Imaginary Gardens

In celebration of the death of summer, my room has been taken over by laundry (pending- and damp) as well as a suitcase in the midst of one of its great yearly transitions (the summer-winter exchange, less feared than the storage-travel one).

The weekend with Willy was brilliant. We talked mainly about our projects and respective boys. Coo-ee did we talk a lot about the boys and she's agreed that I'm being neither crazy, demanding nor am I exaggerating. So, um, yay? Anyway, it was good to hash it out with someone who knows exactly who and what I'm talking about. (Once this is all settled in Real Life I'm run y'all through it - mainly because I need to hash it out myself.) Then on Saturday night we went to a shared bday party of some of her friends (and omg, sitting on the back of a bike for a long time hurts one's bum a lot). Sunday we took it easy in the morning, then she went to work and I wandered around Amsterdam.

I've been trying to plan out my birthday this coming Saturday. Mom suggests I hang out with the people I'm trying to make friends out of, and I needn't say it's my birthday. I see the logic in that sociality is good and that if you hang out with acquaintances on your bday (and them knowing it is), they may stare at you as if you were a shaven monkey lathering on sunscreen whilst sitting on a parka**, thinking "You seriously don't have anyone better - closer - to hang out with on your bday?"

On the other hand, if I'm to spend my bday with people, I'd rather it be people who care I'm alive. If that's not an option (and when was the last time that was), then I'd rather spend it alone. Alone, yes, but doing things I like. As in, I will give myself an awesome day.

So the plan so far is a late wake-up, a full English breakfast at a local pub***, a stock-up on all sorts of candy and then a stint in the Hague, where dim sum and a movie will be enjoyed. (I'm still a bit hazy on this last bit.) I don't think I'll manage Dutch pancakes or a cake of some sort, but there's always Sunday. Somewhere during all that I hope to receive a call or two from family, but that's about it. This will be awesome and wonderful and not at all sad and the first person to suggest so will be tied to a chair and forced to watch the abysmal film Happy Birthday To Me with the McGill Architectural Porn deleted! Oh yeah, I will stoop so low.


Links of the Day:

marika_kailaya's ( too awesome for this page )
( Random Fandom )
( The Internets )

I greatly enjoyed watching 300. All throughout I had the biggest shit-eating grin on my face at the pure beauty of it. And no, I don't mean the luscious bits of man-flesh - although they were luscious - but rather the colours and lighting of the film. Gorgeous. The camera work was impressive, especially in the battle scenes. The choreography wasn't the usual hack-and-slash. Rather, it was all about slow-motion, changes of perspective and freeze-frames. Blood didn't so much splatter as float towards in the camera in a vacuum. It never felt gritty and violent.

Story-wise, it was equally moving. I got interested in the character's stories and when they were abandoned or betrayed, I was a step away from hissing curses at the guilty bastard(s).

The only time I wasn't smiling was at the near-end, when for one brief moment I stared in bewilderment and disappointment at Leonidas. "But...but... You can't, you're a Spartan. Stand up!" But then, oh, then, my dears, I cheered. Because that is one indominatable warrior King. (But man did that one moment hurt to watch.) I also loved how cocky and coy Leonidas was, and Butler's delivery of the lines was great.

( For example, this spoilerish line. )

I was a bit downcast at the short-lived but oft-heard (and indeed, parodied, as The Bunny Comic notes) "THIS! IS! SPARTA!" moment. Downcast only because it so over-hyped in popular culture when in reality it was set early on in the film during a pretty calm moment (relatively speaking). It was ( spoiler-ish )

I didn't recognize any of the actors, though the lovely narrator, David Wenham, was remarkably reminiscent of Sean Bean aka Boromir (but better). Michael Fassbender was lovely to look at. You know, the guy who says "Then we shall fight in the shade" in the trailer. Gerard Butler was impressive. That's is really all I can say about him. Me = 0.0 (I also should have recognized him, since I did watch Dracula 2000 and he was in the lead role - but I seem to have no memories of the film al all) Lena Headey was magnificent in her role of Queen.

The Wiki on the film provides a load of interesting stuff on the reception and criticism of the film:

( Read more... )

300 has webpage on imdb which gives us interesting answers to FAQ and provides us with trivia, ( including )

YourGeekNews has an in-depth feature, with exclusive scenes and interviews with Gerard Butler and Frank Miller.

Wiki gives us information on the Battle of Thermopylae (Hotgates) and references of said battle in popular culture.

Battle of the Manly Men: Blood Bath With a Message movie review by A.O.Scott Needless to say, I completely disagree with this review.

lafinjack is metaquotesed giving us Sparta in 5 Seconds

( Further links off Wiki )


* King Leonidas, 300