THIS IS GROUND CONTROL TO STEVEN SPIELBERG...

In CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND, in the scene where they're setting up the giant Lite-Brite keyboard to contact the aliens, and everyone very busy getting all the gear ready, if the keyboard guy would have plunked out a couple of lines from David Bowie's SPACE ODDITY, the part that goes, "This is ground control to Major Tom..." and all the workers kind of looked up from their work for a second, realized what they had heard, and had a little chuckle, that would have been so awesome, you guys

THE MEANING OF LIFE (close enough anyway)

There is none, but there is a close, close approximation.

On this, the end of the world (?) {December 21, 2012} I am writing that yesterday, the day before the end of the world, I watched Monty Python's "The Meaning of Life" (1983).

I have watched this movie many time throughout my 46 years, because I am that way.  I think it is hilarious, and I have always thought, that at the end of the movie, they summed it up in an offhand way with this quote, which I had memorized for along time, being a Monty Python fan.  It goes like this:

M-hmm. Well, it's nothing very special. Uh, try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations. 

And for years, I thought this was a great summary of some good advice, but it isn't, of course the MEANING OF LIFE, as the movie title suggests, but just some sound advice, and it's funny because it is basically saying, "there isn't any meaning of life, just be nice."

But last night, watching the movie again, I finally found, after close to thirty years of loving this movie, the true nugget of the film.  It happens in a board meeting of otherwise douchebag executives.  One of them starts off asking about "item six" on the agenda.

Exec #1: Item six on the agenda: "The Meaning of Life" Now uh, Harry, you've had some thoughts on this.

Exec #2: Yeah, I've had a team working on this over the past few weeks, and what we've come up with can be reduced to two fundamental concepts. One: People aren't wearing enough hats. Two: . . . this "soul" does not exist ab initio as orthodox Christianity teaches; it has to be brought into existence by a process of guided self-observation. However, this is rarely achieved owing to man's unique ability to be distracted from spiritual matters by everyday trivia. 

Exec #3: What was that about hats again?

This is the entire crux of the movie, and I have been missing it for thirty years.

Now this isn't the "meaning of life" as there is no intrinsic "meaning of life" but it is so close, it bears discussion . . .  { there's more, but this is a book excerpt from the book I'm working on.}

here's the clip:

Man on a wire

Watching MAN ON A WIRE on Netflix.

The 16 most intelligent sci-fi films ever made | Blastr

The 16 most intelligent sci-fi films ever made | Blastr I got to check a few of these out.

movie review: Stutter Island (2010)

Stutter Island

2010

* * * * *

Great thriller. Effects were special, story was tight, and the setting was fantastic ~ June 19, 2010

AVATAR

Go see this movie. Fantastic.

movie review: bruno

Bruno

2009

* * *

Meh, it was okay. not as good as I thought it would be. ~ July 11, 2009

two movie reviews:

THE WRESTLER: great movie, except it will make you want to commit suicide for a few hours afterwords. ERASERHEAD: weirdest thing I have ever seen in my life. Weird is a good thing.

Star Trek movie review

Great action movie. Spoiler alert: The bad guy looks like the lead singer from Smashing Pumpkins.

movie review: Trainspotting

movie "Trainspotting" = ***** asterisks.

movie review: Coraline

Coraline

2009

* * * *

Completely entertaining. Drops you into a whole 'nuther world. Great characters and plot. ~ February 08, 2009

all my reviews are here: http://www.danmanning.com/38.php

movie review: goodfellas

Goodfellas

1990

* * *

This movie was entertaining. Joe Pesci is always good. Not the greatest movie ever made but it was a decent story. Unfortunately, no one was smokin' hot. ~ December 24, 2008

See all my movie reviews here:
http://www.danmanning.com/38.php

movie review: balls of fury

Balls of Fury

2007

* * *

I couldn't have had lower expectations for Balls of Fury, the movie about Ping Pong, but I was pleasantly surprised. It was funny, it was a decent story (considering the subject matter) and Maggie Q was smokin' hot. ~ December 22, 2008

movie review: lawrence of arabia

Lawrence of Arabia

1962

* * * *

Movie was really, really long. Peter O'Tool seemed kinda gay. (Not that there's anything wrong with that). There were no women in this movie, so no one was smokin' hot. ~ November 19, 2008

movie review: spider-man 3

spider - man 3

2007

* *

Who put this friggin' soap opera in the middle of my Spiderman movie? This thing sucked ass. Thank gawd Kirsten Dunst and Bryce Dallas Howard were both was smokin' hot. ~ 09.10.08

See all my movie reviews

movie review: the dark knight

batman: the dark knight

2008

* * * *

Lots of action, whatever. The only bright spot in this otherwise ho-hum action movie is Heath Ledger. Oh, why did this actor have to go and get himself killed after this BRILLIANT performance? His bad-guy performance ranks right up there with Jack Nicholson's immortal mad-man in "The Shining". Every time The Joker appeared the movie was great, but when he was gone, it was just average. Oh, and Maggie Gyllenhaal is smokin' hot.

I AM IRON MAN!

iron man

2008

* * * * *

Fuckin' A. Movie was fantastic. Robert Downey Jr. was his usual smart-ass self. The story was good and the effects were extra-special. Jeff Bridges plays a great bad guy. Gwyneth Paltrow and Leslie Bibb are both smokin' hot. ~ 05.03.08

see all my movie reviews at http://www.danmanning.com/38.php

awesome sentence

Found this awesome sentence in a movie review at slate.com

A good 20 minutes of screen time are devoted solely to convincing us of this character's douchebagdom.

link

movie review: imperium: agustus

Imperium: augustus

2003

*

This unwatchable piece of shit was a made-for-tv movie. I thought it might be okay cause Peter O'Toole was the main character. He used to be a great actor, but now he's a quivering sack of withered flesh. I rented it with my monthly free rental from Blockbuster, which is a good thing, because the acting was so bad I never found out if anyone was smokin' hot. ~ 01.12.07

much bla bla about stuff

The sun is out and I thought, "Today I start training for the marathon". I located my stylish tracksuit my mother-in-law bought me a few years ago, and then I checked the weather channel to see the temperature: 14 miserable degrees (F). Dammit!

Yesterday I dropped checked my cell phone from an altitude of 4 feet. Grand Rapids is 610 feet above sea level, and the check surface was hard tile. I am pleased to report that my Samsung SCH-a870 cell phone passed with flying colors, bouncing approximately 1 foot in the air with an amazing spin rate while I exclaimed "SHIT!" and caught it before the second bounce. Cell phone checks 4.0 after drop check. In short, my phone was on the washer and I knocked it off and it fell.

I Heard some good reviews about a movie "Paranoid Park" on the radio.

Had lunch with a few friends at The Beltline Bar, which amazingly, is not on the Beltline. They make a mean burrito, aptly named "The Famous" and I was scoring some legendary farts later that afternoon.

Doom and gloom in the economic front. Jobs are more scarce, gasoline has hit record highs, and the dollar is sucking ass vs every other currency on the planet.

I've heard a lot of economic experts trying to say whether or not we are in a recession. Let me, Dan Manning, put the question to rest.

Yes, we are in a recession Here is the research to back up my claim:

If you have to ask if you're in a recession, you're in a recession.

OK? Everybody clear now?