|
|
||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
A Chinese Ghost Story
you want to know
whether i believe in ghosts
of course i do not believe in them
if you had known
as many of them as i have
you would not
believe in them either
-- Don Marquis
Monday, April 19, 1999
One year ago: New Shoes
A year ago was the first night of Zoot Suit Sunday! That was a fun evening. It's been a while since I was down there on a Sunday night; I need to go back, I think.
I've recently been expanding my sources for fun non-journal web reading. Memepool.com, Big Head Fred, and Flutterby have been very fruitful over the past few days. Check 'em out!
* * * * * * * *
When I got home this afternoon, I virtuously continued my program of getting stuff done by starting two loads of laundry. I was rewarded by the buzz of the doorbell. This concerned me at first, because I was trying to return a phone message from my brother, and it occurred to me that he might have decided to just come over! (But later I recalled that he doesn't have my address.) But when I stepped out into the hall, I could see through the beveled glass that my visitor was Jack! How delightful!
He had completed the work on his daughter's stuff yesterday, and drove it down to Olympia today. A tough trip! And when traffic turned bad on the roads he'd have taken straight back to his place, he decided to visit me instead. He tried to call me, but couldn't get through. I was glad he'd taken the chance anyway. He was pleased, because a trip to a used book store in my neighborhood had paid off -- he found a copy of a certain book that completes a hard-to-find trilogy. Now he has an extra set, which can be resold for more money than the sum of the individual volumes.
Jack sat with me on the couch and told me about his day, then we went down to the basement laundryroom to put my clothes in the dryer. Score! Building residents leave magazines that they are done with down there. I found the special cartoons issue of the New Yorker and snagged it. Jack got a few laughs out of it.
* * * * * * * *
We had dinner at the teriyaki place down the street, then walked down the hill to the Egyptian Theater to see A Chinese Ghost Story: The Tsui Hark Animation. I'd been wanting to see this, since I like the live-action films that Tsui Hark has already done.
I was surprised to learn that Jack had never been to that theater before! He was impressed with the size and the Egyptian decor, but the seats aren't that comfortable.
As we were waiting for the movie to start, Jack said, "I guess you already know the title for your entry tonight!" I replyed that I probably would use the movie title for that, but usually the main heading is one of the last things I come up with.
The movie was delightful! Great action and humor, and it just keeps on coming! The blending of drawn animation and CGI isn't seamless at all, but this works ok for most scenes. Some really amazing conceptions -- a sky train/dragon, for instance. The site linked above has some great storyboads, diagrams, and stills, if you want to peek. There is even a screensaver!
I even enjoyed the hokey Chinese pop songs that were interspersed throughout the movie!
We walked back up the hill, and Jack took off for home. Tomorrow he drives to Bellingham to take the physical for his possible job up there, and Wednesday he has an interview for another, different job around here.
 |