https://www.brightsideofthesun.com/2019/12/30/21043310/report-karl-anthony-towns-unhappy-in-minnesota-phoenix-suns-trade-rumors

At least in the circles I run with and the media I consume I have never seen anything about devil may cry and was just thinking about how had I never played that demo that blew my nips off 20 years ago I wouldn’t be the demon hunter I am today. sheds tear

I have no memory of this being in the theaters and I don't remember every hearing anyone talk about it. I guess it wasn't a success, which is shocking. This movie is incredible. I was on the edge of my seat from the beginning. I honestly can't think of any flaw, even a small one. I wasn't surprised to find that Roger Ebert gave it four stars.

The movie's about a jewellery store heist. It's out of chronological order as it focuses on each character's perspectives, rather than following the plot perfectly. I found myself being more interested in the characters than what was going to happen. As their lives fell apart and the noose drew tighter I felt huge frustration and anger at their foolish life choices yet simultaneously sad and empathetic. If you want a movie that treats antagonists with understanding and humanity without watering down their immorality, this is it.

It stars Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, and Marissa Tomei. All three are fantastic. It also has Michael Shannon and Albert Finney (who sadly left us last February). They don't play as big a role as the other three, but match them with their performances. One scene especially stood out where Phenomonal Seym..., I mean Phillip Seymour Hoffman, has an emotional breakdown. It's possibly the best scene he's ever done. Absolutely heart-rending. It's reminiscent of the last therapy session in Good Will Hunting, only this time there's no catharsis. It's also special because it's the only time his character opens up. Possibly the only time in his life he's opened up.

What are doing still reading this? Watch the movie!

I blessedly still have hair on my head, but even at the age of 33, I still do not know how to walk into a barber and get the haircut that I would like!

I try taking in pictures of haircuts similar to what I want, but they never get it quite right!

They always ask me what length I want it on top? I have no idea?!

Then they ask me how much I want buzzed off on the sides? Again, I have no idea?!

I often just say, well what do you think it's like in the picture? This often results in very basic haircuts. I don't even go to a cheap barbers.

Has anyone out there worked out the mysterious ways of the barbershop and care to impart their wisdom upon me?!

So I just got one with sure shot,range finder,rifle barrel and luck in the chamber

It also has explosive rounds as well but that's more PvE based, I'm not even sure I can get a better roll.

(I hyperventilated when I got this by the way)

This book is a very interesting compilation of research conducted in the field of criminology. The correlations that evolved from these studies pointed towards an increase in crime relative to the presence of Christian Nationalism, also known as Dominionist , or Fundamentalist Christians, aka Evangelicals.

While people practicing this brand of Christianity are a minority in the US (fluctuating between 8 and 32% of practicing Christians (Peterson Sparks, 2015)), they exercise considerable influence in politics, and more specifically conservative politics.

The root of this brand of Christianity is not found in traditional Christian teachings (I.e. teachings of Jesus for example) but we’re formed out of a theology cobbled together by one Rousas John Rushdoony, an Armenian immigrant who became Theologen. His particular coupling of religion and politics grew out of his experiences in Armenia, and the turbulent history of that country. So, in other words, even though adherents to this brand of Christianity claim to follow the literal word of the Bible, they’ve actually adopted a theology crafted by a man’s impressions and understanding around his home country.

The big three criminogenic aspects of Fundamentalism that Peterson Sparks cites include:

A. The explicit theology of violence present in fundamentalist religions B. The psychology of insulating ones self from death through religion C. The promulgation of laws and policies and programs to address crimes that arise from this be If system

Regions that were studied included areas of continental US that had a higher than average percentage of fundamentalist Christians living in that area.

The crimes that appear to be amplified in these communities are violent crimes, to include murder, sexual assaults, rape, child abuse, substance abuse.

It appears the point is: a theology grounded in violence and fear, develops a tribal structure that seeks to inflict violence on “others” of they do not conform.

It is a frightening read, and one I think bears consideration. Thoughts? Has anyone seen similar studies?

How well do you know the Tampa Bay Devil Rays?

Since we're all missing baseball, I thought I put together a little quiz to test everyone's knowledge of the history of the Franchise.

The Tampa Bay Devil Rays existed from 1998 to 2007. That's when Stu bought the team and dropped the Devil from the name.

Frankly, they Devil Rays sucked, finishing last in all but one of those seasons and never managing more than 70 wins in the 10 seasons.

The questions below are obscure stats that I gathered from baseball-reference.com.

If anyone is interested in the code, it's in this github repo.

On to the questions:

REMEMBER: These are stats only for the 1998 to 2007 seasons for the Devil Rays. Anything 2008 and on wasn't included.

1. Who had the most total bases as a Devil Ray?

>!Carl Crawford - 1469 total bases!<

2. Who is the only player to hit more than 100 home runs as a Devil Ray?

clue: Fred McGriff had 99

>!Aubrey Huff - 128 HRs!<

3. Who are the top 3 OPS Devil Rays with a min of 700 PAs?

clue: Carlos Pena doesn't qualify because he only had 612 PAs as a Devil Ray.

>!Jose Canseco - 0.898!< >!Bubba Trammell - 0.875!< >!Fred McGriff - 0.864!<

3. Which player with at least 100 Devil Ray at bats had the best AB/SO ratio?

>!Ozzie Guillen - 107 ABs and only 7 strike outs or AB/SO of 15.29!<

4. What is the most total bases for a Devil Ray switch hitter?

>!735 - Randy Winn, arguably the GOAT Devil Ray switch hitter!<

5. Who was the most valuable(bWAR) player on the 2001 team?

>!Tanyon Sturtze - 3.3 bWAR!<

6. Which MLB 2019 Manager had at least one at bat as a Devil Ray?

>!Kevin Cash!< >!Davey Martinez!< >!Rocco Baldelli!< >!Mickey Callaway!<

Note: Gabe Kepler was on the Rays from 2009-2010, so doesn't qualify for this answer

7. Which Devil Ray has the best OPS+ rating, no AB minimum?

>!Estaban Yan - OPS+ of 1098!<

>!The greatest OPS+ by a Devil Ray, Esteban Yan, a pitcher with the Devil Rays from 98 - 02, had one two plate appearances in his Devil Ray career. He hit a homerun on the first big leauge pitch and sac bunted in his second AB. Check it out -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVmuf5t46co!<

8. How many at bats did Julio Franco have for the Devil Rays?

>!Exactly 1!<

I can’t upload the screenshot I got since there’s no image posts allowed but the line is “You know, when I walk the streets of the CIty, the children demand I carry them.”