Movie Mondays - Sipping Jetstreams

Saturday I went for my usual weekend surf with my friend Jen. A nice swell was hitting Long Beach, but it was cold and the sun wasn't making much of an appearance. After suiting up and psyching up, we got in the water. The size of the waves produced a bit of anxiety but we each managed to catch at least one. The tough part was getting back to the outside, every time I would get past a wave and make some progress the next wave was just behind it and would push me back towards the shore. After battling a while, we decided we had enough for the day.

So not our most successful day.

I went home and decided I needed to watch something to make me think about the good parts about surfing rather the frustrating parts and popped in a dvd I bought a few weeks ago. Sometimes I think I am weird when it comes to books and movies, I may have a book or movie for months and not watch it until I'm somehow in the proper frame of mind. Maybe other people do that too but if they do I'm not aware of it.

Anyway, so this movie - Sipping Jetstreams, is incredible. It is the perfect balance of surfing, travel and music. It is inspirational and visually stunning. An ode to the adventure that is travel and how it becomes part of your life. The movie is shot with different kinds of film stock and has this almost luminescent look to it. Funny enough they cover Bali, Hong Kong and Italy among other places, and being that those are destinations I have been to in the last year it was awesome to see these places in the same light as I have them in my memory. Really beautiful.

In addition to Bali, Hong Kong and Italy - the film is also shot in Morocco, Egypt, Japan, Barbados and Cuba. It made me want to go discover those places too - remarkably even Cuba. I have often been asked if I want to travel to Cuba, being that I am of Cuban parentage on one side - my standard answer is no, that there are lots of other places I would rather travel to before going there. I still want to go to lots of places in this world but after this film, I would add Cuba to the list. (I know - not ok until the Castros are out).

Anyway, check out the movie if you have a chance. It is really incredibly gorgeous and inspiring. Kudos to the filmmaker and photographer who decided to take us on this amazing journey and on that note, I leave you with a quote from their website.

"Travel keeps you young. It does this by simply putting you in situations that make you feel like a child again. Magically lost in a moment of discovery. Beautifully confused. It could be the first time you awaken to the 5:00am call to prayer from the local mosque on Morocco's far Atlantic shore, the first time you feel the weight of the Egyptian sun on your shoulders, the first time you paddle out over the shallow reefs of the Caribbean, or the first time you realize that people living in squalor can achieve happiness as easily as those living in mansions. These are life's opportunities to shed the hustle of modernity, to join the moment, and stop sprinting towards some prefabricated goal. Your heart races. Your metabolism shifts into a lower gear. Everything is new again. You're sipping jetstreams."

AMEN!!!

Music/Movie Monday - The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

So today we are doing a music/movie combo day. A couple of weeks ago I headed to my local Blockbuster and rented "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou". The movie is written and directed by Wes Anderson, who has written and directed a number of other films that are probably best described as quirky.

The movie is a black comedy starring Bill Murray, Owen Wilson and Angelica Huston (who is so fabulous and super cool in this movie) amongst many other notable actors. We meet Steve Zissou, an egotistical oceanographer whose career is fading. Steve's partner has been eaten by a jaguar shark and Zissou is determined to exact revenge. He gathers a crew and is off to a fantastical journey at sea.

I have seen the film before but it is one I can watch time and time again. The humor is offbeat, the story poignant and the film is shot in a strangely engaging and beautiful way. Somehow reminiscent of a grown up childhood fantasy.

In addition to being a great movie, there is also a fantastic soundtrack, particularly "The Life Aquatic Studio Sessions featuring Seu Jorge". Seu Jorge is a Brazilian singer and actor who acted and sang in the movie. Especially cool is Jorge's interpretation of David Bowie songs in Portuguese, which he sings solo with an acoustic guitar.

The cover of Bowie's "Oh! You Pretty Things" is so incredibly lovely. It makes you feel as though you could be transported to a lovely garden somewhere in the South of France or on the Italian Riviera, where you literally dream your days away lounging with a glass of wine in your hand.

Nothing like a little mental transportation on a grey, rainy, chilly NYC Monday.



Movie poster credit BLT & Associates

Work Wednesdays!

So the theme for Wednesdays is work, but I'm not talking about ordinary things. I'm going to blog about cool people who have amazing jobs.

This week one of my ambitions is to be the back up singer for the Rolling Stones. Last Sunday a friend and I went to go see the Rolling Stones IMAX movie. It was a seriously rocking movie! We almost felt like we were really at the show. It was actually tough to stay seated but we may have gotten kicked out of the movie theatre for dancing in the aisles. Those guys are soooo cool and they have so much energy!

So my friend decided she wants to be Keith Richards. Yes, I said she wants to be Keith Richards. So I'm gonna buy her a headscarf and a pirate pin. I think she could pull it off.

Since we were on the topic of fantasy jobs, I picked being the back up singer for the band. Lisa Fischer is the the back up singer for the band. She performed with so much charisma and looks like she's having a blast. So this week, I want to be Lisa and shake it with the Stones! If only I could sing!