I recently got the CALF DVD compiling a number of Mirai Mizue’s animations, and it’s rather fascinating, bizarrely at times. My favorite is “MODERN”, embedded below; the soundscape makes the transformation of geometric shapes all the more mesmerizing, atmospheric and science-fictionally/abstractly futuristic. At times, “MODERN” reminds me of the game Edge, but remains to me in a category of its own. I’d love to see “MODERN 2” at a screening or on DVD at some point.
Lost Melody
Dropped on a train ride to visit an aunt.
Found by a law office intern.
Given to upset boyfriend.
Cherished sparingly for years.
Objet Trouvé: Partially Eaten Leaf
This was a fun find during an afternoon bicycle excursion…
Love you, Clover: The Enzo is Back!
As someone who likes to eat fries with and in sandwiches, I was ecstatic when I found out a couple weeks ago that Clover would be doing another run of their Enzo sandwich. The photograph above just cannot capture even a sliver of the Enzo experience; it is a sheer delight to chew and savor if you like the ingredients (listed below) that go into this uniquely delectable vegetarian meal/snack.
The Joy of Talking Pineapples, Still Awesome: Téléfrançais!
So glad I stumbled across this as a kid and got to watch more of it in middle school French class!
Frustrating But Good: The Spectacular Now
Delightful and difficult to watch, The Spectacular Now is engrossingly charming and believable. Particularly for me, it was frustrating to see the well-meaning, relatable characters do things that hurt themselves and those they care about, frustrating to see Aimee’s insecurity, frustrating to see Sutter a victim of his own live-in-the-moment philosophy. But that’s what ultimately made the story as poignant as it was, portraying in an affecting way the ordinary but meaningful foibles of youth. Though perhaps at times dramatic, The Spectacular Now doesn’t have any overblown drama, yet we can see that there’s a particular magnitude to what’s happening, what’s slowly building up. Because like the characters who can see in each other what they cannot see in themselves, we as the audience have distance—from their situation and, at least in my case, from youth—we can see the slow disaster unfolding, can see that it doesn’t take a sudden catastrophe to derail lives. Or maybe not. At times the film does such a great job of pulling us into their world and their perspectives, and we, like the characters do, let things happen.
Love the ending.
I have to agree with much of the Fresh Air film review, which starts by characterizing The Spectacular Now as “goofy, exhilarating and unreasonably sad, like being a teenager.” What David Edelstein says about the actors and their characters is often spot on.
Again, a film that isn’t done justice by its trailer, but here it is in case you’re curious…
Just Watched: In A World
After hearing such captivating interviews with Lake Bell on NPR, how could I not be eager to partake of her film In A World? With solely Lake Bell’s on-radio descriptions of the film vigorously stoking my expectations, I excitedly immersed myself in all the familial drama, occupational antics and romantic (and vocal) misadventures of Carol’s (Lake Bell’s character) life.
Although not as auditorily delectable as I had hoped (there’s a good dose of sensual, smooth voices but interspersed with much normalcy), Lake Bell’s In A World had some well worthwhile hilarity. The plot and characters had enough zaniness to keep my attention locked on the film, riding their parallel voiceover-centric universe roller coaster with them. If you need something quirky and fun, check out In A World; I think it’s substantially better than its trailer makes it out to be.
“You’re alive. Act like it.”
I’m not sure who said that (either Elevated! or Da Poetry Lounge), but now perhaps what matters is that it was said, boldly as a thunderous command closing an emotionally and linguistically turbulent meditation on the modern human condition. That blazingly delivered poem charged us to again be human.
At the packed, sold-out National Poetry Slam 2013 finals, I was utterly astounded by the powerful voices slam poets gave history, social issues, personal emotions and so much more. The phrases resonating in the air thick with the energy of fandom (for these poets specifically and for poetry generally), those words wove stories that were everything from heartbreaking to uplifting. A boisterous bro duo gleefully shattered the illusion that first-time lovemaking is smooth and sweet; Mr. Freeze, the Penguin, the Riddler, etc. read their letters to Batman recounting tragic life stories, ultimately instructing him to fix the city that created them; a chorus of positivity encouraged us to celebrate how amazing life is, how remarkable it is, among other things, that our lungs and hearts often work tirelessly, unnoticeably; a substitute teacher’s mind races as he ponders over what he will tell a 4th grade girl who declares her aspirations of becoming the best tetherball player in the world, a world where not all dreams can come true, still pervaded by gender discrimination; a slam duet spun dizzying parallel stories of young siblings separately struggling with what society tells them their bodies should be and do… And far more. Sitting there, transfixed by the transformation of voice and bodily motion into sheer passion, provocation, catharsis and communion, I could barely believe words could do all this and beyond.
Although the details of diction, rhythm, gesture and tone were crystal sharp as they were unfolding during this most astonishing of artistic evenings, that extreme clarity is ebbing, but among whatever is left as time blurs memory will be the unshakable truth that words spoken bellowed, sung, guffawed and cried on stage connected us, pulled those of us in the audience into feelings and experiences perhaps not our own but unmistakably belonging to all of humanity, dared us to look at our past, present and selves, pushed us to move resolutely and justly into the future.
If there’s a slam poetry venue near you, check it out if you haven’t already.
Here’s the short film Slip of the Tongue, one of the pieces that brought me into the world of spoken word and slam poetry.
Still Incredible: The Lifecycle of Software Objects
But perhaps the standards for maturity for a digient shouldn’t be as high as they are for a human; maybe Marco is as mature as he needs to be to make this decision. Marco seems entirely comfortable thinking of himself as a digient rather than a human. It’s possible he doesn’t fully appreciate the consequences of what he’s suggesting, but Derek can’t shake the feeling that Marco in fact understands his own nature better than Derek does. Marco and Polo aren’t human, and maybe thinking of them as if they were is a mistake, forcing them to conform to his expectations instead of letting them be themselves. Is it more respectful to treat him like human being, or accept that he isn’t one?
From The Lifecycle of Software Objects.
This book feels just as amazing as when I first read it about three years ago. That’s almost undoubtedly because we’re still wrestling with how to achieve and think about human-like artificial intelligence, and author Ted Chiang has done a fantastic job grappling with the latter. In a nutshell, the story he tells is about the creation and growth of AI beings called digients, but there are so many great layers wrapped around that basic core, including questions of identity, maturity, sexuality, responsibility—you know, all the deep stuff we’ve contemplated about ourselves for ages. Ted Chiang really knows how to impressively weave cutting-edge and age-old ideas together in this enthralling work of fiction so they come across as intriguing and intuitive. I only wish that the voice of the book were a bit more “show” than “tell”, but this approach makes for a fast-moving, epic-feeling novella (hardcover version is only 150 pages).
The passage above comes at a critical turning point in the book where the humans and digients are grappling with an attractive but disconcerting proposition that will permanently and fundamentally change the nature of some digients and their interactions with people.
So Awesome: “In a World” stars on Fresh Air
Listening to this Fresh Air interview with Lake Bell and Fred Melamed was just too much fun. As they discuss various facets of their film In a World and the topics voice and voiceovers it romps about, the unexpected humor and though-provoking opinions enthralled me. If this 47-minute chunk of radio show is too time-intensive for you, check out the All Things Considered interview with Lake Bell. I can’t wait to see her film.
BTW, hearing about Lake Bell’s film reminded me instantly of the trailer below for the film Comedian.
A Contemplative Compilation 