The December Comfort Watches 2025, Day Twenty: A Fish Called Wanda
Dec. 21st, 2025 03:58 am![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
scalziwhatever_feed
I have thought a number of films have been riotously funny, but only A Fish Called Wanda made me laugh so hard that I was in very real danger of pissing myself right there in the movie theater. It was 1988, I went to see this movie with my friend Marty Glomski, and — to be fair — I did buy myself a soda to enjoy while I watched the film. Normally such a thing would not be a fraught action, but then there were scenes involving inept assassination attempts, and I ended up laughing so hard and so long that my bladder very nearly couldn’t take it any more. I swear to you I was two seconds from peeing my jeans. I wanted to stop laughing so I could stop spotting. I could not. It was mortifying, and delightful.
I cannot guarantee you will laugh as hard at A Fish Called Wanda. If you did, however, and you fell victim to laugh-related involuntary micturition, just know that you are not alone. There are probably legions of us. John Cleese should have invested in adult diapers before writing this film.
The story of how A Fish Called Wanda came to be is interesting in itself. Back in the 1970s and 80s, when John Cleese wasn’t busy with Monty Python or Fawlty Towers, he had co-founded a company called Video Arts, which created training videos for corporate clients (they were allegedly funny corporate training videos. I’ve not seen any, I can’t say). One of the directors for these corporate videos was Charles Crichton. Having Crichton directing corporate training videos was a little like having Scotty Pippen on your basketball team at the Y. In a past life, he directed films at Ealing Studios, including the Academy Award-winning The Lavender Hill Mob, generally regarded as one of the best British comedies of all time.
What was Crichton doing making training films? Well, look, folks, show business is a tough gig. You’re on top one day and the next you’re trying to spice up a video on how to file reports.
That said, John Cleese was certainly aware who he had on staff, and eventually he and Crichton started scheduling time to think up a comedy crime caper, which would eventually become A Fish Called Wanda. The plan was for Cleese to star and Crichton to direct. One catch: When the film was being pitched, Crichton was well into his middle 70s, which worried the money guys. In order to get the film made, Cleese agreed to be co-director. What did that mean for Cleese? Apparently not much! Cleese was open about not having any experience in feature film directing. He was basically there if Crichton keeled over during filming.
Crichton did not keel over. In fact, for the film Crichton (and only Crichton, not Cleese) was nominated for an Academy Award for best director. Don’t feel too bad for Cleese, he got nominated (along with Crichton) for an Oscar in the screenwriting category. Having landed on top again after years in the corporate training video wilderness, Crichton promptly retired and spent the rest of his life fishing. Good for him.
Plotwise, Wanda is a tale of heists and con-men and women, crosses and double-crosses and one barrister who somewhat befuddledly finds himself in the middle of it all. That could be Cleese’s character, Archibald Leach (film fans will recognize this name, and if you don’t, look it up), a bland tall legal type whose life is lower-wealthy-class boredom. That is, until he meets Wanda (Jamie Lee Curtis), who is not a fish, but is an associate of George Thomason, Archie’s client, who has been recently accused of a bank robbery involving quite a lot of diamonds. Wanda enchants Archie, because she is smart and looks exactly like Jamie Lee Curtis at her hottest. But, I think it should be obvious, Wanda has something on her mind other than climbing Cleese.
That’s enough of the plot. You just need to know that the people involved in the heist are all trying to screw each other, sometimes figuratively and sometimes literally. There is no honor among thieves, which is not great for any of them but is fabulous for us, because Cleese and Crichton, as screenwriters, put absolutely fantastic words into their mouths, and make them to grand and ridiculous things. For a movie that at least initially comes off as a small and maybe kinda square bit of British japery, things get weird fast.
A lot of that weirdness comes in the form of Otto, played by Kevin Klein in a bit of ego annihilation so complete that he won an Oscar for it. When I say ego annihilation, I mean no one who was concerned about their ego in any way could have played Otto as he did, as the ugliest of all possible ugly Americans and the platonic ideal of Dunning-Kruger. The first time I saw this performance, I just thought it was funny; in subsequent watches it becomes obvious just how much good work Kline is doing here. The scene where Wanda chews him out for messing up her assignation with Archie is a masterclass of facial acting. His words in the scene are good. What his face is doing got him that statuette.
Be assured, however, that Kevin Kline is not the only one engaging in ego annihilation here. None of the principals, who aside from Cleese, Curtis and Kline also includes Michael Palin, get out of this film with their dignity intact. Short of Melissa McCarthy shitting in a sink, I’m not sure another film has put so many of their actors through the wringer for a pile of laughs. It’s not about gross-out comedy (speaking of that McCarthy scene), it’s about the humiliation of their characters, unstiffening that stiff upper lip, in the case of Cleese’s character especially.
Which — confession time — is not the kind of humor I usually like! Cringe humor (the kind of humor that makes you cringe in sympathy for the embarrassment the characters are going through, not the kind of humor that is eye-rollingly corny) is actually one of my least favorite forms of humor. I think my sympathetic response for people making fools of themselves is too strong for me to enjoy the comedy of it. It mostly just makes me want to leave the room until the embarrassing parts are over. Not here, though, and I think it’s both the skill of the writing from Cleese and Crichton, and actual abandon to which the actors give themselves, that simply overrides my desire to curl up into a ball at their misfortunes. Wanda isn’t exactly farce but it’s near enough to it that, for me, at least, it’s inoculated against cringe.
Wanda remains one of the funniest films of all time, but it’s okay to note that 80s films are gonna 80s, and this film does that. The plot line about a character’s stutter was at the time and now continues to be the least successful attempt at humor in the film, and there’s a bit that Otto does that straddles the line for casual homophobia. Also, truly, if animal endangerment bothers you, go ahead and skip this one. You won’t be happy, even if I find at least one of those scenes one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen in a theater. What can I say, I’m a terrible human.
I keep coming back to why it was this film made me almost pee myself in public. I think it comes down to the simple fact that very little about this film was what I had expected when I sat down to watch it. I figured it was going to be funny; after all it had a third of Monty Python in it. But I think I went in expecting to chuckle. This wasn’t Monty Python, it was by all indications just a standard issue mid-80s comedy, and again the first several minutes of the film gave the impression that was where things were going.
But then. And then. And then after that. It kept laughing in the face of my expectations, and I kept laughing in surprise. I just did not see it coming.
— JS
It's only eight, right?
Dec. 20th, 2025 10:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sovayTonight in the basement of the Harvard Book Store where the part of the HVAC which replaced the original location of mysteries and crime makes enough industrial noise for me to wear earplugs while browsing, I gestured a choice of directions at a T-junction of shelves to a woman laden with bags in both hands who responded in an immediate tone of cheerful accusation, "You're half a man," and then before I could say anything and see which way she reacted, "Half and half. Cream. I'm just kidding," on which she turned around and left the way she came. Happy Saturday before Christmas?
Poem: "Creativity, Ingenuity, Compassion, and Perseverance"
Dec. 20th, 2025 08:30 pmysabetwordsmithThis poem came out of the December 3, 2024 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from mama_kestrel. It also fills the "Window" square in my 11-1-24 card for the Sleepytime Bear fest. This poem has been sponsored by a pool with fuzzyred. It belongs to the series Arts and Crafts America.
( Read more... )
mama_kestrel. It also fills the "Window" square in my 11-1-24 card for the Sleepytime Bear fest. This poem has been sponsored by a pool with fuzzyred. It belongs to the series Arts and Crafts America.( Read more... )
TIL that "This far and no farther" is from the book of Job
Dec. 20th, 2025 08:25 pmsasha_featherI'm not great at knowing when to quit. I'm stubborn and loyal and I actively try to think the best of people. I try to work out problems or let things blow over. I try to let bygones be bygones, etc. But I've cut people off before when they've reached that line in the sand. This far, and no farther! I sometimes only know the line when I've found it.
With my high school friend Laura, I cut her off when I came out. She had a history of saying racist and homophobic things and I said no more. I wrote her an email and stopped talking to her.
Sadly with my jobs I put up with with too much, but that is a story for another day. Mainly I did not feel safe to just up and quit, which was what I should have done.
With a roommate who had already been stealing money, I finally confronted her, and actually yelled, when I found out she stole medication from me and tried to hide it. Like money is one thing but messing with medication is potentially deadly. I've yelled very few times in my adult life.
With a girlfriend, it was a nasty comment about the teenager she lived with, wishing harm or death or something. I just shut down and stopped investing in the relationship. I broke up with her via text message.
With my brother Nik, the final straw has been laid, the line in the sand is drawn. He lied to my best friendjesse_the_k. I've burned through the worst of my anger and now I'm just calm. I've decided that I'm done.
With my high school friend Laura, I cut her off when I came out. She had a history of saying racist and homophobic things and I said no more. I wrote her an email and stopped talking to her.
Sadly with my jobs I put up with with too much, but that is a story for another day. Mainly I did not feel safe to just up and quit, which was what I should have done.
With a roommate who had already been stealing money, I finally confronted her, and actually yelled, when I found out she stole medication from me and tried to hide it. Like money is one thing but messing with medication is potentially deadly. I've yelled very few times in my adult life.
With a girlfriend, it was a nasty comment about the teenager she lived with, wishing harm or death or something. I just shut down and stopped investing in the relationship. I broke up with her via text message.
With my brother Nik, the final straw has been laid, the line in the sand is drawn. He lied to my best friend
jesse_the_k. I've burned through the worst of my anger and now I'm just calm. I've decided that I'm done.Various DC Icons
Dec. 20th, 2025 09:27 pmflareonfury posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
fandom_iconsVarious DC icon dump of various comics/shows/animated/film characters/pairings.
Preview
Please comment & credit if you use!
See the various character & ship icons here.....
Preview
Please comment & credit if you use!
See the various character & ship icons here.....
Space Exploration
Dec. 20th, 2025 08:23 pmysabetwordsmithAstronomers Find the First Compelling Evidence of "Monster Stars" in the Early Universe
Using the James Webb Space Telescope, a team of international researchers has discovered chemical fingerprints of gigantic primordial stars that were among the first to form after the Big Bang.
Using the James Webb Space Telescope, a team of international researchers has discovered chemical fingerprints of gigantic primordial stars that were among the first to form after the Big Bang.
Two Homes For Christmas (Which Is To Say, Two Different Versions of the Same Christmas Song)
Dec. 21st, 2025 01:28 amscalziwhatever_feedI felt like trying my hand at a Christmas song, so I did “I’ll Be Home For Christmas,” which was a big hit for Bing Crosby. First I did a pretty traditional version, and when I was done, I thought, why not mess with it a little? So I did a second version, with trap drums and lots of bass.
Here’s the traditional version:
And here’s the NOT traditional version:
I hope you enjoy one or both!
— JS
fanmix_monthly
Dec. 21st, 2025 10:17 ammatsushima posting in ![[site community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/comm_staff.png){kind=small}
dw_community_promo
fanmix_monthly is a new fanmix community on Dreamwidth! Posting is now open. Optional prompts will start in January 2026.
Books I've Read: August-September 2024
Dec. 20th, 2025 04:20 pmhrjThe subject line is a lie -- I finished no books in August 2024 due to spending the entire month traveling (Worldcon and sightseeing).
A Shore Thing by Joanna Lowell -- (audio) Sapphic (sort of? one character is transmasculine but still somewhat female-identified?) historical romance. This had beautiful writing and a much more complicated plot than a simple romance, involving artists and bicycle touring in Victorian England. It did feel on occasion that there were a few too many progressive issues crammed into the plot, as if all the bases needed to be covered at once. The author has several other books that braid lightly with this one in terms of characters.
A Liaison with her Leading Lady by Lotte R. James -- (audio) Lesbian historic romance involving a theater company in early Victorian England. The title had led me to expect something more leaning towards erotica and I was pleasantly surprised to be mistaken. The writing was, overall, very nice though sometimes just barely short of over-the-top in style. On the whole, it felt well grounded in the history, though sometimes the concrete everyday details felt thin. There were several "theater culture" aspects that felt highly anachronistic, like they might have been mapped backwards from modern practice. The romance plot was both formulaic and believable.
How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying by Django Wexler -- (audio) Character is trapped in a "Groundhog Day" cycle in a fantasy role-playing-like world and must figure out how to succeed through trial and error when every error means death and starting from scratch. It's...ok? I guess? I DNFed this after a few chapters. I'm not a fan of "D&D look-and-feel" books and I just couldn't get interested in the story. I read this around the same time as John Scalzi's Starter Villain and felt the two had a similar feel, so if you liked the latter you might like this one?
Can't Spell Treason without Tea by Rebecca Thorne -- (audio) This is more or less the archetype of the "D&D-world coffee shop AU". Two women escape their roles in a fantasy kingdom and run away to start a combination tea and book shop in a remote village. Plausibility does not come into the question, so I don't judge it on that point. But I just couldn't find it in myself to care about the characters and it was another DNF, which is a shame because "lesbian light fantasy" should be catnip for me.
Netherford Hall by Natania Barron -- (print) Regency-esque fantasy with sapphic romance, in a world featuring magic, vampires, etc. I wanted to like this more than I did. It felt like there were a lot of unconnected details and the conversation-to-action ratio was a bit high. Very imaginative. Don't go into it expecting a historic setting though.
Going to finish up this post with "all K.J. Charles all the time" though I didn't actually read them back-to-back. (I was working on trying to fill in the gaps in the catalog.)
Gilded Cage by K.J. Charles -- (audio) Gay male historic romantic adventure. A sharp, fierce, polished little gem of a story. It kept teasing me with cross-references to characters form the Sins of the City series and now I want to see relationship charts.
Any Old Diamonds by K.J. Charles -- (audio) Gay male historic romantic heist adventure. Comes before Gilded Cage in series order and it was interesting to read this one out of order. See previous comments about wanting to trace connections to Sins of the City. Oh, and excellent as usual.
Rag and Bone by K.J. Charles -- (audio) Gay male historic romantic adventure with magic. A lovely little sweet relationship and a plot where people who do questionable things for good reasons get rewarded. Not sure if this ties in with any of her other series.
Hopefully I'll continue posting a few months every day until I'm caught up, rather than getting distracted and letting it lapse.
A Shore Thing by Joanna Lowell -- (audio) Sapphic (sort of? one character is transmasculine but still somewhat female-identified?) historical romance. This had beautiful writing and a much more complicated plot than a simple romance, involving artists and bicycle touring in Victorian England. It did feel on occasion that there were a few too many progressive issues crammed into the plot, as if all the bases needed to be covered at once. The author has several other books that braid lightly with this one in terms of characters.
A Liaison with her Leading Lady by Lotte R. James -- (audio) Lesbian historic romance involving a theater company in early Victorian England. The title had led me to expect something more leaning towards erotica and I was pleasantly surprised to be mistaken. The writing was, overall, very nice though sometimes just barely short of over-the-top in style. On the whole, it felt well grounded in the history, though sometimes the concrete everyday details felt thin. There were several "theater culture" aspects that felt highly anachronistic, like they might have been mapped backwards from modern practice. The romance plot was both formulaic and believable.
How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying by Django Wexler -- (audio) Character is trapped in a "Groundhog Day" cycle in a fantasy role-playing-like world and must figure out how to succeed through trial and error when every error means death and starting from scratch. It's...ok? I guess? I DNFed this after a few chapters. I'm not a fan of "D&D look-and-feel" books and I just couldn't get interested in the story. I read this around the same time as John Scalzi's Starter Villain and felt the two had a similar feel, so if you liked the latter you might like this one?
Can't Spell Treason without Tea by Rebecca Thorne -- (audio) This is more or less the archetype of the "D&D-world coffee shop AU". Two women escape their roles in a fantasy kingdom and run away to start a combination tea and book shop in a remote village. Plausibility does not come into the question, so I don't judge it on that point. But I just couldn't find it in myself to care about the characters and it was another DNF, which is a shame because "lesbian light fantasy" should be catnip for me.
Netherford Hall by Natania Barron -- (print) Regency-esque fantasy with sapphic romance, in a world featuring magic, vampires, etc. I wanted to like this more than I did. It felt like there were a lot of unconnected details and the conversation-to-action ratio was a bit high. Very imaginative. Don't go into it expecting a historic setting though.
Going to finish up this post with "all K.J. Charles all the time" though I didn't actually read them back-to-back. (I was working on trying to fill in the gaps in the catalog.)
Gilded Cage by K.J. Charles -- (audio) Gay male historic romantic adventure. A sharp, fierce, polished little gem of a story. It kept teasing me with cross-references to characters form the Sins of the City series and now I want to see relationship charts.
Any Old Diamonds by K.J. Charles -- (audio) Gay male historic romantic heist adventure. Comes before Gilded Cage in series order and it was interesting to read this one out of order. See previous comments about wanting to trace connections to Sins of the City. Oh, and excellent as usual.
Rag and Bone by K.J. Charles -- (audio) Gay male historic romantic adventure with magic. A lovely little sweet relationship and a plot where people who do questionable things for good reasons get rewarded. Not sure if this ties in with any of her other series.
Hopefully I'll continue posting a few months every day until I'm caught up, rather than getting distracted and letting it lapse.
Books I've Read: June-July 2024
Dec. 20th, 2025 03:49 pmhrjYeah, yeah, it's been a year and a half since I posted these review-like-objects. I keep reading notes in a spreadsheet, so I'm not entirely writing these from memory. I figured I'd try to get caught up as a year-end project.
Saint of Steel books 1-4 (Paladin's Grace, Paladin's Strength, Paladin's Hope, Paladin's Faith) by T. Kingfisher -- (audio) Delightful, if formulaic, fantasy romance series in which broken people find wholeness with each other. They don't necessarily have typical HEA endings, though sufficiently to meet Romance (with a capital R) requirements. There's a series through-line, and other books/characters in the world get passing references. The romance threads involve significant amounts of people obsessively thinking about sex, destructively pining, and then enjoying significant amounts of on-page sex. Gender pairings included m/f and m/m but no f/f.
Rose House by Arkady Martine -- (audio) Interesting "what if a smart house...no a really smart house" story, not so much horror as suspense and mystery. Well done, though it didn't blow me away.
The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older -- (audio) I was doing a bunch of reading for awards and was finishing up the novella category. My initial notes indicate that the story didn't really hook me and that for an exotic exoplanet setting I wasn't getting a lot of clear sensory impressions. I think that impression was wrong, because (having read further in the series) I have very strong sensory memories of the setting and enjoyed it enough to keep going with later books. There's a mystery and a f/f "second chance" romance between college sweethearts, and a strong Sherlock Holmesian vibe for the primary detective character. I'm going to contradict my initial notes and give this a strong rec. (Getting ahead of myself somewhat, I particularly liked how the meaning of each title in the series becomes clear late in the book with a bit of punch.)
A Bluestocking's Guide to Decadence by Jess Everlee -- (audio) Lesbian historic romance. I liked this better than I was expecting to (since I was expecting another cosplay historical). The setting made good use of an existing community of non-conformists (in several senses), offering an acceptance of queerness while the plot conflicts are entirely separate from sexuality.
The Perils of Lady Catherine De Bourgh by Claudia Gray -- (audio) This is part of a light mystery series focused on two original "next generation" characters spun off of Jane Austen's novels. (The male and female protagonists are very tentatively working their way toward a romantic relationship, with the main barriers being class differences and the male protagonists being neuro-atypical.) A very likeable story, though I confess I spotted the culprit in the mystery very early on, based on the one potential suspect that the protagonists never seriously considered. I like the gradually advancing overall arc of the series.
Unfit to Print by KJ Charles -- (audio) Gay male historical romance. This one has a rather sweet second-chance romance, though I found the resolution of the non-romance plot to feel rather rushed. The sexual dynamics were more to my taste than in some of her books (where I don't always feel that the characters actually *like* each other very much, but are just horny for each other).
Saint of Steel books 1-4 (Paladin's Grace, Paladin's Strength, Paladin's Hope, Paladin's Faith) by T. Kingfisher -- (audio) Delightful, if formulaic, fantasy romance series in which broken people find wholeness with each other. They don't necessarily have typical HEA endings, though sufficiently to meet Romance (with a capital R) requirements. There's a series through-line, and other books/characters in the world get passing references. The romance threads involve significant amounts of people obsessively thinking about sex, destructively pining, and then enjoying significant amounts of on-page sex. Gender pairings included m/f and m/m but no f/f.
Rose House by Arkady Martine -- (audio) Interesting "what if a smart house...no a really smart house" story, not so much horror as suspense and mystery. Well done, though it didn't blow me away.
The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older -- (audio) I was doing a bunch of reading for awards and was finishing up the novella category. My initial notes indicate that the story didn't really hook me and that for an exotic exoplanet setting I wasn't getting a lot of clear sensory impressions. I think that impression was wrong, because (having read further in the series) I have very strong sensory memories of the setting and enjoyed it enough to keep going with later books. There's a mystery and a f/f "second chance" romance between college sweethearts, and a strong Sherlock Holmesian vibe for the primary detective character. I'm going to contradict my initial notes and give this a strong rec. (Getting ahead of myself somewhat, I particularly liked how the meaning of each title in the series becomes clear late in the book with a bit of punch.)
A Bluestocking's Guide to Decadence by Jess Everlee -- (audio) Lesbian historic romance. I liked this better than I was expecting to (since I was expecting another cosplay historical). The setting made good use of an existing community of non-conformists (in several senses), offering an acceptance of queerness while the plot conflicts are entirely separate from sexuality.
The Perils of Lady Catherine De Bourgh by Claudia Gray -- (audio) This is part of a light mystery series focused on two original "next generation" characters spun off of Jane Austen's novels. (The male and female protagonists are very tentatively working their way toward a romantic relationship, with the main barriers being class differences and the male protagonists being neuro-atypical.) A very likeable story, though I confess I spotted the culprit in the mystery very early on, based on the one potential suspect that the protagonists never seriously considered. I like the gradually advancing overall arc of the series.
Unfit to Print by KJ Charles -- (audio) Gay male historical romance. This one has a rather sweet second-chance romance, though I found the resolution of the non-romance plot to feel rather rushed. The sexual dynamics were more to my taste than in some of her books (where I don't always feel that the characters actually *like* each other very much, but are just horny for each other).
[ SECRET POST #6924 ]
Dec. 20th, 2025 04:44 pmcase posting in fandomsecrets⌈ Secret Post #6924 ⌋
Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.
01.
( More! )
Notes:
Secrets Left to Post: 03 pages, 52 secrets from Secret Submission Post #989.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.
[ SECRET SUBMISSIONS POST #990 ]
Dec. 20th, 2025 04:40 pmcase posting in fandomsecrets[ SECRET SUBMISSIONS POST #990 ]
The first secret from this batch will be posted on December 27th.
The first secret from this batch will be posted on December 27th.
| RULES: 1. One secret link per comment. 2. 750x750 px or smaller. 3. Link directly to the image. More details on how to send a secret in! Optional: If you would like your secret's fandom to be noted in the main post along with the secret itself, please put it in the comment along with your secret. If your secret makes the fandom obvious, there's no need to do this. If your fandom is obscure, you should probably tell me what it is. Optional #2: If you would like WARNINGS (such as spoilers or common triggers -- list of some common ones here) to be noted in the main post before the secret itself, please put it in the comment along with your secret. Optional #3: If you would like a transcript to be posted along with your secret, put it along with the link in the comment! |
2025 memed
Dec. 20th, 2025 11:25 amthistleingreyPreviously: 2014, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024. This has really become a few fragments, and oh yeah, I could post about video games a bit---the full version of the meme doesn't suit me.
1. What did you do in 2025 that you'd never done before?
( Read more... )
1. What did you do in 2025 that you'd never done before?
( Read more... )
Birdfeeding
Dec. 20th, 2025 11:53 amysabetwordsmithToday is mostly sunny and cool.
I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows and house finches, mostly on the suet feeder.
I put out water for the birds.
EDIT 12/20/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.
EDIT 12/20/25 -- I did more work around the patio.
EDIT 12/20/25 -- I did more work around the patio.
EDIT 12/20/25 -- I did more work around the patio.
As it is getting dark, I am done for the night.
I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows and house finches, mostly on the suet feeder.
I put out water for the birds.
EDIT 12/20/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.
EDIT 12/20/25 -- I did more work around the patio.
EDIT 12/20/25 -- I did more work around the patio.
EDIT 12/20/25 -- I did more work around the patio.
As it is getting dark, I am done for the night.
Book review: Solo Dance
Dec. 20th, 2025 09:25 amrocky41_7 posting in booknookTitle: Solo Dance
Author: Kotomi Li
Genre: Fiction
Author: Kotomi Li
Genre: Fiction
Last night I wrapped up Solo Dance by Kotomi Li, translated from Japanese by Arthur Morris. This short book is about a young gay Taiwanese woman who struggles with both internal and external homophobia, and eventually moves to Japan looking for understanding.
Queer stories from other countries are always interesting to me and it’s a good reminder that progress has not been even all over the world. Much of the book is pretty depressing, because the protagonist struggled with fitting in even before she realized she was gay, and she has some real struggles. She is battling severe depression for much of the book and at several points, suicidality.
The book is touching in that the protagonist’s struggles feel real and she’s someone who is so close to having positive experience that could change her life for the better, but her luck keeps dropping on the other side each time.
I don’t want to spoil too much about the end, but while I was grateful for the overall tone of the it, it is contrived and not very believable. But I did enjoy the protagonist’s travels leading up to that point. It’s not at all subtle, and it packs a lot more plot into the final handful of chapters than the rest of the book, but it was still sweet to see the protagonist’s perspective shift a little through her engagements with other people.
I’m not sure if it’s the translation or the original prose, but the language is stilted and very emotionally distant. The reader is kept at arm’s length from the protagonist virtually the whole novel, and while we’re often told she’s feeling these intense feelings, I never felt it. It was like reading a clinical report of her feelings, which was disappointing.
This is Li’s first novel, and it reads that way. There’s a lot of heart in it, and I appreciate it for that, but it lacks a lot in technical skill. I would be interested to see more of Li’s future work, when she’s had more time to polish her ability, but I don’t regret taking the time with this one.