Nighttime Adventure 🌙

"Maybe I want to be a hooligan!!"

I haven't seen a ton of Pre-Code movies, but man, when Ernst was Pre-Code, he really was Pre-Code. Surprising in a lot of ways, but also really funny. Lags a bit in the last act, which I think is a bit intentional to contrast Plunkett's boring idea of life with George and Tom's hooliganism.

I've now seen Trouble in Paradise, The Shop Around the Corner, and this out of Lubitsch's films. So far I think Trouble in Paradise is my favorite, followed by The Shop Around the Corner, then this, but they're all really great movies.

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In America we don’t believe in kings. We believe in baseball. *throws spear*

This is really just an alternate universe Psych episode. The abrupt “This Land is Your Land” singalong elicited audible gasps.

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First of all, what a time to be alive. This is my second Miyazaki film watched in theaters in its initial release. It's an awesome experience. The Wind Rises played fairly straightforward, with some surprises but mostly just a very enjoyable, masterfully crafted movie. The Boy and the Heron, while set in the same time period, couldn't be more different in pacing and tone and almost every other aspect. It's a film so unconventional that there's truly no way to know where things will turn next, and each twist and turn in Miyazaki's fabulous dreamscape delights and disgusts in ways only he can.

The first time I saw My Neighbor Totoro I had a high fever, it was late at night and I was in a foreign country. My sister and I watched it to keep my spirits up. Totoro is so dreamlike ("I thought it was a dream!" "But it wasn't a dream!" 🌱), that the next day I remember wondering which parts of that movie were real and which parts were a result of my fever. Miyazaki's worlds are so beautiful and rooted in traditions of our world, but governed by rules of another world entirely. Like a dream, they inherit characters and motifs, but then bend them in ways you'd never expect. In the end you wake up realizing that it didn't make a whole lot of sense, and yet somehow, in a more elemental way, of course it did.

I have a lot of thoughts on the specifics of this movie, but I want to avoid spoilers as much as possible, so here are some bullet points:

• So many parts reference past Miyazaki worlds and themes, which is fun as a fan.
• There were so many really laugh-out-loud funny moments, and a few seriously gruesome moments.
• There are some creatures in this that I imagine will be merchandised the heck out of and I will buy every bit of it.
• The ending I thought was a bit odd in the moment, but has grown on me a lot while thinking about it, and right now I don't feel like it's worth a mark against the film.
• We watched the dub and I have to say everyone did a fantastic job. Robert Pattinson especially deserves a lot of praise for his role. I honestly forgot it was him until the credits rolled. Florence Pugh also really knocked it out of the park. And Willem Dafoe's role is very short but the gravitas of his voice lends itself so well to the scene.

Still picking up the pieces of it but I'm coming away from this just so grateful that this man and this studio is still making movies (and apparently are in the early stages of another!). If you are on the fence, definitely see this, and see it in theaters while you still can!

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This is a non-comprehensive list of some things I want to achieve in the new year. Maybe I’ll set reminders to check in on this as the year goes on.

Downsize

I want less stuff. Every time we move there’s a box or two full of random stuff that just sits in another box or drawer until we move again. Not great! But also so tedious to go through! I’d love to take a week and just really decide what things I need, and what things are weighing me down. And also figure out eBay.

Read a book each month

I read my first full books since high school this year, and I enjoyed it a lot. I always envy readers and bookworms. I have a lot of other media I like that can eat away at my free time (games, shows, films). Zelda especially has just torpedoed my free time. I’ve loved every second of it, but wow is there a lot to do in that game.

Getting off topic. Point is: time short, want read book. I got a couple for Christmas so I’ll start there! To make it more of a tangible goal, I’ll try to read one book each month. I can already tell you I’ll fail but at least it gives me a framework.

Brush up on a language

I took three different languages in school: Spanish in junior high, Latin in high school, and German in college. I’d like to brush up on either Spanish or German in the new year.

Spanish is vastly more practical for me because of where I live, and would be used weekly if not daily.

German is of interest to me because my family is from Switzerland. Ideally I’d love to learn the Swiss-German my extended family speaks, but learning resources are scarce. And nearly all of them are fluent in English so it’s not a pressing matter. Just would feel nice to connect more with that family history.

Then there’s an entirely impractical side of me that wants to learn Japanese. Japan is the Switzerland of Asia in a lot of ways and visiting this past summer made me want to go back so badly. Probably has the most uphill battle to learn though, so maybe I’ll leave that for another year.

My tentative plan is to put on some videos and such while I do dishes or other chores, when my ears and brain are a captive audience!

Establish a workout rhythm

This is such the stereotypical New Year’s resolution, but yeah, I’d like to get fit. Specifically, I want to know what it’s like to feel “in shape”. Especially since becoming a father, there are so many things in my daily life that I think would be so much easier if my muscles were just a bit stronger or my heart and lungs a little more efficient.

How am I going to do this? Not sure yet. There’s a gym club near us that offers childcare so I might try that for a bit. I’ve tried running before and I liked it when I could find the time for it. And Fitness+ gets flack but I’ve done quite a few exercises through it and it’s honestly quite enjoyable.

I’ll end up doing a combo. Or nothing at all. But maybe me saying this into the internet will provide some sense of accountability. Ideally I just want to get into a sustainable rhythm. Doesn’t have to be much, just something.

Use public transit?

This is a tough one for me. Right now I live in the mountains on a somewhat steep, busy, and narrow road with a lot of blind turns. This makes riding a bike a bit treacherous from my home, especially after dark. When the days start to get longer, I’d like to try riding my bike to the bus station and ride the bus to work more often. It tags on quite a bit of extra time in my commute, but I’ve just grown to really resent driving recently. Tough in a car-dependent area of a car-dependent nation.

Unlock the power of Costco

At the end of this year we went to Costco a few times and I forgot how much is there in terms of building blocks for easy meals. I want to come up with some meal plans using Costco stuff to cut down on grocery costs and also make dinner a bit easier at the end of the day.

Well that’s about it. I have some other vague goals of journaling or meditating but I can’t really put it into words yet.

See you in a few months, wall of text.

First time seeing the colorized version. I definitely still prefer the original, but it’s a curiosity worth watching if you like this movie and watch it every year.

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