GRIZZLY PEAR

written snapshots

Category: Medias

  • I Got that Drank, Frayser Boy

    We spent our last night in Houston a decade ago on 2/13/2013.

    The apartment was packed up and we’d head out for Las Vegas on Valentines Day.

    In honor of our years H-town, here is a ridiculous song that captures the brashness of that energetic city in all its problematic glory.

    We miss it.

    After a long delay from a busted tire on the car trailer the next day, we’d enjoy our most memorable Valentines Dinner eating packaged salad on the parking lot at Buc-ee’s in San Antonio (as in sitting on the concrete tarmac and eating our meal, cause they didn’t have picnic tables at the truck stop).

  • From the Diary of a Fly, Bartok

    Stephen Malinowski is one of our favorites.

    And this is our boy’s favorite.

  • Unsquare Dance

    By Dave Brubeck, played by the Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis.

  • Rabbit in Your Headlights, UNKLE

    In college I was cast in a modern dance piece that included this song and Dave Brubeck’s “Unsquare Dance”. 

    (I had no business performing, but males were in short supply.)

    A few years later came YouTube and the realization that this song was paired with a great video.

  • Movie Roundup, January 2023 to June 2022

    I’ve fallen behind, so let’s declare amnesty and just power through the past half year in reverse chronological order.

    Bambi, Algar, Armstrong, Hand, 1942
    OMG the animation is mind-blowingly gorgeous. The oil painted backgrounds are luscious and the hand animation holds up against anything you see today. It’s a natural outgrowth of the work the studio did in Fantasia. We watched it on Saturday and I could watch it again tomorrow.

    The Muppet Christmas Carol, Brian Henson, 1992
    Another classic on Disney+. This one’s status is dependent on the original story and time of the year. I gotta wonder what Michael Caine was thinking about his career as a A-list actor playing with dolls. Did he take in good fun?

    Zootopia, Howard, Moore, Bush, 2016
    Was fun when we watched it a few years ago, and fun again. The kids really enjoyed it too. Not a masterpiece like Bambi, but certainly in the top third of Disney’s esteemed catalog.

    Luck, Holmes, Abad, 2022
    The only reason I watched it was because Lasseter was involved. He might have been good in his heyday, but it’s obvious he needed the Pixar team more than they needed him. The story was drawn out and the animation awkward. Absolute mediocrity at best.

    Wolfwalkers, Moore & Stewart, 2020
    Lovely film to round out the trilogy with Secret of the Kells and Song of the Seas. A welcome respite from the Pixar-Disney-Dreamworks 3D hegemony.

    Home Alone, Chris Columbus, 1990
    Fun. I didn’t watch it until just a few years ago. I’ve always had something against rambunctious brats (I didn’t get into Calvin and Hobbes until I realized the peerless quality of the Watterson’s drawings). I could see this movie becoming a holiday staple until the kids are old enough to watch Tokyo Godfathers.

    Toy Story 4, Josh Cooley, 2019
    Pixar knows what their doing, even if I’m not totally sold on Bo Peep becoming an action hero.

    Toy Story 3, Lee Unkrich, 2010
    A fun caper. Slightly better than Toy Story 2, but the original still holds the crown in my heart, in spite of the dated graphics.

    Frankenweenie, Tim Burton, 2012.
    It’s OK as a stop motion full length movie. Maybe I didn’t enjoy it as much because we weren’t expecting a black and white film. I should watch the original half-hour show. I wonder if brevity might have shaped a better story.

    Encanto, Bush, Howard, Smith, 2021
    It was such a big deal the year before. After getting a Disney+ account we had to watch it. It’s fine. I enjoyed the wacky song and dance numbers but the movie just ran too darn long. Then again, they all drag out nowadays.

    Kung Fu Panda (1-3), Osborne & Stevenson, 2008, Jennifer Yuh Nelson, 2011, Carloni & Nelson, 2016
    Fun popcorn series. I can’t remember a ton from any given movie but I’ve watched each of these films at least twice and wouldn’t argue against watching them again. My wife isn’t fond of the chop suey orientalism, but I’m inured to it.

    Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight, season 1, 2022
    Awful TV show, but the kids liked it. My wife didn’t even bother to watch this.

    Lucifer (ep 1 and 2), Tom Kapinos, 2016
    The first couple episodes were fun, but I wasn’t going to invest hours of my life on this show.

    Love Death + Robots (seasons 1-3), Tim Miller, 2019-2022
    I love animation. This series fulfilled every bit of it’s promise. Each short is a banger so it’s hard to pick favorites. But to name four: “Sonnie’s Edge”, “Zima Blue”, “The Very Pulse of the Machine”, and “Jibaro”. I may have to re-up with Netflix when season 4 comes out.

    Arcane, Pascal Charrue & Arnaud Delord, 2021
    I finally got around to watching it long after the buzz from it’s release. It’s great. Didn’t realize that a video game company could produce such a good story. The fight at the end of Episode 7 of is one of the best fight scenes I’ve ever watched. Even though the nine episode series kind of runs out of steam at the end, I still spent the week after watching Arcane commentary on YouTube to process the journey.

  • Music Mix Snapshot, circa 2004

    Alt Text: Screenshot of a track listing from a burned CD. It starts with the final track of the main album, "Not, Yet Not", then "Do You Know the Way to San Jose" Dionne Warwick. "Temperature" Sean Paul. "Any Way You Want It" Journey. "Everybody Dance Now" C&C Music Factory. "My Block" 2Pac.

    I’m ripping a CD that I burned in my first year in grad school. Most of it is the excellent Psychograss album Now Hear This.

    I had thrown in a few extra tracks in the leftover space at the end, which is now a snapshot of my mental state of that tumultuous time in my early twenties.

    The opening bars of each of these tracks triggers a flood of dormant feelings.

    I have mixed feelings of Architecture school. It’s inherently traumatic but created memories I wouldn’t want to give up.

    If I was in power, I would develop a less vicious pedagogy…but I can’t muster any sympathy for students today, even if Studio hasn’t changed in two decades.

    Humans are weird. Maybe I’m more cruel than I dare to admit.

  • Fantastic Mr. Fox, Roald Dahl, 1970, & Wes Anderson, 2009

    She enjoyed the trailer and this is one of her favorites from the Roald Dahl book set. We gave it a whirl on New Year’s Eve.

    The girl closed 2022 by learning the hard truth that adaptations distort beloved stories. She expressed her dismay throughout the viewing. Expecting fidelity is a surefire path to disappointment.

    I hadn’t read the book, so I thought it was fine. It was a welcome respite from the current Pixar aesthetic. The story and characters had a delightful edge (which Disney studiously avoids). I haven’t watched Wes Anderson before, but I now grok his reputation. I’d watch him again.

    After the kids went to bed, I read the book. It’s a fun, quiet story. I get why my daughter felt let down.

    We discussed it further on New Year’s Day —

    The director added all that stuff to fill a 90 minute movie.

    But why did he make these changes?

    Those are plot devices to manufacture tension.

    Were they necessary? The book was better.

    I agree, but the mass market demands more excitement in their movies.

    As a father, it hurts to feel her sense of betrayal. Then again, she’s embarking upon lifetime of disappointing movie adaptations.

    Best that we got the initial shock out of the way, last year.

    ䷲䷚

    last night
    she reread
    still prefers
    the source

  • Lilo and Stitch, Sanders & DeBlois, 2002

    What’s not to love?!

    • Zany alien (adorable badass!)
    • Bulbous spaceships
    • Luscious watercolor backgrounds.
    • Hawaii
    • Idealized tropical agrarian paradise
    • Harmless antagonists
    • Charming protagonists
    • Undemanding absurdity
    • Family
    • O’hana (ok, that’s cringe)
    • Surfing
    • Elvis!

    What’s a better Disney film?
    As I grow up, my tastes regress.
    Continue the trend and this will become my favorite movie!
    (Though I can’t envision how it could dislodge Pom Poko.)

    We watched it with her years ago.
    No memories.
    As I pulled up the movie, she was unimpressed by my excitement.
    Then it started.
    She LOL’ed throughout.

    The boy watched intently.
    During our dinner break, he smiled and proclaimed
    That was a lot!
    (But refused to elaborate.)
    I’ll re-interrogate him on film criticism during breakfast.

    Should we watch the sequels?
    I’m a timid gambler.
    I’d quit while I’m ahead.
    But if the kids insist…

  • Inner Light, Elderbrook

    Beautiful music video! A gorgeous meld of music, setting, and dance.

    I love it when the team does something interesting. Especially when they avoid the tired party scenes that dominate the EDM space.

    This was the Post that started my #MondayNightMusic hashtag. We’ll see how long I keep it up.

  • Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Joe Johnston, 1989

    Practical effects!
    A nostalgic reminder of life before CGI.
    Movie magic still dazzles the kids.
    I wanna sleep inside a blue Lego brick!

    A slim, tight story.
    (I’ve lost patience for protracted narratives.)
    One denouement is enough.

    A fun show with one blemish.

    It’s a uniformly white world.
    Growing up, my non-existence was status quo.
    A perpetual bystander to a world of beautiful alabaster teens.

    The sting lingers.
    But I hope it’s not as pointed for them.
    Today’s media is more diverse.
    One homogenous film doesn’t feel like erasure —
    Just a tart anachronism in today’s sea of color.

    ~

    I used this trailer to convince the girl to cancel Netflix for Disney+.
    We got sidetracked by everything else for a few months.
    Happy we finally watched the movie.