What do you wish you had documented beautifully?

My Infallibility

Ten day hike through the Appalachians. Planned to, but didn’t.

My babies’s kittenhoods.

My toddler years. I was cute.

I’m a filmmaker already. I wouldn’t pay anyone to do it.

Way to answer the question, lovelocke.

I answered the bonus question. Learn to read.

I know how to use a camera too. Learn to not be a prick.

Stop ruining this lovely question.

How are we documenting? I try to get it all down in words. I think I like it best that way?

I’ve been keeping a creative writing diary of how I’m feeling since I broke up with my girlfriend 2 months ago. It basically consists of different poems and passages on how I’m doing in gettin over her.
I’m so happy I did it.

The day I met my babygirl* in the parking lot.

I would pay $150 to have our meeting documented. (I am a poor grad student.)

*babygirl = my cat.

Butthurt Net Lurkers aside: I agree with the diary angle. It’s important to you, so why not handle it yourself? The only downside to a diary is, often times when written, it’s written in an emotional mindset, positive or negative. Sometimes you’ll write things down that you’ll later wonder why you did. The most frequent one is writing about how overjoyed you were to have met someone, and how deeply you regretted it afterward. When depressed, even a scrap of paper gains dramatic symbolic definition… but, once you “get over it” so to speak, I imagine it all sums up to the life you’ve lived/are living.

@lovelocke: That was a good answer. But anything you wish you’d had a chance to get on video?

no sarcasm, i promise

When I made my pro wrestling debut at PCW in Arlington, I got a friend to Handicam it for me. It’s on youtube now (I think if you search Starlocke PCW you’ll find it). When I made my first short film years back, there were plenty of pictures taken. When I went to Dubai to teach how to make films in HD, one of the production people was running around with a Handicam. Graduated? Handicam. First sexual experience? Not documented… however there were other occasions…

Point is, I don’t need a full on documentary every time something happens with my life. It’s just my life, and while different from others, it’s still common enough to where I’m so special I need to PAY someone else to come in and manipulate footage of me to become a product. I wasn’t a President who put man on the moon, I wasn’t the engineer who figured out how to make the 100% safe baby seat, and I wasn’t the Doctor that created the immunization for acne (wouldn’t that be bitchin’?).

@trumi: (about the post before your last one) If you become my personal hero too many more times, I might have to propose.

@lovelocke: I don’t think the question was “Why are you so fucking special?”, it was, “Is there any event that you would like to be able to watch again and again, in all its glory, as if somebody were actually recording it?” I have a horrible memory, and it would be very cool to re-watch some events. It is an excellent Fluther question.

As far as being an excellent film maker, which apparently you are, the question wasn’t “Tell me how great you are”, it was “How much would you pay?”

Like, “How much would you pay to meet Abe Lincoln?” I don’t care if you actually did meet him, or if you are Abe Lincoln reincarnated, it is a hypothetical question.

I <3 trumigoodboy

Definitely my childhood in India. I have almost no memory of due it the fact I moved to the US at a very young age. I’ve went back a few times but every time I go I feel like an asshole because I fail to recongnize any of my family members that helped raise me. Everyone asks me if I remember them but I politely say yes so I don’t hurt their feelings. I don’t think any amount of could substitute those memories.

The first days I got my puppy.

The moments that I would want documented would be intimate moments first meetings, seeing my kitten for the first time no, I’m not a crazy cat person, but then the act of documenting them would erode that intimacy.

Maybe adventures that I have. That would lend itself to documentary better. Maybe the same event, each year. Like that artist who photographed those four sisters every year throughout their lives.

My son’s childhood. I took some photos and we have a couple videos in some now-obsolete format, but I do envy those that have today’s wonderful technology at the tips of their fingers.

The day I decided to fix my life… I’d distribute it to the twentysomething crowd to see if they can learn something of my over-the-top experience (and not doing it)

@nikipedia. you said to not ruin the question but then you didnt even answer it, so you actually did ruin it

as for me. the time me and a friend won the Division 2 National Championship Freestyle Waterski Jump Tournament

@andrew i giggled at your whisper and i was sad at your comment on erosion of intimacy.

on the bright side you’re a shoe in for being in entertainment because you made me laugh and cry within 10 seconds.

@andrew – that is an excellent observation that documeting something would change the experience for you

So – that deters from even wishing I have documeting, and yet, document you have to. I would love to see a video of myself as a child. To see my school papers and compositions.

this one tag i did on the back of this truck it was beautiful i used like 30 different colors

My daughter learning to speak – her first words were “Hey YOU” said to her father, and she was talking at one year. She repeated her alphabet (not singing) at 19 months while I was driving home from somewhere, and I almost crashed. At my college reunion (she was nine months about?), we were at a hotel – she couldn’t even walk yet, but she said, “Shut up you piece of shit,” when someone was noisy out in the hall. Unbelievable, but true. Now you all know that my husband is a genius with languages….so I wonder if this is how it starts? Wish I had it all on tape.

So many things:
– I would have paid just about anything to anyone who could have documented my dad’s two years as a POW.
– I would have documented—maybe even video taped—conversations with my grandfather.

My last 2 trips to Europe. I want to be taking pictures of everything, and at the same time I’d like to be out in fron tof the camera, and I never really manage to get anything done…

This may sound strange, but for me it’s the September 11th attacks on the world trade center. I wish I had been in a position to photograph the attacks and the aftermath. See Joel Meyerowitz’s work. I wouldn’t necessarily pay anything for the chance though, since it was so well documented.

my life, to reminisce of the past when I’m on my death bed with family and friends.

I wish the time I did a face plant on a subway car while eating a bag of cheetos after a long, long night of unnecessary drinking was documented (my balance was not cooperating with the train). I would have to sike myself up with that tape before every night on the town.

@ebenezer: I would pay good money to see that tape.

poof- to answer the bonus question… I would too.

My life thus far. I would pay lats of money for someone else to do it. I wish there were things I could remember that I couldnt.

@ bunkin- I feel the exact same way. Money would be no object if I could have a professional photographer just follow me around and capture my day to day life for me.

There have been so many times in my life that I wish were documented by some invisible film crew… Actually, if I had an invisible film crew following me around all the time, that’d be pretty great. Granted, I would want to be the only who can see the footage…

Anyway, there are several family events that I wish were documented from start to finish. My family is very entertaining.
I would have liked it if someone video taped when my sisters and I duct taped my brother to the chair the day before he moved out of state and put post it notes all over him with reasons why he’s not allowed to leave…. Sadly, it didn’t work. He eventually escaped.

My sister tried locking me in her closet the week before I went away to college. That was pretty interesting.

Or the time my siblings and I thought it would be a good idea to go “stair sledding” at my parent’s house during one of my neice’s birthday party. While the “adults” were sledding down the stair on plastic lids to storage containers, the kids were downstairs behaving.

And that’s just family stuff, that’s not even including first loves, first kisses, friends, etc!

/end novel

I would like to see myself breaking my wrist at the BMX track when I was 11. From what I’m told, it was impressive. I just remember falling for an eternity, stars, and pain.

It might be interesting and perhaps downright amusing to watch a videotape of my adventures while on psychedelics (a substantial amount of recording material is required).

HAHAHAHAHA – probably sleeping, eating, and munching….and giggling!

time lapse of the transformation of our homestead.
(all the fences going up, animals maturing, vegetables and grass growing/harvesting, tossing out the guts of the house and carrying in new materials, bonfire parties, laundry in & out on the line, dog walks, weather changes, etc.)

there ws a movie called Final Cut that starred Robin williams… That would be awesome.

I think maybe the first lunch I had with my friend Thomas. We were seven years old and I only remember little details like the white dress his sister was wearing and the little plastic chairs we sat in. I didn’t even remember that the event I was thinking of was lunch with Thomas until his mother told me about it. This is the kind of memory I want to be able to share with my grandchildren in old age.

I wish the days when our children were growing up were filmed so I could travel back in time and never miss any of it. Yes there are memories but they fade and are not always as actually was, yanno? It was great fun and lots of work… I think I missed some of the fun getting too involved with the work.

Whenever I read an autobiography of someone who kept journals of their life. I believe I had a very interesting life, but I didn’t keep journals, and memory only comes in spurts, triggered by a question here, a comment there. I’m jealous of those who did.

@Yarnlady: So do you now try to capture those “spurts” of memory? If you do start documenting them, you may find that it triggers more memories, and on and on until you have your memoir.

@hearkat Yes, thank you. I have a site on the internet that I can go directly to when something triggers a memory and I can sometimes go on for hours off that.

Spending time with grandparents. Mine are awesome.