I find it hard to believe that it is physically possible in this plane of existence to dislike his music; its purity and substance is beautifully heartwarming. This performance in particular always leaves me in a state of pure awe as I am carried off in my mind to simpler times where fond memories were ignited.
Jun 15, 2011
P.S. I am an Unemployed Screenwriter
When we walk we, first, entangle our thoughts, and then straighten them like a comb through hair. We observe the simplicity of the world around us and, in doing so, curtail our feelings, emotions, beliefs, hopes into a tangible, examinable solution to the fog that enshrouds our minds.
Writing enables us to experience a similar form of central elucidation, though, with a slight twist:
We walk a narrow path—and though we have the ability to stray from it—we are always limited to our initial surroundings (however much they may change with progress). Writing, conversely, expands in every direction, allowing us to add dimension upon dimension as we please. Walking allows us to get from “A” to “B”—we can never deviate from this mandatory principle since these two destinations can occupy any place that we choose. Writing is not bound by a directional foundation. It can start here…
And end here.
While simultaneously ending here.
We can reach two destinations at the same time through a single route that allows both ventures to coexist. This practice, which we will call “layering”, allows the writer to layer meaning on top of meaning. A singular set of words arranged in only one distinct order can encapsulate multiple, and immensely different, meanings.
Here’s an example:
“As the man received the award he looked at his father in the audience and smiled.”
This sentence can denote many, many things—here’s a few possibilities:
• A man smiled at his father.
• The man credited his father for his success.
• The man discredited his father’s belief that he would never amount to anything.
As we can see, the options are seemingly endless—inferences can be drawn in vast quantities by the minutest details (or a single sentence).
Concealing indirect details under the conceptual surface of words is an extremely basic technique that has been used for ages to covey symbols, themes, messages, etc.
*Dear screenwriters employed by giant production companies to write screenplays for mindless blockbusters,
This was for you. Believe it or not, you can add depth and meaning to a story without angering the greedy pigs that feed you money scraps from their box office feasts by concealing it below the surface.
I will prove this with one final example:
Animal Farm
• (For the stupid people that like explosions and your ill-tempered employers) A story about animals on a farm.
• (For the smart people) A critical, allegorical satire portraying the authoritarian society created by Joseph Stalin.
Writing enables us to experience a similar form of central elucidation, though, with a slight twist:
We walk a narrow path—and though we have the ability to stray from it—we are always limited to our initial surroundings (however much they may change with progress). Writing, conversely, expands in every direction, allowing us to add dimension upon dimension as we please. Walking allows us to get from “A” to “B”—we can never deviate from this mandatory principle since these two destinations can occupy any place that we choose. Writing is not bound by a directional foundation. It can start here…
And end here.
While simultaneously ending here.
We can reach two destinations at the same time through a single route that allows both ventures to coexist. This practice, which we will call “layering”, allows the writer to layer meaning on top of meaning. A singular set of words arranged in only one distinct order can encapsulate multiple, and immensely different, meanings.
Here’s an example:
“As the man received the award he looked at his father in the audience and smiled.”
This sentence can denote many, many things—here’s a few possibilities:
• A man smiled at his father.
• The man credited his father for his success.
• The man discredited his father’s belief that he would never amount to anything.
As we can see, the options are seemingly endless—inferences can be drawn in vast quantities by the minutest details (or a single sentence).
Concealing indirect details under the conceptual surface of words is an extremely basic technique that has been used for ages to covey symbols, themes, messages, etc.
*Dear screenwriters employed by giant production companies to write screenplays for mindless blockbusters,
This was for you. Believe it or not, you can add depth and meaning to a story without angering the greedy pigs that feed you money scraps from their box office feasts by concealing it below the surface.
I will prove this with one final example:
Animal Farm
• (For the stupid people that like explosions and your ill-tempered employers) A story about animals on a farm.
• (For the smart people) A critical, allegorical satire portraying the authoritarian society created by Joseph Stalin.
Jun 9, 2011
Jun 7, 2011
Play-By-Play Reaction to the Wii U
You're not fooling me again, Nintendo. My Wii isn't good for anything except playing Gamecube games, an occasional SSBB session, and collecting dust. The trailer for the Wii U leads me to believe that your new console will be no different...minus the Gamecube disc compatibility (probably).
Money, It's a Gas
I've come to face the ultimate truth that the majority of consumers are mindless sheep that will allow corporations to feed them rehashed products without question or consideration. I realize that originality can still be found in other areas of the video game market; however, with that being said, my annoyance at the announcement of Halo 4 comes from a broader grievance. Look at the Star Wars prequels--whether or not we choose to admit it, they have had a detrimental effect on the way we view the original trilogy. I can't get through a single viewing of episodes IV, V, or VI without thoughts about Midi-chlorians or how Anakin built C-3PO looming in the back of my mind. What I'm trying to say is that, as a nostalgic nerd that can still remember the day I purchased Halo: Combat Evolved, I have a soft spot for the story of Master Chief's plight as a soldier. While playing the games you develop a bond with the character. His solemnity and commitment to his duty make him likable; thus, allowing us to have an emotional investment in the plot. This enables an arcane practice called "story telling" to be the key motivator for completing the game. If you are aware of video games outside the realm of Call of Duty you might be familiar with it.
Now, I'm not saying that I got choked up and cried at the end of Halo 3, but I do care enough about the story that I would be disappointed if it was blemished by later, unnecessary (in my opinion) games. This businesslike practice of endlessly creating sequels for successful games goes a long way in hindering the argument that video games are a form of art. Granted, film is an accepted art form and look at the state of Hollywood. Shows how much I really know...
Jun 6, 2011
Jun 2, 2011
Simple Marvel vs. Capcom 2 Wallpapers
Now that Marvel vs. Capcom 3 has been out for a while...I miss MvC2.
May 30, 2011
For Belgian White Fans: Blue Moon Brewing Co. Wallpapers
Wanted to show some love for one of my favorite beers:
May 28, 2011
May 27, 2011
Dragon Ball Z Screencaps
I recently discovered how simultaneously amusing and badass individual frames from Dragon Ball Z look. It saddens me that traditional animation is a dying art form. Computer animated anime has this "plastic", fake presentation that, to me, is much less appealing than that of, say, The Castle of Cagliostro.
Both sets of pictures take place during the Namek Saga within close proximity to each other. Put simply, the frames depict Goku and Vegeta making the Ginyu Force look stupid (yet still awesome). Goku is seemingly capable of being at two places at the same time--not that this would be the most unbelievable facet of DBZ (fusion-HA, anyone?)
Both sets of pictures take place during the Namek Saga within close proximity to each other. Put simply, the frames depict Goku and Vegeta making the Ginyu Force look stupid (yet still awesome). Goku is seemingly capable of being at two places at the same time--not that this would be the most unbelievable facet of DBZ (fusion-HA, anyone?)
May 26, 2011
Post-Twentieth Century Disney Sickens Me
I respect the fact that Disney has been able to supply the Western world with quality DVD and Blu-Rays transfers of Studio Ghibli films; however, the English dubs can be sickening at times. It's ironic that the original Troma dub of My Neighbor Totoro holds up much better in comparison to the newer Disney dub featuring Dakota Fanning. Now, I have a theory for why the original dub sounds SO much better--it's a pretty wild idea, but just hear me out: the Troma dub is better because...they employed VOICE actors. When it comes to casting an animated film, you can give me a veteran voice actor over an A-List celebrity any day of the week. There is a huge disparity in the amount of emotion and sincerity that goes into the dialogue. However, with that being said, unless you are watching a Miyazaki film with a younger sibling that can't keep up with the subtitles, always watch it in Japanese. The dubs cannot do these movies justice.
May 22, 2011
Rock'em Sock'em Robots: The Movie
After a brief search on Google I was able to confirm that I am not alone in my belief that the upcoming film "Real Steel" is really just Rock'em Sock'em Robots: The Movie.
I respect Hugh Jackman as an actor in spite of the fact that many of his films (e.g. X-Men: The Last Stand) are detrimental to my intelligence. Proof of his talent can be seen in his early stage performances; granted, I'm quite fond of Oklahoma. Yet, this trailer is more than enough evidence that "Real Steel" is going to suck eggs. Putting aside the obvious fact that the plot holds the sweet scent of a Hollywood gimmick, I am predicting the movie's downfall will come at the hands of the child actor (whose name I refuse to look up on principle). Just watch the trailer. Let the cheesiness of the dialogue ooze from your computer speakers like an 80's synth-pop music video. Maybe I've been spoiled by the work of Haley Joel Osment (Forrest Gump, The Sixth Sense, A.I. Artificial Intelligence), but in comparison, this child sounds awful. His line reads have the sincerity of a high school Spanish class video project. One can only hope that the kid doesn't already have an ego, and more importantly, can strive to improve his acting ability.
New Meme on the Block
Introducing "Graduate Graham"--the college graduate who needs to get his life in order! Hope it catches on.
The annoying truth about hot pockets
When you want a hot meal--but then also hunger for freezer burn ice chunks! Hot pocket.
Me gusta X-Files
I caught an odd resemblance the other night when I was watching the episode "Fresh Bones" from season 2 of the X-Files...
Apr 12, 2011
Daily Axiom 4/8/11
Dinosaurs cannot die. Therefore the meteor didn't wipe them out, they simply used it to launch into space to conquer other planets because Earth was no longer a challenge. Fossils are remnants of the victims of the Dinosaur Mafia.
Apr 7, 2011
Feb 17, 2011
A Guide to Young People: Written by a young person who knows nothing of young people
-Indie Kids:
Definition: Indie kids are in summary kids who are trying to be cool by ironically being not cool because they are in fact, too cool to conform to be cool. This entirely falls apart because A) they are in fact trying to be cool which makes they’re trying to not be cool moot and B) they are trying to not conform but wind up conforming to supposed nonconformity. Needless to say they’re annoying twats and there are theories that postulate that they are humans who have been taken over by a parasite that in fact thrives on annoying circles of logic such as the one listed above.
How to Spot One: Indie kids can easily be spotted by a number of identifying traits
1. Random combinations of extremely bright colors. it’s a well known fact that Indie kids are devoted fans of NBC and display their colors proudly wherever they go.
2. Hooded sweatshirts. Indie kids have a natural affinity for hooded sweatshirts but only checked ones displaying the afore mentioned colors. A side effect caused by the parasite that inhabit’s the bodies of these unfortunate children is spontaneous desire to display their vast intelligence through games of skill such as chess. Wearing the checked sweatshirts prevents them from having to carry around boards to play these games on, allowing them to free up space in their messenger bags for Chuck Palahniuk or Ayn Rand novels. Note also that indie kids will only wear name brand (but not name brand-name brand) clothing. Daddy doesn’t make six figures so his kid can be ironic cut-rate.
3. The Pea Coat. Unfortunately, as indie culture has spread so has this abomination, making this not much of an indicator anymore. However no indie kid will be without his pea coat, so its safe to say that anyone without one is NOT an indie kid. There are a number of different theories behind the pea coat but most major ones agree on two points. That the pea coat originated as a ploy by indie children to choose a form of outerwear that was so unattractive and useless at providing warmth that no one would ever steal it. As well as that when, for whatever reason, the pea coat did become main stream, the indie children didn’t cast it off as mainstream as a joke on the rest of society, silently laughing as they suffer along with all the indie kids.
4. Scarves. In order to make up for the lack of warmth provided their unfortunate choice of outerwear indie kids wear scarves. They use these scarves to display their left-wing media pride colors as well. It is rumored that these scarves are woven from the souls of people indie kids have smothered with their smugness.
5. Messenger Bags. These contain all the supplies indie kids need to be indie kids. Any number of the following things will be found in an indie kid’s messenger bag: an ipod: knit cap: knit mittens: tea: pipe or assorted drug paraphernalia: marijuana or other recreational drugs: Ayn Rand/Chuck Palahniuk/John Steinbeck novels: oversized headphones: a walkman: CD’s from any of the following artists The Shins, The Strokes, Beck, Vampire Weekend, Radiohead, Passion Pit, Arctic Monkeys, Dr. Dogg, Flight of the Concords, Wilco, or Spoon: a camera or sketchbook, all indie kids are aspiring photographers or artists: mug for any number of warm beverages but most likely tea (field research has told us that this is because being stereotypically British became un-cool after the whole “British invasion” thing died down, so now its cool to ironically be British). These messenger bags will also be decorated with buttons either displaying vague liberal political messages or jokes that only other indie kids will understand.
6. Footwear. This is a fairly diverse group amongst indie kids but usually is comprised of some sort of skateboarding shoe or the converse that come in a little under 37,000 colors. Having this many colors at their disposal makes it possible for indie kids to match their shoes to their outfit while simultaneously having a shade slightly different so it doesn’t quite match. Another theory behind these colorful shoes is that it enables them to confuse and almost hypnotize their prey. If you ever hear a girl talking to an indie kid about how much she likes his shoes in a slightly dazed voice, she is undoubtedly hypnotized: the only way to save her is to douse her in the most readily available liquid and begin singing Van Halen. Van Halen is the only known thing with enough power to break indie kids demon magic and that is also incapable of being subverted by indie kids to be used for their own devious purposes. The authors of this book recommend “Drop Dead Legs” in particular. Indie kids hate that song.
As a brief summary, there are some defining characteristics on indie kid attire but it can often be difficult to pick out an indie kid amongst a crowd thanks to today’s fashion trends. An overall good rule of thumb is that if someone looks like they’re trying to look like someone who isn’t trying to look like an extra in a Wes Anderson film, chances are they’re an indie kid. Also if the person has a visible aura of smugness and self entitlement hang over them like smoke over a gym teacher on his lunch break, they are most definitely indie.
How to navigate a conversation with indie kids:
Conversations between indie kids are for the most part posturing contests to see who can be the most sarcastic and ironic amidst a tangled maze of references intended to make it impossible to follow for all parties listening, including the ones involved. The best advice you can keep in mind when entering one of these labyrinthine discussions is that they probably known just as little about that they’re talking about a you do: keep nodding and making shit up and you’ll probably the fine. That being said here’s a few guidelines and suggested courses of action to keep in mind when certain favorite indie kid topic come up. Remember, don’t get discouraged, just keep your nose turned up and you’ll be fine.
1. General tone of conversation: One major key to master for conversing with indie kids is the ability to switch between extreme enthusiasm and disdain extremely quickly and convincingly. At more advanced levels it is often required to express both of these simultaneously but once you master the basics all it takes is a little practice and you can calmly rip things you love to shreds to gain the respect of other twits who are doing the same thing. One general tenant of indieness is that it doesn’t matter what you like, if its too cool its not cool, therefore conforming to the un-cool guidelines of indiedom is the only way to be cool and original (If that doesn’t make any sense its because it doesn’t, indie kids are on the whole, idiots). There is a caveat to this rule in which indie kids are allowed one semi-obscure thing that they like, regardless of whether it falls into the boundaries of the indie-bible. This is an attempt to maintain a false front of individuality (unfortunately most people pick the same thing, because if they were original they wouldn’t be slave to the indie).
Summary: Nothing is cool enough for you to really like. Be sarcastic when it comes to everything and you’ll be fine, but remember to tone down the sarcasm when it comes to indie sacred cows.
2. Music: The more obscure the better. Just remember, if its obscure enough to not get played on indie stations or have at least 30,000 views on you tube, or at least sound like something indie kids know, they won’t approve. A list of bands indie kids approve of are The Shins, The Strokes, Beck, Vampire Weekend, Radiohead, Passion Pit, Arctic Monkeys, Dr. Dogg, Flight of the Concords, Wilco, or Spoon. Bands such as Coldplay, Weezer, The Killers and other bands that started out semi-famous and then hit upon stardom are acceptable but just remember the number one rule of thumb for indie music…
“Yeah they’re good, but their early stuff was better than the new album.”
A secondary rule similar to this is…
“I liked them before they became really big. It‘s kind of annoying now because they get played so much.”
Other non mainstream bands that are on soundtracks are often okay as well. Take the Pixies for example. Since they were on the Fight Club soundtrack and not terribly popular they are acceptable fodder. Be careful venturing into this territory however and stick to big songs that most people know by them. In the case of the Pixies its often not safe to stray outside of “Waves of Mutilation,” “Monkey Gone to Heaven,” “Where is My Mind,” and “Hey.” Indie kids will just assume you’re obsessed with them if you mentiont something they haven’t heard of, and since it isn’t in the indie guidelines its not acceptable obsession fodder. If you’re unsure about which songs are acceptable, the first 3-5 songs that show up if you type the band into iTunes are generally a good guideline to follow. An important point to note if you’re looking to ingratiate yourself amongst a group of indie kids it that you will be lauded as something of a visionary if you are able to find bands no one has heard, of but that sound enough like big name indie bands that indie kids won’t get spooked by the fact that its something different, and mention it to them.
Summary: If its popular, its not cool. Unless it was indie first, then it used to be cool.
3. Movies: This is one of the realms where the posturing is most prevalent. Often there will be a LOT of foreign names thrown out that chances are you either haven’t seen or won’t be able to know if you have because the pronunciation is garbled. Fortunately you can just throw out vaguely French/Spanish/German sounding names and get away with it. A quick list of directors to familiarize yourself with before treading these waters are…Wes Anderson, The Cohen brothers (but only the well known stuff), Darren Aronofski, and Guerrmo del Torro. Other than that the vast majority of films will be random independent projects such as… “Garden State,” “Paper Heart,” “Away We Go,” and “Slumdog Millionaire,” “Little Miss Sunshine,” and “Adventureland.” to name a few recent ones. Anything that won an award at the Sundance Film Festival is fair game as well. If you just netflix a couple independent dramas or romantic comedies you’ll be fine. Another thing to know is that often indie kids will discuss things like symbolism, pacing, cinematography, framing, plot holes, etc. Don’t worry, they don’t know what the fuck they’re talking about. Just throw in some random comments that sound vaguely like what they’re saying and then act indignant while implying that by even asking they’re incredibly stupid if they question you and you’ll be fine. Score bonus points by mentioning either of these movies, “Love Ludlow” or “The Science of Sleep.” They won’t have seen them but they ooze indie kid. Especially good for trying to get the attention of female idies.
Summary: Sundance, Sundance, Sundance. Sundance s’more. Foreign films too, they capture life in a way American films can’t you know.
4.Visual Art: Lots of photography and modern art. The indie rule applies that they won’t know much in depth about anything they’re discussing and if you just make stuff up they won’t know, because they don’t really know what they’re talking about. Ways to impress indies regarding such subjects are to make oneself knowledgeable about different kinds of digital cameras and Photoshop techniques. Keep a variety of pictures of inanimate objects, landscapes, and people with a variety of different effects on your laptop and act like its just a silly hobby when people ask: you’re not really serious about it.
Summary: Indie kids will spout lots of terms and technical jibberish regarding artwork, especially their own, fortunately none of them have any originality or much talent so just gird your comments with sarcasm so that they can’t tell whether you’re actually complimenting or insulting them and make it up as you go.
5. Literature: Indie kids love modern or modern-ish authors that fly under the radar but not terribly far under the radar. Ayn Rand/Chuck Palahniuk/John Steinbeck and similar authors are high on indie lists, as well as authors of books that indie films are based on (though whether they will have read those books or not is questionable). Indie kids like to discuss themes and styles as opposed to symbols and literary techniques (too difficult to understand). Poetry follows the same ideas and is big amongst indie kids, poets that are big but not to the point where you learn about them in school (E.E. Cummings, Robert Frost, etc). Short stories are big indie fodder as well because they tend not to be read as much as novels and such.
Summary: Pretty much the same as all the other form of art, pretend to be knowledgeable and for all practical purposes you will be.
Indie Chicks: Better dressed than sororstitutes (in our opinion at least) but about as dumb conversing with indie chicks is at often slightly more entertaining because of the fact that some indie stuff is pretty good (compared to sororstitute’s taste in everything terrible). Not to mention the fact that with the right knowledge of indie culture and namedropping along with a well honed sense of sarcasm can net you indie chicks easily. Make a few sarcastic jokes at the expense of other people, mention a few big name indie things, acknowledge her “excellent” taste in indie culture and invite her to watch an indie flick. Once you get alone, keep up a sarcastic edge and you should have it in the bag.
Definition: Indie kids are in summary kids who are trying to be cool by ironically being not cool because they are in fact, too cool to conform to be cool. This entirely falls apart because A) they are in fact trying to be cool which makes they’re trying to not be cool moot and B) they are trying to not conform but wind up conforming to supposed nonconformity. Needless to say they’re annoying twats and there are theories that postulate that they are humans who have been taken over by a parasite that in fact thrives on annoying circles of logic such as the one listed above.
How to Spot One: Indie kids can easily be spotted by a number of identifying traits
1. Random combinations of extremely bright colors. it’s a well known fact that Indie kids are devoted fans of NBC and display their colors proudly wherever they go.
2. Hooded sweatshirts. Indie kids have a natural affinity for hooded sweatshirts but only checked ones displaying the afore mentioned colors. A side effect caused by the parasite that inhabit’s the bodies of these unfortunate children is spontaneous desire to display their vast intelligence through games of skill such as chess. Wearing the checked sweatshirts prevents them from having to carry around boards to play these games on, allowing them to free up space in their messenger bags for Chuck Palahniuk or Ayn Rand novels. Note also that indie kids will only wear name brand (but not name brand-name brand) clothing. Daddy doesn’t make six figures so his kid can be ironic cut-rate.
3. The Pea Coat. Unfortunately, as indie culture has spread so has this abomination, making this not much of an indicator anymore. However no indie kid will be without his pea coat, so its safe to say that anyone without one is NOT an indie kid. There are a number of different theories behind the pea coat but most major ones agree on two points. That the pea coat originated as a ploy by indie children to choose a form of outerwear that was so unattractive and useless at providing warmth that no one would ever steal it. As well as that when, for whatever reason, the pea coat did become main stream, the indie children didn’t cast it off as mainstream as a joke on the rest of society, silently laughing as they suffer along with all the indie kids.
4. Scarves. In order to make up for the lack of warmth provided their unfortunate choice of outerwear indie kids wear scarves. They use these scarves to display their left-wing media pride colors as well. It is rumored that these scarves are woven from the souls of people indie kids have smothered with their smugness.
5. Messenger Bags. These contain all the supplies indie kids need to be indie kids. Any number of the following things will be found in an indie kid’s messenger bag: an ipod: knit cap: knit mittens: tea: pipe or assorted drug paraphernalia: marijuana or other recreational drugs: Ayn Rand/Chuck Palahniuk/John Steinbeck novels: oversized headphones: a walkman: CD’s from any of the following artists The Shins, The Strokes, Beck, Vampire Weekend, Radiohead, Passion Pit, Arctic Monkeys, Dr. Dogg, Flight of the Concords, Wilco, or Spoon: a camera or sketchbook, all indie kids are aspiring photographers or artists: mug for any number of warm beverages but most likely tea (field research has told us that this is because being stereotypically British became un-cool after the whole “British invasion” thing died down, so now its cool to ironically be British). These messenger bags will also be decorated with buttons either displaying vague liberal political messages or jokes that only other indie kids will understand.
6. Footwear. This is a fairly diverse group amongst indie kids but usually is comprised of some sort of skateboarding shoe or the converse that come in a little under 37,000 colors. Having this many colors at their disposal makes it possible for indie kids to match their shoes to their outfit while simultaneously having a shade slightly different so it doesn’t quite match. Another theory behind these colorful shoes is that it enables them to confuse and almost hypnotize their prey. If you ever hear a girl talking to an indie kid about how much she likes his shoes in a slightly dazed voice, she is undoubtedly hypnotized: the only way to save her is to douse her in the most readily available liquid and begin singing Van Halen. Van Halen is the only known thing with enough power to break indie kids demon magic and that is also incapable of being subverted by indie kids to be used for their own devious purposes. The authors of this book recommend “Drop Dead Legs” in particular. Indie kids hate that song.
As a brief summary, there are some defining characteristics on indie kid attire but it can often be difficult to pick out an indie kid amongst a crowd thanks to today’s fashion trends. An overall good rule of thumb is that if someone looks like they’re trying to look like someone who isn’t trying to look like an extra in a Wes Anderson film, chances are they’re an indie kid. Also if the person has a visible aura of smugness and self entitlement hang over them like smoke over a gym teacher on his lunch break, they are most definitely indie.
How to navigate a conversation with indie kids:
Conversations between indie kids are for the most part posturing contests to see who can be the most sarcastic and ironic amidst a tangled maze of references intended to make it impossible to follow for all parties listening, including the ones involved. The best advice you can keep in mind when entering one of these labyrinthine discussions is that they probably known just as little about that they’re talking about a you do: keep nodding and making shit up and you’ll probably the fine. That being said here’s a few guidelines and suggested courses of action to keep in mind when certain favorite indie kid topic come up. Remember, don’t get discouraged, just keep your nose turned up and you’ll be fine.
1. General tone of conversation: One major key to master for conversing with indie kids is the ability to switch between extreme enthusiasm and disdain extremely quickly and convincingly. At more advanced levels it is often required to express both of these simultaneously but once you master the basics all it takes is a little practice and you can calmly rip things you love to shreds to gain the respect of other twits who are doing the same thing. One general tenant of indieness is that it doesn’t matter what you like, if its too cool its not cool, therefore conforming to the un-cool guidelines of indiedom is the only way to be cool and original (If that doesn’t make any sense its because it doesn’t, indie kids are on the whole, idiots). There is a caveat to this rule in which indie kids are allowed one semi-obscure thing that they like, regardless of whether it falls into the boundaries of the indie-bible. This is an attempt to maintain a false front of individuality (unfortunately most people pick the same thing, because if they were original they wouldn’t be slave to the indie).
Summary: Nothing is cool enough for you to really like. Be sarcastic when it comes to everything and you’ll be fine, but remember to tone down the sarcasm when it comes to indie sacred cows.
2. Music: The more obscure the better. Just remember, if its obscure enough to not get played on indie stations or have at least 30,000 views on you tube, or at least sound like something indie kids know, they won’t approve. A list of bands indie kids approve of are The Shins, The Strokes, Beck, Vampire Weekend, Radiohead, Passion Pit, Arctic Monkeys, Dr. Dogg, Flight of the Concords, Wilco, or Spoon. Bands such as Coldplay, Weezer, The Killers and other bands that started out semi-famous and then hit upon stardom are acceptable but just remember the number one rule of thumb for indie music…
“Yeah they’re good, but their early stuff was better than the new album.”
A secondary rule similar to this is…
“I liked them before they became really big. It‘s kind of annoying now because they get played so much.”
Other non mainstream bands that are on soundtracks are often okay as well. Take the Pixies for example. Since they were on the Fight Club soundtrack and not terribly popular they are acceptable fodder. Be careful venturing into this territory however and stick to big songs that most people know by them. In the case of the Pixies its often not safe to stray outside of “Waves of Mutilation,” “Monkey Gone to Heaven,” “Where is My Mind,” and “Hey.” Indie kids will just assume you’re obsessed with them if you mentiont something they haven’t heard of, and since it isn’t in the indie guidelines its not acceptable obsession fodder. If you’re unsure about which songs are acceptable, the first 3-5 songs that show up if you type the band into iTunes are generally a good guideline to follow. An important point to note if you’re looking to ingratiate yourself amongst a group of indie kids it that you will be lauded as something of a visionary if you are able to find bands no one has heard, of but that sound enough like big name indie bands that indie kids won’t get spooked by the fact that its something different, and mention it to them.
Summary: If its popular, its not cool. Unless it was indie first, then it used to be cool.
3. Movies: This is one of the realms where the posturing is most prevalent. Often there will be a LOT of foreign names thrown out that chances are you either haven’t seen or won’t be able to know if you have because the pronunciation is garbled. Fortunately you can just throw out vaguely French/Spanish/German sounding names and get away with it. A quick list of directors to familiarize yourself with before treading these waters are…Wes Anderson, The Cohen brothers (but only the well known stuff), Darren Aronofski, and Guerrmo del Torro. Other than that the vast majority of films will be random independent projects such as… “Garden State,” “Paper Heart,” “Away We Go,” and “Slumdog Millionaire,” “Little Miss Sunshine,” and “Adventureland.” to name a few recent ones. Anything that won an award at the Sundance Film Festival is fair game as well. If you just netflix a couple independent dramas or romantic comedies you’ll be fine. Another thing to know is that often indie kids will discuss things like symbolism, pacing, cinematography, framing, plot holes, etc. Don’t worry, they don’t know what the fuck they’re talking about. Just throw in some random comments that sound vaguely like what they’re saying and then act indignant while implying that by even asking they’re incredibly stupid if they question you and you’ll be fine. Score bonus points by mentioning either of these movies, “Love Ludlow” or “The Science of Sleep.” They won’t have seen them but they ooze indie kid. Especially good for trying to get the attention of female idies.
Summary: Sundance, Sundance, Sundance. Sundance s’more. Foreign films too, they capture life in a way American films can’t you know.
4.Visual Art: Lots of photography and modern art. The indie rule applies that they won’t know much in depth about anything they’re discussing and if you just make stuff up they won’t know, because they don’t really know what they’re talking about. Ways to impress indies regarding such subjects are to make oneself knowledgeable about different kinds of digital cameras and Photoshop techniques. Keep a variety of pictures of inanimate objects, landscapes, and people with a variety of different effects on your laptop and act like its just a silly hobby when people ask: you’re not really serious about it.
Summary: Indie kids will spout lots of terms and technical jibberish regarding artwork, especially their own, fortunately none of them have any originality or much talent so just gird your comments with sarcasm so that they can’t tell whether you’re actually complimenting or insulting them and make it up as you go.
5. Literature: Indie kids love modern or modern-ish authors that fly under the radar but not terribly far under the radar. Ayn Rand/Chuck Palahniuk/John Steinbeck and similar authors are high on indie lists, as well as authors of books that indie films are based on (though whether they will have read those books or not is questionable). Indie kids like to discuss themes and styles as opposed to symbols and literary techniques (too difficult to understand). Poetry follows the same ideas and is big amongst indie kids, poets that are big but not to the point where you learn about them in school (E.E. Cummings, Robert Frost, etc). Short stories are big indie fodder as well because they tend not to be read as much as novels and such.
Summary: Pretty much the same as all the other form of art, pretend to be knowledgeable and for all practical purposes you will be.
Indie Chicks: Better dressed than sororstitutes (in our opinion at least) but about as dumb conversing with indie chicks is at often slightly more entertaining because of the fact that some indie stuff is pretty good (compared to sororstitute’s taste in everything terrible). Not to mention the fact that with the right knowledge of indie culture and namedropping along with a well honed sense of sarcasm can net you indie chicks easily. Make a few sarcastic jokes at the expense of other people, mention a few big name indie things, acknowledge her “excellent” taste in indie culture and invite her to watch an indie flick. Once you get alone, keep up a sarcastic edge and you should have it in the bag.
Jan 27, 2011
Pillow Talk D
Ninamori: Daughter to the illustrious and adulterous mayor of Mabase, Ninamori is not the happiest child, despite the fact that she’s a “Nuevo-rich” princess. Her parents are having marital troubles thanks to her fathers philandering, on top of which are the (unspecified) troubles with the law. Everyone knows about her father’s shady doings thanks to Naota’s father’s magazine, however when its brought up in her class she tries to play it off like its nothing (she also tries to act adult when Naota‘s father asks her about it, saying that it needed to be done and that the secretary “had to go” which may be something she genuinely felt but she definitely didn‘t want everyone in her school to know about her parents problems). She has feeling for Naota, which she tries to mask: though she rigs the votes in the class play so that her and Naota can co-star(and for reasons having to do with her parents) which allows her to spend time together outside of school. She shows affection for Naota when she spends the night at his house (confessing to rigging the votes, resting her head on his shoulder, putting her hand on his) and displays jealousy towards Haruko and Mamimi when they appear to have more than platonic relationships with Naota (when Haruko says she sleeps on the top bunk every night “all alone with cuddly Takun” and when Naota’s friends refer to Mamimi as “Naota’s wife”). Naota and Ninamor’s interactions are discussed in the post on Naota as well. One thing to note, as discussed in the previous post, both Naota and Ninamori pretend to be more adult like than they are, but Ninamori knows under the surface that its all just an act (when Naota says that school plays are for little kids Ninamori shouts at him that they are kids, something Naota tries fervently to ignore).
Ninamori and the Play: Ninamori is the lead role in their school’s rendition of “Puss in Boots.” She is the prince who has nothing and gains a kingdom with the help of her cat (Naota). Pretending to be something you’re not and eventually becoming that thing by pretending enough appeals to Ninamori, who thinks that if she pretends not to care about her parents issues enough that eventually she won’t care about them. Doubly she wishes to become friends/close to Naota by pretending to be (through their roles in the play). Besides speaking to her desires to change, Ninamori puts herself as the lead role in an attempt to get her parents to see it together (she and Naota have a heated exchange during a rehearsal when he attempts to quit during which she says that “everyone will see it” to which Naota replies “a few people will see it” and then Ninamori responds that her “parents are going to see it together”). Naota perhaps eventually agrees to do the play after Ninamori admits this because of something Mamimi says about school plays being stupid but still happy memories because her parents were together when they saw them: out of desire to try to prevent the same thing from happening to Ninamori or at least to give her those happy memories if they do may be Naota’s motive behind participating in the play. Bottled feelings about her parents as well as feelings about Naota are reason a chanel to N.O. is opened when Naota’s head collides with hers and when her true feeling regarding why she wants to do the play (namely that her parents are coming) are expressed it causes the M.M. robot to manifest itself from this outburst of emotions (the robots manifest from a combination of bottled up feeling being expressed and from impure expressions of romantic love, which in this case is Ninamori’s frustration with Naota instead of just telling him how she feels).
Ninamori and the Play: Ninamori is the lead role in their school’s rendition of “Puss in Boots.” She is the prince who has nothing and gains a kingdom with the help of her cat (Naota). Pretending to be something you’re not and eventually becoming that thing by pretending enough appeals to Ninamori, who thinks that if she pretends not to care about her parents issues enough that eventually she won’t care about them. Doubly she wishes to become friends/close to Naota by pretending to be (through their roles in the play). Besides speaking to her desires to change, Ninamori puts herself as the lead role in an attempt to get her parents to see it together (she and Naota have a heated exchange during a rehearsal when he attempts to quit during which she says that “everyone will see it” to which Naota replies “a few people will see it” and then Ninamori responds that her “parents are going to see it together”). Naota perhaps eventually agrees to do the play after Ninamori admits this because of something Mamimi says about school plays being stupid but still happy memories because her parents were together when they saw them: out of desire to try to prevent the same thing from happening to Ninamori or at least to give her those happy memories if they do may be Naota’s motive behind participating in the play. Bottled feelings about her parents as well as feelings about Naota are reason a chanel to N.O. is opened when Naota’s head collides with hers and when her true feeling regarding why she wants to do the play (namely that her parents are coming) are expressed it causes the M.M. robot to manifest itself from this outburst of emotions (the robots manifest from a combination of bottled up feeling being expressed and from impure expressions of romantic love, which in this case is Ninamori’s frustration with Naota instead of just telling him how she feels).
Jan 25, 2011
Pillow Talk 3
Naota Nandaba is the protagonist of FLCL. 12 years old, currently residing in the small town of Mabase and recently having lost his brother to the promise of baseball glory in America, Naota is bored. Mind numbing, head aching, grade school bored. This is not his problem though. If Naota were simply bored he’d just be every other young kid in a small town, no, Naota’s real problem is that his brother left. When his brother left it left a void in Naota’s life as well as those of his father, grandfather, and Mamimi. Not knowing any better and realizing that he can’t actually fix things by taking his brother’s place, Naota is half-thrust and half-jumps into the roles that his brother used to fill for all of these people, unsuccessfully. While Naota thinks he truly can take his brother’s place for these people, he can’t and fails to see that he’s only delaying the inevitability that they’ll have to face that fact that Tasuku (Naota’s brother) is gone eventually. Amidst the confusion and turmoil created by the consequences caused by his attempted emulation of Tasuku Naota is also trying to deal with his brother’s departure (he obviously misses Tasuku but attempts to cover any of this up except occasionally around Mamimi or Haruko). His interactions with Haruko often have Haruko playing the matronly/older brother role comforting, encouraging and praising Naota and Naota as himself instead of his Tasuku personality. The whole point of Naota’s character is to show that trying to grow up to early, for whatever reason, is silly.
Naota and Mamimi: Naota knows Mamimi because she and Tasuku used to date. Now that Tasuku has left Naota has filled in as a sort of pseudo-boyfriend for Mamimi (Mamimi’s take on the whole thing is explained in a previous post). “Dating” a high schooler has colored Naota’s perception of women however as he isn’t really shaken by Mamimi being physically intimate with him but they aren’t personally intimate at all (Naota doesn’t really understand Mamimi’s pain over Tasuku’s departure, especially initially when he tells her that Tasuku has an American girlfriend probably under the assumption that she’ll move on once there’s no hope for them) and he doesn’t know about people bullying her. This isn’t to imply that Mamimi and Naota aren’t close, but its more like a brother/sister dynamic rather than a boyfriend/girlfriend one with the exception of the physical aspect. Naota displays embarrassment when any sort of non-teasing physical activity occurs between female characters he has feelings for (when Ninamori rests her head on his shoulder he tells her to go home and he blushes profusely and gets flustered when Haruko insinuates she’s going to sleep in his bed and half jokingly asks him to have sex with her). Confused, he tries to kiss Mamimi after she refuses to go on a date with him (after gaining some self confidence by saving the city with his guitar and mistakenly thinking Mamimi is impressed and also jealous of Haruko when in reality she’s realizing she’ll have to move on and is sad that Naota is sort of ignoring her as a friend (she doesn’t have anyone else)). His inability to understand that Mamimi doesn’t just want a boyfriend to fill Tasuku’s role, that she liked Tasuku and is using Naota to help dull the pain of the extreme loneliness she’s feeling, and that physical closeness doesn’t equate to a personal relationship give us an insight into the fact that Naota is truly still a kid and doesn’t understand many of the aspects of “adult” (high school but adultish compared to him) relationships. This is important because he is just a kid and has been thrust into an adulty world of relationships which he has to learn his way our of. Because he‘s just a kid. Which is the whole point. But I’ll get to that later.
Naota and his father: Naota’s father used to be some sort of editor (I could look up the exact title but I’m not going to, wiki it if you really care) for a magazine about three months before the show begins. Presumably he opened a bakery after Tasuku left in order to be able to take care of Naota (you never find out what happened to their mom) and in the process has gone slightly stir crazy. Acting like a child, publishing a ridiculous (but accurate) “mini-zine of justice!” and treating Naota like someone much older than he is (like Tasuku), Naota’s father hasn’t handled the transition from being fairly literarily influential (major editor, there’s also mention of a book he also wrote about Evangelion) or the absence of two members of his family well. Naota attempts to keep him under control (often telling him to “stop acting like such a child”), but he’s only a kid and has difficulty. Naota’s father aids and abets Naota’s attempt to fill in for Tasuku by making ridiculous assumptions about him (for instance that he’s doing the “Fooly Cooly” (its implied that Fooly Cooly is something sexual in this instance) with Mamimi. And Haruko, even though Naota and Haruko hadn’t even known each other for a day). He lets Naota run off with Haruko and miss school with no resistance (although whether this is him being a nonexistent parent or him seeing that this will help Naota get over Tasuku/that Naota is in love with Haruko is questionable, although its less likely that it’s the second option). He makes no attempt to keep track of Naota’s whereabouts (he hangs out with Mamimi under the bridge frequently, goes off and fights robots, etc) and is for all practical purposes nonexistent as a parent. This forces Naota out of the child role and into a sort of self sufficient/caretaker sort of role. This is another instance where he has to learn that he isn’t Tasuku: he’s just a kid.
Naota and his grandfather: Same as the dad, except with baseball. There’s not very much evidence outside of the baseball game and his grandfather’s general attitude lining up with the dad’s because the grandpa is a very minor character. I just thought I’d mention it because it does exist.
Naota and Haruko: For all practical purposes Haruko serves as Naota’s surrogate Tasuku as well as an object of a sort of worshipful romantic love (the kind that would never GO anywhere but is still love nonetheless, like the admiration for a big brother except transformed into a romantic sorta thing). She takes him on trips (they go on her moped multiple times, once by the ocean and then later they go on an extended trip which causes Naota to miss a significant amount of school). Begrudingly, Naota allows her to sleep in Tasuku’s bed at night, keeping Naota company (not the sexual kind), talking and stuff. She makes Naota lunch and takes care of the bakery when he’s away (taking on a lot (but not all) of his Tasuku-persona’s responsibilities involving his dad which frees Naota up (a little bit) to be more of a kid). Despite his baseball prowess, its clear that Tasuku never taught Naota to actually “swing the bat” (it has a number of meanings, but here it’s a pretty literal one). Masterful at the game herself, Haruko gives Naota impromptu batting practice one night ( a lesson I’ll go into shortly). Haruko does all the things for Naota that disappeared with Tasuku which lets him revert back to the little brother role sometimes, though not entirely, and be a kid; and Naota responds to this by treating her like Tasuku. Unintentionally, Naota says Tasuku’s name when he sees her swing her bass for the first time (reminding him of his brother playing baseball). After her departure with Kanti and sudden return, Naota starts crying when he’s alone with her, asking her why she had to leave (clearly meaning not only her, but Tasuku as well: Naota is just a kid after all and doesn’t understand why his brother would abandon him). Her proxying of Tasuku is part of the reason Naota tell Haruko, “I love you” at the end of the series. It acts as a sort of closure for Naota, admitting that he loves his brother and misses him as well as understanding that its foolish to try to replace him. Romantically, he does have feelings for Haruko as well and by this point has learned that despite the consequences you should do/say what you feel because you may not get a chance to at a late time (he’s learned this from Tasuku leaving, then Haruko’s sudden departure and return as well as Haruko’s lifestyle in general). This is one of the two major lessons (at least that I see) Naota learns over the course of the show. Through his unsuccessful efforts to replace Tasuku, tumultuous interactions with Mamimi (especially her rejection of his attempted advances), Tasuku and Haruko’s departure, as well as all the crazy supernatural events in the show he’s learned that you need to just let things be and roll with them. “Whatever happens, happens” (in the words of Spike Spiegel) and that’s not a bad thing. In order to enjoy life for the wonderful thing he comes to learn that it is you need to just sit back and let it drive while enjoying the scenery and traveling companions it dumps on you. In her response to her own question of whether Naota would like to accompany her in her chase of Atomsk, Haruko illustrates the other thing Naota learns (which sort of goes with the first one) namely that he’s “still a kid.” Naota, in his attempts to care for all of those left reeling in the wake of Tasuku’s departure has, in his eyes (although in reality he hasn’t) cast of his childhood in order to be his more adult brother. Haruko shows, and tells, him that he is in fact still a kid and should enjoy his childhood while its still available for enjoyment. She tells him that they’ll get Atomsk “next time” imply that there’s still plenty of time to do adult things later on but that for now he should just have fun being a kid. FLCL isn’t really about growing up (like so many people I’ve heard claim it is), Naota matures a little (telling Haruko he loves her) but the area he matures in really just lead him back to his nature as a child (again, sort of growing up but not significantly). Therefore I say that FLCL, for Naota at least, is less about growing up and more about learning that its okay to let growing up happen at its own pace and that you don’t need to be in a hurry to get anywhere you’re going in life.
Naota and Ninamori: Ninamori is the actual love interest in FLCL. Yes Naota loves Haruko in some sort of weird brotherly love/older babysitter-school kid crush thing and I have no doubt that he genuinely loves Haruko. But seeing as how that’s an impossibility considering the fact that up until perhaps the last two minutes or so of the show Haruko is using Naota for her own ends and only after she sees that A) Naota’s love is pure and B) pure love makes for the most powerful channel to N.O. (allowing Atomsk to come through in his true form) does she become genuinely affectionate for Naota, Ninamori is the only love interest with a possibility of panning out. Not only does she have feelings for Naota (as well as he for her although both are hesitant to show it, especially Naota) but she’s similar to Naota in many ways. Her parents are detached and often embarrass her (although both of these things are taken to a much larger extreme than they are for Naota). Ninamori rigs the votes for the class play (for personal reasons) but also so that her and Naota will be co-starring giving her more of a reason to interact with him. She displays genuine affection for Naota, especially when he begrudgingly reciprocates by allowing her to sleep over/jokingly chatting with her (before the accident with Haruko’s bike)/ apologizes for his father’s magazine exposing her father’s scandal, and Ninamori displays jealousy towards Mamimi and Haruko (asking if Haruko sleeps on the top bunk of Naota’s bed every night, saying Mamimi “doesn’t look very bright” after Naoa’s friends tell her that Mamimi is “Naota’s wife”). In the very last scene we see that Ninamori and Naota’s friendship has blossomed (she does the thing Mamimi does when she picks his drink before he can and it’s a kind he doesn’t like because he’s still a kid). Ninamor and Naota also share the fact that they’re in some sort of deep emotional pain (Naota over Tasuku and Ninamori over her parents issues (she says she told her parents how she felt and then cried in one episode) and try to mask it by acting more adult/aloof (Naota’s always saying that there’s nothing to do and that everything is no big deal, Ninamori mimicks the second one whenever her parents issues are brought up and tries to brush off the issue by claiming that “at least she has a lot of money” and is a “Nuevo-rich princess (which is something her father’s secretary, who she sees as someone who does “adult” things, because of the secretary’s involvement with her father, said to her and by mimicking it she’s trying to be adult)).
Naota and Mamimi: Naota knows Mamimi because she and Tasuku used to date. Now that Tasuku has left Naota has filled in as a sort of pseudo-boyfriend for Mamimi (Mamimi’s take on the whole thing is explained in a previous post). “Dating” a high schooler has colored Naota’s perception of women however as he isn’t really shaken by Mamimi being physically intimate with him but they aren’t personally intimate at all (Naota doesn’t really understand Mamimi’s pain over Tasuku’s departure, especially initially when he tells her that Tasuku has an American girlfriend probably under the assumption that she’ll move on once there’s no hope for them) and he doesn’t know about people bullying her. This isn’t to imply that Mamimi and Naota aren’t close, but its more like a brother/sister dynamic rather than a boyfriend/girlfriend one with the exception of the physical aspect. Naota displays embarrassment when any sort of non-teasing physical activity occurs between female characters he has feelings for (when Ninamori rests her head on his shoulder he tells her to go home and he blushes profusely and gets flustered when Haruko insinuates she’s going to sleep in his bed and half jokingly asks him to have sex with her). Confused, he tries to kiss Mamimi after she refuses to go on a date with him (after gaining some self confidence by saving the city with his guitar and mistakenly thinking Mamimi is impressed and also jealous of Haruko when in reality she’s realizing she’ll have to move on and is sad that Naota is sort of ignoring her as a friend (she doesn’t have anyone else)). His inability to understand that Mamimi doesn’t just want a boyfriend to fill Tasuku’s role, that she liked Tasuku and is using Naota to help dull the pain of the extreme loneliness she’s feeling, and that physical closeness doesn’t equate to a personal relationship give us an insight into the fact that Naota is truly still a kid and doesn’t understand many of the aspects of “adult” (high school but adultish compared to him) relationships. This is important because he is just a kid and has been thrust into an adulty world of relationships which he has to learn his way our of. Because he‘s just a kid. Which is the whole point. But I’ll get to that later.
Naota and his father: Naota’s father used to be some sort of editor (I could look up the exact title but I’m not going to, wiki it if you really care) for a magazine about three months before the show begins. Presumably he opened a bakery after Tasuku left in order to be able to take care of Naota (you never find out what happened to their mom) and in the process has gone slightly stir crazy. Acting like a child, publishing a ridiculous (but accurate) “mini-zine of justice!” and treating Naota like someone much older than he is (like Tasuku), Naota’s father hasn’t handled the transition from being fairly literarily influential (major editor, there’s also mention of a book he also wrote about Evangelion) or the absence of two members of his family well. Naota attempts to keep him under control (often telling him to “stop acting like such a child”), but he’s only a kid and has difficulty. Naota’s father aids and abets Naota’s attempt to fill in for Tasuku by making ridiculous assumptions about him (for instance that he’s doing the “Fooly Cooly” (its implied that Fooly Cooly is something sexual in this instance) with Mamimi. And Haruko, even though Naota and Haruko hadn’t even known each other for a day). He lets Naota run off with Haruko and miss school with no resistance (although whether this is him being a nonexistent parent or him seeing that this will help Naota get over Tasuku/that Naota is in love with Haruko is questionable, although its less likely that it’s the second option). He makes no attempt to keep track of Naota’s whereabouts (he hangs out with Mamimi under the bridge frequently, goes off and fights robots, etc) and is for all practical purposes nonexistent as a parent. This forces Naota out of the child role and into a sort of self sufficient/caretaker sort of role. This is another instance where he has to learn that he isn’t Tasuku: he’s just a kid.
Naota and his grandfather: Same as the dad, except with baseball. There’s not very much evidence outside of the baseball game and his grandfather’s general attitude lining up with the dad’s because the grandpa is a very minor character. I just thought I’d mention it because it does exist.
Naota and Haruko: For all practical purposes Haruko serves as Naota’s surrogate Tasuku as well as an object of a sort of worshipful romantic love (the kind that would never GO anywhere but is still love nonetheless, like the admiration for a big brother except transformed into a romantic sorta thing). She takes him on trips (they go on her moped multiple times, once by the ocean and then later they go on an extended trip which causes Naota to miss a significant amount of school). Begrudingly, Naota allows her to sleep in Tasuku’s bed at night, keeping Naota company (not the sexual kind), talking and stuff. She makes Naota lunch and takes care of the bakery when he’s away (taking on a lot (but not all) of his Tasuku-persona’s responsibilities involving his dad which frees Naota up (a little bit) to be more of a kid). Despite his baseball prowess, its clear that Tasuku never taught Naota to actually “swing the bat” (it has a number of meanings, but here it’s a pretty literal one). Masterful at the game herself, Haruko gives Naota impromptu batting practice one night ( a lesson I’ll go into shortly). Haruko does all the things for Naota that disappeared with Tasuku which lets him revert back to the little brother role sometimes, though not entirely, and be a kid; and Naota responds to this by treating her like Tasuku. Unintentionally, Naota says Tasuku’s name when he sees her swing her bass for the first time (reminding him of his brother playing baseball). After her departure with Kanti and sudden return, Naota starts crying when he’s alone with her, asking her why she had to leave (clearly meaning not only her, but Tasuku as well: Naota is just a kid after all and doesn’t understand why his brother would abandon him). Her proxying of Tasuku is part of the reason Naota tell Haruko, “I love you” at the end of the series. It acts as a sort of closure for Naota, admitting that he loves his brother and misses him as well as understanding that its foolish to try to replace him. Romantically, he does have feelings for Haruko as well and by this point has learned that despite the consequences you should do/say what you feel because you may not get a chance to at a late time (he’s learned this from Tasuku leaving, then Haruko’s sudden departure and return as well as Haruko’s lifestyle in general). This is one of the two major lessons (at least that I see) Naota learns over the course of the show. Through his unsuccessful efforts to replace Tasuku, tumultuous interactions with Mamimi (especially her rejection of his attempted advances), Tasuku and Haruko’s departure, as well as all the crazy supernatural events in the show he’s learned that you need to just let things be and roll with them. “Whatever happens, happens” (in the words of Spike Spiegel) and that’s not a bad thing. In order to enjoy life for the wonderful thing he comes to learn that it is you need to just sit back and let it drive while enjoying the scenery and traveling companions it dumps on you. In her response to her own question of whether Naota would like to accompany her in her chase of Atomsk, Haruko illustrates the other thing Naota learns (which sort of goes with the first one) namely that he’s “still a kid.” Naota, in his attempts to care for all of those left reeling in the wake of Tasuku’s departure has, in his eyes (although in reality he hasn’t) cast of his childhood in order to be his more adult brother. Haruko shows, and tells, him that he is in fact still a kid and should enjoy his childhood while its still available for enjoyment. She tells him that they’ll get Atomsk “next time” imply that there’s still plenty of time to do adult things later on but that for now he should just have fun being a kid. FLCL isn’t really about growing up (like so many people I’ve heard claim it is), Naota matures a little (telling Haruko he loves her) but the area he matures in really just lead him back to his nature as a child (again, sort of growing up but not significantly). Therefore I say that FLCL, for Naota at least, is less about growing up and more about learning that its okay to let growing up happen at its own pace and that you don’t need to be in a hurry to get anywhere you’re going in life.
Naota and Ninamori: Ninamori is the actual love interest in FLCL. Yes Naota loves Haruko in some sort of weird brotherly love/older babysitter-school kid crush thing and I have no doubt that he genuinely loves Haruko. But seeing as how that’s an impossibility considering the fact that up until perhaps the last two minutes or so of the show Haruko is using Naota for her own ends and only after she sees that A) Naota’s love is pure and B) pure love makes for the most powerful channel to N.O. (allowing Atomsk to come through in his true form) does she become genuinely affectionate for Naota, Ninamori is the only love interest with a possibility of panning out. Not only does she have feelings for Naota (as well as he for her although both are hesitant to show it, especially Naota) but she’s similar to Naota in many ways. Her parents are detached and often embarrass her (although both of these things are taken to a much larger extreme than they are for Naota). Ninamori rigs the votes for the class play (for personal reasons) but also so that her and Naota will be co-starring giving her more of a reason to interact with him. She displays genuine affection for Naota, especially when he begrudgingly reciprocates by allowing her to sleep over/jokingly chatting with her (before the accident with Haruko’s bike)/ apologizes for his father’s magazine exposing her father’s scandal, and Ninamori displays jealousy towards Mamimi and Haruko (asking if Haruko sleeps on the top bunk of Naota’s bed every night, saying Mamimi “doesn’t look very bright” after Naoa’s friends tell her that Mamimi is “Naota’s wife”). In the very last scene we see that Ninamori and Naota’s friendship has blossomed (she does the thing Mamimi does when she picks his drink before he can and it’s a kind he doesn’t like because he’s still a kid). Ninamor and Naota also share the fact that they’re in some sort of deep emotional pain (Naota over Tasuku and Ninamori over her parents issues (she says she told her parents how she felt and then cried in one episode) and try to mask it by acting more adult/aloof (Naota’s always saying that there’s nothing to do and that everything is no big deal, Ninamori mimicks the second one whenever her parents issues are brought up and tries to brush off the issue by claiming that “at least she has a lot of money” and is a “Nuevo-rich princess (which is something her father’s secretary, who she sees as someone who does “adult” things, because of the secretary’s involvement with her father, said to her and by mimicking it she’s trying to be adult)).
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