hot birdlove
2005-06-26

Saw March of the Penguins over the weekend. A friend and I were going to see "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" but after watching a lone pervert-looking type buy tickets for "whatever's on at 9:30" we dashed away to the refuge of Antarctica.

I have never watched "Coka the Lonesome Cougar" but it is probably very much like "March of the Penguins" in that the penguins, which I always thought were stupid, smelly creatures, are apparently always going through tragic situations that have lasting emotional impact on their tiny brains. They march to some godforsaken sheet of ice, where they pair up with each other and have very mellow sex. Then they lay eggs, sit on them, and out comes a baby bird, in the way nature has. Of course along the way there are all sorts of deadly obstacles which crop up in a pretty predictable pattern - penguins cuddle with each other, PENGUINS DROP EGG!, penguins go back to sea to eat, PENGUINS GET EATEN BY A SEAL!, penguins sit through a storm, PENGUINS FREEZE TO DEATH! One poor penguin loses her chick and pecks and squeals at it in heartbreaking fashion, while Morgan Freeman intones "The loss is unbearable!" I was one part moved and one part wondering if she was disappointed because it was not only dead but frozen inedible. Eventually after an attack by the world's shabbiest looking seabird the penguins have finally overcome all their filmed trials and haul off into the sea, for the circle of life to start anew etc.

No, it really was cute and you should see it if you can't imagine everything that happens from the detailed account I've given. I really want to see the original French version, which had a script dubbed in with actors playing the parts of the penguins. What on earth could they have to say?

Sadly for all the "Penguins on a march of love!" bs this was probably one of the most dramatic movies out this summer. Fake penguin romance > fake human romance.

L. came down last night from lovely Long Island and I dragged her to the "Canada Day" concert at Prospect Park (only $3!) to see the Sadies, Stars, and the New Pornographers (ONLY $3 hahaha!) It turned out she had gone to see the Pixies on Jones Beach, the biyatch. Stupid boyfriend with large unemployment checks/fixation with the Pixies (not that there's anything wrong with a fixation on the Pixies).

The whole scene was very mellow, like penguins having sex. Lots of hipsters with their spawn, not much smoking or drinking or other SINNING.

I must get some technical issues straightened out, so exciting details of everything later.