Michelle had to work for a few hours this afternoon so to let her focus, Jeanne and I went to UP. I also needed to photocopy some documents as well as visit Elwyna. Photocopying was quickly accomplished but Elwyna wasn’t responding so we just went to and strolled through the amphitheater and the lagoon. At the end of the stroll, Jeanne was already tired. Considering that it was just a short one, it seems she needs exercise. I got her a cone of ice cream and she sat down on one of the sidewalk ornaments. We headed back shortly after, picking up french fries and spaghetti from Jollibee on the way for snacks back home.
Hanna is a spy thriller and growing-of-age drama. Sort of like Leon but different, quite different. Erik (Eric Bana) is a widowed ex-CIA officer living in remote isolation with his daughter Hanna. He is raising Hanna to prepare her for going out into the world. And that world just happens to be a worst case scenario. Toss in shades of the Grimms’ fairy tales (e.g. Cate Blanchett is “The Witch”) and the almost surreal (watch it) and you have a quite an interesting movie. The action choreography needs a bit of work but is quite passable.
Last night, Michelle was having a hard time dealing with Jeanne and dinner. So I invited Jeanne to the bedroom with a small bag of candies. Since the bed is off limits to food, I sat on the floor and leaned on the wall. Jeanne did the same. And we sat side by side eating candies :)
So S&P downgraded the credit rating of the US from AAA to AA+. What are the implications? I think, nothing. Rating agencies such as S&P might be applicable for companies and even governments but when you’re talking the US it’s different. Japan and China, with their huge holdings of US debt won’t really base their own rating and pricing from some rating agency. And in self interest, they certainly won’t simply let their holdings lose value which would be the case if yields rise due to the ratings downgrade. These large holders are the rating agencies when it comes to the US. Already Japan has indicated that their confidence is unchanged and China with it’s bigger holdings is likely of the same mind.
Back when I was a kid, I watched bit and pieces (or maybe I just recalled bits and pieces) of an animated TV series called Star Blazers. Later I learned that it’s called anime (but before that, Japanimation) and that in Japan it was called Space Battleship Yamato. It was an interesting series and really captured my imagination back then. So when I heard that there was going to be a live action version, I was very excited.
I finally finished watching it today and it was great. It captured and condensed the story (based on aforementioned bits and pieces) of the animated series very well. The production quality was unexpectedly good, reminiscent of Battlestar Galactica but not overdone like in the new Star Wars movies. There were some awkward acting, including that of Meisa Kuroki (but since she’s kawaii, I can overlook that).
In the movie, Earth is under attack by aliens called Gamilas, irradiating it with a constant bombardment of radioactive asteroids. To save Earth, an battleship is sent out to a remote planet called Iskandar where an anti-radiation device is supposed to be located. Beset by Gamilas at all twists and turns, the crew retrieves the device and eventually returns to Earth, finally ending with a blaze of glory, a big kamikaze bang befitting a Japanese battleship. Somehow it gave me a feeling of fulfillment and satisfaction rather than a feeling of waste. Now that’s a good ending.