dispatches from another dimension
an overdue round up
Hellooooo! I meant to write sooner - not like anyone is anxiously awaiting love angle updates, but I missed it. The reason for my absence: I got on that cursed 6pm bus near the Hikawa Shrine and was trapped in a black hole.
Speaking of Sailor Moon, I’m currently re-watching the first season and loving it way more than I initially did. It’s actually a powerful reminder of just how good the show is. More than good, it’s perfect. I’m also reading volume two of the Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon manga. It’s the Eternal edition that was published in 2018, but I’d like to read the original ‘90s version some day.
reading corner
I want to write about books in these round-ups, so here we are now. Just including two favorites from this year.
The Verifiers - Jane Pek
Incredibly clever, well written and plotted, this murder mystery examines the algorithms on dating apps, an investigation into romance itself. Droll narrator Claudia Lin has an English degree and a love for classic lit, Jane Austen, and the fictional detective Inspector Yuan. She's an amateur detective herself, relying on her abundant wit and instinct to solve the murder of a journalist. Claudia is a vibrant character despite her uniform of hoodies and jeans, relatable as an unmoored millennial who believes she's going to be forever single but who has an unshakeable faith in romance. She is also a Chinese lesbian who thinks Audrey Hepburn is the most beautiful woman to ever live (correct!)
Black Cake - Charmaine Wilkerson
I almost read this book again immediately after my first read. It's so heartbreaking and bittersweet, layered and complex but told so simply. The unraveling of a family history where secrets long buried are unearthed and love is a powerful and infinitely boundless force like the ocean. Covey is an all time character, I've held her close to my heart since meeting her.
A list of others I adored recently:
Housekeeping - Marilynne Robinson
In a Lonely Place (!!!), Ride the Pink Horse - Dorothy B. Hughes
Strangers on a Train, The Talented Mr. Ripley - Patricia Highsmith
Convenience Store Woman - Sayaka Murata
Daughter of the Moon Goddess - Sue Lynn Tan
music notes
Bewitched by Laufey is exquisite and dreamy, like floating on clouds. A mid-century vibe but modernized. The opener Dreamer sounds like an Andrews Sisters record. Laufey's voice is lush and she is defiantly romantic, earnest and optimistic. This album reminded me of Ella Fitzgerald, and so did Linger Awhile by Samara Joy. Her voice is so rich and full of depth. Linger is a solid album but her voice is the most gorgeous thing about it. I discovered Samara on Ella’s official website too 🥰
Chill Kill - Red Velvet
Outstanding album with the most elegant concept and teasers to match. It's peak Red Velvet: eerie and fun. My favorite track is Wings, real 90s r&b girl group excellence. But the rest are exceptional. (Bulldozer is fine but it should be an ITZY song).
Born to Be - ITZY
Slightly underwhelming owing to Dynamite and Escalator. I listened to both only once and haven't had any desire to try again. They’re just filler to me. What saves this album (their first without Lia and her absence is really felt even though the four of them pull it off) are the solos. I will write about those in a separate post cause they deserve it 💕
Born to Be has grown on me more with each listen. Untouchable is a smash, further proving ITZY's thesis that they indeed are and were born to be on stage. Mr. Vampire is probably the best song of all time. Can't wait to hear Lia's version, it suits her so much.
Desire I Want to Turn Into You - Caroline Polachek
Impeccable pop album, theatrical, vast and transcendent, ethereal lyrics and arrangement, profound but danceable too. I basically love every track, including the additions on the Hopedrunk Everasking version. Butterfly Net is elevated to gorgeous heights with Weyes Blood.
Cowboy Carter - Beyonce
I totally see how this is a Beyonce album, not a country album. It's not a genre I seek out but this project is tremendous. I love how she plays with the genre, a few tracks toward the end don't sound very country at all. Most importanly, she's reclaiming it as a Black artist. It's impossible to oversell Beyonce's voice!!! She sings a freakin opera on Daughter (a fave). Something else I really like is how she plays the role of pursuer, taking control, singing/rapping with the same swagger as a man.
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From the ‘80s vault: In the Night by Russ Ballard
I like this nighttime drive sequence in episode 5 of Miami Vice's first season even more than the iconic In the Air Tonight scene in the pilot episode. I put in my headphones and lose myself in this song. Music…is my only drug and escape.
screening room
The Happening (1967) dir. Elliot Silverstein
I didn't like this movie all that much, the characters were insufferable but it was still weirdly charming. It feels camp to me. Anthony Quinn delivering an impassioned speech beside the ocean while four bewildered college kids surround him moved me, but it's actually a goofy scene. And he is terrific even though the movie isn't. Robert Walker Jr. costars as the only tolerable beach bum and he is an exact replica of his dad, my beloved Robert Sr., it made me teary eyed.
Cure (1997) dir. Kiyoshi Kurasawa
Gruesome and graphic, quite an unsettling viewing experience but drenched in atmosphere and some kind of poetic dread. I could relate to Detective Takabe...the suspect filled me with rage and I too believe that brute force and violence can quell a mystical evil. (It can't, it really can't. But we can try!!).
The Night is Short, Walk on Girl (2017) dir. Masaaki Yuasa
Bizarre and irreverent, slightly obscene even, but sincere and unabashedly cheerful. To be as alive to wonder and new experiences as this, that's my new goal on this floating rock. Life is abundant.
Weathering with You (2019) dir. Makoto Shinkai
Oh dear movie. A little odd and sad but so wholesome and comforting. Sunshine is scarce and rainfall is constant. A favorite theme of mine: kids who are all alone in an indifferent world make a home with each other. It's super funny too and the soundtrack is just as lovely.
I’ll leave you with a poem now, Half-Life in Exile by Hala Alyan. Forever in solidarity with Palestine.
