The Title of This Blog is Brought to You By...

So you're perusing blogspot, curious about the random information I've chosen as my 'online persona' and wonder where it all came from. Sure, the title Musings isn't at all original, and I'm sure a quick search of this website would find around a thousand different blogs titled "Musings" but the rest of my choices say a lot about me as a person.

First off, my chosen front, my display name, Sir Guy Grand. Know it? Probably not. He's a character from a book turned to film called The Magic Christian, the story of Sir Guy Grand (played by Peter Sellers, a hero of mine even if he is a bit before my time), a filthy rich millionaire who realizes that he's not getting any younger, and with nobody to leave his wealth decides to adopt. But this man does nothing by the book, and ends up adopting a thirty-something homeless man, played by Ringo Starr (a character that they added for the film but was non-existant in the novel.)

His new son, Youngman Grand, Esq. decides that with all of their money, they should have some fun with it, and so they go on a quest to see exactly what they can convince people to do by throwing more and more money at them until they agree. This includes smaller events such as getting a cop to eat the parking ticket he just gave them to convincing a famous actor to strip during his "To be or not to be" soliloquy on stage in a performance of Hamlet.

This film and the novel speak to me, mostly because I have found in life that people take money way too seriously. A close friend of mine constantly says "Money comes frequently and easily" and I have found that can be quite right so long as you have the right attitude. But more importantly, I think life is about experiencing as much as you possibly can, along with enjoying the companionship of those you have surrounded yourself with, as often as possible. And I don't think you need money to do so. This can be as simple as yard saling some random board games and inviting them to come play. Or just sitting around and listening to CDs (or, in my case, records. I am, after all, a lover of the vinyl. Although that has not stopped me from amassing a 500+cd collection in the process.)

This film does what is, in my mind, the most simple thing in the world that can win over my adoration and respect. It makes me think while also tickling my funny bone.

As for the web address of this blog, I chose the lyrics to the song Sing Out by Cat Stevens, one of my favorite musicians, also the main song from my favorite film of all time, Harold and Maude. Now THERE is a movie everyone in the world should see. The story of Harold, a twenty-something suffering from the expectations of a wealthy socialite mother who pays him little attention, obsessed with faking his own death, who meets Maude, a soon-to-be eighty-year-old who knows more about living life and experiencing as much as possible as any character I have ever witnessed. They fall in love, and yes, there is a post-sexual cigarette shared at one point in the film.

What's more important is the lessons Maude teaches Harold, about the important of being yourself, living life, all of those things people generically state in words you've heard a million times, but she does this with the gusto and passion that you wouldn't expect from someone of her age. This, accompanied by the amazing soundtrack, all by Cat Stevens, reminds me not to take life too seriously, to live as much as possible, and not to be afraid to make an ass of myself once in a while. Overall, it taught me that, if I wanna sing out, sing out.

So, dear reader who has fallen across my blog and gone this far, I welcome you. Thanks for reading.

A scene from The Magic Christian:

Youngman Grand, Esq.: Dad, do you think words corrupt?
Sir Guy Grand KG, KC, CBE: I don't know, let's try. Agnes?
Dame Agnes Grand: [looks up from the television] Yes?
Sir Guy Grand KG, KC, CBE: Nipple.
Dame Agnes Grand: Shh!
[turns back to the television]
Sir Guy Grand KG, KC, CBE: [watches her a moment] Well, there's no immediate physical change.

"A lot of people enjoy being dead. But they are not dead, really. They're just backing away from life. *Reach* out. Take a *chance*. Get *hurt* even. But play as well as you can. Go team, go! Give me an L. Give me an I. Give me a V. Give me an E. L-I-V-E. LIVE! Otherwise, you got nothing to talk about in the locker room. "

-Maude, Harold and Maude