Monika’s Pensieve

The building of Israeli settlements on Palestinian land has been in the media for a while now, but personally I found the coverage on it confusing and never really understood what was going on. Below is an excellent video report on the problem, I really recommend it - it’s a great way to finally start [...]

{FILM DIARY}
Hagetaka: Road to Rebirth (Japan, 2007)
Finished Watching: Thursday, 25th June 2009
Runtime: 6 episodes (60min. each)
Director: Kentaro Horikirizono, Tsuyoshi Inoue, Keishi Ohtomo
Cast: Nao Omori, Kyohei Shibata, Ryuhei Matsuda, Chiaki Kuriyama
TV Network: NHK
Plot: A story about the mid-90s recession in Japan when Japanese companies were going bankrupt and were being bought out dirt cheap by foreign [...]

Here’s the story of one of the men in the chilling South African rape statistics that I mentioned before. I think it sheds some light on why rape happens in the RSA so often.

Interesting I think…

California has significantly cut spending on education. Below is an interview with a social justice educator, who talks about the repercussions.

This is an article about two young lovers, who committed suicide when their communities put pressure on them.

A news report about how green light bulbs aren’t all that green… at least not for Chinese factory workers.

Here’s an article about “the grunting phenomenon” that started in the 1970s. The discussion always starts anew whenever a particularly loud or weird grunter enters the stage. Michelle Larcher de Brito surely must be the most controversial grunter ever. I mean just check this out. I’m not surprised her opponents are complaining.

Here’s an article about a law that has forced released sex offenders in Miami to live under a bridge.

{FILM DIARY}
Gohatto (Japan/France/UK, 1999)
Seen: Monday, 22nd June 2009 (DVD, repeat viewing)
Runtime: 100′
Director: Nagisa Oshima
Cast: Takeshi Kitano, Ryuhei Matsuda, Shinji Takeda, Tadanobu Asano
Production House: BS Asahi, Bac Films, Canal+, Eisei Gekijo, Imagica Corp., Kadokawa Shoten Publishing Co., Oshima Productions, Recorded Picture Company (RPC), Shochiku Kinema Kenkyû-jo
Plot: A mysterious teenager joins the militia. His comrades and superiors [...]