Friends Reunited and Spirited Away
Apr. 1st, 2003 11:49 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lathanyRyan is currently surpassing himself in the art of whining, whilst Bea is taking a little nap on the sofa (thumb-sucking away).
I have sent out two Friends Reunited emails in the last few days and this morning I received a reply from my university hall next-door neighbour.
She's in Hong Kong amid the current epidemic.
"I'm OK, except you may have heard that HK is experiencing this killer virus epidemic. The whole city is upside down: events have been cancelled, schools are closed and everyone's wearing surgical masks. Really scary!"
Apart from that not-insignificant event, things seem to be going well for her. Like me, she has lost contact with all sorts of people, but I am pleased to have found her again (I got Christmas cards from Hong Kong each year until I moved out of Osney Mews).
I have yet to hear from the other one - but I only sent the email yesterday.
The writing news is that my first book is at the binders (two copies - I wasn't prepared to fight the printer over any more) and the second one is about ten thousand words in (although progress is currently very slow).
Finally,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
bateleur and I watched Oscar-winning Spirited Away last night; after we finally discovered how to switch on the English sub-titles. I enjoyed it, the story was pleasantly weird plus, importantly, it wasn't nearly as depressing as the other films I have seen recently. The animation was well-done. Was it deserving of an Oscar ? Well, having not seen the competition, I have no idea.
I have sent out two Friends Reunited emails in the last few days and this morning I received a reply from my university hall next-door neighbour.
She's in Hong Kong amid the current epidemic.
"I'm OK, except you may have heard that HK is experiencing this killer virus epidemic. The whole city is upside down: events have been cancelled, schools are closed and everyone's wearing surgical masks. Really scary!"
Apart from that not-insignificant event, things seem to be going well for her. Like me, she has lost contact with all sorts of people, but I am pleased to have found her again (I got Christmas cards from Hong Kong each year until I moved out of Osney Mews).
I have yet to hear from the other one - but I only sent the email yesterday.
The writing news is that my first book is at the binders (two copies - I wasn't prepared to fight the printer over any more) and the second one is about ten thousand words in (although progress is currently very slow).
Finally,
bateleur and I watched Oscar-winning Spirited Away last night; after we finally discovered how to switch on the English sub-titles. I enjoyed it, the story was pleasantly weird plus, importantly, it wasn't nearly as depressing as the other films I have seen recently. The animation was well-done. Was it deserving of an Oscar ? Well, having not seen the competition, I have no idea.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
Spirited Away
Re: Spirited Away
Date: 2003-04-01 04:31 am (UTC)D'oh.
My neighbour T...
Date: 2003-04-01 04:33 am (UTC);-)
Re: My neighbour T...
Date: 2003-04-01 04:40 am (UTC)Re: My neighbour T...
Date: 2003-04-01 06:20 am (UTC)I've got the US DVD release of Totoro, which I'm happy to lend to people.
Unfortunately, it's a really poor DVD (dub only, and in 4:3), so doesn't show the film at its best.
It does look like Disney are now releasing good DVD versions of most of the Ghibli films, but this is a slow process.
Chihiro... Yay!
I also recommend 'My Neighbour Totoro' for the kiddies. Likewise, you should seek out 'Nausicaa,' and 'Kiki's Delivery Service' when they're a bit older.
I confess, I did like 'Mononoke Hime'/'Princess Mononoke' a bit more for Miyazaki's work, but 'Spirited Away' is right up there too.
If you don't mind watching good & *depressing* Miyazaki, watch 'Graveyard of the Fireflies' ... it's so so so sad. :-(
Well, enjoy!
Another film to recommend
Date: 2003-04-01 08:30 am (UTC)'Chinese Ghost Story' ... especially the animated version. Note, there are several liveaction versions that are also a lot of fun.
What annoys me is...
Date: 2003-04-02 01:14 am (UTC)A Palestinian PM has been chosen, new offensives launched in Afghanistan, *still* an epidemic in HK (which I wasn't aware had gone beyond a few days!), and virtually nothing media-wise to indicate it even happened.
Grrr.