No More Teachers, No More Books...

Last Thursday was the unofficial beginning of my summer break - unofficial as I still have tons of paperwork to keep me busy until my official break begins in August – and the weather decided to celebrate by providing the most impressive, and I can only hope the last, storm of the rainy season.

I had only been home about 20 minutes when the heavens opened. I don’t know if there is any phrase like ‘raining cats and dogs’ in Japanese, but that’s exactly what was happening. I opened all of the curtains on the windows and watched the storm rage around me from the large picture window in my living room. My view only extended about 15 feet, however, before the scene dissolved into an almost supernatural silvery grey mist, the lights of downtown Kumamoto softly glowing in the background. Adding to the magic was the loud claps of thunder whose echoes bounced around the mountains surrounding the city. For this Kansas girl, it was quite something.

With the storm raging around me, I relaxed in the easy chair in front of the picture window with Beethoven playing in the background and a glass of red and became absorbed in Hemingway’s descriptions of the heat and dust and blood of the bullfights in 1920’s Sevilla. If only the temperature was cooler and I had a fireplace with a dancing blaze, it would have been perfect.

If all of that sounds a little too highbrow and snooty, I will redeem myself by saying I finished the evening with some popcorn and Monty Python DVDs. ‘Do you like pictures,’ she asked knowingly. Wink, wink.

It was a great start to my summer break which has since been filled with aforementioned paperwork – not fun, trips to the various art museums of Kumamoto – lots of fun, cleaning – definitely no fun, and catching up on watching the movies my parents have sent me – sometimes fun.

Since I’ve been watching several new movies and have had few people to discuss my many, strongly felt opinions, I will take this opportunity to impart them to you. And now we bring you Critic’s Corner.

Lions for Lambs – I will never get those 2 hours of my life back. Who thought this would make a good movie? It was like reading a position paper for the 5th time: dry, predictable, and with filled with straw-man arguments. Horrible.

There Will Be Blood – I loved it. This is a true example of flawed masterpiece. The ending was slightly off, but brilliant overall. Is there nothing Daniel Day-Lewis cannot do?

State of the Union – A 1940’s Capra film starring Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn, this is a fascinating look at what it takes to get elected as the President of the United States and the ethical questions posited and the toll it can take on a man and his family, as well as the role the press plays in the entire process. It’s a fascinating film to watch in this election year.

The Savages – This was definitely not the comedy I was expecting. A story of a brother and sister, the always excellent Philip Seymour-Hoffman and Laura Linney, dealing with their sick, elderly father after he had been absent most of their lives. Very unsentimental and realistic, it was harrowing, but executed very well.

KU v. UNC and KU v. Memphis – No matter how many times I watch these, I still get excited and frustrated, angry and ecstatic. My heart still races and I still have tears in my eyes by the end. It suddenly occurs to me that I will miss the entire 2008-9 college basketball season. Well, that’s depressing. I’m going to have to give this some more thought. This cannot stand.

I’m finishing up my paperwork, however, and before I receive my next batch of movies from Mom and Dad, I will be traveling up to Kyoto for a few days next week. I’ve already made reservations at an international hostel and hope to meet some other foreigners in this strange land. I’m really excited and slightly nervous to finally be a real tourist on my own in such a special place. I promise lots of pictures and I’ll be writing about my thoughts and experiences soon.

- Jenny