GRIZZLY PEAR

written snapshots

Category: Medias

  • 52ing into 2025 (five-pack six+Books that Matter: The Analects+Confucius: And the World He Created)

    Here are the last couple of Inktober 52’s from 2024 and the first three for the new year.

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    12/23 Inktober 52, week 51

    realities
    wrapped
    in
    the
    enigma

    I tried going with a square for this is play on “enigma wrapped in a riddle”. The corners felt awkward so I went to the old standby—a big circle.

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    12/30 Inktober 52, week 52

    zombies cross the finish line

    Always a little scary to give up control, letting gravity have a say.

    I’m not sure if outlining was better or worse. It makes it a bit cartoonish, less bloody.

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    1/4 Inktober 52, week 1

    quiet
    sunrise
    quells
    murky
    shades

    The pointed brush and copperplate cursive came together in “sunrise”. I’m unhappy with my dip pen copperplate—it needs a ton more practice to look good for these 5WP’s. But all that December work set me up for pretty good cursive with the pointed brush.

    So it worked out after all. Shouldn’t plan too much for these these creative meanderings. Just peek far enough to keep doing.

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    1/12 Inktober 52, week 2

    perky
    shrimp
    pound
    pearly
    xylophones

    After finding the big concept, one must still wrestle with a bunch of little decisions. It turned out the last slant was best.

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    1/18 Inktober 52, week 3

    tick tock
    yesterday
    transforms
    tomorrow

    I finally learned how to properly spell “tomorrow”.

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    I can’t believe we’re 8% through the year!

    Cya next time!

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    PS—Books that Matter: The Analects of Confucius, Robert Andre LaFleur, Great Courses, 2018

    This excellent audio course covered the Analects and its outgrowth in Chinese history. It provides a conceptual framework for reading the text as a series of conversations between the teacher and his students. LaFleur then covers key themes, such as filial piety and remonstrance, and finally closes with a discussion of Confucius’s long legacy in China and East Asia.

    After four years, it might be time to revisit this course. Like most Westerners, I have an affinity with quirky individualism of Daoism as a reaction against fundamentalist Christianity. However the ideas centering social relationships and mutual bonds as discussed in this lecture series are attractive, especially as our nation continues to rattle itself apart with irresponsible leaders and citizens.

    Beyond these lectures, just finding this course is a reminder of how much info is just out there. Here’s a free 12 hour lecture series! what else is hiding on Overdrive? And the library’s physical stacks? Add Kanopy.com and the publisher’s own streaming service? Finally podcasts and YouTube!

    I wonder what Confucius would say about drowning ourselves with information.

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    PPS-Confucius: And the World He Created, Dan Schulman, 2015

    This book was a good rejoinder to the Great Courses lecture series, which had taken a positive spin on the philosophy. This book focused on the real-world history of Confucianism, which was quite detrimental by the end of China’s imperial age.

    Such is the fate of any philosophy that becomes calcified. American Christianity’s obsession with being right has created an political religion that has forsaken Jesus’ true core of love. The ineffable concept of the dao became a collection of wild superstitions in religious Taoism. And the vision of a well ordered society metastasized into a harsh top-down hierarchy that perpetuated stagnation and cruelty.

    These loose philosophies started out kindly enough but lost their heart as they became systematized. Certainty killed the animating force that gave them life.

    An organized religion builds a magnificent intellectual edifice by losing the point. One must always be free to pick what works today and ignores that which is irrelevant to the moment.

    For that reason, I suspect Confucianism is making a comeback. With the destruction of the formal, governing, imperial ideology, the writings of Confucius and Mencius are available for a fresh rereading. It took two centuries of chaos in Asia to exorcise the old ghost of Confucianism. Master Kong is free to ascend again.

    Schulman notes in his epilogue that we are at a crossroads where Confucius can be used to help form an orderly rich society. Or maybe it becomes the bedrock for a new authoritarianism. Let’s just hope we don’t screw it up as badly as last time.

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    PPPS-Practice, red to salmon

    1/15

  • Hilda, Bluey, Waffles+Mochi

    Hilda, Seasons 1 and 2, Luke Pearson

    In 2020, we discovered Hilda on Netflix and devoured the series. Our girl was so charmed, she read all the graphic novels and books, even though the stories had already been retold in the TV show.

    Hilda works because the world is constrained and limitless. The geography is tight, but anything can happen. And even if we’re missing a bunch of Scandinavian mythology, there’s a lots to enjoy.

    A young spunky protagonist.
    Strange creatures.
    The supernatural.
    Thrills.
    Lots of trolls.
    Hilda’s friends.

    And my favorite, the woodman. He’s a total ass, but he likes jazz and lives in a stylish modern home from the 70’s. I wish I could be as imperturbable as him.

    Suitable for children but interesting for adults. Thrilling but not scary.

    Here’s to the next season!

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    I wrote this in 2021 and Season 3 came out last year…but we are no longer on Netflix. At some point we’ll resubscribe. Maybe after the kids grow out of their Pokemon obsession.

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    Bluey, Seasons 1 to 3, Joe Brumm

    The dog family y’all wish you had—
    playing parents,
    giggling kids,
    house atop of the hill,
    and a verdant lawn.

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    This is how you know it’s great — Disney Plus was compelled to license this Australian Broadcasting Company show. Hard recommend.

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    Waffles + Mochi, Season 1, Thormahlen and Konner.

    We loved it—the girl, the boy, and me— but mama found it a too saccharine.

    I normally avoid food shows because it’s an exercise of remote envy. This show certainly brings a lot of envy, but it moved briskly and covered fun topics. And how can you deny a power anthem to the lowly egg?

    But was it prudent to feature Mrs. Obama in the show? The Obama fit my type, so I enjoyed her presence. Maybe they would have had a wider reach with a non-political figure. Then again, in this rabidly interconnected age, the mere involvement of the production company might have turned off Republican viewers anyways. Their loss.

    I wonder what GOP tinged productions am I missing out on?

    That aside, I enjoyed all ten episodes. It might be too saccharine for you, but at least check out their fine with the first episode.

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    Another show to add to the Netflix cue, along with Arcane Season 2 and Pui Pui Molcar Season 2.

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    Speaking of Arcane, I just realized that I never wrote about Season 1, by Linke and Yee.

    It’s a visual treat, but I can’t get excited by teenagers dealing with their issues, even if they are trying to save/ruin the world. I noted in an aside last year “Arcane—a fun show that doesn’t reach the stratosphere of top-line classics.”

    Check out this scene. Stylish and visceral. Damn.

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    cartoons
    all
    deluged
    pokemon
    gotta
    watch
    them
    all!

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  • quill

    In January, I wrote a letter to a colleague who is rejoining to our team. Selfishly, I’m excited that she returned.

    This was my first tiny poem-calligraphies to leave the house. It was also one of the last ones that I wrote.

    It’s been a long 2024, and we haven’t even started the biennial budgeting season—that hits tomorrow.

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    Unfortunately, my publication schedule will continue to be sporadic. After we get our budget season assignments, it’s off to the races through June.

    Beyond the increasing workload, it has been a tumultuous time for our team. Hopefully things will settle down, but it’s not surprising that my Commute Music project has stalled on Black Sabbath and Blue Oyster Cult over the past month.

    I just started moving again with Blue Mitchell. Yes, I’m slightly out of alphabetical order. It was a necessary fudge.

    Hopefully I’ll get another post out in May, and then June, but frankly it’s been all about work for the past quarter. I’ve already told my supervisor that I’ll try to keep up the pace up through July 1st, but after that it stops. (He’s the best boss I’ve had, but we’re all going through it together). Maybe I’ll breathe again.

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  • plumbing

    When buying the house we agreed to address a few minor plumbing issues. Easy enough to do during the negotiations, but the work still had to be done. We changed the innards for two of our toilets, switched faucet stems, and installed a new kitchen sink with our own RO filter.

    That sink took three days, five trips to Home Depot, and a couple angle stops.

    Yes, hiring a plumber would have been more sensible but I learned stuff and enjoyed the challenge (aside from multiple trips to the hardware store!)

    Shoutout to YouTube…there’s no way I would have started this project without all those tutorials. That site is the greatest DIY reference library ever assembled. It has so many videos for every task, with a myriad of angles and opinions.

    I hope more folks make use of this empowering free resource. Simple repairs are one of the easiest ways to earn a feeling of accomplishment on a weekend afternoon.

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    David Auerbach, Carols in the Caves

    • The sound engineers tried to capture the essence in being a massive cave, but the whole album sounded distant. Everything felt flat.
    • This might be a good holiday background album, but does not have presence as the central audio feature for a drive.
    • The album cover looks great.

    Babyland, You Suck Crap

    • Last week, I complained about noise. This one is all about noise, but I had fun.
    • Sampling a multitude of instruments (and implements) gave the audio palate an enjoyable richness. I suspect growing up with electronica and hip-hop makes me prefer variety when getting bashed over the head.
    • I wish I had detailed memories of attending that concert with my landscaper colleague. Sadly, I just don’t remember much from such events. A few visual flashes and a plastic disc is all I have from 20 years ago.

    Elevate, The Architect

    • While looking up this album last week, I learned about the genre “Math Rock“. I had to give it a second shot now that I know “It is characterized by complex, atypical rhythmic structures (including irregular stopping and starting), counterpoint, odd time signatures, and extended chords.”
    • Still very noisy. Most likely still not my thing, but the architectural cover makes a lot more sense with the music behind it.
    • Am I enjoying this album more because I’m now aware that it’s supposed to be sophisticated? Is the emperor clothed or nekkid?

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  • Music Notes

    The first week of the commute music project started well. I listened to Aceyalone twice before slogging through a lot of guitar noise.

    Aceyalone, A Book of Human Language

    • I don’t know enough about hiphop to judge the rapping.
    • Clearly catered to art school nerds who want deep subjects and big words over late 90’s gangsta bling.
    • Love the sonic landscape, especially the bass riff in “the Hunt” (sampled Coltrane’s Ole).

    Aerosmith, Classics Live!

    • Following the complexity of Aceyalone, this was a wall of noise.
    • Lots of electric guitars and distortion. Is this rock? I’m listening to too much jazz.
    • Thoughts of youth culture, what will my daughter think of the pop characters of her childhood when she’s in her mid-40’s?

    Al and the Transamericans, Analog

    • Plenty of electric guitar, but not as frenetic.
    • More melodic and borrows from old tunes and instruments. Very Americana, the banjo makes an appearance.
    • Slightly awkward, in a likable way.

    Elevate, The Architect
    When writing this post, I found I had swapped the band and the album title. Oops, but I like having it on the first page of the binder.

    • More noise. I’m not built for rock.
    • I do buy things for the cover. In this case, the cover and the title. I’d do it again, even though this will be my one and only listen through this album.
    • Google image search led me to the Santa Maria della Grazie in Milan. When it works, the internet is amazing. Fun fact, the Leonardo Da Vinci’s Last Supper took 21 years to restore (1978-1999).

    Bonus (?)
    Last February, I shared Ruthie Foster’s rendition of “War Pigs” to mark the first year of Russia’s latest invasion into Ukraine. October brought further horrors with Israel-Palestine. Let’s hope for better in 2024.

  • A few Christmas Albums

    A couple of years ago, the girl fell in love with Lucy and Linus, starting a search for Christmas jazz albums. Here’s what we’ve found on Hoopla:

    Ella wishes you a Swinging Christmas, Ella Fitzgerald — She specifically requested it the day after Thanksgiving, so you know it’s good! What a gorgeous voice.

    Holiday Soul, Bobby Timmons — This instrumental album holds its own beyond Christmas. Bobby Timmons is an amazing pianist, obscured due to his early death. For non-Christmas fare check out Chicken & Dumplin’s and Chun-King on youtube.

    A Charlie Brown Christmas, Vince Guaraldi Trio — This album kicked off our jazz kick at home and is still great. Actually, I wonder if this album is why my current personal jazz preferences leans towards trios.

    If you want crooners, here’s a few albums by Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, and Gene Autry.

    And for Christmas-adjacent jazz, I gotta add John Coltrane’s My Favorite Things.

    Happy December and an early Merry Christmas!

  • Midnight Diner (TV Show)

    Seasons 1 & 2

    The Japanese aren’t scared of sex. Heck, the first episode includes a stripper who is a regular throughout the series.

    But the show isn’t explicit — nothing more than what you find on Instagram. It just accepts sex workers, gangsters, cross dressers, and normies as part of the fabric of life in this district.

    The show is ultimately conservative. It touches on the fringes, but happiness is found in a solid relationships and family.

    It’s also not afraid of or death. Like many Asian shows, they’ll kill a likable character. Such a dynamic inserts needed tension to keep this upbeat show from going completely saccharine.

    I almost wonder if the show is a mirror of where America is headed. A little lewd, a little violent, a little corrupt, but ultimately conservative. I guess things could be worse.

    Seasons 3, 4, & 5

    Midway through the third season my wife lost interest. I also took a nine month break before finally finishing season five.

    A small restaurant with recurring characters is a fun premise, but the characters don’t go anywhere. I wonder if the producers were trapped with a season-by-season contract.

    The show is worth watching, but don’t worry when you’ve had enough of their quirky little world. It’s a great case study in television flash fiction (albeit a tad too heartwarming), but fifty episodes is too much.

    Then again, if they came out with a sixth season, I’d check it out.

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    At twenty minutes a pop, the show is a series of barely connected short stories. It has a few regular characters, but each episode is free standing. Of course some stories are stronger than others, but pick any one at random (even just the first one). If you dig it, you’ll dig the rest, until you don’t. If you don’t, then don’t bother.

    Since this is the first non-animated TV show that I’ve watched and finished, I assume there must be be something good about this series. Or maybe it’s a sign that I have no idea what I’m talking about.

  • Rivers and Tides, Riedelsheimer, Goldsworthy, Frith, 2001

    I watched Rivers and Tides multiple times in a theater in Berkeley before it was demolished for a new apartment complex.

    It blew my mind.
    The pacing was deliberate and the images were gorgeous.
    I was entranced by the musings of Andy Goldsworthy.

    When I gushed about it to a professor, she pushed back,
    “Don’t you think it mythologizes the artist too much?”

    That dampened my enthusiasm for two decades.
    Last year, we rewatched the movie with the kids.

    I see where my prof was coming from.
    So what! She’s wrong.

    Yes, the movie glamorizes the artist and his work.
    But it’s about failure as part of the artist’s process.
    It takes a metric shitton of boring-ass effort.
    If this is mythology, then we need more myth to do the work.

    It’s a great film, equally matched by the avante-garde music of Fred Frith.

    The entire soundtrack is great, but my favorite moment in the movie is at the start of this clip, where Goldsworthy discusses the effect of sheep on the land while the music builds towards a muted climax when the camera pans around a huge stone sculpture.

  • The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Lounsbery, Eritherman, Sharpsteen, 1977

    A great movie, and one of the few feature films that stayed in the ads-free kids section in Disney+; I’d happily watch it again.

    Loved their use of a physical book as a frame throughout the movie; the animators used the page transitions in fun creative ways.

    Also loved the imperfections of the animated lines; it breathes life into the movie that is often missing in modern projects.

    And of course, I enjoyed the surreal song Heffalump and dance number; the boy seemed a little disturbed by the sequence.

  • Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Chris Columbus, 2001

    I only watched this because of my daughter. I was just old enough to miss the book phenomenon, and I couldn’t be bothered to the watch the movies.

    So far, it’s done nothing to interest me in reading the books, but I’ll be fine with watching future movies if she insists (tellingly, she hasn’t insisted in the months since we’ve watched it).

    She had fun, though as all good readers she was disappointed in some of the changes.

    Voldemort is a properly horrific villain. I could only imagine how much more scary this movie would be with modern CG.

    But really, I’m realizing I’m an animation fan. Maybe it has something to do with watching very little TV (aside from documentaries) while growing up. Or I just prefer the surreal possibilities of that medium. Or the pure craft of the art.

    Real life is magical enough, I don’t feel compelled to watch other humans live their lives on the big screen.

    Maybe it’s cause I’m getting older. I feel a slight pressure of time and yet still harbor a desire to develop a deeper subject knowledge in a few cool subjects. The only way to square that circle is to start actively cutting things out.

    Like in jazz. I ain’t ever giving up Coltrane, Thelonious, Kind of Blue, or Keith Jarrett’s solo albums. But I’ve recently decided to focus my listening on jazz trios. If it’s not one those greats, there better only be three folks on stage.

    Or my recent trend towards avoiding books that are younger than me (Calvino and Murakami excepted), letting the ravages of time simplify my choices.

    Then again, I thought I’d do something similar with EDM and Glitch Hop, but it doesn’t seem to have panned out. I’m back to listening to whatever banging noise gets me through work.

    Who knows. It’s a time of flux.

    It’s always a time of flux.