"You won't believe Step Two!" (he says, entirely disingenuously).
Today's Short Film Might Get A Little Dust In Your Eye
Today's PSA: You Can Make Jello Legos
"'Til By Turning, Turning, We Come 'Round Right."
Sometimes, Movie Nerds Are THE WORST...
It's worth watching even if for no other reason than to remind yourself that Peter Jackson is -- and has always been -- an unapologetic, wide-eyed movie lover; a fact that has always made him more likeable in my eyes, and one that I really needed to revisit after his "efforts" on the three Hobbit "films."
My Son And I Have Been Watching Miyazaki For A Couple Weeks. So Here's A Superman Cartoon. Naturally.
Actually, it makes more sense than you might think at first. Because it's the legendary Max Fleischer's legendary "The Mechanical Monsters," and if it didn't influence Miyazaki's robots in Castle in the Sky (and relatedly, probably, Brad Bird's The Iron GIant), than I am very much mistaken. And you know I hate being very much mistaken.
"Drone Footage Of The Dolomites" Sounds Amazing, Doesn't It? Well, It Is.
When Walking On Water's Just Not Enough...
Today's Suggestion Is Probably More Appropriate For The Kids Than For The Adults, But It Won Me Over In Spite Of Myself.
While hardly the biggest fan of the Michael Bond tales upon which the film was based, they'd always seemed charming, child-like, and fundamentally uncinematic in their simplicity (and in the fact that their main character was a talking bear). It was hard for me to imagine a successful cinematic interpretation of Bond's light-but-enjoyable efforts. But I was wrong.
The Proof's In The Pudding
"Watcha Doin', Papa?" "Oh, Just Getting Ready For Tonight."
Sure, Supermoons Are Cool. But They'll Never Be "Space Station Transiting Across The Front Of The Moon" Cool.
Today's Short Is Barely Over A Minute Long. But Don't Let Its Shortness Fool You. It's Hilariously Apropos.
"Crystal Birth"
"These stunning structures are the result of a chemical reaction where the metal is deposited from the solution onto the metal surface. It takes from a few hours to a couple of days to generate a crystal. This process is carried out very slowly by an electric current: layer by layer the crystal is born."
Mermaids Are Real (And Their Reality Is Almost Better Than Our Imaginings)
"The subjects reflected in my work are called 'Haenyo,' literally meaning 'sea women' in Korean. These women have a century-old history of making their own living by catching oysters, sea cucumbers, abalones, sea urchins, and squids. They hold their breaths for over two minutes and dive to depth of twenty meters without using any diving equipment."
Today's Film Is Silly, Side-Splittingly Funny, And Almost Entirely Crazy. So It's The Perfect Way To End This Week.
Movie Music Breadcrumbs
"I am a musicologist, a doctor of music. Therefore I listened to, studied and analysed a lot of music. I also enjoy metaphors, the art of quoting and of cycles. The harmonic draft of the Willow score, and most particularly its spiritual side, came from such a cycle, from such mythology and music history that I was taught, and that I myself convey with my own emotions and compositions." -- James Horner
A Video Clip Guaranteed To Distract Us All For At Least A Few Minutes
Music To Vote By
Just the right mixture of funereal sentiment and up-beat "whistling past the graveyard." Plus, there's something fundamentally defiant about it that matches my mood in the midst of today's "execution." (And isn't there something fitting about the imagery of all of us marching merrily along together on the way to this weird, public scaffold we've made of our politics over the past few months?)
