Boppy's Journal

So far 2011 has consisted of a lot of low-grade annoyances. Apart from killing my laptop, I have also lost my mobile phone and may have killed my coffee maker (eeeeek!). A big job fell through when I really need money for travel. And now my landlords are thinking about selling, which is a BITCH because it means months of inspections and then a potential (best case scenario) rent increase or (worst case scenario) move. There is no way in hell we'd ever find an equivalent place to live for the price/location, so my standard of living could take a sharp downturn. Naturally I feel all these things are TOTALLY MY FAULT and KARMIC REVENGE for being a shit person, so my self-loathing is in overdrive and I approach every day as a kind of mano e mano battle with this part of my self. *wields baseball bat at it*

I saw Black Swan, finally, the other day, and it was marvellous. ( thoughts beneath cut )

2011 also seems to involve a lot of asking for help... so in the spirit of that... I was given a sewing machine for Christmas (yes, I'm horribly spoilt), and I have been playing around with it. My last experience of a sewing machine was some horrible old clunky thing in textiles class, with which I managed to sew right through my finger (the needle broke off halfway through and poked out the other side). This contraption is a million times more marvellous and can perform such wonders as buttonholes and zips! \o/ I am greatly enjoying playing around and so far have achieved very simple pillow covers, a drawstring skirt and a wrap skirt, all reasonably ugly. I am giving myself six months to create something non-ugly. That seems reasonable, no? So I am very much in need of SEWING ADVICES!!!! Any tips for beginners with no natural talent?!

I have been scowering the net for help, with varying success. Two main problems so far:
a) the overabundance of fugly twee craft things that I would never in a million years make
b) so far I only know how to sew non-stretch fabrics (even though machine can sew stretch I am scared of it!) and it's hard to find even semi-attractive non-stretch fabric in the regular stores. This second one I've made progress with by shopping online or at a place near me where Project Runway get their supplies, but even so... I am also slightly hampered by my own shaky sense of style. I am sure if I had better taste and visual mind I'd be able to think up better creations! Any tips for developing these?

Hey guys! Welcome to 2010! It's going to ROCK! :D

I'm excited about the year ahead because of my determination to focus on the Things That Really Matter. In '09 I spent a lot of energy getting my freelance career off the ground--now I can focus more on quality of life.

You may see some changes around here on my journal. It's been a while since I felt comfortable in fandom, and part of that is that I've outgrown some old aspects of my online activity.

So... first up, I'm cutting my friendslist. I would like to be able to read and keep up with it without filters or GUILT, so sadly that means substantial cutting. Four years of impulsive friending caught up with me! It doesn't mean I hate you. It doesn't mean I'll never visit your journal. But if we don't interact much, you haven't updated in ages or our interests have completely diverged, then I may have deleted you. Don't worry! You are still welcome here. Most of my posts are and will continue to be public, so you're not missing out.

Also, tip to anyone that actually wants to be mutual friends with me: just talk to me. Comment, email, PM, whatever. I respond well to interaction. *g* But I'm going to have to put myself on a very strict 'no auto-friending' policy for a while because friending waaaay too quickly in the past got me into this unmanageable situation.

Secondly, you may seem some content changes. Since my fandom interests kind of nose-dived in 09 (BSG tanked, TSCC got axed), I'm not sure how much meta there will be. If something sparks my interest, I'll post, but I'm not forcing it. I am, however, going to post about movies and books I'm reading, because that's where my attention is. I haven't used my books filter for eons, but I've decided to just post about books publicly instead--if you're not up for that, scroll past or remove me, it's cool. I just need to be a bit more 'me' on here.

I will also continue to post about vidding and get (roving) vidding chats rolling again from the end of Jan (I hope).

( I watched some stuff! Reactions to: Doctor Who, Sherlock Holmes, Avatar, Red Cliff, Legend of the Seeker )

( and I read stuff: The Disappeared and In the Country of Men )

Now off to Brisbane for a music festival: should be fun!

It's Film Festival time in Melbourne again. It snuck up on me as I had the flu and had felt flat about the festival by the end of last year. But the line up this year is far more interesting to me (though the Festival at a whole has been plagued by political controversies and several movies have been pulled--thankfully none that I really minded about!).

So far I've seen three movies.

Mommo
A simple, poignant tale of a Turkish brother and sister abandoned by their father. ( not much to say )

Action Boys
Oh, man! I LOVED this. Korean documentary by and about stuntmen working in the Korean movie industry. Quirky narration and absolutely hysterical. ( fangirling within )

Chocolate
Thai martial arts flick about a chocolate-scoffing autistic girl kicking a whole lot of gangster ass to pay for her mother's chemotherapy. ( in every way lived up to the expectations that premise generates (warning for un-PC content) )

I would like to announce that The Fall is the most beautiful movie I have seen in years, or possibly ever. I think it's a love-it-or-hate-it movie, so I warn you in advance that I'm completely smitten to the point of ridiculousness. I am not rational about it AT ALL.

( 10 reasons to watch The Fall )

Like all very beautiful things, when I finish it, I feel empty and instantly begin longing for it, or something like it, again. So if anyone wants to rec me any similar movies (ha!), feel free. Otherwise, I'll be on the sofa watching it for the third time in 24 hours...

Have not been around much due to house guest and film festival. The festival's been kind of underwhelming overall, but thought I should update anyway.

Evangelion 1.0 You are not alone
( Remastered big-screen version of the original Evangelion series )

Fighter
( Urban martial arts flick, Bend-it-like-Beckham style )

Yasukuni
( Dirge-like boring Chinese doco about the Japanese shrine that commemorates war criminals )

Dust
( A German documentary about dust )

I've got three more movies to go this weekend.

I saw The Dark Knight. I loved it. ( cut for spoilers (briefly) )

Dear people that told me to watch The Middleman: THANK YOU! It is awesome and cute and adorable and I have only seen one episode and must watch the rest straight away. :D

By Day 3 I was getting kinda tired (late night drinkies the day before hadn't helped) but still had lots of stamina. Alas, it was to be my last full day at the festival for a couple of days as I got word that we could move back into our renovated home and the following day was spent moving and cleaning.

The Mourning Forest
( winner of the Grand Prix at Cannes this year--a melancholy, introspective Japanese mood piece about mourning )

The War Tapes
( three US soldiers film their year in Iraq--incredible documentary )

A Mighty Heart
( Michael Winterbottom directs Angelina Jolie in the true story of an American journalist kidnapped by terrorists )

Black Sheep
( New Zealand comedy-horror in which genetically engineered mutant sheep turn on humans )

Hello LJ! I missed you! :-) This is the first of my film festival posts, hurriedly uploaded from an internet cafe. ;-) I managed to do five consecutive sessions on Day One. I think that'll be my daily record for the festival. As it was, I wound up with a headache. (Note to self: don't forget to pack nurofen tomorrow!) Met up with a couple of friends for Once and Scott Walker and heading off to meet them again today. So far mental health relatively intact. *g* I've tried not to be too spoilery in these reviews.

Tuya's marriage
( quirky and poignant Mongolian romantic comedy )

Behind the Veil / Eve and Marilyn
( Magnum Photos documentary focusing on Eve Arnold )

Ghosts
( reconstructed narrative of the death of Chinese illegal immigrants in the cockle industry in the UK in 2004 )

Once
( superlatively awesome modern Irish musical )

Scott Walker: 30th century man
( definitive documentary about the enigmatic musician )

Among the very few things I accomplished this weekend was going to see Spiderman III. ( cut for spoilers )

It's a public holiday here in Melbourne, and I'm revelling in it because the next few days will be spent 'bonding' with my colleages at a staff conference. *shudders* While I fully intend to insulate myself with books, iPod and laptop, I'm not sure how successful I will be at avoiding the usual spectacle of watching one's superiors get shit-faced and ugly.

First, some post-Maelstrom meta links, because I'm still very thinky on such matters. (Two essays not enough? Sheesh, K!)
- daybreak777 has some questions on Kara/Leoben (little k--you around?).
- wisteria_ has a screencap review with a poll.
- marenfic has a wonderful post on Jung and mandalas which I found enlightening.
My cursor has hovered over post-Maelstrom fic and vids, but so far I can't bring myself to click. *stays safely in metaland for now* I'm still ridiculously emo and will be lining up drinks before the next eppy just in case.

In other news, I saw Pan's Labyrinth last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. It's been hyped to death, true, but I'm a sucker for fantasy, tragedy, fairy-tales and little-girls-lost-in-the-woods, not to mention the gorgeousness of the set designs and cinematography. ( Cut for spoilers )

Finally, we've all seen the infamous Justin Hartley-gets-a-handjob clip now, yes? Ah, Smallville, you know how to cast them! How much would I give to hear Michael or Tom give him shit over this? A LOT. The very fact that this was set in a barn amused me no end. Someone get Justin a show, pleeeeease! I miss Oliver. :-(