Wish Lists

Listening to: Radio 1

At time of publishing this post...

DVDs

• Sherlock
  Current Price: £8.93
  Target Price: < £5


• (500) Days of Summer
  Current Price: £4.79
  Target Price: < £3


• Glee: Season 1 Box Set
  Current Price: £27.93
  Target Price: < £20


• Inbetweeners: Complete Box Set (Series 1, 2, 3)
  Current Price: £26.93
  Target Price: < £10


• Emma (2009 BBC version)
  Current Price: £10.49
  Target Price: < £5


• Mean Girls
  Current Price: £3.49
  Target Price: < £3

CDs/mp3 Albums

• Sigh No More - Mumford & Sons
  Current Price: £3.99
  Target Price: < £3


• The Hits Collection: Volume 1 - Jay Z
  Current Price: £6.49
  Target Price: < £5


• XX - The XX
  Current Price: £3.99
  Target Price: < £3


• Catching a Tiger - Lissie
  Current Price: £3
  Target Price: < £3

Amazon mage salli kanawaaaaa*!!! And in addition to those 'target prices', I'm only willing to spend £10 per month on music/movies.

I need a job dammit.

*is eating my money

"What a girl wants...

Listening to: nothing

...is her very own Mark Darcy, who'll like her just as she is."

OK yes yes it's soppy I know. Don't blame me, blame Jane Austen, BBC and Colin Firth.

No one does period drama like the BBC

Listening to: nothing

I just finished watching the final episode of the BBC adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma (available on the iPlayer here if you're in the UK and you missed it...and I think it's on youtube here). Oh. My. God. How does the BBC always manage to do this? They take a guy who's ok looking, put him in Regency England attire, add some sexual tension and transform him into this totally and utterly irresistible man-god. Most famously they did it with Pride and Prejudice's Mr Darcy, and now they've done it with Mr Knightley. I mean let's be honest here, Jonny Lee Miller's all right, but he's nothing special. But as Mr Knightley? hubba hubba, *swoon*, *drool*, weak at the knees...and so on and so forth. Sexy is an understatement.

But now I'm left with a dilemma. Should I go to sleep (and no doubt have very pleasant dreams), or satisfy my now-whetted appetite and indulge in a bit of lake action with Colin Firth?

"Well hello there, Mr Darcy..."

"The Art of Being Arty" and other mildly entertaining anecdotes

Listening to: 'How Come You Don't Call Me [Neptunes Remix]' by Alicia Keys ft. Justin Timberlake [Songs in A Minor]

Typing a blog post at the cinema again. Not your bog standard Vue this time, but the much more sophisticated Arts Picturehouse (cue 'oohs' and 'aahs'). Why sophisticated? Well for starters, they let you bring booze into the theatre...and in glasses too (as opposed to a well-concealed brown paper bag). And then there's the reason I'm here tonight - the Cambridge Film Festival. Yes, very posh I know. Oh well, the movie's about to start so I'll type the rest from home.

---

Now, where was I? I suppose I'd better give a chronological account of my day. Or at least the out-of-the-ordinary bits. Was chatting with labmates in the morning, and as usual, I was accused of bullying them. I asked them why they don't bully me in return, and one of them said "but you're so lovely and nice...until we realise that you're actually not". Heh. But it's OK, we all love each other really. Honest!

In the afternoon, I helped out with the Cambridge Alumni Weekend celebrations, by taking some alumni on a tour of the department. Oh wow, I've never seen outsiders show so much interest in what we do! They asked so. many. questions. And none of them were superficial. I'm talking proper intellectual discussions. As an academic I was thrilled to see non-academics take such an interest in scientific research; as a tour-guide I was panicking that we'd be late for the post-tour presentation! It was interesting to hear these people talk amongst themselves about our research. I think when you spend enough time in a field, the 'wow factor' fades and you take things for granted. Listening to our research being called 'fantastic' and 'amazing' made me proud. Of course the post-tour talk was something else altogether. How many 83 yr-olds do you know that can give a presentation about work that they're currently involved in?! Sigh, JFD is a legend.

After the talk was done, I went back to the office to check on the cricket (more on that later) and then headed over to the cinema. The movie I was so interested in seeing was none other than Machan (to those of you who have probably seen it a million times already, yes I know I'm late, get over it :P ). In a word: wow. Had I seen the movie without the context of the film festival, I never would've guessed that the director was someone foreign to Sri Lankan culture. I suppose Ruwanthie de Chickera's script had a lot to do with that, but still. The director was present for a Q&A session after the screening, and he said that he hadn't wanted any Western influence on the narration of the story. I think he achieved that perfectly. There were parts of the movie that made me choke up, possibly due to homesickness...or maybe I'm going soft, who knows. And of course when you grow up with Doo Daruwo on in the background, Iranganie Serasinghe becomes family...I almost let out an audible 'aww' when I saw her on screen.

Machan presented a very serious problem in a very 'real' way. None of the depressing melodramatic 'woe is me'-ness that you get in a lot of 'serious' films. On the contrary, I was laughing through most of it. It reminded me a lot about how ordinary Sri Lankans deal with adversity. Our happy-go-lucky attitude is both our greatest strength and our greatest weakness. And then the tourists. During the Q&A session, someone asked why the tourists at the hotel were depicted in a purely negative light. Part of me wanted to turn around and remind him that the rest of the world doesn't necessarily see the West as the dog's bollocks, but the rest of me told me to shut up (thankfully). The director said that he merely portrayed what he had witnessed during his stay in Colombo. Nuff said.

Anyway, after being thoroughly impressed with the performance of the Sri Lanka National Handball team, I came home to be equally unimpressed with the performance of the Sri Lanka National Cricket team. Why oh why did we have to lose to England?! Now that'll be the main topic of conversation at my labmate's bbq tomorrow. Sigh...so much for not being bullied.

May the summer blockbuster live long and prosper!

Listening to: 'Jump in the Pool' by Friendly Fires [Friendly Fires]

Hopefully the title of this post should give you an idea of the content. If not, tsk tsk.


So yeah, a friend was visiting yesterday and we were having dessert at Pizza Express (the Chocolate Glory is divine, btw) at 10.50pm when we realised that neither of us had seen the Star Trek movie yet. We found out that there was a 11pm screening at the cinema about a mile away. After what seemed like ages trying to sort out the bill (do waitresses not understand the meaning of the word 'quick'?) and walk-running all the way to the cinema, we reached our seats a few mins into the car ads. Excellent timing.

And oh.my.god. excellent movie. I know I said I enjoyed Wolverine but I'm sorry, Star Trek just annihilated Wolvy's ass. I think I'm gonna have to try and watch it again on the IMAX 'cos that screen just wasn't big enough. The story was what I've come to expect from Star Trek, the visuals were awesome, and my funny bone was properly tickled (except for one line from Uhura that I won't spoil for you - you can barf when you hear it in the movie). And of course...such hotness! I mean how fiiiiine is Chris Pine?!?!? (tee hee it rhymes :D ) I'm not usually a fan of blue eyes but ooooh. And Zoe Saldana is hawt. And I must say Zachary Quinto (I'm not into Heroes so I'm not in the habit of calling him Sylar) made a very good Spock. And aww Simon Pegg's Scottish accent was so cute! Sigh I'm a sucker for accents.

But yes, go watch it. NOW! And then get ready for...

• Terminator Salvation
• Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
• Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
• Public Enemies
• Brüno

Oh boy, is this a good summer for movies or what?!

Summer blockbuster time!

Listening to: 'Female of the Species' by Space [Spiders]

Most people view a trip to the cinema as a social activity. I'll accept, it's a fun thing to do as a group. But, I think a lot of people underestimate the joy to be had in going to the movies alone. In fact, there generally seems to be a negative stigma associated with publicly having fun by yourself (mind out of gutter, please :P ). I mean, what would you think if you saw someone having dinner at a nice restaurant by themselves?

After a few instances of missing out on some movies because everyone I knew had other people they could (and did) go with, I figured why should I suffer because I haven't got any peeps who are as jobless as moi? So I started going to the cinema by myself. And you know what? It's pretty damn fun :D. For starters, you actually watch the movie. And then you don't feel pressured to subscribe to the majority view about which part was best, which part sucked, who was hotter etc. You can go as early as you like and get the best seat in the house. And you can type out the first two paragraphs of your next blog post on your phone while you wait for the trailers to start ;-). It's your movie to enjoy, yours alone. Sorta like a personal treat. Of course if it really moves you, you've got tons of excess emotion afterwards...but then that's what blogs are for, right? :-)

So tonight I went by myself to see Wolverine. And predictably, I loved it. There's something about that Marvel intro that makes my heart beat just a little bit faster :-). Now all you comic geeks are probably gonna watch it and find a million and one flaws ('cos that's what you guys like to do), but for the casual fan, it was great. The acting was good, the casting was spot on (Liev Schreiber man, awesome), the special effects were funkaaay, and of course there was an abundance of hotness. Why couldn't Ryan Reynolds *drool* stay on screen for longer? Waaah. But I suppose that was balanced by the number of scenes with a topless Hugh Jackman *happy sigh*.

There are, in my mind, only two points for contention. One is that the film ended with me wanting more. I suppose that's the whole point...to generate an appetite for whichever X-Men Origins installment comes next, but still. There has been criticism that there were too many auxiliary characters, but I thought that fitted in quite well. The other point is the theme. It is a very sad movie. There's a lot about pain...the pain of loss, the pain of knowing...and the message that physical pain is nothing compared to emotional pain. And all the way home, one song was ringing in my ears.

I wasn't planning on recording this and I haven't put a lot of effort into it (so much so that I'm not even sure I like what I've done with it). The original from 1980 is not my favourite piece of music, though I think Baz Luhrmann gave the song meaning in Moulin Rouge! in 2001. Anyway, here it is.

Thanks to Fallen for tidying the track up :-).

My boat got rocked

Listening to: nothing

Why do so many people think they can take me for granted?! I may be skinny and I may giggle a lot and make friendly banter all the time, but that doesn't mean I'm a pushover! "Oh PR won't mind, she'll do anything for me, I don't need to ask her...it's not like she has anything better to do with her time". Well listen up, you *insert suitable derogatory term here*. I am not a f***ing doormat and you will not take advantage of me.

Moving on, I just saw The Boat That Rocked. So funny! Awesome music, hilarious script and perfect cast. Philip Seymour Hoffman is a legend. And I could stare at Tom Sturridge for hours.

But instead, I will sleep.

Personal hygiene and other random scraps

Listening to: 'My Stupid Mouth' by John Mayer [Inside Wants Out]

We all like to smell nice, right? I'm not big into perfume - in fact I can't tell the difference between the various brands - but I try not to stink. It's quite simple really. Stinky breath? Brush teeth. Use mints or breath spray thingy (I have one in my bag). Stinky body? Have a shower. Use shower gel and deodorant. It's hardly rocket science. Or is it? These undergrads would have you believe so. Oh yes, it's them again. The same undergrads who happily played in the snow two weeks ago when they should've been at their computing session. Oh boy they stink. I mean seriously! You're 20...the hormones are supposed to have settled by now. I refuse to believe that the majority of undergrads in our department have hormonal imbalances. How can I teach properly when the remnants of your lunch are wafting up my nostrils? Yuck. I can almost excuse the guys...lazy buggers...but the girls? Perfect hair, perfect nails, colour-coordinated outfit...and BO. Geez.

And on a totally unrelated note, am I the only one who finds British policemen hot? Yeah I know that sounds really wrong. But there was one outside Sainsburys today and ooh la la la! And it's not the first time. There's something about that uniform, I tell you.

Oh and I was watching trailers on the Apple website, and I saw the trailer for 17 again. Now I haven't seen any of the HSM movies, but this is almost making me want to. Is it...um...wrong that I think Zac Efron is kinda lush? I know it's not illegal, but still...?

Sigh...I think I'm the one with the wonky hormones :S

Aaargh so jealous!

Listening to: 'Listen to Your Body Tonight' by Black Kids [Partie Traumatic]

So Bang Bang was here over the weekend, and we went to see He's just not that into you. I really enjoyed most of it - I won't go into any detail 'cos that would spoil the story. But my major gripe can be summed up in two words - Scarlett. Johansson. Aaargh!!!

Boobs? Check.
Ass? Check.
Lips? Check.
Eyes? Check.
Skin? Check.
Figure? Check.

All. Frikkin'. Perfect. AAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHH!!!!! And she's with that delectable piece of hotness Ryan Reynolds. Life's not fair.

PR a.k.a. 'stick insect' signing out.

So many thoughts, so little energy

Listening to: nothing

Ugh. Just as I recover from freshers' flu (well not totally, 'cos I've been sniffling steadily for the past few weeks), I manage to catch the bug that's doing the rounds in the department. Two and a half days of moderately high temperature followed by a stomach that can't digest anything. Why is my immune system so absolutely - for lack of a better word - shit? Sigh. Maybe I need to start taking my vitamins again.

I'm going to try and pen down the things on my mind, just so that I don't feel completely useless (in reality, I just want to curl up in bed).

So first of all, the Black Kids concert. Oh wow, what an experience. They were excellent (as was Ladyhawke, who was supporting - she's so shy!). The crowd, on the other hand, was nothing like I'd ever experienced before. Now I've been for a grand total of 4 concerts (including this one) so I'm not the most experienced out there, so please excuse my ignorance...but moshing? crowd surfing? I thought these were the stuff of legends? Apparently not. And worst of all, the partakers were all under the age of 16. Yes, sixteen. I felt so out of place. There were some others who looked like they remembered the 80s, but not many. The funniest part (in a tragic sorta way) for me was during the changeover, when they had music playing in the background. All the kiddies were singing along to the Mystery Jets' "Two Doors Down"...but when that was followed by INXS' "Need You Tonight", it was the senior citizens' time to shine. And yours truly knew the words to both songs. Talk about being in limbo! But yes, the concert was fab, and I even splashed out on a fancy Black Kids t-shirt!

Next up is the Brand/Ross phone call fiasco. I'm not gonna explain the whole thing but the link gives a time line that should explain everything. Personally, I can't stand Russell Brand. I don't think he's funny. And I definitely don't see anything attractive about him, so I just don't understand the hype. Jonathan Ross, I dislike to a lesser degree. I've seen his chat show a few times, and while I don't find it as entertaining as Jay Leno, it's not unbearable. Does he deserve the rumoured £6mil salary? Probably not. But then I don't pay the license fee that contributes to that salary, so it doesn't overly concern me. What does concern me though, is the furore that this prank call thing has caused. As many people have commented before me, aren't there bigger things to be worrying about right now? The UK economy has shrunk over the past 3 months and if it continues to do so over the next 3 months, we'll officially be in a recession. In 3 days' time, the citizens of the USA are going to poke around in the future of the Western World. The UK apparently has the highest teenage pregnancy rate in Western Europe. Aren't these the things people should be worrying about, rather than whether some overpaid DJ should get the sack for talking about his sexual escapades on the radio? Sigh I don't get it.

Third, is Quantum of Solace. Yay I saw it yesterday! Spent the entire afternoon trying to get my fever down so I could go. It was worth it :-). I guess I kinda miss the cheesy Bond, but in a way I think he's best where he is - in the past. The new Bond is more mysterious, more uncontrollable, and definitely more believable. Daniel Craig doesn't really push my buttons, but he's excellent as an enigmatic 007. And there's something about Olga Kurylenko that's quite cute. So yes, thoroughly enjoyable.

Hmm what else. Oh Snow Patrol tickets are out next week. I can't wait! And I have so much X Factor to catch up on, it's beyond funny.

OK now I'm pooped. Time for my soup :-(.

Sorting my life out

Listening to: 'Belief' by John Mayer [Continuum]

So this week has been all about sorting my life out. A huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders and suddenly I'm skipping (purely figuratively, I hope) down the road and smiling like a jackass. Blue skies do help, but the fact that I'm also sleeping better means than life is currently...good. As a friend said today...it's about time :-).

So yeah. Firstly, OMFG how on earth can I afford to learn how to drive?!?!?!?! It's soooo bloody expensive. It must be done though; I feel a 'Daddy Dearest' call coming on.

I tried smoky eyes today. While I'm not sure if it was a success, I don't think it was complete failure either. I wasn't entirely convinced that smoky eyes would work on South Asian skin, but I think with a little practice, I can pull it off. Either that, or it'll be really effective Halloween make up!

I just got back from watching Brideshead Revisited. Don't you just love the cinematography in BBC films?! They manage to make England look so pretty! The same could be said for Matthew Goode's bum, I suppose ;-).

Hmm there are so many things to blog about! Nothing interesting, all just ramblings...but still. I read BBC News a lot while waiting for experiments to finish, and I recently realised that I've never really penned my thoughts on current affairs here, other than when specific incidents demand my attention. Which is a bit odd, considering that I do have an opinion on politics, religion and the like. I suppose that will have to join the increasingly long list of 'things to do'.

Oh and I've decided I need to find a man who can play electric guitar. I mean properly..not like a one trick pony. It's so sexy! I feel dreamy every time I listen to John Mayer's 'Gravity'. I know I'm kinda severely limiting my options here by specifying prerequisites for potential suitors, but hey, what have I got to lose? It's not like I'm fending off the masses right now :P

Oh well, enough for now. I think I shall go back to daydreaming along to John Mayer. Or maybe I should tidy my room. Hmm...

I have a thing for billionaire superheros...

Listening to: nothing

...'cos they are so. damn. fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine.

OK so I know I'm a little late in checking out The Dark Knight, but better late than never. The movie finished 25 mins ago and I'm still catching my breath. I think that has got to be the most engaging movie I have seen in a long time, if not ever. Call me psychopathic, but I found Heath Ledger's Joker scary, unpredictable, intriguing, and somewhat endearing. An amazing performance, to say the least. This film definitely lives up to the hype.

I'm not gonna mention any spoilers, but if you haven't seen it already, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!?!?!?!?

I used to be a spidey-girl. I didn't like Batman 'cos he didn't have superhuman powers...he was just a regular guy with lotsa gadgets. But there's something about Christopher Nolan's Batman that I'm starting to like. Same with Iron Man, really...although that's a completely different type of movie to this.

Sigh, but at the end of the day, I think we all know why The Dark Knight scores high in my books...

Tony Stark, say hello to Mr Bruce Wayne. Yummmmmmmmm.

I Want James McAvoy

Listening to: 'Back To You' by John Mayer [Inside Wants Out]

So in my last pseudo-movie review, I alluded to the fact that my next cinematic experience would be Wanted. And oh boy, was it an experience!

Let me start of by saying that this movie is not for everyone. If you're looking for romance...if you're looking for a meaningful, believable storyline...if you're looking for intellectual stimulation...look elsewhere. If, however, you're looking for Matrix with a far less prophetic Morpheus and a muuuuch hotter Trinity, if you're looking for one absolutely gorgeous viper (sorry, that's the best image I could find!)...if you're looking for adrenalin-pumping action from the word go until the very end...if you're looking for insane special effects...then this movie won't let you down.

I won't bother with the story, because that's what trailers are for (link to the trailer is on the imdb page linked to above). What I will bother with, are the things that were running through my mind as I walked out of the cinema:

1. Overall, Mac did a good job of hiding the thick Scottish accent (that I love so much), but there were moments where it made brief peek-a-boos (or maybe that was just me hoping I'd get to hear it)
2. Cheesy lines actually work in an action movie
3. Angelina Jolie has way too many tattoos
4. Mac shouldn't stop going to the gym
5. I don't care if it's physically impossible to curve bullets...it looks frikkin' awesome!
6. By not having any romance between the lead characters (no, that's not really a spoiler), director Timur Bekmambetov (whose previous movies have all been Russian) went against a Hollywood golden rule: do not alienate key audiences/ticket-buyers (i.e. chick flick lovers)...but what he did do instead, was follow another (possibly more noble) rule: know what you do well, and stick to it.

As I said, this movie is not for everyone...but it was for me.

What Kind of Movie-Goer are You?

Listening to: Radio 1

People watch movies for a variety of reasons. Some watch movies that have overall good reviews and are highly publicised; others like to go against the grain and watch movies that have virtually no publicity, but a few amazing reviews. There are those who watch film adaptations of well-loved stories, just because they want to compare the director's interpretation with their own. And then there are those who'll watch any movie with a actor/actress who is critically acclaimed...or incredibly hot. I'm not sure which group I belong to. I like to watch the summer/Christmas blockbusters at the cinema, but I'll shy away from any movie that has too much hype. I watch adaptations, but I try to watch them without comparing, 'cos I'll only be disappointed. And as for the actors...I'd probably only watch all their movies if they're critically acclaimed and incredibly hot!

Of course that's not the only way to categorise film audiences. I have friends who would not watch a rom-com even if their life depended on it. Other friends have the same attitude towards musicals...or horror flicks...or action movies...or movies with sad endings. Again, I'm not sure where I am on the spectrum. I love rom-coms and action movies. Not a fan of movies with gratuitous horror or gore though...I need a plot.

I think it all boils down to what you want out of a cinematic experience. What do you want to be thinking when you walk out of the cinema? I could think of the following options -

• Hahahahahahaha!
• OMG he/she is soooo delectable!
• I loved the bit where he told her he loved her...made me cry!
• Whoa the car chase was awesome!
• La la la laaaa la la la...I am so getting the soundtrack!
• Oh wow the bath scene was scary...so cool!

Yesterday, I watched a movie that didn't elicit any of these reactions...but I still liked it. Weird? Maybe. I walked out thinking "omg he is such a bastard!". The Edge of Love stars Keira Knightley, Sienna Miller, Cillian Murphy and Matthew Rhys, and is a biographical account of Welsh poet Dylan Thomas' love life. Once you get past Keira's amusing Welsh accent and Cillian Murphy's spooky eyes, you can get stuck into the relationship between the characters, which could be considered twisted, to say the least. The acting was good, as was the direction, the soundtrack was well-suited, and the cinematography was pretty cool. If you like movies that explore human interaction at its least attractive level, you'll like this movie (oh wow, I should be a film critic :P ). If I were to describe the movie in 4 words - "1940's version of Closer".

I'm still not sure what kind of movie-goer I am. But what I do know is, my next cinema trip will be for Wanted - apparently James McAvoy takes his shirt off...wheeeeeeeeee!!!

Yeah...I can fly.

Listening to: 'Back In Black' by AC/DC [Back In Black]

Oh. My. God. The movie finished two hours ago and I'm still buzzing. It's been a while since a movie had that effect on me. I'm hoping that blogging will quieten me down so I can get to bed, but I suppose playing 'Back In Black' on repeat isn't really helping!

I generally love superhero movies. Apart from the shite that was Fantastic Four (I refuse to watch the sequel). I'm sorry...granted, Jessica Alba and Chris Evans are both extremely easy on the eye, but they can't act for shit. And what a waste of Julian McMahon?! But back to the good stuff. Yes I love superhero movies. I grew up watching the Superman movies, and absolutely love the Spidey and X-Men trilogies. But tonight it's all about Tony Stark...a.k.a. Iron Man.

I won't give any spoilers 'cos I think everyone should go and see it for themselves, but I'll comment on a few things:

To say that Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark is sexy would be a huge understatement. Something about him - the attitude, the intelligence, the body - oozes sex appeal. He is the quintessential bad boy. Luscious!

The next best thing about the movie...is the suit. Yes I am an engineer, so excuse me while I drool. I just sat there going "omg it's so cool"...I'm sure the guy next to me thought I was nuts.

Oh and Gwenyth Paltrow is so pretty. Big up the skinny girls, y'all!

The dialogue was good, the jokes were witty and worked well thanks to the excellent delivery, and the CGI was seamless. The romance was frustrating for a chick-flick lover such as myself, but the quantity was just right to keep interest up for the sequel (which will be in 2010...how can I wait that long?!?!). And the music was well-suited. All in all, I can't really find anything wrong with the movie. Although maybe that's 'cos I was too busy drooling to notice ;-)

Right. I think I have sufficiently calmed down. I shall now hit the sack, and hopefully dream about Dr Christian Troy and Tony Stark fighting over me who is the most delectable quadragenarian in Hollywood. Mmmmm.

There's one more star in the sky (and one less in Hollywood)

Listening to: 'Jigsaw Falling into Place' by Radiohead [In Rainbows]

Which celebrities would you associate with the word 'overdose'? Britney Spears? Lindsay Lohan? Pete Doherty? Amy Winehouse? HEATH LEDGER?!?!?!?

Such a good actor (such a luscious man). Such a loss.

Movie mania!!!

Listening to: Radio 1

It has been a week for movies. First up: Enchanted. Oh man, do I love Disney or do I love Disney?! Think Snow White + Cinderella + Sleeping Beauty + Patrick Dempsey + James Marsden - what more could a girl want?! I laughed throughout the entire movie, bopped my head to the songs, and skipped my way home afterwards (only to jump onto Youtube to find clips of the songs). Ah, to be a Disney princess. Apparently Amy Adams' performance has earned her a Golden Globe nomination - the only other nominee I've seen is Nikki Blonsky, and while she was pretty good, I think Amy Adams kicks ass big time.

Next up: I Am Legend...and I'm sorry, but it's come to a stage where any movie with Will Smith scores very high in my books. So yes, it does have a certain ID4/I, Robot air to it (i.e. Will Smith manages to save the world, just 'cos he's so cool)...but he IS cool. And the movie is cool. Unless of course you're doing research in genetics, in which case this movie isn't really gonna make your life easier!

And now for the ones that passed under my radar for various reasons: Saw II and Ali G Indahouse. I haven't seen Saw, and I don't know if I'll watch the subsequent releases, but I have to say despite the gore, Saw II was a good movie. I'm still trying to understand why anyone would want to make a movie so gruesome, and how anyone (who's not a total sicko in urgent need of psychiatric help) can get a kick of watching so much blood and guts...what's the point? Personally, I think the concept was amazing (twisted, but amazing) and the movie would've still been extremely good without all the graphic scenes. Anyone care to enlighten me?

And then Ali G immediately after - all I can say is...hahahahahahahaha!!! The guy is a legend. I spent the whole movie trying to remind myself of the fact that Sacha Baron Cohen is a Cambridge graduate. I loved Borat, and I loved this.

Oh and I also saw Evening and Feast of Love on the flights to and from the States - both were decent (the latter being the better one), but quite forgettable compared to the ones I've mentioned.

Happy Birthday, PseudoRandom!

Listening to: 'Himi Nethi Pemakata' by Malini Bulathsinhala [Nimnethi Pemakata]

Somewhere back in November I had 70-odd blog posts and I thought maybe, if I was really keen, I'd be able to reach 100 in time for PseudoRandom's 1st birthday. Looks like I missed that milestone, whoops! But I'll be damned if I miss my first birthday, which is tomorrow. So Happy Birthday to me (in advance)! Here's to many more years of highly therapeutic blogging and hopefully less drama in my life...although that might result in a less interesting blog, so maybe I'll stick with the drama :D.

Speaking of drama...don't I just love it (note the sarcasm). Somehow I can't seem to avoid getting into situations where I want to cry my guts out. Continuing from my last post, my defeatist attitude is seriously pissing me off. I know I need to find a way out of it, but I don't know how! At every turn, there are signs telling me how pointless it is to even think about it. My friends are trying...SoulSister, Shorty, Venus, Waz and others - all have tried their best to cheer me up, but to no avail. My heart feels heavy, and my head hurts. Rejection hurts, but loneliness hurts more. And right now, I feel alone. My gut is sending me mixed signals and I don't know where to turn...and I end up turning to the one person I shouldn't be turning to. A deep and meaningful friendship is all well and good, but when the required closeness is achieved for all the wrong reasons...I dunno, maybe it's not as unhealthy as I think it is (or maybe that's just me hoping that it's not unhealthy).

I saw Babel last night. I was blown away. I know reviews are mixed, and a lot of people are hesitant to recommend it, but for people who love arty movies that explore human interaction, expression and experience, it's one not to be missed. The acting was amazing, and so was the cinematography. Not as good as Constant Gardener, but pretty damn close.

In other news, I'm going into the lab tomorrow. The time has finally arrived. Glassware is ready, chemicals are ready, PseudoRandom is ready (I hope). I hope it works.

You may have noticed that there's no real theme for this post. It's a bit all over the place, as is my mind right now. I've eaten an entire slab of chocolate by myself today, and it has helped...but only somewhat. I wish I could move on. I wish I was strong enough to put it behind me and look towards the future with hope in my heart. Yet all I have is dread. I had to update my parents on my pathetic situation today...it pains me to shatter my mother's dreams, even though it's not my fault that she lives inside a period romance. Will I ever be able to prove to them that I'm normal? Will I ever be able to prove it to myself?

PseudoRandom lives again!

Listening to: 'Days Go By' by Lifehouse [Lifehouse]

Happy New Year! If you're happy, that is. If not, well I hope you're happier soon. I'm not a big 'New Year' person...I can't for the life of me understand why people make such a huge fuss over something that exists only since the 1580s. Oh well, my fault for being cynical. Moving on...

I'm not dead. I didn't even go into hiding. I just got really really busy, and then went home for three weeks, where I was also really really busy. Serves me right for going home for Christmas. Still, I loved it. I did miss Cambridge, or certain elements of Cambridge...but it was nice to chill out at home. Now I'm back in the freezer that is Cambridge, and to be honest, loving every minute of it :-).

So what has happened...well, nothing much. Just as well I didn't blog, 'cos I wouldn't have had much to say! I saw Casino Royale, and more recently, The Pursuit of Happyness, both of which I thoroughly enjoyed. Oooh and I saw Happy Feet, which was lovely! I saw a couple of others, but they were pretty forgettable.

It appears love is in the air for 2007, or at least schoolgirlish crushes that may or may not develop into passionate romances. My own endeavours never develop into anything but deep and meaningful friendships so I'm not expecting much romance...still, addiction is a welcome diversion.

I still haven't gone into the lab, although I have ordered the chemicals, so I'm improving. Hopefully next week, my fears will be dispelled forever.

Well, this was just supposed to be a note to let the blogging world that the altruist is still here, and definitely still rambling. Stay tuned.

Nervous Nelly

Listening to: 'The Look of Love' by Diana Krall [The Look of Love]

Oh wow, what a week. Three major things to report in three categories - work, friends, more than friends? - let me explain.

My office is ready!!! :D I'm so happy. I moved in today. OK slight exaggeration...it's not my office...I'm sharing it with 3 others. But still, I have an entire corner of the room to myself!!! I'm hoping to personalise it with lots of...chocolate chip cookies :D. The lab is also ready. So basically, the only thing stopping me from starting my experiments is...er...me. I'm so nervous. I feel like I'm on a diving board about to jump in to the swimming pool below...there are loads of people in the pool asking me to join them...but I can't remember if I can swim. I need someone to hold my hand...and there is no one. I'm going solo - that's what this whole PhD is about, isn't it? The butterflies in my tummy are at it like rabbits. I miss my lab partner.

Speaking of my lab partner, she was here this weekend with her boyfriend. It was AWESOME to see them both. It made me realise how much I've missed my ChemEng buddies. I didn't have much of a voice left for their visit (itchy throat + SL Soc Arrack 'n' Baila = no voice) but it was still a lovely weekend. It's so lovely to see such a happy couple.

Arrack 'n' Baila was 'eventful'. Had an amazing time...both during and (especially) after. Some would say that what was once on the backburner has been brought to the front. I'd like to be cautious, but I get the feeling I'm being swept off my feet (whether he who is doing the sweeping is aware of this, I do not know). Nervousness has taken over my entire self and turned me into, well, jelly. Why am I so bad at this? Ugh I find myself so annoying sometimes.

Anyway, it is time to sort out this room of mine. Saw Borat on Sunday which was HILARIOUS, and seeing Casino Royale on Friday...looking forward to some action!