Life Lessons From Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium

I was flipping through the channels tonight and stumbled across Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium.  I absolutely love this movie!  It is full of wonderful, positive messages.  Now, I know what you're thinking, that I only like this movie because Natalie Portman is in it.  But that just adds to my love!  Every time I watch this movie I feel good and I feel inspired.  But that feeling rarely lasts, so I'm hoping that maybe if I write about the lessons learned from the movie, I will actually listen.

"Your life is an occasion.  Rise to it."
There is perhaps no greater message in this movie than this.  If we all just listened to this and rose to the occasion imagine how wonderful the world would be.  Imagine how great we would feel!  I keep waiting for my moment to come, but perhaps my moment is here and I just need to rise to the occasion and grab it.  I need to stop making excuses and just go for it.  And I'm sure many of you could use the same advice.

"37 seconds well used is a lifetime."
Why waste any time we have on this planet?  Use every last second to the best of our ability.  I know that's easier said than done, but even time spent deep in thought is time well spent.  Think about that.


Don't be a "just guy"
You know the type of person I'm talking about.  The one who thinks those are 'just' clouds, or that is 'just' a room full of chairs.  They can't see past what something actually is to see what could be there.  I actually think I do a pretty good job of avoiding this, but I feel like too many people around me try to turn me into a 'just guy'.  Try to imagine how much more fun the world could be if you looked past what 'just' is.  I don't have a clip for this, but here is the dialogue.

Molly Mahoney: i knew it. As soon as I saw that suit.

Henry Weston: Knew what?

Molly Mahoney: You're a 'just' guy.

Henry Weston: What's a 'just' guy?

Molly Mahoney: A guy just like you. Same hair, same suit, same shoes, walks around, no matter what, you think it's all just a store, it's just a bench, it's just a tree. It's just what it is, nothing more!

Henry Weston: Alright but, but this

[looks over his shoulder]

Henry Weston: is just a store.

Molly Mahoney: I'm sure to you... it is.

"You have to give people a chance"

This is one that I really have to work on.  Much like Eric in the movie I assume people think I'm weird and don't want to play with me.  I have a hard time making friends.  Perhaps I should take the advice from the movie and give people a chance.  It starts by saying hi.  Again, I couldn't find a clip, or a good transcript of the dialogue, but here's what I found.

Sweetheart, did you spend
the whole day at the store?

I did lots of stuff.

Like what?
  
I built a sculpture,
I got 20,000 paddles
on a paddleball...
and I figured out
how to win at solitaire
every time without cheating.
  
Eric, those are all things
you do by yourself.
  
There were...
people... around.
  
We agreed you could come
back from camp early
if you made an effort
to make some friends.
  
It's not my fault
people don't like me.
  
People love you- once they
get the chance to know you.
  
No, they don't.
They think I'm weird.
  
Because you build sculptures
by yourself.
  
Because nobody wants
to play with me.
  
Have you asked anyone
to play with you?
  
Not really.
  
Well, Eric, you have
to give people a chance.
  
I know what'll happen.
  
You don't, sweetheart.
Trust me, people are
always full of surprises.
Just...
just pick someone.
Anyone. Pick someone
you don't know,
and try to make friends with them.
See what happens.
  
I don't even know how to start.
  
Easy.
Start by saying hi.

"I'm Stuck"

This is totally how I feel right now.  I'm stuck.  But maybe I need to stop thinking about being stuck, and start thinking about how I can stun the world!

Molly Mahoney: I'm stuck!

Mr. Edward Magorium: Oh, to my floor?

Molly Mahoney: No, sir.

Mr. Edward Magorium: Then what?

Molly Mahoney: Like a person. You remember when I was a little girl and I could play Rahmaninov's Second Piano Concerto and everyone was talking about my potential?

Mr. Edward Magorium: Mhm.

Molly Mahoney: Well, I am 23 now and everyone's still talking about my potential but if you ask em to play the song I know best... I'll still play Rachmaninov's Second.

Mr. Edward Magorium: May I suggest you stun the world with Molly Mahoney's First?

"What Mahoney needed was the opportunity to prove to herself that she was something more than she believed."

I think this is true of most of us, myself especially.  I need to believe in myself more, and seek out the opportunities to show myself that I am more than I believe myself to be.  Who knows, maybe I can do something magical.

Now I have it in writing, so any time I forget about these things, feel free to remind me to go back and reread this post.  And hopefully this post can inspire you as well.

Goodbye Old Friend

Today we say goodbye to a good friend.  After 36 years of bringing thrills and smiles to the world, Colossus at Six Flags Magic Mountain is closing.  For anyone who grew up in Southern California, this is a very sad day.  Colossus was a highlight of the park for much of its existence.  When it opened in 1978 it was the tallest and fastest wooden roller coaster in the world.  And even though Magic Mountain kept building faster and taller coasters throughout the park, Colossus remained an imposing presence.  It's a huge coaster and the giant white frame with red trim still stands out among the steel behemoths that litter the park now.  Colossus was always there to greet you in the parking lot when you first arrived, beckoning you to come aboard.  As a kid, there was nothing bigger.  It truly was a Colossus.

For me, Colossus represents an even more significant memory.  It was my first roller coaster.  When I was younger I was really scared of roller coasters.  One year a friend of mine invited me to Magic Mountain for his birthday.  I went even though I didn't want to ride any of the rides.  All day long everybody was trying to convince me to go on a coaster.  Finally, I relented and agreed to try Colossus.  I've been hooked ever since!  Now I love roller coasters, and I owe it all to that first ride on the white, wooden monster.

There's just something magical about Colossus.  You get on and start heading up that first hill and all you hear is the loud clickety clak of the chain pulling you up.  It feels like it takes forever as you keep going up and up.  When you finally reach the top the train slowly inches its way over until gravity takes care of the rest and down you go.  The rest of the ride is full of ups and downs, twists and turns, as the car shakes you side to side.  It is by no means a smooth ride, but that is part of the charm.  You don't mind getting shaken around because that's what makes this ride so much fun.  It's a throwback to the roller coasters of yesterday, just on a bigger scale.  As you get to the end of the ride and you are riding the wave of humpbacks through the middle of the coaster generating lots of airtime, you can't help but smile and laugh.  It's the most wonderful feeling.

During my many trips to Magic Mountain, Colossus was always the ride that I made sure to go on, no matter how long the wait.  No matter how awesome the new coasters were, Colossus always remained my favorite.  It's nostalgic and historic and it was the staple of the park for the longest time.  When I heard the announcement that it was going to close, I was immediately filled with sadness.  I couldn't believe they would actually close such an historic ride.  I'm even more upset that I wasn't able to get out there and ride it one last time.  But for 36 years it has brought endless joy to countless numbers of riders.  So for that I say thank you, and goodbye, old friend.

The Funny Thing About Cell Phones

When cell phones first came out they were rather large, as you can see in the following picture.

Naturally, the size didn't matter that much with these first phones because it was such a novel concept that just having one was cool.  People didn't worry about carrying them around.  So few people had them anyway that having it with you all the time wasn't that important.  But as the technology improved, and demand rose, they started shrinking.

As you can see in the picture above, the phones gradually got smaller, which made carrying them around in your pocket that much easier.  In fact some flip phones were downright tiny.

The biggest selling point for many phones was how small they were.  The status symbol went from having a phone to having the smallest phone.  And then smart phones started popping up.  With the smart phone craze came touch screens and video capability.  Suddenly, small wasn't good anymore because it's hard to watch a video on a small screen.  So now, the bigger the screen the better, which means phones are getting bigger and bigger.  

I think that picture sums up our attitudes over the years better than anything else.  I find it really funny that people are back to carrying around bigger phones just so they can see pictures and videos on a bigger screen.  Personally, I don't want to carry around anything bigger than an iPhone with me.  Even that seems big at times.  But I'm really curious as to how big we might actually get with these things.  I guess only time will tell.

Similarities between Leverage and The A-Team

 

As many of you know I am a huge fan of The A-Team.  In fact, huge may be an understatement.  It is my all time favorite show.  Another of my favorite shows is Leverage.  And every time I watch Leverage, I can't help but think about how it has borrowed some story lines from The A-Team.

Clearly, the premise of both shows is very similar.  They both involve criminals who operate on both sides of the law while trying to help the little people and take down corruption.  One of the signature lines from The A-Team, "I love it when a plan comes together," is often uttered by characters on Leverage.  And there are some episodes that are very similar in nature.  Here is just a brief overview.

Both shows had episodes involving diamond smuggling.  In The A-Team they actually went to South Africa to get involved.  The Leverage team worked the case from the U.S.

Another similar episode involved boxing.  B.A. had to infiltrate an illegal boxing ring in The A-Team, while Eliot had to get in the ring to stop a corrupt fight promoter on Leverage.

Next up we have a mob wedding.  Both groups had to get involved in a mob wedding.  The A-Team had to try to stop the wedding and rescue the bride, while Leverage was trying to con the bride's mob boss father.

Both shows had an episode where a character had to pose as a homeless man as part of the con.

There was an episode of each show where the crew is stuck on a hijacked plane.

The Leverage crew went after a corrupt incumbent mayor, while The A-Team tried to prevent a corrupt incumbent sheriff from getting re-elected.

Both crews went after a corrupt car dealer.

Both shows had an episode involving the music industry and a character posing as a music producer.  In fact, The A-Team got involved with the music industry in a few episodes.

And, finally, both crews had to deal on multiple occasions with a team of their evil opposites.  The Leverage crew actually had to team up with their opposites for one episode.

I'm sure there are many more similarities, and I could go into excruciating detail comparing the two shows, but I won't.  The bottom line is that it's clear that Leverage was inspired by The A-Team, which is probably why I liked it so much.  So if you haven't seen either or both of these shows, I highly recommend them.

Some thoughts after watching The Internship

I watched The Internship for the first time last night.  I realize I'm about a year late on this, and most people have probably forgotten about this movie, but I have some thoughts.  Aside from the fact that the movie really wasn't that funny, it was filled with horrible people that just frustrated me.  When I say horrible people I mean they were rude, inconsiderate, mean, self-absorbed, and awful.  What really surprised me is that the movie was full of them.  It wasn't just one horrible person.  They kept showing up throughout the movie.  And they didn't enhance the movie.  They didn't make me root for the protagonists more because they protagonists weren't standing up to the jerks.  The message that was sent was that the world is full of horrible people and if you just keep an attitude of hopeful optimism you'll come out on top.  While I appreciate that the horrible people didn't end up winning, I didn't like that the filmmakers felt the need to fill this fictional world with so many of them.  And on top of that, I was just accepted that these people were rude and mean.  No one said anything or called them out on it.  This isn't the only movie or TV show like this either.  I'm tired of seeing the acceptance of horrible people in pop culture.  It makes it acceptable to act like that in real life.  I know there are horrible people in real life, but I want to see movies and TV shows portray a responsible reaction to them.  I feel like we glorify this behavior with the portrayals we see in entertainment.  And The Internship showed that horrible people are everywhere and they are more qualified to do the job.  Maybe I'm overreacting to a forgettable movie, but I really didn't enjoy watching these people on screen.