Remembering Mark Buehrle's Perfect Game

I was one of the fortunate 23,000 or so fans in attendance at Mark Buehrle's perfect game. The sheer fact that I was a witness to history still seems surreal today. It was so totally amazing and simply a perfect day to watch baseball. I was with my little brother and my dad and the game was apparently some sort of work outing. They were cheap seats, so unsurprisingly we were watching the game from the balcony. My other brother was at home, so we decided to buy him a White Sox pen, and on our way, I unexpectedly received proof that I was at the perfect game. A photographer decided to take a picture of me and my little brother. He gave us a slip of paper with a link to the website. Typically, I would throw away something as seemingly forgettable as that, but I felt that it may be a good idea to save every memento from this baseball game.

Even in the first inning, I was watching intently. My dad bought me and my brother some peanuts, but we never did finish them. I didn't want to miss a second of the action so I just held the peanuts in my hands. Most people go to the game and lounge around and hang out with friends. I was invested. I watched every pitch Buehrle made and every play the White Sox did. When Buehrle went 1-2-3 in the first inning, I surprisingly was expecting a perfect game. I always had this belief that a perfect game really is an inning by inning deal. Getting through the first inning perfect was enough hope for me to believe that there would be a perfect game. But the odds were against me. So far there were only 17 perfect games in about 27000 regular season matchups. I doubted that I would see Buehrle pitch a masterful perfect game, despite his pedigree. Then my day was made when White Sox first baseman Josh Fields hit a grand slam in the second inning. I was telling myself that as long as the White Sox win, this will be a good day. But each inning passed and Buehrle continued his streak. After about five innings, I whispered to my brother that Buehrle was perfect through five innings. Had I told any die hard fan this, he would have punched me square in the face. The first rule of perfect games was you do not talk about the perfect game in the middle of a perfect game. But I neglected this rule, and apparently so did Hawk Harrelson, the boisterous and biased White Sox commentator. But I would not be celebrating on my own for much longer.

By the sixth inning, more and more people realized that Buehrle was pitching a perfect game. More mumbling came from the crowd that Buehrle was perfect. So naturally, when Buehrle went to the mound, more and more of the crowd stood up in support of the southpaw. When the eight inning rolled around, the entire stadium was filled with cheers. Every out was greeted with cheers. Every called ball was greeted with boos. I remember gasping on one foul ball that nearly was safe. When the ump called it foul, I, along with my fellow fans, sighed in relief. But as we know, that wasn't even close to the most stressful moment of the game. That would be the opening batter of the ninth. At this point, I was telling my brother how awesome it would be to get the perfect game. Against the hot hitting Tampa Bay Rays, it would be amazing for contact pitcher Mark Buehrle to defeat a good hitting club in a hitter's park. I then told him that Gabe Kapler, who was up to bat, would probably be the second least worrisome person in the lineup other than backup catcher Michel Hernandez. But Kapler knocked one deep. I watched the ball travel and saw Dewayne Wise watching it too. Then he leapt at the wall, put the mitt on the ball, and then grabbed the loose ball with his free hand. I whooped and hollered along with the crowd. I was amazed at the catch, but it wasn't until later that I realized how spectacular the catch really was. Then he struck out the next batter for out number 26.

Then there was batter number 27 Jason Bartlett, the shortstop for the Rays. He was also a great hitter, and he got Buehrle down at a 2-1 count. Then it happened. Bartlett softly grounded the ball out to Alexei Ramirez, one of the best defensive shortstops in baseball. All he had to do was make a routine throw to first and history would be theirs. He made the throw and the crowd watched the ball intently. Fields, who hit the grand slam in the second inning, caught the ball cleanly and ran towards Buehrle. The entire crowd burst into cheers, myself included. And those peanuts from the first inning? They were still clutched in my hands, as the superstitious person that I am. Everyone shouted "Buehrle! Buehrle!" It didn't matter whether we were still in U.S. Cellular Field or on our way to the parking garage or the CTA Red Line. Buehrle was the hero of the day. Even two years later, I remember that feeling of breathlessness while watching history in the making. Even right now, while I'm writing this, I smile when I think of July 23rd, 2009. The game on tap was my White Sox versus the Tampa Bay Rays pitting Mark Buehrle against Scott Kazmir. 10 years later, people may start to forget the minor details. But no one in attendance at that game will never forget Buehrle and his perfect game, making our perfect day.

The Last Airbender Series: The Southern Air Temple and the Importance of Sports

With the latest hoopla with the US's run at the World Cup or Derek Jeter's 3000th hit, it seems more and more obvious that sports are a mainstay in society. But if you look at related news surrounding these incidents, you can see that sports are not just spectacle for us. There is definitely something important about sports that changes and affects people. If you look at the Avatar game mentioned in this episode called "Airball", you see that sports separates people from real life. It transports them into this perfect world where we can escape the trouble of the real world.

Aang returns to the southern air temple for the first time since running away. He first acts excited about finally returning to the air temple and seeing all of the monks, air bison, and flying lemurs. But he walks into a lifeless temple, and he sees the airball field and he convinces Sokka to play. Of course, there are many interesting questions during this scene. One of the big ones is how Sokka managed to get on top of the pole. Another is how the game is actually played. But in that moment, Aang is completely and utterly happy. This scene, seemingly pointless or merely fun, is juxtaposed with Katara hiding the Fire Nation helmet. Though this is almost certainly reading way too much into this scene, it seems that the writer is suggesting that airball is a way to hide the truth. It is a way to avoid realizing that the Fire Nation army destroyed the Air Nomads. But isn't there some truth in this? The concept that sports are a way to escape from our everyday problems is a common idea and something actually discussed in How I Met Your Mother. But how about bigger problems like this genocide? Well according to this, it seems to be true. And today seems to be the best example. Japan won the World Cup. This win is so important because of what happened to Japan, still recovering from the devastating earthquakes and tsunamis. Though they still have to rebuild, Japan could celebrate their team's win despite all of the tragedy.

Like life, the story of Aang continues when he realizes what happened to his people. It shows that sports are merely a distraction, a diversion from the troubles of the real world. We can't wrap ourselves around sports or else we will never return to the real world. Sports are not supposed to consume our lives, but sometimes it's nice to escape from it all by immersing ourselves in sports. It gives us peace of mind, if even for that one game, that one championship, that one moment.

Beauty and the Beast Review

I recently watched Beauty and the Beast on Broadway in Chicago. Though the musical was not a Broadway production (it was non-equity and it showed), it was still a very enjoyable time at the theater. Of course, this musical was benefited by a classic story and great songs. The talent level was lower than the usual Broadway show, but the actors definitely earned their stripes. They did not have the most melodic voices or most honed acting skills, but they were very charming nonetheless. That was the big thing about this musical. It was never going to attract the audience with flair and boisterousness. It would have to convince us that it really was the little engine that could. Everything else was not top notch. The ending was affected by a shortage of players and the sets were minimalist at best. The acting and singing was good, but not great, though this musical's Gaston did sound like Gaston. But it had charm. It was witty (although sometimes it was a little too tongue-in-cheek) and it was cute. It was not a showstopper, but a musical that after watching made you feel good. It charmed you and entered your heart, even if it was not the best. It did lack the resources of a typical Broadway play, but it made do, and the result is something worth seeing.

Transfomers: Dark of the Moon Review

After seeing this movie, I can only say that Transformers: Dark of the Moon is a lot better than Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. I mean this, and I think that this will be the highest grossing movie of the year. But, it still leaves much to be desired.

First, the good about the movie. The movie was rather witty, with many tongue-in-cheek remarks that an astute viewer could catch on. No more jive talking Autobots. Brilliantly hilarious turns by Alan Tudyk and Ken Jeong. Tudyk played Dutch, the do-everything assistant to John Turturro's former agent Seymour Simmons (another gleefully over-the-top performance for Turturro). Jeong played Jerry Wang, a former NASA member. He did what Ken Jeong did best. Despite little screen time, he churned out the laughs with his sheer wackiness. And of course, the destruction of Chicago. The unbelievable destruction of Chicago was some of the greatest F/X generated apocalyptic scenes ever. Bay literally out-exploded himself on this one.

Now, the bad. Despite solid actors like Frances McDormand and John Malkovich joining the fold, the acting in general was weak. This was absolutely the case with Megan Fox's replacement Rosie Huntington-Whiteley.  Don't get me wrong. Megan Fox's Mikaela was not a great character. But Huntington-Whiteley's character Carly was not a suitable replacement. At least Mikaela looked sultry rather than vapid. Carly had one improvement. She was British. She was a weaker, less emotional, and less alluring character compared to Mikaela. She was another case of Michael Bay adding spectacle to the movie. I had trouble with Bay's directing. Though he did overuse cliched tropes like slow motion, I think that my biggest problem was that he could not focus. He would use unnecessary cuts and angles to make the movie seem more kinetic. But in my opinion, he did not need to. Just look at the battle scenes between the Autobots and Decepticons. Despite everything already going on in the scene, he added to the motion by jumping between battles. He never gave us a good view at what he wanted to show us. We wanted to see fighting, but Bay's erratic directing never allowed that to happen.

This was a very entertaining movie. But it wasn't good. This movie never drew me in. Instead, it took all of its special effects, all of its explosion, all of its fighting, and all of its spectacle and then bashed the audience over the head with it. This led to an incredibly detached experience. Even when there was supposed to be an emotional connection between the audience and the character, the loudness and showiness of the movie kept us out of it. But if you came to see that movie, you didn't expect something to draw you in. You wanted to be bashed over the head. That's what made it entertaining. You were so detached that you could enjoy it and then seemingly forget about it.

The Last Airbender Series: The Avatar Returns and The Paradox of Fate and Free Will

The concepts of fate and free will are tossed around in society. Fate is the notion that everything that happens happens for a reason, and free will is the idea that our decisions impact what happens in the future. Herein lies the paradox. How could the world be based on both fate and free will? If the world is based on fate, then the choices we make are already decided, therefore there is no free will. If the world is based on free will, then our choices affect what happens, therefore there is no fate. So it seems that there cannot be a world where fate and free will coincide. But Avatar: The Last Airbender gives us a new look on what we can consider fate and free will. It could be that fate is merely luck by another name, and what we know as fate is actually destiny. It is our destiny that is essentially a function of both fate and free will.

I seem to be taking a very mathematical approach to these concepts, but with good reason (I like math). But it does help elucidate these concepts. Let's look at fate, free will, and the end result of destiny in context of Avatar, and more specifically this second episode. It is implied that fate has brought Aang into Katara and Sokka's lives. Not everyone gets the chance to encounter any actual person enclosed in an iceberg, much less someone with such importance and power like the avatar. This is fate. Fate is this chance encounter with the avatar. But while Katara seemed willing to follow Aang and put her trust in him, Sokka was more skeptical. This is where free will comes in. When Aang is captured by Zuko, Sokka and Katara are given a choice. They very well could continue living in the Southern Water Tribe, or they could save Aang and help him become the avatar. Both decided to join Aang in his journey, even though they did not need to. Aang successfully showed that he could defeat Zuko and his army, so Sokka and Katara did not exactly add much in that equation. But they freely decided to join Aang. Even Gran Gran said that Sokka and Katara's destiny is intertwined with that of the avatar. Fate intervened and free will allowed them to change their destiny.

This episode does not consider the most important and troubling case of free will, fate, and destiny. That would be Aang. He was thrust into the position of avatar. But his case seems to be an outlier. Most people would experience these phenomena like Katara and Sokka. This shows that there is no fate and free will paradox, just a misinterpretation. Fate is not deterministic, but in my opinion, probabilistic. Fate is essentially luck. We consider fate as deterministic because fate is something we consider in hindsight, which puts it at odds with free will. There is no illusion of free will. There is simply free will. Fate gives us the options that free will chooses. This function acts as our destiny.

If You Are REALLY Bored...

I am once again contributing to another blog. My friends and I decided that it would be good to keep each other posted on the goings on in our lives. So check out summer2011family if you so choose. It's an interesting if not good read on the ennui that 7 or so regular college students face during their first summer away from each other since meeting in college. It's like the sisterhood of the traveling pants, but there are three guys and four girls and we are not sharing each others' jeans.

The Last Airbender Series: The Boy in the Iceberg and What Constitutes an Adult?

Adulthood. One of the major points in every person's life. Typically you would consider adulthood as a set point in your life. Once you reach this age, you have entered adulthood. When you see a child acting mature, he has not necessarily reached adulthood, but he is acting more adult. But is this true? In my opinion, adulthood is not a phase in life like your teen years, but rather state of mind. The reason you act like an adult is because you are an adult. But acting like an adult is also a very vague term. But if you look at the Avatar: The Last Airbender episode "The Boy in the Iceberg Part I", you not only understand what an adult is, but also how an adult is differentiated from a child.

In the first episode, we are introduced to four teenagers. They are Aang, the avatar, Katara and Sokka, siblings from the Southern Water Tribe, and Zuko, the fire prince. Though they are likely only four or so years apart, they have very different personas. Katara, Sokka, and Zuko all seem to be relatively more adult, though all act childishly petty at times. Katara gets angry at Sokka because Katara has been given all of the chores in the tribe, while Sokka plays soldier. But Sokka shows his mettle when he questions Aang's motives as he feels that he is harming the tribe. Zuko not only looks the part of a weathered adult with his scar but also acts the part with a surly and commanding demeanor. But their seemingly adult behavior is countered by Aang, a free spirit. The first thing he says when he gets out of the iceberg is "Do you wanna go penguin sledding with me?" This is a great example of childishness. Aang is not concerned about food or the division of work like Sokka and Katara, nor is he burdened with a quest for redemption like Zuko. All he cares about is fun. He is a kid, but Sokka, Katara, and Zuko are adults. The latter three are forced into adulthood because of the responsibilities that they inherited. But they are not only responsible for themselves, but for everyone around them. Sokka and Katara are in charge of their tribe, while Zuko is in charge of his ship. What is the difference between their leadership role and a leadership role at a school club or something of the sort? Their leadership role does not stop at the club. Yes, being a president of some fan club or academic club does give you responsibilities, but these responsibilities do not dominate your life. Being in charge of a tribe or a ship forces these responsibilities to be intertwined with your life. These responsibilities are no longer a part of your life, but your life itself. That is what I believe is adulthood. When you not only have responsibilities to others, but that these responsibilities are the most important part of your life. Aang does not have this burden. He escaped this burden by running away from his true calling as the avatar. He knows that he has to reach adulthood sometime, but he postpones this inevitability by having fun and not having a care in the world.

The difference between Aang and Katara, Sokka, and Zuko show what it means to be an adult. It is not merely the responsibilities you have, but the importance of them. But this episode shows how you can escape these responsibilities every once in a while. It is true that Sokka and Katara are more childish than Zuko, but that is because Sokka and Katara can escape their responsibilities. They have fun with Aang. But Zuko is forced to maintain these responsibilities, not because he can't escape them, but because if he does, the consequences are much graver to him than the consequences involved with Sokka and Katara. So I say now to postpone your inevitable ascent into adulthood and have some fun. Go penguin sledding if you have to. But remember that your responsibilities can only wait for so long.