For once, photoshop is not my enemy!

It's helping me clean some things up although I don't think it will ever be clean enough to actually use. *Boo hoo*

I need more clothes

Not that it ever gets that cold here but I realised with today's cold snap that the majority of my clothes money for the last few years has been spent on shoes, stockings, and summer dresses. Usually from Europe. While I don't have a problem with that (and who could blame me?!) when the wind blew today, the section of my legs not covered by the orange duffle coat were very very cold. Of course, I could always hit the clothes that Pooey left here (hai Pooey!) I have a distinct feeling she took all the trousers in warmer fabrics with her.

This brings me to one conclusion.

Time to hit the shops!!!

Fandango!

Following my theme of Spanish love, I'd just like to make a comment about Fandango, a cafe conveniently walking distance from uni. Okay, the cafe itself has nothing to do with Spain other than the name, but I needed an introducing line.

It all started when Misha suggested we go to Tom Phat for breakfast. The idea of *asian fusion breakfast* freaked out a few of the less adventurous members of the lab but the idea of Lab Breakfast had taken root, especially since Erica would be out of town for the fortnight. The Pom had mentioned to various members of the lab the awesomeness that is Fandango breakfasts. So we all (well, just me) made the supreme effort to get to uni before 9am on thursday so we could over and chow down. So on a very cold day, we ended up seated out the back drinking our hot teas and coffees while sitting next to a gas patio heater.

Here are some pics ripped from Misha:

This is what I ate - the Pesto eggs

Digging in!

The other Lab Gals (+Abrez) also dig in!

Here's what Misha ate (french toast) and what I kinda wanted to eat

Anyway, to follow up eating there on Thursday, I ate there again on Saturday with Suling! I still didn't have the French toast - I had the pancakes instead but there are no photos this time. Anyway, I recommend it. But not too much (otherwise there won't be any room for us!)

Movie review - Kung Fu Panda

Po the Panda (voice of Jack Black) is the lazy son of the noodle maker (who is a goose. Hmmm....) but he secretly dreams of becoming an AWESOME kung fu master. One day, Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) is told by Master Oogway the Turtle of his premonition that Tai Lung the Snow Leopard, Shifu's nemesis, will break out of prison. As such, Oogway will pick the Dragon Warrior from one of the five of the local kung fu champs trained by Shifu: Tiger , Crane, Monkey, Snake or Mantis. So imagine everyone's surprise and dismay when Oogway picks Panda! Eventually Shifu manages to overcome his prejudices against Po and trains him to be the ultimate Dragon Warrior!

You know, I LOVE it when a movie proves me wrong. And when I first heard about this movie, I thought it was going to be a shocker. But then I saw the promos and thought, oh maybe it won't be so bad. And then I saw the US reviews and thought *hmm, maybe I'll go see this*. And once I saw it, I thought *I love this movie!!!* Here's why.

First of all, it's fun. This is a straight forward, not particularly groundbreaking story about a Panda's ascent to kung fu mastery, but it's a very funny straight forward story of a Panda's ascent to mastery! The jokes are as simple as Tiger accusing Po of not taking is position seriously, followed by him pulling a stupid face, followed by him falling down and we see him completely covered in acupuncture needles - excellent visual jokes here. In addition, a lot of CGI movies are aimed at the dual adult and child markets. This often means that the script and animation are loaded with pop culture references. While that's not often a bad thing, it can lead to overload or acts as a mask to hide a poor story *cough Shrek3 cough cough*. there are plenty of references that movie buffs should pick out; I managed to find The Matrix, Crouching Tiger, Jackie Chan movies (he's the voice of Monkey), and Ninja Scroll amongst others. Essentially, this movie is not overloaded with things to disrupt or distract from the plot and quite frankly, that's a good thing.

The Ninja Scroll ref comes at the beginning of the film when you see the lone panda in his conical hat emerging from the mist which is done in 2D style which brings me to animation. While I was not as hypnotised by the visuals as I was in Horton, it is downright beautiful. The China we get is the classic China seen in Song Dynasty scroll painting.
Very pretty. And the rendering of the characters! Po is so round and cuddly. The animation is also very good at replicating (what looks to me like) real kung fu moves! There's a kung fu fight between Po and Shifu over some char siu baos/xiao long b that reminded me a lot of my youth that looked very authentic. I was very pleased to see that the film actually had fight choreographers. Nice!

Anyway, I really do believe that there is something in this movie that would please everyone. Even for the most cynical people out there, it only goes for 92 minutes so if you hate it, it'll end soon. Go watch!
(Pictures from rottentomatoes.com)
8-8.5/10

Movie review - Sex and the City

Woooh!!!! Took a while for me to see this one! Would you believe, I actually wasn't a HUGE fan of the show. I mean, sure, I enjoyed it but I didn't watch it religiously. Hell, even though I bought the entire series, I still haven't watched it all! Regardless, I watched it enough to know who was whom and what was going on. Long story short, this movie takes place ten years after the start and four years after the end of the tv show. I won't bother to talk about what the movie is about - I'm taking it as given that only fans (and their male-handbags) would go watch it. I remember one criticism of the way the show ended was the apparent message that despite these women being successful, attractive (although that's debatable), single go-getters, a woman needed to have a man in order to be *complete* as all the characters were paired up. I'm glad that this movie addresses that issue and, to me, the storyline for each character rang true to who each of them were.

So this will be a pro and con review.
Pro

• Great shoes and interesting clothes (I won't say all of the clothes are great).
• The lighting and makeup - I know that in real life, Sarah Jessica Parker is freakishly thin and not the most classically attractive of women. However, at various points in the film I did think *she's quite good looking there.
• Dante getting out of a wetsuit.
• That REALLY big wardrobe.
• Miranda's storyline and Cynthia Nixon's performance. Definitely the most difficult and most underrated.
• Samantha's development as more than just a horny woman.
• The warm and gooeyness that are female friendships without bitchiness!
• The fact that the movie is just like another episode!

Con

• Reminding me how self-centred Carrie can be although her moping in this film is justified given the way Big has jerked her around for the last 10 years.
• Charlotte being played for laughs - while I'm glad that her romanticism and idealism remains undiminished, they really turned her into an object of ridicule - e.g. Mexico, searching for the *perfect opening line, the tottering around after confronting Big etc etc.
• Jason Lewis' weird looking face.
• The fake boobs on Dante's girl #3.
• I also didn't need to see *that* shot in order to be convinced of how/why Dante is attractive to Samantha. Overkill!
• Miranda nude.
• The fact that the movie us just like another episode. A really long episode.

Looking at this film from the perspective of a non-fan, I would be close to saying this would be like watching the Harry Potter movies without reading the books. If you don't know who everyone is and what happened to them during the series, you may be left scratching your head. There is a short rundown at the start of the film that covers the four main characters and their respective partners, but doesn't cover the recurring characters who are naturally there.

So yes. Not a perfect film, not an overly terrible film. While I'll stop short of saying *for fans only* I will say that it will help greatly if you are.
7-8/10 for fans, 4-5/10 for everyone else.

Me + cosmetic surgery = alien

There have been times when I've been asked by people if I'd ever consider having cosmetic surgery. (I don't know why people ask me this - are they telling me I need it?!) Anyway, my answer has generally been a flat *no*. I believe your face helps people form part of their identity and the idea of waking up one day and not looking like myself would be weird. Hell, it's happened at times whenever I've lost weight! Maybe I'll feel differently about this when I'm older and my face changes again but I'm not displeased by my features and judging from my mum and various other relatives, I believe me and Pooey will age gracefully.

But for those who are kinda curious and not that great at Photoshop, there is now LiftMagic a site that allows you to have a peep at what you'd look like with surgery. I think it works best if you're looking at the camera with a straight face (without all the muscle distortions and all) but even then, every time I've put a photo in, I come out looking like an alien!!! Okay, it's probably not helped by me setting it to *suggested max* but if I needed another reason not to have my face cut, this is it!

The little text at the bottom is a description of the *surgery* done. I'm somewhat amused by the recommendation that both of them put in a weight reduction of 33%. WHATEVER!!!

Hours of fun and yet another reason showing why cosmetic surgery is not the answer for body dysmorphia.

Cant...speak.....

...except to say VIVA ESPAÑA!!!!!
Here's a picspam. Hopefully I'll be able to be more coherent later.


And here's a pervy video of the team celebration from the locker room.

Sorry for the boring blog lately

It feels like all I've been doing lately is follow the Spain as they progress through Euro 2008 (VIVA ESPANA!!!), convincing various ACB girls to join in on the Spain-love much to the disgust of The Pom who is trying to convince us that we should be looking towards Rugby for Real Men, exercise, eating, and working. *sigh*

Actually, something I did do that was kinda interesting - I organised for some ACBers to go have pho. I was surprised by the number of pho virgins who agreed to come along! I had the Pho dac biet/Ta Pin Lu a.k.a the Chicken and Beef Combination Special. While many organ meats were present (tripe, tendons, giblets), I was really disappointed to not receive the really hardcore organs. It sounds kinda wrong to say I was looking forward to eating congealed blood and a chicken heart but I was.

Unforch, I forgot to take some photos which which I could torment Pooey who is still in her pho desert. Instead here's a pic from the intersmet. (Source)

He's (kinda) back!!!!

I'm happy to report that while I have been having a very serious affair with a certain Spanish somebody, my husband decided he didn't like this and figured the best way to impress me was to take out one of this year's Wimbledon favourites. Yes, Marat Safin beat Novak Djokovic in straight sets. WTF!??!?!As much as I love him, even I was thinking it'd be another 2nd round exit.

(Pictures from Down the Line!)

While I'll stop short of saying perhaps we'll see a career resurgence (actually, we will see a rankings improvement), it really is nice to see him in the winners circle again. And it's probably just as well that my hubby has decided to claim what's his (i.e. me) because that certain Spanish somebody has been spotted on a date (i.e. not with me).

(Photo from Kickette)

That huge explosion sound was my heart breaking. *sniff* But on the other hand, I can respect a girl who can put that kind of goofy smile on his face.

Data!

Hmm....it's been a while since I posted anything that resembled work.No comment about what this actually is. Let's just say it's what I wanted to see.

Weekend round up!

It's been a long time since I drank so recklessly! But after getting to uni at 9:30 on a Saturday (hell, that's earlier than some days I get in during the week!) and then spending 8 hours there making blocks and cryosectioning....can you really blame me?

After that misery, I headed into the city for a night's revelling in celebration of Kt's birthday. Foolishly, I ate a small dinner very early and then followed it up by drinking four glasses of shiraz in 3.5 hours. The effect recalled the time I drank half a jug of sangria and then followed it up by eating the fruit - Hi Lydia! Actually, it wasn't that bad. I think I would have been alright if I had a bag of green tea red bean buns from Breadtop. Either way, there was some cha-cha-cha dancing with Vinh and conversing with a D-lister.

And then I counted cells and did two loads of laundry on Sunday.

Yes, life is complete.

Human Weapon

One of the great things about having cable is watching tv that you know just wouldn't make it to free-to-air. Or at least it wouldn't be on at a reasonable timeslot. I can just tell Human Weapon would be one of those shows.

Human Weapon is hosted by Jason Chambers and Bill Duff, who travel the world learning various martial arts. At the end of each episode, one of them is nominated to fight an expert in the field. Based on my description, believe it or not, this series was made for the History Channel!

Here are some clips from the kung fu (sanda) episode.




I'm hanging out of the brazilian ju jutsu episode ;)

Books so far this year (and a bit of last year)

I have been pretty good at stopping myself from buying books this year. It was difficult, but for the most part, I held out until I got to the US and UK and books were a lot cheaper due to their weak currencies. *sigh :D* So in commemoration of s 20% fortnight, I thought I'd write about some of the books I've purchased....and might have read...so far this year.

Malcolm Gladwell's Blink
Recommended to me by Miss Pooky, an interesting look at not only why you should trust your gut instincts but also how to make them better!

Michael Pollan's In Defence of Food and The Omnivore's Dilemma.
When I was in the Fort Lauderdale, I noticed some really weird things about the food. Like how sweet the bread was - sweet even for someone who loves Viet (French) bread. That and how orange American cheese is. And I was kinda disgusted by the way food was advertised there - like making your breakfast coffee or cereal 'better' by adding Cool Whip *cough* YEUCH! One night while having dinner with Dr. P., she told me about her US food experiences and recommended these books to explain what has happened to the US food industry. Having read these books, I have resolved never to live there and to only eat vegetables and seafood there if I must.

Sergei Lukyanenko's Night Watch Trilogy/Tetralogy once Final Watch comes out.
I LOVED the Night Watch movie!!! It was so fun! So when I found out my local library had the trilogy, I borrowed and read them. And they were also so fun!!! So I had to buy them. Can you blame me?! The narrator for most of the books, Anton Gorodetsky, isn't all-powerful and I find his snarkiness about the conditions of the New Russia hilarious. Makes me want to go there!!!

Anne Bishop's Tangled Webs from the Black Jewels Series.
Another fun fantasy/horror series which I wrote about here.

Paullina Simons' Road to Paradise (unread).
It's funny that this should be unread. It's probably because I bought it in trade paperback - a size I almost never invest in due to it's cumbersome nature. It might also be because I bought it so Paullina Simons would sign it - I shrieked like a fangirl when I realised she was in the store! EEEK! Made me wish I had my Bronze Horseman books with me *fret fret*

Stephenie Meyer's The Host (unread)
Those readers may remember that I loved Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series. I knew The Host would be coming out while I'd be in the US/UK and wondered if it would be cheaper to purchase it there. I never managed to find The Host in the US until I got to JFK airport where I found it in hardcover. I wasn't going to lug a hardcover book with me around Europe! Especially not one where I didn't know how much it cost. And then when I was killing time in Borders Oxford Circus...there was a giant stand saying that The Host was being sold for three days at the special price of....7 pounds. I SHIT YOU NOT!!! The exchange rate of the day put it about $15. That's like what it would cost here in small paperback! And to add extra sweetness to the deal, it was coming with the bonus first chapter of Midnight Sun - the first chapter of Twilight retold from Edward's point of view. SOLD! So I then proceded to lug the book around Europe...and not read it. But I will. *nod*

I also got myself Disease - The Extraordinary Stories Behind History's Deadliest Killers which is pretty fascinating stuff. Good for the nerd in you.

Spain for Euro 2008!

I had a semi-difficult time trying to decide who to support for the UEFA Euro 2008 tournament. But with a bit of a helping word from las chicas at Kickette, I have settled on La Furia, aka Spain.

(Source)

Those who keep up with this kind of thing are probably thinking that I've picked them because in the Group stages, they've already whipped Russia 4-1 and last night beat Sweden 2-1. Not so. If you back, you'll remember that I have already declared myself for Casillas. I've been reading Kickette's Spanish Baller Appreciation thread and I've been converted. Suling is a hardcore Italian fan and I do understand her appreciation of the Italian capitan Cannavaro (semi NSFW!) but when I heard he got injured and realised the rest of the team wouldn't be playing wearing only their D&G undies...well, the interest wore off.

But their good looks and mad skillz aren't the only thing they have going for them - they too have much ability in the stacks on and manlove celebratory expressions. I really hope the .gif works - they way Villa throws himself on Torres while they're still running and then their roll is priceless.

(Everything came from the SBA forum)

Spice Cookies

Gee, it's been a while since I posted anything. So I'm going to be lazy and post a recipe which I haven't even baked in a while. But they are good!

70g Plain flour
70g Self raising flour
1 heaped tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
112.5g butter
85g soft brown sugar

Cream the butter and sugar.
Sift dry ingredients into the butter mixture.
Mix the ingredients together until they form a firm dough.
Roll out (about 1cm thick) and cut with cookie cutters.
Bake for 15-20mins for 180 degrees celsius.

Enjoy!

Unfruitful weekend

We just had a long weekend here (Happy Birthday Queen Liz II!!!) and I fully intended to finish counting cells. I didn't do it. Instead I thoroughly cleaned my room...only to make it messier.

Ah well.

In other news, Nance gave me a pair of boots that she bought and then found she couldn't walk in. Me being a champ at wearing high heels (take a quick look at some of the shoes I have for those unbelievers!) have happily agreed to give them a good home. Here they are!

Movie review - Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Dum de dum-duuum, dum de dummmmm! Dum de dum-duuum, dum de dum dum dum!!! I am a lover of the original Indiana Jones movies. For the most part, I resisted spoiling it for myself and I'm aware of the mixed reaction this film has garnered. So number 4 in one of my most super favouritest franchises after an absence of 19 years, was I satisfied? (If the review is a bit shoddy, it's cos I'm trying to avoid spoiling!)

Set in 1957, the movie starts with Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) is being coerced by Soviet agents led by Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett) into retrieving something for them from the same Area 51 warehouse from the end of the first movie (Fan shout-out!). Although he only did it to save his ass, he is essentially forced out of academia for helping the enemy. On the day he is about to leave for a new job, Mutt Williams (Shia LaBeouf) approaches him for help to find one of Indy's lost colleagues, Ox Oxley (John Hurt) and Mutt's mother (Karen Allen - fans will know where this was going). Motorbike chases, stunts, crashing through the jungle and river rides ensue!

I have pretty much been sitting here all day thinking about the best way to review this because while I did enjoy it (verra verra much), I see it's weaknesses and how others wouldn't like it. My feeling towards it is a bit like the Simpsons movie. You want it to be brilliant - it's not, but that's not to say it's not entertaining! After a lot of reading of forums and doing my own considerable thinking, I believe the big issue here is the suspension of believe required to enjoy this movie. Frankly, the plot is pretty damn weak. Even taking into consideration the other Indiana Jones quests, it's outright ridiculous. I won't give away the big doozy but I have heard it totally spoiling the experience for others - hai Pooey! The set pieces here are also just...yeah. For those who have seen the movie, the words *Monkey scene* should bring up what I'm trying to get to. Likewise, straddling two cars while doing a sword fight.

The acting....hmmm, this is a bit of doozy because the dialogue IS cheesy and it's hard to be serious (and therefore be seriously reviewed) when you're saying clunkers like...

• Col. Dr. Irina Spalko: You fight like a young man; eager to start and quick to finish.
• Mutt Williams: You know, for an old man you ain't bad in a fight. What are you, like 80?

• Mutt Williams: I don't understand. Why the legend about the city of gold?
  Indiana Jones: Well, the word for 'gold' translates as 'treasure.' But their treasure wasn't gold, it was knowledge. Knowledge was their treasure

But despite this, I think everyone manages to acquit themselves well I mean, it's not terrible like Star Wars terrible. Nobody is treating themselves too seriously. Some of the people on imdb gripe about Shia LaBeouf's casting and Cate Blanchett's accent. Quite frankly, I didn't think they were that bad - I thought Indy and Mutt had good chemistry and adventure movie villians are always over the top. I though Blanchett had the right mix of menace and interesting.

I will refrain from talking about the use of CGI. All I'll say is that you can tell which bits are real and which ones are not. You will have to judge for yourself if you think they were better than the *real* stunts.

This was a pretty difficult film to review because I can see it disappointing a lot of the hardcore fans who want it to be absolutely marvellous. It is not absolutely marvellous. It is however, and enjoyable throwback to the adventure movies of yore. And isn't that what it has always been about?
7.5 - 8/10

Trip photos up (finally!)

Okay, I've finally managed to get off my (apparently slimmer) ass to upload photos from my trip. The Fort Lauderdale/NYC pics are up with the London/Paris bits coming as soon as I get back to uni and can abuse the bandwidth.

Looking back...I kinda regret not taking a photo of when my hotel decided to pay homage to the US Navy and the place was filled with sailors. Scary at the time but should have taken a pic for posterity!

The link is http://mallymoodlespics.shutterfly.com/
Password - 12345

I am going to Hell

I am not a religious person. Not by a long shot. But I thought long and hard about whether I should post this entry. The conflict will soon be apparent.

I haven't been paying much attention to the French Open this year - busy with work and whatnot - so it took me a while to click onto various sites to check out this year's shocks on the red clay of Paris. Now, Roland Garros is usually a pretty good place for scoping out new eye candy and possible future champions because the wildcard and qualifier batch are usually latin types who do well on clay. I recall Marat Safin (*sigh* made his breakthrough appearance at the '98 tournament. I remember because I was still attending an all-girls' school and his photos in the newspapers made us swoon.

Anyway, this year has thrown up Jonathan Eysseric.

What do you think kids? (Source and source)

The good news! He's French and could possibly be around for a while - he has a respectable junior record being the 2007 Aus runner up and 2007 US doubles champ and pushed Andy Murray to five sets. The bad, he's BARELY LEGAL. In fact, he only turned 18 on May 27th (bon anniversaire)!

While some may consider the fact that he is legal *good news*, I can't help thinking that when he first picked up a racquet, I was probably considering my own career options by picking tertiary education courses. Either way, he has the potential to transform. Just like Safin did. Here's a reminder of what Safin started out as and is now (source).
So to end this post and to muck up the whole conflict thing a little more, here's a pic that indicates this no longer jail bait already has a tramp stamp (source). Enjoy!

The post-trip shopping blog!

I really can't believe it. I only bought two pairs of shoes on this most recent trip! And I didn't buy any clothes in Paris?! What the hell was I doing on this trip?! And with that in mind, lets see what I did buy!

After much rage and storming about, I finally found these ankle boots at a store in SoHo, NYC. They weren't exactly what I was looking for - I don't know if I can handle heels that high for an entire day in the lab. They're also a bit of a bitch to get on and off. But once I had them on in the store, I was struck by their absolute hotness. And the 50% discount. Thus, they became mine.

The shoes from Furla that I bought in absolute frustration when I couldn't find an appropriate pair of ankle boots at Woodbury Common. At 100% leather, they smell absolutely beautiful. I don't know if I could ever make myself wear them.

A lot of people told me that when America goes on sale, it GOES ON SALE. I picked this up at BCBG for $US70. For a wool/cashmere/nylon blend. *faint* This was in size XS which is a little bit large on me (wtf?!). But for that price, I would have gotten the S which swamped me!

I also got this in BCBG. It was hard trying to pick out one pretty dress out of all the ones in the store.

This also came from BCBG.

I bought these from a street vendor in SoHo, NYC. She managed to pick me out from my accent and commented that Aussies seemed to form a large percentage of her clientele.

Where's Wally?! (from H&M)

H&M t-shirts

No trip to London is complete without entering the mosh pit that is Primark! I got this dress and skirt after the Hampton Court Palace visit when me, Pooey and the Grand Empress decided to brave the Saturday arvo crowds to satisfy the Empress' desire to get some summery feminine dresses.

A few days later when I went on a more sedate weekday morning (well, sedate compared to the weekend), I got these Primmy jumpers because I figured I needed to come back with some winter clothing.