SVS: “Touching the Void”

Last updated on: February 27, 2015 at 12:13 pm By Joseph Susanka

This one’s not really a documentary. At least not according to The Academy. (In fairness, I’m sort of inclined to agree. We’re not talking “partial” reenactment; this is full-on reconstruction. The “emphasis is on fact and not on fiction” bit certainly applies, though.) But whatever it is — “Docudrama” seems as (un)fair a (non)descriptor as any — Touching the Void’s a pretty amazing film. And it’s streaming on NETFLIX INSTANT, as well as on AMAZON INSTANT($), SUNDANCE NOW($), and ITUNES($$$). This gripping docudrama retells the mountaineering... Read more

A Lenten Musical Journey, Day 9

Last updated on: February 26, 2015 at 12:34 pm By Joseph Susanka

One more Russian “Thief,” this time from Alexander Grechaninov’s Passion Week. (Remember those names. More anon.) This particular version (and its wonderfully-eerie overtones) comes from Charles Bruffy and The Kansas City Chorale, who are absolute staples in my chorale-music diet. Their stuff is really, really wonderful (as evidenced here). Разбойника благоразумнаго во едином часе раеви сподобил еси, Господи, и мене древом крестным просвети и спаси мя The Wise Thief didst Thou make worthy of Paradise in a single moment, O... Read more

No Commentary Necessary — “Drone vs. Volcano”

Last updated on: February 27, 2015 at 12:14 pm By Joseph Susanka

My first reaction? “Gosh.” But that was before I hit the 1:50 mark. Then it was a bit more like “G.O.S.H.!.!.!.” Worked my way here through Laughing Squid’s “Filmmakers Destroy Drones in Service of Capturing Unseen Angles From the Inside of an Active Volcano” article, which led me to National Geo’s “Adventurers and Drones Go Into the Volcano for Science,” which led me back to the YouTube page of one Sam Gossman and the work that first caught the public’s eye, “Volcano... Read more

A Lenten Musical Journey, Day 8

Last updated on: February 25, 2015 at 3:30 pm By Joseph Susanka

Here’s another setting of “The Wise Thief,” this one coming our way courtesy of one of my very favorite Russian composers, Pavel Chesnokov: Разбойника благоразумнаго во едином часе раеви сподобил еси, Господи, и мене древом крестным просвети и спаси мя The Wise Thief didst Thou make worthy of Paradise in a single moment, O Lord. By the wood of thy Cross illumine me as well, and save me. Attribution(s): “Christ and Robber” by Nikolai Ge via krotov.info and licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons; “The... Read more

I Will Watch the Heck Out of This Show

Last updated on: February 25, 2015 at 12:04 pm By Joseph Susanka

Despite the fickle winds of fame and fortune (and concrete cinematic evidence notwithstanding), I remain a firm fan of Mr. M. Night Shyamalan. I am also a huge supporter of “The Prisoner,” and an appreciator of (if, admittedly, a bit distant from) “Twin Peaks.” So, this is something that I will probably watch. And how. Imagine the perfect American town, beautiful homes, manicured lawns, children playing safely in the streets…Now imagine never being able to leave. You have no communication with... Read more

A Lenten Musical Journey, Day 7

Last updated on: February 24, 2015 at 3:11 pm By Joseph Susanka

Staying with the composerial trend we started yesterday with Sergey Taneyev’s cantata, here’s his “The Wise Thief (Razboinika blagorazumnago).” The Penitent Thief is pretty much my personal Lenten patron. Or at least a paradigm of the way my Lenten efforts typically proceed. I feel like I’m always squeezing in at the last possible second, late-but-sincere. (Or late, at least.) My Russian’s a bit rusty — aka, I don’t know a single jot or tittle — so I’m not entirely sure of the translation of the text.... Read more

Cricket, Growing More Cricket With Each Passing Day

Last updated on: February 24, 2015 at 12:56 pm By Joseph Susanka

I have a guilty secret. …OK, so maybe it’s not a secret, because I’ve actually admitted it publicly on the blog before. But still… Some nights, when I’m all by myself, I watch cricket. Now, if we’re talking about The-World-At-Large, the fact that I enjoy this strangely-familiar (to my irretrievably-baseball-ish mind) game would make me pretty indistinctive. Conventional wisdom/world-wide sports analysis places it right near the top of the “Popular Sports” list — a mere tick or two below football in most... Read more

A Lenten Musical Journey, Day 6

Last updated on: February 23, 2015 at 2:33 pm By Joseph Susanka

Today’s piece is a Russian cantata: Sergey Taneyev’s “John of Damascus.” Sometimes described as “The Russian Requiem,” it’s huge, densely melodic, and filled with gorgeous longing. That last bit is what makes it particularly appropriate for Lenten meditations, methinks. (There’s a through-line here from the last few days, as well, and not just because Taneyev and Tchaikovsky were both Russian. Taneyev actually studied under Tchaikovsky, and even succeed him as professor of harmony — and later piano and composition — at... Read more

SSF: “Eyrie”

Last updated on: February 23, 2015 at 2:43 pm By Joseph Susanka

Love the visual style here. Love the reveal, as well. And really, really love the length. Packs quite a wallop into a deceptively small, 4-minute package. A young shepherd boy in the American West must learn to defend his dwindling flock from a ravenous eagle. The short’s creator, David Wolter, has a couple of blog posts on the inspirations behind the short: “Place-ness” and “Film As Myth.” Great stuff! One painting was particularly striking. Entitled “Desert Shepherdess,” it depicted a young Navajo,... Read more

A Lenten Musical Journey, Day 5

Last updated on: February 22, 2015 at 1:46 pm By Joseph Susanka

Since we’re already in Tchaikovsky territory (thanks to yesterday’s post), here’s #8 of his Nine Sacred Pieces: “Let My Prayer Arise.” Da ispravitsya molitva moya, yako kadilo pred Toboyu: vozdeyanie ruku moeyu, zhertva vechernyaya. Gospodi, vozzvakh k Tebe, uslïshi mya: vonmi glasu moleniya moyego, vnegda vozzvati mi k Tebe. Polozhi, Gospodi, khranenie ustom moim: i dver ograzhdeniya o ustnakh moikh. Ne ukloni serdtse moe v slovesa lukavstviya: nepshchevati vinï o gresekh. Let my prayer arise in thy sight as incense;... Read more