Thats a picture of a Madrona tree I took while up on Orcas Island last Saturday. These trees are magical to me - they have an entire palette of earthtones for their bark. I am posting this picture because I always put a picture up. I have nothing more to say about trees right now.
This Saturday I'm feeling good to be home, and into my silly routines. I woke up this morning, made my pot of joe, checked e-mail, went outside to hear the ocean, and came back in and searched on-demand for a bad movie. I like the bad science-fiction best - Godzilla is a particular favorite, or something familiar from years gone by, like the Star Trek where Spock talks to whales. You get it. High camp.
Today there was no bad sci-fi to watch. I almost clicked Mothra but could not do it. Then there was this "Before They Were Stars" section and in there I found American Graffiti. Hmmmm - George Lucas directing Ronnie Howard, Richard Dreyfess, and Harrison Ford. That, and the fact that it was filmed here in San Francisco back in 1972, made me tune in with the kind of anticipation I have whenever I watch an old movie filmed in SF - there is something about seeing the familiar lay of the land with old cars and outfits that is exciting to me. Bullitt and The Birds are two of my favorites.
If you have a few minutes, check out this car chase scene from Bullitt. Classic.
So I tuned into American Graffiti, and quickly realized the streets they were cruising in the film were the streets I cruise every day - specifically Geary Blvd. How did I figure that out? The Bridge Theater. It was in one of the shots through the car window - and it is still there today. Nice.
I could only watch 20 minutes of it. The sock hop scenes were fun - made me think how much pop music has changed - there is no chance a song like "16 Candles" would ever make it these days. So, in my ADD, morning-fog stupor, I went and checked out the Kids section. Boomerang sometimes has old episodes of Johnny Quest, which I LOVE. But not today. I scrolled over to The Cartoon Network and much to my surprise was Pee-Wee's Playhouse.
Select.
This show began in 1986. I was in my second year of college - art school in Cleveland. I remember watching this show back then and laughing my ass off. And this morning - well lets just say that seeing Phil Hartman as Captain Carl, the King of Cartoons playing an animated short, and Jambi the genie chant "Mekka-lekka hi mekka hiney ho!" made me laugh out loud - it woke up Annie, and she joined in the fun.
Yes, I am 41 years old.
This weekend is another busy one. Andy is coming over to the studio later this morning to print some T-Shirts for his friends band. Then I am headed down to Santa Cruz for a birthday party - I'll be coming back tomorrow. Tomorrow I am going to work around the house - I got to fix the hood above my stove, work on the back garden, and do some laundry. Surely a BBQ will be involved, too.
Hope you all are having a good weekend.
That Pee Wee show was the coolest, and I'm happy to say as an adult I loved it when it was on!
oh man, more dvd's to buy!
Posted by: Randall | August 11, 2007 at 05:56 PM