Sunday, June 13, 2004
Friday, June 11, 2004
With nothing else on TV, I flicked on (as I rarely do) to Cartoon Network to catch Cowboy Bebop, one of the most popular anime shows around. And what can I say, it's got something - perhaps a little pretentious at times, but it does have something. It's hard to draw the line between artistic and pseudo-artistic/pretentious, but I think CB is planted on the former. The animation style is intriguing, like nothing I've seen before. But caveat emptor, because I've never seen any other anime in my life (excluding kids' ones like DBZ, etc.), and for that matter very little animation.
The story is impossible to judge without seeing more episodes I suppose. The episode I saw yesterday was a little simplistitc in the storyline - genetically enhanced man who goes psycho but when he sees an object from the past (a cat, no less) becomes terrified. But like I said, it would be foolish to judge the story based on one episode, because perhaps it has continuity and what have you.
Animation wise I found it most entertaining, although I suppose "like nothing I've seen before" sounds tacky. It is true for the most part though! I read a while ago that The Matrix was influenced by a lot of anime, and it doesn't surprise me given the action scenes from this one. Usually well choreographed with interesting visual techniques, although my only complaint would be that there was perhaps too much action. Then again, it's just one episode.
Now, some parts struck me as just trying to be artsy, but perhaps that's just me. The hero (Spike?) playing pool, for instance, where they have an interesting animation of the ball getting hit in, that was a turn-off because it seemed like they were trying to be too artistic, but then again, what do I know?
That was no review by any stretch of the imagination, but merely another musing. I should mention that I saw a bit of Bubblegum Crisis: Tokyo 2040 and it freaked me out. There's something about animation with that old (80s?) look and feel to it that really scares me. The bit I saw was when three of these robot-knights (?) are fighting these strange things that come out of the ground. The barren landscape, the ruins, the dark sky, gah, all too much for me! I think it fills me with a sense of foreboding that plays very deeply on me, but at the same time of course, I feel like I must watch.
Oh and incidentally I have these things called exams next week. Think they're important or something.
The story is impossible to judge without seeing more episodes I suppose. The episode I saw yesterday was a little simplistitc in the storyline - genetically enhanced man who goes psycho but when he sees an object from the past (a cat, no less) becomes terrified. But like I said, it would be foolish to judge the story based on one episode, because perhaps it has continuity and what have you.
Animation wise I found it most entertaining, although I suppose "like nothing I've seen before" sounds tacky. It is true for the most part though! I read a while ago that The Matrix was influenced by a lot of anime, and it doesn't surprise me given the action scenes from this one. Usually well choreographed with interesting visual techniques, although my only complaint would be that there was perhaps too much action. Then again, it's just one episode.
Now, some parts struck me as just trying to be artsy, but perhaps that's just me. The hero (Spike?) playing pool, for instance, where they have an interesting animation of the ball getting hit in, that was a turn-off because it seemed like they were trying to be too artistic, but then again, what do I know?
That was no review by any stretch of the imagination, but merely another musing. I should mention that I saw a bit of Bubblegum Crisis: Tokyo 2040 and it freaked me out. There's something about animation with that old (80s?) look and feel to it that really scares me. The bit I saw was when three of these robot-knights (?) are fighting these strange things that come out of the ground. The barren landscape, the ruins, the dark sky, gah, all too much for me! I think it fills me with a sense of foreboding that plays very deeply on me, but at the same time of course, I feel like I must watch.
Oh and incidentally I have these things called exams next week. Think they're important or something.
Thursday, June 10, 2004
On the subject of remembering the essence of something without remembering the specifics, take Aldous Huxley's Those Barren Leaves for example. I picked it up with scorn, for some reason mocking something I saw on the back cover. Something about it being a comedy or something. Anyway, I never really expected it to be a serious read - it was originally something to pass the time.
But once I finished, lord! I was forever changed! Well, nothing as dramatic as that, but it did have a profound impact on me. It was another of those books that just seemed to speak directly to me. At the peak of my intellectual and philosophical search, reading some of Huxley's ideas were simply delightful. Yet again, I am ashamed that I cannot remember details. But the mood, the atmosphere, it was perfect for the time I was reading it. Sitting in my old house in Mysore, gazing at the pages of someone who thought about a lot of stuff I was thinking about. In particular I remember one of the characters musing about the various conceptions of his hand - physically, chemically, philosophically - I have often thought of much the same thing.
It's truly wonderful when something resonates, and captures a special place in your heart. I can think of other things apart from Huxley's novel. Plastic Ono Band. On The Beach, for some inexplicable reason. Coming Up For Air, as previously mentioned. A short list, to be sure, but one that I hold dear in some way. Perhaps they're not the cream of the crop, but they've got something special that I do hope I never forget.
But once I finished, lord! I was forever changed! Well, nothing as dramatic as that, but it did have a profound impact on me. It was another of those books that just seemed to speak directly to me. At the peak of my intellectual and philosophical search, reading some of Huxley's ideas were simply delightful. Yet again, I am ashamed that I cannot remember details. But the mood, the atmosphere, it was perfect for the time I was reading it. Sitting in my old house in Mysore, gazing at the pages of someone who thought about a lot of stuff I was thinking about. In particular I remember one of the characters musing about the various conceptions of his hand - physically, chemically, philosophically - I have often thought of much the same thing.
It's truly wonderful when something resonates, and captures a special place in your heart. I can think of other things apart from Huxley's novel. Plastic Ono Band. On The Beach, for some inexplicable reason. Coming Up For Air, as previously mentioned. A short list, to be sure, but one that I hold dear in some way. Perhaps they're not the cream of the crop, but they've got something special that I do hope I never forget.
Wednesday, June 09, 2004
Lordy, there are so many foo's blogging (I'm one to judge, huh?). If I weren't completely mentally crippled, I'd reply to some of the brain-dead stuff I read on the net, but what's the point?
At the same time, if I were to read my blog as an outsider I'd probably think that I were a nutjob. You can't judge people till you've been in their shoes, I suppose. But that don't mean it ain't fun anyway!
I'm just fresh off a pseudo-Indian blog. Pseudo, because the person blogging totally contradicts my definition of Indian. Although he (?) is in India. I suppose it is because I am far too naive in my mythic conception of my motherland, I place it on a pedestal far above the rest of the world (don't we all?). And when I see something that goes against that image, I denounce it as "not Indian". Wonderful exercise, no? The particular blog I read seems to be a try-hard who wants to act cool. But at the same time, he's not some vapid fool, the man does think, only in a different way to me. Way to be accepting of different ideologies, huh? Just totally dismmiss them as insane if they contradict yours. Swearing, drinking and doing drugs are not cool, sir. I dunno what perception you have of the west, but I can honestly say that these last few months I feel like I'm drowning. Drowning, and I need to come up for air pretty soon.
Isn't Coming Up For Air such a lovely, albeit bitter, book? I sometimes feel like the protagonist...in a way, Orwell reflected my own thoughts about nostalgia and "home" quite perfectly. Some of it is just awfully tragic though, especially with the fish pond (if I remember correctly, it's the one he went to as a child). I'll be darned if I remember much else about the book though. I tend to get the overall flavour of books once I read them, but I have a really hard time recalling even general ideas about the story. I am therefore able to possess an almost instinctive record of the overall tone, even if details of the plot escape me. In many ways, it's the same thing with music albums - I might not remember the specific songs, but I will remember that I liked the overall atmosphere of the thing. That is as of itself not that bad, of course - if I am able to store the essence of something, there's something to be said for that. But of course, in daily conversation, it can look quite foolish.
And that's why I hate people.
At the same time, if I were to read my blog as an outsider I'd probably think that I were a nutjob. You can't judge people till you've been in their shoes, I suppose. But that don't mean it ain't fun anyway!
I'm just fresh off a pseudo-Indian blog. Pseudo, because the person blogging totally contradicts my definition of Indian. Although he (?) is in India. I suppose it is because I am far too naive in my mythic conception of my motherland, I place it on a pedestal far above the rest of the world (don't we all?). And when I see something that goes against that image, I denounce it as "not Indian". Wonderful exercise, no? The particular blog I read seems to be a try-hard who wants to act cool. But at the same time, he's not some vapid fool, the man does think, only in a different way to me. Way to be accepting of different ideologies, huh? Just totally dismmiss them as insane if they contradict yours. Swearing, drinking and doing drugs are not cool, sir. I dunno what perception you have of the west, but I can honestly say that these last few months I feel like I'm drowning. Drowning, and I need to come up for air pretty soon.
Isn't Coming Up For Air such a lovely, albeit bitter, book? I sometimes feel like the protagonist...in a way, Orwell reflected my own thoughts about nostalgia and "home" quite perfectly. Some of it is just awfully tragic though, especially with the fish pond (if I remember correctly, it's the one he went to as a child). I'll be darned if I remember much else about the book though. I tend to get the overall flavour of books once I read them, but I have a really hard time recalling even general ideas about the story. I am therefore able to possess an almost instinctive record of the overall tone, even if details of the plot escape me. In many ways, it's the same thing with music albums - I might not remember the specific songs, but I will remember that I liked the overall atmosphere of the thing. That is as of itself not that bad, of course - if I am able to store the essence of something, there's something to be said for that. But of course, in daily conversation, it can look quite foolish.
And that's why I hate people.
It's funny, I've often posted nonsense here that no one will understand, as well as totally non-serious stuff that will probably alarm people. I never really expected that anyone would read this blog, but I guess if you're posting something on the net, you're bound to get some curious passer-by. And whenever I get a passer-by, I hold onto them like death itself ("which is not too far off, by the way").
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