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Dan Rodricks: A cosmic night of Orioles baseball, a sideshow at Camden Yards and six more very random items | STAFF COMMENTARY

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:57 GMT

Cosmic baseball: We are approaching the 40th anniversary of a legendary Orioles game at Memorial Stadium: The night relief pitcher Tippy Martinez picked off three runners at first base in the same inning. Longtime Baltimoreans know well the story and have told it to their offspring: On Aug. 24, 1983, in a game against Toronto that went to extra innings, manager Joe Altobelli had to call on utility infielder Lenn Sakata to catch. Sakata had not crouched behind home plate with mask and mitt since Little League. So, Toronto runners figured they could take big leads off first base and easily steal second. That didn’t happen as, one by one, Martinez snapped throws to first baseman Eddie Murray that resulted in all three outs. To top it off, the home team prevailed in extra innings, 7-4, with Sakata, the unlikeliest of heroes, hitting a three-run, game-winning homer. It was cosmic, a grand night on 33rd Street, and by now 1.6 million Baltimore baseball fans have claimed they were th...

US, Japan and South Korea agree to expand security and economic ties at historic Camp David summit

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:57 GMT

By AAMER MADHANI and DARLENE SUPERVILLE (Associated Press)CAMP DAVID, Md. (AP) — President Joe Biden and the leaders of Japan and South Korea agreed Friday to expand security and economic ties at a historic summit at the U.S. presidential retreat of Camp David. Their meeting and agreement come at a time that the three countries are on an increasingly tense ledge in their relations with China and North Korea.Biden said the three countries would establish a hotline to discuss responses to threats. He announced the agreements, including what they termed the “Camp David Principles,” at the close of his talks with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.“The purpose of our trilateral security cooperation is and will remain to promote and enhance peace and stability throughout the region,” they said in a joint statement.The three leaders agreed to “improve our trilateral communication mechanism to facilitate regular and timely communication between o...

Home Showcase: Eastie loft anything but marginal

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:57 GMT

Recent construction woes aside, East Boston continues to thrive as a dynamic, colorful neighborhood.Sited in the heart of Jeffries Point, East Boston’s coveted waterfront area, unit 4 at 288 Marginal Street is a luxurious loft that encapsulates modern urban living.The stylish south-facing 2-bedroom, 2.5 bathroom duplex penthouse comes with three — yup, three — private outdoor spaces and a direct access deeded garage parking space.Stepping into the loft, your gaze is immediately drawn to the expansive 10-foot walls of glass that frame serene water views. The living room seamlessly blends indoor and outdoor living with a walk-out balcony and a cozy gas fireplace for chilly nights. Adjacent, a spacious dining area flows from the sleek kitchen, featuring gas cooking, an eat-in island, and glass sliders leading to a large deck perfect for cookouts and entertaining.The primary suite is a sunny retreat, boasting large windows, ample closet space, and an opulent bath adorned with Calc...

Relive famed “Smokey and the Bandit” Coors beer run at Colorado hotel

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:57 GMT

Coors’ beer may be ubiquitous in gas stations and groceries stores across the country today, but in the 1970s, it was a hot commodity unavailable east of the Mississippi River. And a quest to bootleg 400 cases from Texarkana, Texas, to Atlanta in the movie “Smokey and the Bandit” catapulted the legacy brand to a cultural phenomenon.Now, a hotel in Coors’ home of Golden, Colorado, is paying tribute to the film – and the brewery’s 150th anniversary – with a themed lodging package that offers guests a chance to pose with a car inspired by its famous Trans Am and, of course, plentiful beer.Embed from Getty ImagesMovie buffs can book a reservation at The Eddy Taproom & Hotel (1640 8th St, Golden), for a curated experience that is sure to satisfy fans who are “eastbound and down, loaded up and truckin’.” The package, which starts at $900 for two people, includes a trip to the Rods & Bodz Museum, which showcases many cars made famous on the silver screen; a guided brewery tour in G...

‘Blue Beetle’ review: A reluctant superhero in a better-than-average DC Comics movie

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:57 GMT

Michael Phillips | (TNS) Chicago Tribune“Blue Beetle” works, basically, and that puts it ahead of the game for most DC Comics-derived movies. Its scale is more human than corporate. And it’s really nice to get out of Gotham and visit a new fictional urban center: Palmera City, imagined here as Miami with a hint of “Blade Runner,” if “Blade Runner” enjoyed a little sunshine.The Blue Beetle character has been around since before World War II, in comics, as a radio serial, on TV and in different iterations. This is the first feature film on the subject, about the teenager Jaime Reyes — just graduated from Gotham U, prelaw, dim prospects — who gets a face-full and then a full-body invasion of alien biotechnology. This transforms him into the Blue Beetle, which means he becomes the target of the nefarious Kord Industries, the company developing an army of weaponized humanoid “security forces,” aka Robocops but worse.That part of “Blue Beetle” may be narratively necessary, but I do not ca...

Disappointed in the summer blockbusters? Read these Hollywood books, one by Tom Hanks, instead

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:57 GMT

Chris Hewitt | Star Tribune (TNS)Movie fans seem to think Hollywood is falling short this summer. “Barbenheimer” has helped turn around what was becoming a grim season, with other blockbusters such as the “Mission Impossible” and “Indiana Jones” sequels and “Elemental” not busting as many blocks as expected/hoped.Maybe those fans are filling in the gaps with Hollywood-themed books? For whatever reason, a lot of current and upcoming fiction tackles moviemaking, ranging from “From Dust to Stardust,” due Sept. 5 and mostly set in the silent film era, to Tom Hanks’ “The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece,” which takes place on the present-day set of a Marvel-like movie. There’s also Lindsay Lynch’s new “Do Tell,” whose main character is a gossip columnist in the era when “Gone With the Wind” was sweeping the Oscars, and James Ellroy’s 1960s-set “T...

Quick Fix: Cilantro and Cumin Shrimp Tacos inspired by Coyo Taco recipe

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:57 GMT

Linda Gassenheimer | Tribune News Service (TNS)I tasted some shrimp tacos that were packed with flavor at a Coyo Taco restaurant and asked the co-founder and chef behind the Coyo Taco chain, Scott Linquist, how they are made. He gave me a simple recipe and I’ve adapted it here.Scott also advised that you could make the tacos and serve them, or you can simply place all the fixings in bowls on the table along with the warm tortillas and let everyone make their own tacos.I like to buy frozen shrimp to have on hand. It’s easy to remove what you need. They take only a few minutes to defrost in a bowl of cold water.Helpful Hints:— You can substitute several drops of hot pepper sauce for jalapeno pepper.— Look for finely shredded or thinly sliced coleslaw mix in the produce department.— If don’t have access to a blender, chop the cilantro, garlic, cumin and jalapeno together and mix with oil and lime juice.Countdown:— Make cilantro mixture and add the shrimp.— Prepare the remaining ingredi...

Consumer Health: What is swimmer’s itch?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:57 GMT

Laurel Kelly | Mayo Clinic News Network (TNS)It’s summertime, and for many people that means spending time with family and friends at the lake or river. For some, it also means an unpleasant skin irritation: swimmer’s itch.Swimmer’s itch, also called cercarial dermatitis, is a rash that can occur after you go swimming or wading outdoors. It’s most common after being in freshwater lakes and ponds, but you can get it in saltwater too.There is no risk of contracting swimmer’s itch from a well maintained and chlorinated swimming pool, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Swimmer’s itch usually is caused by a reaction to tiny parasites in the water that burrow into your skin while you’re swimming or wading in warm, calm water. Swimmer’s itch is not contagious from person to person. The parasites can’t survive in people, so they soon die.SymptomsSwimmer’s itch symptoms include an itchy rash that looks like ...

Judge won’t delay Trump’s defamation claims trial, calling the ex-president’s appeal frivolous

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:57 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York federal judge expressed growing impatience Friday with what he calls ex-President Donald Trump’s “repeated efforts to delay” a defamation lawsuit against him, saying he won’t stop a January trial to await the outcome of a “frivolous” appeal of one of his rulings. Judge Lewis A. Kaplan made the remarks in a written ruling as he criticized arguments made by Trump’s lawyers in asking him to mothball the 2019 civil claims by a New York columnist who says Trump raped her in a luxury Manhattan department store dressing room in spring 1996.“This case was largely stalled for years due in large part to Mr. Trump’s repeated efforts to delay,” Kaplan wrote. “Mr. Trump’s latest motion to stay — his fourth such request — is yet another such attempt to delay unduly the resolution of this matter.”The ruling increases the likelihood that Trump will face the defamation lawsuit on Jan. 15, just as primary season begins in his quest to become the Republican nominee for presi...

Ottawa ‘shouldn’t walk around with a stick’ to enforce health deals: Holland

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:57 GMT

OTTAWA — Newly appointed Health Minister Mark Holland says accountability for new federal health funding will largely come from Canadians themselves. Holland told a conference hosted by the Canadian Medical Association in Ottawa that a $198-billion deal struck between the federal and provincial governments in February is intended to restore Canadians’ optimism about Canadian health care. All provinces except Quebec have accepted the agreement in principle and are hammering out finer details.Holland says governments “viscerally” understand that Canadians are done with political excuses for the state of health care and want to see results. He says he believes those public demands will ensure accountability, and Ottawa “shouldn’t walk around with a stick.”Holland said after his appearance that his provincial and territorial counterparts are pulling in the same direction, and that’s why he doesn’t want to start talking about how they’...