Tuesday, July 8, 2008

This Made My Day

BoingBoing is this blog/newsfeed that I subscribe to that's really random. So it suits me perfectly, no?
Their tagline is: A directory of wonderful things

Earlier this week, they had the following video on there and for some reason it warmed my heart and made me smile and laugh. I hope it will you too.....

The story behind the video:
Matt is a 31-year-old deadbeat from Connecticut who used to think that all he ever wanted to do in life was make and play videogames. Matt achieved this goal pretty early and enjoyed it for a while, but eventually realized there might be other stuff he was missing out on. In February of 2003, he quit his job in Brisbane, Australia and used the money he'd saved to wander around Asia until it ran out. He made this site so he could keep his family and friends updated about where he is.

A few months into his trip, a travel buddy gave Matt an idea. They were standing around taking pictures in Hanoi, and his friend said "Hey, why don't you stand over there and do that dance. I'll record it." He was referring to a particular dance Matt does. It's actually the only dance Matt does. He does it badly. Anyway, this turned out to be a very good idea.





Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

The song and it's meaning had me wondering what it was all about, so I found out this about it:
The lyrics of the song are based on part of the Gitanjali by Rabindranath Tagore. The poems won the Nobel prize for literature in 1923. Here is the poem used in the song:

"The same stream of life that runs through my veins night and day runs through the world and dances in rhythmic measures.

It is the same life that shoots in joy through the dust of the earth in numberless blades of grass and breaks into tumultuous waves of leaves and flowers.

It is the same life that is rocked in the ocean-cradle of birth and of death, in ebb and in flow.

I feel my limbs are made glorious by the touch of this world of life. And my pride is from the life-throb of ages dancing in my blood this moment."

----

Whatcha think of it?

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

that's amazing.... I love it!

I want to be a part of something like that!!!

Anonymous said...

That's pretty cool. Love the poem.

Anonymous said...

Wouldn't it be great if Matt was named The Goodwill Ambassador for the United States? Talk about communicating with the people of the world in a positive manner!
Go Matt :)

Anonymous said...

I'm not sure that my reaction was the intended one... but I cried. Not at first, first big smiles and a giggle,then about 1/2 through I could feel it in my throat... crap, I'm fixin' to cry??

It's my new favorite. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

You post the most wondrous things on your blog Tammi. Matt dances badly? I have to disagree. We only have to look at the faces of the people surrounding him. In joining him their spirits come alive, if only for a few moments. It's amazing really, how something so simple can have this kind of response across such varied cultures.