Docs about People who are Awesome

Searching for Sugarman

Okay, this Doc is not on Netflix or Hulu yet.. well, I actually have no idea, but it wasn't 1 month ago when we watched it. We rented it on Amazon for $3.99 and I have to say it was well worth it.

So since it is FRIDAY and in order to be RELEVANT I will promote this doc. 

It is awesome- and I know I say that about every doc I watch (because they are all awesome) but this one really IS awesome because it won an OSCAR.... so that means that America also agrees with the level of awesomeness. 

One day, I was sitting around with some friends, you know, talking about things that matter like Blogs and Documentaries.. and this doc was first recommended to me by my friend Allison and I was like mayyyyybe I'll watch it. And then it was recommended to me by my BESTEST friend KIMI (thats right people, 3 different blogs links there)! so I was like okay, I will add this to my "List of Docs I Want to Watch" that I keep on my iphone notepad. Then when I found out it was nominated and then won the Oscar, I was like, alright, this is serious.. I have to watch this now... 

So we did.. and I lured my Meeker into watching it with me by making him dinner and a Jack-n-Diet-Coke and some kale chips (which I actually burned really badly and ruined a baking sheet, but that is besides the point)

We both loved it and you will too. The main premise is about an American Singer Song writer in the 70s who was basically unknown in the US but a huge superstar in South Africa but had no idea.. "Two South Africans set out to discover what happened to their unlikely musical hero, the mysterious 1970s rock 'n' roller, Rodriguez." is how IMBD describes it. 

Def a must see- and hopefully you will cry and get goosebumps just like I did. 

Docs about People who are Awesome

This documentary gets its own post. If someone could only watch 1 documentary for the rest of their life, I would probably recommend this one (side note: please don't ever ask me to make that decision for someone because it will probably lead to my death after I agonize over the decision for 3 months - I blame ENFJ-ness and being a Libra). 

I loved watching this doc. Its about a guy who decides to go a whole month living entirely off Craigslist with these guidelines: 

1. He cannot have contact with anyone he knows (so he gets a new phone # and email that none of his current people know )
2. All he can carry is 1 backpack, laptop, phone and I think that's it. and I think he can only wear the clothes off his back. 

(I think those are the guidelines, I watched it like 2 months ago.)

Anyway. So he has to depend on craigslist for food, shelter, transportation... 

This documentary will restore your faith in humanity and the kindness of strangers. 

It reminds you that a majority of people are caring and kind. 

This documentary made me cry as well, but a nice happy cry. A definite must see if you are feeling down or think that America as a country is going down the crapper. 

Sometimes it is important to be reminded of that (especially if you are are social worker..) Almost like a Care Bear stare moment if you will.

Also, while doing extensive research for this blog (google searching and then clicking on the website) I found a Craigslist Joe blog. which I am now following on google reader. Score. 

ESPN Docs!

Where are the documentary posts you may ask?! Well they are right here!

I love sports and all things sports related and I love to throw myself into a good championship/tournament challenge. I like to cry and get goosebumps and feel depressed all because of the outcome of a game. It's my soap opera.

I was naturally drawn to the ESPN docs. I feel like I have to pace myself with them though so I don't over do it. I know I am going to like all of them. I am listing these in the order of my favorite so far.

1. The Marinovich Project- ESPN Film

 I had never heard of Todd Marinovich before, but apparently every guy knows who he is.. I think it was before my time and I lived in Brazil during his hay-day, but whateves. Todd has the childhood training that every athlete dreams of having, but it actually ended up ruining his life.... ENJOY! 

3. The 2 Escobars- 30 for 30 

I watched this during the last World Cup (2010!) and it was Awesome! It is about how the drug lords funded the National Soccer team during the World Cup 1994 (which was my very first world cup- Go BRAZIL!). Lets just say.. it didn't end well. Warning, a majority of this movie is in Spanish and you will have to read subtitles. 

2. The Band that Wouldn't Die- 30 for 30

This is a must watch for any Marylander- It tells the tragic tale of the Baltimore Colts through the perspective of their Marching Band. Any good Marylander knows the story of the Colts leaving in the middle of the night to move to Indianapolis in 1984. And if you are a really good Marylander you boycott Mayflower moving company, because all that was shown on the news were these big Mayflower moving trucks, taking our beloved team away (okay, I was 3 years old at the time and had no idea what was going on, but that's what my family said happened). This film is the sweet story of how the band was instrumental (see what i did there?) in helping to fight to bring a football team back to Maryland. And thank God they did GO RAVENS!!!!!!! Also if you are homesick for Maryland and need a good "Hey Hon" to warm your heart, this is the movie for you. 

4. Catching Hell- ESPN Films

Okay, I will be honest, I fell asleep during the middle of this film, but it was still AWESOME! It was about a guy who "interfered" with a play in the 2003 World Series and how it ruined his life. He is currently in the witness protection program because people tried to kill him. It is actually really sad. But interesting. 

Food Truck Rodeos....

....are dumb.

Americans, you have been fooled. Food Truck Rodeos/Round ups are not as fun as you think they are. 

Yes they are super "IN" right now, just like themed 5ks*. But they are not fun. 

They are awful. 

Now, I have nothing against food trucks. It's the Food Truck Rodeo event that I don't like. And, lesbi-honest.. you don't like them either. But they are cool right now, so you go anyway.  I'm here to tell you the TRUTH!

Here's why they are No Bueno. 

1. Long waits

The last food truck rodeo I went to, I found the shortest line I could and waited 30 minutes to ORDER. Then I waited another 20 minutes for them to make my food. 

I  basically hung out for an hour with strangers, huddled next to the truck's roaring engine desperately waiting to hear my name called. I cannot imagine going to a popular truck with a long line! It then takes you like 5 minutes to eat what you waited for. 

2. Expensive.

This might just be me, but when I hear "food truck" my mind thinks Cheap! This is false. The last time I went to a rodeo I spent $15 for 2 Korean dumplings, a side of sweet potato fries and a soda. What!? 

3. Not comfortable. 

After waiting for 1 hour to get your expensive food, you try and balance your multiple paper food plates/mini-trays and drink as you sift your way thru hundreds of other people and try to find your group of friends. Once you find them, you sit on DIRT because it is so crowded that is the only place to go. Sure bring your blanket, bring your lawn chair. What are you going to do with them while you are in line? You can have you friends sit in them while you wait in line... then you eat alone because once you get back your friend has to go through what you just did. 

Now throw extreme heat, rain, coldness, snow into the mix, and you might as well be in the hunger games arena

Why is this fun?

Why do people keep going to things. 

Anyway, food trucks are nice if there is just one. and there is no line and a nice picnic table next to it where you can sit.. wait they should make places where you can order food and sit down and eat... we'll call it food houses. It will be a big house with a big kitchen and a ton of tables w chairs. people can hang out with their friends at a nice table and enjoy good convo while they wait for their food. Genius. 

*side note: this themed 5k run actually sounds awesome Glow Run 
(running thru an old psych hospital campus at night wearing glow sticks. holla)

Meal Planning Savior?

So, I signed up for EMEALS. You have to pay for it, but I think it's worth it. And Dave Ramsey made a youtube video about it. I think this solved all of my problems. 

It seems cool, so I thought I would promote it here (if you click on the banner and sign up i get a discount..cough cough). 

You tell them how many ppl you have in your fam, you get to pick what kinda menu you are looking for an BAM- a meal and grocery list. And they can even tailor it to your grocery store and look for sales/deals for you. You have to pay for it, but like I said, Dave Ramsey said it was okay. OKAY?!

I'm going to try the Paleo diet and the Clean Diet. (the have a million options). Enjoy!

Docs about People who make Extreme Life Changes

1. Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead.

I heard about this doc through another blog, so I decided to check it out. I tricked Meeker into watching it with me (I just turned it on) and we were hooked. After watching it, Meeker and I decided to buy a juicer and do our own juice fast (and according to twitter, everyone else who watches this movie gets the same inspiration FF: @joethejuicer ).

Meeker and I did not have the same results as this Aussie.

We made a few obvious mistakes which led to our demise, so maybe you can learn from us.

Mistake 1: We planned our juice fast to start on Dec 22.. 3 days before Christmas. We were staying in Raleigh by ourselves for Christmas because I had to work and had no vacation time left after our wedding. We thought it would be the perfect time to juice because no one was around and we could focus.Turns out, we wanted to be around people during Christmas even though we were away from family which means Christmas food temptation to the max .

Mistake 2: We did not detox leading up to our fast. Before you start a juice fast you are supposed to eat raw  so the withdrawal symptoms are less severe. Instead we went to 3 Christmas parties that week including the night before our fast. No Bueno. The preliminary fast is important, not just a "meh" as we once thought.

Mistake 3: We did not experiment with recipes or our juicer before our fast. We blindly followed all the recipes on the reboot website associated with the doc. Mean Green, you are trash, Gazpacho juice- I hate you. :-) We naively thought we would like all the juices and we just didn't. And we bought a really expensive juicer (thanks wedding registry credit!), so our juicer was yielding 2x the amount that the recipe said it would make (go Omega!) so we were probably over-doing it.. We were so disgusted... we made 40 oz of that Gazpacho juice and poured it directly down the drain because it smelled like onion (onions should not be juiced) and looked like vomit.

So, as I mentioned in a previous blog, our juice fast lasted 3 days and ended at  Cheesecake factory.

But, we have learned from our mistakes and found some juices we like so it wasn't a huge waste.

2. No Impact Man
I heard about this movie from my friend Abbi, who had rented it from the Library for free. (Abbi is one of my most frugal friends and she and her husband Joel are pretty cool. They saved up money for a whole year to drive across the country (Ohio to CA) and now live in this community in Baltimore, Reservoir Hill). Anyway, I found it on Netflix and added it to the queue. I watched it while Meeker was on a business trip. It was really interesting. Its about a guy and his family who decide to go a whole year making "no impact" . So they try to create as little waste as possible- no trash, eating local, only using bikes or walking (he lives n NYC). It was actually really interesting and inspiring, and I now cringe every time I use a zip-lock bag or paper towel. Check it out yo!

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!