Equinoxed Up

'Tis the beginning of fall, marked by the autumnal equinox, a moment of balance or synchrony with the sun, and a time when yin begins to dominate, to reach its fullest at the winter solstice.  I have been anticipating this day since the new (haircut) moon, when the Wizard reported his energy was unusually high.  And just as well it was.  What odd coincidence that the garbage disposal and the ice-maker failed just as his toilet started to leak.  (Was some triple-threat demon at work?  If you could apply TCM to household appliances, I suppose some channel was clearly blocked. I need a feng shui plumber.)  All is repaired now, and I have also recovered from recent unpleasant efforts at my job.  Sometimes I am burdened by uncontrollable deadlines and an excess of paperwork.  I am not a numbers person and  spreadsheets and schedules result in serious MEGO.

Fortunately my eyes were not beyond appreciating the latest technological acquisition the Wizard surprised me with.  I am not an early adopter (and may or may not jump on the iPhone bandwagon by Christmas) so it will seem dull that I am impressed with the Blu-ray player that arrived. The Wizard bought it just to watch Robert Downey Jr.'s latest Sherlock Holmes film. (Industrial Age London looks even grittier in high definition.) And it was impressive, although the movie left me a little cold. (Though the Wizard, a Holmes aficionado, says it was true to the spirit, if not the letter.) I am too prejudiced by my wuxia preferences, though Holmes certainly had some MA background, and Downey's moves weren't too bad.  Still, now I crave seeing Vincent Zhao and Song Il-guk in such perfection.

I quickly switched my Netflix account to accommodate the new player (which sits alongside my all-region player for Asian releases meant mainly for Malaysia and Taiwan.)  My first netflix Blu-ray DVD: Puss In Boots, a peculiar conflation of nursery rhymes and fairy tales, in animation that makes Studio Ghibli seem a little primitive. (I must find Totoro in Blu-ray!)  But why did I think Puss In Boots was Johnny Depp?  (It's Antonio Banderas.)  The pirate boots and flair for haberdashery, especially the products of hatters, I guess.  And a strange leftover sensation from last fall when the Peeping Tom kept me up half the night in a hotel room at LAX.

View out the window from my hotel bed.  LA. is a truly strange place.

I suppose this post really belongs on Tao 61, where I talk about movies and yinny things, but being the equinox, it hardly matters, no difference.  I'll post something there about another interesting acquisition, as the earth hangs for a moment in perfect balance before leaning the other way.  Next on the agenda: gotta get some mooncakes.