Docs About People with Weird Hobbies (and The Walking Dead)

Before I begin, I just want to take the time to give a brief apology to The Walking Dead. Meeker asked me to watch you and I said no for 2 months. I talked bad about you. I refused you. I said you would be too gory. I said that zombies were dumb. I was wrong on all accounts and for that I am truly sorry.  (The only way Meeker got me to watch this was by telling me that the main character was one of the characters in Love Actually SWOON! It's so good, and reminds me of LOST)

Anyways... 

If you want to get pumped up for March Madness, these docs are probably not for you. But, if you want to find out what the non-athletes were doing with their time during high school, these docs will not disappoint.

1. Word Play
This was the documentary that started my love for documentaries. I watched this at a theater in downtown Asheville in 2006 and loved it. I own it on DVD if you need to borrow it. This is about the NY Times crossword puzzle and it is fascinating! And, yes, like all weird hobbies, there is an annual competition involved hosted by Will Shortz! It is great and makes you feel smart because you are watching a documentary about crosswords and then dumb because you could never do a crossword puzzle in 2 minutes.. You will also find yourself cheering for people in the finals as they compete head to head on blown up crossword puzzles displayed on dry-erase boards.  I have watched this doc several times and it has yet to disappoint. Note, this is not on Netflix, but you can watch it for free on Hulu.







2. The King of Kong: A Fist Full of Quarters.

During January 2011 we had a snowstorm in Raleigh, and since I was "working from home" , I took the afternoon to work on a puzzle and watch TV (I also think I only had 2 clients at the time, so stop judging me). I had heard about this doc from a guy I had a crush on so I watched it and it was awesome. I kind of can't remember all of it, but it's basically about a guy who had all these things go wrong at once, and in turn, dedicated his life to beating Donkey Kong. The story goes on to a major Kong Competition- riveting.



3.American Harmony 
If you like Glee- you might like this. This doc is about an international barbershop quartet contest. I think my favorite part of this documentary was me watching it. It was entertaining in the sense that you can't believe that it's happening. Its just mind boggling that there is an international competition that is SOLD OUT every year.. like they are selling out stadiums and going on tour.. wow. so there's that. I liked it. Go OC TIMES!