Welcome to this weekend’s Open Thread! Today’s host is this pile of clawed otters at Dusseldorf Aquazoo.
Clawed Otter by Robert Becker
Please feel free to use this thread to natter about anything your heart desires. Is there anything great happening in your life? Anything you want to get off your chest? Reading a good book (or a bad one)? Anything in the news that you’d like to discuss? What have you created lately? Commiserations, felicitations, temptations, contemplations, speculations?
Enjoying Butterfly Song by Terri Janke for the #AWW2013. Worried that it might have a sad ending though.
We went to see Life of Pi this week. Great film: fantastic storytelling and glorious visuals. Haven’t read the book yet, although very much planning to – has anybody done both yet? How did you feel the adaptation from book to movie was handled?
Performance note: I’ve rarely seen anyone act listening as well as Rafe Spall did here.
Not sure I will get to Life of Pi, have seen Les Mis and Wreck it Ralph. Probably taking the kids to see ParaNorman tomorrow.
I saw Life of Pi a while ago, it was indeed spectacular. Even though I’d read the book, it made me have all sorts of overwhelming thinky-thoughts. :)
In other news, I’m currently packing up my stuff to move into a new place, which will be just me and a close friend rather than four other housemates I don’t really know.
And I’m being annoyed at all the sorts of “oh, all those young people don’t know how to do activism anymore” posts that inevitably devolve into huge oppression olympics posts. Sigh.
Oh, and to answer your question about book vs. movie, TT, I thought it was handled really well – in fact, I was downright impressed. The movie managed to take all the interesting and complex questions in the book and stay very true to them. And wrap it all up in some truly stunning visuals.
Five year old. Birthday party. Done. Collapse. Heap.
Mr Tog. Officiant at garden wedding. 40 degrees. Done. Wine. Collapse.
Come home. Laundry fridge leaked. Stinky. Mop/bail. Still not done. Collapse later.
Dear Canberra,
SERIOUSLY, WTF is up with the golliwogs?!!!
Every time I walk past one of these black caricatures in either minstrel-striped long pants or Mami-do-rag I get heebie jeebees. Why don’t you all just buy concrete non-specific “Aborigines” standing on one leg for your gardens, whilst you’re at it?
I think I have impossible standards for entertainment. I went to see Life of Pi for the animation and cinematography, and because I wanted to see the fur system they used. (I do low-res 3D modelling for games, so it’s nice to see really high-end stuff.) Life of Pi was ok, there was a bit in the middle where I couldn’t tell whether it was the CGI tiger or the real one, and that really impressed me. Usually it’s the lighting of CGI which gets me, but I thought that was ok. There was something about the movement of the animals that seemed a bit off – especially the meerkats, they were too squirrely and loose. Weirded me out that they used a donkey sound for the zebra and chimpanzee for the orangutan. Thought the plot was way too simplified and preachy, and the introduction of a love interest was silly, but I didn’t go for the plot after all. Overall it was some nice animation.
Doing my first attempt at making a necklace with pins (think that’s the term for the wire links). Said necklace was bought on my first trip to Phillip Island a couple of months ago and the thread went SNAP the other day, as they do. Struck me that links would be more secure than string as well as adding length. Spent yesterday with bits all over my computer desk, alternating between twisting and clipping wire, reading and replying to blogs, and eating toast with Vegemite.
Wrist was a disaster area last night but the necklace is making progress. :)
I am back to work tomorrow for the first time in three weeks. I am kind of looking forward to it, but not looking forward to the alarm going off an hour and a half earlier than I’ve been getting up lately.
I have read Life of Pi, and had mixed feelings about it, especially the ending. I am curious to see how they handle that in the movie. The visuals look great too, but I’m not much of a cinema goer. I might try and get to see Les Mis at some point.
I went to see Life of Pi last week with the Lady Friend (3D version – very impressive technology, reminded me of photogrammetric instruments a bit). I haven’t read it, but she has, and she reckons it’s a more than satisfactory rendition of a book that mostly focuses on the inner life.
Anyway, I enjoyed it. Four stars!
Finished the necklace on Sunday! Very pleased with it.
Also did a new photoshoppy pastiche of Mr K, very pleased with that, too.
Love the necklace, and do I detech Mr K is being rather Boss-y?
Seeing way too many updates on Armstrong/Winfrey and not nearly enough updates on more important stuff.
Ugh – scary morning here, Dad had another dizzy/fainting/absence spell. Mum managed to prevent him falling while yelling for me, I dashed out of the shower wearing nothing but the bath sheet to the front balcony and helped her lower him down to the ground where we cushioned his head and put his feet up on a chair while we waited for the ambos.
That’s 7 trips to hospital for this over the last six months, lots of investigations and they still can’t work out exactly why this keeps happening – postural hypotension is only part of the equation.
Off to take mum some lunch at the hospital now :(
Hope everything is okay TT, scary health stuff is scary. (((hugs))) for you and your Mum.
Have just got back from the hospital, Dad is staying in for at least one night since his blood count is down and they’re going to give him a pint or two. Poor mum is exhausted, so it’s time for a nap in front of the tennis.
That’s rotten about your dad, tigtog. I hope to goodness they find out what it is, they can treat it, and it’s not something like mini-strokes happening.
Thank you about the necklace! And spot on about Mr K. I use pics of the Boss as a basis for his portraits. They are quite similar, though Mr K is better endowed in the Chin and Hair departments! :)