Take those old movies off the shelf

By no means am I a movie buff. I go to the theatre maybe once a year. I’ve probably heard the phrase “I can’t believe you haven’t seen that” more than any human being on the face of the Earth. (As opposed to humans currently inhabiting other planets?)

But times, they are a-changin’. My new found love is classic movies. These days, I can frequently be found scanning the television in search of an old black and white film. My new favorite channel is Turner Classic Movies.

Tonight I watched The Shop Around The Corner, with Jimmy Stewart and Margaret Sullavan. It’s the movie that You’ve Got Mail was based on. It was a delight, funny and captivating throughout. Several times I found myself laughing out loud.

There is an alluring simplicity to classic movies. Without all the distractions and special effects of films today, the focus is entirely on the story, the writing, and the acting. And what wonderful acting.

The dialogue is quick and clever and delivered flawlessly. Even supporting actors seem to be perfectly placed and add so much to the film. The humor is subtle. Understated, but hilarious, without ever being crass. When did that type of comedy go out of style?

Classic movies often offer a look at America during a simpler time. A time when, as in the movie I watched tonight, a man could support a family working at a retail shop. There wasn’t all the excess that there is today. Even though times were hard, there is something comforting about that to me. Appealing, even.

A lot of the stories also seem to be set in New York–romantic old New York. Those are the ones that make me wish I could climb thru the TV screen and take my place as a bystander just to experience what it was like to be there. It’s a time and place I obviously never had a chance to see. Now at least I can go there for brief glimpses.

Bear in mind, I’ve only seen a very few classic films, but my favorite actor so far is Jimmy Stewart. Young Jimmy Stewart, before he got into all those Westerns. I’m ashamed to admit that up until a few months ago, I only knew him from It’s A Wonderful Life.

My favorite movie has been Wait Until Dark, with Audrey Hepburn. I don’t have the vocabulary to adequately describe Hepburn’s performance, perfectly conveying both innocent vulnerability and immense courage. Almost the entire movie is set in a single basement apartment, yet a complete, captivating story is told. How brilliant is that.

I apologize if I sound overly excited. After all, it’s not as if I’ve discovered some hidden secret no one else knows about. But for me, it is something new. I know I’m very late to this party, but I’m looking forward to catching up. I’m open to any and all recommendations.

“It’s Saturday night at the movies, and those black and white reruns are bringing back old time memories when Hollywood was young…”

If they take my stapler, I’ll set the building on fire

I started to begin today by thanking everyone who participated in the first-ever Roast-A-Bone. But do you thank people for roasting you? I’m not sure, so let me just commend you all on a job… done :) I know it was all in fun and fortunately, I’ve managed to locate all but two of you on google maps…

This weekend, I saw something I’d never seen and did something I haven’t done in at least twenty-five years. Quite a teaser, huh? And no, the answers aren’t “a Carrot Top routine that made me laugh” and “peed the bed.” Although those would fit the criteria had I done them.

Let’s start with the thing I haven’t done in at least twenty-five years…
This weekend, I flew a kite. A three-dollar Spiderman kite. As the other choices at Wal-Mart were Pokemon or Care Bears.

Two thoughts on kite flying: Now I understand the phrase “go fly a kite” a bit better. Because really, after you get it up in the air, you’re just kind of standing there holding a string, looking skyward at a flimsy piece of plastic flapping in the wind for an undetermined amount of time.

Second, I was a bit hesitant about hanging out with the “kite people.” Anytime, I’ve ever seen anyone flying a kite, it’s either been a parent with their kids or some grown man, poorly dressed, usually by himself. (And before you ask, I was well-dressed.) The latter group is what I refer to as “kite people.” You don’t really see a lot of hot 25-year-old women flying kites by themselves.

I did meet a kite person. How do I know he was a kite person? Well for starters, he had a case for his kite. He was flying what he called a “stunt kite,” which he controlled with two different strings, and reportedly cost around $300. It sounded like what I would imagine a swarm of locusts might sound like. And when it crashed, it hit the ground with such a thud, I imagined it could kill, or at least severely injure.

That led to the most amusing part of the conversation:
Kite guy: “I’ve been hit by one of these before.”
“Where?”
“At an event.”
“They have events?”
“Yeah. Twenty-five or thirty people come. They have competitions and categories for different stunts.”
“I bet it’s only guys there.”
“No, there were a few girls, actually.”
“Yeah, kite groupies.”
(/end kite story)

And as for the thing I’d never seen…
I finally watched Office Space this weekend. How is it that someone who supposedly knows lots about pop culture is just now seeing this movie? That’s a good question. But movies are the one area where I’ve always kind of lagged. Sports, music, television, I’m your man. But movies, not so much. Besides, no one bothered to tell me Jennifer Aniston is in it!

Anyway, I saw it. And it was hilarious as advertised. So please forgive me if for the next few weeks, I’m dropping references and laughing at things most of you probably laughed at like eight years ago.

It’s impossible to pick my favorite scene or line, but I thoroughly enjoyed this:
“Well, I generally come in at least fifteen minutes late. Uh, I use the side door. That way Lumburg can’t see me. And, uh, after that I just sorta space out for about an hour.”
“Uhh, space out?”
“Yeah, I just stare at my desk. But it looks like I’m working. I do that for probably another hour after lunch, too. I’d say in a given week, I probably only do about fifteen minutes of real, actual work.”

This movie also raises some interesting, relevant questions. I’ve come up with three to ponder:
1. What would you do if you had a million dollars and didn’t have to work?
2. What exactly do you do all day?
3. How much time would you estimate you actually spend working during an average day?

So if you could just go ahead and answer those, yeah, that’d be great. Feel free to answer anonymously in order to avoid being fired. That’s all for now. Hope no one has a case of the Mondays. And remember, Friday is Hawaiian Shirt Day.

“There’s a kite blowing out of control on the breeze. I wonder what’s gonna happen to you. You wonder what has happened to me…”