Greece Holiday Picaroos

The weather here in Aberdeen couldn't be more removed from that of Zakynthos but alas I promised some Greece photos and so here they are.  I will put aside my post holiday blues in the name of blogging! 

Our aparthotel (Xenos Kamara Beach) in Argassi had a nice pool that looked out on the beach... 

Since the weather was so hot, I'm very shiny in most of the pics! I battled with it and then gave up because temperatures of 35oC pretty much dictate these things!  We found a great little beachside bar called Fuego Del Mar and it had the same feel as Cafe Del Mar in Ibiza...

We went to a club near Argassi called Barrage and we were assured that's where all the locals go.  This place was amazing! It was mostly an open-air garden type affair with sweeping white sashes draped over our heads with white round lanterns, japanese style garden bridges and white sofas everywhere.

This is my rather attractive dancing face...yes, nothing much more to say about that! Chris wins the face pulling competition though!

We went to Target Bar where they have traditional Greek dancing that you are encouraged forced to join in with.  I got dragged up a couple of times but after jumping around in the heat of the evening, I spent the rest of the night sitting next to the nearest window in the event that I might be forced to dance again and have to jump out of it!

The guys went up for an all male dance (not as weird as it sounds!).  Basically one person kneels down (stick with me here) and then the other guy has to throw his leg over the person's head repeatedly in a circular motion.  Don't know if that makes sense but let me say this...I was REALLY worried one of them was going to get a kick in the face! Not the safest acticity after sampling copious amounts of local homemade wine!

Nathan looked like the karate kid!

We tried to do a few cultural things while we were there and one such day trip was to the mainland to visit Olympia - the birthplace of the Olympics.

The museum there was interesting with loads of statues and monuments restored after been recovered from the temples at Olympia.

A statue of Hermes, the god of travel and boundaries...

Some of the group decided to have a race in the ancient Olympic stadium.  To be honest, I flat out refused to take part because it was a sweltering 37oC that day and there ain't no way I'm running in those temperatures!

We spent a couple of days just chilling out on the beach, flying kites, playing frisbee in the water, sunbathing and generally flinching every time we felt something touching our bodies in the water! I think we spent most of the time trying to freak each other out by pretending there were all kinds of creatures in the sea! 

I'm surprised Chris hasn't formed gills by now because he spent 90% of his time swimming in the sea!  I did go in the water quite a bit but I still suffer from the irrational fear of being swept out to sea!

I didn't want to put too many holidays pics up because it's never as much fun looking at someone else's holiday photographs!

Character-Sexist

I think I really might be. But not against guys. Against girls. And if you know me, you know that's completely counter to my personality.

I, as a girl, can do anything. And if you tell me I can't, I will glare at you and defend myself with cold logic and prove you wrong.

But.

I hate girl characters. Books, movies, life. I just do not. like. girls. I never have. In fact, if you're my Functioning Best Friend, Cassidy, you have to sit through movies with me and listen to my gripe under my breath about what a stupid, weak, idiotic ninny every female romantic interest is.

The other day I had a lot "free time" on my hands {meaning I didn't want to be doing what I actually needed to be doing}. I decided to make a list, just to see if my suspicion was correct. I made two lists and called them "Female Characters I Like" and "Female Characters I Do Not Like."

The lists came out disappointingly close actually, with me liking 22 and hating 28. I sat on the couch and puzzled over what that was. I knew for a FACT that WAY more often than not, during kissing scenes I have to hide my fact in absolute disgust and abhorrence. So why did my lists come out so close?

Then I figured it out: I did dislike more female characters than I like, yes. BUT. The REAL difference appears when the girls are the love interest for the guys.

So I made two new lists entitled "Female Romantic Interests I Like" and "Female Romantic Interests I Don't Like."

Notes:

1) To qualify as a "Female Romantic Interest," the girl must not be the main character. I counted only the girls who played opposite male MCs.

2) If I didn't have a strong opinion one way or another, I didn't put the character on either list. The lists were for my strong opinions only.

I am now, as you've probably already guessed going to show you the two lists.

Female Romantic Interests I Like

1. Sarah {I Am Number Four}

2. Lois Lane {Justice League}

3. Hermione {Harry Potter}

4. Mistique {X-Men: First Class}

5. Marie {The Bourne Movies}

Female Romantic Interests I Don't Like:

1. Arwen {Lord of the Rings}

2. Nasuada {Eragon}

3. Arya {Eragon}

4. Sarah {Newsies}

5. Padme Amidala {Star Wars}

6. Jocelyn {A Knight's Tale}

7. Anabeth {The Lightning Thief}

8. Irene Adler {Sherlock Holmes}

9. Elizabeth Swan {Pirates of the Carribean}

10. Isabel {Ocean's 12}

11. Sally {Cars}

12. Prudy {Support Your Local Sherif}

*clears throat somewhat awkwardly* My suspicions were strongly confirmed. I do not like the girls who fall in love with the main guys.

I'm still not EXACTLY sure why, but I think it has something to do with their two-dimensional personalities. The girls aren't complex enough to be interesting or real. Either they're mousy and despicable {Sarah} or too badass and hard to be realistic {Arya, Anabeth, Adler, Elizabeth}. Can't we find some middle ground, people? Not all girls are either huddled in a corner or cussing up a storm cutting out some guy's spleen with her jeweled dagger. Some of us possess an APPROPRIATE combination of self-preservation and attitude.

And then there are the girls I just find stupid and annoying {Padme, Jocelyn, Prudy.}

And then there are the girls that I just freakin' don't like and I don't know why {Arwen, Nasuada, Sally}. I just don't know. But I do not like them.

What about you? Are you character-sexist?

~Stephanie

Kid Questions

{I considered spelling "questions" with a K for alliterations sake, but it looked really stupid. So yeah. It's the thought that counts, right?}

When I was about three, I wanted to know lots of things. Most of my questions had pretty easy answers:

"Why did God make spiders?" To keep the other insects from growing too numerous.

"Where do trees come from?" They grow from seeds.

"Do you love me?" Of course.

But then there were the questions that made my dad look at me and say, "That's a really good question."

"Did Adam and Eve have bellybuttons?"

"What is fire made of?"

"Do dogs have allergies?"

And then there was The Question that my parents just couldn't get at all:

"How many places are there?"

When you're three, it seems like an extremely simple question. However, my parents couldn't get me to clarify what I meant.

"Do you mean how many countries?" Daddy asked.

"No," I said, staring at him. "Places. How many places are there in the world?"

"We don't know what you mean," Momma said. "Do you mean how many cities, or continents, or countries? You have to be more specific."

"How many PLACES ARE THERE?" I was getting a little frustrated at this point. "How many PLACES IN THE WORLD!"

Needless to say, we never got much farther on that subject, but it really bugged me for a while.

Of course fourteen years later I had forgotten all about it--until my dad brought it up at the dinner table today.

"Do you remember asking that?" he said, grinning. "'How many places are there?!' I'm gonna laugh when your kids ask you the same thing.

"Yeah," I laughed. "But we have Google now. I'll actually find out."

My mom was incredulous. "Right, go ask Google 'how many places are there.'"

"You'd have to be more specific," my dad said thoughtfully, triggering childhood deja vu.

"But you really could figure that out," I said, frowning. "What I meant was, like, this chair is a place. Outside in the yard, that's a place. The neighbor's yard is another place. Like, a four-foot area that you're standing in. That's a PLACE."

"Oh," Daddy said, getting excited in his we're-on-the-verge-of-a-tiny-breakthrough way. "Oh, okay! Well, see, we didn't know what you meant when you were little."

"I know," I said. "I remember that, and I still know exactly what I meant. I can just explain it better now. And I bet we could really find out."

We all kind of looked at each other.

I ran to get a laptop.

Conclusion:

According to CIA World Fact Book, there are 148.94 million square kilometers of land on earth.

If you consider a "place" to be about a 2-ft squared area, you have to convert that to kilometers, which is kind of a pain in the butt. But it's 0.0006096.

Then you have to divide 148.94 million square kilometers by 0.0006096 kilometers, and you get...

244,324,146,982!

There are two hundred forty-four billion three hundred twenty-four million one hundred forty-six thousand nine hundred eighty-two "places" in the world!

Wow. That is a load off my mind.

My three-year-old self can now rest in peace.

~Stephanie

The China Syndrome

Titel: The China Syndrome / Kina-syndromet
Genre: Drama/Thriller
Land: USA
År: 1979
Regi: James Bridges
I rollerna: Jane Fonda, Jack Lemmon, Michael Douglas, Wilford Brimley

Handling: En kärnkraftsolycka på Ventanas kärnkraftverk i Kalifornien mörkläggs av myndigheterna. Ett tv-team som befann sig inne i kärnkraftverket vid olyckan försöker gräva fram sanningen.

Omdöme: Med tre Oscarsvinnare i Jane Fonda, Jack Lemmon och Michael Douglas bjuds vi på två nervig timmar där spänningen inte låter vänta på sig. Redan efter en kvart sitter man på helspänn när reportern Kimberly (Fonda), kameramannen Richard (Douglas) och den driftansvarige Jack (Lemmon) måste försöka få fram sanningen om vad som egentligen hänt på kärnkraftverket innan en katastrofal olycka sker.

Filmen, som hade premiär den 16:e mars 1979, blev väldigt omtalad och aktuell när det den 28:e mars 1979, alltså knappt två veckor efter premiären, skedde en riktig kärnkraftolycka i Pennsylvania. Något som gör filmen än mer trovärdig givetvis, men den är högst trovärdig på egen hand då det verkligen känns äkta med den typiska 70-tals atmosfären som är en bidragande orsak till att det känns så verkligt.

Jack Lemmon är som klippt och skuren för sin roll och blev mycket riktigt Oscarsnominerad för sin prestation. Likaså blev Jane Fonda nominerad, men i ärlighetens namn måste hela rollbesättningen ha en eloge då birollerna är minst lika övertygande. Michael Douglas, som även var filmens producent, hoppade in i rollen som kameramannen efter det att Richard Dreyfuss i sista stund hoppade av produktionen. Och han är så klart alltid sevärd och ger rollen lite energi.

Filmen är lika aktuell idag som den var då och det är en kuslig känsla man får när man ser en sån här film och verkligen inser hur lite som krävs för en olycka av katastrofala mått. En lite intressant detalj är att man inte använder någon komponerad filmmusik utan istället bara musik som hörs på radio, tv och liknande. Inte ens under eftertexterna har man någon musik, vilket jag tycker är helt rätt. Detta ökar bara den realistiska känslan man får av filmen. Självklart hade stämningsfull musik höjt spänningen en del, men kanske hade man förlorat en del av den kusliga känslan istället.

4 - Skådespelare
4 - Handling
4 - Känsla
3 - Musik
3 - Foto
--------------
18 - Totalt

Betyg:
IMDb: 7.4

Trailer - The China Syndrome

Out of the Past

Titel: Out of the Past / Skuggor ur det förflutna
Genre: Film-Noir
Land: USA
År: 1947
Regi: Jacques Tourneur
I rollerna: Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, Kirk Douglas, Rhonda Fleming

Handling: Jeff är en f.d. privatdetektiv som flytt sitt förflutna och sköter nu en bensinmack i en liten stad. Men hans förflutna hinner ikapp honom och han måste återvända till storstaden där faror, korruption, rävspel och dubbelspelande kvinnor är en del av vardagen.

Omdöme: Det är inte för inte som det här räknas som en av de allra bästa filmerna inom film-noir. Här finns allt man kan önska sig från en tuff huvudkaraktär, en ond och mäktig skurk, en minst sagt lömsk femme fatale, kvick dialog, fläckfritt svartvitt foto, berättarröst, händelserik story, en massa cigarettrökande och så klart hattarna och rockarna. Det är helt enkelt en film-noir som har allt från början till det minnesvärda slutet.

Robert Mitchum har kanske aldrig tillhört mina favoriter och jag kan tänka mig flera olika skådespelare i rollen. Alla hade gett karaktären något annat, men det funkar bra så som det är. När Jeffs förflutna hinner ikapp honom berättar han för sin nya kvinna om fallet som gjort att han velat glömma, komma iväg och börja om. Efter denna introduktion är han tillbaka i soppan och måste än en gång göra vad han kan för att inte hamna under jorden.

Kirk Douglas spelar Whit som inte bara är mäktig utan även har svårt att glömma när någon lurat honom. Det gör att Jeff hela tiden måste vara på sin vakt när hans gamla flamma Kathie (Jane Greer), som också råkar vara Whits flickvän, dyker upp. En riktig femme fatale av stora mått som man aldrig vet var man har. En film utan några direkta svackor som är smart invävd utan att bli för krånglig eller för den delen förutsägbar.

Definitivt en av de bästa filmerna i genren där en av få invändningar egentligen är att man inte använder sig av Kirk Douglas mer. Då detta bara var hans andra filmroll är det egentligen inte så konstigt, men kapaciteten och karaktären fanns där och det fanns mer att få ut. Är det något annat man ska notera är det väl att dialogen eller iaf framförandet till en början känns lite onaturlig, men det kommer man snart ifrån och bjuds på en hel del fin, rapp dialog.

4 - Skådespelare
4 - Handling
4 - Känsla
3 - Musik
4 - Foto
--------------
19 - Totalt

Betyg:
IMDb: 8.1

Trailer - Out of the Past

On a Kansas Road at Sundown

Many Beautiful sights on roads in the country, every day, every morning, every evening.

Are you gonna finish this?

The Soap Shop

I'm trying to get a job. A lot of my friends have jobs, and I've wanted one for a while, just to have the experience., but I never really did anything about it. Now, I want a job because I WANT MONEY, and I am doing something about it.

Hm. I think this says something about my priorities, but I am not sure.

So I've applied at two places now: a pizza place, and a coffee place. Honestly neither of them is promising at all, so I was definitely interested when a lady from our church offered me a job at her soap shop.

Until I processed the thought:

A soap shop. Me. Working. Me working in a soap shop.

That's like me working at a perfume store or something. I don't know anything about the product, I don't especially care about the product, and I'm too rotten at details to LEARN anything about the product.

But anyway, I went to the shop yesterday so Crystal (the owner) could show me the ropes. She actually let her assistant, Marion show me around, and it went something like this:

Marion: "Well, okay. First you have the 3-in-1 soaps, over there. You can use it for your hair, face and body, and it's just a personal preference which. There are the glycerins, and over there are the body bars, $4.50 a piece. We don't get many people asking for tea, but it's right here, and probably when winter comes... Behind here are all the herbs, people can just pick what they want and you can measure it out for them in the back in ounces. We have people come in here claiming to be witches. Whatever. And...those are some flavorings...now in this back hall are the scents and essences, they're separated and alphabetized. The essences are the real thing, they're stronger. This back here is the tiny messy kitchen... When you weigh the herbs you put them in these baggies here and--well, first you have to zero out the scale, but for now just... And you measure it out to point seven. Er, point zero zero seven. And, oh, see those white tubes over there? They don't have bottoms. You can slide them around, but don't-- See I didn't know they didn't have bottoms and one day I was helping Crystal move them and I picked one up--soap came all out. I told her I quit. So anyway. And down this row are more herbs--actually on the left are the containers and on the right are more herbs, except on the top on the left there are some herbs... Alright, we can go back to the big room now. All our candles come from Lighthouse if anyone asks... And these glass candle holders all have numbers on the bottom, and when someone buys one you just have to look in this cabinet under here and find the box with the matching number and put in it there. Alright, now here behind the counter is the wax paper we wrap soaps in. Wrapping them is easy and then by law we have to label everything we sell, so even if a customer tells you it's okay, you have to put a label on the soap. All our labels are in this folder right here, but they're not alphabetized yet. And the cash register--it really is simple but you kind of need to see it done with a real customer... Okay over in that corner and that corner are all the consignment items--and around that corner too--and we don't add those up on the cash register, we just use the calculator and add the tax and then put the money in the register... Pretty much everybody who comes in is nice, but every once in a while you have the ones who try all the patience in your bones. Well, I guess that's about it."

O.O

Does this SOUND like my kind of thing?

No.

But guess what?

I loved it. For the first few minutes, I was overwhelmed and decided I never in a million years wanted to do this. But then as it all started to sink in, I started to get kind of excited. I could learn a natural cure for everything under the sun! I could meet so many fascinating people! This little soap shop is a freakin' imagination factory! It's a completely story starter! It's absolutely PERFECT for me!

Crystal wants me to keep dropping in for a couple of weeks to get a feel for it and see customers in action, but I've already decided:

I want to work at the soap shop.

~Stephanie