A few days ago I (finally) connected the Blu-Ray player to the TV in the den/exercise room. Only one DVD could have been chosen to be the first one played in the Goose Bumps House: Good Will Hunting.
No other movie ever affected me as much the first time I saw it. Yes, in my past I would watch the same movie multiple times, often to see if I had missed important bits of dialogue. Now, I very seldom have the patience to watch any movie. I also haven’t been in a movie theater in at least 15 years.
“Hollywood” does not care about my demographic. I do not want to watch Fast and Furious Part 26, movies about zombies and certainly not movies about comic book characters. Something I believe about Good Will Hunting is that it is actually more like a European film than an American one. In the US, movies are about plots, “We have to kill the villain before he blows up the city.” European movies are about people and how they interact with other people, their situation and, perhaps, how they change.
Anyway, in the wake of watching Good Will Hunting again, I decided I had to buy the closing song, Miss Misery by the ill-fated Elliott Smith. A couple of days later I purchased the entire soundtrack, which does not include Smith’s song. Of course, I can now hear Miss Misery in my head.
On the left is Matt Damon, who starred in the title role and co-wrote the screenplay with long-time friend Ben Affleck. On the right, of course, is the late Robin Williams, who won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in this film. Damon and Affleck also won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.
By the way, I do NOT see myself in Will Hunting or in the character of the professor who keeps Will out of jail, Gerald Lambeau (played by Stellan Skarsgard). I have been accused of that by some people. I recognize that some people have/had intellectual ability way beyond mine and, in addition, that’s OK.
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<Rant Of Sorts> Blog readership has declined markedly in May. I know many blogs just run their course, which is why I am trying to keep this one from becoming too derivative of itself. Yes, I originally started blogging for myself, but once the blog developed a decent-sized following, it is difficult to watch that following slip away. People often judge events based on their relationship to the immediate status quo and not against a priori expectations. <End Rant Of Sorts>
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I recently subscribed to The Free Press. As such, I receive email notifications about published articles. Here are links to four pieces, which I think you can read without subscribing.
How Therapists Became Social Justice Warriors
Miracles and Madness: Israel at 75
The FBI Didn’t Persecute Hillary. It Protected Her.
As has been my recent custom when posting links to Why Evolution Is True (WEIT), I will publish the links without comment. Speaking of WEIT:
Vanderbilt’s Chancellor sticks up for institutional neutrality
I have to comment about this piece in general terms. I strongly believe that institutions of “higher learning” should not adopt official positions on public policy as that has a chilling effect on free speech at those institutions. Of course, individuals have the right to say, pretty much, what they want.
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Yes, Disaffected Musings has changed to a blog with much less automotive content. For the nth time, I do not care about EVs, SUVs, pickup trucks, motorcycles, etc. As such, I have a difficult time thinking of new automotive content. I also have a difficult time doing what I used to enjoy: watching car auctions on TV.
Currently, Mecum Auctions is in Indianapolis for its huge annual spring auction. Wouldn’t you know that the first vehicle I saw after turning on the TV yesterday was a resto-mod pickup truck that hammered for $220,000. Sorry, I wouldn’t pay 22 cents for that vehicle.
The auction did redeem itself with a collection of cars all from 1956 and all cars, no pickup trucks. Included in this group was a 1956 Packard Caribbean convertible, a member of my Ultimate Garage 2.0. (It’s been FOUR years since I published that Ultimate Garage!)
This car (well, not this specific car) hammered for $140,000. All of the cars were convertibles and many of them hammered for a six-figure price. A 1956 Corvette hammered for $207,500.
John Kraman was quick to point out that most of the cars in this collection, all offered at No Reserve, sold for far more than the pre-auction estimates published in the catalog. That is a rarity, however.
Sadly, it has also become a rarity that I watch any automotive related programming. Shows like Texas Metal and Roadkill have absolutely no appeal to me, but that’s the direction in which the programming has moved. Just like Hollywood doesn’t care about my demographic, neither does Motor Trend, apparently. I will almost certainly not renew my subscription to Motor Trend+.
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I love the Packard!
The last time I was in a movie theater was a couple of years ago when my brother and I went to see “Ford v Ferrari” starring Matt Damon as Carroll Shelby about the battle of Ford and Ferrari in the 1960s at Le Mans. Matt Damon is too short to be an effective Shelby and his Texas accent needs work. Christian Bale does an excellent job as Ken Miles. The love story between Ken Miles and his wife is well done. The racing scenes are well done as well. The book is better, “Go Like Hell” by A. J. Baime. Naturally I own the Blu-ray disc of the movie and have read the book twice. In my estimation it ranks up there with Steve McQueen’s “Le Mans” as both do a creditable job of developing the characters as well as showcasing the cars and racing.
As an aside the Indy 500 will be run the end of this month. I am envious of my brother as his two sons are treating him to a trip to the race as a father-sons adventure. I shall plant my arse on the couch and be rooting for the only driver with a chance to be a five-time winner, Helio Castroneves.
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Thanks, Philip. You have expressed your admiration for Ford v Ferrari.
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In two years I’m going to wake up and I’ll be 60. And I’ll still be doing this s**t. And that’s ok…
I’ll go ahead and say it, You are very similar to the Will Hunting Character. I didn’t meet you until you were 29, and you already took the job at McNeil. But you did get to the place where we can all assume Will eventually did.
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Thanks for the kind words, “BB,” but they are misplaced. I may be intelligent enough to recognize true genius, like my brilliant high school classmate TI, but I am not at that level. Once again, is it better to get close to a dream, close enough to taste it, or is it better never to be teased by the promise of a dream?
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I do enjoy the Roadkill program because it reminds me of some of the dumb $hit I did in my younger days. I have bought junk or wrecked cars before and drove them home, albeit not as far as they attempt to. I have also met one of the hosts, Mike Finnegan and have been to his house as well as him being at my shop. He is a genuine nice guy and a family guy. He recently stepped away from one of the shows with his name on it, so he could spend more time with his wife and kids. Kudos to him for putting his family over fame and fortune.
Like you, the televised auctions hold little interest for me these days. Ten or so years ago, I would be glued to the Barrett Jackson auctions when they were televised. These days I follow online auctions on various sites. They allow me to watch the auctions I want and skip the ones I have no interest in. Attending some of the big auctions in person might happen again, but I really doubt it. I no longer have the patience to sit and watch umpteen dozen vehicles just to be a bidder on one or two in the course of a day. Older I get, the less time I have left. There are many other things I can do with that time.
As always, YMMV.
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Thanks, DDM. Regarding Roadkill, I have no doubt it appeals to many with interest in motorized vehicles, but I am not one of them. DSFDF
In the first Wheeler Dealers episode with Ant Anstead he did a segment on turbochargers complete with simple diagrams that was one of the best things I have ever seen on TV, regardless of subject. That’s what I want to see, but I guess I am in a very small minority.
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