I cry out for a muse
and how do my friends respond? Jokes and snarky comments about my musical
taste. Gotta love ’em.
Funny, though, how
even a joke can provide just the spark you need. Mena offered up a Mewes, as in
a photo of Jason Mewes – Jay of “Jay and Silent Bob” fame. I’ve encountered
that dynamic duo of vulgarity in a few films, most notably, of course, their
own feature spectacle, “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.”
That’s one funny
film, but if you have sensitive ears – or just normal sensitivities – you might
want to skip it. IMDB notes: “Rated R for nonstop crude and sexual humor,
pervasive strong language, and drug content.” Under trivia, IMDB teases, “The
word ‘fuck’ is used 248 times.”
Since I happened to
dig a little deeper, here’s another bit of trivia that appealed to the geek in
me: “The canyon setting for the diner scene is the same location used for the
filming of many episodes of Star
Trek, most notably the episode "Arena" where Kirk fights the
Gorn, the giant green lizard. As a further homage to that episode, the diner in
the scene has a sign over the door which identifies it as "The Arena
Diner." The location, Vasquez Rocks, has been used as a setting for many
scenes in many motion pictures and television shows.”
Barb, who must have
some Canadian in her, despite hailing from nearby Alexis, posted a cartoon of a
kissy-lipped moose. At first I dismissed it because, well, frankly, moose and
muse aren’t even close, really. C’mon, Barbie. But then I had to chuckle as I
contemplated an alternate, perhaps foreign pronunciation, like “mooze.” That’s funny,
I thought.
But the most
inspiring reply was the first. Of course an old D&D chum would know me
best. My friend Marty responded with a video by the band Muse (never heard of
them) that provides springboards galore.
The video for “Knightsof Cydonia” possesses the following qualities I totally love: kung fu theme,
Western theme, Southwestern landscape, beautiful girls, Rickenbacker bass
guitar, homage to “Planet of the Apes,” oh, and a unicorn and futuristic imagery.
And a motorcycle. And big guns! Jesus and a stormtrooper/cylon-looking
sentinel.
That’s a lot of
personal mojo speaking to me there, Marty.
I had a period of
kung fu movie fascination, no doubt fueled by a D&D campaign that delved
into the Oriental Adventures supplement. Yes, I was a huge geek in high school.
I’ve gotten only slightly cooler since.
As for the westerns …
I’ve always been a John Wayne fan, but I dig Clint, too – politics notwithstanding
on both counts. And everybody knows I love the Southwest. OK, I love the West,
but the Southwest, while more barren, more stark than the northern climes,
commands a stronger hold on my heart. It’s the Philmont connection. And the
fact that I grew up watching reruns of “The Cisco Kid” and “The Lone Ranger” on
Sunday mornings at Grandma’s. OK, I must clarify, Philmont is more lush on the whole
than the Southwestern panoramas presented in those TV shows and in the Muse
video.
Beautiful girls,
well, the attraction’s obvious. And when the hero gets the girl, that’s a
clincher.
As a pre-teen at
Lincoln Middle School I dreamed of forming a band with my friends. OK, so I was
the only one taking music lessons. I was in band, playing percussion – which,
as everyone knows, is the coolest of cool. Still, I was oddly attracted to the
form of the Rickenbacker bass. I practiced drawing it, to get the curve and
hook of that upper arm just right. I also practiced writing out our band’s
name: The Wizards. Such are the dreams of 12-year-olds.
I’m sure you’re
getting bored by now. Unicorn? See D&D references. Big guns? I’m a guy
grounded in American subculture. “Planet of the Apes”? See above. Motorcycle?
My dad has ridden since youth and I’ve ridden with him. I had my own for all of
17 days. OK, that’s speculation. I helped my dad overhaul a Yamaha YZ125 when I
was 15 or 16 and rode it around the backyard a few times. It wasn’t
street-worthy (no headlight as I recall), so it was sold. But I’ve long dreamed
of having my own bike (motorized – and no, not the silly things that puttz
around town these days).
Jesus? Well, I
believe. Stormtrooper/cylon? Fine, I’ve already admitted my geekness. I saw “Star
Wars” 12 times on its first run – at the Orpheum Theatre – and countless times
since. And I was a regular for “Battlestar Galactica” in its original
incarnation on television, you know, the one with Dirk Benedict, Lorne Greene
and Richard Hatch.
Today’s Stats (Monday,
Nov. 4, 2013)
Temp: 49 degrees F
Distance: 4.05 miles
Weekly Total: 4.05
Treasure: 10 cans
iPod Playlist (Shuffle)
Girlson Film – Duran Duran
Mad
World – Michael Andrews & Gary Jules
Real
World – Matchbox Twenty
Let theWaters Rise – Mikeschair
Caravan
– Van Morrison
All I
Want Is You – U2
It
Could Have Been Me – The Call
LuckyStar – Madonna
On
Broadway – George Benson
ItalianLeather Sofa - Cake
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