Monday, August 31, 2009

August 2009 Books and Movies

No books this month, can't believe I didn't even finish one! Oh well, geodee will be happy. He won't have to skip any part of this post! :)

Inglourious Basterds

Absolutely frickin' brilliant! Crazy violent, as per usual with Quentin Tarantino films, but still amazing. I love how he just mashes together so many styles of film, camera angles and cinematography to create such unique outings. The cast is fabulous, with standouts being Brad Pitt, Diane Kruger, Melanie Laurent and Christoph Waltz. I loved that finally, years after breaking out in Freaks and Geeks, Samm Levine was in another mainstay movie. It was cool that I could mostly understand (my German is pretty rusty) the movie without reading the subtitles, as 75% was in either German, French or Italian. I don't want to post plot spoilers, just go see it! Cover your eyes for the gory bits, if you're squeamish though. It's well worth it.

Let the Right One In

This was a great movie...in the original Swedish, with subtitles. Unfortunately, I was watching the version that had been dubbed by some pretty sketchy American sounding actors. It really detracted from the stunning visuals and cool creepy storyline. I found out how good this film was, when I watched the deleted scenes. I may just watch it again, now that I've found out there's an option to do it with just subtitles. There's going to be a full American remake (even though it was only made in 2008!) and people will think it's brand new, but if you care, watch the Swedish original first, you won't be sorry. Oh, did I mention that it's a vampire story? Hence the Hollywood remake... :)

Julie & Julia

This was a fantastic movie for anyone who loves a good story, a bit of whimsy and of course, fabulous food. Meryl Streep (who is, hands down my favorite actress) was absolutely stellar as Julia Child. I loved the romantic depiction of post war Paris and the chemistry between her and Stanley Tucci was spot on. Across the pond and a many decades later, Amy Adams knocked it out of the park cooking and blogging her way through "Mastering the Art of French Cooking". She is absolutely the Meg Ryan of our generation. The food preparation stole the show! I wonder how many people were employed to make everything look so delicious! Whether you go hungry or not, you'll still want to eat afterwards. Wonderful film and absolute must see!

Friday, August 28, 2009

Speed Training

I've just begun speed training to increase my running pace. This process is quite arduous! I don't have the physique needed, so it's super challenging. I ran for longer today than yesterday without needing a break, but the pain...it's such a mental battle.

But I can't keep running 5K at my current pace. One, it's not good cardio, because I'm used to it, & two, it's not really running, more like slow jogging or race walking, except I do lift my entire foot off the ground.

Any comments and/or suggestions would be much appreciated.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Blogger's Block

Or should I call it blog aversion.

Maybe it's because I have a few entries unfinished. Maybe it's because I wonder if what I have to say is even worth writing down. Maybe it's because although I have a few readers, it's like a big black void out there.

It's been a while since I've done a progress update.

Health: Holding steady, meds decreased, Metho 5 mls, Humira once monthly - still in drug related remission

Work: Starting at a new place in September. Looking forward to being closer to home and a new work environment.

Fitness: Still working, although had a slump of two weeks due to being too busy. Am trying to increase my 5K time, did my first speed workout today. It was really hard.

Family: Uh, unfortunately, my first response at the moment is, what family? I know it may be temporary, but I feel utterly abandoned at the moment. My friends are my family, but isn't that usually supposed to happen when you're miles away from home?

Mental health: Worrying. A lot of stress and a fair amount of sadness. Too much negative thought. Am trying to adhere to the practice of throwing out these thoughts and holding on to the positive ones.

Relationships: Trying to have a better one with myself, but it's not going very well at the moment, which is most likely the real reason behind the bloggers block. Am disengaging from a key relationship in my life which seems to be dragging me down. Others are disengaging from me. On the whole, not feeling great about this topic.

Wow, this is a depressing entry. There's a lot of truth to the fact that people tend to blog more when they are up then when they are down. But the down entries are important for reflection and self improvement.

Here's to better days, and better posts.