Some of you will have already noticed that the original Wall of Paul slogan, "Paul Tatara on Movies (and so forth)," now reads "Paul Tatara on Pop Culture (and so forth)." In the winter of 2007, when we launched this site, I knew I'd initially draw readers who were familiar with my CNN and Goodauthority movie coverage, so I mostly wrote about movies. But I live in the same world everyone else inhabits, and I contemplate a lot of things besides motion pictures. It was my goal, then, to eventually examine music, sports, politics, religion, firecrackers, action figures, babies, fast food, heroes, hypocrites, air conditioning, parades, cream puffs, and a slew of other topics that have come to shape my consciousness. Thus the altered, and far more accurate, slogan.

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Another Amazing Moment in Yankee History

May 9th, 2008

So I'm at the Yankees-Indians game yesterday, sitting with my friend, Llane, in pretty great seats somewhere down the first base line. The Tribe eventually lost, but they won the day before, and we saw that one, too. And they took two out of three games.

Anyway, Derek Jeter's batting, and he smacks a nasty line drive in what I would normally call "my general direction," since I've never even come close to catching a foul ball at a game before. But I glance up, and, within about .09 seconds, realize- "SHIT! That's curving right toward us!!"

I decide I have to go for it, even though it's traveling about 87 mph, and is making a rabid hummingbird sound as it approaches. So I stand up and stick my left hand in the air, where the ball absolutely plasters my middle finger, bends it backwards, and keeps on going.

And that's how I joined the select fraternity of people who have touched one of Derek Jeter's balls without first posing in "Maxim" magazine.

And it's the last season at the stadium, too!

Paul Tatara

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