Perhaps uniquely, nobody in the library today smells funny.

[alexsarll]

The strange thing is, I was thinking earlier this week that there was another attack due - but my fears were focussed on Tuesday, simply because it was 8/8. Still, I'm very glad not to be flying at the moment. Not so much for the small risk of being blown to smithereens, as for the mind-twistingly horrific idea of taking any kind of journey without something to read and something to drink. But it gives me a strange degree of hope that, even during the height of the anxiety, one of BBC News' top five stories concerned 21 penguins and an octopus surviving a road accident in Texas (in other distracting funny animal news, is that any way to encourage other crustaceans to return wallets?)

So although I'm facing down a bit of a summer cold at the moment and had been thinking in terms of another QNI, I was obliged to go pubbing simply as a gesture of defiance. And a pub quiz...well, the sense of shared purpose seemed like it might be a help at this trying time. The result was ideal; we won, and the other team with my friends in came second. Ah, the taste of victory and warm champagne...

Finally took advantage of Film4's arrival on freeview by watching Miyazaki's Nausicaa, part of their admirable Ghibli season. It is, needless to say, a delightful and moving film; bear in mind that though Spirited Away got the Oscar, it was one of those 'oops, should have rewarded him sooner'-type Oscars, and of all his films that I've seen that's undoubtedly the weakest (albeit also the most Academy-friendly, given its ghastly lead). Nausicaa does, however, have the characteristic flaws of any master's early works. One, only a flaw in hindsight, is that the themes seem overfamiliar because you've seen them done with more nuance in later pieces - in Miyazaki's case it's the importance of a balance between humanity and the natural world, and the destruction war brings. The other is that many writers' early work is more in thrall to the conventions of a given genre than will later be the case - in this case, the whole thing is just a little closer to standard SF/fantasy quest stories than will later be the case, albeit already with some major twists. And, to be quite honest, it's too bloody long; it falls foul of the rule I long since derived from Who for TV amd film: no character should be captured and escaped more than once, or else you've got slack you can afford to lose.
And yet, and yet...it's Miyazaki. Even once I have the money to buy art, I think I'm more likely just to buy flatscreens and Miyazaki DVDs and freeze some of the scenes, because they're never on screen for long enough; I just want to sink into them, and there are few enough paintings (or even moments of real life) which tug at me quite so powerfully. And in the Ohm he's made creatures so terrifying it seems it's going to undermine his own message of harmony between man and nature - and then makes us see they're as cute as the fluffy ones. Plus, it's a real SF love-in on the voice acting, given it features Adama, Luke Skywalker *and* Picard Charles Xavier.

It takes a lot to get me to New Cross of an evening, but Luxembourg and the Low Edges on the same bill at a night called Shot By Both Sides will manage it tonight.

Comments

[icecoldinalex.livejournal.com]

poor lobster :(

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Still, some of its brethren may live on account of its sacrifice!

[icecoldinalex.livejournal.com]

they should all fuse into a super lobster and kick off.

[culturedgoat.livejournal.com]

Even once I have the money to buy art, I think I'm more likely just to buy flatscreens and Miyazaki DVDs and freeze some of the scenes, because they're never on screen for long enough; I just want to sink into them, and there are few enough paintings (or even moments of real life) which tug at me quite so powerfully.

You totally need to go to the Ghibli Museum in Tokyo. There are rooms covered wall to wall in concept art, sketches, and many original hand-painted cels (all, if you can believe it, even more vibrant and beautiful than the visuals that we see on the DVDs - I was also finally able to confirm that Nausicaa is indeed wearing pants). It was just incredibly moving.

As a whole I loved Nausicaa, it was such a classic example of how Miyazaki effortlessly creates a whole new world that is impossible not to get drawn into. Some of the plot points were a bit arbitrary though, and the underlying message was a bit confused (are we supposed to revile at the Sea of Decay, or embrace it as a part of the world?), but the experience was nonetheless quite magical.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

I saw the IMDb thing about the pants - wtf? I never even thought to consider that she might not be. Clearly my eyes are special. But yes, I would love love love to go there.

I think the point was that the Toxic Jungle/Sea of Decay is only toxic because it's processing out the toxicity left from industrial civilisation and the Seven Days of Fire. Ultimately, if left alone it will finish doing that and cease to be poisonous.

[kiss-me-quick.livejournal.com]

Heehee I'm giggling at your stranded octopus impression all over again!

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Good lord, breasts! Or rather, nice icon. Man, I'd forgotten my octopus impression. I'm ace.

[carsmilesteve.livejournal.com]

(haha, that is what i thought too, but as i don't think i know kiss_me_quick it seemed a little rude to say it directly to her ;))

[kiss-me-quick.livejournal.com]

Ha I saw it anyway.

Of course, I should've used one of my penguin icons in my original comment.

[augstone.livejournal.com]

"The rest of the penguins kind of stayed together in a ditch,"

one of the best quotes ever.

[icecoldinalex.livejournal.com]

"like, they were kinda unsure, but the little guys just stuck it on out anyhow"

[augstone.livejournal.com]

i know! "kind of"??? why can't this man commit to the penguins having stayed in the ditch?

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Those penguins were the smart ones. They may well have engineered the whole thing just to get rid of their annoying dim mates...

[augstone.livejournal.com]

a penguin conspiracy? (strokes chin...)

okay, a group of pirates and bears stumble onto a ship containing penguins and ninjas in 1660 IN SPACE....

[kiss-me-quick.livejournal.com]

Have you seen Madagascar? The penguins in that are ace.

[augstone.livejournal.com]

i haven't, no. perhaps i should, i do love penguins.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Well, you know the whole fake 'terror' thing was just a way of distracting us from the REAL issues - like pirate penguins vs ninja octopus.

[beingjdc.livejournal.com]

Do we have a plan for what time people are getting to this thing? I don't know my plans yet.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Not a jot of one, I'm hoping that something will come together on one of the various posts already devoted to the topic, and some kind soul will text or gmail me.

[euphoricstimuli.livejournal.com]

have you seen howls moving castle yet? I havent seen any of his old stuff, but thast one is really amazing.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Yep, the only one I saw on its original cinema release, and thoroughly ace.

[the-roofdog.livejournal.com]

Aren't they showing all those Ghibli films dubbed ? I was going to watch them all again until I heard dubbing in the advert.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

I really don't get why everyone's so down on dubbing in animation. Sure, it's hard to get an exact translation - but the same is equally true of subtitles, and those also distract the eye from the visuals. With French, say, I suppose I can get some sense of the emotion and meaning even if I don't understand every word I hear, but Japanese is pretty much a closed book to me, so I lose little by not hearing it - and they always seem to use quality voice talent.

[p-dan-tic.livejournal.com]

i know what your saying about giving oscars because they think the recipiant deserves an oscar already, but bare in mind there are a fair number of people who think spirited away is his best film (I've still not seen howl's)

again I will say this - the original is far superior to the american re-dub and I honestly think that the setting you saw it in ment you wern't paying enough attention to the things going on in the background, which imho are easily worthy of an oscar for best animated film regardless of the director's history

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Certainly I can't fault it as far as worldbuilding; it'd be hard to pick Miyazaki's greatest world, but yeah, Spirited Away is a contender. The background is astounding, no argument on that. I just can't stand that awful girl who's meant to provide the narrative thrust. And I don't think that can be because of the dubbing; just from her face, the way she's animated, she's clearly a very different type of character to Nausicaa or the girls in Laputa and Howl, say, who all have a certain kinship.

And I can't believe the dub can have had that much impact anyway; given the infamous sending-the-US-studio-a-katana incident, I imagine they were doing their level best to be sensitive.

[p-dan-tic.livejournal.com]

I didn't just mean the background as in the scenery, i ment the stuf thecharacters get up to in the background - the celler with the spider guy especially

and while i understand you have issues with the character, what i ment is that i don't think the dubbing *helps* and that you'd be less harsh on her if you'd seen the origianal

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

That's what I mean by 'background' too! Basically, I think everything in it that's not the puny human girl is ace.

[angelv.livejournal.com]

Barbie as Batgirl!

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Ah yes, the Barbara Gordon version, he said sagely. As I think I said in the pub, Warners are unlikely ever to animate the Alan Moore-penned (but since disowned) story which she was crippled and possibly raped by the Joker.

[willjsm.livejournal.com]

Still, I'm very glad not to be flying at the moment.

Indeed. I'm afraid, Barry, that your Quo'ran idea about stopping bombings doesn't work. Not only is destroying toe words of the Prophet etc not banned, suicide bombers frequently wear the words around their neck. Demonstrations about Israelis destroying holy words... more about that they're Israeli...

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Fundamentalists In 'Hypocrite Scum' Shock; Film At Eleven.

[spyinthehaus.livejournal.com]

When _are_ the Miyazaki films? They say they are after the 3 o'clock film, but not _which_ 3 o'clock...

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

3pm. Obviously the exact time then varies depending how long that three o'clock film is, but as a rule they start around four or five and finish around seven.