Blackbird Coffee barista philosophizes about films while blending fresh brews

Recently there has been what was referred to on “The Nerdist” podcast hosted by Chris Hardwick as a Golden Age of TV.

Hardwick says that this Golden Age is inversely proportionate to how good movies are right now. Junior philosophy major and Blackbird Coffee barista Brent Tripp could not agree more.

“I’ve become more and more completely dissatisfied with mainstream movies and Hollywood. Everything is based on something else,” Brent said. “Everything is either a sequel, a remake, basked on a comic book, or how to lose a guy in ten days while at my best friend’s wedding. The same plot you’ve seen a million times before.”

Brent’s passion for film isn’t exactly a secret either.

“He’s really obsessed with movies,” sophomore psychology major and friend of Brent Danielle Davis said with a laugh. “He will go on these little tangents and no one else will no what he’s talking about. He just jumps from one subject to another.”

Brent’s zeal for movies has him thinking he wants continue to make films for as long as he can.

“Next summer I’ve almost got it 98 percent in the bag I’m going to be interning in Washington and I’m hoping that will give me some insight as to whether I want to enter that world,” Brent said.

Originally Brent tried his hand at a political science major but became displeased with it, which prompted the change to philosophy.

“I’ve always been a political junkie,” Brent said. “Once I started taking the classes, it just wasn’t gelling. I wasn’t into the inner gears and working of politics, I was more into the ethics and the actual motivations behind it.”

Brent knows what his true desire in life is and wants to pursue it in any way possible.

“As of now I want to go to graduate school, maybe teach at the same time but teach lower college, like intro classes,” Brent said. “Cause then it’ll also give me time to work on all my artistic stuff like film. My dream is to be a film maker.”

Brent loves all genres of film and hopes to make all kinds of movies, but he knows what his bread and butter is.

“I love horror flicks,” Brent said.

Danielle knows this about Brent all to well, but she also knows that there is something distinctive about him.

“He has a really distinct laugh. If you don’t know who his is you know him by his laugh,” Danielle said. “A bunch of my co-workers at Buffington’s only know him by his laugh.”

Brent had to try and hold back his laughter on one particular night he recalled at Blackbird. The night seemed normal to him when a rather curious customer “stormed in.”

“It was so hard to understand what he was saying. He was mumbling to himself and just said ‘let me get a coffee,’” Brent said.

He proceeded to get the oddball customer his small coffee as the man just kept on his rant.

“‘There are deer everywhere,’” Brent remembered him saying. “‘They’re all in the roads’ and all that kinda stuff.”

Brent recollected him drinking the coffee as if he were on a desert island, and it was the first liquid he had seen it days.

“He just downed that hot cup of coffee,” Brent said.

The customer was not done even on his way out the door.

“He was on his way out and at the time we kept brownies in a jar on the counter and he asked ‘what are these?’” Brent explained. “I told him they were brownies and he asked how much they were.”

Brent told him the price and he “just threw a five dollar bill at me and said ‘mumble mumble mumble have a good night.’ I’ve never seen him again. He was like a phantom.”

Those customers are few and far between for Brent and he cannot imagine himself working anywhere else.

“You can’t say I don’t have workers pride. I love the place, I really do.”