Past Lives

(frame from 1985's The Purple Rose of Cairo, song HERE)

During my junior year of college, I've had several incredible discoveries: the green Superball-that-isn't-a-Superball I covered in December, El Mezcal, True Detective, The Market in downtown Knoxville, any Popeyes location I didn't previously know about, Kazoozles, etc. These all serve different purposes and (along with my walk with Jesus, of course) help keep me sane, especially since half of my life is spent in an existential crisis over misplaced socks.

Making any new discovery is always a delight, whether it's a new television show that you can't stop thinking about (Martin Hart is the Yellow King, by the way) or something as simple as the best junk food you've had since the first time you tried a 3 Musketeers bar. It's rare that you're the first to discover something (unless it's Broad City and everyone discovered it at the same time), but even if it wasn't an original thought, it's still an enjoyable happening.

The best discovery I've made in the last twelve months is not one I made myself. The credit for finding the basketball court at Fort Sanders Public School off 22nd Street goes to a certain person with the first name Matt, and I'm extremely thankful for it. Few things in life for me are as joyful as playing basketball on a sunny afternoon in comfortable weather, and I was able to do that for the first time in 2014 yesterday.

When I'm doing something as simple as throwing a ball at a cylindrical hoop (don't worry! It doesn't go in that often) and finding joy in it, I feel that I'm attacking life with an attitude that feels successful. Choosing to be happy over the most simplistic matters has made life far more entertaining and fun for me over the last year and a slight bit less stressful, because I was tired of worrying about my future and if I'll have a job in three years, anyway.

It's the same joy that allows me to drive home on 40 East from work every day, tired but satisfied in the direction I'm heading. It's a narrow path that I want to walk on, but I plan on finding happiness in the places I go and the things I do. I'm still here, which is a miracle in itself. I get to live each day for a God that loves me (and you and everyone else, despite what some think) no matter how hard I fall, which is the most freeing truth I know. Life is good. (Have I ever been this optimistic in my 20+ years? Can I end an essay on a footnote? Si cela fonctionne, cela fonctionne.)

Academy Awards, and Their Predictions

This is not an original thought, sadly; my friend Brian posted his yesterday and I felt motivated to post mine as a response. I would invite you to watch this Sunday's Academy Awards, because, if predictable, they typically don't fail to entertain and they won't have an abomination of a host like they did last year (if you didn't know, Seth MacFarlane ranks alongside Urban Meyer on the Worst Humans Ever rankings). Here are some predictions. By some, I mean I prognosticated every category, but I'll put the important ones first so you can hit Page Down on your keyboard to avoid the rest. (No dark horses. I work in absolutes; it either is or it isn't. More on that next time.)

Best Picture: 12 Years a Slave
Best Director: Alfonso Cuaron, for Gravity
Best Actor: Matthew McConaughey, for Dallas Buyers Club
Best Actress: Cate Blanchett, for Blue Jasmine
Best Supporting Actor: Jared Leto, for Dallas Buyers Club
Best Supporting Actress: Lupita Nyong'o, for 12 Years a Slave
Best Original Screenplay: Spike Jonze, for Her
Best Adapted Screenplay: John Ridley, for 12 Years a Slave
Best Animated Feature: Frozen
Best Foreign Film: The Great Beauty
Best Documentary Feature: The Act of Killing
Best Costume Design: Catherine Martin, for The Great Gatsby
Best Production Design: Catherine Martin and Beverly Dunn, for The Great Gatsby
Best Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki, for Gravity
Best Film Editing: Alfonso Cuaron and Mark Singer, for Gravity
Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Adruitha Lee and Robin Mathews, for Dallas Buyers Club
Best Original Score: Steven Price, for Gravity
Best Original Song: "Let it Go", from Frozen
Best Sound Editing: Glenn Freemantle, for Gravity
Best Sound Mixing: Skip Lievsay, Niv Adiri, Christopher Benstead, and Chris Munro, for Gravity
Best Visual Effects: Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, Dave Shirk, and Neil Corbould, for Gravity
Best Animated Short: Get a Horse!
Best Documentary Short: The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life
Best Live Action Short: The Voorman Problem

Because that's such a large amount of line breaks and text, I'll do the rest of this in bullet points, since I can't think of anything else important enough to cover in paragraph form. (Insert self-deprecating sentence here.)

• I have to cover many minor things here. Because basketball was a theme of this post and because it's the best sport ever, I'll let you in on a not-so-secret secret: barring a major injury, Florida is winning this year's NCAA Tournament. Outstanding defensively, just-good-enough offensively, efficient everywhere, and senior-laden, with one of the best coaches in the game. Because it's the tournament, anything can happen, but putting UF in your Final Four (again, barring an injury or suspension) is one of the safest bets you can make this year.
• Another basketball-but-not-really note: Atlas, the new (and excellent) album by New Jersey rockers Real Estate, is 2014's best summer album to play outdoor basketball to. (Indoor basketball: Illmatic by Nas, as always.) Grab it March 4th when it hits a record store (and internet stores, because 2014) near you. Spotify them HERE.
• I told myself I wouldn't do this, but I literally cannot recommend HBO's True Detective enough. Six episodes in, it's viciously grabbed the title of Best Show on TV that Breaking Bad held for the last three years. If you haven't seen any of this yet, catch up ASAP and watch the last two episodes live or on HBO GO, if possible.
• This is bound to be a somewhat controversial opinion, but if you've seen History's The Bible miniseries from 2013, please do yourself (and my sanity) a favor and skip out on Son of God, hitting theaters on Friday. The makers of the film took the original ten hours of the Bible and cut it down to slightly over two hours, which seems like a blatant and un-Christ-like cash grab to me. Yeah, I get that we're focusing on just the story of Jesus here, but why not just watch the original (albeit pretty forgettable) miniseries that literally aired less than a year ago? Maybe I'm the insane one, but come on, guys.
• Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel, which will be far superior to the film discussed in the bullet point above, arrives in theaters on March 7 in limited release, although I doubt we'll see it in Knoxville until a week or two later. Budapest features an ensemble cast with seemingly every Anderson staple ever and looks quite entertaining. Also, if you read this often you know I don't single out a film to shill for very often. Trailer goes HERE.
• I'd like to think I have a friend or two that I've met in college. They're all wonderful people and I love being able to support them in whatever they choose with their summer. Although I still don't know where everyone will be this summer, exactly, I can happily ask you to support a few of my best friends heading to South Africa this summer, whether through monetary means or in prayer/thoughts. Here are their links, and if I forgot someone going, please let me know so I can correct this.
• Three quick predictions, also relating to basketball, because why not: Michigan finishes their season in the Sweet Sixteen, everyone but Jordan Morgan returns for a 2014-15 title run. Tennessee misses the NCAA Tournament with a quarterfinal SEC Tournament loss to (insert incredibly average SEC team here. A&M?), going on to lose at home to (insert A-Sun school here) in the NIT. Small school that you still can't locate on a map makes it to the Sweet Sixteen (a guess: Stephen F. Austin).
• No playlists this time. Just go listen to Real Estate already. Uncle Tupelo, too.

Watching the miles flying by,

Will