Brent P. Newhall's Blog
Reviews – Aug 2007

4 Aug 07 – 4 Aug 07

Saturday. My Media Fast is finished, so I spent much of the day catching up on anime: Mushi-shi, Pani Poni Dash, Infinite Ryvius, and Gundam Seed Destiny.

They were all excellent, in different ways. Mushi-shi is a set of Twilight Zone-style dramatic episodes, but with positive endings. Pani Poni Dash is a spastic, fast-paced comedy that manages to retain its speed and entertainment value throughout. Infinite Ryvius was tough to watch, because it was so dramatic that I didn't want to see bad things happen to the characters, but to my relief I was completely satisfied by the ending. And Gundam Seed Destiny I'm rewatching so I can loan it to friends. And it's just so good (except when it's not, which is rare).

Then, after making a batch of cookies, I was off to meet a friend and watch Harry Potter. But the theater changed their showtimes, so we saw The Simpsons Movie instead, and it was utterly entertaining throughout. A solid flick. I was gratified to see that the theater was completely full. The film deserves it.

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2 Aug 07 – 2 Aug 07

I've discovered a downside to this week's media fast: as a single guy who lives alone, it's lonely. I come home from work, and I'm tired, and all I have are my projects. Oh, I could go for a walk. But even that's lonely.

Not that I'm complaining; just commenting. I was a little depressed this morning, but that passed when I got to work. And I had a good day at work; purposeful and interesting but not stressful.

In fact, there was so little stress that I went out for lunch, toting my laptop with me, and watched two episodes of anime. (Okay, okay, yeah, it's a break from my Media Fast. There are no MF Police.) Watched Lucky Star episode 16, and the second episode of Goodbye, Professor Zetsubou.

Lucky Star continues to get better. The first seven or so episodes were merely enjoyable; after that it just kept getting funnier with each episode. As funny as the Comiket episode was, this was fantastic.

And I'm even more impressed with Goodbye, Professor Zetsubou as of its second episode. The first established a terminally depressed, suicidal teacher and his perpetually chipper female student. It was a highly stylish comedy which seemed to establish its duo. But the second episode introduced half a dozen other students, created a very complicated set of relationships, and didn't resolve any of it. Apparently this won't just be individual episodes of zany hijinks. Nice, for a change.

Anyvay. After a long, slow afternoon, I stopped by my parents' house for the evening. After a brisk swim and a light dinner, we spent the evening bouncing between the foreign-language channels on the TV, mocking an impenetrable Dutch (?) film (almost as bad as Jay Sherman's student film) and trying to translate the Cantonese and Japanese news programs and dramas. Great fun.

So now, I'm laying on my bed at 11:30 P.M., typing this blog entry. On balance, I like this day.

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