January Log Book

Things I’ve done, seen, and read

We had several frosty and then foggy days here in January, which sent me out on a hunt for the picturesque.

(The view from a wetland path, Hertfordshire)

We went to watch experimental shorts from South East Asia, and one of the films, Golden Dragon, had this Cambodian song play while the credits were rolling. I dug through YouTube, and discovered the world of Cambodian goldies. Enjoy!

Going back to the shorts. Watching them, I felt as if I were visiting South East Asia and could almost smell the humid, fragrant air of Cambodia and Thailand. And it was the Thai films that impressed me most.

Thailand has become known for its cinematography recently, so the quality of these shorts was on par. Lemongrass Girl (Pom Bunsermvicha, 2021) stood out though, and not only because it focused on an old custom still practiced in the country: to ward off rain, a virgin has to plant lemongrass upside down.

(From Lemongrass Girl by Pom Bunsermvicha, 2021)

While the crew is filming outside, a lemongrass girl has to perform the ritual, away from view. At some point, the duty has to pass to another girl, which elicits a lot of playful banter. The use of a fixed camera and a few long, stationary shots, in which not much happens has become a tired-out technique, but overall, it is a sweet, warm movie.

Oh, and we watched Nosferatu, for which I’m still writing a review. But here I’d like to recommend a fun book about Dracula, which I’ve enjoyed immensely — The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova.

In it, the vampire is a very much undead Transylvanian lord that haunts libraries and historians. I won’t spoil it, because it is an adventure book, after all, so let me just say that the characters travel through Europe a lot, both during the USSR and after its fall, and their journeys make this region look fascinating, its numerous countries so interconnected and magical. Totally worth a look if you are into vampires, adventures, history, and thick books.

Thank you for reading this far. Stay tuned for the next month’s Log Book!

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