April 22, 2009
Hypocritical Earth Day specials
Lewis Black takes aim at the hypocrisy of those awful Earth Day specials for kids...
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | M - Th 11p / 10c | |||
| Back in Black - Kids' Earth Day | ||||
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And this is coming from a kid who watched the video for Take It Back a million times. But then again, if Stevie Wonder, Chuck D and BB King got together and told me to jump off a bridge, I might seriously consider it.
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January 30, 2007
American Chameleons
The Yomiuri Shimbun picked some great cartoons for its awards this year, though bigger resolutions would have been nice. This one's titled, "Trouble."
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January 21, 2007
Reasons I Like the BBC
One of their longest-running and most successful TV programs is about a kindly old man who travels through time in a phone booth.
The BBC gave the Goons, Monty Python and Douglas Adams money before they had careers and didn't care what they did with it.
Two words: Radiophonic Workshop.
And finally, they credit the writer. It's [episode name], BY WRITER GUY. None of this bury the credit next to grip #5 crap.
On the other hand, they show things like this.
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September 17, 2006
Six.
I like six too, Bert. I like six too.
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August 18, 2006
More Gedo Senki
In response to Ursula K. Le Guin's comments about the Ghibli adaptation.
I saw Gedo Senki last month, and Le Guin is completely right about the film.
The short version: Ghibli has played loose with adaptations in the past, but (with the exception of Howl) they have all turned out wonderfully regardless. Gedo is not an excellent film. It's nowhere near the level of every single film Takahata and Miyazaki have made at Ghibli. It reminded me far too much of The Black Cauldron and other cliched animated films in this genre.
About her comments:
At that time, work had already started on the film: a copy of the poster of the child and the dragon was given us as a gift, and also a sketch of Hort Town by Mr Hayao and the finished version of it from the studio artists.
Apparently these were two of the earliest concept drawings on the film. Goro mentioned the Hort Town drawing as one of the only things his father contributed, and a major inspiration for the overall look of the film. I believe but am not sure that some of the drawing is on this poster.
The dragon and child drawing is on the official poster, and it was apparantly drawn entirely by Goro. Toshio Suzuki says that when Hayao was fuming about Goro's lack of artistic ability he showed Hayao this drawing, and told Hayao he liked it and that the studio would use it on a poster. That shut Hayao up real fast, because, according to Suzuki, Hayao Miyazaki never draws in profile.
I am told that Mr Hayao has not retired after all, but is now making another movie. This has increased my disappointment. I hope to put it behind me.
She has every right to be angry about this, and I think her response has been extremely restrained. Basically, she was led to believe that Hayao Miyazaki would be creating a new story in her fantasy world without touching her novels. Then she was told that Hayao was retiring and a new director would do the film. Then she heard that it would be an adaptation of a book after all. Finally, after the movie is made, she hears that Hayao Miyazaki is not actually retiring.
Generously, circumstances changed. But in fact it would be fair to say Ghibli simply lied to her, multiple times. She trusted them, and they betrayed her trust. I would be fuming if it were my work. But she's a very wise woman not given to temper.
Also, note that the only reason she aired her comments in public was because Goro revealed her private comment to him on his blog:
I did not realise that I was speaking to anyone but him and the few people around us. I would have preferred that a private reply to a private question not be made public. I mention it here only because Mr Goro has mentioned it in his blog.
Now the real juicy stuff.
Much of it was beautiful.
True. The dragon scenes were wonderful, as were the palaces and Hort Town.
Many corners were cut, however, in the animation of this quickly made film.
Also true. The final scenes include the gradual destruction of a castle tower. It is obvious which bricks are going to fall as they are inked in single shade and stand out from the background. This kind of thing happens many times throughout. It's the kind of quickie trick you'd expect from an episode of Duck Tales, not a feature film from the makers of Spirited Away.
It does not have the delicate accuracy of "Totoro" or the powerful and splendid richness of detail of "Spirited Away." The imagery is effective but often conventional.
Yes. I have not read The Farthest Shore, but from what I've heard the ending of that book is far more magical, surreal and meaningful than the film's ending, which is a very basic rehash of the climactic sword fight from every other sword 'n' sorcery animated film every made.
Much of it was, I thought, incoherent. This may be because I kept trying to find and follow the story of my books while watching an entirely different story, confusingly enacted by people with the same names as in my story, but with entirely different temperaments, histories, and destinies.
This is the one point where I will disagree with LeGuin. The film was perfectly coherent. But she fairly writes this off to her being the author of the book.
I think the film's "messages" seem a bit heavyhanded because, although often quoted quite closely from the books, the statements about life and death, the balance, etc., don't follow from character and action as they do in the books. However well meant, they aren't implicit in the story and the characters. They have not been "earned."
Absolutely right. The film has been pared down into a skeleton plot on which are hung these messages in dialogue. The murder of the king at the beginning by Arren is squandered, as not much is done with it other than to give Arren a reason to be a nervous wreck, which Le Guin also catches on to:
Arren's murder of his father in the film is unmotivated, arbitrary.
But here's the most interesting comment:
But in the film, evil has been comfortably externalized in a villain, the wizard Kumo/Cob, who can simply be killed, thus solving all problems.In modern fantasy (literary or governmental), killing people is the usual solution to the so-called war between good and evil. My books are not conceived in terms of such a war, and offer no simple answers to simplistic questions.
This is interesting because it's precisely that complex view of good and evil that drew me to Ghibli in the first place with Princess Mononoke. Killing the gods is not the answer. Killing Eboshi is not the answer (and she is not an embodiment of evil-- not a villain, though she may be an antagonist). There is no easy way out in Miyazaki the elder's films. Which just makes Goro's butchering of Earthsea all the more tragic.
Though I think the dragons of my Earthsea are more beautiful, I admire the noble way Goro's dragons fold their wings. The animals of his imagination are seen with much tenderness -- I liked the horse-llama's expressive ears. I very much liked the scenes of plowing, drawing water, stabling the animals, and so on, which give the film an earthy and practical calmness -- a wise change of pace from constant conflict and "action". In them, at least, I recognised my Earthsea.
Yes, the domestic scenes were some of the best and most appealing in the film, recalling the joy with which Ghibli once animated normal families experiencing normal family life.
About Le Guin's comments to Goro: There's a rule in the theater. On opening night, everyone did a great job. It doesn't matter if you think they butchered the character and made every scene they appeared in look like a community theater production of Paul Simon. They did a great job, because they put themselves on the line. And I imagine it's the same kind of situation when a first-time director is presenting his adaptation of a book to one of the most loved (and intimidatingly so) fantasy authors in the world. If she had said, "Meh, wasn't so good," that would have been infinitely ruder from my point of view. And Goro Miyazaki, as a Japanese man, probably understands that better than most Americans do.
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July 31, 2006
What I'm Watching
Tokyo Monogatari. It's remarkable to see just how much Tokyo has changed in the past 50 years. Steam locomotives, traditional tiled houses everywhere, the inordinate amount of respect paid to the grandparents. And yet, the interaction between the characters still seems familiar and similar to (some) modern Japanese families. The other day a friend asked me if I thought there was a Japanese equivelant to Im Kwon-taek, in that Im takes on dual roles as storyteller and cultural documentarian. Many of his films seem almost made for future generations -- like time capsules, they feel old as soon as they're made. I don't think any Japanese director is quite analagous to Im, but maybe Ozu serves a similar function. Except that instead of preserving the traditional cultural performances and art of his time, Ozu preserved the everyday family dynamics of his generation. It's possible to track the changes in the Japanese family through Ozu's domestic dramas -- compare Tokyo Monogatari to Ohayo (Good Morning), for instance.
Also watching Psych. A very fun crime show. A perfect companion to Monk.
And tomorrow I go off to the press screening of Gedo Senki, the new film by Goro Miyazaki (Hayao Miyazaki's son). Looking forward to it. It could very well determine the future of the studio.
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June 19, 2006
Osaka Otaku
That's what I was over the weekend, visiting the host family (who really ripped into me in a hilarious fashion for still not having a girlfriend) and Dillon Brown in Wakayama. But most of the time was spent at the two Mandarakes (one in Umeda, one in Nihonbashi) and the other fine nerdy establishments in Denden Town, hunting for comics and toys to sell in the States next month.
The theme of this weekend was, "Ben makes peace with his otaku-ness." I've always been vaguely ashamed of being an anime fan and especially of buying anime stuff, but lots of cash and a good excuse ("I'm selling them in the US!"... riiight) helped me realize that if I stop worrying about being a loser I can remember how much fun this was in the first place.
Though I did not go to one of the maid kissa (just like a regular cafe, but with women waitresses dressed in 19th century garb calling the customers "goshujin-sama," or "master"). The ladies are all probably very nice but the whole submissive thing just kind of freaks me out.
Anyway, I officially love Mandarake now. They had Faces, an art doujin by Abe from 2001(?), as well as both Haibane Renmei doujins, AND Yakkyoku no Pochiyamasan. (They also had the Haibane storyboards in book form but those don't do much for me.) A more detailed list is below.
It basically turned into a "buy all the comics and art books I've ever really wanted" trip.
Abe Yoshitoshi:
Haibane of Old Home doujin Vol. 1 & 2
Yakkyoku no Pochiyamasan
FACES (art book) -- two copies
not found -- two copies
K.S.M.E. -- two copies
lain illustrations
Haibane Renmei hardcover artbook
something else the title of which I forget but it looks similar to not found
Koji Morimoto:
Orange scrapbook (This is an INCREDIBLE piece of work-- highly recommended)
Murata Range:
One of those huge metal-bound art collections. I always wondered what kind of person would pay $80 for one of these things, but then the store clerk took it out and showed it to me, and I realized that kind of person is me.
Kawamoto Toshihiro:
Cowboy Bebop Illustrations - The Wind
Misc:
The Art of Only Yesterday
70 Years of Japanese Theatrical Animation art book
robot Vol. 6
Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu manga Vol. 1
Too many SHnY doujins
The only book I wanted but couldn't find was a good copy of was Cannabis Works, Tanaka Tatsuyuki's art book. Next time.
Other stuff:
Hare Hare Yukai CD single
Hirasawa Susumu's new album, Byakkoya
Some Samurai Seven figures (I had to buy these -- there's one of Kurosawa himself!)
And I'm supposed to SELL this stuff?!?! It's going to be hard to part with it.
I discovered the joy and the curse of gashopon as well. It's really just like a slot machine. You stick in the 200 yen and a toy comes out, and if it's not the one you want, the voice in your head says, "IT'LL BE NEXT!! PUT IN MORE!!!" I got a bunch of Naruto lanyard figures (they were 100 each) and I got some of the Gainax series (which was also 100, though the sign said 200-- whoopee pricing errors, got me a FLCL Haruka), plus most of the Kamichu figures and a bunch of Range Murata figures (which are the same as the ones in the boxes but 100 yen cheaper if you get them in the gashopon machines). Plus got some full-size Naruto figures, some Eva full-size and SD and some Bleach figures because I know that's popular (though I wasn't sure how well I was doing because I've never seen it--the orange-haired guy is good, right?).
Aaand picked up some Eva figures in boxes and some Seven Samurai figures because they existed, and I had to have them (I hope I get the Kurosawa one). And the new Hirasawa Susumu album (which will get its own entry one of these days as it is so awesome).
So anyway, incredibly awesome weekend and the first day of the rest of my otaku life.
Plus, my host mother knew all the old Japanese songs from the 50s that I've been memorizing for use at karaoke. (When I told my host sister about this and started singing with my host mom she said, "See? THIS is why you don't have a girlfriend." But if having a girlfriend means giving up overly sentimental postwar Japanese ballads, then maybe I don't want a girlfriend.)
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June 8, 2006
Why won't the Daily Show's audience shut the hell up?
Watching Bill Bennett on the Daily Show and a big pet peeve of mine watching this show is coming back again. Granted I don't agree with Bennett on a lot of things. But I would love it if Jon Stewart's audience, regardless of who is talking, would just shut up for two seconds and let them talk. Whenever Jon throws out one of his great provocative common-sense statements, what I want to hear is the guest's response to that statement, not a bunch of New Yorkers shrieking and clapping for fifteen seconds. People more interested in cheerleading than debate, no matter what side they're on, seriously bug me.
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June 6, 2006
Crazy cartoon ravings alert
In an article at Toon Zone I compare Satoshi Kon's "Paranoia Agent" to the Eden myth and the concept of original sin and work in a couple of futurists theories for good measure. Enjoy, or look askance. Either's good.
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June 1, 2006
Best of the Daily Show
I am unhealthily obsessed with the Daily Show, and since it is on a two-week break, I've been going back to old clips. Perhaps I can share the excellenter ones with the .5-.7 people who still read this blog.
Ed Helms in Dayton, TN -- Just like colonial Williamsburg, Dayton, Tennessee is a detailed recreation of life as it was during the days of the Scopes Monkey Trial. Just ask the adorable old lady who wants to give sodomites and evolutionists a "whippin'."
And in honor of the elections in South Korea, one of my favorite Samantha Bee clips -- a woman on the street getting carried away with "exit polling" on Election Day, 2004.
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May 17, 2006
Crayon Shin-chan Made in Saitama
My first promotion of illegality on this blog (aside from the radioblog)! Check out this youtube clip of what appears to be a Crayon Shin-chan theatrical short. Brilliance, especially the first-person Himawari segment, the constipation song and BURIBURIZAEMON NO BOUKEN! You don't even really need to know Japanese to laugh. It's pretty obvious what they're talking about anyway.
(By the way, in case you're wondering what the joke is in the opening segment, he bangs the table and says, "Yes! I got the mosquito!")
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May 14, 2006
Peter and the Colbert
Watchin' the Colbert Report online, specifically this bit where he "translates" the words of Pres. Putin -- who called Dick Cheney "Comrade Wolf." Colbert explains, "All Russian metaphors must refer back to Peter and the Wolf. In this case, Cheney is played by three French horns."
Then when the joke bombs, Colbert says, "You'd think there'd be more Prokofiev fans in the audience."
But I was laughing! Thanks, Dad, for giving me that CD as a kid. I listened to Peter and the Wolf so many times -- if CDs could wear out, that one would have.
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May 9, 2006
Skype Goes to Jail
The Korea Times ran an article today on an investigation into Skype in Korea for supposedly offering voice-over-IP without government authorization. The charges themselves look like they hold no water, but here's the fun part:
Should Skype and Auction be found to have violated laws by not registering their business, they can be subject to a maximum of 150 million won in fines or three years in prison.
So apparantly in Korea they have found a way to send corporations to jail. Ah, if only.
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October 3, 2005
Even More Pictures
Masjid
River
Arashiyama, Kyoto
Suburban Sunset
Bucheon, Korea
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More Neighborhood Pictures
These seafood stands are everywhere.
The exterior of my local cafe, where the lady gave me the rice cakes on Chuseok.
Koreans are very serious about proper waste disposal.
Encountered this placement of books at COEX and thought it was just too perfect a representation of "factory publishing."
A sunset taken from the kitchen window of my hasukjip (boarding house).
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September 19, 2005
Also...
I bought an LG Region 3 external DVD/CD burner drive. It's USB 2.0 so I was worried about speed but so far it has actually outpaced the crappy drive in my laptop at both reading and writing (it writes DVDs at 1.7 MB a second. A second! I'm probably broadcasting just how out of touch I am by being impressed by that).
So I bought a bunch of DVDs. Including, but not limited to:
Korean DVDs: Taegukgi, The Scarlet Letter (I had to see what a Korean contemporary version would look like), DMZ, Wonderful Days, another animated movie with a pig
Other: Minority Report, The Great Dictator, Apollo 13 Special Edition, Kung Fu Hustle, Kill Bill 1 & 2.
That last one was incredible. I watched them both over the weekend and I gotta say I didn't think it was possible for movies to be that much fun. At least, not for me, anymore. I loved every minute.
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September 6, 2005
Pics from the Neighborhood
I won't buy Capri Sun. I would buy this.
On the way to a dinner celebrating the Slovakian national day, I found out Euljiro 3-ga station is a very scary place. I felt like I was in some kind of freaky undergroundworld. I hope they're renovating it and it isn't always like this.
I think this guy was the chef at the Slovak thing. No, he is not wearing a hairnet. And yes, that is an ice sculpture in the background.
The Slovakian ambassador clinked glasses with an Interesting Hatman. This might be decent photojournalism if I had been able to figure out who the guy was. Curse my pitiful Korean and lack of shoving-other-reporters-out-of-the-way skills.
The party had good beer. And apple strudel! Though I did not like the sauerkraut much.
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July 11, 2005
Pictures Batch 1
The hasook (boarding house) I'm living in, seen from below. It's the brick building rising up in the middle.
First Korean Gundam sighting! In Yongsan, the crazy awesome computer market place, where I went for a transformer. If I had room for all the stuff they have there, I would buy said stuff.
The statue outside my Outpost of Corporate Korea, which I have dubbed "Triumph of the Paper Flingers." Or "Martyrdom of the Paper Flingers," I can't decide which I like more.
Myeongdong Cathedral, on a terrible day for picture-taking:
And let me just leave you with something from my neighborhood:
Self-explanatory.
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