This could be a little more sonic.

Doctor Who and 2009 Survey

2010-01-02T08:45:25Z

Ah, Doctor Who is over. So sad. Pretty good episode. Damn good in parts. Look forward to next year. OMG!!!11!!!ELEVEN!!! (ahah, I'm clever)

And also, a Survey. Beware, I'm feeling moderately cynical and cranky right now. Which will likely result in more succinct answers.

WITH 2009 COMING TO AN END. . .

2009: In The Beginning
Where did you go on New Years?: I honestly can't remember New Years from last year. I know I stayed home, more or less. I think. I don't know.
Who were you with?: By myself? Possibly with room mates. It's so weird, I have no recollection of the night at all. No, I was not drunk.
Did you kiss anyone on newyears?: Nope.
Did you make any resolutions?: To strive for self-improvement? A resolution that I make year-round. Achieving it is another story.

2009: All about YOU
Did you change at all this year? Incredibly. Still the same at the core... but I am all over the place these days.
Did you dye your hair?: Nope, just at the very end of 2008.
Did you get your hair cut?: Actually, I didn't. It's ridiculously long right now.
Did you change your style? Somewhat. A little trendier. Nothing drastic.
Were you in school?: Yes.
Did you get good grades?: No, I did not. Last winter's were so-so. This fall's were horrendous.
Did you have a job?: A bit of production assisting, teleprompter operating. Was a TA for Compy Sci.
Did you drive?: Yes.
Did anyone close to you give birth?: No.
Did you go on any vacations?: Yes. To Calgary a couple times.
Did you leave the country at all?: No. Sadly. Very sadly.

2009: Your Love Life
Did you break up with anyone?: No.
Did you meet anyone special?: No.
Did you fall in love? No.

2009: Friends and Enemies
Did you meet any new friends this year? Yes.
Did any of your friendships end?: Somewhat.
Did you dislike anyone? Yes.
Did you make any new enemies? No.
Did you resolve any fights?: Perhaps?
Who were your closest friends?: Many, many people. Very all over the board, more than ever.
Did you grow apart from anyone?: I suppose. Weren't terribly close to begin with.
Did you have any regrets when it comes to your friendships?: Yes.

1. Have you had any relationships this year? No.
2. Have you had your birthday yet? This question makes no sense in my current chronological context.
3. Kissed two or more people in the same night? I don't remember. I don't think I did a lot of kissing this year. 2009 and 2008 are blurring together.
4. Been on a diet? I suppose you could say that. I hate that term, and it's not really accurate.
5. Pulled an all nighter? Yes.
6. Drank Starbucks? Yes. Only once.
8. Bought something(s)? Of course.
9. Met someone special who changed your life? Not that I recall. I suppose that's the kind of thing you might remember. I did meet some pretty cool people, stepped out of my shell a bit. Am pretty fond of a couple. But nobody mind-blowingly special. Not in reality, ahah.
10. Been out of the province? I am out of the province right now.

intimate details on '09..

1. What are you thinking about? The implications of my current mood. FML.

2. Have you drank alcohol this year? Yes.

3. Would you get married if you could right now? It would completely depend on a particular situation/person/whatever. But no, not likely. I'm seriously debating a "screw it" position to marriage.

4. How did you feel when you woke up today? Irrational.

5. Are you good at hiding your feelings? Yes. But often I yearn to let them out. Rarely happens to the full extent.

6. Could you ever be friends with someone that broke your heart? Yes. I recover.

7. If you could change your eye color would you? No.

8. Who did you last get into a big argument with? Probably Josh.

9 Have you ever had a really big fight with a best friend? Yes.

10. Do you like to have long hair or short hair? Long.

11. Are you over the age of 25? No.

12. Would you be able to tell someone you love them, even if you didn't feel it? Yes. But I also have difficulty telling people I love them even if I do mean it.

13. How do you currently make your money? The government is loaning it to me. Occasionally I work.

14. Do you want to get married & have children one day? Married, perhaps. Children, unlikely.

15. Which of your friends do you argue with the most? Josh. Of course.

16. Have you kissed anyone in the last 4 hours? Not a chance.

17. How many texts are in your inbox? Don't know. Don't care.

18. Has someone of the opposite sex ever told you they loved you? Yes.

19. Who was your last text message from? Probably Lyssa.

20. Who was the last person you rode in a car with? Craig and Laura.

21. When is the last time you cried really, really hard? I can't remember. I'm gonna say... that night in... early October? Some drunken emotion-fest. Totally lost it.

22. Who took your profile picture? My Facebook profile picture (since this is originally a Facebook survey) was taken by either my Mom, Craig, or Laura. Don't know.

23. Would you rather smile over a lie or cry over the truth? Smile over a lie. Have cried about enough truths.

24. What’s on your bedroom floor right now? At home? Can't remember, haven't been there in a while. Here? All my clothes, suitcase, etc.

25. Do you trust people too easily? Possibly. I can be a little open at times. It's never really gotten me burned or anything. Maybe I've never trusted with anything burn-worthy. I have regretted opening up too much, though.

26. Are you satisfied with what you currently have in life? No.

27. Have you ever cut class? Yes.

28. Have you ever liked someone alot older than you? Not seriously. I have hardly liked anyone seriously in a long time. I've had plenty of crushes on older people though.

29. Last thing you ate? Crackers.

30. How many people are you texting? Why is this verb tense being used? At this moment, I am texting absolutely nothing.

31. Will you be in bed within twenty minutes? Yes, likely. As soon as I finish this survey.

32. What is the last non-alcoholic beverage you had? Water.

33. Could you ever forgive a cheater? I would forgive in the sense that I wouldn't hate them and be enemies with them. It would likely be the end of the relationship though, if non-monogamy had not been previously agreed upon.

34. Do you hate the last guy you had a conversation with? Not at all. The last guy I had a conversation with is one of my favourite guys in the world!

35. Is there a guy that knows everything or almost everything about you? Yes.

36. Have you told anybody you loved them today? No. Don't articulate those particular words often.

37. Do you make every decision as if your parents are watching? Not at all.

38. Have you ever gotten the butterflies? Yes.

39. Do you like to run? I love to sprint. I can't carry on long distance though.

40. Is there anyone that you care more about than yourself? I am very selfish at times. But it's hard to gauge those kinds of feelings. What qualifies as "caring more about than myself" exactly? If we're talking "somebody's got a gun on you, and gives you an ultimatum: your life or theirs" then there are absolutely people I would choose to let live rather than myself. But like... caring. What is this emotion you speak of? (heh, told you I was feeling cynical).

41. Do you put candy canes on your Christmas tree? No.

42.Do you get snow where you live? Yes. Without fail every year.

43. Do you believe in love? Yes.

44. This year have you ever been heartbroken? Again, define heartbroken. If you're talking about the romantic lovey-dovey type, then no.

45. do you think 2010 will be better? I hope so. I intend on making it better. Taking action and so forth. Here's to hope.

Avatar Review!

2009-12-31T10:51:29Z

Saw Avatar tonight. BRILLIANT.

Here's a review. It's intentionally light on spoilers (and thus content, somewhat). I'm putting it behind a cut anyways, because I believe that it enhances the experience of epic movies to go in without too many expectations. See this Sheldon Cooper quote for more info.

Going into that theatre, the worst case scenario would still have resulted in an incredible movie. Even if the story was terrible, the visual effects would have made up for it. So, my initial expectations were good. Those expectations were far exceeded, and watching Avatar was both a visual and emotional treat.

The story itself is nothing terribly original. It's a tried-and-true plot, with familiar archeytypal characters. Nevertheless, it was well executed, and really tugged at the emotions. Maybe it was just the mood I was in, maybe it was just the power of the visual effects, but I became completely absorbed in the story and the world. My heart melted at the mushy parts, my fists clenched at the presence of the antagonist (I soooooo wanted to punch that guy), and yes... my eyes even watered a bit at the sad parts. Best of all it sparked a desire to improve humanity and stop people from destroying the planet and each other. That feeling of inspiration is hard to beat. The whole thing was actually sort of... spiritual.

Visually... I don't even know where to begin. This movie was supposed to be unlike anything we've ever seen before, and that's exactly what it was. I saw it in 3D at the IMAX in Calgary. I intend on going to see it at least twice more in Saskatoon. It won't be the same on DVD, so go now while you have the chance. It was visually epic. The only other movie that compares is LOTR. There's really nothing more I can say. It was beautiful. You lose a little bit of colour with the glasses, and they take some getting used to. Once you do though, you just get lost in the spectacle. Brilliant.

I'm really big on sound and music in films, but I'm sad to say I was too distracted by the rest of it to even notice. Definitely will pay more attention the next couple times.

I'm also very critical of sci-fi movies that attribute too many human/Earth characteristics to alien worlds. There was a bit of that in Avatar, but you could tell they tried very hard to make it original and realistic. However, this is a movie made for human audiences, so I can forgive the human-ness. It reached a satisfactory level of alienness.

Zoe Saldana (Uhura in the new Star Trek) and Sam Worthington (who was easily the highlight of Terminator: Salvation) were fantastic. I'd say they both exceeded my expectations (which were high to begin with). Will definitely be following both of their careers from now on.

Avatar is now very close to the top of my favourite movies ever. Perhaps I'm still just basking in the post-movie glow (after all, I also thought Star Wars Episode III was BRILLIANT right after seeing it *shudder*), but a few more viewings will help me decide just how truly good this film was. There was not a single second out of the 2 hours and 40 minutes that I did not enjoy (again, because even if the plot sucked, you could still just sit and enjoy the digital artistry). As the movie wound to a close, I wished it would just continue on and on. The audience APPLAUDED at the end. Wow.

In summary: This show is a MUST-SEE in theatre. Can't wait to see it again. Brilliant. Brilliant brilliant brilliant.

Skating!

2009-11-22T00:34:56Z

So, I really really want to get back into figure skating in a big way. I've been dreaming about it several times a week, and have been watching in on TV a lot recently.

I quit skating spring of 2004. YouTube started up Feb. 2005. And now, suddenly all those figure skating programs that you want to watch over and over again are just clicks away! Man do I ever love technology. (also: Yagudin's "Gladiator", and Shae-Lynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz: WATCH AT 3:35, OMG)

Also, with the internet you can now find important testing/competition info that was somewhat unavailable before, as well as dance patterns! Not only that, but Videos of those dances being performed! (HOLY CRAP THAT MUSIC BRINGS BACK MEMORIES). The dance looks so easy after watching pro ice dance... but man, those knee bends were a bitch. Especially when you have a knee that doesn't really bend.

Man, I can not tell you how helpful it would have been if video cameras and camera phones were as commonplace back then as they are now. Because not being able to see whether your technique sucks and having to rely on feedback from others? Sucks.

I would kill to have a video of my program to the "Star Wars" theme. OMG I was a nerd even then.

ETA:

IF THERE IS ONE VIDEO THAT YOU WATCH OUT OF THIS WHOLE ENTRY IT SHOULD BE THIS ONE!!!!! I will never forget the moment I saw this for the first time.

Bear in mind that he is an OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST. *dies of hilarity*

ETAA: Holy crap!!! Evgeni Plushenko returned to competition this year? I didn't even know! He's preparing for the 2010 Olympics... oh man, the bar just got raised. Lately it seems the calibre of Men's skating has been somewhat less than usual. What I watched today, there was only ONE DUDE who actually did a quad. For a while there, everyone and his dog had a quad. Frick, Alexei Yagudin and Evgeni Plushenko each did TWO in the long program at the '02 Olympics.

More Kijiji Amusement

2009-11-14T03:00:06Z

More Kijiji personal ads. Because I am inexplicably entertained by them:

"Any U of S students need help making ends meet? maybe I can help. Looking for occasional meetings. Absolute discretion"

Lol!! Might as well say "Prostitute wanted for part-time position. Please send application."

Also, have I mentioned how much I really enjoy Lady Gaga? A popstar with real talent who I'm not embarrassed to say that I'm a fan of.

Because yes, I'm secretly into Pussycat Dolls and Britney Spears and Girlicious (somewhat). But I'll be damned if I'd ever post that on Facebook/LJ profiles, lol. No no, there it's all "Blue Oyster Cult, AC/DC, Rob Zombie" etc. AHAHA.

Personals

2009-11-12T09:42:04Z

So, I'm bored and procrastinatey. Naturally, I begin looking at personal ads on Kijiji for the amusement factor. Seriously, read the "casual encounters", they're hilarious and horrifying at the same time.

But it got me to thinking. If I were to write a personal ad, what would I say? What are my requirements for a person?

1) Moderately nerdy; Won't run for the hills upon learning of my fannish ways, preferably would join in.
2) Touchy feely is acceptable, but no "OMG I just want to take care of you and give you everything a beautiful princess like you deserves, you soft and gentle female you." *shudder*
3) Doesn't mind my mood-swingy ways and occasional rantiness (both the angry and enthusiastic varieties).
4) Not a frequent drinker, but willing to get plastered with me once and a while (yes, this is necessary, lol).
5) Won't be offended by my heathenistic, atheist ways. Also, can't be overly superstitious.
6) Punctuates/spells decently. Or rather, "has decent written communication skills." After all, we're talking written personal ads.
7) No yappy dogs. Er, like actual canines, not the dude himself.

The absolute must is #2. I don't think I could stand that. I'm no delicate flower! And yes, as I write this I have "I Like It Rough" by Lady Gaga stuck in my head.

And #4, dammit! I ain't no constant partier, but gosh darnit sometimes a girl just wants to get shitfaced.

So folks, what moderately random qualities do you enjoy in people? What pet peeves do you have that would be deal breakers? What idiosyncrasies do you have that could cause compatibility issues?

October is fantacular.

2009-10-28T06:50:30Z

Funny, I just remembered that I had, for several months, broken my fanfiction addiction. I had forgotten this.

Because now? I'm up to my eyeballs in the stuff, and have been for a while now. Hell, I even started writing a fic for Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles a couple months ago (although let us never speak of this half-written fic again).

Funny how October hits hard like this every single year. It's like "OMG SCHOOL STRESS" and I solve it with TV.

Escapism is truly, truly, truly my stress relief tool.

Gummi Explosion!

2009-10-23T05:15:33Z

Ebaumsworld. First they brought you Diet Coke and Mentos. Now this.

Pretty cool.

And, while I'm posting random YouTube videos...

Patrick Stewart, you will never cease to be awesome.

Also, did you know that every celebrity in existence ever has been on Sesame Street? Trufax.

My favourites include Andrea Bocelli, Johnny Cash, and Neil Patrick Harris. Also, Jack Black talking about Octogons is pretty good too.

The funny thing is, I actually remember Patrick Stewart's "B or not a B" from my childhood. I just didn't realize how awesome it was at the time.

ETA: Wikipedia, you are so useful.

ETA again: Okay, you really have to watch at least some of this: Smokey Robinson gets molested by the letter "U" while singing "U Really Got a Hold On Me"

New LJ Layout!

2009-10-04T13:19:44Z

All this compy sci and logical thinking is making my creative side want to stretch its legs a bit. I busted out the keyboard the other day for the first time in months. Nothing awe-inspiring. But it was a start.

Then, today, I started GIMPing. Not Photoshopping, because I haven't reinstalled it since my last laptop reformat. It was easier to download GIMP than dig out the Photoshop CD. Once I got used to GIMP, I was actually kind of impressed. There's a lot of stuff that's annoying about it, but it's also pretty powerful in ways that Photoshop is not.

Image editing. Another thing that I have not done in months upon months. FINALLY did a Star Trek icon. I even went as far as to make it the new default! My Supernatural "Carry on my Wayward Son" one had been default since... three years ago? Nearly as long as I've had an LJ, methinks.

One thing led to another, and I've now got a shiny new LJ layout. Nothing too fancy, and not perfected yet, but I'm pleased.

As my new header may indicate, I've been watching Heroes. A lot. The scene that the pic is from was just gorgeous. Also, it made me miss the style of wearing hoodies under blazers. I'm not a big fashionista, but I LOVED that trend. I hope it hasn't gone out yet, because DAMN. I particularly like it when Sylar wears hoodies under blazers. YES. A THOUSAND TIMES YES.

Dum de dum, 7:18 a.m. No, I haven't gone to bed yet. Yes, I slept until 2:30 p.m. yesterday/today/whatever. Yes I've been skipping school and sucking at life. D'oh.

PANIC!

2009-09-14T03:35:40Z

So, I'm teaching my first CMPT 111 tutorial tomorrow. And although I feel semi-calm, there's definitely a part of me that is FREAKING OUT. Especially since I'm really not prepared right now. I thought that there'd be a lot more guidance from the profs as to what we're supposed to go over... but it's pretty much left up to us. OMGAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

Also, I really want Beatles Rockband.

Also, I just watched the season premiere of Supernatural.

OMG, they wrote a fangirl into the plot. Writing fanfiction. Wincest, to be specific. GAH. I had to pause it and leave the room, I was so horrified. Plus, she was a creepy stereotypical fangirl, which was sad.

(The backstory to this was that there was this author who wrote a very popular book series that basically was identical to the life of Sam and Dean. The author didn't know it at the time, but he was actually a prophet and was having visions of the future. Thus, the fangirl was writing fic for the Supernatural book series)

Also, I can't get the soundtrack to A Very Potter Musical to download.

Also, I was thisclose to writing "I am Sylar" on my arm last night, after much alcohol consumption.

...

And now I'm going to go prepare for my tutorial tomorrow. And then have a meltdown.

Also, the mood selection on LJ never seems to accurately reflect my true mood. I really was hoping there'd be a "terrified" among the choices, but I had to settle for "distressed".

Zachary Quinto, most articulate man alive.

2009-09-09T05:06:39Z

Sorry, I'm being spammy today...

So, YouTube videos. Interviews with Chris Pine and Zach Quinto.

Why do I love Zachary Quinto so much? Because dude. Have you ever seen a more articulate guy? Have you ever heard such beautiful use of vocabulary?

When asked about how he formed his version of Spock in comparison to Leonard Nimoy's:

"Well, I think there are physical attributes that are inextricable in terms of this character, right? Like, there's a framework that's a little more structured with Spock than with some of the other characters in the film. So for me it was about finding my point of entry into those. This iteration of the character does not have as much command over the duality that's sort of at play within himself, and I think that afforded me a little bit of a window, but not much of one. There's a stillness and rigidity almost in the way that he carries himself and relates to people."

Duality. Inextricable. Rigidity. ITERATION.

Guh. Is there such a thing as a vocabularaphilia?

ETA:

"But it wasn't until I got older and was really able to understand some of the intellectual concepts that Gene Roddenberry was playing with in this series in an allegorical way that I actually got really ignited by it."

Plus this entire interview... oh man.

There's even one somewhere where Zach says something with ridiculously rich vocabulary, and Chris goes "Wow. That was quite the sentence." Also, Chris is pretty articulate himself.

LOVE.

Shatnerlarious!

2009-09-09T01:07:06Z

Oh man.

OMFG, EDITED TO ADD!!!!!!!!!!:

AAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! Patrick Stewart you are a god. Man do I ever wish I could have seen Hamlet with him and David Tennant. Sigh.

Schooooool's in for fa-all! sings

2009-09-09T00:55:59Z

Dear neighbours,

I'm sorry I'm stealing your bandwidth. But I hope you can forgive me, because it's bringing me so much joy.

Theivingly yours,
Cynthia

So, the new place I'm living in is so far quite awesome. Nice and big, plenty of sunlight in the morning (I've been getting up before 9 EVERY DAY (even on the weekend!). On the downside, we don't have internet/cable yet, but it should be coming soon I hope. Also, two of my roomies haven't moved in yet, so we'll see how that turns out.

School is fantastic! I like... look forward to going to it every day. *shock* I'm bored right now, and wish I had some homework or something to do.

Mostly these days, I occupy my time with Star Trek. So much fanfic, so little time. And I'm beginning to watch Heroes, too, just for Zachary Quinto. Because, umm, HE IS AWESOME. Sylar rocks my world. WHOO! I desperately need Star Trek fanfic crossovers containing Sylar.

I may need to bust out the Photoshop tonight, and make a shitload of new icons. The current collection just ain't cuttin' it. Because I still need a Star Trek icon, like YESTERDAY. More like, LAST WEEK.

Now, to go catch up on the last several weeks' worth of LJ posts...

ETA: What the fuck, el-jay? The friend's page only goes back 2 weeks? Am I gonna have to go through journals manually? Urngh.

Funnier than Shatner chest-deep in a pile of tribbles

2009-09-01T06:42:10Z

Oh. My. God.

I didn't think it was possible, but I've just watched a television scene even funnier than Shatner buried under a pile of tribbles.

Star Trek Episode 312, "Plato's Stepchildren"
Summary: A planet of Plato/Greek fanboys and fangirls who have telekinetic abilities and can thus control the actions of others. Also, they are total assholes.

Seriously, people. Screencaps can not even BEGIN to describe how hilarious, ridiculous, and slightly horrifying this episode was. I literally laughed my ass off. I will have to go get it surgically reattached tomorrow. :p

Just a screencappy taste:

There was funny walking.

And dancing/jigging.

There was laughter!

And there were tears.

Then, just when I thought things couldn't get any more effed up than Spock's insnae emotional outbursts, this happened:

Why yes, that IS a dwarf riding Kirk like a horse. Also, yes, Shatner was neighing.

And now, for the pièce de résistance...

There are no words. Also, holy shit was Shatner's skirt ever ridiculously short. He had to kneel at one point, and you just know that the entire cast and crew got a faceful of his junk.

I can't believe this show was cancelled after three seasons.

Also, I need a Star Trek icon like, YESTERDAY. Soon I will have high-speed internet again and will be able to properly search for pictures. Also, I intend on watching every single YouTube video of Chris Pine and Zach Quinto. Also, I plan to visit SO MANY LJ COMMUNITIES and read SO MUCH FANFIC. And then I'm going to watch Heroes. And dig out my LOTR DVD's for Karl Urban.

After that, if there's time, I might do some schoolwork.

ALSO, ALSO!!!! In the new movie, when Kirk meets Scotty for the first time, Scotty has a TRIBBLE ON HIS DESK!!!! Which is probably totally old news to some, but I only found out about it yesterday. FTW!

Star Trek, Dentists, and everything in between.

2009-08-29T04:28:18Z

1) This may be one of the funniest television scenes known to human existence:

It's particularly hilarious to me because you just know there's some production assistant up in the cupboard, chucking Tribbles at Shatner's head. And you just know that P.A.'s thinking "OMG I have the best job EVAR."

2) Uh, yes. Star Trek anyone? WHOO! Saw the recent movie a couple months ago, FREAKING LOVED IT, and have been getting into The Original Series now. As a kid, I never really understood what was going on, so I wasn't all that interested. Now I can appreciate it a lot more.

Also, holy crap, was the new movie well-cast or WHAT? Everyone's acting is just spot on. Subtle things, like an eye-roll here, a mouth-twitch there... it's so captivating.

3) Saw District 9 last night. Unfortunately, it was absolutely excruciating. This was partially due to the volume being too loud in the theatre. I balled up the paper wrapper from a straw and shoved it in one ear, and leaned on my hand to shut the other ear. Also, Peter Jackson, did you learn NOTHING from Cloverfield? Shaky cameras, while interesting cinematically, reaaaally take away from my enjoyment of a movie.

Other than that, it had some interesting social commentary on how humans are cruel and such. Mostly it was just depressing, repetitive, and completely lacked a plot.

4) While watching District 9, I found myself thinking about how much more pleasurable it would be to go to the dentist (I had an appointment today) rather than watch it. Then, at the dentist today, I found myself YEARNING to be back in that theatre...

IT WAS HORRIFIC. OH GOD I AM SCARRED FOR LIFE.

So, my teeth are bad. Really bad. And I knew this, but was scared to face it, so I avoided going for a long time. Finally went today and OH GOD IT WAS HORRIFIC. Much, MUCH worse than I'd anticipated (and I'd been experiencing anxiety about this for some time).

FUCK MY LIFE.

If my dentist gets her way, she'll be about $5000 richer by the end of it all. So I'm going for a second opinion somewhere else... because frankly, some dentists are more crooked than the teeth they treat. My dad's last dentist wanted to pull a couple teeth out and put in implants and do a bunch of expensive shit. His new dentist says those teeth are just fine.

In Canada, dentistry is a business. A very, VERY profitable one. And maybe I'm just bitter, but I think the industry takes advantage of people because they can. Fuck do I ever wish dental and vision were covered under national health care. Don't know why the hell they aren't. Arg. :(

5) School starts in less than a week! So excited! Also, am moving to a new place on Tuesday. With four other roommates. Could be fun times. It's in a great location, too. Can't wait!

Mundaneity

2009-07-08T03:12:03Z

I'm experiencing an unusual phenomenon right now.

It's called "free time."

My new semester is relatively slack. I've got an assignment due tomorrow... but I'm done it. HOURS AHEAD OF TIME. This has never happened before.

I've done 5 loads of laundry today. Basically every article of clothing I own. I've even folded and put away every single thing that's dry. This has never happened before.

And now I don't really know what to do with myself. Maybe I'll go to bed. At 9:00 p.m. This has (almost) never happened before.

The workload of last semester has changed me. I'm all productive and stuff! I sleep well and wake up early! And you know what? It paid off, because I got a freakin' 80% in what's generally known as they heaviest workload Computer Science course at my university. OH YEAH MAN. I AM AWESOME. AND NOT AT ALL EGOTISTICAL.

What other mundane occurrences have I got... watched the first season of Flashpoint, and have enjoyed it. Going to the lake again this weekend. Feel like dancing! The dial-up interet has even been relatively speedy today (THIS HAS NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE).

All in all, I'm content!

School's (almost) out for... three days.

2009-06-29T02:07:11Z

H'okay. One more day until the end of the Spring Session. Oh man. Last week was brutal... 3 huge assignments (well, one was not so huge, but I didn't have a clue what I was doing), my presentation (with a partner whose accent is so strong that I literally can not understand what he's saying 75% of the time), and a lab exam (only one of my three programs worked by the end... the other two were barely started). And now I've got two final exams tomorrow! Which I'm currently avoiding studying for. :D

Nevertheless, this last semester was AWESOME. School hasn't been this fun or satisfying (or frustrating) for a long time.

Also, I now can not look at a computer program without wondering how it works (or rather, without mentally figuring out how I think it works).

On to more fangirly things...

So, I've watched the entire season of The Listener now. I couldn't wait weeks for it to air, so I did *cough* download *cough* it. Rest assured, I will watch it on actual TV when it does air (since I actually can, for once!).

And you know what? I really, reeeeeeally like it. For the first time in a long time, I would go back and re-watch my favourite bits over and over, sometimes the whole episode.

Also, the season finale was AMAZING. And ended with a cliffhanger, so it seems they may be anticipating a second season.

Something semi-random that I loved... there was real, genuine snow. I'm not sure I've ever seen snow like that on TV before. Full-on character-slipping, piled-on-the-roads, fluffy, Canadian snow. It was brilliant.

New Show! And discussion on an interesting trend in television.

2009-06-17T02:23:52Z

Ok guys, I've got a new show to recommend for you.

It's called "The Listener", about a paramedic who happens to be able to read minds (whoo!). The main character, Toby Logan, has been a telepath his entire life but always tried to ignore it, until one day he realized he could use it to help people.

Maybe not the most original premise for a show, but I enjoy it. Toby's paramedic partner, Osman "Oz" Bey, brings great comic relief to the show, and I quite like him as well. Also, as you may notice from my display pic, the guy who plays Toby sorta resembles Jake Gyllenhaal and Jon Togo. Whoo!

No, it's not the most OMG ABSOLUTELY AMAZING show in the world, and hasn't necessarily been getting the best reviews, particularly from American critics. But, here's the kicker: it's not an American show.

That's right, folks. This show is actually a Canadian show. And it doesn't suck. And has been picked up by an American network. Which, you know, NEVER HAPPENS.

See, Canadians have the inate ability to instantly recognize whether a show is American-made or Canadian-made. Usually it's because the production quality just isn't there, which is a direct result of the budget not being there. But, for like, the first time ever, I actually WANTED to watch a Canadian drama, because it ACTUALLY looked GOOD. It is thisclose to passing as American. Except it's not!

So yes, I am totally biased because I would like to see it succeed. But, from an objective standpoint, I watched it and liked it before I even knew it was airing in the States. I hope you all check it out. I would really love to hear your opinions on whether it up to par with the heavy-hitting American dramas.

P.S. It has aired internationally as well... actually I think the season's already over in most places, yet we're just starting here.

Now, for the "interesting trend discussion" that I mentioned.

So, you've likely heard that the American economy is in a bit of trouble. This extends to the TV networks. As a result, many of them have been shopping up north for shows, because they're cheaper.

"The Listener" is not even the only Canadian show on American TV right now. Another show, called "Flashpoint" has actually been doing quite well (got just under 10 million U.S. viewers for the second season, airing Jan-May '09). There's also two more scheduled to start in the fall.

(BTW, Dutchie, have you heard of Flashpoint? Wikipedia tells me that it's got fantastic ratings in the Netherlands, which is awesome)

IMO, this is huge for the Canadian TV industry. More and more shows have been filming up here (Supernatural, Smallville, the first episode of House), but for the shows to be produced here is rare. They even SAY that it's Canada, instead of trying to pass for New York or Chicago or whatever.

But, can Canadian shows hold their own in the U.S.? Apparently Flashpoint is a show about a SWAT-like team who uses negotiation tactics instead of just going in and shooting the place up. And, as a result, it's been criticized by Americans for being kind of boring (note: I've never actually watched it, so maybe it is boring...). Here's an excerpt from an article:

Ms. La Traverse recalled only one question that hinted at a possible gap between the Canadian and American world views: “Someone asked: ‘Why is this sniper so upset that he killed a guy? Hasn’t he killed lots of people?’ We had to explain that well, no, he actually hadn’t killed before,” she said with a laugh. “It’s kind of a Canadian show in that it’s all about talk first, shoot later, dig up the psychology. Maybe it’s a more compassionate or optimistic message for these times.”

Anyways, I've kind of blabbered on long enough about this. I had more interesting things to talk about originally, but I kinda lost focus. Perhaps another time I will remember the things I wanted to bring up. For now, I gotta go. This laptop is way too hot on my lap, and it was over 30 degrees out today.

TTFN!

Me again!

2009-01-12T03:46:19Z

Look, it's me again! Right now I'm bored-ish and don't know what to do with myself.

I downloaded the beta version of Windows 7, the successor to Vista. So far, it's decent. Actually, it's mostly identical to Vista, just takes a little less RAM, and has fewer annoying pop-ups. Everything basically looks and is organized the same though. Has some new wallpapers (that are gorgeous!) but that's about it. The taskbar is a little different, with big quick launch icons and icon-like button things for your open windows.

Overall I give it a thumb up. It's not terribly exciting simply because it's the same as Vista. It's basically akin to how Windows 98 was just like Windows 95, only functional. *shudder* Windows 95 *shudder*

Also, did you know that you can fit the entire human genome in 3GB? As my Compy Sci prof said, you could carry your entire genetic code on a USB keychain wherever you went!

Hmmm... what else. My lovely roommates have gotten into watching Supernatural. There's been a wonderful droolfest going on lately.

Yup. I'm gonna go slink back into my little cave of boredom now.

waves

2009-01-11T06:39:09Z

*waves* Remember me? Contrary to popular belief, I did not actually fall of the face of the planet. In reality, my computer died. Which is close enough, I suppose.

But I've got a new laptop now! And it is SWEET. Oh baby does it ever rock. I mean, it's not outrageously awesome, but 4GB of RAM is all a girl could every really ask for. And the Bluetooth has been handy too!

I have almost completely and utterly neglected LJ since my computer died (complete with grinding noises and smoke... very dramatic). My primary computer was this crappy old desktop that couldn't seem to handle an internet connection. So, in short, I haven't read a damn thing in the last two months. Someday I may catch up, but that day is not today.

That's because today (and by today, I mean this current time frame as opposed to specifically today) I am super-motivated regarding my classwork. I am going to show them all how awesome and smart I am! As one of a handful of female Computer Science majors, I have extra motivation to kick everyone else's asses - both for pride and scholarship reasons.

If I'm being honest, my LJ updating is going to continue to be extremely sporadic from hereon in. Now that I've kicked the habit, I find I've got all this extra free time to put towards important things like studying and/or cooking proper meals. P.S. I have become a culinary genius!

So, Internet Land, I bid thee yet another temporary adieu. Someday I may return, sharing stories of my great triumph over Geek Land, and how they crowned me Emperor for Life of the Computer Science department due to my outstanding awesomeness. Not that I've spontaneously developed a giant ego or anything.

TTFN!

North, South, East, West

2008-10-19T03:13:30Z

I'm suddenly feeling very confined to a small area of the world.

Here I was, randomly Google Mapping, when I realized that last weekend I'd travelled farther west than I'd ever been before, and I didn't even realize it.

We went to Calgary for Thanksgiving last weekend, and on a whim drove out to Golden, B.C. Gorgeous drive through the mountains, and gave me an appreciation of the fact that I don't necessarily have to travel halfway around the world to see some amazing places.

The farthest south I've ever been is somewhere in the Florida Keys (around Duck Key, a name which never ceases to amuse me, as it sounds like "Ducky").

Until now, I'd always thought that the farthest east I'd ever been was somewhere in Florida too. But Google Maps showed me that that's not true. In actuality, the farthest east I've ever been is... Toronto (and only in the airport). Suddenly my world felt a whole lot smaller.

The farthest north I've ever been is roughly here, around Kingsmere Lake. In Saskatchewan, this is starting to be "way north" and there are few roads anymore (in fact, the particular point I marked was reached not by road, but by canoe/foot). Then I scrolled east a bunch, and find out that it's still farther south than places like Belfast and Moscow (not to mention all of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland... and Scotland too).

It's funny, because while I know my geography pretty well (and am not totally ignorant of the rest of the world like an unfortunately large number of people on this continent), it's hard to grasp the actual relative latitudes and longitudes of these places. Florida seems really far east because it's on the Atlantic coast. Kingsmere Lake seems far north because not many people go past that point. Golden doesn't seem that far west because it's not so far from the edge of the Rocky Mountains.

I still desperately want to travel. But you know what? Canada is a pretty big place. There's plenty to see here, and I don't even have to buy a passport! :D

P.S. Saskatoon is here. Head east a bunch, and it puts me roughly halfway between Birmingham and London. Guess I had better start walking!

SAY WHAT?!

2008-09-18T05:19:48Z

Holy crap, is this for real?!

I saw a promo for the upcoming CSI:Miami premiere.

Is Horatio REALLY dead?! Can it be? Does this mean that I might just be able to start watching the show again without wanting to stab my eyes out every time Horatio does something Horatio-esque? SERIOUSLY?!

Also, WHAT THE FUCK, they're making Wolfe look bad AGAIN?! WTFWTFWTF?!

I haven't watched CSI:M in a very long time, but I think I probably will watch this one. Heck, I might even catch up a bit on the last season, just so I know what's going on.

I'm just terribly afraid that Horatio will magically come back to life because he's Super-H and is indestructable. *shudder*

But I'm hopeful that the writers finally realized that they were killing their show by not killing H sooner.

Sorry if ya like him, but I just can't stand him, lol.

Also, there were many other things that started to drive me nuts about CSI:M after a while... but we'll see.

In other news, there's a cute boy in my chemistry lab! (lol) Also, school is going brilliantly (but boring so far, as I haven't learned anything new yet).

Google, Firefly, Accents, and Moving

2008-08-23T11:19:10Z

First off, has anyone else been enjoying the daily Olympic-themed Google logo? It looks like today it's a chicken playing baseball. Brilliant.

Secondly, I just finished watching Firefly (and Serenity). ZOMGAWESOME. Now I know what all the fuss was about. Highly recommended. Excellently character-driven.

As a result of watching Firefly, I have now officially entered a Nathan Fillion phase. He's a fantastic actor, his expressions and delivery of lines are just spot on, and he's hilarious. And Canadian!

Segueing to my third point now: As you may know, I have something of a fascination with accents. Firefly has this combination space-age, Chinese, old West thing going on (sounds bizarre, I know, but works so well). The characters/actors mostly use your basic, standard American accent. However, the words themselves (I can't think of a term for this) were written to be old West-y or cowboy-y or whatever.

Basically, what I found was sometimes the way the actors were talking didn't match what they were saying. (Except Nathan Fillion. His accent was perfect. No, seriously, it was. This is not just the rabid fangirl talking). It kinda bothered me a bit. Needed to sound a bit more redneck. It may have been somewhat intentional, mixing the new accent with the old speech... but it sounded a bit wrong.

Anyways, it got me going, and now I'm reading and listening and thinking about regional variations in Canadian and American accents. I could blabber on and on about this in writing, but it's late, and I'm gonna save most of my ramble for another day.

Oh, and by the way, I'm moving back to Saskatoon tomorrow. LOL! SUDDEN. Yeah, my life plan changes quicker than the weather. But I've had all these wonderful epiphanies about life, and motivations, and the directions I'm going... and the long story short is that I'm going back to university in Saskatoon. Yes, I've done a lot of bitching about the U of S in the past, and swore I'd never go back. But I've got a new outlook on life, and Calgary was my much-needed getaway to gain understanding of myself and the reality of the world around me. Whew!

Personal Renaissance

2008-07-27T12:18:36Z

I was having a fantastic night/morning/whatever you call it when it's now 6:00 a.m. and I haven't slept yet. I was reading about various technology advances, and discovering that there are some ridiculously cool new developments in the tech world that I thought would still be years away. It has suddenly occurred to me that the difference between mainstream knowledge and the absolute leading edge stuff is huge, and that I've been missing out on this whole new interesting world by sitting around and letting information come to me instead of actively pursuing it.

So I suddenly had this renewed faith in society and what humans are capable of.

Then I came across this, and it all went down the crapper:

Crazy Ranting Dude

I am now sad.

(For the record, I am nothing like this with my whole OMGWANNAMOVETOENGLAND thing. I have sanity.)

So, to cheer us all up, enjoy this lovely photograph:

By Russian photographer Sergei Prokudin Gorskii

Oh yeah, did I mention that the above photo was actually taken sometime between 1905 and 1915? It has been digitally retouched and fixed up a bunch, but despite that, it's still pretty fricking amazing. This is basically the untouched version.

See here for more info and brilliance

AMAZING.

quickbeam_cw @ 2008-07-15T02:26:00

2008-07-15T09:41:39Z

I seem to be in a bit of a "Stickin' it to The Man" mood today.

Started with a brief desire to convert to Buddhism. Progressed to reading about legal mind-altering drugs, as well as the debate about teaching evolutionism or intelligent design in classrooms. Now I have this strange urge to write a book about the epidemic of modern-day propaganda and misinformation.

Society, overcome your obsession with materialism and prestige! Throw off the chains of conventionalism and the status quo! Embrace your fellow human and work together to improve the world instead of destroying it!

[/liberal rant]

Layouts

2008-07-14T12:30:19Z

Gah, man are LJ Layouts ever a pain in the ass. For several reasons:

1) I thought I was being all clever by coding the ads to not display. Then, I upload the CSS and nothing works, at which point I nearly lose it. Then I see this little gem in the source code:
/* suspect CSS: trying to alter LiveJournal ad placement */
Whoops. I guess LJ's a little smarter than I gave 'em credit for. :p

2) I don't even bother trying to work around Internet Explorer. Reason being.... well, it's Internet Explorer. 'Nuff said. So, yeah... screwed up layout in IE is just a sacrifice I'm willing to make for the sake of my sanity.

3) Inexplicable inability to change the colour of the links at the very bottom of the page. I am utterly baffled. I could change the font size and underlining and everything, but not the colour. Weird.

4) Haha, my monitor colour/contrast/saturation is so sucky. I've had the same problem with icons... everything looks good on my compy, but then on a different screen it looks too bright and hideous. Same thing here... I see a classy-looking, subdued, autumnal colour scheme. But on a different monitor... whoa. Very garish. Very seventies. I feel like I should be wearing a polyester leisure suit just looking at it. *shudder*

Fixing the archives and tags pages is gonna have to happen another day. I'm going to bed. 6:30 a.m. seems late enough, eh?