The Weekender | April 18th-20th

The Weekender

The Weekender is your guide and open thread for the weekend, presented by the fine folks at Viva The Matadors. Things to quote, read, look, watch, and listen to for the weekend. Let's do this.

It's the wonderful world of Michael Keaton. Bird hunting trucks in all of their splendor. Slow motion marine life and Jared & The Mill.

Quote

Michael Keaton as Jack Butler in Mr. Mom (via IMDB).

I understand that you little guys start out with your woobies and you think they're great... and they are, they are terrific. But pretty soon, a woobie isn't enough. You're out on the street trying to score an electric blanket, or maybe a quilt. And the next thing you know, you're strung out on bedspreads Ken. That's serious.

And:

Jack Butler: My wife and I went to the movies the other day, we saw Rocky. While I'm watching it, I'm thinking 'This guy has taken some falls' you know.
Auto Worker 1: Which Rocky was it? 1 or 2, or 3?
Jack Butler: I don't know. Three I guess. But...
Auto Worker 2: Hey, did the guy have a mo-hawk like Mr. T?
Jack Butler: OK forget Rocky. The point is... when you're down, not not exactly out... I mean, I mean you gotta hang tough... I don't know.
Auto Worker 1: Well Hang tough baby! Do what Rocky would do!
[walks out]
Auto Worker 1: He didn't see Rocky

Read

This was one of the most interesting things I’ve read this year, it’s an interview of Michael Keaton. I don’t think I ever understood how interesting he is, but he’s got some stuff going. In a good way. He’s apparently a hell of a shot in addition to being one of those guys that can’t sit still.

A Normal Day in the Unusual Life of Michael Keaton (via Vanity Fair).

"Now. Wait. Okay. It has to be true. Really true. Real. I had a nose for it as a kid. I still try to. Over the years, I think, people—actors, writers, whatever—lose their frame of reference. Their frame of reference is based on somebody else who did this or did that. Performances. So it just becomes a reflection of what already works. Like a warm-up. And that's an invitation to be inauthentic. Everything becomes, you know, the work of somebody who did that before. Then somebody becomes a version of a version of a version. My frame of reference—and maybe I'm just lucky I grew up the way I did, when I did—it's taken from some guy on the street, or some guy I grew up with. I always wanted to be the version. You know, the thing."

16. Sunlight angles off truck windows. The shop door opens, two women and a man enter, order. They stare at the back of Keaton's neck but say nothing. A surprising number of famous people live in Montana, so it's not odd to see a movie star in a coffee shop. Keaton turns, does a vintage double take, and stands to greet them—he knows everyone in the shop. Then he sits to continue.

"When I was a kid, I used to have this book of famous escape stories. You know, like POWs and that stuff. And I remember I would close the book and set it just so on my chest, close my eyes, and think. What was that really like? How did that really feel? Not just the version I'd read, not just what would be exciting about it. I was picturing what was real. I don't know—freezing, broken fingers, lying on your … I don't know. This is how I thought when I was a kid. And I used that. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania, in a really rundown old house. I'd stay out till 8:30, 9:00 at night. Just blow in. My mom and dad never really cared much. It was okay. We were pretty free to roam. I mean, I had no concept of stopping play. It just didn't occur to anyone.

"And there weren't that many kids around. We'd play war, soldiers, fight in the woods, cowboys and Indians. So when we did these fights, they had to be true for me. I'd say, 'We have to have a little contact. We have to hit each other—I won't hurt you, you won't hurt me, but we gotta make contact, you know?' So I'd hit him. In the face. Bam. I swear.

"But anyway, when he wanted to go, I'd say, 'No, no, no'—and here's how weird I was—I'd say, 'We have to do the previews of what we're doing tomorrow.' The trailer. My hand to God."

Hell yeah man. 220 221 Whatever It Takes.

Look

Bird hunting trucks. Big bird hunting trucks (via Houston Chronicle).

Some look like a military vehicle ready for war. Others appear to be a slew of different vehicles welded together to create a sort of four-wheeled Frankenstein. But all of them are tricked out rides that Texas hunters use to hunt down quail, in style.

Watch

This is sorta freaky, but in a good way. This is video of marine animals in really slow motion. You should show your kids. (via Slow Life on Vimeo).

Some look like a military vehicle ready for war. Others appear to be a slew of different vehicles welded together to create a sort of four-wheeled Frankenstein. But all of them are tricked out rides that Texas hunters use to hunt down quail, in style.

Listen

This is Jared & The Mill and they were in Austin playing SXSW when that awful accident happened and people were killed and they took the time to go to the hospital to one of the injured victims and played some music for them. I mean, the have guitars, a stand-up base, a banjo and an accordion. An accordion.