Sun, 13 Apr: Weekly Review 57

Watched the sixth and final Urusei Yatsura film, Always My Darling. It’s about Lupika, an alien princess, who uses Ataru’s lustfulness to help her find a love potion that will help her bind her love with a humble tofu salesman she loves. But Ataru ends up getting zapped by it and falling in love with Lupika. This is all Lum’s fault because, in a fabulous but annoying scene, she tricks him into taking the potion with the aim of having him fall in love with her. It’s fabulous because Fumi Hirano, the voice of Lum, really conveys Lum’s determination and sneakiness in catching Ataru out, her gloating voice anticipating too soon his entrapment. It’s annoying because she reveals to him what she’s done before he looks at her, and knowing this, Ataru refuses to look at her. And then Lupika appears and Ataru sees her, and Lum’s plans are ruined. The gloating was her downfall. She is left for the rest of the film with the torture of seeing Ataru doting over Lupika, who eventually manages to secure her love with the tofu salesman. At the end, when Ataru’s feelings are restored and he goes back to his usual lusting after all girls, some lessons are supposedly learned. Lum realises it was unnatural to try to tie Ataru down to loving one person, which seems against his nature. And how satisfied would she be knowing his love for her was false? If given the chance again, would she or any of the other characters use a love potion? Amusingly, the film’s ending suggests Absolutely!

It was another good UY film, but probably the weakest of the six, lacking the poetry and wistfulness of some of the others. The animation quality was a bit variable, but there were some nice touches. Lupika’s plans to use Ataru to get the potion involves quite a few entertaining nods to the Indiana Jones films. And I especially liked how the hot bike-riding tomboy Benten, my favourite female character after Lum, was given a lot of agency, constantly egging Lum and Lupika on to expressing their true selves. I know who I’d use the love potion on.

Did some more planning for the Europe trip with Glenys. She’s okayed the Justin Hayward concert, so I’ll get onto that very soon. Looks like we won’t be having a sleepover on the one stop to England. There was a seven hour stop in Abu Dabi on one promising Etihad flight, but the cost to stay at the airport hotel was over $100 each for six hours. I’d probably do it, but Glenys nixed it. Fair enough. A Singapore Airlines flight looks the best best so far.

I tried getting them Justin Hayward tickets, but the Ticketmaster site wouldn’t pass my card. Damn!  

Daryl came home finally from helping Judy move house. He brought with him a box of blurays for me to keep, as if I need any more. Most were pretty boring action movies, but what do you want for nothin’? I might check out the movie Us directed by Jordan Peele, who did Get Out and Nope. And there’s the James Bond movie Spectre, which is handy, because it means I now have all the Daniel Craig Bonds, and it’s next up in my viewing. Now, where do I store these things?  

Watched the movie Us from the bunch Daryl gave me yesterday. I actually watched it on one and a half speed to finish it quickly and avoid the long drawn out ‘tension’. Guess I just wasn’t that invested in it, but I did want to see it. Very strange and not altogether satisfying. I gave it 3 stars on Letterboxd with the one line review ‘Remember: whenever twins are around, the old switcheroo is never far behind’. Because, yes, there were twins or doppelgangers and there was a switcheroo in the plot. The film’s themes seemed to be set around class struggle, the haves and have-nots. Not a bad theme to pin your story onto, but makes for an unwieldy and untidy narrative – at least as it’s done here.  

I watched a couple more episodes of To Your Eternity. There was a strange scene where the boy fights and kills the giant bear. Then he and March are taken to the village of the people who have been initiating the sacrifices. The boy has now been able to say a couple of words – mainly ‘origato’ and ‘it hurts’. And he can revert at will back to the body of the wolf.  

Got the latest Lab Report that reports all things Stereolab. They’re bringing out a new album of new material, the first since Not Music back in 2010. It’ll be called Instant Holograms on Metal Film. I put in an order for my copy straightaway. Also downloaded a free new song from the album, called Aerial Troubles. Sounds okay, but I’m not loving it at this stage. There’s also a video for it – surreal and retro. It’s great to have the Groop back. But, apart from Tim and Laetitia, who’s in it? I don’t know.  

A really interesting book came through the library today called Ancient Egypt on Five Deben a Day by Egyptologist Donald P Ryan. It’s written like a travel book for Egypt, but this is Egypt in Ramesses the Second’s day circa 1250 BC. Part of the blurb reads ‘More reliable than Herodotus and more upbeat than The Book of the Dead, this is the essential guide for the discerning time-traveller’. It comes complete with tips about negotiating tricky border crossings, mummifying household pets, deciphering hieroglyphics and bribing government officials and more. Fun and educational: what a great idea! I borrowed it.

Finally bought the tickets for the Justin Hayward gig at Cardiff, England. The delay meant I didn’t get as good seats as I could have earlier, but we’re in. I guess we better go to England now. Wow, Justin Hayward in Cardiff! I’m so stoked! I actually saw him here in Melbourne a few years back playing solo. This will probably be the last time I ever see him. I so want to tell him about my War of the Worlds idea, but that can wait for another time.  

I’ve more or less finished compiling my Blackpink Solo playlist on Spotify. This was helped by a solid listen to some of the albums in the van while driving at work today. I’m really liking Lisa’s album, especially that nice final song, Dream. It has a line in it about ‘back in two thousand and nineteen’ which I love, because that’s been one of my favourite years. It’s the one just before Covid and I was doing my Library course in Melbourne and getting into all things Asianpop. Great days. Lisa’s just played Coachella in the States, and how I wish I’d been there. After listening to Jennie’s album again I’ve nixed the silly gimmicky song Like Jennie in favour of the superior Start a War. I included all six of Jisoo’s songs, good or bad, because that’s all she’s released. The playlist is based on the first solo releases. Jennie began it with her song Solo, then Rose with On the Ground, then Lisa with LaLisa, then finally Jisoo last year with Flower. So that’s the order the songs go in: Jennie, Rose, Lisa, Jisoo X Repeat. It’s a good list!  

Finished reading all them SCAR graphic novel materials and the Yuck! Number Seven compilation. There was a terrific piece in Yuck! about the three little pigs that’s done as a noir with a detective hunting down who killed two of the pigs. The Big Bad Wolf was the main suspect, but he had been in jail for murder (of LRRH’s Granny), so who did it? Turns out it was the surviving pig that built the house of bricks! The artwork style ranged from virtual stick figures to beautiful detailed work. I especially liked Frank Candiloro’s dense crystalline style. Where can I get volumes 1 to 6? The banned Spore Whores compilation was a definite highlight. Kind of a zombie story – but zombies who fuck and mutate! When do we get to see the film? And I really liked a story about the Medusas being luckless creatures from another world that were simply trying to integrate into Earth society. There’s some heart in amongst all the depravity, both of which I like.  

I tried watching the final Time To Twice Ranking but my internet was playing up. The audio was working just not the vision. I actually ‘listened’ to the whole episode that way with the image stuck on a shot of Momo. It was a big race to the bottom to see who would end up last to go. The ‘winner’ was Mina, who took it well and enjoyed all the attention of the cameras. I will watch the full version tomorrow when hopefully my internet is playing ball.  

Finally saw the last ep of Time To Twice Ranking with the internet connection working properly. It makes much more sense with the vision. Jihyo gets to leave early and there’s a scene where she farewells Mina and Mina gives her a ‘get the fuck out of here’ sign. Seemed a little disrespectful to the group’s leader, but she was smiling, and Jihyo didn’t seem to take offence. There was a funny scene where Jeongyeon talked the absent Dahyun’s tofu avatar into signing off on being ninth, thus bumping Jeongyeon in the ranks. She helpfully signed the list on Dahyun’s behalf. Poor little Tofu. At this point the next person in line to leave early was Momo, coming in third in the ranks. Somehow she’d made the long journey there from ninth. The scene where all the other surviving members suck up to Momo in hopes she will vote one of them out was pretty classic. Chaeyoung got in early by giving her a massage, Tzuyu speed talked to her and others pleaded, and boy didn’t Momo love the attention. But it was all to nought: Momo voted herself out. After more play offs it came down to Mina and Tzuyu. They played that throw down game where you have to turn over a packet on the floor. Tzuyu won, and as she left she said to Mina, ‘Get that screen time’. And indeed Mina did. Sitting alone in the room, surrounded by the camera crew, our little blonde-haired Mina looked adorable and vulnerable. She noted all the cameras were now on her. Having theoretically gotten the most screen time of all, had she really lost? The Youtube comments emphatically said No. She was the real winner. End Fairy Mina!  

I finished off the night with a session of the game No Man Sky on my Playstation 4. Hadn’t played it for a while. I decided to return to Planet Mina, my original Spawn Point, to close down the bases I’d established there. As I’d mentioned in an earlier entry, last time there I’d discovered the place had suffered an environmental catastrophe and was no longer recognisable. I wanted out of there. It was a little bittersweet taking down all those bases that I’d invested so much time and effort (and dreams) into. So I farewelled Mina and her solar system and headed for my present home, which is the planet Calypso where I’ve established my new Vega Base. I’ve got the building, but the interior is very bare! I’m looking forward to filling it up with my stuff and making it cosy. I called up my freighter for supplies and set to work settling in. I’m building a new oasis, a home away from home, where I can dream again.

Borrowed a manga from the library. It was Cthulhu Cat by Pandania. A cool combo of cat cuteness mixed with HP Lovecraftian abominations. I read it and it was indeed a fun time. A Japanese schoolboy finds a weird cat in a box in an alleyway and takes it home. Instead of a mouth it has tentacles, but otherwise it’s a cat. Lovecraftian wackiness ensues as other Lovecraft creations like Hastur and Yog-Sothoth arrive, in cat-form.  

Bought that King Crimson mag from the newsagents in Croydon. I’ve been enjoying Red a lot, so yeah, I wanna read about them. It seemed fortuitous that the magazine was there right at this time. Old Robert Fripp was quite a curious fellow. Brilliant musician. Red was done when the band were reduced to a three-piece. There are other muso’s on there though, with sax and violin. Man, that and Fripp’s crunchy guitars make for a tasty combo. It’s weird how John Wetton, the bassist and vocalist, sounds like Greg Lake, the band’s original vocalist. His song Starless, which ends the album, is yet another of their amazing proggy things, not unlike Epitaph and In the Wake of Poseidon. The song Providence is the bit where the band get pretentious, arty and boring, like the second half of Moonchild on the first album. I usually skip it.  

Had another listen to my Beach Boys In Concert album. One of the songs, Darlin’, didn’t record properly so I’ll have to re-do it. Otherwise, it’s a great concert. Now, if I can get my old computer to turn on again.  

Listened to some more of Rose’s album in the car on the way home. I’m compiling a Blackpink Solo playlist and picking the best. I’ve grabbed seven songs from that album so far. It’s pretty good.  

Clem Burke of Blondie died today. What a loss. Good old Clem, drumming up a storm now in Heaven.  

Read a couple more stories from the Best of World SF. One was The Wheel of Samsara and the other was Xingzhou. This second one was great. The author playfully name checked a bunch of scifi references, including Douglas Adams and Ursula Le Guin (the ansible) in a freewheeling story that details an entity from the future’s wacky ancestry tale.  

Had a listen to Lou Reed Best of Retro album, one of the cds Lui gave me last week. It’s a weird collection that mostly focuses on Transformer, Berlin and a bit of Sally Can’t Dance. It was released in 1989 but the only eighties song on it is I Love You Suzanne. There’s also a couple of Velvet Underground songs. It’s definitely whet my appetite for some more Lou.  

Listened to some more of the Lou Reed Retro album. I have to admit, after his Velvet Underground work, most of which I own and love, I never really got into his solo albums. I have the Blue Mask album from 1982, which is a cherished artefact. Lou seems happy and in love (to a woman called Sylvia) and engaged with the world. It’s the album that has the song Women on it. I thought that song should at least be on the Retro album, but it’s not. Strange how Lou’s image in the Seventies was very gay or queer, but in the Eighties he went totally Hetero, and this song is a celebration of that. I caught it when that and some of the other songs were played on the community radio, and Lou Stathis gave it a glowing review in the Heavy Metal magazine at the time. He wrote, surprised (because Lou had been in the doldrums), ‘What happened?’ I also bought the I Love You Suzanne single when it came out. That entertaining video of it was all over the TV at the time. I also have No Money Down from Mistrial, which I remember playing on my graveyard dj radio shift at that same community radio station. And New York, of course. I acquired the classic Transformer album much later. But that’s about it. So it’s nice to have this album, which fills in some of the blanks.  

I tried watching the second half of Sailor Moon Cosmos, but gave up on it. It’s so angsty and overwrought. Where’s the fun, Usagi? The plan was to watch this and one more episode of Pluto and get out of Netflix, but now I see they will be showing the second half of Squid Game’s second season in June. I guess I’ll hang on until then.  

Had a work meeting at Mooroolbark library. Got a chance to ask about us stocking the Saturday Paper. At first everyone was confused when I mentioned it, thought I meant ‘the Saturday papers’, like the Murdoch crap, which of course we stock. Can’t believe none of them actually knew about The Saturday Paper. This situation will hopefully change.

Aespa Karina’s birthday today. She’s 25. Also NewJeans Danielle’s birthday today. She’s all of sweet 20. Happy Birthday my darling musical Kpop babies.  

Finally finished my Discovering Yourself Through the Tarot book and briefly went through the Alastair Crowley Tarot one, called Mirror of the Soul by Gerd Ziegler, as well. Have to say, after some brilliant early chapters that blew my mind, the Discovering book got a bit too esoteric for me. I basically just flicked through the Ziegler book, but I liked what I saw and read. Unlike the Discovering book, there were some clear descriptions. For example, its says ‘The Major Arcana cards give us answers or messages regarding the question or situation at hand. At the same time, they offer higher universal teachings based on Cosmic Law.’ And the Court Cards: ‘generally are related in some way to people who are important in our lives’. And the other Minor Arcana cards ‘concern the smaller, more direct lessons of life’. I thought it strange how Crowley’s Thoth deck uses in its Minor Arcana Wands, Cups, Swords and Disks. The first three are standard, but he’s substituted the traditional Pentacles for Disks here. I thought he’d be all over the Pentacles for their witchiness, if nothing else. The author relates how the cards were designed by Frieda Harris in consultation with Crowley not long before his death. Images of all of them are included, albeit in black and white. Some of the designs remind me of the paintings of William Blake. I wonder if he was an influence?  

Watched episode four of Pluto on Netflix. Astro kind of dies in this episode, but I don’t believe it. He’ll be back before the show is through, I know it. Detective Gesich is on guard duty with a man who actually has been trying to kill him. Talk about ironic! Of course, he doesn’t know this, yet. The animation has been pretty amazing with this series, and I like how its style has stayed true to Tezuka’s vision. It continues to ask the very important question: Should the robots we make be more human – is this a good thing?  

Watched half of The Girl On the Motorcycle. Good trippy fun with lots of flesh on show from Marianne. Her character’s actually not very likeable as she flits away from her new husband on her bike for a rendezvous with Alain Delon across the German border. But I like its retro sixties euro vibe. There’s a solarized sex scene! Director (and cinematographer) Jack Cardiff really went to town on the trippy visuals. An early scene where a naked Marianne gets into her zip-up leather bike catsuit with fleece padding is a highlight. No undies, no sox, and boy is it a snug fit!  

Finished watching The Girl On a Motorcycle. It’s an impressionistic odyssey. The ‘girl’ Rebecca never makes her rendezvous with her lover Alain Delon in the end. After a stop at a pub where she’s eyed by the locals she reflects on her relationship with her lover and decides he’s not worth it. She decides to give him back the motorcycle he gave her as a wedding present. This way she’ll have true liberation. Problem is, she’s had way too much to drink, and when she gets back out on the road, well… Marianne has such a funny, expressive face. But I can’t say I ever found her pretty. The photography doesn’t really do her any favours, either. Close ups of her bad skin condition abound. But I’m glad I have this film. I’ll file it under my ‘Groovy Sixties Films’ with Psych Out, Wonderwall, Barbarella, Faster Pussycat Kill Kill and Blow Out.  

Bought a copy of The Saturday Paper and had a read of it on the veranda in the sunshine. Good coverage of the local election, but boring as hell. There was a front page interview with Independent Senator David Pocock and he at least had some interesting things to say. He said he wanted ‘housing treated as a human right’. Wow! Would you ever read a line like that in the Murdoch papers? I plan to give this copy to the next library I work at.  

A book I had on hold came into the library. It was Anatomy of 55 More Songs by Marc Myers. I flicked through this the other day in the bookstore when I was working at Belgrave. I’ve browsed this before but it’s fun to dip into. I re-read the chapters on Good Vibrations and Long Cool Woman In the Black Dress. One of the songwriters of the Hollies song, Roger Cook, relates the tale of how FBI guys love that song because it’s ‘our song’. Opening line is ‘Saturday night I was downtown, working for the FBI’. Hollies singer, and co-writer of the song, Allan Clarke, left the group just as the song became a big hit. Made it awkward for the other members to tour the US with a very different singer singing the song. I still wonder if Allan was pushed or he jumped. Both versions of this story are in circulation. But he was back with them after one album (Romany) and they had their final big hit, The Air That I Breathe, with him on lead. Big Hollies fan, me.  

My old desktop computer doesn’t seem to want to turn on anymore, which is a pain, because it’s the one I use to transfer my albums to cd. The last one I did was the Beach Boys In Concert, but listening to the playback it turned out one of the songs, Darlin’, is faulty. I’d like to fix that but can’t with the computer not working. I’ve only got one more album to digitise and it’s Big Star’s Complete Columbia. I’m thinking I’ll just leave the digitising there for now. I can always access a digital version of the Big Star album on Spotify, which has it, and I can live with the faulty version of the Beach Boys album. So the album digitisation is at an end, for now. I’m thinking now I might try to get the new laptop’s audio interface doing that job, if I can. But I may have to get a new one, if I can’t.