My Weekly Checkup (#30)

Many apologies for this delayed post. I was out late last night chauffeuring one of my daughters and her friends.  A part of me wanted to skip blogging. The better part convinced me otherwise. I am glad for it. Hopefully you are, too.

Below is a third format for my Weekly Checkups. Uniformity is important to me: creating categories and presenting them in separate structures helps me keep track of my thoughts. It also allows you the reader to track and follow the topics you find interesting. But, I have not made a decision.  However, none of it matters if I do not attempt to write anything down. So let the experiments continue.

Here in my house, we are all fans of Studio Ghibli. Even my wife has enjoyed a movie or two from Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata. Think Pixar, but the Japanese version: deeper and darker than what Disney is willing to produce. In fact, John Lasseter has credited Ghibli movies as sources of inspiration for his own work. I have watched, and rewatched, many a Ghibli film, and appreciate my daughters' love for them. So, when I discovered that the Royal Shakespeare Company is staging an adaption of My Neighbor Totoro, I immediately shared the news with my eldest child.

And then I spent an hour reflecting on my conflicting responses. (The first question to pop into my head: how will they do the bath scene?) I will not spell them out here and now, except to say my feelings are mixed. I would happily see it, if they produce a recorded version of it. However, as long as performances are restricted to London, and even if it the company travels to other cities, I will not be able to experience this play. Therefore, I probably will never be able to write anything about it that is not speculation. 

Sigh. 

As most readers of this blog know, I love discovering unfamiliar artwork. Each post is an opportunity to expand my "collection". Some times my Google newsfeed assists this ongoing search of mine. With a title like "Impressionism and the Complicated History of Breastfeeding in the 19th Century" how could I not click on the link?!? I was not disappointed. I found Auguste Renoir's Maternity the most intriguing, and beautiful, out of the group. However, I felt the article could have been more comprehensive, or at least added a separate list that included more works. In addition, reading through it reminded me how little I know about art history, and how far off I am from remedying that ignorance. Yet, this article provided further evidence that so much of the history behind art presented to the common person is misleading, and many beautiful and informative art works have been left out of what little discourse we have about the subject. 

(Hey, look, there is also a sculpture based on the painting!)

Finally, I caught season 8 of a reality show called Alone. It is the only season I have watched, and I binged all twelve episodes in less than a week. Also, you should know, it is the only reality television I have ever witnessed for more than three minutes. Like all things in my life, my thoughts are complicated. I found it entertaining, but also disturbing. However, the problem solving the contestants used in order to survive in their harsh environment fueled my interest. Yet, this post is not about the show. It is about an article that appeared on my Google newsfeed shortly after I finished the series. And it is connected. This woman accomplished what these participants would never have been able to achieve. Her story, combined with this foray into reality TV, has fueled so much introspection and contemplation for me. I may need an intervention, or a very long trek through a heavily wooded area by myself.