More Movies

Watched Tootsie again - man, that is such a solid flick. From setup to payoff, start to finish, an excellent movie.

Coach Carter - Great movie. It's been done before, but this was pretty good. Brought up some issues some other films similar to this didn't do as well (the education thing). This is based on a true story. I watched some of the "real Ken Carter" and it's amazing that the parents were the hardest to deal with in this situation.

I don't get how parents don't want more for their kids than they have. How can so many be so blinded by the lure of professional sports that they abandon everything else in favor of it? Albeit some dedicate their youth to it and it pays off, but it just seems like some folks treat it as a given. They might be pretty good, but they don't train and work at it like they're training to be a professional.

I'm not even talking about the fact that if these kids fail to make it as a pro athelete they have nothing.

Just the fact that if you're going to put all your eggs in that basket, then you need to be training for it. I watched the film about Sebastian Telfore's last year. Now that kid was training. He worked hard in school, got up early in the morning to workout/train, went to school, then did more after school either with friends/family or with the team.

Such a shame that we live in a country that has so much to offer so many, yet there are people who don't take advantage of it and the people that are really giving up a lot to help. Teachers and public service folks are some generous people and yet they are just taken for granted so much. What can they be making teaching in some of these inner cities? It's sure as hell not close to what they could be making at a private school or even an upper scale public school in a "good" neighborhood.

A lot of true statements in Coach Carter.

Also watched Under The Tuscan Sun. Wow. If only we could all live that way. It's all about living your life as you desire/need rather than settling for what you believe others think you should be/do.

Was listening to Imagine (by John Lennon) and was struck for the first time at how insane that song really is when he sings:

Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today...

Hey! We're doing that now, in our inner cities. Living for today. Kids that don't believe they'll make it to 24, so why bother with rules? Why bother with being good? Why bother with education or anything that will pay off 10 or 20 years from now? Why think about falling in love and settling down?

It would be total anarchy, not peace. If you lived every day like it was your last, who would work? Who would be doing those shitty jobs day after day? Nobody. The reason they're done is because they pay money and people anticipate living past today and they need food, shelter and necessities.

While I enjoyed Under the Tuscan Sun immensely, there really is a limited audience of folks who can seriously take it's advice. People with no money worries. Young people with no major attachments (past family/friends), divorced people with no major attachments (friends/family). For the majority of us, we can't just "do what we feel". There are consequences.

Of course, things may turn out great, too. But the old phrase, "no balls, no blue chips" or "all or nothing" didn't come about because everybody who took a big risk landed safely.

It reminds me of the Sunscreen Song - treasure your youth, oh, nevermind, you won't appreciate your youth until you don't have it. Under the Tuscan Sun should be seen by young people so they *know* - take a risk now. Make every effort now to be who and what you want while you have the ability to do anything, go anywhere. Once you've either made it (woohoo) or determined that you will stop trying (it does happen), then you can settle into mid-life in peace with "what if's" or "I wonder's".