Had an interesting and somewhat difficult time teaching yesterday. Not because of the students, though. They were great. It was because of the building and the people running it. The rooms that we usually hold our classes in were occupied and became change rooms for some sort of ballet recital. There were little girls in pink tutus with their panicking parents all over the place. It was insanity. So it was arranged for me to have a room somewhere else. Unfortunately, this room was pretty far away from the usual place where the students know to show up, throwing a huge monkey wrench into the operation.

So this is the room, sort of a dungeon/nursery in the lower floor of the Community Center’s library. I don’t know exactly the sort of activities that take place here, but I can tell just by looking around that I am far too old to take part in them. Not the ideal place to teach how to draw anime, but I had to roll with the punches. But the thing is that no one else who was working there knew that I would be occupying this room. So as I’m setting up before the students were to arrive, someone involved with the library looked inside with a “What the hell are you doing here?” kind attitude about her.

She says to me “Can I help you?“
And I say “Nope! I’m good!” Heh heh heh.

That’s not all, though. See the projector on the left side of the picture? I usually get a TV in my regular room that I can hook a DVD player up to show anime and illustrate certain points I try to make. I didn’t have the TV this time, so I hooked my DVD player up to that projector instead. There was a gigantic roll of shiny white paper there, so I decided that I’ll tape some of that to the wall to use as a makeshift screen for the projector. Well the aforementioned employee who tried to “help” me earlier came back as I was cutting a piece from the roll and was all upset, asking about if usage of this paper was in the contract with the building operators. All I could do is tell her who my boss was and to go talk to him. So a bit later he comes down and asks about this white paper he was told I was using.

I pointed to that. Already frazzled by the day’s events being sprung on him like this, he just sighed and said “Oh my God“, as if to wonder what the hell was wrong with these people.

So we go back upstairs and start rounding up our students. His students were put into a different room around the corner, while I had to wait for mine in the lobby and then take them through the library and then down into this dungeon. I did the class as best as I could under the circumstances, and the students were good sports about it. I was able to turn the experience into a running joke through the lesson, talking about how our classroom had been overrun by dancing zombies in pink tutus. I was not too far off from the truth.

I usually plaster the walls with anime posters, but this room already had a permanent set of decorations for young children that the students didn’t enjoy so much. Case in point is this politically correct, self affirming series of images taped to the wall.

Everyone can be a star? Yeah, except for the dude in the green shirt on the right. That guy is hopeless.

What a tiring day. When I got home I just crashed with exhaustion. I hope I don’t have to deal with that sort of thing again. Though I’m sure I’ll be dealing with some other disaster eventually anyway.

Sayonara.

You know, sometimes I’m am simply forced to sit back and scratch my head in utter bewilderment. This doesn’t happen very often, but when people prove, over and over again, just how dumb they are, I can’t help but to wonder… WHY?

If there are people out there who dislike my website so much, then why do they keep visiting it? If someone could please help me answer this question, perhaps I can finally find enlightenment. So please, tell me your theories, because it just doesn’t make any sense.

I would think that the concept of not exposing oneself to something they find unpleasant is fairly rudimentary, is it not? If you don’t like this website, then just don’t go to it anymore!

Is that so hard to understand?

Logic, people!

Sayonara.

I am at my wit’s end with this computer. It kept on resetting itself for no reason. Even after a clean install, it just kept happening. I did what I thought would fix it, but now I just get the good ol’ Blue Screen of Death. In fact, it’s probably going to happen again any time now, so I had better save this right now.

There. Saved.

I have no idea what is wrong. I’ve removed everything that this junkbox could possibly find offensive. But it just keeps happening. I’m this close to just gutting this system and using one computer instead of two, but I’d rather keep the other one separate for Photoshop and other more intensive applications, and this misbehaving one here for everything else. Sigh.

There. Saved again. Don’t you quit on me now!

Ok, so now to catch up on things.

On Sunday I went to see a screening of the original 1954 black and white Godzilla. I had actually tried to get tickets to see it on Friday, but it sold out and another screening was set up. This is the newly restored and subtitled print that has been making the rounds on the small theater circuit. Believe it or not, I actually saw the film at an art gallery, right beside where I used to go to school. That’s right, because Godzilla is an art film.

Laugh all you want, but that’s not actually too far from the truth. The original Godzilla is a very dark and artful movie, with a lot of allegory and social commentary when put into the context of the time. It seemed like a few people were there simply to laugh at the cheesiness, and sure, the first time you actually see Godzilla it is a bit silly, but as the movie went on I think people got into it and saw how serious it really is. After it was over I found that the people I watched it with had some interesting commentary. They saw Godzilla as the “good guy“. That’s a unique observation, and while I’m not going to say that it’s wrong, most people who studied the film would say that Godzilla is a villain, and his image was gradually softened as the movies of the Showa era went on. But the case could be made that Godzilla is simply the force of nature and mankind is the villain for waking him up. It’s a much different film than the dubbed and edited version staring Raymond Burr. There was more substance there since it related so closely to the Atomic Bombs that were dropped on Japan during World War II. The subject matter regarding weapons is still timely, and while the effects are dated as you’d expect from a movie this old, the destruction of Tokyo is an incredible and intense scene. It’s no wonder that people in Japan were lining up in front of theaters for hours to see this movie 50 years ago. I’m very glad that I went to see it and that I was joined by others who enjoyed it as well.

Now hopefully this computer will start being good so I won’t have to go all Godzilla on it.

Which reminds me. There. Saved again.

Sayonara.

It was 50 years ago today when he first came into our lives.

I wasn’t born yet. In fact, I’ve never lived in his country of origin. But that doesn’t matter. The impact that he would make has spread far and wide. His popularity can never be disputed, but what we are really talking about here goes beyond simply being popular. He is an icon, forever etched into the hearts and minds of people all over the world. A single mention of his name evokes powerful imagery, even for those generations removed. He is just that important to us.

But consider this. Since the dawn of human civilization, people have been telling stories driven by mysterious supernatural forces, legendary mythological beasts, and powerful creatures beyond nature. Stories of monsters. The Dragon, the Cyclops, the Wolfman, The Zombie, Dracula, Frankenstein, Pikachu. All monsters which have stood the test of time. But if I were to ask, out of all the monsters that have been created through story, some of which have existed since the beginnings of history, who is the greatest monster of all? Not the biggest, strongest, coolest, or most powerful, but simply the greatest?

The answer is obvious, and he only showed up 50 years ago. On November 3rd, 1954, in the country of Japan, the King of the Monsters was born, as Godzilla made his first appearance on movie screens. The world was forever changed.

I doubt that anyone at the time realized what Godzilla would come to mean. Yet, Godzilla has transcended far beyond being a film staring someone in a rubber monster costume stepping on model buildings. He is a representation of the threat of nuclear weapons. He is the curse that mankind must suffer through for arrogantly abusing the gift of science. He is a disaster, like an earthquake or tornado, that can not be controlled or destroyed, only braced for and weathered through until the time comes to dust ourselves off and rebuild again. He is the ultimate articulation of our rage against a huge world that tries to stand in our way and bring us down. But Godzilla is both a destroyer and a protector, who has often defeated other monsters that have tried to invade his turf. Godzilla can’t help but be as big as he is, but even though the military constantly attacks him, simply for being himself, he’s not going to change and he’s not going to sink back into the sea in a depressed state. Oh no, Godzilla keeps on doing what he does, no matter what. That is worth admiring.

Of course, all of that said, there is a certain charm to seeing a movie with someone in a rubber monster costume stepping on model buildings. Like eating a home cooked meal, there’s a handcrafted, from-the-heart feeling in each Godzilla movie that Hollywood has lost in so many of their vain attempts at being cutting-edge. Godzilla movies aren’t about making something look real. They’re about making something look incredible, amazing, unreal.

In a world where people often cast their eyes eastward to see what the last in trends and technology will be, I can look back 50 years ago to see where that all started. If you love anime or video games, then you owe a debt of gratitude to Godzilla for opening the floodgates to imported popular culture from Japan. Not since the woodblock print had a Japanese export captured the imaginations of so many people internationally. This from a country that, at one point in its history, was once completely segregated.

Now, the fans of Godzilla prepare for a special treat, though it comes with a bitter consequence. Later this month, Ryuhei Kitamura, director of the incredible action-horror film “Versus“, will bring us “Godzilla: Final Wars“, which promises to be the greatest monster movie of all time. However it has been said that this will be Godzilla’s final appearance on the big screen. Whether or not that holds true (and I personally believe that it won’t), it ultimately doesn’t matter. The legacy of Godzilla is cemented forever. He has left a footprint upon the cultural landscape of the world so big that it can never be washed away. Even in another 50 years, I have no doubt in my mind that although there are many great monsters who have yet to be spawned through the art of story, they will all stand in the dark shadow cast by Godzilla, the true, undisputed, King of the Monsters.

Hail to the King.

Sayonara.

This week I purchased one of the craziest, funniest, most addictive video games I’ve ever played. It’s called Katamari Damacy, available on Playstation 2 from Namco, and it’s all about things. The wacky story involves the King of the Cosmos accidentally destroying all the stars in the universe. His son is sent to Earth and must use these big spherical objects called Katamari to collect, well, things! These Katamari are then sent into the sky to become stars.

The goal of the game is to roll up as many things as possible onto your Katamari so that it reaches a certain size within the time allotted. At first, only small things can stick to your Katamari, but as your Katamari gets larger, you can get bigger things to stick to it. Early levels have you starting with things like thumbtacks and buttons, but eventually you can move all the way up to getting dogs and cats. As you progress through the game, you start larger and can work your way up to rolling over people, even Sumo wrestlers! You play the game using both of the analog sticks, and you don’t need to use the 4 face buttons during gameplay at all.

What really makes the game shine is just how weird it is! There’s a lot of Japanese-style absurd humor. The characters look very silly, the text is hilarious, and some of the objects you’ll find to roll over are very strange. As you play, a story unfolds involving a family of block-looking people with cheesy dialoge. This is one of those obscure Japanese games that wouldn’t normally be released internationally, but when people in North America caught wind of it, they demanded its release. And with good reason, it’s just too crazy to resist. Best of all is that it’s an inexpensive purchase.

Honestly, I haven’t had this much fun with a game in a long time. I’m the kind of person who gets frustrated when I can’t passed a level of a game, but in this case when I don’t win I’m eager to try again, because it’s just that much fun. It’s the strangest, most charming game since Pikmin on the GameCube. Check it out for yourself and see how much fun rolling over things can be!

Sayonara.