Parked By the Jukebox with Arianna Savall’s “El Mariner”

Last updated on: May 5, 2015 at 3:08 pm By Joseph Susanka

Today’s jam? A lilting Catalonian folk song, courtesy of Arianna Savall’s “Bella Terra.” The whole album’s really wonderful, but this is the one that keeps grabbing me as it floats past. (Also, if the name “Savall” seems familiar, that’s because Arianna is the daughter of the renowned Catalonian conductor, viol player, and composer, Jordi Savall, one of the major figures in the field of Western early music and head of the eminently-listenable Hespèrion XX. Or Hespèrion XXI, depending on the year.) Attribution(s): “Innseilingen Til Christiania (1874)” by... Read more

SSF: “Invention of Love”

Last updated on: May 4, 2015 at 4:00 pm By Joseph Susanka

What do you get when you cross steampunk with silhouette portraiture (and a bit of Chopin)? You get Andrey Shuskov’s “Invention of Love:” A love story from the world of gears and bolts. Inspired by Lotte Reiniger’s and Michel Ocelot’s works and by Antony Lucas’s Jasper Morello film. Lovely. But also, “Ouch.” The setting, the tone, and even the message reminded me a great deal of Tomasz Bagiński’s “The Kinematograph.” Except Bagiński’s protagonist gets the point. Here? Not so. (Or at... Read more

SVS: “The Quiet Man”

Last updated on: May 1, 2015 at 12:48 pm By Joseph Susanka

I’ll begin at the beginnin’. A fine soft day in the spring, it was, when the train pulled into Castletown, three hours late as usual, and himself got off. He didn’t have the look of an American tourist at all about him. Not a camera on him; what was worse, not even a fishin’ rod. In my charmingly contrarian way — a phrase I say mostly in the hopes that if I repeat it enough, it’ll become true and I’ll be charming instead... Read more

Experiencing Pop-Culture Through A Four-Year-Old Filter

Last updated on: May 1, 2015 at 9:08 am By Joseph Susanka

A few months back, I recounted a hilarious and/or horrifying episode involving David (The Fourth Son), James (The Fifth Son), the Just Dance 2 game on our Wii, and The Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back.” Fast forward to a few days ago, when Cormac was storming ’round the living room belting out “Walk Like The Giff·i·ans!!!” at the top of his lungs. At first, right after I realized that he was offering his own particular pronunciation/translation of the Bangles but right before I made the JD2 connection, I... Read more

Finding Peace at the End of the World

Last updated on: April 28, 2015 at 3:46 pm By Joseph Susanka

The headlines have me down a bit today. Not because they’re new and/or unexpected, but because they’re the exact opposite. So when a Laughing Squid headline flitted across my screen that promised something both “Stunning” and “Incredibly Serene,” I thought “That’s just what I’m looking for.” (The fact that it also said “Antarctica” was just a bonus, really.) It is definitely stunning. And serene. Especially in full-screen HD (which is my recommended viewing configuration for this one). It’ll last me until I... Read more

SSF: “The Alchemist’s Letter”

Last updated on: April 27, 2015 at 10:48 am By Joseph Susanka

A few months back, I saw some promising publicity on/artwork from a short film called “The Alchemist’s Letter.” But since the short itself was not yet available, I put it in my “Draft-and-Follow” folder for a later date. Today (at long last), I can happily report that your patience — which you probably did not even realize you were exercising — has been richly rewarded. When Veridian, an estranged young man, receives his late alchemist father Nicolas’ inheritance (voice of Academy Award®... Read more

SVS: “Groundhog Day”

Last updated on: April 24, 2015 at 4:53 pm By Joseph Susanka

Little League Season (aka, Full-On Parental Insanity) is upon me, which means my Instinct for Self-Preservation (aka, Cut Down On Everything But Baseball-inct) is about to kick into high gear. So I might be sort-of mailing these Streaming Video Suggestions (SVS) in for a bit. Going straight for the low-hanging streaming fruit, so to speak; swingin’ at the softballs instead of for the fences. Here’s the thing, though: I’m lazy, for sure. But I’m not mean. So I’m recommending Groundhog Day.... Read more

Roger Deakins on Shooting Westerns (and More)

Last updated on: April 23, 2015 at 5:52 pm By Joseph Susanka

After (re)turning to the Coen Brothers’ True Grit last night with a couple of friends, I was reminded of two things. Well, quite a bit more than two, actually. It’s incredibly re-watchable. But let’s keep it simple, shall we? So…two things: First, Roger Deakins is, and has long been, and will soon cease to be (I say hopefully) my very favorite non-Oscar-winning cinematographer of all time. (Seriously. It’s getting silly, people. Someone give that man a statue already!) Second, this 2007 conversation from The... Read more

Those Baroque Jesuits

Last updated on: April 22, 2015 at 2:15 pm By Joseph Susanka

OK, so that title’s a) click-baity (because The Pope), and b) not accurate. It should say “Jesuit,” not “Jesuits.” Because I’m talking about one. Namely, Domenico Zipoli: …an Italian Baroque composer who worked and died in Córdoba (Argentina). He became a Jesuit in order to work in the Reductions of Paraguay where his musical expertise contributed to develop the natural musical talents of the Guaranis. He is remembered as the most accomplished musician among Jesuit missionaries. I stumbled across his name (and his Vespers of Saint Ignatius) during the... Read more

James, Our Own Little Man of Mystery

Last updated on: April 21, 2015 at 3:19 pm By Joseph Susanka

James, The Fifth Son, is a bit of a riddle to me. A riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma, to be precise. Here’s the latest (hilarious and inscrutable) example. I came home this afternoon to find him huddled over a pile of cardboard scraps — the remains of the display Sean had produced as part of his science experiment — with a Magic Marker clutched in each little fist. Head at near-table-top level, he was scribbling furiously away at something, but what... Read more