5 things on my mind: My new favorite Cardinal, Rotten Tomatoes, and Drive Social
Confession time, friends. Come see what's on my mind.
Let me tell you something. Hearing neighbors mow their lawn is a glorious thing, especially two days after you mowed your own. The sweet smells and sounds of a St. Louis summer in September. The ambiance sways from landscaping before my pool party mayhem to sirens of all kinds. Runners, walkers, dogwalkers, man with a beer and radio on his mind.
Speaking of which, here are five things on my mind… at the moment at least.
~Procrastination is a practice I have reached an elite level with, something that affects my Rotten Tomatoes page being updated. Yes, when you become Tomato-meter certified, you get a page with a bio, stack of recent reviews, and your publications. At the moment, that’s Dose of Buffa. This would be great if people were actually still interested in “The Gray Man” and “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande.” That was more than a few weeks ago. Still solid cinematic choices in their own right, but a bit dated during this constant streaming era.
The thing is you have to upload your reviews, and include the quote that is a make-or-break three-point click. That means the article, the home page, and the subscribe button. The Buffa RT page has been updated, and there’s a few more to put up. Stay updated at this link.
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~I’m a big Brendan Donovan fan. If you don’t know that name yet, that’s fine. Let me fill you in half as well as Kyle Reis would. Born in Germany yet raised in Alabama, where attended high school and college, Donovan has been the new Swiss army knife for the St. Louis Cardinals this summer. He’s a rookie who hits for a decent average and gets on base at a solid rate, while the power occasionally makes an appearance.
Donovan tasted over a thousand plate appearances in the minors before reaching the big leagues this year, four years after his entrance to professional baseball. He’s a neat player, if a sports blogger can use such a term with being blasted with a Webster-Dictionary in the neck. Everything Donovan does is neat.
The way he plays multiple positions well and can hit anywhere in the lineup. Leading off the inning or extending a rally, it always seems like Donovan is producing runs in some way for the Cardinals. A lovely find who stormed into most of Cardinal Nation’s attention last season, compiling an .854 OPS in 108 games spread out across St. Louis’s affiliates. A year later, he’s given the big league club a .788 OPS, 22 extra base hits, and a ridiculous K/BB split of 59 to 46.
He sure is neat, and a keeper.
~Do you want to know what’s great in Princeton Heights/St. Louis Hills lately? The missing “No Right Turn on Red” sign at It’s-Your-Burger, aka Eichelberger, and Hampton Avenue. Facing directly east, with Dairy Queen on your right, a driver no longer has to wait for the green. Before turning, you always had to watch for pedestrians who suddenly thought they were walking on water.
A great development here in St. Louis, a city that will be beautiful when it’s finished being built.
~I can’t recommend the wonderful 2021 Michael Sarnoski film, Pig, enough for the message to clearly be delivered. I could sit down at a fancy restaurant with you and stare into your soul with organic conviction, bringing to the table a collection of trauma and love from my past, and a cinemagoer may understand better. All I can say is it’s supremely executed, edited, acted, written, directed, produced, scored, and presented. Repeat viewings simply pops the cork on more bottles of goodness from Sarnoski’s script.
Nicolas Cage critics, beware this place called “Pig:” The actor is better than ever, playing an unlikely protagonist (he’s a quiet truffle hunter whose best friend is his hunting buddy pig) in a very unconventional film about redemption, grief, and how it’s endless. Cage’s pig is kidnapped, and he goes looking for her. It sounds silly, but it’s done remarkably.
~Job news. The news is that the job hunt is over. I landed a job at Drive Social in downtown St. Louis, a thriving company on the rise. The title is “associate copywriter,” but it could change quickly. I am a digital copywriter, someone who helps small to medium businesses socialize their business on Facebook or via a personal website. Modern day MAD MEN shit. I am excited, and start on Sept. 19. Enough time to see my kid turn 11 and soak up my final days as a freelance driver/writer.
Don’t worry: I will still be writing here and over at the Dose. It may not be as often, but the flavor will still be rich. Longform writing and film criticism, along with sportswriting, said no to me--in around seven or eight different ways. Drive Social said yes. Here we go. It’s a land I was made for: social media word warriors working for local people, helping their window maintain an open sign, or perhaps add another one in a different location.
Thanks for following, and stay tuned for the same words and mind you’ve been reading for years. Nothing changes. I just make a lot more money now. Thank GOODNESS. My wife was this close to packing her shit and heading out for a Chris Evans love quest.
WHEW!
Congrats on the new gig with more $$$$ !! They are blessed to have you Man !!