This isn’t any kind of top 10 list, or “best of” by any means: the following clips are posted in no particular order, either.
Some are amusing, some evocative, maybe sad, but they have all stuck somewhere in my mind.
And this sample isn’t exhaustive: I left out Henry Mancini, Roque Banos and Bruno Coulais to name just a few.
Continue reading “No accounting for taste: some favorite movie themes and songs”
Some believe that people are at their best when things take a turn for the worse. I don’t think that way.
I do know that animals often put us humans to shame in many aspects, such as loyalty and faithfulness. This video from Japan of a dog protecting another is a great and moving example.
Both dogs are reportedly receiving veterinary care after being rescued.
A nod goes to a friend of the blog who is auctioning a print to benefit relief efforts in Japan, please take time to check out his photo stream here.
UPDATE: the island of Tashirojima appears to be safe for the time being. Its small human and very large feline populations have so far managed to escape major harm but are running low on food…
From wiki: fixed-net fishing was popular on the island after the Edo Period and fishermen from other areas would come and stay on the island overnight. The cats would go to the inns where the fishermen were staying and beg for scraps. Over time, the fishermen developed a fondness for the cats and would observe the cats closely, interpreting their actions as predictions of the weather and fish patterns. One day, when the fishermen were collecting rocks to use with the fixed-nets, a stray rock fell and killed one of the cats. The fishermen, feeling sorry for the loss of the cat, buried it and enshrined it at this location on the island.
Today, March 14, is Pi Day.
Pi, according to Wikipedia:
… is a mathematical constant whose value is the ratio of any Euclidean plane circle’s circumference to its diameter; this is the same value as the ratio of a circle’s area to the square of its radius. It is approximately equal to 3.14159265 in the usual decimal notation. Many formulae from mathematics, science, and engineering, involve π, which makes it one of the most important mathematical constants.
π is an irrational number and cannot be expressed in a fraction.
Now we’re done with the geek bit. And we’re on to the fun stuff.
Pi Day was created by Larry Shaw in 1989. According to Wikipedia:
The holiday was celebrated at the San Francisco Exploratorium, where Shaw worked as physicist, with staff and public marching around one of its circular spaces, then consuming fruit pies. The Exploratorium continues to hold Pi Day celebrations.
In celebration, here is a bit of Pi for your enjoyment.
A little music…
No, we didn’t forget the kitties.
“The cats of Mirikitani” – (2006, USA, 74 minutes – documentary)
Sometime around the summer of 2001, film editor Linda Hattendorf develops an interest in 80 year old homeless artist Tsutomu “Jimmy” Mirikitani who accepts to become the subject of her documentary project.
Jimmy’s subjects are mainly cats, tigers and the internment camps where he spent three and a half years, at Tule Lake, California during WWII.
Watch the trailer here:
After the September 11th attacks, which brought forth images reminiscent of the Hiroshima bombing with a city covered in ashes and dust, Hattendorf convinces Jimmy to leave behind his shopping cart and multiple layers of clothing, and move into her apartment.
Continue reading ““The cats of Mirikitani”: persistence of vision”
