Sunday 29 April 2012

The Perils Of Old Age: Fragility

Look at this!
Half me finger's just dropped off.
This is what comes of working hard to be a star of internet and animation.
Bits drop off.

Mrs D is bein' all clucky and soothy and sayin' she will soon put it right.
She says she sympathises on account one of her ancient teeth is cracked right down the middle... and tomorrow she has to get the dentist's verdict.
Expect a gap in her old fizzog's smile any day.

I say... she should stop with crunchin' on them tortilla chips.

Friday 27 April 2012

Mrs D's Film: Story Board Discussions















OK.
This is me and she who now likes to be known as Bike Girl reviewing the situation....
We's going over the storyboard for "The Blue Motor Bike".... and yammering on at each other as to how we be going to "approach our respective roles". All serious stuff.

Meanwhile... Mrs D do sit there with the storyboard as well and she do stopwatch each frame... waving her arms and crossing her eyes and mutterin to herself... then writing down how long the stopwatch says each shot should last. Then she gets the calculator out and works out how many frames she has to film at so many frames per second. See?

Thursday 26 April 2012

Aaarrrchooo!

With apologies for my absence....
Violent sneezing, streaming nose and scarlet eyes... Is it a cold? Nope! I do think I have developed some kind of "late onset" hay fever. For sure something did climb up there and annoyed everything. Blimey never seed the like before.

Sunday 22 April 2012

Saturday Night: The Bridge

So what's the verdict Scandi-Noir fans? On Danish/Swedish crime drama "The Bridge" shown in UK last night on BBC4?
Again BBC4 are choosing to show a blockbusting 2 episodes per Saturday night... which is OK by me. But it can leave The Old man wriggling a bit, seein as he is new to this crime drama thing. However, as I posted before... the re-circulation of Danish actors into each series does help The Old Man on his facial recognition thingy.
Anyway.... here we be... two episodes in... and maybe still a bit uninvolved in what so far is a range of rather unlovely characters? But OK maybe I am warming to the bewildered-by-Swedes, Danish detective, Martin. And I do wonder how far we can stretch this "detective as outsider" thing? It is of course an essential ingredient to a lot of crime drama.... but Saga, the Swedish lead detective, is further outside than most. Mmmmn ... she makes Sara Lund look like an Agony Aunt. Though... maybe I be warming a bit to Saga as well.  Whatever. Rest assured I be still watchin' next Saturday.
See what the "Grauniad" says about the series here.

Friday 20 April 2012

Record Store Day - Saturday 21st April

Yeah tis time to get down to your local record store and show it you love it.

Every year there's a celebration of these musical goody stores. For us it be the lovely Jam in Falmouth. But for you?

Check the Record Store Day site for locator for your nearest local participating shop and lists of events etc.

Thursday 19 April 2012

Travels With My Film Life: Paris 1959 "Les Quatre Cent Coups"

Alors! Here we be, The Old Man and myself... in these gritty, smoky old streets of Paris. I do bring The Old Man here because he adores a bit of a Truffaut film. But amazingly he has never partaken of "The 400 Blows".

So we do watch 12 year old Antoine Doinel racket around the streets of Paris, skiving off school, sneaking into cinemas, getting hell from his parents, bein' a runaway... trying to steal a typewriter for heavens' sake.... getting nicked. Aaah poor Antoine.

The Old Man do not as I expect react with full enthusiasm. He do seem in fact... puzzled by the film.

Me? I do love it. I could see "400 Blows" 400 times. I can smell those streets.. I do know that Antoine don't wash much. Poor Antoine... he don't know what to do with himself. He do only want to "raise hell" a little...
Did you know that "Raising Hell" is the meaning of the phrase "faire les 400 coups"? Me neither.
You can find the trailer here on YouTube.

Wednesday 18 April 2012

Where Are We Walking Now?

Because the council put a parking charge on the old favourite ... Long Rock Beach. It's only £1 a day which is very good...
but maybe not if you just want to march up and down for 5 minutes.... on account of being Old Geezers ... who just need to exercise a bit.

So we been trying a few other places fairly close to the Sunday Paper shop. The other day we did march around Marazion Marshes... and the Bird Reserve there which is only small really... the places that the public can walk in. Pretty muddy in parts though.
This day there be herons... hmmn.. they do look so funny standin there in the reeds... still as can be... beady eye and razor beak... waitin for dinner. There were lots of Little Egrets as well.... Stonechats... Oh! And first swallows I see this year.
But most of all I be hit by a loud song from some little bird in the reeds. I check it out.... have a feeling I know what it will be. And so it is..
an eardrum busting burst from a Cetti's Warbler.

Monday 16 April 2012

Mrs D is Planning an Animation: The Storyboard

So. Mrs D is thinking about making another animation. Well... she only manages this about once a year... that is to say... annually... and manually.

And I know this is true because she has got out that big old exercise book that she uses to plan a film. I know for a fact that she did buy herself a Moleskin Storyboard Notebook.
No. Seriously.
But she do say that it is so pristine ... it frightens her to death...
so she do make a storyboard in this exercise book.... manually

And here I am.
Studying my role so to speak...
So far it is gratifyingly in close-up.

Sunday 15 April 2012

Friday 13 April 2012

Graphic Passions: Jason's "Left Bank Gang"

I been having a good time reading Jason's graphic novel "The Left Bank Gang" which won an Eisner award in 2007.

You may remember that I've mentioned Norwegian artist Jason's work before when I did post about his zombie tale "The Living and the Dead".

"Left Bank Gang" is hilarious if you're a culture snoot like what I am.
Imagine the literary figures of Left Bank Paris of the 1920s... transformed into trademark Jason "dogs n' crows". Not only that. They have become comics artists trading problems of panels and brush style... and they're fed up with being poor.

I certainly do snigger at the conversations... such as Hemingway explaining that he can't stop because Gertrude Stein is "having him for dinner". Stein was famously fierce in her criticisms of her fellow writers' work. I'm sure she was capable of making a meal out of Hemingway.


Wednesday 11 April 2012

Monday 9 April 2012

Sunday 8 April 2012

The Blue Motor Bike: 3


But it's true. My dreams are shattered.

Je suis trop grand pour ma moto bleu magnifique.
Mrs D says it just won't work. I'm just too big a thing... moi.

Friday 6 April 2012

The Blue Motor Bike


So Mrs D just couldn't resist this little darlin '.

She did find it at that Penzance emporium of desirable objects down Chapel Street - Steckfensters.
(Shop is featured in this post from "pasties & cream" blog.)

Who handmade this lovely thing I ask myself.
I can't wait to get on it.


Thursday 5 April 2012

Kneehigh's Early Chough Offer Opens

OK.
So I'm unsure how I feel about Kneehigh's new show for the Asylum being "Steptoe and Son". (See previous post on the subject - here.)

But this is to remind all you lucky people of Cornwall that Kneehigh are repeating their money-off deal on early booking for Cornish residents. Booking for this offer opened on April 1st. Check out the details on their own website by clicking through here. For those of you that don't live in Cornwall... there is a discount price offer for early booking starting May 1st.

I guess I may be tempted ... It is my beloved Kneehigh after all.

Monday 2 April 2012

Up The Hill And Down Again

 Another beautiful day and we do go up the hill near us that we be very fond of... (Can you be fond of a hill?)... Godolphin Hill.

It's very conical... very bare.
But maybe it was more wooded once?
Cos much of West Cornwall is an altered landscape...
I also wonder about the wooded thing...because at this time of year you do see wood anemone and wood sorrel amongst the heath and granite. Not much of a tree in sight. Just some small windblown trees... holly.... hawthorn...

And being a suburban born Kentish girl, I do remember wood anemone and sorrel at the edge of small copses that I did know in my childy days.

For sure, you get to the top of Godolphin and you do see an amazing  view
... both coasts at once, bits of both bays north and south ....
St. Ives Bay and Mount's Bay.


Sunday 1 April 2012

Prinspolo



Did find this piece of Icelandic music-making via Radio 4's Saturday edition of Excess Baggage . (Edit: Ha! just heard the news that  BBC Radio 4 is axing this programme. I can always trust they will do this to me.)
The band is Prinspolo. Find out more at their site Prinspolo.com .