Lowest Common Denominator

I've noticed that when guys get together our conversation is completely dependant on how many of us there are. For example, two guys talking will discuss issues like social reform, the influence of Dickens on Victorian literature, or the incommunicable attributes of God.

But throw another dude into the mix and the subject matter deteriorates at a staggering rate. Something happens when the number grows beyond two of us and educated, philosophical commentary turns into punching each other in the nuts and wondering out loud who would stand a better chance in a fight with Mike Tyson.

Super Bowl

It took me until nearly kick-off to decide which team I hated more in the Super Bowl, but I eventually settled on the Patriots. So as much as it bummed me out to watch the Giants win the championship that Dallas should have won, I was glad we no longer have to listen to how Tom Brady will wash away our sins.

I did see something cool on SportsCenter yesterday though. It was Eli and Peyton at Eli's locker after the game laughing and smiling. From experience, I can tell you that few things in life compare to the feeling of doing something that impresses your big brother.

Dig What You Do

What would life be like in a world where everyone really enjoyed their work? Imagine how much more pleasant a call to the Cingular customer service department would be if the person on the other end of the line really wanted to be there.

Alas, most of us working stiffs, even the ones lucky enough to work in our chosen fields, find it difficult to continuously stoke the fires of enthusiasm for 40-plus hours a week, 12 months a year.

Today I came across this editorial in Newsweek from Christopher Nolan about Heath Ledger, whom Nolan directed as the Joker in the forthcoming Batman movie. I understand that pretending to be an iconic comic book villain isn't on par with, say, the demands of being a nurse or an accountant, but talk about someone who enjoyed their work...

Charisma as Natural as Gravity

Best known for his haunting, Oscar-nominated performance as Ennis Del Mar, one of the gay cowboys in 2005 ' s "Brokeback Mountain," Ledger was a massive young talent on the cusp of greatness when he died last week in New York. The native Australian, who is survived by his 2-year-old daughter, Matilda, had recently finished work on this summer's "Batman" sequel, "The Dark Knight," in which he plays a villain, the Joker. Christopher Nolan, the film's director, shared these memories:

One night, as I'm standing on LaSalle Street in Chicago, trying to line up a shot for "The Dark Knight," a production assistant skateboards into my line of sight. Silently, I curse the moment that Heath first skated onto our set in full character makeup. I'd fretted about the reaction of Batman fans to a skateboarding Joker, but the actual result was a proliferation of skateboards among the younger crew members. If you'd asked those kids why they had chosen to bring their boards to work, they would have answered honestly that they didn't know. That's real charisma—as invisible and natural as gravity. That's what Heath had.

Heath was bursting with creativity. It was in his every gesture. He once told me that he liked to wait between jobs until he was creatively hungry. Until he needed it again. He brought that attitude to our set every day. There aren't many actors who can make you feel ashamed of how often you complain about doing the best job in the world. Heath was one of them.
One time he and another actor were shooting a complex scene. We had two days to shoot it, and at the end of the first day, they'd really found something and Heath was worried that he might not have it if we stopped. He wanted to carry on and finish. It's tough to ask the crew to work late when we all know there's plenty of time to finish the next day. But everyone seemed to understand that Heath had something special and that we had to capture it before it disappeared. Months later, I learned that as Heath left the set that night, he quietly thanked each crew member for working late. Quietly. Not trying to make a point, just grateful for the chance to create that they'd given him.

Those nights on the streets of Chicago were filled with stunts. These can be boring times for an actor, but Heath was fascinated, eagerly accepting our invitation to ride in the camera car as we chased vehicles through movie traffic—not just for the thrill ride, but to be a part of it. Of everything. He'd brought his laptop along in the car, and we had a high-speed screening of two of his works-in-progress: short films he'd made that were exciting and haunting. Their exuberance made me feel jaded and leaden. I've never felt as old as I did watching Heath explore his talents. That night I made him an offer—knowing he wouldn't take me up on it—that he should feel free to come by the set when he had a night off so he could see what we were up to.

When you get into the edit suite after shooting a movie, you feel a responsibility to an actor who has trusted you, and Heath gave us everything. As we started my cut, I would wonder about each take we chose, each trim we made. I would visualize the screening where we'd have to show him the finished film—sitting three or four rows behind him, watching the movements of his head for clues to what he was thinking about what we'd done with all that he'd given us. Now that screening will never be real. I see him every day in my edit suite. I study his face, his voice. And I miss him terribly.

Back on LaSalle Street, I turn to my assistant director and I tell him to clear the skateboarding kid out of my line of sight when I realize—it's Heath, woolly hat pulled low over his eyes, here on his night off to take me up on my offer. I can't help but smile.

Free ride...um, I mean, free speech

Austin's solicitation laws are pretty lax, so most street corners are populated with panhandlers. It's not uncommon to see three or four people working the same intersection during peak hours. There have been efforts to curb this in the past, but with good enough lawyerin', I suppose you could squeeze just about anything underneath the protective umbrella of the First Amendment.

But I saw a guy today with a sign that read: "I aint proud of this, but at least I'm not robbing houses or selling drugs."

I suppose that logic makes a pretty compelling case for begging on the street, but I wonder where getting a job falls into his world view?

Perception and Reality

More times than I can count this week I have heard the term "perception is reality" used with complete abandon. This is a sampling of the disparate conversations in which this phrase has been bandied about:

1. A discussion about the NFL playoffs
2. During an NPR story about the Middle East
3. In a conversation at work

First, for the phrase itself to have even a modicum of validity, it would need to be revised to say "perception is a reality" but that still doesn't address the heart of the issue.

What people really mean when they say this is that they are too lazy to find out what the reality is. Instead, they are going to let their perceptions drive their behavior. And, in case they are wrong, they can justify it simply by spouting off that trite little phrase. The implication is that people are responsible for how they are perceived, and as long as someone's behavior supports their perception, it's cool.

I am hereby removing this jargon from the English language. Violators will have their tongues removed.

Attack Deer vs. Wild

Every guy sees himself as an outdoorsman. It doesn’t matter how civilized or soft life makes us, we are all positive that, if we wanted to, we could strap on a backpack and disappear into the wilderness for a great adventure. This is why places like REI and Patagonia are usually visible from the freeway.

A couple of years ago Jonathan and Jeremy ( both true disciples of Jeremiah Johnson and among a handful of people I know who possess a genuine knowledge of the great outdoors) and I went backpacking in New Mexico where Jonathan was about to start working. This is a picture from the last night on the trail and when I think of 'Lance the Outdoorsman', this is the image that comes to mind.

Most guys have a picture like this somewhere in their house, one that shows how rugged they are. They are usually holding up a trout or kneeling next to a dead animal. Or instead of a picture, they may have the animal itself displayed on their wall as a testament to their toughness.

The story this picture tells, at least the story we want it to tell, is about how we journeyed into the woods and lived off the fat of the land, taking advantage of the great bounty God provided. But this isn’t really true. It’s not exactly false, but in the interest of complete disclosure, and to help illustrate my previous point, I think it’s important to know the background of this picture.

This was the fourth (I think) and final night of our trip and earlier that afternoon we had emerged from the national forest (can’t remember which one, Santa Fe maybe?) and set up camp in a clearing overlooking part of the Pecos River. On a side note, the house Jonathan and his family will soon occupy is being built in that same clearing.

Anyway, after we set up camp for the final night, we started thinking about what we would do for dinner. Four days of dehydrated and freeze dried food had taken its toll and we were all looking forward to something different. The only wildlife we saw over the course of the previous three days was a rattlesnake and we were hopeful that being up on the prairie would yield a rabbit or two for the spit.

But our patience got the better of us and instead of rabbit we opted for the friendlier fare of a nearby restaurant. We ate heartily and headed back to camp for one more night in the high desert before heading home. It was dusk when we got back to the ranch and there were rabbits everywhere. So we did what every guy in that situation would do, we killed a couple of them. And despite our full stomachs, we cleaned and cooked them.

We didn’t do this because we were hungry and nobody wore a rabbit skin hat out of the woods the next day. Mostly, I think, we did it in order to live up to the image we had of ourselves. And I like how this picture captures that image, however real or imagined it might be.

Watch your top knot, pilgrim.

Attack Deer Welcomes Eden Kora Shaum

Craig and Lee Ann, congratulations on the hat trick.