I'm a little potato all mashed up.
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My online journal of my amazingly boring life. Don't expect anything juicy. I write those in my real journal at home safe away from prying eyes. Except for maybe my sister.
Unfortunately I have to work this long weekend so it's actually a short weekend. T_T But it's such a nice day I couldn't resist going outside and looking at the flowers. So pretty! Those yellow ones are the Dasystemon Tarda Tulips not the white ones I was talking about last time. Magnolia flowers are blooming!
As you might already know I'm currently obsessed with the song "Still Alive" from the game Portal. It's playing repeat while I'm working and at home. In fact I'm listening to it now! Here it is for those who don't know what I'm talking about:
Now I found out a couple of days ago that Portal 2 was coming out! It was released yesterday! Hurray! More GLaDOS! As I haven't played the original Portal yet, I just purchased The Orange Box which has the original in it. I can't wait to play it. Maybe this will motivate me to set up my XBox finally.
This is the third feature film by Disneynature, which previously brought us Earth and Oceans; it is a nature documentary but tells it as sweet story about the power of a mother's love. The film offers stunning cinematic and sweeping panoramic shots as well as close shots that let you experience the life in the lions' pride and the cheetah family up close and personal. Breathtaking is short of describing the beautiful and majestic kings of the savanna. An awesome soundtrack accompanies the film which enhances the deep emotions that the dramatic story will trigger. The script is works but gets cheesy at times; it targets children who will no doubt appreciate the simplicity of the narration and the lesson it teaches: there is nothing more powerful than a mother's love.
African Cats opens in theatres on Earth Day, this Friday April 22, 2011. You can also help save the Savanna by pledging to see the film. For every ticket purchased during opening week, Disneynature will make a donation to the African Wildlife Foundation. Make your pledge here!
Cavalia has extended their stay in Vancouver to May 1st so there's still time to go! It doesn't matter if you are a horse lover or not, you will really enjoy it and be amazed at how connected these beautiful animals are with their trainers.
I had the amazing opportunity to go see Video Games Live at the Vancouver Centre of Performing Arts tonight courtesy of Futureshop. VGL is an awesome concert performed by a live orchestra and choir and featuring music from popular video games. Every night is different as they have many songs to chose from a vast collection of games. Tonight they started off with mashup of old classic games including Pong, Space Invaders, Frogger, Duck Hunt, Street Fighter II and Tetris then moved to more modern games including songs from Final Fantasy, Halo: Reach, Castlevania, Silent Hill 2, Super Mario, Legend of Zelda, God of War, World of Warcraft, Uncharted 2, Chronos Trigger and a bunch of others.
Performances featured Tommy Tallarico, the creator of VGL, who was playing guitar, flutist and vocalist Laura Intravia and piano soloist Martin Leung. Intravia's first appearance on stage involved opera version of Tetris! Who ever thought Tetris could sound so opera-like! "Flute Link" also made an appearance with Intravia playing a solo from Legend of Zelda dressed as Link with Ciela on her shoulder that she arranged herself! It was very amusing to watch as Ciela had her own "flute" and kept interrupting Intravia and the whole piece was basically a flute playing war between them. Martin Leung played the theme from Super Mario Brothers and blindfolded at that! His fingers just fly across the keys; it is very mesmerizing to watch. I am really amazed at all the talented people that performed tonight. In fact both Intravia and Leung were recruited because Tallarico saw them playing on Youtube! I guess it is a breeding ground for stars! It's also the conductor, Emmanuel Fratianni's first time in Canada. If you look at the photos I took you will see that his conductor stand is actually a joystick!
Throughout the performance they also gave away prizes. There was also a contest which involved two audience members playing Frogger while the orchestra played the sound reacting to what was happening on screen. A Guitar Hero contest was also held prior to the concert and the top scorer was invited on stage to play "Emotion" by Aerosmith on Guitar Hero while Tommy Tallarico played real guitar. He only needed to get 125,000 points in Hard to win a prize but he choose to play it on EXPERT and hardly missed any notes! The audience went wild cheering him on. He took home the prize of a Kinect for XBox360 courtesy of Futureshop! Some lucky person walked away with a PS3 AND PSP courtesy of Sony from a random draw! I'm so jealous!
After the show, they held a meet and greet with Tallarico, Intravia, Leung, Fratianni and Chris Mair (?) and I got to meet them and get their autographs. Unfortunately Flute Link accidentally smudged her signature. ='(
Anyways I had an awesome time and will definitely go again next year! My favourite part must have been when they sang "Still Alive" (from Portal). (Oh my gosh! I found it on iTunes!) The lyrics are so funny and the images that accompanied the song in the background were hilarious! I wish I had taken a clip it. Here's one I found on youtube:
Video Games Live is only in Vancouver for one more night, April 14th, so get your tickets now! And in honour of the Canucks win tonight they released the discount code: CANUCKS for 50% off any balcony seat ticket! Don't miss this opportunity to see them! Any one who enjoys music should go see Video Games Live, gamers and non-gamers alike!
I really want to buy a macro lens so that I can take super up close photos of my flowers!
Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure is an upcoming direct to DVD movie spin-off from High School Musical starring Ashley Tisdale. The film follows Sharpay Evans, a spoiled rich heiress, after she has graduated high school and looking to get her big break on Broadway. After seeing Sharpay performing a song and dance number at her country club with her dog Boi, Jerry Taylor, a famous producer, was impressed and told her that he was looking to cast a Broadway musical in New York City. Her father lets her go on one condition: either she makes it in one month or she has to come back home and work for her parents. At first Sharpay thinks that she has her rise to stardom all planned out but when she arrives in New York she gets kicked out of her penthouse and discovers that Jerry was only interested in casting her dog for the part in the show! Forced to take the help of the son of a family friend, Peyton, she moves into a studio apartment and plans to use her dog as a stepping stone to get to her fame. Sharpay goes head to head with a very competitive Roger Elliston who also wants his dog, Countess, to star in the show. Desperate, Sharpay becomes assistant to her idol and star of the show, Amber Lee Adams only to discover she is not the kind of person Sharpay thinks she is. With time running out and her spirit broken, Sharpay will have to act like the star she is again to get to make her dreams come true.
This movie was fun movie with a light plot filled with glitz and glamour. Sharpay is absolutely clueless and there were many funny moments revolving around this fact. It was kind of hard to feel sympathetic toward Sharpay since she is so rich and had everything handed to her on a golden platter all her life. There were a few musical numbers, which were catchy and in the lines of High School Musical. Justin Bieber song, Baby was even included in the movie, though it was played during the side love story between the dogs, Boi and Countess. Kids will definitely enjoy this movie.
Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure comes out on DVD and Blu-ray combo pack on April 19, 2011.
The official UBC LipDub is now live on Youtube! Watch and share! Pacific Blue Cross is donating a penny for every view to Make a Wish Foundation!
I had a lot of fun participating in this but my screen time is limited to 2 seconds. Hahaha. You can see me starting at frame 2:14.
There is also an official launch party tonight at Robson Square starting at 8pm which will include live bands from 30:Live Entertainment Group. Marianas Trench is rumoured to be at the party as well. Come out and join us! Winning! LOL
Hanna is an intense movie with a lot of action but also has its tender moments. I was, however, slightly disappointed at what I thought would be a twist ending but instead the movie ended very predictably.
Cate Blanchett was brilliant as usual but her southern accent atrocious and tended to phase in and out. Her character needed more work as Wiegler was very one-dimensional; she wanted nothing more than the deaths of Hanna and Erik but you never really find out why. You get bits and pieces of the puzzle through flashbacks but never a clear motive. I find it hard to believe that it was only because of her job that drove Wiegler so hard to exterminate Erik and Hanna; she must have some personal grudge or secret that causes that kind of desperate dedication.
Saoirse Ronan also did a wonderful job as Hanna. She is so wonderfully innocent with a childlike fascination to everything. There are only a few moments in the movie that Hanna could be a child she is and these should be cherished as the pace picks up again very quickly. The score, by The Chemical Brothers, however funky, seemed to beautifully fit the movie. It reflects both Hanna's innocence and her deadly abilities. Nothing seems to be able to stop Hanna and Ronan does an amazing job with all the fight sequences - they were all believable and real.
Overall Hanna is a very enjoyable, interesting and beautifully shot movie but could have used much more character development and clearer motives. It is a good movie but could have been amazing. Still, I would recommend seeing it in theatres.
Hanna opens in theatres tomorrow, Friday April 8th, 2011.
Your Highness is in theatres tomorrow, Friday, April 8th, 2011.