What if we had our own con? Part 02: Note to Self

Just wanted to make a note of this. Derek posted a list of gaming cons on his Harvester blog. It's worth taking a look, not only to see if there's anything possible to go to (depending on coverage at work, ugh!), but also to consider for scheduling a con.

Here's the link: http://derekas.blogspot.com/2012/01/rpg-con-listing-for-northern-indiana.html

Have meant to write more about my thoughts on a gaming con here or on Google+, but have been slammed with work lately. Stay tuned.

New Blogger Features!

OK, this is cool. My blogger account recently got upgraded, and one cool feature is that you can view usage stats for your blog. Here are my stats for the past month:

Members: 4 (3 out of 4 are local to South Bend; other is friend from college)
Page Views by Country: USA 103, Russia 33, Germany 30, Costa Rica 4, United Kingdom 3, Canada 2, Indonesia 1, India 1, Kenya 1
%age by Browser: Firefox 47%, Internet Explorer 38%, Opera 5%, Chrome 4%, Safari 2%, GranParadiso 1%, Netscape <1%
%age by Platform: Windows 75%, Macintosh 16%, Linux 6%, iPad <1%, iPhone <1%

Why is this cool? Because until today, I thought I was largely writing in a vacuum, for just four people who are my personal friends. It's wild that there are people around the planet reading my blog. Even if it's only casually or incidentally. Go figure.

Reading Anime 006: My Neighbor Totoro (1988) by Hazao Miyazaki

As with Pom Poko, I fell in love with this movie immediately. It is a story about two sisters who move with their father into a new house. Their mother is in the hospital for reasons unknown, and this clearly is the issue of the film. The movie is about the imagination and how it helps children to cope with the sometimes harsh realities of life.

At first, they think the house is haunted -- and it is, by soot gremlins. And acorns mysteriously appear throughout the house. Their father indulges them in this -- he's an archeology professor, who, while he dotes on his children, must also leave them alone sometimes because of his work.

One afternoon, the 4-year-old Mei wanders off and discovers a hidden grove occupied by the sleeping Totoro. She tells her father and sister Satsuki about the discovery -- and at first, they don't believe her. Later while Satsuki waits in the rain with her sister at the bus stop, she sees for herself Totoro. Both girls then see the Cat Bus appear and whisk Totoro away again.

My favorite character is Mei. She is pure child. She echoes and imitates her older sister, and she wants to be involved in everything going on! (I believe she is meant to be our favorite.) An aspect I love about this film is that this is an identifiably Japanese family and setting, yet is still emotionally intelligible to a Western audience -- because they feel like they could be any family. Their story is rather ordinary, but still very poignant. (As I said, I can relate to this film because reminds me of similar circumstances in my life growing up.) The animation is identifiably as the Studio Ghibli house style, but there is a Seussian aspect to its depiction of Totoro and friends.

Clearly in this movie, the creatures depicted are to be taken as imaginary in nature. But Totoro, the soot gremlins, and the Cat Bus are real to Satsuki and Mei -- and that's what really matters. The film helps us to see how they are necessary and healthy for the children to believe in. It indulges us and them in the imaginary world, granting it an authenticity and emotional depth that is very satisfying.

Highly recommended.

John Carter of Mars, Part 01

There seems to be a buzz developing online about the movie John Carter due to be released on March 9. The film is based on Edgar Rice Burrough's first Barsoom novel Princess of Mars. The story is about a Civil War veteran who is mysteriously transported to the dying planet of Mars (known by the inhabitants as "Barsoom"). He finds himself in the middle of the life-and-death struggle between Red and Green Martians for limited resources.

The film has been poorly marketed by Disney. Starting with the title John Carter. Only science fiction fans would recognize the reference. I just read today that the original superior title John Carter of Mars was rejected because it tested poorly with women (I guess). The Super Bowl trailer conveyed little to nothing about the film. But I saw the 3D trailer for it last weekend in the movie theater, and it looked awesome!

Reading Anime 005: Howl's Moving Castle (2004) by Hazao Miyazaki

This film was more like what I expected anime to be like. By this, I mean there were stylistic elements that I took to be more typical of traditional anime. In particular, I'm thinking of how Howl himself was drawn compared to other characters in the film.

It shares the same dream-like, fairy-tale logic as in Spirited Away. I liked the parable of Sophie, how she was transformed from a plain nineteen-year-old girl to a wise ninety-year-old woman. The movie begins by introducing the wizard Howl and his moving castle (which no one seems to think particularly remarkable). Early on, he meets Sophie and rescues her from some blobby monsters by taking flight with her.

The setting is a fantasy European-ish country, with a steampunk feel. Sophie runs the family hat shop. She sees herself as the Plain Jane of her family. One evening the fat Witch of the Waste enters the store and curses her to be transformed into an old woman. Sophie leaves her family and ventures out to find Howl's Moving Castle. There she meets the scarecrow Turnip-Head, the hearth fire-demon Calcifer, and the little-boy apprentice Markl. Inside the castle is a magic door that opens out on to other vistas based on a color-wheel dial beside it.

What happens in the film is that Sophie learns how to be compassionate, to love, and to create her own sense of family. There are some interesting surprises and twists that accomplish this. (And I won't spoil it by revealing them.) An interesting film, well-worth watching. Enjoy!

Reading Anime 004: Porco Rosso (1992) by Hayao Miyazaki

Based on the previews, this was a film I was looking forward to seeing it. 

The movie is about an Italian pilot who has been transformed by a curse into a pig-like humanoid. It is set in the Adriatic Sea between the World Wars. He hires himself out as a flying bounty hunter to fight against the seaplane pirates who menace the islands thereabout. He and the American pilot Curtis fight for the affections of the fair Gina, chanteuse and owner of the local nightclub.

I was somewhat disappointed by the film. As usual from Studio Ghibli, the film was splendidly animated. But again, I felt the story was rather thin. There really wasn't much meaningful conflict in it, I thought. (Fascist Italy lingered as a menace in the background, but never really materialized as a threat. Which left us solely with the seaplane pirates as comic villains.) 

Many of these films I plan on re-watching later to see if I appreciate them more on second watching. My hope is this one is one that I do end up liking more.

New Blog!

I've started a second blog devoted to the Star Wars Saga Edition RPG and all things Star Wars at <myblueharvest.blogspot.com>.

Reading Anime 003: Pom Poko (1994) by Isao Takahata

(Decided to hold off reviewing Nausicaa and Princess Mononoke until I can rewatch them again.)

From the very first minute or so I loved this film. It is about a community of racoons whose forest is being displaced by urban development. Like the creatures from Japanese folktales, these racoons have the ability to change form. It shows their varied efforts to stop the development and save their forest -- each ultimately doomed for failure. Given the way the film ends, you would expect this movie to be a downer, but it isn't.

The story is told in a variety of voices and styles. It is both sweet and satirical both at the same time. Like other Studio Ghibli films, its main themes are pacifistic and environmental in kind. A comical note in the film is the importance of the male racoons' pouches -- but also apparently true to Japanese folktale. Of the films I've seen, this one is easily my favorite one to date. Highly recommended.

Missing Post

Careful readers of this blog will note that my previous anime post about Nausicaa of the Valley of Winds somehow mysteriously disappeared. I accidentally deleted it while deleting the draft of another post. My plan is to rewrite and repost my review later this week and then continue the series.

What if we had our own con? Part 01

Today I had this thought while in a webinar: "What if we had our own con?" It's been something I've been thinking of off-and-on for the past few years -- at least since my first Indy Gen Con, maybe before ...

Ken and Sarah at the Griffon used to run one for many years, they've told me -- with mixed results. The campus gaming group at IUSB used to run a mini-con called "Titanicon" until its members graduated. I'm not aware of there being anything else in our immediate area ...

Is it something worth trying again? What would be involved? What would it take to make it successful? Stay tuned.