Kangaroo? Bunny? Okay, those two I can understand. But ARMADILLO?
The answer to yesterday’s quiz is: Totoro! (My Neighbor Totoro is one of Sylvia’s favorite movies—Jan’s and mine, too. It’s creative and sweet and just utterly charming.)
Here’s a photo from the film. Jan subbed a cocktail umbrella for a full-sized one because he didn’t feel like toting around a big umbrella all night.
This guy quit his job several years ago and set off traveling around the world. And then:
A few months into his trip, a travel buddy gave Matt an idea. They were standing around taking pictures in Hanoi, and his friend said “Hey, why don’t you stand over there and do that dance. I’ll record it.” He was referring to a particular dance Matt does. It’s actually the only dance Matt does. He does it badly. Anyway, this turned out to be a very good idea.
Here he is, dancing in forty-two different countries. I couldn’t stop smiling while watching this. Do watch the whole thing—it’s well worth it.
Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.
(Via Boing Boing.)
A new Joss Whedon project? Check.
Nathan Fillion, Felicia Day, and Neil Patrick Harris? Check.
And they’re all singing? Double-check.
Teaser from Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog on Vimeo.
Girls Rock!
Indeed they do!
Wow, doesn’t this look like an amazing film? The trailer alone is impressive. How fabulous to see adolescent girls feeling confident and empowered—and not because of what anyone else tells them but because of what they accomplish and how they themselves feel about it.
Here is the website for the film (which hits theaters on March 7), if you’re interested in more info.
It took some thinking, but I finally found a good project for one of the skeins of yarn Sylvia gave me for Christmas: I made a hat for her. It’s more like a bonnet, actually (and that’s what we’ve been calling it), and it’s similar to one wore by the character Lyra in the recent film The Golden Compass.
I haven’t seen that movie yet (I’ll probably wait until the DVD is out for that one), but I’ve long loved Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy. Lyra is a fabulous personality—so full of fire and determination and cleverness. Sometimes Sylvia reminds me of her a bit. And of Arya Stark. Especially in the willfulness department. (Has anyone else realized that two-year-olds are master tautologists? “I don’t want to do X because I don’t want to!”)
Sylvia wore her new hat Friday morning to our weekly playgroup meeting, and when I was asked where I found the pattern, I honestly couldn’t remember anything beyond “online somewhere.” (Isn’t that where we find pretty much everything these days?) But I’ve now tracked it down. The pattern is available at Froggie Meanie, at Marmalade, and on the Lion Brand website. All of those patterns are free, and they include both child and adult sizing. I am thinking about making one for myself, too. After all, I’ve got another skein of thick yarn that Sylvia gave me…and what else am I going to do with size 19 needles, anyway?
Here’s a fun commentary piece just published on the Wired website: nearly thirty years to the day after Star Wars was first released, this guy finally saw it.
He points out up front that he didn’t go into the viewing totally clueless. It’s impossible to have lived in our society for the past three decades without being exposed (heavily!) to what he calls “the fallout from this pop-culture phenomenon.”
In the end, he’s unimpressed–and rightly so. This is an entertaining film but by no means great art. George Lucas’s ability to write decent dialogue is nonexistent and, amazingly, somehow manages to get even worse over the course of the rest of the series, culminating in the gut-wrenching (for anyone who saw the film) palaver of the courtship scene in episode 2.
His final verdict? “I should have waited for the 50th anniversary.” Heh.
This is a real trip down memory lane. Jan sent this link to me recently, and as soon as I heard “Ed Gruberman” I was back in high school, listening to the Dr. Demento Show on the radio. “Boot to the head!” indeed.
He also sent me a link to a short film called Balance that won the 1989 Academy Award for Best Animated Short and was shown in art-house theaters in the early 90s (that’s where I first saw it). Then and now it’s a striking commentary on the absurdity of greed.
No, I’m not talking about some casino that was blown up in Las Vegas recently. That Stardust pales in comparison to the upcoming film Stardust, based on the fabulous novel by the fabulous Neil Gaiman. I saw the trailer a couple of weeks ago, and I’ve been drooling with anticipation ever since. Based on that, it looks like it will be fairly true to the book. Gaiman discussed it in his blog, and he says he likes it. He also says in another post that he isn’t contractually restricted from saying anything bad about the film adaption of Stardust. So if he thinks the final result is lousy…well, I hope he tells us!
