Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Unbreakable
My favourite of Shyamalan's films. This is his classic, not The Sixth Sense. The only weaknesses about this movie were the biopic titles at the end. They were unnecessary. Shyamalan's auteur-ness really shines through. He often refers to very simple events and explanations for many things, and this film, while totally unsubtle in dialogue, is about as subtle you can get in terms of visual style. The decision to tackle comic-book/graphic-novel mythology in a non-exaggerated way was the best decision for this film. Dunn didn't have X-Ray vision. Price didn't have an evil lair. They were just stylised representations of ordinary people. And that's how the film succeeded.
Bruce Willis also proves he's an action star with longetivity. By the way, I think many complaints about Shyamalan's films are that nothing happens for two hours or that they move very slow. Well, I do think they are very slowly paced films, but the character development of the protagonist (in the two films of his I've seen) is always fleshed out properly. For example, it takes Price the entire film to convince Dunn that he is a superhero. He doesn't just 'realise' this 10 minutes into the movie and spend the next 90 minutes flying around saving people. There is a very simple and straightforward arc which is told with elegance and style. That's Shyamalan for you.
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Steve and I did storyboarding for Lychee today. It went fairly smoothly. Henry's coming tomorrow for a rehearsal/script-reading, and the shoot's planned for Friday.
Good night, take care.
NOTE: Today's post seems particularly grammatically bad, I'm not sure why. My apologies.
Bruce Willis also proves he's an action star with longetivity. By the way, I think many complaints about Shyamalan's films are that nothing happens for two hours or that they move very slow. Well, I do think they are very slowly paced films, but the character development of the protagonist (in the two films of his I've seen) is always fleshed out properly. For example, it takes Price the entire film to convince Dunn that he is a superhero. He doesn't just 'realise' this 10 minutes into the movie and spend the next 90 minutes flying around saving people. There is a very simple and straightforward arc which is told with elegance and style. That's Shyamalan for you.
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Steve and I did storyboarding for Lychee today. It went fairly smoothly. Henry's coming tomorrow for a rehearsal/script-reading, and the shoot's planned for Friday.
Good night, take care.
NOTE: Today's post seems particularly grammatically bad, I'm not sure why. My apologies.
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Kung Fu Hustle
Quirky spoof film. Great use of the cinematic language and very very silly the whole way through. There's not much to this movie, but it was sure as hell enjoyable.
One thing though, the character development in the film is virtually non-existent, or rather, it doesn't really explain the character development. It doesn't really let the film down, but yeah, there were some things that, if fleshed out, could've made the film more resonant. Thumbs up though.
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Today's plan to busk by singing and playing guitar went to the dumps. Firstly, we had like three songs, and secondly, we were too cowardly anyway. But I did finally get a tour of Yuen's new apartment building (H47), which is totally awesome. They have a cool 'water simulation' rowing machine thing in the gym, a spooky storage basement fit for any Wes Craven film, a theatre, a rubbish room that smells like rotten bananas and a Taiwanese hotel-foyer-elevator area. Not to mention that the entire place is very new and very, very clean. That place is totally cinematic.
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I'm planning to do pre-production for Lychee tomorrow. We may also be shooting a long lost project depending on time constraints. Ok, scriptwriting time. Cya!
One thing though, the character development in the film is virtually non-existent, or rather, it doesn't really explain the character development. It doesn't really let the film down, but yeah, there were some things that, if fleshed out, could've made the film more resonant. Thumbs up though.
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Today's plan to busk by singing and playing guitar went to the dumps. Firstly, we had like three songs, and secondly, we were too cowardly anyway. But I did finally get a tour of Yuen's new apartment building (H47), which is totally awesome. They have a cool 'water simulation' rowing machine thing in the gym, a spooky storage basement fit for any Wes Craven film, a theatre, a rubbish room that smells like rotten bananas and a Taiwanese hotel-foyer-elevator area. Not to mention that the entire place is very new and very, very clean. That place is totally cinematic.
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I'm planning to do pre-production for Lychee tomorrow. We may also be shooting a long lost project depending on time constraints. Ok, scriptwriting time. Cya!
Monday, August 29, 2005
Finding Neverland
Yeah, good movie. There aren't a lot of these films around these days, Finding Neverland is a rarity...
As for Depp's performance? Great acting, I agree, worthy of the Oscar nomination. However I think Freddie Highmore really did carry a lot of the movie. Seriously, this kid is amazing. He is like Haley Joel Osment in The Sixth Sense. These kids are all incredibly talented.
Finding Neverland was a pretty stylish film, sometimes it seemed like overkill but visually, it was honestly still pretty awesome. I thought it also had a fairly tight script and a well integrated score. Nice, well made modern film.
As for Depp's performance? Great acting, I agree, worthy of the Oscar nomination. However I think Freddie Highmore really did carry a lot of the movie. Seriously, this kid is amazing. He is like Haley Joel Osment in The Sixth Sense. These kids are all incredibly talented.
Finding Neverland was a pretty stylish film, sometimes it seemed like overkill but visually, it was honestly still pretty awesome. I thought it also had a fairly tight script and a well integrated score. Nice, well made modern film.
Breaking News
I don't think anyone who reads this blog regularly gives a Mars bar about this, BUT:
Anna Stern (Samaire Armstrong) is returning to The O.C. in season three.
Self-explanatory. Season three starts in around ten days' time. Total awesomeness.
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Went into Uni today to do an assignment. 2000 words, done! Awesomeness, no more work for the rest of the break other than some lighthearted reading.
Time for Finding Neverland, then food, then guitar, then writing, then more food, then guitar, then writing, then...
Anna Stern (Samaire Armstrong) is returning to The O.C. in season three.
Self-explanatory. Season three starts in around ten days' time. Total awesomeness.
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Went into Uni today to do an assignment. 2000 words, done! Awesomeness, no more work for the rest of the break other than some lighthearted reading.
Time for Finding Neverland, then food, then guitar, then writing, then more food, then guitar, then writing, then...
Sunday, August 28, 2005
American History X
FINALLY saw this movie. They swear so much in this movie. The film was also completely unsubtle in every way. The ending was also predictable and the script a bit message-heavy, like it just kept drilling me with the same ideas over and over and over again. But, I highly recommend seeing this because:
1) Ed Norton is one of the best screen actors from Generation X.
2) He is in this movie.
3) His performance in this is the best I have seen in the last two years. Now I feel compelled to go see every other movie he is in. I thought he was great in Fight Club but he is amazing here. He just brings an inner soul and humanity to every film he's in.
4) Edward Furlong is also incredibly talented.
5) He is also in this movie.
6) Tony Kaye has a lot of unique sensibilities and this is a really admirable effort in directing.
7) The film is beautifully photographed, with a great balance between handheld docu-style shots and crane shots and the b/w and colour scenes. Although a bit melodramatic in some segments, the slow motion was used to great effect, with the film paced comfortably the whole way through.
It is also very, very engaging. It covers a lot of themes and issues we all know, and sometimes I felt like I'd seen it all before in different combinations in other movies, but this film definitely has something to say. It's not perfect, but it has a personality and a strong identity, and that's what really counts in a film.
Caution: Contains sex scenes, nudity, implied graphic violence and a lot of offensive language.
Next up is Finding Neverland. According to many people Depp's performance in this is one of the best in the history of cinema. Norton's going to be hard to follow, but I'm curious and really looking forward to it.
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William's quartet practice: Was good, although I need to learn my part better so I don't screw up as much and have counting problems. Will be able to play violin and guitar more this week.
Off to bed, good night.
1) Ed Norton is one of the best screen actors from Generation X.
2) He is in this movie.
3) His performance in this is the best I have seen in the last two years. Now I feel compelled to go see every other movie he is in. I thought he was great in Fight Club but he is amazing here. He just brings an inner soul and humanity to every film he's in.
4) Edward Furlong is also incredibly talented.
5) He is also in this movie.
6) Tony Kaye has a lot of unique sensibilities and this is a really admirable effort in directing.
7) The film is beautifully photographed, with a great balance between handheld docu-style shots and crane shots and the b/w and colour scenes. Although a bit melodramatic in some segments, the slow motion was used to great effect, with the film paced comfortably the whole way through.
It is also very, very engaging. It covers a lot of themes and issues we all know, and sometimes I felt like I'd seen it all before in different combinations in other movies, but this film definitely has something to say. It's not perfect, but it has a personality and a strong identity, and that's what really counts in a film.
Caution: Contains sex scenes, nudity, implied graphic violence and a lot of offensive language.
Next up is Finding Neverland. According to many people Depp's performance in this is one of the best in the history of cinema. Norton's going to be hard to follow, but I'm curious and really looking forward to it.
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William's quartet practice: Was good, although I need to learn my part better so I don't screw up as much and have counting problems. Will be able to play violin and guitar more this week.
Off to bed, good night.
Saturday, August 27, 2005
NYO 2005
National Youth Concert tonight. Pieces were: Glinka, Toan (new NZ piece), Prokofiev piano concerto and a Tchaikovsky symphony. The Glinka was very aurally pleasing, the conductor had cool gestures, John Chen's playing was very articulate and crystalline but overshadowed by the very loud orchestra in the Prokofiev, and the Tchaikovsky was... surprisingly short.
One thing: the conductor gave his bouquet to Joy at the end of the concert! Yeah, actually now htinking about it, all the woodwinds were pretty good this year.
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Academy - left halfway through but had a cream cheese bagel from Dunkin' Donuts prior. And a beef stick. Therefore was satisfied.
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Busking - business today was so-so, but we played Bach's double concerto, it was awesome. What a great piece... now we just have to get better at it and expand our repertoire. Then we'll certainly be the tourist attraction of Auckland CBD.
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Didn't watch any movies today. Hmm... uh oh, now I have Requiem For A Dream and Crash to see as well... they just keep piling up, in a good way though.
It's been a long tday, time two go two bed, the first time before two in the last two days.
Take care.
One thing: the conductor gave his bouquet to Joy at the end of the concert! Yeah, actually now htinking about it, all the woodwinds were pretty good this year.
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Academy - left halfway through but had a cream cheese bagel from Dunkin' Donuts prior. And a beef stick. Therefore was satisfied.
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Busking - business today was so-so, but we played Bach's double concerto, it was awesome. What a great piece... now we just have to get better at it and expand our repertoire. Then we'll certainly be the tourist attraction of Auckland CBD.
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Didn't watch any movies today. Hmm... uh oh, now I have Requiem For A Dream and Crash to see as well... they just keep piling up, in a good way though.
It's been a long tday, time two go two bed, the first time before two in the last two days.
Take care.
Not Too Tired
Went to pool with Janko, Chris, Simon, Julia, Steve and Rikky yesterday. I think my brain can't comprehend reflections or anything more complicated than the cue ball hitting the other ball.
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Today: Busking with Bach Double Concerto, Academy for an hour, then NYO concert to hear Joy + Co. and John Chen as soloist in residence (Not sure if I have my facts right but yeah, something cool)! I was stupid and bussed home at 2 PM yesterday so I didn't get to see Joy. Oops.
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Tomorrow: Do some feature screenplay planning (the first week of the holidays is devoted to scene card, writing and maybe a few absurd and short video exercises). Edit more of Papaya. Willliam's composition quartet practice, which I am looking forward to I think, it will be fun to play the other movements. I haven't practised more but I will tomorrow morning. Oh yeah, vacuuming the floor.
Time for violin. Cya!
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Today: Busking with Bach Double Concerto, Academy for an hour, then NYO concert to hear Joy + Co. and John Chen as soloist in residence (Not sure if I have my facts right but yeah, something cool)! I was stupid and bussed home at 2 PM yesterday so I didn't get to see Joy. Oops.
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Tomorrow: Do some feature screenplay planning (the first week of the holidays is devoted to scene card, writing and maybe a few absurd and short video exercises). Edit more of Papaya. Willliam's composition quartet practice, which I am looking forward to I think, it will be fun to play the other movements. I haven't practised more but I will tomorrow morning. Oh yeah, vacuuming the floor.
Time for violin. Cya!
Friday, August 26, 2005
So So Tired
Bussed home early to sleep. Just got up.
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First half of semester two is over! Time is going way too fast, first year is going to be gone in a flash. Today's FTVMS lecture was pretty good. We saw, "The Crying Game", which was quite an interesting movie, but it was also disjointed and lacked thematic focus.
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I got a new phone from this random Korean person living in Hong Kong. Nokia 6101. Mm, this is better than what I had before, a Motorola v3688x. He has a quirky personality:
A battery life of 2 days on standby.
An inbox size of 6 messages. Maybe it was just my one.
The inability to save any phone numbers from text messages.
The inability to save phone numbers from outgoing calls.
The preference for deleting one character for every fourteen that I type in.
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Ok, guitar time! Two weeks of awesomeness...
:o)
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First half of semester two is over! Time is going way too fast, first year is going to be gone in a flash. Today's FTVMS lecture was pretty good. We saw, "The Crying Game", which was quite an interesting movie, but it was also disjointed and lacked thematic focus.
-------
I got a new phone from this random Korean person living in Hong Kong. Nokia 6101. Mm, this is better than what I had before, a Motorola v3688x. He has a quirky personality:
A battery life of 2 days on standby.
An inbox size of 6 messages. Maybe it was just my one.
The inability to save any phone numbers from text messages.
The inability to save phone numbers from outgoing calls.
The preference for deleting one character for every fourteen that I type in.
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Ok, guitar time! Two weeks of awesomeness...
:o)
Ghost World
I was going to see American History X in my big break but the damn computers didn't work at Uni, so I saw Ghost World instead. Alex, I agree, very good movie, I really liked it. Now we have a trilogy of films on similar themes:
The Graduate
Garden State
Ghost World
Perhaps there are many more still out there...
Buscemi is great - but the main thing about the film was how true and honest it was. Might be depressing and sad to watch for some, but really, I view it as quite an optimistic film. I also thought it improved on the comic/graphic novel.
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Today I had a sandwich from the 'Subway-choose-your-fillings' place at the main Quad. The girl who makes the sandwiches is amazing. She was so patient and detailed and meticulous and careful about preparing the sandwich that I didn't want to eat it in the end. It was way too much work for $3.50. She'd line the bread so it was exactly 90º on the paper and dead centre, lay the cucumbers out evenly, put in chicken crumbs to fill in the gaps on the sandwich between the actual chicken pieces and apply mayonnaise in a loopy zig zag pattern. Someone needs to get her out of working full-time at this piece of junk place. Heck, if she was directing movies she'd be an awesome director... what the hell is she doing making sandwiches for all these people who are just going to destroy her work in about 10 minutes? Well, I took a bit longer to eat it, but still...
I am torn between two recommendations. On one hand I would recommend everyone to go try those sandwiches, because they are among the best ever in terms of service, taste, healthiness, etc. But on the other hand I'd recommend you boycott the Quad cafe, just so the place would shut down and she'd apply her talents in something more worthwhile. Now, don't get me wrong, food is worthwhile, but at the very least she could be a chef. Or a film director. Or a food sculptor. Or like, a painter or something. Heck, this is the most amazing and inspiring thing I have witnessed in the past month, encapsulated in such a simple event. Sandwich-Making Girl, I salute you for your awesome sandwich-making-ness.
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The APO concert. Was very very good. Ravel - Pavane pour une infante defunte - genius. Fauré's Requiem - many old memories from Auckland Boys Choir were revived, the Pie Jesu bit with the unexpected extra chord insert in the second repeat was very nice. Too bad the 10:30 bus ditched us, so we went for pearl tea (without pearls) instead and bummed around for an hour. Meh.
Time for bed. Then two hours of FTVMS. Then mid-semester break. Our life starts now, there's nothing left to wait for. Take care.
The Graduate
Garden State
Ghost World
Perhaps there are many more still out there...
Buscemi is great - but the main thing about the film was how true and honest it was. Might be depressing and sad to watch for some, but really, I view it as quite an optimistic film. I also thought it improved on the comic/graphic novel.
-------
Today I had a sandwich from the 'Subway-choose-your-fillings' place at the main Quad. The girl who makes the sandwiches is amazing. She was so patient and detailed and meticulous and careful about preparing the sandwich that I didn't want to eat it in the end. It was way too much work for $3.50. She'd line the bread so it was exactly 90º on the paper and dead centre, lay the cucumbers out evenly, put in chicken crumbs to fill in the gaps on the sandwich between the actual chicken pieces and apply mayonnaise in a loopy zig zag pattern. Someone needs to get her out of working full-time at this piece of junk place. Heck, if she was directing movies she'd be an awesome director... what the hell is she doing making sandwiches for all these people who are just going to destroy her work in about 10 minutes? Well, I took a bit longer to eat it, but still...
I am torn between two recommendations. On one hand I would recommend everyone to go try those sandwiches, because they are among the best ever in terms of service, taste, healthiness, etc. But on the other hand I'd recommend you boycott the Quad cafe, just so the place would shut down and she'd apply her talents in something more worthwhile. Now, don't get me wrong, food is worthwhile, but at the very least she could be a chef. Or a film director. Or a food sculptor. Or like, a painter or something. Heck, this is the most amazing and inspiring thing I have witnessed in the past month, encapsulated in such a simple event. Sandwich-Making Girl, I salute you for your awesome sandwich-making-ness.
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The APO concert. Was very very good. Ravel - Pavane pour une infante defunte - genius. Fauré's Requiem - many old memories from Auckland Boys Choir were revived, the Pie Jesu bit with the unexpected extra chord insert in the second repeat was very nice. Too bad the 10:30 bus ditched us, so we went for pearl tea (without pearls) instead and bummed around for an hour. Meh.
Time for bed. Then two hours of FTVMS. Then mid-semester break. Our life starts now, there's nothing left to wait for. Take care.
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
Mean Girls
What can I say? This movie is hilarious. No acting awards for Lindsay Lohan here, I think most of the performances were solid, but what carried film was the script.
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Films still on the list of must-sees this week: American History X, Finding Neverland, Sideways, Ghost World.
Time for some Papaya editing...
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Dear Henry.
Sorry for the 'Harry Potter meltdown', you weren't the person who'd spoiled the spoiler for me, I already knew that and was not being serious. I've realised that my sarcasm is crappy and doesn't work and is lame. Sorry.
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Films still on the list of must-sees this week: American History X, Finding Neverland, Sideways, Ghost World.
Time for some Papaya editing...
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Dear Henry.
Sorry for the 'Harry Potter meltdown', you weren't the person who'd spoiled the spoiler for me, I already knew that and was not being serious. I've realised that my sarcasm is crappy and doesn't work and is lame. Sorry.
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
New Food Discoveries
Throaties - hmm not bad. They are helping with the sore throat.
Grain Waves Select - good, just new flavours. Not really better or worse than the other flavours I guess. They don't look healthier either. Wonder why they're called Select. Maybe it's a ploy to trick certain consumers into thinking it's better than normal Grain Waves.
Moro/Mars - these are just the same thing right? They look and taste pretty similar... except a Moro is more for less and Mars have better ads on tv. Why didn't they ever come out with the Earth bars? I mean, even if they tasted the same, if they just HAD the Earth bars there, it'd be a novelty to buy... cos I would've bought one.
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The weird thing about Uni is when you're reading the 'readings' for your selected week, the name of your lecturer pops up in the articles you're reading? So for example you're reading this thesis by a guy in California or Seattle, and they suddenly mention, "_____, on the other hand, states that blah is not the case and his research shows that..." So it's like walking into the lecture theatre, and being able to talk to and argue with the person who just wrote the theory you're studying. That's freaky. Maybe it's what we pay our fees for, the accessibility of direct verbal assault on old famous academics who are lecturing at UoA as a form of retirement recreation.
Time for Uni, on the bus I go. Cya!
Grain Waves Select - good, just new flavours. Not really better or worse than the other flavours I guess. They don't look healthier either. Wonder why they're called Select. Maybe it's a ploy to trick certain consumers into thinking it's better than normal Grain Waves.
Moro/Mars - these are just the same thing right? They look and taste pretty similar... except a Moro is more for less and Mars have better ads on tv. Why didn't they ever come out with the Earth bars? I mean, even if they tasted the same, if they just HAD the Earth bars there, it'd be a novelty to buy... cos I would've bought one.
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The weird thing about Uni is when you're reading the 'readings' for your selected week, the name of your lecturer pops up in the articles you're reading? So for example you're reading this thesis by a guy in California or Seattle, and they suddenly mention, "_____, on the other hand, states that blah is not the case and his research shows that..." So it's like walking into the lecture theatre, and being able to talk to and argue with the person who just wrote the theory you're studying. That's freaky. Maybe it's what we pay our fees for, the accessibility of direct verbal assault on old famous academics who are lecturing at UoA as a form of retirement recreation.
Time for Uni, on the bus I go. Cya!
Sunday, August 21, 2005
Revival
Returning to music of the past. Utada Hikaru and Simon & Garfunkel revision period. Great music.
Editing went well tonight, this film is ending up pretty long. I mean, the first thing that's over 10 minutes that I've ever done. Woo exciting.
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Good night. I have a 2000 word essay for PHIL 212 that I am planning to do tomorrow since I have a day off. I've already screwed up my FTVMS one but I've learnt to come to terms with that. Bye!
Editing went well tonight, this film is ending up pretty long. I mean, the first thing that's over 10 minutes that I've ever done. Woo exciting.
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Good night. I have a 2000 word essay for PHIL 212 that I am planning to do tomorrow since I have a day off. I've already screwed up my FTVMS one but I've learnt to come to terms with that. Bye!
Garden State
Mmm I liked some parts of this movie but, meh, it was ok. It was pretty good for a feature debut though, but it was still pretty dry. Good soundtrack though.
Ahhh! Not enough time to watch all these movies! I'm gonna have to edit Papaya tonight. Target date for fine [no music] cut completion: Tuesday.
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Quartet practice today. William's piece is actually really fun to play, and after you play it a few times you start remembering the themes.
Ok, back to editing.
Ahhh! Not enough time to watch all these movies! I'm gonna have to edit Papaya tonight. Target date for fine [no music] cut completion: Tuesday.
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Quartet practice today. William's piece is actually really fun to play, and after you play it a few times you start remembering the themes.
Ok, back to editing.
Saturday, August 20, 2005
Busking: The Sequel
This week we were standing outside the Kathmandu corner on Queen Street. Better spot acoustically, but colder. People were pretty friendly though, so it went pretty well. Next week I'm bringing my guitar, we're gonna try a different strategy.
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Academy of Strings was good. Thomas Chan was conducting.
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Fanta Sours tastes horrible. Avoid at all costs. Muffin Break's english muffins are very, very good. But ridiculously overpriced.
Time for bed, cya. We've lapsed into a period of boring blog entries again, but as soon as mid-semester break begins in a week, filmmaking and musical fun will resume, I promise. Take care.
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Academy of Strings was good. Thomas Chan was conducting.
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Fanta Sours tastes horrible. Avoid at all costs. Muffin Break's english muffins are very, very good. But ridiculously overpriced.
Time for bed, cya. We've lapsed into a period of boring blog entries again, but as soon as mid-semester break begins in a week, filmmaking and musical fun will resume, I promise. Take care.
Friday, August 19, 2005
Citizen Kane
What can I say? The last time I had the same experience when watching a movie was when I saw The Shawshank Redemption.
I went into the screening with very, very high expectations, and they were exceeded. Orson Welles is a genius and an amazing actor. Totally incredibly what-the-hell mindblowing cinema. A film of so many layers, textures and amazing maturity and insight. Orson Welles, genius. I think if I had seen this movie when it first came out (1941) I would've had a heart attack. I'm seeing it now and it is one of the best movies I have ever seen in my life, including all the modern films I've seen. Audiences back then must've been totally pissing their pants, and if they weren't, they'd probably be beating themselves up. It is such a privilege to see this movie. OFMGR.
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Godiva - Is this supposed to be the best chocolate brand in the world? Apparently. They taste REALLY good. Even better than Lindt.
Gotta go now, I'm in a writing mood. Cya!
I went into the screening with very, very high expectations, and they were exceeded. Orson Welles is a genius and an amazing actor. Totally incredibly what-the-hell mindblowing cinema. A film of so many layers, textures and amazing maturity and insight. Orson Welles, genius. I think if I had seen this movie when it first came out (1941) I would've had a heart attack. I'm seeing it now and it is one of the best movies I have ever seen in my life, including all the modern films I've seen. Audiences back then must've been totally pissing their pants, and if they weren't, they'd probably be beating themselves up. It is such a privilege to see this movie. OFMGR.
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Godiva - Is this supposed to be the best chocolate brand in the world? Apparently. They taste REALLY good. Even better than Lindt.
Gotta go now, I'm in a writing mood. Cya!
Thursday, August 18, 2005
Inspiration
Today I was totally inspired for some reason so on the bus home I went to the back and wrote down all this stuff in my notebook. Then I got home and read it and none of it made any sense. I kinda feel disappointed because I thought that was some good stuff but meh, it's ok, sometimes epiphanies cant' be captured by scribbled notes.
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Today's Philosophy of Arts class was great. Talked about forgeries and that kind of thing. This is the best paper this year, only by a little bit though.
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Watching Closer. Why is the entire movie full of swearing and crude sexual references? The performances are superb but what is up with the 'crap' in this movie?
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Tired, bed, cya.
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Today's Philosophy of Arts class was great. Talked about forgeries and that kind of thing. This is the best paper this year, only by a little bit though.
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Watching Closer. Why is the entire movie full of swearing and crude sexual references? The performances are superb but what is up with the 'crap' in this movie?
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Tired, bed, cya.
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
What I Watched
Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Time-beloved classic that I finally saw tonight. Funny. Random. Completely silly. But funny.
:o)
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Desperate Housewives: Great episode.
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Entourage: What can I say? This show is the second best dialogue mastermind show on the entire planet, losing only to Gilmore Girls. Jeremy Piven has risen to become one of the most compelling and watchable television actors this year.
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Today, was inspired by standing at the bus stop again. I have too many stupid 10-minute long short scripts from the last few days, I have trouble deciding which one to shoot first. There is something weird about the buses of this week. No one takes them. For the past few days I've been taking 'normal time' buses and I hardly ever see/meet anyone. Weird. Maybe everyone's skipping class. Hmm...
National Youth Orchestra concert next Saturday! University Singers with APO next Thursday!
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Oh yeah, I went to that choral thing at Macleans yesterday. BBI and Farm Cove were awesome, Macleans was... ok. They sang Ajita's tsunami relief song, and what can I say, I ran home afterwards and listened to the MIDI of it. It's like Joey says, if you eat a bad pizza, you have to eat 5 more good ones just to wash the bad taste out of your mouth. Right.
Off to bed, cya! The last root-canal dentist appointment tomorrow morning.
:o)
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Desperate Housewives: Great episode.
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Entourage: What can I say? This show is the second best dialogue mastermind show on the entire planet, losing only to Gilmore Girls. Jeremy Piven has risen to become one of the most compelling and watchable television actors this year.
-------
Today, was inspired by standing at the bus stop again. I have too many stupid 10-minute long short scripts from the last few days, I have trouble deciding which one to shoot first. There is something weird about the buses of this week. No one takes them. For the past few days I've been taking 'normal time' buses and I hardly ever see/meet anyone. Weird. Maybe everyone's skipping class. Hmm...
National Youth Orchestra concert next Saturday! University Singers with APO next Thursday!
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Oh yeah, I went to that choral thing at Macleans yesterday. BBI and Farm Cove were awesome, Macleans was... ok. They sang Ajita's tsunami relief song, and what can I say, I ran home afterwards and listened to the MIDI of it. It's like Joey says, if you eat a bad pizza, you have to eat 5 more good ones just to wash the bad taste out of your mouth. Right.
Off to bed, cya! The last root-canal dentist appointment tomorrow morning.
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
The Graduate
Saw this in AV library today, loved it. Great film. Watch it. The film gets better and better (unlike many films which get worse and worse), leading to an exciting and bizarre climax at the end.
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Also saw As Good As It Gets again. What a great script.
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I am so tired today, I don't know why. Gonna go record a song, bye!
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Also saw As Good As It Gets again. What a great script.
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I am so tired today, I don't know why. Gonna go record a song, bye!
Monday, August 15, 2005
Badges!
OFMGR what an awesome day today I went to Uni at 8 AM, then went to the AV Library, watched the ENGLISH 109 extract, took notes then went to Munch Mart to get sour worms and a Snickers bar then I dropped by Kate Edgar Info Commons and typed up my ENGLISH 109 essay while eating the Snickers bar finished it then saw Simon and Julia and the massive five inch tall bacon sandwich thing on their table at the HSB cafe which looked very scary and freaky then went to AV Library again to watch the FTVMS 101 assignment extract then went to Kate Edgar again to type it up then went to bus stop to take the 4 PM bus but I missed it so I took the 4:20 bus which eventually overtook the 4 PM bus yay wow then I got home and there was an envelope waiting for me it was the badges! they had arrived I ordered five of 'em from Trade Me in custom designs I got three Death Cab ones a Postal Service one and my very own Effo Films one yay now I can advertise Effo Films on my bag I think I will order more of 'em later and then throw them off level three of the Kate Edgar Info Commons and knock people out with the coolness of the badges yay I am free tonight because I have done all the work necessary I am going to watch As Good As It Gets again as it is one of my favourite movies.
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I pretty much finished the short film screenplay I was doing on Sunday. I'm not sure I have the acting chops to tackle this project so either I'm going to keep it in the safety trunk or I'm going to ask someone else to act in it. I also have to decide on the female lead soon if I want to shoot it in mid-semester break. Hmm...
Ok, bye!
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I pretty much finished the short film screenplay I was doing on Sunday. I'm not sure I have the acting chops to tackle this project so either I'm going to keep it in the safety trunk or I'm going to ask someone else to act in it. I also have to decide on the female lead soon if I want to shoot it in mid-semester break. Hmm...
Ok, bye!
Sunday, August 14, 2005
Reality Bites
Reality Bites: Saw this today. A 1994 film directed by Ben Stiller, also starring Winona Ryder and Ethan Hawke. It was advertised as a comedy, but this wasn't a comedy at all. It had funny bits but it's not a rom-com. It was probably a romantic movie that wasn't particularly funny. I'd probably summarise the film as:
A group of recent college graduates from Generation X are trying to come to grips with who they are. There is a love triangle somewhere in all that.
I enjoyed it. There were way too many musical montages in the film and a lot of long 'rants', but the performances were pretty good and it raised some interesting questions. It sort of tries to answer some of them, but ultimately left everything open. But I can understand why this film would resonate with a lot of people though.
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Generations... hmmm this is interesting stuff. We are Generation Y, and after us are Generation Z (some like to say generation 'D' for digital but that just sounds lame). We're also called 'Echo Boomers' and the 'Millenium Generation'. Apparently we are pretty similar to Generation X'ers, actually there are not many differences between us except we consume more marijuana and have more underage drinking and are the highest consumer group in history. Someone should make films about Generation Y'ers. I think I will make some movies about Generation Y'ers. Just a note the title "generation y" is largely disputed, but yeah, essentially those (in my opinion) born after the early 80's or even mid-80's.
Wikipedia links below for more info:
Generation X
Generation Y
Generation Z
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Just arranged an acoustic version of My Chemical Romance - I'm Not Okay (I Promise). I thought it was nice heavy but it is so nice raw too! Great song, great song. Great overtones and harmonies and a great music video too.
A group of recent college graduates from Generation X are trying to come to grips with who they are. There is a love triangle somewhere in all that.
I enjoyed it. There were way too many musical montages in the film and a lot of long 'rants', but the performances were pretty good and it raised some interesting questions. It sort of tries to answer some of them, but ultimately left everything open. But I can understand why this film would resonate with a lot of people though.
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Generations... hmmm this is interesting stuff. We are Generation Y, and after us are Generation Z (some like to say generation 'D' for digital but that just sounds lame). We're also called 'Echo Boomers' and the 'Millenium Generation'. Apparently we are pretty similar to Generation X'ers, actually there are not many differences between us except we consume more marijuana and have more underage drinking and are the highest consumer group in history. Someone should make films about Generation Y'ers. I think I will make some movies about Generation Y'ers. Just a note the title "generation y" is largely disputed, but yeah, essentially those (in my opinion) born after the early 80's or even mid-80's.
Wikipedia links below for more info:
Generation X
Generation Y
Generation Z
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Just arranged an acoustic version of My Chemical Romance - I'm Not Okay (I Promise). I thought it was nice heavy but it is so nice raw too! Great song, great song. Great overtones and harmonies and a great music video too.
Saturday, August 13, 2005
Busking
The first time I went busking in the city! Spent the first half of the day chickening out, then Ajita and I finally went downstairs. People in the city are just as friendly as those in Howick. Only thing is they have less time on their hands, so they hardly ever stop to get out coins. However, many of 'em did have time to take photos. We got some tourists who posed with the 'peace sign' while crouching near my violin. Um, I don't think busking is particularly Kiwi-ish or Auckland-ish but hey, it's cool. Yuen and Lip also showed up for lunch which was 'teh cool'. Hmm, weekends at uni/in the city are really cool, it's really relaxed and un-pressured. And you see a lot school people around too. Today - Valeria and Vivian and a couple of other people, not to mention a random Macleans person who thought he knew me but didn't.
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Yuen showed me the difference between having his bimmer in sports mode and winter mode. Woah it sounds cool. I'm not sure what everything means even when he doesn't use jargon, but the brimming sounds of the bimmer sure sounded cool. Vwoosh, vroom, vwoomb!
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Academy. Good. Although was already very tired from busking. Thus made many mistakes and came in at wrong times. But it was good fun.
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Gonna take it slow with the music-composing and dubbing for Papaya while I start the next short film script. I got the idea while waiting for the bus on Friday, it was great. So I am progressing a long term writing project (a feature screenplay), a long term production project (Papaya in bits) and a short term project I want to shoot in mid-semester break (this short screenplay). This time the film will be one entire scene from beginning to end as opposed to abstract stuff. Well, there will be abstract stuff in there, but the film runs linearly and there aren't any gimmicks. But there are twists though. A lot of 'em. Well, maybe not a lot, but like, one or two. Or perhaps three.
Time for guitar, cya! Sat, Sun and Mon are allocated to songwriting this semester.
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Yuen showed me the difference between having his bimmer in sports mode and winter mode. Woah it sounds cool. I'm not sure what everything means even when he doesn't use jargon, but the brimming sounds of the bimmer sure sounded cool. Vwoosh, vroom, vwoomb!
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Academy. Good. Although was already very tired from busking. Thus made many mistakes and came in at wrong times. But it was good fun.
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Gonna take it slow with the music-composing and dubbing for Papaya while I start the next short film script. I got the idea while waiting for the bus on Friday, it was great. So I am progressing a long term writing project (a feature screenplay), a long term production project (Papaya in bits) and a short term project I want to shoot in mid-semester break (this short screenplay). This time the film will be one entire scene from beginning to end as opposed to abstract stuff. Well, there will be abstract stuff in there, but the film runs linearly and there aren't any gimmicks. But there are twists though. A lot of 'em. Well, maybe not a lot, but like, one or two. Or perhaps three.
Time for guitar, cya! Sat, Sun and Mon are allocated to songwriting this semester.
Friday, August 12, 2005
Three Films
Richard III - very nice cinematography, great performances. Really unique directing style, especially the use of jazz as a motif for death.
King Kong - thoroughly enjoyed this. The story turned out to be a lot more simple than I had expected, but it was really well done, especially the stop motion stuff.
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Almost Famous - finally saw this modern movie devoted to rock. Mm, I liked it. It was preachy and romanticised to the max and it has its flaws, but I think it's a feel good film. And it's got a good heart.
Time flies. Good evening.
King Kong - thoroughly enjoyed this. The story turned out to be a lot more simple than I had expected, but it was really well done, especially the stop motion stuff.
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Almost Famous - finally saw this modern movie devoted to rock. Mm, I liked it. It was preachy and romanticised to the max and it has its flaws, but I think it's a feel good film. And it's got a good heart.
Time flies. Good evening.
Thursday, August 11, 2005
Desperate Housewives - Who's that Woman?
Meh, this episode was ok. The writing was so-so. Susan's has been consistently strong while the others have ups and downs. Probably a filler episode.
Those Times
Had another creative epiphany today and started actively planning a feature screenplay that's been brewing for a while in my notebook. It's a romance which pokes fun at itself. Hard to pull off, but I'm going to try and keep it close to reality. But just not, exactly, reality.
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Pizza Hut Gourmet pizzas... They look worse than the normal ones. But maybe they taste really good. There are some in the kitchen, so I'm going to go check 'em out now... bye!
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Pizza Hut Gourmet pizzas... They look worse than the normal ones. But maybe they taste really good. There are some in the kitchen, so I'm going to go check 'em out now... bye!
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Wedges
Today I had wedges. It was the first time since the 2nd week of the first semester. I had it with ketchup and salsa. You'd think they were really similar, but they're not. The ketchup really adds a sweetness to the wedges that makes it much nicer.
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I'd like to take this opportunity to say: The 44th Calibre are through to the next round of the '05 Rockquest. They are in the semi-finals, with only 12-bands from the entire nation. Congrats and best wishes to 'em. Their official site again: http://www.the44thcalibre.tk. It hasn't had many updates but yeah.
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This semester is going so fast. Actually this year has gone so fast. So incredibly incredibly fast. As an aside, have you ever just seen someone who was so beautiful and captivating that you felt numb and soft inside? I'm not talking about love or lust, this is on a purely artistic level, appreciating someone's beauty. When you go, "Ok, now I know why I need to create art." Or perhaps similar epiphanies when looking at sunsets or falling leaves in autumn or people making burgers at McD's.
Ok. Tired. Night.
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I'd like to take this opportunity to say: The 44th Calibre are through to the next round of the '05 Rockquest. They are in the semi-finals, with only 12-bands from the entire nation. Congrats and best wishes to 'em. Their official site again: http://www.the44thcalibre.tk. It hasn't had many updates but yeah.
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This semester is going so fast. Actually this year has gone so fast. So incredibly incredibly fast. As an aside, have you ever just seen someone who was so beautiful and captivating that you felt numb and soft inside? I'm not talking about love or lust, this is on a purely artistic level, appreciating someone's beauty. When you go, "Ok, now I know why I need to create art." Or perhaps similar epiphanies when looking at sunsets or falling leaves in autumn or people making burgers at McD's.
Ok. Tired. Night.
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
Nosebleeds
ENGLISH 109 was great today. A Streetcar Named Desire. Tennessee Williams is good, but depressing. I still like Arthur Miller more, and The Glass Menagerie more than ASND, but yeah, it's all really penetrating drama.
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Today was Ajita's birthday so it was lunch at the Jap Ramen place again. Everyone else had Tontoktsu (sp?) but I had the butter-corn noodles. Essentially they gave me noodles and soup, a LOT of corn and a piece of butter which melted into the soup. Meh, it was pretty good. But perhaps fattening.
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Is there some direct relationship between nosebleeds and tooth decay? I am having nosebleeds from just one side, the left side, the same side as the tooth decay. I think the dentist must've drilled my tooth too hard on Monday and the vibration broke some of my blood vessels. Maybe nosebleeds are the distant cousins of tooth decays, who are siblings to gum inflammations, parents to sore throats. Now that means nosebleeds are the distant aunts and uncles of sore throats. Imagine if they had a family reunion, right here in the lawn of my mouth, the liquor bar of my nose and the dining table of my throat. I think I'd just die.
Ok, late it is. Bed I go. Care take. Hmm, care take? Caretaker? So that's a Yoda word.
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Today was Ajita's birthday so it was lunch at the Jap Ramen place again. Everyone else had Tontoktsu (sp?) but I had the butter-corn noodles. Essentially they gave me noodles and soup, a LOT of corn and a piece of butter which melted into the soup. Meh, it was pretty good. But perhaps fattening.
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Is there some direct relationship between nosebleeds and tooth decay? I am having nosebleeds from just one side, the left side, the same side as the tooth decay. I think the dentist must've drilled my tooth too hard on Monday and the vibration broke some of my blood vessels. Maybe nosebleeds are the distant cousins of tooth decays, who are siblings to gum inflammations, parents to sore throats. Now that means nosebleeds are the distant aunts and uncles of sore throats. Imagine if they had a family reunion, right here in the lawn of my mouth, the liquor bar of my nose and the dining table of my throat. I think I'd just die.
Ok, late it is. Bed I go. Care take. Hmm, care take? Caretaker? So that's a Yoda word.
Dentists in the Park
I forgot to mention this yesterday, but I went to the dentist. The decay is bad and deep. So the dentist decided I needed root canal treatment.
This website outlines the basics:
http://www.animated-teeth.com/root_canal/t1_root_canal.htm
Basically the 'nerve stuff' of one of my teeth (I think it is a pre-molar?) has been penetrated, so the dentist has to pull out the nerves and fill up the hole there. I have to go back two more times for them to do extra work. Yesterday they pulled out the nerve, next time they are doing 'something something' and the time after they are doing 'something something something'. They used big words I couldn't understand. But it sounded cool.
They also have really cool tools. That belong in horror movies. Big drills and sharp spiky things. But at least they gave me two injections. So when I got home the left side of my face was paralysed for about an hour, which is weird, because you feel like someone's put a slab of clay on your face and now you have to carry it around, but really, that slab of clay is just your face, but now you can actually feel the weight of it. Imagine losing the senses to your head, it'd be like carrying a boulder around. Except you'd swing to the left and right while you walk and topple over every now and then.
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I got some custom badges off Trade Me. Hmm, I really should learn to make my own. Ok, time for uni, cya!
This website outlines the basics:
http://www.animated-teeth.com/root_canal/t1_root_canal.htm
Basically the 'nerve stuff' of one of my teeth (I think it is a pre-molar?) has been penetrated, so the dentist has to pull out the nerves and fill up the hole there. I have to go back two more times for them to do extra work. Yesterday they pulled out the nerve, next time they are doing 'something something' and the time after they are doing 'something something something'. They used big words I couldn't understand. But it sounded cool.
They also have really cool tools. That belong in horror movies. Big drills and sharp spiky things. But at least they gave me two injections. So when I got home the left side of my face was paralysed for about an hour, which is weird, because you feel like someone's put a slab of clay on your face and now you have to carry it around, but really, that slab of clay is just your face, but now you can actually feel the weight of it. Imagine losing the senses to your head, it'd be like carrying a boulder around. Except you'd swing to the left and right while you walk and topple over every now and then.
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I got some custom badges off Trade Me. Hmm, I really should learn to make my own. Ok, time for uni, cya!
Days At Home
Today I played guitar. Did not do much else. Outies. Good night. Take care.
Sunday, August 07, 2005
Buddha's Birthday Bash
Just got back from Ajita's surprise birthday party. Basically everyone hid in the living room of Yuen's house in silence (well, we TRIED to anyway), then Ajita walked in and the lights came on...
--> "Surprise!" The expression on her face was priceless.
The rest of the evening involved:
Random Card Game --> involving killers and doctors and detectives and killing people.
Balloons --> Yung Han used 'em as musical instruments, Shern popped 'em at various moments to surprise and disarm, and the rest of us kicked/punched them around in various fits of excitement in the hopes of knocking out anyone else in the near vicinity.
Singstar --> I sucked at it. But hey, it was a fast song.
Birthday cake --> Awesome, with an old licorice (I think) lady playing the piano on the top.
Sugared Corn Flakes Things --> very sugary, deadly to my tooth (decay) but I had about ten of 'em anyway. Because Ajita wouldn't stop peeling them for everyone.
Jelly --> with lychee. Fine.
Many new people --> I only knew like 60% of the people there, much of the first hour involved shaking hands and nodding and smiling and that kind of thing. But very friendly people though. Coolies.
And of course:
Presents --> notably Raphael's bling-ed violin (or is it a cello?), books, fairy hats, clothing and the like.
Ok I'm off, cya!
--> "Surprise!" The expression on her face was priceless.
The rest of the evening involved:
Random Card Game --> involving killers and doctors and detectives and killing people.
Balloons --> Yung Han used 'em as musical instruments, Shern popped 'em at various moments to surprise and disarm, and the rest of us kicked/punched them around in various fits of excitement in the hopes of knocking out anyone else in the near vicinity.
Singstar --> I sucked at it. But hey, it was a fast song.
Birthday cake --> Awesome, with an old licorice (I think) lady playing the piano on the top.
Sugared Corn Flakes Things --> very sugary, deadly to my tooth (decay) but I had about ten of 'em anyway. Because Ajita wouldn't stop peeling them for everyone.
Jelly --> with lychee. Fine.
Many new people --> I only knew like 60% of the people there, much of the first hour involved shaking hands and nodding and smiling and that kind of thing. But very friendly people though. Coolies.
And of course:
Presents --> notably Raphael's bling-ed violin (or is it a cello?), books, fairy hats, clothing and the like.
Ok I'm off, cya!
Saturday, August 06, 2005
August Music Revival: Lollapalooza on the Blogs
Hi, here are good artists:
The Postal Service - electronic rock/pop group with the same singer as Death Cab for Cutie (Ben). Hook songs: Against All Odds (cover), We Will Become Silhouettes (cover?), Such Great Heights, The Dream of Evan and Chan, This Place is a Prison.
A-ha - '80's to now' disco/electronic/pop group with many hit singles. Hook songs: Take On Me, I've Been Losing You, Train of Thought, You Are the One.
Patrick Park - indie singer-songwriter. Hook songs: Something Pretty, Home and MORE.
Ben Gibbard is amazing. Patrick Park is really nostalgic. And the A-ha's are just, really happy. Do check out their music, they're all really good.
:o)
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Academy today. Was ok. I felt sort of tired, but the music is getting a lot nicer to play. Best piece of the term: Rossini Sonata. We're playing the whole thing, which is great fun. Also Danube Waves, which was a piece I'd liked every time we'd played it. And used pasted tensed seemed overused.
The Postal Service - electronic rock/pop group with the same singer as Death Cab for Cutie (Ben). Hook songs: Against All Odds (cover), We Will Become Silhouettes (cover?), Such Great Heights, The Dream of Evan and Chan, This Place is a Prison.
A-ha - '80's to now' disco/electronic/pop group with many hit singles. Hook songs: Take On Me, I've Been Losing You, Train of Thought, You Are the One.
Patrick Park - indie singer-songwriter. Hook songs: Something Pretty, Home and MORE.
Ben Gibbard is amazing. Patrick Park is really nostalgic. And the A-ha's are just, really happy. Do check out their music, they're all really good.
:o)
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Academy today. Was ok. I felt sort of tired, but the music is getting a lot nicer to play. Best piece of the term: Rossini Sonata. We're playing the whole thing, which is great fun. Also Danube Waves, which was a piece I'd liked every time we'd played it. And used pasted tensed seemed overused.
Team America: World Police
Is this funny? This is funny? This is funny. Watch it. Please.
:o)
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A Streetcar Named Desire: Saw this at the Friday ENGLISH109 screening. Liked it a lot. It was a cool film adaptation.
Battleship Potemkin: Really modern and amazing 'steps' sequence. But I fell asleep four times during the screening. I remember there were heaps of title cards. And I think there were five parts to the film. And a cool shot at the end that goes under the ship. Meh.
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Was talking yesterday to Jeff, an exchange student from Chapman, one of 'teh' filmschools. As much as people have the myth that it's really two worlds apart (NZ and America), there were so many similarities that it basically felt like talking to a Kiwi with a slightly different accent. It's like one big global nation now. Coolies.
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Macleans Senior Orchestra got into the finale concert! But Chamber didn't? Doh. Ahh well.
:o)
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A Streetcar Named Desire: Saw this at the Friday ENGLISH109 screening. Liked it a lot. It was a cool film adaptation.
Battleship Potemkin: Really modern and amazing 'steps' sequence. But I fell asleep four times during the screening. I remember there were heaps of title cards. And I think there were five parts to the film. And a cool shot at the end that goes under the ship. Meh.
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Was talking yesterday to Jeff, an exchange student from Chapman, one of 'teh' filmschools. As much as people have the myth that it's really two worlds apart (NZ and America), there were so many similarities that it basically felt like talking to a Kiwi with a slightly different accent. It's like one big global nation now. Coolies.
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Macleans Senior Orchestra got into the finale concert! But Chamber didn't? Doh. Ahh well.
Thursday, August 04, 2005
Reunion
Today, strikes. Today, Macleans College at the KBB Music Festival. Macleans did well, ESPECIALLY Chamber Orchestra, who played three awesome pieces which looked and sounded really fun to play. School Orchestra played a bassoon concerto that looked and sounded really difficult. And it was really modern too.
Lunch was 'teh' walking around with Raymond and Co., then seeing Jerry and Co. at the expensive and suspicious looking 'Neo-Prints' place. He nabbed a photo of me. Argh. It was overwhelming seeing all the people from Macleans again after quite a while.
They closed off Queen Street and someone thought it was a bomb scare. But no, it was the Tall Blacks shooting hoops, sponsored by Burger King. It's the fries that make you grow!
I had Pad Thai which was the best Pad Thai I'd had in a long time. Better than that other 'Arcade' place. Although this place's Pad Thai was really hot and incredibly unhealthy looking. I wonder what Pad Thai means. Maybe 'pad' means 'noodles' and Thai means Thai. So it's like 'Noodles Thai'. Maybe traditionally, they had really big 'sponges' that you'd cut up like steak and eat. But as time went by, people started shredding the 'bean curd' sponges with their lawnmowers and Black Decker Drills, so they became really long strips of bean curd.
My Phil of Arts class was cancelled. Nooooo! It is the bestest.
Lunch was 'teh' walking around with Raymond and Co., then seeing Jerry and Co. at the expensive and suspicious looking 'Neo-Prints' place. He nabbed a photo of me. Argh. It was overwhelming seeing all the people from Macleans again after quite a while.
They closed off Queen Street and someone thought it was a bomb scare. But no, it was the Tall Blacks shooting hoops, sponsored by Burger King. It's the fries that make you grow!
I had Pad Thai which was the best Pad Thai I'd had in a long time. Better than that other 'Arcade' place. Although this place's Pad Thai was really hot and incredibly unhealthy looking. I wonder what Pad Thai means. Maybe 'pad' means 'noodles' and Thai means Thai. So it's like 'Noodles Thai'. Maybe traditionally, they had really big 'sponges' that you'd cut up like steak and eat. But as time went by, people started shredding the 'bean curd' sponges with their lawnmowers and Black Decker Drills, so they became really long strips of bean curd.
My Phil of Arts class was cancelled. Nooooo! It is the bestest.
Wednesday, August 03, 2005
Desperate Housewives - Pretty Little Picture
Cool episode. Bree's character is becoming quite cool. So are the dynamics and internal conflicts within Susan. Best of all, the plot thickens. Episode rank so far:
2, 3, 1.
Good night!
2, 3, 1.
Good night!
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
The Usual Suspects and Ramen
I only had one lecture today. I got up this morning and watched The Usual Suspects and missed the correct bus, therefore missing my lecture. Ajita took me to lunch at this Jap place she'd been talking about. They have a strangely artificially addictive tasty soup. There was BBQ pork which didn't look barbecued and didn't taste like pork. The restuarant itself was eerily dark and evil looking. The waitress had the slacker-Asian dyed hair and the 'I'm not a genuine Japanese' vibe. They also sold sea water without salt for $5 a bottle.
But despite all that, the food was incredibly good. As in, incredibly good. The place also had really cool 'tall' seats with light-bulb backs that you could turn on and light at night time so everyone'd be eating ramen with halos.
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The Usual Suspects: Bryan Singer. Genius. This film is not only great for its double-twist at the end and the great script: it is great for its great performances, it is great for its great music, and most of all, this is great for the great directing. This isn't just a good movie, this is a finely put together modern tale with an incredibly fluid use of the language of cinema. This is how a modern Hollywood film should be made. It was slick and it was commercial, but it was tense, engaging and compelling. Also, unlike another very famous movie of similar subject matter, the violence was not shown, it was not grotesque, and there was an implicit respect for human life (despite the many killings). How very interesting to see Kevin Spacey in TWO twist-heavy films.
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But despite all that, the food was incredibly good. As in, incredibly good. The place also had really cool 'tall' seats with light-bulb backs that you could turn on and light at night time so everyone'd be eating ramen with halos.
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The Usual Suspects: Bryan Singer. Genius. This film is not only great for its double-twist at the end and the great script: it is great for its great performances, it is great for its great music, and most of all, this is great for the great directing. This isn't just a good movie, this is a finely put together modern tale with an incredibly fluid use of the language of cinema. This is how a modern Hollywood film should be made. It was slick and it was commercial, but it was tense, engaging and compelling. Also, unlike another very famous movie of similar subject matter, the violence was not shown, it was not grotesque, and there was an implicit respect for human life (despite the many killings). How very interesting to see Kevin Spacey in TWO twist-heavy films.
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