Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of Netflix

A couple of months ago we signed up for Netflix. So far, most of what we've watched have been old TV shows. During the Christmas season though, we had rented "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull". That's one I missed when it was out on the big screen; it was on my list of movies to see, but I just didn't get around to it. I had heard some comments that it wasn't as good as the other movies in that franchise. So I didn't have my expectations all that high, but I still wanted to see it.

I've got to tell you, I was pleasantly surprised. To me it wasn't quite up to the level of "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade", but it would have been mighty hard to equal that one.

"Crystal Skull" did have its moments. One scene I enjoyed in particular was early in the movie. Indiana and the Soviets were in the Area 51 warehouse, and Indy had just made a break to escape. He got away from all but one of the soldiers, a fistfight ensued, and they crashed through a couple of skylights to a lower floor. Indy lands on a vintage 1950's-era control panel,

which just happened to still be connected to electrical power,

and Indy just happens to hit the right button,

which activates a countdown to fire up a rocket sled (actually jet engine powered, by the looks of it),

which just happens to still have fuel in it after being stored away,

and the sled is still on it's track.

Indy just happens to get on board the sled just in time for the engine to fire up, and the sled roars off down the track,

through the opening (not blocked, as it happens) in the side of the mountain,

and as it happens there's exactly the right amount of fuel for the sled to slow down and squeek to a stop right at the bumper at the end of the track,

So Indy can get off safely and make good his escape...for a little while, at least.

Everything fell into place just so.

But! That's exactly the kind of chain of events we expect and watch for in an Indiana Jones movie.

I won't give away more of the plot (for those few of my readers who might not have seen the movie yet). If you've been a fan of Harrison Ford, or of the other Indiana Jones movies, check this one out.

Robert Duvall said it

After I wrote this post I went to sleep. It was the next morning, in the shower, when I remembered that the Athletics had moved from Philadelphia to Kansas City in 1955, so the Cardinals were the westernmost Major League team only until then, not when the Giants and Dodgers moved west in '58, as I had intimated. It was a small mistake, but I had plans to update my post.

But cousin was Bobby on the Spot and got it corrected yesterday. Well, he lives in KC after all.

Allow me a few more words about the placement of baseball fans. Obviously, they can be anywhere and it would be nice to have some accounting for it, but a map is probably not the solution for that.

Take Boston, for example. I recently read an article about a group of Braves fans living in Boston who are passionate and go to great lengths to display their allegiance. The Braves, as you probably know, began in Boston as one of the 'Original 8' National League teams.* The Braves were the older team in Boston compared to the Red Sox and as such, had a large following. In fact, many people were convinced the wrong team left Boston when the Braves went to Milwaukee in 1953.

Of course, this isn't necessarily universal. I cannot recall meeting anyone from St. Louis or even in the Show-Me state who is a Baltimore Orioles fan, even though the Orioles are the old St. Louis Browns. But I do hear about Browns fan clubs.

The mention I made about the Yankees having fans in Tampa has to do with a few factors, not the least of which is that they have had spring training in St. Petersburg or Tampa for decades. Also the huge number of New York transplants in Florida as well as the numerous championships and star players the Yankees have produced.

Well, I've blathered on long enough. But there is one more bit of housekeeping. In the previous post I referred to a movie quote in the title. Today's title tells you the actor who said it. The character he played was Hub McCann. He says it to his nephew, Walter. And the movie was 'Second Hand Lions'. I tried to google this scene, but I can't find it. It's a pivotal scene in a terrific movie.

*The National League began in 1876 and the cities represented then were much different than the ones I refer to as the 'Original 8'. The '8' I am referring to were the League as it was constituted in 1903 when the Western League established itself as another Major League and changed it's name to the American League. It also consisted of 8 members. That 1903 season was a signal year that ushered in more 'modern' baseball.