Not Dead Yet!

To all my loyal readers (yes, all 6 or so of you):

This post is here to inform you that I , Stef, am not dead.

I have been neglecting this dear old blog (and by "dear old" I mean "crappy new") lately. This is due mainly to my full load of school and life and stuff and my general lack of motivation to reflect on any events that have occured. Lots of stuff has been happening (thesis, movies, news items, funny stories, life events) but I really haven't had the energy to write in a blog.

I can report though that I think I'm back on track. Being back at school I think is a good thing...being around other students is motivating. I'm feeling pretty good about myself again and am trying to build momentum back again after the rut I fell into a little while ago. Hopefully I can get my enthusiasm back (that's one of my strengths, I think, that I can be quite positve and pro-active when I feel excited and enthusiastic about something - not much can stop me once I get in that head space) and run full steam for the next few months.

So no, I am not dead. Just preoccupied. I wouldn't be expecting too many posts for a little while, but I will continue to follow my fellow bloggers lives intently and post the odd comment.

I shall return! Just like Superman, only hopefully with better pacing.

Bye bye for now.

Cheer up

These past few weeks have been so up and down, I'm feeling so incredibly tired and rotten half the time. I got my arse royally kicked yesterday by my supervisor and really need to get back into my life.

To cheer myself up I've been watching Arrested Development clips on YouTube.

Here's one that should keep us all happy. Everyone's favorite illusionist.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyyIVzX4l1w

"I will become my dead father's body!"

More here. Go nuts.

Round Up #1

So I think I'll start a weekly round-up of events that capture my imagination. Hell, they capture the imagination of the nation. Yes, yes they do.

Sandi Thom's debut single I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker (With Flowers in My Hair)

Video: http://www.video-c.co.uk/videovaultwatch.asp?vidref=sand001
Lyrics
Chorus:
Oh I wish I was a punk rocker with flowers in my hair
In 77 and 69 revolution was in the air
I was born too late and to a world that doesn't care
Oh I wish I was a punk rocker with flowers in my hair

When the head of state didn't play guitar, Not everybody drove a car,
When music really mattered and when radio was king,
When accountants didn't have control And the media couldn't buy your soul
And computers were still scary and we didn't? know everything

Chorus

When popstars still remained a myth And ignorance could still be bliss
And when God Saved the Queen she turned a whiter shade of pale
When my mom and dad were in their teens and anarchy was still a dream
and the only way to stay in touch was a letter in the mail

Chorus

When record shops were on top and vinyl was all that they stocked
and the super info highway was still drifting out in space
kids were wearing hand me downs, and playing games meant kick arounds
and footballers still had long hair and dirt across their face

Chorus

I was born too late to a world that doesn't care
Oh I wish I was a punk rocker with flowers in my hair

Oh Sandi, Sandi, Sandi...Sandi

So. Annoying. At high school Sandi overheard a "bad boy" she had a crush on say that "rock was dead", and something disparaging about The Smashing Pumpkins and Westlife. She then went home and dug up her parents old Sex Pistols record. Fast forward 5 years, now a music school graduate, and Sandi writes catchy songs about a "world that doesn't care" in her basement. She uses MY FUCKING SPACE to gain exposure and is signed because, boy, she's got spunk, she's pretty, and she can sing. So they release her song, film her in PROBABLY THE MOST GENERIC FILM CLIP EVER, the classic "walking towards the camera with cool hey-isn't-he-a-model followers". Yeah, you're one of a kind Sandi. Die now.

Hey so Big Brother is on this year, yeah?

Not much is happening on it, right? Honestly, I remember LOVING the first season of that show. Remember? Those were the days; with Sara-Marie, and Blair, and Ben, and Chrissie and Peter's "doona dancing". Sigh. Meeeemmmorrriiiess! Now, just...shit. Gretel is a complete embarrassment, what happened to her class? When she started to dress like an idiot I was OK, I though: Good for her, who says we should always look sober? Then she went out with that weasel-boy...name escapes me, must have repressed that. And I gave her the benefit of the doubt again.
The house is full of drop-kicks and the host is a witch. And yet I still watch it when I can. Who is the pathetic one? Me, yes.

TURKEY SLAP!

Number of times I felt like a slut this week:

1. While watching The Glass House, Elka "I'm a 'strong Christian'" Graham says to Corrine Grant (whom I'm not a fan of either, she's about as funny as Martin Lawrence on a good day, but I felt for her here) "is that how quickly you start sleeping over? Two months?" Ahhh...ahem. Shut up Elka! You were never a good swimmer either, so there! I wonder what's worst for the psyche? Being a slut or being a Christian?

Superman Returns


Cute!

Saw Superman Returns. The fact that this movie's plot and story weren't strong enough to really justify itself for existing, it counts as a failure overall. But there are some nice aspects of Bryan Singers "re-imagining" of Richard Donner's uneven 70's franchise. I thought Brandon Routh was really quite entertaining and charismatic. And my friend and I agreed that he's a cutie, despite enough make-up to make Dolly Parton blush. The plane set-piece was thrilling, and Sam Huntington and Kevin Spacy earned their pay cheques. Kate Bosworth was supremely miscast and, as I said, the plot was way too weak to warrant production. The film has relatively underperformed at the U.S. Box Office and I'm not surprised. The modern pre-existing fan base blockbuster is, I suspect, on its way out. All the best stories have pretty much been told and, aside from sequels, the films on the way are all fairly boring regarding subject matter. While I do like the Superman character - I guess the idea of an angel watching over us is incredibly uplifting - he's never had the best world to operate in. His love-life and alter-ego stories are boring. His villains are generally weak and Metropolis is a pretty "nothing" city. Batman and his world has always been way more interesting. Plus, Superman Returns had a pretty weak marketing campaign. So overall not too successful but you could do worse, especially on cheap arse Tuesday.

Ain't It Cool News turned 10 this week

Congratulations to Harry and Moriarty and the whole gang over at the geek centre of the universe. What an amazing institution that site is. They've grown from a little-read site for movie news and scoops to a full-on influential network of fan power. Go you sexless boys! GO! I've been reading that site since...I guess 2000-2001, and it has (along with other sites) kept me up on everything I need to know, and provided me with some of the funniest things I've ever read. Like the many talkbacks and Harry's revolting reviews. And don't say I didn't warn you.

Don't go changing boys!

Thing to ponder of the week:

Chris and Craig, Hamish and Andy, Merrick and Rosso, Martin Malloy, Adam and Will, or Jay and the Doctor.

I've had no sex dreams about any of these men. But I have a friend who has them frequently about Hamish. I went to a Today Today live recording in Melbourne last year and I SWARE TO GOD CHRIS WAS STARING AT ME IN THE CROWD. I MADE EYE CONTACT! BITCHES! BOW DOWN TO YOUR SUPERIOR!


C u losers la8er. :)

Be My Ex...But I don't wanna be an EX!

There's a new movie coming out called My Super Ex-Girlfriend, starring Luke Wilson as a "regular guy" who dumps his clingy girlfriend (Uma Thurman, man, she would have to be PRETTY BLOODY CLINGY to dump) only to find out that she is in fact a superhero. She ends up making his life hell. It seems this film is part of the emerging canon of "original" comic superhero films being produced by Hollywood as a response to all the real ones. I'm talking about The Incredibles, Sky High, the upcoming Zoom, and the new drama on NBC this coming fall: Heroes.

Anyway, Fox has launched a sister mock-help site as part of the whole conglomorate advertising, interactive marketing deal, Be My Ex:

http://www.bemyex.com/

Now, if you read my last post you would have gathered that I am kinda going through what seems to be a break-up. I'm not enjoying it, and while the whole incident is still kinda occuring and (I guess) there was no official instigator, I certainly feel more like the dumpee than the dumper. Bemyex.com is parading as a break-up school. A how-to of breaking up with your partner. I read this site with interest, obviously, and I have to say it hasn't helped me. Firstly, according to the site's quiz, my relationship was in a pretty positive place, it says there's no chance of a break-up. Which is what I thought, which is why I'm so upset, which is what HE BLOODY WELL AGREED WITH! He said, after he told me he "thinks we're better as friends" that (this is not in order, but he did say all these things at some point) "we would've been great for each other", "I love you" and "I had a great time with you last night." WTF!???!!! I KNOW! THAT'S WHY I DON'T WANT TO END IT!!!!! Ahem. Excuse me. Secondly, in lesson 1 of the video lessons it outlines the normal relationship cycle. By this cycle I should've been in the "honeymoon period". The break-up was not due until the "twilight period" of the relationship.

Bemyex.com assumes a certain type of relationship, and I'm starting to think my relationship was never that normal. Therefore it is of no use to me in dealing with this most unpleasent experience. But it does have a few laughs, and is a fun way to advertise for a movie.

OK, bye bye now.

P.S. Uma Thurman is one hot mumma. I loves her, precious.

All Kinds of Mental Pain...and SPIDER-MAN 3

I'm in all kinds of mental pain. It's romantically inclined pain, so I'll spare you all the sob story. I'm already dangling way too close to blog cliche to get into break-up stories. But I will say this: angry, pain-filled argument, bickering break-ups are better than weird loving-but-angst-issue-filled discussions about feelings. I wish we had fought, because then I might actually be able to understand what happened and I would want to get over it. As it stands now I don't know what to feel or what to do, all I feel is this weird loss. Its pretty bad. Not what I need right now.

Nevermind. Sigh.

Anyway, the Spider-Man 3 teaser has been released at Apple.com

http://www.apple.com/trailers/Sony_pictures/spider-man_3/ Ohhh! BLACK Spider-Man!

The Spider-Man Franchise has never been my favorite. I'm more of an X-Men girl (RIP quality X-Men films). The character of Spider-Man/Peter Parker is important in the history of superheroes as he was the first major hero that readers of comic books could directly identify with: a geek. Up until then heroes, like Superman and Batman, were these mythic visions of unattainable stature. The best a teenage boy could do was be a sidekick, like Jimmy Olsen or Robin. Spider-Man was a teenage boy. With teen angst issues and superpowers. This factor had a lot to do with that character's popularity and longevity. He's a classic for Marvel, so a film adaptation was inevitable. The films were widely well-received by fans, but not so much by me.

Sony played it safe, hiring an adept and popular filmmaker, Sam Raimi (mostly known for his Evil Dead horror/comedy series of films), which lead to comparisons to Peter Jackson, but I don't think he is anywhere near the quality of other big blockbuster directors like Jackson, Spielberg, or Cameron (shudder). Hired a predictable and uninspired cast, led by the wildly uncharismatic Tobey Maguire (and don't even get me started on the insipid Kirsten Dunst, whose publicist should be given a Nobel Prize for...Achievement in... publicising. OK, that joke bombed, my heart was never in it). Sure, they looked good on paper, but they're not that good at acting, and let the script dictate their enthusiasm. See Depp in Pirates for an A-List actor taking responsibility for entertaining a wide audience, or Jackman in X-Men, or Kilmer (he'll always be A-list to me) in Tombstone, or Pfeiffer in Batman Returns. Anyway, my point is Maguire phoned it in, should stick to support/occasional leads in indies, and Dunst should stop fooling herself in general.

The first film was OK, it got the job done. I thought the series might improve but I was supremely disappointed in Spider-Man 2. Honestly, why did Dunst and Maguire sign on if it makes them so miserable? They looked like they were delivering lines with guns to their heads. And the effects never really sold it for me.

So we come to the first glimpse of Spider-Man 3. The geeks are happy with it. The inclusion of Venom, Sandman, Gwen Stacy, and a new Green Goblin should make for an exciting (if cramped) drama. Looks like Sandman (Thomas Hayden Church) will be the main villain for Spider-man, with the Venom/Black Suit/Eddie Brock (Topher Grace), Peter/Mary-Jane/Harry Osbourne (James Franco)/Gwen Stacy (Bryce Dallas Howard) love-square, and the emergence of Harry as the Goblin are the sub-plots. I could probably guess the plot right now, but you don't care. Church, Grace and Howard are all good actors (although, again, safe) and Franco was always ok, hopefully I can just watch them and ignore the boring twins.


Topher looking very Anakin Skywalker with his Eddie Brock blonde locks


The redhead playing the blonde who steals Peter's heart away from the blonde playing the redhead. Confused? Yes, why did they cast Dunst? Why?


Church as Sandman. Talk about comeback.

So yeah, bottom line: it looks ok because of the new bigger cast and interesting storyline with Venom, but I'm not holding my breath.

Saw Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story, last night (after "honours drinks" which ended up being Amy and I bitching about various things, but it was cool to catch up) Very, very funny. Steve Coogan. He takes the piss out of himself often for being a brilliant-comic asshole, and so you think, "he must be pretty cool". But then you look at him and read some stuff and then you think, actually, maybe he is an asshole. He does kinda give off that vibe. But Rob Brydon was also super-funny. It cheered me up a lot.

I then went to see my bro play at the Paris Cat jazz club. It had a pretty old vibe. Not overly impressive. But bro played well.

Better get back to the thesis. Man, life sucks for me right now. I just wrote a whole post about pretty much nothing.