About the Blog
I created this blog because I wanted to create art. Decidedly not Art with a capital A — moreso the kind of art that is shared between friends, birthed hedonistically, and unconcerned with profit or public critique. That's a pretty lofty goal for what will be, eventually, a glorified Letterboxd, but I like to shoot high.
I don't want to place any firm boundaries on what I'll post, but I think discussing the media I enjoy is a strong place to start. I enjoy a lot of semi-obscure media and love sharing what I find with others. I struggle to put my thoughts into a format short enough for a post. Even with the expanded limits of BlueSky I feel strange posting paragraphs. Wish me luck in finding some creative satisfaction here, of all places.
About Me
I'm panda. Allow me to explain.
I grew up as a chubby asian-american boy who studied martial arts at a young age. My fate was sealed once Kung Fu panda released into theatres. I continued studying a combination kempo, judo, and jiu jitsu until I had a leg injury and left for college. I've been in love with martial arts movies before, during, and after my own experience with it. I'm a lot more forgiving on movies that have fantastic storylines and lackluster stories possibly for this reason.
Alongside that special interest, I've been majorly invested in media from west asia (especially Hong Kong action films) in the 80s and 90s. Being deeply dissolusioned with the current state of movies and music, I've found a fountain of synthetic nostalgia listening to city pop and watching some of the best fight scenes put to film. When I see practical effects, mechanics laid bare by a 4k rip of a movie shot for VHS, I point at the screen and clap like a seal. There is an amount of fun and wonder that I can only find in the past. Isn't that sad???
I have a BA in Cognitive Science, which I'm pretty proud to have finished. I'm the first person in my family to get a college degree, and I've never used it outside of academia, so please let me have this 🥺
Besides that I'm japanese and korean, uhhh neither of which are the native habitat of the panda. That's why I'm panda and not a panda. Make sense?
About Others
I was most directly inspired to make this website by my friends Sraëka and Caiman's own Neocities sites. I'd read their annual movie recaps the prior year, but this year their lists coincided with an itch in the back of my brain to create something.
I'm hopeful that something I post here brings you similar inspiration.
Take some time to check out Caiman Churchard and Sraëka-Lillian's top ten movies from 2023. Their tastes in film are *chef's kiss* impecable and they're great folks to boot!