Hello. Good Sunday morning.
So I’m leaving work Friday, having wasted another week at a job I hate, and looking forward to an evening of self loathing, when my phone rings. It’s my good friend Eugene. I wasn’t expecting the question he asked. “Do you want be in a movie?” What the heck? He has a friend who works with the Flaming Lips and they were doing a re shoot of a scene for their movie Christmas On Mars and they needed extras. HOLLA! I met him at his house and we headed up to Rockwell and Wilshire. When we got there, there were a bunch of people suiting up for the scene. It was nothing like I thought it would be. I was expecting a film set with a bunch of people running around with a false sense of urgency to ‘Get the shot!’ It was nothing like that. Everyone was so laid back and really cool. Then I saw Wayne Coyne.
Now if you don’t know who Wayne Coyne is, he is the lead singer for The Flaming Lips and the director of the movie. I have really liked the Flaming Lips for a long time. My friend Eric had bought me tickets one year for my birthday to go see them when they played the Coke Center. In all honesty I didn’t really know what to expect. It turned out to be the best show I’ve been to. I think that was the last time I actually had fun. The crowd was really cool. People had even brought their children. It was a stark contrast to the White Stripes show that was at the same venue a few weeks later where I saw some dude get choked. Could have done without all of that.
Wayne Coyne, by all accounts, is a rock star. Legend, and some fact, has it that most rock stars are self involved, egotistical, sycophants. I was thinking that as I stood there with Eugene when some guy told me to watch out. I turned around and there was a truck backing up to where we were standing. I got out of the way and the truck stopped. Out steps Wayne Coyne and he looks at us and says “We got pizza for everyone so make sure you guys eat.” What the eff? Really? Ok. Here is a guy who will go down in history as one of music’s most innovative performers and he is backing his very un-rockstar Ford F-150 up so the tailgate can be used as a makeshift table for pizza. Incredible.
So I hung out and watched them start to film the scene of a marching band comprised of Flaming Lips fans who, trust me, had never marched before. It was cool because they would start filming and then the marching would start and almost every single time the people marching would mess up. On any other movie set I’m positive the director would scream and yell about how they were messing up. Wayne would just start to laugh. The guy has patience. At one point during a break I asked my friend why they didn’t just get a local high school band to do it and he said that Wayne is all about the fans and wanted to give them the opportunity to be in the movie.
I didn’t talk to Wayne because I didn’t want to be ‘that guy’. “I really like your music and one of your songs is going to played at my funeral and I really had fun at your show and blah blah blah…” The sad thing is I wish I would have said something because he’s not that way at all. Oh well.
“Tell us more tales Joel!” Will do.
Sometimes in life you hear things that will stick with you forever. The other day I was on my way to VZD’s to do an interview with my friend Jason that George Lang from the Oklahoman was doing with us about Comicfest. I got to that part of town earlier than I thought I would so I decided to drive up to 7-11 and put some oil in my car. It was shortly after five so the place was abuzz with all sorts of activity. I walked in, bought some oil, and went back out to put it in my car. Sitting on the little ledge in front of the window at 7-11 was this guy who had obviously just gotten off of work. I’m pretty sure he was a painter. “How do you know that Joel?” Well he was black but his right arm was completely white. He was sitting there eating the biggest burrito ever, humming to himself, just watching all the activity. As I was putting the oil in my car this very attractive woman walks out the door and the guy whistles at her. As she’s getting into her car she gives him a dirty look and he spouts one the most irrefutably profound statements I’ve ever heard. “You fine, you fine.” That statement reads pretty poorly without the ability to convey inflection. Let me try again. He basically said it like “If you’re attractive, than you’re attractive. Ain’t nothin you can do about it” As though she should have known. He had a point. I mean if you’re hot, than you hot. If you rich, you rich. If you ugly, you ugly. You be knowin it.
You people really have no idea how funny that was. I did the best I could to convey it but like most things I do, I just get the feeling I’ve made someone, somewhere, cry.
I’m an idiot.
As far as the argument that seems to have evolved, I mean intelligently designed, on the comment section of my last post, thanks. I appreciate that someone cares so passionately about their beliefs. The only issue I have is when someone references the Vatican’s ‘teachings’. The Vatican is to religion what Bentonville Arkansas is to Wal-Mart. It’s home base. Master control. The point I was trying to make was that maybe, as with all things, there are not absolutes. If God created everything that means God created evolution. To make the assertion that you cannot be a Christian if you recognize Evolution as a legitimate science is irresponsible.
This should settle it. “For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son that whosoever shall believeth in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. - John 3:16
There is no asterisk next to that. It doesn’t say that applies to only straight, Christian, Pro-Life, Republican, celibate, creationist, sober, conservatives who attend church or read the Bible everyday. My God is bigger than labels. My God allows people to make mistakes and forgives them no matter what they believe. My God doesn’t give anyone the right to judge someone no matter how many biblical scriptures you twist to justify your actions. My God loves you whether you believe in creation or evolution. My God loves you if your gay or straight, rich or poor, black or white, Republican or Democrat, Christian or Muslim, pro-life or pro-choice. God is love. Love is defined by Websters as unselfish, loyal and benevolent concern of another. In the end we all die and none of us can stop that. We should stop judging people based on their personal beliefs. That’s what God would want. Well the God I grew up believing in.
Sorry about being a little preachy just than. I didn’t mean to be heavy handed or whatever. It just seems that the time we spend judging others could be put to better use. Like going to Comicfest!
Shameless plug alert!
Comicfest is less than a week away. 270-4801. It is going to be the funniest thing you see this year. Everyone should come out and support live comedy. And for ten dollars, what more do you want? We just added an eleventh comic so you’d be paying less than a dollar per comic. Just do it. It’s better than the fair. Than again few things aren’t better than the fair. The fair is somewhere you go to count mullets and pregnant smokers.
Thanks for that line B-Mack.
Comicfest will be funny. Seriously everyone should go. It is a great thing for the city and you’ll have a lot of fun. Unless you’re one of those weird people who hates to laugh and likes being sad all the time. In that instance I should probably tell my ex to not show up. Put that in your bipolar pipe and smoke it! YIGGITY!
So let’s wrap this up so I can go get lunch and plaster OU with Comicfest posters.
RIGHT NOW
SONG - Do You Realize by the Flaming Lips. Quite possibly the most beautiful song about mortality ever written.
SHOW THAT MAKES ME WANT TO PUNCH A TEENAGER - Super Sweet Sixteen on MTV. The girls on this show will one day be women. When they do become women they are sure to make someone a horrible ex-wife.
BEST ‘FEST’ - Comicfest. www.stagecenter.com 405 270-4801. You’ll be sorry if you don’t go because I’ll just keep writing silly stories about how girls don’t like me. No one wants that. Especially me.
Holla.
-Joel
www.redcross.org