I found this interview of exchange students from Pakistan, Nigeria, South Korea and Finland fascinating. I like how the interviewer is in the background and how thoughtfully these young people consider American freedom, dating and education.
It would be interesting to see a 2020 version of this interview.
Another Mirka story by Barry Deutsche, Hereville: How Mirka Caught a Fish takes us back into the world of an Orthodox Jewish teen named Mirka. Smart and feisty, Mirka clashes with her stepmom. When she’s made to babysit her young half-sister, Mirka defies the rule that she shouldn’t go into the forest. She longs to experience the adventures her stepmother had as a girl. This adventure-seeker soon encounters trouble through a magic, or rather cursed talking fish, who soon kidnaps the little girl, making Mirka the “worst babysitter ever.”
The story is fun and wise. I enjoyed Mirka’s spirt and learning of the stepmom’s history. Surprising Furma, the stepmom grew up with a very modern mother, who’s something of a 1960’s hippy type.
The dialog is fresh and I like how authentic the story felt, in spite of a cursed fish that kept growing. I loved the glimpse into a different culture and all the Yiddish sprinkled into the dialog. (Deutsche provides definitions at the bottom of the page.) The stepmom isn’t perfect, but I liked how she spars with Mirka and makes the teen increase her understanding. Yes, the older generation has wisdom even feisty teens can’t refute. It would be easy to just show Mirka as always right and the rules of her community outdated. Instead, Deutsch points out how there’s wisdom in them.
Based on the photo above, I’m inspired to find nostalgic phones of baskets.
Aleutian baskets and Eskimo baskets, Library of Congress (LOC), 1890
These look a lot like the baskets I saw from Botswana just a few years back.
Basketweaving, LOC, 1900
A beautiful craft, no?
Currier & Ives, LOC, 1872
This week is Easter so I’ve got to find some Easter baskets.
Children with Easter baskets, LOC, 1922
Boy with a basket, LOC, 1923
What a smile! It sure says Happy Easter.
Children at the White House Easter Egg Roll, 1922
Kusama Infinity is a documentary about the pop artist Yayoi Kusama. Proceeding in chronological order, the film begins with information on Kusama’s youth and her struggle to become an artist when her mother would tear up her work and she received no encouragement from her parents. Despite the restrictions for traveling abroad or taking money out of Japan in the 1960s, Kusama does leave for New York where she strives to make it in the art world, which was dominated by Western men.
We see her geometric art, full of simple circles and lines, which represent infinity. We see how she uses mirrors and mirror balls to delight and memorize. We learn about her disappointing relationships, her depression and the people who supported her.
Yet after an hour I felt the film was dragging and I tired of the 1960s-70s avant garde scene. I wished there was some acknowledgment that while she had her struggles, Kusama did receive a great deal of acclaim, freedom and wealth.
Rainy day,
falling into the world,
Sakai town
Pronunciation:
ame no hi
ya seken no aki o
Sakai-chō
A haiku by Matsuo Bashō
A perfect poem for today.
Up your cultural understanding by learning a few important rules in Japan.
While I’d heard of the Al Pacino movie Serpico, I didn’t know the plot or anything other than that Frank Serpico was a NY cop with a rebellious streak. This documentary, Frank Serpico, gives the story of Serpico often in his own words and in the words of New York Times reporters and cops who worked with him.
Frank Serpico is a colorful character and always has been. The film is chronological and provides background on his youth and family. I learned that before Serpico joined the police force, he was a teacher in New York.
Serpico seemed to be a skillful cop who from the start was on the periphery of the force because he wasn’t Irish American. Irish Americans made up the majority of the force. The film makes much of how Serpico was an outsider which made him more likely to speak out, report and testify against the pervasive corruption in the NYPD in the 1970s.
While working in narcotics, Serpico soon discovered that most of his peers were on the take. Another investigation supported Serpico’s conclusion. Cops on up the hierarchy were taking in millions. As predicted, Serpico was targeted by the cops who resented him. If you’ve seen the movie from the ’70s, you know he was shot and abandoned by the other cops. Because a civilian called the police, Serpico got medical attention and lived.
Now in his 80s, Frank Serpico describes what happened and why he was so ethical. There’s an interesting scene when Serpico was reunited with one of the cops who didn’t report Serpico getting shot.
The good cinematography that adds point of view. The movie with Pacino is brought up a lot and as Serpico wasn’t after fame, he exiled himself far from the city. A few areas could have been eliminated or shortened as they were repetitive. All in all, this was a film that held my interest that apparently isn’t as embellished as the Hollywood production. So if you’re interested in the police in general or Frank Serpico in particular, check out this film.
Ben Shapiro interviews playwright David Mamet, who’s full of insight.
As I explained last year, the Japanese send New Year’s cards rather than Christmas cards this time of year. Since 2019 is the year of the Pig, many cards feature cute piggies on them.
2018 was the Year of the Dog
A family enjoying a hot spring soak
Filmed in Mongolia, The Cave of the Yellow Dog is a simple and powerful film that captured my heart. The actors aren’t professional. They’re real nomads who live in a yurt and live off the land.
The oldest daughter Nansal, age 6 or 7, returns from the city where she’s going to school and while exploring finds a black and white dog that she brings home. Her mother allows her this pet, but her father later objects. He’s worried that since the dog was living in a cave, he may have lived with wolves and could attract them. Namsal does everything in her power to keep this dog, even though wolves have been a threat to the flock, which is the family’s source of life.
The film was a marvelous look at a culture that I know little about. It’s colorful and compelling. I was amazed at how much autonomy and responsibility these young children had to look after each other and after the herd.
Many thanks to the librarians at Skokie Public Library for challenging me to watch The Cave of the Yellow Dog. I think you’d like this family-friendly film too.
If you like The Cave of the Yellow Dog, you’ll probably also like director’s first film The Story of the Weeping Camel.
Ruined for Life: Phoenix Edition 