The Original Upright Position

When you fly on an airplane, you never know who you will sit next to. Usually it is someone about whom you feel ambivalence or revulsion, but sometimes you luck out. One time I flew from Rhode Island to Chicago on my way to Portland. Nearly the entire plane was full of podiatrists on their way to a medical convention. The two young podiatrists I sat with were very fun, they wanted to buy me a beer. I was 17 and asked one of them, "So, who makes more money, you or him?"

The reality is that I don't fly that often. The last time I was on a plane I was going to Germany and the time before that was my trip to Minneapolis two years ago. So I forget how truly hellacious flying can be. My flight to Denver was hot, crowded and exceedingly cramped. On my flight to Denver I was sitting next to a young guy but I was too busy sleeping (ie. drooling with my eyes closed) and trying to manoeuver my elbows enough to complete the New York Magazine crossword puzzle to notice him. Then, he offered me his airline snack. Normally offering me food is the quickest way to my heart, but these tiny little foil packages were pretty gross. I told him that it was all the goddamn people with peanut allergies who ruined it for the rest of us.

The inflight movie was over and the television monitors were showing Deal or No Deal, which you may recall, I have strong feelings about. The guy asked me to explain the show to him which is nearly impossible. "You see, she's trying to fingure out how much she has in her case and then the banker, the shadow in the booth, makes an offer every couple of guesses and then they bring her family down and the goddamn family always tell them 'No deal, no deal!'. Everyone in America is a moron." But, it turns out that this is not a bad show to watch minus the sound- you avoid the assanine prattle between Howie and the contestants.

The guy sitting next to me had made a short film and was on his way to a film festival. When I heard that the film is avaliable online, I told him that if he gave me the link, I would watch it. The guy asked me to watch the film and email him my feedback. Earlier we had a discussion about humor that involved the film UHF and a red snapper, so perhaps he thought I knew something about the funny. "What if I watch your film and I think it sucks. Should I not bother writing to you, or should I email you and tell you it's crap?" He said that I should email anyway, but that most people like the film. Since I found this answer respectable, I told him that I have a blog and that I would post a link and tell my Cupcake Mafia to watch his film.

"How often do you update your blog?" he asked.

"Usually a couple of times a day."

"Wow. A couple of times a day? That's great."

"Yeah, you don't know who you're sitting next to. I am Somebody."

"Really?"

"No, just kidding. I'm Nobody."

So then we had a conversation about putting your creativity out there quick and dirty for the masses. Obviously there are many similarities between writing a blog and publishing a short film online. This guy is really eager for people to see his film and give him feedback. Later he asked me, "Is there a computer where you're going in Denver?"

"Yes. Wait, I have to watch this thing right now? It's that important?" It's amazing how you can go from being complete strangers with someone to having them make demands on your time within ten minutes. (Also, he asked me to dig my pack of gum out of my purse to see if it marketed itself as blowing better bubbles or if that was an unfounded claim that I was making. I told him to go fuck himself.)

So watch this film and email the dude. Even if you think the movie is lame, I can assure you that the guy is cool. The film actually dovetails quite nicely with some of the issues that have been mentioned on this blog OR everyone in their twenties is obsessed with their own cretivity vs. sloth and depression. Your call. If you have Quicktime, you can view the film here, choose "Episode 4.5" although they are all worth watching. Or, you can watch the film on YouTube.