Look, I personally believe I can see Fort Worth from here

[sovay]

1. The mojito cupcake at Kickass is not kidding. It is not quite truthful to say that we went promptly for lunch at Blue Shirt Café because I needed something in my system that wasn't rum and sugar, but it is not quite a stretch, either.

2. Following an interlude at Dave's Fresh Pasta in which some fresh pasta was purchased and some foodstuffs not commonly available in this country were stared at with respect (preserved lemons, lardo, condiments I didn't recognize), rushthatspeaks showed me True Stories (1986). I cannot overstate how much I love this film. Attempts to describe it will descend into incoherent flailing about John Goodman and Papa Legba and the Lawnmower Brigade. (The conspiracy theory revival meeting. The dueling auctioneers. The roaming tribe of children in their 4-H shirts, singing.) I may try anyway when I am less tired, but for the moment suffice to say that I would cheerfully rewatch it anytime, anywhere, and that may include right after watching it the first time. The one shortcoming: I have been informed there is no such thing as a good non-bootleg version of the soundtrack.

. . . I'm taking suggestions, internet.

3. After weeks of hiatus, Viking Zen and I finally managed to meet for Movie Night. The Legend of Korra is currently streaming for free on Nickelodeon's website. We watched the first three episodes. I am just going to geek out here, all right? There is all the development I wanted from the worldbuilding and more—the explosive cross-pollination of technologies and cultures (and genetics) that was inevitable from the finale of Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005–2008) means that the seventy years between series have taken the world from steampunk to a beautiful fusion of the 1920's and '30's with varying points of real-world origin, most visibly to me Shanghai, New York, and Hong Kong, but I'm sure there are allusions all over the place I simply don't have the knowledge to pick up on. There are characters wearing what trenchcoats would look like if they had evolved from hanbok. (Plausible extrapolation of clothing! Who does that?) I want the soundtrack—the music is a similarly alt-world version of big-band jazz. There are airships. There are elevated trains. There are slums and street food and media blitzes. The introductions to each episode of Avatar were spoken by a character who came from a culture that was not illiterate, but heavily invested in oral tradition; the recaps in Korra are newsreels. And it is an older show, more immediately violent than Avatar, more politically and emotionally complex. An obvious villain is spearheading a movement with an entirely legitimate and unaddressed grievance; the latter cannot be dismissed no matter how disturbing the actions of the former. Korra on her first day in Republic City takes down a trio of racketeers collecting their weekly protection money from a hard-up merchant and finds herself under arrest because, in the process, she completely trashed the street. She's not a diffident or an accommodating protagonist. She's aggressive, impatient, used to a prodigy's quickness and an Avatar's privilege; she tends to kick ass first and remember later that she should have been taking names. I find her a delight to watch, especially since the show is aware that her two-fisted naïveté is both problematic and endearing. There are odd resonances with Baccano (2007), probably because of the jazz and the frequent fight scenes; I found myself thinking that I wouldn't be at all surprised if Jacuzzi wandered into a crowd scene while Nice blew something up (and if someone vidded this, I would be so entertained). There is also a major character who was a gangland accountant when he was younger and I liked him even before that was revealed. I don't know most of the voice actors in this cast, but one of the secondary characters is voiced by Lance Henriksen. (I recognized him instantly. I am always glad he's working.) It is very clearly the same world as Avatar, the same creative team and the same attention even to written language—I can't read the newspaper headlines, but I'm sure someone else can and will; it is not the same show. So far, I really like the one it is.

Bed.

Comments

[irisbleufic.livejournal.com]

I loved A:TLA to bits (enough to write fic about it, which is usually commentary enough), but I have not yet sampled Korra. I've been hearing good things about it, though. I've got to clear a whole backlog of odds and ends before I can think about diving in, though!

[cucumberseed.livejournal.com]

I am so glad you have gotten to see Korra! The show is really, I think one of the best things on television right now.

[schreibergasse.livejournal.com]

I hope sleep happened...?

[ladymondegreen.livejournal.com]

Attempts to describe it will descend into incoherent flailing about John Goodman and Papa Legba and the Lawnmower Brigade. (The conspiracy theory revival meeting. The dueling auctioneers. The roaming tribe of children in their 4-H shirts, singing.)

That sounds amazing.

Speaking of non-bootleg, I think I managed to tell derspatchel that this existed, but not you.

[teddywolf.livejournal.com]

My sister makes preserved lemons at home; it's doable, in other words.

I've been enjoying The Legend of Korra. They've been good about maintaining some mysteries, like how the villain can bend away bender powers (it is bending, near as I can tell), who the guy is, and just how he's been able to build this huge organization and give it large resources. I have a few theories but I wouldn't want to spoil anything.

I also like that they specifically made Korra very different from Aang. Trouble with airbending but not the other three, hotheaded, incautious, pugnacious, and no flying. It's going to be interesting. I'd love to see if she learns any forms of specialty bending, like lightning or metal.

[ap-aelfwine.livejournal.com]

2.

That movie sounds entertaining. I'm surprised I don't remember hearing of it before.

There are characters wearing what trenchcoats would look like if they had evolved from hanbok. (Plausible extrapolation of clothing! Who does that?)

Awesome. I'm pants at keeping up with any form of visual entertainment, mostly because watching it seems a social activity to me and I've generally nobody with whom to do so, but I'll try to watch this.

I want the soundtrack—the music is a similarly alt-world version of big-band jazz.

Interesting.

Aaron Allston's Doc Sidhe (2001) has some fundamental setting issues that offend me,* but one of the things I did like was the description of the New York equivalent's popular music--jazz-ish/Irish trad-ish stuff built around strings and woodwinds, blues accompanied with bagpipes rather than guitars.

ETA: I hope sleep happened for you. It didn't for me, much, and I'd like to think my share of the time zone's sleep went to someone deserving.

*An Art Deco-era equivalent world that is constantly shown as better, or at least infinitely cooler, than ours speaks, because of some magical linkage thingy, all the same languages, except the only trace of any Celtic language is something called "Old Cretanis"** which is apparently spoken only by a nearly extinct population of fullblood elf-types (who are all sociopathic and/or psychopathic power mongers except the titular character) and otherwise is used solely for magic. O RLY?

**Cretanis is apparently a bastardisation of Prytanic, as in Isles, and seems to refer to both Britain and Ireland lumped together. Apparently an Act of Union in the equivalent of the 4th century AD is also "better". *headdesk*

[ashlyme.livejournal.com]

Korra sounds fascinating. I had to look up "hanbok"; now I wonder what those trenchcoats looked like.

[thistleingrey.livejournal.com]

I still haven't watched A:TLA, but wow, clothing extrapolation! One of many awesomenesses, sounds like; I agree that it's too rare.

[teenybuffalo.livejournal.com]

Our experiences keep nearly colliding. I had a mojito cupcake there this time last week, and it was a hell of an experience, in all the best ways. I feel hungry and slightly drunk just thinking about it now.

The man at the counter gave me a free cupcake when I stopped in looking for a job earlier in April. It made me so happy I've been trying to write a thank-you poem ever since. (Charles Gibson Jr's ghost is haunting my dreams, telling me that it is a good idea to write odes. At least he never slimes me or turns into the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man.) Perhaps this weekend.

[selidor]

Nickelodeon.com.au is less kind than its US counterpart; search returned no Korra results. I shall wait for Quickflix disks.

I love preserved lemons with a fierce fierce love. The cupboard under our sink may be out of space with jars as a result. So easy to make...

(Also, yay poemsales, and yay poemwriting. You're on fire!)

[movingfinger.livejournal.com]

I love a good faux documentary. I'm a complete sucker for works like Letters from Hav and N'Heures Souris Rahms too.

This review of a new movie, Bernie, made me think of your mention of True Stories and I am not sure I'd have made the connection without your remark... it's so long since I have seen that movie, but I vividly remember watching it. I must try to find it again.

In the late 80's Talking Heads released a VHS tape of music videos with wonderful unrelated short films (like, a minute or so) between the songs, mockumentary style. I still adore the girl who thought she was a dog and bit everyone. This is worth looking for if you like the music; it isn't long, and the shorts are delightful.

[mrbelm.livejournal.com]

It should come as no surprise that I make my own lardo and preserved lemons.