Giving Up Gracefully.

Hey, man. How are you doing? You've come a long way. Way further than most people thought you would. Well, who gives four flying fucks about what people think? Anyway, you've got much further to go. You will get there. But let's talk about all the places you aren't going to get to. No, I am not talking about you working as a double agent or a spy. Or your dreams of being a professional gamer. It's about those other things. It's about the things you wanted to do with your life. The other side dreams. These beautiful sub-projects you had but...

But, you know these will be just mere thoughts. Or afterthoughts. Or daydreams inspired those who will be living your dreams. These are just fireflies in a jar. They will burn bright but they will die out. And, die, they must.

What will you do then? Grieve? Of course, why wouldn't you? But, don't grieve too much. It's not worth your time. You don't feel bad for not being the next Kimi Raikkonen. Or the next Misty Copeland. Cause you just weren't meant to do those things. Or be great in those ways. And, that is okay.

You are meant to be great in different ways. Your story will have a happy ending. But not every chapter of it will end happily. So, suck it up. It's okay, really. Besides, you will get where you have to far more quickly without carrying the baggage of broken dreams. Physics, right? Not your strong suit. I know that. But, its laws apply. To everything.

Dear Writer of this Blog, You've Changed.

Dear Writer of this Blog,

Been some time. New job's been keeping you busy but that tends to happen. I'm not going to chastise you for shaving your beard on the 29th of November. Most guys don't even know what Movember is about and since you have a beard through the year, you can't technically participate.

I'm writing to discuss something important. These days you tend to watch shorter movies. Anything around the 90-minute mark is your sweet spot. Anything over 2 and a half hours is something you skip for the day you are 'in the right mood'. And as intimately as I know you, anything you postpone is something you never end up doing.

All you need to do is stretch yourself. For your sake and for the sake of cinema. A good film needn't be long or short but a lot of good films tend to be longer. Carlos works cause it's technically a 4.5-hour movie. It drains you. Just as the lead character loses his youthfulness, his energy and his charm, the length of the movie only punctuates this point. That's not to say it was a pleasant experience - you were hungry through the movie, you caught a cold somewhere around the 3-hour mark and then, had a headache by the time the film finished.

 It was also one of the best cinematic experiences of your life. That Scorsese movie you keep postponing cause it's 3 hours long could also be the best cinematic experience of your life. And you will never know it, unless you watch it. Actually, that's pretty much true for everything in life, right?

Today, everyone is hooked on miniseries. And television today is more cinematic than ever but cinema is cinema and it needs all the love it can get. Chances are you watching a depressing 5-hour-long black and white, Bella Tarr movie won't make a difference. Actually, I'm positive it won't. But like everything else, we would never know till you watch it.

PS: Not too sure about the Bella Tarr flick.

Love,
The Writer of this Blog.