Besides the stuff that narrowly skirts that fine line known as "illegal" I mean. Nope, actually I've been catching up on my reading and movie viewing--now there's a concept, huh?
Let me clue you in on what I've been reading....
About a week ago I finished reading the Eddy Guerraro biography......
Amazon.com: Cheating Death, Stealing Life : The Eddie Guerrero Story: Books: Eddie Guerrero,Michael Krugman, which is just an amazing read. Here's a guy who struggled against a different sort of prejudice--his size--and overcame all the demons that came out of the life that he was leading--alcohol and drugs--only have his life end tragically about 2 months after the book was released. You read the book and see all that he overcame, with the help of his wife and kids....and you can't help but feel sad for the loss. Tough to read only in the sense that you know the ending....but one of the best books of its type that you'll ever read.
After I finished that one, I found myself torn as to what to read next. Like always, I have about 5 books ready to read....and was trying to decide between two. The first one wasAmazon.com: Touchdown Jesus : Faith and Fandom at Notre Dame: Books: Scott Eden, which deals with the last two seasons of the Ty Willingham years of terror.
I was thumbing through that....and looking at the other book.....
Amazon.com: WWE Legends - Superstar Billy Graham : Tangled Ropes: Books: Billy Graham,Keith Elliot Greenberg and finally decided to pick up the book by Superstar Willie....the "man of the hour, the tower of power.....too sweet to be sour" (geez, he could be talking about me!) Anyway, I'm only 3 or 4 chapters into the book, and its really fascinating stuff. Apparently, before he became a wrestler, Graham worked the evangelical circuit, and suffice to say....the differences between that lifestyle and wrestling aren't as great as you might think.
On the movie front....I woke up on Saturday morning, turned the television on, and it happened tobe on HBO. The program that was playing was called , HBO Family: For the Whole Family: I Have Tourette's But Tourette's Doesn't Have Me. Wow, what an amazing program. It features interviews with all these kids who suffer from Tourette's or similar afflications. Tremendous courage on their part to get in front of a camera and try to explain what is going through their heads when they suffer an attack or a spell that they can't control and how easy it is for someone who doesn't know any better (HELLOOOO--probably some idiot like ME) to misunderstand what's happening to them. If you run across it, I really encourage you to take the 45 min to an hour that the program runs and watch it.
Its fascinating.
Today, I got back to my normal self and just watching regular dumb movies.
1) Mafia! is a lot like Airplane or Hot Shots in that its a parody of the Godfather and Casino. Actually, its a pretty good parody....with some pretty hilarious sight gags, some pretty raw humor (Olympia Dukasis doing a fart gag?) and some that fall flat. But overall, there are worse ways to spend 90 minutes of your time.
2) Goodfellas is quite simply one of the best films ever made about crime, and more importantly, its lure and attraction. I've seen the movie before, but hadn't watched it in awhile. The more you watch a great film, the more you catch little subtle things....like, uh, how about Samuel L Jackson in a small but key supporting role? This one has a great ensemble cast: Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci (was he ever better?), Ray Liotta, Lorraine Bracco & a career performance from Paul Sorvino. It really captures the look and feel of being a gangster in the 60's & 70's. A terrific movie....tough, violent, profane, funny--with a terrific soundtrack and some truly great characters. The fact that the story is true makes it that much more amazing. Is it as good as The Godfather?
Someone asked me that question this evening. I think its a different film. The Godfather was about someone in the mafia, but it was more the story of a family and the almost Shakespearean tragedy that befalls it--mainly because of their involvement with the mafia. Goodfellas is truly a story about what a "foot soldier" (a term that director Martin Scorcese uses in the DVD) in the mafia goes through on a daily basis....and what its like to live every day not knowing if you're going to die before the day ends.
Later,
Jeff
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