Thursday, August 30, 2012

Total Recall of Awesome Movies

So my taste in movies is eclectic at best.  Apart from chick flicks, which I abhor with a irrational level of gag-reflex inducement, I'll watch pretty much anything.  When I saw the trailer for Total Recall, I knew it was going to be a keeper.  Of course, in some gross oversight in my education, I had never seen any classic Arnie flims, so caught the original TR with the male half of The Married One in Welly, It was beautiful.  I loved it.  Hilarious.  Since then, I've seen the first three Terminator movies (coming from the girl who's seen Sharktopus, how did this happen?!) and loved them equally as much.  TOO has given me The Fifth Element to entertain my weekend, I can't wait.

Bit of a side track.  What on earth was my point?

Oh yeah - the new Total Recall movie!  Hilarious!  They travel through the centre of the earth in seventeen minutes!  They undergo a 'gravity reversal' at the core!  I love this shit!  The inhabitants of 'The Colony' (one of two settlements left on earth - 'The United Federation of Britain', and Australia - the rest of the planet is supposedly a nuclear wasteland) provide the workforce for TUFB, the people of which one assumes are the upper class (also, how much are Australians loving this movie?!  'The Bank of New Asia' Ha!) and some of which still drive 'classic' cars on the ground, while the rest have magnetic hover cars in ridiculous number above.

Pollution, obviously, ceased to be a problem.  As did generic shade from the megatonnes of infrastructure built all over the remaining inhabitable earth; sunlight still shines on the rich living on the ground level in TUFB, driving their petrol powered cars (where is the oil coming from?!) and wearing classic suits and hats.  And, supposedly, eating synthetically produced 'nutrition' since there must be no farmland left.

The Colony, in comparison, is a generic representation of punk-China-Town-slash-venice, with perpetual rain.  Supposedly overcrowded and poor, the people commute to TUFB via a massive pod-thing which shoots down into and through the earth (Yes!).  However the apartments are spacious and full of designer furnature (oh, of course we have artfully strewn blankets on an unmade bed to look slovenly and poor), the streets, while crowded, were clean and the 'red light district' was a tame party hub (yes, yes - three boobs.  Woohoo).  However - irrelevant details.

The plebs get up in the morning, jump in "The Fall" to commute to work ("The Fall Enslaves Us All!"), and the morning.  Seventeen minutes later.  And at the end of the day, they jump back in and arrive night fall.  Yep.

I love this shit!  Ohmygod!

And the grogeous CF spends the opening scene of the movie shirtless, as requested.  *sigh*.  What more could a movie need?!  Oh! Oh!  He also plays the piano from a memory he's forgotten!  There was an almost-moment of my wanting to jump him into the screen.  It was brilliant.

The plot was extremely similar to the original, bar the Mars aspect (sad), the fighting was hilarious, Kate was a brilliant bitch and overall I left the theatre with the biggest godamn grin on my face.  I'm sure the people behind us were getting annoyed at my delighted laughter.


Monsters.  It was missing some sweet ridiculous monsters.  (Can't wait for the Doctor to come back).

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Someone else wrote this for me

I found a piece somehow, via the magic of internet, from 2010 discussing hired assignment writing from the perspective of one such writer. It is fascinating.

I remember being shocked in third year at University when I learned that my flatmates cheated as a matter of course - all the boys in the program reused assignments from previous years students with little re-writing. Being the innocent, naive soul that I (still) fear I am, I was horrified that such a practice was common - and accepted.

Shocked, I tell you.

Higher education is a sacred institution to me. In the same way that library books are the most precious item in your possession, and no matter how worn and old, should be treated with reverence until the time you return them to the library itself.   I sewed little fabric covers for my library books when I was younger (I doubt Mum even noticed the loss of the polar fleece scraps...).

So this...upsets me. And interestingly I am more upset by the people willing to engage such services than the people providing the service (who are just writing to commission?!). You should know better! You should have more integrity! How can your moral standards withhold such a barrage?!

Anyway - its a fascinating read, have a squiz if you have a mo.


"...and even a bit of a thrill in seeing whether I can do it. And I can. It's not implausible to write a 75-page paper in two days. It's just miserable. I don't need much sleep, and when I get cranking, I can churn out four or five pages an hour." 


Boxes are fun

Ohmygod this blew my mind!  And I love the beats.

Directed by Steven Briand, starring Luca Fiore, music composed by Nodey and Omar and sound design by Moritz Reich.

Best part is when he makes it darken.  Love it.

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Only the Lonely

All my music has been inducing thesis-reminiscent-shudders of disquiet.  In Welly I couldn't stomach anything but classical orchestral.

So I've been changing it up, to give my old favs a rest (perhaps everything needs a break, post thesis-submission...) with 50's rock n' roll.

My boys Roy Orbison, Buddy Holly, Elvis and Johnny Cash have been filling my temporal lobes and imparting worldly wisdom.

Like - don't take your guns to town.  Its just not a good idea.

Get a rhythm, when you get the blues.  You'll feel heaps better, bro.

Only the lonely, know the way I feel tonight.  Yeah...

You look like an angel, walk like an angel, talk like an angel - but you're the devil in disguise.  Yep.  See above.

Love me tender, love me sweet.  Never let me go.  Um...see above?!

These boys are so sad in their unlucky love (cough).  I'd hug'em all better.  You know...if they were all still alive and shit.

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

88 types of awesome

There's a sweet place at the Mount called Cafe 88, with amazing baking and lunchables, my parents know the owners and its become a habit to stop in if driving alone the coast.
Good baking.  You should visit, if you're ever nearby.

They have a sweet chalk board

But this in particular caught my eye.
It just so sweet.

(so unlike me, I know.  I think its the lack-of-thesis.  Its making me soppy.  Gross.  Better start another one. Kidding! Just kidding, Mum!  Sheesh!).

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Monday, August 20, 2012

Was it two? Really?

Yep.  Two whole weeks with the parents and my baby animals and the parents schnauzer (you know they're never going to be not-babies.  Silly kids).

The list of things I accomplished is very short.  But then the only thing I wanted to accomplish was my half of the BigSib's secret present quilt (Ha!), which I touched only enough to get the fabric out of storage, and to look at for a half day.  I didn't even get up the inspiration to start cutting.  But its all good, I'll do it...later.  Heh.

I read.  Oh glory be, it was lovely.  I haven't finished a book in so long.  I felt like I was back from some strange off-world adventure and finally getting back some equilibrium.

I baked.  I experiment-baked.  Mum had some citrus oils and we brought some freeze dried fruit powders together (from here.  Don't bother with the Strawberry, meh).  I ended up bringing a whole heap of baking back to Dunedin to throw down the throats of the unappreciative mouths at work, just to get rid of it.  I wasn't a massive fan of the lime (though the lime cupcakes were better than the strawberry - lightly fragrant) and lemon oils, but the orange was lovely in chocolate chip/jaffa cookies.  It must be completely subjective, because others have been opposite.  I just assumed the lime was off.  The maternal Nana also sent some witches rocky road (everything thrown in) down for the plebs I'm friends with, which must have been good - it disappeared very quickly.

I experimented with fudge.  First time trying to make it - and the first time I didn't use a candy thermometer, big mistake.  It was divine however, passion fruit (freeze dried powder) and white chocolate.  So I froze it, balled it, and coated it in chocolate.  I also decided to be a chocolatier in my next life.
So beautiful.  And so much potential for experimentation.

The second attempt at fudge worked a little better, though I must have stirred a bit too long after the first boil, or not waited long enough for the final beating, because it never set fully.  This one was raspberry, and also divine, if soft and tacky.

I celebrated.  Mum's birthday - we all chipped in and got her a kindle, and I spent a half day helping her set it up.  I'm not retarded - it took half a day because when I booted up her computer it was in desperate need of updates, she was running IE (bleurgh!), and her iPhone had never been connected to the laptop at all.  So we sorted music and books and internet bookmarks; and hopefully now she can remember how to load books on the kindle and music on the iPhone without me (right Mum? Right?!).  We had the most glorious Sunday lunch roast, oh god was it delicious.  I don't think I've ever met anyone who can cook meat like my father, and I've been skimping on the meat to save $ all year, so it was pretty much heaven.  I made a cake for desert, was trying for a red velvet layer but didn't put in enough red food colouring and a tad too much cocoa, so it was reddish brown, with failed-but-sinfully-delicious cream cheese icing (don't ask how I fucked that up, I was so angry).

The parents massive new kitchen is sublime.  I probably cannot convey how beautiful it is, (so have a look - at half), I was reading at the butchers block with tea, in the mornings, rather than any other room.
That's how good it is.  One side looks out over the harbour and the other side has a direct line out over the ocean (with windows that completely pull back to give access to the deck and window-attached bar) and to White Island; which has been being a naughty little volcano at present.  If it does go, the parents will have a magnificent view, and probably the most early knowledge.  Handy.

I got glasses.  And god, but do they get dirty easily?!  Especially when baking.  I don't know how you bespectacled people have coped all this time!  And my peripheries are interrupted, and when I close my eyes at night I can still see the frame outline.  It is so much easier using the computer, though, and long distance is crispy and beautiful.  They're not that strong, but they do pretty much rock.  I shan't complain too much.  I don't recognise myself in the mirror.  Very strange.  And just because I couldn't help myself, I invested in a glasses chain.  Heh.

I went impromptu antiquing (see my amazed face above?  Yeah.  Crockery); three generations, it was fun (so sneaky in the mirror).

I dirtied my feet in the filthy Whakatane river (squelching mud between your toes? Fun!)

I squeezed the bajeezers out of my animals.

Had my bed taken over.
Had my chair taken over.
Played with my kitten.

And this.  How could I bear to leave these faces?!

But to be honest, I was ready to come back.  I'm ready to sort my life out.

Rollin' with the punches.  That's me.  Rollin' and plannin' and hopin' and hanging on.

It'll all work out.



I'm lying in bed trying to reconcile how I got here, where the past month has gone, and what on earth I did for it.

And yes, it is noon, but in my defence I didn't go to bed till 3ish, so stop judging (the magic of post scheduling).

My holiday was beautiful. Sublime even. I did nothing much of anything and it was glorious.

Apart from the occasional text and a total of two short emails, I did not type a single word, anywhere.

I spent half a week in Welly catching up with the Married Ones, cooking good food, wandering round town lusting after beautiful things I couldn't afford, having a through examination of the latest at Te Papa, watching movies and so on. Rode the cable car just for shits and giggles - taking advantage of my final days of student discounts.
We also spent my last day at the zoo with a picnic lunch- so much freaking awesome! I swear, every scientist secretly just never grew up, we had so much fun. The weather was glorious, and every animal wanted to eat TMO. If you want the animals to pay attention to you, or walk closer to get a good look- take TMO with you. Hilarious.

I'm sure at some point I'll manage to get the photos off my big camera and have a play around with them.

It was a brilliant start to the rest of my life (dramatic much?! I'm in that kind of mood), and it was brill to catch up with my homegirl.

So much change.  I'm rollin' with the punches, its my new thing.