the lure of boddingtons wasn't enough to motivate me to go out last nite after a grad school information session that informed me of the cringe-tastic $50k+ bill that i'd have to foot if i wanted to achieve self gratification in the fields of leadership, entreprenuership, and ethics. the app looks like cake and i figure my odds of being accepted to the program are good but the notion of taking on debt gives me a big softie in the pants.
comfort food was at the top of the order so i sat down to a big helping of pad-see-eww and flicked on the satellite to discover that the ifc channel was premiering the samurai trilogy from the 50's. the iconic toshiro mifune starred as musashi miyamoto, the wayward samurai who can't help but kick everyone's ass that gets in his way. part john wayne and part lawrence olivier, mifune growls and glares his way through armies, bandits, bushido academies, and other swordsmen. the trilogy follows musashi (nee takezo) from his humble village to his barnstorming days as a wayward samurai to his climactic duel on ganryu island versus kojiro sasaki.
my favorite scene was probably the big beat down in vol. II, the battle at ichijoji temple. musashi is ambushed at dawn by 80 students of the famed yoshioka bushido school. seldom using more than a single stroke to dispatch his opponent, musashi hacks his way from the shadow of a giant pine tree, across a rice paddy, and then to hillside framed by mountains. the tension created by the action, cinematography and score is really on a higher level. kind of like the generational genius of rza's built for cuban linx or camus' l'etranger.
the winner of the big let down award was the evening's sponsor, the new flick the last samurai. what's the deal with the cinematic arrival of the white man prompting the "last" of something? combine daniel day lewis and a bunch of injuns and what do you get? the last of the mohicans. i guess the one exception to the rule would be berry gordy's last dragon (a brotha). should i be appeased that the last electric knight was ernie reyes, jr? closing the circle is james clavell's shogun, which starred richard chamberlain at his very manliest doing his best not to sprout wood over the japanese protagonist, toranaga, played by who else but toshiro mifune.
i suppose this is probably how a lot of brothas feel about seeing vanilla ice and then eminem become the standard bearers for popular rap and hip-hop. i don't presume that my little dennis miller moment is going to put a halt to the co-opting of other races or cultures in mainstream entertainment nor would i want to guess if its julia robert's who'll play queen liliukilani or clooney's going to be che guevara. but goddamn it this has been bothering me for quite a while.
and i ain't even japanese.
UPDATE
so there's a lovely set of pictures of a lovely SG. but isn't she wearing a chinese cheongsam? and isn't kanji the japanese word for chinese characters?
have you ever ordered sushi in a chinese restaurant?
comfort food was at the top of the order so i sat down to a big helping of pad-see-eww and flicked on the satellite to discover that the ifc channel was premiering the samurai trilogy from the 50's. the iconic toshiro mifune starred as musashi miyamoto, the wayward samurai who can't help but kick everyone's ass that gets in his way. part john wayne and part lawrence olivier, mifune growls and glares his way through armies, bandits, bushido academies, and other swordsmen. the trilogy follows musashi (nee takezo) from his humble village to his barnstorming days as a wayward samurai to his climactic duel on ganryu island versus kojiro sasaki.
my favorite scene was probably the big beat down in vol. II, the battle at ichijoji temple. musashi is ambushed at dawn by 80 students of the famed yoshioka bushido school. seldom using more than a single stroke to dispatch his opponent, musashi hacks his way from the shadow of a giant pine tree, across a rice paddy, and then to hillside framed by mountains. the tension created by the action, cinematography and score is really on a higher level. kind of like the generational genius of rza's built for cuban linx or camus' l'etranger.
the winner of the big let down award was the evening's sponsor, the new flick the last samurai. what's the deal with the cinematic arrival of the white man prompting the "last" of something? combine daniel day lewis and a bunch of injuns and what do you get? the last of the mohicans. i guess the one exception to the rule would be berry gordy's last dragon (a brotha). should i be appeased that the last electric knight was ernie reyes, jr? closing the circle is james clavell's shogun, which starred richard chamberlain at his very manliest doing his best not to sprout wood over the japanese protagonist, toranaga, played by who else but toshiro mifune.
i suppose this is probably how a lot of brothas feel about seeing vanilla ice and then eminem become the standard bearers for popular rap and hip-hop. i don't presume that my little dennis miller moment is going to put a halt to the co-opting of other races or cultures in mainstream entertainment nor would i want to guess if its julia robert's who'll play queen liliukilani or clooney's going to be che guevara. but goddamn it this has been bothering me for quite a while.
and i ain't even japanese.
UPDATE
so there's a lovely set of pictures of a lovely SG. but isn't she wearing a chinese cheongsam? and isn't kanji the japanese word for chinese characters?
have you ever ordered sushi in a chinese restaurant?
VIEW 7 of 7 COMMENTS
what's a girl havta do to get a happy ending these days!?
sheeeeeeeesh.
;>