TOP GUN Day!......TODAY!

I'm not gonna be happy unless I'm going mach 2 with my hair on fire, and I know it.

TOP GUN Day!

I feel almost ashamed for not posting this until now, but truth be told, it slipped my mind....almost. Tomorrow, May 13th is TOP GUN DAY! Don't believe me? Go here for all the details. There's even a call sign generator. Participation is simple. On whatever social networking page you have for yourself, change your picture to someone from the movie. You can go here for a photo gallery of pictures to choose from.

In addition to changing your picture, you need to use as many lines from the film as you can throughout the day. The website gives a prime example of this. "For example, say your friend Jim asks you what you’re doing on Friday night, you should respond: “Hey Jim, you stink”.

I hope everyone will be prepared for tomorrow. I know I will be. In fact I am so prepared, that on my recent trip to San Diego I made it out to the most famous bbq restaurant in the whole entire world.......so did my sister.

Should read 'Best Bar Scene Ever.'

My Sister Erika.
And 'Eat Lotsa Ribs' we did.

Kansas City Barbeque

Otherwise known as the Top Gun Bar just so happens to be located in sunny San Diego....where I'm headed in just over a week. As if I needed any more things to get me excited about this trip, I think I'll do a blog post a day about what my plans are while I'm out there, and then I can report back once I'm back in town about how much of it actually got accomplished. Today's post is obviously about the 'Top Gun Bar'. Delicious food aside, I can't wait to take pictures at this place and revel in all it's awesomeness. In case you didn't know [in which case you should be ashamed of yourself] this bar was where they filmed some of the movie 'Top Gun' [greatest movie of all time by the way] so it's no wonder that this is on my list of to-do's. Here's a snipit of the bar in action. SAN DIEGOOOOOOOO!!!

Flight Line Dancing

So here's some fun videos of flight line workers sending off some jets in....interesting ways. Some of these guys can move! Don't know why I thought to compile these, but they gave me a good laugh, and tomorrow's Friday, so why not? Enjoy.

Those Brits across the pond know how to get down too!

Speed & Angels

Yesterday evening I watched a film/documentary entitled 'Speed & Angels'. It was filmed a few years ago, and actually came out last fall. Let me first say how blown away I was by this film. It basically follows the story of two Naval fighter pilots through their journey of learning to fly the F-14 Tomcat. But it's so much more than that. It's a visually stunning film....I still need to figure out how it was shot. I know it's available in HD, but a lot of the footage looks like it was shot on 16mm film. That could very well be the product of post production editing, nevertheless it's amazing to simply watch.

I found the film very inspiring. Granted I loved the film because of its subject matter (becoming a fighter pilot), but I believe the same philosophies talked about in it, can be easily applied to every walk of life and/or profession. I grew up in a military family, the son of an Air Force fighter pilot. My mom calls me a 'wild man', I love thrills and adrenaline, this sorta thing is just in my blood.

Similar to the pilots in the film, I first watched 'Top Gun' at a very young age and remember being immediately captivated. I remember for years having to go down into the basement and pull out my dad's flight gear to put on, for at the time, that was the only acceptable way to watch the movie. All I wanted to do when I grew up was to strap myself into a jet, let the afterburners roar, go flying down the runway, pull up, and head for the sky going "mach 2 with my hair on fire". Oh, and I'd have a really sweet callsign too.

Here's a trailer of the film. It's pretty intense, and it's quite clear from just this sample the amount of time that went into making it.



Life goes on, the years pass, hobbies come and go, sports take over your life, the excitement you had as a little kid even starts to fade. The dream never really dies though. Sure it may dwindle over time, but it never leaves you for good. This film brought upon me a rush of feelings I haven't had in a long time.

I highly recommend to anyone to take the time to sit and watch it. You can watch it online here, or I know it's available on DVD too for those that prefer the couch over a computer chair. The films website can be seen at: www.speedandangels.com. As always, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.