you know that guy...?
quite possibly the most pleasant surprise (for me) in television this past year was the success of my name is earl.
like earl, i have found that my life is ruled by a list. unlike earl, i am not ruled by a list that makes good on the bad things i have done. rather, i am ruled by a group of "checklists" of the things i want to accomplish in my lifetime. i would love to say that they range from the mundane to the influencial to all of humanity, but truth is, they mostly just hover around the humanity-ignoring line. and almost all of them are travel related and some are documented on this obscure website.
so, here, prompted by a lot of personal introspection as of late, is the list of my lists. my name is cade.
1) see a baseball game at all 30 active major league parks. STATUS: thanks to the building of new stadiums and the demolition of old stadiums, i am currently stuck at 20. a full park back from where i was this time last year. all in all, i'm pretty proud of this progress.
2) see a professional (regional or better) production of all of stephen sondheim's major musicals. (i count 16, though he certainly has written or been involved in many, many more.) i met the man several years ago and he had a profound impact on my outlook of the importance of telling stories whether through theatre or film. one of the best nights of my life. STATUS: 6 down. though i have to say, that (with the help of a certain international financial mega-institution) i have the very real possibility of crossing off one of the harder ones in june.
3) in the spirit of #2, write a feature length script and have it produced and filmed. not so much a "list" but certainly on the "big" list. STATUS: um...not yet.
4) visit each of the places on my "ten things to do before i die" list (view here.) STATUS: 3 of 10. there is some speculation that, upon completion of this list, it may become a rotating one. ie, "i hardly want to die once the 10th one is done, so i may as well add some new things to it."
5) personally attend all four grand slam tennis events (australian open, french open, wimbledon, u.s. open.) STATUS: 2 of 4 (aus. and u.s.) though, much like the sondheim list, this may move to 3 in the next month or so thanks to a certain international financial mega-institution. it's a pretty great part-time job.
6) personally attend all three of the triple crown thoroughbred races. not necessarily in the same year, but that would be cool. STATUS: 0 of 3. though i have come close to being in the right city at the right time twice. i missed both the kentucky derby and the preakness by a day. although, as i recall, missing the derby last year had some welcome and unforseen side effects...
7) see all of the AFI's top 100 movies of the 20th century (as released in 1998). STATUS: like 70? maybe? i've lost track. i have the list somewhere, but i think it's on the "bad" computer. bottom line, though, it is unacceptable that i haven't done this one yet. i mean...netflix! for crying out loud. you know you are lazy when even watching a movie is "too much" effort.
8) learn as many languages as possible. STATUS: abandoned. i have come to the sad realization that i do not possess the cognitive ability to retain a language without being forced to (read: emersed). there is little cooler to me than someone who can passably speak 3, 4, 7 languages. what a gift. alas, i will relish my 1/8th fluency in espanol and call it a day.
9) rock in a band to throngs of adoring fans. STATUS: complete. april 23, 1994. the day music changed forever.
i think that's about it. i probably have more written down on a list somewhere. buried under all the clothes and mail...and magazines...and dishes...
like earl, i have found that my life is ruled by a list. unlike earl, i am not ruled by a list that makes good on the bad things i have done. rather, i am ruled by a group of "checklists" of the things i want to accomplish in my lifetime. i would love to say that they range from the mundane to the influencial to all of humanity, but truth is, they mostly just hover around the humanity-ignoring line. and almost all of them are travel related and some are documented on this obscure website.
so, here, prompted by a lot of personal introspection as of late, is the list of my lists. my name is cade.
1) see a baseball game at all 30 active major league parks. STATUS: thanks to the building of new stadiums and the demolition of old stadiums, i am currently stuck at 20. a full park back from where i was this time last year. all in all, i'm pretty proud of this progress.
2) see a professional (regional or better) production of all of stephen sondheim's major musicals. (i count 16, though he certainly has written or been involved in many, many more.) i met the man several years ago and he had a profound impact on my outlook of the importance of telling stories whether through theatre or film. one of the best nights of my life. STATUS: 6 down. though i have to say, that (with the help of a certain international financial mega-institution) i have the very real possibility of crossing off one of the harder ones in june.
3) in the spirit of #2, write a feature length script and have it produced and filmed. not so much a "list" but certainly on the "big" list. STATUS: um...not yet.
4) visit each of the places on my "ten things to do before i die" list (view here.) STATUS: 3 of 10. there is some speculation that, upon completion of this list, it may become a rotating one. ie, "i hardly want to die once the 10th one is done, so i may as well add some new things to it."
5) personally attend all four grand slam tennis events (australian open, french open, wimbledon, u.s. open.) STATUS: 2 of 4 (aus. and u.s.) though, much like the sondheim list, this may move to 3 in the next month or so thanks to a certain international financial mega-institution. it's a pretty great part-time job.
6) personally attend all three of the triple crown thoroughbred races. not necessarily in the same year, but that would be cool. STATUS: 0 of 3. though i have come close to being in the right city at the right time twice. i missed both the kentucky derby and the preakness by a day. although, as i recall, missing the derby last year had some welcome and unforseen side effects...
7) see all of the AFI's top 100 movies of the 20th century (as released in 1998). STATUS: like 70? maybe? i've lost track. i have the list somewhere, but i think it's on the "bad" computer. bottom line, though, it is unacceptable that i haven't done this one yet. i mean...netflix! for crying out loud. you know you are lazy when even watching a movie is "too much" effort.
8) learn as many languages as possible. STATUS: abandoned. i have come to the sad realization that i do not possess the cognitive ability to retain a language without being forced to (read: emersed). there is little cooler to me than someone who can passably speak 3, 4, 7 languages. what a gift. alas, i will relish my 1/8th fluency in espanol and call it a day.
9) rock in a band to throngs of adoring fans. STATUS: complete. april 23, 1994. the day music changed forever.
i think that's about it. i probably have more written down on a list somewhere. buried under all the clothes and mail...and magazines...and dishes...
posted by cade at 12:25 PM
10 Comments:
dude, at least you have a list, or several lists...
13 f*&^#in games in a row...I'm this close to swearing off my Royal Allegiance
dishes?? Man, what did I do to you...
Netflix doesn't even carry all the Top 100, though if you need to cross off Birth of a Nation, you can come to my place & we'll cross it off together. (I bought it at a Suncoast for $5; I don't regularly purchase 100+ year-old, 3-hour-long, racist films).
By the by, I'm currently holding at around 75/100, but a few of those are iffy. As in, it's been a while, and I couldn't tell you a plot.
As to #3, I think you need to get with Ben Folds about that rock opera idea.
dale, you could sell it on ebay like this guy.
ok, accidentally posted that too early.
innyway, dones, why does that "birth of a nation" proposition sound uber-creepy?
i knew you would comment on this one. remember when were were going to try and see them "by the end of the year?"
easiest one on the list and can't do it. weird.
Your list (ten things) looks pretty good...I'm just going to adopt it and call it my own. Thanks.
Let me know when you're planning # 2, 4, 5, and 9 specifically...I'm in.
Oh, and John...
I'm not going to do anything drastic like give away all my Royals gear, but I've slowly but surely already stopped being a fan. I have not and will not go to a game this year. The turning point was when I went from being disgusted to just not caring anymore. When you don't care anymore, you're not a fan. I can't even, with a clear conscience, "SELL" my Royals allegience on eBay...it's just not worth anything.
thanks dave.
i'll go ahead a place the china one partly in your court. or at least your sister's. she needs to get crackin' and take us over there.
as for st andrews. you better believe you will be involved in that one. just know this. we know people who live there for the next few years. so expect the call "soon."
go mets.
Not to string out the Royals thing too much, but there is one advantage to being a Royals fan...you can easily get a ticket to a game, whether they're at home or on the road, you have a 100% chance of getting in the door...and probably for close to free.
And I'll say that I am glad I helped your number 9, meet its fruition.
inspiring...yep, simply inspirational.
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