Back to the homepage.
Back to the index.

Date: February 25th, 2020.

Time of Writing: 10:03 PM.

Weather: Warm, rainy in the evening.

Mood: Tired is a mood I guess.

Day Overview: I was up until three in the morning writing, not even writing all that many words, just some words that I anguished over the minutiae of for a while. When I woke up in the morning I was way too tired to go to my actual writing class conference thing, so I called in sick. It's rescheduled to tomorrow, right before my first exam of the midterm season. I'm a bit nervous about this exam, given that I haven't really studied, and I'm also nervous about the conference potentially running into the exam time. That sure would suck! As for classes I actually went to today, we start with my Media Intro class, which is pretty much useless. I've stopped taking notes in this class because I can just stare at the slides for the twenty minutes each they're up on the board and absorb the information. Class doesn't meet next week for some reason, and then the week after that is the midterm. Great.

Film Studies came right after that. We watched a movie that I thought was pretty damn amazing, and then afterwards I ran into an acquaintance from high school on my way to get some dinner. I talked with him as we walked, didn't so much as really say goodbye to him, just sort of said alright when we split ways. I'm not the fondest of him anymore, he's kind of a contrarian jerk. I got a chicken sandwich burger thing and then went to anime club. Trivia was pretty competitive. It needed several tiebreakers. The shows we watched had pretty good episodes today, too. I walked home in the rain before the free showing, because I had stuff to do.

On My Mind: I've spent so long staring at this section today that I haven't actually come up with anything to write here, so here's a bunch of disconnected sentences. I put out an open call for radio guests on snapchat and nobody has responded yet. My pinky finger on my right hand hurts. My fingernails are too long but I don't have any alcohol wipes to clean the clippers with, there's a care package due tomorrow from home. Next year I'm not bringing nearly as much shit with me to college, there's a lot of useless crap on my shelf that I straight up do not need at all. Mostly books. I'm going to miss the view from my dorm room next year, and I wonder if there are buildings on campus that have similarly great views. Maybe in Orchard Hill. I wonder why they removed the reflecting pools in front of the Fine Arts Center. Even though the weather is kind of horrifying, I wish that it was spring. And those are a bunch of thoughts that are on my mind.

• Rear Window directed by Alfred Hitchcock: Holy shit. Everything about this movie is perfect. The suspense is killer, the characters are all incredibly distinct and well acted and have satisfying arcs. The cinematography is understated but still incredibly intentional. The soundtrack confused me at first but once I realized it was entirely diegetic it did all that much more in selling the setting. Okay, can I talk about the set design? Felt more like a stage play than a movie, it was incredibly intricate and lush and honestly I sort of wish I lived there. The one wrinkle in this is the ending. I don't mean the very very end, the sort of very short epilogue after the climax of the film, I mean the climax itself. I don't want to sound too depressed, but it's just too happy. Good endings have a place, but this was a bit cheesy. I was lead to believe that it would end on a cliffhanger, or with the murderer getting away, or something like that. I guess getting another broken leg is alright, but I do feel a little cheated by the ending. It felt frustrated, rushed, everything was too perfect. Like it was forced on Hitchcock, rather than something he came up with. Sadly, this does bump the movie down a point to 9/10. But it's still incredible.
• Kyoiku by Tokyo Jihen: This is Shiina Ringo's band from after she paused her career as a solo artist. I can't say I'm a fan of most of this. It's well written, well composed, but I wish it had more of Shiina's trademark maximalist pop sound to it. It's raw, sure, but more than that it's barebones. The highlights here are the tracks with synth elements or more than just the garage rock vibe she's trying to aim for. Overall a 7/10. Maybe even a 6 if I think about it too hard.

• Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu animated by Studio Deen: Episodes 8 and 9.
• Houseki no Kuni animated by studio Orange: Episode 5.
• Hinamatsuri animated by studio feel.: Episode 5.

Works Produced: I said it earlier but I was up until three in the morning writing words.

Other Thoughts: Thank you for reading. This week's episode of my radio show The Theme Machine is about music from all around the world. Every song is (at least primarily) not in English. I'm very proud of the diverse range of languages I managed to fit in there. I hope you tune in. Friday morning, 12 AM to 2 AM, on WMUA Amherst. 91.1 FM or WMUA.org online.