Better Know A Citizen - frightwig
Posted by Andrew on Wednesday, October 31st, 2007 at 10:00 am
Name: frightwig
Hometown: Bremerton, WA
Town I Currently Live In: relocating to an undisclosed location in Oregon
Profession: dedicated parental unit
Bats: R
Throws: R
Positions: corner IF/OF
Greatest Career Achievement in Baseball/Softball/T-ball: I was good enough to be a regular starter for my county youth league teams, but I was never an All-Star. I don't recall being the hero of any dramatic victories. Mostly, I remember a lot of inconsequential moments. I can say that my career ended at 15 when I tore up my ankle while beating out an infield single to 3B. And I remember that in my first organized game, at age 7, I scored the only run for my team in a 26-1 loss. I drew a walk, stole 2nd, stole 3rd, and scored on a wild pitch. When I got home, a neighbor asked how I did. The witnesses to the game all had a good laugh when I proudly blurted out, "I scored a home run!"
Hobbies: obsession over baseball and music. I dabble in artistic snapshots and creative cooking. I really should get out more often.
What are you known for around the WGOM? bringin' the sexy back, occasionally posting videos, loyal dissension on the subject of KG.
If you could have a nice, polite dinner with any 3 people - dead or alive - who and why? Ron Gardenhire, George W. Bush, Big Bird.
If you could pick any 3 people - again, dead or alive - to go out and party (or if you're not the party type, go for martini's or whatever it is you do) who and why? Dean Martin, Dizzy Gillespie, and The Faces.
Sports Allegiances: Twins and Mariners, Sonics, Arsenal
Favorite Books: The Great Shark Hunt, Fever Pitch, Once More Around the Park, Veeck--As In Wreck, Psychotic Reactions & Carburetor Dung, Spilling Clarence, Beneath the Underdog, Crime and Punishment, detective stories.
Favorite Music: I like all kinds of music, but I listen to jazz most often.
Favorite Baseball Movie: Eight Men Out or The Natural
Favorite Non-baseball Movie: Chinatown, Manhattan, Dazed and Confused, This Is Spinal Tap, Clue, The Thin Man series, High Fidelity, The Royal Tenenbaums, A Hard Day's Night... Lost in Translation and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind are a couple more recent favorites.
Favorite Food & Drink: BBQ chicken, baked beans, and Mom's potato salad is still hard to beat
Favorite TV Show(s): The Office, Lost, Psych, Monk, Medium, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, Extras, Pushing Daisies. My all-time favorite Shows are The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Avengers, and Late Night with David Letterman.
Favorite Twins Player, historically: Eddie Guardado. Rod Carew was one of my favorite players when I was a kid, but I only knew him as the 1B of the Angels.
Favorite Twins Player, currently: Johan Santana
Best Twins Memory: Opening Day, 2002.
Favorite Sport to Play: As a kid, it was basketball, soccer, or skiing. But, sadly, I really don't play sports anymore.
Favorite Sport to Watch: baseball
If I could live anywhere in the world, I'd live in: Monterey Bay area of California
If I was commissioner for a day, I'd: Restore the balanced schedule, or something closer to it. Cut back on interleague play. I had some smart remarks to add here, but now they've slipped my mind.
If I had Terry Ryan's job for a day, I'd: Take a "scouting trip" to the Caribbean on Pohlad's dime.
If I had Bill Smith's job I'd: wave goodbye to Hunter and Silva. Trade Joe Nathan for bats. Wash my hands of Punto. Offer Santana the richest deal I could afford in 2009-13; if he declined, I'd shop him. Oh, and fire Scott Ullger and Ron Gardenhire. Then take a "scouting trip" to the Caribbean on Pohlad's dime. (Ed's Note: When I sent this to frightwig, Ryan was still the GM. It's been in the making for awhile. Really, it's been aged for enhanced flavor and depth.)
Favorite Ballpark: Fenway Park. The sense of history and the charged atmosphere is unlike the experience at any other ballpark I've visited. I've also been to, in rough order of ranking: Wrigley Field, Camden Yards, Safeco Field, County Stadium, Kauffman Stadium, PacBell Park, Old Busch Stadium, US Cellular Field, Great American Ballpark, The Big A (pre-renovation), The Vet, The Kingdome, The Metrodome, and Miller Park. Since 1999, I've made a trip to at least one different ballpark each season. I'd love to see PNC Park or make a circuit of all the SoCal parks someday.
Favorite blogs: Digby, Glenn Greenwald, Talking Points Memo. I don't read Twins blogs. I'm here just for the cat and baby photos.
How did a West Coaster endup rooting for the Twins? In 2000, I moved from Maryland to Minnesota. Of course the Twins were in the middle of another awful season. I remember the local media treating the team like an afterthought or a running joke, and hearing more than a few people say they preferred going to a Saints game, but I'd occasionally tune in because, hey, it was baseball. Then one day I was watching some meaningless September game, and there was a play at the plate where A.J. Pierzynski stood in there, absorbed the collision and got knocked backwards, but came up with the ball--and a bloody gash across his face for the trouble. I just felt excited and impressed by his dedication and passion, so I started watching more often and noticed that the team had some other intriguing players who played hard, despite the team's lowly spot in the standings, too. I've been a Twins fan ever since. I really don't think much of the management, but I've always liked a lot of their players.
What is the best part about being a dedicated parental unit? I'm a witness to almost all of the developments in a new life.
Who are some of your favorite jazz artists and why? Miles Davis, Bobby Hutcherson, Dizzy Gillespie, Eric Dolphy, Herbie Hancock, Thelonious Monk, Andrew Hill, Gerry Mulligan, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Ornette Coleman, Greg Osby, Jason Moran, Dave Douglas, Brad Mehldau, etc. The best musicians tend to have an original, personal vision of the future which ends up shaping the way we all hear and play music at some points along the line. In jazz, I'm also continuously surprised. Even in pieces I've put on hundreds of times, I may hear new aspects in the best jazz music the next time I listen. It depends on what you bring to the music at a given point, your experiences, your frames of reference, your state of mind, so listening to great jazz can reveal something to you about yourself, too.
Did you imagine Arsenal would be this good with Henry leaving for Barca? No. The team had become increasingly reliant on Henry as it lost Bergkamp, Pires, Vieira, Campbell, Cole, etc.; and last season they had a lackluster look even when Henry was healthy to play. But Fabregas has really stepped up, while Adebayor has started to show something, too. It's been a pleasant surprise.
Map time: Bonus! frightwig's relocation site revealed! Sort of.
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Digby is some mighty fine reading. And for your pleasure...
Suitable for framing, SBG.
That is a beautiful photo. Lucy take it?
Yes, she did. I take most of the BabySBG photos, but she nabbed this one and it's one of my all-time favorites.
Big Bird would definitely be the most interesting fellow at your dinner table. (Not countin' you, pal.)
FW must have a superiority complex...he wants to always be the smartest guy in the room!
Big Bird is no slouch.
He taught me to be a better person. And count.
But, can he bunt?
I'm not sure birds have thumbs, so...no?
Detective novels don't get any better than Raymond Chandler. James M. Cain comes close, but there's a black hole where his heart is supposed to be. Who are your faves?
Chandler is great. Anything from the '20s, '30s, and '40s. Agatha Christie was the favorite of my adolescent years. P.D. James. Janwillem van de Wetering comes to mind. The Easy Rawlins stories by Walter Mosley are always entertaining; shame that they didn't make any more films with Denzel and Cheadle, too. The Evan Horne mysteries by Bill Moody are some good ones with a jazz theme. I'm sure I'm forgetting about something....
Cheadle's "Mouse" in Devil in a Blue Dress, is one of the great anti-heroes in recent Hollywood history. Hell, Hollywood history, period.
I'm here just for the cat and baby photos.
...and to post music videos, right 'wig?? Right?
I'd forgotten about Eight Men Out. John Sayles had a great directorial/writing run in the mid-1980s: The Brother from Another Planet (1984); The Clan of the Cave Bear (1986), Matewan (1987); and Eight Men Out (1988).
I also really like Lone Star, The Secret of Roan Inish, and Sunshine State. Sayles has made a lot of great movies for someone who doesn't get Scorsese Hype.
and nice props to AJ, btw. I still appreciate the dude.
So you're Mr. Mom, huh? Good work if you can get it. A friend of mine does the majority of the cooking, cleaning and shopping while his wife is earning the bread. He also manages to "sneak" in forty hours a week painting in his studio. And for that, he's my hero.
Good work, but being on call 24/7 for baby care is, with all due respect to the Peace Corps, the toughest job I'll ever love. I'd like to know how your friend gets 40 free hrs a week to do anything just for himself.
His wife is a shoo-in for sainthood. Plus, their two kids are now adults.
I don't read Twins blogs. I'm here just for the cat and baby photos.
Me 2. Except for cats. Baby SBG rox.
My brother was completely despondent when Henry left Arsenal. It didn't help at all I kept rubbing his face in the fact he had transfered to my Barcelona. Looks like everything is working out for both parties.
It seems like Ronaldhino has mentally checked out since Henry joined his team, though. Already dreaming of playing for Chelsea, maybe. What are your thoughts on that?
Even with Messi, Henry, and Eto'o, I'm not convinced that Barcelona can do so hot without Ronaldinho. That said, Messi is the future, so if the Messi Era has to start a year or two early, so be it. In Messi I Trust.
PS - I'm being Ronaldinho for Halloween at the bars tonight. Pictures in the morning.
Looking forward to the pictures, Andrew. Did you put in false teeth?
I must admit, I still really miss watching Henry. I wouldn't want him playing for Man U or Chelsea; but, if he couldn't play for Arsenal, I wish he'd be playing for Newcastle, Liverpool, or some other English club so I could see him most weekends. How do you follow and get passionate about a Spanish club, when La Liga sides are rarely on American TV except the odd Champions League match on ESPN?
Undisclosed location in Oregon, eh? My guess is that you're moving to become a secret operative for Nike. Or maybe a secret operative for the Sonics, injuring all of the Blazers' young talent. Hmmm....
FW, Have you seen Bottle Rockets? Are you planning on seeing the new Wes Anderson flick?
My friend saw The Darjeeling Limited in Denver last weekend. She really liked it. Then again, she'd marry Wes Anderson if the opportunity presented itself. I'm not a huge Wes Anderson guy myself, but I did like Bottle Rocket.
I don't think I'll see it in the theater. I seem to like most of his movies better the second time I watch. I guess I'm a little slow.
Gene Hackman's performance as Royal Tenenbaum is brilliant. Can't believe he didn't even get nominated for a Gold Glove.
I've seen all of WA's films except the latest release. I'll probably have to wait for the DVD of the new one, since I've been out to see the movies just once since Kate was born last year. Is Bottle Rocket your favorite?
I think Bottle Rocket is my favorite but I haven't seen it as often as the others since the others seem to get played on tv more often.
Hey frightwig - very considerate of you not to put your BKAC last week and take away from the WS (or A-Rod's opt-out announcement).
Looks like you're a fan of the classical jazz; any feelings towards fusion? Return to Forever, Chick Corea, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Jeff Lorber...?
I'm a huge fan of '70s Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock. I like the early Return to Forever, but don't know the later stuff so well. I have a few other fusion records that I enjoy, but I'm sure I could find a lot to learn and discover in that area. I'm not familiar with Jeff Lorber, for example. Do you have a Top 10 Fusion albums list?
Whoa! Homework!
I guess I haven't thought about it before. Well, here's some I like:
Return to Forever - Romantic Warrior
Jeff Lorber - Lift Off
Chick Corea and Gary Burton - Duets and Crystal Silence
Mahavishnu Orchestra - Birds of Fire
Pat Metheny Group - Still Life (Talking)
Stanley Clarke - School Days
Béla Fleck and the Flecktones - Outbound
Yellowjackets - Samurai Samba
Thanks, I'll have to look out for that Jeff Lorber record. I've been meaning to check out Crystal Silence for a long time, since I'm also a big fan of Gary Burton.
Have you heard a guitarist named Dave Fiuczynski? He did an album with John Medeski called Lunar Crush that I like. Spectrum by Billy Cobham is another good one that now comes to mind. And Freak In by Dave Douglas is a fairly recent record, inspired by '70s Miles Davis, that may be worth your time.
I love Gary Burton -- saw him in concert at Concordia, Moorhead back in '82 and got his autograph on my Duet cassette. Great musician and a fine gentleman.
A-Rod's opt-out announcement...
Btw, that was klassy, wasn't it? I wish there had been a TV camera on Selig when Fox let that slip out.
Right up there with the filming of "Fever Pitch" during the last Red Sox World Series win.
Were they filming the sequel this year?
Hopefully in this one Fallon is killed by a line drive off the bat of Big Papi.
Hopefully in this one Fallon is killed by
a line drive offthe bat of Big Papi.fixed that for you, SBG.
Frightwig: “Well, look’s like we’re all here. (Nods at the Secret Service thugs). And then some. Thanks, guys, for joining me at Bridge Best Steak House in Dinkytown!”
W: “De nada, F-Wig. (to the waitress) Steak sandwich and some Texas toast for me. And a pomegranate smoothie.”
Gardy (fluffs his Sobakawa pillow, to the waitress): “You guys serve Blue Jays? Orioles? Cardinals?”
Frightwig: “Ron, you’ll have to settle for crow.”
Dean Martin (at the bar): “Hiyo!”
Frightwig: “Big Bird, what was it like working with Oscar the Grouch?”
Big Bird: “Oh, he may be grouchy on the outside, but inside beats a heart of stone.”
Frightwig: “According to the World Book, what is the biggest bird on Earth?”
Big Bird: “Well, you mean other than me?”
Frightwig: “Uh-huh. What kind of bird are you by the way?”
W: “This cat’s a Lark. Heh.”
Big Bird: “I’m not a cat. Duh.”
Gardy: “You’re one big bird, that’s for sure. Hehe, haw, heh…” (old man laughter trails off). (He spits out a shell).
W: “Nice!” (Gardy and W. High-5 it). “Y’know, Humor crosses every border and touches every heart in every nation. (Pause). Or is that Fear. Mebbe Faith. One o’ them…”
Frightwig: “Mr. President, how do you define leadership?”
W: “I have a different vision of leadership. A leadership is someone who brings people together.”
Big Bird: “I thought that was a soirée.”
Gardenhire: “Nope. A soirée is when you gotta dress up all in black, and they pass around a lot of smallish food that tastes good, but it’s never enough.”
W: “Leadership to me means duty, honor, country. It means character, and it means listening from time to time.”
Big Bird: “True, dat.”
W: “Some folks look at me and see a certain swagger, which in Texas is called ‘walking’."
Gardy: “You and Neil Armstrong! I mean Lance. What the hell, Neil too.”
W: “I just want you to know that, when we talk about war, we're really talking about peace.”
Big Bird (sings): “One of these things is not like the others…”
W: “It is clear our nation is reliant upon big foreign oil. More and more of our imports come from overseas.”
Frightwig: “Hiyo!”
W: “You can't put democracy and freedom back into a box.”
Dean Martin (shaking apple-tini’s at the bar): “Tell it like it is, Pally!”
W: “You teach a child to read, and he or her will be able to pass a literacy test.”
Frightwig: “You’re killing, me, boyo!”
W: “You can fool some of the people all the time, and those are the ones you want to concentrate on.”
Gardenhire nods, sagely: “Maestro! You learned that in baseball, eh George?”
W: “When I take action, I'm not going to fire a $2 million missile at a $10 empty tent and hit a camel in the butt. It's going to be decisive.”
Big Bird: “Hail to th’ Chief!”
W: “We cannot let terrorists hold this nation hostile or hold our allies hostile.”
Frightwig: “Let the sun shine in, let the sun shine in, the suh-uhn, shine, in!”
W: “The true history of my administration will be written 50 years from now, and you and I will not be around to see it.”
Big Bird: “Will that come out on DVD?”
W: “Our nation must come together to unite.”
Chorus: “Count us in!”
W: “To those of you who received honors, awards and distinctions, I say well done. And to the C students, I say you, too, can be president of the United States.”
Carol Gardenhire (listening via cell-phone): “Dub-ya, You’re the best!”
“You can fool some of the people all the time, and those are the ones you want to concentrate on."
Genius. That's classic Rovian strategery, right there.
Good thing there were no pretzels at the table.
Or too bad there weren't pretzels at the table, depending on how you want to look at it.
frightwig, there are open spots on the video calender. Hurry and fill 'em before brianS heaps more Annie Lennox onto the Nation's airwaves!
Eh, I'll just go back and listen to that girl play "I Dig a Pony" in the back of a taxi, anyway.
OK, I'll see what I can do tonight....
Don't be dissin' St. Vincent. I'll hunt you down like DB Cooper...
..another cat who highjacked
planesthreads, and then disappeared into the Pacific northwest with a suitcase full ofcashjazz vinyl.Note that they never found ol' DB Cooper, either!
Actually, I love that "I Dig a Pony" clip. I always really dug the chord progression, the wordplay, and the ragged harmony on the word "Beeee-cause..." in the original, so to see her busting it out with her portable amp, in the back of a cab no less, is a fantasy girl come to life, indeed. Totally charming.
That's always been one of my fave Beatle numbers, too, for all of the reasons you list above. St.Vincent's version hits all those points right on the mark. I'm of the belief that her debut, Marry Me, marks the advent of a special artist.