Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Last night I went to see Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. This was the first of the Harry Potter series that I'd read the book prior to seeing the movie version, and I think that it really made a difference.
I was disappointed for once.
I knew what happened and was going to be happening in the storyline of the book version, but only about a third of such events actually were carried out in the movie. Some of the parts in the book that I was most looking forward to seeing in the movie didn't happen at all, which really really sucked, but I guess I understand that there was a lot in the book that had to be cut out in terms of a time constraint on the movie. Still...I was disappointed.
It was, on the other hand, the first movie that I've seen in a long time (other than Joyeux Noel) that I sat through without looking at my watch to check the time or how much time had elasped.
Anyway, I felt like this movie was very different from the earlier ones in the series. The whole movie seemed very dark in nature and I felt like the actual sets were really different from previous ones. Hogwarts itself looked like a new campus, even the Hogwarts Express looked slightly darker, or more mature. The students were dressed differently, from their uniforms to their casual clothes...ugh, it was so weird.
The young actors and actresses in the movie have definitely hit puberty and are truly looking a little too old for 14 years of age. Even the older student in the school look too old, and there seems to be no lower year students (unless they made everyone in the movie older to convince the audience that all the students are around the same age). Before seeing the movie and hearing about how they weren't sure if the same actors would be in the next movie because they looked too old, I didn't really believe it would have any affect on my as an audience member, because I believe the actors and actresses to be the characters they play in the movie and thought that I would just believe that they are the ages of who they are supposed to play rather than the age that they look...well I guess I was wrong. It really threw me off, but if they have the next movie come out really soon, I'd like them to keep the same people (it threw me off enough when the actor who played Dumbledore changed).
I won't go into detail about the plot of the movie, because I sort of sum up the main ideas of the plot line in my post about the book.
Again, I was really bothered by the fact that the movie left out what I felt (when reading the book) were important parts of the storyline, or things that I thought would look really exciting on the screen. Certain things that happened made sense to me because I read about them in the book, but I felt like they weren't explained very well in the movie and that a person who hadn't read the book may be confused as to how something happened.
I did like the awkwardness of teenagers when interacting with the opposite sex, which brought on a couple laughs, but I felt like the movie was being rushed through (partly, I think, because I felt like it was missing a lot of important elements - again, from the book).
If and when I do go back to Canada, I'm excited to see a movie in English that won't have subtitles in multiple languages at the bottom of the screen. They're really really distracting, cause I find that even though I perfectly understand what's being spoken in English, my eye doesn't want to watch what's happening in the movie, but rather read and follow along with the French subtitles.
It was quite dark and could be extremely scary for kids watching the movie. There was just a really dark tone to the movie. I think it might have had to do with the colouring, because even some of the happier moments felt dark. It really didn't feel like a kid's movie, whereas the first couple definitely did.
I also thought that this movie would be hard to watch if you didn't know about the first three books. The storylines didn't really overlap or anything, but I felt like this one didn't give you enough background about the characters and settings, and instead launched straight into the plotline (again, felt like I wasn't being eased into the movie, like they were really rushing through things). Maybe someone who hasn't followed Harry Potter would think that it was fine, but it really didn't feel fine to me.
Harry and Ron felt like different people to me, whereas Hermione did well. I still don't quite like this version Dumbledore...he's too loud and forceful. Hagrid and Snape are still great as are the Weasley twins. Mad Eye Moody wasn't bad and for some reason, I was expecting more out of Rita Skeeter (I think I read a review somewhere that talked about how she was one of the best parts of the movie). Voldemort was quite good.
All in all, I'm glad I went to watch the movie, but it just didn't seem to flow from the previous ones of the series. I felt like it was a completely different style of movie, catered towards a different kind of audience and took a lot of shortcuts with the storyline. That last part disappointed me the most, and I wouldn't have minded sitting in the theatre for an extra hour so that more could have been included.
But that's just my take on it.

Even though I really want to read the next book(s), I'm seriously considering holding off until the movies come out. It made this movie experience not as enjoyable as the first three...so...anyway, I'm not really sure what to think. Pros and cons either way, but so far I'm leaning towards not reading the book. Problem being, I was planning on taking the next one to Kenya.

-picture courtesy of www.harrypotter.warnerbros.com

There's nothing quite like it

Just got back from the rink and it was fantastic. I have found out that now I can skate for about 45 minutes and then after that, my body can't take it anymore (my endurance is non-existant).
I did all the jumps possible, including two 2Lps and since I felt pretty good, I decided to try some 2T2Ts, which I haven't bothered trying in a long time.
I landed two great 2Tf2T and then finally, just as the session was ending, I landed a (small) 2T2T (after falling on two really good attempts). I haven't landed one of those in over a year at least.
I'm telling ya, there's something about being emotional which gets you skating well. There's got to be some kind of hormonal link or something. Or maybe it's that I've brought my abs back from the dead. Or even that 4 months of being back and walking on European terrain is finally taking effect.
Whatever it is, it feels great and really helps me be me.

Taking it all in

When I visit a new city, I get this strange sensation that my body increases its surface area, my pores open up and my pupils dialate or something.
I just feel like all of a sudden I'm able to experience and take in more things than usual. Almost like things around me are going in slow motion and I can observe and absorb more information that is being bombarded at me.

I think I might be an alien.

____ no more

I may have decided on a name for ____. Annie. I'm not sure if it really fits or not, but when I was chatting with him/her (part of the problem I suppose) last night, I thought it might work out. I can't quite tell though if Annie doesn't like French though...cause that would be a problem.

(I'm so clever)

There's definitely a correlation

Strange how when you're really emotional you tend to skate really really well.
Tonight I landed 6 double loops. I don't think I've landed that many in the last 6 years combined!

It just feels so good to skate...

Movenpick Cinnamon & Plum Ice Cream

It's been a long time since I did a review of a chocolate bar, but that's with good reason. I haven't eaten a chocolate bar since then!
I recently tried the Limited Edition Movenpick Cinnamon & Plum ice cream, so I thought I'd share my thought about it.
Movenpick ice cream is good, there's no question about it, but this is definetely a strange combination. I'm not even sure how they came up with this one. I like each of the components, but as a whole, I'm undecided.
It's sort of like the plum part of the ice cream is a "ripple" or a "swirl". You don't really taste it throughout the ice cream. If you get a spoonful of the plum part, it's really tasty, but if not, I feel like the rest of the ice cream is a little too cinnamon-esque. But it wasn't a good kind of cinnamon. It wasn't like a cinnamon heart or Hot Lips kind of cinnamon...just something different. You could tell there was a lot of spice in the ice cream (and I don't mean "hot") but it was like a weird mixture of flavours. Holiday-esque perhaps...it reminded me of that 5-spice stuff my mom puts on turkeys. A melange of spices.
The ice cream (although this is quite often the case with ice creams) leaves a bad aftertaste in your mouth.

I would not order a large bowl of this ice cream, but I would enjoy a scoop of it (if it included a lot of plum "swirl").

-picture courtesy of www.moevenpick-icecream.com

St. Nicolas

As the holiday season is approaching, I wanted to tell you about some traditions over here.
So December 6th (tomorrow!) is a special day. The night of the 5th, children leave shoes/boots outside the doors of their houses in hopes that St. Nicolas will leave presents/goodies by them that night. Santa Claus is also supposed to show up Christmas Eve, so I guess they get double the presents over here.
This past weekend, I went to the town of Fribourg to watch the arrival and address of St. Nicolas to anyone who would listen (which was a LOT of people, apparently). This is an annual tradition that they have on the Saturday closest to the 6th, and it's a pretty big thing for Fribourg.
I hadn't visited Fribourg before, so I decided to make a day of it. I wandered the town, did a little Kenya shopping (I have to train my mind to search out brown, green and khaki coloured clothing - not a natural thing for me!), wandered the markets, saw the cathedral, walked the pedestrian walkway, saw the chateau, crossed the river. You know, the usual!
Is got pretty chilly waiting for the guy to arrive, but it was worth it. The streets were packed with people of all ages, and obviously lots of families with young children.
He arrived with a fanfare. Following a marching band, children holding candles, other holding a rope so that the crowd would not stampede St. Nicolas, some people with their faces painted and dressed up in black and finally, St. Nicolas riding on a donkey. He threw candy to the children and climber the stairs to the balcony of the cathedral.
From there his microphoned voice boomed across the square (sorry, the microphones covered up his face - could get the right angle to take a snap of his face) and he told us (in French and German) about how we should be individuals, not conform and feel pressured to wear t-shirts that say "Brice" on them (ha ha ha...he made reference to Brice de Nice!!!) or to step into the age of not "William Tell", but na-tel (French for cell phone) among other things.
I definitely didn't understand the whole speech (and not just the German parts). I'd like to blame St. Nicolas himself, because he was speaking so slowly and yelling the words, that I had trouble piecing the words together into phrases. So my French isn't where I'd like it to be yet. Darn.
He ended his speech and created this scary moment (which confused me...I thought he was supposed to be non-scary and stuff). He waved at the crowd, descended the stairs and the crowd dispersed and a moment of ooh-ing and ahh-ing and flash photography ensued after a projection of a stain glass window styled image of St. Nicolas appeared on the cathedral facade. It was beautiful.


So St. Nicolas is here to spread the love and there's lots of lights and sparkly things all around, making me a pretty happy girl.

Introducing Mocky and ____

I just wanted to introduce you to my two new German friends that I met in Stuttgart. Surprisingly there isn't a language barrier.





This is Mocky.











This is a super soft donkey without a name.






-pictures courtesy of www.steiff.de

Pi party

Sure, it wasn't March the 14th, but this past Thursday night I had a little pi party which involved eating pie and watching Pi with a bunch of fellow math lovers.
What an interesting movie. In high school I remember watching the first little bit of it and being intrigued and knowing that I wanted to watch the whole thing in the future, but it wasn't until the pi party that I followed through with this.
The movie is about a number theorist who wants to find the patterning in life among other things. It's a very very artsy movie, so I definitely don't understand all of the meaning behind the different things that happened in the movie. It was a little too bizarro for me. Yet, I still liked it. I think that has to do with the fact that there were so many math references in it. It was noticed though that the special number was different every time it came up on the screen. I wonder why the producers didn't make sure that was consistent. Strange.
Anyway, a horrible attempt at a movie review...all you need to know if that if you like bizarro movies with lots of symbolism, watch this one for sure.
And also: Pi Parties are FAB.

-picture courtesy of www.pithemovie.com

Stuttgart

I love Europe. One short train ride away and not too many CHFs gets you to another country. I wanted something a little different. Somewhere that I could feel anonymous. I figured that Germany would be a good place to go, because I know no German, and therefore wouldn’t understand anyone, not be able to talk to anyone, could remain in my bubble and just enjoy my surroundings.

I decided to pick Stuttgart for November 4th-6th because I’d heard of the place (thanks to ballet), and it was pretty close to the Swiss border (making a weekend trip feasible). I did a little bit of research about the city before I went, but didn’t really know much at all...and I didn’t really mind. After all of my travels, I’ve figured out what type of tourist I am. I’m not really interested in museums and such, but enjoy seeing people, building from the outside, and like bus tours. I don’t like walking tours very much. I like taking subways and walking around on my own time. I like walking in parks and pedestrian areas. I like to have a map at my disposal, but hardly ever use it. I collect pamphlets from hotels to read about the area just after I arrive to the city, and plan out where I want to walk the next day. I may circle a couple things on the map, but after I get to a general area that I think I should visit, I start to wander without following a map or plan of attack. I often skip meals, because I’m too busy wandering. I like to go into grocery stores and buy food that I can just eat in the hotel room where I can sit in front of the TV and veg and relax my feet after a long day of walking and I’ll always try to buy some "different" kind of drink or dessert to try.
The German equivalent of the TGV was really really nice. The seats were bigger, more comfortable, you had more leg room and the car itself was so much cozier. Little things like the lighting and wood paneling compared to the dank and dingy red/purple décor of the TGV made all the difference.

The next morning, I decided to go wander. I didn’t have anywhere in particular that I wanted to see, but with my map, I’d circled a couple things that might be of interest. I quickly found the pedestrian shopping street, and some landmarks (including the opera house of course) that I snapped some pictures of. In one of the main squares they were setting up a winter bazaar complete with a skating rink. They had mulled wine and different foods and sweets that are so typical of such a set up. Sausages, candied nuts…I got white chocolate covered strawberries. Pretty yummy.
I found the "expensive shopping area", the "trendy shopping area", the "boho shopping area", you know how they always have places like that in every city. The Germans really like their shoe stores. There’s tons!
I really liked the park with the man-made pond that you could see almost all of the major buildings from, and after picking up a map and getting some information from the tourist office, wandered into the music conservatory and up to the terrace on the top level to get a panoramic view of the whole city (okay, so Stuttgart isn’t THAT exciting to look at from 11 floors up). The TV Tower was closed for renovations or else I probably would have visited that too. I followed a little self-guided tour that the tourist office provided and found that I had visited most of the recommended places on my own that morning before I had gone to the tourist office. Boy, am I good! I didn’t take the subway (you know that I would have liked to, but I just couldn’t justify it for one stop), but I sure did a LOT of walking. It was nice. I really felt like I was airing out my head and feeling good about being me.
I found the Holt Renfrew of the city, and really wanted to make a purchase there (I was drooling over some bags – especially the big Luella tote...I need an oversized tote) and I was close to buying a really German, cool, thick felted passport holder (well, an organizer that I would modify), but it didn’t have the right pocket that I wanted. I hope I find one soon. I just know that I’m going to get one soon.
I really like markets, and even more so if it’s the holiday season. The farmers market in Stuttgart was very multicultural. Well, mainly Greek, but still, I wasn’t expecting that at all. Above the market were shops which were fabulous. There was a home decorating store (very Christmas driven at this time), tea and coffee shop, l’Occitane, hair salon, clothing and jewelery designers. I was so happy in that building.
I wanted to find something to do at night. I was thinking about going to see Mamma Mia, but figured I probably wouldn’t enjoy it if the inbetweens were in German. Then I had my heart set on going to see La Traviata at the opera house, but unfortunately it was sold out. I was disappointed beyond belief and frustrated the sales ladies weren’t slightly more helpful about last minute tickets or no-shows. Sure, I didn’t speak any German, but I didn’t think there was any reason for them to be rude and hasty. That left me in a pretty bad mood. So I didn’t end up doing anything exciting that night. I just went back to the hotel (after about 10 hours of walking) and relaxed for the rest of the evening and went to bed quite early.

I try to purchase something special from each major trip or country that I visit. This time, I didn’t find something that would be an "investment", but something (well, somethings, actually) that made me happy. The only reason I knew anything about it, was by watching all of those antique/auction TV shows that the British seem to love so much. And I happened to see it in Stuttgart by randomly walking by a store. I purchased two Steiff stuffed animals. I looked into getting the popular bear, but they looked really not so nice, so I decided for something that would make me smile. I am now the proud mother of Mocky the hippo and _____ the donkey. The donkey didn’t come with a name, and I can’t think of a good one. They are both very lovely and have a stylish gold stud earring in their left ear.
I also used my beautiful pink m0851 duffle on this trip. I love that bag so much. Definitely no regrets there. I’m already thinking about my next purchase.

The next morning, I figured out when I needed to get to train station and planned out the rest of my day accordingly. I was so glad to have taken this trip, it really helped me with...well, just...stuff. I slept in a bit, and then went down to have a leisurely breakfast. The spread at this hotel was pretty intense. From pickled fish to rhum balls to springrolls. It was pretty funny. I definitely took some stuff for the train ride home (including a big pretzel – what’s a trip to Germany without eating a big pretzel?). I had seen everything that I really wanted to the day before, I so I wasn’t planning on doing anything too exciting this day. Just another walk around town to breathe in more air and see the surroundings. Stuttgart wasn’t too exciting in terms of things to see, and there wasn’t anything monumental from a historical perspective (at least that interested me), it was just hearing the German being spoken, seeing the market, the structures and the people that interested me. It was a good weekend trip. I felt like I saw everything I wanted to see in the city, and would go somewhere else the next time, however I really enjoyed my time there. I saw some nice things, and was happy to be there.

I love being in Europe and too clear my mind and spend some time on my own, I can just take a train to another country and experience a new city and take in new expereinces!

First snow of 2005-2006!

I was expecting snow today, but Neuchatel snow usually isn't anything exciting, so when I woke up to this, I was pretty excited. It's not the most flattering picture of the area, but whatever. You get the point. There was a bunch of snow on the ground.
So now I'm at work, and getting ready to go to a Cheese Factory. How Swiss.

Brice de Nice

A couple weeks ago, I watched Brice de Nice, a movie that all of last year, there were a bunch of ads on the TV about this movie, and afterwards, lots of ads for getting ringtones from clips and songs from the movie.
I’m almost positive that this movie didn’t get to Canada, but it’s quite easy to sum up the storyline. There’s this guy, named Brice...and he’s from Nice. He’s a surfer dude, and that’s about it. He has long blonde hair that falls in front of his face and needs to fling his head back every so often to get the hair out of his way, but not completely getting it out of his face.
I was scared that I wouldn’t understand the movie since it was all in French (okay, I guess this was the first movie that I’d seen all in French before Joyeux Noel), but there were French subtitles if I needed them. I’m proud of myself though. I knew what was happening, and even though there was some slang, I did okay. I guess the language level was a lot lower than in Joyeux Noel (or that my reading skills really helped), because I felt a little bit more overwhelmed watching Joyeux Noel.
This movie is par to Dude Where’s My Car. Not a classic movie by any means. It’s really light, ridiculously silly, and I wouldn’t watch it again. It was funny to say that I’ve seen it before (after all the hype from last year), and that I had another opportunity to practice my French skills.
Anyway, if you want to watch a really pointless movie in French, with a funny musical number, watch Brice de Nice. It’s a good laugh.

-picture courtesy of www.bricedenice.com

Domino

I saw this movie in Belfast and was the first movie in a long time that I saw in English without having to be distracted by subtitles and such.
Domino is about Domino Harvey, daughter to British actor Laurence Harvey and supermodel Paulene Stone. Played by Keira Knightly, who is in almost every movie out right now, I have to admit that I didn’t quite enjoy this movie.
Okay, I fell asleep for part of it. This doesn’t necessarily mean that I thought that the movie was boring, but I was REALLY tired. As soon as I sat down to watch the movie, I was ready to fall asleep…and I guess I did. Not for very long I don’t think. Maybe 15 minutes or so.
I was really distracted by all of the bright lights and changing colours and loud sounds. I can’t even really describe much about this movie, I guess meaning that I didn’t really enjoy it much. It felt like the movie was trying too hard to be an artsy movie, but it just got really annoying.
The film includes a cameo by the real Domino Harvey, who committed suicide soon after the movie was made. Coincidence? I wonder.
Well, this was a disappointing "review" about the movie. I don’t think I could do any better seeing as how I don’t really remember much about the movie itself. I must say that I cannot recommend this movie.

-picture courtesy of www.dominomovie.com

Joyeux Noel

Seen in Paris, on November 12th, this was the first movie I’ve seen in French without any subtitles, or watching the English version prior. I lucked out a bit because some dialogue was in English (with French subtitles) and German (with French subtitles, and I’m okay at reading French).
Joyeux Noel takes place during World War I and is about the cease fire of the Scottist, German and French troops on Christmas Eve of 1914. We are involved in the lives of a romantic couple, a family, a leader and many other people and how they are affected by this war. It is based on a real story, although I’m sure some of the scenes were romanticized for the movie version.
As I mentioned in my post from last year I don’t really feel anything when it comes to Remembrance Day. This year, I wasn’t at the same ceremony that I was at last year and didn’t get to walk the battlefields and trenches, yet this movie really moved me. My heart actually hurt for awhile while I was watching some of the opening scenes. It wasn’t as gruesome as Saving Private Ryan, but it sort of had that same effect of me cringing and feeling rather uncomfortable.
I really enjoyed the use of music in this movie. Since two of the characters were opera singers the idea of music in the movie was inevitable, but even the use of incidental music, along with the particular singing music selections that were used were very fitting, and emotional.
I had a little bit of difficulty with the French speaking...it was a little bit fast for me, but with the other languages being used along with the subtitles, and of course the fact that visuals give away so much, I followed along with the basics of the movie.
The movie was of course very emotional and in the "drama" genre, but it did have some really nice funny moments.
I felt that the end of the movie cut short a smidge. I felt that some issues were unresolved and that I wasn’t sure (maybe because I don’t have a firm grasp of history, and how this story played out in real life) how the different groups in the movie continued on, and what happened to them soon after the movie ended. It seemed like because it was a movie, they wanted to leave off as a happy ending, but wars aren’t always happy, so I would have liked to know more about what happened after the movie ended. A quick blurb at the end of the movie as is often seen would have been sufficient I think.
I’m not sure if this movie is out in Canada or not, but I would recommend this movie for sure. I was lucky enough to watch it just one day after Remembrance Day, but it would be a great holiday movie as well.

-picture courtesy of www.joyeuxnoel-lefilm.com

Decision time

A) taking a pill once a week, but side effects may include depression and nightmares

OR

b) taking a pill once a day, but side effects may include diarrhea

The chance that the side effects happen are equal in both, and depend on the person. I know of people who have taken both and have and haven't had the side effects. One example of nightmare under the drug was stabbing themself in the hand with a pencil.
I know it would such to have the second side effect, but the first one makes me think that I'm going to go all delusional and stuff.
I should also say that I have issues swallowing pills. The pills are of approximately equal size and are NOT sugar coated. Darn it. They are more flat tablets rather than long pills. I get the feeling that I won't have access to yogurt to mix them in.

P.S. They're to prevent me from getting malaria in Kenya.

I Dreamed of Africa

I Dreamed of Africa, by Kuki Gallmann

Some of you may know, that from December 17th 2005 to January 3rd, 2006, I will be in Kenya. It will be a once in a lifetime experience. I can tell.
Anyway, as a lead up to this experience, I decided to read I Dreamed of Africa, by Kuki Gallmann, the founder of the conservation site at which we will be staying at.
The story is non-fiction and is about Ms. Gallmann’s life in Africa. It described how she ended up there (after growing up in Italy), her relationships, her friendships, her encounters, her experiences, her dreams, her passions, her children, her loves and so much more. She is a woman who has experienced much and seems to live life to the fullest and enjoy the simple things. She loves animals and the nature. She breathes in the air and takes nothing for granted.
This wasn’t the most compelling book that I’ve ever read by any means (I flipped through the last half of it I think – didn’t really feel like I actually missed anything important, I glanced over the pages and if any words stuck out as I was flipping, I would stop to read a sentence here or there), but I do have a certain image of what I imagine Africa to be like. It’s an amalgamation of movies, TV shows, pictures, books and stories that I’ve been exposed to. I’m sure that when I arrive it’ll be nothing like what I expected…it’ll be better. I don’t think anything can prepare you for a trip like this one. It’s like before the first time I came to Europe. I had a stereotype of what I thought Switzerland would be like, and Leysin was a perfect place to end up because it is quite stereotypically Swiss, but it was so much more than just the picture in my head. It was being there in person, seeing the mountains, smelling the fresh air, standing in the clouds that made it different from everything that I’d imagined, for had a picture of Switzerland in my head, but it never included me in it.
I too have a picture of Africa in my head, but no matter how hard I try, I cannot see myself in the picture. I can’t wait to get in the picture for myself.

-picture courtesy of www.chapters.indigo.ca

Mezzo Mix

This past weekend, I tried a new drink. It’s called Mezzo Mix and apparently it’s produced by CocaCola. It’s apparently (though I didn’t look too closely at the label when buying it) orange flavoured cola. Now, if I had knew this at the time that I forked over the cash, I probably would have picked something else…you see, I like to say that I’m allergic to Coke, Pepsi and Root Beer. I don’t think I am, but let me give you a bit of history about that decision.
Back in the day when there was always a cooler filled with a variety of pop cans in the trunk of the family car that toted me around from extra-curricular venture to venture (especially in the grey station wagon days), I used to enjoy a pop after a trip to the ballet studio (usually a good half hour drive to the intended destination – which could have been a variety of places…long enough to drink a pop, for sure). I enjoyed orange Crush, Sprite, 7up, Wink, Mountain Dew and maybe my favorite, Hires Root Beer. Anyway, at some point, I noticed that everytime after I drank root beer, I would get these rashes on my hands. And from that point on, I told myself that I was allergic to Root Beer, and similarly Coke and Pepsi (maybe because of the colouring or something?!?). I’ve heard of people becoming allergic to something that they’ve had in excess, so this was my rationale. I don’t know if I ever really seriously believed it, but I never actually drank the stuff, until quite a few years later, I drank a can of Dr. Pepper, and had no reaction. I also had a “shot” of Coke in 1st year university (whole other story) and didn’t react to that either. Bottom line is that every since I was young and got these rashes, I never really drank Coke, Pepsi or Root Beer. I figure it’s probably also better for my health that I don’t drink these products (although that’s more of a recent idea from a couple years back to convince myself to continue not to drink these products). I do enjoy root beer gummies though, and still like the flavour of the products, and enjoy smelling a friend’s pop every so often to remind myself what the stuff smells like.
So this brings me back to Mezzo Mix. I drank it, and I have to say that I probably would buy something different next time. I think it’s because I haven’t tasted Coke in such a long time that the “cokeness” of the drink was a little bit overpowering. I couldn’t taste any orange at all (don’t know if it was truly because there wasn’t much orange flavouring in the drink or the “cokeness” was too much for me to take)…it was a strange drink.
Leads to a question…am I still "allergic" to the stuff? Well, I didn’t get the same rashes that I got when I was younger, but after awhile I noticed these weird, itchy bumps on my palms. Was probably just a fluke, but I’m still going to tell people that I don’t drink Coke/Pepsi/Root Beer and if they ask why, I’ll either tell them I’m allergic, or if I feel like elaborating, well, I’ll tell them what I just wrote here.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, by Mark Haddon

One of quickest reads that I can remember (sure, it’s a pretty small book, but I still went through it really really quickly), I HIGHLY RECOMMEND reading this book.
I read through it really really quickly. I guess it was a page turner. I wanted to keep reading to see where the story went, and therefore started to read faster, meaning that I started skimming, but that was bad becuase then I wasn't absorbing as much. So I had to force myself to read slower so that I could take in all the words on the each page.
I don’t want to go ever everything that happened in the book, because I think the less you know about the book before you read it, the better. It’s better to discover and uncover as you read.

I will include the paragraph written on the back cover of the book:
"Christopher John Francis Boone knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057. He relates well to animals but has no understanding of human emotions. He cannot stand to be touched. And he detests the color yellow. This improbable story of Christopher’s quest to investigate the suspicious death of a neighborhood dog makes for one of the most captivating, unusual, and widely heralded novels in recent years."

As an educator, I loved this book. As someone who enjoys math, I loved this book.
I still am not good at deciphering why I like certain books, or why I like certain movies. I know why I dislike them, but the same cannot be said for the opposite. Hmm, I wonder why this is.
One thing that I can say about the book it that I wish it was longer. I wanted the sotry to continue to see what would become of the character and how the relationships would evolve and/or change.
Anyway, back to the point of this post. Read this book.

-picture courtesy of www.chapters.indigo.ca

Match Point

Last night, I went to watch Match Point. Before I went to see it, I did a little bit of research, going on the web to read about the movie, watch the trailer and read some reviews. I'd never heard of the movie before, so I had a little work to do because I don't like watching movies that I don't know what they're about. The trailer looked pretty good to me. I don't think I'd watched any Woody Allen movies (although after the movie, someone told me that this one wasn't anything like the other ones that he's made), so I didn't know if it was a good or bad thing that I would be watching a "Woody Allen" movie. Scarlett Johansson's pretty happening right now, and from what I can tell her movies seem to be more of the type that I would enjoy, so I was willing to give the movie a shot. And the trailer looked not typically "big picture" Hollywood, which is always a good sign.
It was only about 2 hours long, but it felt like a really long movie. I liked the first hour, maybe hour and 15 minutes (the theatre was too dark, I couldn't see my watch), and then the tone of the movie changed, and it got a little boring. I felt like events started happening at too slow a pace and because I felt like I knew what was coming, I got a little agitated. I've watched quite a few movies recently that I've tried to look at my watch during, which leads me to think that either: a) my attention span is shrinking or b) I have been watching some pretty boring movies. The movies themselves aren't longer or anything, so I know that's not the problem. I'm hoping that the type of movies that I've just been attending aren't "my type". I gotta ask some friends from home about things I should watch. They always watch cool stuff.
So the movie's about a former tennis pro who comes from a not very well off background and is working his way up the social ladder. He puts effort into this, but admits that there are things in life that result from luck. He meets his future wife (who is from a very wealthy family) and is greeted with open arms into their family, but becomes tempted by another woman who is struggling to move up the social ladder herself.
Anyway, as mentioned before I predicted what was going to happen (or maybe the older I get or the more I watch movies, the better I am at predicting what's going to happen), and there was definitely an exasperated "that's so lame" moment. Ooops, I definitely think I said it out loud too. But to give the movie some credit, you knew right from the beginning that it would happen, so whatever...it just made sense.
Okay, so I didn't love the movie, but I didn't hate it either. I wouldn't highly recommend it by any means, but watch it. It's not that bad.

-picture courtesy of www.matchpoint.dreamworks.com

tidbits

Monday night I saw two small groups of children going around my town for Trick or Treating.

Tuesday night @ 6:32pm, the temperature in downtown Neuchatel was 16 degrees celsius.

This morning I saw a brown squirrel.

I just got back from a fabulous game of ultimate and for once didn't get blisters (wore bunga pads around my feet).

This weekend I am going to Stuttgart. Unfortunately, the ballet is on tour in Japan.

I exactly one week I will be on a plane heading to Nice, France. I will be doing a day trip to Monaco. I will be flying to Paris from Nice. I am planning on getting my hair cut in Paris. I will fly to Berlin from Paris.

I still have to write about my trip to Dublin and Belfast.