Porco and his plane

After much deliberation, I decided to spend the US$72 and buy the Master's graduation gown, hood, cap and tassel. I nearly decided against going for the commencement ceremony, but I figured, this is the last time I'll graduate from anything.

In the evening, I watched Miyazaki's Porco Rosso at last. Italy, the sea. Planes, flight sequences. A chanteuse singing in French. And an inspired scene taken from Roald Dahl's short story, "They Shall Not Grow Old." A strange and surreal moment in a pilot's life - watching the planes of dead comrades and enemies ascending and joining the long stretch of planes drifting across the sky.