Archive for 2013

• Golden Wonder Bath Ballistic
• Tisty Tosty Bath Ballistic
• Luxury Lush Pud Bath Ballistic
• Bombardino Bath Ballistic
• Dirty solid perfume x 2 (it was 50% off so I just had to stock up some :)
• Karma solid perfume
• Cupcake Fresh Face Mask
• Breath of Fresh Air 100g
• Tea Tree Water 250g (the nozzle unscrewed itself in my bag so there was a major leakage before I realised what happened =( so gutted)
• Popcorn Lip Scrub

God Jul till alla mina fina vänner och min älskade familj <3

Wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year xx

Well to be honest I don't think anyone cares what I want for Christmas, unless if you're under 14 then yes Santa will be checking everybody's list.

But just in case IF some crazy creepy rich old man or lady with really bad taste is stalking me, I'll sleep with you if you get me one of these.

Jks, I'm not that cheap. You have to buy me two of these (and if you get me the jeans or Mononoke blu-ray I'll be up for S&M)

Pacific Jean from Saxony

One of my favourites from the album, glad that they made it into a single and I think the video suits the song perfectly. That heart-warming feel.

If you want a translation, here's a pretty decent one >> Don't forget to click the 'Thanks' button, it's not an easy task to translate lyrics=)

Finished all my exams, now time to choose a summer course and think about next semester's internship (goddamnit why do I have a fuqing 'Research Internship' in my core courses =/), and then my honours.

Stress never leaves my life, huh.

Or maybe I'll leave that to tomorrow, now get myself a cup of tea, do some drawings with some good music in company.

A quick update. Taking a (hopefully) short break from my assignment that I have to hand in tomorrow by noon.

Have been addicted to this song for a while now, pretty much sums up my thoughts this couple of weeks. Like how it sounds uplifting (maybe?) but the lyrics hits hard in me.

999 by kent
from their latest album Jag är inte rädd för mörkret (I am not afraid of the dark)
(I say latest but it's out last year)

English Translation of the lyrics here (looks a bit dodgy but I stinks in translating anything so sorry)

Finally finished the game last night, shame that no one around me plays the game except my Japanese lecturer. So here I am (I really just need a place to rave about this)

I was very lucky to be amongst the audience at the pre-release screening of The Turning last Wednesday night at Dendy Opera Quay, it was indeed a very special experience, compared to all other film screenings I've been to.

Received a beautifully printed film guide at the entrance, which was just extremely helpful, for someone like me who hadn't got a chance to read the book, to better understand the plot (though I wouldn't say it's essential to know what's exactly going on, I only read the booklet when I finished the film and that worked just fine).

The film, as the book, is split into 17 sections, 17 clips produced by different people. The arrangement isn't exactly unheard of, but it surely is quite unique and, per my own interpretation of the film, is just crucial. Because it's not a film about just one ore two specific Australians, it's a film that tells the stories of Australians, people with different lives and minds. So whilst it does make the film a bit un-organised, it gives the whole production to a realistic dimensional feel.

My favourite 3 pieces, which I have to tell you is really difficult to pick but if I really need to, Immunity, Sand (I guess you can somehow see my type through these two) and Ash Wednesday (although I have to say that the spearing sharks scene did make me uncomfortable). I decided to go for the screening because of Cate Blanchett, Rose Byrne, Miranda Otto and Mia Wasikowska but surprisingly none of them were in these 3 clips, I still love their performances (and as for Mia, her directing) nonetheless but these three were just really right on my spot.

One last note to keep in mind, if you don't normally watch short films, because of the time restriction it's really hard for short clips to tell a complete story and have a major climax that shakes your heart. I like short films (as much as I like feature ones) because they are usually very interesting (and I don't know why but short films often give me that warm nostalgic feel). A length of only several minutes means that the budget is much lower and it's easier to realise ideas that fail to interest big investors. Doesn't matter if it's indie or commercial works, short film is an important component of the entire industry.

Spent two nights on this, think it looks quite alright

Help stop the dolphin massacre in Taiji, Japan

Please feel free to share the image if you would like to. It would be nice to cite me but it's not necessary as long as you keep the right message. Also if you speaks Japanese please feel free to change the slogan to Japanese and share it among your friends, followers etc (contact me for a slogan-free version).

 What we can do 

 1. Stop visiting marine parks or any facility with captured dolphins. The most effective thing we can do as non-Japanese is to cut down the driving force.

 2. Write to Japan's PM, tell him about your concern and it's time for its government to realise that whaling and slaughtering dolphins is only ruining its reputation https://www.kantei.go.jp/foreign/forms/comment_ssl.html

 3. There are loads of petitions that you can find online, simply google 'dolphin taiji petition', here's one for example: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/3/stop-the-dolphin-slaughter/

 4. Raise the awareness. It's always good to spread the word but if you can make your voice heard by Japanese people (your friends, your twitter followers, Japanese SNS etc) it would be even better because they are the ones who can stop this. And most importantly don't be a racist, most Japanese people are very friendly and kind to animals. The slaughter is not a simple consequence of their tradition, most of the funding driving the massacre comes from the western world. So don't be rude and aggressive, blaming a country that you don't know much about doesn't make you clean.

Pray for the dolphins.

Sorry if my drawing is too much for you. It's my style. And if you can come up with a better slogan please let me know, I'm useless with words.

And please let me know if for whatever reason you want the original sized with/without slogan.

Today is Wear It Purple day, for those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, Wear It Purple day is basically a day when people wear purple garments to show support to the LGBTQIA young people (and disgust to homophobia) in Australia (or maybe just Sydney? but well of course you can do it wherever you are :) More info here

wore my purple snake print jeans today, yiiips

So gutted I missed the flash mob today. Was planning to join the team but my horrid assignments were due today so I had to say no to fun.

Anyway, if you're dealing with bullying, discrimination etc for being who you are, don't lose hope. I know people keep saying this over and over again but life does get better. It probably won't be as fancy as the reality show celebs' but you'll find more and more things in your life that you can smile to and less and less craps that you have to fight against. xxoo


[Last note, went to UNSW Orchestra's Mid Semester Concert tonight. Quite enjoyed Brahms' Symphony No.1 movement I and IV. Very impressive performance given the fact that most of them are still uni students. Good job boys & girls.]

Have a nice weekend!

I went to Sydney Fashion Festival hosted by Mercedes-Benz at Sydney Town Hall this Friday night with a friend. Had another plan before 8 so I couldn't go to the Trends runway show (the plan got cancelled that day and I was so gutted), nonetheless I still had a good time at the Instyle Red Carpet Runway. Well, sort of.

Brought my own tote from Lush. A silent protest ;) Was carrying my expensive Gram sneakers inside haha

Before the show started

Can't remember which show this was from (and this is what happens when you procrastinate ;b)

Maticevski

Jumbo mug Chai Latte with soy milk my friend was showing off his two phones in the background

Here's the Lyrics (Translation below)

English Translation:

The Package

Yummmm!

 

Beyond The Hills (Romania) 

official trailer   

Best Screenplay and Best Actress at 2012 Cannes, that tells you how good this was.

Religion and Homoromatic Love. sounds like a very old school theme but this film didn't emphasise much on the 'homo' part. if the protagonists were of different genders the story would definitely be different, but most likely only a tiny little bit. In this sense the plot was actually quite similar to a lot of Japanese yaoi/yuri manga/novels (which totally awoke my fanboy heart, i mean seriously if you like yuri you'd probably enjoy this film a lot, the first half at least)

The film is based on an actual event in 2005.

The title basically summarises the whole theme. 'The Hills' act as a barrier separating two worlds with different values and beliefs. The film itself focused mainly on the one beyond the barrier, an orthodox convent. While it clearly points out the giant hole in such communities it remained relatively neutral (trust me in the case of this film it could've easily gone way too criticising) and at the same time from a few snapshots of the 'outside' world we can see that it ain't too much fancier. Therefore even though the major cause is still within the convent there's a part of it that mutually exists in the whole society.

-spoiler-
To be very honest with you I've never ever liked a priest or reading bible and I really do enjoy films that criticise (some) Christianity but this film i really don't think it went that far. Even though they did terrible things in this film you can still see that the starting point was good. However that cannot justify anything and I guess that's the other theme and conflict brought up in the film. A good cause leads to a tragic ending. Does your bible tell you that it's ok? I don't know but in a society that's built on a legal system this is still guilty. The law says no but what do we say?
-spoiler ends-

Child's Pose (Romania)

Golden Bear at 2013 Berlinale. Another amazing film and coincidently another Romanian film. Now i'm just fracking in love with this land and its language.

Same language same country but very different perspective. The protagonists come from a wealthy family, a spoiled son and a spoiling mum, against a family of much lower 'social status'. While it intentionally did a whole bunch of sarcasm of the governmental system the main focus was still on the relationship between the mother and son, or more specifically the mother. How she tried to please her son, help her son and worry about her son. Is she a good mother? Probably not the best. (frankly speaking she's not a good citizen either) But she does share some of the most fundamental emotions that (most) mum carries.

-spoiler-
The unexpected blackout leaves the film a kinda open ending. I guess you can go with a more negative explanation of the end but I personally prefer to think that the son could finally relate a bit to the mum, from seeing what his mum did for him or seeing the victim's parent mourning his boy, probably not so much but enough to give him the courage to go out and apologise himself. Did they actually realise what kind of damage they've made to the poor victim's family? Maybe, more or less. They may be snobby and mean and selfish but from some details in the film they're not that stone-hearted.  
-spoiler ends-

Both films are just so beautifully made and constructed and deserve every prize that they've won. I was surprised the cinemas weren't full. Highly recommend to everybody, especially if you are looking for a different taste from hollywood productions.

Extra note: if i have to pick, Child's Pose would be my favourite drama this SFF.

Four films in total actually but one is short film so I'll put that review at the end of the festival.

The Rocket (Australia/Laos) 

Laotian Road movie. To be honest the plot wasn't very creative or impressive but the whole setting made the entire film stand out. All the fascinating Laotian cultural details and historical background differentiated the film from just a ordinary adventurous road film. It was entertaining and eye-catching. The Aussie director Kim Mordaunt's love towards the local culture clearly helped to earn a round of applause in the audience but i think most claps goes to the local actors' convincing acting, or perhaps that wasn't that much of an acting for them. Which was why i felt like rushing to the stage to hug everyone of them when they presented themselves as a 'surprise' after the end roll.

Closed Curtain (Pardé) (Iran)  

This is a film i definitely need to re-watch. Weird, confusing yet utterly interesting.

I don't know how to describe this film. The intro text on the festival pamphlet says it better 'a portray of melancholy'. It doesn't have a clear plot, or rather the plot is insignificant in this film. A sht load of surrealistic metaphors and symbolism (or maybe just me reading too much). The film is not to tell you a story, it's more of expressing something. The something could be melancholy or something else that maybe cannot be easily described in a few words, which may be the reason why director Jafar Panahi made this art piece.

I've seen a few reviews that the second half gets really confusing and not as good as the first hour. I agree with the confusing part, but to be honest it was the confusing part that thrilled me so much that i nearly couldn't contain myself and had to bend my body over so I could get closer to the screen. So many characters and scenes that hardly make any sense but to me that's what makes this film so interesting. I literally had goosebumps, yes i was THAT thrilled!

As i've said i just have to watch it again. Amazing creativity.

Also if you're reading this, go google the director Jafar Panahi. He deserves respect, and his Silver Berlin Bear for Best Screenplay.

A River Changes Course (Cambodia)  

Another documentary in my film fest schedule. This one focuses around Cambodian villagers as they struggle through life trying to adapt the changing environment and economy.

Being a doc film itself it's slightly less organised compared to Blackfish. It's somehow segmented, which i understand because there were just too many subjects to cover within this topic. But that leaves it a broad intro into the villagers' lives, not that it's bad.

I don't really know how to review documentary as always. And I do always believe that most documentaries deserve watching. This definitely belongs to one of them.

The scene of some garment factory workers made me think, what were they thinking when they were sewing out clothes? One piece of clothing on their hand could cost most than their monthly wage. What were they thinking when they are working so hard and gave up their dreams to work for people they don't know just so their families can have a slightly easier life?

And those companies, their thirst to cut down more forest and clear these villagers lands to make more money. Their world looks oh so corrupt but their world is our world too. Our actions will eventually affect their lives and future and their forest and the animals that live there.

This is why I believe filmmakers continue to make documentaries that are basically repeating one major theme. That's because we need to know, we need to remember and then we need to act.

A slightly longer review on Blackfish and Gloria

Blackfish (USA)

I still have to say that this is a must see. If you are unsure about documentary, at least check out the trailer:

As a documentary itself I don't know what i should say because I generally love documentaries more than many other genres and scenes of orcas swimming in open water in the wild can easily make me cry like a baby in the cinema. So obviously i wasn't whatsoever bored or anything during the entire film. The background soundtracks were kinda cheating, took me a hideous amount of effort to stop my mental breakdown in the cinema.

I still don't know how to describe this film. I wish someone went there as well so now i can harass your inbox with my enormous sorrow and anger.

The film will be in cinemas/theatres on 19 July in the U.S. so my American friends please check this out! You won't regret it I promise! (dates: http://www.magpictures.com/dates.aspx?id=df6cf88f-28aa-4be9-8293-06213d2e5b50)

I'm not sure if it's going to have a general release in Australia or other areas of the world but feel free to check out their facebook page Blackfish

Gloria (Chile)  

I'm glad i chose this after the heartbreaking documentary. The leading actress Paulina García definitely deserves her Silver Bear (my b*llshit Spanish tells me she's called the Latin American Meryl Streep according to Wikipedia)

Romantic yet bitterly realistic. But I promise you this is nothing depressing. Personally I would put it in a more Comedic Drama group. Besides the silly jokes that cracked up the entire cinema (again the fact that I failed to find any generation gap between me and the other audience (60+) upsets me greatly), the heroine Gloria is just adorable (now it does sound horrifying that I'm using that word on a 58 yr old woman). She might have been lost and depressed and frustrated and done stupid things but at the end of the day (well we all know it always takes longer than a day) she can still stand up and dance to music with a smile on her face. She might not have the strongest heart but she does deserve an applause, which was why we all gave her that at the end of the film.

Two very pleasant hours even though a few unexpected nudities scarred my pure heart a little bit but they weren't anything unnatural or odd, which is really nice (well i don't think explicit love scenes with two 60 yr old wrinkled bodies can attract any audience anyway :b)

And now I really want to go to Chile, or learn Spanish. Maybe I'll do both.

ps. I like the random Swedish reference lol

I would be ashamed if i don't rave about this film

This is a film that everybody should watch. I don't even know how to describe the heartbreaking inspirations it gave me. For everyone who used to love training shows in zoos or circus as a kid like me, this is something you need to know. They don't deserve these inhumane treatments they've been given to. All animals deserve freedom and families.

Many Thanks to Sydney Film Festival for the screening.

FREE THE ORCAS!

What Richard Did (Ireland)

i wish it could be longer as to me the film didn't quite dig that much but i guess that's intentional. Instead of spending massive length to discuss morals and guilt etc it was more storytelling. Tells the story of the event and leaves the discussion part to its audience. Which i find quite interesting, though i do wish i wasn't going alone so now i could have someone to discuss to.

On another note, Irish accent ftw.