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polargriff's journal
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One is the loneliest number that you’ll ever know…
— Harry Nilsson, One (1968) [link]
I never thought of myself as a needy person. In fact, throughout my life I have enjoyed being alone. However, I never realized that even during my “alone” times, there was always someone—family, friends, or coworkers—nearby that I could turn to for companionship and conversation. When I was in college, studying abroad, and working, I was never truly alone even when I was momentarily alone. Basically, even when I was technically alone, I was never truly alone. There was always someone I could reach out to, whenever I wanted to, for social contact, and because of that, I never felt a deep sense of loneliness.
( More behind the cut... )I made a quick emotional digital piece based off the song quoted at the beginning of this post and the sad image of the lonely, worn out teddy bear.
I had no idea Walt Disney made a Chinese high school musical. Literally. It is called High School Musical China: College Dreams (2010). It is basically the plot-line of the original high school musical movie: new girl meets boy who wants to sing but can’t because of sports, and so forth. Only it takes place at a Chinese college in Shanghai and the “musical play” was changed to an inter-school singing competition. I cannot believe I am saying this but actually looks kind of fun…
Here is the trailer:
I did not particularly care for any of the High School Musical films, so I find it interesting that I am interested in the Chinese film. Is it weird when things look cooler when it is not American or sounds cooler when it is not English? Or perhaps this interest merely stems from having watched my share of anime and Japanese drama over the years?
Speaking of Japanese drama, the best Japanese drama would have to be Gokusen. It is the television adaptation of a manga about the daughter of a yakuza boss, Yamaguchi Kumiko, who becomes a school teacher. She ends up with the class of the delinquents and trouble-makers. Fending off her students’ bullying, saving them from troubles, avoiding the nosy head teacher, keeping the yakuza who want her as the next clan leader in line, and protecting the secret about her yakuza family makes the story quite hilarious! Here is part of the very episode to wet your appetite:
I have stumbled upon two independent short films that expand the Lord of the Rings story by famous author J.R.R. Tolkien and brought to the big screen by Peter Jackson. The independent, non-profit, “made for the Internet” films are surprising good quality for having extremely limited budgets and resources. I believe most LoTRs fans will enjoy these “prequels”, as both bring to life important events prior to the opening of The Fellowship of the Ring.
This forty minute short film dramatizes Aragorn’s search for Gollum, the previous owner of the ring, at Gandalf’s request. This information, which reveals how the heroes gained insight into Sauron’s plans and arrived just in time to get Frodo and the ring out of the Shire, was provided in the books and appendices but left out of the film trilogy.
This film takes you seventy-five or so years before The Fellowship of the Ring and shares the tragic yet hopeful story of Arathorn, the king of the Dúnedain, his wife Gilraen, and the birth of Aragorn.
