Well, will you look at what I found on Hulu.com – one of my all-time favorite movies which happens to be based on one of my favorite books!  That’s right, it’s Flight of the Intruder, based on the novel by Stephen Coonts   I don’t know how many people around here know all that much about the war in Vietnam, but it was something Dad made sure I learned about.

Believe it or not, Dad had me read Flight of the Intruder for the first time back in something like fourth grade.  I’d grown up going to the Miramar airshow where the Intruders were regulars, so between reading the story and seeing the jets in person it was a pretty cool deal to see it up on the big screen

Doubtless Glenn will have some sort of comment about this one – it has A-6 Intruder attack aircraft putting warheads on foreheads just as they were intended to do   Of course, the A-1 Skyraiders AKA “Sandy” and the “Jolly Green” chopper also make for some good film, too   I’ll let Glenn tell about the jets and the men who maintained and flew them down in the comments – he’s the one who knows all about them.

So kick back, relax, and get ready to “go downtown up north” with Jake Grafton and Virgil Cole while you enjoy one helluva great war movie

In closing, here’s a thank you and a salute to all those who fought and those who never made it back.

Anywho, getting the train of thought back on track after a relatively minor derailment – right where were we?  Oh yeah, there’s a movie I’ve got to go see when it comes out in 2011   They haven’t even started shooting the film yet, but they’re doing their homework and have come up with a website and a short trailer of test footage.  It combines lots of things I really love, too 8)  I rarely go to see anything in the theaters these days as it’s just too expensive and too much of a hassle.  Have you seen the price of ammo these days   But this, this will be worth the price of admission

About that test footage… So what do you get when you combine gun Pr0n, plane pr0n, great camera work, and some rockin’ music?  Click on the vid (found at warbirdsmovie.com with the embed coming from firstshowing.net) below to find out

My first reaction?  Something like “OH HELL YEAH !!!”

The movie is called “WAR BIRDS” and is set to begin filming this upcoming summer in Michigan.  And they’re doing it right!  They’ll be using real airplanes, not models for everything but the destruction.  What’s even better is that the video above isn’t from the production at all, but rather a short test film to see how well their techniques and angles work

So what’s the movie about?  hollywoodreporter.com:

“Birds” follows an Air Force veteran-turned-reckless airshow re-enactment pilot as he gets pulled into the underground culture of illegal, real-life aerial combat. Shooting is scheduled for the summer in Michigan using all real airplanes and aerial sequences, including authentic P-51 Mustangs, P-38 Lightnings, F4U Corsairs and a B-17 Flying Fortress as well as modern military helicopters and jets.

I’ll forgive you if you think the plot is a bit far-fetched without knowing more.  But in return, you have to forgive me for loving the idea if for nothing more than the thought of seeing all those beautiful airplanes along with hearing the associated sounds like the gorgeous whine of the turbocharger in the Spitfire towards the end there

I’ve been thinking it’s time for a flying movie…

Hat tip to Theo Spark

LAST MANGO IN PARIS
Album: Last Mango in Paris
Song: Last Mango in Paris

I went down to Captain Tony’s to get out of the heat
When I heard a voice call out to me, “Son, come have a seat”
I had to search my memory as I looked into those eyes
Our lives change like the weather but a legend never dies

He said, “I ate the last mango in Paris
Took the last plane out of Saigon
Took the first fast boat to China
And “Jimmy, there’s still so much to be done.”

I had a third world girl in Buzios
With a pistol on each hand
She always kept me covered
As we moved from land to land
I had a damn good run on wall street
With my high fashion model wife
Til I woke up dry beneath the African sky
Just me and my Swiss Army knife

I ate the last mango in Paris
Took the last plane out of Saigon
Took the first fast boat to China
And Jimmy there’s still so much to be done

We shot the breeze for hours
As the sun fell from the skies
And like the sun hw disappeared before my very eyes
It was somewhere past dark-thirty
When I went back to the head
I read upon the dingy wall
The words the old man said

I ate the last mango in Paris…
….so much to be done.
Why don’t we wander and follow la vie dansante.

LA VIE DANSANTE
Album: Riddles in the Sand
Song: La Vie Dansante

They can can come take it all away
Break your heart in the light of day
Drown your love in a distant bay
So lonely
See the ship heading for the rocks

See the time melting off the clocks
There’s a light shattering all the locks
And saves me
It saves me

Chorus
That’s why I wander and follow La Vie Dansante
On the night wind that takes me just where I want
That’s all I want La Vie Dansante
Why don’t you wander and follow La Vie Dansante
On the night wind that takes you just where you want
That’s all you’ll want La Vie Dansante

Miss the beat if you close your eyes
Every night wears a new disguise
And I live when a new surprise surrenders

Feel it all with a willing heart
Every stop is a place to start
If you know how to play the part with feeling
I play with feeling

These two songs are a couple of Buffett tunes you’re likely to find in heavy rotation on my playlists.  They’re a couple of my true favorites and yes, I know I have a lot of favorite Buffett songs

Last Mango and La Vie Dansante both describe the basic philosophy of how I would like to live my life.  Seek adventure and novelty where you can, learn all you can absorb, and don’t be averse to sharing that knowledge and those experiences from time to time.

As Ferris Bueller once said, “Life moves pretty fast. You don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”  I firmly believe this is true and it’s one of the reasons I stop at places like Alien Fresh Jerky in Baker, CA, the Little A’Le’Inn and the Black Mailbox in Rachel, NV, and it’s at least part of the reason I go out of my way to enjoy the tourist and other unusual stuff in Vegas

Carpe Diem and Carpe Noctem while you’re at it  I got that one from the movie Dead Poet’s Society which I highly recommend and I think I’d pull out of my collection and watch right about now if it weren’t 0212 hours and I didn’t have to wake up in four or five hours.

It’s late/early, I’m tired, and I think I’m getting a bit loopy so I’d better call it a day and get some shut-eye

Have a great day, everyone