Bistro on the corner

Ireth wrote:I just wanted to say I'll be going to Nepal for a community service project on Saturday/Sunday, and I won't have wifi/computer access for three weeks, so I'll "see" you all at the end of the year

Have a good trip, and fun

Thanks guys   I'll try to take some good pictures of the scenery and I'll show them to you if I succeed.  

enjoy your trip girl! i love to travel if I can get away w/ it.

I have an atheroma on my head, since years, which is s far not dangerous. Anyhow, I just realized in German it has a very funny name ("Grützbeutel") and decided to shate the information with my family as a joke. My parents are currently trying to convince to conduct surgery and are freaking out. Opps   

Lottie2303 wrote:I have an atheroma on my head, since years, which is s far not dangerous. Anyhow, I just realized in German it has a very funny name ("Grützbeutel") and decided to shate the information with my family as a joke. My parents are currently trying to convince to conduct surgery and are freaking out. Opps   

Atheroma is a plaque on a blood vessel, is it not? And you have it in an artery in your head? It sounds serious, and it's no wonder that your parents are worried over you. I would worry too. What did your specialist advise you?

Mmh, I googled the English term so maybe it is wrong. I did a bit of research and as long as it is not growing, it is harmless. I have it since years and never had any trouble. I am terrified of needles - you need to give me very good reasons to agree to surgery.   

^ May it never grow in size then, and may you remain in good health always.  

Delight wrote:^ May it never grow in size then, and may you remain in good health always.  

Hehe, tank you. Everything will be fine!   

I totally shocked in the most surprising way about the Golden Globes. The nominations are actually very great and mostly well deserved.

Also, Tatiana Masalany (Orphan Black) for best actress. That is a first as it is a sci-fi show, but so well deserved   

Dungeons and dragon!!!!

So i went to The Hobbit marathon showing last night, from 8:30pm to 3:30am this morning. Watched both movies in IMAX 3D high frame rate back to back. Last year didnt' see the first installment in a movie theater so I am trying to make up that lost experience. By the time it was over I was kind of trembling due to depleted fuel in my body and i was living on adrenaline. The movies did a great job at keeping me mentally "high" for a good 7 hours and more.

This is the first time i went to a midnight showing and first time I did a movie marathon. I don't think i would do it again simply because my body was being taxed too much. But then, it was all worth it - every penny I paid plus the physical challenge - all worth it for me to see the fantastic Richard Armitage and the magnificient dragon Smaug (easily the best rendered and most beautiful beast so far) on the giant screen. I recommend seeing the IMAX for any 3D content. Regular 3D makes my head hurt and cannot bring out the gorgeousness of the cinematography and epicness of the movies that rely a lot on visual spectacles. This is exactly how I felt about Avatar too. oh well, this is not a review, so all i will say is that I really enjoyed the movies and I even laughed out really hard on a particular scene in the second movie, something i rarely do even when watching comedies. The second installment has better pacing than the first, and is very action packed. I will go back to the theater again in a couple of days to get a more detailed viewing. now I have to focus on getting my regular sleep pattern back. i am a total wreck now.

i feel like i'm going to go bankrupt because of the cinema this month.

i saw thor 2 and the hunger games 2 like 10 days apart and my friends want to go and watch hunger games as well so that means a repeat for me, plus gravity because we have a huge sandra bullock stan in our midst and then there is the hobbit 2 which i just have to see, alone or in company. and, i wanted to see frozen in the cinema as well but when i realized i was going to spend a lot of cash for all that, i downloaded a cam version from online. love it by the way and cartoons are surprisingly watchable, even if they were shot with a camera in the theater.

^ i feel you. i save my money to watch the stuff that I am dying to see and leave the rest for netflix rentals.

Girls, I'm cooking christmas cookies and I'd like to know if you have any idea how I could decorate them without using glace? One of my ideas is to write the name of my friends on the cookies.

they must be giant cookies if you can write names on them. how about an initial? or draw a simple outline of the heart. anyway, whatever you make, i will eat them.   

fantastica wrote:they must be giant cookies if you can write names on them. how about an initial? or draw a simple outline of the heart. anyway, whatever you make, i will eat them.   

If I won't live so far Kim, I'll give you. And are not so big, well the shapes are a moon and a doll lol yeah big enough to write the names. Thanks anyway.

p.s love the grinch

fantastica wrote:Dungeons and dragon!!!!

So i went to The Hobbit marathon showing last night, from 8:30pm to 3:30am this morning. Watched both movies in IMAX 3D high frame rate back to back. Last year didnt' see the first installment in a movie theater so I am trying to make up that lost experience. By the time it was over I was kind of trembling due to depleted fuel in my body and i was living on adrenaline. The movies did a great job at keeping me mentally "high" for a good 7 hours and more.

I'm envious! The Desolation of Smaug will only be released in the cinemas in Australia on Boxing Day. I've already bought my movie vouchers, ready to be used...

i'm probably going to see it next monday or tuesday. it's movie days at two cinemas and i always go when the prices are lowest. yes, i'm that cheap.   

You are all waiting and excited for Smaug but I try to play cultured and got my NT Live Live ticket to see Tom Hiddleston in Coriolanus at the cinema. Shame that that Live taping is shown in February here...such long time. If I can't go see the play live then I suppose the recording of it is the next best thing. I was suprised how quickly the seats sold in here, lucky to get a seat.

having seen it twice now i have to say that Smaugy is absolutely beautiful. the design reminds me more of the oriental/chinese dragon than a traditional western dragon. its body is serpentine-ish. but unlike hte chinese dragon Smaugy does have wings - bat like wings! what's most amazing is when it flies - it's not just about flapping its wings, but the movements - the resistance of gravity and inertia of the upward lift - all of this is so life like it's like watching nature documentary of a giant bird taking off. i saw in the first film's EE bluray behind the scene material that when they build a creature, such as gollum, they build from the skeleton and add muscles and then applies the skin. basically they build a creature anatomically to create a sense of realism, so when it moves, the muscles contract and extend like in real animals. i gather the same techniques are applied to the dragon as well, even though there's no real life dragon to model from. they probably borrowed a lot from birds and bats and snakes and other creatures to get the anatomy and movement characteristics for Smaugy.

I heard of a lot of people complaining about too much CGI in this movie. i personally don't see a problem w/ that. we have animated movies now that are 100% CGI and nobody complaints. CGI or live action - all of this is to tell stories. as long as the stories are good, i don't care how they are told.

the great thing about CGI is that now we have the ability to create realms and creatures and effects unrealizable by traditional live action means. monsters, dragons, dinosaurs, aliens, alien worlds..... previously only achievable via hand-drawn pictures, now can be made very realistic looking. what's wrong w/ that? there's no limit to what art can do. the only limit is our imagination and the available technology.

i remember when Finding Nemo first came out, i stayed during the credit portion at the end, and was shocked to see how many people were involved in the project. they had a special team of dozens of people only responsible for creating the "school of fish" movement effects. Apparently it's a big challenge to write algorithms to simulate this seemingly simple movement pattern. i find it very insulting when people used the term "cheap CGI" to criticize an action movie that has a great deal of CG effects. it's insulting to the countless digital artists whose work make the movies shine yet they will never get the name and recognition like the big film stars that show their faces on the screen. however their work is easily discredited and even made fun of even though the blame should lie mainly on the script writers, the producers and directors when the movies are bad for general story telling.

on the other hand, a digital artist probably has a much better chance to find work than a typical actor. most actors are in constant threat of unemployment. talent alone won't get you anywhere. luck is extremely important.

Merry Christmas everyone!

As I care most about the food, I hope everyone is having great Christmas dinner!

Merry Christmas Eve! I haven't been around due to being busy. May your day be full of eggnog, family and happiness!   

Im making pancakes for xmas. Happy holidays everyone!!!!!

fantastica wrote:Im making pancakes for xmas. Happy holidays everyone!!!!!

    

what filling ?????

also, are those thick pancakes like i see in american movies, or the thin kind that you fill and role up like we make here.

 

 
christopherpaul

Merry Christmas everyone!