🎥 Fear and Desire (1953) ★★★
Stanley Kubrick’s directorial debut, and I liked it very much. I don’t really get all the hate this film gets. Being a student film made on a tight budget, it really has to be watched like that.
🎥 Full Metal Jacket (1987) ★★★★
While working on a new project proposal, I came across this great quote by Albert Einstein:
“If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended on the solution, I would spend the first fifty-five minutes determining the proper question to ask, for once I know the proper question, I could solve the problem in less than five minutes.
– Albert Einstein 💬
🎥 Avatar (2009) ★★★
Rewatch with the family at home, in preparation for the sequel in our local cinema. Our daughter loved it. I enjoyed watching it in upscaled 4K, but found the story even more problematic than the first time…
🎥 White Noise ★★★
Watched with friends. We agreed that it was a well made film with a lot of visual spectacle, but also a bit over the top regarding references to other films and genres. Nevertheless, a nice first watch of the year.
I’m looking at the statistics on my micro.blog and I think I found my natural blogging rhythm: about 3 short posts per week feels about right.
Next up: quit Twitter, add my own domain name, activate ActivityPub, and create a mastodon compatible username.
Onwards to 2023!
🎥 Loving Vincent (2017) ★★★½
“The conscious is a theatre with a single seat…”
– Douwe Draaisma 💬
Currently reading: Het Verborgen Raderwerk: Over Tijd, Machines En Bewustzijn (1990) by Douwe Draaisma 📚
I’m re-reading this book on AI that I first read more than 20 years ago. It’s still a fascinating read, in light of the new wave of AI tech that became public recently.
🎥 Scrooge (1970) ★★★½ & A Christmas Carol (1984) ★★★★
Both films bring back vivid memories from my childhood. After a rewatch of the 80s version with my youngest daughter, I think I slightly prefer George C. Scott’s interpretation above Albert Finney’s.
🎥 The Fallout (2021) ★★★★
Beautifully shot and heartfelt film written and directed by Megan Park, about the aftermath of a school shooting and how teenagers are dealing with a traumatic experience like this, among all normal challenges. Jenna Ortega is a very talented actress.
Short visit to the exhibition Vensters in Museum IJsselstein, while I was there to create some visual documentation of my video-installation that is still on display as well. And also to make some preparations for an upcoming soundwalk scheduled for the spring of 2023.
📚 Finished reading: The Stoic Challenge by William B. Irvine. Unfortunately, not nearly as good as A Guide to the Good Life.
🎥 The Poseidon Adventure (1972) ★★★
Last Friday, I went to an interesting symposium as part of the exhibition Mountains and Molehills in Eye Filmmuseum, a retrospective of the work of Fiona Tan, which I also visited afterwards. I especially enjoyed the lecture of my personal hero Douwe Draaisma, on photography and memory.
🌱🦔 Just reinstalled the camera inside our hedgehog house. Last year, it stopped working halfway through the winter season, and we weren’t able to capture any hedgehog / hibernation activity. This year, it should hold on for a few months longer.🤞
Imagine Intuition exhibition - Museum De Lakenhal, Leiden. Highlight of the show was Mother and Child by Bram Ellens: two robotic arms behaving in a very human fashion.
🎵 My week in music (week #47 2022)
The posthumously released album HOME.S. by Esbjörn Svensson was on repeat a lot this past week. Beautifully introspective and meditative. And this backstory by Ted Goia made it even more worthwhile.
(Via @artkavanagh)
🌱🐝 Remnants of this season’s bumblebee nest inside our hedgehog house. Fascinating structure. I also found two tiny baby bumblebees, already dead. I doubt if they ever have seen the light of day…
“Do what you can, with what you’ve got, where you are.”
― Theodore Roosevelt 💬
📺 The Bear (2022) ★★★★
Just finished watching this excellent series. Great plot. Vivid, raw cinematography. But it’s the great acting across the whole cast (Jeremy Allen White, Ebon Moss-Bachrachhat, Ayo Edebiri, a.o.) that stood out the most. Highly recommended.
“We cannot always control what happens in our life, but we can always control what we do with what happens.”
― Alison Botha 💬
🌱 The last batch of this year’s homegrown apples found their way into the slow juicer. They’re actually still very sweet and tasteful this late in the season.
📚 Started reading The Stoic Challenge by William B. Irvine. Very curious how it compares to A Guide to the Good Life!
🎵 My week in music (week #45 2022)
A lot of Claude Debussy, Herbie Hancock and Joe Farrell this past week. Made me wonder when Apple is finally going to publish their music app for classical music… I hope it will also be useful for browsing their jazz catalogue.
