Over this previous summer, working at the video store in East Rochester, I set myself on a trek to watch all of the Akira Kurosawa films I could get my hands on. I had read much about Kurosawa, and already know that many of them were available in the store, and had too much spare time on my hands. So I searched for a book that could act as my guide, and found one (The Emperor and the Wolf: The Lives and Films of Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune - by Stuart Galbraith).
I went to the Rochester public library to pick up the book (it was out of print), and was surprised to find it to have over 800 pages. Soon after, I as surprised to find that Kurosawa had directed over 28 movies. So, on June 20, I started on the first one that I could find anywhere (No Regrets for Our Youth) and just tonight (Septembr 30) finished his last one (Madadayo).
The strange thing is that I've put off this last movie for almost two months. It was delivered by Netflix (which is awesome, by the way) before I left for my family vacation in early August. It's sat on my shelf or on my desk for now just over 2 months, for two reasons. First, I knew from my reading that this wasn't one of Kurosawa's best films. Second, I didn't really want to be done with my Kurosawa experience.
So from June 20th till July 31st, I watched 24 of Kurosawa's films. And wow, was it fun.
Akira Kurosawa was most famous for his epic samurai films (Rashomon, the Seven Samauri, Throne of Blood, Yojimbo, Sanjuro, Kagemusha and Ran), which really only amount to less than a third of his movie output. However, of his other films, I would really only recommend three of them for those who didn't really care too much about Kurosawa (Ikiru, Red Beard, and Dersu Uzala).
Ikiru is one that I would strongly recommend. It deals with a public works officer (in Japan, of course) who, after a few decades of mindless, dedicated work, finds out he has terminal stomach cancer. Sounds depressing? Not really. It will surprise you, and it is up there in my top five movies that could change your life after viewing.
Red Beard is the last Kurosawa film to have Toshiro Mifune, who was one of Kurosawa's favorite actors, and one of the most memorable and powerful performers in any of Kurosawa's films. The plot is of a struggling hospital, a newly transferred intern, and the hospital's director, who is called Red Beard due to his unusual red beard (sure it's a black and white film, but you can see the red beard clear enough if you have any humanity in you). It's a good movie, with several subplots, that again are surprisingly powerful. In one, there's a mental patient who seduces and kills young men. At one point she escapes. And it's rather terrifying. In another, a poor boy in near the brink of death, and to ensure that his soul doesn't escape, the nurses run out to a well and call his name down to the underworld to bring him back. A unexpectedly powerful scene.
And the last non-samurai film of Kurosawa's that I'd recommend would be Dersu Uzala. It's in Russian (quick tangent: Kurosawa had extreme trouble finding funding in Japan during his later career, and had to fight and beg and plead to get financing for another fill after a relative flop. The Russians finally gave him the money.) It's about Russian soldiers paroling a remote part of the Russian forest / tundra land. At one point, they hire a local forest man to be there guide (Dersu Uzala) who quickly befriends the captain of the troop. Dersu at one point saves the captains life, and at another point, the captain saves Dersu's (I understand that generally quickens the development of friendship among us mortals). There are some twists, and fantastic scenes. Watch it.
Now on to the really good stuff. Kurosawa's samurai films. If you're into movies at all, or are tired of the new choco-block-buster-a-thon movies (e.g. Eagle Eye), or are affected by movies at all, you need to watch some of these films.
First, in the black and white category, you need to see the Seven Samurai. It's perhaps one of the most influential movies of all time, inspiring directly the Magnificent Seven and A Bug's Life. The story is well known, and the directing and editing style has ripples throughout movie makers across the world. On top of that, it's a great story. Sure, it's over three hours long, but it's worth it. Do it in chunks. Do it all at once. However you do it, do it!
The other Kurosawa samurai B&Ws are good too. Not great, but they all have their great moments. In decreasing order of must watch down to you should watch, I'd list them as Seven Samurai (see above), Rashomon, Throne of Blood, Yojimbo/Sanjuro (they really go together), and the Hidden Fortress. Rashomon is another unbelievably influential movie, and arguably changed the way movies were made, Throne of Blood is based on Shakespeare's Macbeth, and has a mindblowingly great scene in it that involves a lot of archer's arrows (just ask Jake, he'll tell you about that scene). Yojimbo/Sanjuro are like cowboy westerns set in feudal Japan. You'll know exactly what I mean when you see them. They in turn inspired many American cowboy Westerns (Fistful of Dollars, etc.). The Hidden Fortress is good, not great, except for the fact that George Lucas credits his portrayal of C-3P0 and R2-D2 after two characters in this movie (he also doesn't credit the incredibly powerful hidden princess who saves the day, but I think he's lying about that).
And now, ladies and gentleman, the really good ones. I mean really good ones. After Red Beard (or maybe Dodes 'ka-den, which is one of the ones I couldn't find anywhere), Kurosawa's films transform into color films. The first was Dersu Usala, which I've already talked about. The color made it a better movie. I don't think this one would have worked in B&W.
And in walks Kagemusha. AKA The Shadow Warrior. The movie is like nothing you'll ever see until you watch Ran (Kurosawa called Kagemusha a "dry run" for Ran). It follows a poor, thief / nobody who has a striking resemblance to the lord of a huge, powerful clan. He is brought in to double the lord. At first to increase efficiency and spread additional terror. Later because the lord gets injured, etc. The movie is epic. With ginormous samurai / army battles, in breathtaking use of color and editing and story development and character development. It's good.
Now, if you've ever been part of a high school musical production, you know how painful they can be. Well, take a high school production of, say, the Fiddler on the Roof on the first day of dress rehearsal. Painful, right? And compare that to the movie version of Fiddler on the Roof, with huge ensembles and excellent casting (Topol kicks some serious ass), excellent musicians and a movie-level budget. Similarly, Ran is Kagemusha on a totally different level.
First, it's based on Shakespeare's King Lear (yes, Kurosawa liked Shakespeare), which means that at the very least, the story will be interesting. Second, take the success of Kurowasa from Kagemusha and give him complete control of the production, including massive extras, a couple million dollar castles built on the slopes of Mt. Fuji, costumes and colors that astound, music that takes one's breath away, and a sad old man who tries to give his hard, blood-drenched empire away to his three sons, (think plot of King Lear), and you've got a phenomenal movie. Just awesome. The battle scenes are color coordinated among the three sons, and are on an uber-scale. The father goes stark raving insane as he watches his son's battle, his empire crumble, his sword snap in half, and his castle burn, and one of the best scenes in any movie I've ever seen, and you're beginning to understand the power of Ran.
So, well, yeah. Watch some Kurosawa. I have purchased the Seven Samurai, Kagemusha, and Ran from the not-so-cheap Criterion Collection (sure the Seven Samurai cost me $50, but it has three disks, tons of commentary, extras, essays, and downright sexy packaging). I think it's totally worth it. I hope to purchase more of Kurosawa's in the near future.
30.9.08
23.9.08
McCain /Obama
In my mind, I have trouble honing in on my opinions without writing them down, reading, editing, rereading, reediting them, etc. So, being that the election is forthcoming, I just sent in my absentee ballot application, and that the first major debate is this Friday, I thought I'd explore what I believe.
I don't understand all that much about what's going on with the economy, and have not been following political news all that closely. But I have a new goal, to read every article on the front page of the New York Times every day. It's available to me at school, for free, and I don't know whether it has a left tilt or not, but it's a rounded, all encompassing, relatively in depth daily news source, and I'm going to take advantage of that.
In regards to the economy, it seems like McCain is more on the "leave it to it's own doings," or at least he was until recent events. Now, he can't do anything but say that there must be changes to the way things are done. He also seems to be that "hands off" way towards corporations, and many other important and unwieldy aspects of daily life. In particular, I'm thinking about things he has said about emissions and environmental regulations, things which I feel to be one of the most important issues today.
Obama, on the other hand, seems to tilt more towards regulation and intervention. I may be professing my ignorance, but isn't that a major splitting point between the Democrats and Republicans? Democrats are for greater government intervention while Republicans are more for that hands off approach.
Also, in regards to my vote for president, I cannot imagine voting a evangelist like Palin into the VP seat. Before, I was relieved to see McCain emerge as the presidential candidate, being that he seemed more sane than many of the other candidates, but faced with a choice between McCain/Palin and Obama/Biden, my feelings are clearly towards the Democratic side.
Okay, I probably should delve a little deeper into the issues that that. A quick Google search brought be to www.issues2000.org, which goes through each candidate's stance on the major issues. I'll first tackle the environment, being that I feel that is very important.
First an foremost, me on the environment:
I take environmental issues very seriously. I feel that in the next 50 - 100 years, our decisions today will have drastic implications for every aspect of life on this planet. Our populations is continuing to grow as a disastrous rate, fossil fuels are running out, environmental refugees are on the rise, pollution and lifestyle seems to be poisoning all of us so that cancer hits every other person during their lifetime, we're eating and burning and consuming at such a rapid rate that ecosystems are on the verge of collapse (e.g. fisheries worldwide, rain forests worldwide, pretty much every ecosystem worldwide), etc. etc. etc.
So, now John McCain on the environment: he supports state's taking charge in regards to environmental matters (e.g. California with off-shore drilling). He is a Federalist, which means (I think) that each state has the right and duty to make laws and regulations of its own. He has worked to bring money to the national parks, but supports a bill to allow more roads to be built in them. Alright, not great but not bad.
Now Obama on the environment: he has worked on environmental justice campaigns, lead paint and mercury reduction / control. He opposes the idea of Yucca mountain nuclear waste storage. He is willing to change ethanol subsidy rules to lower food prices, etc, etc. Alright, looks good too.
Sarah Palin on the Environment: she opposed a ballot to give more protection to salmon against mining contaminants, sued the US government to take polar bears off the endangered list, thinking that beluga whales shouldn't be considered endangered, wants to open ANWR (Alaska National Wildlife Refuge) to development, supports subsidies access to mines and development of other natural resources such as oil and gas. Okay, I don't like many of these things. But it doesn't list much about the bigger issues of climate change, emissions, etc.
Joe Biden on the Environment: he supports taking away subsidies to oil companies, thinks that fuel mileage is a critical issue (one that should be mandated), voted against roads in national parks, and scores a 95% in the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) tally. That's impressive. McCain scored a 53%. Obama scored a 60%. Palin scored a NA.
So, from this cursory look at the presidential / vice presidential candidates' views on the environment, I'm voting for Obama/Biden.
I don't understand all that much about what's going on with the economy, and have not been following political news all that closely. But I have a new goal, to read every article on the front page of the New York Times every day. It's available to me at school, for free, and I don't know whether it has a left tilt or not, but it's a rounded, all encompassing, relatively in depth daily news source, and I'm going to take advantage of that.
In regards to the economy, it seems like McCain is more on the "leave it to it's own doings," or at least he was until recent events. Now, he can't do anything but say that there must be changes to the way things are done. He also seems to be that "hands off" way towards corporations, and many other important and unwieldy aspects of daily life. In particular, I'm thinking about things he has said about emissions and environmental regulations, things which I feel to be one of the most important issues today.
Obama, on the other hand, seems to tilt more towards regulation and intervention. I may be professing my ignorance, but isn't that a major splitting point between the Democrats and Republicans? Democrats are for greater government intervention while Republicans are more for that hands off approach.
Also, in regards to my vote for president, I cannot imagine voting a evangelist like Palin into the VP seat. Before, I was relieved to see McCain emerge as the presidential candidate, being that he seemed more sane than many of the other candidates, but faced with a choice between McCain/Palin and Obama/Biden, my feelings are clearly towards the Democratic side.
Okay, I probably should delve a little deeper into the issues that that. A quick Google search brought be to www.issues2000.org, which goes through each candidate's stance on the major issues. I'll first tackle the environment, being that I feel that is very important.
First an foremost, me on the environment:
I take environmental issues very seriously. I feel that in the next 50 - 100 years, our decisions today will have drastic implications for every aspect of life on this planet. Our populations is continuing to grow as a disastrous rate, fossil fuels are running out, environmental refugees are on the rise, pollution and lifestyle seems to be poisoning all of us so that cancer hits every other person during their lifetime, we're eating and burning and consuming at such a rapid rate that ecosystems are on the verge of collapse (e.g. fisheries worldwide, rain forests worldwide, pretty much every ecosystem worldwide), etc. etc. etc.
So, now John McCain on the environment: he supports state's taking charge in regards to environmental matters (e.g. California with off-shore drilling). He is a Federalist, which means (I think) that each state has the right and duty to make laws and regulations of its own. He has worked to bring money to the national parks, but supports a bill to allow more roads to be built in them. Alright, not great but not bad.
Now Obama on the environment: he has worked on environmental justice campaigns, lead paint and mercury reduction / control. He opposes the idea of Yucca mountain nuclear waste storage. He is willing to change ethanol subsidy rules to lower food prices, etc, etc. Alright, looks good too.
Sarah Palin on the Environment: she opposed a ballot to give more protection to salmon against mining contaminants, sued the US government to take polar bears off the endangered list, thinking that beluga whales shouldn't be considered endangered, wants to open ANWR (Alaska National Wildlife Refuge) to development, supports subsidies access to mines and development of other natural resources such as oil and gas. Okay, I don't like many of these things. But it doesn't list much about the bigger issues of climate change, emissions, etc.
Joe Biden on the Environment: he supports taking away subsidies to oil companies, thinks that fuel mileage is a critical issue (one that should be mandated), voted against roads in national parks, and scores a 95% in the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) tally. That's impressive. McCain scored a 53%. Obama scored a 60%. Palin scored a NA.
So, from this cursory look at the presidential / vice presidential candidates' views on the environment, I'm voting for Obama/Biden.
1.9.08
First days at Cornell
I've had at least one of each of my classes now at Cornell, and have had now over a week to adjust and to settle into my apartment and Ithaca in general. It's difficult, and drastic changes like this always are. I miss my family (but most of all I miss my dog! Rudy!), but none of them are too far away.
I guess the hardest part is the transition to living alone. I've never done it before. I've always had people around when I wake up and when I go to sleep, and have had people to talk to before and after the daily activities. And now there's no one except me when I get up, or go to sleep. It's a lot quieter, and I don't talk as much when I'm by myself, which is probably a good thing.
It is also a strange transition to cooking food for just myself. The first stir fry I made lasted me three nights. On the other hand, there is no negotiation with housemates over what to eat, when to eat, etc. I have my parent's old wok, a gas stove, and am now stocked up with most of the cooking essentials, so I just have to build up the motivation (and the nerve) to cook strange and possibly horrible things. I have recently purchases cookbooks that feature Asian foods (in general), Chinese foods, Japanese foods, Vietnamese foods, foods from Norway and Finland, and cookbooks that focus on salads and soups (two separate books). I also have a large baking cookbook, and the Moosewood vegetarian cookbook. Add that to the gas stove, wok, KitchenAid mixer, and no one to disagree with what I make, and I have a wide world of foods in front of me.
Besides this food freedom, I've adjusted pretty well to Ithaca/Cornell, at least so far. The campus is on a hill, and my apartment is on the bottom of the hill. Now, this isn't just a regular hill. Oh, no. It's a beastly, unforgiving, almost comically steep hill. The first couple times I walked (read: climbed) it, I was out of breath and not a little sweaty. There are neighbors who walk to campus every day up this hill, and they require no other exercise to keep in shape. It takes me just over half an hour to get to my building on campus. But of course, there's an alternative route: a 10-15 minute walk (very flat) to Ithaca commons, and then a 10-15 minute bus ride to the center of campus. So I'm working on the hill, but taking the bus most of the time.
As for Cornell, it's big. Things are far apart, and there is a lot of people on campus. Well, obviously. But those were my first impressions. I'm taking four classes and TAing a class. I could list the names of the classes, but they're long and somewhat intimidating. In short, it's a Matlab (programming) refresher class, a statistics class, thermodynamics class (both focused heavily in the realm of the atmosphere), and a planetary atmospheres class (heavily math / astronomy based). The class I'm TAing for is an introduction to atmospheric chemistry class.
So, in a nutshell, it means that for the first time, my academic realm matches pretty closely with my spare-time imagination realm. Or, in other words, I am studying in full force the things that I dwelt on outside of classes at Clarkson. I find myself surrounded by meteorologists and astronomy majors, and I find the text books I'm reading and the work I have in front of me in a domain that floats above the surface of the earth. Pretty much everything from the air I breathe up to the planets and stars in the sky. I still can't believe I'm taking a class that walks through the atmospheres of the nearby planets. I mean, the freaking syllabus mentions specifically Venus, Mars, Titan, Jupiter, and Saturn. I don't think I've ever had a syllabus that has gotten me so exited before.
Now, I'm also terrified. The guy who ran the first class (who was not the prof., who wasn't there) said that we all should be relatively comfortable with vector calculus. Now, I remember vector calculus, and have been reviewing it over the weekend, but I don't think I'd call myself comfortable with vector calculus.
Oh yeah, and I have two classes in the same room, on the eleventh floor of a building. Clarkson had a maximum of three floors for all of its buildings. Now I'm on the eleventh! But damn, it has a nice view. Many buldings have a nice view, and many random locations on campus have a nice view. I guess that's the trade off: I have to climb a steep hill and get all sweaty, but it looks really pretty when you take time to stop and look. I left my camera at home, so will include some pictures when I get that (probably this weekend). I'll also post some pics of my apartment. It's already a pretty comfortable, cozy place.
I guess the hardest part is the transition to living alone. I've never done it before. I've always had people around when I wake up and when I go to sleep, and have had people to talk to before and after the daily activities. And now there's no one except me when I get up, or go to sleep. It's a lot quieter, and I don't talk as much when I'm by myself, which is probably a good thing.
It is also a strange transition to cooking food for just myself. The first stir fry I made lasted me three nights. On the other hand, there is no negotiation with housemates over what to eat, when to eat, etc. I have my parent's old wok, a gas stove, and am now stocked up with most of the cooking essentials, so I just have to build up the motivation (and the nerve) to cook strange and possibly horrible things. I have recently purchases cookbooks that feature Asian foods (in general), Chinese foods, Japanese foods, Vietnamese foods, foods from Norway and Finland, and cookbooks that focus on salads and soups (two separate books). I also have a large baking cookbook, and the Moosewood vegetarian cookbook. Add that to the gas stove, wok, KitchenAid mixer, and no one to disagree with what I make, and I have a wide world of foods in front of me.
Besides this food freedom, I've adjusted pretty well to Ithaca/Cornell, at least so far. The campus is on a hill, and my apartment is on the bottom of the hill. Now, this isn't just a regular hill. Oh, no. It's a beastly, unforgiving, almost comically steep hill. The first couple times I walked (read: climbed) it, I was out of breath and not a little sweaty. There are neighbors who walk to campus every day up this hill, and they require no other exercise to keep in shape. It takes me just over half an hour to get to my building on campus. But of course, there's an alternative route: a 10-15 minute walk (very flat) to Ithaca commons, and then a 10-15 minute bus ride to the center of campus. So I'm working on the hill, but taking the bus most of the time.
As for Cornell, it's big. Things are far apart, and there is a lot of people on campus. Well, obviously. But those were my first impressions. I'm taking four classes and TAing a class. I could list the names of the classes, but they're long and somewhat intimidating. In short, it's a Matlab (programming) refresher class, a statistics class, thermodynamics class (both focused heavily in the realm of the atmosphere), and a planetary atmospheres class (heavily math / astronomy based). The class I'm TAing for is an introduction to atmospheric chemistry class.
So, in a nutshell, it means that for the first time, my academic realm matches pretty closely with my spare-time imagination realm. Or, in other words, I am studying in full force the things that I dwelt on outside of classes at Clarkson. I find myself surrounded by meteorologists and astronomy majors, and I find the text books I'm reading and the work I have in front of me in a domain that floats above the surface of the earth. Pretty much everything from the air I breathe up to the planets and stars in the sky. I still can't believe I'm taking a class that walks through the atmospheres of the nearby planets. I mean, the freaking syllabus mentions specifically Venus, Mars, Titan, Jupiter, and Saturn. I don't think I've ever had a syllabus that has gotten me so exited before.
Now, I'm also terrified. The guy who ran the first class (who was not the prof., who wasn't there) said that we all should be relatively comfortable with vector calculus. Now, I remember vector calculus, and have been reviewing it over the weekend, but I don't think I'd call myself comfortable with vector calculus.
Oh yeah, and I have two classes in the same room, on the eleventh floor of a building. Clarkson had a maximum of three floors for all of its buildings. Now I'm on the eleventh! But damn, it has a nice view. Many buldings have a nice view, and many random locations on campus have a nice view. I guess that's the trade off: I have to climb a steep hill and get all sweaty, but it looks really pretty when you take time to stop and look. I left my camera at home, so will include some pictures when I get that (probably this weekend). I'll also post some pics of my apartment. It's already a pretty comfortable, cozy place.
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