattle Theatre.

I am generally not a fan of the horror genre, but attended primarily because of the cast and the fact it was a Canadian film shot on location in Toronto. It was also a case of being one of those movies I watched to get out of the apartment for a couple of hours on a Saturday night.

Black Christmas starred Olivia Hussey (pictured) and Keir Dullea who had both attained stardom six years earlier in Franco Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet and Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, respectively. Joining Hussey and Dullea was John Saxon fresh off his success in the Bruce Lee film Enter the Dragon. Rounding out the cast were a pre-Superman Margot Kidder and a pre-SCTV Andrea Martin. She would also appear in the 2006 remake. 

There were also a couple of lesser-known Canadian actors who certain audiences might recognize from certain films - Doug McGrath and Art Hindle. McGrath starred in the Canadian film classic Goin' Down the Road and would later appear in several films with Clint Eastwood including The Outlaw Josey Wales and Pale Rider. Hindle was of the main characters in the drama series E.N.G. which aired on CTV from 1989 to 1994. Both McGrath and Hindle also appeared together in the 1981 sex comedy Porky's. That film was directed by Bob Clark as was Black Christmas.

Bob Clark also directed A Christmas Story starring Peter Billingsley. After I bought my ticket, several Brattle employees were discussing the fact that Clark had directed both Black Christmas and A Christmas Story and thought there should be mashup of the two movies. Considering Darren McGavin is in A Christmas Story, such a mashup could have a Kolchak: The Night Stalker quality to it.

While the film is ostensibly set in the U.S., those with a keen eye can recognize it is in Toronto. There are several shots of the University of Toronto as well as the intersection of Main Street and Swanick Avenue which is not too far from the old headquarters of the Ontario NDP. 

Although Black Christmas is an influential film in the horror genre, the plot itself isn't terribly interesting. A sorority gets a series of obscene phone calls, and the women of the sorority get killed one by one while the authorities refuse to take it seriously until it is too late. I did find it interesting to see Dullea with really long hair. He could easily be mistaken for Malcolm McDowell, and I wonder if this was Dullea's goal here. 

While I'm not a fan of Black Christmas, it had some stocking stuffers. Or perhaps stalking stuffers.

Thoughts on Trump & Vance Welcoming Daniel Penny at the Army-Navy Game

Following Daniel Penny's acquittal of killing Jordan Neely last week, I made the following observation:

The New York Post is celebrating Penny's acquittal while accusing Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg of politicizing the case. Last I checked, Ron DeSantis referred to Penny as a "Good Samaritan" while Nikki Haley said Penny should have received a pardon. Who exactly is doing the politicizing here? 

Let me put it another way. Would anyone be surprised if Penny gets an audience with President-elect Trump?

Well, sure enough, Daniel Penny was in the company of both President-elect Trump and Vice-President-elect Vance at the Army-Navy game. It was Vance who invited Penny to the game. Penny not only enjoyed the company of Trump and Vance but of Elon Musk, Tulsi Gabbard, Pete Hegseth, House Speaker Mike Johnson, soon to be Senate Majority leader John Thune and Pennsylvania Senator-elect David McCormick among others.

Some of Trump's supporters on social media called for Penny to bestowed with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. For his part, Vance heaped praise upon Penny:

Daniel's a good guy, and New York's mob district attorney tried to ruin his life for having a backbone.

I'm grateful he accepted my invitation and hope he's able to have fun his fellow citizens admire his courage.

I find none of Daniel Penny's actions to courageous. While Jordan Neely uttered threats, he did not have a weapon, nor did he physically attack anyone. The situation called for de-escalation. Instead, Daniel Penny escalated the situation and took the life of another human being. Now he is being celebrated and rewarded for his actions at the highest levels of power. 

This gives an extraordinary incentive for others to engage in similar manner in the hope of receiving similar prestige and recognition. Just ask Kyle Rittenhouse or members of the January 6th mob who can soon look forward to their presidential pardons.

Let me put it another way. Would Trump have given Rittenhouse a second thought if he hadn't killed people who supported Black Lives Matters? Would Vance have issued Penny an invitation if he hadn't killed a homeless black man? 

In which case, the January 6thers can expect a monument on The Ellipse or perhaps a round of golf near Mar-a-Lago.

Does the Kyle Tucker-Isaac Paredes Trade Spell the End for Alex Bregman in Houston?

Yesterday, the Houston Astros traded outfielder Kyle Tucker to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for infielder Isaac Paredes, relief pitcher Hayden Wesneski and prospect Cam Smith.

Tucker, who turns 28 next month, was a first-round draft pick (and fifth overall in the nation) by the Astros during the 2015 MLB draft. He made his MLB debut during the 2018 season and became an everyday player during the COVID shortened 2020 season leading the AL in triples with 9. Tucker enjoyed back-to-back 100 RBI seasons with Houston in 2022 and 2023 - leading the league in the latter year. A shin fracture limited Tucker to only 78 games in 2024 but still slammed 23 HR in only 277 at bats. He has earned three consecutive AL All-Star Team selections, a Gold Glove, a Silver Slugger and a World Series ring in 2022. Needless to say, the Cubs hope Tucker will be the key to getting the team back to the post-season for the first time since 2020.

The key player for the Astros is Paredes who split the 2024 season between Tampa Bay Rays and Chicago Cubs. Prior to the mid-season trade, Paredes had earned his first AL All-Star Team selection. His overall numbers (.238 AVG, 19 HR 80 RBI) were down from 2023 (.250 31 HR 98 RBI) but at 25 the best is yet to come for the Mexican born infielder.

The question is where the Astros plan to play Paredes. If it is at third base, then Alex Bregman has played his last game in a Houston uniform. Paredes can also play second base, but Jose Altuve isn't going anywhere. He can also play first base. But Paredes can play third base for the Astros for a lot less money than Bregman would command. It might be the case the Astros would rather have Bregman walk, Paredes play third and acquire Nolan Arenado from the St. Louis Cardinals and move him to first with the Cards eating part of his contract. 

Bregman, like Tucker, was also a first-round draft pick in 2015 (and second in the nation behind only Dansby Swanson) has been with the Astros his entire professional career including 9 seasons in the big leagues. If Bregman does depart Houston then he might end up with the New York Mets, New York Yankees, or perhaps an A.J. Hinch reunion with the Detroit Tigers. Or perhaps another team altogether.