STG's Post - Rain, Christmas & Fur Coats

Hey Star Trek Girl how's it going? Welcome to your weekly round-up!

It's been pretty rainy & windy here all week; in fact I've started drawing up plans to build an Ark. The 2 cats & 2 fish resident here have already booked their place - although I think the fish are taking liberties given the nature of their physiology!

I've bought myself a desk as well to work at; the chiropractor pointed out that I'd spend £99 in a month with her so I went out & bought one the next day. I have the cheap N cheerful Argos special & much swearing & nearly a tear went into setting it up, but I now have a lovely little work corner where my empire is being built!

The Christmas lights are up in Brighton; they're the same as usual but look lovely; it's hard to take a photo as my camera phone doesn't like the dark much. It's a bit sad that they put them up so early, as when Christmas finally comes, it's kind of like old news. Like how I hate cooking because by the time I've cooked it I'm bored of it already!

Here's this fabulous fake fur coat in a shop on Gardner St which feels as soft as sunshine. It's not my usual style (I generally hate animal print & think it's beyond tacky) but it has incredible electric pink lining & is just fabulous dahling! I can't justify spending the money on it but I go in to stroke it sometimes! Sometimes you need an amazingly glamorous purchase to get you through a winter but it's only November & I could always get shoes instead!

I still miss Dexter like crazy & see him everywhere, but it's getting better as Spice Girl who lives here, has taken to sleeping on my bed at night. She gets me all to herself (her sister Sugar Puff hogs my landlady's bed) & gets a nugget of kitty crack for making me feel better. I would still love another cat or a little dog but as I know I can only have one when I move, it's given me good incentive to get my own place.

I hope things are good with you; I read your blog with interest & am there in spirit with you! My Mum reminded me to get my passport in order so I can come to see you so I'll get Christmas over with & sort it out. Until next week; take care my dear friend. x

The Girl Who Stares at Films

As you guys know, I have a Cineworld pass so I see a lot of films, plus I LOVE films & consider the cinema my second home - I am never happier than when, away from the stress of the real world, I scrunched down in my seat: the curtains rise, the opening credits come up, the music starts & the magic begins!

I had been putting all my film reviews on this blog but realised I wanted a different place to be able to discuss films, share clips, & generally wallow in a pit of movie-dom. So I've created ANOTHER blog (that now makes 4 with Clutter-Thunk, this one, & my business one!) the new blog is just for films; I'll be putting all my reviews on there, plus trailers, classic scenes, montages & all sorts of other film-related stuff... I may waffle so I'll apologise now!

You also know that when I write, I don't like to waste time explaining the story-line; if people want a run down then they can read about it somewhere else. Also, everyone has different tastes & that's why they make different kinds of films! The blog is basically both my opinion & a written worship of the best thing man ever invented... after popcorn obviously.

If you love films as much as I do (hard to believe but I'll try) then please feel free to comment on anything you read - although it has to be said that if you hate Woody Allen & The Coen Brothers then your opinion may be fiercely debated! And if you're not into films then you're a freak of nature but don't read it & I'll continue to love you anyway.

Oh yeah - new blog found either HERE or under my profile!

A Seriously Good Film

I've been so busy this week it's taken me ages to find time to write. I'm due a STG post & I also went to see a film this week which I have been dying to talk about.

My favourite directors are the Coen Brothers; they can do no wrong with me & I love all their films (well I'll discuss 'The Ladykillers' another time!) I have watched them all many times, & like them for lots of different reasons - though mostly it's because every shot is just incredibly beautiful. To be fair, I could actually bore you for hours about how amazing I think their films are!

I love the way that, even though they all have different themes, their films are absolutely stunning to look at. I'm big on aesthetics & can often forgive a film's shortcomings depending on how visually pleasing it was; but luckily they also manage to tell a good story, have dialogue that works, create interesting & unique characters, produce a good score.. I could go on - basically nearly EVERYTHING they deliver works for me.

So I went to see their new film on Saturday night called 'A Serious Man'. The trailer doesn't really give a sense of what the film is about or how it will come across so I was interested to see what type of film they had made. Although I usually never reveal what happens in a film I'm going to bend that rule a bit here...


In an interview the Coens had said that it had the working title of 'The Jew Film' before they named it; & although we know the Coens are Jewish they've never really delved too deeply into this area before - this film was so magnificently Jewish that they might as well have had Woody Allen running across the screen shouting Mazel Tov at various intervals!

Nearly all of the main characters are Jewish, so you get to see what that means for their daily lives; how their religion effects their actions, their relationships, & their options - the film kind of revolves around their faith. Also, the main character might just has well been called an unlucky man as (unlike the Big Lebowski where his luck soars & plummets) everything just gets worse & worse for him until it culminates with a big, black gaping void with a question mark sticking out of the bottom like a stake.

Although it isn't billed as a comedy it was laugh out loud funny in places, but you also felt his uneasiness in your laughter; life was far from funny for this man & he knew it. There were a few times where his dreams & imagination crept into the film so you thought something was really happening & it wasn't, but it was also very realistic in its setting. It wasn't a particulalry slow film but proceeded at a steady pace - just as a serious man would.

I need to look into it more, but I've noticed the Coens' characters often talk about the facets of 'being a man' - "what makes a man?", being a 'serious man', "what kind of man are you?" it seems to be a thread running through a few of their films - I need to watch them all back to investigate further though!

Unsurprisingly, I loved every second of it; the music often added to the feeling of uneasiness & it was most like 'Barton Fink' in the sense that it was darkly brooding with a nervous feeling that something bad might happen - like it was leading to something but you were pretty sure it wasn't going to be a good thing.

I also love to recognise actors from the past, & I was really excited when I spotted the brilliant Adam Arkin who played Adam in Northern Exposure; although nobody I was with watched it so I had to be excited all on my own!

I'm definitely going to see it again; I've been thinking about it most of the week & want to go back & wallow in its brilliance. The acting was superb & it was a Coen Brother film through & through. If you love their stuff then you won't be disappointed & if you're new to them then go & be educated... these guys know how to make films.

STG's Post - Celebs, Chiropractors & Cats

Hey girly; been pretty manic this week so my apologies for the overdue post.

You haven't really missed anything, it's been raining & a bit windy so obviously we're on panic storm alert as Britain is unable to cope with any variables in weather - even though we're a country that is & has always been home to various assorted types of weather. These 2 guys did take the opportunity to use the tad breezy conditions to kite surf over Worthing Pier however!

The main topics of conversation in the media this week, have been Jordan on 'I'm a Celebrity...' (frankly I've barely taken notice as she's a fame-hungry, high-maintenance, waste-of-space publicity whore who can't fart without having to ring the press) & whether Jedward on the X-Factor are rubbish; I don't watch it any more as I decided that even I had to draw the line somewhere as that by watching such lowbrow, tat I was contributing to the homogenisation & lowering of standards - even though I like watching ANTM, Worlds Most Amazing Videos & Ghost Hunters! The consensus in case you're remotely interested is that yes, they're talentless wankers - so will probably win it.

Work is fine; I need a few more clients so will be doing some marketing this weekend, I'm going to see the new Coen Bros film on Saturday & that's about it really. I fucked my back again so had to see the chiropractor twice in one week (painful both in wallet & reality) but It's kinda ok again now. I still firmly believe that you have to be fantastically good-looking to become a chiropractor as mine is deeelicious - In fact I recommend everyone throws themselves down the stairs just so he can give them the once over!

I've been missing Dexter a lot. Sometimes it feels like he never existed; I keep dreaming about him & then wake up upset as it feels like I get him back only to have him taken away again each morning; that feeling hangs over me for most of the day like bad dreams do. Because he replaced Fraidy, it's like they've both died again - I'm very much a pet person & feel like I have no purpose to be honest. I can't have a pet here so I'll have to wait, but I'm finding it hard if I'm truthful.

I'm enjoying reading your Blog; sounds like Amman is an amazing place & I really wish I was there with you; I miss you loads but hope you are enjoying yourself. I can't believe that things are so cheap there - more photos of everything please!

So until next week my Star Trek friend... x

Did I Ever Mention That I Love Opera?

The End of the World is Nigh

Right excitement over; after 2 long days of hard work (apart from the festival ones which I have still to do) I have managed to either find old post pictures or give them new ones. I have had to delete 200 pictures from my other blog as I just have no idea what they were. Let me be an example - if you delete your Google account then every picture you've ever posted on Blogger will also vanish.

On Friday afternoon, I took myself to see 2012. I'm not sure if I mentioned this, but I absolutely LOVE disaster films - I like to see scenes of mass panic, destruction & people running! I called 'Knowing' the Daddy of all disaster films but this tops everything I've ever seen; so I guess it's the Grandpa of disaster films!

It's very special-effectsy & somewhat cheesy in places (well it was made by the same guy who did Independence Day & The Day After Tomorrow) it's also a bit emotional & I did find myself welling up a bit in places... I guess the end of the World kinda does that to you!

Although the film was nearly 3 hours long, I didn't notice at all; there's not much let-up & my attention was gripped all the way through. (saying that, some old fella did start snoring loudly & everyone in the cinema kept laughing at him!) It was very much an epic film & I kept wanting to stand up & shout 'Jesus Christ did you see that?' in places!

The special effects were pretty amazing, but they were somewhat too obvious as special effects to make you terrified; I did find myself tensing up at points but you were in no doubt of who would survive & who wouldn't - you also knew how everything would turn out & who were the 'baddies' & what would happen to them. It was also quite moralistic but then it was a Hollywood blockbuster so it was a given.

The choice of actors was interesting - John Cusack has never really gone in for this type of film so he was a surprise, Danny Glover played his usual stoical self, but could easily have been replaced by Morgan Freeman; I did get very excited when I saw John Billingsley who played Doctor Phlox in Enterprise - I'm a bit of a Star Trek geek, & he has a very easily recognisable voice. Glad to see that like Colm Meaney, he's still working though!

Overall it was a massive film; it was really exciting, fun & should definitely be seen at the cinema, as it's just too big to wait until it comes out on dvd. If you love big epic Hollywood films then you'll love it - it certainly was impressive & I may even go & see it again!

All Gone

God this is so disappointing - I've decided to stick with Blogger as it would mean that even if I imported my blog, all the photos have gone anyway. Plus you guys are all here as well...

So I've just spent hours trying to replace the photos that accompany the posts; I often spent AGES finding the perfect photo as well & I've not been able to find them all again - I could go with new ones, but I chose the last ones because they were perfect.

Nearly every SkyWatch photo was taken on my camera phone then deleted once uploaded so they've gone forever, I have no way of finding a lot of the ugly shoes (one doesn't just stumble upon such hideousness) so I've had to delete some of those posts altogether as well. (Although LInked Within obviously doesn't understand that a post has gone, because that would just be too easy & might indicate that technology was my side)

It's been a little upsetting to see how often I mentioned Dexter as well - especially to read how many times I said I feared he would be killed by a car after I moved; or all the mornings we spent chilling in bed or the happy afternoons on the sofa hanging out.

The 300 Clutter-Thunk photos can be put up again I guess, even though some of them will be the second time around for you. But the Cynic ones were personal & are hard to replicate. This is going to be a long job; some of the posts had 3 pictures & only Link Within is giving me any hint as to what the photo was - Imagine if you had to recreate a whole year's worth of 2 blogs. What a fucking hassle.