A major issue for me is that I fall deeply in love with things quickly, and they consume my life for weeks at a time. For instance, at least once a year I ascend into the Kingdom of All Things Holy by getting into Star Wars mode for a few weeks. I watch movies, dream of Padmé, and listen to John Williams in the car. It’s too much.

The reason this is a problem- is that these things I fall in love with- are finite. There were only 201 flawless and beautiful episodes of NBC’s The Office. Only so many Mumford and Sons songs you can listen and re-listen to before they get old. Only so many times you can listen to John Mulaney’s New in Town (It’s on Netflix, watch it if you haven’t) before it can’t quite hurt your stomach as much. And perhaps worst of all- Only so many times you can read and watch the Harry Potter series until it loses the adventurous thrill and excitement it once brought.

As I visited graduation parties for friends I ran into two high school faculty members from the music department and their kids. We began talking about Harry Potter and how for some reason they had not yet exposed their children to the thrill and purpose to life that can only be obtained through watching/reading Harry Potter for the first time. It was at this time that one of them asked if I had ever heard the “alternate audio” for the first Harry Potter movie. I told her I had not and later that day she sent me a Youtube link to the first part of the audio, synced with the movie itself. I laughed uncontrollably hard. It was as if a drunk friend was watching Harry Potter for the first time attempting to narrate what he thought should be happening. I found that this video wasn’t anywhere near as funny as some of the other audio parts as a whole. Brad Neely- the guy who did all the work for this, did audio for the entire first movie and it is 100% worth it to watch.

So if you have nothing particularly pressing to do this weekend, after you watch New in Town, head over to the movie store, rent the first Harry Potter, mute it, and sync this audio up to the part you are watching in the film- you have my word it is absolutely worth it. Cheers!

After Action Report:

Praise for things I love: 4

Strong handed suggestions: 2

Episodes of ‘The Office’ you need to be watching that you missed because you read this- .21

Strong handed suggestions: 2 3

-TB