I wish things were different. Can they be?
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Joined August 2012
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This is a Hail Mary story about why I spent 15 years trying to connect with director @CameronCrowe (Almost Famous, Jerry Maguire, Vanilla Sky), how trying to meet him in Nashville turned into one of the worst days of my life, and why I'm still trying to get things right.
For my podcast, I used to do film and music interviews, but over time I changed the focus. For one thing, I’m more interested in ideas shared by the likes of @jordanbpeterson than I am about what’s trending in pop-culture circles.
I also thought it might be more helpful if I put the show’s emphasis not on participating in someone else’s hype cycle, but in trying to address some of the biggest issues and questions of my life, the things that keep me up at night and affect where I want to head.
I figured if I did that well enough, I could make forward progress on life goals and others who were wrestling with similar things might also benefit.
This story is at the heart of who I’ve become and want to be and what gets in the way. A good bit of it hurts, so much so that it took a series of LOST-like serendipities and the @nyknicks’ championship run, SOMETHING THAT HAS NEVER BEFORE HAPPENED IN MY LIFETIME, to convince me to share it.
Even after Knicks won, I spent countless hours trying to avoid addressing the underlying issues at stake. When I finally figured out what I wanted to say, it took me some additional time to put the video together.
A few days ago I got this sense that if I didn’t share a version of it that day, even in unfinished form, then I never would. That’s probably right because I’ve already been tempted to delete the video a few times.
It’s hard for me to share unfinished things. I tend to focus on the things that still need work, that aren’t quite right, but it would take me several more hours to produce a more polished version.
I might get there at some point—IF I get enough momentum back—but right now, I have other commitments I have to focus on and several strong reasons to avoid spending more time on it.
Here’s the thing:
Let unchecked the story in its current form may very well get the best of me. I don’t know how to get to a better place on my own. For various reasons, I’m convinced I need Cameron Crowe’s participation to get there.
I’ve tried to connect with him in various ways over the years, but I imagine all kinds of influences may very well be battling for his attention.
So, if you can relate to this story or believe the project has potential, would you consider liking or reposting it? Every little bit helps.
Thanks in advance.
Lived in Boston during my college days, but I didn't make it to the JFK Presidential Library until yesterday.
Designed by I. M. Pei, the architect who also designed the Louvre Pyramid, the building's collision of contrasting geometric forms sometimes recalls Kennedy's space achievements.
It made an impression and made me more appreciative of JFK's Inaugural Address.
The "ask not what your country can do for you" line that everyone remembers comes at the end, but the beginning is also noteworthy.
"We observe today not a victory of party but a celebration of freedom ..."
Values over party, huh? Interesting.
That is soon followed by an acknowledgement that "the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God," a recapitulation of the Declaration of Independence's conception of human rights.
"The generosity of the state," in JFK's formulation is not the panacea it has become to certain contemporary politicians but something that stands in contrast to the natural order.
Nor does the speech merely celebrate freedom. It advocates for a vigorous defense of it: "... we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty."
That sentiment if applied without prudence can be used to justify unnecessary foreign entanglements, but it does underscore a foundational notion of the country, that freedom is worth fighting for even when it's difficult.
If we had valued freedom during the COVID years even a fraction as much as JFK did, those years might have unfolded very differently.
In certain circles JFK's ideas seem to have fallen out of fashion. That's too bad because they seem just as relevant, if not more so, today.
At the same time, visiting the JFK Presidential Library just a few days after my grandma's funeral and amidst another contentious election season, reminded me why I turned my attention away from law and politics during a decisive moment in my life.
So many people seem to go into politics because they can't get the up-close-and-personal relationships right, so they settle for looking good from a distance. They try to have an impact on the world to make up for the void at home.
I didn't want to be yet another example of someone who focused on politics while sacrificing personal relationships with family and friends.
I wish I could say that in so choosing I ended up getting the relational side of things right. I'm still working on that.
Getting that part right is harder than most people acknowledge, but going the political route without a strong foundation built upon faith, family, and friends would've likely been a toxic concoction for me.
In a time when we're so often encouraged to stay on message with brief soundbites aimed at tribal affiliations, this is long, unmoored, and contemplative.
Sorry about that.
What can I say, funerals make me more contemplative, and I had a good conversation with my uncle earlier today—something I don't attempt nearly enough but that had more impact than the dozens of political commentaries I've heard and read these past few days.
Regardless of what happens tonight, that might be worth trying if you find yourself in a similar place.
@CameronCrowe it has been a year since the incident and still not one direct response from you, although you did find the time to express your appreciation for a Robert De Niro serial-killer film.
I had some things I was going to share about that, but a wrench in the works came up—my yiayia passed away and her viewing is today, as it happens. Went for a run to try to find the words to say to you.
Without realizing as much, she was the one who convinced me to move forward with the video. At an uncertain time, she called to wish me a happy birthday and offer encouraging words about my endeavors.
Something about her words made me believe that she believed I could make things work, that I could have a positive impact. It was the last meaningful conversation I had with her before she left us.
As I ran, I wondered what Yiayia would do in this situation. I don't know but perhaps she would want me to finish what I started.
In her honor, I will hold off on sharing what I initially intended to share, for a while longer at least, and tell you this:
I reached out in spite of the risks, in spite of what I anticipated might happen in response, because I once believed you were the kind of man who could make a difference, who could help change the course of a tragic trajectory.
Are you such a man? That remains to be seen. Time will tell.
mccarthyfh.com/tribute/parth…
Nick Savides retweeted
Today 312AD Roman Emperor Constantine the Great is said to have received his famous Vision of the Cross at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge
One of my dreams is to show up in a Cybertruck and shoot wedding films for American builders and believers, dreamers and doers, poets and pilgrims.
I acknowledge that goes against industry trends. Some might say it’s hard for me to kick against the pricks. Etc.
So I’ll probably need a little more swagger to get there.
This is me trying.
Next wedding involves a groom jumping out of an airplane a few minutes before the ceremony.
Sounds a little insane.
I’m in.
Canon let me borrow the RF100-300mm F2.8 L IS USM, so I went to the zoo to try it out. Was blown away by how it brought out textures and personalities of distant creatures.
I work for Canon, but if you qualify for Canon Professional Services you can borrow equipment just like I did.
So many photo and video pros still don't know about, or fully appreciate, the opportunities that our CPS Evaluation Loan program provides.
Worth exploring if you're a Canon shooter:
usa.canon.com/pro/canon-prof…
⚜️ Amber and Ryan drove around New Orleans in a Porsche with a surprise worth celebrating:
They are now officially married! 🥂
A memorable day with an amazing couple. Congratulations Amber & Ryan!
Kinda cool that this comes one day after Back to the Future Day. Happy Birthday @DocBrownLloyd!
An earnest dilemma:
Social media can help certain media projects succeed, and that relates to the work I do, but the more time I spend on social media the more likely I am to perceive others as vain, tribal-minded, and/or hypocritical ego monsters posturing for clicks and status.
So many people seem to worship at the altar of the algorithm.
Not saying I'm immune to that pressure, just that it is harder for me to hear the better angels when inundated with a near incessant stream of corroded narcissism.
That does not inspire me, to put it mildly.
Hank Williams Jr. had to write a song to explain why he drinks, as if that inclination is otherwise incomprehensible in this brave new world of ours!
That is certainly one way to respond to the dissonance at hand. Another is to live a hermetic existence to avoid further contamination.
But, there's also the inclination to build a walled garden, the still small voice that asks whether it is possible with some effort to build something a little better—more cultivated, even beautiful—for the community at hand.
If such a thing is possible, might that not be a reason to show up and try, even on social media?
Well, perhaps.
The inhabitants of a place determine whether it will become a garden or a wasteland. Most of that is out of our control, but we can choose how we show up.
Today I will try ...
Oh? Interesting.
Evangeline Lilly, LOST and Ant-Man star, reveals she left Hollywood in 2020 due to health issues and her Christian faith.
Lilly says her health has improved since leaving Hollywood, finding peace in her faith and trusting that “God has a plan for my life.”
(via: @FoxNews_Flash)
Bravo @countyhwy.
The world would be a better place if more people said as much about the pestilential mumbles that masquerade as critically acclaimed art.
You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one ...
(That last part is just to see if we can get some celebrities to join in.)
For poetry that isn't awful, I recommend Galahad and the Grail from @malcolmguite, which brings an enchanting music-like quality to Arthurian folklore.
Glad I picked up the audiobook to go along with the Kindle version.
Susanna Clarke who writes the foreword says it better:
"Galahad and the Grail is full of delights. One of the most important is the rhythm—this is always the case with Malcolm Guite’s poetry. Here it often seems like an incantation; it almost compels you to speak it out loud."
I should’ve known better. Yesteryear is a GMA Book Club Pick about a fictional seeming tradwife, social-media influencer who has a ranch in the contemporary West but inexplicably finds herself seemingly stuck in the Pioneer Era.
That GMA and their cohorts would embrace a book with such a premise should’ve been warning enough.
This one line from the book’s narrator, who presents herself as a family-minded traditionalist, tells you everything you need to know about what kind of story Yesteryear is: "Her children poured out of the van like termites.”
The book does offer some observations about influencer culture and how far some will go to perpetuate a false, attention-getting, narrative.
Mostly though, Yesteryear is a resentful story whose ideal target audience seems to be Lindsay Clancy advocates with a pathological need to feel morally superior to aspirational red-state people.
At this point, I probably shouldn’t be surprised to discover that Yesteryear received a glowing endorsement from @stephenking or that its author, Caro Claire Burke, has a social media presence that feels more unpleasant socialist-feminist than I imagined it to be.
The tentacles of the showbiz swamp run deep.
youtu.be/WohIWlYBiBg?si=dGtk…
Almost made it to @nashfilmfest this year, and that was before learning that Josh Holloway (who will always be Sawyer from LOST to me regardless of whatever else he does) was attending.
The festival has special significance to my podcast, and a filmmaker friend was screening a film there. Etc.
Sadly I couldn’t things work this time. Maybe someday though …
A great speech. Grateful that Marco Rubio opted to give it by the Acropolis and that Greece allowed him to do it.
You think I'm reposting this just because De Niro, AKA ThugLife TDS, gave another bloviating speech?
Why would you think that?!
you just need an idea and the balls to hit upload.
"more partners, more episodes, more feelings to hurt" – @basedbillyx
STONKS PARK · SEASON 2 PREMIERE ·
THEY TRIED TO SHUT US DOWN
solana:7gKKy2p1SaMkRFPX7caF96YpfuMMpDj82ZpjaffuvaU5
This kind of persistent, manipulative media framing is so disheartening. It doesn't seem like the kind of thing that will just go away, but a pernicious influence that has to be actively opposed even when inconvenient.
Breaking news: A plane flying from Dubai to Israel was diverted after an altercation between the pilot and co-pilot, Israeli officials said. nyti.ms/4rHOvin
In contrast, here's how the @nypost covered the story. Acknowledging the ugliness at hand is sometimes the more honest and appropriate response. xitter.cf/nypost/status/21053038…
Pilot arrested for attempting to crash passenger plane in 'jihadist terrorist attack': Israeli officials trib.al/8DJoiUt
