Documentary: Undercurrent - The Disappearance of Kim Wall

I vaguely remember reading about this in 2018. It quickly disappeared from my memory as this was happening in Denmark and I don't watch the news I prefer to read them and coverage, even though the documentary said was extensive and worldwide, I don't recall seeing much of it. But certain details stuck in my head. Two went down the submarine and only one came out.

 I've been watching a lot of documentaries and having HBO as part of our streaming line-up has opened me up to a lot of shows that I have enjoyed. Netflix has some good ones but lately their documentary series' come off as sensationalistic. 

I like HBO documentaries as they seem more professional, factual and doesn't have that sense of feeling rushed. I was browsing for something new to watch and this caught my eye and jogged my memory. I remember what I read and how the perpetrator kept changing their story about what happened to her at least three times. What he ultimately did to her and how inhumane it was and how utterly senseless. The comparisons between Musk and Madsen was inevitable. There's a tremendous sense of loss conveyed in the documentary in losing a young journalist with so much protentional as Kim Wall. 

Two things stood out for me, Lt. Commander Ditte Dyreborg of the Danish Navy. Her professionalism and kindness struck me. I found her delightful. The other is the Danish court house and it's unusual sculptures on the wall. Very gothic and intimidating if you are being tried there. I am not going to share pictures of either of those as they are quite a sight to see. I wish they mentioned who did the work. I would have loved to see more of it. 

 I have watched super long documentaries, i.e. Surviving R. Kelly, and it's numerous off shoots and those can get emotionally exhausting over time. Undercurrent is just a two part series so it's a great way to delve into documentaries if you're a fan.

Silent Poets - Asylum For The Feeling

A silent faulty feeling A silent fault A silent faulty feeling A silent fault I sigh and fall to the ceiling I sigh and run to the kneeling Asylums for the feeling Ran out of all the meaning I ran out of It's hard to fall believing It's hard to fall So many men are losing While out there doing the proving It's no surprise, he's dooming Bring your friends, bring it all on Oh, don't suck it up, no We seem to need another We need you all While finding our own cover We cover it all I find my own completeness The darkness and the weakness The light, the fight, the quietness We are here for you We are here for you Don't suffer alone Tell us We are here for you We are here for you Don't suffer alone Tell us

Video Credit: Atmospheric Music

New Realities in 2021

 It's been a chaotic three years.

A new reality is setting in and we are all still adjusting to all the changes that's happened in such a short span of time. Some things ended and some things began.

I wish I could write it all down but there's too many and I'd rather look forward and move on than look back and not move at all. 

Plans, plans and plans. There's a lot of it in our heads. We've discussed and debated. Pros and cons but nothing will happen unless we move forward as a team. Planning is scary but I do not wish to be part of the "Bahala Na" mentality, (translate, "Whatever Happens"), where I leave it to fate and people's good graces.

Fuck that. 

Nate and I know where we want to be and that is a worthy goal to plan for. 

I'll try to post more often, I know I keep saying that, but I will try. 

I Don't Even Know Where To Start...

Seven months have passed since my last post. A lot has happened. I was hoping 2020 was going to be a good start to the decade. We had such high hopes. I think everyone did. A chance to leave all the negativity behind in 2019. Boy, we were so wrong.

It's been a struggle from the start. Not going into world events as it is world events and there's a lot of discussion about that already.

My little family has been dealing well with the quarantine. A house full of introverts, gamers and readers has made the stay at home orders for our state not a big deal. I wouldn't go as far as saying enjoyable, but we are comfortable. I have always wanted our house to be a place of sanctuary and with a lot of effort put into it, it is now a place where we can relax and be with each other without having that feeling of being cooped up or trapped together. There's space to seek personal space as needed.

However, in mid-April we had two pet emergencies. Gohan had an obstructed bladder and required emergency care. He has since recovered and is doing well.

Marley, on the other hand, had more complications. She struggled for three weeks to get better. Our cats have pet insurance and we were able to give her the best care we could afford but to no avail. Marley's health deteriorated and left us no choice but to put her to sleep. We lost our only girl cat on May 1.

I want to speak more about Marley Girl so I am saving that for later when everything with her is finalized. I am waiting for pics to put on her urn and I want to memorialize her life in a later post.

Losing her has been hard on me and Nate. The pain still stings and we miss her so much.

I hate this year.

Anime - Kengan Ashura

I tried to like the new Grappler Baki Netflix series but I felt that it was just too over-the-top with the action scenes and the plot was everywhere and it was boring. I think I got as far as episode 9 and I could go no further than that. Which is a shame as I do remember the old Baki from the mid 2000s and with that series I got as far as episode 6 before it got licensed and the fansub had to end. I had liked the old Baki. The new Baki not as much.

As I browsed Netflix,  Kengan Ashura caught my eye. So we started watching it. I was a bit apprehensive as they made use of the digital anime style which killed Berserk for me. But they seem to have either mixed the anime with traditional and the digital and blended it well or they are just doing it better than how Berserk turned out.

We ended up watching four episodes in one night and binge watched the rest that weekend. This anime has the gratuitous violence similar to Baki but the story was fun, characters were interesting, some crazy fighting styles but not as bad as Baki where you can't suspend belief and the story just turns ridiculous.

The manga was written by Yabako Sandrovich and ran for 27 volumes before it ended. A sequel two years after the original time line began early this year.

Shortest summary intro ever, the protagonist is Ohma Tokita. A man on a mission with his fists. I don't want to spoil the story. Granted, it's not as deep, almost following a familiar track, but I would categorize this one as satisfyingly fun with good visuals.

Another thing that we liked a lot with this anime is it's music. The ending song Born This Way by BAD HOP is awesome. The flow is smooth and the beats are amazing.

Also, please note, we never watch anime in English dub. Always in Japanese with English subtitles. We are of the mentality of watching any foreign movies in it's native language with subtitles.

This series ran 12 episodes when it dropped in July 2019. But we didn't have to wait too long as Season 2 is scheduled to drop on October 31, 2019.

Cannot wait to continue this series. Gotta fill in the space while we wait for new episodes of Seven Deadly Sins!