Movie review: Memoirs of a Geisha

From now on, I will scale my movie/dvd reviews out of 10 due to issues raised by my sister when discussing this movie, because its not a bad movie...but its nowhere near good either. For a movie that is a memoir of a character/profession whose most obvious trait is their visual appearance, I suppose it's fitting that it is the visual aspect of the movie that works best.

Memoirs is an adaptation of the 1997 novel by Arther Golden. Chiyo is the daughter of a fisherman and his sick wife. One day, she and her older sister are sold to an agent who takes them to Kyoto and sells Chiyo to an okiya (a kind of boarding house for geisha that also supplies kimonos etc), while the sister is sold to a brothel. The movie follows Chiyo through her loneliness and training, her attempts to run away from the okiya, her *rescue* by The Chairman, her transformation into Sayuri and triumphant rise to become the top geisha in Kyoto, WWII, and finally true love.

If that plot synopsis sounds cliched, that's because this movie was chock-full of cliches. The movie faithfully replicates the book and Chiyo/Sayuri's *fairytale* existence. The stock characters are all there - the Cinderella-esque heroine(Chiyo/Sayuri), the evil Stepmother (head of the okiya) and Stepsister (Hatsumomo - Gong Li, left), the fairy godmother (Mameha), and the Prince (The Chairman) and his less handsome and therefore unworthy brother (Nobu). It's such a pity that the filmmakers saw fit to make the film almost three hours long because the thing that made the book so rivetting was not the storyline, it was the minutiae - the details of geisha training, dress and makeup, conversation etc, which meant that for two thirds of the movie, my friends and I were muttering to each other that the film could have done with some judicious editing. And then the appearance of the various geisha didn't even have true geisha hairstyles and make up so, meh.

The most frustrating aspect of the film though would have to be the fact that the film was in english. Correction, heavily accented english. I'm aware that the cast consisted of a mixed bag of asian races, predominantly Chinese-background, and therefore it would have been nigh on impossible to stage in japanese. But having it in english only served to highlight the cliches of the plot and render the overwrought script into outright hilarity for me. For days after watching this, I'd say Zhang Ziyi's line: I WAN' DA LIE-YF DAT IZ MINE! and then burst into laughter. Lydia and Andrea found the speaking completely annoying after a few minutes, while Akina (who is Japanese) found it absolutely bizarre to watch the Japanese actors speaking english badly and knowing they act a helluva lot better in their native language.

The movie's real saving grace in my opinion were the visuals, which were quite lovely, and the absolute powerhouse performance by the beautiful Gong Li as the evil Hatsumomo. While you're never given a reason as to why she's such a bitch (regret at having to sacrifice her life and chances of love for other people's livelihoods? Fear of Sayuri becoming the dominant geisha in Gion?), I found that without their rivalry to drive Sayuri into becoming a better geisha, the movie just became quite *blah* and boils down to Sayuri wanting to impress The Chairman.

Which then brings me to this - does no one else find the idea of what The Chairman did as completely creepy? A 30/40-something year old man finds a crying girl on a bridge, compares her to his children, and then asks Mameha to find this girl and train her to become a geisha so that he can have her around later? Does this not stink to anyone else of paedophile *grooming*? Yeuch!!!

I must also talk about the crazy dance scene (below). While visually...er...*interesting*, as a dance performed by geisha in pre-war Japan...I'll give Akina's generous assessment that it was "awfully modern...very now" but to me it looked like the spasms of an epileptic grand mal seizure.

Part of the problem of grading this movie was that as an adaptation, it worked a little too well as the flaws of the book became more obvious flaws in the movie. A book written by a man from the female viewpoint of a world he has never lived in becomes a movie about an exotic asian environment and (to an extent) lifestyle for an english-speaking audience. The movie tries to be deep in the way the book tried to be deep, and like the book, it fails at its aim. And yet its not a completely pathetic load of crap the way Troy sucked to hell. It tried hard and did well given what it worked from, but there were too many flaws for me to give it a passing mark.

4/10

Closure and the week in preview!

Well today was my last day in the lab as the tech....soooo many memories. I was only there for half the day as there really wasn't anything to do. I re-checked that the chemical register and risk-assessments were complete. Then I moved all the files out of the drawer of the filing cabinet I had them in as I realised that while I am short, the drawer was probably not quite as accessible to others. I then spent time clearing up loose ends - making notes about what should be changed that I couldnt take care of due to my inability to purchase items, making a list of useful contacts and information for the next technician, reminding my boss that the next tech has to look after Mr Cactus for me (the cactus I nursed back to health - when I started it was droopy and dying. Today it was starting to re-shoot), etc

I finished up just after 1pm.
End of an era.
*sniff*

But away from that! Amelie Mauresmo won the womens title (darnit) and Roger Federer won the mens (well done). I also saw Memoirs of a Geisha last week, review coming soon. I probably wont be updating as much now that I'm unemployed and Amandine is back in the country :P we got catching up to do!

Peas oot!

Year of the Dog

~*HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR*~(ok, its not a Chinese breed, but I think those crested dogs and the pekinese breeds are ugly)

1922, 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006

People born in the Year of the Dog possess the best traits of human nature. They have a deep sense of loyalty, are honest, and inspire other people's confidence because they know how to keep secrets. But Dog People are somewhat selfish, terribly stubborn, and eccentric. They care little for wealth, yet somehow always seem to have money. They can be cold emotionally and sometimes distant at parties. They can find fault with many things and are noted for their sharp tongues. Dog people make good leaders. They are compatible with those born in the Years of the Horse, Tiger, and Rabbit.

To find your zodiac information, click here!

What's this?!?!?!

It's a Friday night and I'm not out raging?!

OUTRAGEOUS!!!

hehehe

I stayed home and watched the sublime skills of Roger Federer defeat that cheater Nicholas Kiefer. And so the 2006 final will be played between Federer and the enigmatic Marcos Baghdatis and his crowds of merry revellers. I can honestly say that whoever wins this year, I will be genuinely pleased with the result.

As for the women's final, go Justine Henin-Hardenne!

Happy Australia Day and general update!

After so many reviews, I think its time for a slacker entry.
Man, it was hot today! Usually on Australia Day and Aus Day Eve, since its a public holiday I like to go party. But it was soooo freaking hot last night and today that I decided to stay home with the airconditioning and watch dvds.

Futurama was a great show full of geeky humour. It should never have been axed.

Alors! As to the project update, I am officially moving to the Anatomy Dept. to take up the PhD project investigating the mechanism of blindness in diabetes. I instructed Erica (project supervisor) of this development on Tuesday. She seemed really happy to have me on board - it was quite flattering. She then instructed me to go and officially enrol. I asked some of the students in Path how to do that, and they said something about a form I to hand in. As I was going to the Graduate office, I realised that I'd never received official confirmation from Student Admin that I'd finished my undergrad degrees so I headed off there to ask what was going on. They informed me that they'd never received paperwork from the Science (my leading faculty) as to my complete status. Indignant, I marched off to Sci to ask what was going on (I had had a similar battle with them in November when I was sent an email asking me to re-enrol as an undergrad).

As I came into the office, I explained to them why I was there and told them the problem and as they pulled up my records they said
"Did you complete Honours?"
"Yes"
"Oh, you need the guy who deals with the Honours students"
And so I had to wait while the *special* honours guy came along and did something with my records! After he tapped away at the board for a while, he told me I had to go to Arts to get them to clear my points.
"Err...Isn't Sci the leading faculty in this double degree?"
"Yes, but you need to get Arts to clear their component of your points"

So I trudged over to Arts to inform Arts of what Sci told me. They brought up my records and then said there appeared to be a complication and that they were going to print them out and count manually. I heard the ppl counting my results whispering to each other that, yes, I did have 600 undergrad points....but it seemed that I had only 182.5 Arts point which couldnt be possible. This went on for a bit as ppl came along and counted over and over...until a genius realised that 37.5 of my Arts had been linked into my Honours - which meant Sci had to be informed (as the Honours points were from a Sci project).

Thankfully, they decided that phoning Sci would be better than making me walk over again. This was completed and they printed out the clearance form which they faxed to Student Admin. Arts then instructed me to go back to Sci and tell them that they had fulfilled their part and if there was anything else to be done, they were responsible. I went over and said this, they said they were fine and S.A should post me paperwork in a few days(hah! lets see in a few days!)

I then headed over to the Grad. Centre and looked for the form. Seeing nothing there matching what I was told to submit, I asked at reception. They gave me a funny look and said
"You want to enrol for a PhD?" (really snotty-like)
"Yes"
"You needed to have submitted the form in October"
"I did submit a form back in October"
"When we receive your forms, we mail out the enrolment form" (hint hint - obviously you didn't submit the form)
(Getting kinda annoyed) "Look, I did submit the forms back in October"
"Then you should have the enrolment form"
"If the forms had been mailed to me, I would have the enrolment form. Obviously, something has gone wrong on this end"
"Are you sure you submitted the right forms?"
"Yes I'm sure!"
"You were supposed to submit *this* form to us and *this* form to the office where you're planning to do your PhD" (she holds it up for me)
"I downloaded those forms off your website, I submitted the first form to this office and I submitted the other to the Anatomy Office. I did that when I applied for the APA and MRS scholarships. Now, seeing as I've received mail from the scholarship office and I'm on the waiting list for them, I'd say that's pretty hard evidence that I submitted the forms"
"......................................... Can I see your student card?"
[I then the see the office person I've been dealing with walking around, talking to various ppl and looking at various computers before returning to the desk]
"Okay, I'm sorry about the misunderstanding. According to our records, you DID submit the form back in October, but we never received this second form Anatomy, so that's why you never received the enrolment form. You have to go back and get them to fill it in again. Or if you're lucky, they might still have the one from October"
"........................................" (I was pretty flabberghasted)

I was getting pretty pissed off by now but I managed to calm myself by the time I walked up the 7 flights of stairs to Anatomy (I needed the extra time). I got to the office of the lady who handles the submission forms...
"Thats what the Grad Office said? Sorry, what's your name again? I'll check your file"
"My name is **********, and I'll be working with Erica"
"Yes that's right" (She proceeds to look around her desk in various drawers before pulling out a stack of manila folders and explaining that these are the files for all the 2006 applicants, and starts rifling through them) "Oh, help!!!"
(I help her catch the folders)
"Lets see....oh my god...."
(I see that the original form is in my file)
"Oh my god!!!! I'm so sorry!!!!" (She continues apologising and upon finding that it has been signed by various Heads to clear my enrolment says she can't understand how she still has the form) "Gosh, I hope you didn't have a moment of too much panic"
(Seeing that she appears to be genuinely upset...) "Well, maybe just a little...I can submit that for you now so you won't have to walk to the Grad Office"
(Still flipping) "It needs to be signed bu one more person. I'll get that done for you personally and submit it tomorrow"

And that was my battle with Administration on Tuesday.

Its not easy being green

Alice, your true color is Green!

You're green, the color of growth and vigor. Good-hearted and giving, you have a knack for finding and bringing out the best in people. Green is the most down-to-earth color in the spectrum — reliable and trustworthy. People know they can count on you to be around in times of need, since your concern for people is genuine and sincere. You take pride in being a good friend. For you, success is measured in terms of personal achievement and growth, not by status or position. Rare as emeralds, greens are wonderful, natural people. It truly is your color!

http://web.tickle.com/invite?test=1108&type=t

DVD review: Elektra

Hmm...I watched the Jennifer Garner vehicle and spinoff to Daredevil for the same reason I watched U:E - I wanted to see a hot chick kill lots of random ppl. But in terms of success, Elektra was nowhere near as successful. Basically, there's too much plot, not enough fighting, and an annoying kid to boot.

Elektra is brought back to life by Stick who becomes her sensei (why he did this is never really explained, other than as an excuse to showcase his ability). Unable to fully comprehend his teachings, Elektra decides to use her martial arts skills to become an assassin. For her latest hit, she has been sent to a mansion on an island to await instructions. There she meets a 13yo girl and her single father and she bonds with them a little bit. It turns out - da-DUM! - that they are the targets. It turns out the hit was organised by some shady Japanese-run organisation of global evil known as *The Hand* and now that she's failed, a bunch of freaks are out to kill the kid, father, and Elektra as she has decided to try and save the other two from *The Hand*.

I wanted to watch this movie cos I wanted to see Jennifer Garner in her red corset, use those sais to cut down a lot of people. I didn't want to see an exploration of her budding return to humanity and throwing off the ice developed post-resurrection. I mean, I don't mind that kind of analysis of superhero motives...but it was not done in the good Spiderman/Batman Begins way. So what we end up with is a dumb movie that knows it is dumb but is trying desperately to be a smart movie. And the kid - ugh! 13, sure, it's a difficult stage in life, but if you're gonna make the object of rescue a kid, at least make them a little bit sympathetic so that you cheer for her survival. Do not make the character an annoying smart-aleck liar and thief. God, I just wanted that girl to get captured and turned to evil - at least she might have gotten a little bit cooler.

2/5 - I'm being generous cos when they did fight, it was ok.

As this is a DVD review, I'll talk a little bit about the extras. There was a bunch of deleted scenes - the most intriguing were *scenarios* was a dream sequence where Ben Affleck reprised his role as Daredevil - interesting that for once the star of the leading movie makes a showing in the spinoff but was cut. And after learning the kid and dad are her targets, Elektra goes to their house armed with her sais to kill them. The movie opted for her using a high powered bow and arrow combo. I feel this is better as it showed her proficiency with a variety of weapons and allowed a better display of her conflict at having to kill them.

There were extended videos talking to Frank Miller about the character and development of Elektra in the comics, how they decided to design her, plot lines etc. Now, I'm a big geek - I like comics, anime, I correct people's grammar, I'm a scientist and I like to work in scientific stuff into my discussions with other people, for god's sake, I have a blog where I review movies. But that stuff was damn geeky. REALLY FREAKIN' GEEKY. DVD extras should be stuff like explaining stunts and outtakes!

Movie review: Underworld : Evolution

Yes, the movie that sparked the PMR discussion was Underworld: Evolution.

(Incidentally, PMR seems to be a contentious topic with ppl emailing me about what can be considered a crappy role in a crappy movie. I've also thought of another actor guilty of serial PMR, Peter O'Toole - Troy, King Ralph)

Andrea and I braved all the fanboys (seriously, they looked like Comic Book guy from the Simpsons) to see this movie after we both revealed we were too ashamed to ask other ppl to go watch it with us. U:E is the sequel to the 2003 movie, Underworld. The original featured a vampires dressed in leather and latex duking it out with the scruffier Lycans (Werewolves) for blah blah blah...it wasn't really a movie to watch if you were looking for plot. I'll confess I only watched it cos I enjoy fighting and I do like to see small chicks (in this case Kate Beckinsale) kicking some larger, hairier butt...and maybe just a little for the fetishwear. The original ended on a sequel set up which is where U:E takes off.

The film was intercut with several scenes from the first movie, but if you havent seen the original, stress not because the whole first half of the movie doesn't make any sense. We pick up with Selene and Michael (Beckinsale and Scott Speedman) babbling about how they're on the run cos she killed Bill Nighy in the first movie, how he's a hybrid Lycan/vamp, blah blah blah. The introduction of Derek Jacobi occurs although the significance of his character isnt established until nearly the end so I did a lot of *huh?* whenever he appeared. Anyway, the flow of the movie is essentially - attempt at plot, fighting, attempt at plot, fighting, fighting, sex scene (kinda graphic), fighting, more kinky stuff, fighting, half-hearted explanation of fighting, fighting, explanation of Derek Jacobi, fighting, fighting, fighting, end.

The attempts at plot were kinda frustrating but once the sex scene kicked in...I'm guessing the film-makers realised that this kind of movie was never going to appeal to a crowd who wanted to understand the history between Vamp/Lycan lineage and decided to switch to Vamp/Lycan diplomacy - i.e. fighting. I walked into this movie knowing that advance screenings were not made available to critics in the US, a sure sign that the production company knows the movie is crap, knows the critics will think the movie is crap, and said critics will kill it in the reviews. Safe in with the knowledge that this movie was gonna be an absolute stinker, I happily allowed its crappiness to wash over me and rejoiced in the moment when I realised the filmmakers had given up on plot.

If you want to see a movie with analysis of their characters' psyche and torment, go watch Brokeback Mountain (can't wait for that!). If you want a movie where Kate Beckinsale throws a knife into a werewolf then kills two topless female vampires, this is your movie

A solid 3/5 from me.
But a 1/3 if you really do want to understand Vamp/Lycan lineage.

Paycheque movie roles

I watched a pretty crappy movie the other day and it featured a very well respected actor in a prominent, although still crappy role. After it finished, I sat discussing with my friend said actor's credentials and wondered what could possibly make someone like that take a role like that. We came up with two reasons - 1) they didn't read the script and are thus doing the role as a favour (nice to hear that you've admitted to doing this Judi Dench!), or what we considered the more likely reason - 2) they want a paycheque with minimal exertion - hence the Paycheque Movie Role (PMR) phenomenon.

*But Mally,* I hear you cry, *surely you're not implying that actors who have worked hard to establish their credibility would deign to appear in deliberately crappy roles!?*

Oh yes I am.

I don't know about you, but other than paycheque, I can't think of a reason why Ben Kingsley, Gandhi himself, would accept a role as Kagan in Bloodrayne. Admittedly if you look at his imdb profile you see among his quality roles and performances (e.g. Schindler's List, Sexy Beast, House of Sand and Fog) there's a lot of dross like Species or Thunderbirds so maybe he picks roles by flipping coins.

Morgan Freeman has freely admitted to money being the reason as to why he took the role in Batman Begins (which turned out pretty awesome, but you've got to admit you might have been a bit concerned after the development hell it went through and the last Batman movie). Since money seems to be a factor when he chooses roles, I'm gonna throw in PMR as the reason behind Bruce Almighty and Deep Impact. I'll also add his co-star Gary Oldman as he said he accepted the role of Sirius Black in Harry Potter 3 because he hadn't acted in a year (and he also wanted something he could show his kids after so many R-rated movies)

I understand acting is a difficult profession in terms of stable income and you've got to remember that sometimes taking a crappy role in a crappy movie that will be seen by a large audience regardless of how crappy the movie is may be a good thing. Anyway, here's a list of other people where PMR might be a factor

Anthony Hopkins - Bad Company, The Mask of Zorro
Derek Jacobi - Underworld: Evolution
Gabriel Byrne - Ghost Ship (really, with a title like that...)
Jeremy Irons - Dungeons and Dragons
Joan Allen - Face/Off (although this role comes close on the heels of the movies that she received a lot of kudos for, The Ice Storm, The Crucible, Nixon)
Mira Sorvino - Mimic (what an oscar follow-up!)
Halle Berry - Catwoman (ditto)
Ralph Fiennes and Natasha Richardson - Maid in Manhattan
Jon Voigt - Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2 (permanent fixture on the imdb worst list and where he receives top billing, second is Scott Baio)

I'm sure there are plenty of others out there, but thinking of these things is kinda depressing.

It's really freaking hot...

although it's not as hot as it has been. Today's cooler weather however is not much of a consolation to me as my concern that the lab was not properly ventilated has shown to be a real hazard - its FREAKING HOT in here!

You can feel the difference in temperature from the outside (currently listed as 21.5 degrees celsius), into the building, and then another increase when you get into the lab. According to one of the lab thermometers, it was 34 when I first came into the lab - the open windows have now dropped it to 30. I still can't make myself put on a lab coat and I don't know how much work I'll get done today considering its all pretty much manual labour. Probably write a blog or two and keep an eye on that trusty thermometer.

Worklife

The correct address for my position is *Laboratory Technician* or *Technical Assistant* because I am responsible for looking after the technical details of keeping the lab in correct running order and am answerable to my boss...although she's beginning to call me *Laboratory Manager* as I am the only person who's keeping the lab in running order. Anyone who wants to use or remove things from the lab is answerable to me. The feeling of power that I might gain from being the Head of an area is circumvented by the knowledge that should something happen to/in the lab, I will be the scapegoat.

Apart from the heady first 3 weeks of my employment here, my second round of employment has been much more relaxed. My basic day consists of coming in at 9am, logging into the computer/msn and setting up my music for the day. I am pretty much the only person in this area so I need the music and msn to stop myself from going crazy out of isolation. (Text in red are things that don't occur every day but occur often enough that it must be considered)

9:15 - check and read online news, msg ppl on msn
10:00 - look at what tasks I set myself yesterday and prioritise their order
10:05 - check email and msn and maybe write a blog
10:30 - begin priority task 1
10:45 - change mp3 disk or go to morning tea (if i take morning tea, go immediately to 11:15 and ignore 13:05-13:30)
11:00 - check email and msn
11:15 - continue task 1
11:45 - realise that I can take lunch in 15 minutes
12:00 - finish task 1 and go to lunch
12:55 - return from lunch and check email
13:00 - contemplate task 2
13:05 - decide that I really want a sundae
13:07 - justify that since I didnt take morning tea, I am allowed an extra long lunch break
13:08 - walk to McDonald's
13:30 - return from Maccas
13:35 - check email
14:30 - finish task 2 and look for a reason to go visit another department
15:00 - return from the other dept and realise I've done little work all day
15:05 - check email and msn
15:10 - start task 3
15:30 - change mp3 disk
15:35 - contemplate taking afternoon tea and decide i've been too slack to have it
15:37 - play with the hula hoop
15:38 - give up and check email
15:40 - return to task 3
15:55 - complete task 3 and realise I need to contact someone about something
16:00 - go to reception/make phone calls/talk to IT guy
16:30 - begin task 4
16:45 - check email and msn and realise I have 15 minutes until hometime
16:55 - sweep lab if i'm feeling generous
16:57 - write task list for following day
16:59 - remove mp3 disk and log off
17:00 - visit my boss and discuss any further opinions on the lab
17:10 - go home

I'm aware this makes it look like they're paying me to check my email, but as I see it I'm making up for the incredibly stressful first 3 weeks of chemical handling. And anyway, my bosses seem to think I'm getting a lot done faster than they think it can be done. If they're happy with the way things are going, then I'm happy to have it continue like that.

The Awesome Breasts of Scarlett Johansson.

(If you came here looking for topless shots, prepare to be disappointed.)

I was following a live blog from the Golden Globes when an entry suddenly made mention of Scarlett Johansson's awesome dress (left). An an awesome dress it is but I must admit thats not the main thing that caught my eye. What's going on with her boobs?! That is one awesome bra that appears to be sewn into the dress! And its good to note the curve to her stomach - I'm pretty sure her boobs are real.

If we look at photos of her when she was younger (top right) you can see that she's pretty much retained the same shape and size. In the past she was dressing them pretty demurely (right), but lately her dresses have been a combination of architectural wonder and squish-factor (below)!

Now if you think this is a jealous-girl rant, I am of the fuller bust persuasion. I'm just handing out kudos to a girl who obviously loves 'em and wants to show them off.

Although there is a side-effect...
P.S. Here's a shout-out to Rogier in Spijkenisse! Hallo!

Change of Format!

Following a discussion with my sister whereby she convinced me that the juxtaposition of blue font with pink background was quite jarring, we selected a new template. This somewhat classic looking template is called *Scribe* and we both agreed that the aesthetics are pleasing to our eyes. Unfortunately, I don't have a wide variety of fonts so I'll have to do some experimentation to see how best to contrast the background with the text.

And don't expect me to republish all the other entries in olive green - unless someone tells me otherwise, the only way I can figure out how to do that is individually edit my entries. Seeing as I have nearly 200 entries (pretty surprised by that figure!)...it ain't gonna happen.

More later!

Anime world!

Though I am constrained by my inability to d/l things properly (remember this post?) I really like to watch anime. Some of it, not all of it. So, here's what I find exists in the anime world

1. The hero/ine is an outsider, often with martial arts skills
2. People with the power to save the world are always 15 years old
3. There is someone who has awesome military skills
4. The person with military skills has a friend who is a military-junkie, but has no skills themselves.
5. Giant robots are REAL
6. Sexually perverted senseis
7. The lead girl looks hot in a bikini
8. Cute animals/toys that are made to act in uncute ways, which just make them seem even cuter.
9. The obligatory chick with large breasts
10. The big menacing guy is always a kind, gentle fellow
11. Purple hair
12. Timetravel is normal
13. If you're clumsy, chances are you're a school girl with a really short skirt.
14. Japan is populated with kids who can jump from roof to roof
15. Tentacles are plentiful

Feeling kinda sluggish

Not really doing much in the lab now that the really urgent stuff is over. Still haven't been paid, although I've been told I will apparently be paid on 20/1. The only thing I'm really doing is organising the lab into *regions* i.e. Physics, Biology, or Chemistry. A lot of the Physics equipment, I take it out of the cupboard, look at it, discern its identity/use/age, acknowledge that I have no idea what it is, and then put it back in the cupboard. I found some really old microscopes (manual manipulation of the light/lenses) and spent a bit of time fooling around with them looking at some slides that were even older. I also spent an hour re-adjusting a shelf so i could fit some large things on the lower shelf. It wasnt difficult, I was just drawing it out.

Oooh, creepy moment. I'm in the lab all by myself, in a building all by myself (no offices here, only empty classrooms). And I heard this noise behind me....and foudn the door to the lab was closed....even though I keep it propped open....

yikes!

ho hum

Another day at work, my first day of real inactivity. There are cupboards here full of ....stuff. I'm not sure what it is, I mean, some of them are arranged in kits, but they look 20+ years old. I don't know if theyre still used here as teaching tools or in general. I want to throw things out or arrange them in some kind of order but I can't due to the fact I don't know if theyre used. So I've spent pretty much all of today so far just thinking of what I can do about them. I've asked that the ppl who teach the sujets come and tell me what they want me to keep, but they haven't come.

*shrug* Theyre the ones paying me, you'd think they'd want me to get the job done asap.

And it's official, Safin is out of the Open. ho hum

Haiku conversation between me and Rox

I have just told Rox about my dilemma over whether I should break my diet and buy a sundae from Maccas

Rox:
Ice cream Alice wants
But guilt of diet she has
Happiness is key

Alice:
Ice cream desire
Rox's advice to Alice
Is moderation

Leave now Roxy must
Onto dinner plans she has
For now, farewell Alice

Oh I have no time
To fully farewell Roxy
Goodbye, sexy chum

More pics of Safin

I wanted to include these photos of Safin from when he was younger in my last entry, but it made the post too long. However, having shown these photos to some friends...I'm giving them their own post to share with you all, whoever you are ;)

This summer of tennis

My unrivalled favourite tennis player right now has to be Marat Safin, current Aus Open Mens champion. He's recovering from a severe knee injury and it looks as though he may not be able to make it to defend his title in time. So why is Safin so great?

1. The guy has talent. Won his first Grand Slam aged 20, spanking Sampras in 3 sets to win the 2000 US Open. Watching him play is always great due to the variety of shots, power, skill, etc. Unfortunately, a string of injuries, that famous temper, and loss of composure when things don't go his way has led Federer has taken over as the undisputed champ. But when things go his way, he's unstoppable. I had the pleasure of being a spectator where Safin broke Federer's 26-match(?) winning streak by beating him in the semis of the Aus Open and it was awe-inspiring.

2. Never underestimate the power of charm. I don't know if its his (sexy) accent or the way he mangles english, but this guy gives good interview and his brain is a little more on display when you read an interview that's been translated from spanish or russian. He also always manages to get the spectators on his side. This is the guy who killed a moth by stomping it to death in front of a full stadium in his match against Federer and make everyone laugh, and still manage to get those tired spectators to stay to listen to the post-match interview at midnight and then sing him *happy birthday*.

3. For all the charm, he's a little bit scary - watching him break his racquets or chuck a furious spaz at one of his mistakes...you'd hate to be on the receiving end of his fury. Not that I'm saying he'd do that against a person, but I'm thinking to be re-incarnated as one of his racquets or a random sideboard at the side of the court wouldn't be nice.

4. Let's not beat around the bush any longer. His damn good good looks. The curls and smile are boyish. The cheekbones are awesome. I don't think I need to say anything about the body. When Safin and Federer played off for the 2003 Aus Open title, I was as a bbq. All the girls were rooting for Safin, while the guys were backing Federer. That says something.

So talented, so charming, so energetic, so good-looking...this summer of tennis won't be the same if he doesn't make it.

Movie review: Narnia - The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe

Am I the only one who didn't like this movie? And having told a number of people that I didn't like it, why do they all make me feel bad for not liking it? Ignoring the Christian message sub-text, you'd think this would be the kind of movie I love. This is the anti-Kingdom of Heaven. It's got an engaging story, good CGI, a manageable running length, and good acting. But I wasn't able to add myself to the chorus of voices exclaiming how wonderful this movie was.

The kids are good - they kind of look like each other so its possible they're siblings and they really act like it, bickering with each other, doing one-upmanship, picking on the kid who's considered the odd one out, etc. But you know, if I wanted to watch a bunch of siblings bicker with each other, I'd pick a fight between mine or watch an episode of Supernanny. I found their actions at some points quite bewildering - Lucy walks into a wardrobe, finds another world...and then goes home to tea with a strange, goat-footed man without a shirt?! Susan's been told there's going to be a war and everyone will die unless they're present...but she still thinks they should all go home? Even Edmund had more guts than that! Peter and Edmund are about 12 and 16...how were they suddenly able to ride horses and do battle in full armour? It's like KOH!

Tilda Swinton as the White Witch is excellent. She's always had a kind of androgenous quality that's played up in a lot of roles she's had, such as Orlando, but here she's dressed up in sumptious furs and dresses, she looks quite beautiful even when she's using her gimlet stare. Evil, but beautiful. I found myself kind of respecting her character for the sheer force of will. Here's someone who knows what they want and aren't afraid of using all their resources to get it. And you know, I got to thinking that if she were truly TRULY evil, she could have just killed Edmund when she met him. According to the prophecy, if there's only 3 children, they can't overthrow her. But I guess we wouldn't have a story then.

The voice actors and the CGI for their respective animals were good too, but I found it distracting to hear such familiar voices and not be able to figure out the actor to the voice (Ray Winstone and Rupert Everett). I got Dawn French easily! And again, the CGI for them is good. The CGI battle with all the centaurs, gryphons and the Witch's Orc-like things was well done, if a bit LOTR-y. I know that when they were 18yo Alexander the Great and William the Conqueror had won several significant battles, but I question the wisdom of going into war under the leadership of a 16yo with no experience. Just nit-picking.

I'd read the book both before and after I knew of the Christian thing and I'll admit that as a kid, I did enjoy the story (less so after I became aware of all the other stuff). The movie remains pretty faithful to the book, however several times in the cinema I found myself looking at my phone and waiting for Aslan to appear and for the final battle to just get started. Perhaps knowing the book too well and what everything meant resulted in my more looking at it from an analytical viewpoint rather than being able to just enjoy it. Who knows.

It's a *meh* reaction from me
2-2.5/5

Back home

My photos have been posted at

http://mallymoodlespics.shutterfly.com/

password: 12345

enjoy!

Proof

Pans insists that this photo is proof that we walked across the Harbour Bridge, because we have to had been on the bridge to get that shot.

Yesterday's food

I love food and it shows with my being perhaps a size or two larger than your average girl of asian descent (where do the others put their internal organs?!). Yesterday, my thin sis and I ate such an amount that it impressed even us. We had...

Lunch
1kg of pippies in XO sauce (right)
500g of sashimi

Dinner
1 entree of salt and pepper squid shared
1 pot of mussels and pommes frites each
1 krispy kreme donut for dessert

Of course, after the donut we felt pretty sick and put the other 4 we bought away.

Hot Summer Nights

I rang in the new year at Milson's Point, in a park that surrounds one of the big tower thingies at each end of the Harbour Bridge. It was a however a *no BYO, no glass* area which meant that I didn't get as drunk as I have been on previous NYEs....I guess that's a good thing though.

This year's emblem was a heart - which lit up at 9pm and for *beated* at each passing hour until midnight when the fireworks went off. And go off they did! Its funny - you see fireworks many times over your life, but you can't help screaming, laughing and cooing about how pretty they are when you see them again. The night was balmy after a day with the temperature in the high-30s. We walked back to the apartment of one of Pans' friends because Stina had parked his car there and the park was full of portaloos that we didn't want to use.

And then something happened that I have definitely never seen before, although technically I didn't see it, only the after-evidence. People in the car parked next to Stina's was dealing cocaine. Yes, you read that right. Mmmm, nothing like illicit drugs to make a party night complete. We left the apartment at 1-something am and the space next to Stina's car was filled with scrunched-up tissues and straws. I guess the only thing that I'm thankful for was that it was cocaine and they were snorting it, rather than shooting up heroin or whatever so we didn't have to pass a heap of syringes.

To finish our ringing-in of the new year, me and pans decided to walk across the bridge to get home. Again, the weather had finally gotten down to something tolerable and we ran into a lot of happy people high-fiving us to the new year. We also managed to get some nice night-shots of the Opera House.
Unfortunately, our *proof* photos of being actually on the bridge didn't work out so well, but we did walk across it.

Anyway, here's to a great new year...spread the love and peace everyone! *hugs to all*