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In a What If kind of way ... what if the black helmet cape guy were the manager of a supermarket. Want to learn more? Click here
Also, new ... well, err kinda new Yacht Rock!!! ... this time featuring the little known feud btwn the Dan and the Eagles. Last one ever, bummer
I was very entertained by this movie, but I think somehow this experience went a bit deeper than that for me. This movie struck a nerve with me ... as if I was grooved into some kind of deeper resonance with it
It has everything that one should know come to expect from a Kevin Smith movie -- outrageous blue and vulgar material, pop culture up the ying yang (particularly geek cultural iconic talk like SW and LOTR), and as of Jersey Girl, an emotional center, a sweetness. That being said, I think other people have covered these aspects far better than me
The movie resonated with me because I find myself as a part of that generation that is creeping well into their 30s, and now realizes that the things you did or were in your teens and 20s -- well, at least, you question still being into those kind of things or situations, perhaps agonizing over ways to get ahead ... or feeling things are passing you by ... as if your opportunities in this life to make something of your self are slowly fading out
The brilliance of the movie is not how it makes GEN-X people like me feel a premature middle age crisis ... or make us feel bad for being a bit too far into pop culture and having seemingly rudderless, slacker lives. The brilliance is that it affirms the greater aspects of life that come from doing what you makes you happy -- the tragedy is that too often we don't want to claim ownership of it ... and really feel happy and fulfilled in our lives, shunning it for the rat race and other robotic existences that at our core we know that we wouldn't enjoy or feel fulfilled with living
The elegance of message is do what makes you happy, embrace your friends and the people that you love, find the woman that you are broadly compatible with ... because all of these things make life worth it, supporting and being supported by your friends, family, and your significant other ... in fact, living this way actually makes you ahead of the game because you probably are at peace with your life -- it's not about feeling guilty for being a fanboy in whatever realm that you may be one -- as much as it is not about feeling bad that you never achieved fame, fortune, material abundance, especially if that is not what motivates you ... it's about being okay with being with who you are, and knowing what is of value and important in this life to you
Oh and my personal affinity aside, this movie is really entertaining, funny, gross, odd, but at the end of the day is very likable ... and comes highly recommended
Thoughout my life, I've been to several "open casket" funerals ... I could never really put my finger on what I felt as I finally made my way to see a person lying in state, endless sleep.
It's all very surreal, outside you see the hustle and bustle -- people being so alive and interactive. Then you when you enter the hall and make your way to see the departed person -- you can't help but thinking, gee it really wasn't too long ago when that person was so full of life, hope, feelings, expressions, emotions, and all the animated things that life expresses through a body
I guess the best way to describe it is sleep, except that you will never see that person's form again. I certainly do not wish to dishonor the dead, but it seems odd to me to see a body lying in state. We already have our memories of the departed, and that lives on in us -- why is it that we must see that person's body, when "they" are no longer there. I guess maybe when someone suffers for a while, it can be somewhat therapeutic to see their body at rest
But somehow when someone dies suddenly, just out of the blue -- I think that seeing a body in state is very psychologically jarring because ... in the end, we must come to terms with the fragility that is our life, and really how impermanent everything is -- no matter how important things and tasks may be in the short run, and may run our lives ... we all must end sometime, and I think that so very few of us are prepared for that eventuality
The eventuality of course being the utterly incomprehensible and surreal ... certainty or prediction that we most certainly will die someday -- and we don't know when. I suppose it is why some would love to cling to concepts such as the afterlife, reincarnation, Heaven/Hell, the Rapture, etc. I guess it's hard for everyone to wrap their mind around the concept that this existence, no matter how good, how bad, what have you ... will one day end, for some suddenly and unexpectedly, for some after a full life, for some after physical struggles, for some too soon
I will stay away from the whole "you aren't promised tomorrow" ... I think we all know it, but very few of us must confront it right now in our lives. Ironic that so few of us, present company included, choose not to live, try, do, be the things that we know at some level is our path in life.
Getting back to funerals, in the past two years, I have been to two for people who were in their mid-30s ... when I was younger, I went to a friend's funeral who died at eleven ... I have been to a funeral of a good man who worked hard all his life, lived right, yet died within the first month of his retirement ... I am more aware of transitions now, or the so-called circle of life, as I have seen people who were significant to my life -- age, develop unfortunate diseases like cancer, or just pass one day when I or anyone else least expected it
And so it is , when we die ... the body is at peace, the soul lives on ... but this temporary thing called life is really what you make of it ... but then again, we all know that -- the time to live is now
Who wait ?!?!?!?
I seriously have a rough time with managing my expectations about live entertainment here. In other words, I just go along like something will happen ... then hey, let's all get disappointed over something that smells of being a trial balloon rather than an actual commitment of some act to actually play here
Well, I think I have been fortunate to see more than a few exciting bills ... just lucky, coincidence. For example, when I saw the Stones in LA, they were taking Living Colour out to tour with them ... no one expected GNR, but they only played during the LA dates. Very Happy Coincidence
So finally today, after a four month hiatus filled with rumors about whether they would, would not, could, could not ... that little band from Dublin decided to play here after all in December. And along with the roadie band, we are getting a taste of the re-energized Pearl Jam ... again, this is a Very Happy Coincidence, if it actually comes to pass
The dog year is shaping up to be quite a year for live shows here ... and that's a good thing
Worlds of wonder week continues for me. As I drove home this afternoon, there was some kind of accident on the onramp to the freeway. Lots of service vehicles were there, and a police car was blocking the lane you merge into from the on ramp
Because everyone was just going so slow, I caught a passing glance of one of the vehicles involved. Well, you heard of crumple zones, this car looked like someone crumpled up some paper ... then unballed it and you can see all the criss crossing of wrinkles and lines, dents, and puffs
The car looked like that and I wondered how did it get like that ... I mean usually it looks like one end or the body is accordioned ... this one looked like Godzilla walked by, and the evil lizard that he is, decided to crumple up a car in his teeny hands, then drop it back to the ground from his short alligator arms ... but I digress
Everyone involved looked pretty much okay ... and I suppose that is interesting, given how the one car looked.
On a side note, the big box computer store near where I live has decided to pull up stakes and move to the corner of potholes and big box land in near the P.C. post office ... the convenience factor of this store has gone severely negative, like I may just order stuff online and pay shipping just to avoid the headache
I just have to wonder, who the hell zoned this area ... traffic disaster ... too much load on roads makes for constant potholes ... WHICH ARE ONLY PATCHED ... so the road is well, at best, super uneven ... you need damn dune buggy tires not to get bounced around -- oh wait, I could buy an SUV or supertruck, couldn't I?
Can't keep people away from the "bargains" ... more like can't keep people away from consuming. I wonder where people's breaking point is ... like where they say, you know what? F-That, I am not going over there, I don't care what's over there.
I think I have reached that point already, but maybe it's not about having good sense ... as much as it's not having patience? Ehh, who knows
Have you ever seen those shredded commercial truck tires on the side of the road, just strips of shredded rubber with steel belting all twisted and exposed?
While I was driving to work this morning, I finally saw what happens when a semi blows out a tire. It's quite an amazing thing to see -- it's like a tree chipper or something, there's like this whoosh sound, then pieces and bits get shot out and go flying everywhere.
The funny thing is, I don't think if you are in the truck you can tell until the whole tread path is ripped away ... so they just keep on truckin' along ... and then a second whoosh sound as the rest of the tread is chopped up and spit onto the road way. I guess after that happened, the driver felt it bumping along the road so he pulled off.
I guess I was lucky in that I was in the lane farthest away, but it was something pretty interesting to watch ... you don't see something like this every day.
I dunno if I will keep up with this, but when I get emails about it, I shall pass on the link for the "big release of the week"
Solo album from R-Head vox ... out tomorrow ... is streaming here
Well, actually it's not really a game ... just some interesting factoids about children's issues
The mindfeeding time waster is here, courtesy our favorite socially conscious ice cream maker
Okay, I admit, I would never ... ever think of doing this in 8 million years. But someone has, and truth be told, it's kind of a cool (slightly unfinished) idea. SW:ANH in ASCII ... it gets up to the point where Luke discovers the princess.
See it here
Just some things that I have noticed in my scan of sites and emails.
On a side note, I finally saw the whole P-a-n-t-e-r-a BTM on VH1. I wasn't the hugest of fans of their music, but I liked them well enough. The whole thing with Dime, problems with Phil ... very unfortunate, I always shake my head at how some great bands have such loyal fans but just cannot go on because of personality stuff ... and now death. And on an unrelated note, seems like rumors are flying that SOAD may be headed for breakupsville, too. I guess this is all par for the course in the world of rock
One night, I also saw the S-Te//ers on P-e-a-r-l J-a-m ... in my op, it didn't really add to my understanding of the band or its songs too much. If I were to sum it up, it had a very political bent (which I agree with); however, like I said didn't add too much to the overall program ... oh, and you learn that Alive is about Ed V. All of which added together doesn't really make me want to re-embrace a band that I really dug for two albums ... although I did give them a chance to win me over, when I watched the program. end of babble.
Apparently throat probs have relieved Steve 2 from the JRNY tour (curious to see if he will go the way of Tim-O and JP) ... the fill-in is the, to me, very serviceable JSS ... who I best remember as the vox on the first two Yngwie solo albums and of course, playing some shows with the remaining members of Q-u-e-e-n in the past
Here is an interesting snip of JSS doing an A-T JRNY classic
In a similar vein, there must be something about D/L festival ... last year, the stand-in drummers for Met as LU goes down with an ailment, this year K-o-r-n gets various vox to stand in for JD due to a blood ailment. WEIRD
I read that Mr. Sweet (vox for S-t-r-y-p-e-r) will be releasing a new solo album next month ... and of course, the much anticipated album from M-a-i-d-e-n will be out in September, with a single coming out soon. And, just in case you were planning to file them away in the 1HW category, new album is done for E-v-a-n-e-s-c-e-n-c-e, due in Oct, new song supposedly due the first week of Aug
And of course, T-o-o-l tix on sale this Sat for Fri and Sat shows in August at the concert hall ... and if rumors are true, the equally enigmatic M-e-s-h-u-g-g-a-h will open
Excerpt from White Ashes from Rennyo's Letters (trans. by Hisao Inagaki et al)
When I deeply contemplate the transient nature of human life,
I realize that, from beginning to end, life is impermanent like an illusion.
We have not yet heard of anyone who lived ten thousand years.
How fleeting is a lifetime!
Who in this world today can maintain a human form for even a hundred years?
There is no knowing whether I will die first or others,
whether death will occur today or tomorrow.
We depart one after another more quickly than the dewdrops on
the roots or the tips of the blades of grasses. So it is said.
Hence, we may have radiant faces in the morning,
but by evening we may turn into white ashes.
Once the winds of impermanence have blown,
our eyes are instantly closed and our breath stops forever.
Then, our radiant face changes its color, and the
attractive countenance like peach and plum blossoms is lost.
Family and relatives will gather and grieve, but all to no avail?
Since there is nothing else that can be done, they carry the deceased out to the
fields, and then what is left after the body has been cremated and has turned
into the midnight smoke is just white ashes.
Words fail to describe the sadness of it all.
Thus the ephemeral nature of human existence is such that death comes to young
and old alike without discrimination. So we should all quickly take to heart the
matter of the greatest importance of the afterlife ....