Greetings! It’s been a few days since my last post- apologies. On Sunday I went to Six Flags Magic Mountain with a couple of the Scenario interns- my first roller coaster adventure this summer! I love roller coasters and always have. As I mentioned in my first post, I used to think I’d grow up to design roller coasters. Thus, I always love going to amusement parks; they just give me a great feeling. All of them have a unique feel when I walk in and it’s hard to put that feeling into words. It was a pretty hot day, but not so hot that it wrecked the day or made it unenjoyable. We rode rides such as Goliath, Tatsu, The Riddler’s Revenge, The Green Lantern, X2, and a couple others. The Green Lantern is probably the most painful ride I have ever been on. Definitely unique, but definitely painful. My favorite ride at the park is X2. It is a ride unlike any others, which is apparent right away as you begin by laying on your back while going up the lift hill backwards. The ride is fast, furious, and provides many unexpected flips and turns- exactly what a great ride entails. It was overall a very fun day!

After Six Flags, I slept from 10pm-3am and got up to do some script coverage- brutal. That’s why I didn’t have a post last night either. By the time I got back to my apartment I was exhausted and only had enough energy to watch a few episodes of How I Met Your Mother before climbing in bed. Last night and this morning I found out the tragic news that a man named Chris Sanderson passed away. My freshman year of high school I played lacrosse. It was the only year I played. He was the coach at Pennington that year and made my entrance to the sport extremely enjoyable. He was so welcoming and excited, even donning me the nickname “White Knight” because of my all-white equipment. After that season he stepped down as coach, and I stepped away from the sport. I had one fun year and if Sandy wasn’t going to continue coaching, I wanted to end on a positive note. Short career- but enjoyable. Yesterday he passed away after a long battle (4 years, I believe) with a brain tumor. I read some of his wife’s blog documenting it while I was at work this morning and it was tough to hold back tears. She explained how he was deteriorating mentally, how she had to tell her two daughters that don’t even look 5 years old that their daddy was going to die and go to Heaven, how she laid in bed with him at night flashing back to when they met in college and their life up to that point. It was so damn depressing and I can’t imagine losing a loved one like that. He was only 38- so much life still to go. Though I played one lacrosse season for him, and saw him a few times after that, it was enough to see what a genuinely nice man he was and makes me so sad that somebody like that passed away so young. The world needs more people like him. Rest easy Sandy.

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Tonight, I watched Wes Anderson’s 2004 film The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. It was a pretty good movie! It isn’t in my list of top favorite movies for this summer, but that does not mean it wasn’t enjoyable. Bill Murray plays Steve Zissou, the captain of a ship and documentary film maker of excursions. Steve Zissou is on a mission to prove to the public that a “Jaguar Shark” killed his friend and that he didn’t just make it up. It is mellowly intriguing and has a sly humorous aspect to it. Owen Wilson plays Steve Zissou’s son, Ned Plimpton, who finds Steve after 30 years to tell Steve he is Ned’s father. He falls for Jane, played by Cate Blanchett, who is a reporter writing a cover story on Steve’s adventure to try to get some publicity on him in order to help him regain his image. Jeff Goldblum and Willem Dafoe play supporting roles, which is just awesome. The artistic visuals emulate Anderson’s unique vision. The characters are unique and complex, as Anderson’s characters usually are. My favorite shots are when he tracks from room to room in the ship explaining what all the rooms contain- it’s like he cut off the side of the ship to reveal the ship’s interiors. I believe he does a similar scene a few years later in Fantastic Mr. Fox when showing the underground set-up of the animals. It is a fun and unique movie and the audience hopes Steve catches the Jaguar Shark (you’ll have to watch to see if he finds it or gives up hope). Like most of Anderson’s movies, the story gets deeper in discussion about death, relationships (romantic and familial), and discovery of self. Again, it is not the greatest movie I have ever seen, but it is certainly enjoyable and I would absolutely watch it many more times. Plus, it’s Bill Murray- c’mon, the dude’s a legend.

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

That’s all for tonight. Not sure what film I will be watching next. The Wes Anderson films I have yet to see are Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, Hotel Chevalier (a short that connects with The Darjeeling Limited), and Moonrise Kingdom. The first two are not on iTunes and the last is still in theatres, so hopefully I can catch it in the next couple days. So- I will have to figure out what to watch next. Perhaps I will begin watching Quentin Tarantino films- we shall see.

Good night,
Waddy

P.S. I am reading The Hunger Games– enjoyable read so far! It’s interesting to read scripts at Scenario and then to read a book at home and observe the differences. Definitely intriguing.