Invisible Gesticulations - February 16th, 2008

About February 16th, 2008

My Ideal Girl is the Keith Number 01:44 pm
Quiz taken from [info]chris_walsh;

What Kind of Girl Will You Fall For?

You will fall part for the cutie. You like girls with a personality. She's got to have a nice smile and a sense of humor. Although she doesn't have to be a model, she has to be that girl-next-door.
You will fall part for the independent woman. You like girls that'll put up a fight with their words and their fists. Her conversation must be stimulating and controversial. She's got to have her own friends, her own car, and her own place. Most importantly, she can't be a "barnacle-on-a-whale" type.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com


I guess this is more or less accurate, except for the thing about fists. It's a weird naiveté at work here, I think, that associates physical violence with independence. I also, obviously, don't consider financial independence the same as (the more important) spiritual independence.
Current Location: The Love Nebula
Current Mood: coffee accepting
Current Music: "It's Getting Boring by the Sea" - Blood Red Shoes

Location 03:30 pm
Working on a map yesterday, I listened to Donald Richie's commentary for Akira Kurosawa's Drunken Angel. I was surprised to learn that Richie was actually on set during the filming of a number of Drunken Angel's scenes--at one point, he remarks on how, if the camera had panned slightly to the left, he'd have been visible standing next to Toshiro Mifune. That was in 1947, when Richie had come to Japan as part of the force of occupiers.

What makes the commentary even better is that Richie is actually an extremely articulate and insightful fellow. He discusses the existentialism apparent in Drunken Angel, the story of a yakuza (Mifune), whose identity is slowly broken down after he contracts tuberculosis, a disease rampant in the filthy conditions of many of Japan's post-war cities. Mifune's the city's suave boss at the beginning of the movie, but he slowly loses power as he becomes physically weaker, unable to wean himself from alcohol and the debaucheries that are part of his lifestyle. The things he identifies as himself begin to destroy him in a process Richie continually refers to as "denuding" until he's left with nothing more than naked will.

Richie says he actually asked Kurosawa about the existentialism present in the movie, and Kurosawa had told him he had no idea what he was talking about. I found that surprising, though I probably shouldn't have, since, as a film noir made in 1947, Drunken Angel was part of an era where filmmakers were making noirs without even knowing it.

Takashi Shimura's in the movie, too, as an alcoholic doctor trying to help Mifune's character;



And that's about all I did yesterday. I suspect I shall be making more maps to-day. I have a huge backlog of commentaries to listen to, fortunately . . .
Current Location: Between Japan and labelled shapes
Current Mood: awake
Current Music: "Tokyo Storm Warning" - Elvis Costello

Bloop 11:21 pm
Meme taken from [info]grandmofhelsing

1 - Go to wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/special:random

The first article that comes up when you click the link is the name of your band.


2 - Go to Random quotations:
http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3

The last four words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.


3 - Go to flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days/

Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

4 - Use photoshop or similar to make an album cover!

Current Location: Good Time Island
Current Mood: accomplished?
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