I've said it before - the main reason I'm still teaching is my colleagues. They're a thoroughly fun bunch of people, and it seems the newcomers this year are great too. Friday we had our annual faculty party - ostensibly a "getting to know you" gig for the newly hireds, it is now the social highlight of the fall season. We were almost 30 people this year, and we ate & drank & laughed for hours.
There was also the annual raffle, in which the possibly most clinically insane of us (no, that honor is not mine...yet) raffles out not only the bought and given prizes, but also personal effects he's stolen from our work desks earlier in the day, together with every piece of furniture the host hasn't nailed down or hidden.
Later, as the sissies and the drunkards started to melt away, we turned on some music and in the end there was just half a dozen of us left. Around 2:30 yours truly started to sing... a little Simon & Garfunkel, a little Italian... I'm tellin' ya, I had the newbies swooning... it was 4:30 before I finally got home; tired but happy.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Mooooovies
It's been way too long since I've bored ya'll with my highly subjective and loudly voiced movie reviews. So here goes.
Stardust. Ah. Hmm. Uhm. *sigh* Absofuckinlutely great movie... IF - and only if - you haven't already read and fallen completely in love with the book. Good acting, plenty of fun, humor, action and adventure, all wrapped in the customary romantic light. Which is part of the problem. The book has lots of romance, indeed it depends on it. But not the kind of soppy happy-ever-after commercial blockbuster romance that the movie revels in. There are some pretty fundamental pieces missing in this film version, and it takes away most of the sense of mystery that added so much to the adventure and the melancholy that added so much to the romance in the book. (You'll be horrified at what they've done to the ending, which is possibly one of the saddest but also most beautiful texts ever put to paper.)
Gaiman's work of genius is more complex, more subtle, more sad and infinitely more poetic. By all means, if you don't know the book, go watch the movie; it deserves a fair, unbiased viewing. You'll likely love it, for it is still a good story well told, indeed it is one of the best movies I've seen in ages. But please, please, please go read the book afterwards and allow yourself to fall in love with the masterpiece of the planet's greatest living author - Neil Gaiman.
Planet Terror - Robert Rodriguez' half of the two-piece Grindhouse project he did together with Quentin Tarantino is a true joyride. It's got all the insane, hilarious gore one expects from a good zombie flick and it'll keep you laughing throughout. Good, unpretentious fun for the kids (meaning me)!
The Bourne Ultimatum - I've never cared much for Robert Ludlum (a stuffy Jack Higgins), nor Matt Daemon (a slightly retarded Leonardo DeCaprio), but this movie will rock you. The Bourne franchise has already given James Bond much needed competition and this is so far the best in the series, I think. High paced, full of action and excitement. Also, a journalist with The Guardian gets a bullet in the head, which is always a good thing.
Rush hour 3 - You've seen it all before, but it's still ever so slightly amusing (yes, I'm easy). The personal chemistry between Chan and Tucker creates a good atmosphere, and though the script is ridiculous and the punchlines are worn it still provided for 90 minutes of escape from reality.
Stardust. Ah. Hmm. Uhm. *sigh* Absofuckinlutely great movie... IF - and only if - you haven't already read and fallen completely in love with the book. Good acting, plenty of fun, humor, action and adventure, all wrapped in the customary romantic light. Which is part of the problem. The book has lots of romance, indeed it depends on it. But not the kind of soppy happy-ever-after commercial blockbuster romance that the movie revels in. There are some pretty fundamental pieces missing in this film version, and it takes away most of the sense of mystery that added so much to the adventure and the melancholy that added so much to the romance in the book. (You'll be horrified at what they've done to the ending, which is possibly one of the saddest but also most beautiful texts ever put to paper.)
Gaiman's work of genius is more complex, more subtle, more sad and infinitely more poetic. By all means, if you don't know the book, go watch the movie; it deserves a fair, unbiased viewing. You'll likely love it, for it is still a good story well told, indeed it is one of the best movies I've seen in ages. But please, please, please go read the book afterwards and allow yourself to fall in love with the masterpiece of the planet's greatest living author - Neil Gaiman.
Planet Terror - Robert Rodriguez' half of the two-piece Grindhouse project he did together with Quentin Tarantino is a true joyride. It's got all the insane, hilarious gore one expects from a good zombie flick and it'll keep you laughing throughout. Good, unpretentious fun for the kids (meaning me)!
The Bourne Ultimatum - I've never cared much for Robert Ludlum (a stuffy Jack Higgins), nor Matt Daemon (a slightly retarded Leonardo DeCaprio), but this movie will rock you. The Bourne franchise has already given James Bond much needed competition and this is so far the best in the series, I think. High paced, full of action and excitement. Also, a journalist with The Guardian gets a bullet in the head, which is always a good thing.
Rush hour 3 - You've seen it all before, but it's still ever so slightly amusing (yes, I'm easy). The personal chemistry between Chan and Tucker creates a good atmosphere, and though the script is ridiculous and the punchlines are worn it still provided for 90 minutes of escape from reality.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Finally
Stardust finally premieres here in Norway Friday 21st! Woo hoo! The book is my absolute all time favorite work of fiction, and I can only hope that the movie is able to convey the humor, warmth, excitement and adventure that is Neil Gaiman's fairyland. If you haven't already read the book, buy it asap. If there's a smidgeon of poetry in your soul you'll love it!
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
I'll get healthy or die trying
Met with the diabetes nurse at the local hospital last week. It turns out my cholesterol and triglyzerid levels, which were at "nuclear levels" before the summer were now within normal parameters, which came as a huge, but very nice surprise to yours truly. I thought I'd more or less slobbed the summer away, but I must have done something right after all.
Inspired by the good results I've decided to try and become a wee bit more healthy (I can already hear certain people howling with laughter). So I went for hourlong walks in the woods Friday and Monday and today I played floorball again for the first time in a couple of years. 90 minutes of that stuff is the best workout I can imagine, and it's fun too! I had a somewhat difficult start, as I threw myself on the floor (I can hear you laughing again!) to block the first shot that came my way and banged my head hard against the wall. Five minutes on the sidelines with a bag of ice pressed against my empty skull... but after that I was a virtual wall.
I'll keep ya'll updated on my progress... or regress... knowing myself it's a 50-50 at best whether I actually succeed in this (you can stop laughing now, you bastards).
Inspired by the good results I've decided to try and become a wee bit more healthy (I can already hear certain people howling with laughter). So I went for hourlong walks in the woods Friday and Monday and today I played floorball again for the first time in a couple of years. 90 minutes of that stuff is the best workout I can imagine, and it's fun too! I had a somewhat difficult start, as I threw myself on the floor (I can hear you laughing again!) to block the first shot that came my way and banged my head hard against the wall. Five minutes on the sidelines with a bag of ice pressed against my empty skull... but after that I was a virtual wall.
I'll keep ya'll updated on my progress... or regress... knowing myself it's a 50-50 at best whether I actually succeed in this (you can stop laughing now, you bastards).
Monday, September 3, 2007
I don't get no respect
By unanimous consent of the teachers assembled I was appointed "office bitch" today and sent out to recycle four full bags of plastic soda bottles. One teacher even tried to kick me as I walked out. And these people are my friends.
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