Sun, 2 Mar: Weekly Review 51

I watched the Kevin Costner film For Love of the Game tonight. I hadn’t seen it since watching it in the cinema back in 1999. I think it was old Kev-bo’s last baseball film. I love baseball and I love baseball films, especially Costner’s. Directed by Sam Raimi, who’s better known for his Evil Dead films, it’s about a veteran pitcher pitching the game of his life at Yankee Stadium while memories of the woman, who may have been the love of his life but is now going off to England, run through his head. It’s a nice combo of sport and romance. I like how at the end Kev’s character, Billy, wins the game but still has to win back the woman’s heart. In lesser hands the winner simply gets the girl, or in this case, Jane (played by Kelly Preston) would have been there at the stadium gazing adoringly at her man, all transgressions forgiven because HE WON THE FRICKEN GAME. But no, this film’s much subtler and more realistic than that. There’s a nice little coda where Billy goes to the airport after the game with the intention of travelling to England because he’s realised he needs and loves Jane. But she’s there still at the airport, having missed the plane because she stayed to watch the game unfold on the TV in the airport lounge. Billy’s speech to her is full of regret and hard-won self-truth, and it wins Jane over. It’s just enough to feel well-earned. They seal their reunion with a huge kiss that is nicely undercut by the passers-by who look on with annoyance at this too-public display of affection. Have to say, if it was me seeing them I’d be all ‘Yeah go for it, you good thing!’ If it’s the last baseball film Costner ever makes it’s a good way to go out. Bull Durham, Field of Dreams, For the Love of the Game: a fine baseball trilogy. Thank you Kev-bo.

I finished playing and digitising my two Macross albums. It’s mostly instrumental soundtrack music with occasional vocal tracks from Matoko Fujiwara and Mari Lijima, who is the voice of idol character Minmay Lynn. The instrumentals are nice, but it’s the vocal tracks that are the highlights. There’s the full Macross opening theme sung by Matoko. I love this track. I love the way it starts all portentious and pompous. I imagine Matoko, playing the very sombre Captain Global from the show, being stern and gruff as he sings the opening lines. Then the music starts to swing, and all of a sudden ‘Global’ busts out some incongruously groovy moves as he gets into the song. I see it clearly in my head. It’s funny. And then, at the line where he sings in English ‘will you love me tomorrow’, I imagine Misa, the head ‘bridge bunny’ from the show, flick her hair at him, as if to say no, and he recoils in despair. Volume 2 has the Minmay classic My Boyfriend Is a Pilot, which refers to Hikaru, the pilot who has a crush on her. Such a charming song, adorably sung by Mari. ‘Tune tune, tune tune…’ The bit where she sings ‘I love you, you love me’ is such ear candy. I’m so glad I found these soundtracks. And I found them here, not in Japan. Amazing! I’ll write more about my love of Macross on my Phases page soon.

Today was the day of another Box Hill Record Fair – but I had work. It’s no big deal because, as mentioned earlier, I got my Ya-Ya’s out with a good record store search day on Tuesday. But I’ll definitely be there next time!

I started reading the scifi anthology The Best of World SF Vol 1 edited by Lavie Tidhar today. The first story was Immersion by Aliette de Bodard. I thought the story, about a perception enhancement device and a chance encounter, was a bit average. But the context of my reading was above average. It was a sunny afternoon after work and I was sat down on a bench under the pine trees in Croydon Park. I could see a dog playing with a frisbee on the sports oval in the distance. I’d sat down here to read many a short story before, but I haven’t had much time for it lately. So here I was again, at last. There is an amazing ghost gum tree near where I was reading, with twisty branches that seem to point eventually towards the tall straight light tower by the oval. It’s almost like who needs to read when you have this all around you?

Twitterer by the name of Peter Twinklage did a tweet about Hooter’s restaurants, how they’re closing down. He also shared a nice story about being taken to one as a proto-gay child by his father and encountering a sympathetic waitress. I first heard the name on Married With Children. Figured it had to be fictional, the sort of thing only Al Bundy would frequent. But no, it was real, which is hilarious.

I saw a little bit of the original Shaft film starring Richard Roundtree. It looked so cool, so retro, the clothes, the fight scenes. I checked to see if it was playing again on SBS Movies, and it was. So I recorded it on my PVR. Can’t wait to see that, eventually.

Tried to watch that final Walking Dead series, but couldn’t get past the first ep. I just don’t like the direction it’s going in. Too contrived. It’s mostly about Rick trying to escape from a military organisation who captured him after the ‘bridge incident’. In one such escape attempt he cuts off one of his hands. Ew! And so far there hasn’t been much zombie/walker action.

Watched my Stripperella eps. Lots of fun, but wish I’d recorded more. Mos def the best thing Pamela Anderson ever did. The Woody Allen sendup was funny. He comes on stage at an awards ceremony with ‘Enorma’, a large-breasted woman, and says, ‘I’m usually the biggest boob onstage’.

Finished reading The Confessor story by Baden M Chant in Andromeda Spaceways magazine # 97. A rather unsatisfying and convoluted cyberpunk story about a possible AI-dominated future. Very clever but empty.

I watched ep 3 of new TTT. Jeongyeon aces the questionnaire. They all play at being asleep in that bed-throw contest, with Mina doing the best imitation. Jihyo’s competitiveness boils over into sour grapes. Nayeon seems to want out of her team with Sana and Momo. This series seems to be more heavily edited than usual. The sing-around section was barely there. I like how they have the air-buds prize dangling temptingly from the ceiling, like the cash in Squid Game. At this point it seems like some of the members will, like in SG, kill each other for them!

I read another section of Andy Partridge’s book Complicated Game. This was a terrific discussion of the XTC song The Everyday Story of Smalltown. Andy confesses that the album it came from, The Big Express, was something of a concept album for him. This blew my mind. I hadn’t thought of that, but it’s true! He also talked about The Kinks, because he was sort of influenced by the Kinks song Autumn Almanac. Disappointingly, he wasn’t much of a fan. Liked some of the songs but hated the production, which I can understand. Producer Shel Talmy has a lot to answer for.

Reposted some good Tweets on my Twitter page. There was one thread about Brutalism architecture by Nick Whitaker, He was ‘requesting a “Brutalism is actually good” photo dump that isn’t just completely leaning on good foliage’. The replies were insightful. Another was a funny thread about Twice’s many solo activities of late. Tweeter Zouu flipped the script and observed wryly: ‘What if all 9 of them made a Collab?’ The joke being that Twice is their collab. But boy the fans (Onces) really ran with this one in the replies. Check them out.

I watched the latest Juice Media ‘ad’ called ‘Our Last Fair Election’ about how the Libs and Labor are trying to freeze out the independents after this election and therefore we shouldn’t vote for either. I don’t find these division tactics useful at the moment. We need to be united against the Libs. There are fundamental differences between them that go beyond the few things they have in common (defence and this anti-independence thing). Try again Juice Media!

Listened to Within Temptation’s The Heart of Everything on the trip down and back from Healesville today. What a great album. They really came into their own with this one, got the Gothy formula right. The only thing that’s a little weak is actually the ballad Forgiven at the end. The ballads on the two previous albums are better. But it’s interesting to me that the next album was called The Unforgiven. Is there a connection? I’ll be seeing them very soon, this Friday. Can’t wait!

The latest Librarything email had a nice list of Books That Changed Our Perspective. It included many I’d put in there or have read, like the Tao Te Ching, Le Guin’s The Dispossessed, Susan Cain’s Quiet, even A Wrinkle In Time. What else would I include?

Made purchase order for Twice Nayeon picture book Yes I Am Nayeon and new Nmixx album Fe304: Forward (Ready version) with K-pop Time. Figured I’d better do it now so I can make use of the discount token before it expires. All up, I saved a sweet $14.00. Oh yeah! Admittedly, the Nayeon book is probably not a necessary poichase. BUT I WANT IT!

Borrowed a dvd from library. An Adventure In Space and Time, a Dr Who dramatisation of the early years. My colleague Isabel had a cute Tardis backpack today (she’s a big Dr Who fan). But is it bigger inside?

Watched An Adventure In Space and Time. A terrific evocation of the early1960s London. The only thing missing was The Beatles. David Bradley, who played William Hartnell, was a dead-ringer for him. Loved seeing all that old equipment, the old video cameras and scrappy BBC studios. So very British. Hartnell was my favourite Doctor. I liked his gruff no nonsense attitude. I can’t believe he was only in his fifties when he played the role (I’m older!). Did they age him up, coz he definitely looked older. He was only 67 when he died eleven years after he left the role. There was a really nice cameo from latest Doctor at the time, Matt Smith, at the end. He’s just there in the Tardis with Hartnell, sharing the moment as it were.

Trump and his VP yelled at Zelensky in the White House sending him packing today. Hilarious. The shitfuckery just keeps coming. I hope he alienates all his boosters.

Listened to a bunch of Twice solo songs coz I needed it. There was also RM’s Wild Flower, and some Twice – Keeper and Magical. Very chill.

Went to Knotfest, saw Within Temptation, Polaris and Baby Metal. Long review to follow, but there was a ‘see’ of cleavage and heavy metal fans are quite a stylish bunch. It’s not just about the black and tatts. Bought a Baby Metal and WT t-shirt. The sole of one of my shoes came off!

I watched two more episodes of Ghost In the Shell 2045 season two. This was eps 6 and 7. Togusa has been found in a Tokyo under reconstruction and Batou, Saito and the Tachikomas join him there. A new influx of refugees and fanatics calling themselves ‘N’ seem to be converging there as well. Meanwhile, Purin has reawakened in a new body and spends half the episode completely naked as she works out what’s happening and comes to terms with the fact that she died.

Watched episode 8 of GITS 4045. Section 9 do a lot of reconnaissance around that new city and uncover some info about the posthumans, like they need 15 minutes of sleep each day. It’s leading up to something that reveals their nefarious plans, but I still don’t know or remember what. I don’t love the 1984 references.