Airport: The Musical

Who wouldn't want to be welcomed home this way? This ad titled Welcome Back from T-Mobil is in the style of several other flash-mob type scenarios, but this one in particular really pulls at your heart strings.

It seems fitting to post this on Remembrance Day as I think this would also be a perfect way to welcome soldiers home and let them know how much we appreciate they sacrifice they make. To all those brave souls past and present, wherever you're from and wherever you are, this bit of positivity goes out to you.

Deadwood, South Dakota

Few places I've traveled have been quite like Deadwood. Nestled in the Black Hills of South Dakota, this small town made popular by names like Wild Bill and Calamity Jane, is now a tourist hot spot full of casinos and saloons playing up their wild west history. Between the old facades along main street and one or two saw dust floors, it's easy to buy into the experience.

It was 2007 when my friend Andrea and I explored the town as part of our road trip to Mount Rushmore. I was vaguely aware of the HBO show Deadwood at the time, but it was actually my visit to the location that sparked my interest in the program and not the other way around.

We wandered down main street stopping at Saloon No. 10, the location where Wild Bill was shot and killed while playing a game of poker. Enjoying a few drinks we viewed all the old photos that lined the walls. They made it easy to picture the time period when Deadwood was just a dusty collection of saloons and brothels and South Dakota was simply the Dakota Territory.

A drink in Saloon No. 10 where Wild Bill was shot.

It was then up the hill to the Mt. Moriah Cemetery. There we were able to see to the grave sites of Wild Bill and Calamity Jane, as well as enjoy the panoramic view of Deadwood in the valley below. We toured the cemetery with a newsprint map, taking care not to lose our footing along some of the steeply sloped paths.

Deadwood was a slice of history masked with modern tourist traps and Disney-like branding. Still, it was the type of setting that conjured up images of classic westerns, black and white photographs, and legendary gunslingers. There were no road blocks for kicking back and the casual atmosphere made it a blast to explore.
 

I became hooked on the HBO show once we got back.

O Plastic Tree

It's been the same story for over 6 years now. The first weekend of November my Christmas tree goes up, the decorations come out, and the holiday flicks get some air time. It goes back to my second year in film school when I put up a mini-tree in my dorm room.

I've always been a sucker for Christmas and the idea of having a tree in my dorm seemed like a cool piece of kitsch and novelty. My roommates were quick to show interest, and friends soon started to realize after the second year in a row that it was kind of becoming my thing. It made sense to put the tree up early back then because the semester would end at the start of December and I'd be on my way back home. If you wanted to make it worth it, it had to go up in November. 

Now out of film school, the tradition continues. My collection of film and television themed ornaments along with personal mementos from trips and friends now make my tree even more of a spectacle. The plastic limbs are filled to the brim, so much so that last year the base of my tree broke from the weight of the ornaments - this years replacement is much sturdier.

What can I say? I have Kevin McAllister syndrome when it comes to Christmas trees. You can see a picture of this years tree above and the time lapse video I made in 2006 of one of my dorm Xmas trees below.