Thought of the Day
Tuesday 20 December 2005
Sunday 18 December 2005
December Diary ~ part II
Xmas drinks: Sir Richard Steale
Company Xmas party at The Room by the River
well organised: it started with an aperitif on a rather dull reception room and followed with a buffet dinner, offering chicken in an Italian tomato and olive sauce, meat balls of lamb (always covered in tomato) and an oven baked vegetarian dish made of vegetables and mozzarella. The side dishes were potato and veggy based. The dessert was a simple cup of chantilly mixed with fresh fruit. The décor of the main room featured, predominantly, big rounded tables and sparkling pink lights for a television studio effect. This year the venue was even bigger than the previous years, and socialise was therefore harder. I spent the first half of the night trying to recognise the presents and hardly managed to speak with most of the guests.
As a Cinderella, I left at midnight to catch my direct tube home. And, as a good girl, I was at home half an hour later bright and safe and sober.
***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****
The week went on with more social engagements: on Wed I met Elisa, an interesting Italian girl I met on the plane one year ago. Funnily enough we are flying back on 8th January togther again, and it was unplanned!
I spent some time on my own on Thursday night while Steve was away for his Christmas party at work. And on Friday another department Xmas party at Zebrano. Nice venue in Carnaby Street, nice food and nice to chat with the colleagues in a different environment.
Second photo from the top © MonoMax Ltd
Wednesday 14 December 2005
December Diary ~ Part 1
Somerset House A fun afternoon spent with Steve, Amanda, Richard, Chrys, Alberta, the doctor, Minh Ha and Jason, pretending to ice-skate in a romantic but crowded location: Somerset House. Modesty aside, I feel quite self-confident on the skates, since I have been skiing since I was five and always adored roller skating. But I have long to go before showing off some *non-standard* performances like pirouettes or jumps. I also tried to go backwards though, which was quite simple but a bit hazardous in such a busy ice ring. I was impressed by Steve’s improvements since last time (one year ago), by Chrys’ improvements in the arch of 1 hour: it was his *first time* and very frightened at first, so scared he didn’t leave the barrister for the first 20 minutes. Alberta and I helped him balance for a while and then left him alone. I observed him towards the end and was amazed to see that he managed to complete a round without touching the edges! I was also pleased by the others performance: everybody looked comfortable and agile. The evening followed with some drinks at a pub nearby, a greedy dinner at Zizzi and some indy/sixty dance at Metro Club.
Spanish Reunion Our Spanish teacher invited us to spend a Sunday afternoon at her place eating, drinking and watching a good film: Luna de Avellaneda starring my much-loved Ricardo Darin. The film chronicled the story, and history, of el club de el barrio de Avellaneda (i.e. the working men’s club of Avellaneda, a Buenos Aires quarter), and offered many hilarious and cheerful moments as the background of a nostalgic story.
The club has always played a central role in the lives and identities of Argentinian people. The local club is not (supposed to be) a political or religious circle, but simply a community where you go to meet people, converse, play and practice sport. It is also a way of keeping the youngest away from the streets and from the frustrations the country’s unemployment rate provokes. It is a proud (orguello) to be a member of it and a commitment to keep it going, since its joining fee is a mere £5 or so per month. Well, this film deals exactly with the significance the *club* has acted, and acts, and with the difficulty of keeping it alive nowdays, when times have changed (in many senses) and so the role of the club.
Ricardo Darin’s performance was sweet—to use a subjective judgment, and convincing—in more objective terms. Roman (aka R. Darin) was literally born in the club. His emotional temperament, mingled to a certain extent of passivity led him to a series of subtle failures in life. However, although remissive and tired-looking (as opposed to the more energetic paternal figure in Kamtchaka), he was never boring or annoying. On the contrary, he came across as the ultimate idealist man who has always retained his dignity... and charm.
Monday 12 December 2005
Unity through negation
Thursday 8 December 2005
Some flowers, some chocolate and a book
Wednesday 7 December 2005
Memoirs of a Geisha
House of Flying Daggers
Director: Yimou Zhang
Written by: Feng Li. Bin Wang, Yimou Zhang
I watched Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon some years ago and found the combats a bit too scenic, too boring and ridiculously unrealistic. At the time, I was missing the crucial sense of their mise-en-scene: the poetry with which Ang Lee was trying to recreate, through the magic world of martial arts, the mythical and classical China.
In The House of Flying Daggers the combats, filtered through the metaphor of fluid and symmetrical dancing movements, resulted more pleasant to the eye and thus more *accessible*. And then, behind the spectacular action, there was a story of loyalty and betrayal, whose gradual disclosure constantly diverted the viewer’s expectations, confounding him or her about the real feelings, priorities and drives of the characters. As Lindsey says, this film was a "disguised melodrama", concealed by the sense of duty and honour of the respective parties, preventing them from showing any sentimentalism, but not strong enough to prevent their most passionate feelings to emerge at times. In tune with the lyrical style of the film, those passions do eventually explode in a poetic and non-conventional fashion. And the result is even more disheartening than any emotional dramas a western spectator is more accustomed with.
And she (Ziyi Zhang) is wonder-full! A bold and at the same time graceful & child-like beauty.
House of Flying Daggers :: 30 Second Review
Director: Yimou Zhang
Written by: Feng Li, Bin Wang, Yimou Zhang
I watched Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon some years ago and found the combats a bit too scenic, too boring and ridiculously unrealistic. At the time, I was missing the crucial sense of their mise-en-scene: the poetry with which Ang Lee was trying to recreate, through the magic world of martial arts, the mythical and classical China.
In The House of Flying Daggers the combats, filtered through the metaphor of fluid and symmetrical dancing movements, resulted more pleasant to the eye and thus more *accessible*. And then, behind the spectacular action, there was a story of loyalty and betrayal, whose gradual disclosure constantly diverted the viewer’s expectations, confounding him or her about the real feelings, priorities and drives of the characters. As Lindsey says, this film was a "disguised melodrama", concealed by the sense of duty and honour of the respective parties, preventing them from showing any sentimentalism, but not strong enough to prevent their most passionate feelings from emerging at times. In tune with the lyrical style of the film, those passions do eventually explode in a poetic and non-conventional fashion. And the result is even more disheartening than any emotional dramas a western spectator is accustomed with.
And she (Ziyi Zhang) is wonder-full! A bold and at the same time graceful & child-like beauty.