Blog Archives
A Record of Human History: The Hey-Side
For around a year, I’ve been waiting for a particular package to arrive. Patiently…waiting. No, it wasn’t late. This time, the package just took a while, and for legitimate reasons. The contents of which were going to be amazing and, honestly, out of this world when opened.
Well, at least a spectacular replica of something that was literally sent out of this world 40 years ago.
And this package arrived today!
As expected, the book, the albums and the disc sleeves are spectacularly designed and produced. It’s surreal to receive such a cool piece of history in the mail, courtesy of a Kickstarter campaign.
The fundraising and reward-based company Kickstarter has been good to a lot of innovators, dreamers and customers (like me) over the past several years. Thanks to Kickstarter, I’ve ridden a real-life hoverboard (no wheels, but an actual hoverboard that hovered above the ground in Silicon Valley), possess a limited edition board game inspired by Christopher Nolan’s epic film Inception (that came inside a silver briefcase) and can now play NASA’s famed Golden Records on a turntable and/or digitally.
Simply incredible.
If the Golden Record was re-recorded with a few new songs, images and earthly sounds today, one specific thing comes to mind above all the worthy contenders…
the B-movie masterpiece Independence Day.
Just as a nice reminder, in case the aliens ever got any ideas.
Happy Monday!
Who is handling your baggage future?
Life can be frustratingly formulaic, yet equally random and wonderfully serendipitous. Since there is no one correct way to live one’s life, we must tirelessly engage in trial-and-error experiences and decide what brings us and the people around us the most happiness. Except, that doesn’t always pan out for myriad reasons that we cannot control. The ever-expansive and undefinable variable aspect of the world, if you will.
However, some amazing things in our life are within our control and it’s best to pursue these opportunities when you can at the right moment because, if you’re passive, you could end up handling bags in the Los Angeles airport in the year 2194. And those terrific friends you could’ve made will live their separate lives without you.
And not be there when your love life’s D-O-A.
Life’s funny, isn’t it?
Have a Clear-Eyed Week!
Alien Arrival with Amy Adams
2016 may see a thrilling movie about aliens arriving on Earth yet.
Arrival is the amalgamation of Independence Day, Contact and Gravity.
This new movie trailer (released just hours ago) previews intense action sequences involving a new kind of alien, while ultimately leading to a dramatic third-act revelation for Amy Adams’s character that will transcend the relationship between humans and aliens. That’s a sign of savvy writing with consideration for audiences yearning to see a new, creative take in an established film genre.
Arrival’s storytelling may reveal a close encounter we haven’t seen before.
Whether you believe in aliens or not, this movie is projecting a degree of realism with face-to-face interactions with aliens. That, in and of itself, is a fascinating and inclusive dynamic. Moreover, the potential for strong personal relationships, especially between the mother and daughter seen in the trailer, could be the defining quality that elevates Arrival to a must-see science-fiction thriller.
Independence Day: Resurgence didn’t deliver anything close to its 1996 original twenty years later (the writing cough cough), but cinema goers may be treated to a film with aliens that meets high expectations.
Making the release date of something supernatural arriving on the wish-worthy 11/11?
Seeing aliens is a wish for many people around the world, so well played Arrival marketing team.
P.S. Were you also expecting Amy Adams’s character to ask the alien about the letter “S”?
Happy Monday!
Bill Pullman’s speech as President Thomas J. Whitmore in Independence Day gave us goosebumps back in 1996.
That same speech is being used to excite us all over again nearly 20 years later. You could say that declarative message of grit, inspiration and bravery is experiencing a resurgence.
Yeah, I have chills too.
Have a Great Week!
P.S. Will Smith, what could’ve been…
Jimmy's Daily Planet 