Memorial Day Weekend

I saw the new Little Mermaid last night. Halle Bailey was great, and they even gave her an extra song, a sort of inner monologue while she doesn't have a voice. I didn't really care for Prince Eric's song though, I guess 'cause I didn't like him falling in love instantly with the mystery girl who sang to him. I think I would have bought it more if he was just intrigued and grateful, that he was searching for her just because he wanted to thank her and reward her for saving his life. But I guess they were saying that her mermaid song was magical enough to make him fall in love instantly, even dazed and half conscious.

Eric's backstory is that he's a shipwreck orphan who was raised by the king and queen of the island. But we only see the queen, not the king, and there's no explanation for that, nor do we know where exactly the island is. It seems to be Caribbean though because the villagers seem to be dressed colorfully, and Eric mentions Brazil on a map. King Triton also mentions that his queen was killed by humans, but we don't have more information on that. There's a new wrinkle to Ursula's spell; she makes Ariel forget that she needs to get a kiss, even when reminded by Sebastian. So she doesn't feel any urgency to rush things, and just enjoys getting to know Eric as they explore the island and meet people. Meanwhile Eric is conflicted because he likes Ariel, but he's still pining for the mystery girl in his memory, so that's a logical reason why he wouldn't try to kiss Ariel during the romantic boat ride. I liked how Vanessa's enchantment of Eric left him confused but he still missed Ariel. Also they didn't rush into holding a wedding; they were just having an engagement party on that third day, which is all Ursula needed to delay Ariel for.

Overall, an enjoyable film with interesting touches. But the climactic sea battle with Ursula wasn't as spectacular as I hoped. It was too much dark CGI and muddled storm I guess. At the end I also wondered why Triton didn't even ask Ariel if she wanted to be human permanently; he could have discussed with her whether she wanted to be able to change back and visit him in the future, before he did the magical transformation. But they did show him visiting Ariel and Eric after they got married, so it seems she won't have to completely forsake her merfamily and friends in her new life.

Also tonight I'm going to watch a murder mystery play at my local theater. Hope it's good. I really need this holiday.

Unusual mysteries

In my search for more books with Asian lead characters, I came across a recommendation for The Three Body Problem, which is a Chinese science fiction novel that has been translated into English; it's actually part of a trilogy, and Netflix is apparently adapting it. In trying to find this book, I came across a completely different book also called The Three Body Problem, which is just a cozy period mystery by Catherine Shaw about a Victorian woman solving a murder among mathematics professors. Now some people might be annoyed by getting the "wrong" book, but I actually liked discovering Shaw's book, because I'm a mystery girl at heart and I did like astronomy and mathematics in high school; so the book was right up my alley, and I bought it.

Anyway, I did eventually find the Chinese novel and read a sample; I kind of liked the historical scenes but was confused by other aspects. I didn't buy that book after all. What I read of the plot summary on Wiki just confirms my opinion that the science fiction aspect was way too out there and way too confusing for me. I wouldn't have enjoyed it.

I had more success with a different book translated from Chinese, The Borrowed by Chan Ho-Kei. At first I balked at the high price for the book, but it's not just one story; it's several inter-connected stories set in Hong Kong over 50 years. Altogether 450 pages, but divided into 6 easy to read novellas. The Borrowed centers on a genius Hong Kong Police detective Kwan Chun-dok and his protege Sonny Lok. We meet them first in 2013, then go back in time to five more cases, so you can learn how they met, and see their developing relationship. You also see significant moments in the history of Hong Kong, and origin stories for the gangsters and criminals that they catch. Kwan becomes Sonny's sifu and surrogate father. Kwan is eccentric and his methods are unorthodox, often illegal. He's like Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot, setting up a dramatic trap to catch a killer. Kwan's philosophy is not to obey the letter of the law if he can come up with a plan that will prevent bloodshed and protect citizens. We learn the origin of this philosophy and see how well Lok learns to implement this method himself. It's an excellent book that rewards re-reading. Well worth the price.

Rainy May

We've had a lot of rain this month, almost every day, and the streets were flooded last night, so I had to pull over at a parking lot to wait for the rain to stop. It was near a movie theater but I couldn't find anything I wanted to see, so I went to a restaurant instead for dinner, then finally went home.

Meanwhile, I found a new listing for palm oil free shampoos. The last time I checked online I could only find places located in Australia and New Zealand, so shipping to the US was too expensive. Anytime I saw solid bars in stores like Whole Foods, I thought they were probably made with palm oil. But it looks like now there are businesses here in the US I can buy from. I just have to decide if I want to go to solid bars or order these recyclable glass bottles of liquid, I guess. This Sustainable Jungle blog seems to argue that if we boycott all palm oil, that industries will just plant worse crops for the environment. They also list places that use the so-called "responsible" palm oil. Whatever, at least it explains each brand in detail so I can make an informed decision.

I've continued learning on Duolingo, but I'm starting to get confused between Spanish and Vietnamese. Tambien (also) looks just enough like Tạm biệt (goodbye) that my mind has to pause on them and remember which language I am in. As ever, I cannot remember any of the Vietnamese accent marks, which is annoying when "ban" can mean "table", "you", "friend", or even "sell"; you have to rely on context. Plus it's really unhelpful that the Vietnamese lessons have no grammar explanations to describe why we need various category words and when to use them. It feels like trial and error.

More dolls

Not exactly a Barbie, but I heard that Mattel made some Ariel dolls for the new live-action Little Mermaid. I guess Disney isn't mad at them anymore, and maybe they'll stop having Hasbro make those princess dolls with the horrible tiny shoulders? I went to Target to try to buy one of the mermaid dolls, but they must have been sold out. Instead I saw a bunch of new dolls I hadn't seen before. Not only were there Fresh dolls, there were now articulated Fresh Dolls, Fresh Fairies, and there were more expensive Black Panther Fresh Fierce dolls. Looks like they are successful and expanding. Plus there was some other line of black dolls that looked a little smaller, called Naturalistas. I was tempted to buy a fashion pack, but worried it wouldn't fit any of my dolls. It appears that their feet are bigger than Barbie feet, which I kind of like because the Fresh Doll feet look so small on them.

Mattel even had some larger dolls called "My First Barbie" made out of softer material and bigger so that younger kids could dress them. I hope it's not that terrible rubbery plastic they used to use for bendable knees on Ken, because those were NOT easy to dress. Anyway it's a new way for Mattel to sell more clothes and shoes that don't fit other dolls.

Overshadowed Movies

Like Chevalier, there were other small movies in theaters lately that were overlooked due to blockbusters. I enjoyed Are You There God, It's Me Margaret, which was funny and cute. It's been a while since I read the Judy Blume book, so at first I was confused about Nancy claiming that she got her period while in Washington DC, but that was a lie. She clearly got it and had a meltdown in front of Margaret at a New York dinner instead. Margaret's struggles with family and religion and peer pressure felt genuine and relevant even though they took place in the 1970s.

Then there was Sweetwater, a biopic about Nat Clifton, a Harlem Globetrotter who joined the NBA as one of the first black players. I've always been curious about who the Harlem Globetrotters were ever since I saw them guest star on Scooby Doo with other '60s, '70s pop culture stars. The whole idea of "exhibition" games of basketball as opposed to actual sports games was weird to me, because I didn't know why people liked watching the fancy tricks breaking all the rules. Also as a young kid, I had no idea yet of the history of racism in sports, forcing people to create Negro teams for athletes excluded from all-white professional leagues. So this movie, showing the early days of the Harlem Globetrotters in the 1950s, helped me see the way the team operated, going on a bus town to town to play fixed games. The team owner Abe Saperstein is Jewish and often protests when hotels discriminate against the players, and he'll sleep in the bus with them. But Nat often complains that it's unfair that Abe pays more money to the players of the losing team, especially since the Trotters are genuinely good basketball players who don't need to rig the games. Saperstein thinks he has to run the business this way, otherwise there wouldn't be enough exhibition games to sell tickets and make money at all.

Meanwhile Nat gets recruited by a coach from the New York Knicks (Knickerbockers is their real name), and the team owner tries to convince other NBA owners to integrate their teams too. It's a little distressing how their board meetings go, arguing about the novelty of the "flash" and "showy tricks" of the black athletes, likening it to a circus. Eventually, the Knicks buy Nat's contract from Saperstein, and he joins the NBA. However, the basketball referees keep ruling against Nat in the games. It's not like I understand sports rules or anything, but it's clearly due to racism, when they are harsher on him than on white players doing similar things. Eventually things get better as Nat and other new black players fundamentally change the sport, but there's still segregation and discrimination outside of basketball. Just because he worked in New York doesn't mean there weren't racists there just as bad as in the South. Overall an interesting movie about a forgotten sports pioneer. The weird thing is they never explain why Nat's mother changed his name as a kid or why Nat became a taxi driver after retiring from basketball.

I think sometimes that I might see the George Foreman movie too, but the ads say he became a Christian preacher, so I'm leery of religious overtones in that. I might watch it on streaming later so I can fastforward through parts of it.

No End in Sight

Fucking guns. And no amount of carnage and tragedy ever gets the GOP to stop defending the 2nd amendment. If anything, they just pass more laws to loosen gun control. Meanwhile all of us are at risk any time we go out in public to a mall, school, or movie theater. Heck even just going to work, or going to vote like in yesterday's election.

Fuck your thoughts and prayers. Kids are dying from guns, not from CRT, drag queens, or library books. There's an annoying anti-abortion billboard on the highway that I always pass, with a baby pic and "love all babies" message on it. If you're so pro-life, then why don't you do anything about the kids getting shot? It happens so regularly that we go numb to each massacre.

Chevalier

Anyway, I saw Chevalier recently, and it was well worth the wait. I was surprised to see Samara Weaving in it, along with Minnie Driver. The supporting cast is excellent, and I'm glad that the movie included Joseph's mother Nanon in the story to help him connect with other French Blacks, not just white society and the royal court. The movie is a great antidote to period movies that continually whitewash history.

Apparently taking on the condescending "black Mozart" label, the film opens with a violin duel between the two, and Joseph Bologne dazzles the audience to the point of a standing ovation. Then we see how he grew up, with his rich white father enrolling him in a boarding school and assuring him that "no one can keep down an excellent Frenchman" despite his race and illegitimacy. So while enduring racism from his classmates, Joseph becomes a violin virtuoso as well as an accomplished fencer. When he wins a match in front of the King and Queen, he gets knighted, becoming Chevalier de Saint-George.

SPOILERS BELOW

Strange Confluence

It seems like everything has been happening this week. Barbie announced a new Anna May Wong doll that quickly sold out, though Mattel claims they are sending more inventory out to stores. The Writer's Guild started their strike on Tuesday. In Texas, Colin Allred announced his run for Ted Cruz's Senate Seat. Then came the expected Cinco de Cuatro/Star Wars Day and Cinco De Mayo, and now King Charles's coronation in the UK. Also Texas is having municipal elections today (The early voting was last week up until May 2.) All these events packed together is a little overwhelming.

More on the Anna May Wong doll--I like the concept and the gesture for Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month, but when I look at the pictures, I don't see that much resemblance to the real lady. Yes it has Wong's bang haircut, but something about the eyes and the shape of her lips is off. Her eyes should be much bigger, and again I hate the too skinny arms of the Gigi-articulated doll in general. It's creepy and almost skeletal. So I won't buy it, especially not for the high price it's going for on Ebay now. Better to leave the stock to other buyers who want the doll more. Instead I bought a DVD of two Anna May Wong movies, which just arrived last night. I'm excited to watch it.

Edited to add: Actually I love Made to Move Barbies. They have strong joints. Apparently the name for the Barbie articulation I don't like is the Gigi body, which was used on the Gigi Hadid doll. It's the elbows I hate, and the knee joints are also different from Made to Move. Here there is an example on this Barbie post from the Toy Box Philospher. Search for the comparision photo between Lena and Barbie. I don't know why, but the Gigi body is often used for collector Barbies and the arms especially are anemic and spindly.