5 things you should know this week

Informational opinionated conversation is what I'm calling it.

I like doing new things for no reason other than to shake up the norm, even in the smallest ways. Anything I can do to resist being a robot. Hence the constant change with the “5 things” editions happening here over the past two months.

5 things I know.

5 things on my mind.

5 things on my dog’s mind.

5 ways QT can change your life.

5 ways a mutant baby could make a peacock fly.

So, this time I am going with “5 things you should know.” Newsy stuff with an opinion attached. Look, at this point in my career I am sticking to what I am best at. You can’t ask rain to be snow, so let it go. If someone wants to pay me to “report” on the Cardinals, sign me up. If someone wants me to merely inform you of news, and just put a period on it… come on up and write me a check and let’s get started.

I was watching ESPN today and they spent six minutes on a Lebron James injury. It was like they were covering an assassination attempt on the President. Nope, Lebron has been hurt! He twisted his ankle, which is prescribed with ice and rest. According to the Mcdonalds of sports channels, he lost his entire left leg in the hoops collision. It’s such a batch of baby-back bullshit.

I need to be paid more to do that, and not just swing a fishing reel out into the internet ether fork over $5 per month. So, you get opinions on news or mixed in with the “need to know” info. Let’s go.

5. Blade Runner: 2049, the sequel that was BETTER than the original (bite me, Ridley), is now streaming on Netflix. You won’t have to search for it, as it’s currently trending at #1. This is the best epic Denis Villenueve movie, not Dune. This should have been nominated for Best Picture.

It had a grand scope, great cast, a look all its own, and thrilling sequences. An older, wearier Harrison Ford helps. Ryan Gosling produced a haunting everyman lead performance. Dave Bautista rocked a small part. So did Sylvia Hoeks as Luv, the henchwoman for Jared Leto’s cyborg mastermind. She kicks everyone’s ass in the film, and has *SPOILER YEARS LATER ALERT* has one of the best death scenes in recent cinematic memory.

One more thing: Hans Zimmer and Benjamin Wallfisch’s score is my favorite from the past decade. I work out to it, write with it, and just start my day with it. Letting a film score lay into you for weeks is like never kicking a great movie out of your head.

4. For all the *mostly* reasonable critics of the Albert Pujols contract and return, keep in mind this isn’t 100% nostalgia and ticket sales. Pujols can still hit a little, and in this league a little counts for a lot. As I wrote earlier this morning, he raked lefties and performed very well in pinch-hit spots and in the clutch. Those things came around often for the Cardinals early last year. He’s not a hero, and doesn’t move the needle a lot.

But, think about the young players and what they can learn from watching three franchise legends go out together. I hope Gorman makes the club still and soaks up knowledge. I wish there was a way for Juan Yepez and Pujols to both be on the roster, but he’s only 24 years old. He hit that age two weeks ago, so there’s time.

If Pujols was worthless, I’d be more critical of the deal.

3. Chicken wings fans should head over to JJ Twigs in South Hampton. My wife and I have lived near the restaurant and eaten there for years. The double-decker pizza. The LeGrands meat-packed burger. The mixed greens salads are always fresh. FRIES that are always fresh. So, when the table next to us last night had wings, it was only a matter of time before we were eating trashed wings ourselves.

They’re delicious. Get ranch or blue cheese, or get them tossed in wing sauce. They didn’t mess up the actual cooking of the chicken. It wasn’t dry; more like savory and smoky. The flats were even good, and I am a puffy chicken drumstick kind of fella. Best of all, they were fried. Get me fried chicken wings. If we’re dipping these things sauces and rubs, let’s toss them into oil real fast. JJ Twigs does. So good. What are you waiting for?

2. Frank Sinatra’s softer songs. Don’t bypass the guy due to the fact that radio stations have flooded your ears with his more well-known, yet still sulky and great, hits. But as I drove home from the mini-madness that is Hampton Village on a serene Monday evening, I turned on Sinatra’s One for My Baby (And One More For The Road).

Anybody can sympathize and collapse into this song’s lyrics and overall message. Just make it one for my baby, and one more for the road. The weary exhale of a generation who stare into cell phone screens (including yours truly) and the constant state of doing enough in their younger years, so Sinatra’s song is like a spring wind.

1. Don’t bypass the upcoming Liam Neeson thriller due to the fact that he’s hitting .250 as an action star the past few years. Memory is directed by action thriller extraordinaire Martin Campbell, who directed the very fine The Protege last year with Maggie Q and Michael Keaton. He also helmed Casino Royale and a few other great, underrated flicks. Neeson plays an assassin losing his memory on an important job, and I don’t think Campbell will make a stinker. Stay tuned.