Does anyone else remember this great song? Aretha had a great voice, so much talent.
Amazing, indeed.
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Remembering Aretha Franklin
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Hospitalité
Hospitalité is a one of a kind movie — or perhaps an odd movie is more like it. The main characters are Mikio, a middle aged man who’s taken over his family’s small printing shop, Natuski, his new, young wife, Eriko, his daughter from his first marriage and his sister who’s divorced. The daughter and the sister are sort of like prompts in that they appear when the plot needs a nudge. Otherwise, I didn’t think they seemed all that real.
The family’s pet parakeet goes missing and the young wife and daughter put up a notice in the neighborhood for it. A strange neighbor presents himself to help find the bird. Before they know it this odd ball Kagawa has been hired and then moves into their small home. A couple days later Kagawa brings his blonde wife to live there. The wife is a liar telling some she’s from Brazil and others that she’s from Bosnia. Chaos ensues. It reminded me of the Cat in the Hat but with the parents remaining home and allowing a nutcase teak over and never clean up.
Kagawa quickly discovers secrets both the husband and wife have and blackmailing them to get his way. By the end of the film the couple have completely lost control of their home as Kagawa practically turns the place like a youth hostel.
I found the film very different and unpredictable, but shortly after it ended I saw loads of holes in the story.
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Jerusalem Chronicles
Guy Delisle’s wife’s job with Médecins san Frontières took the family to Jerusalem giving Delisle plenty of material for another graphic memoir, Jerusalem: Chronicles from the Holy City
I like Delisle’s drawing, which shows everything in a very human scale. Delisle approaches his encounter with Jerusalem and the conflict in the region very authentically with what appears to be an open mind. I did come away with the impression that he tilts towards sympathy for the Palestinians, however he does try to show fully each side. It’s clear enough what he thinks, but he doesn’t knock you over the head with agitprop.
Delisle’s an atheist, but more of a lost soul than a big time, passionate, atheist who has to proselytize every chance he can. He has a budding curiosity about religion mixed with a “can you believe what these religious folks do” sensibility.
Mainly, what I got from reading this book is what the daily routine and the opportunities to participate in the culture were for this one man. The book belongs with memoirs not with history or educational books. Delisle shows us his travails with picking up his kids in bad traffic, making friends with a priest who lets him use church space as a studio, the trouble his nanny experiences when her house is going to be demolished, his workshops for art students, his sightseeing journeys that never turned out as he expected (which is part of travel most anywhere). I appreciated Jerusalem Chronicles
The Cold War
Since so much of the social studies lessons I had focused on the USSR, I take for granted that people know about the Cold War, but my mother, a former social studies teacher tells me that in the last couple decades this topic isn’t covered and younger people don’t know much about it. This video provides a good introduction to the Cold War.
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Black & White
Each week Cee of Cee’s Photography challenges bloggers with a fun prompt. This week we’re to find photos of subjects that feature black and white, mirrors, airports, clouds, reflection, vehicles or power lines.
I decided to use a photo of my sister’s dog. I’m trying to use it for a craft project after I trace it in Illustrator. We’ll see how that works out.
Join the fun.
If you want to see more fun photos, click here.
Parenting Tip Gold
I can’t believe I never heard of Jeanne Robertson, a super perceptive comedienne whom I just discovered on YouTube. Her humor centers on her home life which old and young can watch, even in the same room. Yes, no off color or snark.
This story of how she and her husband handled an errant son is priceless.
Only Yesterday
In Only Yesterday
In the country, Taeko is haunted by memories from her 5th grade self. She looks back at the gossiping classmates, her outsider status at home and how she missed out on a chance to act because her father disproved of theatrics. She was and still is a dreamer, who was at times, kind, selfish, a follower, a betrayer and a doormat. In essence, Taeko lived through the slings and arrows of tween life.
Romance almost buds when Taeko meets Toshio, a young farmer who’s left the city to start an organic farm, before most people had heard of them. Toshio and Taeko have a bond and become fast friends. They both love rural life, but when urged to consider Toshio in terms of romance, Taeko can’t handle it.
This animated film has lush, detailed illustrations of scenery. Seeing the homes, the trains, forest and details like the burners for mosquito repellant, the tea kettle or kerosene heaters, makes me remember my time in Japan. I thought the artists drew the children better than the older characters, but that is a mild criticism.
Also, I wish they had kept this film in Japanese and had subtitles or offered a choice for dubbing. That way, I could have escaped into the movie further still. With one character having a British accent and the others North American accents, I felt it was disjointed. I wasn’t clear on why Toshio had a British accent. It might have made more sense if one or more characters had rather rural sounding accents, but they didn’t.
All in all, Only Yesterday
