It's been reported that Disney is going to say "farewell" to the Princess movie for a while. If the reports are true, they can't give the princess theme a better send-off than "Tangled."
I'm not going to give "Tangled" a full-size review. However, I will say that "Tangled" is a pretty good film.
It is a princess film to be certain, with a teenage girl trapped in a tower and a charming hero. But it's also an equal-opportunity swashbuckler. Rapunzel gets as much heroic screen time as the dashing rogue Flynn Rider (great name!). And she swings from her hair like Indiana Jones swings from a whip.
AND she discovers that the proper use for a frying pan is to swing it at somebody.
It is a tad Shrek-ish at times (the musical number at the pub comes to mind...), although not nearly as hammy as the giant green grumpy ogre.
Because it is a Disney film, the horse Maximus and chameleon Pascal do steal every scene they are in.
"Tangled" gives a nice twist, if you'll pardon the pun, on the old Rapunzel tale (and yes, they use the "Rapunzel! Rapunzel! Let down your hair!" line).
Its chief audience may be girls who will want to grow up to be like the long-haired tomboy princess heroine. But, it's a lot of fun for anybody who goes to see it.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Do no harm?
A couple of years ago, I was talking to my doctor, when I casually brought up the subject of the Hippocratic Oath.
The Oath, invented by the ancient Greek philosopher and scientist Hippocrates, was one of the world's first statements of medical ethics. Students of the great man (who also invented the musical "octave," among other things) would be required to say that they would "first, do no harm."
I suggested (rather naively, in hindsight) that the oath was a great idea and wondered if modern medical practitioners should be required to recite something similar, at least as a symbolic gesture.
My doctor, to my surprise, said no: there were, in fact, many treatments which required human harm. Take radiation therapy, for example. The thing which makes cancer so difficult to cure is that, unlike diseases caused by outside sources, the cancer cells are our own cells. Therefore, treating cancer requires, technically speaking, harming ourselves.
(There's a lesson here for politicians.... calling drug traffic or illegal immigration a "cancer" is admitting that the problem lies within ourselves.)
The Hippocratic Oath, while a classic statement of ethics, was actually too absolute and rigid to allow for modern medical practices. Just a little food for thought...
Absolute truth was dealt another blow this week from an unusual source... the Pope, of all people, telling the faithful that condom use is "okay" under certain circumstances, such as the prevention of HIV... an amazing admission, and an incredible step forward, if anything comes of it....
The Oath, invented by the ancient Greek philosopher and scientist Hippocrates, was one of the world's first statements of medical ethics. Students of the great man (who also invented the musical "octave," among other things) would be required to say that they would "first, do no harm."
I suggested (rather naively, in hindsight) that the oath was a great idea and wondered if modern medical practitioners should be required to recite something similar, at least as a symbolic gesture.
My doctor, to my surprise, said no: there were, in fact, many treatments which required human harm. Take radiation therapy, for example. The thing which makes cancer so difficult to cure is that, unlike diseases caused by outside sources, the cancer cells are our own cells. Therefore, treating cancer requires, technically speaking, harming ourselves.
(There's a lesson here for politicians.... calling drug traffic or illegal immigration a "cancer" is admitting that the problem lies within ourselves.)
The Hippocratic Oath, while a classic statement of ethics, was actually too absolute and rigid to allow for modern medical practices. Just a little food for thought...
Absolute truth was dealt another blow this week from an unusual source... the Pope, of all people, telling the faithful that condom use is "okay" under certain circumstances, such as the prevention of HIV... an amazing admission, and an incredible step forward, if anything comes of it....
Monday, November 22, 2010
Montagu
Fame is a tricky thing. Take, for example, John Montagu.
Who?
No, he's not related to Romeo. That would be Montague, not Montagu.
You probably know John Montagu better as the Fourth Earl of Sandwich. Yeah, that guy. Of course, Sandwich isn't a family name, but rather a place in England.
Seems mightily unfair, doesn't it? We're remembering the wrong name. We should all be eating roast beef montagus. Bought at Quizno's Montagus.
Incidentally, John Montagu, Fourth Earl of Sandwich was also responsible for an early name for Hawaii.
Just some food for thought next time you eat a montagu.
Who?
No, he's not related to Romeo. That would be Montague, not Montagu.
You probably know John Montagu better as the Fourth Earl of Sandwich. Yeah, that guy. Of course, Sandwich isn't a family name, but rather a place in England.
Seems mightily unfair, doesn't it? We're remembering the wrong name. We should all be eating roast beef montagus. Bought at Quizno's Montagus.
Incidentally, John Montagu, Fourth Earl of Sandwich was also responsible for an early name for Hawaii.
Just some food for thought next time you eat a montagu.
 |
| The sandwich lines at Philippe's, Los Angeles |
Saturday, November 20, 2010
California training
In a perfect world, the state of California would have the same sort of rail transit that they have in Japan.
We think it would be a big deal to have a high-speed rail line from Los Angeles to San Francisco. But the Shinkansen (still nicknamed "bullet train" after the original bullet-nosed trains) starts on the island of Kyushu, tunnels from Kyushu to Honshu, continues up through Hiroshima to Osaka, Kyoto and Nagoya, reaches Tokyo and continues north to Sendai and Akita prefecture. An extension to Aomori is scheduled to open in December with a branch to Hokkaido planned beyond that.
In addition, there is the Yamagata Shinkansen through the mountains, the Joetsu Shinkansen to Niigata and the Nagano Shinkansen, which connects the site of the 1998 Winter Olympics with Tokyo.
Creating a Shinkansen in California would require not just Los Angeles to San Francisco, but the Bay Area to Sacramento, Sacramento to Reno, Los Angeles to Las Vegas, Los Angeles to San Diego and maybe even a few other branches. (Sacramento to Redding? Los Angeles to Palm Springs?)
And that would be just the tip of the iceberg. Because most of Japan's intercity trains are electric and they go just about everywhere. Such as this secondary train to Kameoka , outside of Kyoto.
So, Monterey might not be on the Cal HSR station list. But it would have an all-electric commuter rail connection to San Jose or San Francisco. The diesel trains of Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner would be replaced by a faster, electric version. Towns such as Porterville and Visalia would be linked to the nearest HSR stations in Hanford or Fresno.
One level below that would be commuter trains. In Tokyo and elsewhere in Japan, the line between commuter train and subway is blurred, as a train which looks like this:
could be either a subway train or a commuter train. Commuter trains are a big business in Japan, and private railway companies compete with Japan Railways (JR).
Impossible, you say? We certainly lack the funding for such an extensive network of continuous trains. But, given our traffic problems, growing population, smog and pollution and shrinking supplies of gasoline, it's certainly a goal worth aiming towards.
We think it would be a big deal to have a high-speed rail line from Los Angeles to San Francisco. But the Shinkansen (still nicknamed "bullet train" after the original bullet-nosed trains) starts on the island of Kyushu, tunnels from Kyushu to Honshu, continues up through Hiroshima to Osaka, Kyoto and Nagoya, reaches Tokyo and continues north to Sendai and Akita prefecture. An extension to Aomori is scheduled to open in December with a branch to Hokkaido planned beyond that.
In addition, there is the Yamagata Shinkansen through the mountains, the Joetsu Shinkansen to Niigata and the Nagano Shinkansen, which connects the site of the 1998 Winter Olympics with Tokyo.
 |
| Shinkansen at Shinagawa, from my Flickr account |
Creating a Shinkansen in California would require not just Los Angeles to San Francisco, but the Bay Area to Sacramento, Sacramento to Reno, Los Angeles to Las Vegas, Los Angeles to San Diego and maybe even a few other branches. (Sacramento to Redding? Los Angeles to Palm Springs?)
And that would be just the tip of the iceberg. Because most of Japan's intercity trains are electric and they go just about everywhere. Such as this secondary train to Kameoka , outside of Kyoto.
So, Monterey might not be on the Cal HSR station list. But it would have an all-electric commuter rail connection to San Jose or San Francisco. The diesel trains of Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner would be replaced by a faster, electric version. Towns such as Porterville and Visalia would be linked to the nearest HSR stations in Hanford or Fresno.
One level below that would be commuter trains. In Tokyo and elsewhere in Japan, the line between commuter train and subway is blurred, as a train which looks like this:
 |
| a JR Keihin-TÅhoku Line train |
could be either a subway train or a commuter train. Commuter trains are a big business in Japan, and private railway companies compete with Japan Railways (JR).
Impossible, you say? We certainly lack the funding for such an extensive network of continuous trains. But, given our traffic problems, growing population, smog and pollution and shrinking supplies of gasoline, it's certainly a goal worth aiming towards.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Hokusai on my license
My replacement driver's license just arrived in the mail, and it is crazy.
There's a bar code on there, and a magnetic stripe and one of those other bar code things which look like the Magic Eye 3D art.
My digitized signature is on there twice, along with a trippy version of the Golden Gate Bridge. There's a hologram of the California state seal, my birthday embossed in it, my picture twice, a whole bunch of bears and what looks like redwoods. There's a rainbow copy of Half Dome, Yosemite.
Oh, and Japanese wood block print fans will recognize a Hokusai "big wave" imitation in the corner.
There's a bar code on there, and a magnetic stripe and one of those other bar code things which look like the Magic Eye 3D art.
My digitized signature is on there twice, along with a trippy version of the Golden Gate Bridge. There's a hologram of the California state seal, my birthday embossed in it, my picture twice, a whole bunch of bears and what looks like redwoods. There's a rainbow copy of Half Dome, Yosemite.
Oh, and Japanese wood block print fans will recognize a Hokusai "big wave" imitation in the corner.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Hi there!
If you're reading this, congratulations.
I joined Blogger primarily so I can blog on Little Tokyo Unblogged. It's a nice little community-based blog for people who are interested in the Little Tokyo neighborhood of downtown Los Angeles.
I should have joined ages ago so I could write up reports on Anime Expo, Nisei Week and my other trips to Little Tokyo, but oh well.
Another good place to go is my Flickr account, where I have anime cosplay photos, light rail pictures, subway photos, and other miscellaneous pictures from various miscellaneous trips.
Occassionally, I might even blog something here. Maybe.
Please click on the above links ^_^
I joined Blogger primarily so I can blog on Little Tokyo Unblogged. It's a nice little community-based blog for people who are interested in the Little Tokyo neighborhood of downtown Los Angeles.
I should have joined ages ago so I could write up reports on Anime Expo, Nisei Week and my other trips to Little Tokyo, but oh well.
Another good place to go is my Flickr account, where I have anime cosplay photos, light rail pictures, subway photos, and other miscellaneous pictures from various miscellaneous trips.
Occassionally, I might even blog something here. Maybe.
Please click on the above links ^_^
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