Mad Men

I thought I would talk about my favorite show on television right now, Mad Men on AMC. It is on Sunday nights,  and currently in its sixth season. The show is set in the 1960's, and revolves around an ad agency in New York City, and the lives of the characters, especially main character Don Draper (Jon Hamm.) The show does a good job involving historical events from the 60's, and shows how the United States was during this time period. The show has gained a good following, and fame for receiving multiple awards. I would recommend anybody to check this show out, before its gone. I would surely think it will go down with the all time great drama series, up there with The Sopranos, but including all TV series as well. Included is a promo for the first season, but the show has changed a lot since. I have currently been tweeting some quotes from the lead character Don Draper. You can check my twitter for that. @joeymisdemeanor

Former Professional Sports Teams in Providence

I am currently taking a course in Rhode Island History, and was reminded of the storied past of the city of Providence. At the end of the 19th and into the 20th century, Providence was home to teams that competed in three of the big four leagues: Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, and the National Football League.  Providence also had a hockey team that competed in the Canadian-American Hockey League, and then the American Hockey League. Here is the names of the teams, with  years in existence and notable accomplishments:

• Providence Grays (National League 1878-1885)- Won the National League title in 1879 and 1884.
• Providence Steam Roller (National Football League 1925-1931)- League championship in 1928.
• Providence Steamrollers (National Basketball Association 1946-1949)- One of the original eleven NBA franchises.
• Providence Reds (CAHL 1926-1936, AHL- 1936-1977)- Calder Cup Champions- 1938, 1940, 1949, and 1956.

The Grays, Steam Roller and Reds were very successful in the city of Providence, and represented it by winning championships. The Steamrollers were of lesser note, and are known today for their awful winning percentage, and only 6 wins in the 1947-48 season. All that remains in terms of professional teams are the Providence Bruins and Pawtucket  Red Sox. But these are not the top tier teams the city once had. Today Providence is known as a second tier city, but not too long ago it was a first tier city with many lucrative businesses and sports teams to boast about. One can wonder if we will ever see another professional sports team competing in the big four leagues ever again in the great city of Providence.

A Fistful of Dollars

Mise en Scene is a very important part of filmmaking, without it there isn’t a movie.  It is all the elements placed in front of the camera: setting, costumes, lighting, and figure gesture.  When watching a movie, often time’s motifs of mise en scene repeat themselves. This is because a director places everything in a specific spot for the viewer to see, and it has meaning. Sergio Leone was a masterful director, and brought new mise en scene techniques to a genre he helped pioneer, the Spaghetti Western. This genre emerged in the late 1960s in Italy, and was very different from the American Western. The mise en scene was different, but still included some elements from traditional Westerns.

            Perhaps the most groundbreaking Spaghetti Western was A Fistful of Dollars. It was released in 1964 to critical acclaim, and pioneered the genre to the world, to which there would be many more films made in the same way. The protagonist is Joe, “The Man with no Name,” (Clint Eastwood), arrives in a Mexican border town, which is a ghost town. Unknowing of what he is getting into, he is warned by a man that the town is full of trouble. However, he goes in on horseback, and is greeted by something that will occur often throughout the movie, gunshots.

            Sergio Leone created a brutal, more realistic Western with his camerawork.  Joe is unlike any Western movie “hero”. He emphasizes intense moments with extreme close ups, but before these moments scenic shots occur. These extreme close ups of the eyes of the characters show that Joe is no different than any of the so called “bad guys”. He is an anti-hero, only doing what he can to make money in the situation he came into.  The mise en scene is set up to show the realistic violence of the Western world.

            The last fifteen minutes or so in the movie is when it comes to a climatic ending. We see Joe alone in a mineshaft, shooting his revolver. This revolver is perhaps his most famous motif; as he always has it by his side. Unlike any other parts in the film, he was just beaten up, so he is in rough shape. Attached shadows cover his face and it is one of the only shots to appear like this. Most of the others are low key, high contrast lighting. This is because the sun is always prominent in most scenes, and provides much of the light. In Joes mouth is a cigar, which was also a motif that appears throughout the movie. Rarely is smoke seen coming from it; it is usually just in his mouth, in between his teeth. Joe remains in the mineshaft for around 4 minutes running time, where he is building a bullet proof vest, seemingly for his final showdown. All the shots are dark.

            In the next scene, the low key high contrast lighting returns. Silvanito (Jose Calvo) is being tortured by Ramon (Gian Volonte), hanging from the same pole that Joe grabbed onto to hop off his horse. The scene is brief, as Joe appears again in the mine, in the shadows talking to Piripero (Joseph Egger), the coffin builder. He gives Joe dynamite, something which appeared in the film earlier, used by Ramon. Silvanito is seen again, in the same hanging position. Ramon puts a cigar in Silvanito’s mouth, similar to those smoked by Joe. The men are all surrounding him, evenly spaced out, laughing as they watch Ramon torture him. Ramon uses his rifle to strike Silvanito. This is a motif, because Ramon is closely associated with the Winchester rifle throughout the film.

            In the same scene, the final minutes come to a start. A big bang is heard from afar, and all the characters look towards it. This is a wide scenic shot, which usually means something is about to occur, a set up. Close ups occur of Ramon and his brothers, something which happens throughout the movie quite often. All the characters know something is about to occur, and fear is in their eyes. A shot of Ramon’s perspective occurs, and smoke is in the air, and in comes Joe walking towards the center of the town. This is the same way he entered the town in the beginning of the movie. There are more close ups of all the “bad” guys, as they peer at Joe. Joe appears in the center of the next shot, and he is in closer range, standing still. He walks in closer to them all. The camera is shooting from a very low perspective, as we see only the boots and legs of Joe walking forward. Ramon’s feet are seen, a close up of his spurs occur. Ramon and his gang spread out with Ramon in the center. Extreme close ups of each member are seen. Ramon points his rifle at Joe, yet he is still seen from afar. Ramon shoots Joe, who falls to the ground. Close ups of each of the characters is shown. They for the first time are relieved, because seemingly Joe cannot be alive.  But Joe does stumble up, and another close up of Ramon occurs, and he seems to be in shock. Joe continues to trot towards Silvanito, taking shot after shot from the rifle of Ramon. It is revealed that Joe had a bulletproof vest on, and he takes it off in front of them all. Thus begins the final draw in the movie.

            All the characters stand stoically, and begin a stare down. This also is a motif in westerns. Characters are trying to determine when to draw their guns.  Joe is always alone in these situations. Whereas the men he is facing always have multiple men who also have a chance to draw their guns. A close up of Joes holster is seen, then a perspective shot of all the men. Then it cuts back to Joe’s gun, and the camera comes from the angle near the gun holster. Joe quickly kills all the men surrounding Ramon. A shot of his revolver is seen, looking right at the barrel of it. The final standoff between Joe and Ramon builds up. Joe uses his trusty pistol, and Ramon his rifle. Again the lower halves of the men are shown, usually from behind the back of Joe.  Quick shots occur showing both extreme close ups of each of their guns being loaded up. Then another extreme close up of their eyes is next, in the tense moment before the final shot. Joe reacts quickest, and his shot is seen fired from behind the back of him.  Ramon stumbles, and many perspective shots occur. It seems to be a handheld, because it is very shaky and even looks up to the sun above. This is drastically different camera work that has not occurred in the film prior to this. The camera comes back down to Ramon’s face, and cuts back to him falling over onto a fountain from his perspective. Joe begins to walk towards him, but a close up of a rifle from above is seen. Joe appears to know something is wrong and begins to look to his side, but Silvanito fires his rifle first, and kills the last brother of Ramon. Blood is more visible from this final scene than in any other part of the movie.

            The man who greeted Joe upon his arrival rings the bell of the town. Prior to this it was rung as a sign of death, but now it is for a joyous occasion. Joe gets his things from Silvanitos bar, and says goodbye. He gets onto his horse and rides out of town the opposite way he came in. The camera pans up and creates a landscape shot of the town.

            One may infer that Joe is the hero of this movie. He strolls into town, and fixes a problem of two families at war. The war caused the townspeople to stay inside at all times. But Joe is an anti-hero. Because he gets a lot of money out of exploiting the situation. It is the costume of Joe that makes him seem like a hero. He is dressed up as an American cowboy, and seemingly is there in town to get rid of all the chaos, which he does. Although Joe kills in cold blood, he never hurts anyone outside of the families. He also frees Ramons captive girlfriend, and returns her to her son and husband. But the viewer is never sure if Joe does this because he wants to help, or just because it benefits him. Deep down he may be a hero, but his ways have been distorted over the years.

            The camera work shows the brutality of the West. The victims are shot within the same frame.  The intensity of each character is shown with their eyes. This is something that is not seen in most movies. One can see the fear and intensity in each of the characters eyes. Often times Joe and Ramon have the same look on their faces. This may give apathy to Ramon for some viewers. Joe walked into a situation he knew nothing about, and took it into his own hands. Joe killed people to gain money.  Leone created a film that would birth many more Spaghetti Westerns. His plot was based on a Japanese movie, but certainly translated well. It is perhaps because he created a mise en scene that was not yet seen as he displayed it.

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JetBlue Park

With spring training coming to an end, I thought I would talk about a favorite moment from my spring break. I went to see the red sox play the blue jays at jetBlue Park, also dubbed Fenway South. My last two trips to Fort Myers I saw them play at City of Palms Park. This park just opened last year, but I have nothing bad to say about it.
JetBlue almost replicates Fenway in Boston but also gives off a tropical experience with Floridian styling. The Green Monster used at the park was previously in storage, but used at Fenway for decades until it was replaced. The dimensions of the field are exact to those at Fenway. So for Sox fans in Florida who may never make it up to Boston, this is the next best thing. Of course if you want all the history, Fenway is second to none. But this park has everything I wanted and them some, and its only used for spring training. Perhaps they could work something out to play at least one regular season game here, it is that beautiul.
The park has your typical food, with Boston themed stands, and some Florida bbq. The team store has lots of gear, although most will find it pricey. An interesting thing is that the park has dispensers of free sunblock. I bought a shirt that says spring training on it. Around the park are memories from Sox past, abd banners of all the world series won. So it feels like home for the Red Sox. Also there is the famed replica of Ted Williams, just like the one in Boston. Something unique to this park is the walkway of life sized numbers of retired players in Red Sox history. So you can walk by and take a pic with Williams famed #9 and Yaz #8.
All in all it was a great day at the park, abd the Red Sox won. Its only spring training, but its a great experience. When I am back in Fort Myers, I will certainely go to another game. Go Sox!

Luigis Restaurant and Gourmet Express is located inJohnston.  I have been to the restaurantand the express restaurant many times each. But for this review, I will focuson the Gourmet Express. I have never had a bad meal from Luigis. During lunchhours it is always busy, but the service is fast and friendly. They have a widearray of lunch items, from pizza and calzones to pasta and soup. Most of it is already prepared, and it is warmed up. Salads, and grinders are made to order among other things. But this area helps those, who want a quick lunch. For those who have time the restaurant is also open for lunch.
Most of the time, I find myself getting the ziti al forno. It is really good, and I havent had a better example of it yet in my life. It is always consistent every time I order it. All the things I have tried here is just as good every time. This is a plus for most people, knowing you can expect a good meal every time. For lunch they also have a deal where you can get half a grinder with a cup of soup, or salad. Again the grinders and soups are delicious. I have tried a good variety of the menu and it is all great, so dont be afraid to try different things.
The cafe style of the express section is really nice. It has lots of tables and counters to sit and enjoy the lunch. The wait has always been minimal for me, and the staff is always friendly and helpful. Once they see you often they will remember you. Id recommend Luigis restaurant for those looking for good Italian-American food, and the express section for lunch or even take out for dinner at home. The food is really good and consistent. The restaurant is nice in appearance and the staff is always friendly. If you are in Johnston some day, be sure to try it!

Yuengling

D.G. Yuengling and Son is America's oldest operating brewery, opening its doors in 1829 in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. It has 9 beers in its arsenal, its traditional lager is its most popular beer. Like most breweries operating this long, Yuengling has a rich and storied history. But perhaps the factor that has given Yuengling its biggest lore is the fact that its only available in Pennsylvania, Ohio, New jersey, New York, Delaware, Maryland, Washington DC, Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Alabama. All the other states envy at those who can go to a local packy store and pick up the famed beer. There are countless petitions to get the beer available in the states where t isnt available, but the company always states it does not have the capacity to distribute to more states. This is despite the fact its one of the biggest breweries in the country. Rumors always circulate why the beer isnt here in Rhode Island. Some say it is because Budweiser had paid off certain officials in the state, and they keep it off the market. At the end of the day its all rumors. But until that day, I will enjoy the beer at any chance I can have it. it is a great tasting beer and cheap. Cheers!

Fort Myers Beach

Hello all! I have not posted in a while, for which I am sorry. This year's spring break I am in beautiful Fort Myers Beach. I come down here to escape the cold, see family and the red sox play. Since I have been here before I will write about certain things I enjoy down here. Hope everyone else is having a good break, if you get one. Bye for now