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*

Sydney

It doesn't have the same ring compared to where I spent last NYE, but it's a change of scenery. I've been here since the 28th and I've already changed skin tones *sigh*.

So far while I've been here, I've gone grocery shopping, not clothes shopping because I discovered yesterday that I still haven't been paid :(. As such, this will probably be my most expense-free holiday in years! I'm planning to go to the gallery (hope that's free) or walk around. Today I went to the beach for the first time in years and I got my first sunburn for the first time in years. It's on my shoulders and a little on my nose.

I went Bondi which is an ocean beach and those waves really pick you up and dunk you down! I went in over my head even though I've been warned that going into ocean water with contact lenses isnt really safe. I went out to the sandbar, jumped around in the water and went back. This went on for four hours, hence my sunburn. I also saw a lot of women not wearing their tops and looking at my tan lines...kinda wondering if i'd ever work up the bravery to do that too

My sister has a theory that the further north you go, the skankier the cities become and she's right. I mean sure, I've seen plenty of butt cracks (helloooo south lawn!) but until today, I had never seen butt crack coming out of a SKIRT. And it wasnt a little weenie hipster denim skirt, it was a full elastic-waist gypsy style skirt. That's just wrong.

NYE party planned in Kirribilli - seey'all later!

Movie review: King Kong

It's too long.
3/5




















JOKING!!!
But seriously, at 3 hours this movie is FAR TOO LONG. After making the LOTR movies, I'm sure any studio would be happy to indulge whatever movie Peter Jackson would choose to make and *whew!* it shows. Too many scenes go for too long - completely irrelevant (Ann and the Old man at the start, Jimmy), or exist as CGI showpieces to kill of characters - the Brontosaurus stampede and the Bug scene. The CGI is pretty brilliant but I couldnt help think at several stages of the movie that these bits would obviously be levels in the computer game.

The acting is pretty good considering that everyone is second banana to a giant Gorilla (pun intended! :P). Naomi Watts pretty much just screams or looks dewy-eyed, Jack Black was so slimy I wanted to punch him, Thomas Kretschmann was suitably menacing, authoritative, and fearful as the captain of the boat, Colin Hanks was great as Jack Black's long-suffering assistant, and Adrien Brody...we all know I *heart* him.

The whole thing about Kong being a victim of circumstance rather than a monster was depicted a bit too well - to the point where I was thinking that Kong was the *real* love interest as opposed to Adrien Brody/Jack Driscoll, and I started to want the movie to end with Ann and Kong being given a little island off NYC where they could live happily together but she'd be in close contact with personal hygiene and nutrition.

Some things I'd like to know
1. How'd they get Kong on the boat? Or did they just drag him all the way back like my sister thinks?
2. Seeing as 17 people died on the island, most of them crewmembers, how'd they even sail the boat back!?
3. How'd they get Kong into the theatre without various people seeing and knowing what he was?
4. Adrien Brody must be superman to survive being tossed around in a taxi without a getting a single scratch.
5. Naomi Watt's dress must be made out of the most awesome fabric ever! Not a single smudge during her time on the island!


Implausibility aside, if the movie wasn't so long, I'd probably give it better mark. But as it is, the length just served to put more flaws in. Shoulda kept it short and sweet.
3/5

Happy songs

In no particular order:

The Best Things in Life are Free - Janet Jackson and Luther Vandross
Love Generation - Bob Sinclar
Accidentally In Love - Counting Crows
You're the First - Barry White
Catch My Disease - Ben Lee
Here Comes the Sun - The Beatles
Danke Shoen - Brenda Lee
Your Song - Ewan McGregor from Moulin Rouge soundtrack
Wake Me Up (before you go-go) - Wham!
All I Need is You - Guy Sebastian

Man, this is a hard list to compile!

Feed the Kitty (1952)

This classic cartoon short was directed by Chuck Jones for the Warner Bros Studio. Written by Mike Maltese, it was about a bulldog, Marc Antony, who finds a stray kitten, Pussyfoot, and takes the kitten home with him. However, he has to keep Pussyfoot away from his owner who has forbidden Marc Antony to bring things into the house.

Words can't express how great this cartoon is. At once comedic with the juxtaposition of the huge, brutish bulldog and his affection for the tiny black kitten and his efforts to hide her from his owner, that turns into *spoiler* drama as we see Marc Antony's grief when he believes Pussyfoot to be blended, cut up, baked into a cookies, and his desperation to keep her when his owner finds Pussyfoot alive and well *end spoiler*. Its not a bulldog, but I was reminded of this awesome cartoon when I found the above photo on the smet. Cute.

And to those ppl who've said they don't understand what the appeal of Adrien Brody is to me, neither do I. He's just sexy, ok?!

Adrien Brody

Unlike my attraction to The Captain in The Sound of Music, and Prince Stefan from Disney's Sleeping Beauty, I can't seem to figure out why I find Adrien Brody attractive.

With his long nose and thin face, he's not typically good looking. In fact, he kinda reminds me of Mark Tj (for those who know him).

I saw him first in the The Pianist and its accompanying publicity and remember thinking *gee, he's ugly...but not bad*. I think the appeal from Pianist was that he was an ordinary man in an extraordinary situation, dressed in '40s style clothing. It suited him, although he got a bit caveman-like when things got rough(er) for this character.

In any case, he then became a Zegna model and we started seeing him in shots like the one above.

He is also now the *love interest* in King Kong (review coming soon). As Jack Driscoll, Adrien Brody plays a gamma hero dressed in 30s clothing and I've got to admit, I really liked that too. I never thought of him as an action man before, but you know its nice that he can also play lover/hero roles...although the kiss scene looked kinda funny because of his long nose.

But you know, I think he really had me when he did this:I remember screaming with mirth when I watched him do this to Halle Berry and thinking, who can't love a man who can do stuff like this in front of a live audience and will be broadcast to millions? Adrien Brody is a man with style and we need more of those in the world. Oh yeah, and his voice isn't bad either.

The Slow Hand of Bowling

This is what my bowling *technique* is now named. It works on a similar principle as driving - at a fast velocity, minor adjustments produce a greater result than when you do them at a slower velocity. Likewise, it is easier to do fine manoeuvering when you're going slow.

When I first started bowling, I did try to bowl with great force, only to find my ball hitting the pin on the very right edge of the lane or just falling into the gutter. Somewhere along the line, someone (I think it was either Justin or Roy) pointed out to me that due to my left-handed-ness and the way I dropped it, the ball tended to spin in a particular way that resulted in it gravitating to the right side and suggested that I practise on either cultivating the spin from the extreme left or bowling slowly to delete it. I chose the latter.

And so while it may look as though the ball is going to stop half-way down the lane and it takes a minute to actually reach the end...I do bowl with higher accuracy. The problem now is that the ball doesnt hit the pins with enough force to knock all the others down. But this technique still beats Moans and I guess thats good enough :-P (90-something to 80-something. The Ly sisters are still up!)

Also, good luck to Kat(i)e for NYC - Fridays won't be the same :-P

winding down

bring on the holidays. hmmm, I better buy my ticket out soon

DAMMIT!!!!!

It seems I won't get paid until after Christmas because I was supposed to sign a form but no one gave it to me to sign before the person who gives clearance left last week to attend a conference in India. What the hell is with that?! If I can run a ship so tight that the OHS ppl are singing my praises despite no formal qualifications, why can't other peole get their stuff together?

Great. Now I have to handle concentrated acids while cranky. I'm gonna take a paid 30 min break to calm down.

I forgot

Roy requested a shout-out last night.

Hi Roy!

Eponine - Lea Salonga vs Frances Ruffelle

Hands up the fans of the Alain Boublil-Claude-Michel Schonberg musical Les Miserables? And hands up the people who believe that while Cosette is the one who gets the guy, Eponine is actually the premier female role in the musical (except maybe Fantine)? Yeah, me too. The most recognised performers are Frances Ruffelle who created the role at both the original London and Broadway runs, and Lea Salonga who was selected as the Eponine in the 10th anniversay *dream cast* (There's also Kaho Shimada but I haven't been able to track down a recording of her) . So, who is the better? If we compare the best songs for Eponine, I'll give my rundown.

*On My Own* - Eponine bemoans the fact that her love for Marius is unrecognised. Salonga sings Eponine here as strong and defensive of her love while Ruffelle's version seems more wistful, particularly in the verses where she tells of how she imagines their life together. I suppose if you think of it in terms of acting, Ruffelle is better at displaying this as Eponine's flight of fancy followed by her agony at the knowledge that Marius will never return her affection. However Salonga's vocal superiority far outstrips Ruffelle, the intensity and power she puts into lines, particularly All my life, I've only been pretending... and the vibrato as she holds the final syllable - I wish I could sing like that. Ruffelle has a thinner, higher pitched voice, but when it breaks in some notes...makes you feel Eponine's emotions a bit more. I guess its a tie between acting vs singing here!
LS - 4.25/5, FR - 4.25/5

*A Little Fall of Rain* - Duet with Michael Ball (definitive Marius) as she's dying.
Woah! Lea Salonga takes her acting guns out here and her voice just craps all over Ruffelle's. The sad sweetness as she revels in the joy that Marius finally realises how much she loved him, even if he couldn't/didn't return it, she can die happy knowing at least he knows, assuring him that she's fine even though she's mortally wounded...wow! Her dying gasps, her short notes in her last verse, here's a girl who'd rather walk through fire than admit her pain to her love. If there's one complaint, its that sometimes Salonga sounds a bit too robust for someone who's dying...but it just shows her vocal awesomeness once again. Although sometimes screechy, Ruffelle's version isn't bad (she sings it better than I ever could) but she's just blown away.
LS - 4.85/5, FR - 3.5/5

The crystal-clear voice, the technically perfect vocal attack, the solid depiction of character... add one more trophy to your cabinet Lea Salonga. You are my definitive Eponine!

This is a good photo

Sure, he was creepy in Batman Begins, but allow me to present Cillian Murphy in from this month's L'Uomo Vogue.

Quite dashing, don't you think? I think we need more of this!

DVD review - Raising Helen

There's something about Kate Hudson that annoys me. I haven't figured out what it is yet, but it's probably got something to do with how she always seems kind of perky. Knowing this, I answered The Call from Carmencita and we decided to watch Miss Hudson's latest new-to-weekly DVD, Raising Helen. After this, I'm beginning to wonder whether its not so much that I find her annoying, but rather I find her roles annoying. This will be explained in time.

The basic story is that we have 3 sisters, Felicity Huffman, Joan Cusack, and Kate Hudson. Kate is a lot younger than her sisters in age and maturity (probably mid to late-20s), but she and Felicity (who I assume is eldest) are close to each other in personality, with Joan being the ultra-mature/maternal one in the middle. The elder two seem to be housewives, while Kate works as a PA for the head of a modelling agency - her life being a combination of hot clothes, glamourous parties, early office starts, short-notice travel, etc. We are shown that she's actually VERY good at what she does...but also that she's immature and *playing* at life. Tragedy strikes when Felicity is killed in a car accident, and leaves custody of her three children (15yo girl, 10yo boy, 5yo girl) to Kate, much to everyone's shock. And so we have a movie showing Kate trying to achieve balance between raising a family and her *party* lifestyle.

Now, if you know me, you're probably thinking I'm going to write a diatribe about how conservative values are being pushed whereby being a successful career-woman is incompatible with having a family and being *responsible*. This is pushed to an extent - Kate loses her job after a debacle involving a model, some kids, and permanent textas...but this is counterbalanced by her actually going back to the agency and being promoted to agent (cos she was good at promoting the agency's models). No, what really gave me the #$@! was the actual character of Helen.

It's not that she was a party girl and is finding it difficult to adjust. I'm sure that if someone left me custody of children not much younger than me, I'd have trouble adjusting to it too. It was her complete inability to have even a sense of AUTHORITY, and upon discovering that she does in fact have one, her inability to exercise it, letting Joan take the blame for being "horrible". The eldest daughter sees Kate as a partner in crime, not an authority figure, and throws a party in their apartment while Kate is at work, and later goes to the senior prom (even though she's a freshman oooOOooo) even though the guy who asked her is dodgy and has the plan to get into her pants.

Now I don't know about you, but if I came home from a long day at work to find a bunch of kids having a party and trashing in MY house, I'd be freaking furious. But no, Kate can't force them out cos she remembers what its like to be 15 and how popularity was everything. Upon finding that her niece has left the prom AND stolen her credit card, she's developed enough outrage to call Joan on what to do and track the niece and boy to a seedy motel....but just as the time comes to give what for, she tells Joan that she can't handle the idea of being hated for having to do this her niece. EXCUSE ME?!?!?! She'd rather let her niece ruin her life than be hated for humiliating the girl in front of a boy?! A boy, I should add, she had previously told her niece to stop hanging around?!? Where the HELL are your balls woman?!?! And get some perspective while you're at it. Cos there's sheer immaturity which is probably what Helen started at, then there's stupidity which Helen can't be cos of her professional proficiency, so that just leaves idiocy where you know what the right thing is, but you do the dumb thing anyway.

And so, Kate Hudson, so long as you keep choosing roles where your character can't see reality or sees reality but hides from it, I'm just going to have to keep finding you annoying.

2/5

I DEFINITELY need to be less efficient!

My boss just paid me a visit to see my progress in the cataloguing and re-organisation of the lab chemicals (he hasnt been in for the last 3 days). He saw that half the chemicals were gone and that I've essentially finished the catalogue with only the concentrated acids really left to go, and even put all the salts in alphabetical order. He then congratulated me on getting the work done in less than a fortnight as he thought it would take at least 3 weeks.

At this announcement I asked *If you thought it would take that long, why did you always ask if I'd reached Zinc yet?*

To which he said *It was fun watching you panic.*

DIRTY!!!

The End of the Explosion and *stardom* returns!!!

For those who read this last week or have seen me and asked what I'm doing now, TODAY was CHEMICAL DISPOSAL DAY.

YESSSSSSS!!!!!!!

The disposal guys came in at a little past 10 and took away the 100 chemicals that I'd earmarked for disposal. Zisos the EHS guy was there to supervise and told me that when the guys make a shocked *foof* sound - thats never a good thing. These guys are pros...and for them to look at the some of the stuff and be shocked...well thats never a good thing! Now I can rest a lot easier that the whole place isn't going to go down in flames (threw out most of the explosive hydrocarbons) and that cancer isnt going to spread throughout the place (ditto the carcinogens).

A drawback to this is that Zisos figured that since I look young enough, and crappily dressed enough to be a student, he recruited me to be an extra in an EHS video to be shown to first years about various safety things. I don't know if my acting lessons as a child helped (yes, music and sport be damned!), but I did manage not to laugh.

The Beetle photo

As my sister said - THATS PRETTY BIG!!!

Alas, not a very good photo though

The Beetle Battle

There I was, happily riding home from work, reading my book (Lolly Scramble by Tony Martin) when I felt something tickle/pinch my arm. Imagine my horror when I found a bright green (actually, the colour was quite nice, it was like burnished metal that changes colour when you alter the angle of light) BEETLE/SCARAB looking thing on my arm!!!

With a little shriek (hate bugs) I flicked it off my arm for it to land ON MY SKIRT. With another shriek, I stood up and flicked it onto the floor of the bus. I then settled back down with the book, ignoring the curious gazes of my fellow passengers. But alas. I could hear a little whirring sound and found the beetle headed straight back towards me! I stood up and the beetle and i duked it out for the seat...but to no avail.

I conceded defeat, and once again ignoring the mocking gazes of the passengers, changed seats. I then took a photo with my camera of the blasted thing...but my phone is charging so i cant load the photo yet.

Alice - 0, Beetle - 1

Cake in the Fridge Rules

(Wooh! My first blog at work!)

At my *normal* department (shout out to PATH at UniMelb!!!) there's a unspoken rule that if there's a box with a leftover cake in it (or for that matter, any food that's come from a departmental source), that cake is fair game for anyone with an empty stomach or just a cheap source of food (Jigs, I'm looking at you). At my *new* dept (shout out to ED at Latrobe! - not that anyone here knows about my blog)...there's a plate with about a quarter of lemon meringe pie left and another plate with some brownies.

So...do I apply the rules from my old dept here or let the cake go? I'm in such a quandary :-(

Movie review: Harry Potter 4: The Goblet of Fire

Hmm...this will be a difficult review to write. On one hand, I walked out satisfied but on the other, I wasn't blown away the way my friends were and found myself thinking that the book was better.

So lets start off with whats good about the movie. Trying to cram 629 pages into less than 3 hours of movie was never going to be an easy task, but they managed to cram in most of the pertinent information and events. The CGI has improved a lot since the first movie. I recall thinking that the Quidditch match in the first was like watching a 3D sports game - something like the FIFA games cos the polygons weren't quite smooth. But now that it has become a lot better, the visuals of landscapes, events such as the first round of the Tri-Wizard Cup, and characters such as when Gary Oldman/Sirius Black comes through the fire are a lot more convincing. My personal favourite scenes were the arrival of the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students at Hogwarts - real effort there with the choreography to show off the personalities of each school, and of course the ball - love how it turned from an ultra-formal ball with formal dancing into a kind of rave, and who else spotted Jarvis Cocker as part of the band?!?! Ruper Grint and Emma Watson were amusing as Ron and Hermione and the adult actors were great as usual in their limited roles (special shout-out to Ralph Fiennes - Mr. Awesome Villian)....which I guess then takes us to the bad.

Daniel Radcliffe...I guess this is the payoff you get from when you're hiring an 11-yo for a series of movies. His acting has improved, but compared to Emma and Rupert and the amount of time focussed on him...its unfortunate. The amount of makeup on all the young actors!!! I'm aware theyre British and going through a difficult stage in life, but really! They were all milky skinned with rosy cheeks and pink lips. It looked a bit like old-school theatre. The most incredibly disturbing and uncalled for scene in the whole movie - where Harry takes a bath to figure out the clue to the second task and Moaning Myrtle attempts to flirt. I'm aware that he has legions of pubescent female fans, so i'm chalking this up to pandering to that crowd, but I myself am not turned on by the sight of bare 15yo chest, and the knowledge that the actress playing Myrtle (Shirley Henderson) is 40yo....that just made the whole thing kinda disturbing.

I remember during the movie feeling fairly entertained, but I couldnt help compare my feelings to Ruilin who was laughing out loud for most of the movie. Apart from when Harry does a spit take when Cho Chang smiles at him, nothing about the movie particularly moved me. I'm aware Katie Leung/Cho Chang has been under fire for not being beautiful enough, but you know, she fits the standard asian teenager look, so everyone who thinks she's ugly - GET OVER IT.

While I was fairly entertained, I've received comments (from Martin in particular) that the movie was terrible...and to an extent I agree with him. One of the things that disappointed me was that a lot of the sub-plots that elevated Goblet of Fire away from being a mere-childrens/teen book were cut out. Things that showed the machinations behind the scene at the Ministry for Magic - their willingness to use Harry as a political pawn and then refusal to take his warnings about Voldemort seriously. The clues that were dropped as to the identity of the villain. The bits that show the characters are growing up and their conflict. While I understood what was going on and could therefore fill the gaps, for people who haven't read the book (such as Tina), the movie was an incoherent mess consisting of vignettes linked by common characters.

So I guess then what we have is a flawed movie that while servicing its fans well, is ultimately let down because it has been tailored to suit the fans. It was good, but not outstanding. I suspect it won't stand the test of time, but we'll see when that comes.

3/5

Oh my!

Alors! It's been a busy few days since my last post.

Firstly, I got a full time job! Well, it'll be full time for about 2 or 3 weeks or however long it takes me to do. I'm working for the Ed. Fac. at Latrobe as their practical technician. Basically what that means is that I'm cataloguing 30 years accumulated chemicals and will then organise their laboratory until it passes government conditions. And oooo, right now, that lab is a HOLE full of toxic chemicals! I was interviewed on Monday and asked to start on Tuesday in order to get a heap of chemicals thrown out by Wednesday 14/12. I saw the lab momentarily on Monday, but on my first proper poke around, I found

• 2 bottles of Benzene sitting on a shelf - carcinogenic and causes genetic mutations
• hydrogen peroxide (unstable) sitting next to motor oil (KABOOM!)
• sodium crystals in a rusty tin (KABOOM!)
• 2.5L bottle of carbon tetrachloride sitting on a shelf - poisonous carcinogen
  
• calcium carbide, which explodes when it hits water, in a RUSTY CAN

Aiyo! I could probably get a heap of chemicals thrown out by next week, but the lab won't be in (my idea of) functional for at least another week after that. I wonder if I can organise new chemical storage facilities...mmm, its like redecorating.

Secondly, changes in appearance. No, I have not permed my hair, but ppl are telling me they think I've lost weight! I'd give a great *oh yay!* but I suspect it may just be due to my summer clothes being tighter than my winter ones. Even if I am looking better, it's offset by the fact that I seem to have re-crippled myself. The old ankle is playing up and for the last 2 days I've been doing some serious limping. I drove yesterday, and since it was the GoGo-mobile (heh), that clutch didnt feel too good.

I also finally saw Harry Potter 4 - review coming in a few days!

BDO and Trivia nights

heheheh. I dunno if I should write about what happened on Friday night. It was pretty hilarious but at the same time makes someone look kinda foolish. No matter. Here goes!

I was invited out to join an informal BDO (accounting firm) bar hop. So after driving into the city and leaving the car at Martin's place we joined Katie and co. at Trader Bar. They were well into their cups and might I say, a very nice bunch of people :-) We proceeded onto Bambu before deciding to shake our asses at F4. At the surprisingly early time of just after midnight, Katie decided she was tired and her feet hurt, so we said our goodbyes and supporting her on both sides, headed back to Martin's. There we decided to cook her Martin's special spaghetti because she hadn't had dinner either, but in the 20-30 minutes or so it took us to cook, Katie had pretty much passed out on his bed. So making sure we left her a portion, we ate our bits and then decided to watch some tv that he'd recorded off his computer. And all through that time, Katie didnt budge. At 3-something am, we kinda gave up on trying to wake her up and I settled in for the night next to her...even though she was hogging the quilt :-P while Martin took the couch. We didn't surface again until past daybreak and Katie admitted that when she woke up the first things she thought were *Where am I? Who is this person sleeping next to me?!?* hehehe

And then I attended a Trivia night, forming a team with Jess, Jade, Boonie, Emily, and my brothers. After naming our team *Go Banana!* (no one seemed to understand the reference) we came second to the reigning champions. I have to say this next bit as an acknowledgement - my brothers and I carried the team. Big cheers to Jess for her lovely cheerleading skills and Jade for organising. Next time, we're gonna recruit and Indian doctor and come FIRST!!! GO BANANA!!!!

Shakira - Don't Bother

Hmmm, I haven't written anything about music in a while.

When Shakira first came onto the english-speaking scene a few years ago, I couldn't stand the weird kinda yodel-singing she does. That and the fact her songs were just EVERYWHERE and I frankly got sick of hearing Whenever, Wherever. But you know, now that the hype has died down, I find her music not bad.

Don't Bother is the lead single (in this country anyway) off her Oral Fixation Volume 2 album. (Fijación Oral Volume 1 is in spanish, obviously.) The verses are sung in a kinda low pitched-staccato before launching into the high-powered chorus with a great yell of *HEY HEEEEEY!!!!* While the yodel-singing is still there but toned down, so too are her wonderfully wacky lyrics which are as wacky as ever. My favourite part of the song would be the spoken verse where Shakira whispers these lines:

For you, I'd give up all I own
And move to a Communist country
If you came with me, of course.
And I'd file my nails so they don't hurt you
And I'd lose those pounds
And learn about football
If it made you stay, but you won't, but you won't

The line about learning football is my absolute favourite. Now there's a girl who really loves her guy!