I first read about this story on ESPN (you should read it.) Zac Sunderland at the time was attempting to circumnavigate the globe in a 36-foot sailboat. By himself. And he’s 17 years old. I can safely say when I was 17, I was just learning to read and contemplating the wonders of my navel. I think it’s great that this long haired kid from California decided when he was 16 that he wanted to be the first to do it alone before he turned 18. So he saved up money, bought a used sailboat and with the help of his dad, retrofit it for his journey. Awesome.
Before. And After.
Along the way, he had to do battle with rough seas, losing his radar for a time, having his main mast crack in half, being pursued by pirates, all sorts of stuff that you typically see in a Lifetime made-for-TV movie. Well except menopause. About two weeks ago, he completed his journey, and sailed back into San Diego after about thirteen months of solitude.
This is a great story, and Zac’s motto has been to “Do Hard Things.” A good reminder that real growth in life comes from attempting and doing difficult things instead of just punting instead. Sometimes this is easy to forget because I personally like easy. Easy and Fat. That’s my motto. Thanks for the reminder, Zac. And your parents rule.
So there are moments when I enjoy watching a nice Internet video. And I’m not speaking of the homemade, “watch these midgets fight!” variety. Oh no. If I wanted to look at that, I would just need to visit my backyard. No, instead, I enjoy watching the videos and television shows of my youth that were professionally produced, well written and contained acting the likes of which is rarely seen outside of India. Such shows like “Knight Rider”, “The A-Team”, “Small Wonder” and any other crappy show that you thought was really cool when you were young, and now you realize it’s not all that great. I like watching these.
So imagine my happiness at discovering my new friend, Hulu. Not only is it not blocked by my evil corporate firewall, but it also contains a cornucopia of quality entertainment such as “The Fall Guy” “Xanadu” and “The Karate Kid 2 AND 3!” Are you kidding me? It’s even got some crap in HD! Ever wonder where those episodes from “The Office” went after they removed themselves from iTunes? That’s right, my new friend Hulu has them all. “Arrested Development“? How about all three seasons, amigo. Just kind of waiting there for you to find them and watch them. They don’t even say anything whilst you are viewing. How considerate!
So when you have a moment to kill on the web, and you’re wondering what Lee Majors is up to, check out my new friend. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. And if you are disappointed, I think we’re pretty much done here.
Exhibit A. The awesomeness of this!
Dear Goodreads.com,
I give in. You have won. At first when I met you, I said, “Oh no. I am not doing ANOTHER site that requires me to gain virtual friends, and show off all of my virtual friends, and make other virtual friends weep at the sheer size and volume of my virtual friends. But then I realized, “Hey, this site is about books.” Which I enjoy. I like books and I like to pointlessly catalog the books that I have read, and then spout my opinion about them to really no one in particular. Typically this takes place on a spreadsheet that I keep in my computer. But then I realized: “Um, sometimes I am at a different computer. How do I access my spreadhseet and it’s beautiful colors so I can meticulously catalog the book that I just read here on this “foreign” computer? Yes. There was a lot of work involved.
However now, using the Internets, I can place all of the books that I have read on virtual “bookshelves”, AND I can give my “bookshelves” “names” like “Books I like” or “These books suck” or even ”Giant Carrot!!!!” really, whatever I want here goes. I am the master of my non-existent virtual bookshelves. The awesome power that flows from my fingertips! It’s amazing, really.
So I will soon be migrating all of my book nerd information from my spreadsheets to the world of goodreads.com, where complete strangers can look at the books that I have read, and laugh at my lack of taste. I invite you to do the same. And perhaps become my virtual book friend here. What could be cooler? I know, you’re right, pretty much ANYTHING.
I enjoy watching movies. It’s true. Instead of protecting the people in Nakatomi Towers myself barefoot, I would much rather watch John McClain do it for me. Or since I won’t be able to take on the Cobra Kai dojo by myself using a few moves that the old guy from ‘Happy Days’ has taught me while doing his housework, I’ll watch Danny do it for me. And let’s be honest, back then Elisabeth Shue was crazy hot and totally worth all the trouble.
Karate Kid Elisabeth Shue = hot.
These days, when I need a movie to entertain my brain, I now use my new friend, redbox.
Now, I used to be a Hollywood Video man because they weren’t as dumb as Blockbuster and would still let me rent films even when that late fee from 1985’s “The Last Dragon” keeps popping up every time I visit the store. When they ask me if I’d like to pay it now, I could simply say ”let it ride” and they would do it!
I’ve tried some others too. I dabbled in Netflix for a spell. It’s a great idea and couldn’t be any easier, but I’ve determined that I don’t watch enough movies to warrant the investment. My first year after paying more than $300 for the right to watch and keep “Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo” for 74 days, I decided I should look elsewhere for my entertainment options. Especially when I can spend that money on tasty burritos instead.
But then my friendly redbox showed up at my local McDonald’s and I have discovered a proverbial movie renting nirvana. No longer do I need to interact with an annoying human pestering me about, well…anything. I tap the screen a few times and am able to walk out with a new release (new releases available every Tuesday) for roughly the price of air. Because with readily available promotional codes on the Interweb, and the free codes they send to my cell phone every Monday, there’s a veritable free cornucopia going on. They’re giving these movies away! I can select my movie and keep it until 9 p.m. the next night without having to pay a thing. Nothing. A knuckle sandwich. A kick to the BabyMaker. Of course, once I miss the 9 p.m. deadline the next day (practically guaranteed) I get another night’s rental for a buck o nine. But let’s be honest, that’s a price that almost any movie is worth. Even that crappier than crap “Artificial Intelligence” which makes me angry to even type.
Granted, I can’t rent the classic movies of my youth that have inspired me to greatness. If I want to see Clubber Lang come on to Rocky’s wife in “Rocky III” (one of the top movies of all time) I’ll just need to wait for it to show up on TNT. Usually the wait time is approximately twelve minutes.
And if you want to get super crazy, you can also rent a movie at one redbox, and then return it at another. Try doing that at Blockbuster. They’ll be happy to call you to come pick up your movie that you deposited at the wrong store so that you can rectify your own mistake. I’m the customer, boy-o! You fix my mistake for me! Now, I can rent a DVD in Las Vegas and return it in Ogden if I so desire. And I do. Sometimes. So if you haven’t already (and based on the lines on a Friday or Saturday night, you have) meet my new friend redbox, won’t you? And let’s see if we can bankrupt Blockbuster together!
