Improbable Breaks Down to I'm probable

(Quick Warning - I wrote this on the train over the past couple of days. If ideas are necessarily flowing properly, it's because I was distracted either by a White Trash Meth-Head or some crazy ass people that ride the train and speak so loudly that you can't concentrate on what you're doing)

I’ve wanted to write a lot here in the past couple of days and definitely would like to turn this into a daily blog. Unfortunately this past week, I was immersed in draft scouting and the NBA Finals. It’s amazing how much of my day I spend breaking down this NBA Finals in my mind, thinking of wrinkles in the offenses of the two teams, thinking of who the X-Factor in the next game will be, figuring out how certain guys are beating other guys off the dribble and how Ronny Turiaf would look dressed up as Hillary Clinton for Halloween. I don’t really know what this blog is going to end up being about, so I’ll just start throwing out movies I’ve watched lately and things I’ve thought about.

1. Shawshank Redemption
I think I’m going to go into this more in-depth in its own blog but I forget how truly amazing Shawshank Redemption is. I know I’m not breaking a story here but if you haven’t watched this movie in a few years, a few months or even a few hours, I suggest you pop it into your computer or DVD player or Laser Disc player and watch it again. It’s such an amazing movie on so many levels. I really will devote an entire blog to this movie and try to write about one movie every week but I just want to throw out some thoughts after re-watching this.

– Tim Robbins is brilliant in this movie. Brilliant like Guinness beer in a bottle. And yet he wasn’t nominated for an Academy Award. This was the year that Forrest Gump dominated the Oscars and rightfully so on some level, but you can’t tell me that Tom Hanks pretending to be semi-retarded was a hands-down better acting job than what Tim Robbins portrayed with Andy Dufresne. Here are the people that were nominated for best actor that year besides Hanks who won: Nigel Hawthorne (The Madness of King George), John Travolta (Pulp Fiction), Paul Newman (Nobody’s Fool), and Morgan Freeman (Shawshank). I can understand why these guys are here except for Travolta. The only reason he got nominated is because between Urban Cowboy and Pulp Fiction his claim to fame was dealing with cognitive babies that sound like Bruce Willis. Tim Robbins at worst should’ve been nominated and probably should’ve won.

– Technically, I’m a very lower-middle class white kid (maybe upper-lower class even) that didn’t have money growing up but I didn’t have any concept of struggling either. My parents weren’t great with financial decisions but they owned their own house and managed to by some miracle afford private school for me and my sister. We always lived in a good neighborhood. We moved out of our old neighborhood just before it became ghetto and dangerous and the neighborhood that they’ve lived in since will probably never be bad. So I have very little concept of anything prison related. My dad worked in Juvenile Hall for a couple of years but that’s about as close as I get to that kind of world. So when I see something like this movie or a TV show like Oz, it amazes me that there are people like this in today or yesterday’s world. I’m just sheltered from it and a movie like this is able to humanize criminals in a way that doesn’t piss me off. It truly shows me a different world other than the one I’ve been experiencing.

– I know it goes on and probably to a worse degree, but the way that the movie portrays the guards is alarming and frustrating to me. I have a big problem when the word cops or sheriffs or something equivalent is mentioned and people around you respond with, “I fucking hate cops.” That may be one of the most ignorant statements ever uttered to me. Cops have this pre-conceived stigma attached to them that they’re probably corrupt and probably assholes. I’ve met probably 3 asshole cops in my lifetime. It frustrates me that people think they’re out to get them. I know it’s different because of the color of my skin and I’m biased for sure because my dad is a Peace Officer, but I like to think I’m right on most of this idea. There are always exceptions to our perception (my favorite saying that I’ve ever created, even above the fact that I invented the quadruple and quintuple negative) but people need to realize that cops have a job to protect people and if you aren’t breaking the law then you shouldn’t be worried about it.

I have many more thoughts that stem from this movie, but I’ll save them for the blog for this movie.

2. Nicolas Cage and His Terrible Appearance
I saw an advertisement for National Treasure 2 the other day off some old item I had TiVoed and it was around the same time that I had watched the final 5 minutes of the movie Ghost Rider just to get a glance at Eva Mendez (otherwise I would never watch that garbage and sure as hell wouldn’t watch that whole movie). Nic Cage had to have undergone the worst plastic surgery since Michael tried to look like Latoya. Not only does he have a terrible nose job and a butchered face-lift, but he also has unsettling long hair. I used to be a HUGE Nic Cage fan. Well, huge is an overstatement. But I thoroughly enjoyed a lot of his movies. I was never a big fan of the Rock (movie not wrestler…well actually both). But Con-Air, Face/Off, and Snake Eyes are classics in my mind. Con-Air and Face/Off are great action movies and Snake Eyes may be the most hilarious movie of all time.

But it all went downhill for me when I saw him on David Letterman years ago. He came out to the interview with leather pants on and I know it wasn’t for a role. He actually thought it was acceptable to wear leather pants outside of it being some kind of costume. He woke up that day and thought that since he was going to be on Letterman that he should wear leather pants. That’s something that doesn’t leave your mind. It’s like the line in his movie 8MM (about snuff films), “there are some things you can’t un-see.” I could never un-see those leather pants.

(Quick note: There’s only been one other time that an actor has fallen drastically out of favor with me because of a talk-show interview. After seeing Fast and the Furious, I was pretty excited about the Vin Diesel era (of course I’m not proud of that in retrospect but that’s the truth). I thought he was one of those badass movie characters that Hollywood was drastically missing. Well, my image of him was shot on one of his first appearances on Jay Leno’s show (I don’t know what’s more embarrassing – the fact that I liked Vin Diesel or I once watched Jay Leno). I expected Diesel to be kind of a dick but instead all he talked about was that people should go for their dreams because that’s what he did and he managed to make it. I don’t need that speech from someone that is supposed to be a badass. Tell me you’re better than me and why you’re better than me. Don’t tell me that I can be you. Big mistake, Vinny.

3. My Career Aspirations
I’m still working on my book but think that if things go right this summer that I can finish it by late September (assuming I don’t get a major case of writer’s block). It’s a novel right now that I have an idea of where I’m going with it but I’m not sure exactly how I’ll get there. It seems to be influenced by many of my favorite things in life in terms of movies and music, but I don’t think it will come off as me trying to knock off something successful. I think it will come off as very original and could be something special. How special you ask?

I know this sounds absurd and ridiculous but I think that it’s possible. I want it to be a Catcher in the Rye type of novel. I’ll wait until you stop laughing. Almost there? Can we proceed? Good. I’m serious about this. I know I need to become a better writer to get this done, but I feel like it’s realistic. Just because it isn’t probable doesn’t mean it’s impossible. JD Salinger probably had people laugh at him when he talked about how great Catcher in the Rye could be. So I figure that I can do the same thing. What I’m writing has that potential and that’s not just me being cocky or biased. I think it can mean a lot to a lot of different types of people and that’s what CITR managed to pull off. It relates to a lot of different personalities and situations.

However, I’m okay with the fact that it might not happen. I think that it will have that potential but that’s not what I necessarily have to have it be. There isn’t a better feeling than someone telling you that what you wrote meant something to them. I wrote “Welcome Back, Basketball” a couple of months back and it was extremely well received. I had dozens of emails from people that said that it gave them chills and it was very inspiring. I still get emotional thinking about those sentiments to this day. That was the greatest feeling I’ve ever had. It was something that I want to happen again. Even if my book can’t be another CITR, if one person reads it and it means something special to them then I will consider it a success. I may have high aspirations but I have relatively low levels of accepting the success of my work.

4. The Strangers
If you like scary movies, go see this movie. It is one of the best scary movies that I’ve ever seen because it’s an eerily, psychological thriller that really has powerful scenes through the most simplistic imagery and use of sound. After it’s out for about a month, I’ll write a complete review of it, but I’m willing to wait because people might not have had a chance to see it and I don’t want to spoil it for people the way my grandma spoiled the 6th Sense for me. The way that this movie uses silence in its scenes is a way that heightens the suspense and draws the greatest fears out of most viewers. It also has a simple but great ending in my opinion that adds to how creepy and thrilling this movie is.

It even worked despite Liv Tyler. I can’t stand Liv Tyler and everything from her looks to her acting to her voice just annoy the crap out of me. However, she still manages to work in this movie on so many levels and I’m actually glad that she was cast for it. I’ve always been very critical of her acting style and that’s without holding Armageddon against her. She always tries to look profound and contemplative by employing the same look that my dog, Brown Bear, gives when he’s trying to figure out how to get out of his crate. She also has the voice of a 5-year old girl with a 2-pack a day habit. Normally I can’t even consider watching a performance by her but this one disproved that theory. With all of that said, I’d take her any day over Sandra Bullock’s ugly ass.

5. Semi-Pro
I saw this movie in the theater with the Talkhoops.net senior writer, Brandon Gallawa, and our resident cynic, Andy Eisner. As I’m sure many people have heard it was extremely disappointing and something I shouldn’t have spent $9.50 on (especially considering that doesn’t buy 2 gallons of gas anymore). I had high aspirations for this movie because 1) it was Will Ferrell and 2) it was homage to the ABA. The ABA may have been the greatest league ever created because it brought excitement to a sport that was beginning to falter (the NBA) and it was more about having fun than anything else. In fact, it was pretty much basketball’s version of Champ Kind, the sports anchor character from a Ferrell movie, “Anchorman.” It was all about having a little fun, maybe a cocktail or two, light a fire in someone’s kitchen. So needless to say, this movie was highly anticipated by me.

Well, it pretty much sucked. There were great references to the league that were very subtle. There were some pretty funny scenes and great one-liners. It was a funny movie. However, it wasn’t legendary funny like Ron Burgundy gave us. Well, it just came out this past week on DVD so I decided to blow $35 on a Blu-Ray version (for the extra features) and hope that it’s re-watch value was extremely high. Well, I have to say that the second time through, it was a much better movie. Maybe it was because my expectations had been shattered and I was able to go into knowing what it was. Maybe it was because my expectations were actually lower than what they should be so it had a better chance of pleasing my sense of humor. Whatever it is, I’m glad I gave it a second chance. We’ll just call it the anti-Billy Madison. Billy Madison was a TERRIBLE movie that wasn’t funny and I’m sure I will never watch again.

6. My Rap Career
This may end up coming off as the most arrogant blog that you’ll ever read with my high aspirations, but I truly don’t mean for it to come off that way. With that said, I wonder what kind of rap career I would’ve had if I attempted it. There’s no way that I could’ve been an Eminem success but there’s also no way I would’ve been a one hit wonder like Vanilla Ice. I think I would’ve fallen somewhere in The Streets/Aesop Rock category in terms of success. I would’ve been a nice mixture of Streets’ humor and Aesop’s lyrical flow. I would never have the deep, Shakespearean lyrics of Aesop but I would’ve had a similar flow.

I’m fairly creative with words and how to use them so I think that rap fits me decently. It’s really not hard to come up with a funny/clever freestyle at the drop of a hat. The hardest part is coming up with a beat to go with it. I have absolutely no musical talent when it comes to making music, but in terms of lyrics and with some practice, I could hold my own with slightly above average rappers. I would’ve never been good enough to go mainstream and I have a terrible voice for rap (unless I decide to change it to a much more baritone sound) but it’s fun to think about trying to have a career and performing in front of people. I think that I would’ve been best suited for battles as opposed to coming up with albums. I talk a lot of shit, and it can be clever when needed.

7. Friends Don’t Let Friends Go Un-read
Two writers that I admire very much have expressed this problem lately and it’s certainly one I can relate to. It’s impossibly frustrating and disheartening when you attempt to have a writing career and your friends don’t support you. They may say, “I think you can do it” and “you’re so smart and such a good writer that I know you’ll make it,” but it doesn’t mean dick if you don’t read your friends work. I personally rarely get feedback from any of my friends or people close to me in life about the things I write. I’ve been doing this for about 4 years and I still can’t get my friends to read my stuff consistently. I usually have to tell them that I wrote something that I think they should check out and then if they actually do, they replay with something like “ya… it was good…” without giving you any confidence that they actually read your work.

It gives you the feeling of if you can’t even get those closest to you to read what you write, then how is a mass audience ever going to give a shit to actually read it. It’s a very defeating feeling because I feel like the best stuff I ever write is stuff that I hope my friends and family will read. You almost write it for them and hope that someone outside of that group will identify with it and look to read more of what you write. Now, I don’t know that they have, do or will consider me a friend yesterday, today, or tomorrow instead of considering me to be an acquaintance, but I consider them friends and will personally never let their work go un-read. I know the feeling and it’s a shitty thing to do to someone. Support the Habit isn’t just something that I try to pass off as a clever/cool saying to wrap things up. I actually mean support the habit of these writers and experts that love to write about this stuff so much that they would put themselves out their for possible ridicule by people they don’t even know because for them, it’s the most fun thing to do in the world. Supporting the habit is just something you do for a blog, website, newspaper, or book. Supporting the habit is something you do for your friends and loved ones. It may not be important to you, but it means everything to them.

8. Don’t Call It a Comeback
I haven’t played basketball in well over a year. Part of that is because of a bad right knee that won’t get better until my meniscus tears all the way through so I can have an easy surgery. Part of that is that I’ve really put my writing career in my own hands and now have way more to do with Talkhoops.net then I ever expected. And part of that is because I’m extremely out of shape and it’s hard to get over that initial hump. Well, here’s a warning to everybody on nearby and neighboring parks and basketball courts. I’m back. I’m getting back into basketball. Once I get in shape and the rust runs off of my jumper, it’s over. My handle is still as sharp as ever with both hands and when the quick first step has returned, I feel terrible about the things I will do to your ankles. Ever since Val and I moved into our current house, I’ve been thinking about going to the court down the street and making a rep for myself. This summer, it will happen. Be forewarned. And don’t call it a comeback.

Game 6 is tonight for the Lakers-Celtics and I feel like the Celtics will runaway with this game. They have a certain mental toughness that the Lakers don’t have. Kobe Bryant is either in a huge slump or simply isn’t good enough to attack a consistent team defense. The Celtics are simply too good for the Celtics in Boston. This won’t go 7. It ends tonight. Celtics by 7.


Word Count after two blog posts - 4,830


Support the Habit.

- Z