Studio Ghibli, Teddy Swims, and Venice

I will preface this section by saying, I am not an Anime fan. I find Anime fascinating and I appreciate how they build stories, it just isn’t what I am drawn to naturally. But, I greatly enjoy Studio Ghibli films. Hayao Miyazaki is a Japanese animator, director, producer, screenwriter, and author. All the things. Miyazaki co-founded Studio Ghibli in 1985. The films they create are beautiful, fantasy films with exquisite music and often contain a strong female lead. The recurring themes of his work touch on humanity’s relationship with nature and technology, the importance of art, and the difficulty of maintaining a pacifist ethic in a violent world. (source)

My absolute favorite Ghibli film is Castle in the Sky, which was actually the first film produced by Studio Ghibli in 1986. The music, like all Ghibli films is beautiful. The film is a mix of steampunk meets the lost city of Atlantis meets the 1800s. Here is the trailer here. Although, a tip, watch it in the original Japanese with English captions. In my opinion dubbed films lose too much of the translation and flow of the film.

My second favorite Ghibli film is Spirited Away, which was released in 2001. It is the only hand drawn animated film to ever win an academy award for best picture. The story is captivating. It touches on capitalism (I know, I know), loss of one’s name, environmentalism, and generational conflict. It’s fascinating. And the soot sprites are my favorite!

Here is a 10 minute video speaking on one of the best scenes in the film, where there is two minutes of complete silence. Miyazaki spoke about this to Roger Ebert and this is what he said, “We have a word for that in Japanese. It’s called ma. Emptiness. It’s there intentionally. If you have non-stop action with no breathing space at all, it’s just busyness. But if you take a moment then the tension building in the film can grow into a wider dimension. If you have constant tension at 80 degrees all the time you just get numb.”

My third favorite is Howl’s Moving Castle, here is the OST for the film, it’s such pretty music. “The story is set in a fictional kingdom where both magic and early 20th-century technology are prevalent, against the backdrop of a war with another kingdom.” (source) 

I found this YouTube channel that shows live feed from Venice Italy, Grand Canal in Live Streaming from Ca’Angeli. Here is St. Mark’s Basin live, The live view of Ponte delle Guglie Venice. The live view on Canal from Hotel Pausania. And lastly, Laguna Nord Venice, live stream from Cantieri Biasin. And they all have pretty music playing in the background.

Have you heard of Teddy Swims? He’s a YouTuber from Atlanta and he has a beautiful voice. He has done mostly covers but just recently released his first original single. Check out this cover of Shania Twain’s “Still the One.” Here’s his cover of Valerie (the Amy Winehouse Cover). And lastly a cover of Lewis Capaldi’s “Someone You Loved.” He has such a scratchy, soulful voice, I love it.

Here are a few Autumn pictures from out and about recently. Last week over FaceTime I was able to meet one of my good friend’s new baby. I love technology! I hope that your weekend is fantastic and restful.