The Good, the Bad and the Dodgers

First, an admission...

I am an ex and currently frustrated film critic with a strong desire to write about a medium I love and at the same time not contribute to a junk Internet culture that values quantity, immediacy and accessibility over genuinely considered thought, cogent analysis and good writing.

Second admission:

I am a Dodger fan who is hopeful about the future of the team, but not without reservations, coming off of years of frustration as a fan and trying to maintain the healthy buzz of the team's 2004 performance amid darkening clouds on the horizon like the McCourts dogged pursuit of the ADD generation at the expense of tradition and talents like Ross Porter and Nancy Bea Hefley.

It is perhaps a goal that may ultimately be at cross purposes, but I hope to find through this blog an opportunity to express and expound upon my love for movies (a lifelong love) and my love for the Dodgers, and baseball in general (a relatively new love, born largely during the strike of 1994, stoked by Ken Burns' brilliant filmed history of the sport, and enflamed during the anticipated arrival of a son, Charlie, who was stillborn a week before his due date in the summer of 1997-- my love for the game, I think, is informed by him and helps keeps his spirit alive for me).

The title The Good, the Bad and the Dodgers is intended as a way to integrate the joys of viewing films thoughtfully, the good and the bad, with the joys of watching the Dodgers, good teams and bad.

There will likely be no rhyme or reason to this blog, at least for the time being. I intend to write regularly (as I'm sure all bloggers do when they first get things going) about whatever subject strikes my heart, my head or both. I take as my inspiration the wit, analytical acumen, enthusiasm, proflicagy and serious intent of Jon Weisman at Dodger Thoughts, with complete awe and respect for how he manages to create such a complete and delightful online experience while juggling work and family, along with the absolute expectation that I could never match it (if I do somehow come anywhere close someday, well, won't that be a surprise for me and anyone else who happens upon this site?) Hopefully, after time, there might be a reason, a coherent feeling and approach on this blog that might attract a readership with a reasonable anticipation of what I might be up to and, of course, a desire to follow along. But for now I am content to have the forum and the opportunity to indulge it and find my way in my own time...

So let me talk about my loves, my disappointments, my prejudices and my hopes for the future of movies and the coming baseball season (and baseball movies too, of course!) And whenever I find something compelling written by someone else, I hope to be able to pass that along as well. Hopefully there might be a few out there who might find what lies ahead worth reading, and maybe even commenting on. I feel like I'm stepping out on a high wire for the first time...

Maybe I should start with something I wrote recently... More to come...