eveninghawk’s links

You too can enjoy a neatly scripted scrabble solitaire and go nuts like I do trying to better your top score.

(link via kottke)

I couldn’t decide whether to list this as comics or art. Regardless, there is much to be enjoyed and commented on at www.creaturesinmyhead.com. Go, see, click and comment and vote. I think these inkings are excellent and remind me of an art vein i too travelled, once upon a time.

I was reading around my normal haunts today and came across this interesting piece of entertainment news. Apparently vampires are too cold and overdone.

Also, Angelina Jolie in a wereworlf movie. Hrmmmm.

Mark Twain is one of the best humorists ever. Today I read an essay he wrote, mind you it’s a bit of a time investment to get through it. I can guarantee you’ll get more out of it if you’ve studied (or attempted to study) German.

The Awful German Language by Mark Twain

I read an article today about a pickled dragon found in Oxfordshire. I found out about it via boing boing.

All in all, I must say that the most interesting creative ventures come about when folks have altogether too much free time on their hands.

I used to work for a company that did outsourcing work here in China. Many of my college classmates have some kind of job that seems like selling out on some level. I watched School of Rock the other day, and was amused by the presentation of “the man”.

Then I read this article about the animals of “the man”. It puts another spin on animal rights.

I finished re-reading Hamlet. I believe this is the fourth time I’ve read the play. I am amused that Hamlet is often satirized as the brooding moody young prince who has kind of lost it. Yes, it’s an oversimplification, but I feel like this oversimplification has become the substance of most people’s vision of the story. Why? Not many people read Hamlet anymore, nevermind see it.

I like Hamlet, since he’s angsty yet crafty. He does get carried away with himself at times, but he’s more or less a devoted son turned detective, and he uses the means most readily available to him.

Reading this also brings to mind Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. Tom Stoppard is a funny man, and it’s true that the two men seem ill-fated and indistinguishable from the start. I wonder what Shakespeare would think of the play. I would hope that he’d be duly amused and rolling in the isles.

Whereas it may seem a little overly dramatic, the story is very good and has a fantastic ensemble of folks. There’s not much writing these days that spans the kind of wit and depth as Shakespeare’s plays.

I recently watched 少年啊虎 (English title starrunner). It was an interesting foray onto the big screen for one of the F4 boys. I had never thought the F4 phenomena would last, and apparently their management is smarter than most, since the boys are all doing independent music, tv, and movie pieces on their own. It makes them stronger individually.

The movie I watched is the prequel to an interesting movie from a few years ago about a washed up martial artist, and that movie (阿虎 or Fighter’s Blues) starred Andy Lau. This foray shows us the abilities of Vanness. His acting is ok, and even though the script was weak, the hip-hop fan has decent moves.

The movie is yet another lover/fighter exploration, only the whole thing doesn’t seem quite comfortable with itself since it’s supposed to be a tragic teacher-student love story. While the movie was playing on a lot of overdone themes, the mixing of styles and fight sequences were fun to watch, and I like surly heroes. So it all worked out well in the end. Overall opinion: good popcorn material, bad investment.

It is my belief that the freakiest horror movies come from Korea and Japan. The Ring was a remake of one of the creepiest Japanese movies I’ve ever seen, and the US version pales in comparison. These horror movies manage to get in your head and under your skin while using pieces of everyday life. There is very little jumping and screaming or excessive gore that Hollywood seems so fond of. This is the art form that creeps you out through subtle hints, leaving your mind to do the rest.

301 302 is a 1995 film from Korea. The story focuses on two women, one an anorexic writer, the other a slightly more plump divorcee. They are neighbors and the ex-housewife sets about fattening up her neighbor. Though a little neurotic, you can’t help but like her. The writer is quite physically repulsed by food, and they confront each other about their myriad issues. This leads the two to a deeper relationship. It might be called a friendship, but I’m not sure. You’d have to see the film to see what I mean. Though the movie moves more and more into the surreal, I was drawn in, duped by the story.

The movie peaks with a death, and the ending is quite creepy. This is the kind of story that gives you shivers and bad dreams because it takes things we find unacceptable and makes them understandable, even merciful.

I have watched eight episodes of Jubei-chan. It’s a very cute anime. The premise is yet another magical girl opening, and she has the pleasure to be linked with a samurai of 300 years ago. Of course, much fun ensues. What really draws me to this piece is that she’s a reluctant hero, and once transformed she looks like a pirate. The only remnant of cuteness is the heat-shaped eyepatch.

Another bit that I like here is the flexibility in animation style. The characters’ style varies with both importance and emoton. This is usually the case with SD, but here this reverts not only to SD forms, but also ultra simple sketch like forms more typical to Doraemon, and other cartoons from the 60s & 70s in Japan. (two other such shows are Xiao Xin and Xiao Wanzi, but I only know the Chinese names as I watch these shows in the afternoon here in Shanghai) This is something that feels fresh in its revival and gives another dimension to the storytelling.

My favorite character is Koinosuke. I know that he’s a pain through most of the series, but he has a tough tak trying to understand the modern world and honor his master while establishing a close friendship with Jubei-chan. Also, he doesn’t have a ridiculous ending. At the start of the series he wants to complete his mission and die. In the end, he completes his mission and dies. It seems like a fitting conclusion after more than 300 years roaming around. I like a man who can stick to his passions, even in the face of enormous “bon bons.”

Fine, he returns in the manga, but one can always leave things in the wonderful world of the first series.