Sunday, February 11, 2007

Things I love (pt 4)















Hot chocolate! Mmm with whipped topping and marshmallows.

Le Grand Content

My favorite thing of the month! Well perhaps second to the panda sneeze.

Saturday, February 10, 2007

Quick bit

Milletos, the name of the group that approached Juliet is an anagram for "lost time". Either the producers are making it really obvious or totally messing with us.

Friday, February 09, 2007

Thursday, February 08, 2007

Lost 3:8 Review (spoilers)

First, re: my theories from the end of the fall set of episodes:
- I was quite sure Alex was a set-up. Turns out, not so much. Now I still think this isn't so feasible, considering she was captured by the Others as a baby, not a 10 year old. So her alliance and belief system would be according to what they had taught her. But, maybe she remembers her mom or something, so okay.
- I was also certain the fish biscuits were laced (with some kind of hyper fertility drug). This one I'm thinking is even more plausible considering what we learned about Juliet's work off of the island.

Onwards:
- Good flashback. Not at all annoying and I didn't feel as though it got in the way of the (excellent) island action. If this is what all flashbacks were like (i.e. about an interesting character, revealing things that add to both their development & island mythology, and most of all - brief!) I wouldn't be bitching about them.
- Great action, with Kate and Sawyer running around getting shot at, Ben waking up (super creepily) on the operating table, Jack making decisions, etc.
- The secondary characters are totally not necessary. I didn't even miss Locke.
- Randomly, I still miss Boone. And sometimes Shannon.
- "God loves Jacob" ... good for him! Could Jacob be Ben's father since Ben was born on the island? It might explain why Ben has a fairly powerful position amongst the Others. Or perhaps he just "creeped" his way into it.
- So ever since the sky turned purple (the hatch exploded) time started working differently between the island and the real world. Likely it slowed down in a relative way, meaning the human race has probably self destructed. This would explain why Ben couldn't go there to get help on his spinal tumor. Or perhaps the time warp itself is enough to make travel impossible. BONE TO PICK: even so, Jack and Kate and Sawyer were already being "hooded" and taken to the Others' side of the island when the hatch exploded. Thus, Ben had made the request for Jack before they knew that the time had gone all wonky. Gaffe.
- Juliet & Jack are doctors named Burke and Sheppard. Just like on Grey's Anatomy!
- I liked the shot of Juliet and the Portland guy talking while their faces have the X-ray image on it - how artsy! But why is that guy wearing massive eyeliner?!

Concluding:
- Well I guess I'm suppose to like Juliet more now, but I totally don't. What a whore. That entirely inappropriate insult aside, I have come to accept her as part of the cast. She is, at the very least, interesting. But I still wouldn't buy any Jack-Juliet love. I just don't see it.
- Very, very excited for 15 more weeks of episodes like this! (hopefully!)
- 9.2/10

Wednesday, February 07, 2007

In honor of tonight

Lost is back! Yay. Now here's one of the most interesting interviews with Lindelof and Cuse that I've read all year. They 'answer' some of the typical fan's most burning questions. Of course their responses are mostly just vague hints, so I wouldn't really call this spoilerish. But don't blame me if you disgaree! I really liked all of the responses they gave, especially the one about the skeletons. One thing I didn't like was this soon-to-be-infamous tidbit:

" ... it speaks to an interrelatedness among characters, why these people, why do they all connect. No amount of mythological answers will ever speak to this. That's the one thing that when the show ends, you won't have a causal explanation for why did all these people interconnect. Why some, why not others? The answer is just that they just do."

Hmph! I guess if's not a big deal if this is the only significant mystery that remains unresolved. But, along with other remarks like (paraphrased), "I think the fans put more thought into the mysteries than we do!", shakes my faith a little. As Matt would retort, they've been good so far so I'll trust them. So I'm just a little bit worried.

PS. Sayid's name anagrams to (I didn't come up with this): Y I sad? LOL.

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Trivia Answers

1. The first hanging (correct answer: Peter)
2. The London Sun
3. Parking meters
4. George VI & Elizabeth (Peter & Vicki)
5. Fire (Peter & Vicki)
6. Tate Modern (Peter ... come on Mommy isn't this your favorite museum ever?)
7. Lots of possible answers. (Vicki)
8. Lots again. Google "london boroughs map" if you care.
9. Eros
10. Madame Tussauds (Peter & Vicki)
11. Christopher Wren (Peter)
12. Hyde Park and Regent's Park (Vicki ... though she said "Regency" -- I ruled it was close enough).
13. 1665, 1666 (Peter). Those must have been two really crappy years for Londoners!
14. 1863.
15. Trafalgar Square (Peter & Vicki)

So that's 8 points for Peter and 6 for mom.

Monday, February 05, 2007

Which pretty person does your ugly mug most closely resemble?

Find a nice picture of yourself on your computer where you're looking straight at the camera - not too small. Then go to the Face Recognition website (you might have to make a free account) and see who you look like. Then report back! If you have a particularly strange expression on your face, that might skew your results. For the best idea, try multiple photos. I ran about 15 different pictures and here's who I got most often:


Hayden Panettiere, of Heroes fame.














Ali Landry, of those old Doritos commercials.

Sunday, February 04, 2007

This is one of the coolest things I've seen all year















You might be underwhelmed, but I think it's pretty neat. The photos are goregous! Within a matter of seconds I had found the illustrious and mysterious image that has been my desktop for years. This is the earthalbum version of it.

I'd rather have one of these than what that other guy got

click me!

London Trivia for Blogpoints

1 blog point per correct answer. This time I'll be nice and let everyone have a shot, on the honor system of course.


Part 1: Our London

1. In 1830, London's first what occurred?

2. The initial issue of London's first newspaper was published and printed in 1831. What was the name of that paper?

3. These were installed in London in 1948.

4. In 1938, what 2 members of the British royal family paid London a visit?

5. In 1845, what disaster occurred, destroying about 150 buildings, nearly one-fifth of the town?


Part 2: The Real London

6. Which museum has gigantic slides that run from the top floor to the ground level and are available for visitor use?

7. Name 5 tube stops.

8. Name 5 boroughs.

9. What is the name of the statue in the middle of Piccadilly Circus?

10. Where is the Chamber of Horrors located?

11. Who was the architect of St. Paul's Cathedral?

12. In which park is Speaker's Corner located? What about the London Zoo? (must answer both correctly for the point)

13. What years did the Great Plague and the Great Fire take place in? (hint: they're very close to each other!)

14. In what year did the tube open? (you can be within 3 years on either side)

15. Where Nelson's column and the National Gallery meet.

What's on your PVR?

Here's a sampling of what you can normally find on mine:

- 1-2 episodes of Beverly Hills
- 2-3 episodes of House Hunters
- The Apprentice
- Grey's Anatomy
- The O.C.
- 2-3 episodes of Location, Location & Relocation, Relocation
- Veronica Mars
- Lost (soon)
- Men in Trees (simply to ensure that I don't miss the end of Grey's Anatomy)
- Heroes
- Studio 60
- Some movie that I'll never get around to watching (right now it's Junebug)

That's about it these days. Can't wait for Lost and some of the other crappy reality shows that I watch to come back. What's on your PVR?

Things I love (pt 3)













England! I've only been to London so far, but I plan on going all around the country next summer. So pretty, so historical, so interesting, so lively ... feels like where I'll grow old.

I will never marry a man that ... (pt 5)













I will never marry a man that is overly stubborn.

Saturday, February 03, 2007

Battle Royale Trailer

I just watched this. Not as good as the book, of course, but still pretty amusing. You can actually watch the entire movie on YouTube, if you so desire. It's split up into like a million parts, but it's all there.

Tribute to Letterman

I really like the guy, and on Feb 1st it was the 25th anniversary of his show. A long-time fan at EW.com wrote this in honor of the date. I think it's worth a read, I laughed out loud at one point.

Beverly Hills Life Lessons

Today, on a very special episode of 90210 (aren't they all), a gunfight broke out at "across the tracks" school Shaw. West Beverly was slated to play Shaw in a big important football game the next day, which was quickly cancelled by school administrators. In an act of courageous rebellion, Brandon Walsh (who always knows best) invited everyone at Shaw to come to the West Beverly school dance.

Did you know that all it takes to successfully integrate two radically different and prejudiced cultures is a little synchronized dancing? Now you do!

Another important lesson, courtesy of 90210. And that wasn't all this episode had to offer. Consider the following, Freudian-esque exchange brought to you by Kelly and Dylan after Kelly's dad stood her up for dinner without so much as a phone call.

Kelly: "Dylan, I don't know whether to laugh or cry."
Dylan: "Nobody does, Kell. Nobody does..."

Things I love (pt 2)













Slasher movies! My parents made the questionable decision to show me scary movies at a young age. I never particularly took a liking to those about aliens, monsters, true crime, etc. What I like the most are good mysteries (Hitchcock, Christie, etc.) or slashers like Halloween, Friday the 13th, or my personal favorite - Scream. Scream was special beacuse it had all the gore and cult-ish-ness of the classics, but also a great twist at the end, lots of humor, and insight into the genre itself.

Fictional reality

So I finished reading part four of the Vinyl Cafe series last night. That volume is called Vinyl Cafe Diaries, or something like that. It's divided into 4 sections, each focusing on stories related to one of the main characters: parents Dave & Morely, and children Stephanie and Sam. At the beginning of each part are a few pages supposedly written by the character themselves, commenting on what they think about their lives being featured in a series of novels and radio shows.

These bits are told so precisely in character that I found it only natural to assume they were, like the rest of the book, made up by Stuart McLean. Until a funny thing happened: I read the appendix. These end notes were by McLean explaining that, though all the names are false, there is a real family out there somewhere upon whom all of the adventures are based. And the real people actually wrote those forewards to their sections! Of course all of the stories are tweaked and altered, having things added and taken out. Some happened to other families, and some are primarily from McLean's imagination, but the majority of them really happened to Dave and his household.

Egads, playing with my mind!

Can't wait to write a travel (b)log

I'm thinking maybe I'll take a paper journal with me, jot down notes and thoughts along the way, and then try to find an internet cafe every few days to transcribe them, along with some pictures. It certainly won't be difficult to figure out what to write every day.

Speaking of that, it's looking more and more like I'll be doing the majority of the trip all by my lonesome. I just don't have any one particular best friend that has the money, desire, and time to go with me. I'm alright with this. As I discovered over the past few days I quite enjoy travelling by myself. I enjoyed being able to choose where I was going to go, and which ways I was going to get lost. Often if you're travelling with someone else it's easy for either of you to get frustrated when the other one insists the wrong way is the right way.

I liked the flexibility of making all the decisions and not having to consult anyone else. Albeit this mainly consisted of what to do during the wait for connecting flights, but it will be much more important in Europe where there are literally thousands of options as to what countries, cities, attractions, hotels, restaurants to visit.

The last few days also weren't all that stressful. All the airports I was in (London, Calgary, Kelowna) were quite small, easy to navigate around, and everyone spoke English. I'm sure there will be many times in Europe where it's getting dark, I have no idea where I am or where to go, no one around me speaks English, and then I'll really wish I had a travelling companion.

Fortunately I know a lot of people in Europe thanks to the exchange programme, although I'm not sure how many of them will have left Canada by May. I have definite plans for Greece (2 girls from work), and hopefully can arrange to travel with friends in a few other places.

Mostly I just can't wait to blog about it!

Hello again

I went away for a little bit, and now I am back. Did you miss me? I bet you didn't even notice I was gone. Well I missed you, in any case!

Where was I? Well in Kelowna for 2 days, very last minute. My dad has to travel out West on business a few times a year (visiting clients), and usually Trish (his live-in girlfriend) goes with him to keep him company. But she couldn't go this time because she hurt her neck/back/all over and recently quit her job, so not a good time for her to be travelling. Dad said his work had already paid for all of her travelling costs, etc. so I got to go skiing for a couple days and spend some quality time with my dad -- all for a total cost of $5 (lunch at the airport) and only one hour of missed school. Not really something you pass up, even if you already have 2 vacations planned for the next 6 months! Anyways, I don't have any exciting stories to tell but there are a few random anecdotes that are perfect for blogging so expect to hear those soon.

In other news:
- Excited to watch Battle Royale, the movie, sometime this weekend.
- I've gotten into the habit of watching Letterman every night. Usually just the first 20 minutes unless the guest is funny. It's kind of nice to have a pattern and a reliable bedtime. For the last 2 or 3 years I've been pretty all over the place, ranging from 10pm-4am bedtimes. Now I generally turn off the TV at midnight, read for a bit, and lights off at 12:30. It's nice to have a little structure again.
- Almost finished reading the 4th (of 5) installment of the Vinyl Cafe series. This was the only one I hadn't read yet. I really can't get enough! If there were 20 others, I'd read them all ... consecutively ... right now.
- This makes me die inside a little.