This Guy Falls Down

A Mighty Wind (***1/2 out of 5)

I finally saw A Mighty Wind last night, and it was quite good. I've seen all of the other Christopher Guest documentary-spoof films and loved each of them, so I had high expectations this time around, and it did not disappoint.
A Mighty Wind is the story of a reunion concert featuring three folk bands from the '60's: the Folksmen, the New Main Street Singers, and Mitch and Mickey. To pull it off, the actors in the film actually had to perform and record a "concert". The movie was worth watching to me for that factor alone.
By far the highlight for me was a group called the Folksmen. What makes them so hilarious is that they are played by the same three actors who portrayed the legendary Spinal Tap. Also, Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara were funny (and surprisingly endearing) as Mitch and Mickey. Some of the back stories about the members of the New Main Street Singers are pretty humorous as well. And Fred Willard's always good for a laugh or two.
The film wasn't without it's weaknesses, of course. It seems that with each movie he does, Christopher Guest's ensemble cast grows. And it's gotten to the point where there are so many actors that there just isn't enough movie to develop all of the characters. And, overall, this movie is a little more serious than other works by Guest and crew. Granted, they get funnier with each viewing, so maybe my opinion will be different in six months.
Finally, I've got to give credit where credit is due. Parker Posey. For the third straight time, she made me laugh the hardest. I don't want to give it away but it involves her playing mandolin for a group of kindergarten kids. It may not do it for you, but dang it, it done it for me.

NASCAR Dads

I saw a piece on NBC Nightly News last night about what could be the hot new demographic in the 2004 election. Never heard of it? Neither had I. Here's a definition.
Now, my gut reaction is that this crowd, of which I guess I'm about to become a member (expectant father, NASCAR fan), is that they would lean heavily in the GOP direction. And these guys agree.
But that's not stopping the Democrats. Here are a couple of cases in point. It will definitely be interesting to see how this pans out. And I don't honestly see many NASCAR types voting Democrat. Ain't gonna happen.
I do have a question, though. Is this really some new demographic, or is it the "silent majority" with a fancy new name?

Random? Meaningless?

One of my favorite quotes from Microserfs involves the random: "Randomness is a useful shorthand for describing a pattern that's bigger than anything we can hold in our minds. Letting go of randomness is one of the hardest decisions a person can make."
Maybe that's why I love the "random" and the "mundane". Maybe that's why we spend so much time on these blogs talking about "random" things. Maybe it's all part of something bigger that we just haven't figured out yet.
So I hereby change the name of this here sidebar category from "Random and Meaningless" to "Random and Meaningful". We'll understand it all by and by.

Where's Exclamation Mark?

One of my favorite blogs utilizing the fledgling TypePad format has been Exclamation Mark. I hadn't been to his site in a few days, and when I tried the link today, it seems to have vanished. Does anyone know what's going on? Has he relocated, or is he just having technical problems?

The Phi Nest

In recent surfing, I came across a site which delves into some of the mathematical ideas presented in The Da Vinci Code. It's quite fascinating, and what makes it even more intriguing to me is that the site's proprietors seem to be using this math to support the existence of God. I highly recommend it.

Georgia Tech / Vandy

I had the privilege of attending the football contest last night between the Yellow Jackets of Georgia Tech and the Commodores of Vanderbilt. Now, I know that most of you are yawning right about now. But I don't care. This was probably the only Tech game I'll go to this year, and enjoyed every minute of it. OK, except for the fact that the stadium announcer would say "Move those chains! First down Vanderbilt!" every time Vandy got a first down (which was far too often in my book). It was an exciting game. Vanderbilt is much improved over the squad that Tech pounded 45-3 last year. And Tech was not on their game by a long shot. Add those two factors and what do you get? OVERTIME!
Even though it was ugly, my Jackets pulled it out, and I had a great time. I sat near the Tech band, and it brought back memories of being in the band at Georgia Tech. Yes, it's true. It's a little known fact, but Mr. Lee here was once a member of the self-described $1.98 Noise of the Southland. And I'm proud of it.
Good game. And best of all, I saw a lot of positive things going on with my Jackets.

Microserfs

Let me just go ahead and get this out of the way. I love Douglas Coupland. I usually read about one of his books a year, and they never cease to blow my mind. There was recently a review of his new book in Uncut magazine which totally sums up the experience of reading Coupland: "In every book, his metaphors are as good as those of any writer living: on every page you'll want to circle something." Microserfs was no exception.
Set in 1993, the book features a cast of characters working at Microsoft. As I started reading it, I thought that it would be a little dated. At times, it feels like discovering a time capsule from that time period. But it never wore thin: Coupland weaves in layers of spirituality, technology and other issues so deftly that I soon realized that I was glimpsing into the future rather than the recent past. He is truly a visionary.
To be fair, this was one of his early works, and I did take issue with a couple of things. For one, Coupland has this tendency of using an ensemble cast that never grows up, ala "Friends". And the dialogue tends to bug me at times. All of the characters - male, female, young and old - talk in the same know-it-all tone. These two elements combined make me feel at times like I'm watching "Dawson's Creek" or something. But I nitpick.
When the one word bio of Douglas Coupland is written, it will inevitably say that he's the guy that first coined the phrase "GenerationX". Yes he did. But he is about so much more than that, and Microserfs serves as case in point.

P.S. It amazed me that this was only ten years ago, and there is absolutely no mention of Starbucks or eBay. Or weblogs. My how times have changed.
P.P.S. As I was reading this, it dawned on me that it was basically a blog in format, with the narrator writing several journal entries into his computer every day. I wish that somebody had the guts to write a weblog that raw and honest. But who can blame us? This was a work of fiction, and the guy wasn't sharing his journal with the world. Still, it could serve as a great point of reference.

Buckersfield

Two days ago I fulfilled a lifelong dream and finally visited Bakersfield, California, home of Buck Owens and Merle Haggard. We did a show at the fair there. That was quite a memorable event in itself, but I digress. The absolute highlight for me was going to Buck Owens' Crystal Palace. I was worried that I had built it up so much in my mind that it was going to be a letdown, but it did not disappoint. It's kind of a Planet Hollywood / honky tonk sort of place with good food and lots of Buck Owens, Hee Haw, and loads of other country stuff. It may not do it for you, but, dangit, it done it for me...
If you're interested, there should be a feature on me and the other Third Day guys hangin' in Bakersfield at our website in the near future.

NOTE: I just had a horrifying thought. There are probably loads of you young pups who know nothing of the significance of Bakersfield. For a brief period of time in the 1960's, Bakersfield was a hotbed of country music. Buck Owens and his Buckaroos perfected the instantly recognizable "Bakersfield sound" which can still be heard by the likes of Dwight Yoakam and others.

A New Low

Florida State's quarterback Chris Rix recently got busted for parking in handicapped spaces. And so the downward spiral continues...
(via Georgia Tech Sports Blog)

My Theory on Bands

I was listening to Revolver this morning and came to a startling realization. On "Taxman", the first track, George and Ringo are about all that's going on (hold your emails - I know Paul's playing bass and John's doing some guitar and vocals), and it ROCKS. People often point out that John and Paul are The Talent, while George and Ringo are The Gimmicks. Well, I'm going to have to go ahead and disagree with you on that one. "Taxman" is a case in point that even had they not had Paul and John, The Beatles would've been a great band.
Which brings me to my theory. What makes a band bad is when it is comprised of poor or mediocre musicians. What makes a band good is when there is one member, usually the singer or principle songwriter, who is a genius on some level. What makes a band great is when there is more than one genius in the band, i.e. there are two or more members who could easily function as a solo artist or bandleader. Some cases of "great" bands: Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles, U2, The Rolling Stones.
Other ways to put it: 1+1=3; "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts."
Now what makes the Beatles stand above all the rest is the fact that any one of them could have been the singer or main creative force in another band. Yes, even Ringo.