Many years ago, when Bawful met my first kid, a toddler at the time, he chose to try to entertain said kid by jumping around and doing a monkey dance. I knew instantly this was a mistake. For the next hour, my son commanded that he "do the monkey dance." He soon learned, as I already knew, that apathy and distance is a far better approach.

Anyway, he wanted me to let you children know that Livin' Large should be back tomorrow. While a few of of you couldn't be content to let the guy take a well-deserved break, and chose instead to wise off to me, the vast majority of folks have been pleasant and understanding, and for that I am appreciative.

In lieu of Livin' Large (which will be back tomorrow - did I mention that?), here is our final bit: a couple of DVD Extras (if there were a DVD) - The continued search for basketball in Pisa soiled by ubiquitous graffiti (during which I show that I'm still reeling from a Xanax overdose), and a tribute to the seizure-like editing and direction of Matt Damon's Jason Bourne movies (particularly the third installment - "The Bourne Ultimatum").


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15 Comments:
Blogger Dooj said...
Can we see a video of said monkey dance?

Blogger Wild Yams said...
That was more of a Cloverfield tribute than a Bourne Ultimatum tribute, IMO. Hey, any idea when Living Large will be back? Just kidding :)

Blogger Evil Ted said...
Never saw Cloverfield. I was very excited about seeing it for like a week, then my excitement disappeared for some reason (I have so little time to see movies lately, usually just one bad review makes that happen). If I'm missing anything, let me know.

Anonymous Turdbird said...
Ok, whats the deal with the matching shaved heads? Was there a lice outbreak at the office or what? Youys should tape your heads together and go as a nutsack for halloween.

Blogger Wild Yams said...
ET - IMO Cloverfield was a fun movie, but it probably would lose a lot of its luster by seeing it on a TV screen as opposed to in a theater. However, if you're one of those people who gets motion sickness from hand-held camera movies like that, Quarantine or The Blair Witch Project, then maybe you should just avoid it altogether. Cloverfield is probably the shakiest camera work ever seen on screen, as much of the movie is literally people running through the streets of NYC with a camera in one hand.

Blogger Evil Ted said...
WY - I threw up after Bourne Ultimatum, so Cloverfield might be a pass then.

TB - Bawful and I were balding. Balding isn't a choice. Bald is. Fortunately, we both have good skulls.

In Pisa, we never felt concerned for our safety, as some people said we should (muggings, etc.). In fact, we appeared to inspire fear in most, who seemed to think we were skinheads or something.

In future Halloweens, we have plans to put our heads together and be:

- An Ass
- A Nutsack
- Cast members from Alien 3
- Chemo patients
- You

Blogger AnacondaHL said...
What's up with the audio channels switching? I think it happened on all four videos, the L/R channels are swapped.

Blogger Wild Yams said...
I have to say, I'm really surprised by how much attention and questions the shaved heads have drawn in these videos. Do people not know that shaved heads have been en vogue for quite a while now? Are people asking why KG and Ray Allen have matching haircuts? Of course not. In any event, it's obviously a better look than the horseshoe hairdo that people like Jeff Van Gundy sport. Some people are acting like they've never seen a shaved head before. Weird.

ET - If The Bourne Ultimatum gave you motion sickness, then definitely stay away from Cloverfield, The Blair Witch Project and Quarantine. Unfortunately for you and others who are prone to motion sickness, I would guess you'll be seeing a lot more movies like that, because they're cheap to produce and they tend to make a lot of money.

Blogger Fishy said...
I would just like to note that in my travels the last few days I have noticed that Germany and Amsterdam are also filled with graffiti .. everywhere.

And after seeing Bourne Ultimatum when it came out, all I could remember was the seizure-like (I stole the phrase, its perfect) chase scenes that lasted FOREVER! (a tad exaggeration, but they were a bit long)

Cloverfield was awesome, but definately had me thinking Godzilla afterwards. Still gave me a bunch of "HOLY SHIT!" moments

And lastly Id also love to see the monkey dance, that sounds both entertaining and frightening

Blogger Michael Hsu said...
You threw up after Bourne Ultimatum?!? I'm so happy that I was not the only one. I felt like I was going to die afterwards. I saw it in the afternoon and I was dead until the next day.

Assuming this was your first trip to Europe, it doesn't seem like you enjoyed it very much. Too much of a culture shock for two hoosiers?

Blogger Evil Ted said...
Anacondahl - I don't work in stereo. Despite my fairly good instincts with direction and editing, I'm not much when it comes to the ins and outs of audio. My dream is to put together a production crew of great technical guys who will let me pull the conceptual strings on a larger production.

WY - The shaved heads were a big deal for Matt and I when we did it, respectively, but once it was done, we were like "Why did we wait this long?" I love it, and won't go back. I can't control my hair, but I can control my weight (to a certain extent anyway), and as long as I can be "thin, shaved head guy" instead of "fat bald dude," I'll be happy. All in all, I love looking in the mirror and not worrying about how bright the light over my head is, or trying to move measly strands around to look thicker.

Fishy - Graffiti was everywhere, but by the end of the two weeks, we stopped noticing it. At some point, it just becomes part of the atmosphere. Not necessarily GOOD atmosphere, but atmosphere.

And I'm not about to make Matt relive doing the monkey dance. It would be "dancing monkey," literally, all over again.

Hsu - I said "throw up" for effect, so you are the only one. But I had a headache, and my distaste for motion has gotten worse (flying, amusement parks, car sickness). It's fun to get old.

Ray - The graffiti segment was at the beginning of our visit, when yes, there was culture shock. But I think parts one, two, and three would indicate we managed to carve out a pretty good time.

regarding the graffiti: I have this theory about Darko Milicic and culture shocks I shared a while ago with Bawful...Imagine how does an 18 yeard old white kid feels on his own in Detroit:D

Blogger Michael Hsu said...
You jacked me! YOU JACKED ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Blogger Purdue Moose said...
I have always wandered why Bawful has had so much disdain for Brian Cardinal. Now I know. Cardinal reminds Bawful of his roomate, except Cardinal actually went to class.

Previous post from Bawful about Brian Cardinal:

Personal anecdote: Believe it or not, I once attended the same Sports and Literature class as Brian Cardinal. Each day, he'd arrive at class (usually five or six minutes after the bell), walk to the last desk in the back corner of the room, flop down with a loud groan, and go straight to sleep. Sometimes he'd even snore. Mind you, this wasn’t a 7 a.m. class or anything. It was held in the afternoon.

Around mid-semester, each student had to meet with the professor one-on-one to discuss our progress. During my meeting, I jokingly brought up the fact that Cardinal slept through every class. She kind of smirked and said, "Yeah, I know. I might have to rattle his cage one of these days."

"One of these days" turned out the be the very next class. We were reading this yawnfest of a book called Aquamarine, which was the brave story of a former Olympic swimmer and her personal struggles. Or whatever. I don't remember exactly what her struggles were, but she did eventually realize she was a lesbian, so the book had a happy ending. Anyway, during that day's discussion of the latest reading assignment, the professor asked, "So what happened in the main character's past that had the most profound effect on her life?" After a cursory glance around the classroom, she said, "Brian? Brian. Brian!"

Cardinal jerked up with a snort and everybody kind of laughed. He stared at her blankly for a few seconds, and she said, "What happened in her past, Brian? The thing that's haunted her throughout her life?"

"Uh, well," he said, "I guess, you know, she was traumatized by, uh, when her parents died in the car accident."

After a slight pause, the professor said, "There was no car accident, Brian."

"Oh," he said. "Well, I mean, however they died."

At this point, the professor was trying really hard not to laugh. "Her parents didn't die, Brian. They lived."

"Uh huh," he said. "Yeah, well, I didn't read the book."

You would have thought the class would have been cracking up by that point, but they weren't. In fact, it was dead silent. The professor just stared at Cardinal for a few more seconds (although it felt like longer), then she said, "Okay then, moving on..."

One final note: That incident changed nothing. Cardinal continued to sleep through class. And I'm sure he got whatever grade was necessary to maintain his NCAA eligibility.