Thursday, February 28, 2013
Increasing nerdiness
One of the books I've read in the last few years that has really stuck with me was The Nine by Jeffery Toobin. After reading it, I felt like this whole secret world of the Supreme Court has been opened to me and I have the code to better understand what happens in the court. I was listening to Nina Tottenburg on NPR yesterday, and thought to myself "I wonder if Justice Kennedy ever gets drunk with power since he is the swing vote". I'm not saying that I am totally obsessed with the Supreme Court, but I definitely pay much more attention to it now that I did before. This may a combination of living in close proximity to DC and reading that book. Or possibly being more aware of the impact Supreme Court decisions have on society. But that seems to be more due to the landmark cases that the court has ruled on or will rule on in the near future, specifically, the healthcare law, DOMA, and the attempts to roll back the voting rights act. And I really liked learning more about the all the justices. It made me have a bit more respect for some Justices (especially Roberts) and legitimized my dislike for other Justices (I'm looking at you Thomas and Alito). I really want Toobin to do a follow up to include Justices Sotomayor and Kagen. But, I will have to appease myself with his book about Obama and Roberts. Or his back catalog, he has a book about the OJ Simpson trial that now that I know it exists, I must read!
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Short Short Short
Today, I went to the AFI Silver to see this years's Oscar nomination short animated features (with 3 highly commended additional shorts). I went to see them last year and loved it so I went back this year. And because most people don't see the animated shorts, I thought I would talk a little bit about them (and provide clips of the good ones!)
1) Maggie Simpson in The Longest Daycare - It has probably been at least 10 years since I have watching anything new from The Simpsons. I'm pretty sure I stopped watching it in high school because it seemed like they were trying to hard to be funny and relevant. So I was suprised how much I enjoyed the short. It is completely without dialogue and features just Maggie and her nemesis, the baby with one eye-brow. The short, running just under 5 mins, was full of really great visual gags and featured an homage to a Puccini opera!
2) Adam and Dog - This was my very least favorite one, I kind of can't believe it was nominated. The premise of the short was Adam and a dog in the garden of Eden, and then Eve comes along a ruins everything. I didn't find the animation that interesting and it felt really long, much longer than its 16 minute running time. If this one wins, I will be really disappointed!
3) Fresh Guacamole: I loved this one, it was short but really interesting. The premise was fresh and original and well executed. It probably won't win, but I loved it!
and here is another one from the same guy
4) Head over Heals - The only nominated short not made in the US, this one is from the National Film and Theater school in the UK. It is about a married couple with the husband living on the floor and the wife living on the ceiling. The animation in this one was very interesting since there were basically two sets stacked on top of each other (and the exterior of the floating house was pretty cool). And it was clear that the animators really thought about how a house like that would work. You can see this one by going here.
5) Paperman - This short is from Disney and I think is the mostly likely to win the Oscar. It is silent, and lovely. And seems like a mix of old fashioned Disney and the Pixar sensibility.
Highly Commend Shorts
6) Abiogenesis - An amazing short from New Zealand. I found is super creative and original and unlike most shorts that you see. I can't find a place to see the whole thing, but the official website for it is here.
7) Dripped - Leave it to the French to make a short animated film that stars an art thief that can absorb the characteristics of famous paintings by eating them. Did I like it? Very much!
8) The Gruffalo's Child - Chock full of British actors that I adore (Robbie Coltrane, Tom Wilkinson, Shirley Henderson, Rob Brydon, Helena Bonham Carter, and James Corden). So enjoyable, but not particularly memorable (though, I am not the target audience for this).
1) Maggie Simpson in The Longest Daycare - It has probably been at least 10 years since I have watching anything new from The Simpsons. I'm pretty sure I stopped watching it in high school because it seemed like they were trying to hard to be funny and relevant. So I was suprised how much I enjoyed the short. It is completely without dialogue and features just Maggie and her nemesis, the baby with one eye-brow. The short, running just under 5 mins, was full of really great visual gags and featured an homage to a Puccini opera!
2) Adam and Dog - This was my very least favorite one, I kind of can't believe it was nominated. The premise of the short was Adam and a dog in the garden of Eden, and then Eve comes along a ruins everything. I didn't find the animation that interesting and it felt really long, much longer than its 16 minute running time. If this one wins, I will be really disappointed!
3) Fresh Guacamole: I loved this one, it was short but really interesting. The premise was fresh and original and well executed. It probably won't win, but I loved it!
and here is another one from the same guy
4) Head over Heals - The only nominated short not made in the US, this one is from the National Film and Theater school in the UK. It is about a married couple with the husband living on the floor and the wife living on the ceiling. The animation in this one was very interesting since there were basically two sets stacked on top of each other (and the exterior of the floating house was pretty cool). And it was clear that the animators really thought about how a house like that would work. You can see this one by going here.
5) Paperman - This short is from Disney and I think is the mostly likely to win the Oscar. It is silent, and lovely. And seems like a mix of old fashioned Disney and the Pixar sensibility.
Highly Commend Shorts
6) Abiogenesis - An amazing short from New Zealand. I found is super creative and original and unlike most shorts that you see. I can't find a place to see the whole thing, but the official website for it is here.
7) Dripped - Leave it to the French to make a short animated film that stars an art thief that can absorb the characteristics of famous paintings by eating them. Did I like it? Very much!
8) The Gruffalo's Child - Chock full of British actors that I adore (Robbie Coltrane, Tom Wilkinson, Shirley Henderson, Rob Brydon, Helena Bonham Carter, and James Corden). So enjoyable, but not particularly memorable (though, I am not the target audience for this).
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