Hey. A quick post is in order to update thee on what I'm doing. I have decided to make another blog via Tumblr, click here to check it out. I am writing/posting this update here because I want both that site and this one to sort of feed off of and into each other. I want to use my Tumblr blog (which is titled "Zombie's Baby", get it?) to be sort of the less organized, more stream of conscious and spontaneous outlet, while Zombie Baby Nursery, my blogger blog, will be the less frequently updated, yet more polished and organized of the two. Zombie's Baby will have shorter posts and be more geared toward posting snippets of stuff that I find interesting (posts might perhaps be as minimal as just photos, video clips, or short phrases that I found online). The advantage to this shorter format means that I can update more frequently. So far I'm at a pace of a minimum of one post per day, with it not being unusual for me to post three or four things in a day. Having the ability to crank stuff out like this is awesome and I love being able to update quickly and with ease.
However for the more in depth, lengthy writing you're going to have to come to this site. Sure, Nursery will be updated less frequently, but the updates will be filled with more substance and more of my own personal voice. I think that's a reasonable trade off.
So feel free to read one, or both, or none of the above. I will try not to repeat myself amongst the two platforms, yet I want to make sure that one does not have to read one to fully appreciate the other. They will be two free standing entities that just happen to enhance each other and to each offer a portal into my thoughts. So I will reiterate that it's all up to you what you want or don't want to read. Have fun and let me know what your opinions are on this pseudo-expansion, my dear readers.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Saturday, February 4, 2012
With the Light Volume 6
Back in the day, when I was a freshman in college, I began reading the With the Light series on a whim. I first became aware of the title on a trip to Borders (R.I.P), as they had the placed the first volume of the series on display in the manga section. I was immediately intrigued by the cover ("Is this a parenting book that was shelved incorrectly, or what?") so I picked it up and started thumbing through it. As soon as I flipped through this first volume I was immediately struck by the heart-wrenching cuteness of the art so I just knew I'd have to read it. Hey, I never denied being shallow.
The With the Light: Raising an Autistic Child series, true to its name, follows the trials and minor victories of the Azuma family as they grapple with their son's autism. Dutiful mother Sachiko serves as the series protagonist, and it is through her interactions with others that we are given lessons about the issues surrounding autism. While With the Light is a work of fiction, it has been heavily researched. In the process of creating the work, the series author Keiko Tobe profiled a variety of real life families of autistic children. From what I understand, Sachiko's autistic child Hikaru was created as a sort of amalgamation of a handful of various real life kids that the author observed. This lends the story a familiar edge. Nothing that occurs in With the Light seems beyond the realm of possibility, and one can easily imagine the events of the story playing out in everyday life.
Volume 6 of With the Light sees Hikaru as a junior high school student on the cusp of puberty. Aging is a major theme in this volume. As Hikaru visibly ages, the world at large begins to react to his behavior differently, which creates new problems for Sachiko. Behavior that strangers would find cute and endearing in a prepubescent child begins to seem threatening or inappropriate in an older boy. This issue is brought to the forefront of the story when, on a public bus trip, Hikaru touches a female passenger's hair. While Hikaru's intentions were innocent, the woman assumes he's a perv and screams. This situation foreshadows the new and unique issues that Hikaru's parents will have to deal with as he ages.
But Hikaru's not the only one growing up and dealing with the unique challenges that come with entering a new stage of life. In one part of the story, Sachiko ruminates on aging in an internal dialogue that opens one of the chapters, "My children are growing up right before my eyes...and this means that I too am getting older. And so are my own father and mother..." And fittingly many of the pages after this are dedicated to events in the lives of Hikaru's grandparents. Sachiko's mother deals with health issues as Hikaru's paternal grandmother struggles to accept her grandchildren for who they are. Hikaru's little sister Kanon is also growing up and learning to deal with the popularity contests of primary school. As the sister of a disabled child, Kanon faces her own unique challenges and much of this volume was also focused on the experience of being a sibling to an autistic individual.
There are a number of reasons why I enjoy the With the Light series. I enjoy its gentle plotting and grounded characters. I like that there are no villains in the story. Characters might act out and hurt each other emotionally in the process, yet such actions are often the result of ignorance or good intentions gone bad rather than maliciousness. There's also a novelty to the story. While I've heard that in Japan there exists a plethora of manga for every taste and interest, in the U.S. it's still rather rare to see a mainstream comics title aimed at an older female crowd. So that's undeniably a factor in my interest as well.
If With the Light doesn't sound appealing to you then you surely won't get into it. But if you read this post and experienced even a glimmer of interest then the title's worth checking out. It's a sweet light read that might even teach you a thing or two about autism.
The With the Light: Raising an Autistic Child series, true to its name, follows the trials and minor victories of the Azuma family as they grapple with their son's autism. Dutiful mother Sachiko serves as the series protagonist, and it is through her interactions with others that we are given lessons about the issues surrounding autism. While With the Light is a work of fiction, it has been heavily researched. In the process of creating the work, the series author Keiko Tobe profiled a variety of real life families of autistic children. From what I understand, Sachiko's autistic child Hikaru was created as a sort of amalgamation of a handful of various real life kids that the author observed. This lends the story a familiar edge. Nothing that occurs in With the Light seems beyond the realm of possibility, and one can easily imagine the events of the story playing out in everyday life.
Volume 6 of With the Light sees Hikaru as a junior high school student on the cusp of puberty. Aging is a major theme in this volume. As Hikaru visibly ages, the world at large begins to react to his behavior differently, which creates new problems for Sachiko. Behavior that strangers would find cute and endearing in a prepubescent child begins to seem threatening or inappropriate in an older boy. This issue is brought to the forefront of the story when, on a public bus trip, Hikaru touches a female passenger's hair. While Hikaru's intentions were innocent, the woman assumes he's a perv and screams. This situation foreshadows the new and unique issues that Hikaru's parents will have to deal with as he ages.But Hikaru's not the only one growing up and dealing with the unique challenges that come with entering a new stage of life. In one part of the story, Sachiko ruminates on aging in an internal dialogue that opens one of the chapters, "My children are growing up right before my eyes...and this means that I too am getting older. And so are my own father and mother..." And fittingly many of the pages after this are dedicated to events in the lives of Hikaru's grandparents. Sachiko's mother deals with health issues as Hikaru's paternal grandmother struggles to accept her grandchildren for who they are. Hikaru's little sister Kanon is also growing up and learning to deal with the popularity contests of primary school. As the sister of a disabled child, Kanon faces her own unique challenges and much of this volume was also focused on the experience of being a sibling to an autistic individual.
There are a number of reasons why I enjoy the With the Light series. I enjoy its gentle plotting and grounded characters. I like that there are no villains in the story. Characters might act out and hurt each other emotionally in the process, yet such actions are often the result of ignorance or good intentions gone bad rather than maliciousness. There's also a novelty to the story. While I've heard that in Japan there exists a plethora of manga for every taste and interest, in the U.S. it's still rather rare to see a mainstream comics title aimed at an older female crowd. So that's undeniably a factor in my interest as well.
If With the Light doesn't sound appealing to you then you surely won't get into it. But if you read this post and experienced even a glimmer of interest then the title's worth checking out. It's a sweet light read that might even teach you a thing or two about autism.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
My Top Ten Movies of 2011: The Finale
Previously on my blog I counted down the bottom half of my list of favorite movies of the year. Check that post out here, if you please. As I wrote in yesterday's post, I had originally intended to do just one massive post detailing my favorite movies of the year, but truthfully that task seemed way too daunting. Plus I figured the ensuing mass of text that would result from such a post would be rather ugly and intimidating to thee, my dear reader. Anyway, that's enough chatter from me. Let's finish this.
4. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
There were an unusually high number of female performances that I loved this year, many of which I've already written about in my last post. And yet, even out of this year's crop of stellar leading ladies, Rooney Mara's Lisbeth Salander stands out as being the baddest in the land. More than just a black-clad super-heroine, Lisbeth possesses an intriguing mix of both aggressive competence and fragile vulnerability. But don't get the wrong idea, Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is not a one woman show. The film also displays a stylish coolness (epitomized by the stellar opening credits sequence) and unforgettable moments of trauma (including one awesomely brutal revenge sequence). And for my money any one who can find a way to make Enya palatable deserves a flurry of praise just for that feat alone.
3. The Artist
The Artist might be the most adorable and heartwarming movie of the year. But don't let that fool you. Below the film's adorable, puppy dog-ridden surface lies a razor sharp wit and an impressive intelligence. By the time the film was through, my perception of sound in film had been altered in a slight, but significant way. Add on top of all this two charismatic leads, whose ensuing romance will tug at the heartstrings and you've got a stellar, A+ theatrical experience on your hands.
2. The Skin I Live In
Okay, I want to make clear now that I had a hard time deciding what order to put these last three movies in. Honestly, The Skin I Live In in particular is pretty much tied for my number one movie this year. It really is that awesome. And I can say that out of all the films profiled in this post, Skin offers the most emotionally complex experience. At times it is thrilling and shocking. And yet it is also incredibly stylish with a bold color palate, and chock full of absurd moments and characters. Like a lot of director Pedro Almodovar's other films, The Skin I Live In's plot cleverly weaves together a group of characters who initially appear distant and distinctly separate. If I am being vague about the plot that is intentional, for I wouldn't dare give away the wonderfully extreme twist that the film is built upon. I will say, however, that this movie is also commendable for its unique look at sexuality, morality, and gender identity. It's also just straight-up awesome.
1. Hugo
Yup, Hugo. No surprise, right? Hugo oozed cuteness and sweetness, yet never ignored the trials that all people go through, kids included. In other words, it managed to be heart-warming without sugar-coating things. The film also made for a wonderful tribute to the medium of film, the technology that has allowed the public's dreams to seep out into the daylight and invade our waking hours. Plus the automaton was kawaii.
Great movies that I loved but couldn't include on my list due to lack of space: Midnight in Paris, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Bridesmaids, and Jane Eyre. The Darkest Hour takes the cake for the worst movie I saw in theaters last year.
4. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
There were an unusually high number of female performances that I loved this year, many of which I've already written about in my last post. And yet, even out of this year's crop of stellar leading ladies, Rooney Mara's Lisbeth Salander stands out as being the baddest in the land. More than just a black-clad super-heroine, Lisbeth possesses an intriguing mix of both aggressive competence and fragile vulnerability. But don't get the wrong idea, Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is not a one woman show. The film also displays a stylish coolness (epitomized by the stellar opening credits sequence) and unforgettable moments of trauma (including one awesomely brutal revenge sequence). And for my money any one who can find a way to make Enya palatable deserves a flurry of praise just for that feat alone.3. The Artist
2. The Skin I Live In
1. Hugo
Great movies that I loved but couldn't include on my list due to lack of space: Midnight in Paris, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Bridesmaids, and Jane Eyre. The Darkest Hour takes the cake for the worst movie I saw in theaters last year.
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