Big in Japan: A sneak peak at Studio Ghibli’s newest anime

by Matthew Firestone on

While a good number of Japanese anime flicks are certainly not everyone’s cup of green tea, one exception to this rule is anything produced by Studio Ghibli and written by Hayao Miyazaki.

While Ghibli and Miyazaki might not immediately ring any bells, these two powerhouse names in the world of anime were responsible for films such as the cult classic Princess Mononoke, the academy award winning Spirited Away, and the recent popular hit Howl’s Moving Castle.

More hardcore fans of Japanese anime also attribute a few other hits to Ghibli and Miyazaki, especially My Neighbour Totoro, Castle in the Sky and Nausica, which together illustrate a variety of themes ranging from Japanese nostalgia for country living to striking a delicate balance between environment and technology.

So, if you’ve seen any of these films, then keep on reading as today’s post offers a sneak peak at Studio Ghibli’s newest anime, Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea (???????????????, Gake no Ue no Ponyo).

(If you haven’t seen any of these films, head to Blockbuster ASAP and see what you’ve been missing!!)

Since October of 2006, Miyazaki has been tirelessly working on Studio Ghibli’s latest creation, Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea. Despite the recent advances in computer graphics (CG) that distinguish modern anime, Ponyo retains the classic Ghibli-style hand-drawn animation, and more importantly, has that distinctive Miyazaki look and feel to it.

Ponyo opened on July 19 in theaters all across Japan, though its English-language release is still another nine months or so away. Ponyo will also do the rounds at several of the major cinematic events including the 65th annual Venice International Film Festival. However, the anime has already received praise from a number of critics including the Japan Times newspaper, which gave the film 4/5 stars, and compared it to the classic My Neighbor Totoro.

Indeed, Ponyo is much more innocent and child-like than the heavy-hitting cinematic onslaught that is Princess Mononoke, and it’s much, much more comprehensible than Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle. However, while young kiddies should have no problem following the plot line, adults can still conjure up their inner child to enjoy Ponyo. From an artistic perspective, the movie is also incredibly rich and deep, especially the stunning watercolor backgrounds of various seascapes.

The plotline centers on a half-girl, half-fish creature named Ponyo, who washes up on the shores of a small Japanese fishing village. However, she is quickly rescued by a young boy named Sousoke, who lives in a house on a cliff by the sea (hence the lengthy English title).

Without giving away too much of the story, Ponyo and Sousuke end up falling in love, which drives Ponyo to flee from her somewhat demonic father in the hopes of becoming a full-fledged human child. In classic anime form, the imbalance brought upon on the world by Ponyo’s transformation highlights the tenuous balance between humankind and nature.

Again, if you’re living in Japan, and you understand basic Japanese (remember – this is a kid’s movie!), check out Ponyo as it’s certainly worth your hard-earned yen. If not, no worries as it’ll only be a few more months before Ponyo hits North American theaters under the Disney name.

** All images are trademarked screenshots of the film Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea by Studio Ghibili, and are depicted on this website for the purposes of critical commentary **

How much does an airplane diversion cost?

by Grant Martin on

Lately we’ve been reading tons of stories about unruly passengers getting intoxicated on aircraft, making a ruckus and causing flights to make emergency landings.

Whether they got tanked and tried to open the emergency exit mid-flight, drank too much in first class and ran around naked or struck a flight attendant with a bottle of vodka, drunken passengers have been all over the place this summer, and their unscheduled route changes are costing the airlines hoards of money.

Diverting an aircraft isn’t as easy as finding the closest runway and pointing the aircraft in that direction. Depending on where you are in your journey, you may be severly overweight for landing — with too much fuel in your tanks it takes a lot of work on the brakes to stop the aircraft — and if you wear them too far or even get them too hot they need to be inspected or replaced. So unless it’s an emergency, most airlines opt to either circle and burn up fuel or dump it into the atmosphere prior to landing, a measure that’s both detrimental to costs and the environment.

Additionally, many airlines charge landing fees to put an aircraft down on their soil, regarldess or whether or not there is an emergency.

Crew work hours and rest also play into the picture when diverting. If a pilot or flight attendant goes over time while your flight is on the ground you can’t take off with that person onboard.

Finally, the few hours on the ground affect the passengers and their connections at the destination. Should the aircraft get in three hours late, half of the connecting passengers missed their connection and need to be rebooked at the expense of the airline.

To get an idea of how much it costs to divert an aircraft, we asked our resident pilot, Kent Wien about what goes into the affair. He says:

“The diversion costs can be staggering when the crew runs out of duty time. So if they exceed their 8 hours of flying time that day (for a two man crew) or their 16 hour duty day (FAA regs, the individual airlines may have contracts the bring that number down) they’re pumpkins. And then you have to find hotels and other means of transportation for the passengers.

I’ve been told it can cost $200,000 for a widebody to divert. But the best case scenario–land, pick up fuel, and depart immediately– would easily cost $10,000 in extra fuel burned.”

To that end, many airlines who have been forced to divert recently are now starting to sue the passengers causing the divert to recoup their extra landing fees. Try to keep that in mind next time you get drunk before a flight — it’s better to pass out and drool all over yourself then get into a fight and smacked with a $10,000 bill from your airline.

Just how does your national anthem go?

by Anna Brones on

As of Friday, 27 different nations had won gold medals. That means 27 different national anthems have been played in honor of the winning athletes. The New York Times put together a complete list of all 27 anthems, including lyrics, history and music files so you can sing and listen to them to your heart’s content.

Here are links to five of them:

China: March of the Volunteers
USA: The Star Spangled Banner
Korea Republic: The Patriotic Song
Italy: The Song of the Italians
Germany: The Song of Germany

Click here for the complete list and the music files so you can start singing away at the next medal ceremony.

Tourism is going HD in Philadelphia

by Jeffrey White on

Only in America could a really big television screen become a tourist attraction.

Tourist officials in Philadelphia have been blown away by the interest in the city’s new Comcast Center, which opened in June boasting a 25-foot tall, 2,000-square-foot high-definition LED screen.

It has thousands of hours of content and, according to the Associated Press, has five times the resolution of a typical HD television!

There are dancing sequences! Footage from outer space! Sports highlights from Philadelphia teams!

People are apparently coming by the thousands to check it out.

Marilyn Overton, who came from the suburbs with her husband to see the screen recently, tells the AP: “At first it looks like a mural. And then all of a sudden, it’s moving.”

Philly is pimping the Comcast screen on its tourism Web site.

The screen runs 18 hours a day, everyday.

“I’m sure people will say, ‘OK, I have to do the [Liberty] Bell, Independence Hall, cheesesteaks, the Rocky statue and the Comcast screen,” Meryl Levitz, a chief executive of the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corp., tells the AP.

Then again, maybe not. Since the Comcast screen includes video of Philly’s other historical sites, there may be little reason to see them in person.

Frankenmuth, Michigan – a little slice of Bavaria in the Midwest

by Scott Carmichael on

Last Thursday evening I suddenly had the urge to take the family on a short trip for the weekend. We decided to avoid flying, and also to avoid heading North to the Wisconsin Dells like most people in Chicago do this time of year.

Instead, we loaded up the family truckster and drove 300 miles east to Frankenmuth Michigan.

Frankenmuth is often referred to as “Little Bavaria”, and is the only city outside Germany that has been officially sanctioned by the city of Munich as an official Oktoberfest location.

The village is about 25 miles north of Flint, so you don’t get the feeling you are completely isolated from civilization. Frankenmuth is home to several tourist attractions including Bronners Christmas Wonderland, the Bavarian Inn, the Bavarian Belle and the River Place shopping center.

Frankenmuth has several hotels, but to get the “real” Bavarian experience, you really need to stay at the Bavarian Inn Lodge. This 355 room hotel has grown from a modest motor lodge, into a large resort with multiple restaurants, 5 swimming pools, shops and a massive entertainment center with the “worlds largest Bavarian themed mini golf course”.

%Gallery-29916%Each room is named after a resident of Frankenmuth, and you can select from various rooms, including pool access rooms, whirlpool suites and river view rooms. You drive up to the Bavarian Inn through an impressive hand build covered bridge which was commissioned by the Zehnder family in 1978 (The Zehnders own most of downtown Frankenmuth, including the Inn). Summer room rates are between $150 and $250 a night.

During the summer, you can enjoy their Biergarten on the front porch, often accompanied by live entertainment. No stay in Frankenmuth is complete without dinner at the restaurant that started the family tradition; Zehnders. This restaurant is the second largest in the country, and the largest family owned, just be sure to show up early, as weekend waits can be over an hour. If Zehnders is too busy, try the Bavarian Inn restaruant just across the road (another Zehnder family restaurant!).

If the idea of a large 355 room resort doesn’t feel right, you can go with one of the many other accommodations in the village; the Marv Hertzog hotel, Zehnders splash village, a Marriott Springhill Suites or one of 23 other hotels, B&B’s or camping sites.

Downtown Frankenmuth has plenty to do; you can take a one hour ride down the Cass river on the “Bavarian Belle” ($9), you can do some shopping at the River Place shopping center where you will find 34 stores offering everything from sports memorabilia to fudge. You’ll also find stores on Main street, but almost every other store seems to be devoted to making and selling more fudge. If you like cheese, you won’t want to miss the Frankenmuth cheese haus, just be sure to pick up some bacon cheese spread, or some of their famous chocolate cheese.

Before leaving Frankenmuth, you should make some time to visit Bronners Christmas Wonderland. Bronners is the largest Christmas store in the world, and is open 361 days a year. It was founded in 1945 by Wally Bronner (who sadly passed away in April of this year). Bronners is the kind of place that you have to see to believe. It is surreal to wander through close to half a mile of decorations, lights and trees in the middle of summer. The total store area covers 5 and a half football fields. At night the entire place is lit up with close to 700 animated figures. One of the highlights of the store is their ornament decoration department, where you can have your purchases hand decorated by a Bronners artist.

Frankenmuth is about 300 miles from Chicago, 330 miles from Indianapolis, 90 miles from Detroit and 240 miles from Cleveland. Unfortunately, the road to Frankenmuth (from most destinations) is quite boring, but thankfully you’ll pass at least one Michigan winery every 30 or 40 miles where the passengers of legal drinking age in your car can sample some excellent wines.