Continuing through the Media Union's Comics collection, I read through the five volumes of David B.'s "L'ascension du Haut Mal". It tells the story of the author's childhood, and in particular his older brother's epilepsy.
The story is largely taken up by descriptions of the stuff that his parents go through in an attempt to find a cure for the brother: catholocism, macrobiotics, alchemy, voodoo.... They try prayer, exorcism, various diets, and of course doctor-proscribed drugs, but they all seem equally useless. By the end of it you're not sure whether they're really still focused on epilepsy--they have to have given up hope at some level--or whether exploring fringe philosophies has become some sort of family hobby, maybe one that takes their mind of their problems.
All this stuff gives lots of wonderful grist for the artist, of course. The intricate black-and-white panels are stuffed with fantastic creatures and symbols.
Sara and I saw the bollywood movie "Devdas" on a friend's recommendation. It's sappy and melodramatic, of course, but the songs and dances are great. The language is a bit poetic, and the subtitles not really well done, so it's hard to follow the dialog at times. The sets are sort of crazy--stained-glass windows, huge sweeping staircases, endless corridors for the heroine to streak down dramatically at the appropriate moment.
Tonight Sara and I started "Shaolin Soccer." It's fabulous.
I've been home from work with a cold the last couple days, sniffling and feeling a little thick-headed, but getting a little work done anyway. Tommorow I think I'll probably make it back to the office.