Virginia Lee Burton: A Sense of Place

I had the pleasure of seeing this documentary the other night. I had known her books growing up, and always thought they had an impressive style to them, but I never really thought about them very much. But seeing the documentary, which gave a lot of attention to the way Burton brought together words and pictures in a way that was new, and considering the popularity of her books with children, it makes me wonder about how much influence she ultimately may have had. Her blending of text and pictures became the "right" way to do things in comics, in advertising, and even in poetry. It is interesting to think about young Jack Kirby and E. E. Cummings reading "Mike Mulligan and the Steam Shovel" or "The Little House", and how those books might have affected them. We can never really know what we do. There was more in this documentary that was of interest to me, though -- they talk in some detail about the studio that she and her husband ran, which produced all kinds of artwork and household goods. It sounds like they put a real premium on making sure that everyone working there was having a good time, and was bringing their own creative spirit to the work. Perhaps, one day, I'll write a book about the workings of great studios throughout history. After seeing this, I very much want to get all of her books on my shelf for reference. It's hard to say, but I think she might have found the iPad to be a wonderful thing.

Daria

I watched Daria a bit back in the 90's, like everyone else, and thought it was pretty cool. But, binge watching through the whole series as family entertainment is something else again. I was amazed at how solid a show it really is. It's not an easy thing to make a sitcom with no laugh track that has an antisocial bookworm as the protagonist. It's not at all like Big Bang Theory, where Leonard is really fairly normal, and is surrounded by misfits. In Daria, everyone is a caricature, and everyone is a misfit. And Daria is an unlikely bridge to the audience, but she is part of what makes the show so great. I think very few people can fully empathize with Daria, but everyone can empathize with her impatience with lies and hypocrisy, and everyone can appreciate her sharp sarcasm. Weirdly, the more I think about it, her best friend Jane Lane is actually more accessible than she is... which is a really unusual device for television... or is it? As I contemplate it, I realize that this makes Daria like Sherlock Holmes, and Jane like Watson... which leads to the question of who is really the protagonist? Is it Holmes, or Watson? Anyway, all that aside, this is a truly well-crafted show. Five seasons, including two movies, with excellent character development, and investigation of sides of high school often ignored. I also love how it doesn't really paint anyone as good or evil -- something it shares in common with Freaks and Geeks.

It's weird to think about how this show came about. Daria was a Mike Judge character on Beavis and Butthead, who somehow got spun out into her own show that had nothing at all to do with Mike Judge. But somehow, one gets the feeling it was for the best, that he would not have allowed it to become what it is. It freaks me out a little how much this show affected me, as we watched it through. I find myself reading more, and that I'm less impatient with dry books. Also, it got me thinking about a high school friend who Jane Lane always reminded me of, and I was able to meet up with her and learn about her last twenty years of art doings.

Oh! I need to comment on the voice acting. It is all SO GOOD! How did they cast Tracy Grandstaff, the voice of Daria? She seems to have been a production assistant at MTV, and never seems to have acted again. Many of the other voice actors seem to have similarly short careers. Even the ones who are well known are somehow not *that* well known... I don't quite know how this happened, but the fact that the voices are mostly unknowns just strengthens the show, somehow.

Anyway, I don't have much more to say about Daria other than I think it is excellent, that it seems to do a really good job with female characters, and that I hope Daria and Jane can be friends forever. It's probably late for a Daria reunion... but... I would totally watch that.

The Day of the Triffids

I saw this, oh, twenty years ago, and I really enjoyed it back then. So, when we saw it on Netflix, we couldn't resist. It is interesting, gritty, and thoughtful -- though the reason for the downfall is hand-waved in a kind of silly way, the ultimate message, "human beings are mostly jerks, because jerks survive" opens up a lot of philosophical questions. I really enjoyed it twice, now! This is totally ripe for a remake. I wonder what the book is like?

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

This is so fun and original that it deserves to be famous. I will forever wonder -- why did they change the "We're a Couple of Misfits" song to "Fame and Fortune" just one year after first airing? The new song degrades the story, is not animated as well, and isn't as fun or clever. Sure, it's a little shorter -- is that why? No one seems to know what motivated this change. The DVD has the original song. Hooray for DVDs! The Rankin/Bass studio must have been a very fun place to work.

I love it when Santa hears the elf song, and then just says, "It needs work. I have to go."

And I know it's juvenile, but I giggle every time he says "Every year, I polish up my jingle bells for eight lucky reindeer." Somehow, I don't think that would have made it in nowadays. Sorry to infect you with that unwelcome meme.

A Colbert Christmas

This was a little too snarky for my taste, but I absolutely loved the Colbert / Stewart duet of "Can I interest you in Hanukkah?"

A Miser Brothers Christmas

This unexpected sequel to "The Year Without a Santa Claus" (I'm not counting the boring "The Year with a Santa Claus" or the confusing "The Year with Two Santa Clauses") was suprisingly good! I really thought they would mess things up by over-modernizing, or by making the characters unlikable -- but they did none of that! They were amazingly true to the Rankin/Bass aesthetic, right down to timing, animation details, and camera movement. It had Mickey Rooney and George S. Irving in it, for goodness' sake!

A Charlie Brown Christmas

Every time I watch this, I am struck by the simple beauty of it. Mostly, I am struck by how its many flaws (editing, animation problems, pacing) are what make it so beautiful. The show is like the Christmas tree -- ugly and small, but sincere -- and it is our love of it that makes it beautiful. The creators of it had no idea how it would be received -- they were seriously concerned that they had made a black mark on the franchise. It is wonderful that America loves something as simple and honest as this.

More Mr. Bean! The Swimming Pool and Mr. Bean Makes a Sandwich are my favorite parts on this one.

The Strip Show

I love Pittsburgh. A lot. And The Strip Show, Rick Sebak's documentary about Pittsburgh's strip district (the wholesale foods area of Pittsburgh that has gradually turned retail over the last 150 years) does a lot to show why. Sure, Pittsburgh has lots of hidden treasures, but more than anything, it is full of people who absolutely love their work, whether it be making biscotti, roasting coffee, selling fruit, making robots, or studying the history of Pittsburgh. Rick does a great job of seeking these people out, and showing how much they love what they do. Probably, they are drawn to Rick, because just watching his documentaries, you can tell how much Rick loves what he does!

The Amazing Adventures of Mr. Bean, Vol. 1

Nyra and I pulled this out of deep storage to watch tonight. I hadn't seen it in ages. It has the Examination sketch, the Church sketch, which are two of my favorites, but I think maybe my all time favorite might be Mr. Bean's Birthday... it's so funny, and so sad at the same time. The bonus Library sketch is almost painful to watch.