Departures

If you've not seen this fabulous Japanese film, run to your nearest video shop and buy it!


As an appetizer, here's one tidbit that left me guffawing:  the protagonist and a secretary are standing by some caskets, discussing embalming.  The secretary says, "This is a niche market."  (No, the film is not slapstick, though especially in the first part, there's a lot of humor.)

What's In A Name?

Consider the first name of Russian composer Mussorgsky:  "Modest."  {gasp}  Did his parents hate him?  Isn't that choice of name a form of child abuse?  Can you imagine what a guy with a name like that would go through as a teen or in the service?  I mean, sure, I'm all for not saddling your kid with insipid names like Bill, Bob or Tom, but..."Modest"?  Surely you jest!  

(Yeah, I know, in Russian, "Modest" probably doesn't have the same meaning/ring.)