Excerpt from Chapter 2 (still in-progress)

River's Journal

We had a round-table discussion: What do we do about the survivors? How do we figure out if any of them can be saved.

Felix must have overheard because he went, of his own volition, on a scouting mission...to retrieve friends of ours who may have survived. Even if they had radiation sickness which couldn’t be treated, at least they wouldn’t die alone. Out of the 50,000 population of Sunset Valley, we were only able to save two who had not received enough rads to have been fatal. Holly burst into tears when she’d encountered Felix. She thought at first that he was the emissary of an alien invasion but was brought about to realize that we were still alive and that we had managed to survive the nuclear onslaught within a bunker – that in turn prompted tears of relief; she was saved.

Felix also managed to save Parker Langerak, who somehow even though he was outside at the time of the rainfall, that he’d only gotten a dose of about 30 rads. Which would probably make him slightly sick, possible fever, maybe vomiting, but not enough to be fatal, thank heavens – he was only a teen, he still had his whole life ahead of him. Felix and Parker managed to make it back when the rain stopped and Holly made a mad dash for our bunker when she saw the two of them heading for the bunker.

We did have to make peace with the fact that we couldn’t save all of them. This death-rain would eliminate the majority of the survivors who were left out on the surface. It also meant that we needed to stay within the confines of the bunker for as long as we could, at least until the radioactivity died down.

Yumi Sekemoto came to us, pleading and begging for us to save her grandchild, Sam. She knew that she was dying. In fact, she had suffered a major dose of radiation poisoning and was quarantined away from the rest of us.

Farmer was designated to help her in her last days to make sure that her passing was comfortable. Sam, luckily hadn’t managed to get much dosage of radiation so we managed to nurse him back to health. And he looked none the worse for having lost both his father and his grandmother. Poor young Sam, Haruo and I would raise him as our own; he would be our first.

Despite how we feel, joy at the thought of raising a little one ourselves, we know deep down that Leighton should have been the one raising Sam. Sam will only know us as his parents, since he was too young to remember much of his father, his father having died when the first bombs went off as he was downtown. Then losing the only maternal figure, Sam had. We both would love Sam, but he deserved to have his father still.

Our intention as Sam’s surrogate parents was to raise him up to be a young man that Leighton would be proud of, not to replace him.

For how much longer would we have to stay within the bunker. The plumbots were equipped with on-board geiger counters, but we had none and we had no idea how they worked or how they were created. We would have to salvage some down the road if we were able to.

For how much longer would we have to stay within the bunker. The plumbots were equipped with on-board geiger counters, but we had none and we had no idea how they worked or how they were created. We would have to salvage some down the road if we were able to.

It may be that we may have to move from this place...and find a home that we can actually make a community out of. But that may be far down the road. Right now we can’t take the chance of exposure to stronger radiation than what would be healthy for us to take. We need to be able to reproduce, to bring humanity back from the brink of extinction and we can’t do that if the reproducing females of our species are rendered sterile trying to find a new home. If we’re not careful we could genetically dead-end the species.

Analysis Giyu part 3

It left on Haruo findings Yuu’s haori in ground that caused him to cry since given clue for getting close for find Yuu. 

Giyu takes the lead for searching like being first to look at under brushes. In case there are demons or danger. This one his way protects Haruo while continuing their search for Yuu.

They had been searching until it started getting dark. Haruo had begun crying while holding his brother's haori fabric. This proves that Haruo doesn't want to lose hope of finding his brother. 

Even though Giyu tries his best to calm down Haruo. This leads Haruo to think that Yuu is the only family member left. Since they lost their parent at an early age Yuu had one raise him. This allows Giyu to connect with Haruo based on a similar situation.

Haruo tells his story about his brother. You as a kind person after taking traits from his mother. And Yuu is very clever after taking traits from his father.

 This is similar to how Giyu was raised by his older sister Tsutako, once they lost both their parent from disease. The way that Haruo describes Yuu's personality is similar to Tanjiro Kamado. There were mentions that Yuu did help out the community and was been well-liked. This gives clear parallels.

It is mentioned by Haruo that Yuu does have luck with a lady. Haruo had mentioned that one fisherman’s wife had cooked him food for Yuu’s return. The scenes reminded Tsutako, that she was engaged, and why going to be wed the next day. This creates a tragic setup.

Giyu wants to calm Haruo’s nerves about the situation by giving the sign of hope. Giyu recalled that Haruo described Yuu as being smart. Giyu suggests there is the possibility that Yuu could be near the river since it would be in a safe place. 

The moments do prove Giyu is similar to Tanjiro for making promises and bringing a sign of hope and the way demon slayer shows sympatric for their emotion and situation. This shows how Giyu wasn't always strict. This shows how Giyu takes his mission seriously, while they interact based on similar situations.

Now it rearch night time and both had to follow the river trail that led to the cave. Giyu went first in case there demon as Haruo followed behind him. Since Giyu had noticed the smell of fresh blood. This is bad news.

Until Giyu saw two ominous lights appear. It revealed a demon’s eye as the demon attempted attack the demon slayer. Giyu warn Haruo to try get out the way. However. The demon block Haruo’s escaped. 

It revealed it was the same Demon that Giyu had been fighting early. The demon began to brag about liking the taste of children and the way he enjoyed torturing the victims to gain more favors which enraged the demon slayer. 

As Giyu began battle with the demon. Giyu had noticed that he had increased his strength due to eating humans to attack the village. Another was when the demon that Giyu was fighting early had gotten stronger. This gives some strikes and gives an insight into the demon.  

Meanwhile, Haruo had noticed something in the distance. It causes Haruo to be able to recognize the figure in the dark. Which gives clue as to who is that person is

2day’s playlist:

Foxes in Fiction - Shadow’s Song

Shabason, Krgovich & Harris - Osouji

Braids - Ebben

David Sylvian - River Man

The Dolphin Brothers - Love That You Need

Katya Yonder - Navernyaka

Hello, Wendy! - Shinryoku

Piana - Something is Lost

Mimori Yusa - Hanazange

Miki Nakatani - Promise

Refio & Haruka Shimotsuki - Monokuro Sekai

White-Lips - Tell Me a Nursery Tale

Haruo Minami - Akatonbo (Cornelius Remix)

thanks for listening!

KYŌKO OKAZAKI

Mangaka and feminist considered the mother of the Josei (demographic of manga aimed at an adult female audience 18+)

Kyōko was born on December 13, 1963 in Shimokitazawa, Tokyo. When she was little, her father had a hairdressing salon and a total of 15 people lived in her house, including her uncles, cousins ​​and her father's apprentices. Despite being so many people in a house, Okazaki said that everything was quite calm and that she had a good childhood, but that she never felt comfortable.

While studying art at Atomi Junior College (a Japanese college for women only) Okazaki debuted in Cartoon Burikko, an erotic manga magazine geared towards men. Although officially her first manga was Virgin (1985) published in Byakuyashobo magazine.

Kyōko was the most relevant author of Josei between the 80s and 90s, the latter being her golden decade. Her works with a minimalist but profound style deal with delicate and very taboo subjects such as prostitution, depression or drug addiction (without romanticizing any of these) and are also full of elements such as sex or fashion and beauty and the problems that it brings the obsession with these. In addition to the adult plots, another thing that separates it from shōjo is her female characters. Her mangas are full of unconventional girls, they are bold and their concerns are those of modern women and they don't think so much about getting married and starting a family, they leave aside the innocence of shōjo girls.

In 1996, at the age of 33, Okazaki was hit by a drunk driver, leaving her unconscious and unable to breathe on her own. She had to relearn how to speak and is currently in rehab, in 2014 she was seen in a wheelchair. Due to all the sequels Okazaki was forced to leave the manga.

Her works are a reflection of the society of the 80s and 90s. A cynical, selfish and capitalist society, which projects the vast majority of problems and insecurities onto women, making us compete with each other (well, it is also a reflection of the present).

♡ HELTER SKELTER 1995-1996

- genres: psychological horror

- Awards: Osamu Tezuka Cultural Prize 2004, and Excellence Award from the Japan Media Arts Festival 2004.

- english | spanish

It is a criticism of the toxic society that makes women have to worry much more about their appearance and what others say.

Liliko (Ririko) is an increasingly popular model. She lives and depends on her physical image, which makes her obsession with her youth and her beauty lead her to make a series of not very good decisions. Illegal plastic surgeries, drugs, lack of sleep, her rivalry with other models and the people around her gradually destroy the protagonist.

— It has a live action from 2012.

♡ PINK 1989

- genre: slice of life

- english | spanish

It is a critique of capitalism that makes us believe that we have to fill our pockets with material goods. It deals with serious topics with a dash of humor, but it's still a drama. It also represents the relationships between women from the same family nucleus.

Yumiko is the main protagonist, she is presented as a carefree girl who is unable to see beyond her nose. She is a secretary by day and a prostitute by night, since her secretary's salary is not enough to feed her peculiar pet, a crocodile. She always listens to her co-workers complain about money and they wait for a prince charming to save them, but Yumiko thinks that with a series of tricks in her life they wouldn't have to worry about it. On the other hand we have Haruo, a university student who puts the masculine gaze on history, has sex with Yumiko's stepmother for money, is much more serious and wants to be a writer although the only readers of his are Yumiko and her stepsister.

It contains an epilogue that is a brief reflection that Okazaki makes of love, work and prostitution.

♡ RIVER'S EDGE 1993

- Genre: drama, slice of life

It represents with a more serious and objective look the problems of adolescents and how horrible adolescence can be for many people. Shows us bullying, sex, queer characters, double-edged relationships and eating disorders for what they are.

Haruma is the protagonist and is the girlfriend of the school bully, although she is less and less clear about what she saw in him. She usually defends Yamada, a gay boy who has a girlfriend just for show, from the harassment of his partner. Yamada confesses to Haruma that he has found a body and that she should tell the police, but he is unable to do. The river's edge hides many secrets.

— It has a live action from 2018 winner of the Japanese Academy Award for New Value of the Year.

♡ OTHERS MANGAS

— CHIWAWA-CHAN 1996

Chiwawa is a popular girl, but one day she turns up dead. Her friends gather to commemorate her and realize that they don't know anything about her, not even her real name or what kind of people she hung out with.

It has a live action from 2019

— TOKYO GIRLS BRAVO 1993

The protagonist has grown up in a family full of problems. When she decides to move to Tokyo she falls in love with its music and nightlife. She finally makes a big change that surprises even the most modern people out there.

Kyōko is heir to the change made by the women of the Year 24 Group in the manga, but now it is her turn to give voice to women whose concerns go beyond being good wives and mothers.

"I am a real Tokyo Girl" Kyōko Okazaki, Pink 1989

My Review of Japan Sinks 2020

Contains spoilers!

So the other night I watched Japan Sinks 2020. And then I watched it again immediately the next day to pay attention to smaller details. And now I’m writing a review because overall I found it really good but also some parts confused me and I feel like the show could have done a better job at.

Anyway, this is not going to be a clear review as I am a big idiot and do not know how to compose my thoughts whoops- as well as this is solely opinion as I am in no way an actual film critic and acknowledge that ppl have different thoughts and opinions on things- anyway, this is long so I’m putting it below a cut!

This is somewhat chronological and some of the things I saw weren’t addressed may have been I just have a small peanut brain and don’t remember it rip

First off, I liked how serious the first earthquakes were. Like, they didn’t hold back and I appreciated that. What I didn’t get as much was how the parents reappeared? Like the mom was in a river with a tsunami approaching literally in view while the dad was flung unconscious onto a truck/train(? I don’t remember) and then suddenly they were both on the top of the mountain? 

Ayumu I feel was a very interesting character as she was a bit sassy and doesn’t do much but honestly she’s a 14 year old injured girl who loses her parents fairly quickly and I can get why she’d be emotionally unstable during these times.

I feel like many of the characters could have been flushed out more/given a better backstory. The main family was good- We got a lot of flashbacks/stories and stuff but literally everyone else (except KITE) were a complete mystery. Nanami and Haruo I understand are family friends but I feel like we didn’t know anything past that? Like Haruo used to be famous for sprinting but then he stopped? Why? Also he carries around records? Why???? And Nanami? She was just a family friend? I honestly thought she was in high school or college or something but no, she’s apparently 26?? Anyway, she deserved better. Also I have no idea what the heck was going down between her and Haruo. Honestly, when I first watched it for the first few episodes I thought they were siblings until KITE’s appearance.

The dad’s death was great. I think it was really impactful killing him off right away. Straight to the point. I do find it funny that he died the moment they found the signs but I guess that makes it dramatic. They seemed overall though mostly unaffected by his death (except for ayumu) and that was kind of strange?

Also, can we take a moment to appreciate Nanami and Mari absolutely beating the shit out of the gas station guy? We love that. But then the guy’s glasses perfectly fit Haruo’s vision? Were they not prescription or did they get really lucky? 

And of course, the rave music playing during Nanami’s death I think added a lot lol And KITE’s appearance. The moment KITE appeared I knew exactly who was gonna survive: Him, Ayumu, Go, and maybe Haruo if the creators were feeling generous,,,uh,,,spoiler,,,they weren’t :( KITE’s my favorite. Kite is also my and one of my favorite ygo character’s name so bonus points for that.

The whole cult arc was so strange to me. Part of the appeal of Japan 2020 to me was the whole human vs nature aspect as humans literally have no control over nature but then unexplainable magic was brought in and that instantly made everything more unrealistic thus less intense in a way? Also Daniel’s entire character confused me. He was a magician or something? But how did he know of the cult city? And why did he want to go there so badly? Like??? Also the old man! Who was he? Why was he addicted to morphine? Why/how did he know about the child and why was he so determined to kidnap him? Why was Mr. Onodera there???? Why was he injured??

The sex scene seemed so out of place and extra but whatever,

Everyone being like, hey this food is strange and KITE being like “yea that’s the drugs!” and then Haruo being like, “I like it. Reminds me of my mom’s cooking. Btw, she was crushed and I watched her die” had me rolling like,, that’s too many different emotions to expose to me at once 

((Also, when the child finally spoke before being yeeted into the afterworld I actually found how abrupt it was to be quite funny which I don’t think it was supposed to be oops))

Overall I feel like the whole cult arc added really nothing that couldn’t have been added in a less bizarre way? Like right from when the old man appears to when they escape the city what happened? They gain Daniel and the old man’s company but then both of them die so net gain is zero right? I guess KITE and Haruo bond and Mari and Ayumu do too but I don’t know. it seemed kind of out of it to me- oh! Wait! They gained an entire Mr. Onodera so I guess that’s what they got out of it but it never really was explained how or why he was there so I guess in the end it still doesn’t really make sense?

Ok, the whole boat scene was good. I liked it. I liked how you got to see Ayumu’s leg deteriorating and I kind of sensed it was going to have to be amputated when it was her mom(?) who told her to never stop track and field. 

I’m a bit salty that we never actually got to see Japan sink and instead it was just like, oh wow, see this wreck, haha plot twist it’s actually the top of a sky scrapper, yea, Japan’s underwater now! The old man’s appearance and death was kind of creepy but the shark cameo was cool. I like sharks.

The whole scene of Go and Ayumu in the life boat was absolutely beautiful to me. I love how they both encouraged each other to win and their friendly sibling banter and how determined they were to stay together and idk maybe it’s because too, have siblings and don’t want to die, but I just found overall really touching. 

Anyway, then the mom dies. I don’t get really why she died because I feel like with all the rubbish floating around they have been able to find a type of lighter or knife to cut through the rope but I guess not? Also, did she die from drowning or because of her heart complications? Was she already close to dying because of her heart complications and that’s why she decided to sacrifice herself? Who knows. Not I.

I really liked Haruo’s character development from being quite and outcast to actually joining in and being helpful and volunteering.

Annnd, then KITE shows up with an entire tank??? Where did he get the tank?????? No matter, I’m just glad to see my boy again.

The rap battle was cute and all but v out of place for the type of series but you know it was started by KITE and I’ve learned not to doubt what he does so we’ll look past it.

The polaroid camera was a sign of death. Every time they’d take a picture someone would die. 

The whole KITE and Onodera in his layer thing was neat. I don’t get why it was in a cave but stranger things have happened. KITE’s cool and I love him with my entire being.

I really liked the small detail of Haruo reaching out to KITE while he’s desperately trying to revive Onodera. It just seemed touching considering what Haruo’s been through (losing his parents, and then losing Mari after trying to revive her)

I can’t believe KITE punched an old man back to life. What a legend.

Haruo’s death hit me the hardest. Especially since I feel like he’s grown the most. I’m so glad that he was able to be happy again though. His smile when running aaaaa. I feel like the wave that took him away wasn’t that bad and honestly he probably had a good chance of surviving it but maybe not, he was healing too so maybe that also prevent him from swimming well. KITE’s reaction to his death was extremely powerful as inferring from what KITE said before Haruo’s death would be KITE’s real first failure :’(

KITE in the next scene was v cool but also kind of extra, like why didn’t he just tell the kids, ‘hey I’m gonna signal for help, stay here with my phone and wait’ He gave me big Nagito vibes as he constantly talked abt his luck. Ultimate Lucky Student: KITE. But anyway, it was pretty cool. He was willing to sacrifice everything for these kids and I love that.

OH! ALSO! I personally loved all the ugly faces/expressions they animated. Especially during emotional scenes. Like, when Haruo cries after explaining his mom’s death or when Ayumu found the old man’s half eaten corpse in the life boat. When KITE is freezing and struggling on his balloon I love how ugly and detailed the animation is because I think his struggle was not supposed to be portrayed as a pretty thing and I think the realistic look to it added a lot to how horrifying and scary it would have been.

The ending was pretty good. Ayumu had to get her leg amputated which I predicted. All the characters I though who’d survive did. 

Go became pro gamer and had his mom’s ring as a piercing which is like when she said his medical staples looked like piercings and that made my heart hurt a bit.

OH!

KITE! PLAYS! HARUO’S! SONG! The one record of Haruo’s that KITE stole and played at the cult rave he plays when Ayumu does her jump!! Which means that KITE kept it and repaired it and u can see he repaired it with gold Kintsugi style like they saw back at the cult area and idk that was just kind of touching to me and because I do feel like Haruo and KITE became closer after the cult arc.

ALSO!!! TRANS KITE!!! WE love positive trans representation and characters who’s personality don’t revolve around the fact that they’re trans! 

Anyway, final thought? I liked the characters, the themes of man vs nature. The ending was nice and sweet. There were good scenes and good character development. There were a fair amount of plot holes/unexplained events and the whole cult arc brought unexplainable magic in it which I feel made the whole movie suddenly less impactful. The music, especially nanami’s death rave, sometimes felt out of place but other than that I really liked it. I’d rate it probably a 7/10. Yup. Definitely would (well, already have whoops) watch it again

Floating Weeds (1959, Japan)

Director Yasujirô Ozu was tardy to synchronized sound in movies. With the introduction of sound in 1927, he did not make his first talkie until 1936. So too was he tardy with color. With black-and-white and color movies released together for decades, Ozu’s first color film came with Equinox Flower (1958), followed by Good Morning (1959; a remake of Ozu’s 1932 film I Was Born, But...). Later in 1959 another Ozu color talkie remake of one of his black-and-white silent films came to Japanese theaters: 1959′s Floating Weeds, a remake of A Story of Floating Weeds (1934). An already great original version is made better in this instance thanks to beautiful on-location shooting and a more mischievous sense of humor. In one of his most accessible pieces in his filmography, the cast includes many newer faces in this Ozu film. This is because Ozu’s contract with his home studio, Shochiku, had completed, and this next project was thanks to an invitation by Masaichi Nagata – the president of Daiei Film. Floating Weeds is made up largely of Daiei’s contracted actors, with one notable exception being Ozu mainstay Chishû Ryû.

Shot on the edge of the Kii Peninsula looking into Japan’s Inland Sea, Floating Weeds is a late-career testament to Ozu’s remarkable consistency as a director and storyteller, a crafter of dramas as compelling any drama could be – even when all the “showier” moments are never depicted, only discussed.

It is a sweltering summer in a lazy seaside town, with the occasional fishing vessel making its way through the harbor. A traveling kabuki troupe has arrived and they announce their new slate of shows with an impromptu parade and music. The troupe’s leader, Komajuro Arashi (Ganjirô Nakamura), is here not only to perform, but to see his old mistress, Oyoshi (Haruko Sugimura), and college-bound son, Kiyoshi (Hiroshi Kawaguchi). Oyoshi runs an intimate restaurant while Kiyoshi works at the local post office, building his savings before heading to university. Kiyoshi is told that Komajuro is his uncle – a secret that is threatened when Komajuro’s current mistress, Sumiko (Machiko Kyô), becomes jealous as he is not spending enough time with her during the daytime before performances. The film features a younger troupe actress named Kayo (Ayako Wakao) and the theater owner (Ryû). Character actors Kôji Mitsui and Haruo Tanaka also play bit roles.

The screenplay, co-written by Ozu and partner-in-crime Kôgo Noda, leans into the melodrama moreso than most Ozu films. Central to Floating Weeds are its characters speaking about permanence and belonging – like the original silent film version, the title is derived from the saying, “Floating weeds, drifting down the leisurely river of our lives.” For this film’s characters, it is difficult to always be traveling, living within the mercy of ticket sales, although the company of fellow troupe members makes the difficulty worth it. Komajuro is not an authoritarian boss to his fellow actors, but he is unable to see situations through others’ perspectives. Why are they not more like me, he wonders, as he is repeatedly surprised that the other members of his troupe imagine what life could be like without traveling across Japan. He cares for his fellow actors to the extent that everyone depends on each other for their roaming lifestyle. To his “nephew”, secrets remains unspoken behind an avuncular act that occurs every few years – Komajuro does not want Kiyoshi to follow or replicate a life that is dependent, rootless. It is how he remains Kiyoshi’s father, because he knows of no other way to do so. This concentration on Komajuro does come at the partial expense of understanding Oyoshi. It is no debate that she has been a wonderful mother to her son, but she is essentially a single parent that receives the occasional payment from an absent father. Does she harbor any spurned feelings for this arrangement? Is she content with what life has become or does she yearn for something else? Ozu and Noda never explore this quite enough.

Cinematic ellipsis is found in most of Ozu’s work, leaving the viewer to work together what has occurred in between scenes. Less-experienced Ozu viewers will be caught off-guard, claiming that characters seem to lack motivation, but Ozu has never been one to show the details of a steamy date, pomp and circumstance, or tearful departing words. As Ozu’s career progressed, his use of ellipsis generally increased – he became less interested in narrative flow, more interested in human perceptions and insights at a given moment. When Sumiko’s machinations involving Kayo are revealed to Komajuro and when Oyoshi tells her son about who his “uncle”  is, all that has been built up to these dramatic reveals are moments of quiet or lightly reflective conversation. Melodrama here is empowered through objectively-shot conversation, oftentimes casual rumor-mongering or quotidian remarks about how the day has been. The static pillow shots in between scenes (Ozu’s innovation where, after a lengthy scene, he might show us a few seconds of the corner of a building or a shot of the sea’s edge or the neon lights of a narrow street to allow the viewer to reflect on what has just occurred) serve as periods do in writing. The idea of a scene may be picked up later, or maybe it has served its purpose in defining to the viewer the characters who gradually show who they are across the film (and in a handful of cases, minor characters who appear once or twice – to Ozu, even these characters have a significant role to the ideas the film expresses).

There are times where – other than the character names, the setting, the synchronized sound, and the color photography – Floating Weeds seems indistinguishable from A Story of Floating Weeds (the two films have similar opening pillow shots). By 1959, Ozu’s era of experimentation had long since concluded. Ironing out what became his signature style in the 1920s and 1930s, the tatami shot aesthetic (where the camera would be placed low to the ground, pointed slightly upwards) and the pillow shot became his trademarks. The ellipsis was a given (as was passable to terrible child dramatic acting, which Ozu never seemed to improve on – not as if children were essential to Ozu’s dramas). Differentiating between A Story of Floating Weeds and Floating Weeds is that the latter, mostly in its opening half, has a broader sense of humor, playfulness – one running joke, more easily understood by those familiar with Japanese filmmaking or culture at-large, is that this kabuki troupe is depicted as anything but a high-quality entourage. It is a welcome reprieve to what might otherwise have been a hard-hitting domestic drama with no easy resolutions. This might be because that Daiei Film was less associated with melodramas than Shochiku.

In his first Ozu film, cinematographer and Daiei contractee Kazuo Miyagawa (1950′s Rashômon, 1965′s Tokyo Olympiad) always keeps the camera static – as one would also expect from any Ozu feature. It is a beautifully shot movie, perhaps most notably for the following sequence. As Komajuro and Sumiko move in an argument that is carried across the street that separates them, the camera does not pan with them. Notice where the camera is located as the characters speak: not over anyone’s shoulder, but a set distance from each character as they make their points. The second way this is shot has the camera reverting back to showing us part of the rain-splattering street, far back enough so that neither character physically dominates the frame. This latter framing is an extraordinarily complex composition filled with vertical lines that almost threaten the frame’s geometry, but it serves to lend objectivity to the two characters arguing their views – so that cinematography does not have much say in giving unwanted sympathy to either character.

Composer Takanobu Saitô (1953′s Tokyo Story, Equinox Flower) usually had little of interest to do – musically, cinematically – in his scores for Ozu’s films. Flowing, pastoral string melodies without motifs are typically played over the opening credits. But this is, if only for one cue, an unusual score for Saitô. In the scene where the troupe enters town for the first time, Saitô has composed a cue where the melodies reside in the woodwinds and where percussion is prominent. It is carnival-like music, which may remind some Italian cinema aficionados of the exuberance of Nino Rota’s scores for ‘50s and ‘60s Fellini films.

Lacking the absolute serenity of many Ozu films, Floating Weeds is nevertheless an exemplar of Ozu’s inimitable style and how emotionally and philosophically effective it can be. Because it has more above-the-surface melodrama than most in Ozu’s filmography, Floating Weeds is a possible starting point for any neophytes to a type of filmmaking far removed from exposition-delivering and overt dramatics of mainstream Western cinema (not that all Japanese cinema has bucked Western influences – a vast majority of the most popular contemporary Japanese movies, live-action and animated, take notes from Hollywood and not Ozu). For those who make Floating Weeds their first or one of their first Ozu films, the film serves as an introduction to some of the unifying ideas in his entire filmography. Individual lives are inescapably altered by others. To repudiate or fail to intuit that truth is to invite suffering; to intuit that truth but not attempt to understand others’ actions is hubris.

My rating: 9/10

^ Based on my personal imdb rating. My interpretation of that ratings system can be found here.

Taiyo Matsumoto, Sunny

Nivea cream, white hair, frog in the mud, pencil case, baseball, back of the lorry, five leaf clovers & shosuke, junsuke’s umbrella, porn mags in the sunny, star kids home, megumu sei haruo makio taro pee pee man, dead cat in the river

Dazai Osamu - Timeline

In the Introduction of Self Portraits: Tales from the life of Japan's Great Decadent Romantic Dazai Osamu there are a lot of good facts about Dazai.  It is my favorite introduction in any English translation of Dazai's works, and I thought I'd compile all the facts and trivia I found here.  First is this amazing sentence-plus-one that rolls up all of Dazai's life into one neat package:

"Dazai was many things in his thirty-nine years: the rich boy who got himself expelled from his ruling class family by associating with communists, running of with a lowly geisha, allowing a young woman he scarcely knew to die in the first of three "love suicides," and, what was worse, writing about it all; the heavy-drinking, whore mongering, self-absorbed, weeping, whining enffant terrible who was at odds with a staid and pompous literary establishment from the moment he appeared on the scene; the deranged drug fiend with a severe persecution complex who was both a tireless self-promoter and his own harshest critic; the one Japanese author who consistently turned out entertaining and worthwhile literature during the late thirties and early forties, when the entire nation was toeing the ideological line of militarism and fanatic patriotism; the immensely popular writer of the postwar era who ended his life at the height of his popularity by jumping into a river with a neurotic, death-obsessed mistress, leaving behind an impoverished with with three young children and another mistress with a child he'd never even seen. It's not a pretty story, but it's a fascinating one, and no one tells it better than Dazai himself."

Dazai does tell his own story, and Self Portraits is a collection of those stories translated into English (I highly recommend it). And without further ado, here is a short timeline of Dazai's life:

June 19, 1909: Tsushima Shuuji (Dazai's real name) was born in Kanagi village, Northern Tsugaru District, Aomori Prefecture.  He was the eighth surviving child of Tsushima Gen'emon and his wife Tane.

1909-1923: Shuuji rarely saw his parents and didn't have much of a relationship with them as he was raised mostly by his aunt and a nursemaid, Take-san (from his book Tsugaru).  His family was wealthy and his father was a local politician. Shuuji was always at the top of his class in elementary school. 1923: entered middle school, his father died and his eldest brother, Bunji, took over as head of the household. 1925: published his first story in a school magazine. 1927: entered Hirosaki Higher School. Akutagawa commits suicide which causes Shuuji to neglect his studies and devote himself to writing. He spends money on local hot springs and geisha.  He met Oyama Hatsuyo, an apprentice geisha who would later  become his first wife. 1929: wrote a novella, One Generation of Landowners, which centered on the poor treatment of farm hands by wealthy land owners, and the family in his novella had a lot of resemblances to his own family. The night before final exams at his high school, Shuuji tried to overdose on Calmotin ( a sleeping medication). He spent time at the hot springs to recover, but while he was there many of his leftist-oriented friends were arrested and expelled from school. 1930: Shuuji graduated and enrolled in the French Literature Department at Tokyo Imperial University. He roomed near his brother, Keiji. Shuuji began donating money to the Communist Party.  Keiji died of tuberculosis, and Shuuji stops attending school. Hatsuyo runs away to Tokyo where Shuuji meets her and they want to get married, much to Bunji's dislike. Bunji agrees to let them marry, but Shuuji is formally expelled from the family. Nine days after being expelled he and Tanabe Shimeko, a waitress who worked in Ginza, attempt a lover's suicide, but only Shimeko dies. His family stepped in to keep him out of jail for attempted murder. Shuuji and Hatsuyo are married in Tsugaru. 

"In May he met Ibuse Masuji, then an up-and-coming young writer whom he admired immensely (and who agreed to the meeting only after Shuuji wrote a letter threatening to kill himself if he wasn't granted an audience). Ibuse became Shuuji's mentor and was to be the younger writer's friend, confidant, and greatest supporter throughout the rest of his life."

1931: Bunji begins giving Shuuji 120 yen per month as long as he attends school, leaves the Communist Party, and doesn't get arrested, which Shuuji doesn't strictly adhere to. He is involved with the Communist Party, and spends a night in jail along with being interrogated about his leftist-activities. He writes very little, but does write haiku ("a typical example: 'Outside, sleet is falling/What are you smiling for/Statue of Lenin?'"). 1932: Bunji hears about Shuuji's illegal activities and cuts off the allowance. Shuuji is being searched for by the police and goes into hiding. He learns that Hatsuyo was not a virgin when he married her and takes this as a major blow. He vows to stop his involvement with the Party and reiterates his pledge to his brother in Tsugaru. He gets his allowance back and moved with Hatsuyo. He begins writing again. 1933: Shuuji publishes his first story, Train, under the pen name Dazai Osamu. (I'll call him Dazai from now on in this post). Dazai continues writing. 1934: continues writing and publishes in a literary journal, The Blue Flower, and becomes acquainted with many literary figures (including Yamagishi Gaishi, Dan Kazuo, and Nakahara Chuuya). 1935: Finishes his first volume of collected works, The Final Years, and attempts suicide by hanging after a night of partying in Yokohama. It doesn't work and he goes home where Hatsuyo, Ibuse, and other friends waiting for him. Ibuse was able to convince Bunji to continue sending Dazai money. Less than three weeks after the hanging attempt Dazai almost died from acute appendicitis. He became addicted to Pabinal (morphine painkiller), and started borrowing money. Dazai was nominated for the first Akutagawa Prize for "Against the Current" and "Flowers of Buffoonery".  He did not win, but Sato Haruo, a judge for the Akutagawa Prize, became his mentor.

"In September Kawabata Yusanari, another of the judges, published an account of the selection process in which he wrote that 'personally, I feel that the odious clouds hanging over [Dazai's] private life prevent the direct expression of his genius.' Dazai was furious when he read this, and replied the following month by publishing an open letter entitled 'To Kawabata Yusanari,' which read in part: 'I'll stab him. I actually thought that. I thought you a great villain.' Kawabata responded with 'To Dazai Osamu, Concerning the Akutagawa Prize,' in which he apologized for his words but took Dazai to task for his 'groundless delusions and suspicions.'"

1936: During the spring, Dazai is nominated for a second Akutagawa Prize, thinks he has a great chance at winning, went to a hospital for his addiction, and learned that no one had won the second Akutagawa Prize. In the fall, Dazai is nominated for the third Akutagawa Prize but is disqualified for having been a previous candidate. In October, Hatsuyo gets Ibuse to hospitalize Dazai again for his addiction. 

"Ibuse visited Dazai in Funabashi on October 12 and the following day convinced him to enter a hospital. That night he was taken to a mental institution in Itabashi, where he was kept in a locked room. For about a week he underwent extreme  withdrawal symptoms, tearing his clothes, breaking windows, writing on the walls, and screaming at the doctors and nurses. He was allowed no visitors during his stay."

During his hospitalization, Hatsuyo committed adultery with Kodate Zenshirou. After Dazai was released Dazai continued to receive a monthly allowance from Bunji. Kodate, after a miscommunication where he thought the affair had been found out, confesses everything to Dazai devastating him. 1937: Dazai and Hatsuyo attempt a lover's suicide in a hot spring by taking sleeping pills, but both survive and they divorce. Dazai publishes litter except the occasional essay. 1938: Publishes "A Promise Fulfilled", "Old Folks", and "One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji". Ibuse finds  Ishihara Michiko and she is married to Dazai. He writes "Seascape with Figures in Gold", "No Kidding", "A Little Beauty", and "Canis familiaris". 1939: Dazai and Michiko move to Mitaka just outside Tokyo, and Dazai "got stupendously drunk and apparently made quite a spectacle of himself" at a gathering of artists from Aomori Prefecture in Tokyo. 1940: visits his old mentor, Sato Haruo 1941: Dazai's daughter, Sonoko, was born. He took his family to his hometown to visit his mother who was ill. Japan entered war with England and the United States. 1942-43: Writes Tsugaru, New Tales of the Provinces, Regretful Parting, and Bedtime Stories (otogizashi). 1944-45: Dazai's son, Masaki, was born. He moved his family from the bombing in Tokyo to Kofu, but the house is bombed and he takes his family to Tsugaru. The bomb is dropped on Hiroshima and Japan surrenders. 1946: Dazai and his family return to Mitaka and Dazai writes Merry Christmas. 1947: The beginnings of his great novel, The Setting Sun:

"In January 1947 a woman named Ota Shizuko visited Dazai's workroom. Dazai had first met Shizuko in late 1941 when she and two friends, all fans of his, called at his house. He and Shizuko had met several times since then, and while Dazai was in Tsugaru they had carried on an increasingly passionate correspondence. She was hoping to become a writer, and Dazai had been encouraging her to keep a diary. In late February Dazai went to Shizuko's house in Shimo Soga, Kanagawa Prefecture, and stayed for five days. He borrowed her diary, which he was to use as a partial inspiration for his novel The Setting Sun...Dazai finished The Setting Sun in July 1947.” (I remember reading somewhere that Dazai based the author character in The Setting Sun and the protagonist off of Ota Shizuko) 

Dazai met Yamazaki Tomie, a beautician, who was contemplating suicide. Dazai's second daughter Satoko, "who grew up to be the great contemporary writer Tsushima Yuuko", was born. Dazai found out that Ota Shizuko was pregnant with his child. 

1948: Published Handsome Devils and Cigarettes, and Cherries. Dazai finished No Longer Human. He began and never finished writing Goodbye. One June 13 Dazai and Tomie drowned themselves in the Tamagawa Canal. Their bodies were discovered on June 19, Dazai's/Shuuji's thirty-ninth birthday.

Sunset Valley - End of Days

Chapter Two - "Unlucky Survivors" - Part II

River’s Journal – December 31st, 1989 - January 6th, 1990

Greg was busy playing with his Imaginary friend. He loved that doll, it seemed. Masaharu told me that one of the potions that he’d created was something that he had no idea what it did. He’d drunk one himself just to see what it did, but it did nothing – it was a gold-colored fluid and we had no idea what it was supposed to do. Hopefully Masaharu would be OK. He said he hadn’t suffered any ill-effects from it at any rate. It probably would be best if he didn’t do that again.

Bebe, taking matters into her own hands knowing that Holly was lonely - there wasn’t anyone her age to pair up with. So using the science station, Bebe asked Masaharu to donate some of his genetic code so that she could make a clone of him. Masaharu, I don’t know if he really put much thought into this, but he readily agreed. I’m not sure I would have wanted another clone of Haruo wandering around with someone else. But Bebe...well, she is a bird of another feather

Unfortunately, that particular science station cloning experiment failed and it seemed as though that was going to be a dead-end. However Clarissa got in on the act and decided that she would make a clone drone potion which Bebe, once she got that in her hot little hands, handed over to Masaharu who used it on himself. After the nice dark cloud that enveloped him dissipated, there was a young man who stood beside Masaharu that was practically for all intents and purposes the exact duplicate of him. He was a strapping young man who bore a striking resemblance to Masaharu. Masaharu named him Torahide. Torahide would probably get himself a haircut to differentiate himself from Masaharu, but for now...he was going to take time to get to know Holly.

Because we were in this bunker and unable to go out a lot of us were going stir-crazy including the plumbots. Felix bided his time by breaking space-rocks. So could my fiancé but the likelihood of him breaking his hand was probably on the order of six times as likely as Felix. Felix has a metal hand so the worst he could get is a severe dent which he could use a ball-pen hammer to iron out – my fiancé would probably end up with all the bones in his hand shattered which now with no medical help, would require an amputation of the hand because there would be no way to put the pieces back together. I tried to keep from laughing as the last time I saw we had roughly about four or five gemstones.

Now we have almost one hundred. And Felix is still going at it.

Thank goodness for things to do in this bunker. Torahide gravitated towards the sculpting station and was making immediate strides in creating sculptures in clay. Currently he was working on an alluring, at least to males – it did nothing for me other than to remark on what a nice sculpture it was, sculpture of a woman in Greek robes holding a bowl. Masaharu commented that he hoped that Torahide could make one of those in stone one of these days. Hopefully Bebe didn’t hear that.

My fiancé was taking the opportunity to teach himself how to play the violin. Unfortunately at this current point it was sounding like a cat was getting tortured. It would be a while before he worked his way up to it sounding like Haifetz playing the J.S. Bach Partita in B minor as my classical snob (~aside – oh I’m sorry, baroque snob...BWV 1002, II. Double, good heavens!) likes to state. With that and the fact that he had a gorgeous concert grand piano (9 footer) in the living area, we were somewhat able to take some enjoyment out of being cooped up in the bunker. To assuage his love of music, he also had a harpsichord and a organ...don’t know how he managed to fit that in there but evidently the pipes were encased within the interior walls of the bunker...with sections of wall having grates to allow the sound to somewhat escape. If it means that he won’t go bats-in-the-belfry, I’m all for it. Luckily he has not expressed a penchant to play Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor – that piece is scary enough as it is and especially considering the situation we’re in, I’m not sure I want to hear that piece again. Phil on the other hand was making friends with the younger family members. That presumably was his childish trait kicking in. He had brought plenty of comics, manga and anime to watch on TV, which luckily were not affected by the nuclear blast’s electromagnetic pulse (EMP). So he would sit for a couple of hours and watch Jem and the Holograms, Transformers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or GI Joe.

“Sandi...did you see the last episode of the Ninja Turtles?”

“No...Uncle Phil...you’re weird...I don’t watch that stuff.”

Mornings were a bit awkward. When we were in high-school, I was a high-school senior and...

Parker Langerak was a junior, which meant that I was in my graduation year and had committed to Haruo and going steady with him when Parker started expressing interest in me. I’ve had to discourage him quite emphatically from pursuing his interest in me. And well, now we were all stuck in this bunker together.

But what he realizes is that this bunker is his survival as it is with all of us. We all have to work together to move humanity forward from now on. He will find someone, but that someone won’t be me. I'm a grown woman thrown into surrogate motherhood and Parker's still a teen. He needs to find someone that he is more suited to. My fiancé Haruo has asked me to marry him and that’s the way it is now.

My husband-to-be is the one who stepped up to become Sam’s surrogate father thus making me Sam’s surrogate mother so be it. Whether we feel ready for it or not, we have to step up to the plate and hope that we can succeed at raising a child from the age of toddler-hood all the way to young adulthood. And we don’t stop being a parent when they leave the nest. We are their parents for all time. The fact that Haruo has shouldered this on himself has made me love him all the more. If anyone had told me, “River, you’re going to be a mother six months after you graduate.” I would have told them that they were nuts. Yet here I am. I’m a mother to a toddler who is just about to age up to child who will be going to get tutored in things that will allow him to thrive in this new world where there are no laws regarding education nor any formal education curriculum. We have all been forced to grow up quickly in order to get by in this new situation we find ourselves in.

“Gojira tai Hedora” (1971) or Godzilla vs Hedorah

AKA: “Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster,” and in the German release: «Frankensteins Kampf gegen die Teufelsmonster,» or “Frankenstein’s fight against the devil monsters” which is at least getting closer to the matter than some of the other German titles.

This film is considered to be Rather Bad For A Godzilla Film. Others say the film prior to this. Others content themselves talking about this film’s existence involving events akin to the arrival of one of the four horsemen, so let’s deal with two of those which I thought notable and a bit funny, had they actually occurred.

There are tales of the producer having seen this after being away (owing to being hospitalized) and was so offended that his name would be attached to it that he declared the director would never direct a Godzilla film as long as the producer was alive to oppose it. Then there’s one claiming the actor playing Hedorah was rushed from set and operated on for acute appendicitis whilst still wearing the costume. Both are exaggerated rumours. The producer didn’t like the film, but not nearly so vehemently. The actor playing Hedorah made an appearance for an interview wearing the costume and was initially rushed to hospital while they helped them remove it, but they were operated on in the conventional fashion.

So. On with the film, shall we?

New cover illustration by Geof Darrow — — — —

This is, by far the most overt ‘message’ film in the series, with allegory being abandoned in favour of billboard-style message delivery. It’s both blunt and violent: Godzilla yanking Hedorah’s eyes out of his lifeless and formless body (or according to some they were his testes; I vote eye balls) is pretty damned ugly. As well, there’s a sequence with Godzilla laying in a ditch while Hedorah pours some sort of caustic goo over him, with the camera lingering on him as he writhes and screams in pain, that’s frankly pretty tough to watch. We never do learn how he got out of there, but it went on long enough that I wondered if they were actually going to have him die, then be resurrected at the start of the next film. Despite a child representing the audience throughout the narrative, it’s not children’s fare.

We start with a song, whose lyrics are subtitled. It’s good to have that here, as the lyrics tell of a desire to send back all the pollution and garbage, in exchange for oxygen and blue skies. Thus, we’re set-up for Godzilla v Pollution as the theme, with some really cool animation used as scene or act breaks. We also get some visuals which must have had a triggering effect on some people’s memories of the end of WWII: there’s a mannequin floating in some water pollution which at first glance looks like body, then there are people burned by Hedorah’s sulphuric acid cloud who resemble radiation victims. It’s pretty grim.

Godzilla is a fearsome beast! Do not cross him!! He’s played by Haruo Nakajima, who also plays ‘Citizen appealing government to Hedora’ and ‘Officer.’ — — — —

Just as Godzilla was something of our own making which we must face with the ‘People must join together and fight it together’ approach, we are encouraged to destroy this smog-eating, acid rain producing, river choking pollution beast. There are a whole bunch of parallels to today’s Climate Crisis, and only the lack of digital effects would betray its creation date if it were released next week.

But, to get back to the grim bits: Godzilla is a merciless killer and this is easily the most violent we’ve ever seen him. The dénouement with Hedorah’s destruction involves a multi-stage task which Godzilla relentlessly accomplishes. There’s one little bit of humour in the middle when the Japanese military is still working to ready an elaborate method of reducing Hedorah’s power to replicate, where Godzilla looks as at us with a ‘really? they’re still not ready? I gotta do this myself‽’ expression, but it’s pretty a brief respite in the middle of merciless destruction.

I don’t remember this bit, but this is Keiko Mari as Miki Fujiyama, and she sings a few songs. — — — —

Then Godzilla wanders off into the sunrise as the kid cries out to him in a way that made me yell “SHANE! COME BACK, SHANE!!” at the screen. After that, there’s a peppy dance number to finish.

Not the best of the lot. I might revisit this just to prove to myself that I really didn’t miss something.

★★☆☆☆

#HighScoreGirl2 #HighScoreGirl #ハイスコアガール #HaiSukoaGāru #KingDevinJoseph #キングデビンジョセフ #おたく #Otaku #オタク #GotoJobin #後藤Jobin #デヴィンジョセフ王 #Weeb #WeebDar #王デヴィンジョセフ 1. ROUND 2 Screenplay: Yoriko Shibata Director: Yoshiki Yamakawa CG Director: Yusuke Suzuki (SMDE) Haruo, who missed Ono's mood while cleaning the pool, is watered and cold. Ono, who fell asleep and visited Haruo, who was absent from school, finds Haruo's signature game console, the PC engine. Ohno also shines in Haruo's PC engine library, including "Koo", "R-TYPE", "Yokai Dochuki" and "Genpei Ajinden". On the way back from the closing ceremony, they learn about the existence of the legendary 10 yen Gesen. Haruo and Ono, who can no longer be there, ride their bicycles along the Tamagawa riverbed. 2. ROUND 2 ■ Screenplay: Yoko Tomita ■ Conté Director: Yoshiki Yamakawa ■ CG Director: Yusuke Suzuki (SMDE) Haruo, who was in the mood of Ono while cleaning the pool, was sprayed with water and caught a cold. Ohno, who visited Haruo who slept and slept from school, found Haruo's pride in the game machine “PC Engine”. Ohno also shines his eyes on Haruo's PC engine library, such as “Katsuo”, “R-TYPE”, “Yokai Doki” and “Genpei Jakuden”. They know the existence of the legendary 10-yen arcade on their way home from the closing ceremony. Haruo and Ohno, who can no longer stay at home, run on the Tama River by bicycle. https://www.instagram.com/p/B5d-YrKH-LB/?igshid=kqledtnb7b8y

John’s Film Review: Shin Godzilla (2016)

Dedicated to Haruo Nakajima

1929-2017

If there’s one thing I’ve learned about Godzilla, it’s that most of his best films are made in response to a major disaster.

For instance, the original was made in response to the Lucky Dragon 5 disaster, in which the crew of a fishing trawler contracted radiation sickness from the fallout of the Castle Bravo nuclear test of 1954 as well as the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki almost a decade earlier.  In the same vein, Shin Godzilla plays heavily upon the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami that ravaged Japan as well as the meltdown of the Fukushima nuclear power plant that resulted from it.  This is evident in scenes like the pre-evolved form of Godzilla known among fans as Kamata-Kun barreling down rivers and streets like a living, breathing tsunami, and his fully-evolved form sporting a Godzilla Vs. Destoroyah-esque bright red glow, as if he is once again a nuclear reactor nearing total, catastrophic meltdown.

The main focus of the film, aside from Godzilla himself, is on the Japanese government officials that are struggling to handle a horrific disaster beyond comprehension, with the gridlock and political red tape that results from it.  They take the time to make this feel very real, with fake news reports and found footage adding to the effect.

Usually, when a new era of Godzilla movies begins, the previous continuity is chucked out the window, as if Godzilla never attacked Japan after 1954.  However, in this film, not even that film is in the continuity.  To this Japan, Godzilla is a very new and very terrifying threat.  And my God, he’s terrifying.  In his final form, he looks like he’s covered in horrific burns, almost like a survivor of Hiroshima, with a pair of googly eyes and jagged teeth adding to the unsettling face of this new iteration.  It almost makes the Legendary Monsterverse Godzilla look adorable in comparison.

The feeling of sheer terror reaches a fever pitch when he finally fires his nuclear breath.  Once he’s able to focus it into the beam we’re familiar with, he’s able to decimate almost the entire city just by turning his head.  It turns something really awesome in his previous outings to something nightmare-inducing really quick.

In short, Shin Godzilla is an amazing film, which I basically refer to as Gojira ‘54 on crack.  It draws upon the themes that made the original so iconic, from the fears of nuclear annihilation to Godzilla as an unstoppable natural disaster.  The music, featuring classic musical cues by composer Akira Ifukube (the Japanese John Williams, in my opinion) as well as new music by Shiro Sagisu, is absolutely amazing and a treat for the ears. My only gripe is that I wish I could’ve seen it on the big screen as God intended, so then I wouldn’t have to have waited for so long.  However, I can safely say that if you are a fan of Godzilla like I am, it’s worth the wait.

Icicles Quotes

Official Website: Icicles Quotes

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• As in an icicle the agnostic abides alone. The vital principle is taken out of all endeavor for improving himself or bettering hisfellows. All hope in the grand possibilities of life are blasted. – Anna Julia Cooper • Blackened skeleton arms of wood by the wayside pointed upward to the convent, as if the ghosts of former travellers, overwhelmed by the snow, haunted the scene of their distress. Icicle-hung caves and cellars built for refuges from sudden storms, were like so many whispers of the perils of the place; never-resting wreaths and mazes of mist wandered about, hunted by a moaning wind; and snow, the besetting danger of the mountain, against which all its defences were taken, drifted sharply down. – Charles Dickens • Chicharito must have icicles flowing through his veins – Andy Townsend • How to Commit the Perfect Murder” was an old game in heaven. I always chose the icicle: the weapon melts away. – Alice Sebold • I am volatile for one, rigid for another, angular as an icicle in silver, or voluptuous as a candle flame in gold. – Virginia Woolf • I created an icicle sculpture in the snow. White on white. – Mary E. Pearson • I turn and I look back across the lake. The mist is gone and the ice diminished, the drip of the icicles quick and heavy. The sun is up and the sky is blue empty blue light blue clear blue. I would drink the sky if I could drink it, drink it and celebrate it and let it fill me and become me. I am getting better. Empty and clear and light and blue. I am getting better. – James Frey • I’m glad that life isn’t like a Christmas song, because if my friends and I were building a snowman and it suddenly came alive when we put a hat on it, I’d probably freak and stab it to death with an icicle. – Matthew Perry • In a sky of iron the points of the Dipper hung like icicles and Orion flashed his cold fires. – Edith Wharton • In the vast reaches of the dry, cold night, thousands of stars were constantly appearing, and their sparkling icicles, loosened at once, began to slip gradually toward the horizon. – Albert Camus • Just when normal life felt almost possible – when the world held some kind of order, meaning, even loveliness (the prismatic spray of light through an icicle; the stillness of a sunrise), some small thing would go awry and veil of optimism was torn away, the barren world revealed. They learned, somehow, to wait those times out. There was no cure, no answer, no reparation. (161) – David Wroblewski • Life is like invading Russia. A blitz start, massed shakos, plumes dancing like a flustered henhouse; a period of svelte progress recorded in ebullient despatches as the enemy falls back; then the beginning of a long, morale-sapping trudge with rations getting shorter and the first snowflakes upon your face. The enemy burns Moscow and you yield to General January, whose fingernails are very icicles. Bitter retreat. Harrying Cossacks. Eventually you fall beneath a boy-gunner’s grapeshot while crossing some Polish river not even marked on your general’s map. – Julian Barnes • Music comes from an icicle as it melts, to live again as spring water. – Henry Williamson • My father was ruined by hard drink – he sat on an icicle. – Bob Monkhouse • Nervous hands as if the fingers were dripping from them like icicles. – Fannie Hurst • People peep into boxes at moving stereoscopic prints, imagining they’re in other worlds, and the crowd around a glassblower wonders whether icicles have formed in summer. Potted trees revive and suddenly look fresh when a florist sprinkles water on them, while papier-mâché turtles hanging out for sale move in the wind and take on souls. – Haruo Shirane • She watched the sun bleed water out of the icicle. Warm and cold working together to make an icicle. Warm and cold anger working together to make a fury, a fury worthy enough to use as a weapon against the old things that still needed fighting. – Gregory Maguire • The fire of purpose easily melts the icicles of obstacles. – Alan Cohen • the hymns were born in the fifteenth or sixteenth century or earlier, and listening to them was like licking an icicle: the same chill, the same purity. – Mary Cantwell • The moon of Rome, chaste as the icicle that’s curded by the frost from purest snow. – William Shakespeare • The neck on which diamonds might have worthily sparkled, will look less tempting when the biting winter has hung icicles there for gems. – Samuel Lover • The snow has left the cottage top; The thatch moss grows in brighter green; And eaves in quick succession drop, Where grinning icicles have been, Pit-patting with a pleasant noise In tubs set by the cottage door; While duck and geese, with happy joys, Plunge in the yard pond brimming over. The sun peeps through the window pane: Which children mark with laughing eye, And in the wet street steal again To tell each other spring is night. – John Clare • There’ll be icicles and birthday clothes And sometimes there’ll be sorrow – Joni Mitchell • What is reality? An icicle forming in fire. – Dogen • Where, twisted round the barren oak, The summer vine in beauty clung, And summer winds the stillness broke, The crystal icicle is hung. – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow • Winter giveth the fields, and the trees so old, their beards of icicles and snow. – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow • You think we stand a chance? (Delphine) Like an icicle on the equator. (Phobos) – Sherrilyn Kenyon • You’ve been cold to me so long, I’m crying icicles instead of tears. – Meat Loaf [clickbank-storefront-bestselling]

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Icicles Quotes

Official Website: Icicles Quotes

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• As in an icicle the agnostic abides alone. The vital principle is taken out of all endeavor for improving himself or bettering hisfellows. All hope in the grand possibilities of life are blasted. – Anna Julia Cooper • Blackened skeleton arms of wood by the wayside pointed upward to the convent, as if the ghosts of former travellers, overwhelmed by the snow, haunted the scene of their distress. Icicle-hung caves and cellars built for refuges from sudden storms, were like so many whispers of the perils of the place; never-resting wreaths and mazes of mist wandered about, hunted by a moaning wind; and snow, the besetting danger of the mountain, against which all its defences were taken, drifted sharply down. – Charles Dickens • Chicharito must have icicles flowing through his veins – Andy Townsend • How to Commit the Perfect Murder” was an old game in heaven. I always chose the icicle: the weapon melts away. – Alice Sebold • I am volatile for one, rigid for another, angular as an icicle in silver, or voluptuous as a candle flame in gold. – Virginia Woolf • I created an icicle sculpture in the snow. White on white. – Mary E. Pearson • I turn and I look back across the lake. The mist is gone and the ice diminished, the drip of the icicles quick and heavy. The sun is up and the sky is blue empty blue light blue clear blue. I would drink the sky if I could drink it, drink it and celebrate it and let it fill me and become me. I am getting better. Empty and clear and light and blue. I am getting better. – James Frey • I’m glad that life isn’t like a Christmas song, because if my friends and I were building a snowman and it suddenly came alive when we put a hat on it, I’d probably freak and stab it to death with an icicle. – Matthew Perry • In a sky of iron the points of the Dipper hung like icicles and Orion flashed his cold fires. – Edith Wharton • In the vast reaches of the dry, cold night, thousands of stars were constantly appearing, and their sparkling icicles, loosened at once, began to slip gradually toward the horizon. – Albert Camus • Just when normal life felt almost possible – when the world held some kind of order, meaning, even loveliness (the prismatic spray of light through an icicle; the stillness of a sunrise), some small thing would go awry and veil of optimism was torn away, the barren world revealed. They learned, somehow, to wait those times out. There was no cure, no answer, no reparation. (161) – David Wroblewski • Life is like invading Russia. A blitz start, massed shakos, plumes dancing like a flustered henhouse; a period of svelte progress recorded in ebullient despatches as the enemy falls back; then the beginning of a long, morale-sapping trudge with rations getting shorter and the first snowflakes upon your face. The enemy burns Moscow and you yield to General January, whose fingernails are very icicles. Bitter retreat. Harrying Cossacks. Eventually you fall beneath a boy-gunner’s grapeshot while crossing some Polish river not even marked on your general’s map. – Julian Barnes • Music comes from an icicle as it melts, to live again as spring water. – Henry Williamson • My father was ruined by hard drink – he sat on an icicle. – Bob Monkhouse • Nervous hands as if the fingers were dripping from them like icicles. – Fannie Hurst • People peep into boxes at moving stereoscopic prints, imagining they’re in other worlds, and the crowd around a glassblower wonders whether icicles have formed in summer. Potted trees revive and suddenly look fresh when a florist sprinkles water on them, while papier-mâché turtles hanging out for sale move in the wind and take on souls. – Haruo Shirane • She watched the sun bleed water out of the icicle. Warm and cold working together to make an icicle. Warm and cold anger working together to make a fury, a fury worthy enough to use as a weapon against the old things that still needed fighting. – Gregory Maguire • The fire of purpose easily melts the icicles of obstacles. – Alan Cohen • the hymns were born in the fifteenth or sixteenth century or earlier, and listening to them was like licking an icicle: the same chill, the same purity. – Mary Cantwell • The moon of Rome, chaste as the icicle that’s curded by the frost from purest snow. – William Shakespeare • The neck on which diamonds might have worthily sparkled, will look less tempting when the biting winter has hung icicles there for gems. – Samuel Lover • The snow has left the cottage top; The thatch moss grows in brighter green; And eaves in quick succession drop, Where grinning icicles have been, Pit-patting with a pleasant noise In tubs set by the cottage door; While duck and geese, with happy joys, Plunge in the yard pond brimming over. The sun peeps through the window pane: Which children mark with laughing eye, And in the wet street steal again To tell each other spring is night. – John Clare • There’ll be icicles and birthday clothes And sometimes there’ll be sorrow – Joni Mitchell • What is reality? An icicle forming in fire. – Dogen • Where, twisted round the barren oak, The summer vine in beauty clung, And summer winds the stillness broke, The crystal icicle is hung. – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow • Winter giveth the fields, and the trees so old, their beards of icicles and snow. – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow • You think we stand a chance? (Delphine) Like an icicle on the equator. (Phobos) – Sherrilyn Kenyon • You’ve been cold to me so long, I’m crying icicles instead of tears. – Meat Loaf [clickbank-storefront-bestselling]

jQuery(document).ready(function($) var data = action: 'polyxgo_products_search', type: 'Product', keywords: 'a', orderby: 'rand', order: 'DESC', template: '1', limit: '4', columns: '4', viewall:'Shop All', ; jQuery.post(spyr_params.ajaxurl,data, function(response) var obj = jQuery.parseJSON(response); jQuery('#thelovesof_a').html(obj); jQuery('#thelovesof_a img.swiper-lazy:not(.swiper-lazy-loaded)' ).each(function () var img = jQuery(this); img.attr("src",img.data('src')); img.addClass( 'swiper-lazy-loaded' ); img.removeAttr('data-src'); ); ); );

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RT @HAL909: RT @ramblingsloa When you do things from your soul, You feel a river moving in you, A joy. Rumi https://t.co/toNJJJIbud

RT @ramblingsloa When you do things from your soul, You feel a river moving in you, A joy. Rumi http://pic.twitter.com/toNJJJIbud

— Inoue Haruo (@HAL909) October 9, 2017

via Twitter https://twitter.com/NBimagery October 10, 2017 at 08:22AM