Floating Leaf

Someone posted very interesting pics on viggo_daily yesterday. Not surprising, perhaps, and yet... in a way, extremely so, because when have we actually seen Viggo The Ever Elusive "Private Man" engaging in Public Displays of Affection???... *gasp* ;) Not sure if The Kiss happened before or after they became aware of having been spotted by the paparazzi, but either way... it's a first.:) Someone said in the comments they have been "unofficially" together since Alatriste - which, again, doesn't surprise me; I just wonder what made them no longer care about keeping it "under wraps" (someone else said she recently got divorced, so that could be why... LOL). If you still don't know who I'm talking about, kindly follow the cut and see Undeniable Proof that the amazing onscreen chemistry required far less acting talent than either of them have.;)

( Viggo and Ariadna Gil, of course. )

It is a bit windy outside today. As in, hold on for dear life and don't drive too fast, or it will blow you off the road. Because, you know, there's windy, and then there's Windy City windy - which is a whole another level of howling madness, if you catch my drift. So we had a power outage at the office again, and they let us go home early. Yay! It can happen every day, as far as I'm concerned.:P

Also, if you're in need of a distraction and a good belly-laugh - not to mention a little nostalgic for the bygone days when LOTR FPS fandom was alive and kicking - I just found something that might brighten up your mood. Here's the link:

http://avia.silverbloom.net/mirror/viewstory.php?sid=15251

Yes, Author's Notes is the title of the story, and it's a relatively canon retelling of the Quest - except for the rampant insanity involving Aragorn's half-hearted attempts at a written record of the proceedings (as requested by Elrond), and his constant mental torment at the hands of a very moody, jealous, distracting and anal-retentive elven lover.:) Legolas in this fic is just... sooo gay. In more ways than one.:P I have barely started reading it, and I can't remember the last time I had such wicked fun with my OTP (and the other members of the Fellowship, who are all delightfully amusing here, I might add). geale01, why were you hiding this treasure trove away from me?... LOL

( Just a tiny little snippet, to give you an idea of the style and tone. )

OK... I'm going to attempt a review of that Chinese gay movie I mentioned before (the one I went to see on the last weekend of the festival). It might be difficult, since there are many things I love about this film, but also some things I hate. But that's precisely the reason I feel the need to write about it.

Perhaps using my nearly-forgotten review template will make it a little easier for me to contain the topic, so to speak, and include all the relevant info before I get carried away by reflections and interpretations.:) And spoilers - because without them, I wouldn't be able to explain much. ( So read at your own risk.:P )

Now, about this Greek film I saw last Tuesday. Black Field. Which turned out to be something a little different than what I expected. *amused chuckle* The funny thing is, I picked mostly gay movies to see - except for this one. Not even so much on purpose - I just picked the ones that sounded most interesting to me, and they happened to be gay-themed. Imagine that. *snort* So I was thinking to myself, Well, at least I will be able to say I watched one non-gay film during this festival. And then I checked out the link to the film's website, and there was a review, and before I was half-way through it, I started laughing hysterically, because yeah. To quote the director, Vardis Marinakis, who attended the screening, this is a spoiler that has totally leaked, so I am going to reveal it - and I daresay some of my potential readers might actually be MORE interested in seeing the film once I do.:D

( Read more... )

So, my little vacation is over. I just got back from watching Ferzan Ozpetek's latest film, Loose Cannons (original title: Mine Vaganti). I don't even have adequate words to render the experience. I was BLOWN AWAY. I am SO glad I headed straight for the third row, which was mostly empty - there was no one sitting right next to me, that is. THANK GOD. I wouldn't want a random stranger to witness the spectacular scene I made. I was laughing like a maniac, while at the same time BAWLING MY EYES OUT. Shaking and gasping and holding my mouth to muffle the happy squeals, with tears streaming down my face. I barely got a semblance of control over myself before the lights came on. Now, I don't normally do this in movie theaters. I don't normally do this ANYWHERE if there are other people around. But I just... this film is so fucking PERFECT. It has this incredible emotional power that just completely annihilates my typical calm exterior. It is kind of frightening, actually. But in a good way. If that makes sense. I want to say more about it, but I have no idea where to start, and it's late, and I go back to work tomorrow.:/ So I'm going to "sleep on it" and maybe find the words later.

The Greek film I saw last night also deserves a separate post, for a number of reasons. I will get to it at some point. Right now, bedtime.:(

So, I did that free mp3 exercise lesson from Anat Baniel's website. It was... incredible. It consists mostly of lying flat on your back and moving your legs, arms & head in strange, unexpected ways, LOL - but the effects are astounding. Your whole body FEELS different afterwards. Younger, sort of. It is almost funny as the recording asks various questions about the way you're feeling ("Does your chest feel wider?", "Are your shoulders more relaxed?", "Is your breathing fuller?" etc.), and you just blink and go "hell YES". Could be autosuggestion too, since I'm very susceptible to such things - but I definitely feel less stiff & achy than I used to, even after that one lesson and just a few of those simple "desk trainer" routines I've been doing over the past week or so. I don't actually need to use the heating pad for my neck every day to ease the discomfort anymore. It's still nice to do every once in a while, but more as a way to pamper myself than as necessary tension relief. I am well on my way to making my upper body completely pain-free, nice and bendy, like a brand-new rubber doll.:P Can you tell I'm happy about this? :D

Also, I wore one of my new dresses to work today, and everyone kept saying how nice I looked. Some people were speculating amongst themselves as to whether I had a job interview or a date... LOL. I said neither, but they didn't look convinced.:P

Oh, and the bonus features on the Good DVD aren't really as exciting as they promised to be. There's a bit of raw behind-the-scenes footage (with no commentary added) and a series of short, chopped-up interviews with the principal cast & crew. But the film itself had a very strong effect on me - possibly even stronger than the first time (without the distraction of seeing the real, "live" Viggo at the premiere... LOL). ( some spoilerish reflections under the cut )

My Good DVD (preordered through Amazon a few weeks ago) just got here. It claims to include NINETY MINUTES OF BONUS FEATURES. O_O It also claims the film is the best work Mortensen has ever done. Funny how in recent years they keep saying that about each single movie he makes. Looks like he just can't help getting better & better, huh?... *giddy chuckle* (Don't mind me, I'm on a little bit of a Viggo-high at the moment. Big surprise, that. *shakes head at self* Oh well... never mind.)

Incidentally, I also just happened to take a few vacation days on the account of Chicago International Film Festival. Which is where I first saw Good two years ago. It just sort of occurred to me that I still have plenty of unused vacation, because obviously I don't go anywhere, and that I might just as well use it to see a few good foreign films that aren't likely to be shown in theaters around here. ( Read more... )

So, my chiropractor says I basically created another trigger point right there between my spine and my right shoulder blade (in addition to the two at the base of my neck). And I just have to be extra careful not to overwork that muscle. So no lugging heavy bags on my right shoulder. She put some needles in there today, applied some pressure to release the tension in the sore spot and tried to do an adjustment - but my back was too tight for the adjustment to work, so I am due for another appointment in two weeks. In the meantime, I am supposed to do some "cat stretches" and drink plenty of water (it's a good thing to remember that proper hydration can actually prevent muscle injury). The pain has eased much over the past few days, btw, so hopefully it won't get worse again unless I do something stupid (I was VERY careful with the shopping bags today and used only the left shoulder to carry the bigger ones, so I think I'll be fine).

Another thing that looks very promising as a source of long-term relief in the muscle department is this cool website I was directed to by stormatdusk:

http://www.anatbanielmethod.com

This woman basically invented a whole system of innovative exercises designed specifically to prevent and/or treat chronic pain and repetitive stress injuries - like those sustained by people who spend most of their time glued to the computer screen. Can I just say it's a godsend?... LOL. I got hooked immediately and signed up for this nifty "Desk Trainer" program, where a little animated guy tells you how to move your head/neck/arms etc. for a few minutes to avoid/relieve muscle stifness or pain. It's really cool, simple, effortless and can be done as often as needed. I'll be sure to take at least 1-2 such short exercise breaks every day. There are also CD's and DVD's with detailed exercise programs targetting specific areas of the body. I am seriously thinking of ordering some - but first I will do the free 42-minute mp3 lesson I have downloaded from the website (haven't had a chance to listen to the whole thing yet). If the exercise method is really as effective as the website claims, I should be feeling some positive change after that already. But we'll see. I just really like the holistic approach towards physical/mental wellbeing that those exercises seem to promote. I also like the idea of natural, chemical-free pain relief (like many people in the US, I have become extremely wary of the pharmaceutical industry - "taking a pill" is usually a last resort for me). So I suppose I might really get into this. I'll be sure to share the experience here if that happens.:)

( random work-related rant under the cut )

Another symptom of approaching laptop death: random error messages popping up on my screen at random times. As in, EXTREMELY random. For example, something like: "Failed to load licensing libraries." Eeeee... what??? *blink blink*

In other exciting news, I signed up for overtime this week, so I am working tomorrow.:/ We are doing this endlessly time-consuming project for a client that basically involves a lot of web research. Which, in itself, isn't too bad - I like doing web research (obviously, some topics are more entertaining than others...;). However, doing it for a good few hours every day can prove a little tedious (see, I am practicing the noble art of understatement here... LOL). Not to mention getting nervous and frustrated about the regular work that just keeps piling up on the side while we are plodding our way through all those endless spreadsheets. *sigh*

Even less exciting, I somehow managed to fuck up my back to the point where it became literally painful to move. ( Read more... )

So, instead of yet another terribly mundane and insignificant post, let's do the next installment of the 30-day meme.

( Day 03 - Your parents, in great detail )