Hello Dodgers fans,
My name is Oliver and I'm a journalism graduate. Today, I published a column on my blog about the future of Clayton Kershaw. I'm not here to self-promote at all, my blog has nothing to do with baseball and this is actually my first time writing a column about baseball! As this is new water for me, I would love to hear any feedback, any other comments and/or if you agree or disagree. I feel proud about the quality of the piece, in particular I think the comparisons to Kobe Bryant and Michael Schumacher are quite original, and I hope it can start a discussion. Please feel free to leave a comment, good luck tonight and thank you for reading!
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For Clayton Kershaw and the Los Angeles Dodgers, it might be time for both sides to say goodbye.
Kershaw exited the Dodgers’ game against the Milwaukee Brewers on October 2 – mere days before the start of the playoffs – after only 42 pitches due to elbow discomfort.
While Kershaw avoided any ligament damage and the surgery that would come with it, instead receiving a platelet-rich plasma injection in his flexor tendon, he will miss the entire postseason. His future with the team is murkier than ever.
Kershaw, who turns 34 years old before the start of next season, will be a free agent this winter. So will other key players such as utility wizard Chris Taylor, shortshop Corey Seager, relief pitcher Joe Kelly, closer Kenley Jansen and starting pitcher Max Scherzer among others.
Gut-wrenching decisions await the Dodgers. None more so than the future of Kershaw.
Before Kershaw, re-signing Scherzer will be the Dodgers’ top priority this winter. Re-signing Scherzer is not a gut-wrenching decision.
Not only does his elite performance warrant it, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts described Scherzer as the best pitcher in baseball to reporters last month, but also stopping a potential playoff rival from acquiring his services is a major factor to consider.
One has to assume Scherzer’s upcoming payday this winter will surpass the three-year, $93 million extension Kershaw signed with the Dodgers in 2018. In a scenario where Scherzer inks a multi-year extension, likely worth north of $40 million annually, is re-signing Kershaw a necessity?
Kershaw’s legacy is inarguable. He is one of the greatest pitchers of his generation, alongside Justin Verlander and Scherzer. He is a champion. As The Athletic’s Andy McCullough penned, [Kershaw has nothing left to prove](https://theathletic.com/2862833/2
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It contains the best portrayal of bipolar I have ever seen in a movie. The brilliant lawyer Arthur, played by Tom Wilkinson, has a manic episode / revelatory experience and decides he cannot live with covering-up for a Monsanto-like mega-corporation anymore.
I highly recommend this movie, one of my absolute favorites.
Let me start off by saying I am a big fan of a lot of Fletchers books (Manifest delusions and obsidian path books are both great). But this one I saw little to no fanfare about and the little blurb about the book had me intrigued.
What this book manages to do is incredible. It really transports you to a cold (literally), gritty, low-fantasy noir world. This booked gave me serious vibes of other favorite books/games/movies the like of Metro 2033, Blade runner, 1984, and games like Frostpunk.
The 'magic' system is very unique and without giving too much away it really puts the emphasis memories and how they shape us as people. It had me constantly asking questions about the motivations of certain characters and how they would change through the course of the book.
The book comes with the standard Fletcher mastery of characters, introspection, violence (like lots of it), grit, and beautiful prose. I loved his descriptions of this snowy and ash covered metropolis of industry. It's eerie how much it reminded me of Frostpunk in a fully realized world with engaging characters and masterful storytelling.
The ending left me wanting SO much more and I'm so happy I picked this one up. If you want something unique I highly recommend this book.
And with this one, I am caught up and will no longer be spamming the sub with reviews (for a little while anyway).
I read this for SPFBO. More about the contest and links at the bottom.
One of the four choices that battled it our for finalist in our group, and spoiler alert- our winner.
My Review only-
Norylska Groans is a collab between Michael Fletcher and Clayton Snyder. I have read a few things by Fletcher and knew what to expect on the dark o’meter, and despite my not being that huge of a fan of grimdark, I do admire his writing.
Snyder is new to me, and I have to say, I think his writing may be even darker than Fletcher's. His character Genndy Antonov was the most depressing man I have ever read and his chapters were quite disturbing at times. It doesn’t help that his headspace is pretty bleak too as he is struggling with his own demons of self-worth and ptsd. Also, we have no snarky-humor buffer here, like there is a lot of times with these kinds of characters. I had a hard time liking the man, even if I could find him somewhat relatable in his self-sabotaging hatred of himself.
Katyushka Leonova’s chapters could be dark too, but I don’t think they matched the violence in Genndy’s (*particularly that umbrella hook thing they swallow…good grief! What maniac thought of that?).
I did prefer Kat’s chapters but she also gets to do what a lot of people wish they could do, and that’s throw off their weaknesses and be someone else for the day; someone that’s stronger and doesn’t give a hoot about what everyone thinks of them. So, liking her pov is understandable.
**
I love the idea behind the memory stones- they’re the equivalent of a Matrix download with a Memento twist. They give the wearer access to previous user’s memories while wearing them but any memories made during this time are stored so when you remove the stones you have no idea what you did during that time, until you put them back on. The whole thing is just kind of wild with the shared-memories and a very cool way of broadening the cast of a narrowly-focused book.
**
I also really like how the story worked in two halves to create a single whole.
Gen’s show us the city and the gangs, and Kat’s sections the magic and, the militants, etc. The biggest difference though is shown in their personal journeys- his is about fighting against his weaknesses and potentially losing that battle within himself, as the bleed from the stone overcomes
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Norylska Groans by Michael R. Fletcher & Clayton W. Snyder
Published May 10th 2021 by the authors, 524p;
Bingo squares: New to You Author (to some), Published in 2021, Genre Mashup, Self-Published,
Genres: dark fantasy (hell, it's DARK with capital letters)
Norylska is the city that hates you. A twisted maze of streets and houses that reek of piss and decay. Forget about happiness or fulfillment; they rarely occur here. The state hammers propaganda into people and the state is never wrong. You disagree? You either die or end up in a gulag. Norylska fouls everything.
Genndy Antonov and Katyushka Leonova try to survive in Norylska and remain human. Survival is an option. Staying human? Less so. The appeal of the story lies in its handling of characters’ interactions and discovering how their arcs converge and diverge as they try to stay alive and solve the mystery.
Gen starts as a terrible person, traumatized by war and the atrocities he has committed to survive. He wants to become a better man and provide for his family. After being laid off, he accepts the one job offer he should never accept. He joins a Shkut crime family that uses his penchant for violence to achieve their goals. War and hunger turn people into monsters and Gen does many monstrous things throughout the book.
Katyushka grew up in a wealthy family, but lost everything and now barely scrapes by in Norylska. Her manipulative boyfriend doesn’t make it any easier for her. She takes a job as a secretary, but ends up in the militsia as a peace enforcer. Kat starts as a rather nice person, but it doesn’t last. Peace enforcers carry magical stones that twist their memories and personality traits. The stones she gets warp her perception of herself and others, and give her memories of a murder and treachery in the precinct. Soon her choices get limited to getting skinned alive by a crime family or shot in the head by the government.
It’s nice to have options.
In Norylska Groans, Fletcher & Snyder explore the darkest corners of the human psyche and describe monstrosities and desires in an explicit and graphic way. Ultra-violence and depth rarely go hand in hand, but I found Norylska both thoug
... keep reading on reddit ➡Michael Clayton is a corporate thriller starring Tilda Swinton and George Clooney. The central plot is simple but well executed. The performances are excellent, especially from Swinton as the neurotic and ruthless antagonist. The cinematography isnt spectacular, but certain scenes were very evocative. Just based on this surface level experience of the movie, I would recommend it to anyone looking for a dialogue focused movie.
However, this movie has depth. A LOT of depth. The corporate world isn't just the setting in which the plot occurs, it is In fact the chief antagonist. Swinton's character is very clearly a cog in the company's structure, which is the force driving her to commit terrible deeds. This movie goes deeper, however, than the "corporations do bad things" narrative we regularly see. From the opening monologue to the climactic "showdown," this movie examines the moral, psychological, and spiritual degradation that occurs when someone works within such structures. One key message of this movie is not that the high stakes corporate world promotes immorality, but rather that it promotes amorality. The most evil act we see in the movie is carried out with ice cold, calculating, emotionless efficiency. It's a horrifying scene that illustrates just how morally and spiritually dead the assailants are. It's like watching a garbage man operate a trash compactor, which makes it so much more disturbing than a crime of passion.
I'm going to try to refrain from interjecting my political views here, but I believe this movie illustrates the genuine evil created by these corporate structures. These are the same evils that led to the economic collapse that happened not long after the movie's release, and they are the same evils that contribute to American society's current dysfunction. The prosperity of many corporations is heavily reliant on the amorality of the employees operating within it, and this movie dissects that systemic amorality more effectively than any other movie I've seen.
So, I'd love to hear your opinions on this movie, especially in regard to the more psychological elements and the ideological messages it sends.
Self-actualization is "the realization or fulfillment of one's talents and potentialities, especially considered as a drive or need present in everyone." (Thank you Google and Oxford Languages) Most people spend their whole lives chasing some moment of self-actualization, seeking the truth of their purpose in life. However, most people also, by adulthood, have resigned themselves to the idea that they may never self-actualize; life may end up being a meaningless trudge until death, only occasionally using their skills and talents for anything other than financial gain, if they're lucky. Tony Gilroy is acutely aware of this and probes it for a wealth of story and character in Michael Clayton. Besides being a gripping thriller with one of, if not the best, George Clooney performance, Michael Clayton is an analysis of self-actualization.
Our hero, Michael, is very much stuck in a rut; when we enter the story, he is out of time both in his professional and personal lives. Gilroy smartly opens ahead of the story, showing us the dreary reality Michael orbits: he's a bad gambler, has a job where he is respected, but critically undervalued and disrespected, oh, and someone is trying to kill him. Gilroy is showing us this character at the end of his rope and the educated guess would say that Michael is a rat stuck in a corner, waiting to be caught in the trap surrounding him. This is where Gilroy's script is particularly well-crafted. Tony is aware of our preconceived notions and that there will be two things every audience member wants to know: who is trying to kill Michael and why.
The rest of the film percolates with tension because we know that at some point we will reach the bombing and the longer we are made to wait, the more dread creeps in. And in that room between the "four days earlier" cut and the second time we see the bombing, we meet three story threads that all deal with self-actualization: Arthur (Tom Wilkinson), Karen (Tilda Swinton), and, of course, Michael. Each character has been pushed against the wall within the first fifteen minutes of this section of the film.
Arthur has finally broke and decided he can no longer accept the reality (literally and figuratively) that has been shored up around him. He tries time and tries to subvert the system that has stunted any self-actualization and succeeds to a degree. Without Arthur, Michael's eventual victory is impossible. However, Arthur's lose grip on reality also ends up being his downfall as
... keep reading on reddit ➡SS: Most of our friends and loved ones may not sit through a 3 hour documentary detailing how 911 was an "inside job", but some may sit through a thrilling movie staring the every so dreamy George Clooney. The movie "Michael Clayton" (2007) revolves around a whistle blower and a company that is a thinly veiled version of M0ns@nto (Remember those guys?) In my opinion it is the most realistic not over the top "conspiracy" movie that I have ever seen.
Just watched it for the first time and I think its a great movie that seems rather underrated on reddit at least.
This movie has great performances from George Clooney, Tilda Swinton & co. and it's gripping from the first scene to the end.
I like how it never resorts to typical cliche's and anything OTT, something about it felt very understated and "real". The death scene was just chilling & unsettling as well without being violent.
The main character, Michael Clayton is very interesting and morally ambigious. His personal life is fleshed out without really going in depth as well (his brother, him wanting a more legit job, his son).
Loved the ending and credits too.
Loved it! One of the few movies to get believable legal jargon, I love the badguy Private Security Company dudes - their behavior seems so believable. The small detail I loved was when they are picking up a body and say "Ready...lift." That's so real! How do other movies miss that!
I wouldn't say this is an under the radar gem since it got 7 Oscar nominations, but I had never really heard about it. AND Tilda Swinton!
I am genuinely curious about why in every thread I read on reddit everyone is describing Tilda's performance as if it was mindblowing. To me I felt like she was in the movie for 5 scenes, and did not bring anything terribly original or memorable in my opinion. The film as a whole was great, mostly due to the directing and dialogue, but I feel like I am missing something.
I think 2007 is among the best years in film. If the Oscars' Best Picture nominees for that year were spread out, each of them would have a great chance at taking Best Picture (except perhaps Juno). It just happened that No Country for Old Men won.
Time has been proving the quality of those films: There Will Be Blood was Daniel Day-Lewis's greatest performance in a life full of great ones; No Country for Old Men evil personified in Anton Chigurh; and Atonement is a good period drama.
Then there's Michael Clayton. As much as I admire the other films I've mentioned, this one is probably my favorite for that year, because it's concerned with one man struggling with doing the right thing.
George Clooney's Michael Clayton is a fixer of a large law firm, providing different types of solutions to different problems. His world is a gray and murky one full of satisficing. However, when his friend, who also happened to be a troubled genius, develops a conscience, his world is thrown apart. Will he take the easiest, most acceptable option? Or will he do the right thing?
In this world of ever-increasing technology, corporate skulduggery has become more and more subtle and dehumanizing. Giants and Toys offered its timeless satire on the blind pursuit of profit. Michael Clayton, on the other hand, posits a moral question: can a person immured in simplifying problems choose to do the right thing?
Michael Clayton doesn't offer any easy solutions. It is, more accurately, a reflection on the dehumanization within the corporate world. What I love about this film, however, is that it never lets go of hope. Just as the road to hell begins with small peccadilloes, the road to redemption also begins with a single choice.
This film is taut, well-written, and brilliant.
Dude had an awesome rookie year then just kinda did... nothing. He had 1193 receiving yards then failed to get over 5oo yards the rest of his career. Do any of you remember anything about him?
After not getting to it for years I finally watched Michael Clayton.
Is this movie seriously underrated and forgotten, or what? I am just going to type down whatever comes to my mind about this movie, so it might be a little incomprehensible if it has been a while since you watched it.
There is a looming threat of something as bad as the world getting poisoned in the background every moving second but it is said with such little melodrama or rather none at all. In the end when Karen's character is so confident of getting all obstacles away, from when she was so timid a person when we first see her getting ready for her meeting, she is the villain this movie deserves and when she gets what she deserves, that was a great screen-writing pay off for the audiences. Watching the entire car bomb sequence again was as cathartic to us as it was for the Michael Clayton to look back on what has happened around him that he was completely blind to.
This movie is all about Clooney's Michael Clayton, and the loneliness he's filled with haunts every other scene even when he's with his family for his father's birthday. He knows everyone's secrets but who is going to listen to his unless he going to be in a debt of 75 grand. Clayton chooses to look away from all evil to just get by and that is what he advices his friend Arthur the bi-polar attorney threatening to crumble a corporate dynasty with information he was confided with. But the truth does come face to face with Michael when his friend is killed and the target is on his back.
This is not a movie about how strong the hero's moral compass is, but more about what will you choose to do if your choice is to be the worst guy in the planet to just get by.
Such an insightful character study. Please do let me know more about it, and probably in a more sensible way than how I have gushed out all my first thoughts. Thank you and sorry for this confusing write up.
