Resurfaced!

I let the blogging idea fall by the wayside when university work became too hectic.. but I've resurfaced with all essays completed first draft of dissertaion handed in and a week or so of free time to occupy!

I'm going to stick with my habit of recounting interesting things on television and in the cinema at the moment.  Obviously one of the best things on television that made a comeback yesterday was Doctor Who.  Definitely enjoyed the episode, though keeping track of the wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff, in terms of the Doctor & River Song's timelines is getting harder!!  Too complicated!  Isnt this show supposed to be partially aimed at children?

I am definitely looking forward the the rest of the season, next week in particular which had the awesome Daniel Mays guest starring.  Hoping it'll be one of those Doctor Who episodes that actually manages to scare me like The Empty Child or Blink, rather than trying and failing like so many others have done.  Here, have a trailer:

If you haven't already seen it Rise of the Planet of the Apes is an amazing film.  It made me laugh, cry, hide behind my hands and had me on the edge of my seat for most of the film.  Although the trailers are a little misleading in that they all focus on apes running riot in the city, however most of the film is the lead up to this.  Which doesn't make it any less brilliant, in fact the build up probably makes those scenes even better. 

There's a whole host of familiar faces as well, James Franco, John Lithgow, Tom Felton.  And lots of those people you'll recognise their faces and spend ages afterward trying to figure out where you recognise them from.  Bonus for Stargate Atlantis fans, David Hewlett playing a complete jerk amazingly well as usual :D

Finally I'm going to admit to going to see the Glee 3D Concert Movie :D  I had been going through a little bit of a Glee withdrawal so it definitely helped with that, and it was good to see some of the concert because a cinema ticket is much more in my price range that a concert ticket was.  Most of the songs were awesome and the "behind the scenes" stuff was hilarious in some places, with the actors staying in character for most of it.  They also had little real life stories of fans which if I'd known that before hand might have put me off, but they were actually really good too.  Here is a trailer:

Also, I've just discovered these "on the road videos" which are awesome, I think there's one for each character so check out the youtube channel they're on but Brittany's, Kurt's and Rachel's are particulalry funny.  Everything Brittany related was awesome :D

I don't really get why it had to be in 3D, and some of the stuff in the trailers wasn't in the film which was annoying.  But other than that it is exactly what you would expect of it and it is weirdly amusing and quirkily entertaining as the show itself.

The best 'fan story' though is of this little boy, and he dances us out of the movie as the credits roll:

Hoping to cinema visit again this week, and have an idea for a video project which I might use to fill my time in between job hunting now I've almost finished uni so I'll be back soon :D

Icecream blogging: The Promise, Doctor Who and more TV related ramblings

Whilst I consume half a tub of Smarties icecream all by myself I thought I would update!

I am currently drowning in coursework, revision, work and everyday life but when I have recovered I have a post on the evolution of television and talkshows as catalysts which was inspired by a recent lecture we had at uni where we watched Kilroy and Jerry Springer!

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The Promise - (yes again, see my last post for a trailer!)

The last episode of The Promise aired on Sunday and it did not disappoint (unlike Marchlands, of which the last episode was more of an anti-climax than the tidy quiet ending The Promise achieved).  I would highly recommend this program to everyone.  Personally, I've always seen news about the Israel/Palestine hostilities but it always seemed to assume existing knowledge of the conflict.  The Promise tells the story of a young British girl learning about the conflict in the present when visiting a friend in Israel at the same time she is reading the diary of her grandfather (a British soldier stationed in the then Palestine) about the founding of the state of Israel and the conflict that surrounded it.

The personal stories of Erin and her grandfather Len and the mystery hold it all together and create an empathy with the people in the program in a way that a documentary might not be able to do.  Obviously I don't know if the program was biased or inaccurate, but it's served as a jumping off point for me to want to find out more.  Even if you're not interested in the history, the story is compelling and I was on the edge of my seat all the way through.

The Promise is available to watch here on 4OD for just under a month, go and watch it! It's fantastic!


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Now that I've expounded at length about the wonder that is the Promise let me breathe a sigh of relief over the extra hour and a half I shall have free to keep up to date with my uni work on a Sunday evening now!  Of course Being Human is still on on a Sunday and there's 7 more weeks so I'm not completely free!  Although I'm certainly not going to complain too much.  Last Sunday's episode was watched from behind a cushion though...and I've a feeling it's only going to get worse as the show often seems to!


I'm contemplating watching the new series Monroe which is going to replace Marchlands on a Thursday at 9pm.  I might wait until after my essays are in though and catch up on itvplayer... I've a feeling though that it might be one of those ones where the advert showcases all the best bits , fingers crossed that I'm wrong!

Here, have a trailer:

Also lets have some very premature and random excitement about Series 6 of Doctor Who! Which is possibly going to air on the first Saturday of April, which means it's possibly, maybe just a month away!  Here, have another trailer (although hopefully we'll be getting some new ones soon):

Oh and this one because it makes my laugh:

Oh and once last exciting announcement before I go!  For my birthday this year my sister, my mum and I are going to see Derren Brown's latest show.  I am excited.  And slightly apprehensive.  Especially as it's called Svengali, and wiki informs me that: The word "svengali" has entered the language meaning a person who with evil intent manipulates another into doing what is desired...


Website of the day: Cleverbot.  When you're bored at work or need a distraction from studying, have a (likely slightly odd) conversation with cleverbot.  It's fun and slightly addictive, give it a go!

Reading Week in Summary

This week has on the whole been lovely.  It started off on Monday with a job interview which I was not sure had gone that well!  It continued on Tuesday with a job offer!  Which I happily accepted, though I'm not looking forward to the travel costs...

On Wednesday morning there was a slight blip with a horrible driving lesson...

(*Not actually me or my car)

But I suppose it could have been worse...

To make it better I had a fantastical evening at TGI Fridays - Leicester Square.

This as many people know if one of my favourite places.  I had some lovely cocktails (Paradise Punch and a Pina Colada) a banana milkshake oh and dinner of course.  And the wonderful Pami to keep me company and make me drink horrid drinks with tequilla in them...

Thursday was epic in that there was NANDO's which anyone who know me knows is a very very important part of my life.  Again spent time with wonderful people, but obviously the food was more important in this case... only joking guys!!! (mostly)

Friday there was an evil migraine, work and missing out on going to China town for dinner, but there was also watching Toy Story curled up in bed to cheer me up.

Saturday was my Mum's birthday!  In the day though we did a bit of shopping, I bought Red on DVD which I've yet to watch but am very excited to!  I think it was one of my favourite films last year and would definitely recommend it.

I also then went shopping and spent most of my paycheck but got a nice top which I then later wore when we went out for dinner.  I ended up buying the first round of drinks, which cost £16 for four!  I had literally just enough money and then cried for the rest of the meal.  Me and my sister ran away and left my parents to it when they brought the bill over! *g*  We went to this really nice place in Iver though called The Swan and I had literally one of the best pizza's I have ever tasted (and FYI, that's a lot of pizza), so I'd definitely recommend the place!

Today however is Sunday, and far from my day of rest I am frantically trying to do my formative assigment due on Tuesday, which is a research proposal.  It's not going to badly but I think I might give up for a bit soon to go and watch Red....

I hope everyone's week has been as good (if less costly) than mine!  Tonight's television highlights include The Promise on at 9pm on Channel 4 and Being Human also on at 9pm on BBC 3.

The Promise:

Being Human:



Take Care!

University and Travel News

Today I was browsing the placement and careers workshops page at Brunel and came across something shocking and frankly quite terrifying.  On the workshops page there is, as with most parts of the site, a picture of students looking thoughtful, academic or happy and carefree...who all these people are I don't know.  But this picture included me! And several other students:

And obviously these workshops are wonderful and worthwhile and help us learn new things.  It's a shame I have no memory of what workshop we were in when this picture was taken...

So for anyone interested there is an interesting workshop on 2nd March at 1.30pm.  You need to go to the How to workshop tab and page to the bottom.  Details are as follows:

How to... Get into the BBC Production Trainee Scheme

Come and find out about the BBC's prestigious production trainee scheme. An 18 month placement and training scheme where trainee producers work on various BBC Productions from Drama to Factual. A fantastic start for anyone interested in a career in TV production - a not to be missed workshop.
Date: Wed 02/03/2011
Time: 1:30-2:30pm
Places left: 140 (as of posting)
Book your place Book Here

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This week we also have to choose our dissertation supervisor.  If you like me have no idea who to choose there's a list of staff members and research interests here at the Sociology and Communications home page.  Good luck!

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In travel news, there is a bucketload of train closures this weekend so plan carefully! Luckily my plans involve lovely old Uxbridge so I can use the bus.

You can check the train closures here at the tfl website.  You can sign up for an email which saves you doing this though here.

Introductory Post

Hello Internet!

This is me:

This is my town:

 

This is my university:

And This Is My Blog! Clearly.  I'll be posting about various things related to my town and my university, so hopefully some of my fellow students might decide to read this!  As well as random news and views on television, films and possibly books and music.

So welcome to my blog, I hope you enjoy it.

Random Amusing Website of the day: DamnYouAutoCorrect