Perhaps I’m still somewhat the idealistic boy that I was at 16, but every once in a while, when I find my creative muse flagging just a bit, I’ll throw in Dead Poets Society into my DVD player and give it a whirl while I’m working on whatever bit of creativity I’m working on at the time … or, if I’ve nothing, to simply stoke the creative fires that burn inside me and push forward.

Of all the times I’ve watched the movie, though, I’ve never completely identified within any of the characters. Part of me is like Todd: a young boy a bit afraid of expressing himself. [You might not believe that, as prolific and bombastic as I can be, but it's quite true.] Part of me is like Neil: the bombastic leader of the group.

Now, I am not, of course, a child of privilege. My folks were reasonably well off, and we never wanted for anything, really, growing up, but I certainly was never considered to go to prep school or anything like that. I wasn’t much the preppy kid, really; I’ve always been a geek. [Never a nerd, always a geek.] Of course, I have the pretentiousness of a pseudo-intellectual, and, well, I am an MSMS alumnus. But there’s something about this movie that gets me fired up in a way that most guys are fired up by a movie like Remember the Titans.

And after a weekend of blah, I need to get a little fired up.