The Big Bang Theory and Vanity Cards

The wife and I have become big fans of The Big Bang Theory. We watch it weeknights in between Jeopardy episodes, and are never disappointed. It's a terrific show that makes us laugh constantly. Sheldon, Leonard, Howard, Raj, and Penny all have their quirks, and Amy, Stuart the comic book guy, and others all add to the mosaic to what is 22 minutes of great TV programming.

Another thing I like is show co-creator Chuck Lorre's Vanity Cards at the end of each episode. Typically the card flashes up there long enough for me to see the number and maybe a thought or two. It's not possible (unless you pause the DVR) to see the entire message, so I look online to see what the man has to say, because I find myself looking forward to reading his stuff-- it makes me think a little, and it gives insight into a man that I wouldn't understand by seeing scripts interpreted by others.

As this post goes to press there are 431 vanity cards, and they include his other shows, such as Dharma & Greg, Two and a Half Men and Mike and Molly. I obviously won't share everything, but here are a few snippets that get my mind to working.

"It's safe to talk openly and honestly with people because they're not really listening." (#331)

I don't know how accurate the 'openly and honestly' part is, mainly because it frightens me. However, I am reasonably sure we don't really listen to each other. It seems as though any pause in a conversation is someone else's chance to jump in with what they have to say. That the first person isn't done talking is irrelevant. Do we really pay attention?

Many of his cards are parables. Others are good stories (#321).

Some are too long to share here, but are riotously funny. Google Chuck Lorre #329 and then try to tell me otherwise.

But the first one I remember seeing (I remember because I saved it to my favorites) is #196:

my soul's journey

To let go of the fear and anger which imprisons my heart,
To relinquish all childish expectations and live joyfully in the world as it is --
      not as I wish or imagine it to be,
To be free of the always craven and ever-craving ego,
To be released from the endless hungers of the body,
To see God in others,
To see God in everything,
To die without death and merge my consciousness into the
      cosmic sea of bliss from which I came,
To crank out two sitcoms a week that can compete
      with a deaf chick dancing her ass off...
This is my soul's journey.

I get a lot of insight from things like this. I can see a part of his soul and also a sense of humor and realism that has helped him crank out so many sitcoms over the years.

Movie Review, Enough Said

The First Lady and I went to the movies earlier today to see Enough Said, with James Gandolfini and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. It's a movie that did not disappoint.

The movie played at Cine, here in Athens, Georgia. They sell beer at this movie house, so I certainly hope we go back to see another picture.

The last show I saw at the theater was Man of Steel, the most recent entry in the Superman cash grab. I'm not a big 'special effects' guy, so that movie didn't impress me. Enough Said wowed the both of us because it was a movie about real people dealing genuinely with real-world problems. And if you tell me a story, you don't need special effects. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel also did this and succeeded.

Anyhow, Julia Louis-Dreyfus is Eva, a masseuse who is divorced and about to send her one child to college (side note: Seinfeld irony, since a famous episode is about Jerry dating a masseuse). Albert is also a divorced parent in a similar situation, and Eva meets Marianne, a poet, at the same event where she meets Albert. Eva soon gets Marianne as a client and friend, and she starts dating Albert, and the movie takes off from there.

We both loved this movie. Gandolfini (sadly, in the next-to-last role before his passing) was outstanding in his portrayal of Albert. Louis-Dreyfus proved to me that she's more than a comedy actress. The side plots all added to the mosaic of the film, in the sense that it helped us see how the characters were trying to resolve their issues, and in helping us to identify with them. The wife and I don't share anything in common with the two protagonists, but we sure could identify with their idiosyncrasies.

Seeing this movie does make me sad that I will have but one more chance to see James Gandolfini do anything. There's one more film coming out next year, but it won't have writer/director Nicole Holofcener's name on it, so we'll see. I may have to find more of Holofcener's work, as well as go back and see The Sopranos. I may also latch onto Veep, which is Dreyfus' latest comedy series. I was that impressed.

The movie did not get a wide distribution and has only grossed about 15 million dollars, which tells you what the average movie goer expects nowadays. It's their loss, because I thought Enough Said told me a story, the characters were genuine, and it held my attention.

Outstanding movie-- one I would strongly recommend.

Three Questions

Hindsight is typically 20/20. We can look at the actions of another and wonder what she/he was thinking. We're not in the cauldron with them, and we don't share any of their life's experiences that helped lead to the choice they made. 

I think I'd like to meet some makers of history, away from the bombast and TV cameras. I get that these people need to have a certain public persona in order to inspire. I think that can be done without sacrificing who you are. I'd sure like to speak to some people in a down-to-earth, relaxed format. We'll assume that they're still alive and that we'd get honest answers. In return, treat them kindly and fairly. 

So here are three questions I'd ask The King, Elvis Presley. From a list of millions, I'll narrow it down to three. Instead of speculating as to how he'd answer, I'll try to explain why I'm asking and maybe let you think about his reply. 

First, a few words. Elvis is still one of the most talked about people in America, even 35 years after his death. His music still resonates, and Graceland is a major tourist attraction. He is a musician who still had so much to contribute, which means we are lesser for his not being here. I am not a music savant, and I only have a basic knowledge about the man himself. I was six years old when he died and I remember seeing all the news coverage, not understanding why this was such a big thing. I get it now, though.

Question one: 

Thousands and thousands of fans loved your music and your act, but talk show hosts like Ed Sullivan didn't seem to appreciate them and took steps to sanitize your on-stage presentation. Those guys talked about the bad influence you had on society. But obviously there was a huge demand. Given where our culture has gone, do you think your music played a bad role in society? Was the sentiment already out there and just needed someone (not necessarily you) to express it? How much of a part do you think you played in this shift?

Question two:

Your twin brother was stillborn, you were picked on/bullied as a kid, and a lot of people said you had no talent. You didn't seem interested in color lines in the segregated South when it came to music. With those things in mind, what role did your experiences as a youth play in creating your musical identity?

Question three:

Though you made a lot of movies in the 1960s, there were some other more substantial and golden opportunities to stretch your horizons throughout your career. In addition, the music late in your career sounded different than the songs that made you what you are. But things did seem to go pretty well there for a long time. So-- Colonel Tom Parker: good choice or bad choice? 

Bonus question:

You spoke of loneliness/emptiness, your marriage to Priscilla didn't work out, and of course there's the way it all ended. Is there one thing or one decision you look back on that could have changed how those things played out?

Wow. The more I wrote and thought about this, the harder it became to narrow it down. What a fascinating person. 

And for the record, my favorite Elvis tune is Kentucky Rain. It's sung with such emotion and feeling, and it paints a vivid, colorful picture of a man who is looking for answers to a question he never thought he'd have to ask. You can almost hear his heart breaking.

The Newsroom

In 2004, I drove to Denver to watch UTEP play Maryland in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. The Miners lost, I spent too much money and drank too much beer, but it was a great time. One of the things I did between dates (they played Thursday, and winners moved on to play Saturday) was visit the Coors brewery in Golden, Colorado. I have always been interested in how things are made and how the machine works, although beer is on the short list of things that maybe I’m better off not knowing how it’s created. 

TV news is another one of those things that I’m not so much interested in the final product, but that I like knowing how the wheels turn. This is a big reason why the wife and I now both sit ourselves down and watch The Newsroom on HBO.

I’m a recovering local TV news guy (the therapy is helping), so I have a bit of a working knowledge of how things work, but I was a morning/noon guy, and the pace was a little slower. The characters are in a fast-paced national network newsroom, one in which I would disintegrate quickly.

I suppose another reason is that this is an Aaron Sorkin creation. We were (and are) still big fans of The West Wing, another Sorkin show, and it’s easy to see the similarities. Sharp writing, flawed yet believable characters, and fast-paced shows are all things we recognize.

What also helps is that it helps paint a picture of what newsgathering really is. I know we have national news channels that folks think lean one way or the other. The Newsroom even had a recent episode dealing with this, where a producer edited video to achieve the end he wanted. But I like knowing how the doughnuts are made, and that real people are trying to make real decisions, based on their own experiences and a really tight deadline.

I almost forgot to talk about what big Sam Waterston fans we both are. Really liked him on Law and Order, though you knew eventually he'd get bumped to district attorney. He seemed a little out of place in the big chair. But in The Newsroom, we enjoy seeing him be something very different.

So The Newsroom tells me a story. 

Rocky

The First Lady and I watch TV together all the time. For every night we watch House Hunters, we watch a soccer match. She likes to watch ball on TV, and HGTV has grown on me over time. So we’ve found a nice balance. We signed up for an awesome cable TV plan that includes 450 channels and a lot of premium movie channels, so there’s always something on.

That said, she has placed two standing orders on what I want to watch while she’s around (rules don’t apply when she’s at choir practice or whatever). The first? No pro wrestling. It’s simple enough to follow… I went through a phase as a teenager and I can find enough YouTube videos of The Rock to keep me amused. No biggie here. Especially since I’m not in their target demographic anymore.

Number two: no Rocky movies. That’s right—The Italian Stallion has been outlawed.

With all the pay TV, It’s easy to find a Rocky movie in the mornings after the wife has gone to work. I’ve seen parts of the first five installments, and most of III and IV, all within the last few weeks. These are the two I saw when I started coming of age, since I was still a wee lad when the first two movies came out. I saw IV at the Cielo Vista 3-Plex, the one inside the mall, and remember the audience cheering when Balboa started pounding on Drago. 

I realize after the second film, it basically became a cash grab, as most sequels do. It doesn't stop me from watching. My thought is that the first two, and maybe the most recent (I don’t know if we can say ‘last’ yet) installment, Rocky Balboa, were about the acting and what people feel. III, IV, and V (which I don’t even watch) were about who knows what.

My favorite characters are Duke Evers and Mickey. They both seem so genuine to me. Both trainers, sure, but I’m a fan of every scene Duke is in, even the sappy one in IV, right before Rocky starts training in Russia. And Mick, well, is Mick. He’s flawed in his own way, but still dispenses truth in a blunt force trauma sort of way. Appropriate for a boxing manager, I guess.

There are also unanswered questions from the series—for one, I want  to know why there was not a Balboa-Lang 3 match. I know I’m not the first to ask, but Rocky got a rematch, so shouldn’t Clubber have gotten his chance? Besides, what kind of gate (not to mention movie ticket sales) would the third fight have gotten? That’s reason enough, by itself. Maybe it’s because the movie ended. I don’t know.  But it would’ve made a decent storyline for at least part of Rocky IV.

Another question I have is why Rocky just stands there and takes beating after beating from Creed, Lang, Drago, and Gunn. They all turn his face into tenderized meat, and Balboa just stands in and takes it.  It didn’t happen every time he fought (apparently), but it did happen every time there was a big title defense. It’s corny, but I can appreciate the symbolism— the stubborn determination of taking blow after blow and to still keep coming is something I try to emulate. Something like:

 But it ain't about how hard you're hit, it is about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward, how much can you take and keep moving forward.

In addition, I also think of Creed/Balboa I and Balboa/Lang I. The loser of those two bouts (I know Creed won, but he really lost) didn’t take their opponent seriously. Didn’t put in the maximum effort, and paid the price as a result.

The training montages are also pretty incredible—Vince DiCola and the video editing crew make me want to get out and go for a run. Great music, and hard work going on there. I even owned the IV soundtrack on cassette in the 90s. Might still be around here somewhere.

It’s not always well-acted, and the writing seems a little painful at times (no matter what), but I still watch, and that’s what they were after the whole time.

Quotes

The wife and I relocated to a new city and state two weeks ago, and we're getting out new apartment set up the way we like it. It's smaller than our old house, so we've been going through boxes of stuff and putting it away, donating it to the Goodwill down the street, or throwing it out. Paring down is something that we've needed to do for a long time.

I went through one of my old plastic storage tubs the other day, and found some old quotes that I'd copied off someone else's cubicle nearly 15 years ago and used contact paper to preserve. I'm sure it's been said in various forms by countless people all over the planet, but my quote is attributed to Stephanie Scott, who said it was the motto of the 1992-93 Texas Tech Lady Raiders. She played guard on this team, which won the 1993 women's basketball national championship, four months before I enrolled there.

                 "Accomplishing anything is 10 percent ability and 90 percent desire. You just have to want to get down and do it."

This is a meaningful quote to me. It ties in to the 'give excellence' quote I have at the top of the blog. I don't know how many times I know what needs to be done but just can't motivate myself to make it happen.

As an introvert, lots of things scare me. Things I see others do regularly and seemingly in a natural way, frighten the hell out of me. This quote reminds me that personally or professionally, there are things I have to knuckle down and get done. And most of the time, it's not as bad as I make it out to be.

Top Eleven

Every now and then I spend a little time looking for articles that talk about the best Android phone apps. Back in March, I came across a game that I've come to spend a lot of time and a little bit of money playing.

Top Eleven is one of the most realistic soccer (football, for you purists) simulations out there. You get a team, set tactics and formation, and play matches in league, Champions League, and Cup tournaments. The players perform/underperform, they practice and get better, get tired or grumpy-- sometimes both, and their play follows suit. Facilities improve as you go. State-of-the-art stadiums, medical, training, parking and youth training grounds are all part of the infrastructure, and take proportional amounts of time to build. Stadiums take over two weeks, while minor things like scoreboards, parking lots, and turfs take less time. Nothing gets done overnight-- it's all a very gradual build.

Good players and a strong bench are also a requirement, since matches are sometimes scheduled with short turnaround times. I even set my alarm for 5 am one day so I could swap players out for an upcoming match. There are big wins and disappointing losses, as well as promotion and relegation. It all makes for a very realistic and challenging feel. I guess another reason I like the game is that my side is typically pretty good. I've been promoted after each season, won a league title, made a few appearance in the round of 8 in Cup play, and lost two CL finals, including once on penalty kicks.

My heart rate even elevates a little bit during games and during player auctions, and I get wrapped up in tactics, formations, opponents, standings, and what not. Sometimes I wear myself out with research, and click away for a little while. Someday I'm sure I'll grow weary of it, but for now it's got a pretty solid grip.

Now excuse me-- I have a Champions League and League Season 5 match to prepare for.

2013

"Writing is a struggle against silence."

The First Lady and I are on the move again. Recently, we went on a couple of house hunting tours of our new city, and this quote, painted in sea blue on a large sheet of manila drawing paper, was on the bedroom wall of one of the kids who was moving out soon.

The words, attributable to Mexican writer Carlos Fuentes, were powerful for me. It reminded me of how silent I am, even though words and thoughts are screaming as they bounce around in my mind.

They are the things I believe. I am deathly afraid of how others perceive these ideas. Will they like them or dislike them? Will they reach out to me with their opinions, which I, in turn will have to deal with? I already am very bad at handling confrontations, so that poses a challenge.

I read the blog of a man who died three years ago of colorectal cancer, and I find that I kind of want to be like him. Not that I want to get cancer and die, but his blogging started several years before he got cancer, and he wrote about a wide range of topics. I am not as naturally interested in the world around me as he was, which is a flaw I work every day to correct. I just hope to talk about the things that interest me and the things that move me, much as he did.

So right now, I am willing to embrace the challenge. I am willing to struggle against the silence.