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Pic spam 2: London
Another load of pics for you, not quite as old as the last lot but several weeks in the posting none the less.
It was quite early on Saturday morning when I got to wander around, so not too many people about.
St. James Park, looking towards Horse Guards Parade. Not quite sure on which buildings are making up that mass in the gap between the trees but really like the look of large fantasy city/castle they have.
St. James Park, with the London Eye in the background
The Canada monument, for all the Canadians who died in both wars. Which is just across the road from . . .
Buckingham Palace. Not the most inspiring picture ever, but if you go to London then you have to go see the Queen. Honest.
The Museum of Natural History. I really like this place but it is starting to become very 'kiddyfied'. Everything is becoming plasticy bright and colourful, with bullet point interactivity and reduced to something akin to a theme park. It's a shame such a beautiful building and collection is (apparently) having to pander to the lowest common denominator.
Anyway, some more pics from here.
There are some wonderful exhibits. These whale skeletons were just so impressive in a way I just can't explain. I knew they would be big but something about them just took my breath away. I do hope that one day I get the chance to see whales swimming in the wild.
I don't go to London very often, but when I do It's always something I enjoy.
On another note, Film 4 has been running a season of Studio Ghibili films these last few weeks and they are just the most sublimely beautiful films around. Prior to this I had only seen the most recent ones 'Spirited Away' and 'Howls Moving Castle', both of which are brilliant, and so thought that maybe it would be a case of them being the polished masterpieces and these earlier ones on Film 4 the slightly rougher works in progress.
I don't think I could have been more wrong.
So far I've watched 'Kiki's Delivery Service', 'Princess Mononoke' and 'My Neighbour Totoro', and they are all wonderfully beautiful works of art. They are near perfect examples of what childrens films should be. There tends to be a very sedate pacing to them, they don't rush from one set piece to the next set piece, but without the narrative sagging at all. Totoro and Kiki have a very innocent sweetness to them that could have very easily have become sacharrine sweet and distasteful if mis-handled but here it plays perfectly. Mononoke plays to an older age range with a much larger canvas and a deeper story that doesn't pull many punches. They really need to be seen to be appreciated.
I can't wait to see the four recorded films I have left to see.
It was quite early on Saturday morning when I got to wander around, so not too many people about.
St. James Park, looking towards Horse Guards Parade. Not quite sure on which buildings are making up that mass in the gap between the trees but really like the look of large fantasy city/castle they have.
St. James Park, with the London Eye in the background
The Canada monument, for all the Canadians who died in both wars. Which is just across the road from . . .
Buckingham Palace. Not the most inspiring picture ever, but if you go to London then you have to go see the Queen. Honest.
The Museum of Natural History. I really like this place but it is starting to become very 'kiddyfied'. Everything is becoming plasticy bright and colourful, with bullet point interactivity and reduced to something akin to a theme park. It's a shame such a beautiful building and collection is (apparently) having to pander to the lowest common denominator.
Anyway, some more pics from here.
There are some wonderful exhibits. These whale skeletons were just so impressive in a way I just can't explain. I knew they would be big but something about them just took my breath away. I do hope that one day I get the chance to see whales swimming in the wild.
I don't go to London very often, but when I do It's always something I enjoy.
On another note, Film 4 has been running a season of Studio Ghibili films these last few weeks and they are just the most sublimely beautiful films around. Prior to this I had only seen the most recent ones 'Spirited Away' and 'Howls Moving Castle', both of which are brilliant, and so thought that maybe it would be a case of them being the polished masterpieces and these earlier ones on Film 4 the slightly rougher works in progress.
I don't think I could have been more wrong.
So far I've watched 'Kiki's Delivery Service', 'Princess Mononoke' and 'My Neighbour Totoro', and they are all wonderfully beautiful works of art. They are near perfect examples of what childrens films should be. There tends to be a very sedate pacing to them, they don't rush from one set piece to the next set piece, but without the narrative sagging at all. Totoro and Kiki have a very innocent sweetness to them that could have very easily have become sacharrine sweet and distasteful if mis-handled but here it plays perfectly. Mononoke plays to an older age range with a much larger canvas and a deeper story that doesn't pull many punches. They really need to be seen to be appreciated.
I can't wait to see the four recorded films I have left to see.
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and you're absolutely right, studio ghibili is pure genius.
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