Wednesday, April 1, 2009

I'll even exercise for a trip to Italy!

Learning something new can be fun, especially if it's painless. I keep an open mind when seeing films and usually learn something from the guest speakers. But, some habits are more of a problem. I used to exercise regularly but haven't in about 5 years. I got out of the habit because I changed jobs, the commute is long and I find myself sitting more at work. The problem is that I've gained about 10 pounds. I've decided to take on the challenge to lose that weight before I go on vacation in May. Luckily I've just bought a townhouse that has lots of space around it to jog and there's even a health club within walking distance. No more excuses - Ten pounds here I come!

Ever heard of a theremin?

You learn things in the oddest places. I attend a film class on Monday nights. We see "soon to be released" films in a real movie theater. Guest speakers talk about aspects of the film - directors, actors, production designers, cops - you never know the speaker will be. We saw the film "Alien Trespass" with Eric McCormack last week. It's a nostalgic look at those so bad they're great alien/monster films of the 50s but with much better production values.
It's a beautifully shot film in gorgeous color. There's even a clip from The Blob in it. The film was okay - I'm not the biggest horror fan but the guest was awesome! This long-haired guy started setting up some kind of machine with an vertical antenna on the top and a loop antenna on the side that looked homemade. Then he started moving his hands around and we all heard those eerie SF sounds that you hear in all the SF films like that strange sounding music that's sung at the beginning of the original Star Trek episodes.

That's what a theremin is! An electronic musical instrument that you play without touching the instrument. Your hand motions control the volume and pitch. You have to rely on placing your fingers in just the right place to stay in key.

The player's name was Rob Schwimmer and he was amazing! He played along with the soundtrack to a classic film scored by Miklos Rozsa and had everyone in the theater mesmerized. The whole time I was just dying to try it but he wouldn't let anyone get near it.

It was great to learn something new while having fun watching a movie. Now I'm going to be listening for theremin music in all the films I see (& I see a lot).