Experiences over Things: Film

photo by Roman Bonnefoy

 I was just perusing my calendar for next week, and I noticed that our town’s weekly summer "Movies Under the Stars" selection is Wall-e, and I got excited. I loved Wall-e when it came out. I think we originally watched it at the drive in, and I really enjoy Disney’s classic ability to blend lighthearted humor with sweet sentimentality. But I haven’t seen it since, and a quick internet search tells me that was 2008. No wonder I am excited.

I haven’t intentionally avoided it. Although I don’t really see the need to own movies any more, I know I could have rented it again. My library is sure to have it. I could have streamed it online. But there are lots of movies out there on my list that I haven’t seen, and I will probably never catch up. Which is why I love summer, and its outdoor movie screenings.

There is something great about serendipity, that turns something fairly simple into a lifelong memory. This is why it can be so fun to get lost on vacation, or run into someone you know in an unexpected place. I love seeing what films my hometown, and the cities around me are showing. They lean towards kids films, which is fine by me. And with some spare time on a road trip, I’ve been known to follow the signs for “free movie tonight”

It takes a movie and turns it into a greater experience, with the added touch of serendipity in the offerings. The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking, Jurassic Park and the Apple Dumpling Gang benefit immensely from a setting with June bugs hovering over the grass, fireflies flashing in the dark, the smell of popcorn and cotton candy floating in the cool night air.

Film can always be an event, but the nostalgia of those little home grown outdoor screenings, which, like a visit to the drive in theatre, and our time honored tradition of birthday cake ice cream to go with it, makes it all the more memorable and valuable. As for next week, I can’t wait.

Present Tense

I am pleased to announce I've had my first piece published at Entropy. I saw a call for Variations on a Theme: Music, and I knew I had a great little story to tell about one such connection between myself and Eddie Vedder. Read it here.

The Italian Art of Steel and Glass

The 1955 Chrysler Ghia Gilda

There's a new exhibit at the Frist in Nashville: Bellissima! The Italian Automotive Renaissance, 1945–1975. It features a lot of fantastic vehicles, some with notable names like Ducati, Ferrari and Maserati attached, but even people who aren't into automotive pedigrees will love this exhibit. Simply put, these cars are cool. They're colorful; they're weird. From the sleek burnt orange of the bat mobile turned Hot Wheels 1970 Lancia Stratos HF Zero, to the curling blue sting ray fins of the 1954 Alfa Romeo BAT 7 the cars are just fascinating to look at. The BATs in particular struck my fancy, concept cars with a zeal for aerodynamics that makes them look like they belong to some still distant future, rather than over 60 years in the past. I can guarantee you will find a car in this exhibit to make you grin. The show runs until October 9, so don't miss out.

P.S. Even fast and fancy Italian sports cars have their push, pull, or drag it in moments. Check out how they got these sleek rides into the exhibit here 

Cruising

One of my favorite things to do, and, as a not quite lunatic fringe environmentalist, one of my guilty pleasures, is taking a long drive. It's a part of why I love the American West, where there is so much road and great wide vistas. I also adore my home state, the rolling hills of Tennessee. Here's a little video of some things we saw one day last fall, on the hunt for some truly red leaves on a blue sky day. And they were beautiful.

Healthy Little Fires

Let's begin a fresh blog! Here I will write things I am thinking and doing as I head out on my journey of Travel, Dog Sitting, Voice Acting and Audio Book Producing, and Writing, while in general trying to be better, do more, and use well the time that I have.

More to come, including updated, revised, and re-imagined posts from my good old blog at theworldupclose.blogspot.com