31 August 2005
MOVIE: MARCH OF THE PENGUINS (2005).
Emperor penguins make the insane journey across Antarctica to their mating grounds. What is it about the French and their ability to produce groundbreaking nature documentaries? First The Bear, then Microcosmos, and now this. To be honest, I only went because I wanted to hear 90 minutes of Morgan Freeman's soothing voice (which was, incidentally, the best thing about War of the Worlds). I wasn't prepared for the staggering drama of seeing penguins, lined up a mile long, all shuffling single-file across the snow. Or the heartbreak of newly-hatched chicks freezing solid in icy gales. And when I found myself believing that penguins knew all about love, loyalty, and devotion, I thought: Mon dieu, this is one great documentary.
The footage is baffling as the penguin's pilgrimage. Never mind the spectacle of thousands of them huddling against a polar storm of unholy ferocity—what about the freakin camera crew? Closeups of hatching eggs, chilling underwater footage of penguins at play, bergs glowing blue under an orange arctic sky: it was all so extraordinary that I couldn't decide whether to simply drink it in, or keep glancing over at Nicki to make sure she was equally amazed. I found her looking right back at me, every time.
They don't stay stumped for long.
PHOTO DIARY.
 Spotted on Wilshire: A convoy of Vespa ET4s advertising a TV show. I guess scooters are really getting popular—oil wars tend to have that kind of effect, huh.
PHOTO DIARY.
 Nicki played her first singles tournament game over the weekend. I could post better snaps than this, but doing so would put my life in serious jeopardy.
 The whole family watched from a nearby hill: One, Jung, Nicki's parents, and even little Eric.
 Eric's finally at the laughing & smiling stage of babyhood.
PHOTO DIARY.
 Nicki's parents came for a visit over the weekend. We took them to the good ole Dockweiler Beach for a bonfire...
 ...then over to the Huntington Library in Pasadena. Yes, the estate of the guy who put the "Huntington" in Huntington Beach.
 We saw creepy lotus flowers,
 these icky perforated leaves,
 and these disease-like pollen pods.
PHOTO DIARY.
 Huh?
PHOTO DIARY.
 Last week we moved out of our old building in Koreatown...
 ...to a newly-renovated building back in the old Sunset Blvd. neighborhood.
 The building, designed by Frank Gehry, is entirely clad in shiny stainless steel, which stains easily and reflects heat like a solar rotisserie.
PHOTO DIARY.
 Went to the dermatologist the other day.
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