Kirikou and the Wild Beasts

"Mother, why does the sorceress have me watched?"
"Because you ask questions, and do not stop until you have answers.
I'm very proud of you, Kirikou."

Kirikou and the Wild Beasts, sequel to Kirkou and the Sorceress. The art is all clean lines and clear curves and beautiful lush scenery. Smooth, gliding animation in a pleasing style I'd never seen before. Four sprightly stories of a tiny boy outwitting an evil sorceress and saving his whole village.

Animals are animals and all around, never anthropomorphized, neither helpful nor causing deliberate harm. Loss is loss, never fixed or waved away. When the village loses its garden it must make pottery instead. When the pottery breaks it cannot be salvaged. Kirikou's strength is his perseverance - and candid bravery, and smarts.

It's lovely and cute and joyous. I want the first one now.

Oh!

And I made a friend! Derrek. Barefoot Derrek in Indian shirt and greying beard, with his sandwich in tupperware in an old drawstring bag. I can talk to people after all! Interesting ones. He had a whole schedule of free events written carefully in very fine print for the entire summer, gathered from newspapers and websites and what all. He's in the city taking care of relatives and availing himself of the constant entertainment besides.

So there's Blues and BBQ at the 14th St Pier tomorrow from 2-9pm! The 'Specials' bands in mid-Central Park, if I wanted to go back to the eighties! Picasso at the Met and Haitian Carnival music up-park at 110th!

"What's your passion in the city?" he asked, as if he were asking my job or my favorite color. I told him about visualizing social networks, the Mass in every city. I still want to paint that somehow.