Essays, Interviews, Observations, Pop Culture, Stories, and other Dodginess

Have You Seen Iseult?

Posted on October 19, 2012

Have you seen Iseult?

Pretty Irish Girl in Chicago

I thought I knew where every Irish beauty in Chicago was. Digging into my “box of fashion” I came across this gem of a newspaper piece. It’s from the Chicago Sun-Times, and it’s about a few years old when they ran, what I believe where, these random slices of street fashion photography. This one is of Iseult, who according to the caption “has got the pout down.”

It’s kind of like that Sartorialist guy’s blog. I’ve done something similar in the past for journalistic reasons. I’ve also thought about doing something similar for this website, but you know, with that Dodgy bent to it.

But back to Iseult. What a name. Needing a name of an Irish girl for a fiction piece I was working on, I thought about using it. Iseult.

Pronounced ee-solt.

Of debated origin and meaning. Iseult might be derived from the Old High German Isold, a compound name composed of the elements is (ice) and waltan (to rule): hence, “ruler of the ice.” Alternatively, it could be a variant of the Welsh Esyllt (beautiful, fair). The name is borne in medieval legend by an Irish princess who was betrothed to King Mark of Cornwall. Tristram was sent to get her, and, mistakenly drinking from a love potion that was meant for the king, they fell in love with each other

An Irish princess. Right there on Michigan Avenue. All 5 feet 11 inches of her. So I have never seen Iseult. Have you? Do you know what kind of music she listens too? Does she eat fast food? What kind of beer does she like? Would she share a pint? Or is she strictly a red wine gal? There’s not a lot of mystery anymore, with things of this sort. Social media. Iseult, this Iseult, I believe is on Facebook. It certainly looks like her (beautiful, fair). Apparently she is back in Ireland, in Dublin. Her “likes” include the Jonathan Ross show, Trinity College Memes, and I Fucking Love Puns. I’m glad there isn’t more info. Keep it private Iseult. Retain some mystery.

I’ll applaud you from afar.

Best use of a song in a film

Posted on October 11, 2012

Somebody asked me about the lesbian kiss mentioned in the “I’ve Kissed” post a little while back. That story will come. But it got me to thinking about other kisses and what, if any, music accompanied them. Then I thought about the use of particular songs in films. Not necessarily for kissing scenes – just in general. There are those well-known ones (“Sister Christian” in Boogie Nights, etc.) but I’ve focused on what are believe are lesser-known gems. My rule is the song had to play a particular role in the film. It could not just be on the soundtrack. It can’t be a musical. The character(s) know it’s there. They could hear it. They played it. So with a little commentary, here’s the Dodgy list.

“Everybody Knows” – Leonard Cohen     ‘Exotica’

Before she wreaked havoc on The L Word, Mia Kirshner was “a sassy little schoolgirl” stripper in Atom Egoyan’s classic film. The first time she enters the stage to the opening strains of Cohen’s masterpiece is instantly memorable.

“Dreams” – Cranberries     ‘Sound of My Voice’

Brit Marling’s creepy cult leader Maggie says its a song from the future and gets the somewhat confused gang to sing along in one of the many inimitable scenes in this indie gem of a flick.

Sound of My Voice movie

Do I look like Dolores O’Riordan to you?

“Another Night” – Real McCoy     ‘Damsels in Distress’

Maybe I’m just surprised Whit Stillman used this 90s dance song in his flick. But should I be? It’s a great song and a fine one to watch the damsels dance to.

Damsels in Distress movie

About to get their Real McCoy on

“Stripped” – Depeche Mode     ‘Say Anything’

Screw “In Your Eyes” and the boombox. The best use of a song in this film is when some wondrous human being played this cut at that party.

Say Anything

Who played the Depeche Mode song?

  • “Armies of The Night” – Sparks  Fright Night 

If you’re gonna get down with a vampire on the dance floor, what better choice of a song? From the original film.

  • “Rhythm of Time” – Front 242  Single White Female

I think it makes being tied to a chair a little more tolerable. Industrial music represented. On film. Rare.

  •  “Don’t Fear the Reaper” – Blue Oyster Cult  Halloween

A good car song when the Shape is a-followin’ you.

  • “Relax” – Frankie Goes to Hollywood  Body Double

Frankie say “Let’s show up in this movie, during the porn scene.”

  • “Pocket Full of Sunshine” – Natasha Bedingfield  Easy A

Not one of my favorites but it’s kinda cool to watch Emma Stone prance around singing it.

How To Fix Baseball

Posted on October 5, 2012

Or at least make it a little more interesting.

The season is too long. The World Series begins Oct. 24. Game Seven would be played on Nov. 1. That’s ridiculous.

140 Games

Lop off 22 games in the season. That way the playoffs would begin in the middle of September. Game Seven of the World Series should be played sometime during the first week of October. Warmer weather is most likely a certainty if its played in cold-weather cities. Baseball sucks when it’s ass-cold and players are wearing winter hats on the field. Sure it’s cold in April at the start of the season, but those games and their conditions are well forgotten by the time the playoffs come around. Another reason for the shorter season – players won’t be ass tired. All I’ve heard from baseball people in the last few weeks is how guys are dragging ass because their tired or hurt. Is that how we want players to enter the playoffs? In a state of dick?

Attendance

You think attendance will suffer due to the deduction of games? How about it rises instead? The majority of teams, at least from I’ve seen, aren’t hosting sell-outs during the final weeks of the season. Take my own city’s Chicago White Sox. They were averaging probably 20,000 to 25,000 near the end (and for most of) the season. Those fans who would have attended home games between 140 and 162 will probably go to games earlier in the shorter season. So instead of having 20,000 at game 138 in a 162-season you might draw 28,000. It would affect a few teams that sell-out almost every game…but that’s only a few out of 30 teams. I think the positive outweighs the negatives.

Intensity and Less Injuries

A shorter season means more games mean something. Games earlier in the year would have more of a late-in-the-season feel to them. You might even see a return of a four-man rotation. Less bullshit. Less worrying about innings pitched by your star pitcher. Stephen Strasburg would be able to pitch in the playoffs. Most players don’t play every game in a 162 season anyway.

Less Days Off During Playoffs

I think they’ve improved on this compared to previous years, but it can be better. For example in the World Series, games 1 to 5 can be played with no off day. Game two could be a day game, which is better for the sport (think younger fans more likely to watch the game, especially if it’s a school night) if not for TV ratings, which suck anyway. Teams play that many games or more in a row in the regular season, so why change it for the playoffs? Plus, they’ll be less gassed because of the 140 game schedule.

Awards

I’ve heard this talked about by several sports radio hosts in Chicago and elsewhere, and I agree. Announce the season awards – MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year, etc., during the playoffs. Maybe on the off days. To do this well after the World Series over is shit.

Wild Card

Thanks to the shorter regular season, you could make the Wild Card game a best of two out of three instead. And then maybe the Division Series can be seven games. So you lose some regular season games, yet add playoff ones. And still end the World Series on an early October night.

Uniforms

They’re called uniforms for a reason. What’s with all these teams that wear a dark jersey with white pants? They look like softball players in a beer league. The sport could use some better fashion. It’s one of the reasons I like the Yankees – the classic uniforms. More teams should emulate the Yanks when it comes to uniforms.

In closing, I tried to come up with a unique pic for this post that’s baseball related. I found this appropriate. Even though it sort of violates my rules when it comes to uniformity, how about the White Sox donning green and white uniforms as part of a “halfway to St. Patrick’s Day” game promotion. That’s not too dodgy.

 

 

Update Oct. 27: The World Series ratings are dismal. It’s too late in the season for anyone to care. Late October? College and Pro football have taken over. People are getting ready for the holidays. It’s too damn cold. I had a lot of interest in the first playoff series, right when the season ended. But it really putters out by the time the World Series rolls around. Shorten the season. The Fall Classic should have been long over by now. Nobody is watching.