Overheard by the lot

Girl: And he is like 35... and I was like, oh my God, you are old enough to be my dad!

Friend: Not really. How old was your dad when you were born? 15?

J'adore listening to people out of context. I assume this 35 year old was trying to date her.

Not quite there...

I have this book. And I love it because all of the pictures are delicious and the recipes easy-ish. But I've only tried two of the recipes, and neither have really impressed me. You know, good in theory, mediocre in practice.

Tonight I tried to make summer berry tartlets.

Problems:

1) Crust kind of dry and not super special delish tasty.

2) Vanilla cream was lumpy (my fault) and too jelly-ish, not creamy enough. And not as white and creamy as they imply.

3) The whole thing was very disproportionate. The recipe for the crust claims to make 20 mini tarts and they must be frickin tiny because I made 12. And then there was only enough vanilla cream for 10. (Though the leftovers went fab with strawberry yoghurt. Kind of like eating graham crackers and yoghurt.)

4) My blueberries were kind of sour. I guess it's not summer yet. I was just so anxious.

However, they did look really pretty with the sugar dusted on.

E-Postcard

I'm bummed this is so pixellated. And small. After all my efforts :( Oh well. You can just click it.

Santa, baby, forgot to mention one little thing...

A hedgehog!

I really really really want a hedgehog. I was going to get one in Portland, because apparently they are illegal in CA. However, it turns out they are in the price range of $75-$300, rather than the $10-$25 that I had been expecting.

Why do I want a hedgehog?
a) They are so cute.
b) They are not as expensive or high maintenance as dogs/chinchillas.
c) They eat spiders, of which I have many.

So please buy me a hedgehog.

The Birthday List

Get excited, y'all, it's that time of the year again. The time where you buy me presents and I do stupid things like wear a dress everyday despite the cold because Heidi Montag told LC she should back when they were friends.

So here we go:

1) Twilight DVD (Release date: 21st March)

There's nothing better than special features and deleted scenes of making out.

2) Polaroid 600 film

I have always wanted a Polaroid. I found one in a thrift store for $6 so I just had to have it. Natch I jump on the band wagon way too late, because they've discontinued the film. But the guy at the store assured me this camera shop would sell it. He was wrong. So now I have a cam with no click flash zoop. Please help.

3) A new pair of everyday flats.

Mine are in a depressing state, you know, holes in the bottom and the sole falling off.

4) Mani/pedi

My nails have been looking pretty ragged lately. That's actually Rona's foot like two years ago, but whatever, you get the gist.

5) Hugs and kisses all round. Or alc. Ooh, a trip to Vegas?

Ok that is it. For now....

Eavesdropping?

Is it called eavesdropping for an online conversation? Because.... it's like listening. With your eyes. Eyedropping? Ah, eavesdropping has nothing to do with ears, apparently. Learn something new everyday.

Anyway, girl next to me in production design yesterday:

Friend: Yes, always leave them wanting.
She: Especially if I want him to take me on his weekend away fiasco.

(I might have the words wrong, but you get the gist)

And later:

She: Grrrrr... I want the boy!!!!

Bahah. This made me so happy. The story in my mind was that she didn't stay over at some boys house (presumably a frat boy) despite wanting to, because no one wants to buy the cow if you're giving the milk away for free, right? (Buying the Cow has been on TV a lot as of late. Before, I would have used 'no one wants to buy the ice cream truck when you're giving the popsicles away for free' from Never Been Kissed) So obvs she didn't stay over because she wants to lure him in and trap him into taking him away on the big away weekend invite. I can almost guarantee that.

First thought: Must be a sophomore. While I believe Jrs capable of the scheming, I don't think they would use the grr thing. Too much desperation in the voice. You should be a little more jaded by then. Or in a relationship. Or at the point where you're like, eff it, let's just do it, we both know you ain't calling back.

Second thought: Aww, I miss the games and flirting and scandals and walks of shames. Tip to girls considering walk of shame: Much better is the drive of shame where boy either drives you home, or your roommates come and pick you up. Even better is where he bikes of shame home. (In 1st and 3rd cases, see: face,Baby. In 2nd case, see: Shame, Carpool of, whereby one roommate drives around the neighborhood picking up all the strays)

Just a little story for all of you to enjoy.

Spotted: Baby face and the Greasy Italian Falcon

Because Rona requested some good old fashioned bitching...

Yesterday as I was walking to class, BabyFace and his roommate Greasy Italian Falcon rolled out of the building. Metaphorically, you understand. Except it was actually literally in BabyFace's case, because he is looking quite round. Not spherical, you understand. More like an m'n'm.

But why is Mr Manhatten always naked in his lab?

Baha. Apparently, a nine year old girl asked Zach Snyder that during a Watchmen Q&A. Yup, that's right. In class this week was the Watchmen. I thought I should blog ASAP since having seen this might actually give me some street cred. I didn't read the books, so I don't know if I would have liked it more or less if I had...

Story: (Attempting to have no spoilers) It is 1985 (for the most part), America and Russia are on the verge of nuclear war and the vigilantes of the past have been banned. The Comedian, a member of a retired group of superheros, is murdered, and Rorschach (another superhero who still wears his mask) believes there is a conspiracy to kill all of the masked men. He goes to warn the others who mostly think he is a crazy paranoid and have better things to worry about like using Dr Manhatten's nuclear powered body to solve the world oil crisis and end the cold war. Natch, they're wrong.

The things I've heard the most criticism about are: the soundtrack, and the very hyper-sexy-sex and visceral violence of the story. People booed the soundtrack for having too many (bad?) popular songs on it. I don't know, I enjoyed it. I thought the songs were a good indication of what time period they were in, especially in the beginning montage where they jumped around so much. Rona was impressed with the music budget. And it's kind of fun to take a few seconds to bop around to a familiar song. As for the sex/violence... Snyder said it was intentional because it was meant to be an overturning of the traditional superhero comic, where you can't be explicit with sex, and you don't show blood, so it was meant to be an ironic statement or something. Personally, I didn't think it was out of place. My understanding of graphic novels (which is extensive, having read at least three) as compared to comics was that they are now much more about the anti-hero who has no qualms bloodying up the page. I know the target audience, his name is Nick, and there is nothing he enjoys more than bad-assness and people getting shot in the knee caps.

Alright, now that I've dealt with that, here are some things that I did have problems with:

Most importantly, dialogue. The same thing happened in Sin City, where the script is full of comic book speak, which is super cool and edgy on the page but actually sounds really really retarded when it is read out loud and often makes people laugh. (Your finger is like licking a battery????)

Dr Manhatten's nudity. Actually, his 'costuming' in general. The shiny blue penis was awkward, but his 'battle briefs' were way worse, and seeing him in a suit seemed unnatrual what with all the glowing. I don't know, there's no way out of that one.

While we're on Dr Manhatten, I think we spent a leeetle too much time emoting on Mars. It was very pretty and stuff but it got old fast because there wasn't much to look at.

I also spent a lot of the beginning confused: I didn't realize that they got new people to take over their superhero roles, I thought they just got awesome makeovers. Also, they are super strong right? How did they find other super strong peeps? The whole hero mythology was not well explained.

Most of all, I hated the bright yellow. Now that I've seen it, I get it, it's a cultural AND character reference. But I still think it's gross and tacky.

Some things I noticed that didn't bother me too much:

Rorschach's mask's (I kept thinking his name was Volcheck - OC reference anyone?) inkstains were sliding around all over the place and I really wanted a clearer indication of what they meant, or if they were just random.

Laurie Jupiter had man shoulders (that's just a little Mean Girls for you). Really, she had a very square face. And then during the sex scene I yelped "SHE HAS A TERRIBLE BODY" which I didn't mean to be quite so loud. Actually, her body wasn't awful, but it was definitely not Hollywood. She was kind of flat chested and not toned at all, which is weird because you'd think a superhero would get a lot of cardio in. Also, her costume required a good brazillian at all time because she was def flapping out.

At the end, Ozymandias had this weird animal that they never explained. I guess it was a fanboy secret.

Some things I adored:

The opening montage was quite beautiful, with lots of remakes of pop-culture moments. Flashback scenes in general. Costumes. Hair. Makeup. Sets. Visual effects. The fact that Denny (from Grey's and PS I Love You? aka the Comedian) was alive! The fact that Raoul from Phantom was pathetic as usual, the guy the chick runs to from her freaky true love. He's like the new James Marsden in the slightly more messed up version of every romantic plot. Sally Jupiter and how adorable she was and then aged into an alcoholic. Awesome. I was also quite fond of Ozymandias, there was something quite pristine about him and his golden hairband.

DENNY! You're alive!

I think you can see, generally, the movie LOOKED amazing.

Yay or nay? I liked it more than the batman movies, but they left me very bitter. Yay for the fanboys and gamers and the fans of gore, nay for my mother and maybe if you're bored for the girls who don't really care.

A***** likes to...

I've decided not to be all cryptic with my name, seeing as I've mentioned it before. Plus, it's not like it's not the 3rd most common girls name of the 1990s.

1. Go to Google and type your name likes to in quotes (ex. "Meghan likes to")
2. Report back on the first 10 results
3. Be sure to paste the directions at the top

(I got a lot of 'dance' so I skipped the repeats)

1. Amanda likes to distract herself with silliness
2. Amanda likes to write
3. Amanda likes to dance
4. Amanda likes to do it in her community
5. Amanda likes to meme (?!?!?!)
6. Amanda likes to party
7. Amanda likes to poop (baha)
8. Amanda likes to photograph in a non traditional environment
9. Amanda likes to sing, dance and act
10. Amanda likes to manage dump cycles

And no 11, because it's so good: Amanda likes to drink.

One Hour Left!

Use the first letter of your name to answer each of the following questions. They have to be real...nothing made up! If the person before you had the same first initial, you must use different answers. You cannot use any word twice and you can't use your name for the boy/girl name question.

1. What is your name : A***** (if you don't know my name...you don't need to)
2. A four Letter Word : Arms
3. A boy's Name : Adam
4. A girl's Name : Alexandra
5. An occupation : Assistant
6. A colour : Aquamarine
7. Something you'll wear : Armor
9. A food : Aubergine
10. Something found in the bathroom: Ants
11. A place : Amsterdam
12. A reason for being late :
13. Something you'd shout : AAHCHOO!
14. A movie title : Apocalypse Now
15. Something you drink : Alc. Duh. Come on.
16. A musical group: A1. A Teens. I can't decide which to pick.
17. An animal: Anteater
18. A street name : Alameda
19. A type of car : Audi
20. The title of a song : Anything For You (you know that I'd go anywhere, for your smile, anywhere... Oliver Twist)

Facebook Entertainment

When work is slow I oft find myself perusing people's notes on facebook. Sometimes I get bummed that no one has tagged me in them so I don't have an excuse to continue the chain (case in point: 25 things, and also those Mr Men pictures going around). Today, I have decided to just blog some. Take initiative and all that.

This one is from a girl from secondary school : The BBC reckons most people will have only read 6 out of the 100 books here.

Instructions:
1) Look at the list and put an 'x' for those you have read.
2) Star (*) those you plan on reading.
3) Hex (#) those you've never finished
4) Tally your total at the bottom.
5) Put in a note with your total in the subject
(and because I'm special, I am going to put a % for the ones I've seen the film version of)

1 (#%) Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen (I read the abridged v in pri 6. To this day, I maintain that I hate J.A)
2 (X %) The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 (X ) Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 (X %) Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 () To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 (#) The Bible
7 (X %) Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte (has anyone else seen the AWFUL MTV version???)
8 () Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 (X %) His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman (<3)
10 (# % ) Great Expectations - Charles Dickens

Pitstop Count: (X) - 5, (*) - , (#) - 3, (%) - 6

11 (X % ) Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 ( %) Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 () Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 (#) Complete Works of Shakespeare (Just the ones we did in school...JC, A&C, O, Merch of Venice. And I saw Titus and R&J)
15 (* ) Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 ( X) The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien (maybe.. since i've read the others)
17 ( ) Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk
18 () Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 (X) The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 ( #) Middlemarch - George Eliot

Pitstop Count: (X) - 3, (*) - 1, (#) - 2, (%) - 2

21 ( X %) Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 ( X ) The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 ( ) Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 ( # ) War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 () The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 ( * ) Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 ( ) Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 ( ) Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 ( X %) Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carrol
30 ( % ) The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame

Pitstop Count: (X) - 3, (*) - 1, (#) - 1, (%) - 3

31 (* %) Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 ( ) David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 (X %) Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 ( ) Emma - Jane Austen
35 ( ) Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 ( X %) The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis (How IS this not under Narnia? - I didn't write that, but I agree)
37 ( X) The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 ( ) Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 ( X %) Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 (X %) Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne

Pitstop Count: (X) - 5, (*) - 1, (#) -, (%) - 5

41 () Animal Farm - George Orwell (saw the play)
42 (X %) The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 ( ) One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 ( ) A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 ( ) The Woman in White - Wilkie Collin (saw the musical)
46 (X %) Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 ( ) Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 ( *) The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 () Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 (#%) Atonement - Ian McEwan

Pitstop Count: (X) - 2 , (*) - 1, (#) - 1, (%) - 3

51 ( *) Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 (X %) Dune - Frank Herbert (well, I saw Children of Dune. OW OW JAMES!)
53 ( ) Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 ( ) Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 ( #) A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 ( ) The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 (#) A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens (abridged version again)
58 (X) Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 (X) The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
60 ( ) Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez Pitstop (does it count if I wanted to see the movie?)

Count: (X) - 3, (*) - 1, (#) - 2, (%) - 1

61 ( * ) Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 (X %) Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 ( ) The Secret History - Donna Tart
64 ( X) The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 (% ) Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 ( #) On The Road - Jack Kerouac (reading it right now! bought it for NB but really so I could read it)
67 ( ) Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 ( % ) Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 ( *) Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 () Moby Dick - Herman Melville Pitstop

Count: (X) - 2, (*) - 2, (#) - 1, (%) - 3

71 ( %) Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 (# %) Dracula - Bram Stoker (abriiiidged... man I had a lot of abridged classics as a kid)
73 (X % ) The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 ( ) Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson (they have this at my mum's shop)
75 ( ) Ulysses - James Joyce
76 (*) The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 ( X %) Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome (and then I made myself a bow and arrow)
78 ( ) Germinal - Emile Zola
79 ( # %) Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 ( ) Possession - AS Byatt Pitstop

Count: (X) - 2, (*) - 1, (#) - 2, (%) - 5

81 ( X %) A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens (did you guess abridged?)
82 () Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 () The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 ( ) The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 ( X ) Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 ( ) A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 (X) Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88 (* ) The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 () Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (No, but I WROTE a spoof, that should count)
90 ( ) The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton

Pitstop Count: (X) - 3, (*) - 1, (#) -, (%) - 1

91 () Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 ( X ) The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint Exupery
93 ( ) The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 ( X% ) Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 ( ) A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 ( ) A Town Like Alice - Neil Shute
97 ( #% ) The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 () Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 ( X %) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 ( ) Les Miserables - Victor Hugo (saw the musical!)

Pitstop Count: (X) - 3, (*) - , (#) - 1, (%) - 2

Total: (X) - 31, (*) - 9, (#) - 13, (%) - 32

I'm pretty proud of my numbers. I mean, generally, I've read most of the things that I want to read. And the ones that I never finished... usually means that I got bored half way. Sometimes I might have been a little young at the time I attempted to read them (Like A Suitable Boy and Atonement) It's a little embarrassing that I've seen more movie versions than read the books, but I am looking into Hollywood, so I guess that's okay.

Now you try.