lundi 8 juin 2009
Spooks
Over the past several weeks, I have been immersing myself in the world of Spooks, and am currently on season four. Since I don't have BBC Canada and PBS airs the show too late for me to catch it, I've been watching the DVDs instead (which I can't complain about since the extra features are great!). I'm really enjoying this show but I notice that whenever I watch too many episodes in a row, my dreams are often bizarre and typically feature me running away or escaping from people; thus, I'm limiting my intake a little now so that I don't wake up feeling exhausted.
It's also starting to affect my thinking, which I wasn't aware of until I attended a conference last week where the speaker started talking about a file that the government has on him; my first reaction was "of course they do!" while a few others expressed surprise. I suppose we don't really hear much of CSIS here but I wonder what a Canadian version of Spooks would look like! Another sign that I've been watching too much Spooks: thinking that one of my pastors looked remarkably similar to Adam Carter and almost getting them confused with each other.
I'm glad I heard about this show a few years ago as I'm now hooked, although I first had to get past seeing some of the main characters as Jane Austen's heroes in television/movie adaptations (Matthew Macfadyen as Mr. Darcy; Peter Firth as Henry Tilney; Rupert Penry-Jones as Captain Wentworth) - this will probably be the case when I see Richard Armitage (albeit an Elizabeth Gaskell hero) in season seven as well. So far, the most hilarious character has been Jools Siviter (hey, he was in Sense & Sensibility; I'm sensing a theme here) but that only lasted for two episodes. Other than that, the storyline I'm most enjoying is the one between Adam and Fiona Carter - episode 3.10 was such a moving portrayal of a strong marriage, which isn't often seen on TV nowadays. The only frustrating thing about the show is that there is such a heavy turnover of actors/actresses that favourite characters don't always last that long!
Anyways, this show has been one of the reasons why I don't post very often so I thought I'd mention a little something about it :)
Libellés : media
samedi 30 mai 2009
Canadian evangelicals
I heard about this documentary at work the day after it aired, so I'm hoping they'll rebroadcast it soon. Revealed: Hip 2B Holy takes a look at Canadian evangelicalism, so that should be interesting to see how the media portrays it. In one of the articles I came across on Tuesday, I found it funny to read that "there's nobody from western, rural Canada in this documentary", which probably means that there isn't anybody/anything from western, urban Canada either. While it'll be good to see how this movement is being reported on in Ontario, I'm wondering if there will be differences between evangelicalism in the East and in the West (primarily Alberta, since that's my context). I'm excited to finally see something like this hit the air, although it would have been great if I had it for my thesis last year :)
Libellés : Canada, church, media
vendredi 10 avril 2009
Around the sphere
A couple of fun things that have popped up in my feed reader:
- These little books are not only pretty but also look to be fun and brain-stimulating.
- The Telegraph lists some of the lead actors that have been cast for Emma 2009! So now I'll have a third Emma to add to my collection... (HT: AustenBlog)
- Ooh, this is a great idea for charging cell phones! It's definitely a way to avoid having to purchase yet another gadget and you can recycle/reuse at the same time :)
- I don't edit videos anymore, but wow.
- And yet another handy tip from Unclutterer: coupon organizers.
- An interesting definition of seeker-sensitive churches - I'd like to think my church is maybe more seeker-friendly than seeker-driven. I think the word 'seeker' just looks funny now.
- I still don't know what to call my professors when I see some of them from time to time; glad I'm not the only one.
- A great April Fool's Day joke from the folks at Boundless, ahem Boundful... or should it have been Bountiful?
- Hilarious/great. I didn't know such a site existed (nor should I, I suppose).
Libellés : humour, media, organization
vendredi 4 avril 2008
Almost daily log
I think for the remainder of the two weeks that I have left to write my thesis that I will refrain from using Facebook. It's become very time-consuming trying to keep up with the wall posts and I've been declining so many event invitations over the past month that I don't think I'll be missing anything if I ignore it for a while. I'll probably use my blog to post a few thoughts about how my research project is going but that'll be it for now.
Thesis Thoughts:
As of today, I have come to the conclusion that I am over-expending my efforts on things that aren't that helpful for my paper. I spent a couple of days last week going through five books and trying to find useful information from them, leaving me with 18 pages of notes. I don't think I'll even use all of these notes, plus I have another 60 books to go through. I guess I'll have to scrap my idea of going through each text carefully; it's not the best use of my time! Also, I've compiled a bibliography that is 19 pages and counting but again, that means I have to go through them all! It's unfortunate that I can hunt down that many sources yet not do anything with them. I think the best thing for me to do at this point is just to start writing and to worry about the sources later.
Non-Thesis Thoughts:
I took a break from my thesis last night and watched Holmes on Homes with my parents. I don't often watch TV anymore with the exception of Masterpiece (yay for Jane Austen!) and the news, but it was fun to catch something on HGTV. Ever since they stopped airing my favourite shows (Mission: Organization, Neat, and Small Space, Big Style), I haven't tuned in as much but last night's episode of HoH was reminiscent of these organization shows. It was horrifying to see how much junk this couple had accumulated and my mom became so disgusted at it that I convinced her to go through the house from top to bottom with me this summer, throwing out/donating everything we don't need. I have seriously been waiting all year to do this - I guess if I can finish my paper early, my reward will be to start cleaning earlier :)
jeudi 24 mai 2007
More movies
I am so, so looking forward to the Jane Austen festival on PBS next year!! Having just watched Sense and Sensibility and Northanger Abbey, I'm anxious to see the new BBC productions this winter. S&S 1981 wasn't that bad (although I did constantly compare it to S&S 1995 in my head) but Northanger Abbey was just scary! The score was clichéd 80s music and the acting was a little strange. I understand that it was a parody of the Gothic novel era but watching the movie shouldn't make one feel creeped out, especially if it's Jane Austen! But I digress, the new one should be better. The actor playing Henry Tilney in the 2007 movie is the same one who played Sam Beeton in The Secret Life of Mrs. Beeton (great movie!). I have a feeling I won't be watching any movies this summer while I'm away so it's nice that I've been able to indulge in a few lately :)
Libellés : media
mercredi 16 mai 2007
Media and such
I don't know why I didn't find this out sooner, but it wasn't until last week that I stumbled upon quite a selection of BBC videos in our public libraries! First, there was the shock that I overlooked one of my favourite places to hang out as a source to feed into my BBC addiction. Second, there was the ecstatic joy that I could now watch a number of movies and miniseries without having to order them off of Amazon! Not many people know that I'm a closet BBC junkie but it's hard to hide when I admit that I'd rather see some British adaptation of a Charles Dickens or Jane Austen novel than anything playing in the theatres. Honestly, nothing that has come out from Hollywood in the past few years has garnered my attention, with the exception of Pride and Prejudice; the last time I went to the movie theatre was over a year ago at the insistence of a friend. The same thing goes for TV shows. For instance, I made sure to catch the series finale of The Vicar of Dibley (hilarious - apart from Owen's crude humour - and a nice wrap-up if not a tad unbelievable with the sudden wedding) but I know that I would otherwise be completely clueless when it comes to whatever sitcoms and dramedys my friends are currently watching (Lost? Heroes? Huh?).
Since I don't have BBC Canada, I've had to feed my thirst for British programming through Songs of Praise on Vision TV and BBC World News on KSPS or CBC Newsworld. And how can I forget Doctor Who?! I've also become a fan of British real estate shows like Location, Location, Location and Relocation, Relocation (Phil and Kirstie more than make up for those long titles). On a side note, I've determined that British design shows aren't that great but I do prefer their real estate shows to anything that is American. I guess this love for British programming also affects my reading habits. Right now, I'm in the middle of an Elizabeth Gaskell novel and I hope to be starting another book by George Eliot soon :)
I'm mostly chuckling at my strange media consumption - it's funny to picture a Chinese girl in Cowtown who loves all things British-related. When I consider the fact that I don't like anything that's remotely Asian but instead enjoy things such as listening to music with bagpipes, studying the Tudor Dynasty or reading classic works of literature (thank you English Honours class for introducing me to Beowulf and Chaucer) - it's an interesting anomaly. Can you imagine what I'll be like if I end up making my way across the Atlantic?!
Libellés : media
lundi 16 janvier 2006
Scrambled (eggs)
I am so swamped with a million things to do before I leave, ahhh! I'm amazed at how fast time has flown and how much packing I have to do. Lord, please help me learn how to stretch all hours of the day :) Maybe if I didn't spend time watching so many documentaries, it would help. But learning that the former president of Peru was Japanese was such a neat thing to watch last night! Or that there's an evangelical Haitian soccer league in Quebec.
Libellés : media
lundi 5 décembre 2005
Alive!
I went to the mall today for a brief half-hour and lived to tell this sentence :) Thankfully, it wasn't too packed but still, the amount of people and things! I'm glad that I've had time these past few days to sing some Christmas songs/hymns and to take a break from the pressures of finding gifts. Today was only part 1. I still have so much to get done before school ends. But I'm becoming increasingly grateful for online shopping - it's too bad I didn't start that earlier!
And, just four days until Narnia! I have to make some time in the next few weeks to reread the books, which I haven't touched since elementary school. I was listening to a bit of Focus on the Family Radio and tonight's focus was on "Entering the world of Narnia through film". I found out that they also have a dramatic radio theatre presentation, which would be so cool to listen to, in addition to the movie.
jeudi 6 octobre 2005
Top 100 movies
The following is a list of the top 100 movies on IMDb as of today and the very sad reality that I've only seen a few of them:
1. The Godfather (1972)
2. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
3. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
4. The Godfather: Part II (1974)
5. Shichinin no samurai (1954)
6. Schindler's List (1993)
7. Casablanca (1942)
8. Star Wars (1977)
9. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
10. Buono, il brutto, il cattivo, Il (1966)
11. Pulp Fiction (1994)
12. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
13. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
14. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
15. Rear Window (1954)
16. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
17. Citizen Kane (1941)
18. Cidade de Deus (2002)
19. The Usual Suspects (1995)
20. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
21. 12 Angry Men (1957)
22. C'era una volta il West (1968)
23. Memento (2000)
24. North by Northwest (1959)
25. Psycho (1960)
26. Goodfellas (1990)
27. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
28. Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain, Le (2001)
29. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
30. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
31. Sunset Blvd. (1950)
32. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
33. American Beauty (1999)
34. The Matrix (1999)
35. Fight Club (1999)
36. Apocalypse Now (1979)
37. Vertigo (1958)
38. The Pianist (2002)
39. Paths of Glory (1957)
40. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
41. Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi (2001)
42. Taxi Driver (1976)
43. The Third Man (1949)
44. Se7en (1995)
45. Hotel Rwanda (2004)
46. Boot, Das (1981)
47. Léon (1994)
48. M (1931)
49. Requiem for a Dream (2000)
50. Double Indemnity (1944)
51. Singin' in the Rain (1952)
52. Chinatown (1974)
53. Crash (2004)
54. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
55. Some Like It Hot (1959)
56. Rashômon (1950)
57. L.A. Confidential (1997)
58. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
59. All About Eve (1950)
60. Untergang, Der (2004)
61. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
62. American History X (1998)
63. Million Dollar Baby (2004)
64. Modern Times (1936)
65. Alien (1979)
66. Raging Bull (1980)
67. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
68. The Incredibles (2004)
69. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
70. Vita è bella, La (1997)
71. The Sting (1973)
72. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
73. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
74. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
75. Amadeus (1984)
76. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
77. The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
78. The Shining (1980)
79. The Great Escape (1963)
80. City Lights (1931)
81. On the Waterfront (1954)
82. The Apartment (1960)
83. Aliens (1986)
84. Ran (1985)
85. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
86. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
87. Metropolis (1927)
88. Sin City (2005)
89. Touch of Evil (1958)
90. Sjunde inseglet, Det (1957)
91. The Great Dictator (1940)
92. Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)
93. Braveheart (1995)
94. Donnie Darko (2001)
95. Jaws (1975)
96. Strangers on a Train (1951)
97. Nuovo cinema Paradiso (1989)
98. High Noon (1952)
99. Finding Nemo (2003)
100. Fargo (1996)
The fact that I've only seen 10% out of this great list means I've been living under a rock for most of my life! What a depressing statistic for a video editor; I guess one of my goals should be to watch a lot more of these (at least the top 25 or something!). Actually, the list goes until 250, and even then I've only seen 12 23 movies from #101 to #250, a total of 8% 9% still.
Libellés : media
vendredi 5 août 2005
Media break
Wouldn't it be wonderful if you could buy DVDs that also came with the movie soundtrack? I wouldn't mind paying extra if it meant the two were packaged together.
And I wonder why CDs tend to have fewer songs on them now. I remember seven years ago, you could get albums with 16 or 17 songs for $20 including tax, but now the ones that I buy seem to have 11 or 12 tracks for $21.99 before tax. I suppose having iTunes or something would cut down on costs, but it makes going to music stores pretty sad. Actually, some stores do have sales where it only costs $14.99, but there are fewer songs in general.
Libellés : media
mardi 19 juillet 2005
Alive and barely kicking
Right, updating this thing. It seems that no matter how much I want summer to be relaxing, I forget that work consumes a lot more than just the hours I'm in the office. Also, I spend less time on the internet - which I suppose is good overall since it should get me going on my paper.
I guess the only thing that is new is that I have discovered how to make quesadillas and that there is such joy in buying $10 movies from Walmart.
samedi 8 janvier 2005
Meme revival
I've seen a bunch of these posted around, so here goes! It's been a while since I've done a meme, but it'll be nice to hear some recommendations.
A) Recommend to me:
1. a movie.
2. a book.
3. a musical artist, song, or album.
B) Ask me three questions. Ask me anything you want.
C) Now go to your blog (if you have one), copy and paste this, and allow everyone to ask you the same.
Libellés : media
lundi 13 septembre 2004
The Question of God
I haven't seen any documentaries lately (the deprivation!), but I'm excited about this upcoming one on PBS: The Question of God: C.S. Lewis and Sigmund Freud With Dr. Armand Nicholi.
I'm glad I remembered to start reading Boundless again for the fall, just in time to catch an article on this program. I'll have to leave class an hour early, but at least I'm not skipping it like I did last semester to tape Jesus and Paul: The Word and the Witness. Yeah, I probably shouldn't have done that.
Libellés : media
lundi 23 août 2004
Here and there
Blogger is now offering AdSense to bloggers where they can get paid for allowing advertisements to be shown on their website that pertain to the topic of their posts. I wonder how it's going to change the medium of blogging - if people will become less personal and start writing more about what they think will generate profit for themselves. I guess I'll have to wait until someone on my blogroll joins the program and then see if their writing has transformed in any way.
I came across a great post the other day about how the church is being relevant in culture. Tim from challies.com posed the question, "How Relevant Is Too Relevant?" Even though he wrote it pretty quickly, I thought it still hit on a lot of good points.
And in other news, Vanity Fair will be theatres on September 1. I had to read the book for my Lit class and because it was so huge, I kept reminding myself that the movie was coming out soon. Now it's just a week away! I've heard mixed opinions on Reese Witherspoon's performance of Becky Sharp, but as I was reading the book, I could picture her in the role. It's great to see a recent movie adaptation of a novel from 19th century England. I hope this trend continues.
Well, I should be off to practise my Greek alphabet. I've got most of the letters memorized but none pronounced correctly. It turns out that some of the ones I've learned from math, chemistry or physics weren't said the way they should have been. One of my friends told me that pi (3.14159..) is actually pronounced pee rather than pie. But I don't think that would fly too well with junior high boys.
Libellés : blogging, church, college, media
jeudi 5 août 2004
Movie recommendations
These last few days have been horrible. I'm coughing like crazy and living on chicken noodle soup, yogurt, honey and lemon drinks and cough drops. The last time I had laryngitis it went away in a day or two but it's been half a week now. I got to rent some movies though, in honour of my sick days.
I won't be too chatty on here but if you can recommend some good movies that I can watch, please comment below. For some reason, it just hit me that the more movies I rent, the cheaper it is. That's what I'll be doing until I get back to normal :)
Libellés : media
mercredi 21 avril 2004
Early to bed means no homework done
I'm currently working on my annotated bibliography *cough* or I will begin to. All I need to do is find ten websites, of which I think I've found a few already. It's incredible that all of my assignments now incorporate the internet, computers, and/or other forms of technology. I guess it's something to be said for a 'millennialist generation.' It's hard to remember when I haven't had to use a computer, except for in the very early years of elementary school. But even before junior high, we still had these old-school disks (I'm sure you remember them too, when they used to be truly floppy). Good old Oregon Trail and Bank Street. It's too bad that I can't access any of the data saved on them anymore - I used to write tons of stories everyday. Anyways, that's that for nostalgia.
The Starfield CD comes out in less than a month (May 18th)! If you go to Sparrow Records, you can hear short audio samples of all their songs. There will be six brand new songs (Prelude - not really a song but new nonetheless, Love Break Me, Revolution, Outstretched Hands, Ordinary Life, and All For You) and six old songs that are redone (Filled With Your Glory, Alive In This Moment, Tumbling After, Over My Head, Can I Stay Here Forever, and Cry In My Heart). Here's an article from a few months ago that has more information on the group (via Mac). The following are things that you don't really care about unless you're a fan: Switchfoot also goes by SF and has brothers named Tim and Jon (confusing no?); as well, some CD covers look pretty similar to each other, not that it means much. And I need to stop randomly surfing and finish my assignments. Thank goodness for 100 hours of shuffled music.
Libellés : media
samedi 7 février 2004
Excellent movies
My w.bloggar has not been working, but Travis has been having the exact same problem, so I know it's not just me (phew, couldn't figure out what that 'required white space' was).
Lissa and I just rented "I Capture the Castle". It is one of my absolute favourite movies now! There's only one scene that's a bit, umm, well needed to be blurred or hidden better, but it did fit in with the story. But wonderful movie, oh, and in such a beautiful setting! And the awesome thing is that the person who played Stephen Colley in the movie is also going to be in "Tristan and Isolde".
Right now, I'm watching "Quo Vadis?" and I know I'll need to get a copy of it someday soon.
On being told the Christians are being blamed for the burning of Rome
Vinicius: The people won't believe such a lie!
Petronius: People will believe any lie, if it is fantastic enough.
Such great stuff. Speaking of movies, I read this article yesterday and I find it incredibly sad. It's disturbing that the director thinks the ring is "...obviously a metaphor for the machines, the factories, that enslave you, that take away your free will." How in the world do you come at that?! Well I guess if you don't believe in the concept of sin, you can't recognize it.
Unfortunately, I'm watching all this at the expense of my homework. And my Sundays are always busy with church... another late night? You can bet on it. I have an exam, a midterm, an annotated bibliography, a book report, a core values paper and a net assignment all for this week. Just a few more weeks until Reading Week. I'm living for that right now.
Libellés : media
samedi 24 janvier 2004
Love potion #9
I am extremely excited! Unknowingly and randomly searching, I just found out that Tristan and Isolde was filming last year and is now in post-production! I've been waiting to see a more recent version to come out that also isn't in French or German. I'm sure more people will hear about this movie in the months to come because Tristan is being played by the same person who played Harry Osbourn in Spiderman. As for Isolde, she's being played by Sophia Myles, an actress from London. Good stuff, I'm really anticipating this film now. It's predicted to be released for the fall this year, so mark your calendars!
Update: Here'a a good site with basic information on this Arthurian legend.
Insomnia bites, off to sleep now.
Libellés : media
mercredi 7 janvier 2004
Great lines
My psychology professor reminds me of Mr. Gibbs. I think it's his beard. I didn't really have a chance to do much this Christmas break, except for watching Pirates of the Caribbean at least 5 times or so. Blame my dad for getting the DVD :) Actually, I'd have to say it's my favourite movie of 2003 (excluding Return of the Kings, but that was part of a trilogy, so it technically doesn't count). It was also the second highest grossing movie of last year. If you've seen it, you'll recognize these:
Elizabeth: Captain Barbossa, I am here to negotiate the cessation of hostilities against Port Royal.
Barbossa: There be a lot of long words in there, miss. We're naught but humble pirates. What is it that you want?
Elizabeth: I want you to leave and never come back.
Barbossa: I'm disinclined to acquiesce to your request. Means "no."
Mr. Gibbs: Then, on the fourth day, he roped himself a couple of sea turtles and made a raft.
Will Turner: He roped himself a couple of sea turtles.
Mr. Gibbs: Aye. Sea turtles.
Will Turner: What did he use for rope?
Jack Sparrow: [from beside them] Human hair.
Jack Sparrow: [pause] From my back.
Will Turner: This is either madness... or brilliance.
Jack Sparrow: It's remarkable how often those two traits coincide.
Jack Sparrow: Why is the rum gone?
Elizabeth: One, because it is a vile drink that turns even the most respectable men into complete scoundrels. Two, that signal is over a thousand feet high. The entire royal navy is out looking for me; do you really think that there is EVEN the slightest chance that they won't see it?
Jack Sparrow: But why is the rum gone?
Jack Sparrow: Me? I'm just honest, and a dishonest man you can always trust to be dishonest... Honestly. It's the honest ones you want to watch out for, because you can never predict when they're going to do something incredibly... stupid.
Jack Sparrow: [to Governor Weatherby Swann] I think we've all arrived at a very special place... spiritually... ecumenically... grammatically.
Source: Memorable Quotes
Libellés : media
jeudi 1 janvier 2004
World Idol results
So the winner of "World Idol" is Kurt Nilsen! I wasn't too shocked that he won, but I'm glad that he did! Even though one of the judges called him a hobbit and said that he would win in a "Middle Earth Idol", it's great that appearance didn't have to get in the way of singing talent. It was almost an unanimous vote too, with (I think) 9 countries voting him for first place, giving him a total of 106 points. Well, I enjoyed this short run of World Idol and I love that it proves that the underdog can win, with talent and not just ideal looks. I'm impressed that even though it was a "reality show", it still showed these "idols" as real people who worked hard and sacrificed a lot to get where they are. I only hope that "Canadian Idol" will be reflective of that in the second season. I also thought it was neat to see a lot of countries get involved in this international competition.
Libellés : media
