Doc Savage Says...

It's Monday, and time for Doc Savage's fortune cookie advice!

"Though it's nice to have someone be good to your body, no one can be as good to your body as you can."

LIFE IS BETTER WITH A SCORE...

This is a little something I wrote last year after my first 5k running event. It's about how I enhanced the pleasure of the experience with music. I have added links to samples of the music for you to enjoy...

There I found myself, amid sub-zero degree temperatures just outside Ottawa’s National War Museum. The electricity in the air was more noticeable than the cold, or the subtle dusting of snow that fell. I had decided to better myself by taking up jogging months earlier, and had just entered myself into my very first 5 kilometer event. It was the first ever Winterman Run, an event that took us out of our warm homes in the dead of February, and onto a scenic route along the Ottawa River, which was by now, nearly covered in snow and ice. My feelings were mixed, as I wanted to do well, but was also feeling the effects of a lingering injury that might slow me down. I had already fallen behind the pace of my regular running friends. On this day, however, I had a secret weapon in my arsenal, something that would raise this gathering of over 800 runners into something more dramatic, I had Jerry Goldsmith.

I have listened to film scores for longer than I can remember, and have always enjoyed listening to them as I go about my daily activities, basking in the way they can turn your life into a movie of your own. I must say I get a laugh out of it quite often. No other form of music can generate this kind of feeling, as all others are designed to exist on their own, film scores are designed to enhance the visual of film, so why not our daily lives? People who don’t listen to film scores will never experience the odd, funny, and exciting way that life gets enhanced by walking down the street listening to the swing of John Barry’s Bond scores, or heading home at night to the sound of Bernard Herrmann’s Psycho. These lonely moments of travel are made much more exciting, and I knew the same could be said for a 5K run.

Several days before the run, I set about creating a list of music I thought would be good to listen to. Everyone has their favourites, and mine is Jerry Goldsmith. Drawing from my collection, I amassed over half an hour of music, which is how long I thought it would take for me to complete the journey.

Fifteen minutes before the start, I played two pieces to get into the mood to run. First up was It Knows What Scares You from Jerry Goldsmith’s Poltergeist, followed immediately by Rebirth, from the same album. Surrounded by nearly a thousand people, I knew this creepy, dramatic score would hit the right note and amplify how exciting it is to take part in these huge events. Without taking part, you really can’t imagine the charge you get with that many athletes waiting, and prepared to do their best. Listening to excerpts of Poltergeist only made it just that much more. The raw dramatic and emotional content of those two pieces made the event feel much more important, as if my life depended on it (okay maybe not, but it's a much safer adrenalin rush than parachuting, so I went with it).

Suddenly we all got a big surprise as the 100 millimeter cannon shot off not more that fifty feet away, and we all felt the concussive blast. We were running at the War Museum, so yeah, they were going to use artillery as a starter’s pistol! Then on cue, the race started and up came my next selection, Tryouts, and then Take Us Out from Rudy. The rhythmic build to this song went perfectly as I and my friends, emboldened by 800 others began to run. With so many people, it took a minute to reach our pace speed, and this only gave us time to enjoy the smiles and excitement that seemed to pour out of the eager multitude. By the time Jerry Goldsmith was in full swing, so were we, and since it was my first event, it was astounding. Running along with so many people, it triggers the primal parts of your brain, and I recommend anyone to try it at least once.

As we travelled the first straightaway, the music changed to Hang On from Deep Rising, just as we reached the first bend in the route. This piece of music has always been a guilty pleasure for me. It certainly came from a less than stellar film, but that never stopped Jerry from putting out a stellar score. After several minutes of melodrama, this new track brought a darker tone, to match the slush and water that penetrated our shoes. It was a very warm day for February in Ottawa, which usually sees temperatures of -20 celsius or more by then, and to top it off, a layer of wet slush fell from the sky to try and convince us to give up.

As Raid On Leonesse from First Knight began, the start was far behind, and where I was going I had no idea. It was the first time this event had been staged, so I just followed the crowd. By now I was starting to tire a bit, and wondered just how I was going to do in the end. I had only once run 5K before in my life, so I knew I could do it, but due to the pains in my leg that I had been fighting off for weeks, I was tired of running at the back of my pack. This time I wanted to come first.

As the track winded and turned, No Sale and Under The Train from King Solomon’s Mines began. The sheer adventure and enthusiasm to the music helped me not dwell on where the half-way mark was.

Then as we veered around a corner, we saw the post, and the water station that signified the turn around point. We had made it half way, and The Game and Flaming Village had begun from Rambo III. This music brought up a notch in the intensity as I felt my energy dipping. I was heading back now. Still lingering behind my friends, but managing to keep them in sight.

We winded through the riverside roads increasingly covered in slush, feeling the cold water pass through our easy to breath running shoes, and began to see the long straightaway to the finnish. Coinciding was The Scorpion, Engage, and Final Flight from Star Trek Nemesis. These cues, probably the darkest in tone from my selection (excluding the pre-run Poltergeist of course), easily underlined the struggle I was starting to feel nearing the end.

So by now I was on the long straightaway, tiring, and looking forward to the last 1 minute walk break before the finnish. My friends were starting to stray farther ahead of me, and some even vanished in the sea of bodies. As the second last cue in my list of recordings came to an end, two things happened. One, I came within sight of the finnish line, and a part of me knew it would be ridiculous to stop, now that I was so close. Second, my only exception to the almost exclusive Jerry Goldsmith playlist, came Arthur B. Rubinstein’s Closing The Mountain from WarGames.

This is a piece I had been waiting for. It is a cue that is so perfect for running that I just had to add it to my list. I had no idea how great it would be. When that cue started, I picked up the pace. I was tired, breathing heavily, and wanted to stop, but somewhere, hidden in a pocket, or a corner of my lung that I’ve never used before, came a wave of fresh energy. I was only jogging up to this point, but now I was running. I past by my friends who were expecting to make another 1 minute walk break, and immediately followed and continued.

By now I had left them behind, and spurred on this time by Arthur B. Rubinstein, I barreled along the course, trying not to bump into my fellow runners. Though I didn’t actually believe that I was trying to avert WWIII, as Matthew Broderick was in the movie, I was nevertheless enjoying the thrill the music gave me as I crossed the finnish line.

In all it was a great day, made more dramatic, and rousing with a couple of great composers along for the ride. I have modified my selection in other events since, but I have always ended with Rubinstein’s Closing The Mountain. For some reason it kicks me in the backside, and gets me moving no matter how tired I am, straight to the finnish. The day was a dramatic example of how film scores can add to the enjoyment of life, allow you to escape just a little, and make your life into a movie. If you’re going on a long commute, walking to the grocery store, or doing exercise, there is so much enjoyment to be found in letting great composers enhance your life with the score of your choice. It’s something people need to do more often, let go, relax, be a bit child-like and let your imagination go where it wants to.

PATRIARCHY, CIVILIZATION, MILITARISM, AND DEMOCRACY...

Here is the first part in a 5-part documentary made by the Canadian Historian, and commentator, Gwynne Dyer. Very informative, and lots of fun. Enjoy!

THE TAO OF SEX

I have had a number of conversations and debates as of late about the state of modern filmmaking; my position being that they rely too much on flashy camera work and an appalling sense of pace, and this all urged me to write about the Tao of Sex, because the filmmaking process, is a lot like sex.

How we approach lovemaking is like good filmmaking, you want to take your time, don’t go for broke right away, as it can have a numbing affect. You want to hold back giving your audience what they want by dancing around the sweet spot for as long as you can, then when the tension is at it’s greatest, BAM! you go for the tender areas. Filmmakers like Michael Bay have one mode, 11, and they never let you get a breather, leaving you to feel like you’ve been bashing your head against the wall for 2 hours. It’s, in a word, annoying.

Imagine, if you will ladies, what it would be like to have sex with Michael Bay, if his lovemaking techniques were anything like his films? Would you not be left feeling sore, and angry?

In fact the over-the-top films we get today are similar to a bad case of premature ejaculation.

Furthermore, the use of the shaking camera, an effect that can only occur in nature when you are looking through a lens, just screams “I’m watching a film!” and not, “I’m participating in a story!” Seriously, when, other than when you look through a lens do you see camera wobble? Even if I stumble home drunk my vision carries more clarity.

When you lay down on your partner, do you flail around like you are having a seizure, in the hopes that your berserker enthusiasm will give your lover pleasure? What sounds more sensuous, a paint shaker, or a slow unwavering hand?

I have always felt that being steady, controlled, and accurately focusing on your goals was the way to give pleasure. The filming of a sequence is no different.

It’s also imperative that you not rely on the same techniques over and over. Everyone will respond differently when certain buttons are pushed, so that the more varied you are, the greater the likelihood you will stumble across the ones that your partner, or viewer will respond the most to.

Film is not the only thing that can be approached in a sexual manner, in fact anything that requires precise and accurate control can be thought of as sex, and thus utilize similar techniques.

I hope this little diatribe encourages you to expect the same quality out of your daily life that you expect to get out of the bedroom.

Which reminds me. It’s almost time to make dinner...

A FEW DOCS TO CHANGE THE WAY YOU SEE THE WORLD...

I found these documentaries a while back and decided to share them with the rest of whoever is paying attention to this blog.

All the links below are by a Documentarian by the name of Adam Curtis, who works and produced all of the below at the BBC, and has won numerous awards. The running thread in all these films is how elites have used various theories to pacify, and control the masses to either success, failure, or sparking unforeseen results.

I dare you to watch them...

The documentaries are all free to download through a great site called Archive.org, which you might want to check out as it's full of neat stuff you won't find elsewhere.

First up is The Trap: What Happened To Our Dream Of Freedom?
This is one of the most recent, and thus most timely of the docs, and very enlightening.

The we have The Power Of Nightmares. This one is a personal favourite, and will pick up what you think of islamic terrorism, shake it about, and kick it in the trash.

Next is The Century Of The Self. A great four parter that shows how psychology has been used to get you to buy things, and to obey the government, or they try...

The Way Of All Flesh is a freaky one episode doc about how they replicated a woman's cancer cell 50 years ago, and over time, now weighs over 400 times the woman's body weight! (If you put all the cells in one place that is).

The Mayfair Set, shows how the elite of England tried to use economics to remain an important player in world affairs after the end of WWII.

The Living Dead is not a zombie film, but a documentary about how history can be used to trap people into repeating it.

Pandora's Box is a great big 6 part documentary examining the unsuccessful attempt to use science to find a rational means of ordering society after WWII.

Well there you go, I hope you enjoy them.

BIRDS WITH NECKTIES...

Well boys and girls, another Monday night is coming, and along with that, the last Alfred Hitchcock double bill at the Mayfair.

On Monday night of the 27th, starting at 7 PM is The Birds. It's a fun little story about a multitude of birds that swarm a seaside American town. I can't see what the fuss is all about, being chased by birds can't be all that bad...

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Then at 9:15 PM is Frenzy. One of Hitchcock's last great classics, and considering it was his second last film, it' really is amazing that he still had it in him to put out such a twisted, great, humorous, tense, and engaging thriller.

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I hope you can make it out, and treat yourself to some of the greatest films ever made.

DIZZYING NIGHT OF MADNESS!!!

Okay boys and girls, another Monday is almost here, which means that another night of Hitchcock movies is coming to the Mayfair theatre.

It will be a fun evening as the Mayfair gets into Hitchcock’s classic Hollywood years.

This Monday, on the 20th, will be playing Vertigo at 7, and then at 9:30 comes Psycho.

Vertigo is considered his most personal film, as it deals with obsession -- and blondes...



Psycho is often looked on as Hitchcock’s greatest film, which is probably due to it being his most intensely suspenseful. After over 40 years it still has the power to shock, which can’t be said for even today’s shockers.



That’s all from me, so I hope you can make it out to the Mayfair theatre to see two of the greatest films ever made.