AKA The manga by the Death Note writer-artist team about… a writer-artist team trying to conquer the world of shounen manga. XD; Shujin (writer) and Mashiro (artist) decide to team up in middle school. They share the same goal, of getting published in Jump, coming in #1 in the popularity polls, and having their work made into a anime so that Mashiro’s childhood sweetheart (a would-be voice actress) can play the title role.
Up in the Air
I saw this movie with my family over break. It’s the one where George Clooney flies around the country firing people, with scenes based on actual interviews with people who lost their jobs to corporate downsizing. Clooney’s character is a simple (not stupid – he’s smart – but not complicated) man who likes the perks that come with his job – the hotel stays, the frequent flyer miles, the exclusive gold club membership cards. He can pack a perfect bag in ten minutes and has a special key card that clues hotel concierge to always greet him the same way (“Welcome back, Mr. _________” / “Pleasure to see you again, Mr. _______”).
At a hotel bar in one of many Hiltons, he meets a woman (played by Mia Farmigiana, sorry I can’t remember character names when I know actor names) who is like him “but with a vagina” (her words); in the next scene his boss makes him take along a new recruit to the company, Natalie. The three of them play house (with Mia and Clooney playing Mother and Father) when they crash a convention at the hotel they are staying at after Natalie’s boyfriend breaks her heart.
Relevant links (via R): Don’t move 3000 miles to be with your boyfriend! and Text Message Breakup
The rest of this post is spoilers. Continued…
Posted in movies in english.
– December 30, 2009
Eeeee Eee Eeee: An Attempt at a Review
I’ve been getting a lot of mileage out of talking about this book in person, so I guess I will do the same here. Eeeee Eee Eeee is an avant-garde novel about depression: not Depression with a capital D, but different manifestations of major clinical depression which are represented in the novel by different animals. For instance, people who often worry about contributing to the sum total of evil in the Universe – who don’t eat at MacDonalds because they know the money will go towards opening more MacDonalds franchises in Japan where formerly healthy middle school students will get hooked on Big Macs and die – are Dolphins.
The authorial stand-in, Andrew, is a Bear… I was reading some reviews of Tao Lin’s work that said it’s about the Major Problem of modern life in the Web age, which is that we can do anything but end up doing nothing. I don’t really agree – more on this later – but I could see it in a scene where a Bear rips the roof off Andrew’s car, then promises “$100 and a free laptop computer” if he’ll follow down a trapdoor.
What a post for Christmas Eve. ^^; But I suddenly had a lot of time on my hands. Merry Christmas, everyone! PS I reserve the right to edit this post sometime that’s not 4am.
Posted in literature.
– December 25, 2009
Whip It (movie)
Or, Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut is a film about the Roller Derby. In case you never heard of this, here’s the trailer: www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cA2ngjW0YQ
Since it’s a movie about the Roller Derby you expect tons of camp excess, but the movie is actually played straight… in both senses, XD. Outright lesbianism is confined to one girl-girl hot tub scene, blink and you’ll miss it (I did). There are however lots of girl-girl bonding moments and lots of tough women. Who are cool, because they’re tough. If you watch this movie you’ll learn lots of important moral lessons — about friends, family, boyfriends, and being true to yourself — and also, the rules of the Austin Roller Derby.
In other words, Drew Barrymore doesn’t just act earnest; she is earnest. XD
In conclusion, this is a rec: please support Whip It while it’s still in theaters, and send a message to Hollywood that mainstream movies by, for, and about** girls can succeed financially.
**Specially, movies for teenage girls about teenage girls. Hollywood already knows it can make money off movies for little girls (Dora) and older women (chick flicks), but there is a range – preteen to mid-thirties? – when it’s beaten into girls that they can’t do their own thing anymore, they have to get with the (male-dominated) program. And that’s not cool, you know?
Posted in movies in english.
– October 14, 2009
Stella D’Oro v. Hedge Fund
Brief history: Stella D’Oro, the Bronx-based biscuit company, was bought out by Brynwood Partners, the Connecticut-based private equity fund, which demanded that all workers take an immediate $5 an hour pay cut, later “reduced” to a $1 an hour pay cut each year for the next five years. The (unionized) workers refused and went on strike for 11 months, at which point the court found that Brynwood had engaged in unfair labor practices and ordered it to pay back wages and reinstate the workers. Yay! But Brynwood responded by announcing that they were closing the factory in the Bronx.
All this is going to be in an upcoming HBO documentary (still filming). Anyway, the latest news is that someone asked Hugo Chavez at a rally if CITGO, the Venezualen oil company, could buy Stella D’Oro and turn it into a worker’s cooperative. And Chavez did show some interest (as he always does when a good story comes along). Nice plot twist for the documentarians eh? Too bad the company was already sold to Lance, Inc., who plan to relocate and cost-cut: essentially they are just buying the name, not the product.
Incidentally, when I told R this story the thing that most offended her was not the ev0lness of Hendrik J. Hartong III, Brynwood’s managing partner in this case, but his incompetence. He couldn’t just buy a factory that makes (a little) money and runs itself, he had to go in with ideas about typical wages and benefits, and try for a 30% return for the investors, and then pitch a fit and just dismantle the whole thing when the Union wouldn’t accept his unilaterally imposed terms and conditions… and America loses a brand and 130 workers lose their jobs, just like that. I can’t imagine Brynwood Partners are too pleased with him, either.
Posted in real life.
– October 1, 2009
