A sort of update

Today is one of those days where the weather can’t seem to make up its mind. The sun is shining but it’s also deceptively nippy and there’s the occasional black clouds looming in the sky. Not exactly ideal cycling weather, but I managed to rack up some good mileage so either way, I’m happy.

Plus, I had a surprisingly stunning view from my bedroom window this evening, which I wasn’t expecting in the slightest.

But aside from that, there’s not much to report. I haven’t been doing anything particularly exciting, although I did finally get around to seeing Top Secret for the first time yesterday. It’s really funny, as can be expected from old-school ZAZ, but what really blew me away was Val Kilmer’s performance. This was his feature-film debut, but he manages to carries himself with such confidence and charisma. Oh, and the soundtrack fucking slaps.

I also watched Penelope Spheeris’ documentary, The Decline of Western Civilization, which I also enjoyed. Admittedly, my knowledge of the LA punk scene is largely limited to the Channel X radio station in GTA V and a couple of songs from Bad Religion and the Dead Kennedys, but this documentary is a pretty insightful look at the scene in all its chaotic and anarchic glory. Loved the live performances as well. I definitely want to delve more into some of these bands’ back catalogues at some point. A review on IMDB suggests We Got the Neutron Bomb as it’s a more comprehensive look at the LA punk movement as opposed to just capturing a brief snapshot of the scene as this movie does. Perhaps if I can get back into reading again, I’ll add it to my backlog.

Also, another thing to the backlog of films that I will probably never get around to seeing is a similar documentary on the San Francisco punk scene, Louder Faster Shorter.

My mind rambles sometimes.