Variations on the same theme

I handed in my internship report last week, and had my soutenance yesterday (which is an oral exam about the work you handed in, pretty much).

And I got a 16! Which is a good grade, for those of you not familiar with the French grading system.

I am now sort of done with my studies. Not yet officially, we're still missing some grades and stuff, but still. Scary and COOL and AT LAST.

In other news, Heroes writers, I hate you right now. So much. So, so much. Of all the stupid things to write.

The American teacher of mine who got me to watch Being Human is now hooked to True Blood. Heee. I am not disappointed in his taste. I told him the good news about Being Human (it's been ordered to series) and the bad news (they're recasting Annie and Mitchell).

For anybody who is French, or understands it (and slang) well enough, I love these commercials. I love the play on language and I think they're awesome. Way to go.

( Clairefontaine 'Amoureux' ads )

Who's on Twitter? I just signed up and I want friends. (I blame James Gunn for making me sign up. I wanna follow his stuff. James Gunn equals lots of little hearts I don't know the code for.)

I wonder whether I might not try to do Nano again this year.

Dudes, I almost packed everything into my bag but my actual con ticket. Which I know doesn't matter all that much as they've got my name and everything, but still. Way to go, me.

TOMORROW IS MY LAST EXAM AND SERENITY COMPLETE WOOHOO!

Is it still pirates night tomorrow night? I don't think I'm going to be doing this one. Gasp, yes. But I've got Jayne and Bollywood ready! (How long has it been since I last danced? Way too bloody long is how long. Probably New Year's Eve. I can't wait.)

I really should go to bed so I'm not totally exhausted for my exam tomorrow. Especially given the exam that it is. Which means I'm dropping off the internet radar until Monday, folks! Possibly Tuesday. I shall miss you all, but I promise to come back with a lot of anecdotes to share! Mwah!

It's sad that the first thing I look at in a movie to decide its worth these days is: did I nod off at all during? It shows how exhausted I am, really.

But I'm Not There and Eastern Promises I both liked for other reasons than they interested me enough that I did not fall asleep.

I'm Not There was just as fascinating as I hoped it would be, and I must say that of them all, Christian Bale and Cate Blanchett impressed me most. It's an extremely well written movie, if you ask, and I could not understand walking out of the theatre and hearing a girl in front of me, clearly a huge fan of his, complain that this was nothing like what he was really like. The whole point of the movie is that he was not one person, and that we never knew him. Um, hello? And in that extent, it was a success.

I'd heard lots of good and bad opinions on Eastern Promises, and I'm glad I managed to catch it before it went out of the cinema. I enjoyed it thoroughly, although I can't quite pinpoint why. Naomi Watts was nothing special in it, when she can be so much more, but Viggo was as good as ever. I have no clue how well he was doing with the Russian, but he sold it to me. Vincent Cassel sold the Russian less well to me, because of when the French accent was peeking through, but his performance was otherwise spot-on. I only wish that they had never actually had anyone accuse him of homosexuality, though, as it was quite obvious without stating it, and I think that stating it actually made it lose some of its strength, somehow. Nikolai played with that perfectly, always controlling him, being close to him and yet putting up the barriers where they needed to be so that he wouldn't freak out. Seriously, the more I think about it the more I think Viggo made that movie, as far as I'm concerned. (And, obviously, David. Duh.)

However, classes are starting to warp my brain as at times I kept studying the subtitles.

Random good news of the day: I've received my The Beginning t-shirt and it is making me full of squee. Baby Batman is so frakking cute.

For some reason, seeing a picture of Ron Glass and Michael Fairman marching together on Mutant Enemy Day at the WGA Strike is making me smile goofily. I wuvs them. Loadz.

PS: Thoroughbreds Don't Cry is 1937's Brokeback. I swear.

I don't know how much of the current atmosphere in France has made it to international news bulletin, so: strikes are popping up all over the place. Public transports, students, now the electricity company as well. Student meetings have voted for strikes all over the country and are blocking the premises so classes can't be held, public transports are going on a second strike tomorrow which might just last at least a week, and apparently we might get power shortage this weekend due to our electricity company striking too.

Given who we have for a president, I'm actually pretty afraid the unions will get crushed this time, Thatcher-style. For all that those strikes are a royal pain the ass, I'd much rather have them than not be able to strike.

My own university's been blocked since Friday. It's never happened to me before. Such huge striking movements happen every other year, it seems; two years ago we 'won', but I wasn't in university. Two years before that we lost, and in Nancy where I studied we didn't block the university, we simply informed people and encouraged them to strike with us. I say 'we' because I was actually part of that movement, I worked with those people. I committed.

This year, I simply can't. This year, I'm part of these students that actually needs to go to class. The fifteen of us in my class are already trying to figure out ways to have classes despite the block. We've already got a class set up to be had in a bar on Thursday afternoon. We need those classes in a way I haven't in any previous year, because we're learning something very specific, how to do out future job, and we need to learn it. This isn't a class on Ambiguity in Macbeth and Dream, it isn't a class on humour in the Monty Python - much as I loved both those classes, they were hardly necessary. They were a joy, a priviledge, a pleasure. This year's a necessity.

It's just so odd. I should be involved in the movement. I agree with what they're fighting for. What they're trying to do to our university system is ludicrous. It will kill the non-profitable courses. Who the hell will want to finance the departments of philosophy or literature? It's insane. But I can't actually participate. I'm already spreading myself thin between the bar and my classes, and I need to keep working on classes. The amount of homework they ask of us is simply unbelievable, for somebody who needs to work on weekends. I simply can't afford to get involved.

To make things even better, I'm working on Thursday night. The Beaujolais Nouveau night. With all of our boss' friends being there. Haughty right-wing pricks. Booya. All of us waitresses are depressed at the idea.

MWAH-HA-HA! Mine is a victorious laugh.

I have conquered my connection problems. Leopard did shit to help me (and is less pretty than Tiger was apart from the Dock, but I forgive it for it is still made of TEH WIN), so my best friend Google came to the rescue and I had a very, very, very hopeful feeling about that one possible solution I found on a forum (not to mention the fact that I actually understood what the guy was saying for once), and ta-daaaaa. A couple of System Preferences files deletions later, here I am with a working WiFi connection. I am so happy, people. I'm gonna try and tag all around before I have to head off to work.

I'm back! After staying for a week (ish) at queenspanky and going to Serenity Infinity. I love conventions, god. So hard. And Lizzie was wonderful and perfect and kept feeding me really good meals she insisted were really nothing (because she's English, it's what they do - not the good food, the understatement stuff) and I've mentioned her cat before, but he's really perfect.

I've come home to find that my English flatmate, due to a flood in his room, is now sleeping on the living room sofa. Which means that all that separates us when we're both home is the drapes dividing my room from the rest of the lounge. Oh yay.

Anyway! Convention news. I didn't take notes as I usually do because... well, just because. But! Things to remember. ( Because I'm probably about to ramble. )

1. The Brave One. Go see the Brave One. Beyond the fact that Jodie and Naveen is a sandwich I would really not mind being the meat of, it is so frelling good. I have yet to see a Neil Jordan movie I didn't like, and this didn't disappoint. The cinematography alone is brilliant, I kept wanting to screencap. It is incredibly beautiful to watch. Jodie Foster is as good as she can be, it's impressive. So much of the movie rested on her performance, and I didn't doubt one scene, not one moment. I just bought it all and it set my teeth on edge and made my skin buzz and it is chilling and horrifying and just plain damn amazing.

2. Before The Devil Knows You're Dead was kind of boring.

3. My Brother Is An Only Son was quite good! Admittedly, I love Riccardo Scamarcio ever since Romanzo Criminale, but still. He wasn't the focus of the movie, and I still highly enjoyed it.

4. I might cry. Un Homme Perdu - the French movie with Alexander Siddig - is already not showing anymore. I was dying to go see that! Damn you, UGC.

5. You know your extended family rocks when you manage to get them to dance along to convention songs at your aunt's seventieth birthday celebration.

6. Being on break from the Dupont feels so good I could sob with relief.

7. Tonight, I got a connection back after spending a full day without. I could have cried with relief. Again. (I'm PMSing. Bear with me.)

8. Because I still haven't said so: 3:10 to Yuma is one of the finest love stories between two men I have ever watched on screen. Take that, Brokeback. It is so incredibly good, there are very few words for it. Other than "Charlie Prince, I want to sex you and your jacket up. And then steal it."

9. Due to the connection fuck-up, I have still not seen the Heroes premiere. It is downloading as I type. FASTER, connection, FASTER.

10. What's the big deal about Californication? I'm definitely underwhelmed here. I was also underwhelmed by Rules of Attraction. But Conspiracy, with Kenneth Branagh, Stanley Tucci, and a shitload of British actors I love? Kicked so much ass. (Take my internet away from me and I will turn to DVDs, yes.)

11. ON SUNDAY I'M GOING TO LONDON WOOOOOHOOOOOO. To stay with the lovely wonderful adorable queenspanky. And on Wednesday (is it Wednesday, Lizzie?) we're going to see Darren oh my god! Heeeeee! Ahem.

12. We have failed to get tickets to go see Mika at the Zenith. Damnit! I wanted to see that man shake his hips in real life.

13. I signed up at uni. I'm officially a student again!

14. I need to update more often and thus not have hugeamongific lists when I do.

Which is a very sophisticated way of introducing the following fangirling.

Fangirling over her, first, because she bought me DVDs of Dead Babies and the BSG miniseries. I enjoyed them both so much it makes me forgive her for making me taste marmite. I didn't even know I could hate some form of food this much. God. *shudders*

Fangirling over Dead Babies, because dudes! That movie is insane in all the best and entirely British ways. And god, Paul. In ruffles and lipstick. And just. *gestures at the movie* You know! It's just insane. I love it.

And last but not least, fangirling over BSG. I started watching it and had to stop midway through to go to the movies, where I proceeded to get mildly bored in front of Goodbye Bafana, because oh god I had left them all in such a spot I just couldn't really care about a story I already knew (sorry Nelson). I just. Yeah. I cried when whatever his name was left his spot to Gaius. I love Gaius. I want to hug Apollo like you wouldn't believe and oh god Starbuck and I need to have a lot of sex. Also Callum! Oh, Callum. Not that Tricia isn't hot because she is uber pretty, but she's also really not my kind of girl and oh god I need to see the whole of this show now.

So yeah, I owe Lizzie, big time.

In other news, I really want to be writing Pirates fanfiction but am working tonight and tomorrow night, which means I don't have any time. Hmpf. I need to go to class now.

So, Janet Frame? Presentation I started last night and woke up early to finish this morning? On the book that's been kicking my ass for the past couple weeks? THE TEACHER LOVED IT. And when I say loved it I mean loved it. 18 or 19, she said, which is so, so, so kickass, oh god. *beams* I wish there was no final exam on it, though. I'm pretty sure I can't pull off this kind of grade on this book of all books twice. Damn.

Parisian people who read LJ between now and, like, less than two hours, if anybody's interested, I'll be at the 7:10 showing of Clerks 2 at the Orient Express. (We're finally getting that movie seriously.)

Also I cringed a little at seeing a huge poster of Davy Jones. I'm sorry, Bill, I love you, but this part just sucked in the second movie. *fervently hopes At World's End will be good, and maybe even Davy Jones, who knows, although really I'm all about Barbossa and could this asterisk get any longer?*

Speaking of which! Translation question time. So the (sub)title is At World's End, right? They translated it "Jusqu'au Bout du Monde", which is fair enough, except why change the preposition? (You non French speakers, from "at" we're getting "to".) I mean, why go for a directional rather than a locative preposition? It puts a whole new perspective on how said 'World's End' is going to be inscribed in the movie. No, I'm not thinking too much about this, shut up, it shocked me when I read it. Jusqu'au Bout du Monde. It sounds so "Cowabanga!" or something.

That said, the huge Sparrow poster rocks.

You guys, I just realised I hadn't even seen the trailer? I sort of hope I'll manage not to until then, but unfortunately going to the cinema will probably take care of that.

I'll stop rambling now.