Some years ago I went to see "Y tu mama tambien" when it came out in theaters and liked Gabriel Garcia Bernal's acting. He was really good at portraying friendship laced with jealousy. His Spanish is clear and easy to understand, or it could be that I just have a preference for Mexican pronunciation. I wanted to see more of his movies and went to a small video shop to see if I could find some, and here's what they had.
Dot the i was a disappointment. First of all it was in English which made Bernal's acting seem like crap. I had no idea he even spoke English, but he should stick with indie Spanish-speaking films. The movie relied too much on pulling everything together during the last 30 minutes, so for the first half I was wondering where they were headed with this and what was the point of the movie. I did like how it ended, but I felt bored too much of the time in the beginning.
Vidas Privadas ("Private Lives")had a terrible title in Japanese that made it sound like a porno - "Buenos Aires Nights"ブエノスアイレスの夜. I was so glad to see both Bernal and Cecilia Roth, who I fell in love with after her amazing performance in Todo Sobre Mi Madre, which happens to be one of my all-time favorite movies. I'd never heard of this movie before and was thrilled to find complex characters so emotionally distraught by their past experiences. Cecilia Roth is great for the strong female character role, who obviously has major psychological trauma. You find out about her past little by little, which creates a good pace.
Bendito Infierno was pretty good, and has a totally different title in every country which seems only natural for a movie filmed in 3 languages (French, English, Spanish). "No News from God" in Spain, "Don't Tempt Me" in English, and the awful title "Welcome! Heaven" in Japanese. I like the premise and found it humorous that English is the language used in hell. I showed this one in school and there wasn't enough class time to finish it - the kids hate me for turning off the video during a climactic scene 15 minutes before the end. I have the same gripe that Bernal speaks too much English, and the movie reminded me that Penelope Cruz was a much better actress when she stuck with indie Spanish films. I like the world this movie creates and how heaven and hell are earth-like places.
There were a few others that were already rented out so I'll have to go back some other time.
A little comment about phones . . . last week I wrote that cell phones dropping into toilets happens pretty often. Just yesterday someone told me that hers dropped into the toilet at work, and getting it fixed cost the same as getting a new one. Beware of toilets!
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
cough cough
I was sick all weekend and had to get someone to do my classes Saturday so I could stay home and rest. I felt fine until the drive home Friday night when I started coughing till my lungs hurt and my head got so stuffy I couldn't sleep the whole night. I figured the splitting headache all day Saturday was just from not sleeping, but since it lasted until Sunday night I think it was because I had a fever (no thermometer in the house so I had to use the wrist-on-the-forehead maneuver which doesn't work when it's your own forehead).
So what'd I do all weekend? I stayed in bed watching Charmed episodes. When the show started 9 years ago I watched a couple episodes and wasn't really impressed, but a few weeks ago I found out it had run for 8 seasons. It must have gotten better for it to have lasted that long, so decided to give it another chance. Supposedly it's the longest running series featuring an all-female main cast, beating out Laverne and Shirley.
I'm hooked, but only because it gets better as time goes on. The first couple seasons are pretty shaky and the characters don't feel very realistic, as realistic as a story about 3 witches in San Francisco fighting demons can be. I mean, Shannon Doherty has a job in an auction house and is an expert on every painting, gem, statue, vase, weapon, and whatever other antique that comes her way and she's only in her mid-20s? Those guys on the Antique Road Show program are like 80 years old and experts in only one very specific field. And plus I don't like her anyway. Heard she's a bitch in real life and you can kind of tell by those permanent frown lines on her face. I was so glad when they killed her off.
It gets lots better when they add Paige - the social worker who quits her job and gets stuck at a temp agency. Now that's more realistic. Plus she's sexy. There's something about her mannerisms and way of talking that I like. Kind of a nonchalant easy-going attitude with underlying intelligence and sass.
But what I really love is that in every episode there's a guest band, usually someone I've heard of but don't know their music or know their music but don't know what they look like. And guest actors that I know from other shows, sometimes people I've completely forgotten about but recognize instantly, like the guy who played Jack Deveraux from Days of Our Lives (one summer I was home everyday and looked forward to that dumb soap). Seeing him reminded me of another character I liked - Austin Reed, who showed up in an episode a couple seasons later. How dorky can I get.
Then Balthazar Getty shows up in a recurring role. I remember having just read Lord of the Flies (have a boulder, Piggy) and then the movie came out, and I thought how amazing it was that we're the same age but he's this famous actor and I'm just an insecure middle school kid. I sort of admired him. I forgot all about that name but recognized it instantly during the guest credits. He looks so different I wasn't sure which character he was.
So anyhow that's what I've been doing with all my spare time these past few weeks - watching Charmed episodes. I like playing "spot the tattoo". The number of tattoos on their bodies increases with each season and I'm sure they wear those skimpy outfits just to show them off.
So what'd I do all weekend? I stayed in bed watching Charmed episodes. When the show started 9 years ago I watched a couple episodes and wasn't really impressed, but a few weeks ago I found out it had run for 8 seasons. It must have gotten better for it to have lasted that long, so decided to give it another chance. Supposedly it's the longest running series featuring an all-female main cast, beating out Laverne and Shirley.
I'm hooked, but only because it gets better as time goes on. The first couple seasons are pretty shaky and the characters don't feel very realistic, as realistic as a story about 3 witches in San Francisco fighting demons can be. I mean, Shannon Doherty has a job in an auction house and is an expert on every painting, gem, statue, vase, weapon, and whatever other antique that comes her way and she's only in her mid-20s? Those guys on the Antique Road Show program are like 80 years old and experts in only one very specific field. And plus I don't like her anyway. Heard she's a bitch in real life and you can kind of tell by those permanent frown lines on her face. I was so glad when they killed her off.
It gets lots better when they add Paige - the social worker who quits her job and gets stuck at a temp agency. Now that's more realistic. Plus she's sexy. There's something about her mannerisms and way of talking that I like. Kind of a nonchalant easy-going attitude with underlying intelligence and sass.
But what I really love is that in every episode there's a guest band, usually someone I've heard of but don't know their music or know their music but don't know what they look like. And guest actors that I know from other shows, sometimes people I've completely forgotten about but recognize instantly, like the guy who played Jack Deveraux from Days of Our Lives (one summer I was home everyday and looked forward to that dumb soap). Seeing him reminded me of another character I liked - Austin Reed, who showed up in an episode a couple seasons later. How dorky can I get.
Then Balthazar Getty shows up in a recurring role. I remember having just read Lord of the Flies (have a boulder, Piggy) and then the movie came out, and I thought how amazing it was that we're the same age but he's this famous actor and I'm just an insecure middle school kid. I sort of admired him. I forgot all about that name but recognized it instantly during the guest credits. He looks so different I wasn't sure which character he was.
So anyhow that's what I've been doing with all my spare time these past few weeks - watching Charmed episodes. I like playing "spot the tattoo". The number of tattoos on their bodies increases with each season and I'm sure they wear those skimpy outfits just to show them off.
Saturday, April 21, 2007
True love
After having the same old phone for 3 years, I figured it was time to get something new. I went to the phone shop and had a look at the dozens of models display. The mini-TV phones were too bulky to fit comfortably in my front pocket. The new super-slim phones were pretty cool, but were so slim they seemed fragile. There were a few that looked nice, but the buttons felt weird or they make that clicking sound when flipped open (some people like that but I wanted something quiet). I found myself drawn to the Docomo F703i. So sleek, so shiny. But *gasp*.... they were sold out!!!!! I ended up spending the next 4 hours driving around to different Docomo branches until I finally found the model and color I was after. And it was definitely worth it. I absolutely love love love love my new phone!!!!!!!!
The F703i is the first waterproof phone on the market. Now I can play games while sitting in the bath (currently raising fish for the aquarium screensaver I downloaded). And no worries about walking in the rain or dropping it into the toilet! (never actually happened to me, but so many people have told me their phones died because of toilet incidents).
It also doubles as an ipod. I don't particularly need an ipod, but just to try it out I downloaded a few songs from Napster (2-weeks free service with purchase of phone - yay!) to use as ring tones. The great thing is you can set each person to a different ring tone, so I know who's calling or sending mail just by what song's playing. I love that part.
Mostly I love it because the outer shell is made of reflective glass. You can set the lights behind the mirrors to do different things, like tell you when there's a message or do funky patterns when you get a call. I've got mine set to display the time and do a funky light show in colored lights when I open or close it :)
And here it is! My new phone (color Lamp Black). Here's a before/after shot of the time showing up when I close it.
The unfortunate part is it cost a lot for functions I won't use. The camera quality is only 1.3 megapixels so I'll rely on my regular camera (7.0 megapixels), and I probably won't be doing much netsurfing on such a small screen. It'll mainly be used for mail and the occasional phone call. But I love the sleek black face and the hidden lights behind the mirrors. I'm such a sucker for design.
The screensaver aquarium looks so real (tried taking a photo but they kept coming out blurry). I downloaded a saltwater tank with some of those Nemo clownfish and a few blue ones for color. If they stay healthy for a couple weeks the site'll let me download something new :)
The F703i is the first waterproof phone on the market. Now I can play games while sitting in the bath (currently raising fish for the aquarium screensaver I downloaded). And no worries about walking in the rain or dropping it into the toilet! (never actually happened to me, but so many people have told me their phones died because of toilet incidents).
It also doubles as an ipod. I don't particularly need an ipod, but just to try it out I downloaded a few songs from Napster (2-weeks free service with purchase of phone - yay!) to use as ring tones. The great thing is you can set each person to a different ring tone, so I know who's calling or sending mail just by what song's playing. I love that part.
Mostly I love it because the outer shell is made of reflective glass. You can set the lights behind the mirrors to do different things, like tell you when there's a message or do funky patterns when you get a call. I've got mine set to display the time and do a funky light show in colored lights when I open or close it :)
And here it is! My new phone (color Lamp Black). Here's a before/after shot of the time showing up when I close it.
The unfortunate part is it cost a lot for functions I won't use. The camera quality is only 1.3 megapixels so I'll rely on my regular camera (7.0 megapixels), and I probably won't be doing much netsurfing on such a small screen. It'll mainly be used for mail and the occasional phone call. But I love the sleek black face and the hidden lights behind the mirrors. I'm such a sucker for design.
The screensaver aquarium looks so real (tried taking a photo but they kept coming out blurry). I downloaded a saltwater tank with some of those Nemo clownfish and a few blue ones for color. If they stay healthy for a couple weeks the site'll let me download something new :)
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Chino & Yoko's B-day
Last weekend Chino complained about me not having updated the blog in over a month. I suspect she was looking for pictures :) The Japanese have a nice custom of giving copies of photos to the people that are in them, and I used to be pretty good about putting together envelopes of photos. But I haven't done it for almost two years and have been getting flack about it. Hopefully uploading some photos will appease the angry Chino. (I do intend to burn photo disks . . . someday)
Chino (left) and Yoko (right) have their birthdays in the same month, so we did a two-for-one birthday special at my house.
Chino took this lovely picture with the carrots that sparked a "vegetable playtime" photo shoot where we abused broccoli and cabbages, proving that age is just a number and that some of us will eternally be young at heart (and mind). There are photos of myself somewhere out there, but you'll not find them here (^^)v
Yoko had brought a board game called "Blokus" that was pretty easy to learn and totally addictive. There are 4 players, each with their own tetris-like blocks. The goal is to place your own blocks on the board in patterns that prevent the other players from placing their blocks, until everyone is stalemated. The winner is the person who used up the most spaces on the board. I don't know where the game is originally from but it's worth picking up if you like board games. But moderation is definitely key . . . playing 4 hours straight is a great way to give yourself a headache.
Chino (left) and Yoko (right) have their birthdays in the same month, so we did a two-for-one birthday special at my house.
Chino took this lovely picture with the carrots that sparked a "vegetable playtime" photo shoot where we abused broccoli and cabbages, proving that age is just a number and that some of us will eternally be young at heart (and mind). There are photos of myself somewhere out there, but you'll not find them here (^^)v
Yoko had brought a board game called "Blokus" that was pretty easy to learn and totally addictive. There are 4 players, each with their own tetris-like blocks. The goal is to place your own blocks on the board in patterns that prevent the other players from placing their blocks, until everyone is stalemated. The winner is the person who used up the most spaces on the board. I don't know where the game is originally from but it's worth picking up if you like board games. But moderation is definitely key . . . playing 4 hours straight is a great way to give yourself a headache.
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