The Business
Recommended: Azumanga Daioh
As far as anime goes, I’ve mostly only been exposed to the Miyazaki films; however I’ve been watching this really weird, cute series called Azumanga Daioh; it’s about a bunch of high school girls, their teachers, and not much more than that.
It’s described as being a lot like Peanuts — irreverent and about every day struggles and stories. I think that’s fairly accurate.
To tell you the truth, I’m not sure why I like it so much. It’s cute, and I think cuteness’s stock is on the rise these days because of our increased level of fear. I always hit up CuteOverload after reading about people being blown up in Iraq — it keeps me from going nuts.
But beyond the cuteness, the series is about a lot more than it seems on the surface — it’s all about the characters and their quirks, which is something that always draws me in. It’s also a lot about friendship, and often about how people who can’t stand each other can simultaneously be really good friends.
I think what I like best about the manga and anime that makes it to these shores (essentially the very best stuff that gets produced in Japan) is that there’s something universal about it. It’s a good feeling to think that people all over the world deal with the same crises, and that the story is only told in different mediums.
Internet Fun: This website lets you generate your own seals.
parks in the city.
Accoutrements
I have all the accoutrements of a modern citizen. I have TiVo. I have a Netflix queue. I have videogames and three email accounts. It’s weird to think how much baggage I have. Historically we are the most entertained generation that has ever existed.
In Chicago right next to the theater (on the first floor of the Temple Building) there was a rare coin collector’s store. In the window were a bunch of old Roman coins, the earliest being from the Marcus Aurelius era (~ 160 AD). They were about the size of a dime and were $160 each.
Along with World War II, I am pretty obsessed with Roman history. Back then all you needed were these coins and a cudgel. Probably also a small knife.
It’s interesting to think about what we think we need and what our wants and desires are. In Roman times all you needed was a good joke teller. Back then, a witty or entertaining person was probably even more well-regarded than they are today since the only forms of entertainment were instrument playing, singing, joke or poem reciting, or bloody arena battles against giraffes. There was no recorded entertainment — all entertainment was LIVE.
Having a particularly funny friend was thus probably a real treasure.
I stood there in front of the coin store wondering where these Roman coins had been — whose cloth bag they jingled in, what they were used to purchase. Apples? Olive oil? Slaves? Votes? It’s amazing to think that they had survived 18 centuries without being melted down or lost forever.
I think I would like to start collecting these. Then maybe a millenia from now my own collection will be in the tentacles of an alien archaeologist who will also wonder where these coins came from, who they belonged to.
Netflix, TiVo, email, videogames. So many of the things we own are digital and temporary.
Explosive Decompression
I had a brilliant time in Chicago thanks to some excellent hosts and a pretty inspired local variety of food. When the healthiest thing you’ve eaten all weekend is a Maxwell Street Polish, you know you’ve had a good time.
What I like about Chicago is that it’s urban but not as tightly wound as New York; it feels like San Francisco except it’s actually cleaner. You can take the train north and the city opens up into tree-lined streets like Brooklyn; and all around are joggers — at least while the temperature allows it.
And people are really nice. “Hi!”, they’d say. “WHAT?! I’LL KILL YOU!!!” I would scream back. I can’t help it, I’m not used to friendliness. My response is in my nature like The Frog and the Scorpion.
Millenium Park is an urban wonder. Raised gardens, people doing pilates outdoors, a twisty Gehry ampitheater, and the magical Bean (see above). I saw it from the plane on the way in, and it looked like a tiny mercury-flavored jelly bean.
The city has a lot of good things going for it: Comfort food, easy walking and easy public transit, Freddie, and great theater. And at the same time it has its challenges — it’s racially divided, and that feeling is palpable as you walk down the street.
But this city is definitely going in the right direction. I get a strong feeling that I’ll be back soon, and will be given more time to put together a more comprehensive report.
Silk Road Theatre Project: This up-and-coming company really has its act together. They’re wonderful hosts and put together a really excellent read of “Cowboy”.
A hundred and twenty people showed up to see it on a Sunday afternoon, and like I said then, it was easily the most diverse crowd (in every way imaginable) I’d ever seen at a public read for anything. Looking forward to working with these folks in the future. If you’re local, I highly recommend checking them out.
Chicago
Friends in the Midwest: Silk Road Theatre Project is doing a public reading of “Cowboy Vs. Samurai” this weekend in Chicago at the Temple Building in the heart of the Loop.
| WHEN: | Sunday, August 27 at 12:30 pm |
| WHERE: | Silk Road Theatre Project at The Historic Chicago Temple Building 77 W. Washington St., Pierce Hall, Chicago |
| COST: | Free and Open to the Public |
If you can make it, please arrive early — and I’ll see you there!
Today
News. Our short film Dragon of Love has been selected as one of 12 semi-finalists to be screened at NBC Universal’s Comedy Shortcuts Showcase. Directed by Doan La, produced by Hieu, written by yours truly, and featuring the unsinkable Randall Park. Yay!
And now, My favorite pup in the whole world:
The best part is that he gets all the treats at the very end. Good things come to those who wait!!!
Although the cartoon illustration at the top of the video of the lil’ pup looking sad is heartbreaking. He does get his day though.
Then We Have a Big Party
For years I was searching for the perfect brand of writing notebook. It had to be compact, relatively inexpensive, have a hard cover (because I write in my lap a lot), and had to lie flat when opened.
Earlier this year I found it — these blue, yellow-paged hardcover notebooks that go for around $6.20. They have 120 pages and are page-numbered, which makes it easier to index the contents. Yes, I index my pages like a good little nerd, something I picked up from Rebecca Gilman’s Boy Gets Girl.
I’ve been through a couple of these things so far and just bought a third. It takes about six weeks for me to fill each one.
I don’t just write in them — I diagram stuff, make shopping lists, take notes in them, etc.. I’ve got this “One Container” philosophy. And at the end of the day I categorize and dump stuff into my computer.
I wish I could find an Auster-style blue or red notebook though. Those seem so much nicer than these. Plus they may possibly be magic as well.
I am insanely excited about the upcoming Borat movie. However, this has lead to a major problem: I have his folk song, “In My Country There Is Problem (Throw the Jew Down the Well)” stuck in my head.
Yes it is anti-semetic, but it’s just so catchy!
But today I realized that I can make it kosher — yes, I am sorry in advance — by replacing the word “jew” with any other word. It can be “Throw Kim Down the Well” or “Throw Bush Down the Well”. And it can be applied to frustrating situations too, like “Throw the Stalled Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process Down the Well”.
This way we preserve the melody and at the same time make the song PC. Is nice!
Pleasantville
Ironically, it sounds like the premise for a made-for-TV movie: Two jaded, present-day kids get sucked into a 1950s Leave It to Beaver-style sitcom and have to confront life in a squeaky-clean black and white world.
So how do you make it bigger — “plus it”?.. For the kids you cast Reese Witherspoon and Tobey Maguire. Also activate William H. Macy, Joan Allen, and Jeff Daniels. Plus you make the power move of adding the late, much-beloved Don Knotts. Also inject an enormous amount of heart and humor, and frame the story around big ideas.
trapped in the wholesome Fifties.
The movie is about how these kids change Pleasantville through their actions. And through their interactions they transform the fictional characters around them into real people.
transformation to color.
And instead of taking the easy road and veering into cheap gags about tailfins on cars and pointy bras, the movie takes the high road and explores censorship, sexuality, the freedom to learn, and the idea of sentience. Actually, now that I think about it, there were a few pointy bra jokes in there. But that wasn’t all that Pleasantville contained.
What I really love about this movie is that it really reaches for more than it needed to. It’s ambitious. And although it’s not always successful, its individual parts are terrific enough on their own… And the sum total is outstanding.
And the Best Thing About This Movie: Don Knotts. The guy is, was, and forever will be timeless.
My Work in Print
Year Zero
Available from Samuel French and Amazon.com
Cowboy Versus Samurai
Available from Samuel French and Amazon.comFor a complete list of books containing my work, please click here.
