High Adventure

Last Week I was in New York, for the first time. It was a lot of fun. We were filming, but I don't really think I should upload any of the footage. You'll see it soon enough. We got home late Tuesday night.

Wednesday, I went to see Inception. It's not a perfect film, but a very strong one, and well worth it's box office take and your seeing.

The visuals are stunning. The acting us superb. Christopher Nolan undertook a tremendous world to try to explain during the duration of a feature length film, and both he and the viewer have to move quickly to keep pace. He's a talented story-teller, as evidenced by his previous work, but even still, this is stretching. With as intricate a world, the story may have lent itself better to a series (a la LOST).

All the same, it's stunning, and I will be seeing it again in theaters.

Nolan's films offer homage in the best fashion. It's clear where his inspiration came for a lot of his work, but it never feels like a rip-off. He alwasy frames his borrowed ideas and aesthetic in a new enough context that it feels original. Inception was clearly a heist film, with all the tropes of the genre. It's the last job, the final steal before our protagonist can set life straight and move on. He assembles the team. They outline an intricate plan, with precise roles and timing and objectives. But it's more than a heist movie.

Think of it like The Italian Job meets The Matrix meets Solaris. The New York Times has some other comparisons as well. The New York Times always has interesting supplemental material to the best movies.

Thursday I went to the Twilight Concert Series for the first time this summer. It's always a good time, and free, but I've been out of town up till this point. Beirut was playing.


If you're not familiar with their sound, it's distinctly gypsy. Funny to think of what these guys must have been like in high school. They play trumpet, accordian, and trombone, among others. I can't imagine they were the "in" crowd, yet here they were at the Twilight Concert Series, playing a packed show, with people cheering for them like rock stars. It was a lot of fun.


The album version may give you a better indication of their sound.


The below videos are from last Friday, July 23, 2010, on BYU Campus. It was much more chaotic and painful then you might expect, but very fun. Ladies and Gentlemen, the World's Biggest Water Balloon Fight.






Saturday, I went to a pond outside Alpine UT. It doesn't sound like much, but man-o-man, is it fun with the right equipment.
This isn't a video of me or my friends, but it's the same thing in the same place, and gives you a good idea.

That night we went to Fiesta Days in Spanish Fork. I didn't make it to the rodeo, but I did see the fireworks.

Last week, all I did was play. I need to work a lot during this coming week to make up for it.