Celebrating 100 years of broadcast, NHK has decided to dust off some of its educational mascots for this nostalgic photoshoot for the September edition of Brutus magazine. Featuring Latin America and Peru’s favorite Gonta-kun (of Dekirukana fame) alongside GORORI from Tsukutte Asobo (つくってあそぼ).
Gonta-kun hasn’t aged one bit, I must admit. And Ei Takami’s passing back in May 2023 was felt throughout millennial Peruvian twitter who mourned Noppo-san, a key character in our formative years. RIP, Noppo-san.
Also, you guys- one of the most popular posts on the site is the Okaasan to Issho (おかあさんといっしょ) post I did so long ago, I thought I would update you all that NHK (and Japan in general) has decided to finally enter the digital era, and have set up a bunch of NHK content channel, though I have to be honest, I tried looking up all the content I watched during the special events for the 65th anniversary of Okaasan to Issho and couldn’t find the same clips. I’m pretty sure there was a Poyoyon (ぼよよん) special clip with all the available hosts of the show’s history, and I’m sure I saw a good quality clip of the Power Up song.
Now a general search only gives you a non-official clip of Kinra Kira Pon (きんらきらぽん) on TikTok, which feeds you into this version of the SUPURAPPI (スプラッピ スプラッパ) song for the anniversary. Archive accordingly.
I stumbled upon this re-imagined look for Demon Slayer in the ornate style of 1980’s and 1990’s anime, and it’s a dream. I enjoy Demon Slayer fine, but younger generations really have no idea what beauty they missed from old anime. Producers should really really look into making OVAs in this style.
According to GlitchVerse comment, the song used in the video was done with AI and it’s titled Endless Struggle; featured on their channel. It is not mentioned what tools they used for generating the graphics.
I figured I should post this music video that I discovered about a month ago while working on data for this year’s Annecy =D
Set to French composer Arnold Turboust’s Lettres de Krakovie, it’s a stunning animation done by French collective Clavel, formed by Antoine Dahan, Clément Delaby and Rayan Takhedmit; who did this equally gorgeous short for Annecy 2023.
From what I could find, it doesn’t seem to be a single from any current Arnold Turboust album, though it might be the first single of a yet-to-be announced one.
Music by Arnold Turboust Music video directed by Antoine Dahan, Clement Delaby, Rayan Takhedmit Produced by : Les Monstres (Nicolas Mongin, Hélène Orjebin)
Storyboard : Rayan Takhedmit Concept Art : Antoine Dahan, Clement Delaby, Rayan Takhedmit Character design : Antoine Dahan Layout Posing : Antoine Dahan, Clement Delaby, Étienne Faivre Layout Background : Rayan Rayan Takhedmit Colorscript and Layout painting : Clement Delaby Animation : Antoine Dahan, Sixtine Dano, Clément Delaby, Étienne Faivre, Camille Lherminier, Juliette Navarro, Chloé Niquet, Pierre Rougemont, Rayan Takhedmit, Nicolas Verdier Clean / Colo : Sam Bellanger, Amy Calohard, Antoine Dahan, Chloé Niquet, Rayan Takhedmit Compositing / Edit : Clément Delaby, Rayan Takhedmit
Lyrics : Edith Fambuena Music PRoducer : Nicolas Borne Music mastering : Louis Mc Guire Publishing : Adelaide Pop Music
~ el arroz zambito, la mazamorra de cochino y la mazamorra morada ~
Todos hemos comido una buena mazamorra morada hecha, no necesariamente por tu propia abuela, por una tía, la amiga de la familia o la señora del barrio. Menos hemos comido una mazamorra de cochino o un buen arroz zambito. La textura de un arroz zambito es muy parecida a un arroz con leche, que todos en América Latina y cualquier hispanohablante posiblemente sí ha probado. Pero la textura de una mazamorra es solo propia de los países andinos— desde emolientes con mucha linaza o sábila en Perú y Ecuador o los apis en el sur peruano o Bolivia. Una textura pegajosa, no masticable, solamente absorbible; no necesariamente del agrado de todo el mundo. Ésta es solo comparable a lo que se consigue en Japón y, a veces China, con una planta conocida como Kudzu/Kuzu (葛) que además de ser de uso medicinal, su raíz tuberosa se utiliza como almidón en diversos postres y para espesar sopas y otros platillos.
Las supuestas raíces pre-colombinas de la mazamorra nos lleva al Ishkupcha, una mezcla de maíz con cal, según los detallado en el blog de Gloria Hinostroza donde escribe Historia de la Gastronomía Peruana – Parte 6 notando antiguas palabras quechua, seleccionadas por Horkheimer de antiguas crónicas de Garcilaso, Domingo de Santo Tomás, Middendorf y Varcárcel. Por otro lado, Mazamorra morada: historia, evolución y receta del postre peruano más popular publicado en el 2024 en El Comercio indica que en el libro La Cocina en el Virreinato del Perú de Rosario Olivas Weston se señala que durante la época incaica se cocinaba el champú (otro postre de textura similar a la mazamorra) y que al fermentarse, éste adquiría un color morado, y que finalmente se le terminó llamando “api.“
Con la llegada de los españoles, que ya habían sido influenciados por los árabes, el boom del comercio de especias como la canela y el clavo de olor chocan con la fécula de camote y el maíz morado (¿y la piña?), y así nace la mazamorra morada moderna. Según el historiador peruano Juan José Vegas se cree que los españoles trajeron al Virreinato del Perú unas concubinas moras, que muchas veces se convertían en domésticas y cocineras por lo que se creo el término “masa mora” para referirse a uno de sus platos. Sin embargo, según Larousse de la Gastronomía Peruana de Gastón Acurio, el origen del nombre nos lleva al ámbito de marinos mediterráneos que “quizá conocieron un dulce similar en los viajes que realizaban hacia el Oriente.” Este Oriente puede ser la zona del Maghreb en la actual Marruecos, Argelia, Túnez y Libia, donde supuestamente existe algo llamado “matmora” que nadie encuentra. Sin embargo los tunecinos tienen un postre tipo natilla llamado Bouza, aunque parece estar preparado con sorgo, avellanas, semillas de sésamo, leche y azúcar.
En la búsqueda de un postre muy similar a la mazamorra que sea de origen árabe, me encontré docenas de versiones de arroz con leche, y versiones de éstos hechos con semolina, no obstante me encontré con un postre libanés y zona de influencia cerca al norte de África que se llama Meghli (مغلي, incluído en la foto) o Karawiyah. Considerado un “pudding de arroz” por el uso de harina de arroz en lugar del grano entero, azucarado, especiado y espesado, y adornado con una millonada de nueces, pasas y coco. Su color acaramelado proviene de las especias utilizadas en lugar de la chancaca o panela.
Diferentes, pero también muy parecidos.
Y así pues es la Ruta (de bajo presupuesto) de la Mazamorra.
Yo, guys! I just finished a watching of Raj Rachakonda’s 8 A.M. Metro, which stars Saiyami Kher and Gulshan Devaiah, and featured poems by Gulzar, as the film centers on the friendship of two lonesome souls who have a chance ephemeral encounter… and who happened to love reading books and poetry.
Seems like I have been in a movie positive mood lately, so it floored me.
For the last few months, though, I’ve been thinking about how Sai Pallavi and Saiyami Kher, since I saw the trailer for this film, both strongly reminded me of my Tabu-movie journey.
I had seen Sai Pallavi’s films since 2015’s Premam and 2017’s Fidaa, but she really just floored me with Shyam Singha Roy, which I wouldn’t have really loved without her part of the story. Then came Gargi, last year’s Amaran and then the promos for Thandel began. Besides the fact that she’s a wonderful dancer, Pallavi’s got one of the most wonderful expressive eyes.
In between, of course, Saiyami Kher made her Hindi debut with Mirzya in 2016, which I enjoyed a lot. It seems like I’m one of the very few people that actually kinda liked that movie. Since then that OST has been a constant on my music-playing habits. Then came Anurag Kashyap’s Choked and ran into her on Wild Dog. In between films, Kher had focused at lot of her output on long-form shows, so I was so thrilled to see her doing 8 A.M. Metro, and doing well with Agni and Ghoomer, which put her together in a project with Shabana Azmi, who is a sorta x-degree aunt of sorts. lol
They don’t even need to be crowd shots, even. It would be perfectly fine to use concert art. I remember blogging about the concert art and vcrs done for one of Faye Wong’s concerts of the last 15 years. I can’t remember if they were either done by Hi-Organic or Grass Jelly (it was Grass Jelly!), but imagine being surrounded by clouds and mountains while Faye does her electropop sutras.
Bjork’s Cornucopia felt >small< and constrained in comparison. I always enjoy Bjork’s vocals, however. Technically always there, emotionally present. I will always remember that Hunter moment.
Gomen, gomen. I skipped two months of random blogging this time around. I did, however, write my late 2024 Peruvian box office wrap-up, published in late February. And I did a small write up by the end of March about Malayalam cinema that is yet to be publish in case Jude Anthany Joseph’s 2018 is released locally this week. Just in case.
I have also picked up French once again! Officially since mid-January ;D Thanks to Nelly of Français avec Nelly. Everyday French (and slang, especially online slang) has improved, formal usage (has returned), but writing refuses to go back to levels (^=^!) to when I was a formal student and could actually write. It takes me ages to actually write, so it takes triple the ages to get something out in French.
Anyway- in one of the most recent videos where Nelly answers some subs questions, user tomas_valiunas asks about a website where you could watch French films for free, which is -of course- my expertise. I may not focus on writing about French films and festival films, because there are hundreds of others who do, but I do watch a number of French films and co-productions. And even though the French, and Europeans (and first worlders) in particular, are very finnicky about geo-restrictions and copyright, there are ways.
And the first and most obvious legal answer is TV5 Monde Plus.
I still have cable, so I don’t know how people who don’t have cable are supposed to find out about the TV5 Monde app for download or that they have a streaming website. Of course, there are a number of shows (broadcast on TV5 Monde) available to stream for free on YouTube like Echappées Belles or Des Racines et des Ailes.
They let you browse without an account, but you have to create one to actually watch the shows and films, otherwise you hit ‘play’ and just get the TV5 Monde logo and a ‘sad face’ lol
According to current (Mar 4th 2025) FAQ, opening an account and accessing the programs in the platform is free.
Right now they’re offering a bunch of Brigitte Bardot films like Boulevard du Rhum, Viva Maria!, La Bride Sur Le Cou, L’histoire très bonne et très joyeuse de Colinot Trousse-Chemise and En effeuillant la marguerite. Other classics like Peau d’âne by Jacques Demy, Jean Eustache’s La Maman et la Putain, and Truffaut’s Les Quatre Cents Coups are also available. And that rare Marlene Dietrich French film, Martin Roumagnac is also available.
Some of their co-productions are available, like Papicha by Mounia Meddour and Noces by Stephan Streker. However, considering the vast recent production of French animated films, I was a little underwhelmed from the selection of animation available; though Alain Ughetto’s Interdit aux chiens et aux Italiens, Florence Miailhe’s La Traversée and Une Vie de Chat by Jean-Loup Felicioli and Alain Gagnol are available as well.
But my favorite discovery available is Adrien Beau’s Le Vourdalak [Trailer] which I had been looking forward to watching. Sadly, it’s the only film labeled a fantasy. ^^’
Subtitles seem to vary, most (if not all) content seems subbed in English and French, there are also options for German (?), Arabic, Romanian and Spanish, though these two vary depending on the film you’re watching.
So I thought you should all know, even though no one reads blogs any longer, maybe someone will find this information on the vast nothingness of modern-day internet.
However, most shocking and most improved was the unexpected collaboration between Chinese vocalist Zhou Shen (周深), Peruvian opera singer Juan Diego Flores and Peruvian multi-instrumentalist Lucho Quequezana for a remix of Lan Hua Hua (兰花花) and the lyric version of El Condor Pasa for The Condor and the Orchid Flower (山鹰和兰花花).
A while back I was able to catch a viewing of Tom Volf’s Maria by Callas documentary, which I adored. Some time last year (near my birthday?), I got to catch a special screening of Callas – Paris, 1958, which we got to see alongside a very very very tiny group of people ^^’
And, of course, I made sure to watch Pablo Larrain’s Maria before the year was over, because why not.
It’s the perfect Maria Callas triple feature-
The divine diva of Callas – Paris, 1958
Maria seen through the eyes of Callas in Maria by Callas
The human being in Maria.
My absolute favorite sequence in Larrain’s depiction is probably the whole segment at JFK’s birthday party. Though Maria’s scene with her sister is devastating.
This is likely the last post of 2024, breaking a dry spell of the last few years with a record 20 posts since 2018 when I posted 38 times.
This last post of 2024 is dedicated to Kenji Nakamura’s Mononoke the Movie: Phantom in the Rain (劇場版「モノノ怪 唐傘」), which crowfunded a while ago and has recently fulfilled orders. What an adventurous journey! We got a special credit for YAM Magazine!
It is an honor that we get to put our name in one of the team’s favorite series.
Let’s all look forward to what 2025 may bring!
I hope you all had an incredible 2024, and that you all were able to achieve what you set out to do (or close to achievement, anyway).
