Animation: House of Small Cubes

A beautiful short film by Kunio Katō.

Also known as La Maison en Petits Cubes.

Kato is known to this blog for his marvelous Diary of Tortov Roddle films.

The Core of the Sun Wins the 2017 Prometheus Award

Johanna Sinisalo’s novel THE CORE OF THE SUN, translated by your faithful correspondent, has just won the 2017 Prometheus Award.

As Cheryl Morgan put it:

The press release describes the book as “both libertarian and feminist” which will doubtless raise some eyebrows among both libertarians and feminists, who tend not to be on the best terms.

More about THE CORE OF THE SUN at FELT.

Happy Canada Day!

Barbara Lee’s Amendment Passes

Congresswoman Barbara Lee was the lone vote against the 2001 authorization for the use of force, the law that gave the go-ahead for the disaster in Iraq, and has been the rationale for repeated military actions initiated by Presidents Bush and Obama without consulting Congress.

Lee has been working to repeal that authorization ever since, and has failed to gain enough votes to do so over and over. Yesterday she proposed an amendment that would require reconsideration of the authorization, and it passed easily, with strong bipartisan support. I think it has something to do with who our president is now, and I find it heartening that so many members of Congress are trying to do something to exercise a check on the executive branch.

Here is Congresswoman Lee’s emotional speech in dissent on September 14th, 2001. Millions marched against the war in America and around the world , but there was only one person in Congress brave enough to oppose it. 

Short Film: Yarn

I watched this terrific documentary on a plane from Reykjavik to Seattle yesterday.

It’s about four fibre artists who work in very different ways to create really cool art.

Now That’s a Balloon Animal

Masayoshi Matsumoto makes the most impressive balloon animals I’ve ever seen.

More balloon animals on the artist’s website.

Short Film: Dear Henri

Rick and I have seen screenings of 23 of the short films at this year’s Seattle International Film Festival. So far, our favorite was Dear Henri, directed by Matthew Sandager, one of the family-friendly selections.

It’s the story of a little girl grieving the death of her grandfather, and it’s told through lovely, colorful live action and animations that reflect the little girl’s own art and materials. It’s remarkably thoughtful and complete for a film only 14 minutes long. See it if you get a chance.

Short Film: The Bucket

What a delightful, very short documentary.

Courtesy of The Field Lab.