| I haven't posted on here in so long again. It seems I've been posting only on Myspace, even though I vow to post on both, I always do myspace first then run out of time for a second post. Ha.
Life has been good. Work is good, with the exception of the now traumatic fish tank. I should have known I couldn't easily handle such a "real" animal environment. Our male molley is sick but not "dying" sick, and the other fish have attacked him to the point of basically pecking off his tail. But he won't die. So its just a daily dose of watching poor Pongo lay at the bottom of the tank..... PLUS the baby mollies we had 3 weeks ago have all been slowly disappearing, so the count has gone slowly from 12 to 1. These are all little things, and shouldn't be an issue really, but my boss likes to talk about the fish tank ALOT, which wasn't a problem until things got depressing and messed up in the aquatic cube of death. Sigh.... so I'm trying NOT to think of the fish tank any more than I have to.
On a lighter note, Halloween costume prep for both Tom and myself is going well, we will have cool costumes this year and pictures WILL be taken. Exciting.
This weekend the band played 3 shows, it was exhausting. I feel like the weekend didn't even exist.
I just realized I'm in a totally crap mood today. Hopefully this will pass. | comments: Leave a comment   |
| Literally.... I woke up this morning with the worst neck/sleeping pull I think I've ever had, and it is in such a strange spot that it actually hurts when I eat anything more substantive than liquid. Weird and crapaliscious.
I haven't blogged in a while, I've been adjusting to the new office digs, and also being lazy. HA. But it is about that time. So here goes.
Work at the new studio is great, I love my office and my boss (who was my old boss and took me with him) is great as always. We have a fish tank and several mollies and barbs, and the mollies proceeded to immediately have babies so we now have 7 baby fish too! SWEET!
Last week I hit up a Goodwill on my lunch hour in an unsuccessful attempt to think of a Halloween costume and not procrastinate this year, but with little success. I did however leave with a few good work clothing pieces and an armload of VHSs. HEHEHE. I got the Disney classics Beauty and the Beast and Peter Pan, and also grabbed Shakespeare in Love, Mansfield Park, The English Patient, and for good measure, Alien. I watched Mansfield Park and Alien this weekend. It was a good time. I also took so coooooool promo pics for a masquerade theme show I'm singing in in November, in which I will be playing an evil but beautiful witch, mmmmmwwwahahahaha. They look dope and I'll share when I get them. I love playing dress up. This childhood obsession will never leave me. And ebay calls to me with lovely period dresses within my budget that I have NO use for or occasion to wear. Oh well.
But alas, this morning is completely devoted to trying to get through the day while in horrible pain. All I want to do is go home, take a sleeping pill or some Nyquil or something, and watch Firefly until I pass out. But I have to be here for 8 more excrutiating hours. GAH.
I want to hear what everyone is going to be for Halloween this year... So if any of you have your ideas yet, you should post a reply and tell me. I need to be inspired. But I promise I won't copy you, even if we live in different time zones. I just think my LJ friends are clever, that's all. | | comments: 3 comments or Leave a comment |
| | Current Music: | busy signal on my phone | | Subject: | GAHHHH!!!!! | | Time: | 10:16 am |
|
| | I'm on my phone right now trying to get Eddie Izzard tix for some last minute work in progress shows he's doing here in LA at a very timy theater. He always does his shows here at the same little theater, and it is always impossible to get any tickets. Damn. It looks like today is gonna be the same old song. Damn it..... | | comments: Leave a comment |
| So I went to a midnight screening of the 5th film installment of Harry Potter last night in Century City. Here is my take on it.
I have highly enjoyed the first 3 films (although admittedly as an adult I enjoy the books and films on the whole more as they progress since they get darker and more adult). I especially liked the feel of the 3rd installment (Azkaban), although I could have done without the whole crazy Knight-Bus thing. But I thought that Cuaron really got the feel of who the characters were and of the balance of light and dark. That being said, I was NOT a fan of the 4th film. I just think Mike Newell missed the boat. Missed the entire harbor, to be honest. As a fan of both the books and the films, I have come to terms with the fact that there will be changes and sacrifices in the adapting of one form to another, and for me to ignore that will just drive me crazy. So what I look for is no MAJOR plot damage and an overall understanding of the tone of the story and the characters.
This being said, I feel like, whereas the 4th installment failed miserably at this, David Yates' adaptation of "Order of the Phoenix" skillfully condenses a VERY LONG and backstory-driven book into a comprehensive film. It is by no means perfect. I was highly annoyed at how they chose to handle the "prophecy" issue, and the lack of inclusion of Neville's part in said prophecy. And the amount of non-verbal spell usage during the final battle in the Department of Mysteries irked me a bit (the adults are one thing, I know the written 'verse puts forth that you CAN cast non-verbal spells, but the kids doing this? Just flicking their wands?). But, I try to be a "go wit the flow" type of moviegoer in these instances. I felt that the spirit of the book remained intact, and that a HUGE amount of information and passage of time was captured quite well.
Also, once again, the performances in this series are above average in almost every account. The portrayals of Luna Lovegood and Dolores Umbridge are spot on, and Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix is over the top but great. Alan Rickman is fantastic as always, although really book/movie 6 and possibly 7 are his times to really shine.
So overall, I give it a hefty thumbs up. This was the HARDEST book to adapt and they have succeeded in my opinion. I will definitely be seeing it again ;-) Accio movie ticket! | | comments: 1 comment or Leave a comment |
| It seems that in an odd change up Los Angeles is the LAST place for people to get to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and so whilst other online friends are already touting the film's various ups and downs, I am waiting for midnight tonight..... And waiting, and waiting and waiting...... It has been so long since ANYTHING new HP related that I think I am more excited about this film than I have been for any so far (and this is my favorite book of them all so far - so heartbreakingly GOOD), so hopefully it won't let me down.
Yar. It's only 10:30. It's going to be a long day.
On a side note the premiere for Hairspray is tonight in Westwood and I was insanely jealous that I didn't get to go (it's my company's film) until I realized it would jeopardize my Harry Potter plans.... haahaha. | | comments: Leave a comment |
| I've found myself posting more often on Myspace, but it is also less fulfilling because my myspace page is so interconnected with my band I can't really feel as free to post random banter (but I do anyway). The funny thing is, my weird voyeuristic self reads your posts on LJ ALL THE FRIGGIN TIME and then when it comes time for me to post, I don't have the time, etc. HAAHAHAHA. I am so weird. Aaaaand lazy.
So, I want to start posting here again, about AMANDA stuff. Not just band related posts. But movie rants. Fluff pieces about what I did on a random Saturday afternoon. Take back what LiveJournal USED to be to me - and what so many of you execute with utter brilliance. So there. Mission statement completed.
So, I purchased my 3 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix midnight screening tix today ;-) But the sad thing was, they have always shown them thus far at the famous Graumann's Chinese theater out here (the one with all the footprints). It is a FANTASTIC place to see the films, and I have loved it. This time, though, nuthing. Its weird. So we are seeing it at an AMC elsewhere, which is still ok but just not the same. Sigh....
I am SO EXCITED about The Golden Compass coming out in December. It was made by my company (New Line) and I'm just finishing reading the first book. The book is GREAT! And the movie looks GREAT! YAY! Finally, an appropiate object of nerding out in all my months working here!!! ;-)
Seriously, if you are a fan of fantasy fiction, go pick up the book then watch the trailer. I wouldn't steer ya wrong.
What else? Gah. Not too much. The new apartment on the West Side is still good, although summer is almost here and I'm so afraid of being on the ground floor what with bugs and all. ;-( But then I tell myself that ALL homeowners deal with groundfloor issues (if you own a HOUSE) so I can too. Dagnabbit. Its nice though. And my commute to work is about 15 minutes ;-) ;-) ;-) Seriously. That is friggin amazing in this city.
Ok, more to come sooner than usual | | comments: Leave a comment |
| I have been reading everyone's LJ pretty consistently but always say to myself "I'll post later", which I then never do. Its ridiculous, really.
So now I am posting. Life as of late has been mostly good. Band is doing well, though trying to get over that "pretty good local band" hump to the level of "band making some $$". Damn crazy ambition. But it is so much fun ;-)
Also, I began investigating the local burlesque scene here in LA under the guise of finding alternate recurring "scenes" in LA for Present Tense to tap into, and discovered that it was really cool and fun. I would want to go to different shows. In the beginning, the whole sitting and watching women do a certain amount of stripteasing was sort of strange, but then I realized why I enjoyed it. I like tits. No, just kidding. What I like about it is 1) the costume aspect/dress up aspect. I will always be one of those girls who never outgrew her love of playing "dress up", and there are really not enough outlets for that in life. The whole concept of building up a great vintage or themed outfit and then building an act around it is great! 2) THE VINTAGE, MAN!!!! I can't get me enough of 50's anything. And burlesque clubs are chock-full of it. 3) The, and this is the hard sell in my book, empowerment of it to women. Really, although I would say about 70-80% of the audiences at these things are typically male, it feels like a chicks night. The guys are sort of incidental. Women of ALL shapes, sizes, etc, get up in front of a crowd and strut their stuff with CONFIDENCE and sexiness. It is truly a wonderful sight to see, and made me feel more connected to my gender and the power that a confident woman can have over a room.
In any case, being in a happy relationship and other elements in my life have contributed to the fact that I would never DO burlesque, but I'm excited to say that I will be taking part in 2 upcoming shows in LA as the "pick-up" girl (the girl who basically sets up props, picks up discarded clothes, etc between acts). This means I get to dress up in some sexy vintage stuff like corsets and garters and gloves, but I don't have to show the world my goodies! YAY!!!! Some of my friends think I'm crazy, but I just figure, hey, it will be a new experience. ;-) I'll let you know how they go down, one is on Valentine's night (and my sweetie is such a good sport, he's coming out to cheer me on!) and the other is on the 28th.
Wow, I typed alot about that! What else - OH! My cousin Jenny (who is in my icon with me) and I are starting a jazz standards side project called "Governess" and we will be performing that in some local clubs soon too, which I'm super excited about. We are hoping that this act will lead to some pay too, which would be super sweet.
I don't think I've posted on here since I saw Eragon, but if I have, sorry for the repeat rant. DON'T - I REPEAT DO NOT SEE THIS MOVIE. It was awful. I thought the books were fun, if a little derivative possibly, but the film was worse than anything I ever could have expected. Sigh..... although I recently rented Mrs. Henderson Presents and that was really quite good. ;-)
Alright, its time to go home for the weekend! YAY! | | comments: Leave a comment |
| Because a happy little voyeur I was not these last few days... So few LJ posts!! To those of you who did post, thanks for making my day a little quicker and more interesting ;-)
So, faced with this unusual situation, I came to the decision that what I should, nay, what I must do was to post an entry myself.
I KNOW what you are thinking.... Amanda? Post an entry? Have pigs sprouted wings and is blood running through the streets? Well, yes, but maybe that's just in my neighborhood.
I know I am hopelessly up and down with my posts, but thanks all for keeping me as a friend and still reading my occasional and odd banter (and semi-occasional band promotion blog)
So to all of you LJ buddies out there, I say "Have the Happiest of Holidays".... and I mean it. I hope whatever you are celebrating this week, or if you are not celebrating anything this week, you have a good time doing it. And that you have a safe and rockin' New Year. ;-)
That being said, this week I plan to be a movie watching and song writing maching, so hopefully when next I post (which probably won't be until the new year as my home internet SUCKS ASS!) I will have lots of opinions/news/etc on both subjects.
On my ideal movie list this week are:
Apocalypto
The Blood Diamond
The Queen
Eragon
Pan's Labrynth
The Good Shepard
and various rented titles, starting with The Last Samurai and Hidalgo
Yeah Yeah. Gooooooood watching. | | comments: Leave a comment |
| | YAY! Almost done with work this week and then I have a WHOLE WEEK OFF! Tomorrow I have a half day, so it barely even counts... Half day at work, in my past experiences, usually consists of eating tasty things, goofing off a bit, chatting, maybe doing some random piece of work that has floated across my desk. LOVE IT! Anyway, I hope that all of you have a FANTASTIC holiday! And then we can breathe a full and broke sigh of relief and secretly be glad that it is all over.... | | comments: Leave a comment |
| Your results:
You are Inara Serra (Companion)
| Inara Serra (Companion) |
| 75% |
| Kaylee Frye (Ship Mechanic) |
| 65% |
| Dr. Simon Tam (Ship Medic) |
| 65% |
| River (Stowaway) |
| 65% |
| Wash (Ship Pilot) |
| 60% |
| Zoe Washburne (Second-in-command) |
| 55% |
| Derrial Book (Shepherd) |
| 55% |
| Malcolm Reynolds (Captain) |
| 40% |
| Alliance |
| 30% |
| Jayne Cobb (Mercenary) |
| 25% |
| A Reaver (Cannibal) |
| 25% |
|
More than just a high paid escort.
A companion is well educated,
sophisticated and knows well
how to comfort others.
 |
Click here to take the "Which Serenity character am I?" quiz...
| | comments: Leave a comment |
| I don't even know anymore....
So on the good news tip, my band Present Tense DID successfully win the contest on Spread Radio Live ( www.spreadradiolive.com ) to become the Indie Artist of the Month for December. YAY! That was cool, and considering how much I bugged everyone I could possibly bug to vote for us, the win makes all the pestering feel a bit more justified ;-)
I watched MI3 and Pirate II during several long evenings of staying up and monitoring our progress on the contest with my cousin Jenny, and I think maybe I am just getting more tolerant of the film industry or something because I know there was a jaded time in my life when I would NOT have enjoyed these movies as much as I did. But I did. Yup, I liked 'em both. Huh. (I had seen Pirates II before, but you know how much a big theater, not to mention seeing it at the Disney El Capitan theatre here in LA, can do for even a so so film, but I still liked it on the small screen).
Up next is probably Apocalypto, because I simply must (I DID major in anthropology, remember?). I am sure of several things:
1. It will be gory
2. It will be long
3. It will be beautiful
4. I will find things that are anthropologically/historically inaccurate
But that's cool... I can deal. I'll let ya know how it is
Also, we were going to try to see a midnight showing of Eragon out here, but for some reason the 2 big theatres who do most of the midnight premieres aren't showing it, so it would have been a crappy treck somewhere. Blugh. So we are just going to wait and see that next week as well. I think it looks great (although the scene clip they showed during family guy the other night has me a bit worried). But Jeremy Irons, man, how can it suck??
Ok, enough for now.
PS - I feel sorry for Pauly Shore getting punched at that stand up show. And people just laughed at him after it happened. Even if you don't think someone is funny, to laugh at them receiving bodily harm sucks | | comments: 1 comment or Leave a comment |
| I should really not allow myself to view movie trailers for films more than 1 month away from release, because I just can't take it! although the Harry Potter trailer definitely leaves something to be desired in its utter "teaserness", the Spider-Man 3 trailer, which I just saw for the 1st time, is GREAT, and now I don't know how I will make it until May to see it!!!!
If you want to watch it, go here
http://playlist.yahoo.com/makeplaylist.dll?id=1523334&sdm=web&qtw=480&qth=300
Damn. I should really stick by this rule, but somehow, I don't think I will ;-) | | comments: 1 comment or Leave a comment |
| So Ever since Wednesday I've been staying at the Renaissance Hotel in H-Wood with my man, because the company he works for is having their annual Music Convention there. I was really bummed that they had it from Wed-Sat this year though, because I've had to work the last 3 days and have missed the actual convention-y stuff, only to show up in time to hang with people for a little while at night. which is still fun, but still. Tomorrow, however, is a different story. I FINALLY get to go to some classes and panels and junk, and it should be cool and informative.
Then on Sunday I have the 2nd and possibly final game I have played in for my company softball team (I joined really late in the season, and if we don't make the playoffs it will be the last game). And I'm a bit freaked OUT. You see, I consider myself to be a somewhat athletic person, but maybe not the most coordinated when it comes to team sports (ones with a ball involved especially). Damn. Everyone else is REALLY REALLY good, so I think Sunday morning I am going to head over to the batting cages (something I have never done before) to try to do some college-slacker style cramming for this game. HAHAHA. As if hitting balls for a half hour that morning will somehow turn me into a freakin baseball genius. Oh well, better than nothing I suppose. | | comments: Leave a comment |
|
Wizard
44% Combativeness, 33% Sneakiness, 73% Intellect, 44% Spirituality |
Brilliant! You are a Wizard!
Wizards are spells-casters who study powerful arcane magic. While Wizards tend to be pretty fragile, some of those spells can pack quite a punch. Unlike Clerics, Wizards aren’t as good at fixing people as they are at breaking them, so watch where you toss that fireball…
Your most distinctive trait is your intelligence. You're probably well learned and logical, if perhaps a bit fragile. |
 |
My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:
|
You scored higher than 99% on Combativeness |
|
You scored higher than 99% on Sneakiness |
|
You scored higher than 99% on Intellect |
|
You scored higher than 99% on Spirituality |
| | | comments: Leave a comment |
| Hey all -
regarding my post yesterday about the contest my band Present Tense is in on www.spreadradiolive.com , I should have specified that to vote successfully you need to click on the "voting bubble" next to the band name to have it work. Just clicking on the band name only takes you to our page on their site..... jeeesh.
Thanks again if anyone can take the time to help a girl out ;-) | | comments: Leave a comment |
| Hi everyone:
I try not to do this sort of thing often, but my band PRESENT TENSE had an opportunity come up that we are REALLY excited about. We are being featured this month on www.spreadradiolive.com (Dave Navarro's new internet radio show) but it's a contest and I NEED YOUR HELP to win.
Please go to http://www.spreadradiolive.com/indiebands.php and click on the PRESENT TENSE icon to vote for us - AND THAT'S IT!!!! You don’t have to sign up or sign in or anything. Super easy…
VOTING LITERALLY TAKES 5 SECONDS (unless you have dial up like me haha)
SO PLEASE HELP US TO WIN THIS!!
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE.... ok you get the picture....
Thanks!!
Amanda | | comments: Leave a comment |
| Today seems to be going by at a slugs pace, and I'm just in one of those *sigh*.... moods. But when I get like that I like to remind myself that all is temporary and I'll probably feel much cheerier tomorrow if not later today...
I watched LOST today via the WONDERFUL new trend for network websites to broadcast streaming versions of their series in full episodes (YAY!) and it was sooooo good. It finally is starting to feel like LOST again, maybe it was just me, but the 1st 2 episodes were interesting but just not the same this season. Plus the last 2 weeks we've gotten Locke and Sawyer episodes back to back, which is too cool for words. I like LOST, if you couldn't tell ;-)
Work is good, and I get to have a writing session with the band tonight, so I have high hopes that this day will pick up afterall. We shall see, I suppose.
One downside of my new office is the readily supply of single serving coffee. I have been drinking WAAAAY too much of the stuff this week without even realizing it. I'll have to watch that or I will definitely give myself an ulcer or something (can you do that with too much coffee?) | | comments: Leave a comment |
| Saw The Prestige at the Grove last night. Although the final twists and turns of the plot were somewhat anticipated by me, which sorta bummed me out, the movie on the whole was really very very good, and Hugh Jackman was AMAZING. I didn't know Wolverine could act like that. Also, if you look at it more as a study of the mania of obsession rather than a mystery it is really very fulfilling and Chris Nolan does an excellent job of directing.
The Grove is such a weird but good place. I like it because it has some great restaurants, good stores, and a great movie theater, but the whole Disneyland-Streetcar-fountains thing is a bit off putting. Yet, I still like it.
I am in the process of reading Eragon right now, since the film is slated to hit in December. So far its very good, but I was saying to a coworker this morning, it really makes me appreciate all the more the fact that JK Rowling has succeeded in creating an entirely new universe for her characters, when I don't REALLY feel that anyone has done this in a non-outer-space way (since I'm not as well versed in space lit with the exception of some Star Wars series) since Tolkien. What do you think? I still think much creativity and new ground can be covered by fantasy writers writing today, much in the same way that many people write different stories using modern day society as a common ground backdrop, so I'm not really complaining, it just makes me want to say "you go, JK" all the more.
Alright, enough nerding out. Gotta get back to work | | comments: Leave a comment |
| So, Tuesday night my cousin Jenny and I went to the screening of Slither as part of Screamfest at the Mann Chinese theaters here. It was also a Q&A with James Gunn the director, and the stars Michael Rooker and *SWOON* Nathan Fillion. Sigh.... we were about 3 rows back, and it was AWESOME! The movie was very funny and a nice original take on the whole zombie/alien genre. The Q&A was waaaayyy too short, like, maybe 25 minutes, but it was still very very cool.
So if anyone is in the mood for a good, funny, silly and campy horror film, give Slither a rent. :-) After you re-rent Firefly and Serenity of course (gotta support!) | | comments: Leave a comment |
| | Tonight I am SO excited, because my cousin and I are going to Graumann's Chinese to attend a screening of the film SLITHER (for it's DVD release, I think) followed by a Q&A starring none other than the film's star NATHAN FILLION! YAY!!!!! I think the director, some other dude, and a goat will also be there, or something. But whatever. NATHAN FILLION! For those who don't know, he is Captian Mal Reynolds on Firefly. I am very excited. All week long in LA they are having "Screamfest", which screens a bunch of great small horror films, and I wish I had more time to attend more stuff. But alas. I just had to make time for this though. Too good. | | comments: Leave a comment |
| |
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
amandalalala's journal![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/opiummmm/foxies/okay.gif){kind=small}
blah![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/opiummmm/foxies/happy.gif){kind=small}
pleased
![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/opiummmm/foxies/nerdy.gif){kind=small}
geeky