I am Queen of Ordering things on the Internet. This week I've been getting the payloads. Fables on Monday, Socks on Tuesday, Yesterday I got Mirrormask on DVD from a guy on trademe and today I got Thunderpants! (Yay for $30 for three pairs!)
I am still waiting on some Thomas the Tank Engine fabric from a trademe purchase and three Fruits Basket manga which are coming to me from Australia. Fingers crossed for tomorrow yeah?
Last night we watched Better off Dead. It was a very strange movie, all I knew going in was that it was a black comedy starring baby John Cusack. What it turned out to be was a crack-fuelled laugh fest about weird stuff happening and ostensibly baby John Cusack trying to win his girlfriend back.
Well worth a look, even if I did spend much of the movie with my mouth hanging open having just said "wtf?"
My black and white super long super stripes are all baggy and warm. I am keeping them high up with my sock garters and compared to yesterday I'm in socks-staying-up Heaven. I have teamed them with my pleated denim mini, black long sleeve t and white skull and crossbones short sleeve t and my biker boots. My class visit this afternoon (7 year olds) looked at me and said "You're a teenager!" Eheh.
PoF: black and white
CO: new things!
London 11th August:
A public school teacher was arrested today at Gatwick Airport as he attempted to board a flight while in possession of a ruler, a protractor, a set square, a slide rule, and a calculator.
At a morning press conference, Home Secretary John Reid said he believes the man is a member of the notorious Al-gebra movement. He did not identify the man, who has been charged by the Met Police with carrying weapons of maths instruction. "Al-gebra is a problem for us," Reid said. "They desire solutions by means and extremes, and sometimes go off on tangents in a search of absolute values. They use secret code names like 'x` and `y` and refer to themselves as `unknowns, `but we have determined they belong to a common denominator of the axis of medieval with co-ordinates in every country. As the Greek philanderer Isosceles used to say, "There are 3 sides to every triangle".
When asked to comment on the arrest, Prime Minister Tony Blair, speaking from his holiday resort before the planes stopped flying, said, "If God had wanted us to have better Weapons of Maths Instruction, He would have given us more fingers and toes."
I got that from a work email. If anyone knows the source, please let me know!
PoF: neopolitan ice cream
CO: chocolate macadamia nuts
Well, not so very much exciting but...
This morning I got up, debated about catching the bus vs. taking the car* and decided on the bus.
As I sat at the bus stop and after adjusting my socks** I got out my wallet. Funny, I thought to myself, my purse seems very empty. I hope I've got my OMG! Where are my keys! Not in my purse. So I called home, because I knew Lee had gotten up and might be nearly ready to leave by now, and if he could bring me my keys on the way past I might not miss my bus. He found my keys and said "I'll just get some shoes on."
I hung up the phone all pleased with myself and awaited my darling husband. After a couple of minutes a bus came up Thorndon Quay: momentary panic! Phew, it's one of the buses that comes *before* my bus. Relax.
A few more minutes.
Another bus! OMG! Oh no, it's alright, it's the Eastbourne bus that sometimes comes by before my bus and sometimes right at the same time as my one. No buses behind it but I am beginning to get anxious. I have had two warning buses, and the next one will surely be mine.
I stand up at the bus stop, leaning on the adshel and keeping an eye out for Lee. Minutes continue to tick by. How long does it take to put on a pair of shoes?? I have mental images of him sitting down at the computer to answer emails...and there it is. On the end of the road...my bus emerges...
I check back towards our apartment building: no Lee. I look back at the bus, it's having to wait to turn the corner, thank God. I look at the corner...and there's this woman with bouffy hair and behind her? My Husband! But he's still many metres away and the bus is coming ever nearer. I try jabbing my hand at the road to indicate that my bus is approaching. He doesn't understand!
I look back at the road, the bus is close, but has stopped at a pedestrian crossing to let someone cross. I look back at Lee, wanting to run to him but knowing I must stay put or the bus driver won't stop for me. I catch Lee's eye and jab at the bus with my arm, no doubt with a look of terror on my face as I mouth "my bus!" to him. He gets it, and starts running!
I look back at the bus, the driver has seen me and is stopping. Lee runs up just as it does so, and hands over the keys. Just like an Olympic relay runner.
"Thanks Love!" I grin at him and then turn to the bus, which has just opened its doors for me.
Man, I wish I'd brought the car. I have a nice sandwich that I made myself but now I'm really craving the lunch Rachel offered me!
Of course, if I don't stick to my resolution of using Public Transport as much as I can, it won't become a habit and it won't be the lifestyle change I want it to be. Le sigh.
*If I take the car I am increasing my Carbon emissions, but I could visit Rachel for lunch and have hoki and brown rice. I decided against it because one of my workmates can drive me home on a Wednesday, rendering my own car doubly redundant.
**neopolitan thigh highs do not stay up on their own, but aren't long enough for sock garters to be any use either.
My doctor told me on Friday that I *may* have Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
We won't know however, until I try some stuff, like taking metamucil and drinking aloe vera juice (I have aloe vera juice that takes like grapes! Yum.) So, I'm meant to be keeping a diary so I can see if there are any relations between foods and attacks. It may also be a food sensitivity you see.
I celebrated by drinking alcohol on Saturday night and eating no vegetables yesterday. Yeah. Uhm, I'll be good from today onwards yeah?
In other news Lee and I are still enjoying Xmen Legends. I've been trying to level up Gambit because he's one of my favourite characters, but he's still a bit shite. I like playing Cyclops and Wolverine still, and Lee is totally into the Power Girls: Jean Grey and Storm.
Last night we watched You and Me and Everyone We Know. It was....alright. Some really sweet moments and some really funny stuff but stung together in a very very low key way. I'm alright at slow paced movies but this was a bit too 'nothing is happening and I don't understand character's motiviations' in the first half hour. Lee was ready to give up, but I was pretty curious and wanted explanations.
))<>((
Had a strange dream this morning, which I will put on my livejournal.
Two new DVDs on the weekend: LA Confidential and La Femme Musketeer (which I know as D'Artangan's Daughter.)
PoF: grey and sleepy
CO: general wellbeing
The physio told me yesterday that the likely cause of my shoulder pain is a pinched nerve on my neck. (C8 vertebrae to be precise, and one that is so common it was actually broken on his plastic teaching spine. Where do you get those fake spines? I really want one.)
I didn't sleep very well, because I was always making sure I was in a good position for keeping the C8 nerve open on my right side. Annoying.
This morning I feel exhausted and my stomach is upset to boot. On the upside we had a great turn out to movie night where we ended up watching first episode of Dead Like Me instead of a movie. I liked it.
Also, have a possible theme for my birthday party. Actually two very good ones were suggested: Stereotype Of Your Job party and Come as Your Favourite TV Character from Childhood. I think I prefer the latter because it means I can make a Rainbow Brite outfit, but on the other hand, Stereotype party is easy for everyone, therefore more people will come in theme.
Ah, it's such a trial...If I make a Rainbow Brite outfit I can then wear it to Auckland Armageddon (if I go, which I am seriously considering) and it's like my Cosplay is already done for me! Especially if I make a little Twink plushie to carry around. Kawaii! (Also, TP said she might dress as Tea Bag and that makes me ridiculously happy.)
PoF: boring
CO: Xmen Legends
PS: my submission of the Daily Goddam is up today! Here!
sock-dreams have done their normal thing of adding something new that I want right after I've ordered. Actually in this case it's the Harry Potter Sorcerer socks which they now have in all four house colours.
I don't really *need* these socks per se, but I tempted by them so that I can be a total geek and do hogwarts_hocus cosplays. (Man, I embarass myself sometimes.) Y'see, if I got Hufflepuff socks, I could wear my Kaylee outfit and be h_h Kaylee, and if I got the Slytherin socks, I could cosplay h_h Harry, even though I don't tend to cosplay boys!
In other news we're getting a new (old) laptop, because Lee came home and found that our laptop had commited suicide, jumping off the coffee table and breaking the wireless networking thingy and the power supply. This is the second power supply it's destroyed so Lee bought us a new (old) laptop off trade me. He may be picking it up today (fingers crossed).
I finished my latest gay teen book and now I miss it, it was so sweet and warm and lovely. I am currently immersing myself back into The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray so that I can run a game based on it for my Tuesday group. It's spookier than I remembered.
Funny weather today, pretty and sunshiney but freezy cold. I am warm inside with the heaters on.
PoF: am I going to take off a second layer????
CO: sore neck
PS. Pearce has been posting the Daily Goddam for a while now, starting with this one and accepting submissions until he has quite the collection. They are pretty funny, although perhaps not as funny as the manipulated spiderman comics? Anyhoo, I have submitted one myself, so hopefully he will post it this week...
I posted a picture and a sort of review of the snickerdoodles over on my lj. Go and check it out, the photo is awesome...
PoF: many greys
CO: don't want the weekend to end.
I got three visits in this week that included kitty cuddles. One was on Monday when Lee and I went to Giffy's and played with the ocicats, who eventually got tired out and one climbed under the blanket I was snuggling and went to sleep leaning against my thigh. Awww.
Then last night we went to Seraph's house for "board games" and I managed to snaffle Shadow twice for snuggles. This afternoon we visited my sister (whose belly has popped out like woah!) and I managed to snafu her kitty. Mostly to stop the kitty knocking everything off the top of the dresser but once I had her she just went *flop* in my arms so I got some cuddle in.
I also visited Rachel for lunch on Friday but her kitties are stand offish to me, unless I have meat, so I don't count that as kitty cuddles.
Yesterday Lee and I had to get up "early" so that his sister, bro in law and neice could come over. That meant I was getting into the shower as they arrived, but after I had myself sorted out I had a nice chat and invented a politeness game with neice. V. fun.
Then various people turned up at various times and eventually we were on the road to Southwards theatre to watch Jj, Giffy, Sok, Beau and G perform in the Mikado. It was a good show, lovely sets and costume design (my Mum wants one of the kimonos) and of course lots of fun watching my friends on stage.
I liked Koko and the Mikado the best out of the leads, I found the romantic leads to be a bit hard to hear when singing and a bit insipid when talking. That's Gilbert and Sullivan for you though...not a lot of character development. My favourite song was "A More Human Mikado" because of the dance sequence, which looked like a lot of fun to be in and I'm sad that I missed Giffy's charleston that she did specially for me. I caught the end anyway. Other highlights from the chorus: Beau's manly hiding of his tears, random Asian guy of awesome physical comedy and all the shuffling the ladies had to do. It was so cute!
After that we hung around like groupies for the stars to come out and see us, then it was back into town for "board games" with Seraph. I had a lot of fun, getting tiddly on white wine and playing Fury Of Dracula. I like the idea of the game but the combat system is very...very slow. Plus, game play seemed very convoluted. I liked the little figures though, and I got to be Dr Seward so that's nice.
After that we watched Manos: the Hands of Fate because R hadn't seen it and we had much fun laughing through that.
Today was a brilliantly beautiful day. We went out this morning to the Video Ezy DVD sale and I bought Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Sky High, Lemony Snicket and Night Watch. Lee bought Goodnight and Good luck which is contrary to our rule of not buying stuff we haven't seen, but it's had pretty amazing reviews so it's a fairly safe bet. I also wanted Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Mirrormask like Seraph got but they weren't at the Jville branch and Lee we shouldn't bother with another branch. Le sigh.
I finished reading Joanie Frankenhauser and have started a book by the author of the Rainbow Boys series. It's pretty good.
PoF: grey stripes
CO: sleeping
On C's recommendation (she thrust it into my hands) I read The Case of the Missing Marquess, a young adult novel based on the character Enola Holmes, much younger sister of her more famous brothers Mycroft and Sherlock. It was an interesting book, since her Mother was a suffragette and interested in dress reform, etc. It was very engagingly written and the mystery so good that I found myself reading it faster and faster so I could know what happened!
I want the next in the series, but of course, only the first is published.
I also read another Fables edition, uhm, March of the Wooden Soldiers and I enjoyed that so much that I went onto fishpond and placed an order for the first two in the series. (I think I've read three and four, because that's what the library owns.) I also noticed that fishpond had Astro City on sale, so if you're after graphic novels it seems like the place to look.
Aaah Graphic Novels. When the new recoloured Sandman editions come out I'm going to buy them, oh yes. Then some day I will also own Powers, Astro City and all of the various Buffy titles which are...you know. Good. Oh, and the Kabuki titles that I don't have. And the missing Nightwing from my collection. And the entire Batman: No Man's Land cycle, and and and...yeah. I need more money. More money that I don't spend on socks.
I also ordered the Rough Guide to Ethical Shopping which I started reading during the film festival and found to be not only very informative but interesting reading as well. I learned stuff I did. Still, I had to return it to the library so I figure this way I can lend it to people when I've read the whole thing and then we can all be more Informed. Delightful.
Now I am reading a book called the day Joanie Frankenhauser became a boy which is a gender bending novel for the tween age reader. Basically Joanie is a total tomboy and when she is mistaken for a boy at her new school (typo on the register reads 'John') she embraces her new role. Pretty good so far, as far as Gender politics for children goes.
PoF: Jenni's Angels don't sweat
CO: spending money. Why do I enjoy it so much?
You know who has a blog now? Seraph has a blog now!
my favourite currency converter is xe it's great for when I want to know what my socks order will *really* cost. (Our money must be doing pretty well against the American right now, it doesn't seem like too much of an increase.)
I'm planning a sock order, if you want in, I'm ordering on Thursday night, or maybe Friday. Just send me an email. I really want to order now, but my credit card can't handle it until I get paid again on Thursday.
I had a relaxing weekend. I finished reading Wicked, which I really enjoyed, and keep thinking about on a low background level. I am now reading Caddy Ever After by Hilary McKay, latest in the Saffy's Angel series and equally delightful. It's a kid's book, aimed at the tween market I think and just charming, full of art and family drama and problem solving characters.
Lee and I cleaned the whole apartment, even the windows for the Jenni's Angels get together yesterday, which was lovely. Great to see these people and watch all the films and look through photos and everything. I made snickerdoodles and they were a great success, plus belgian biscuits and a banana cake with chocolate and marshmallow topping. There was also fudge, brownies, chippies, chicken and a heap of other stuff.
I wore my neopolitan striped socks, and since I continually tried to pull them over my knees I think I'll have to suck it in and buy the thigh high versions. Rachel, do you still want to buy them? One wear, one wash and they're yours! Today I am wearing my teal and seafoam super stripes and I just adore them, so bright and crisp, and the colours are so pretty. New super stripes seem to be longer too, they must shrink a little in the wash. Anyway, I am delighted and keep checking my legs to admire the stripes.
PoF: team seafoam!
CO: lunch and obviously, socks.
...just a handy webpage I found with conversions useful for baking.
Great for when recipes say a cup of butter, etc.
1 c. butter
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 3/4 c. flour
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
Cream butter, add sugar. Add all the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Roll teaspoons of micture into balls. Roll into sugar mixture: 2 tablespoons cinnamon with 2 tablespoons sugar. Bake at 400 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes. Makes about 4 dozen.
I want to make these because they're the cookies Veronica makes for Wallace.
Does anyone know what the point of adding cream of tartar is? What does it do? Should I go and buy some? I look it up...wikipedia says it reacts with the baking soda and stabilises the egg whites. That seems good. Maybe I should buy some.
Also: I need tupperware. Specifically little tupperware spice containers. I opened the fair trade cinnamon last night and it was nice and safe in plastic bags but I can't keep it in its little cardboard baggie very effectively.
FWI. Fair trade spice is the same price as ordinary spice.
Ooh, wikipedia has a recipe for snickerdoodles dating back to 1898!
Snickerdoodles
Three quarters of a cup of butter, 2 cups of sugar, 1 cup of milk, 3 cups of flour, 2 eggs, 2 teaspoons of cream of tartar, 1 teaspoon of soda. Mix; drop on a tin in spoonfuls, sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon, and bake in quick oven.
M. Elizabeth Adams.
I love "bake in a quick oven" that is the most awesome direction in a recipe I've seen for ages.
It's gotten to that stage of winter where it's so cold in the morning I have to get back into bed after my shower to warm up again. Then I try and get dressed from in bed, which doesn't work really well because my monolith is too tall to reach from in bed.
Tonight I must make cookie dough for Sunday. I'm gonna make those weeny spice biscuits that you cut from a roll because I really like them. I will also make some more stuff on the weekend. I have Saturday free, which is good because the house really needs a big old clean.
Sock-dreams is tempting me horriby right now. Nice new things they've just got in stock, plus a sort of craving for bright new colours. I wish the order Rachel put through would arrive, because I feel like if I recieved something I wouldn't have this craving.
I've been very good and bussed to work three times this week, catching the glorious electric train home. I feel very virtuous indeed, espcially when I can say to myself "for Monday through Friday I have produced a fifth of the C02 emmissions I usually do." If more people did the same thing, think of the difference in the atmosphere!
Finally a cute cat link: the cats' house.
It is too cold to cope today. I stay where there are heaters.
Linky: Who Killed the Electric Car?'s website has some handy hints on making your car run more efficiently. Website. (Click on "How to Help")The website is actually pretty neat all round, nicely animated with a zooming EV1 and the 'loading' animation is a speedometer.
Dilmah tea claim on their box to be the world's first fair trade tea. Here's the link they provide, but they don't display the official 'fairtrade' logo, so I'm a little skeptical. Once I've read through the website, I guess it'll be a bit clearer.
PoF: stripey arm warmers
CO: fairtrade vs convenience
My Big Exciting News is that my sister is pregnant and I'm going to be an aunty again. This is Very Exciting Indeed.
The less exciting news follows: This weekend I achieved a lot. I cleaned up my giant pile of stuff that had been becoming mountanous in the spare room. This invloved a lot of hanging costumes on hangers in the wardrobe, sorting fabrics into new plastic boxes (those nice white ones on wheels from the WareWhare) and folding of donated jeans waiting to become quilts.
The room looks much nicer, although the problem is that I found a lot of projects that need doing. Here's the list:
So yeah. Feeling a little overwhelmed when this is combined with returning to working 40 hour weeks. My holiday seemed too short, but then, they always do.
Movies I saw on the weekend:
Homegrown: Love and Other Catastrophes was a collection of New Zealand dramatic short films. Mostly depressing studies of bad relationships and their consequences, very well made but hard to watch. I particularly liked the Lost One and Nice Pants. Two totally different films, but both with hopeful endings.
Who Killed the Electric Car is a documentary about the strange fate of the EV1, an electric car marketed by General Motors. Basically they were awesome cars, people loved them, and then GM took them all back and destroyed them. The drivers were only ever leased the cars you see, and GM refused to sell them, instead respossessing them, crushing them and then shredding them. Just in case. Well worth a look when it comes to Reading later this month.
Maxed Out is a documentary about credit card debt in America, specifically how the banks offer credit to those least likely to be able to pay it off and then send them to the debt collectors, or offer them loans or other credit cards to pay it off with. There were some stories of people who had commited suicide, driven by the embarassment of being unable to pay their debts, and feeling there was no other solution. Pretty depressing stuff that Lee got very incensed by. He is determined we shall never get into debt! (Apart from the mortgage and my student loan, obviously).
...so that's it. I saw 32 films in the festival this year, a pretty good score given the number that I decided to stay home and be slack instead of seeing!
PoF: purple stripes
CO: saving the world
This morning I hustled. I put washing on before I was even really awake, so that I could hang it out when I was awake. I read some more of my book Wicked by Gregory Maguire (which I am loving, by the way) and out I came to meet Morgue. Morgue couldn't make it, which meant I had more time to do the errands I had to do.
Midday I saw Twelve and Holding a film the programme suggested could be this generation's Stand by Me. well, I'm not that into SbM but I loved this film. It was a sort of meditation on coming of age, cauterised by the senseless death of one of the gang right at the start. Then it followed nearly a year in the lives of those who survived him, showing the grieving, the effects on the kids who were his friends. It seemed to be a lesson for parents that just because you're older, doesn't mean you know better, and that you should listen to your children.
It wasn't an easy film to watch, full of scenes where a character could be making a terrible choice, and the consequences could be amazingly bad. ***SPOILERS*** It could also be the origin story for a superhero or villain. The choice of the surviving twin at the end is quite horrifying, the sort of thing you see being set up over the course of the movie and think "Oh God, he isn't going to, is he?" ***END SPOILERS***
Anyway, I came out feeling very intropective and a little upset, so I finished my graphic novel (Fables: storybook love, awesome.) Returned it to the library and came home. I am tempted to singstar a little to cheer myself up.
Movies yesterday:
Whole New Thing was like a smaller, more confined response to C.R.A.Z.Y. and the best movie I saw yesterday. It was hilarious, centred around a 13 year old going to school for the first time, falling in love with his male teacher and dealing with his parents and their strained marriage. It was dreamlike in feel, full of snow and unexpected choices, some of it very awkard as Emerson didn't seem to know anything about boundaries...but it was great.
American Cannibal. Following two film makers trying to get a project, any project made. Eventually they try to make "American Cannibal" a show where they stick people on an island without food, making them think that they'll eventually have to eat each other.
The film was good, although I found it hard to watch all the added sleaze. The two main guys ended up getting funding from a porn guy (the guy who sold the Paris Hilton video) and so a lot of the scenes with him were in his strip club. I dunno, it just seemed like they didn't have to *show* the girl who got naked because she was told to at the wrap party. The reactions of the film makers were classic, why did we have to watch her dance around with a tampon string hanging out? Why not just show their weirded out expressions?
Gah. Annoying.
John and Jane a doco about call centre workers in India, working for big American corporations. They organised the footage so it started with the guy who wanted to quit and went through about five people ending with the woman who claimed to be a natural blonde, very Americanised and wanted to find a nice, light skinned, blonde man to marry. The material was very good although I found the execution confusing. It was full of long 30 second takes of a person just looking into the camera, not saying anything, and long 30 second takes of different people sleeping. Why did we have to see them all sleep?
I dunno, I was pretty tired at this point so maybe I'm being unfair. The film was good, but I don't think I'll watch it again. The main message seemed to be about one culture being dissolved into another but after watching China Blue I kinda thought these guys had it pretty good.
PoF: pink and black pirate
CO: sleep
Sports docos are almost always good fun to watch. Heart of the Game is a teen girl basketball doco set in Girl World but with a whole lot of exciting sports action. The coach at the centre of the story was wonderful, teaching the girls to approach the game as a pack of wolves, to encourage team work. It was pretty awesomely put together and a very fun movie.
Socially responsible film China Blue, followed one girl moving from her family's farm in Sichuan to the city to work in a jeans factory. It's a really close up investigation into the lives of the workers. Scary, scary stuff. The director was there, and I couldn't stay for the Q&A because I had to meet Lee, but the director was standing in the doorway as I was leaving and I said to him "That was just amazing" and he smiled and said "Thank you" so that was quite nice.
It didn't give me the same clear course of action that Inconvenient Truthor Black Gold did, which is disappointing. On the up side the film wasn't as depressing as it could have been, so that's something as well.
Finally nature doco White Planet was good, if not the best I've seen. It showed the changing of the seasons in the Arctic. Lots of lovely footage of polar bears, whales, narwhales and weird fish, but overall not as nice a package as say Deep Blue and Travelling Birds. Enjoyable movie, but not great. Least good out of the docos on Documentary Day.
I discovered something pretty neat today: Glassons stock garments that are made in New Zealand! I bought a black and grey striped scarf and a matchy long sleeve t, both made in Godzone. I think their armwarmers are made here too, as well as a fair amount of the striped tops they have in right now. I can feel happy about purchasing mass produced things that I know are made in a country with strict labour control.
PoF: stripey stripey
CO: documentaries
I very much enjoyed both Vampires v.s Sheep Man and Thank You for Smoking. I only saw one film yesterday, opting instead of drowning in film culture, to be a sociable person and see more people. Here's what I did:
Tuesday morning, went to a work meeting in town library. (Yeah, I know, work meetings in my holiday. I don't care. It gets me up, into town and organised early, I get to see friends from other libraries and it meant I could take off early on my last day of work last week.) After that I toddled over to my Angel In Law's place, and finished Zephfi's quilt while catching up and sampling tea. It was really nice to have some one-on-one time with her.
Lee called to say his whole block had lost power and he was being sent home from work. Then his Dad came home to take us on a test drive (they're looking for a new car, I talked A-i-L into considering a hybrid) so we were leaving just as Lee arrived and we got a lift to meeting Zephfi for lunch.
Lunch with Zephfi was wonderful, I got to give her the late birthday present, see the ring and talk a bit of corporation politics and fair trade stuff.
Then Lee and I took off to see Waves which is a documentary about Chinese students at Hutt Valley High. It was an intensely personal insight into the lives of four teens and very affecting. I found myself wanting to help somehow but I'm at a loss as to what I can do. Great movie, even if there are some typos in the subtitles. The director seemed really friendly and interesting too, she got mobbed by the international students in the audience as we were leaving.
Then Lee and I spent some quality time together before roleplaying started up again. Roleplaying was awesome fun, Steve's game Luck of the Joneses (a family sitcom game) where we all chose 'secondary' family members to the core cast of Joneses. I was the adopted kid, there was a cousin, the grandparents were both played and Steve was...a nerdy kid. Maybe he was a best friend who lived in the house too? I channeled C.R.A.Z.Y. and made my 15 year old boy have a main goal of "Prove I'm not gay" which was wicked fun, and had Seraph squirming at certain points.
Steve said he was going to start a thread on the forge, so I'll link to it when he does.
Thank You For Smoking is just fucking awesome. It's a hip, slick satire of modern American business, but it also seems so close to the truth that it makes you think as well. Aaron Echolls Eckhart plays the head Lobbyist for Big Tabacco, a man so good at his job of spinning the truth that you start to believe him. It's hilarious, and scary and wonderful film making. I was saying last night that it's sort of in the film making tradition of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang although thematically they have little in common, it's the same post-modern but incredibly entertaining irreverence.
So. Much. Love. Go and see it when it gets a regular release in about a month, alright? (Reading cinemas say 24th of August for the release, so that's pretty soon, really.)
The two shorts NZ:What We Do In the Shadows and USA but set in NZ:Sheep Man were very funny. I was jaded going in because Svend didn't seem to like them all that much but I was pleasantly surprised. I thought Sheep Man was just a hilarious send up of Grizzly man. Although some of the jokes probably wouldn't work if you haven't seen the original (like the OTT fake German voice over).
The vampires mockumentary was very well done as well. Jermaine was the traditional vamp with the poofy shirt and the 'spooky' way of talking. Taika was the straight middle Vamp and Jonathan was the epitome of ennui, reclining on the same couch, unmoving for all his interviews. I especially liked the turning-into-a-bat effects. Well worth a look, if it becomes available.
I was thinking of going for a run this morning, but I didn't want to and it was raining, so I did my pilates DVD instead. My body feels all weird now, not used to being stretched!
PoF: big warm skirt, rainbow socks
CO: making myself see China Blue this afternoon.