Flummoxed.

Well and truly flummoxed.  Where is my red wallet ?  Huh ? Huh ?  Where is it ? 

In other highly exciting news, the new DSLR has been upstaged by an even more recent new toy - we've switched over to Mac and we're not coming back. 

Which is great because everything just works, as all Mac users say - you turn it on and there it is.  Easy to use, intuitive commands in the various applications, fast, and yes, ridiculously good looking.  

Which is not so great because after resisting the iPod siren for years, I now have iPod/iPhone lust, and we need a new external hard disk for back-ups (you never know...) and this, and that, and everything else, so a major purchase is now being followed by smaller but not inconsequential purchases, and if I'm spending all my money on tech stuff I don't have any left over for shoes and handbags, and surely that's not right. 

New Year's resolutions

It's going to be hard to top last year's triumph of learning how to ride a bicycle.
So this year's resolutions, in no particular order, are:

•  keep a clean and tidy house so that I can consider having people drop in at short or no notice without having a panic attack. (Should be feasible, if S cooperates...)
• develop a better attitude about my job, or find a new one. (Attitude adjustment, meh. I'll try, though. New job, perhaps feasible but not ideal due to economic downturn)
• become a better photographer instead of just a snapshot taker (yeah, I can do that. And it will be fun)
• exercise, exercise, exercise. (So far so good: 3 yoga classes and 2 Pilates classes this week. Effects probably counteracted by having brownies, more brownies and nothing but brownies for dinner last night, but never mind)

Happy holidays !

 

Off to spend Christmas in England, then off to Auvergne for my birthday and New Year's. Two weeks vacation with my new toy - bliss.

My top photography tip of the day

 

If you've taken a picture that's blurry and out of focus and just not very good, in post-processing, blur it even more, turn it into black and white, and by virtue of the photo looking more "artistic", you may just manage to convince people that was exactly the effet you were aiming for.

Or perhaps not.

Should I be concerned ?

Used the computer after S. last night and couldn't help but notice that the most recent term in the Google search bar was "low frequency weapons".

Seeing that I had been out for the evening, I suppose I should be happy that he hadn't been searching for "hot lesbian nympho porn" or some such thing, but still. What an intriguing man he is.

30 second review: Pride & Glory

Disclaimer: I would happily sit in a darkened theater to watch Edward Norton read from a phone book for 2 hours.

Well scripted, well acted, well shot rather intelligent cop thriller. By "rather intelligent" I mean it's plot and character driven as opposed to special effects and car chase driven. So OK, some of it's a little déjà vu. (Good cop, bad cop! Ooh, they're from the same family! And family is really, really important, because look, here's a Christmas dinner scene with everyone gathered around a table, and the matriarch is saintly for putting up with those rowdy men of hers, and the kids are cute as a button!) . All in all though, well worth seeing.

WTF ?

Got an e-mail today inviting me "to become a key member of the exciting new conservative bloggers central". Apparently these people believe I am "an important member of the conservative blogosphere", which is of course completely laughable. I would love to think I am an important member of any blogoshere, and hey, flattery will get you anywhere. But conservative? How on earth did these people establish their mailing list? It reminds me of the time I got a personalized brochure and letter trying to sell me what amounts to time-sharing a private jet. Wrong target audience, dudes.

Things I fantasize about before going to sleep

Fergus Henderson, and more specifically his Roast Bone Marrow and Parsley Salad. Sadly, I've never been to St John's, and haven't been to London, in oh, 10 years or so. But I can feel a trip coming on in 2009 and if necessary I will plan it around getting reservations.

S thinks this is rather strange and that roast bone marrow is not what one should be thinking of as one drifts off to sleep - or admit to, anyway.

Move over, Thomas Lynley.

I've got a new crush.

Why had I never bothered to pick up a Lee Child book before? Heaven knows, but it's all good, because there are 12 books in the Jack Reacher series, so they'll keep me happily occupied until the new Elizabeth George/Peter Robinson/Minette Walters come out in paperback...

30-second review - The Duchess

Meh, and meh again. A soulless historical drama with gorgeous costumes and stately homes and no emotional impact whatsoever. Couldn't bring myself to care about the bad marriage, or the doomed love affair, or the inability to bear a son - I was just curious to see what hat Keira Knightly would be wearing in the next scene. Best line, by a deadpan Ralph Fiennes: "My wife is in labor. I believe this calls for a toast".

PSA for my foodie friends !

Cookstr beta launched today - haven't had time to have an in-depth look, but at first glance it seems very user-friendly (want to find a list of recipes featuring chicken, using 5 ingredients or less ? it only takes 3 clicks!), the roster of contributing chefs and cookbook writers is impressive (Madhur Jaffrey , Alice Waters, Marcella Hazan,and many, many more...) , and the site itself has a nice clean lay-out.

30 second review: Body of Lies

Just saw this a few hours ago and already it's indistinguishable in my mind from every other espionage-in-the-Middle-East thriller I've seen in the last 10 years:
- aerial views of 4x4s driving through the desert - check.
- people (both good guys and bad) being tortured - check.
- bombs going off - check.
- people talking urgently on their mobile phones - check.
- chase scenes though busy market squares and alleyways - check.

Omaha beach, Normandy

 

This photo looks like it could illustrate one of those corny "inspirational" poems à la Hallmark card. But I like it better without words.

Can't wait.

I love Pixar.

There's a series of Ikea ads

....playing at the cinemas at the moment. One of them shows a woman finding a little yellow pencil - you know the ones - in her husband's pocket while sorting the laundry, and tearfully confronting him about going to Ikea without her, while he squirms guiltily.

I turn to S. and whisper, "I don't have to worry about that, do I. I know you would never go to Ikea without me."
Deadpan response: "That's right. And I would never go to Ikea with you, either".

Harrumph.

2 h and 15 mn of blissed out music

Trilok Gurtu and his band with special guests Jan Garbarek and Oumou Sangare at the Salle Pleyel. Not sure how to describe the mix, as world music doesn't quite cover it, nor does jazz - but if the combination sounds interesting and you have the chance to see them live - together or not - please do so - it was a fantastic concert.

Inspirational

I love stories like this one: 81-year old retains marathon crown.

Go vote - now !

...because I can't.

As an American who has never lived in the U.S., I am apparently "an American citizen who has no voting rights". There are only 16 states that allow U.S. citizens born overeas who have never lived in the U.S. to vote, and to qualify, the parent who passed on U.S. citizenship must also be eligible to vote. Well, that rules me out.

30 second review: Quantum of Solace

Couldn't wait any longer and braved the opening weekend queues to see it... What can I say - not as wonderful as Casino Royale, but still a wildly entertaining ride. And it really does feel like a roller-coaster rather than a movie. Bond chases or gets chased on foot, in a car, on a motorbike, in a plane... no trains, hot-air balloons, roller-blades or bicycles though. Perhaps in the next instalment. Judi Dench's M just gets better and better, owning every scene she's in. And Daniel Craig is the sexiest man alive. And that, really, is all you need to know.

Simple pleasures

Waking up with a start, thinking it seems late and wondering why the alarm didn't go off, and then realizing it's Saturday.

Getting a haircut. This isn't just getting a haircut you see - it involves having a glass of bubbly, then of rosé when the bubbly runs out, bumming a cigarette from the hairstylist, discovering whatever singer she currently has on rotation on the salon's stereo system (currently, Asa), nibbling on 36-month parmesan brought in by the owner of the cheese shop next door, who's come in with his girlfriend for a natter and a glass of wine.

The sweet anticipation of knowing that Quantum of Solace is out and that we can see it today, tomorrow, any day now, but perhaps it would be better to wait a while because once that's done, it will mean a 2-year wait for the next one...