Events

  • Valentine’s weekend backyard movie night: The African Queen
  • Mass Gallery art exhibit: Homesick for Tomorrow by Sara Hannon. Very fascinating work. Had to buy a piece.
  • Attended the Viscom Accessibility Workshop.
  • Beer and Girlscout cookie pairing event at Circle Brewing.

Watched

  • Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings—It was fine. Some fairly terrible action and CGI, but Awkwafina brought a little charm, at least until they ran out of things to do with her character in the third act. I don’t know if Marvel is failing to live up to their earlier films or if I am just getting over watching movies made for twelve-year-olds, but the MCU seems to hold ever less interest for me these days.
  • No Time to Die—A decent end for the Daniel Craig Bond. Good action, characters that are fun to watch, a bit tonally uneven. Lots of great shooting and direction, yet somehow rather forgetable.
  • The African Queen—Rewatch for pre-Valentine’s Day movie night. Like all John Huston films, the film is somehow really epic and filled with human texture all at once. Epically human, perhaps? Also, one of the greatest lines in history: “I now pronounce you man and wife. Proceed with the execution!”
  • Before Sunrise—Pre-Valentines Day rewatch. What I remembered about this film is the Linklater walk-and-talk style, but what really stood out on this watching is the way the camera and the direction add to the protagonists’ conversation and developing relationship with decisions as simple as when to hold a shot or when to allow the camera some distance. Fantastic mise en scène.

Projects

  • Actually managed to do a little songwriting. Nothing even close to finished, but I like where it’s going.
  • I’m making some slow progress on my new textbook project, including getting a domain up and running and starting to write and design (not much to see yet) in the open.