These Things Take Time.

formspring.me

2011-12-21T21:44:00.001Z

Ask me questions about music http://www.formspring.me/ashleywang

Lomography

2011-01-05T22:46:00.004Z

Collected my prints yesterday, here is one of the shots. Actually took 8 but some of them were bad.. there were 12 shots on the film. I just decided to stop. fml.

Took me a while to actually work out where these shots were from as they were taken more than a year ago (at my first placement interview, cringe). This one is of Westminster Abbey and is the best one that was on this roll.

2 more to collect tomorrow wheeee exciting. I have new-found passion for photography as I can take pictures of mediocre things (like a pigeon) and make them look interesting (ish). YAY.

Also planning a trip to NYC and Chicago at Easter, taking advantage of the many bank holidays on around that time 8)

It's all about making life happen...

So I thought January was going to be pretty shit..

2011-01-04T10:30:00.002Z

.. but them I remembered student loan comes in next week! Kerching, all that to be saved :)

2011.. it's been awhile.

2011-01-03T10:30:00.005Z

Thought I'd rejuvenate this blog after almost a year of MIA... Let's see how 2010 was for me.

1. What did you do in 2010 that you’d never done before?
Work full time, one night stand, lose my mobile phone, travel to the African continent, join and go to the gym etc.

2. Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Yes, apart from #4 (take up piano again).

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
No…

4. Did anyone close to you die?
No.

5. What countries did you visit?
Morocco. Hmph.

6. What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010?
A summer internship, more money (unlikely with work ending in May), stronger friendships.

7. What date from 2010 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
28 June 2010 - placement started! The beginning of a wonderful experience and opportunity.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Performing so well at work so far, I couldn't have asked for better colleagues, managers and friends.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Probably not getting a first.. so close (68!). And no summer internship so far :/

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Many colds, the flu. Nothing life threatening.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Gah, I've spent so much money, especially after Christmas.. no massive purchases. But let's say it's Jamie Oliver's cookbook which I hope will whip me into a culinary whiz.

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
Anyone who has done anything charitable.

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
Those bombers in Egypt recently. And whoever abducted Joanne Yeates. Students rioting about tuition fees.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Rent, eating out, clubbing, drinking, clothes, travel.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Going to Morocco and the start of placement :)

16. What song will always remind you of 2010?
Two Door Cinema Club - Something Good Can Work.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? happier!
ii. thinner or fatter? fatter.. :( probably.
iii. richer or poorer? richer :)

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Get to know some people I never really got a chance to share time with.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Not a lot... worrying is always on the list though.

20. How will you be spending Christmas?
Spent Christmas at home with the family. Though Xmas parties at work and otherwise were amazing.

21. How will you be spending New Year’s Eve?
Went to Madame Jojo's for a burlesque cabaret and club night, and what a night it was! Half 7 til 5, truly knackered on NY day.

22. Did you fall in love in 2010?
Errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr no.

23. How many one-night stands?
one. gross.

24. What was your favourite TV program?
Didn't discover any new shows, though Gossip Girl has been pretty amazing this year.

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Hate is a strong word. Strongly dislike/do not talk to anymore? Yes.

26. What was the best book you read?
1984, finally got round to it!

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Got into some new bands like Two Door Cinema Club, then into more club music. Not really with the hip new indie music these days.

28. What did you want and get?
Some amazing people, great placement, new friends, more money, holidays.

29. What did you want and not get?
Summer internship for 2011..?

30. What was your favourite film of this year?
Oooh toughy. Toy Story 3 was quite amazing.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 20. Not a biggie, just went to Spoon's and got drunk woo.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Not being single at the end of it, and having a summer internship in the bag.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2010?
More work gear..

34. What kept you sane?
Making new friends and keeping in mind that it's all about LDN this year.

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
UM. meh.

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
Tuition fees I guess, but mostly due to the riots.. just gives students a bad image, and most of them probably weren't even that bothered.

37. Who did you miss?
Friends in Bath who I haven't seen in a while :(

38. Who was the best new person you met?
Ohhh probably someone at work. Grad on my team! We bond over being asian and ting.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010:
Make change in the present, as there is no point regretting anything in the past.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
"Took a little time to make it a little better, it's only going out, just one thing and another.." - Something Good Can Work by Two Door Cinema Club.

Wow, I've seen so many amazing films this year that I feel kind of sad that I haven't really written anything here in so long. Will try to start up again! Maybe to add to the resolutions, which right now look like this -

1. Get a summer internship.

2. Gym at least twice a week.

3. Save more than £100 a month (whilst still on placement).

4. Practice more photography (inc. lomo!)

5. Lose 0 friends.

6. Watch Star Wars. All 6. :X

7. Go on some dates etcetc.

8. Go travelling in South Asia in June.

9. Undergo some kind of image change.

10. Maintain writing blog/diary.

So glad that I've taken this week off to chillax.. going to go home on Thursday and hopefully propose the idea of going to New York to the parents and hope they pay for some of it 8) Also looking to meet up with some friends I haven't seen in a while so the outlook so far is good!

Placement really is amazing right now, I'm still loving my job and the people there just make it an ever richer experience. Can't believe it's already halfway through, I'm going to miss this year so much..

This time last year was positively the most depressing.

2010-04-09T19:49:00.003+01:00

However this year is definitely a marked improvement upon 365 days ago. Mainly because I have something to look forward to for the next year or so starting June. Placement! Also, spent the first week of two this Easter flat hunting in London which was exciting yet stressful. Lost an amazing place on Monday, but then saw another one on Wednesday and our very-much-below-asking-price-offer was accepted on Thursday, unexpectedly.. It was a bit of a steal. And we got the mortgage mostly sorted, so things are definitely taking shape, can't wait til it's all finalised and I get keys, and get to decorate! And host people overrr. Wakaka, it's going to be great. Just over 2 months, seems like nothing.

And yet there are 3 exams, revision for those 3 exams, an Econometrics project, a group presentation and one last Macroeconomics coursework standing inbetween me and that tiny prick of light at the end of a moderately hellish tunnel of work. Oh, and then all the emotional crap that comes with university thrown into that, what a pleasant mixed selection of goodies.

Back to Bath already tomorrow, 2 weeks really does fly by.

2 months, 2 months!

I want a flat in London.

2010-03-16T22:11:00.001Z

Now.

I hate how everything changes so quickly.

2010-03-07T10:42:00.002Z

Last term I was so happy, I literally had everything going for me. And then this year after exams everything just seemed to fuck up a little bit. And that all adds up to life being quite screwed up. Gah, I just want my placement to start in June now so I don't have to deal with anythinggg. Also it's a bit depressing when I'm down and it's amazingly sunny outside. I just feel worse for being in a bad mood. Ahaha. I guess one good thing is that friends separate from being real friends to not-so-real friends so I know who I can really count on.

Some happy news

2010-01-13T23:32:00.002Z

Morgan Stanley Assessment Centre on Saturday morning.. at half 8! Chose the earlier time so I could get some free hotel action on Friday night.. wooo! I hope it's a posh one! However, the AC consists of a group exercise and two ONE HOUR interviews, my god that's torture but hopefully I will have enough to say :/ I want this more than anything right now and I just hate waiting. Fingers crossed that things go okay :D

Bath is still really snowy, my road is all slushy with black shiz so I don't really want to go outside and get splashed. Thus I have not gone food shopping yet, will probably survive on pasta, cereal and olives for a while. Or take out. Nomnomnom. No, not take out, Healthy eating remember?!

It's amazing to be back though, great seeing friends and chatting and catching up. I need to go out take more photos.. kept saying I needed to take photos of Bath in snow when I was at home and now I'm here there is no action! Lots of stuff on the mind though, creativity is not one of them! A little update. :)

I don't know what's gotten into me.

2010-01-11T00:48:00.002Z

But it's like lately all I do is just stress out about so much shit. I really cannot wait for all these exams are over and I can just chill out for a week. Ughh, why can't things every be more straightforward? GUYS SUCK.

No Country for Old Men (2009).

2010-01-09T12:43:00.002Z

Hey look, it's Javier Bardem, from Vicky Christina Barcelona. But instead of a charming charismatic Spanish-artiste-lover, he is now a greasy haired psychopathic killer-hitman in 1980s Texas. This Cohen brothers adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's novel, hitman Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) has been hired to recover $2m left in a satchel at a drug deal that has gone wrong. Whilst out hunting, Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) stumbles across the aftermath of the drug deal - dead bodies of humans and dogs, blood, and guns. Later on, he finds a man in the shade of a tree out in the desert, dead from blood loss, and with a satchel containing $2m. Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) is soon to retire, but comes across this case. After finding the money, Llewelyn tells his wife to leave their trailer park and to move back in with her mother whilst he goes and takes care of whoever is trying to hunt him down. Little does he know that the satchel has a tracking device, to which Chigurh has the receiver, which he took off some Mexicans who returned to the crime scene. Thus begins a cat and mouse chase towards the Mexican border, lots of guns, lots of blood, lots of cleverness.

To be honest, the role of Sheriff Bell isn't hugely significant as I would have liked. He is mainly used to represent the lack of law and order and has some great lines which Jones' delivers in a real gritty yet wise way. The development of Moss's character after he finds the money is magnificent. Before: a cowboy in a trailer park; After: a determined man-on-the-run who is intent on his and his wife's survival. It's like he's been possessed. Suddenly he is sharp-thinking, knowing how to deal with the situation given. However, I think Anton Chigurh's character steals the show. And Bardem plays this role amazingly - forcefully creating a chilling, deadly assassin with a weirdly dark sense of humour; and armed with a silenced shot gun and a cattle gun. The scene at the old Texaco gas station I liked especially, telling the man to call a heads or tails flip of a coin. The audience knows he is calling for his life, though he is oblivious. There's a huge sigh of relief and sudden pleasantness from Chigurh after the old man calls correctly that makes you think whether or not Chigurh has any conscience.. that the coin was the only reason to justify not killing the innocent man. Bardem's character is left quite mysterious too, no mention of where he is from or his history, just that he leaves no trace, like a ghost. All you really learn is that he likes to keep clean from the blood of people he kills - he'll ask his victim to step out of the car; and will be careful not to tread on any blood spill on the floor. The attention to the latter point actually reveals the fate of Moss's wife at the end of the movie. The way he carefully and precisely makes every move emphasises his deadly nature and just how practised he is.

Cinematography is great in some of the earlier scenes in the desert. The barren landscaping and heat is wonderfully emphasised when Llewelyn is out hunting and whatnot. The action scenes are great at building up tension. Notice that the camera follows each of the three main characters one by one, and they rarely appear in the same shot together. I think this really builds upon each character separately so that you can link it all together yourself. The score is at times empty, which I find rather fitting to build tension. Sometimes silence is the best music. All in all, an excellent crime-murder chase film.

Perfect Blue (1997).

2010-01-08T23:18:00.002Z

So I stumbled across this on my laptop and thought I'd give it a whirl, actually forgetting why I acquired it in the first place. It's actually often labelled as the best anime movie ever made. Directed by Satoshi Kon, Perfect Blue is about a pop idol named Mima Kirigoe, who leaves her girl group CHAM to pursue an acting career. Initially, she plays a small part in a TV series called Double Bind, but later her character is written a more prominent role, involving a rape scene which she voluntarily agrees to do, to the dislike of her manager, Rumi. Mima also has a stalker, Me-Mania, who, apart from being the most scarily drawn anime character ever, appears to be the one behind "Mima's Room" - an online blog supposedly written by Mima for her fans. The persona behind Mima's room maintains Mima's more innocent pop idol image. Upon reading this website, Mima realises that she has a stalker, and a very good one at that. As the story develops, Mima starts to doubt herself, as the difference between pop idol Mima and actress Mima becomes more prominent. As Mima gets more attention as an actress, the people around her start getting murdered. Thus she becomes entangled in race to find out who the killer is before she is harmed herself.

As Mima starts to break down, she experiences hallucinations of her former self and has recurring dreams, so much so that she doesn't know what is reality and what isn't. The audience shares this as many of the scenes are repeated but with different outcomes, so you are just as confused as to what is reality. The plot of Double Bind kind of intertwines with the plot of the film, creating more interlinking scenes and characters, continually stressing the juxtaposition of reality and fantasy. The film climaxess to a scene where Me-Mania finally gets his hands on Mima, though she manages to escape. A clever plot twist is then slotted in, kind of turning the whole film around. I shall not reveal. There are strong themes in this film, one being multiple personality disorder, and knowing who you really are, and what you really want. I found the detailing of Mima's room especially satisfying as it really captured busy city life well. The animation and drawing style is more realistic than I am used to seeing but nonetheless did not deter from the attraction of this film. High contrast colours and heavy lighting is used to give a more dramatic effect which works really well in this genre.

This film has often been compared to Alfred Hitchcock's works. It certainly is very thought provoking and left me still not sure what really happened in the middle of the film. Another viewing is probably necessary to sort that out, but I really don't want to see Me-Mania again. Something very different from the artistic, cheerful anime that I usually watch but still intriguing.

Okuribito (Departures) (2008).

2010-01-07T21:38:00.002Z

The first Japanese non-Anime filme I've seen, Departures tells the story of Daigo in his mid-twenties, leaving his careers as a cellist and moving from Tokyo back to Yamagata in the countryside. He accidentally stumbles upon the position of an encoffiner, a profession in a very niche market. The job involves cleansing, clothing and making-up corpses to prepare them for entry into the coffin. Upon discovering his new profession, his wife asks him to quit. His refusal of this request creates tension between their marriage. As the story unfolds, the audience is drawn to have the same feelings about the job as his wife does.. at first shocked and disgusted.. but then after seeing the graceful and precise nature of the process, an understanding is realised in the regard that Daigo has an important role in the community to help those passed away onto the "next journey". What's nice about this film is the detail in the characters. Though there are very few main characters, the secondary characters have strong sub-plots, which leave lasting impressions. During the film, Daigo takes on numerous jobs, all of which are shown in their entirety. Yet despite this, it doesn't bore as you're still captivated by the role that the encoffiner plays, especially for the family as they are watching the whole thing. It's almost as if the calming and gentle motions of handling the corpse helps the families come to terms with what has happened, each showing it in a different way. Thus giving you an idea of what the dead person was actually like when alive. One that sticks in my mind is when the females of the family all kiss the deceased grandfather, leaving red lipstick stains on his face.

Despite being based on a heavy subject, humour does exist in this film and it provides some more uplifting topics than death and bereavement. However, I wouldn't say that the film is about death, but about reconciliation and forgiveness amongst other themes. One thing the film does lack is a climax, though the artistic way in which the story is told makes this such a simple yet enlightening film. Joe Hisaishi composed the soundtrack for this film, which accompanies the more scenic shots beautifully. The cinematography in some parts of the film was a bit too random.. like Daigo playing the cello on a hill in the countryside.. or the numerous shots of birds flying or otherwise. Though I guess it links to the idea of journeys and looking forward in life. This film won the 2009 Oscar Award for Best Foreign Film, and I can see why. The views of the Japanese countryside, shots of the train station and the houses really reminded me of past Animes that I've seen which was refreshing, knowing that the cartoons are based on the reality :) Thoroughly enjoyable.

Tumblr

2010-01-07T20:46:00.002Z

Yeah, I got one today. Again, it's like another twitter type thing except it's a lot more interactive.. Kind of like weheartit and twitter squished together to get this website. One thing I really like is the simple user interface and the ease to post things. A lot of "reblogging", much like retweeting others' posts. It's also really quick to set up.. you sign up, choose a theme, and start posting! It's not hard to make the page look like something that's taken a while to create - mostly from the large selection of pretty themes you can choose and customise yourself. It's really good for non-wordy posts and just posting pictures, and random things you come across on the internet. Anyway, here is mine.
Not sure if it will be a lasting thing for me but so far it has been for a lot of other people.. A very bad thing for revision as it makes me procrastinate like crazzyyyyy. Eeeh.

(500) Days of Summer (2009).

2010-01-06T00:37:00.003Z

"This is a story of boy meets girl." Boy: Tom Hansen (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). Girl: Summer Finn (Zooey Deschanel). Last time I saw Levitt was when he was all fresh-faced and looking about 15 in "Ten Things I Hate About You". It was a surprise seeing him suddenly pop up in the trailers for this, still looking about 15 but acting slightly older.. Deschanel is perfectly cast as a quirky indietastic girl that pays "on average 9.2% less than the market price for every apartment she's rented". I was actually reluctant to watch this Rom Com, as I am with all others of the same genre (starting lately). Probably because it's a genre that's been done to death and I dislike being led to think that life will be like they are in the movies. It's all lies! Regardless.

Regina Spektor - Us playing in opening credits. LOVE. The film starts off with the end of the story: Day 488. They're sitting on a bench, Summer's engagement-ringed-hand is holding Tom's, they're smiling. Happiness. The story continues to skip between days.. almost randomly as it starts to piece parts of their relationship together. Each "day" is separated by a wonderful vector graphic, acting as page turning time in what seems like a photo album you are flicking back and forth through. The story telling is done so well in this film. Despite the non-chronological order of things, it's easy to piece everything together, and along with that the realisation that there's more to the ending than was first revealed. In this story, the boy is the girl, and the girl is the boy. Tom is a hopeless romantic, believing in fate and true love, and living to meet "the one". After studying architecture, he ended up at a firm writing greeting cards. Where he meets Summer. He falls in love. And when she breaks his heart out of the blue, he suffers like a girl. It was nice watching a guy go through all that for a change. Summer, on the other hand, is never looking for something serious, much to the frustration of Tom; as she is behaving as if they are a couple but never wanting to put a label on what they have. Thus begins the gruelling task of getting past that barrier. Probably something that everyone can relate to. There's so many lovely moments between them though.. my favourite is when they are on the train, just having a coffee, with the sunset behind them. Other great scenes included the musical-esque performance from Tom after sleeping with Summer for the first time; the great karaoke that occured; and of course the final time he sees Summer, on day 488. There was so much bitter-sweetness flying around that it's sad but so real that you don't wish there was a different ending.

One of my favourite characters is Tom's younger sister.. who gives him the best advice he gets. Just the simple mind of a ten year old or something stating the obvious. Just shows how rose-tinted glasses screws with the mind and makes it so stupid. In the end, the irony in the film is that the non-believer goes through all the fate and true love.. leaving the romantic cynical about it all. I can't really explain what this film left me feeling.. Except that I can agree that nothing really happens.. just life.

Featuring Regina Spektor, The Temper Trap, The Smiths, Doves and Mumm-ra to name a few, this brilliant soundtrack couples so well with the characters and the bitter-sweet feel to the film. Nothing I like better than awesome sounds to accompany delightful sights. I think that the reality of this film is what sets it apart, though the ending kind of ruined the lack of Hollywood feel slightly.. I loved this film though. Something nice to ease into my film writing again.

With Regard to Resolution #5...

2010-01-05T23:34:00.002Z

Morgan Stanley Operations department has called me up to go to a session tomorrow at their London offices to do some aptitude testing.. However, it has started to snow like there is no tomorrow, and I will probably be snowed in again. Thankfully they said it may be postponed due to the weather so here's to changing to online testing..! With the snow this time round I'm definitely going to take advantage of it more and take more pretty pictures, a la one on the left..

Some of my friends are already back at Bath, it makes me want to go back earlier.. yet the convenience of home cooked food and not having to clean and cook is too much of a temptation for this lazy ass. Though I do miss the beautiful city somewhat, if not for my friends being there then for the nicer place it generally is.

I used Morgan Stanley's "smart casual" dress code to buy a nice blazer today.. wo0o0. More shopping :) Oh, and some KILLER KILLER heels from Office yesterday when I went to Westfield.. which is an amazing shopping centre! I think I might actually die walking/running drunkenly in them.. ahaha.

I haven't written about films in a long time.. yet I have seen so many. I need to start writing about some again, and make it some kind of habit. Will do one now in fact :) Yessum.

Oh, revision is wank.

2010 Resolutions

2010-01-01T13:32:00.003Z

It's 2010.. a new decade..woo!

Let's set some ground rules.

1. Stop worrying about everything so much. Stress leads to illness. Illness is bad.

2. Exercise.. or something similar.. eat less crap.. be more healthy.

3. Reduce friend turnover.

4. Take up the piano again.. again..

5. Get a placement.

Fewer resolutions = fewer resolutions to break.

Post #100: Looking back on 2009

2009-12-31T16:31:00.001Z

Some questions regarding my year, stolen from somewhere.

1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before?
Couchsurfing, take photos with an DSLR, See Regina Spektor live, See some awesome places in China, Get a tattoo.

2. Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I can’t remember mine from last year.. probably to do with keeping fit, worrying less, keeping in touch with people.. ditto for this year really..

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
No… thankfully.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Nope :)

5. What countries did you visit?
China, Italy. Damn I need to get out of England more.

6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
A nicer boday. More monies, a fucking PLACEMENT, a job, dwelling place in London, my own personal bar so I can make awesome cocktails all the time.

7. What date from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Is it sad that I can’t think of the exact date that anything happened… Apart from my birthday.. Oh, actually. July 7th, went to China on my travels on this day. Amazing experience.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Getting a 1st in my first year at university studying Economics. Bitch of a subject right there.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Not getting a placement by the end of the year, that was actually a small personal goal of mine and it really, really bums me out that I failed on all accounts at this. Especially since it will still be dwindling at the back of my mind during exams and other such times of stress. Boohooo :(

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
I have had a cough for about a month or so now, I swear. It’s still not gone. Stress kills my immune system.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
My DSLR! Though technically it was with money loaned from Bank of Mum and Dad..

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
Obama.. all this stuff about peace and stuff. Thumbs up.

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
Morgan Stanley. For rejecting me.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Alcohol, going out, clothes, food. In that order.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Going to China! And Italy spontaneously :)

16. What song will always remind you of 2009?
Black Eye Peas – I Gotta Feeling!

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? happier.. though this applied much more a few weeks ago before all this revision shit kicked in.
ii. thinner or fatter? fatter.. :(
iii. richer or poorer? poorer..probably.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Keeping in touch with friends, and putting more effort in keeping some other friends.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Eating.. Worrying.. and lounging around.

20. How will you be spending Christmas?
Spent Christmas chilled out at home with family. It’s not a huge deal in my house.. Christmas Eve is more woo.

21. How will you be spending New Year’s Eve?
Ah, that is tonight! Going to a friend’s house for eats and drinkies :D I need to get at least slightly drunk.. I’ve decided I hate detoxing.

22. Did you fall in love in 2009?
Yes. It screwed me over. So I don’t really know what love is anymore. Back to square one.

23. How many one-night stands?
Let’s see. One Night Stands.

one night stand
Hooking up with someone for one night of sex with no strings attached and hoping to never see them again. It is important not to exchange any personal info with them so they can't track you down and stalk you later.

Zero.

24. What was your favourite TV program?
Ahh, I got into so many new shows this year. Probably How I Met Your Mother.

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Hmmm, hate is a strong word. Not hate, dislike slightly/annoyed by, yes.

26. What was the best book you read?
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson. Still yet to read the second and third.. after so long :/

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Really got into Jay-Z’s new album. And David Guetta, he was rocking the club scene. Also rediscovered Alicia Keys from aforementioned first musical discovery. Oh, Lady Gaga of course.

28. What did you want and get?
DSLR, new people/friends, new phone, ipod, holidays. Blahh, spoilt?

29. What did you want and not get?
………………………. a placement.

30. What was your favourite film of this year?
AVATAR. No question. Though I can’t really remember films from the beginning of this year.. lemme go check. Oh, The Hangover was also brilliant.. Avatar should’ve lasted longer at #1 in box office charts..

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 19.. It was very snowy that week so we were pretty much snowed in on campus as no buses were running.. so we drank but didn’t go out… That happened on later on in the week. I don’t remember it..

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Getting a placement…

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
Um.. I wore more heels when going out and more dresses..?

34. What kept you sane?
Friends who know me well and talk to me often, telling me to get a grip.

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Gahh, can’t think :|.. oh, Brandon Flowers, after seeing him again at Hyde Park in summer :)

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
Being an Economics student, I’d say the fact taxes have been raised so that now everyone is complaining.. but WHERE THE FUCK DO YOU EXPECT THE MONEY TO COME FROM?!

37. Who did you miss?
My best friend, who fucked off to Canada in September. Still missing her!

38. Who was the best new person you met?
Too many awesome people. Maybe Emma Wang, we have cool Wang bonding going on. Also, she actually reads my blog .. :)

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009:
Live for the present, stop worrying. I know I need to do this more but whether I do it in practice is debateable..

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
“It was so easy and the words so sweet. You can’t remember..” Eet – Regina Spektor

Stuff that made me a bit happy today.

2009-12-28T20:41:00.002Z

These are pretty cool, right? Thinking about it now, pretty impractical and probably painful and very annoying and scratchy. Nonetheless, makes me curious. Maybe for halloween or something.

A poster for Skins being showed in America! The amazing first series no doubt.. :) Maxxie and Chris with hands in pants, standard. It actually really annoys me when guys do that. Just. urgh, no. Especially when they are standing there talking to you.. Bleh. Season 4 starts in January I think.. Perfect for post-exam chillaxing. But yeah, this reminded me of good times gone by.

It keeps coming up.. like money vomit.

2009-12-28T20:24:00.001Z

Basically spending money for the third day in a row.. Eeeh don’t want to check my bank balance >.<
There is a picture of The Killers in the video for “Don’t Shoot me Santa”. Aren’t their jumpers uber awesome? I think so. Come to think of it, Brandon Flowers isn’t a very good frontman in terms of conversing and letting loose on stage, but there’s something about the awkward shyness of his actions when he performs that is just so charming (eg. him shaking maracas..). Even in interviews and stuff, he really isn’t very interesting.. but why be interesting when you are that pretty? Why? No need, no need.

On another note, booked my megabus journey to York and back for February.. which only cost me £5 :D I’m willing to endure 4-5 hours of thrills in order to save money. AND TO SEE VAMPIREWEEKEND….AGAIN….

WUT. Shirt and pink shorts.. can never be pulled off.. Unless you are that awesome!

They always remind me of The Inbetweeners, thanks to the much used insertion of A-Punk in the show. Which I will have to watch again soon, now that I have series 1 and 2 at my disposal. boom.
Revision is bore.

Boxing Day Retail Therapy

2009-12-26T17:15:00.001Z

Therapy from what exactly I’m not sure, probably the fact that there’s this huge build up to Christmas, and it’s all over so quickly, just like that. And then all the stock that everyone has gathered (in body mass and otherwise..) is then unloaded on Boxing Day in the form of low prices and messy clothing rails. Didn’t go anywhere fancy, just into town with the mother. Ended up getting about £80 worth of stuff.. If shopping is to talking, then I just had a bloody good rant. I feel I need to venture back soon to buy some shoes.. as I got none today! Gonna sit in front of POTC: At World’s End tonight. Is this the third one in the trilogy..? I forget. I hope so because the second one was rather shitty. Dinner today was at 4.45.. I don’t understand..

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T12:34:00.002Z

That is all.

Snowed in.

2009-12-21T20:38:00.001Z

I have done crap all today. The snow is falling thick and heavy, even as we speak. It’s actually quite beautiful, though loads of people are getting pissed off at not being able to go anywhere.. haha. See the view outside my window? Pretty, eh? Winter Solstice today, it was dark by about 4pm.. amazing. I got out of bed at like noon, so I only really got about 4 hours of daylight.. Attempted to start revision today though that has epically failed as I did anything as an excuse to not do it. I have laid out my rainbow coloured pens so it’s like I’m getting in the revision mood.. haha. This morning, I found out that Simon Cowell offered a market job to the person who started the whole Rage Against the Machine for #1 campaign. Started by a fellow Xfm listener, actually. Just shows that even out of the most dire situation for him, Mr Cowell WILL find a way to make money out of it.. Today hasn’t been all wasteful. I dusted off another application to Morgan Stanley. This time in Operations, after getting rejected from Prime Brokerage on Friday. Rahhh, this placement stuff is seriously depressing the shit out of me. It feels hopeless. Aunt from France is coming tomorrow, it’ll be nice to see her again. There’s always a lack of family around here at Christmas time.. and with my best friend in Canada for the holidays it’s even more so.

And on a sadder note, Brittany Murphy’s death. 2009 isn’t a very good year to be a celebrity, eh.

I’m hopeful for a White Christmas

2009-12-20T19:54:00.000Z

I’m back home from university. This first semester has been so hectic and busy that I haven’t really bothered writing much (or I am plain lazy). Whilst the rest of the UK has been blanketed with white, Bath has remained, dare I say, sunny and dry. Really such a disappointment as I wanted to take some photos of the beautiful city in snow. Hopefully when I go back in January that will be the case. The journey today was so horribly painful, especially on the tube.. I hate the staircases. I think my suitcase weighed more than me..

I would try and summarise my life since I last posted, but that involves actually remembering and possibly cringing at events that have occurred. I was kind of sad to leave Bath, I will miss my friends so dearly. Revision is also looming and I am dreading getting stuck in and realising just how much I do not understand. Main setbacks this semester is lack of placement offers. I had an assessment centre at Morgan Stanley that I was really, really hopeful for and they didn’t want me. It just makes me think what more can I do to get a placement?! I will get feedback from them this week so I eagerly await the results of that.

In the past few days, I have acquired a few mystery scratches on my body from nights out, and a bruised left ring finger which means typing was a bitch yesterday. Oh, shenanigans. I keep thinking of things I have on my mind but just seems long winded to put it on here and then remember things that happened before or are irrelevant.

Therefore I am metaphorically wiping the slate clean and starting off a new section of blog and pretend that I have been consistently writing since mid October… HAH.

Rage Against the Machine is Christmas #1. Facebook – 1. Simon Cowell – 0. Not sure what this shows but it seems like something to draw an interesting social conclusion from. But yes, a white Christmas hopefully this year :) I miss Bath already..

I'm now officially a Crack(berry) user.

2009-10-28T00:29:00.004Z

And loving it.

It's kind of ironic that Orange decide to email me today informing me that in a week or so they will be announcing iPhone tariff and handset prices... and I will be so gutted if it is cheaper. *But I highly doubt that.* Har.

More coursework taking up my life. Huzzah.

Free: Placebo Tour Bundle

2009-10-22T18:01:00.000+01:00

Placebo’s little collection of songs showcasing some support acts for their UK tour. Woo, free stuff. Saw the Silversun Pickups this summer when they were at Hard Rock Calling. Ahh, good times. Hopefully supporting Placebo will make them more popular in the UK :)

Tracklisting:
1. Placebo - ‘Breathe Underwater’ (Live At Pukkelpop Festival 2009)
2. Expatriate - ‘Get Out, Give In’
3. Silversun Pickups - ‘Panic Switch (Recorded live for KCRW's "Morning Becomes Eclectic")
4. The Horrors - ‘Sea Within A Sea’
5. United - ‘For What I Feel’ (Live At Debaser)

Get it here.

Today, I am nostalgic.

2009-10-22T15:46:00.001+01:00

I miss my parents. Yes, the annoying calls I get approximately every other Sunday checking that I’m doing loads of work and “not going out too much”. Blahhh. In fact thinking about it now I think I may just take a visit home and get some more clothes this weekend since I am in London anyway.. hmm, yah.

I miss decent food. I still haven’t used my cook book yet, and have been eating pizza for a few days now. I need to stop this crap-fuelled life of mine.

I miss the sun. Gloomy for the past few days and so my mood is now gloomy to match.

It feels nice that taxpayers are paying for my train ticket to London this weekend. Suckaz. 2 pieces of coursework handed in now; and one pending for next Friday.. which hasn’t been set yet. So basically when I get back from London it’s gonna be work overloadddd.

Oh, and you can tag people in Flickr photos now. Why are all these websites morphing into one… =@

Luckiest Baby in the World

2009-10-18T18:28:00.000+01:00

First time watching the news in a long time.. And one of the first stories I see.. All I can say is that maybe miracles do happen..?

Onto my second piece of coursework already this semester. And week 3 hasn’t even started yet. :( Fortunately still have found time to keep up with me… 6 TV shows, getting lashed, sleeping, being ill and lectures. No time? Make time! Hopefully off to London this weekend which will be a nice escape from all this uni stress (which is positively correlated with the amount of hair I lose, as diagnosed by a doctor I’ll have you know).. So basically putting on hold the panic until I get back and it’s twice as worse than when the weekend began. And on top of that, job applications, ahhhh.

I Need to Learn How to Budget.

2009-10-11T21:30:00.000+01:00

I’ve spent over £300 in the past 2 weeks at uni so far.. on going out, eating out, clothes and way too much drink. And I am now feeling mega guilty about it. What’s worse is my parents are actually out of the country so I’m surviving solely on the student loan which might start looking really bad if this continues.. Nonetheless the ease into second year has been rather pleasant (despite hangovers/tiredness) and I am now putting off a coursework write-up in order to update my blog. No doubt I shall also regret this time wasting later when I am too tired to do any more work and it dawns on me that I have to get up rather early for an epic day of lectures tomorrow. FUN.

So plan for the next few weeks is.. stop spending money. &only then shall I treat myself to a new phone (hopefully a bb!) ~_~

So, Stephen Gately died on Saturday night or something. Sad as he was so young. And really random too, just slept and didn’t wake up after a night of drinking or something..

OH, and I’m really glad those Kandy Rain bitches got voted off XFactor. They didn’t really help themselves – in regards to the whole stripper thing, and in terms of their crap voices.

It’s Moon Festival today!

2009-10-03T19:22:00.000+01:00

(Also Mid-Autumn Festival) Which means you should look at the moon randomly at some point tonight as it will be at its biggest and brightest all year. I don’t have any moon cake though which I am really rather upset about but I guess I will have to go sometime without :(

All my housemates are moved in now into the house, so it’s nice to have some more people in the house to liven it up a bit more. After a messy night out last night I’m actually considering going out again tonight because once lectures start I will crawl under a rock or something. And now that my student loan has come through.. my “I’m poor” excuse isn’t working on myself anymore.. Plus I have to make the most of this last weekend before I get dropped into the deep end that is second year Economics!

This week has really been amazingly fun, met so many new people and it is banterful times.

Fight Club (1999).

2009-09-29T17:47:00.000+01:00

After seeing the cast, I was excited already: Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, Helena Bonham Carter. I am really going to try get through some of the films on my computer as I am running out of space on my hard drives.. :( Anyways, Fight Club is about the narrator (Norton), who is stuck in a boring, lifeless existence until he meets Tyler Durden (Pitt) on the aeroplane of a business trip. Together, after a random brawl, they form Fight Club, an illegal underground boxing club in the basement of a bar, which begins to attract more and more men of the narrator’s mindset. Marla Singer (Carter), who first knew Norton’s nameless character as they used to go to support groups for kicks, becomes involved with Tyler, though she is kept secret from Fight Club (Rule #1: No one talks about Fight Club. Rule #2: No one talks about Fight Club.). Basically, the whole Fight Club concept spirals out of control, and the club gradually turns into some kind of anarchist army vandalising and destroying buildings. Near the end of the film, it is revealed that Tyler Durden is actually a figment of the narrator’s imagination, controlling the narrator when he is asleep. This part of the film really took me by surprise, as the film suddenly turns from dark action thriller to some psychologically confusing drama. Director David Finchner subtly hints at the turn of events. For example, Tyler turns up in the narrator’s life before he meets him, like he is being built up in his subconscious. In the Fight Club, there are also few shots of Tyler Durden and Norton’s character are together in, suggesting more that they are not separate people. Cinematography is also pretty impressive. There’s a very grimy, dark feel to the film which is done really well with the actions shots during the fights and whatnot. The three leads are also in their prim:. Brad Pitt as the mischief-making club leader which provides slight comic-relief throughout the film, Edward Norton as the tortured, brooding, disturbed office worker, and Helena Bonham Carter as the dishevelled, chain-smoking mess (but pulls it off wonderfully with her dazed-out look she seems to have in all her roles). Yeah, I really liked this film, a great cast and an interesting finale.

I Would Totally Buy This.

2009-09-25T01:37:00.000+01:00

Perfect for drunk calling. Why bother thinking about who to call when it’s done for you? Can you say stocking filler? (Yeah, places are selling Christmas stuff already, it’s stupid, Halloween hasn’t been yet!) Late night laughs, yeah.

I have rediscovered the fountain pen today, as I found my old one in my desk. I really miss writing in nice ink as opposed to shitty biro ink. Anything you write looks so intellectual. Like a list of stuff to do when I get to Bath on Saturday :)

Also they have un-cancelled the management unit I wanted to do so now I don’t have to do Public Finance, and can do Economic Analysis of Financial Decisions (Corporate Finance and Stats, basically). Hopefully I can cruise through this unit this term :D

Last Week at Home…

2009-09-23T20:42:00.001+01:00

Until I head off to Bath again for second year of Economics. Also featuring placement applications and a shitload of coursework. No matter, I am equipped with a suit for such matters, so that I can SUIT UP Barney Stinson style (which will hopefully get me through the interviews). Yes, I am now up-to-date with How I Met Your Mother, which I started watching last week or so.. 4 seasons and the new one of season 5. Where Barney and Robin kind of get together and it’s sooo cute laa! ah it’s fabulous. Barney being my favourite character, some of his lines are just amazing. (Oh, and I realise this picture is out of date..). I’m going to buy a nice expensive suit after I am debt-free from parents and have enough money for one… :)))) Probably not anytime soon unfortunately.

It feels kind of weird not writing for so long so I felt the need to fill the void. My last week or so has been rather eventful and busy; went to London for the weekend which was “fabulous”. Ahh, I don’t know, I’m kind of restless now just waiting to move down south(er) again. I keep thinking about packing but I guess I’ll just do that on Friday, since packing too far in advance usually means I’ll forget something.. and packing last minute means I won’t.. ofcourse.

So.. my family are planning some fuck-off-amazing trip in China JUST when I head off to Uni, possibly going to the Maldives also.. which is one of my dream holiday places. Ergh. It makes me jealous much.

OH, I bought a cookbook. Gonna be all over that hopefully. (Given time, money, effort.) I got new insights into life ‘n’ such. Chyeah. :)

New Vampire Weekend album!

2009-09-16T12:53:00.000+01:00

Literally can’t wait for some more ukelele-NYC-indie-infused happiness. It’s out January 2010.. such a long time, but hopefully it’ll make winter days that bit more lovely when it’s released.

I remember when I first heard them on Marsha’s Xfm show in 2006 or something when she gave Mansard Roof a spin on the airwaves. I thought it was fabulous. Then later in 2008 when they released their album I was glad it was received so well. Seeing them at Reading Festival 2008 NME tent was totally amazing. Mansard Roof was the first song they played – the beginning of the song made the whole crowd erupt, funtimes. Can’t wait to see them again after this album! Kind of scared of overhyping myself but after their contribution to “Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist”, I am expecting something just as good, if not better than their debut.

Here is Ottoman, from Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist.

非常完美 Sophie’s Revenge (2009).

2009-09-15T20:11:00.000+01:00

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon; Hero; Memoirs of A Geisha; The Banquet – all films which I associate strongly with Zhang Ziyi, one of my favourite Chinese actresses. I was really quite surprised to see her do this romantic comedy called Sophie’s Revenge, which she also co-produced. The fierce, strong, sword-slashing, heroic characters often linked with Zhang turns into a clumsy, eccentric comic artist called Sophie who has just been dumped by her financé Jeff, swapping for the diva film star Joanna (Fan Bingbing – from 环珠格格 – yes, I get excited when I see actors from that show because it was the best everrr). Thus Sophie embarks on a series of schemes to break the new couple up and get Jeff back; with the help of Gordon, who she assumes to be Joanna’s ex. The plot is so, so predictive: Gordon falls in love with the adorable Sophie, she is oblivious to his feelings, he is actually Joannas’s brother, he confesses his feelings blahblah. But there are some slightly less cliché rom com plot lines which I shall leave in mystery. This South Korean-Chinese co-production has no doubt some elements of a Korean drama (sigh), particularly with the poor girl chasing rich guy with superstar girlfriend storyline. Admittedly K-dramas are kind of a guilty pleasure in small doses.. One charming thing about this film is the CGI that they use, bringing illustrations to life, as well as portraying Sophie’s emotional distress in a comedic way. The wardrobe in this is absolutely fantastic, Joanna’s character has so many amazing costumes, and Sophie has her own array of adorable outfits, except for the horrible baby blue tracksuit she wears to the gym.. It just makes me miss China and some of the amazing fashions you come across there. Zhang Ziyi really shines in this film, playing a comedy character convincingly, without making her completely over the top or unrealistic – just shows that she is a jack of all trades. The other main characters fit nicely around her, though I feel the ex-fiancé isn’t played out as much as he could be, as I would have like to have felt less sorry for him at the end. An uplifting film, I hope to see Zhang in some more like this, though maybe a character with some more substance inside, not just outside :P

Oh, that other one from 环珠格格 is also in this – Ruby Lin (geez where the fuck are all these English names coming from :/) – who plays some slutty best friend, lols.

There’s something about Chinese films that just makes me feel *yay*. I think it’s got something to understand the speech and the subtitles, and realising that it’s better without subs as you lose some in translation. Makes me miss China a lot. My parents are going again soon, when uni starts. Dad’s work decided to send him to Shanghai for some work for 2 weeks during the time he asked off. Arghh, I wish uni never got in the way of travel opportunities :(

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold.

2009-09-15T15:05:00.001+01:00

In preparation for the release of the film adaptation - directed by Peter Jackson, no doubt! – I read this book in the past month or so. In America, parents actually complained about this book in school libraries as it was more appropriate for an adult audience, not a young one, as the opening describes how Susie Salmon, a 14 year old is raped and killed. The book is narrated by Susie, from heaven, as she watches her friends and family grow up follow the tragic incident of her death. This novel not only tackles the social issues of death and bereavement, but also trust, love, friendship and growing up. Sebold writes in a way that lets you feel the emotions that Susie’s family go through as their lives go on. Reading from Susie’s point of view, you can see each family member’s distresses, but cannot do anything about it. You genuinely feel Susie’s frustration, especially as the police fail to find her killer. The writing style is really interesting, jumping from one thought to another, yet it all interlinks wonderfully. My imagination was rather limited when reading this as I saw the trailer for this film first so I had some faces – primarily that of Susie Salmon (who is that little girl from Atonement!). I found the ending quite surprising, as I didn’t expect anything big to really happen, but it was very uplifting. Despite her age, you can sense Susie growing up as her family does, as she sees them go through obstacles in life that she would otherwise not be able to. All in all, this was an excellent read and I can’t wait to see the film!

Insect Bites

2009-09-13T02:03:00.001+01:00

So just before we got on the plane from Italy to England, I got these two bites on my ankle. And today, they have swollen up a bit so I am beginning to think I am having some kind of allergic reaction to them. I didn’t even know there were mosquitoes in Italy?! Which are apparantly rather venomous?! Idk, All I can say is FUCK YOU, ALLERGY PRONE-BODY. They itched like fuck all throughout my work shift so people thought I was a bit special. I hate fat ankles! Other news, I actually got my tips on time this week, :) Met some more interesting peoples, la. I love how it feels like Sunday but it’s not, and then it’s Sunday tomorrow and it’s like yayyyyy.

/crap.

Italy – Florence and Pisa, 9th/10th.

2009-09-11T13:54:00.001+01:00

Thanks to Ryanair, plane tickets were only £20 return. Of course the outgoing flight was at 6.45am, and the closest National Express coach to Stansted left at 2.20am, getting to the airport at 4.00. *yay* Surprisingly a lot of duty-free shops were open, namely HMV where I kind of impulse bought an iPod classic, at last. I have actually toyed with the idea often, never really giving in but it was about £25 cheaper so what the hell. Unfortunately I didn’t have my laptop so was unable to use it during the trip which kind of made me impatient… At the airport, the earliest flight that day was at 6.05 so everyone there was just waiting for at least 2 hours til their flight. Yay discount airlines. I was kind of horrified to find that Ryanair didn’t give you free food on the flight and everything was so crap but hey, you get what you pay for. After a 2 hour flight, some amazing views of the English countryside, the French alps and the Mediterranean sea, we touched down at Pisa Galileo Galilei International Airport (Retarded name I know). We hitched a bus to Florence for €10 (only later did we find out train was actually cheaper, silly Terravision for ripping us off!). Florence is a small city. We did not really know exactly how small til about an hour or so later, we had already walked (and gotten lost) in most of the labyrinth that is the town centre. The streets are mostly pedestrianised, and all of them look like little back alleys, giving Florence wonderful character. The maze of streets is so abundant that if you took a wrong turning you could probably find your way to your destination anyway just be going in the general direction. Shuttered, window-boxed buildings line all the narrow passages, in a truly traditional Italian style. Most of the shops sell Italian leather goods, gelato or pizza/pasta. What impressed me a lot about Florence as well as Pisa is the lack of commercialisation. No Starbucks. No chain restaurants. Probably saw 3 McDonalds in total on the trip, but that was the most branded thing that we saw. Of course designer shops line the main streets in Florence, United Colors of Benetton featuring a surprising amount. So despite being purely tourist cities, Florence and Pisa have actually maintained a very domestic economy which is encouraging in these times of globalisation. Anyways. In the day that we were in Florence, we managed to go to most (and if not all) the important attractions in the city, such as the Uffizi Gallery, Duomo, Santa Maria Novella, Battistero, many Piazzas, Ponte Vecchio, Palazzo Pitti and Piazzale Michelangelo. Fortunately, we had booked tickets in advance for the Uffizi Gallery as the queue looked literally hours long, so we managed to skip that. :) I think I would have appreciated more of the stuff in the gallery if I were an art or art history student but nonetheless some of the paintings were really fantastic. Ponte Vecchio is the only other bridge in the world, apart from Pulteney Bridge in Bath(..!) that has shops on both sides, so I am somewhat proud that I have been on both :) All the shops on the bridge were jeweller’s, selling arrays of gold and sparkling jewels. Mopeds are also highly featured in this city, if you’re not going to get run over by a car it’s going to most likely be someone on a moped mowing you down.. There is a high level of diversity too in Florence, in terms of the locals, as of course there are many tourists from all over the world. The weather on the first day was fabulous, couldn’t have asked for better to be honest. The last stop we made was Piazzale Michelangelo, a high point of the city, overlooking the whole of Florence. The view is absolutely breathtaking, postcard perfect. After all the sightseeing, we had dinner at a Chinese restaurant… (lols). It is now official. All Chinese restaurants run by Chinese people = bad service, and hate it when you order tap water. The food was pretty tasty but we were there for wayyy too long. The translations on the menu into italian were pretty impressive as it’s kind of hard to describe what things like dumplings are in italian, so they were just on there as ravioli.. Haha. One of my favourite places was Festival del Gelato. The most wonderful ice cream shop I have ever been in. About 20 flavours, if not more, behind a neon shop sign and beautifully presented tubs. Italian ice cream is just so much better than the stuff we have here. Creamier texture and wonderful flavourings, I’d say well worth the price. Whilst we were in Florence I think we went to this place about 4 times.. So amazing. Like all cities, you get the beggars trying to get money off tourists whilst dressed as weird white-faced nuns…? Kind of scary but we were not harassed. Once you are out of the main city centre area, Florence is rather quiet, full of small cafés, bars and shops, all kind of hidden away. Really quite magical. There is also a lack of big supermarkets in the area, just little ones which are hidden away, much like everything else in this city. Oh, and everyone speaks English to some degree, so no need to be multilingual :)

The next day, we left Florence at around 10.30am for a train back to Pisa. BBC Weather had said today would be “heavy rain”. Yeah, screw that, the sun was as bright as anything. Pisa, much smaller than Florence also has its culture reflected in its old buildings and hidden shops and cafés. Most of the streets are very bare in terms of people, everyone is mostly concentrated around the Piazza del Duomo where the tourist attractions are and the main high street. With no map, we kind of just walked towards the vague direction of the Piazza, and arrived at the west entrance. The area is kind of a new place in the city, the buildings a grander and white, with loads of small touristy stalls lining the road leading up to the tower. The first thing we saw was the Duomo – the baptistery. A single huge domed building. The cathedral is then behind it, then the tower in it’s not-as-tall-as-I-thought-it-would-be glory. Everything was just so white! And with the bright Mediterranean sunshine, everything seemed to kind of glow. Tickets were bought for the tower, duomo and cathedral (museums and cemeteries may be omitted). We had to hang around a bit to climb the tower as earlier slots were already booked up. First we went inside the Duomo. Pretty impressive, especially the acoustics as an assistant demonstrated. The cathedral was even more grand. The interior was decorated with huge paintings, wonderful sculptures and awesome architecture. Definitely spent too long taking pictures in here..! The stained glass windows were also really beautiful. The leaning tower of Pisa has 300 or so steps. At first it’s kind of disorientating as you are climbing slanted stairs upwards and it makes you lean this way and that. From the top of the tower, the view is breathtaking, I tried taking some photos to make a 360 degree panoramic which I have to attempt later.. There are also mountains in north Tuscany which can be seen from the tower, they provided a lovely backdrop to the city view. Dinner today was more traditional, some delicious seafood risotto. Yummy. More random city trips please.

Goodbye England, Salve Italy!

2009-09-08T22:06:00.001+01:00

YES, I am packing and leaving. And I shall return on Thursday/Friday. Lol, it will be so short-lived but I hope to return brimming full of cultured-ness. And lots of ice-cream ;D I have strategically chosen items of clothing in order to pack as lightly as possible and to cover almost all weather circumstances, methinks this is rather fab on my part, though those of you that know me better know that I love nothing more than to plan things to the finest detail yet leaving small spaces for some spontanaeity/disaster. Har. I shall now try to get some sleep before the coach to Stansted airport which leaves just past 2am… Though doubt that will happen and I will probably turn into some kind of twitchy psycho on very little sleep. Look forward to it! Arrivederci for now.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009).

2009-09-08T21:04:00.001+01:00

Directed by Gavin Hood, this film tells the story of Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), a mutant bit claws coming out of his knuckles. All in HD once again, I really can’t get enough of it. I think I regret not getting my laptop with a blu-ray disk drive but I guess that would mean I actually have to PAY for films.. x) Anyways, the film begins in the past, where a young James Howlet sees his father murdered by a groundskeeper at their house, causing his mutation to surface. As he avenges his father’s death through his rage and uncontrollable anger, the groudskeeper Thomas Logan reveals that he is actually young Jimmy’s father. Jimmy flees with his brother Victor Creed (Liev Schreiber) and end up fighting in the American Civil War, WWI, WWII and the Vietnam War. With the power of regeneration, they are able to live immortally. Victor, the more violent of the two kills a superior officer, and with Jimmy defending him, both are sentenced to execution (though with their powers of regeneration this isn’t really a problem). The brothers are then approached by Major William Stryker (Danny Huston), offering them to work as part of Team X, a group of mutants, played by Ryan Reynolds, Will.i.am and Dominic Monaghan amongst others ^_^ Something about seeing familiar faces always makes me feel *yay*. Anyway, after a while, Jimmy leaves Team X as he starts to question their actions. Skip forward to 6 years later, Jimmy is a lumberjack (lol) now under the name Logan, living with his girlfriend Kayla Silverfox (a mutant’s name if I ever saw one). Stryker finds Logan and warns him that someone is killing members of Team X. It is revealed that Victor is the one doing the damage, and after Kayla is murdered and losing a fight to Victor, Logan agrees to let Stryker coat his skeleton with adamantium, an almost indestructible metal compound. Scenes here will be very familiar as they appear in much of the other X-men films. As the experiment is proven successful, Stryker orders for Wolverine’s memory to be erased, but he escapes (stark nekkkkiddd) before they can do anything. So now with super sharp claws, Wolverine is on the hunt for Stryker, Victor, and “The Island”, where they seem to be collecting mutants from all over for some kind of Weapon XI. After questioning previous Team X members, he discovers that Remy LeBeau aka Gambit (Taylor Kitsch) escaped from the facility and thus knows the location of Three Mile Island. After a fight with Victor and Gambit, Logan is taken to the island by Gambit, where he discovers that Kayla is actually alive. Not only that, she is also a mutant who can persuade any human she touches. Victor asks Stryker to also be coated in admantium, but Stryker refuses, and says the procedure would kill him. After a final fight between the two brothers, Logan cannot bring himself to kill his brother, and instead helps Kayla free the other captured mutants. Stryker lets loose his Weapon XI – which is in fact his son Wade (Ryan Reynolds) with many other mutant powers which have been put in his system. More fighting, the brothers unite in the fighting to decapitate Weapon XI, whose laser eyes (from a young Cyclops) cut through the facility’s cooling towers in quite a spectacular way. As the place falls apart, Stryker shoots Logan with adamantium bullets in the head, rendering his memory lost, though he regenerates perfectly well otherwise. Gambit is by his side when he awakes, but doesn’t know who he is or where he is etc. Cue X-men 1.

Wolverine’s story is something that has recurred in all the X-men films, psyching this one up hugely. It’s got quite a different feel to the other films (maybe because of a different director) as there is less mutant powers flying everywhere, and more plot and substance I think, instead of the usual Mutant-war-everyone-overuse-their-powers kinda thing. Despite that I did miss seeing some of the old characters, though Xavier did make an appearance at the end rescuing all the escaped prisoners and taking them to his school :) The vignetting in this film made some parts really grimy and dark, which reflects the character of Wolverine. As a big fan of Marvel and general comic book films, I can’t not like this. Something about superpowers in normal people just make me happy.

The Fast and the Furious (2001).

2009-09-07T14:26:00.000+01:00

This series confuses me, the fact that some are related but others aren’t, and it’s in a weird order. The first one I saw was 2 Fast 2 Furious. Then The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift; the second and third in the series respectively. The Fast and the Furious is the first one, where Brian O’Connor (Paul Walker) is an undercover cop in the Hollywood racing scene, aiming to find out who is behind truck hijackings. He works his way up and finally earns the respect of elite street racer Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel). Falls for Toretto’s sister Mia (Jordana Brewster); mistakenly busts some Asian gang for the truck hijackings – only to learn that Toretto is very likely to be the one behind them. On a hijack, one of Toretto’s team gets caught on the truck, with the trucker armed with a shotgun. The other team members fail at helping him get off the truck, Brian comes along, gets him off and calls for an air ambulance – revealing his identity as a cop in the process. Back in the city, Toretto and Brian chase after Johnny Tran and Lance Tran after they do a drive-by shooting. One is forced off the road whereas the other is shot. After a mini street race between Toretto and Brian, Toretto crashes, and sirens are on their way. Knowing that Toretto will be put in jail again, Brian allows him to escape.

Bam bam bam. It’s a street racing film so my expectations are low besides some good stunts and car chases. This is entertaining enough, though Jordana Brewster has really annoyingly DENSE eyebrows and needs to be a gazillion times hotter to play the love interest. The stuff they do with the camera is enough to make the races exciting, though having seen one of the series, you know what to expect really. After reading about it many times, I am now clear on the order of the films in this series. I think my favourite so far is Tokyo Drift, despite the main character’s horribly thick southern American accent which makes him sound like a stupid, fumbling buffoon. Oh, and the actors that play Johnny Tran and Lance Tran were from Die Another Day and Prison Break respectively, I like recognising faces. :)

Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2 (2003-2004).

2009-09-07T00:04:00.000+01:00

I watched this duology today in HD on a TV (to do it some more justice than my laptop screen). It was fucking awesome. Well worth my initial frustrations at getting the right wires in the right place. I’d only seen the first chapter or so of the first film before, so this was the first time seeing everything, in high res no doubt, to appreciate the full blood-spraying-sword-flinging-limb-cutting fiasco of a film this is.

Volume 1.
After seeing Inglourious Basterds, the style of simple font and wonderful song during the opening credits was no surprise. “The 4th film by Quentin Tarantino” is drawn open with Nancy Sinatra’s “Bang Bang”. Following on from the black and white scene at the beginning, this song perfectly captures the essence of the film with its lyrics and stylish way of presenting such themes of murder and violence. Once again, QT tells a story with chapters, this time ten in total, out of chronological order, as in many of his films. Kill Bill is about revenge, killing and not a lot else. Four years ago, “The Bride” (Uma Thurman) aka *BEEP* aka Black Mamba aka Beatrix Kiddo was the target of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, and was left for dead and pregnant at her wedding rehearsal in El Paso, Texas. Unknown to the Squad, she clung on to her life, and was comatose for 4 years. In the present, she has awoken, and intent on getting her revenge on each Squad member, all whom are scrawled out on her hit list. The first chapter shows how she kills her second victim, Vernita Green (Vivica Fox) aka Copperhead, in her home. In the middle of their fight, Vernita’s daughter comes home from school, disturbing the mini blood fest. The Bride and Vernita schedule a knife fight later that night, but the Bride kills Vernita before she leaves the house, in view of Vernita’s daughter. Driving off in her Pussy Wagon (taken from a male hospital nurse). This opening chapter, full of saturated colouring is a good attention grabber. The suburban house, in the perfect colourful neighbour hood so suddenly turned into a bloody fight location. There’s slight wariness during the two women's ‘normal’ conversation, as they go from trying to kill each other to making cups of tea etc. You sense some kind of respect between the two, yet they are both in a position to kill the other. Obviously, as one of them ends up dead.

The rest of Vol. 1 is concentrated mostly on the Bride’s hunt for her first victim, O-ren Ishii (Lucy Liu) aka Cottonmouth, a yakuza leader in Tokyo. Her past is told through a short anime section in the film, a style very fitting for the asian character. In a sketchy drawing style, the anime shows how O-ren witnessed her parent’s murder by a yakuza boss. Little do you expect that the spurting of blood from severed limbs is actually brought to life later in the film.. A first taste of the gore to come. This anime sequence paints a vivid image of O-ren, a deadly assassin who has little mercy. The Bride obtains a brand new kick-ass samurai sword from a renowned swordsmith Hattori Hanzo, who breaks his blood oath to never create a sword for killing, and then continues to Tokyo to hunt down O-ren Ishii. O-ren’s entourage of lawyer Sofie Fatale (Julie Dreyfus), bodyguard Gogo Yubari (Chiaki Kuriyama) and henchmen The Crazy 88 is introduced, and you immediately get a sense of Ishii’s power and superior social status. The confrontation happens at the House of Blue Leaves, where some j-rock girl band called the 5,6,7,8’s are performing – albeit some pop culture songs such as “Woo Hoo”, probably to QT’s delight. The fight scenes here are incredible, especially when the lights are turned out, and you see the silhouettes of the Bride and some henchmen fight it out with a beautiful blue backdrop – one of my favourite scenes. Some of the fight in the courtyard is filmed in black and white, making the transition to colour later on so much more powerful when you see the pools of red blood splattering the place. The best fight in my opinion is between the Bride and Gogo, the bodyguard. Gogo, a 17 year old Japanese school girl, who is dressed as so, is introduced as “What she lacks in age, makes up for in madness”. Her stares, and indifferent style of dialogue just reinforces this statement. Even her giggly schoolgirl mouth-behind-hand laugh is just so genuine, yet straight after she delivers deep, menacing words to challenge her attacker. The way she fights too, is somewhat graceful and effortless – swinging her mace back and forth it’s like she’s dancing. The fight with this anime-inspired character builds up to the final fight, which takes place outside in an oriental garden. It is snowing. Reminds me of House of Flying Daggers. O-ren is elegant and mysterious. She and the Bride clash swords, and in the end the Bridge gets her revenge by scalping her opponent. Not as much action as I’d like in this scene, but you get a sense of the characters’ respect/closeness, as O-ren apologises for humiliating the Bride, the Bride’s sadness for O-ren’s death, as well as the “Silly Rabbit, Trix are for Kids” inside joke between the two women. The first volume ends with Sofie Fatale informing Bill (David Carradine) about the Bride’s plans. Bill asks whether the Bride knows that her daughter is alive… DUNDUNDUN.

It leaves you wanting for more. The action, the gore, the dymanic characters. Bill’s face isn’t even shown in this film, leaving the viewer aching for more plot, less mystery. Tarantino continues using his signature style of continuous filming, wonderful close ups, and great dialogue to keep the tension up. What really impressed me in Volume 1 was the use of high contrast black and white scenes – especially during the fights. The soundtrack once again was very complementary, with Spanish guitar rhythms and pop culture tunes being woven perfectly into this film. Tarantino has been able to draw together the best from several different genres, such as martial art films, spaghetti westerns and Japanese anime. The Bride’s name is bleeped out at first, and her names are slowly revealed as the film wears on. This mirrors the amount of information you know about her, so the viewer really feels like they are getting to know her more as the film(s) deepen. It’s weird. Tarantino lets you know that O-ren is killed right at the beginning of the film, yet it doesn’t stop you from watching. It just shows that it’s not about how it ends, but what happened in between. Anyways, on to…

Volume 2.
Continuing in the same style and structure as Volume 1, the film opens with the Bride on her way to Bill’s, the last on her hit list. Again, Tarantino gives us some of the ending, take it or leave it. Of course I take it, and continue watching. In black and white, we are given a detailed account of what happened at the wedding rehearsal massacre. How the Bride has taken up an alter ego to marry a man, so that her unborn daughter (who is Bill’s) will lead a safe life, away from all this violence and killing. Bill appears at the rehearsal, and this is the first time we see his mug. Old, wrinkly, yet not old enough to be incapable. He has an air of importance. That’s all that’s revealed in this scene, apart from the fact that he and the Bride are very close.

Somewhere in the desert, Bill visits his brother, Budd (Michael Madsen) aka Sidewinder, warning him about the Bride’s plans to kill them all. Budd is now an alcoholic bouncer at a “titty bar” (lol). The Bride ambushes his trailer at night, however he is ready, and shoots her with rock salt and then sedates her. Claiming to have pawned his own Hanzo sword, he takes hers and offers to sell it to the 4th member of the Squad, Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah), for $1 million. Budd then proceeds to bury the Bride alive, in a grave for Paula Schultz. Cutting back to her training in China, we see that the Bride studied under Pai Mei, an elderly martial arts master who hates caucasians, americans, and women. The Bride just happens to tick all those boxes. Pai Mei is able to perform the Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique (self explanatory) which he teaches no one, not even Bill. Pai Mei is portrayed as the stereotypical martial arts master –white haired, long flowing beard, crazy-ass eyebrows, stupid temper - you name it. It definitely adds some comical value to this part of the film. Anyways, the Bride remembers her training with the master, and recalls it to get out of her coffin. Meanwhile, eye-patched Elle has arrived at Budd’s place with a case of money – and a Black Mamba hiding inside it. Needless to say he dies, leaving Elle to claim that she killed the Bride. The Bride returns, fresh from the ground. Cue girl-on-girl fight! Elle reveals that she lost her eye because Pai Mei plucked it out when she insulted him, in which she responded by poisoning him. So the Bride plucks out her other one, leaving her to flail like an eyeless helpless fish. The fight between these two is highly entertaining, making use of the weak walls you get in trailers etc.. Four down, one to go.

Arriving at Bill aka Snake Charmer’s place, Beatrix finds Bill and her daughter, BB playing together. Surprisingly, BB is expecting her mother’s return, saying that she was waiting for her to “wake up”. It’s evident that Bill has brought up BB to be aware of life, death and killing – as she watches “Shogun Assassin” before bed. The conversation regarding BB stomping on her goldfish Emilio is a bit disturbing, especially as it is told in the calmest of ways, as if nothing is wrong with 4 year old killing her pets. An example of the interesting dialogue in this film. After BB sleeps, Beatrix is shot with truth serum, and reveals that she chose to protect her unborn daughter instead of continuing killing people for Bill. He respond by saying how he thought she was dead, and maybe “overreacted” when he found out that she was alive. Despite all this, Beatrix is intent on finishing him off. They fight and uses a secret move taught to her by Pai Mei (no need for a second try to guess which one). Dying proudly, Bill takes 5 steps and falls. Beatrix sheds a tear. Happy ending.

Volume 2 has a lot more plot and substance compared to the bloody Volume 1, so in that instance it’s actually quite different. In the end, it turned quite into a mother-does-anything-to-protect-daughter kind of sad story, instead of the revenge filled hate-tale that Volume 1 prepared us for, but that doesn’t mean that Tarantino doesn’t deliver. The dialogue in Volume 2 is a lot more significant in making this a QT classic. More high contrast black and white filming and long shots following characters as they move through a scene make this a lot more interactive with the audience. Bill’s mystery is lost in this Volume, yet you still wonder how such a killer is able to bring up a child. The way Tarantino continually challenges his characters is really something I admire. Uma Thurman is really fantastic in this series, along with Chiaki Kuriyama’s Gogo Yubari, they are my favourite characters. Lucy Liu was also a million times better here than in Charlie’s Angels, fersure. The juxtaposition of genres shines through, and the effective structuring of the chapters makes this a very exciting film indeed. Ahh, I really loved these films, definitely glad I got them in HD.

Australia (2008).

2009-09-04T23:21:00.001+01:00

I loved Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo+Juliet and Moulin Rouge, thus was quite excited to watch this. The film opens in a comedial mood, I am suddenly wondering if this is really the “epic” that it has set out to be. In 1939, Lady Sarah Ashley (Nicole Kidman), an English aristocrat, travels to north Australia to force her husband to sell the cattle station – Faraway Downs. Drover (Hugh Jackman) meets her at the town of Darwin to transport her to the station. Upon arrival, Lady Ashley discovers that her husband has died. The station’s manager Fletcher (David Wenham) claims that he was killed by a magical Aboriginal elder called “King George”. Nullah (Brandon Walters), a mixed race (half aboriginal half white) boy resides at the station with his mother, and is beaten by Fletcher when Nullah reveals that Fletcher has been cheating on Ashley’s business. Upon seeing this act, Lady Ashley proceeds to fire him and decides to take charge of the station by herself. It is later revealed that Fletcher is the father of Nullah, who claims to have magical Aboriginal powers, like his grandfather, King George. Along with the help of Drover and other residents on the cattle station, Lady Ashley manages to get the cattle herd to the Australian troops at Darwin. We see her start to appreciate Australia a lot more, and become accepting and respectful for the men that disgusted her so much at the beginning of the film. The almost-3-hour film then continues to tell the story of how she copes on the cattle station; the romance that blooms between her and Drover, the relationship between her and Nullah; the escalation of WW2 and its effect on Darwin; more of Fletcher’s evil plot to take over the Carney cattle station empire; and overcoming the upper class stereotype amongst a hell of a lot of other things. Needless to say, this film is not short on genres, it goes from a comedy, to a western romance, to a war epic.

Luhrmann’s eye for breathtaking scenery and Kidman’s fantastic wardrobe made this the most enjoyable for me. Versions of “Over the Rainbow” from the Wizard of Oz return throughout the film, as Lady Ashley sings it to Nullah when comforting him following his mother’s death. Being such a universal song, it gives this film a wider appeal as well as linking in with the themes of family and home. The narration by the “creamy” half-cast, Nullah in his distinct accent made this a lot more authentic. The Aborigines have always been seen as a magical race, and the inclusion of their language and culture has made this film into a deeper story. Aside from the aboriginal parts, I think the script is a bit poor, not really contributing a lot to the depth of the film. Though not as good as Moulin Rouge or Romeo+Juliet, this was an entertaining watch. Probably worth it for the amazingly epic camera shots, but other than that, not so much. I still can’t get over how blue Kidman’s eyes are. Or how hairy Hugh Jackman is. (Out of Wolverine role).

American History X (1998).

2009-09-04T18:28:00.001+01:00

Directed by Tony Kaye, American History X tells the tale of Derek Vinyard (Edward Norton) and Danny Vinyard (Edward Furlong). Derek is caught up in the neo-Nazi movement, possibly caused by the murder of his father by a black drug dealer. Danny is his younger brother, who is from a young age influenced by Derek’s ideas and actions. In the present, Derek has just been let out of prison after a 3 year sentence following the murder of two black gang members who tried to steal his truck. His radical views have changed whilst he has served his time, and is trying to stop his brother Danny from coming to the same fate.

Throughout the film, memories of the past are shown in black and white. They reveal how Derek became so strongly opinionated and about how his opinions changed in prison after having to work with a fellow black inmate. One of the most memorable is one where Derek loses control during a family dinner and starts acting violently towards his family when voicing his racist opinions. There were a lot of slow motion shots in this film – the mother breaking down on the pavement, the torturing of a shop worker – I think they give the viewer time to think about the actions they are witnessing, effectively getting the message across in a more dramatic way. I’m not really that sure about this film. Apart from the two brothers, especially Edward Norton, there’s not much to the characters. We have the stereotypical depressed mother, the whatever-you-say girlfriend, the fat guy who just follows everyone else to fit in, yknow, the usual. Though this film is probably more aiming to be politically and socially thought provoking than artistically captured (something I much admire). The ending.. whilst shocking at first, after thinking about it some more, is a bit of a cop out to be honest. There could’ve been a better ending in my opinion, a deeper development of the relationship between the two brothers and the extension of how Danny may change his outlook on life etc. I’m glad I watched this but it hasn’t amazed me. Though I can see why it has built a slight reputation as a cult flick, as it explores the touchy subject of racism in an interesting way (though I have seen better). It has also allowed me to gain an insight to Edward Norton, of whom I have a higher opinion of now. A short review. I am beginning to think the length of my writing reflects my interest in the subject. i.e. Not a lot for this film.

Prison Break (2005-2009).

2009-09-04T14:22:00.002+01:00

I just finished watching the whollllllle show. Seasons One to Four. Plus “The Final Break”. The show is split into two halves really. Season 1 and 2 deal with Michael Schofield’s (Wentworth Miller) plan to break his innocent brother Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell) out of a maximum security prison – Fox River State Penitentiary – where he is on death row for murdering the Vice President’s brother. Schofield robs a bank, gets himself into the same prison, with his plan tattooed beautifully artistically on his body, and proceeds to try break his brother out before Lincoln is sent to the electric chair. Of course lots of sub-plots and complications happen, and 8 cons end up being broken out of the prison. Each episode reveals a new part of his plan that has been tattooed cleverly on his body. Schofield’s ability to think around each problem and his genius plan makes this a really entertaining series. After breaking out (Season 1), Season 2 shows how each of the cons deals with running away and keeping low. The brothers continue to try and clear Lincoln’s name, run away to Panama, blahblahblah. This season was a bit of a let down compared to the first.

Season 3 and 4 concentrate more on “The Company”, which has strong control over the US democratic and political system. In Season 3, Michael and a few of his friends finds themselves in another prison in Panama called Sona. Cue another plan to break out, this time because The Company wants Michael there to break out a man called James Whistler (Chris Vance). More mystery surrounding new characters, kidnappings, etc. This season was more enjoyable, as a new plot is introduced and a selection of great new characters. Season 4 is all about Scylla, some kind of hard drive owned by The Company containing information regarding advanced solar energy technology. Basically a lot of powerful people are trying to get their hands on this in order to become the new “Company”. The brothers’ mother is revealed to be alive and a Company agent – more family feuding – who is planning to sell Scylla to the highest bidder. The brothers and their team in the end have to recover Scylla and hand it in to the UN so that all this killing will stop and there will be world peace. (Okay, so not the last bit but the whole thing is kind of blown up into big proportions).

That’s a horribly brief summary. In my opinion, Seasons 1 and 4 are the ones you should watch. Just read up on Season 2 and 3. The main thing that made this show such a pleasure to watch are the characters. I have so many favourites. The makers of this show manipulate your feelings towards certain characters without you really realising.

An example would be Brad Bellick (Wade Williams). Bellick appears in all 4 seasons, initially as the captain of Fox River. The main “bad guy” in season 1, you naturally develop a dislike towards his harsh and despicable ways. However, throughout the seasons, you start to feel sorry for him when he is beaten up badly upon his entry into Sona; glad for him when he gains more respect from his peers; embarrassed for him because he is such a mummy’s boy; and sad when he finally gives his life in order for Michael’s plan to retrieve Scylla successful.

Another one is Theodore “T-Bag” Bagwell (Robert Knepper). I could never take someone named T-Bag seriously. Also appearing in all 4 seasons, he is a violent and manipulative psycho. Very ambitious character, destroying all that stand in his way to get what he wants. Some really gorey scenes regarding his severed hand that kind of made me a bit squeamish. Yet the part in season 2 when he is trying to rekindle romantic emotions from the woman he was with before his arrest makes you feel sorry for him, as he resorts to violence and threats to make this happen – something you learn that is just in his nature, due to his bad childhood. In season 3, you see an inkling of good in him as he lets a man he kidnapped go without any harm – unfortunately the man just happened to be a Company agent – mixed feelings there..

Some of my favourite characters:

Fernando Sucre (Amaury Nolasco) provides great comic relief to an otherwise serious show. He makes me wish I was Hispanic, so that I could pull of the word “papi” without sounding like a douche. His dedication and loyalty to his girlfriend and friends is truly heart-warming.

Alex Mahone (William Fichtner), initially a Company agent pursuing the brothers, he is an incredibly sharp and intellectual, matching Michael Schofield as someone who surprises with their thoughts and ideas, as he starts to work out the meaning of Michael’s tattoos in Season 2. He becomes an ally in the final series. His background with his ex-wife and son unfold throughout Season 2, and you realise that he forced to work for the Company in order to keep his family safe. A drug junkie because of the skeletons in his closet, he is “humanised” slowly so that you grow to like him. Even in the end, when he is offered his job back as a federal agent, he is still loyal to Schofield and Burrows, and it made me feel all *yay*.

Paul Kellerman (Paul Adelstein) is one of the agents in season 1 employed by the Vice President to ensure the execution of Lincoln Burrows. When he gets screwed over by the Company, he decides to help the brothers in trying to bring the Company down. His act of giving his testimony to bring the VP to justice and his aid in bringing the Company down made him one of my favourite bad-guys-turned-good.

I think it’s good that they finalised this show where they did, instead of dragging it on further – a prison break, running, another prison break, running – it all gets repetitive and boring. The film that they made: “The Final Break” is an explanation of how Michael Schofield dies – tying up loose ends between the end of season 4 and the “4 years later” section in the last episode. It’s so sad. I hate sad endings, but I thought it was quite fitting and made this show more realistic. It just makes me wonder – if they can break Sara out of that prison in like 1.5 hours of the show.. was there really a need for a wholeee season of breaking out Lincoln?! Pah, nevermind. More tattoo eye candy :3. Oh, and Holly Valance’s role in season 1 as a czech pole dancing immigrant made me lol. And in “The Final Break”, was the little boy getting a tattoo on the side of the street…? I think he was, as he was being comforted for being brave (which isn’t really needed if it was just a transfer). Like wtf.. he’s like 4.

Some conversations I had at work today.

2009-09-04T00:17:00.001+01:00

With some men from some company having a conference at Shendish Manor. So boring as I don’t have a huge lot to do as they had a private bar and drank mostly pints and posh whisky.

Though the French ones made me laugh:

“Do you have a coaster?”
“For what, sir, your wine glass?”
“Yes please".”
“Sorry monsieur, we do not have any coasters for your wine glass..”

The American ones:

“We were having a gamble regarding your age; tell me, is it below or above 20?”
He thinks I look around 20?! “Below.”
“Ahh, I see. How much below?”
“Just one year, I’m nineteen.”
“Okay, thank you.”
He blatantly doesn’t believe me. Runs away.

The Embarrassing ones:

“Can I have a pint of Fosters please?”
“Sorry, we’re out of Fosters.”
“Oh, in that case I’ll have a Guinness.”
“Sorry, we don’t have that either.” Sheepish smile.
“Guinness Extra Cold, then.”
“Um, they’re from the same tap…”
“Right, so what do you have on tap?”
“Heineken, Bulmers and John Smith’s.”
Later on, John Smith’s ran out. Later later on, Heineken ran out. We stole a Foster’s keg from the Golf bar. Cue awkward explanation of why suddenly we have Fosters when we said it was out.
“We’re expecting a delivery tomorrow.”

The Annoying ones:

“Can I have a bottle of still water?”
“Sorry sir, we have ran out, we only have sparkling but I can go check in the restaurant if they have any there.”
A few minutes later, returning empty handed I see his face gloom over as I come into the bar empty handed.
“Sorry sir we really don’t have any left. Can I get you a glass of tap water?”
“No. I drink from bottled.”
“We really have nothing left, there’s nothing I can do, sorry. We’re low on stock right now.” GET THE FUCK OVER IT YOU STUPID FRENCH MAN.
“So what am I supposed to drink if I do not have a pint or a soft drink?”
“A glass of tap water?”
“Non! I drink from the bottle!”
“There’s literally nothing I can do, sorry.”
“So what will happen tomorrow morning when you need water?”
“We take it from the tap, sir…”
“So is there no bottled water for the conference tomorrow?”
“Sorry, I have no idea… Like I said, we are expecting a delivery tomorrow..”
French man walks away after waving me away, in a mood. Fagfagfag.

I have nothing against the French, but when you are THAT picky about something as silly as water, that really pisses me off. Fun times, la! I just hope the Italian aren’t as bad :) Can’t wait can’t wait til Wednesday.

Contact Lenses – Level 14.

2009-09-02T20:56:00.001+01:00

I wish I were level 14. That is all for today.

Gotta love a bit of Natalie Dee. This comic just reminds me of when I first got contact lenses and it took ages trying to put them in. But now I have gotten used to shoving my finger in my eye, it’s almost fun.

Latest Obsession

2009-09-01T12:28:00.001+01:00

HD HD HD. Everything looks a gazillion times better. Haven’t quite got the screen for it yet as I’m just watching it on my 15.4” laptop screen, but hopefully when I get a TV for uni it will be a lot better :D

Otherwise I can just plug my laptop into the TV at home as a last resort ;-; They should have Film4 HD, that would be epic.

中文blog啦~~!

2009-08-28T14:29:00.000+01:00

真的不知道写什么，可是还要等一个小时才去打工，太无聊了。我决定要开始把我的中文水平提高，打字也许有一些帮助把。。

上个星期定了去意大利的飞机票，准备和朋友一起去佛罗伦萨和比萨去闯一下。我们只在意大利呆两天，可是我感到非常激动 - 好久都没到欧洲去了。我想应该有很多拍照的机会！真的好想吃一口意大利冰淇淋(gelato)! 听说意大利的生活费是挺高的，刚好把我暑假挣得钱全花光。。 T—T

还有几个朋友在中国，真的希望七月份能在大陆呆久一点儿。图片里就是大连，真想再回到哪儿去坐船玩海！

到开学，没有什么别的计划了，就是挣钱，看朋友，去伦敦(?)等等。哎呀，太想搬出家了。

Windows Live Writer

2009-08-27T15:40:00.000+01:00

A bit of a test on blogging, am using Windows Live Writer to blog instead of writing it online, as sometimes it doesn’t save the posts properly which means I have to re-write stuff when it screws up on me. I know you don’t care, thus I have provided a picture of a squirrel that I saw in Green Park for your entertainment.
I also splashed out on some Staedtler fineliner pens.. you know the ones that stack up when you fold the lid back? Yeahhh, those. Though I don’t know what I shall be using them for yet, something multicoloured. But they are so spiffy it hurts. I also bought a calculator after I lost mine halfway through last year. It does matrices for me :) And all other types of fancy shizz. I love shopping for stationery.

Inglourious Basterds (2009).

2009-08-27T10:32:00.011+01:00

The spelling of this film's title greatly pisses me off, being a self-confessed grammar Nazi. Ironically enough, this Quentin Tarantino flick is about Nazi-occupied France. Split into 5 chapters, this film follows two sets of characters as they progress towards the same goal - killing Nazis: The Basterds are a group of Jewish-American soldiers led by Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt), going around France killing, scalping, branding as many Nazi soldiers as they can find. Shosanna Dreyfuss (Mélanie Laurent), a French Jew who runs a cinema in Paris, in which an exclusive German film prémiere is taking place. She takes the opportunity of this event and plans to kill all the Nazis that turn up by burning down the cinema. Despite sharing aims, Shosanna and The Basterds never cross paths, yet you'd think they planned everything together by the way things turned out. The first chapter is set in rural France, on a dairy farm. Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz), a detective for the Third Reich convinces a French farmer to give away the hiding place of a Jewish family underneath the floorboards. I think this was my favourite part, as Landa's character is introduced and stays with you throughout the film - he has an uncanny ability to notice tiny details and strike fear into people without at all being threatening. Yet as the film progresses, it is implied that he is somewhat insane - in his laughter, the way he talks etc. Another wonderful scene is when he and Shosanna are in the tea room, having strudels. Unknown to him, Shosanna was the runaway Jewish girl on that dairy farm. Yet his obliviousness makes this almost comical if it wasn't for Shosanna's obvious distress at the situation. However, there are many other laughter-inducing moments in this action-comedy. One of which is Eli Roth's role as "The Bear Jew", 'nuff said. Brad Pitt's performance as the thickly-accented Tennessee hillbilly was hilarious, no matter how much I don't want to like Brad Pitt, roles like this means I can't help but do so. However, Christoph Waltz outshines him by far. His performance as Landa has so far earned him the 2009 Cannes Film Festival Best Actor award, and I am sure there are more where that came from. Appearances from Mike Myers (posh & british, just how we like him) and Samuel L Jackson (nothing needed to be said) tops off this film perfectly as a wonderful mix of action and comedy.

From the opening credits, it is clear this is Tarantino's doing. Minimalist shots, long drawn out conversations, gorey violence and continuous filming. I think the main feature of this film is the dialogue, and in particular the language. French, German, English and Italian are all spoken (albeit fluently by Landa) throughout, with some non-straining subtitling. I noticed, especially in the first chapter how French words such as "merci" were left in French in the subtitles for some characters, whilst translated in English for others. Just shows how important language and dialogue are for the flow and tempo of this film. The music is also coupled brilliantly - from the spanish western-esque ballads at the opening to the classical pieces for death scenes. One drawback is the length of this film. At just under 3 hours long, I think that many of the scenes could have been cut down to tease the plot along faster, however one may argue that this deviates from the whole point of a classic Tarantino, in which Inglourious Basterds certainly is.

I am now downloading the Kill Bill volumes in HD (it makes a huge difference, trust me) so I can appreciate QT some more.

Weddings at Shendish Manor

2009-08-24T21:35:00.002+01:00

Are hilarious. The electric glass washer was broken. So to keep the bar stocked up on fresh glasses, we had to wash them by hand. Which meant getting two huge stock pans, one with hot water, one with hot water plus detergent; dunking the dirty glasses in one, then the other. Then out to the bar! It was vile. Disgustingly so.
But it gave us some laughs considering the wedding guests were pretty rude because the hotel charges excrutiatingly expensive prices, teamed with much drinking, made for some swearing and drama. It was fun times. Nothing like that to brighten up a 13 hour shift...

The Time Traveler's Wife (2009).

2009-08-19T23:03:00.005+01:00

Just got back from watching this at the cinema.. Orange Wednesdays :). As I read the book a long long time ago, I only had a rather vague recollection of the plot, so watching the film was still mostly fresh for me in terms of the details. This is basically about Henry DeTamble (Eric Bana), a Chicago librarian with a rare genetic disease causing him to time travel at any time, to any place. Without clothes ;) Cue many shots of Eric Bana's ass. One day he meets Claire Abshire (Rachel McAdams), an artist who claims to have known him since she was 6. Thus begins the story of how their relationship and life evolves around dealing with Henry's condition. After getting past the unrealistic plot, this is a tear-jerking romantic drama which explores themes such as love, loss and absence. The humour which was slotted in, especially at their wedding, delivers some light relief from the more serious issues at hand. As the film progresses, the mood gets darker as the images of Henry's death begins to cast a shadow on his life and loved ones. One thing this film makes you realise is how in a relationship, two people can be having totally different experiences; yet there are moments you both share that bring you closer together. As shown by Claire's memories of seeing Henry when she was younger. Would've been great to see McAdams have some kind of Mean-Girls-esque outburst but obviously asking for too much.. Bana and McAdams had some nice chemistry. I'm not sure whether the CGI did a good job in showing what Henry would've looked like when time-travelling - he kind of just fades from the outside, like he is dissolving. Personally I imagined a more fading-out kind of transition. However, I really liked the cinematography - interesting angles and lovely hues. I think that's what made this film a bit more magical. The scenes in the meadow were always so bright, filled with yellow, depicting the happier times that they spent together. Whereas scenes toward the end of the film are a lot darker, bluer.
This was actually quite a good adaptation of the book, though obviously things were left out. The book also delivers from Claire's point of view, giving a fuller narrative. Though the reviews for this film weren't that good, I found it satisfying enough to have spent time watching it. I'd recommend after reading the book.

This Book Will Save Your Life by A.M. Homes.

2009-08-19T13:10:00.005+01:00

Firstly, this isn't a self help book. I didn't buy this because I thought it was a self help book (god forbid if I start doing that). Nor do I think my life is in need of saving. It was on 3 for 2 at Waterstones, and look interesting from the blurb, and shortlisted fo Richard and Judy's Book Club (which I decided was a pretty good reason to buy it).
Anyways, this novel is about Richard Novak, an L.A day trader who has cut himself off from life. Divorced, alone, set on a strict routine. After a shocking experience which lands him in ER, he begins to re-evaluate his life and starts taking opportunities to reach out again. A great mix of characters feature, including Anhil, a quirky immigrant doughnut shop owner; Cynthia, a hysterical, depressed housewife; and Nic, a neighbour who he at first doesn't realise is a famous writer because "he is just as fucked up as everyone else". Richard also manages to help a lot of people out, becoming a so-called Good Samaritan in the city.
Despite being set in LA, with all the stereotypical rich lifestyle perks: nutritionist, personal trainer, silent retreat, housekeeper; I can't get over how well the reader can connect with the main character. You can really sense his life changing and his character learning, growing as the novel wears on. Everyone he encounters seems to have benefitted from knowing him. The plot isn't very exciting, but the style in which Homes writes was engaging enough to keep the pages turning. She even throws in some surprising scenes - Richard's estranged son's drunken ourburst about how he is gay and so very angry at Richard for walking out on him, yet wants to fuck him. It was weird. Sick thoughts, but it really emphasised his son's anger and longing to have a normal relationship with his father. Homes has a way of expressing a lot about the characters through conversation. She uses very fly-on-the-wall angle of writing, as if you are following Richard around in his life since he was in hospital. I found this noval really engaging and the slight humour in the dialogue just made it all the more pleasant. I think the aim of this book is to force us to look at our lives and realise that there is a lot more that life has to offer, to accept change, to work with what's happened in the past. Most of all I think that the reconnection between Richard and his son in such a short amount of time was very well portrayed, through their spontaneous trips to Disneyland and whatnot. Another thing I noticed is that this isn't split into chapters or sections, just a whirlwind of prose. Life shouldn't be split up into sections.
In conclusion. This hasn't saved my life. But it was an awesome read.

A London Day Trip.

2009-08-17T13:25:00.006+01:00

Once more I ventured into London yesterday. Except this time I went to the train station at 7.45am to get my train. The reasoning for this is because a friend and I were going to a free photoshoot/makeover deal, with a morning appointment. After a mild panic over getting lost on the tube, we found each other at Waterloo and arrived fashionably late (30 mins) at the venue in Farringdon. We were rushed to do hair and make up which took us through the first hour. I don't think I've ever worn so much make up, it was kind of disgusting actually, but it was fun being made up. Cool mirrors with lights! After this, we were led to meet our photographers. My friend's photographer was a mega hot guy. Yum. I got a little european girl who was cool, probably early 20s? She was very friendly and had a nice accent. The studio we were in a a number of different props and backdrops etc to shoot the portraits. 3 outfit changes. Following my recent interest in photography, it was a good learning experience going to do a shoot as I could also see the equipment and techniques the photographers used. Definitely a job I'd like to do, it looked so much fun! Not a huge fan of the modelling part, as I apparantly suck at smiling. I'm one of those people who feels like they are smiling but in reality I look like a grumpy shite. There was probably 3 shots I liked best, but the prints and packages were so expensive! We managed to get these contact sheets (all the photos printed small on phot paper) for free instead of £50 cos the consultant who was with us was mega nice :D So I was mega proud of that.
Overall the experience was so much fun. Free food and drinks too! Before we left we were to give them names and numbers of people we knew (females) to recommend the experience to them. So basically if you were on my phonebook then I put you down because I got free stuff for putting down a certain number of people :D Sorry if they bombard you with calls, but it was so much fun, and totally free with no obligation to buy, and you can take a friend along also :)

After the 4 hours we spent at doubletake studios, we went on a mini tour of London. Yours truly being the tour guide. We hit Leicester Square, Piccadilly Circus, Carnaby Street, Oxford Circus, Green Park, Buckingham Palace, Westminister, Whitehall, Trafalgar Square, Southbank. Filled with cheap flipflops, cheap shoes, amazingly sunny weather, sore feet, sore shoulders, pearl bubble tea, BBQ pork buns, photos, paddling etc etc. On Southbank I saw the contact juggler from last time, with an even bigger crowd! Still looked impressive :D Here's a video of last time.
There was also a breakdancing crew on Southbank. I'm rather skeptical towards crews on the streets as a previous experience has led me to think they are shit. But admittedly they were pretty good and got a huge crowd around, so there was good atmosphere in the Sunday sunshine. The intro guy was also cheeky enough to say that he thought the show would be worth £2-3 each, at least. It was lols. I'm glad I got an opportunity to shoot some cool pictures though! Ditto for the skatepark at Southbank, though the graffiti is so busy that it makes for such a loud background. And also the skaters at the skatepark were mostly crap and about 10 years old.. har. Made do with some BMX shots.

Met up with some other friends at London Bridge and then we made our way to Dim T, a chinese restaurant near Tower Bridge overlooking the river. 2for1 of course! Catch-up. Wine. Then more wine at Spoon's afterwards. Slight drunken journey back home? No problemo!
Except now I have a horribly painful right shoulder and alcohol aches from it all. Fantastic. Oh, and a blister yet again on my heel. fml.

Saturday Stumbling Session

2009-08-15T13:17:00.002+01:00

If you don't know what I am talking about then I suggest you take a trip to StumbleUpon.
Basically you select some interests, install the toolbar, and stumble. It takes you to webpages, blogs, whatever on the internet that may interest you. Much time has been wasted because of this thing.

Here's some random stuff I came across today that I have decided to share.

The Rubix Cubewich. How the hell are you supposed to eat that thing. More food fun on Insanewiches.

One Word. Reminds me of that game where you have to describe something without using the word.

Paprika. A film and director that I will be checking out further no doubt!

Viral Videos. If you haven't seen these.. you're missing out somewhat.

Lots more random crap that wasn't really worth posting here.. I started working out this week. Woohoo. And am very achy right now but no pain no gain, right?
Just realised I have a shit load of stuff to catch up on in terms of.. everything.

Perseids Meteor Shower.

2009-08-12T21:52:00.004+01:00

Peaked last night.
And part of which was witnessed by yours truly. I was only looking out of my window. Outside was mostly dark as my street is only one sided, with the houses facing a shallow valley and a forest. So the brightest source of light was the moon and the nearby streetlamp which I tried to block out my line of vision. At first when I was looking it was just more me hoping to see something... My eyes kept seeing faint streaks but I think it was just my eyes playing tricks on me and me imagining things. But around 1.30am there was a streak of light for a few seconds which was unmistakably a shooting star. It was really beautiful, if only there for a very short while, just long enough for me to register the fact that I had actually seen a shooting star. A nice moment.
I just wish I had been out in the coutryside in a more remote area with my camera and tripod (non-existent) so I could've seen more and taken some night pictures. Next year.
Might watch out for some more later on tonight though they will be less frequent.

How to Say "Economics"

2009-08-11T23:04:00.004+01:00

The BBC breaks it down.
And like most stuff which I actually care about, an answer fails to actually materialise as to which one is the "right" way.
Though I will conclude myself that I am in the 38% of the population that says Eh-con-o-mee. I imagine lolcat over there would agree.
Eh-con-o-mee. Eh-con-o-mics.
Not Eeh-con-o-my. Not Eeh-con-o-mics.
kthnxbai~laaaa.

Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer.

2009-08-10T21:23:00.003+01:00

Twlight was a bit silly. New Moon even more so, and way too depressing. Eclipse was a big improvement from the first two. And Breaking Dawn, I admit, was a good finale to the series. However I think that Meyer wanted to fit too much drama into this one, what with the pregnancies, transformations, threats of death and whatnot. Yet I predicted a lot of it as I was reading, thinking how such and such will happen... and it did. So nothing in terms of big surprises. There was a tiny one at the end which was nice but apart from that nothing. I'm more interested to see the film of this once it comes out, as there was a lot of pretty disgusting stuff in here, such as Bella drinking cupfuls of blood when she is still human etc. Ugh, it made me sick reading those bits. And the whole Jacob becoming part of the family was a bit disturbing. But credit to Meyer for thinking of a way to have everyone a happy ending. All in all I think this was a good read, not much thought needed, I wouldn't say it was very challenging (and I like a good challenge). This comes recommended if you have read the series, otherwise you're not missing out on a lot and it would probably be better if you saw the films. I am off to find something with more substance now.

Happy Birthday Abbey Road..

2009-08-08T11:17:00.004+01:00

It's 40 years today since The Beatles walked across that pedestrian crossing. And look at all the people going to that famous zebra crossing. The crowds are insane (at only 11am...), the crossing is actually in the middle of the shot (where all the cars are stopping when people cross it). They should've definitely closed the road today - though I can't really picture it - huge crowds get there for the crossing, only to find it's not a crossing anymore but just a street with loads of people on? Maybe they should fench off the actual crossing too and make a one-way system on the crossing so you can actually walk across it without a gazillion other people on it. Also wondering how long it will be until someone gets runover. Personally I don't see what all the fuss is. Much like how I don't see what all the fuss with regarding The Beatles but then that's just me. Don't get me wrong, I love a bit of Hey Jude and whatnot, but they are wayyyy too overhyped.

Schmap: Cambridge Photo Inclusion

2009-08-07T11:30:00.003+01:00

Hi Ashley,

I am delighted to let you know that one of your photos with
a Creative Commons license has been selected for inclusion
in the newly released eighth edition of our Schmap Cambridge
Guide...

Cool, huh.

Voices of a Distant Star (2002).

2009-08-06T17:42:00.006+01:00

Created using only his Mac, Makoto Shinkai conveys a long distance relationship in this 25 minute short film. Living in the future (around 2045), Mikako is a 15 year old girl who is sent into space with the UN Space Army to fight the Tarsians (weird alien monster things). Her closest friend, Noboru remains on Earth, leaving the two to communicate via mobile phone. As Mikako's mission leads her further from Earth and deeper in to the universe, the time taken for a message to reach Noboru increases, from days to weeks, months, years. Noboru decides to wait for her. Mikako experiences hallucinations, emphasizing her longing to return to Earth and Noboru. The film builds up to a war scene between the UN Army fleet and the Tarsians. Inbetween the shots of big mecha machines fighting with these aliens, are images of Noboru and Mikako's life together before she was sent out. Coupled with a soliloquy from both characters, this section really appealed to me as it emphasized the distance between the two, yet it shows how close they were, as both of their thoughts converged around the same subject.

Throughout the short 25 minutes, Shinkai continuously delivers character buliding speech, original ideas, more superb attention to detail and beautiful scenery. In all three films I've seen these past few days by him, his use of light is simply genius, creating an engulfing atmosphere which just captivates the audience. His detailing is also second to none - as Mikak and Noboru stand conversing at a railway crossing, he inserts shots of the passing train, the gleaming tracks, the lifting barriers, all while the two are talking. It's just giving you a view of what you would probably see if you were actually there, with them. Truly magnificent. The drawing style of the characters is yet more blocky and sketchy than in the other two films, yet the scenery and background artwork is still amazing. The theme of time always going on and never stopping I think is something that everyone can relate to, allowing Shinkai to fan out the relationship between Makaki and Noboru. The simplest plot. Yet the script, the colouring, the detail make this a wonderful 25 minutes of anime.

The Place Promised in Our Early Days (2004).

2009-08-06T11:55:00.010+01:00

This piece by Makoto Shinkai was released in 2004 telling the story of three friends (Hiroki, Takuya and Sayuri) from Aomori living in Japan in the 1990s in some alternate timeline. It is suggested that a Separation in Japan meant that the USA occupied the South whilst the "Union" had the North. There is a mysterious tower which stretches to the sky, making for some great scenery. The tower was constructed by the Union, and later revealed to have been designed by Sayuri's grandfather. Like 5 Centimeters, there are defined sections to this film, following the three characters in their childhood and then later on in life. The film starts by showing the friends in eighth grade. Hiroki and Takuya are best friends, and have gotten a job in Emishi Manufacturing factory for the summer. With the help of their boss, they plan to get parts to rebuild a crashed plane that they found. Initially this plane (named Bella Ciela) is kept a secret, but as Hiroki and Sayuri meet and become good friends, she is also brought in on the project. The two also seem to develop feelings for each other. The three children grow close and promise to fly the plane to the tower in Hokkaido. However, after summer, Sayuri mysteriously disappears. We are then brought to 3 years later, where the two boys have also grown apart, and did not continue working on the plane due to Sayuri's disappearance. The three are somehow brought into contact again through the scientific facility that Takuya works for, which researches into parallel universes. There is surprisingly a prominent science fiction genre to this film, as it deals with how dreams are linked to said parallel worlds, all of which are linked to the mysterious tower. The Union is revealed to be attempting to use the tower to replace the world with a parallel universe, and so the Uilta (underground group trying to reunify Japan) plans to destroy it. Sayuri is now hospitalised, in a continuous sleep where she is in an unpopulated parallel universe. It is discovered that she is connected to the Union's tower, and its ability to change the surrounding land into alternate universes. Sayuri's coma seems to prevent the tower from activating, and the closer she is to awakening, the larger the radius of the tower's effect. Hiroki is now in Tokyo at high school, but is severely depressed due to the loss of Sayuri. He gets hold of a letter that Sayuri wrote before she was completely comatose and goes searching for her. The two somehow have brief contact in her old hospital room, leading Hiroki realise that Sayuri will wake up if she is taken to "the place promised in our early days" - to fly to the tower in the Bella Ciela. Thus he finds Takuya to help him finish the plane and get Sayuri, who is now being held at his research facility. However, the whole thing with Sayuri preventing the tower doing its dirty work means that the two must choose between saving Sayuri or saving the world. The film changes perspectives between each of the three characters so you get a really complete storyline. Sayuri's parts are most interesting I think because she is shown in a parallel universe, and it's hard to tell which parts are real, and which parts aren't. The saddest moment in this film is near the end when she realises she is going to wake up soon, and that "the thing that she will lose" is her memories of the past 3 years. Upon awakening, she has lost the memory of her feelings for Hiroki. So sad :( But he promises to start making new memories :)

The ending to this film is much more satisfying than 5 Centimeters. Thea ending montage again takes the conclusion further by giving some fantastic shots to a wonderful song - female vocalist this time! As this was before 5 Centimeters, the character development and character drawing style isn't as complex. Blocky colour is used for many of the scenes for the characters, and only when there is a close up does the art step up. However, the scenery and detail are still amazing. Shinkai continues to use light and detailed surroundings to truly capture the mood. I noticed this especially in the early train rides with Hiroki and Sayuri, where there were just shots of the light flooding in from outside into the train etc. It really emphasizes the moments between the two characters, focusing less on the conversation they are having and more on the details of their surroundings, giving the whole film a more realistic feel. The colour palette is filled with golds and warm light in the childhood parts, truly mirroring the happiness felt by the three friends. Later during Hiroki's depression in the city, grey-blue tones and vignetting is used to build a dark and tuned-out effect. Superb detailing of the city and his room effectively show his loneliness. The water may have been over-sparkled, but it gives a really magical effect to the childhood part of the story. Th sunsets are truly magnificent thanks to some more magenta colouring. I can't really put this film in any specific genre, as it has aspects of drama, romance, war and sci-fi; but Shinkai draws them all together seamlessly. There are dominant themes of dreaming and separation in the film which I found really interesting, especially the one that parallel universes are"dreams" of the current universe.

I loved this film a lot. The story was original, the artwork divine. Shinkai animates in a very realistic style, with his focusing and detailing. The soundtrack is pretty awesome too, done by Tenmon, who has done a lot of work with Shinkai's films/short pieces. More please!

I have learnt that a lot of the beautiful scenes are actually photosourced which makes them less impressive in my opinion.. but they still astound me. Also, "Popsi" is this film's featured branding.

5 Centimeters Per Second (2007).

2009-08-05T22:47:00.009+01:00

Named after the speed at which sakura (cherry blossom) fall, this film by Makoto Shinkai is a story made up of three chapters, centred around a boy named Takaki. Chapter 1 (The Chosen Cherry Blossoms) tells the story when he is in middle school, and he is soon moving away. The story telling is mostly through letters between Takaki and Akari, and it reveals how they met in elementary school, and since then have had a strong bond, even after Akari had to transfer away. There are flashbacks, as his memories of their time together returns to him as he recalls the letters that she wrote to him. Very quickly, you get a sense of their special relationship. In the present, he is visiting her a year after her move, as he will be moving even further away. Shinkai really captures the frustration and pain that Takaki feels due to the delayed trains and lateness (almost 4 hours!) of his arrival. He has written a letter to Akari telling her about his feelings etc. Yet the strong wind whisks it away when he reaches in his pocket for money for a vending machine. This scene was truly a "Noooooooooooooooooooooooooo" moment as you can really feel the despair as his carefully written letter is lost. In this chapter, Takaki realises that he will never be able to be together with Akari due to their distance, and is greatly saddened by that. They promise to keep writing as his train departs the next morning. There is not a lot of spoken word in this chapter, silence is used to create the mood and shows that you can convey deep human emotions in such a simple way. Throughout Takaki's train journey, there are many shots of his surroundings, which really draws out the scenes, so that you also experience the pain of waiting for the two to reunite. It astounds me how Shinkai can so accurately describe and convey these complex feelings between the two characters with so little effort. You actually know very little about the main characters throughout the film, yet you can grasp a strong impression of their relationships and emotions. Shinkai successfully uses time jumps and changing perspectives to illustrate Takaki and Akari's relationship. The mood is mirrored in the colour palette that is used. The scenes in which Takaki and Akari are together, the colours are bright, filled with light; whereas Takaki's train journey was mostly gloomier blues and blacks. The snow was beautiful, and added to the melancholy tone.

Chapter 2 (Cosmonaut) links Takaki's desire to search for something far away and the space shuttle launch in Tanegashima. He is in high school now, where they have all started to think about college plans etc. Kanae features in this chapter. She is Takaki's classmate and has been in love with him since middle school, though as never confessed her feelings. She often goes out of her way so that they can go home together in the evenings and spend time together, though he is oblivious to her feelings and just sees her as a good friend. It is revealed that Takaki has had dreams with Akari in, and is often writing text messages which he never sends. Initially you are led to believe he is texting Akari, as you see things from Kanae's viewpoint. In the end, Kanae and Takaki are walking home when the space shuttle launches nearby. This is when Kanae decides not to confess her feelings as she realises that Takaki is searching for something which is more than she can offer him. The recurring scenes at the shop, and on the road home really emphasize Kanae's efforts to be with Takaki, truly drawing the audience into the mind of the characters. Visually, this is my favourite chapter. The sunlight gives the scenes a very magical feel to them, especially as this is set near the countryside, so there are some great views. Kanae's surfing scenes are also astounding, with the water so alive and real. However, the most amazing shots are of the sky and stars, especially of the milky way. As Takaki is often looking far into the distance, Shinkai uses this opportunity to really bring the night sky to life, with the soft clouds and glinting stars. The palette is filled with magentas, crimsons and violet tones to give a magical and heart warming feel to this chapter.

Chapter 3 (5 Centimeters Per Second) jumps forward in time to when Takaki is in his mid-twenties. He has a job (some computer programmer?) in the city. This chapter also features images from Akari's life. She is soon getting married and is also in the city. So right now, watching this film, I am led to think that she is marrying him. "Yay, happy ending". However, it is then revealed that Takaki has recently split up with his girlfriend because she seems to have realised that he has his heart elsewhere - still waiting for Akari no doubt. His thoughts and longing for Akari have been detrimental to his work and his relationships, and led him to quit his job as he cannot cope anymore. Again, Shinkai uses changing perspectives, as we see that Akari found a letter that she never gave to Takaki, leading her to feel nostalgic, but it is made clear that she has moved on. So somewhere in that, the ending montage suddenly begins, with some well known Japanese song being sung by a male vocalist. This was so frustrating. Firstly, should've been a female vocalist. And secondly, it just left the film with an unfinished feeling. Nothing like the spectacular ending that has been built up til now. However, the montage features scenes from all three character's lives, leaving the audience with a bit more to think about. Kanae is shown saying goodbye to Takaki when he leaves and by the sea and her surfboard when she is older. The final scene is one of great potential, yet is probably there for romantics like me to feel despair. Takaki and Akari (presumably we are led to believe it is her) walk past each other at a railway crossing, and as they do, both recognise each other. Both carry on walking but then turn to face the other. We are then taken to Takaki's perspective, just as a train rushes past... no wait.. make that TWO trains, one after the other. Of course when the trains pass the lady is no longer standing on the other side of the crossing and Takaki smiling, continues walking. The main plot flaw is that there would be no train, let alone TWO trains, that would be going on those rails so soon after pedestrians had crossed. They would've literally been run over if either character had been a bit slower. Guh.

From this mammoth of an essay, it seems that this film is rather long. Actually it's just over an hour and well worth your time. Despite the horribly frustrating and unsatisfying ending, this film has made me a huge Makoto Shinkai fan. In fact, I have started downloading one of his earlier films already. From the word go, the animation style really caught my eye. Clean lines, soft colouring and dramatic lighting all make for a beautifully drawn and impeccably animated masterpiece. Also, Shinkai's attention to detail and focusing is so effective at building an atmosphere that at times I thought this was shot with a camera. The anime style of a film is something that makes it appealing to me, and I think I liked this style more than new Ghibli! Shinkai really recognises that sometimes less is more in terms of revealing a character's personality and emotions. Everything about the first two chapters totally blew me away. I would say all three but the third's plot just left me feeling disappointed. I guess that is life, and Shinkai has really made a film that captures the essence of reality that is la vie. The music video/ending montage was just too much of a cop out for me to really enjoy but it did have some good scenes in. The train scenes especially links back to when Takaki and Akari where younger, so has a stronger impact on the audience (me). It's all very cleverly done. I highly highly highly recommend this. Watching this in HD made me cry it looked so good.

Oh and on a lighter note, it seems that no companies have product placed in this film, as brands such as "Ocasi", "Starbecks" and "Microsoft Vasta" make some appearances. So there was some lols.

Grey Eyes.

2009-08-05T14:51:00.005+01:00

I wanted green, but these seemed to look the best. Purple was pretty awesome though. Blue looked stupid and fake.
This is also horribly scary close up o_o

Everytime I listen to Placebo...

2009-08-05T00:19:00.005+01:00

It reminds me of how I won't be seeing them this summer as I have to sell my Reading ticket due to lack of money etcetc.
Of course there are other bands I will be missing, but they are not as important!

Any takers? Nice offers please.
Otherwise it'll be flying onto Ebay soon.

My TV Shows.

2009-08-04T11:42:00.005+01:00

Just a personal reminder of new seasons that will start in Autumn :) (In the US of course.)

Gossip Girl. Season 3. 14th September.
Apparantly Hilary Duff joining the cast for a guest-arc. Gross.
Georgina and Blair plot will be pretty good methinks.

Desperate Housewives. Season 6. 27th September.
Weddings. Another set of twins. New bitch in town. New housewife called Angie Vitale - Sounds like some bottled water. Awesomeeee.

Heroes. Season 4. 21st September.
New girl. New partners. New villain. Hopefully it will not disappoint. Despite how shit it gets I still find myself watching it.

This, in addition to Prison Break and the rest of Family Guy. Huzzah. Looks like my second year at uni is gonna start of with notalotofworklols.

I went for a run today.

2009-08-02T14:21:00.004+01:00

Albeit not a very long one but living in a hilly place has its drawbacks. I ended up really wheezy. I am hoping to do this more frequently so maybe that side effect shall subside.

Not much has happened in the past week or so since being back in England. Applied to a few jobs, but not expecting any replies. I called Ashridge. Seems they don't have enough shifts for their current casual staff let alone any extra people like me. Ugh. Saw some friends etc etc.

Last night was the first time I went to Lava Ignite. I have never had thre urge to go there. First for everything and all, it was generally an over-priced, under-attenteded venue. Spoons all the way!
My recent boredom has led to much photo editting and whatnot. ;-;

I have sold 12 CDs. :)

Selling CDs

2009-07-30T12:04:00.008+01:00

I went through a HUGE CD buying phase throughout the second half of secondary school.
And as I don't really have use for them anymore, I have decided to sell them. Plus other CDs I have found around my room...
Yes this is a shameless plug. Most of them are going for £1 ;-;

I have kept about 25 CDs that I love too much to part with/will probably listen to again.. so they shall stay in my box. But going through them all just made me want to buy some more...!

28th. Flight Count:6.

2009-07-28T21:30:00.004+01:00

I don't know if it's just me, but it seems that flights seem to pass a lot quicker these days. The 9 hour flight to Frankfurt seemed to be over really quickly. Maybe because I was taking advantage of the free alcohol and got TOTALLY WASTED. So that's a lie.. but free alcohol nonetheless. Confessions of a Shopaholic was showing and I watched that which was a nice rom com to make me feel all happy and whatnot. I gave Duplicity and Bolt a miss. Mainly because it hurt to strain my neck to the TV (I was on the front row) and mainly because I am such a perfectionist at some DS games (Must get gold on everyyyyything, and try, try again), that I had to dedicate most of my attention to that. I've also been watching some Family Guy in the past few days as I haven't been gallivanting about. Season 2 episode 12 is the next one to watch. Ahh, I have grown to love the show. My aim of watching Prison Break in China has failed.. who knew I would hardly have any time to sit back and chill out? I have a list of films to watch now that I am back in England.
Bruno. Harry Potter. Ice Age 3. Bruno. (In this order please.)

Flying from Frankfurt to London was really nice. The views from the plane were awesome, I never knew Germany and England were so... patchwork quilty! And London seems to be a million times larger than Frankfurt... Or maybe we flew the wrong side of the city? Idk, it looked pretty nice from where we were, the river flowing through it and all. The Thames looked dirty and minging. I could see lots of people on South Bank :D Definitely want to pay London some more visits this summer. Saw other landmarks from the sky such as the Gherkin, London Eye, Buckingham Palace, Wembley Stadium, Kensington Palace etc. It was coooooooool.

I don't like how cold it is here. BOO, BOO.

I've realised today that I am very bad at goodbyes. I need to make some signs.

27th. Last day in China!

2009-07-27T13:43:00.004+01:00

A chilled out day overall, met with a friend for lunch and walked around some shops some more.
****I forgot to mention that yesterday at Silk Street, to get the proper designer knock-offs, the shop sales people will ask if you want Louis Vuitton or Gucci bags when you walk past. And if you say yes, then they will lead you downstairs into the basement level, past the grotty canteen into a fenced off area. Where they will sit you down and give you catalogues of designer bags to flick through and they will get whichever one you want from some back storage room. Illegal China at its best...****
It was entertaining seeing the knock-off DSes and accessories for Nintendo Wu!
Erg, it's going to be weird going back to England.. Rahrahrah. Floating. But it will be great to see some people again.. I hope~!

Things I will miss
Green Tea Frappucino, baby.
Cheap public transport. Cheap clothes. Cheap food. Cheap ice lollies.
Cheap texts!
THE SHOPPING.
Couchsurfing and touring friends!
Haggling. And doing a damn good job of it.
No responsibilities, duties, stress.
Supermarkets. They sell so much stuff!
Engrish.
Things I will not miss
The heat and what accompanies it (sweating mostly)
The People (most of them). They are rude, disgusting, inconsiderate, pervy, judgemental, arrogant etcetcetc.
Not getting drinking water out of a tap.
Patio Pizza. Utter. Fail.
Unhelpful taxi drivers.
Having the same conversation with all the new people I meet.

One thing I have learnt this trip is that I am very lucky to have been brought up in England, as compared to most similar ages people here, I am very much better off. So.. yay to that. And I guess I plan to further exploit this, as the idea of working for a UK/US company that has located in China is very appealing indeed. I've decided to try and learn to speak some of the local dialects, namely Sichuan and Shaanxi so I don't sound foreign when I visit these provinces and won't get ripped off ~_~

Another thing I have noticed is a fad with the korean culture. Korean hairstyles, korean music, korean food, korean make up etcetc. Fuckinnnn everywhereee. Korean is the new Kawaii.

I took 826 photos.. Well those are the ones that are on facebook. I actually took around 1200. 400 or so deleted. Ouchies. Had so much fun with my camera this trip though :)

IN CONCLUSION. I have grown somewhat. hmm yes.
FIN.

26th. Shopping at Xidan and Silk Street

2009-07-26T14:33:00.003+01:00

Yesterday was pretty uneventful. Was supposed to meet a friend but complications with flights kind of ruined all that :(:( I had Peking duck with the family though in the evening which was so so so yummy. Ate too much!

Today met up with a friend to go shopping.. last proper shopping trip in China! I also met a few new people that she knew which was cool, it's nice to see new faces :D We met in Xidan, and then went to Silk Street later on in the day. I didn't actually go with the intent of buying much stuff but I ended up spending most of the money that I had left.. Haggling was also much fun. Was told that we were very good at it by many of the sellers :D In the end it was the fake designer stuff that tempted me to splash my cash.. Silk Street was filled with foreigners, I'm glad that I wasn't seen as one as the sellers were constantly pestering them. One top that was quoted 180RMB for us was quoted at 380RMB for some foreigners that came later. Obv they didn't take it at that price (we didn't even take the price we were given) but foreigners must get ripped off loads more..
I am officially retail therapied-out.

It feels weird that I only have one more full day in China.. eek! Gotta leave for the airport early on the 28th..

Dalian.

2009-07-24T09:53:00.003+01:00

It's been a really nice couple of days, mainly cos the weather has been a lot beatable than in Bejing, and the family I am staying with have been truly hospitable. I've actually gotten to know the city (especially the town centre area) pretty well. It's the first seaside city I've visited in China, though I didn't actually go to the beach.. It was only mega sunny on the first and second days of my stay here. There was a huge storm (which is uncommon for Dalian I have found out) and been raining a litte bit. I've really loved my stay here and will definitely return :D

22nd July. Dalian

2009-07-23T00:16:00.004+01:00

I took a walk along the shoreline today in Dalian. From the Forest Zoo to the new district's Xin Hai Square, about 2km. Sun was scorching as I was walking at around lunchtime, but sea breeze cooled stuff down :) The new district was really modern, with many high-rise buildings and clean roads. The path led to the square, which had a range of fair ground rides on one side, and then this memorial thing as the main attraction there. I thought it looked like a huge shallow halfpipe but it's actually an open book. I climbed to the edge but then my shoes gave way and I started slipping down so I was like shitttt, couldn't stop sliding til I was halfway down again. I felt silly.

Leading up to the open book was a long thing of footprints, belonging to about 1000 people from Dalian, old and young. I think most of the feet belonged to someone with some kind of importance as it was a thing to celebrate Dalian's 100th birthday or something. It took AGES to walk out of the square and find the right bus stop but I got there in the end :) Went into town and bought some stuff. Yayyy shopping :) Didn't get as lost as I thought I would.. literally like a maze down there.. a non-square maze.

Meghan's father was home today. He is an artist. And this automatically made him cool. And he was. Her parents drove me east after dinner along the coast as there were some nice views ^_^
It fucking stormed like it was no tomorrow in the evening, from like 9 til early this morning. Never have I seen so much lightning and thunder! And as we are in a loft apartment, it was closer to the action than I would have preferred.

Oh, I saw a guy selling little turtles on the street. I REALLY WANTED ONE. Flightfail.

21st. Dalian and CouchsurfingFRIENDS.

2009-07-21T15:01:00.007+01:00

The train arrived in Dalian at around 8am, and I got to my couchsurfing place just before 9am. My host called Meghan was hungover.. not the best first immpression x) Long story short, she was hosting three finnish guys who were still in the apartment and they had gone out last night. She was also leaving tonight to go travelling with them. A very spur of the moment kind of girl. I found that even though she was 26, the way she acted was a lot more carefree than other people her age, and I think that's what made her so easy to warm up to. Her mother must've been sick of all the random people at her house and was surprisingly tolerant,I think anyway. They live in an amazing loft apartment in Dalian. Her dad is an artists, so his pictures line the walls. I find he has a very impressionist painter, creating a lot of movement in his pictures with thick colour and emotional strokes. He wasn't at home so I have yet to meet him.

After arriving, everyone else apart from her mother was asleep. So I just napped for a bit after an appauling night's sleep on the train, showered, freshened up etc. The 5 of us then head into the town centre as the Finnish guys wanted to buy some lanterns for their sister's wedding (Who also happens to be the singer for some Finnish metal band called Iconika or something like that). The amount of shoppings areas in Dalian are numerous, especially the areas underground. It would take weeks to go through everything. I was totally taken with the pure amount of stuff up for sale. I'm really going to have to dedicate a whole day to just the city centre and shopping :D I am looking forward to it very much. Also tempted to get a tattoo and another ear piercing as the places seem to be everywhere these days..

Even after just half a day with the Finnish guys, it was already easy to tell their personalities apart because they were very different. Their english was okay, as it was their second language. The oldest one had been living in Shenyang for a year so he spoke some understandable mandarin which was pretty impressive. For dinner, we had Finnish meatballs, salad, mash, cauliflower thing which we all helped cook. They also made sangria which tasted amazing.

Recipe so I don't forget:
Bottle of red wine
Half a bottle of white
Chopped lemons and red oranges.
Ice, ice baby.
Leave to stand for a bit..
YUM..

They also had a bottle of stuff called MINTTU which was amazing. 40% mint liquor. Thinking about it now it's just probably the same as shots of listerine.. Though it tasted lovely, sharp minty flavour which then warmed you up afterwards (Not that we needed warming up). So we had shots of that before dinner :)

Note to self: Fishermans's Friend. Crushed in Vodka. Apparantly is very refreshing.

So yes, the Finnish guys were really into putting stuff in their alcoholic spirits. They told me how once they put a snake in a vodka bottle for a month, and one sip just got them so wasted afterwards. Lols.

After dinner they all had to rush off to catch their boat to somewhere. Leaving me with the mother. Who is lovely. I wish I'd gotten here a day earlier.. Nvm. I can't wait for the rest of my stay :)

Tattoos, Piercings and Homosexuals in China

2009-07-21T15:01:00.006+01:00

It seems that last time I was in China, tattoos were an alien thing, I didn't see one single inked person. Yet this time, just one year later, tattoos have had many an appearance on people's bodies. On the bus today was the first time I saw a guy with both sleeves tattooed. As well as huge plugs in his ears. I had to double take to make sure he wasn't western. Nope, sure enough he was chinese, and definitely looked out of place in such a country that deems pure skin a thing of beauty.

Piercings have also been more prominent. I don't mean normal lobe piercings, but more cartilage piercings have appeared around. I've actually stumbled a place in one of those really big department buildings with loads of little independent boutiques, that sells body jewellry. And right in the corner there was just a load of piercing equipment. It seemed hardly clean or sterilised. I was pretty put off, even though it kind of made me want to get a cartilage done cos it would be dirt cheap :/

The friend I made in Chengdu also informed me that there has been a high increase in the number of homosexual people, especially girls, and especially those that are about 13 or 14. And it seems that they are slightly looked down upon in society, especially by those of older generations. Now initially I thought that indeed, I did see a lot of teenage girls walking around holding hands, no biggie. But after my friend telling me this information, I consciously noticed a lot more lesbians walking around. And how could I tell? Because one of them would look like a man. Lols.

20th. 798 Art District.

2009-07-20T09:31:00.004+01:00

Today was interesting. I went to 798, which is a contemporary art district in Beijing, conveniently placed about 15minutes down the road from where my grandparents live. It's an old factory area converted into an art district, ranging from ceramics to clothing. There are also lots of little cafés and restaurants there. The area is littered with vibrant graffiti, giving the old factory a modern edge. In many of the small shops, I found that there was a recurring theme of communism and the Great Leap Forward. I couldn't really tell if it was serious or just for the vintage factor from selling and displaying the items from that era, but I felt that it was the latter. The items sold in the small boutiques were all rather unique items. I even found one selling sew-on patches with the likes of Slipknot and "Punk never dies" slogans amongst images of Mao and whatnot. Unfortuneately almost all of these places forbid photography so I couldn't document a lot of what I saw.

One building was called Panda Mail. The idea is that you send a postcard to arrive anywhere in the world a year or two years from now, in the hope that what you wrote on that card will bring back memories of the present day. I thought that this was such a charming idea, but I had no idea where to send it to, as I had no idea where I would be living in X number of years time. But the place had a number of guestbooks for people to draw write messages etc. I wrote a little essay in english, maybe one day you will find it there.

Overall this place was really something different to experience in Beijing. Lots of independent artists as well as companies promoting their work. My favourite exhibition was at the Paris-Beijing Photo Gallery, where they were featuring a exhibition by Mathias Braschler and Monkia Fischer. Two swiss photographers who travelled China in 2007 taking images of people which truly capture the essence of Chinese people. Their project was entitled "The Chinese". Click to see. Each picture had a name and occupation of the person in the portrait. They had certainly cast a wide net for theis subjects, which ranged from the CEO of a well-known car company to nomads in Inner Mongolia to a prostitute. The girl on the right is the star performer in a travelling circus.

A little cultural village of art. I don't think I even got round to all of the mini galleries, but I went to enough for this place to leave a good and strong impression on me. Jimmy Choo is actually giving a talk in one of the places there tonight but I shall be on an overnight train to Dalian :(
Which I need to pack for. And I need to get in contact with the couchsurfy person. rahrahrah.
It's actually been blisteringly hot today, scorching sun as well as high heat. 34 degrees I think!

19th. Slow day in Beijing. Bird's Nest!

2009-07-19T14:51:00.003+01:00

Today was a lot more laid back compared to the past few days. My train arrived at Beijing West train station just before 8am... about 3 hours late (we took a detour around the flooded rail areas). Showered, had breakfast and chilled for most of the day, catching up on emails and photo organising. Got bored of hanging around the apartment, so decided to pay the Bird's Nest a visit. Last time there was a fence around the area and you couldn't get in so this time would be different as the place is now open to the public. Took the bus there, found the place alright.

I got a student ticket with my NUS card.. which has worked at all the tourist attractions so far. I swear anyone can get a student ticket with any old foreign card.. I just said it was an english student card and they just took my word for it :D 25rmb = half price laaa~~! I got there quite late, just a bit before they stop letting people inside the stadium. Tbh, it doesn't really take much time to go in, walk around and take some photos. Just a stadium. The outside is definitely more impressive than the inside, though the architecture inside is pretty impressive. There was a large amount of foreigners around, understandably, and I spoke to a couple from LA. Yay to scaring strangers.

Not much planned for tomorrow, a train in the evening to Dalian, where I will be staying for a few days. I hear the air is a lot cleaner. woot.

"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" by Steig Larsson

2009-07-19T06:23:00.006+01:00

I bought this book in my book buying frenzy before my trip to China. I finished it yesterday on the train. It was on a 3 for 2 offer, and as it had been an international bestseller, I thought I wouldn't be wasting my money. I just read the blurb, didn't even really know what it was about, but that it seemed interesting enough. After finishing Eclipse (Twilight series), I thought that I should probably read something.... better (for lack of a more suitable word), and so I started this. It was only when I opened the book to start reading that I knew that this was originally written in swedish, and then it had been translated into english. Personally, I don't think translations are very good because things that the author wanted to convey gets lost in translation. Nevertheless, I read on. The first parts were confusing to say the least. Characters are introduced that seem to have no link whatsoever, and you don't know whether the events that happen are important enough to keep in mind or not. I hate leaving a book unread, so stubbornly I continued. The book is written focusing on a number of main characters. The girl with the dragon tattoo is Lisbeth Salander, and the main focus isn't really on her or her tattoo, though she does play a prominent part later in the novel. The swedish title for the book is actually "Men who hate Women". If that was the english title, I would have definitely not bought this book. However, it is a more fitting title in terms of matching up with the plot. This is a crime novel which explores human relationships as well as corporate politics. Throughout the book you are yourself trying to think of conclusions to the mystery that is to be solved, yet Larsson successfully creates an ending which is both surprising but completely believeable. The multiple sub-plots build up each character and adds a lot of depth to each of their lives. Larson does this without over-complicating or confusing things. As the story unfolds, the characters and their lives start to slowly knit together to form a perfect tapestry of a crime thriller. Larsson uses this book to critique Swedish society. In this one, the society issues are mainly moral bankruptcy of big businesses and men who are abusive towards women. The responsibility of an individual is also questionned, in terms of whether a person is fully responsble for the crimes they commit, or does blame also fall on their upbringing and childhood? Not only is this novel an excellent read but it also raises some thought-provoking issues. "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" comes highly recommended.

Just before the author died in 2004, he submitted the "Millenium" trilogy to his publisher. The first of which is this one. I can't wait to read the next part :D

Apparantly, this has already been made into a film in Sweden, and they are thinking of bringing it to Hollywood. I'm going to try get hold of a subbed copy or otherwise wait patiently for Hollywood to adapt this book into something that's about as half as good.

Just some thoughts I've had whilst in China..

2009-07-19T05:16:00.003+01:00

It really, really disgusts me when couples wear matching clothes. I've seen this multiple times now, so it's not just a one off. Couples wearing the same t-shirt and then similar bottoms ie. jeans or whatnot. It's as if they didn't wear any clothes before dating.
Chinese people are RUDE.
All the good looking people know they are good looking, thus walk around with an air of arrogance. It's annoying because you know they have a good reason to be like that and yet you can't do anything about it. And you know that if you looked like they did, you would act no different.
Fast food menus are different, you can get pearl bubble tea with meals :D
I've been buying pearl bubble tea as much as I can. Even if I am not thirsty, just so that I can get a daily fix in case I don't have access to one later.
Starbucks is still fucking expensive.
Chengdu guys are really quite camp.
WHY DO PEOPLE STILL WEAR JEANS AND BIG TSHIRTS IN THIS HOT HOT SUMMER WEATHER WHEN THERE ARE OTHER CLOTHES THAT ARE MUCH COOLER AND VENTY.

17t h - 18th. That 31 hour or so train journey.

2009-07-19T03:22:00.002+01:00

17th. Chengdu - The day I majorly fucked up. I have lost count of my insect bites.
So I went to the train station today earlier at around lunchtime incase my train was cancelled or delayed of if there's any complications or anything. And I read that my train was cancelled and that I had to return my ticket. Thus I thought.. SHITTTTT. Had a mini panic, tried to clear my head a bit etc. I went to buy a plane ticket at an office, ended up paying 1510rmb for a ticket. And as I didn't have my train ticket, I had to rush back to my couchsurfy place, get my ticket, pack everything up and panic some more in the fear that I wouldn't make my 6.40pm flight, as the airport was still quite a way away from the train station. So I get to the station at like 2pm, and get in the queue to return my ticket. Now, in China, train tickets are quite hard to get if you are travelling on the day, so there's huge queues at the ticketing office hall. Also, there's people lingering around the ticket return office asking for tickets.. And I guess it is lucky that a guy spots that I am returning my ticket.. and asks why I am returning my ticket... I say cos it's been cancelled.. and he's like.. No! I had to return my other ticket to buy a ticket on your train to Beijing.
So this is my face right at this moment...~_____~ I am slapping myself hypothetically so hard right now. Turns out I read the board wrong and then in my slightly panicked mode I rushed off to buy a plane ticket..
I get out of the queue with my tail between my legs. Trudge off to the plane ticket office and ask to return my ticket. Of course there is a fee. 72rmb. I think that's pretty cheap for a lesson well learnt..

So at this point, it's like 3pm. My train is at 10pm. I decide to get my bag stored for the day at the station and look around the area. So after my bag is all stored and paid for, the heavens open up and it CHUCKS it down like nobody's business. Fucking, great. So I head off to KFC. Buy a meal (which is rather different from english KFC food), struggle to find a seat, and then stay there for the next 6 hours so. And in this time I meet a few people who are also waiting for trains as they come and go on the table I am at.

Whoever I meet on this journey, it seems the conversation seems to go along the same lines:
Where are you from?
My grandparents are in Beijing
Where do you go to school?
England.
*gasp* ORLY.
YARLY. My family is there.
*gasp* ORLY.
YARLY. I have been there since I was 4.
ORLY. So your english must be pretty good.
Yes, it's very good.
Are you travelling by yourself?
Yes.
Ah~~胆子好大laaaaa!

I think I should record down these conversations and just play them back x_x

Train left the station at 10pm. Sleep was alright. Kinda painful cos I slept funny. 31 hours of this. YAY.

18th. Chengdu to Beijing train.
Today I have lost respect for all males.
Obviously at differing degrees depending on the person, but mostly I can pretty definitely conclude that they only think with their dicks. No matter how they go about it, it's always the same. And that they will be ignorant or dismissive towards any complications or diffiulties that they face. Just going for the easiest way they can get away with. This infuriates me to no end. NO END. PAS FIN.

Otherwise, this train ride has not been bad, the people in the bunks around me are pleasant and nice. Some amazing views through the Chinese countryside but I've been too lazy to take some pictures. An insane amount of mountain tunnels also. I ate a 140g bag of sunflower seeds. I am afraid to look in the mirror in case that has resulted in my other tooth being slightly chipped. It feels like it's okay so here's to strong enamel. Kang Shi Fu was also on the menu :D I am afraid to weigh myself.

It's gotten to the point in my trip where I think about going back to the UK, and it feels weird. Like I think that it will be so different and a lot more stressful when I am back, with the lesser freedoms and more shit to worry about. Yet I don't feel like I can stay much longer here than I have planned. I'm not staying put anywhere long enough to make decent friends. Only a few so far that I will stay in contact with, which is great, but the point is that I can't stay to get to know them better. I just wish *someone* was with me.
I'm actually a bit scared to go back to the UK too, just having to deal with finding a job, and the fact second year will arrive so swiftly. The fact that it is coming at all scares me enough.

So, apparantly lonely train rides in China leads to anger, 失望, panic, fear, worry, comfort eating and aching joints. 好棒la~~!
I'm going to shoot some people on my DS now.

16th. Chengdu - Shops 'n' Eats. Wu Hou Ci and Jing Li.

2009-07-17T03:33:00.002+01:00

I headed towards the town centre today, Chun Xi Lu late around late morning. Rather impressed that I could find my way using public transport and such. :D Chengdu's town centre is known to have a lot of "美女" pretty girls, and so obviously it is custom to see lots of males just sitting around the town centre enjoying some eye candy. The town centre was very impressive, the shopping areas were HUGE with multiple department stores and such. I didn't have time to properly look around but it was a very good atmosphere.

I'd arranged to meet my TOURFRIEND at 2pm at a tourist attraction called Wu Hou Ci. Something to do with Zhu Ge Liang and the 3 kingdom fighty thing. We'd got panda cards so got free entry to many of Chengdu's tourist attractions, win. Basically the place wasn't that great and because we didn't have a tour guide didn't really know the history and what was going on etc. The only reason I knew some of the people mentionned in the museum/house/gardens was from watching Red Cliff.. and that was the extent of my knowledge. The site was pretty small anyway and we were glad we didn't have to pay 60rmb to get in x) Jing Li is a maze of streets in old style buildings to make up a small tourist area. It's famous for its "小吃" traditional snacks/eats (I have no idea how to translate this) and its atmosphere at night. Even during the day, there are lots of people and good general hustle and bustle. There are also lots of stalls around selling souvenirs etc. Of course there is also a Starbucks hidden amongst the old style buildings as well as many bars and restaurants making it popular at night. After walking around and eating lots, we both headed back and arranged to meet tomorrow. I went back to the town centre and looked around the shops some more, bought some stuff blahblah.

Oh, found out my dad went to America on a business trip.. ughhh. Jealous. And there may be a problem with my train tomorrow YAY. So I might have to take a trip to the station earlier to check :/ Apart from that..

Today was a nice day :D

13th to 15th. More travellingggg.

2009-07-16T03:25:00.003+01:00

13th. Chengdu overnight.
I got dinner for about 80p. I didnt manage to actually find the place I was supposed to go but I still ended up having a very yummy dinner! I wasted some money today buying shit I totally do not need.. erg. Comfy comfy room. Comfy comfy sleep.

14th. Le Mountain.
The tour group picked me up at 6.30am today from the hotel. I was the last one being picked up so it was a bit daunting to get on a bus with 26 pairs of eyes staring. And then having to walk up to the rear of the bus only to have to wake up someone who was sprawled across four seats to let me sit down -__- He was grumpy. At this point I was thinking.. great, rude and moody people to travel with. However, as the day wore on everyone was friendlier and it was a good laugh being with the people I was with. There wasa mixture of young and old, though most of the people were middle aged or late twenties. I made friends with a 20 year old girl who was also on her own and a few guys who were sitting near us. It was a 2 hour journey to the mountain, and we stopped for "brunch" at 9.40am.. This was going to last us until dinner at around 6pm at the hotel we were going to stay at. We got to Le Mountain before noon, and headed straight towards the main attraction - the big stone Buddha. I've seen this statue in many films and TV series, so it was exciting seeing it properly. We had beaten the crowds and didn't have to queue to descend down the steps to get to the Buddha's feet. The statue stands at 71m, and is that largest stone Buddha carving in the world. It was pretty huge. And rather impressive. After this main thing, there were buddhist temple and shrines for people to pray at etc. The weather was mega killer hot and I was sweating like a pig, less so than some other people though :3 On the way past the queuing area for the stone Buddha, the queue was now very long. I'm glad that we didn't arrive later and queue, I think we would have all be very irritable and moody..

The tour guide explained that this year at Emei Mountain (which we are visiting tomorrow), they are currently blessing jade buddha necklaces so that your wishes will come true etcetc. But if we wanted to do that, you cannot buy a jade buddha at Emei Mountain, it must be bought somewhere else for it to be properly blessed.. (there's also a gazillion other conditions to fulfill, such as you have to wear the necklace at least 24 hours for the first time after it's been blessed), so the last place we visited at Le Mountain was a jade shopping area. I was tempted, but as I am on very little money for the rest of my stay in Chengdu, I held back :D

We then went to an Oriental Buddhist Park, with lots of buddha statues and carvings. It was a nice place, but the weather was really getting to everyone. The humidity in the air is very high, so your skin gets really clammy and disgusting. Woop. At this park, there is the biggest horizontal carvng of the buddha. That was pretty COOL.

The group was then taken to some museum thingy to do with some kind of wood. Idk, I chose not to go inside so I sat outside waiting whilst other people wasted their money inside. I got chatting to some other tourists, which was cool. They'd also been to Jiu Zhai Gou in the past few days so we discussed what we'd seen there. I also made friends with some chinese guys from america (who was with an american friend, hence how I started talking to them) who were with another tour group. It was weird conversing in english again, and I felt outnumbered as the only one speaking in an engish accent.. Arg. I even slipped out some chinese at some point.. I'm getting used to speaking in chinese all the time now xD

I also spoke to some old guy from australia. Omg, his accent was so thick, it was amazinggg.
So yes. It's nice randomly chatting to strangers.

Back at the hotel for the night. I'm sharing a room with the girl I met :), going to see some Sichuan performance today, including 变脸"Changing Faces". I'll try to get some good recordings.

15th. Mount Emei.
The show last night was surprisingly good. It had a variety of traditional performances such as dish spinning, giant puppets, dances and the finale was the "Changing Faces"show. I'm definitely glad I went, though our seats weren't great :(

We had a 5.30am wake up call, breakfast at 6am, and left the hotel at 6.30am to start going up towards the mountain summit. There was a bus ride for about an hour to the cable car station, and then a 3 minute climb via cable car, followed by a short walk to the "Golden Summit". The main feature is this huge golden statue of some god on this elephant.. Tbh, I didn't really pay attention to the guide so I have no idea about the details.. From the cable car and onwards, we were travelling within clouds. At the summit, we were above a layer of cloud, so it was amazing to be above "sky" level. However, the sky above us was still white.. I didn't really work out why, maybe just general smog..? It was so bright because of the white cloud. The sun filtering through also made it quite warm. Lots of members of the tour had bought huge coats to wear on the summit after the recommendation from our tour guide, and they were complaining that they'd been conned etc etc because the guide gets money from the rentals.. I'm just glad I'm not one who got one xD

One recurring theme with going on tours is that the guides will take you to shopping areas where they will receive a percentage of the takings for whatever you buy. Be it anything from coat rentals to jewellry to 'extra' attractions you have to pay for. Thus, I am a bit skeptical as to whether the products they recommend are truly worth the money or not.

After descending from the summit, we had lunch back halfway up the mountain and then proceeded down the mountain via a shrine where they were doing the blessings. On the way up to th shrine was a group of wild monkeys. They steal colourful objects from you, hoping that they are edible and tasty. Lots of people's water bottles and biscuits got stolen. One even stole my blue microfibre cloth, tasted it and then left it on the floor. :/ So basically I have to carry around monkey germs til I get it laundered. The monkeys were really entertaining and most of them so cute, especially the baby ones. There was one which I think was the alpha male which got really vicious and me and my friend proceeded to run away from him. Fun times. We walked another 3km to a bus station where we took the bus back to Chengdu. I really enjoyed this tour, especially because it was just really interesting talking to the different people in the group. I came to be good friends with a few of them and it was a good laugh. My grandparents had recently drawn a bad image of tour groups but everyone was so helpful to each other and rather caring, sharing food, experiences and relating to one another. More warm fuzzy feeling.

Couchsurfing tonight once again, and tomorrow night too before I get a train back to Beijing. I'm staying with a girl at Chengdu University of Technology. She has been very welcoming so far :) I'm running out of cash, so the first thing I am going to do tomorrow is take some money out.. if I can.. with my credit card (eeek.) Emergency, okay?
Then go aroud Chengdu hopefully with the girl I went on tour with ^_^ YAY, TOURFRIEND.

So.. I'm in a hairdresser's right now

2009-07-13T11:15:00.002+01:00

And they plonked me in front of a computer whilst they do my hair. SUPER NEAT-O, huh?
Except the stupid Great Firewall of China has blocked most of the sites I want to go to (namely facebook) so yeah :/

The tour ended today. Getting off the plane at Chengdu was a bit weird.. because I hadn't got a place to stay tonight.. and was just a bit wtf.. where do I go etc etc. I have got a hotel room now though so it's all good :D It's pretty near the centre of town too so I plan to hit 成都小吃 place later tonight to get some dindins and maybe get some pictures of the night lights in the city centre if it's not too far and there are no creepy guys around. Going around town has been weird by myself, it's especially daunting as I don't really know where I am and what's around :/ This will be short lived however as I will be going on a 2 day tour to some mountains tomorrow.

My Itinerary
8th - Arrive in Beijing at 8.30am. Buy a mobile. Do a shitload of organising in terms of tours, flights and couchsurfing.
10th - Fly to Chengdu, couchsurf for the night.
11th - Jiu Zhai Gou Tour: Fly to Jiu Zhai, Visit Huang Long.
12th - Jiu Zhai Gou Tour: Day visit to Jiu Zhai Gou, evening spent at a Zhang zu household.
13th - Jiu Zhai Gou Tour: Fly back to Chengdu and stay the night.
14th - Emei Mountain Tour
15th - Le Mountain Tour, couchsurf for the night.
16th - Chengdu, couchsurf.
17th - Chengdu, couchsurf, 10pm train to Beijing.
18th - Train.
19th - Arrive at Beijing at 5amish.
20th - Train to Dalian
28th - Arrive in London at 4.55pm. Eat. Sleep. Sleep.

Yessssir.

Upgrade to Internet Explorer 8 Optimised for MSN. Download Now

12th. Jiu Zhai Gou.

2009-07-13T07:28:00.001+01:00

From looking at photos and pictures of this place, I thought that they were just stereotypical tacky manipulated tourist images, with everything looking shitter in real life. So on the way to Jiu Zhai Gou, I was just expecting the usual good mountain/lake scenes, nothing special. We were going to spend the whole day here, from about 9am to 6pm. The site is huge, as there are multiple lakes/pools, each one accessiible by foot or by bus. We took the bus from the entrance to the first site, where we were immediately emerged into the beauty of this place. The water was so clear and blue. The mountains covered in greenery and it was a blue skied day. As the sun petered out I was annoyed with myself for dressing for cold weather. The first walk was past a series of small pools, each one as sparkling blue as the next. It was kind of surreal, after being so used to seeing murky watered lakes. We then took another bus to the next stop, "Long Lake". This lake is the one that supplies the water to the other lakes and pools, and is the largest one, at the highest point of the area. The pattern of pool - bus - pool - bus continued throughout the day. I can say that I have never been anywhere as beautiful or as surreal as Jiu Zhai Gou. The water was shades of turquoise, blue, green and some yellow parts. I have no idea how it gets its colour, especially as the water is crystal clear.

My favourite pool is called 五彩池,"Colourful Pool". After getting off the bus, you decend stone steps towards the pool. Before you get to the bottom, you see slithers of bright, bright turqoise through the trees, building you up for what is there. And it doesn't disappoint. I got there around midday, and the sun was still shining through the sparse clouds, making the pool even more bright and shimmery. There were light ripples on the surface of the water, just to remind you that there is actually water there. I spent a lot of time at this pool, just taking photos and appreciating the scenery. It's enclosed all around with mountain stone, like it's being hidden away. It was amazing. Other highlights of the place included 箭竹海,"Arrow Bamboo Pool". This was where that epic lake scene in Hero was filmed, and I'd been looking forward to seeing this. There was also a huge waterfall that I also really enjoyed. The loud, fast flowing water was a huge contrast from the still, serene pools that were seen before. At one of the pools, there was a couple getting their wedding photos taken. The scenery was indeed so beautiful and they looked stunning. Ahhh. I am so, so glad I came to see this place. Photos really don't do it justice. The scenery that you see around the valley is not something you can capture. Even more so the feelings you feel when you see something so naturally beautiful. Of course, like any other tourist place, there are plenty of people selling crap, taking photos for you, and hiring out traditional 帐族,tibetan attire. And yet despite this horrible commercialisation of this place, it wasn't enough to take away the breathtaking sights.

After leaving Jiu Zhai Gou at late afternoon, we went to a Tibetan family's house, to experience their culture, food and traditions. The tibetans believe in polygamy. But with the female having numerous husbands instead of the other way around. This is pretty weird, but I guess it just means everyone is free to get some. Especially since the population of the tibents around here is rather small.. lol. Totally knackered now at the hotel, I feel like I will pass out any minute now. Heading back to Chengdu tomorrow, and staying the night there before my tour of Emei Mountain and Le Mountain. Exciting and scary stuff.. as I don't have anywhere booked to stay tomorrow night. Winging it would be a good term to describe what I am doing.

Today was really an eye-opener. Just.. omg, it was just amazing. The weather was perfect as it cooled down later in the day. The tour has pretty much ended now, and I really feel as if I have seen a lot. The family making up the majority of the group were also great company, and I really ended up feeling a part of their group. I got this warm fuzzy feeling right now.
Might be the electric blanket that I turned on for wayyy too long whilst I was showering..

11th. Touring begins: Huang Long. Flight count:4.

2009-07-13T07:22:00.001+01:00

Couchsurfing last night was really good, I had a good night's sleep. In the morning, my host's boyfriend took me to get a bus to the airport. It was kind of a bit AHHH, as the bus was just leaving the stop and he was just like... it's this bus, saw me get on it and said bye. Idk, it just happened really quickly, I was rather overwhelmed, especially as I'd only gotten up 30 minutes before leaving.

When I got to the airport.. it suddenly dawned on me that I had to fend for myself for the next week or so. It was really quite scary. I found the place where I was supposed to be checking in with the tour, did all that mumbojumbo and checked luggage in. Waiting for the flight was frustrating. I realised that I hadn't packed the warmer clothes I'd bought, as I didn't think I'd need them, but overhearing what other people were saying.. I did. So I ended up buying a knitted cardigan at the airport. The plane was late getting to Chengdu airport, annoying. But apparantly it happens often due to the weather at Jiu Zhai Gou airport as it's high above sea level (the 3rd highest airport in China). Found my tour guide person fine at the airport. And omg, the air was so cold! A complete contrast from the weather in Beijing and Chengdu. Reminded me of England again. My tour group is little. 11 people. One family, some of whom were from Canada so it was nice to have something in common with their daughter; me and a japanese guy. And being the japanese tourist, he was taking photos of everything x)

Immediately after landing, the landscape struck me to be very different. Mountainous terrain stretched as far as the eye could see. After lunch, we drove towards the attraction for today, Huang Long (Yellow Dragon translated literally). The place is named like so because the water from the mountains flows down the yellow ground, making it look like a yellow dragon. I had to buy some jeans.. it really pissed me off as I have some in Beijing but I thought I wouldn't need them >.< Anyways, we headed up the mountain via cable car. There was quite a long walk to the main site "Five Rainbow Pools", through the forestry on the side of the mountain. There were some breathtaking views on the way. Unfortuneately at this point it had started to rain lightly, and I was without umbrella because I left it on the bus. Uberfail ~_~. The rain did get heavier as the afternoon wore on, and I was pretty much soaked by the end of it. It was only when I was 10 minutes from the exit that the sun actually came out. ughhh. Timing, once again. Huang Long had some amazing views, the photos I took hardly did it justice, even in gloomy weather. I cannot imagine how beautiful the place is when the sun is out. Though the main attraction is water; the mountains, clouds and forest were also aesthetically pleasing.

One thing that was horrible, is that there were locals carrying building materials up the mountain on foot. A 4.2km walk up and down. That's 8.4kmin total. Twice a day. And they get paid hardly anything for their labours. I managed to photo a few of the people doing it - things like that are so humbling. There was even a woman carrying the heavy materialson her back.. why oh why.

There was a long drive to our hotel, which is near Jiu Zhai Gou, the place we are going to tomorrow. At one point, we were driving through the clouds, it was eerily beautiful. The sunset was amazing too, as the clouds made pretty patterns in the sky. The mountains were differing shades of blue and green as dusk approached, truly so many images I wantedto capture but unable to.

If it's sunny tomorrow, I will be very very happy.

10th. I fly like paper, get high like planes. Flight count: 3. Insect bite count: 5.

2009-07-10T15:20:00.004+01:00

There were some interesting experiences today. Firstly, my flight didn't leave from Beijing capital airport but some undermanaged shitty one, kinda like London Luton. The bus we took didn't actually go to the airport, so had to try get a taxi in. However, there was one detail that we did not know.. which was that getting into the airport via taxi is EFFORT, like mega. Cos it's hard to get it in and taxi drivers don't like taking you there. So whilst we were trying to get a taxi, a private car stopped and asked where we were going, and agreed to take us. So here, I thought that we were hitch hiking to the airport... but no, the woman asked for a small fee. As far a getting "private taxis" is concerned, this was definitely a first. And a rather pleasant experience at that. I'm writing this at the airport now, as my fight is delayed by an hour or two, and accidentally tried to connect to someone else's computer via wireless.. lols.

~Later~
The flight was mostly okay, I got an aisle seat :D But when we were flying over Chengdu I wish that I was next to a window as the night lights were amazing and I wanted to take some pictures:( The food on the flight was pretty shitty.. each item got worse that the next.

I was a bit scared when I got to the airport, as I knew no one.. and had to queue for a taxi, and worried that the driver wouldn't know where to go etc etc, but I got to the place fine. First couchsurfing experience! The couple I am staying with are lovely and their apartment is brand new and stuff. Plus I get my own room! So, a bit iffy on the couch side but I'm not complaining :P They also have an adorable kitty. It's sleeping on the floor right now, it looks so peaceful and awwweh! Gotta get up and leave early tomorrow as the tour group is meeting at the airport at 8am.. Makes for fun times ~_~
I have found that I fall asleep wayyy too easily. And I wake up wayy to easily also. Arghh.

Adventure begins tomorrow!

9th. Timing is the bane of my life. Insect bite count: 4.

2009-07-09T15:21:00.004+01:00

Woke up at 3am today, wide awake after sleeping at about 11pm. Stayed awake for a bit, and the sun rose. The sky was a nice shade of red and then there was a layer of smog.. so that I could hardly see any street lights on a nearby road. it disgusted me, really. I don't understand why the pollution here is so bad.. might be due to construction, there are two sites that are nearby. Just seems like everything keeps on growing here in Beijing, there are already quite a few changes despite the fact I was here only a year ago. The heat I am slowly getting used to.. as in I have to just deal with the fact I will be clammy all the time when I am outside, and that putting more than a minimal amount of make up on means I will definitely have a melty face.. :( Bad times.

Bought a cheapo nokia mobile to use and a brand spanking new DSLR camera! Battery is charging so I can't play with it but I really can't wait :D eeeeh. Means I can probably take some decent pics when I am out and about this next week or so :3 After shopping, we went to this random taoist temple/shrine thing in the middle of Beijing. A minor tourist attraction. There were lots of sculptures that were pretty scary looking, as well as the usual gods and things. Something vaguely cultured to ease my way into being a tourist.

A friend arrived in china today but she is going to Dalian tomorrow.. which I am going to on the 20th. Which incidentally is the day she returns to Beijing. My gosh, time hates me. I am intent on meeting up with SOMEONE this holiday at least. Gonna try get some meetup arranged on the 25th.
Booking train tickets here is such a nightmare omgggggg. I'm now staying in Chengdu only 2 days and then taking a train for a day and a bit back to Beijing. No trip to China is without a long train journey :P Makes UK trains seem so petty and little.

So tomorrow I shall be making my way to the airport once again in order to fly to Chengdu. I shall be couchsurfing tomorrow night, a first also. I was telling my grandparents and my uncle about couchsurfing and was pleasantly surprised when they did not hugely object to it, especially as it's all about staying with complete strangers x) It's nice knowing that they trust me enough to go out on my own and stuff this summer. Not sure about internet access when I am in Chengdu/touring, though most of the hotels I stay in should be okayyyy la. And I'm guessing people's houses have it.. :3

Shit, I got stung again. I doused myself in insect repellent. And they got me where I JUST missed. My foot. Fucking mosquitoes. That's 4 now. Savlon to the rescue!!

Only in China..

2009-07-09T00:50:00.004+01:00

Can I get a massage with a haircut and fall asleep whilst it's going on.
You know that twitchy thing your leg does when you are falling asleep..?
I did that.. and she noticed.

7th/8th. To China, and Beijing! Flight count: 2.

2009-07-08T10:21:00.005+01:00

First annoyance was that I had to get a rush-hour coach to Heathrow... resulting in slight worry
when the traffic hadn't been moving on the M25 for like half an hour.. though National Express people tend to know what they are talking about in terms of timing so I did arrive with some time to spare to look arond duty free.. And not afford anything :(
Boarding for the Frankfurt was earlier than expected which made me optimistic about the efficiency of airlines. Oh how I was disappointed.. the flight left over an hour late than was planned. However, this wasf due to the random downpours of rain that occured at Heathrow airport. Ugh, England weather.

And omgosh, Frankfurt airport is huuuuge! Had to walk for ages before I got to my next gate, and that was only after I realised I'd gotten to the wrong gate area initially -___- Most of the airport was like a ghost town, actually ;s I was sat next to two other chinese people on the long haul flight to beijing. A lady called Becca from Leeds and man who was going to Beijing for business. It's wierd, after only a few hours of being together you somewhat feel some kind of attachment with your neighbours on a long haul flight. I was also the youngest on my row so it was weird just mixing with people who had a good few years on me, somewhat eye-opening. Food consisted of pretzels, chicken and rice for dinner;and omelette for breakfast. And it wouldn't be flying if you don't take advantage of the free alcohol :D Sparkling wine plspls. The film selection was rather poor. 17 Again: it was just wrong on so many levels. And a chinese romcom "Give Love" which falls into the huge category of chinese films based on fate/love. Entertaining enough anyways. Oh, and why rollercoasters when you can get aircraft turbulence?! Definitely woke me up :P When we'd landed in Beijing in the morning, the Swine Flu Squad came. Armed with thermometer guns and Converse bags. In all their black and white glory (the bags matched..!). Luckily no quarantining was done. We also had to fill in a form about our health, like whether we'd been coughing, had a sore throat or a blocked nose (all of which I had had on the flight but we shall omit details). Surely they should realise that there is a HUGE psychological flaw in these forms in that NO ONE is going to admit to having these possile swine flu symptoms in the fear of being kept behind. Fail.

Not even had I gotten out of the airport was I reminded that in China, most stuff is worth overdoing. Such as an underground train system WITHIN THE AIRPORT. And one better than the real underground in beijing x) They say it's really nice and mild n Beijing today. I still feel like that it is uncomfortably warm and humid. Which means I may die of heat later on at some point.

Not a lot has changed at my grandparent's. Still watching the same Taiwanese TV series as last time I was here.. a year ago. Except the plot has become stupidly long and complex and it's on it's way into the 400 or so episodes? Apparantly chinese mafia is a intricate one.

Spent lots of time organising tours and stuff today. Had one tour company all done, except at the end where they decide to inform me that they aren't taking on foreign tourists because..of swine flu. Arg, it's so bloody ridiculous! Some guy was wearing some Jack Wills stylee pyjama bottoms today, and I reallly wanted to go ask him if they were actually JW. But then I thought.. I would save myself the humility. Oh, and I scarily reminded that to cross roads successfully in the China, is to jay walk.

Things I saw today that you will only see in China

Crocs... in the shape of actual crocodiles... on a grown woman.
Women going out to the supermarket in dresses and (albeit not towering) heels
"LITTLE CUTTY PRINCESS" Tshirt
"MY NAME IS BEAUTIFUL" Tshirt

Three Week's Notice.

2009-07-06T18:18:00.008+01:00

I'm going to China tomorrow! I am really quite excited, though I will miss my friends a lot. Packing today has been annoying. I hate packing. However I have somewhat mastered the art of packing light, so I'm hoping that when I am travelling I won't be bogged down with too much stuff.

So the plan tomorrow is to take the National Express coach to Heathrow in the morning, take my 11.50am flight to Frankfurt, then a 9 hour or so flight to Beijing! I actually love flying, possibly fuelled by the fact I don't feel I need loads more legroom.. But it's just so exciting, especially when I haven't done it for a year. I expect by the end of the trip I'll be sick of check-in counters, waiting around in flight lounges and that fasten your seatbelt sound. I can hardly sleep on planes, the best I'll get is a bit of a doze. I do hope some good films are on show though :D! I arrive in Beijing at 8.30am.. which means I will have to stay up. Result being I will be seriously lacking sleeping hours for the next 2 days or so.. On top of that I will have to fly to Chengdu to start my tour. I should probably get some Pro Plus.. :/

So far, my itinerary is pretty empty:

My Itinerary.
8th - Arrive in Beijing at 8.30am. Buy a mobile. Do a shitload of organising in terms of tours, flights and couchsurfing.
28th - Arrive in London at 4.55pm. Eat. Sleep. Sleep.

Pathetic, eh. Plans will fill up when I land and stuff gets sorted, this is given the fact I don't get quarantined, which will wreck my plans a lot. But it could possibly be an exciting experience/hilarious in a week's time...

Things to do in China

Take lots of pictures
Buy lots of cheap stuff
Spend lots of money on travel (but nada on places to stay!)
Meets lots of people
Eat lots of scrummy food
HAIRDID.
Grow up a bit.

1 to 6 are a given.

Tales From Earthsea (2006).

2009-07-03T11:32:00.005+01:00

Tales from Earthsea is based on the fantasy world created by Ursula LeGuin, a world with wizards and dragons. The first scene shows a ship amidst a storm. From the stormclouds emerge two dragons, fighting. This is then seen as a bad omen, that the Balance of the world is collapsing.The film then tells the story of how one wizard, Sparrowhawk, sets on a quest to seek the source of the evil that is shaking "The Balance" in this world. Arren, a runaway prince who killed his father; Therru, an unfriendly yet mysterious girl; and Tenar, Therru's guardian are the other prominient characters in this film. As this film was adapted from a series of novels and short stories, there is a lot that is not explained. Throughout the film, it is easily recognisable that the author had created a very elaborate world, hardly any of which can be captured in a 2 hour long film. The animation style is signature Ghibli, very similar to that of Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke. And in line with those films, there are some scenes which are just truly amazing, such as the image of Hort town, and the end scenes with Arren and the dragon. This film was very enjoyable. And entertaining that the evil guy is a bishōnen character.

And that concludes my Studio Ghibli watching.. I've seen them all now!

I actually want to see the disney/english dubbed version of Ponyo of the Cliff by the Sea, shortened to just Ponyo for the western audience. From the trailer, it seems that there is more emphasis on Ponyo "saving the world", instead of the emphasis on her and the boy's relationship. Anyways, that is to come. August 14th!

Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, Tina Fey, Liam Neeson amongst the voice actors :D
Noah Cyrus as Ponyo.. ugh. I don't like anything to do with the name "Cyrus". Also a Jonas brother voicing. Boo.

The Time Traveler's Wife. Out August 14th!

2009-07-01T22:52:00.005+01:00

TRAILER HERE.
I've been waiting for this one.

I am such a huge, huge fan of this book. One of my favourites.
Rachel McAdams (She seems to be everywhere right now!). Eric Bana.
Yes, the film will not be as good. And tbh, it looks wayyyy too mushy for my liking. But I still can't wait to see it. It'll be interesting to see how they interpreted everything. (Or rather how much of the book they left out...)
Wheeee. :)

It's July 1st!

2009-07-01T15:10:00.003+01:00

Which means it is the time where I look back on the first half of the year and think wtf have I done with my life this year. A lot sure has happened, too much, almost. Sometimes it pisses me off how quickly life and situations change. Just when you are enjoying the sunshine and the blue sky, rainclouds and thunder come along and screws everything up. Hmm, maybe I just need to learn to enjoy changes more than I do right now (which is not a lot)..

Anyways, some mid-year resolutions:

Keep up with writing, photography and friends.
Make a photo diary of travels in China.
Take up the piano once again.. and not half heartedly this time.
Learn patience, non-laziness and to spend less money.
Get a fucking job you sponge.

My visa arrived yesterday.. finally. Kinda gutted that I didn't book flights for earlier than the 7th.. Would probably be on a plane right now! I also got a credit card. I am SHIT scared of using it. I need someone to explain the whole interest-free thing. I think it's 56 days...after the interest free period of 3 months. Ehh, yeah. Mainly got it for emergencies in China should I get stranded somewhere with no money. Hopefully things will not get to that stage.

Got some couch surfs lined up so shouldn't be left homeless.. Damn, I hope I manage to find internet in China.. decent internet...

Pom Poko (1994).

2009-06-30T13:14:00.004+01:00

Pom Poko is about a group of tanuki (Japanese raccoon dogs) trying to win a battle against humans destroying their forest home through city development. In folklore, the tanuki can transform into almost anything, and this film uses that to its advantage. The story continually follows one group of tanuki who live near Tokyo, where a suburban development project is underway. They plan attacks on locals and the workers at the building site, scaring them with ghostly transformations and whatnot. Legendary tanuki elders are invited from other areas of Japan to help stop the land development. Throughout the film, there are a few strong characters which gives the story a more personal feel, as you can relate to them more. This isn't a happily-ever-after film. In fact, the ending is very realistic, in that the animals cannot do much to change the humans' plans. Some end up living amongst humans by transformation, others just struggle as tanuki. What struck me the most is that the tanuki are depicted in three different ways: as realistic animals, as anthropomorphic creatures and as cartoon raccoons. Each form having its own purpose, for example, the realistic form is when they are near humans, cartoony form when they are exceedingly happy and the anthropomorphic for at other times. The mixture of anime style really made this film unique. I thoroughly enjoyed watching Pom Poko, it was light hearted comedy with a relevant serious message. Also, testicles feature prominently throughout, which is due to their integral part of tanuki folklore. So that was lols.

The Cat Returns (2002).

2009-06-30T11:35:00.003+01:00

The Cat Returns is the latest Studio Ghibli film I've seen. The plot circles around Haku, a klutzy schoolgirl who has some innate ability to talk to cats. After saving a cat, who turns out to be the prince of the Cat Kingdom, from being run over, she embarks on a journey into the cat world where she has to get out of a marriage to the Cat Prince. On top of this, the Cat King intends to turn her into a feline. Thus Haku, along with some cat friends, must escape this world before the transformation is complete. The animation style of this film is a lot more crisp, clean and modern, though the plot is rather lacking in depth. This film has an Alice-in-Wonderland feel, as the story starts off in modern day Japan, but then the protagonist slips into a fantasy world of the Cat Kingdom. The story telling is very straight forward, and there are no "evil" characters. The closest you'll get to that is the Cat King, who is seen as more of a mischievous character than a downright bad one. After her adventures, Haku seems to have changed her views on many things in her life, giving an impression that she has grown as a person after the overnight ordeal. Which is pretty nice. I would have probably found this more entertaining when I was about 12 but still a good watch from Ghibli.

London again, with a little bit of The Killers.

2009-06-27T12:34:00.006+01:00

On Thursday I made the trip to London once more. Arranged to met up with friends at Euston tube station behind the barriers... but then they didn't show up. Cue mass stress session of running around Euston tube station looking for them/wondering where they could've gone etc etc. After 10 minutes, I decided to say "screw you" to their lateness and made my own way to Gloucester Road. Coincidentally we met in the same tube carriage on the Piccadilly line on the way there.. freaky meet up #1. Chinatown for lunch ^___^ Hand-made dumplings. Bubble tea. BBQ pork buns! Yummy laaa. We'd decided to go to Comedy Store in the evening, so at this point had like 3 hours to kill. The next 3 hours involved splashing about in Trafalgar Square, buying Pimm's in cans, walking along South Bank, drinking Pimm's from cans, spending too much money, ICE CREAM, walking back to Leicester Square, playing on a beautiful piano with some keys which didn't work, chillllin'. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, made for happy times.

We got into The Comedy Store at 6.30pm, John Bishop was the MC, which was nice as I'd seen him on the Manchester leg of Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow.

Another one of the comedians, Stewart Francis was also there tonight, having also done the Manchester leg of the Roadshow. What was disappointing was that I'd already heard many of the jokes he'd used.. so obviously less funny for me at times. This was my second visit to The Comedy Store, and Steve Williams was on the line up again. And he used some of the jokes from last time.. again. Nonetheless, the line up was great, especially the ones closing the first and second parts of the evening. The open spots were also highly entertaining, I admire them for having the guts to get on stage in the first place! The show finished at around 10. My cheeks hurt so much. Finished off the day with some noodles and finding out Michael Jackson died. Can't say I am very opinionated on the matter, just another person dying, circle of life blahblah. Glad I'm not one of those people who bought a concert ticket! I think it's ridiculous that they are blaming London for his death. Ugh.

This next day. Was Hard Rock Calling. Stocked up on food, we trawled through Hyde Park to the arena. Reminded me of being at Reading again.. The forecast said thunder and heavy rain.. But throughout the whole day the sun was shining and it was sah-weet. We started off in the smaller Pepsi Max tent, and got right to the front for the first 4 bands. First was a band called Screaming Lights. Due to the late start up, they only played about 3 songs. They looked young, and are probably quite new to playing a big event like Hard Rock Calling, and so obviously it was in the singer's nature to throw a hissy fit when the keyboard sound went off in the middle of one of their songs, and throw the keyboard and stand across the stage.. After which he sang very angrily giving evils to the rear sound stage.. no idea if this was intended or not pfah... But yeah. I'm pretty glad they fucked off. Next up was Air Traffic. I'd say I'm quite a big fan. Though they played a lot of new songs, I enjoyed their set. Popular ones like "Shooting Star" and "Charlotte" had a great reception. plus he had a cool keyboard which was clear with fairy lights :D Silversun Picksups were up next. Never heard of them before but I really enjoyed watching this band. Good energy and songs. The guy's voice was quite feminine, which was surprising given his shaggy look. Metric was the last band we saw in the Pepsi Max tent. Apparantly they are pretty big in the American indie scene, so there were quite a few american fans in the crowd. It was nice hearing a female vocalist for a change, I think it suited the music really well. Lots of photos were taken, draining my camera battery.. which finally died during Metric. But I'm glad I got some good close ups of small bands instead of shitty photos of the big bands.

Next up was The Kooks on the main stage, who were pretty good. They had an hour long set, so it was enough to play all the favourites as well as some new ones. The music was so fitting for the mood and weather, it definitely psyched everyone up for the headliners.. "Naive and "Eddie's Gun" were my favourite songs they did. After they went off stage, there was a 45 minute wait for The Killers. The crowd was getting thicker (if possible) and more excited. Finally, the foursome came on and started their set with "Human". It was amazing, they sounded amazing, the crowd was amazing, and Mr Brandon Flowers looked amazing :) I think I nearly cried when "Mr. Brightside" started after he told the story of how the band and the song came to be. Truly a great day. And much better than the first time I saw them at Reading last year, though at that gig they played "Sam's Town (Abbey Road Version)" whichismymegafavourite.. The concert finished with "When You Were Young". It was incredible.

And then I had to make the horrible journey home:

Walking through Hyde Park alone, when it's almost pitch black with a fear of the dark and not really knowing where I was going
Constantly scared that someone is going to start chasing after me, so I had to power walk for 30 minutes back to Xin's and then to the tube station once more
So tired on the train that I almost slept through the stop I was supposed to get off, only woken up by someone saying "Is this Hemel Hempstead?" on the train and me thinking.. FUCK.

However there were some good things like

the fact I got to the train early so that I got a seat. 5 minutes before it was due to leave they shut the doors as there was too many people
having a the number of a taxi company so I didn't have to wait in the huge queue for a taxi
I'd just had a brilliant two days :)

PHOTOS FROM HARD ROCK CALLING

One Week..

2009-06-24T13:25:00.004+01:00

Until July 1st. Which means...

I can write in my shiny new diary.
I ship off to China for a bit.
Ice Age 3!
5 days to being halfway to 20.
9 days til results.
9 days til Bruno.
14 days til Harry Potter.

Yah, dahling.

Weekly Catch-up

2009-06-24T10:04:00.010+01:00

I've put off writing this one for a long time. Mostly due to laziness and too much stuff going on. But it was an amazing week last week. First went back to Bath for a few days, it was strangely homely being in the city again. Home life just seems like a bubble now, instead of the other way around. For me at least anyway. I'm still unpacked since coming home from uni. And it's probably going to stay that way until I go back, or I need my suitcase for going back to China, more regarding that matter later. Anyways, Bath visit involved eating way too much (TGIF portions are easily underestimated, always room for dessert though ;)), watching too many films (The Hangover is BRILLIANT) and not enough sleep (noisy roads..!). On Friday, being the cultured person that I like to think I am, a visit to the Banksy vs Bristol exhibition was made. Thought provoking street art that is also entertaining (Plastic penis in the stalagmite/stalactite display..?). His art was spread throughout the Gallery/Museum, so going around looking for his other pieces outside of the main exhibition room was fun. I don't think the Bristol Museum has seen so many visitors! We only queued for 10 minutes outside then about 10 minutes inside for the exhibition room, which was lucky as I've read people have been waiting for hours to go in.. Don't see what the rush is, the exhibition is there til the end of August!

Bath visit was then followed by an overnight trip to celebrate Marie's 19th birthday. I cannot stress enough how lovely I thought her house was. :) And we were fed well on pizza, DOORitos with homemade dip, merigues, tarts, etcetc. All made for an excellent bingebingebinge after our night out in Swindon town, which was so much fun! I felt horribly short with my lack of heels, but it led to more dancing which was so tiring by the end. OH and shitty cab company was 20 minutes late. So we all got ill. Probably swine flu. :D With no hangover in tow (Marie's bed = best night's sleep ever), it was off to London for a China Trip reunion on Sunday!

The sun was out for a change, so we invaded Hyde Park, just chilling out with a frisbee and catching up with lots of people I haven't seen in a while (about half the group was there). Over priced ice cream and drinks, waiting ages for Cherry to arrive, wasting time deciding what to do/where to eat.. the usual. Dinner was at Bayswater, at the Magic Wok. And boyyyy, was it magical. I ordered jellyfish. Keeping it exotic. With some people in the group having obsessions with Time Crisis.. we went to an arcade for a bit. They failed to go pass Stage 1. Losers.. :P After this, some people left to catch trains etc. It was pretty late so I decided to just stay in London for the night. When telling my mum this, she said "I didn't expect you to come home this late anyway". Yeah, thanks. I also managed to lose a jacket.. and even with our incredible detective work (looking through photos to see where the jacket disappeared), we failed to recover it. Probably fell off my bag and stolen. Rah. 4 of us randomly went back to where we were staying and started drinking...? I was mega tired so kinda passed out with Charlie the Unicorn playing in the background. Ironically, I had the worst night's sleep in a long time. Crappy bunk bed etc (but I am still grateful Xin for housing me!), probably like under an hour of proper sleep. It seemed to have cured my cold so I was happy about that at least. Breakfast: 2 bagels, blueberry muffin. Yum. The plan for this day was to go to the Science and Natural History Museums. We only managed a tiny part of the Natural History before we were beaten by the humid climate. Kensington Gardens was visited next, where we all kinda just keeled over for a while, with or without £1.50/2 hour deckchairs! Lunch/Dinner in Chinatown. Standard. We went to Friendly Inn. It was pretty friendly :3 So the week/Monday ended with some pearl bubble tea. Can never go wrong with that.

One more thing..

Thanks Yufan for carrying my bag everywhere, Xin kept saying I was really harsh to you, but I know you can take it and we have some unwritten understanding. So basically, Xin, stfu. :)
Dennis, Marie, Xin. Thanks for housing me!
Dennis, Xuhong, Tanya. Miss you guys, hope to see you real soon ^^.
London People. Rinse and Repeat in August/September!
Everyoneeeee. I love you.

HERE ARE THE SNAPS.

Panda! Go Panda! (1972).

2009-06-16T14:48:00.003+01:00

Comprised of two 30 minute episodes, Panda! Go Panda! is about a little girl Mimiko who is left alone by her grandma. She meets baby panda Panny and Papa panda, and together they embark on silly adventures. Obviously aimed at children, this film is very elementary in its drawing style, colouring and plot. Highly unrealistic, the events that occur make this flim more likely appeal to the younger audience. The little girl reminded me of Pippy Longstockings, except a much younger, less mischievous version. This film didn't capture my interest, I found it too simplistic and didn't like how everything resolved itself so easily. Something I would recommend to my 4 year old brother, though. Oh, and the theme song was so annoyingly catchy.

My visa for China STILL hasn't arrived yet...

2009-06-16T14:22:00.005+01:00

It's been a week, I'm slightly freaking out a bit now. I need to book my flights and start getting some dates down as to where and when I will be going places. I hate how dates won't properly be finalised until I get to China.. the airport controls for Swine Flu are really strict and they are quarantining a lot of people.. I hope I'm not one of them! Though it would be an interesting experience..

I've also decided to stop snacking on chocolate/biscuits/junk so much, because going to China means I will be eating ridiculous amounts anyway, so should probably cut back now.. So basically I have created my own 2 week(only!) Lent. And in true "giving-things-up-for-Lent" fashion, I caved into buying an ice cream yesterday (Tina's fault). Does this count? Debateable I think. Still I haven't touched any butter biscuits or chocolate so far. About 2 days in. Har.

Mostly great weather this week, I hope it continues when I go to Bath, Swindon and London! Really looking forward to it, visiting lots of close friends again. My favourite :D Busybusy times.