Showing posts with label days. Show all posts
Showing posts with label days. Show all posts
Friday, March 24, 2017
366 Days 406 Movies 267 Posts 2012 As It Was For Me
366 Days 406 Movies 267 Posts 2012 As It Was For Me
So this is somewhat of a tradition around here to end the year with a post looking back at the year on the blog. I wont get much into the specifics of 2012, but I will say that this year has gone SO FAST. I know it sounds cliché but it literally does feel like just yesterday that I was writing my post like this last year. It really does. However, Im beyond excited for 2013. So many opportunities await me: in a week, Ill be going to Japan, then theres all the Head Girl duties, and also, we have another good year for film on our hands. Just maybe, at the Oscars in February, I might see Jessica Chastain with a statue (Oscar or not, Im excited to see what she wears). Matthew McConaughey may blow our minds with The Dallas Buyers Club (heres hoping). Ill finally get to see films like The Perks of Being a Wallflower (maybe), Zero Dark Thirty, Silver Linings Playbook, Les Miserables, Django Unchained...and also my most anticipated 2013 releases like The Great Gatsby, The Place Beyond the Pines, Only God Forgives, The Dallas Buyers Club, The Wolf of Wall Street, The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby His & Hers, Iron Man 3, Now You See Me, Side Effects, the two Terrence Malick films, Twelve Years a Slave, Mud...the list could go on and on. So before I wave 2012 goodbye - and it has been a mostly fantastic year - it is time to look back on the best moments on this blog, month by month. This year Ill also add what songs were my faves during that particular month.
January - What If We Could? by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
As with most Januarys, this month was filled up with Oscar Oscar Oscar. Before then, though, I finally left the country and went to Melbourne for a holiday, which also meant I could catch up with a few movies while I was over there. Oh and hey, I became the literal only person on Earth to love War Horse. I still like to remind people of its glorious existence because most people have forgotten about it.
February - Man or Muppet by Bret McKenzie
Oh hey, the Oscars happened this month. It feels like just yesterday I saw Jessica Chastain in that beautiful gown. Again, that makes up for 75% of my excitement for the 2013 Oscars. I did my predictions with poetry again this year. I cant wait to hopefully have enough time to do them again next year. I also brought back my A Conversation with... feature with The Beaver. I remember that day, as that was when I found out that I was gluten intolerant. Good times. I also changed my rating system. I was watching the Downton Abbey Christmas special when I did that.
March - Under Your Spell by Desire
This month started out awesome, coz I was supposed to be directing the school production, but at the end of the month they cancelled it. I was actually so sad for days. Mind you, this month was kinda known as Jessica Chastain month (even though every month of my life is Jessica Chastain month), since it was her birthday, and I got to see The Debt and Take Shelter. I also started another feature, known as Lame Trailer Clichés, with kettles. Really.
April - Talk Show Host by Radiohead
April was an interesting month, filled with many gems of posts. This Conversation with Puss in Boots has always been one of my favourites. So is this review of I Melt with You, which I still have a few LOLs over every now and again. I also did my 50 Cinematic Wishes, had an interview with the Kid in the Front Row, made a desperate plea to anyone who would listen about how The Cabin in the Woods shouldve been given a proper release here, and I saw The Avengers, which was apparently very exciting.
May - No Church in the Wild by Kanye West and Jay Z (featuring Frank Ocean)
It would seem that I was nominated for a whole lot of LAMMYs at the end of this month. That was really exciting. I started off the month with this review of Tyrannosaur, which is probably my favourite review that Ive written. I also wrote about how The Muppets was actually a very gutsy movie, shared some of my early photos I took and listed my ten favourite Cillian Murphy performances.
June - Unravelling by Harry Escott
June was a real gem of a month. I got a couple of LAMMYs, I did my French New Wave month, I shared my 15 favourite redheads, for my 900th post I shared some blogging tips, I saw Shame, and I also did that 100 Film Facts About Me post which unintentionally (but awesomely) turned into a blogathon. I am so proud of how this month went, but it makes me sad because Ill never be able to have another month like it.
July - Rise by Hans Zimmer
July, however, was probably my favouritest month ever. Mainly because it had the best DVD releases EVER. I mean, one night I took home six movies to watch before they were released, and on another day I watched five releases. One of those releases was We Need to Talk About Kevin, which caused two earthquakes and made me fall in love with Ezra Miller. I did my Anime month, even before I knew I was going to Japan. I posted my speech online...which for some reason, people still talk about. I started my Dear Hollywood feature with J. Edgar. I finally got to see The Dark Knight Rises, which also saw me write an appreciation post on Christopher Nolan. Before I went on my "Im burnt out" break, I finally did my 2011 retrospective lists, with my favourite directors, actors, actresses and films.
August - Why Do We Fall? by Hans Zimmer
This month wasnt very exciting as I spent most of it on break (and watching the Olympics until I felt like my eyes were going to bleed), but I was brought back when I got nine of those Liebster Award things, so I had to answer a crapload of questions. I turned 17, too, which was rather un-exciting (bring on 18!). And I really got obsessed with Ezra Miller. And I did this really weird post.
September - Its Time by Imagine Dragons
Pretty much nothing happened on the blog in September because I was too busy with Little Shop of Horrors. I did do some funny Photoshops, though.
October - Radio by Lana Del Rey
Things got back on track in October, with my horror month keeping me on my toes (ironically while I was dipping my toes), and also the third birthday celebrations, which were counted down to by My Movie Biography. Among other things that happened in this month were my Prometheus home musical (which my friends now use against me when I say that Im actually awful at singing), I saw Margaret, and I did some more funny Photoshops the night before my Photography Folio was due, which is when I coincidentally got really sick with a virus. Lovely.
November - Ride by Lana Del Rey
IDK why, but this month feels like it was years ago. However, Nic November happened, I made a very pretty gallery of my favourite colourful movies, and I also did my movie alphabet. There were a few birthdays this month, so I listed my favourite performances from Leonardo DiCaprio and shared a brief biography and a few facts about Vivien Leigh. Plus, I saw Killer Joe on the 13th of November, which means that was the very date that Matty M went from zero to hero in my heart.
December - Victim by Win Win
This month has been so incredibly difficult but there were a few good points on the blog, including this review of Magic Mike which Im rather fond of, I did my first blogathon which was called Making the Case and I reached 1000 posts. Recently Ive been reflecting on the year, with things like my unofficial favourites of the year and my obsessions of the year.
So theres 2012 for ya. This also marks the end of an era for Cinematic Paradox: while Ill be around in 2013, itll be to a much lesser extent, since school is really going to be busy this year. Still, Ill be working hard at Annual Awards Nerdism for the next two months! I hope you all have a wonderful 2013, and lets make it awesome!
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Wednesday, March 22, 2017
30 Day Drawing Challenge Days 1 2
30 Day Drawing Challenge Days 1 2
(Ok. I think I fixed the comment issue on the blog.)
Kicking it off with Day 1: Self Portrait
This pic felt very "Sumo" so I added the rising sun and hair chopsticks.
Day 2: A Monster (Good)
And I liked the Roman Slug idea but I think I went overboard with the pink and purple tank and skirt to make him seem more "good." But I knew I had to give him clothes because I didnt want to give him a johnson.
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Tuesday, March 21, 2017
Sunday, March 19, 2017
12 Days of Handmade Ornaments Favorites Edition!
12 Days of Handmade Ornaments Favorites Edition!
Happy hump day! I hope youre all having good weeks so far. Remember the 12 Days of Handmade Ornaments series from a couple of weeks ago? (How could you not - it was crazytown around here for those 12 days!) Well I think Ive recovered from that awesome madness and had a chance to take a look at each bloggers ornaments as well as the ones YALL linked up here on that last day, and boy there are some talented ornament crafters out there. I decided it was high time to highlight a few of my favorites. Take notes, people. And even if youve already done all your decorating, you can always pin this post for next year :).
Im a sucker for clean-lined, simple things, and so these wood scrap mini house ornaments from Thats My Letter are right up my alley. (Arent those little red hearts just the perfect touch, too?)
Katie from Baby Your Babies used an Easter egg as a base to make this adorable pine cone ornament.
Pom poms are just the most charming little things - dont you agree? I love this mini wreath that Cristina (of Remodelando la Casa) made out of them.
These yarn ball ornaments from All Things G&D kind of blew my mind. Theyre awesome! Plus, bonus!, Dusty gives some hints on which glues worked best for making them.
Who wouldnt like a pair of tiny mittens hanging on their tree? And what if you didnt have to knit them? The full tutorial is over on Confessions of a Serial DIYer.
If you need to make a bunch of ornaments, simple is the way to go. A perfect example? This gold-leafed polka dot ornament from The Happier Homemaker.
Lastly, I loved this mini jingle ball wreath from Serendipity Refined. I like the variety of gold bells she used!
Hope yall found some inspiration here today. Now go forth and craft yourself some ornaments! :)
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Saturday, March 18, 2017
5 Days!
5 Days!
Oh my goodness! The things that have happened in the last five days!
I made a skirt - Ill try to get pictures of it up soon. It was very easy, and I only messed up a few times. But I learned from them and hubby has already said that I can buy more fabric. Also - my boys want to learn to sew. Im going to be looking for an easy pattern for them to start with.
I havent finished a thing knit-wise. Ive got a ton on the needles!
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory has some amazing knits in it. I LOVE the afgahn you can see behind Grandpa Bucket as seen here.
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince was a fantastic read. Ill re-read it more slowly after DH finishes it.
At Church, were working on expanding our nursery! We have beds for 12 babies and lately weve just been overflowing! Some of the babies we have dont need beds any longer, weve tagged them as crawlers, but the crawler room is full to busting too, so we cant move them up. And there are more on the way in the next few months - 4 that I know of.
Were also doing a Back-Yard Bible Club (am I a yarn-nerd if I misspell yard as yarn?) at a huge low-income apartment complex this week. That makes tonight my last night at home all week!
Can you say BUSY??? Oh Well, I love it! Even if it does hamper my exercise time.
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Thursday, March 16, 2017
Monday, March 13, 2017
7 days left to party prep!
7 days left to party prep!
More party prepping going on here. Check out my Dino decoration craft that I am blogging about over on PSMIYO today. Its not too scary!Have a great weekend!
Pam
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30 Day Drawing Challenge Days 7 9
30 Day Drawing Challenge Days 7 9
Day 7: A historical / modern icon you admire satirized using the reason you admire them most. (eg. Carl Sagan as a mad scientist)
Day 8: Close eyes. Draw a Batman
9. A dinosaur, real or made up
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Wednesday, March 1, 2017
7 Desserts 7 Days Bounty Chocolate Cupcakes With a Velvety Dark Chocolate Frosting
7 Desserts 7 Days Bounty Chocolate Cupcakes With a Velvety Dark Chocolate Frosting
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Monday, February 27, 2017
365 days of stitchy awesomeness
365 days of stitchy awesomeness
you may already know about the magic that is 365 lucky days but in case you dont, and because Im completely in love with her stitchy style & sense of humor I wanted to mention her project to create an original piece each day for one year.
here are some of the pieces that I was especially enamored with:
and my absolute favorite:
Im in awe of her commitment & creativity...and cant wait to see what she creates next!
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Friday, February 17, 2017
3 Days in Vienna
3 Days in Vienna
Continuing from Budapest, the next place we went to was Vienna.
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The first (and very hot) day we went to the Belvedere, which like the other palaces, consists of a palace and a large garden. Unlike other palaces, Belvedere doesnt have the typical apartment tours but instead are art museums. We spent the afternoon walking leisurely in the meseums attempting to learn about the artwork..JPG)
Next, we saw the Hundertwasser Haus, which looks like a colourful building from a cartoon but was actually a block of council flats. This building was fun to look around and discover its quirks!.JPG)
At night, we went to the Musikverein. There, we watched an orchestra perform music by Mozart. I was amazed by how many songs that I know or have heard before are by Mozart. There were also two opera singers who sang with some of the pieces, although I didnt enjoy those performances qutie as much since they didnt sing in English and I have no idea how to appreciate opera singing..JPG)
The next day we visited the Schonbrunn Palace. We thought this was the most impressive palace in Vienna, although we were definitely liked the back garden more (below.) .JPG)
The main attraction of the garden was the Gloriette, which just looked like a very fancy ornament to the garden to us. And yes, we walked all the way up to see the Gloriette up close..JPG)
In the afternoon, we visited Stephansdom. After visiting many European churches, many of them have started to look very similar. But I really like and remember this one -the exterior and interior remain very old-looking and authentic. The inside of the church was dark and grey, and you could really appreciate the Gothetic style inside. Its honestly one of the few sightseeing churches that has made an impression on me..JPG)
On the last day, we visited the Hofburg Complex. There are a few exhibitions and tours inside, but the one we really liked was the Sisi Museum. After going through all the guided tours in the past few days, I feel like Ive really learnt something about the history of Vienna -or at least the history of the Austrian Royal family! .JPG)
For the rest of the afternoon before going to the airport, we decided to just chill in coffee shops and try the cakes Austria is so famous for: the Sachertorte and apple strudel. To be honest, the Sachertorte wasnt that great -it just tasted like a dry piece of chocolate cake. And while the apple strudel was tasty, we werent all too impressed by it either, (probably because all the cakes were so hyped up that we had high expectations for them.)Walking around Vienna, the general feeling I got was the Vienna was much more tourist-friendly and had a very holiday-feeling to it. Everything there felt very artistic, creative and cultured, although Im sure thats just because we all already know that Vienna is the music capital of the world.
Image Credit: the blog
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6 Days of Summer Fun with the Super Moms!
6 Days of Summer Fun with the Super Moms!
This week I am teaming up with Kelli over at Random Thoughts of a Super Mom
and we are putting together
6 Days of Summer Fun with the Super Moms!
Check in all week to get some SUPER Summer Fun Ideas!
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Tuesday, February 14, 2017
9 Days in Paradise Leg 1 Nameri
9 Days in Paradise Leg 1 Nameri
Onward to Assam
So on 21st Feb - a day I’d been waiting for months, we set out on our journey. Raji picked me and Chirdeep up, we reached the airport well in time, met Sudhir over breakfast, got into our flight and then made an uneventful trip several hundred miles away to Guwahati. Our first stop was going to be Nameri Tiger Reserve - a quiet forest tucked away not very far from the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border. Nameri is known to be a birdwatcher’s paradise and we’d planned to stay at the forest department’s Kanyaka Lodge. While the roads from Guwahati to Balipara were OK, the route from that point on was nothing but an absolute nightmare. We’d made quite a few stops on the way - a few times for lesser adjutant storks, and once for some tea at the NH52 Dhaba. So, after a five hour bone rattling drive, we made our way into the lodge and were able to stretch ourselves.Rolling into Nameri
Exploring the Wilderness
The next morning we were up early. The plan was to go rafting down the Jia Bhorali river. If you stay at the Kanyaka lodge, be sure to speak to Mr Sarma and have the boatmen either stay over at the lodge or come really early in the morning. The rafting point is about 10 kms away at a point called the 13th mile and an early start at 0630 AM gives you a good chance to spot birds. On that first day we were late, but the Jia Bhorali didn’t let us down. Ibisbill, Mallard, Ruddy Shelducks, Black Stork, Black Necked Stork, Pratincole… we found birds faster than we could call out their names. A part of me felt we were on a birding roller coaster. Be mindful though that rafting down the rapids is not an easy way to take photographs and while you’ll spot many birds on the way downstream, you’re quite likely to come back with no pictures.
Over the next two days we spotted over a 100 bird species and trekked through some of the most beautiful woodlands you would have seen. Mr Sarma played eager host, Meenaram the astute guide and Jaykumar the caretaker was a wonderful cook who rustled up some simple, yet tasty food. If you’re a birdwatcher, then there’s nothing quite like birding in these evergreen forests. As we went down the Jia Bhorali for our last trip almost all of us felt that Nameri needs a lot more time than we had planned for it. Had we stayed longer and not had a hard stop to the trip, we could have come back with some pretty decent photographs. We didn’t, so I’m sure I’ll return there at some point to photograph the avifauna of the region. Until then, I’ll live with memories.
Travel Tips
Here are a few points that’ll help you plan your trip to Nameri:
- To get to Nameri, you can hire a taxi at Guwahati airport for about 3600 INR.
- To book Kanyaka Lodge, call Mr Sarat Sarma (the forester in charge) at +919435381990. He doesn’t operate by email but will mark out your name in his diary.
- The ensuite rooms are 800 INR apiece, though for hot water you’ll need to share one of the common bathrooms. You can also opt for a deluxe room with a TV and that costs 1000 INR each night.
- Food is usually simple and consists of local vegetarian and non-vegetarian options. Jayakumar, the cook is quite obliging with requests and is usually willing to do what it takes to please you.
- Rafting and trekking require separate permits and cost 280 INR and 320 INR respectively. Mr Sarma can help facilitate this.
- The boatmen’s charge for the rafting trip is usually the bigger amount - 3240 INR for the trip. Each boat can accommodate upto 4 people. So in hindsight it wasn’t too bad that Sahana couldn’t make it. It helped all of us be together.
- You’ll also need to hire a vehicle to carry your raft to the 13th mile and to pick you up from the end of the trip. This usually costs 1000 INR.
- Apart from birding, there’s also the pygmy hog breeding center to help in the conservation of this endangered wild pig. Well worth a visit and I also saw some pretty interesting butterflies in the area.
I hope you visit Nameri soon - it was leg 1 of what’s been my most productive birding trip by far. Our next stop was Kaziranga - more about that in my next post. By the way, for this post and for this trip in general I tried using my iPhone as an alternate camera. I was quite pleased with the results in several cases. Id love to know what you thought. So please, please, please - do share your feedback. Im guessing youll be able to make out the ones I shot with the phone, wont you?
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Saturday, February 11, 2017
Friday, February 10, 2017
30 Day Drawing Challenge Days 3 6
30 Day Drawing Challenge Days 3 6
Day 3: A monster (Evil)
Day 4: A small inanimate object coming to life.
Day 5: A president (as an action hero)
I wanted him to be in the pose that Eddie has in the "Trooper" picture. (Yes, I forgot the sword.)
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Thursday, February 9, 2017
30 Day Drawing Challenge Days 14 19
30 Day Drawing Challenge Days 14 19
I broke this up into multiple posts even though Im doing this all the same day.
Day 14: A Plant (Man eating)
I dont if the guy is bleeding or hes just covered in pollen which sometimes happens when you have a run in with a plant. But the redness around was necessary to make it look like he was really inside. I really love the app Sketch Club and the way it allows you to manipulate your drawing and add textures.
Day 15: A Hover vehicle
Again with the Self Portrait. My favorite part of this is the dust that gets dispersed by this machine which basically stole from Pig Pen from the Peanuts comic strip.
Day 16: A Paladin (Representing any religion except Christianity)
The functionality of the trunk on the helmet is clearly in question but that and the curly boots made me really fall in love with this picture.
Day 17: A devil / demon (without lifting your pen)
Ok so I didnt technically use a pen but I didnt lift my stylus. I loved going through these on Instagram because they all looked like they belonged in a demon themed book of mazes.
Day 18: A Tank
Dont have much to say here. It just didnt look tough enough till I put it over the black background.
Day 19: A President (As a zombie)
Ok. This is the picture that unseated The Paladin as my favorite picture of this challenge so far. Hes just really into that horse head (or donkey head).
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Tuesday, February 7, 2017
Saturday, February 4, 2017
30 Day Drawing Challenge Update Days 10 13
30 Day Drawing Challenge Update Days 10 13
(Before we get into the drawings I just wanted to add a technical note that I believe I fixed the comment moderation so you should be able to leave comments should you like.)
Day 10 : Something Evolving.
So I new I wanted to do an man/ape with baby arms essentially. And I used the pictures of the Tarzan animated movie as a model for the split toes. I wasnt sure about the genitals but he clearly needed something in the middle and i wasnt about to draw him in a pair of dolphin shorts. (Not the brand, actually made of dolphin.) But my favorite part of this picture is his right baby arm is just "hangin out" resting on his thigh like "see, Im cool." Which is why this picture makes me smile.
Day 11: Your favorite food (As a gift from the gods)
Picking a favorite food is impossible. But this week I found myself with a hankering for Mac & Cheese. It was the week of the hurricane threat and I was in the supermarket looking for food items that had a long shelf life. I really like the idea that its just sitting in his hand. And really if these are the hands of a god then these noodles must be HUGE!
Day 12: A Super Hero
This gave me an idea of trying to do a 30 Day Drawing Challenge which regardless of category it has to be some kind of a self portrait. (Maybe its the actor in me. )
Day 13: A Super Villain
Man I threw everything at this guy. Robot hand, belly eye, and magic double headed pitchfork. I started with the super hero and started modifying it into another dude.
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