plants

once again all my plants are dying in front of my eyes, i always notice a few leaves on the ground and suddenly every time the door closes 40 leaves fall off in one go :( i feel like i have failed the poor things, reminds me of a terrible situation involving my old fish which i can't bear  to recount as it is literally still too painful.

well, me and simon have last night completed our annual Leeds Film Festival frenzy, 5 films last year, up on last year, down on the year before.
It is getting noticeably busier and also more jazzy, one of the venues was the town hall this year, last year we watched one on a telly in the leeds met classroom in the carriageworks.
saw a seriously great batch this year, quick run through:

Kawasaki's Rose- (went to see this as the director made 'Divided we fall' which is one of my favourite films off all time and MUST be seen by all.compulsory) This was about the continuing fall out from communism in Czechoslovakia, set in Czech republic. There's lots of films about this stuff now, as more and more truth emerges about what really went on.
The premise of this is that a woman's angry husband decides to investigate the real past of her 'hero' father who is lauded for helping people escape Czechslovakia . Unfortunately the character of the husband was utterly unbelievable, he's like a cartoon baddie, but otherwise this was absolutely excellent.

'A Taste of Tea' was a Japanese film we saw, not a new one but one back having been popular at a previous festival. This was totally mad and absolutely brilliant. i loved it. It follows a family in Japan who all live their different lives each with their own problem, beautiful Japanese countryside and house and tea makes you desperate to live there. The little girl is so bloody adorable that it's unbelievable, also comes complete with mad grandpa, which always swings it for me.

'A town called panic' is the one i would tell you all to get as it is on dvd and easy to get and is totally enjoyable, it's an animation made with models, a cowboy, a horse and an indian live in a little village, there is a brilliant farmer called 'stephen' who really steals the show by only being able to shout.
anyway, just watch it, you won't regret it i guarantee. total suspension of reality guaranteed (what more could you want?)

'Elling' was my runaway favourite. This film was basically faultless, the characters were totally absorbing and sympathetic, i absolutely loved it and was actively enjoying it all the way through which is weird as i nearly always get a 'it must be near the end' gaze at some point.
Anyway, it is about 2 men who share a room in a mental facility, the film opens with them being given their own government-funded flat to make it alone. it is beautiful and hilariously funny as well.

finally, last night, the rudest of them, 'Zonad'  went to see this as it's an Irish comedy and I know that i bloody love that bleeding irish humour.
a family in a tiny village in Ireland come home to find an alien in their house and take him in totally naively, very funny and rude, definitely taking that one home for Christmas viewing with the family.

TODAY'S ZOO BORNS:

look at those sea horses!! dontcha just love them??
sorry for this boring review based blog, i am too hungry to concentrate and the rabbits are bounding about in confusion as i have cleaned up all their shit which totally throws them-don't worry there's more where that came from...

anyhoo catcha later

hey hey

it's Tuesday, formerly known as Booze-day in the days of carefree student loans.

today i will introduce you to Zooborns, my new interest at work, as i get older and my teeth and brain get softer.
http://www.zooborns.com/
otters are the sweetest by far! although simon prefers the chimps, i can't like chimps because i know their trick (face removal) and will never recover from seeing this trick on Davey Att'brough.

here you can see teeny baby animals which is very fun, and some are gross which is even better.
this is what i do now because i have lost my 'edge' if i ever had one and have become decrepit.

been going to the leeds film fest, seen 2 so far, Kawasaki's Rose and A Taste of Tea ( during which someone turned the subtitles off and I got all edgy and said to Simon that i was going to tell someone, which he forbade, everyone sat like lemons then they came on 2 minutes later with the projector person simultaneeously skipping a whole scene-there was a round of applause fot that incident! i was furious!!!)

got one tonight that looks brill, 'a town called panic' which is an animation and we're seeing it at the town hall which is sweet.

anyways, the rabbits are becoming tamer by the day and follow me around now, literally between my feet and often into the bathroom which is pretty weird when you're trying to have a wee and are being stared at by a tiny grey furry piglet faced creature with an indignant expression...and i'm not just talking about Simon hahaha!!

working xmas eve and NYeve as well which seems mental as we will no doubt be utterly quiet the whole time...anyway, get first week Jan off which is more important as that's when things get really depressing...

off to cam this weekend to see the dentist, can't find one here so really don't see point of changing, I'm still NHS in cambridge, that ain't gonna happen again!! worried they may want my other 2 wisdom teeth out which'll be  a pain in the chops, literally, most pain i have ever experienced is the infection after my wisdom teeth coming out, genuinely.

Moved into a new studio in leeds, it's very basic but i think it'll do for a while, major downside is it;s in a very run down area and now it's getting dark i am not over the moon about walking to and from it, but anyway, like i say, it'll be ok for now i hope.

anyway better go, i started this too late, will be back soon!!
look at this bunny!!!

simon says it's not even sweet!! LOOK AT ITS HANDS!!!! it couldn't BE any sweeter!
tomorrow...UGLY animals!!

look at this

I found online:

"The night has been celebrated for over 10 years in the ocean community of Westerly in the state of Rhode Island, U.S.A." "The night is begun with a musical comedy based on the events of Guy Fawkes' capture, written in the style of an English Monty Python comedy sketch." "Every year, it is slightly rewritten by a dedicated team of locals who also provide the acting and musical arrangements which include Beatles and Rolling Stones covers." "Finally, the night is rounded out with a Guy Fawkes bonfire, weather permitting." "The event is always held on the beach, and in the fall the New England coastline is a bit windy and cold so the event is always different depending greatly on the weather and the number of people in the audience." www.guyfawkesusa.com is the website to the event, held each October (due to weather) and directed by Caswell Cooke.

it's about a guy fawkes celebration in USA, can you BELIEVE it?! a monty python type musical (so awful it's making me cringe-it gets worse) with the MUSIC of the beatles and rolling stones??!! you couldn't make it up?! 

i'm looking at the website....

yep, look at this...

BUcky walsh as the Archbishop of caNterbury!!! and "Z" Leach as the KING! there's also a Duke of Earl. Last years show featured Paint it Black and Norweigan wood during the trial.

you can watch the video of it on the website, and yes, they are doing it in iiiinnnggeelllliiiissh accents!

and they have it in October, and all Americans call these things english holidays but of course they never are holidays here, the costumes are interesting too, in all the pictures on the slideshow there is one person in a kilt, medieval maidens and swords and someone in a 19th century vicar's frock coat and someone else as a Napoleonic admiral...!!

it's quite sweet actually, sweet aaahhh not sweet sweeet, they all look freezing! except the accents. oh and the only bit i saw is just a bit from Holy Grail.

we went to york today and on a Guy Fawkes night walk, i am sorry to say that the walk was pretty rubbish, the guy was late and really just drove home the same point again and again for 2 hours with very little information at all... mostly he was concerned about the 'guy fawkes pub' and what a bunch of bastards he thought they were... we like the guy fawkes pub, we always go there! live the myth i say!!

anyway, it'scold, there's endless fireworks, i can't find a coat i like anywhere. bloody winter.

catch you in the week.