Inspiration

I'm not going to say who it is but this person tends to be so overly dramatic.  And it's not my wife, so as she is cooking while writing this, she is the only other person who knows who I am talking about.   When someone constantly posts things in a public forum, 99% of the time, I believe that that person is just seeking attention.  But what makes it so funny to me is the subject matter.

I'm all for inspiration and uplifting messages, but if it is 24/7 and public, you know something is up.   It can be a little annoying, but personally I find it funny.  Things like lines from a Chumbawumba song, "I get knocked down, and then I get up again, you're never gonna keep me down" and then end it with some kind of religious quote or something.  I don't know it just kinda irks me.

But back to the reason why I'm writing this post, which is a complete 180.  When I was in High School and my friends and I where in our movie making phases of our life, our penultimate project was a Spanish film rendition of Don Quixote.  I had a issue of Classics Illustrated featuring Don Quixote.  BAM!  Instant storyboards and script.   Before there was internet, and AOL was still in it's early infancy, I had a English-Spanish translator installed on my 486 DX2, BAM!  There was our lines ins Spanish.  My friends and I had a couple cameras and that was what we used to film.  One Hi8 and a VHS camcorder.   Old School!   To edit, we just filmed over scenes, edit tape to a high quality VHS on SP.   There were speaking parts, but we also did some dubbing over scenes.  Since we were all movie buffs, a lot of us had soundtracks so we stole a lot of music from other movies.   We had our own personal Shaw Brothers movie, except in Spanish.   Complete with fight scene and musical sequence.

But that musical sequence, which was taken from the English 1972 version of Don Quixote, when the character portraying Quixote sung "To Dream the Impossible Dream".   My good friend Mike, who was the the star of the film, perfectly lip sinked that sequence and I remember seeing it on class.  We tore the roof down.  And with all the Lucasfilm and ILM dreams I had of working on the next trilogy that I would hope someday come out, never happened.  That was the extent of my film, editing and sound work.  Those were some good times.  Somewhere the masters are lying waiting to be transferred digitally and uploaded on youtube, but I doubt that will ever happen.  Too many lives would get ruined.

But those were good times.  I look back and as I have this Wonder Years moment, I  can't help but think of that one sequence that my man Mike lip synched to and it I find it perfectly fitting.  The song is inspirational.  That sequence is inspirational.  Don Quixote is inspirational.  I find the song proper for who we were at the time and who we inspired to be.  I'm pretty damn proud of what we have all accomplished since then.  Here's to all my friends and without further adieu...

Stay thirsty my friends... and to my sis-in-law, keep reaching for that unreachable star.

So dope I had to post...

My friend Chris shared this on Facebook I've been watching it for the last hour. Right across the bay in SF, I can't figure out when they could have possibly filmed this? But those rims he's using are the same ones on my car =).

Paul Rudd Man Crush Continues...

My wife and I watched Wanderlust last weekend and to my surprise Paul Rudd was in it! (I already knew that.) It's no secret to most of my friends, and even my wife is aware that yes, I have a man crush on Paul Rudd. I'm secure with my sexuality enough to admit this. I mean, who wouldn't want to be friends with this guy? He's awesomely funny, seems down to earth, and likes to rock out to Rush songs in a man cave?! He's like the spiritual successor to John Cusack... except FUNNIER! Him and Conan O'Brien have this running gag where every time he comes in to promote a film when the time comes to show a clip, they always show a clip from a 80's E.T. Rip-off, Mac and Me.. Conan and Rudd Dance Off to Bruce Springsteen 'Badlands' He's has the look and manerisms that seem to be stuck in the 90's era of alternative rock, a good time, when Gin Blossoms, Toad the Wet Sprocket and Spin Doctors lead the airwaves. Not quite the powerhouses of that era like Nirvana and Green Day, but more of the laid back hits which lead me to write this post. In one particular scene of Wanderlust, Paul Rudd's character joins a music circle at the co-op he and his wife stayed and he grabs the guitar and plays a Spin Doctors song "Two Princes" and no one knows it. And the BMOC shows him up with his guitar. It's just too funny. Speaking of other 90's hits, in one scene of 30 minutes or Less, there was one particular scene where Nick Swardson's character is listening to Jumper by Third Eye Blind in the car, and Danny McBride's character cuts him off the song and says something hilarious like "I don't wanna listen to this Matchbox 20 BS..." or something like that. I was rolling on the floor. Paul Rudd in Wanderlust...

Dark Side of Oz

Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon + Wizard of Oz