Not in any order except numerical…

1. The Sting – A wonderful and complex story that satisfied a young and hungry mind.

2. 2001 A Space Odyssey – A big bang mind expander with the greatest scene transition in the history of film.

3. Sideways – Describe your life as a glass of wine.

4. Manhattan – Woody Allen’s hand written love letter to his favorite city.

5. Bull Durham – A love triangle between Susan Sarandon, Kevin Costner and baseball.

6. The Natural – A period piece that never was, but we wish were.

7. Field of Dreams – It’s all about playing catch with Dad.

8. Apollo 13 – NASA kicks ass with project management.

9. Best in Show – “He went for her like she’s made outta ham.”

10. Brian’s Song – “I love Brian Piccolo.” First movie that made me ball my eyes out.

11. It’s a Wonderful Life – Really, it is.

12. Titanic – Circumstance trumps the love of your life.

13. Lost in Translation – Two words: Scarlett Johannsen. Billy Murray was great too…

14. Forrest Gump – A mentally challenged man lives.

15. Pollock – The film opened my eyes to his art. Interviewer: “How do you know when you’re finished with a painting?” Jackson Pollock: “How do you know when you’re finished making love?”

16. The Lion King – When Megan was little we had the soundtrack. One day after she biked with me on a run, we got back into the car and the sad music of Mufasa’s death was playing. My little girl burst into tears and said, “Daddy, I don’t want you to die!” I’m still here, my girl.

17. Jaws – I still fear swimming in the ocean.

18. The School of Rock – “Dude, I service society by rocking, OK? I’m out there on the front lines liberating people with my music!”

19. Almost Famous – “Some people have a hard time explaining rock ‘n’ roll. I don’t think anyone can really explain rock ‘n’ roll. Except Pete Townshend, but that’s okay. Rock ‘n’ roll is a lifestyle and a way of thinking… and it’s not about money and popularity. Although, some money would be nice. But it’s a voice that says, “Here I am… and fuck you if you can’t understand me.” And one of these people is gonna save the world. And that means that rock ‘n’ roll can save the world… all of us together. And the chicks are great. But what it all comes down to is that thing. The indefinable thing when people catch something in your music.”

20. Batman – I still can’t understand why Jack didn’t win an Oscar!

21. A Beautiful Mind – Speaking of Oscar’s, how did Russell Crowe not win for this?

22. The Sound of Music – Do I need to explain this one?

23. Dirty Harry – “Do you feel lucky?”

24. The Outlaw Josey Wales – When Clint spits and squints, better run for dem hills…

25. The Road Warrior – Aussie classic of a post-apocalyptic Nascar/WWE mosh pit.

26. The Matrix – “Blue pill or the Red pill?”

27. Animal House – “Road Trip!”

28. Stripes – As you can see, I like my comedy dumb.

29. Austin Powers (all) – Never underestimate the power of mojo.

30. Airplane – Maybe my favorite comedy ever.

31. Walk th
e Line – Joaquin Phoenix is the Man in Black.

32. The Godfather – Not a big fan of violence, but this is a masterpiece. Clemenza: “Leave the gun. [pause] Take the cannolis.”

33. Memento – An ass-backward brain tease.

34. Groundhog Day – You know, Bill Murray keeps turning up in this list…

35. Life is Beautiful – An extraordinary human being finds the beauty buried under the darkness of the Holocaust.

36. As Good as it Gets – What if this is?

37. My Dinner with Andre – Just two guys having dinner. Riveting.

38. Dumb and Dumber – See: “Stripes” above.

39. Amadeus – Mozart: the first rock star.

40. Gattaca – “I was never more certain of how far away I was from my goal than when I was standing right beside it.”

41. Contact – A great Carl Sagan book with Jodi Foster in the lead role.

42. A Christmas Story – “Ralphie!”

43. Elf – “Call me Elf one more time!!!”

44. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind –

Clementine: This is it, Joel. It’s going to be gone soon.
Joel: I know.
Clementine: What do we do?
Joel: Enjoy it.

45. Stand By Me – “It’s like God gave you something, man. All those stories you can make up. And He said, this is what we got for you kid, try not to lose it. But kids lose everything unless there’s someone there to look out for them.”

46. Back to the Future – “I guess you guys aren’t ready for that, yet. But your kids are gonna love it.”

47. Close Encounters of the Third Kind – I love the little red UFO that’s always playing catch up.

48. Requiem for a Dream – Incredibly disturbing look at the hellish death heroin robs from life.

49. The Grapes of Wrath – The film helps us understand the frugality of a generation.

50. Apocalypse Now – Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness” in Vietnam.

51. All the President’s Men – “Follow the money.” Chronicled the worst embarrassment in the history of the presidency… until now.

52. Rear Window – First of the genius Al Hitchcock’s films I saw.

53. The Usual Suspects – A plot twisted like shoelaces in bicycle spokes.

54. Young Frankenstein – Mel Brooks monochrome classic. “For what we are about to see next, we must enter quietly into the realm of genius.”

55. Raiders of the Lost Ark – When faced with a fancy, sword wielding nemesis, just shoot him.

56. The Song Remains the Same – Many a midnight showing for someone who never saw Zep. Um, Live Aid doesn’t count.

57. Magnolia – It’s not every day you see it raining bullfrogs.

58. Sling Blade – “I like them French fried potaters.”

59. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid –

Butch Cassidy: What’s the matter with you?
Sundance Kid: I can’t swim.
Butch Cassidy: (laughing) Are you crazy? The fall will probably kill you.

60. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest – Jack Nicholson, superstar.

61. American Beauty – Kevin Spacey locked in life. “Look at me, jerking off in the shower… This will be the high point of my day; it’s all downhill from here.”

62. Dogma – Well, there’s Salma Hayek and plenty of great dialogue about the hipocracy of organized religion: “What He really hates is the shit that gets carried out in his name. Wars. Bigotry. Te
levangelism.”

63. Good Will Hunting – Local boys do well. “Real loss is only possible when you love something more than you love yourself.”

64. This Is Spinal Tap – “These go to eleven.”

65. Lost in America – “You are no longer allowed to use the words ‘nest’ and ‘egg’ in the same sentence.”

66. Saving Private Ryan – A glimpse of why they were “the greatest generation.”

67. Cinema Paradiso – Just see it.

68. The Wizard of Oz – Scared the shit out of me when the lion was shouted down by the wizard and dove through that glass…

69. Finding Neverland – “I suppose it’s like the ticking crocodile, isn’t it? Time is chasing after all of us, isn’t that right?”

70. High Fidelity – Some autobiographical moments for sure. “The making of a great compilation tape, like breaking up, is hard to do and takes ages longer than it might seem. You gotta kick off with a killer, to grab attention. Then you got to take it up a notch, but you don’t wanna blow your wad, so then you got to cool it off a notch. There are a lot of rules. Anyway… I’ve started to make a tape… in my head… for Laura. Full of stuff she likes. Full of stuff that make her happy. For the first time I can sort of see how that is done.”

71. Lawrence of Arabia – Epic performance by Peter O’Toole.

72. Finally, all the Harry Potter films with my son Kyle.

What have I missed?

Really it’s a sock shelf, but a few clean pair were added this morning. Just the basics… grey, blue, black and white. It’s also time to rearrange my “blog ideas” file which has inflated with little notes to self that just haven’t grown into full blog posts.

Accountability is severely lacking in our society and is dragging us down. It’s frustrating when no one really seems to be held accountable for the truly serious societal infractions… Lewis “Scooter” Libby receives a “Get out of Jail Free” card from “Dubya,” in spite of Libby’s conviction on 4 felony charges related to the White House cover-up of their disclosure of the then-classified identity of covert CIA operative, Valerie Plame. Oh, and she was outed because her husband contradicted the White House assertion that Iraq had the yet to be found “Weapons of Mass Destruction.” To help quell any public dissent on this lack of accountability, Paris Hilton was sent to jail. Holding people accountable for their behavior is partially intended help prevent similar deeds by others in the future. If government officials are immune from accountability, the system will gradually lose credibility and unravel. Clearly the Chinese don’t want that to happen there.

This article states a man’s favorite female celebrity can reveal the kind of woman he wants. I’ve completed my own exhaustive fantas… uh, study and have determined the composition of my ideal woman through a very scientific method:

• Sophia Loren 27.43%
• Salma Hayek 12.13%
• Jennifer Esposito 15.25%
• Julianne Moore 27.60%
• Margaret Thatcher 17.59%

I’m not surprised at the lack of blond representation in the equation… I’ve dated only one over the years. Actually we were engaged, but brunettes have dominated the list. I know why, but I’ll save that for another time…

This is an amazing picture of the new Copetas boys. Kyle and I visited with them last weekend and it was completely chill. Jeff and Steph are really lucky they have it so easy with twins…

Here’s something to get you thinking…

And another reason why the arts are important.

Finally, and coming back around to accountability, apparently a third of bloggers risk dismissal from their companies for things they’ve written. After a lame post like this, I’d better be careful…

“I saw Floyd” is a highlight of my rock show resume. On June 27, 1977, Dillard and I ventured into the old Boston Garden with probably eight dollar tickets to see the band on their “Animals” tour. Here’s a taste of what we heard and saw:

I listened to the record in its entirety this morning while housecleaning. With music today consisting of ringtone worthy singles plus 9 or 10 throwaway tracks per record, “Animals” is truly an album, deserving to be swallowed whole by your hungry ears. Here are reviews by Pitchfork, AllMusic and Sputnikmusic.

While it doesn’t generally receive the same “classic” status of “Dark Side of the Moon” or “Wish You Were Here,” it’s easily my favorite. Last.FM’s “moods and themes” for “Animals” gave me a laugh and explain why:

Moods

• Bittersweet
• Autumnal
• Melancholy
• Brooding
• Bitter
• Hypnotic
• Acerbic
• Malevolent
• Poignant
• Wintry
• Ominous
• Menacing
• Reflective
• Nocturnal
• Cynical/ Sarcastic
• Eerie
• Detached
• Theatrical

Themes

• Regret
• Introspection
• Late Night

My connection to the record was burned into me later in the summer of ’77 when Dillard and I packed our belongings into a 1968 Camaro convertible and drove to Tucson and the rest of our lives. Leaving my mother and brothers was hard and a few tears burst on the driveway at 67 Greenwood Avenue that night. We spent so much of our youth on that ground. It was a multipurpose surface for basketball, street hockey and installation of 8-Track players… Our lives were there, but we were ready to leave it 2800 miles behind.

1977 was pre-MADD, and packed along with everything we owned were two cases of Heineken on ice, a power hitter and a case full of cassette tapes: Zep, AC/DC, Boston, KISS, BOC… We reached the entrance to the Mass Pike West around midnight and after 30 minutes of silence. Mike offered to turn around, but I declined. The University of Arizona had a cool ring to it. After we passed the toll booth I grabbed a couple “green cylinders” and got the power hitter on deck. Mike said, “I’ve got the perfect tunes for this.” He popped in “Animals.”

A Wilco hangover has me drowning in the musical hair of the dog that bit me last Thursday night. A search of their song title on flickr produces these photos and the one featured here by Incandenza.

“Sicko” is on my list of current films to see, along with well, not much. If I can find “Waitress” or “Manufactured Landscapes” I’ll check ‘em out before “Harry Potter – Order of the Phoenix” rises July 11th. Kyle is counting the days…

Michael Moore has an agenda. His thesis in “Sicko” is that our healthcare system gouges the sick to enrich corporations. I recall prefacing my remarks to someone about “Fahrenheit 911” with “go into it understanding he has a strong point of view.” “911” took on the Bush administration for linking that day to Iraq as justification for a war that now is longer than our time in WWII. “Bowling for Columbine” took on the Omega man and the gun lobby, and “Roger and Me” attacked General Motors for giving CEO Roger Smith millions in salary increases while fired ex-employees were getting evicted from their homes in Flint, MI.

For these indiscretions, Mr. Moore is derided by Sean Hannity, Ann Coulter and Rush as a hater of America. He’s a dissenter, I’ll give you that, but does he hate our country? Thomas Jefferson once said, “dissent is the highest form of patriotism.” Perhaps his agenda is to shine a movie spotlight on important areas we might improve in our society, or at least debate. Sadly, a growing majority of citizens have no interest or ability to debate the environment, healthcare, corporate governance or the military industrial complex. Today while they’re home scanning the dial for a Paris Hilton 4th of July special, our flags adorn the coffins of their children.

What’s the future look like on the canvas of your life? Does it resemble photographic realism with intricate details, or just broad strokes of impressions? How are you creating that future image? What’s your plan? What are your goals? Will you let the future happen or make it happen? In business, we set ‘SMART” goals and attach bonuses to their achievement:

• S Specific
• M Measurable
• A Attainable
• R Relevant
• T Time-bound

It’s amazing how people’s business behavior is so strongly influenced by their goals. Sometimes the behaviors required to reach personal goals conflict with the goals of others or even overall corporate goals. Still, like salmon swimming upstream in pursuit of their goal, individuals fight blindly through the onrushing water toward their own goals, sometimes ending gnashed in the jaws of a bear. The point is the power of goals.

Do you set goals? Not “I wish I was rich” or “I’d like to have a girlfriend” or “I want a new job,” but SMART, written goals.

What are your goals?

“She won’t stop moving,” Megan complained as her unborn daughter rocked out to Wilco Thursday night at the BOA Pavilion on the Boston waterfront. The band was on mid-tempo fire and the undulating flow between mesmerizing and ass-kicking was perfect. The Boston Globe thought it rocked. I wonder if Sean McAdam agreed?

This post title is a comment I read on a fan board posted by someone who overheard a new fan when the band played “Passenger Side” from 1995’s “A.M.” Pretty funny. Megan’s favorite back then was “Casino Queen” from the same debut record, but the queen wasn’t in the house on this night. Here’s what was:

Wilco setlist – Boston – June 28, 2007
Shot In The Arm
Side with the Seeds
You Are My Face
I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
Kamera
Handshake Drugs
On and On and On
Impossible Germany
Sky blue Sky
War On War
Jesus etc
Theologians
Walken
I’m The Man Who Loves You
Hummingbird
Spiders

E1:
Heavy Metal Drummer
California Stars
Hate It Here

E2:
Via Chicago
Passenger Side
Late Greats
Always In Love
OuttaSite (OuttaMind) – looked like Tweedy called an audible…

Hey, it’s beautiful out and I’ve got life to do, so I’ll take the easy way out with a link to the bands songwriting genius and a couple videos…

Here’s Part Two…

It is cool my future granddaughter’s first show was Wilco…

Staring at the big board, the faces contort across a spectrum from bemusement to irritation to disgust and despair. There’s a foot stomp, a couple-ah eye rolls and an occasional silent mouthed “f#$k.” The faces are black, white, brown, burka covered and often red as the 42” LCD’s turned on their sides deliver the news: “Cancelled”

My journey on AA is driving me to AA. My delayed Vegas flight caused a missed my 7:05 connection in Chicago and I didn’t make the stand-by cut for the 8:45. I now have a confirmed seat on a 10:25, but weather is delaying and cancelling flights all over the grid. I shouldn’t gripe, but you want me to. You know you do. You want me to rant and rail about how much airline travel sucks today and how I bitch slapped one apathetic employee after another who just doesn’t care anymore. I won’t and of course I didn’t. These poor folks are at the bottom of the corporate food chain, and every day they’re eating what makes lobster taste so good. Most of the airlines today are squeezing the life out of their people so they can squeeze out a few more points of margin to deliver to their shareholders. I’m not sure this is what Adam Smith had in mind. I think my days of customer loyalty to AA are over. The Southwest experience is so much better.

The Starbucks in the Vegas airport looked like the Baghdad Starbucks. It was open and items were out in the open for the taking. Behind the counter, it looked like it had been ransacked and abandoned with only trash and spilled coffee manning the station. I wanted to buy a water, but there was nary a soul to take my dinero. I placed the bottle back in the refrigerated case and then noticed a Starbucks-green clad human approaching at a very slow pace. “Hi. Can I buy this?” I asked the molasses paced 3rd shifter in a subdued 1am tone. “I don’t have any money, and those are cameras up there so if I give it to you I’ll get fired.” I see. I snailed my way down about ten gates to an open store and acquired the precious Aquafina, securely bottled in a petroleum-based plastic.

I’ve been up since 6:30 Pacific Time Tuesday. I guess that’s one more hour than a typical Jack Bauer day, but my day’s not done and is unlikely to end with me saving a city. I’d settle on getting to one. I did grab about 2 hours of z’s on zee plane. I would have likely achieved REM sleep had it not been for the woman I met in 19A. I don’t recall her name, but she works in publishing sales for a magazine targeted at nursing directors. She lives outside Grand Rapids, Michigan, has two younguns, a live-in nanny and a great marriage. It was a nice chat to pass some time before nappy-time.

I have no idea where to take this post, so I’ll take it where I want to go: home.

Update: We arrived at the gate 20 minutes early from Chicago then sat in the increasingly hot tube for 30 because they couldn’t connect the jetway. Upon entering the baggage area, there were hundreds of bags from the earlier flights and mine was among them. That was fun, as was finding my car after searching 4 different levels of Central Parking… Yeah, I forgot to write down my location. After searching for about 45 minutes, I asked a garage attendant. “Look at your receipt.” I don’t know how they tell you where you’re parked, but they do. Oh, and I got charged an extra $6 for the time I spent looking for my car!

In summary:
Hours spent in airports and planes since 11pm Pacific Tuesday night: 12
Hours spent looking for my bag and car: 2
Memories of my worst business trip ever: Well, you know the drill.

Oh, this would be sweet. A Republican plan to impeach Buckshot Dick may be the only way the Republicans have a shot in 2008. While we’re at it, let’s sack his dopey puppet too…

We’re live from McCarran International Airport where my “what was I thinking when I booked this red-eye” has devolved into a 40 minute flight delay and a new departure time of 1:25AM! (That’s 4:25 for you watching the clock at home.) Hey, at least this place has free Wi-Fi…

Since the SHRM show ended today at 2:00, I’ve killed 10 hours:

• Getting changed into shorts in a bathroom
• Strolling to the Wynn for a cocktail
• Continuing to the Venetian in the 100 degree sun to scout a dinner spot
• Traipsing one of the Strip footbridges to check out the Mirage
• Gawking with fellow gawkers at the club Revolution for a Beatle glimpse. Apparently, Pauly, Ringo, Yoko and George Harrison’s widow were there being interviewed by Larry King, high on formaldehyde.
• After a non-fab glimpse, my wallet gently wept after a round of drinks at Stock, the Mirage steakhouse.
• After all that I ended up back at the Treasure Island Sports Book just in time to see a Yankee pitcher walk in the winning run against the O’s. Nice!
• Btw, the Pats are 1-1 to win the AFC East and 2-1 to win their 4th championship in 7 years.
• Oh, and the Sox are currently the favorites at 5-2 to win their 2nd championship in 4 years, or their 3rd in 90 years, depending on your particular point of view.
• Speaking of alternative points of view, the Yankees are 10-1 to win the Series, which is really good when you consider a team has to make the playoffs to get there…
• Dinner was an encore at Ilsa, a sweet Mexican joint in TI.
• Ah, more good news from the American agent at Gate D8… I’m unlikely to make my 7:05 connection in Chicago…
• Anyway… After dinner I headed back to the Sports Book to watch the Sox lose lamely to the Mariners. At that point, I’d had enough Vegas, and didn’t drop a dime gambling.

Oh, one last Vegas note,,, I was actually considering taking the kids here for a little vacation including a few shows, Hoover Dam and the big hole, but what is up with $159 dollars for Celine Dion tickets? What a Vegas vacation buzz kill. I don’t think I could sit through her whole show, but Kyle would be absolutely thrilled to see her. I’m hoping the stunting of his manhood would be temporary…

Not really. While it is a sin I couldn’t eat the whole slab of dry-aged NY sirloin at The Steak House in Treasure Island, that’s the only sin I committed yesterday. Well, on second thought, let’s review the tape against the 7 Deadly Sins:

1. Lust – Hmmm…not a good start. I did think about how hot that hostess was…more than once.
2. Gluttony – It’s all relative, but the meal began with a mixed greens salad with Roma tommy’s and 3 olives soaking in Bombay gin. The aforementioned NY strip was ordered medium (it arrived more medium-rare, but with a glorious bulb of roasted garlic as a garnish…) with grilled asparagus with a glass of Chappellet Mountain Cuvee. No app, spud or desert…
3. Greed – John from Seattle was my waiter. John appeared to be doing the waiter gig as a retiree, but I didn’t ask. The bill was $91.00 and I left John from Seattle $20.
4. Sloth – Nope. Upon arrival, I hit up Wet for a couple hours of weights, abs and stairs, followed by a Jacuzzi, dry and wet sauna.
5. Wrath – Uh, no. After Wet, I was about as wrathful as overdone fettuccine.
6. Envy – I’ll admit, upon seeing some very attractive women with seemingly dopey men, I wondered why this dopey guy doesn’t have one. Wikipedia states Dante defined this as “love of one’s own good perverted to a desire to deprive other men of theirs.” I see.
7. Pride – I’ll cite Wikipedia again for their described “excessive love of self.” No, there was none of that, but my eyesight is getting kinda bad.