61. MILE...MILE & A HALF

"wander a whole summer if you can....time will not be taken from the sum of life.  instead of shortening, it will definitely lengthen it and make you truly immortal."  john muir   in mid july of '11, a group of artists set out to hike the 219 mile john muir trail in 25 days, and record their experiences.  the group started at yosemite and ended at mt. whitney, the highest peak in the contiguous US, at 14,505 ft.  it was an epic snow year--a 200% snow year, making the challenging task even greater.  they were not only carrying standard hiking gear, but heavy cameras and sound equipment.  at one point, they weigh their packs, which average about 60 pounds.  one of the initial 5 has to back out on day 3, as he couldn't keep up and was slowing down the others.  i can relate!  one of the stops was devil's postpile.  i thought i was going to die just walking from the parking lot.  these people covered 3-4000 feet elevation in a few hours!  throughout, they seemed to enjoy each other; had fun, ate well enough thanks to the only woman in the original group who prepared a lot of food ahead of time.  there's a fun scroll at the end......how many miles, how many water crossing, days of snow, food consumed, solar battery usage, minutes of film documented, number of photographs taken, etc.  they finished in good shape.  they gathered others to the group toward the end.  they saw and documented stunning vistas; amazing sights one can only experience in such a unique experience.  i especially liked that they voiced over john muir quotes throughout the film.  john muir, a naturalist and founder of the sierra club, he was the original advocate for saving the wilderness.  i find his work and his quotes so inspiring.  i found this group and their project equally inspiring.  i can't imagine that i will ever be able to accomplish such a hiking feat, but i'm happy the area is there for those who can, and i feel lucky to have experienced many of these locations which can be accessed by a car.  there are so many who haven't even had that much time in the majesty of the sierras.

wa“Wander a whole summer if you can… time will not be taken from the sum of life. Instead of shortening, it will definitely lengthen it and make you truly immortal.” John Muir - See more at: http://themuirproject.com/mmah/film/#sthash.4nd9hgmY.dpuf

“Wander a whole summer if you can… time will not be taken from the sum of life. Instead of shortening, it will definitely lengthen it and make you truly immortal.” John Muir - See more at: http://themuirproject.com/mmah/film/#sthash.4nd9hgmY.dpufSS

60. UNHUNG HERO

patrick proposes to his girlfriend on the jumbo-tron at a ucla basketball game.  she runs away from him.  as if not devastated enough by this event, she ultimately tells him that one of the reasons is that his penis is to small.  patrick embarks on a journey to correct matters.  he tries pharmaceuticals, devices, explores surgeries, dresses as a hot dog with a "wiener talk?" sign, talks with women, talks with men, talks with professionals; he travels to the far east to learn of home remedies, including holding a weight just with the penis; surgical enhancement; injections.  he comes to terms with the fact that his penis is, indeed, smaller than normal.  the process of the film finds him experiencing many lows in his journey to make his penis more "normal".  in the end, he learns he has to come to terms with himself.  does size matter?  a lot of women in the film opined that it does.  however, the more insightful of the respondees pointed out that it's more what you do with it, how many ways the man learns to pleasure the woman, and how comfortable the man comes to be with himself that really matters.  patrick seems so likeable.  we want him to get past his penis obsession and move on with living, learning and loving.  i found this to be a fascinating film.

59. HOLES IN MY SHOES

this guy did everything; a jack of all trades.  born poor on the lower east side of nyc, he became NYC's strongest boy; a self taught engineer and ironworker; a dog trainer; an actor.  he lived to nearly 100 and this film was made when he was 94.  in it, he's thrilled to tears of his many life experiences.  he worked on the empire state building, radio city music hall. rockefeller center, lincoln center and dozens more.   he accomplished an engineering feat in the secret city of oak ridge tennessee, where he was responsible to construct a cyclotron in support of the manhattan project. by decreasing the time to finish construction by 80% due to his innovation, he is credited with bringing the war to a quicker conclusion; he showed boxer dogs at the westminster dog show;  he acted in more than 200 films.  he married a woman who didn't tell him she couldn't have children until 2 years later, which caused his love for her to die. although he committed to stay with her,   he eventually met another woman who he took as his mistress, marrying her upon the death of his wife.  he stayed physically fit through his entire life and demonstrates his ability to tear a phone book during the opening scenes of the film.  it was fun learning about him; fun seeing the rise of this guy who just did as his dad instructed him..........."no matter what you do in life, be da best!   from holes in his shoes to shoes too big to fill, jack beers made the most of his nearly 99 years on this earth!

58. PAGEANT

i used to watch the miss america pageant every year.  i never knew about THIS pageant--the miss gay america pageant.  held, in memphis tn for the 34th year, the film follows several hopefuls in their journey to win the ultimate title for female impersonators.  there are no hormones or surgical interventions allowed.  the competitors have won the state level.  they compete in interview, evening gown, solo talent, performance and final question.  our hopefuls all believe they have what it takes to win.  some are professional female impersonators, but others work normal jobs.  just as in any pageant, they spend a lot of time and money in preparations.  unlike others, significant effort is put into changing the male form into female.  these are not the most attractive women, but that's not so important; it's an overall feel.  there's a lot of drag makeup.  there's a lot of sequins.  there's a lot of lip synching.  one of the most surreal parts is seeing all these female looking heads walking around backstage with bare chests, which are very obviously NOT female.  oh, and the voices, which are not female in any way.  however, there is the same passion for winning as in any other competition.  curious to consider how many more years may pass before miss gay america pageant would be considered for prime time viewing.

57. HOLY ROLLERS: THE TRUED STORY OF CARD COUNTING CHRISTIANS

black jack.  las vegas.  casinos.  christians. leaders in their churches.  not words you expect to come together.  yet, this group of christians, trained in the art of card counting, won millions of dollars from casinos.  the fact that they were christian matters in that this entire operation of managers, players and investors worked on the premise of trust......that type of trust that one christian has for another because they come out of the same fundamental beliefs.  overall, the most interesting thing to learn in this film is a little about how to count cards in blackjack; to learn how the casinos react to those that do; and the vast amount of money that can be earned.  the internal debate that some felt in blending their christian life with the casino life is discussed by those with conflict.  the majority of the others seem to like the free wheeling lifestyle that earns them money without a 9-5 job. it seems this contradiction would be more unsettling to the players than it seems to be.   also, the only time the team really lost a significant chunk of money was when they admitted a non-christian to the group, who was later suspected of stealing.  some want to believe he's being honest and fair, but ultimately, this is business and something had to change, so the presumed offender was let go.  in the end, the card counter business dissolves.  but, with one small twist at the very end.  we learn that card counting, and beating the house at black jack, can be a lucrative business.