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There is a birthday celebration for a friend later this evening and I will write a post after the event. I might ask permission to present specifics, but we'll play it by ear.

The Big Lebowski: Audience Review

        I had an unusual experience last night while watching a movie. It was a special showing of The Big Lebowski at the Warnors in Fresno. For those unfamiliar with the Warnors, well, you HAVE to go to the next performance of anything that even peaks your interest. It is a pre-Depression classic theater whose craftsmanship and detail will never be duplicated. It’s so special just being in the building.

        They have a monthly film series call “Modern Classics” and a friend wanted to go see the movie and the Warnors. He hadn’t seen anything there in over 20 years and they have done a lot of restoration work. He is also a big fan of the movie. I’m a big fan of the Warnors and have even had the opportunity to work in the various venues and can tell you the non-public spaces are just as fascinating. Plus, I haven’t seen the movie, so I was twofold excited about going.

       

        Now, I can hear the groans from some readers at my Big Lebowski virginity. (Though, I have caught a couple scenes of it while channel surfing, but it and Kingpin have always been conflated in my mind.) I am guilty as the next person of hazing someone who has not seen a movie that I deem necessary for cultural competency. It is only through my very generous spirit that I’ve stayed friends with people who have not seen/liked Star Wars.

        So, I went wanting to SEE the movie and came across an audience that wanted to EXPERIENCE the movie. They knew were all the pratfalls and jokes took place and their laughter was just a beat ahead and slightly louder than an audience watching the movie for the first time. Like me.

        Since the slower parts of the movie were quite familiar to them, they took the opportunity to make their after movie plans, debate the best IPA, or understand why Ashley and Justin broke up. These distractions made it tough for me to get invested in the characters and soon my mind was wondering. The audience had totally taken me out of the movie.

        This was really the first time this happened to me with a movie. A crying baby/kids is the most well-known distraction, but this time it was the whole audience which suggests it was me, not them. The analogy most relatable to some is The Rocky Horror Picture Show. If you had gone to a midnight showing and expected the quiet opportunity to watch and absorb the movie, well, you were in for a surprise.

        And this is want happened to me. People who came had seen the movie numerous times and were there more for the communal experience of sharing something they love rather than to watch a movie. They wanted the experience, I had come to watch a movie.

        Most of the time, the audience experience/reaction ADDS to the event. Sports events are the perfect example. The audience behavior is so much a part of the experience that bettors will take the home into account when handicapping the games. If you are attending a play, an intense emotional scene will be magnified by the audience’s reaction. We feed off of other’s emotions.

        So, while it wasn’t the right audience to see the movie for the first time, it was a good audience. I’m not giving up on the movie. Some night at home, I’ll watch The Big Lebowski and get past second base so I can go to the next revival showing. And I’m definitely not giving up on the Modern Classics series. In May, it’s Ghostbusters and I’m the Keymaster.

B-Ball Bulldogs

After a fifteen year absence, the CSU Fresno (or FSU or Fresno State or FSC if you’re old enough and can’t break the habit) Bulldogs are back in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. Today, it is the premier post-season tournament, relegating the NIT to runner-up status. The Bulldogs actually won the NIT in 1983, the zenith in the men’s basketball history; the nadir being either the year the Bulldogs won the California Penal Championship or when the women outdrew the men at the Savemart Center.

       

        The tournament has turned into an industry in and of itself with filling out tournament brackets; a challenge of one’s sports handicapping ability. Pick an early upset correctly and you feel like Jimmy the Greek (alright, there, I’ve dated myself.) Depending on the betting pool you enter, we are talking about either bragging rights or serious cash. This can cause problems for rabid fans of their college team. And, for the first time in over a decade, Bulldog fans find themselves in the same predicament.

        The Bulldogs aren’t the worst seed, but only by a couple of spots. Do you bet with your heart and pick the Bulldogs to win? How deep into the tournament? Or do you face reality when given the opportunity for financial gain and bet with your head. Maybe they win the first game… but certainly not all the way… but a true fan has to hope… but this isn’t Fantasyland… but if you believe… Well, to play it safe, better to buy two brackets to fill out.

       

        There are two larger post-tournament questions for the Bulldogs. The first, all Fresno State fans would LOVE for the Bulldogs to win more than won game. The Sweet Sixteen would be incredible. But for each Bulldog victory, the chances of Coach Rodney Terry leaving the program increase. Nothing succeeds like success. Other schools are hinting of interest just on the Bulldog’s appearance in the tournament. Win a couple of games and schools with bigger bank accounts start throwing numbers around that Fresno can’t match. Terry’s first tournament with the Bulldogs could be his last.

        The larger post-tournament question is the degree of long-term interest this sparks in FSU men’s basketball. Surely the AD’s goal is to remove the tarp, fill the stands, and make basketball a positive income sport. Is just one appearance in the NCAA tournament enough to make that possible, probably not, especially if Terry leaves. Two wins and he stays? Two win, but a new coach? It’s anyone’s guess.

        But, this IS a big deal and we should enjoy it. Whether a Fresno State alumnus or alumna with only a causal interest in college athletics or a 30-year Red Seat holder, here’s your chance to see your hometown school on the national stage. This is a great opportunity for Fresno to gain some national attention without placing last in a best list or first in a worst list.

                                                GO BULLDOGS!

Looks like I have another bracket to buy.

Fresno Ag

Of course, the day after posting something about keeping me honest on a daily posting, I miss a day. See why I need help?

I had to pick something up at Fresno Ag, the other day. For those of you from out of town or unfamiliar with Fresno Ag, it is a hardware store of the old school type. Need a 2/7 inch reverse countersunk bolt with a rubberized nut? This is the place you go to find it.

Now, to be honest, they might not have it in stock. But they know what you are talking about and how to order it. There are actually people in the various department AND they know the difference between AC and DC (no, not the band) and which end of the hammer you use.

There’s a scene in the mall chase from The Blues Brothers (if you are unfamiliar with the movie, stop reading this and watch it. Seriously, stop and go watch it, you’ll thank me later) where Jake says of the Mall, “This place has got everything.” That’s Fresno Ag.

Walking around, you can ask yourself, “Why the hell is a cherry pitter here?” You have to remember the store has been around since 1876. That’s so long in the past today’s hipsters would have to go hatless and shave to stand out. Back then, you didn’t run to ten different stores when you came to town. You wanted to get the errands done so you had more time in town. So a farmer coming in from Kerman would bring his wife and she could get her shopping done, too. Thus, they would have not only the expected kitchen in a hardware store, but the dishes washed in the sink and the soap to clean the dishes

Today, our shopping habits are changing dramatically. Not only do we demand more options, we’re getting it shipped to our door more frequently. So, when you go into a place that has a little bit of everything, it’s fun to look around. Not that you’re going to buy the tea kettle shaped like a rooster, but it’s important to know where to get it.

I have strong memories of my dad doing shopping at Fresno Ag (Gettysburg/Blackstone store, contrary what some think, I’m not old enough to have visited their downtown locations). He was a lawyer (the very definition of white collar) and I was always amazed when he did blue collar work, but he did have an incredible back-up in my grandfather. (Later, I hope to give you a sense of how incredible my grandpa was, but I don’t think I’m a good enough writer for you to fully grasp it.)

When we entered the store, my brothers and I headed for the soda machine.  It was dirt cheap, like a quarter or something, and everyone got their own soda. Then the tools. Seeing rows of tools lined up was for a kid (and adult) pretty cool. Must be how some feel about shoes, you know you can’t own or use (wear) them all, but it’s a rush to see them all in a row. I always like the display of Swiss Army knives. My grandpa always carried one and I always seemed to lose whichever one was given to me.

You could always tell that instead of doing something fun like the zoo or sailing, we were doing some physical work, when the day started with a trip to Fresno Ag. I don’t know how my younger brothers felt about it, but being the oldest, I knew I was slated for a greater degree of participation than I wish to contribute. Today, of course, I would trade the winning Powerball ticket for a chance to do one more trip to Fresno Ag with him.

Picture: Guess This

        I want to get a little ahead and write this tonight (Sunday) so that I can auto-post it and try to get a little cushion on the daily output of the blog. But I have a little writer’s block, well not so much of true block, but I dicked around on Reddit long enough that I should throw something together. Plus, I promised myself that I couldn’t watch tonight’s episode of The Walking Dead until I wrote something. I started seeing spoilers while procreating on Reddit, so it was time to type.

        I was still at a loss of topic and then decided to do something and create a little visual aid at the same time, so I’m going to go into my digital pictures and count down from 6, forth folder, then the third, etc. until I get a picture. I will then post it and tell the story about it.

Here it is:

        This was unlabeled and it took me a minute looking at the other pictures next to it to figure out what was going on. I’ll give you a second and then some clues to see if you can guess it. First clue: Familiar foothills, but which side of the valley? Second, the destination really is better than the journey, in this case. Third, you can’t “Pass” it up.

        The occasion was a spring trip to Stanford. The foothills of the Valley can be so beautiful when there is moisture present and they look like an unmade bed with a quilt of green.  The green in the hills of the Bay Area have a similar pleasant appearance, but they also fade with the heat of the summer. There are moments in summer when the yellow stalked foothills do not evoke desolation and destitution, usually when your car AC reaches its coldest temperature. But they are at their best in the Spring.

        So now is the time to take a drive (rather when it stops raining). Most of the stone fruit blossoms will have departed, but branches and the hills will be sprouting green. And if you lucky, you might hit some wild flowers like this:

The Richert Rosetta Stone

I didn’t mean to piggy-back on yesterday’s post about letters, but I do have an exciting find to report. I’ve mentioned the difficulty in translating the German letters in the family collection. Since it’s worth a thousand words, here is a sample:

So, you can see the challenge here. But, I’ve struck gold. I’ve found my Rosetta stone:

        What may look like more German scribbling, is, well, more German scribbling, but my grandfather has penciled in the modern German over the old script which means there is hope of translating the letters through this and technology.

        Technology is already a key in this project. As you can see, some of the writing is rather small. This has been an issue with even the letters written in English, especially the V-mail ones. Scanning the letter and then viewing it digitally has allowed me to quickly enlarge the letter and make it more readable. Of course, all the storage and indexing will be using currently available tech as well as sharing through blogs and any future websites.

Optical character recognition is a rapidly improving field, but even the experts think this type of transcribing might not be feasible, but with this “Rosetta” letter there is hope of at least recognizing this individual’s hand writing. Perhaps, only by entire words or groups of letters, but, since it is repetitious grunt work and that is what computers excel at, it is possible someday.

        I know my grandfather did some work on these letters, too. Some of the large envelopes held groups of letters and he labeled the exterior “From Parents,” “While he was abroad,” etc. He labeled some pictures that would have gone nameless without his effort. And this transcription, which will prove to be the most valuable contribution of all. I have no doubt that there are elements of this project that will have to be handed down to the next generation, too. They’ll be able to use technology that is as foreign to me as an iPad was to my grandfather. But, since we have the letters, we’ll make the time.