just an excuse to update!

Ok, so I'm sitting here in the library trying to get some work done. but it is a universally known fact that you can not get any work done until you update your blog! and you can not update your blog until you waste at least an hour tryng to come up with stuff to write about. and so after wasting enough time I thought I should just get it over with so I have no excuses left to not work. here it goes:

I used to be filled with ideas to write about, and in the past year I see myself getting less and less inspired. in writing, and in photography, and probably in life in general. is that a side-effect of staying too long in school and feeling unmotivated about anything and everything?! maybe. Or maybe it's because I used to whine about my love life a lot, and then just got tired of it...whatever it is, the only thing left for me to write about seems to be books and movies. and TV of course.

I have fallen in love with "the flight of the conchords"! It's so original, and so weird... this series follow two New Zealanders who are in a "digi-folk" band and like to get famous in New York City. Their characters are just unreal, stupid but cute at the same time and the songs are too funny if you listen to them in the context of the series. Their music (not necessarily the lyrics) is actually pretty good I think. Anyway, you definitely need a special sense of humor to find this series funny. Give it a try for one or two episodes, and find out for yourself.

I have also been watching "Law and Order: special victim unit" whenever I could catch it on TV and although I like it, I can't help but feel paranoid about everything after watching it. The whole series is about s e x u a l crimes, mainly involving women and children and it sometimes makes you sick to your stomach. of course the stories are fictional but it still hurts to watch! anyway, not for the faint of heart, but if you're into crime series it may be a good choice. it is a pretty old series as well, about 10 or 11 seasons, so lots of episodes to catch up on if you get into it.

hmmm, what else... I can't think of anything! I miss writing here... should try to update more often, with stuff other than movies and TV!

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Coppola, Almadovar, and other tales from VIFF

So here I am again, writing about Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF). For me, VIFF is a big part of fall in Vancouver... I look forward to it every year and although I only manage to watch five or six movies, it still lightens up my October.

anyway, I have watched five movies so far, and have got two more to go. Here's what I thought about them:

Pandora's box: erhhhh... that's all I can say about it. I watch a Turkish movies every year and this year it didn't pay off at all! The film is about an old woman who gets Alzheimer and her dysfunctional family will have to face this among all their other issues. It mainly played with the viewers' sentiments and basically just made me cry without leaving any feeling behind.

Tetro: Francis Ford Coppola's latest movie was definitely a treat to watch. The story turned a bit Bollywood towards the end, but the images were absolutely amazing and except maybe for the last 15 minutes, I really enjoyed the movie. The whole movie is shot in black and white, except for flashbacks which are in color! cool, isn't it? anyway, I definitely recommend this movie, but beware of the length.

A prophet: OH MY GOD! Could this movie be any better?! I don't think so... the movie tells the story of a young French/Arab man (movie is French by the way) who goes to jail for six years and during this time goes up the ladders of prison mafia. I can't say how great the lead actor was! and the story was interesting on so many levels and nothing was done half-ass, and I can go on like this for hours. Apparently this was one of the main competitors for White Ribbon in this year's Cannes festival, although it didn't win in the end.anyway, watch it, watch it, watch it... you won't even notice it's 2.5 hours long!

My Tehran for sale : another errhhhh... why do Iranian directors insist on showing the "underground" life in Tehran when they are so limited by regulations that the end result is a mess of a movie that's got no taste of reality (or artistic value, for that matter) to it. The first half of the movie was so artificial and below average that I thought about leaving the theater, however it got better towards the end and in the end it was good if you missed Tehran and wanted to watch images of the city while listening to Namjou! not recommending it though.

Broken Embraces: last night I watched the latest movie from Pedro Almadovar, and although it wasn't a masterpiece like some of his older films, I liked the movie. It was light and funny and sometimes romantic. It had some "dark" elements but even they seemed comic somehow. Penelope Cruz was hot as usual, and some of the familiar faces from Almadovar's previous films were in it as well. This is a movie to watch as light entertainment or if you like to follow Almadovar's work, otherwise you won't miss much if you pass on it.

On a side note: I watched "Roman Holiday" again since it was on TV and enjoyed it as much as the first time. Honestly, how great is the last 5 minutes of this movie?!

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a link

this is a blog (in Farsi) that a friend of mine writes in a mainly minimal writing style. I find it funny, you may too.

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the world according to Neil Gaiman

"It is a small world. You do not have to live in it particularly long to learn that for yourself. There is a theory that, in the whole world, there are only five hundred real people (the cast, as it were; all the rest of the people in the world, the theory suggests, are extras) and what is more, they all know each other. And it's true, or true as far as it goes. In reality the world is made of thousands upon thousands of groups of about five hundred people, all of whom will spend their lives bumping into each other, trying to avoid each other, and discovering each other in the same unlikely teashop in Vancouver. There is an unavoidability to this process. It's not even coincidence. It's just the way the world works, with no regard for individuals or propriety." --from Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman

it's so true!!

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isn't it amazing?

don't you think it's amazing how moms just bring the feeling of "home" with them wherever they go?

my mom has been here less than 6 hours and it already feels like our house is a warmer place.

Life is truly good now. :)

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:D

finally had my hair cut! :D feelin' much better and "light"headed...

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what I feel these days:

ihatemyhair ihatemyhair ihatemyhair ihatemyhair ihatemyhair ihatemyhair ihatemyhair ihatemyhair ihatemyhair ihatemyhair ihatemyhair ihatemyhair ihatemyhair ihatemyhair ...

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how cool people spend their Saturdays:

1) get up early and take the car for regular service
2) have awesome tea in a specialty tea store and read a while
3) buy a few pots and a big bag of potting mix and spend all afternoon re-potting plants
4) and finally, have a glass of wine, grill a frozen pizza, and watch Michael Jackson in concert on TV!!!!

I bet you all wish you were that cool, don't you?!

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