A Random Monii

Lyrics:

The cage is very small
A tiny silver ball
That makes you a hero
The moment you step inside
The world is watching you
What you’re about to do
Will live on forever
Even though you’ll be dead
And gone
Buckle up
We’re about to turn the engines on.

Boyoyoing

Hello from Sputnik 2
I am receiving you
Thanks for the dog food
I’m somewhere above you now
Guess what Malashenkov?
I took the collar off
I’m holding my own leash
And walking myself outside
This door
I don’t think
I want to be a good dog anymore.

Now I’m floating free
And the moon’s with me
And it’s bright enough
To light the dark

And it’s so high up here
And the stars so clear -
Are they close enough?
Will they hear me bark from here?

Moscow to Sputnik 2
I think we’re losing you
Your life signs are fading
We can’t really say that we’re
Surprised
It’s a shame
There is always something that gets compromised

Now I’m floating free
And the moon’s with me
And it’s bright enough
To light the dark

And it’s so high up here
And the stars so clear -
Are they close enough?
Will they hear me bark from here?

- Jonathan Coulton
(Masters of Song Fu Challenge)

Yup, Jonathan Coulton is making plans to make another trip to the UK (and Ireland). He’s wanting to play in Dublin around October 24th. Oh, what I would do to go.

Perhaps it’s a slightly good thing I no longer live in the UK. Or else I would be going, to hell with university. Sigh. Who am I kidding- I’d love to be able to attend any of his concerts. I’m making it a priority. One day I shall attend a Jonathan Coulton concert.

So this is what happens when I come home after 5 weeks of university. I spend the first 4 days sleeping until past noon, buggering around on the internet and eating well. Doesn’t sound too bad, except for the fact that I do have work set that’s due for next term.

I’d like to take this opportunity to shamelessly plug the amazing that is Jonathan Coulton. The gamers might know him from the Portal ending song- “Still Alive”, but this guy is truly talented. His music is funny and original, and I love it. I even donated, believe it or not.  My favourites include ‘Codemonkey’,  ‘I Feel Fantastic’, ‘Skullcrusher Mountain’ and his faboulous cover of ‘Baby Got Back’. Please guys, most of his songs are available free to download from the site. Give him a listen, you won’t regret it.

I happened to see the Hairspray trailer and poster a while ago, back when it played in theaters, but I’d never got the chance to see it. Until last night, when I rented the DVD. And I tell you, if I ever get a chance to buy it, it’ll be a prized item in my collection.

I love it. The famous faces singing and dancing in the 60’s style tended to throw me a little (Zac Efron, Amanda Bynes, Michelle Pfeiffer and Christopher Walken just to start with), but it’s funny and sweet. Newcomer Nikki Blonsky is just great in the lead, especially her great voice, and John Travolta as her mother simply steals the show. With Travolta in the cast, you wouldn’t be surprised that the dancing is amazing from everyone- Walken even does a little song and dance duet with Travolta. The satire is razor-sharp - Allison Janney was the school councilor in 10 Things I Hate About You and now plays Prudy Pingleton, a strict mother who refers to the new teenage craze of dancing to ‘race music’ and sprinkles her daughter with holy water. Yep, plenty of satire.

The whole integration problem between whites and blacks becomes a major theme, and I like the way they handled it. It’s not too heavy handed, and keeps in theme with the rest of the movie. The scene in the school’s gym is especially striking- it took me a few moments before I realised the rope between the two groups of kids was separating blacks kids from white. The “New Girl In Town” song is also done very well, to show the difference between the regular Corny Collins Show and their ‘Negro Day’ one a month.

In short, the songs are unforgettable, the actors are amazing, the scripting is funny and well-written and I just loved the period costumes, hair and make-up. Definitely one to get if you enjoyed Grease, High School Musical, Chicago or any other musical.

…was amazing. Sad and lovely and I’m so happy that Fitz found peace. Yes, that’s deliberately vague, I’m not spoiling anyone.

—————-
Now playing: Goo Goo Dolls - Sympathy
via FoxyTunes

Yup, I’ve got another new book. But this one is The One.

Yesterday I bought Fool’s Fate, book three in the Tawny Man Trilogy. Book Nine of Nine in the Elderlings Realm. The third book in the third trilogy. So, this is the one I’ve been waiting for. Not many books I’ve read ties over 40 years worth of story, nor spans over nine books. I’m about 165 pages in, and it’s fantastic. It’s the first fantasy series (excluding Harry Potter) that I’ve followed the whole way through. I know that the author, Robin Hobb, doesn’t approve of fanfiction, so I won’t be able to follow Fitz after the book’s conclusion. But that will be alright, for now. Hobb has created such a rich world, I’d be happy to go back and read the whole thing once I’m done.

That Half Life 2 review I promised you? Well, I did finish HL2. And Episodes One and Two. And Portal. And then my (amazingly kind) friend bought me Gmod. And I modded my Gmod. Yeah, I’m pretty much hooked to the entire thing. The Half Life story is pretty damn cool, it’s amusing that I never got into the whole thing before. So, my review is a little slow in coming, but I’ll still try and get there.

I’m at a lull in between exams right now. The only finals I have left are Computers Theory and English (rewrite). Neither are a challenge for me, but I’d like to do well in Theory so I’ll probably have to study. Thankfully, one of my friends made a copy of his study notes for me, which will help.

The US trip planning is going well, with luck we’ll book it next week. I can’t wait!

—————-
Now playing: Seether - Fake It
via FoxyTunes

I’ve found a new fantasy series to squee over!

The Firestaff Collection, starting here, is absolutely brilliant. It started off excellent, but there was a twist within the first few chapters which just completely hooked me. The author is James Galloway, and there is a nice community on the forums (and I also hope on IRC, which I’ll check out when I have time). I’m only halfway through the first book, and so far I must remark that Galloway’s characters are the most unique I’ve read in a while- parallel even to Robin Hobb’s Fitz.

Of course, finding a new obsession during exams isn’t the best course of action, but I’ll do my best to juggle both ‘interests’. Even though little interests me about exams. I got an estimation of my Computer Practical mark today- 83%. It was quite a difficult prac, so I’m happy that I did so well.  Also, my teacher Facebooked me with this estimate, and that fact alone has infinite levels of coolness.

The Bokke are bringing home the Cup! Go South Africa! The Springboks really kicked ass in last night’s game, and they deserved to win. It’s been crazy over here, with the whole country uniting, flags flying out of car windows and people cheering. I never watch rugby, but I watched the semi-finals (England vs France and SA vs Argentina). SA were a far better team out of the four.

In other news…

I got Portal! A full review when I finish it. I bought the Orange Box, so I also now have Half Life 2, plus Episodes 1 and 2. I haven’t ever played HL (yeah, I’m a little late, I know), but I’ll review that too.

So, a friend of mine in the US coordinated our watches to watch Lost City together for my first time. Unfortunately, my internet signal also coordinated with us… to die exactly when we wanted to watch the finale. Sigh.

Finally, about 5 hours after our planned date, we managed to watch the episode nearly simultaneously. Here’s my thoughts.

I really loved it. It felt big and bold, exactly how a finale should feel. There were a lot of emotional moments that caught me, especially Ancientified Jack and Teal’c on the ship. It’s the most emotional I’ve ever seen Teal’c, and it really hit me hard. Likewise with Sam and Jack at the end. Hammond kicked ass too, with the Prometheus. I liked Weir, she was suitably wowed by the entire Stargate Program. The new president was awesome, trying to bluff Anubis and slamming down Kinsey. Speaking of Kinsey, he’s a nasty piece of work, isn’t he? I’m so happy that Woolsey ended up a good guy after all. In short it was brilliant. I need to get my hands on the next season, though I don’t know how I’d feel without Hammond in command.

The only thing that I’m flailing about… how could they just leave Jack frozen?! At the end of a season? *whimper*

I don’t normally watch a lot of television. My main item of interest since I got back from my trip has been Stargate SG1- Season 7, but it’s been on DVD. I find DVD far more convenient than regular tv because I can watch it in my room, when I want to. Yeah, I don’t have anything fancy like PVR or TiVo yet. But today, in a fit of boredom, my sister convinced me to go and watch tv with her. Like, real tv. And the results?

I discovered that there is a show being made about a book I recently read, The Dresden Files. I did a jump-around-and-squee type of movement when the trailer came on, because the last time something was made about one of my favourite books, I was 11 and the books were Harry Potter. The Dresden Files, in a nutshell, is a vaguely detective type of story about a freelance wizard. I only read one of the books, Proven Guilty, but the tone, as well as the magic, is gritty and real. They put kids to death if they start experimenting with the wrong type of magic- they don’t send them off to Hogwarts. While I was googling around, I found that I am a little late in my news- the show broadcast in the US back in Janurary (Feburary in the UK), but hey, it’s South Africa. We get everything late. Which brings me to my next point.

Remember Paul Potts? Well, while watching tv today there was an advert for his new album. My sister had watched the vids of him I’d found, and she said that she would buy his album. But most South Africans would have never heard of the guy, considering that Britain’s Got Talent never aired over here. Silly SA.

I also haven’t decided whether I hate or love the show Zoey 101. I mean.. it has Britney Spears’ little sister in it, come on. But yet, I watched two episodes today. Scary stuff.

Here, have a Dramatic Prairie Dog.

—————-
Now playing: Ashley Garland - Ungrateful Girl
via FoxyTunes