Christmas is coming! I found myself slightly surprised by the Holiday this year, just cannot believe we are almost there. For the first time in England though, I’m not spending it at someone else’s place, I’m not in the middle of redecorating or going back home. Thus our new place got decorated.
We were going to get a fake tree, however after most places being out of stock or delivering in the middle of this week we accidentally ventured into the live tree section. And boy did it smell in there. We were very close to just dragging the biggest one they had home straight away, but after careful consideration of our dragging-power decided on a slightly smaller tree. It was a very eco-friendly move, as after Christmas the plant is going to be decorating our not-so-used balcony.
On the other hand the window decorations are not real pine, however they do look very realistic. After gravity-defying nail plus wall action we have two windows done with a third one still waiting (yes - this does mean 90% probability of more photos coming). Considering some spray on snow on the glass or maybe cut out paper flakes on string… what do you think?
These days Internet seems to be everywhere. You have it on your computers, consoles, even mobiles. Yet still, when moving house getting yourself connected seems almost like mission impossible.
Do I really need to wait for the TV to be hooked - 1 week, then the phone line activated (yes, no drilling or cable work, just activating a line) - 2 weeks, and then finally another week to get the broadband. It’s not like only a select few technology fanatics order such services. You’d think that they’d actually be more than happy to take on new customers. Unfortunately it is more like a rocky road to get that Internet going.
So altogether we have been almost a month without Internet. Feels very weird indeed. The usb dongle was definitely not enough with the two of us trying to share a connection. It’s better than nothing, but stupid T-Mobile content block on random pages can drive you crazy at times.
One thing I was quite shocked to learn during all this phone connecting was that the developer supposedly does not connect the phone sockets in a newbuild. I’d expect everything to be active when you get the keys to your sparkling new flat. But supposedly it’s normal that you have to hire yourself an expensive electrician to have working phone sockets… And there was silly me, thinking that finished means finished…
Even though we have broadband connected now it’s still not over. It looks like the phone engineer conected the wrong socket - we have the main one working and instead of the living room the only other working socket is in the spare bedroom.
It’s almost time for our completion on the new flat! Just can’t wait. In the meantime we had our house demo and made a few photos while measuring for the new wooden floor.
I first experienced 3D movies years ago. It was a headache inducing event with those crummy cardboard glasses where one side was green and the other red (if my memory serves me well). The effect was impressive for back then, but definitelly not worth the hassle and the viewing discomfort.
This was the reason behind my quite reserved approach to the sudden rise of the 3D mania. Just thinking of wearing the uncomfortable glasses made me quickly decided that we are NOT seeing Beowulf in 3D. Months passed and I have successfully been avoiding any potential headaches.
Then I caved in for Coraline. And I was so pleasantly surprised. The glasses were quite sturdy, and comfortable to wear. The experience was amazing - way more immersive than anything I remembered from my childhood, and without motion-sickness side effects.
I was hooked. Instead of avoiding the 3D movie options now I’m more than happy to embrace the extra layer of visual indulgence.
In this spirit I went to see the latest instalment of Iceage. The movie itself was great, and I really love how they weave in the 3D bits into the scenes. I had a great laugh and the silly squirrel parts were quite refreshing with the female added. I could probably see only one downside to the experience - babies, loads and loads of babies.
Makes you kind of wonder if they had some sort of competition going on - how many cute, animal babies can we fit into one film. Well at least they weren’t human babies, and the animals are very, very cute.
These days it seem to be harder and harder to find a movie that rather than rely on special effects depends on the actors and people that they play to create the tension and mood. I must say in many ways “The Taking of Pelham 123” really does deliver thanks to great strong performances from Travolta and Denzel Washington.
Funny enough the special effects used in the film, although in places quite impressive, especially the futuristic hovering over the city map, actually felt more like a commercial break than part of the story. You have this great back and forth with the two main characters and then every couple of minutes it goes all zoom-in, zoom-out, speed-up, slow-down, a car chase here, a car crash there, end then back to the plot…
There are a few inconsistencies and an annoying teenage girlfriend who obviously doesn’t get what a “hostage situation” means. Ah, those clingy teenagers that need to here “I love you” every five seconds… Secondly the final scene made me crave for some kind of twist after the credits, rather than the several shots of a train in the underground.
Overall however it was a great experience. The special effects seemed somewhat disconnected but they did not get in the way of the story and acting. And these definitely stood out considering the amounts of mediocre stuff out there. One thing did bug me though - what’s with the glittery earrings???
