Ah, it's been awhile. Lots to talk about.
First, "300" –
I REALLY liked the movie! Stylistically, it was amazing to watch. And having all those incredibly toned and muscular men marching around was wonderful eye-candy, indeed.
I only had two small issues with the movie:
1) It lacked heart. I couldn't help comparing it with "Gladiator." In "300", you
expect the fearless Spartans to die. And they do. With
gusto. Despite this, I didn't really feel for them. I mean, I cried at the end of "Gladiator," mostly because Russell Crowe's character went through so much, refused to give up, and remained noble. The guys in "300" just seemed like battle-crazed meat puppets.
2) I couldn't help but notice the political overtones. Some of the dialogue suggested that the Spartans could be compared to the American forces in Iraq. (The Spartans were "freedom fighters" battling the Persians). The producers wholeheartedly deny that they intended to imply any sort of connection (in a recent issue of "Entertainment Weekly"). Personally, I think you'd have to have a block of balsam wood for a head NOT to think that these parallels could be drawn.
Other than that, it delivered on what was advertised: testosterone-fueled bloody battles and beheadings.
I also caught "Blades of Glory" last night. Granted, I'm not a big Will Farrell fan, but this movie was goofy and stupid enough to make me guffaw several times. Watch it if you're in the mood for something goofy and stupid.
Tonight, Greg and I are going to a Buffalo Sabres vs Pittsburgh Penguins hockey game. Greg bought the tickets as part of my birthday present. Since I was born n' raised in Niagara Falls, NY, I'm very much a Sabres supporter. The Sabres have been doing
very well this season and tickets in Buffalo are hard to come by. Fortunately, they're not as scarce in Pittsburgh!
I'll be wearing a "vintage" Sabres T-shirt (don't want anyone to think I'm a frontrunner)
I thought it would be pretty hilarious if Greg wore a Penguins T-shirt, so I bought him one as an early Easter present. We should be
quite the couple. LOL
GO SABRES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
In other news, some fracking idiot threw a rock through my dining room window a couple of weeks ago for no apparent reason. It was a double-paned window, and only the outer pane of glass was broken. I was pretty angry about it.
The broken window incident came at a bad time, since that very same day, my bosses and I decided to deep-six the rabbit-related project I had been working on for the past couple of years. The data was not reproducible enough. I
hated working with rabbits, so I should have been happy. However, this is just ANOTHER FAILURE, which is all I've been encountering in my post-doc.
I'm starting to think that I want to get out of bench science completely. Repeated failures and no publishable data whatsoever, combined with the emotional stress of living 250 miles away from my husband has taken its toll on me. I'm not as happy as I used to be and I find myself crying a lot.
Greg has been encouraging me to see a career counselor, which I think is a good idea.
After the aforementioned stresses hit me a couple of weeks ago, I got sick. My brother, who lives with me, was sick with a cold and I caught it. His immune system is a helluva lot better than mine. While he was sick for four days, I was sick for over a week.
I was unfortunately sick last weekend, when Greg and I attended our friends' wedding in Tallahassee, Florida. It was a traditional Vietnamese wedding and, as such, was a full-day affair. It started with a formal procession of the groom and his family into the brides' home. After the presentation of gifts, speeches by the parents on both sides, and a tea ceremony, there were lots and lots of photographs. Then, everyone headed to lunch, where there were more speeches. This was followed by more photographs, naturally. Finally, it was time for the evening reception, which more closely followed the format of a western wedding. It wasn't without its Vietnamese touches, however – the bride changed dresses a total of four times throughout the day, including two changes at the reception itself. There were also more speeches as well as some musical performances (including one on a koto!)
Greg was a groomsman in the ceremony, so he got to wear a traditional ao dai. An ao dai kind of looks like a kung-fu outfit. It has a mandarin collar, long sleeves and is almost ankle length, with a side slit up to the hip. I'll have to post some pictures….
Finally, I have a new pic to post.
It's a piece of fanart. I started watching Naruto fansubs a while back and really really
the series, so this is my Easter tribute! :bunny:
Hoppy Easter everyone! Be sure to eat some chocolate!!!!
Clubs: