On Saturday night, the wife and I went to see a screening of the color restoration of Georges Melies' "A Trip to the Moon" - a 109-year old picture of which no surviving color prints existed, until one was miraculously discovered in 2000. Restoration - both because of its complexity and because of a lack of adequate technology - took over ten years. But it was worth it! Like many people, I had become aware of Melies primarily from watching "Hugo." That film, as good as it was, though, did not adequately recapture the magic that we saw on the screen Saturday night.
Melies' style is fantastical and magical. Melies made no attempt to represent reality, but was more of a stage magician and artist. His sensibility was wildly imaginative and evocative. The energy in the film is manic and contagious. The film was inspired by Jules Verne's novel "From the Earth to the Moon," and captures a group of astronomers planning and executing a rocket ship trip to the moon - ultimately landing in the eye of the moon's face - in one of the most famous images in film history. The scientists encounter hostile life on the Moon and are ultimately forced to escape back to their capsule and return to earth, where the capsule parachutes into the ocean where the scientists are rescued.
I strongly recommend checking out this film, as well as Melies' work in general. A dvd of the colorized version of the film, together with the fantastic new soundtrack by AIR and a documentary on the film and the restoration process are available now at http://www.flickeralley.com/
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Thursday, February 9, 2012
How Much is that Kitty in the Window?
Monday Night we got a visitor to our patio. Specifically, a black and white cat. This isn’t uncommon for us. Our neighborhood has many stray cats wandering around; several of our neighbors allow their cats outdoors. This one planted itself on the mat outside our living room. We have no shade, so outside kitty could just stare in at us and our cats – and it did.
As expected, our cats were interested in this stranger. The outside cat was extremely friendly. It repeatedly tried to play with our cats through the glass, flopping and showing its belly whenever they got close. Later, when we played with Louis with a laser, it saw the laser and went after it. Outside kiddy is adorable.
We didn’t give outside kitty too much thought until the following morning, when we found it in the same spot it had been in the night before. We wondered if it had been there all night. Did it have an owner and was lost, or was it simply abandoned? Outside kitty looked well taken care of, not skinny, with fluffy fur and a positive disposition. No collar though.
Or maybe outside kitty just really liked us. Janessa guessed the kitty was a girl and that she was there because she had fallen for Louis. Outside kitty seemed to get especially excited with Louis paid it attention. Whenever we went out and tried to approach outside kitty though, it was skittish. Through the glass it didn’t mind us, but up close, it ran away. Still it persisted in its spot, trying to get our cats to play with it whenever it had the chance.
Outside kitty was there the next morning. And the next evening. We had no way to know if it had been there all day or had gone somewhere to eat or sleep or anything else. We were getting a little concerned. Was this cat stubbornly waiting us out?
We certainly couldn’t let it in. Our household was still adjusting to Francis, our kitten, and Francis himself was still recovering from being neutered on Tuesday. We couldn’t seriously consider adding another cat to the household.
This continued and, as far as I know, is still going on. Every once in a while, outside kitty vanishes for half an hour or so but then returns as if it had never left. We hope it is going somewhere and eating. We can’t put food out for it – both because it’d never leave and because it’d attract other strays and wild animals – but it doesn’t seem as though outside kitty is going hungry. Still, we’re at a loss how to proceed. We resorted to google to try to figure out what was going on. All we learned was that some outside cats hang around a house if they think the owner is “neat.” Thank god outside kitty hasn’t seen my studio!
So here we are. Each time outside kitty has disappeared part of me has been relieved and another part has hoped it would reappear. Assuming outside kitty stays around even longer, our only plan right now is to try to see if it has an owner. If not, I guess we’ll try to find it a good home. One thing’s for sure, it’s extremely stubborn. It’s as though outside kitty has decided it will adopt us, come hell or high water, and it is holding a vigil on our porch-step until we come to our senses. It’s a sweet, adorable cat and I really hope it has – or finds – a loving home.
As expected, our cats were interested in this stranger. The outside cat was extremely friendly. It repeatedly tried to play with our cats through the glass, flopping and showing its belly whenever they got close. Later, when we played with Louis with a laser, it saw the laser and went after it. Outside kiddy is adorable.
We didn’t give outside kitty too much thought until the following morning, when we found it in the same spot it had been in the night before. We wondered if it had been there all night. Did it have an owner and was lost, or was it simply abandoned? Outside kitty looked well taken care of, not skinny, with fluffy fur and a positive disposition. No collar though.
Or maybe outside kitty just really liked us. Janessa guessed the kitty was a girl and that she was there because she had fallen for Louis. Outside kitty seemed to get especially excited with Louis paid it attention. Whenever we went out and tried to approach outside kitty though, it was skittish. Through the glass it didn’t mind us, but up close, it ran away. Still it persisted in its spot, trying to get our cats to play with it whenever it had the chance.
Outside kitty was there the next morning. And the next evening. We had no way to know if it had been there all day or had gone somewhere to eat or sleep or anything else. We were getting a little concerned. Was this cat stubbornly waiting us out?
We certainly couldn’t let it in. Our household was still adjusting to Francis, our kitten, and Francis himself was still recovering from being neutered on Tuesday. We couldn’t seriously consider adding another cat to the household.
This continued and, as far as I know, is still going on. Every once in a while, outside kitty vanishes for half an hour or so but then returns as if it had never left. We hope it is going somewhere and eating. We can’t put food out for it – both because it’d never leave and because it’d attract other strays and wild animals – but it doesn’t seem as though outside kitty is going hungry. Still, we’re at a loss how to proceed. We resorted to google to try to figure out what was going on. All we learned was that some outside cats hang around a house if they think the owner is “neat.” Thank god outside kitty hasn’t seen my studio!
So here we are. Each time outside kitty has disappeared part of me has been relieved and another part has hoped it would reappear. Assuming outside kitty stays around even longer, our only plan right now is to try to see if it has an owner. If not, I guess we’ll try to find it a good home. One thing’s for sure, it’s extremely stubborn. It’s as though outside kitty has decided it will adopt us, come hell or high water, and it is holding a vigil on our porch-step until we come to our senses. It’s a sweet, adorable cat and I really hope it has – or finds – a loving home.
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