Sumpta

Yes, next week I'm gonna see Shop around the corner. Cinema Zed (http://www.cinemazed.be) in Leuven is having a classic comedies festival "Laughing Matters". I've seen most films of the play list already, but still: whee! I also saw The General there with live piano music. The cinema can host no more than 30 or 40 people, it's quite nice but snort and everyone has heard it :oops:. I also cried when I saw the Apartment. I was completely gutted, I hadn't expected so raw a film when I sat down to see it, I had expected something more along the lines of Some Like it Hot. Brilliant, though.

Well, there are definite cons against a cinema, namely when it's crowded, filled with noisy kids and people with crisps bags. But the pro's far outweigh the cons. Whenever I have the chance to see a favourite film on the big screen, I do so, even if I've seen it before. How2PK worded it perfectly. You can lose yourself more, you're more involved, you have the impression of being "in" the film, not simply watching it from a distance. The great sound helps a lot as well. After a real great film in the cinema, you have this feeling of sort of waking up in reality as the credits begin to roll, you know? You blink a few times, shake yourself a bit, yawn, wipe away remnant tears,... It's as if you've been on a far away trip.

Meh, I put quite a bit of time in my posts, actually. I tend to reread and review my posts and I edit a lot. Has to do a lot with the fact that English isn't my native language, so I keep correcting mistakes, even after I've posted. I hate being recognised as a non-native speaker due to grammatical errors. I've also written many big replies, only to hit exit at the latest moment. Usually because I find I've been too harsh, irrelevant or whinging about the attitude of the OT :D.

Bringing up Baby - This film is at first glance a bit difficult to get into. The first half hour, it's hard to get into the rhythm and the cutting seems to be a bit off. Once you're in the flow, however, hilarity abounds. It's been ages since I laughed so hard. I actually snorted loudly in the cinema, to my horror and shame (and the amusement of the other viewers). A must see, don't give up on it but watch till the end.

Unbelievable, the rules people invent to keep them from thinking about the difficult and more important problems.

I'm a bit of a perfectionist, so I find it hard to score my language knowledge (I'd have to be able to write a novel in any language before I'd say I can write it). But I speak and write well enough in Dutch (mother language) and English. I also speak and write French, but with some more trouble. It is the language I have to speak daily at work though. I'm in my third year of German courses. I understand a lot, speaking/writing is still very basic. And I learned ancient Greek and Latin at school. That's many years ago (sigh), so a lot of that knowledge is lost. I can still translate the odd Latin saying though. And thanks to those 6 years of Latin, I can understand a bit of Spanish and Italian as well. I'd love to learn Swedish too, it's such a cute sing-song language.

Rooibos/red bush is indeed very nice as well. For me, no added milk. Sometimes a little bit of sugar, in the mornings a lot of sugar in an effort to wake up. Whether tea is good for the health? It's less bad than coffee, but all black teas have theine, which is about as bad as caffeine. Green tea, on the other hand, is quite good for you. In any case, if you're a tea-drinker, you're supposed to drink lots of water too, because tea drains fluid from your body. Well, that's what I was told anyway.

If your body is pushing you to sleep, you haven't any choice but to succumb to it. Even a little sleep can clear your head and lessen the wobblyness. Because in all fairness, how can you do a good, efficient job when you're completely worn out? That's at least one thing I learned at college :D.

If I were a politician, I'd stop bickering over the split of one stupid electoral district and the possible separation of a country no larger than a handkerchief. I hate Belgium so much right now.

Huuuge fan of tea here :D. My daily favourite is jasmin tea. Sometimes I also make a nice pot of apple tea with cinnamon before going to bed. Moroccan mint tea with orange blossom is fabulous after dinner. I also love Bradley's tea (green bags, not sure what kind it is), it tastes great, but I mainly like it because the smell reminds me of the smell of my ex-boyfriend's house :oops:.

The worst music video ever (youtube it! now!), also has the worst lyrics ever (not to mention grammatical errors such as, "Your lips are taste of wine" (sic!)). Danny & Armi - I Wanna Love You Tender I love you, I wanna love you tender. You could be my only sweet surrender. I would never bring you any kind of sorrow. You love me, you wanna love me tender. How can I be sure you're not pretender? You want me today, But what about tomorrow? Oh, you're absolutely fine, Your lips are taste of wine. I'd like to think you're mine. And if I could touch your hand, This rock would turn to sand, So this is where we stand. You love me, you wanna love me tender. How can I be sure you're not pretender? You want me today, But what about tomorrow? I love you, I wanna love you tender. I just want to be your loving fender. I would like to take you; I know I can't deceive you. I love you, I do can be so tender. I can be your only sweet surrender, And if you give your heart, I'll never ever leave you. Oh, you're absolutely fine, Your lips are taste of wine. I'd like to think you're mine. And if I could touch your hand, This rock would turn to sand, So this is where we stand. If we all say 'Wanna love you tender," No-one has to be a great pretender. And this world would be A better place to live in.

I have a Facebook account, but I can't say I'm that huge a fan. I hardly ever visit it. I don't really get how people can be addicted to it, either. I just don't seem to get the point of LinkedIn, Facebook, Myspace,...

Oh, let me have at least one child that loves to read, to take to the library and give all those wonderful books I read as a child... Let me see him or her sit on the couch, immersed in another world and driving me mad asking "muuuuuum, what does [insert difficult word] mean?" Your obviously missing the point. I'm not saying go give a 300 page book to your 7 year old. What I am saying is that after they have learned to read, and learned to think for themselves (AKA, High school) then make them read these books in order for them to attempt to absorb some life lessons. Huh? How am I missing the point? I am completely serious, actually. I'd be sorely disappointed if my children didn't read, so I sincerely hope at least one of them does. I myself bugged my parents to teach me how to read at the tender age of 4. I don't agree they should only start to read at high school, they should start to read as soon as they're learning to read. Learning about life happens from the day we're born, not just when we're adolescents. To say that children only learn to think for themselves at highschool, is sorely underestimating their abilities. There are plenty of meaningful books for all ages. Truth doesn't only stem from big, inaccessible works of literature (even though they can be great as well, obviously).

Ben X - The Belgian contribution to the Oscars won several prizes so far. As a film-loving Belgian I had to see it, obviously. I left the theatre with mixed feelings. The story is about an adolescent with the Asperger syndrome (autism) who is bullied to death at school. He relishes the (ir)reality of computer games. On the one hand it's a very pure, beautifully shot film which really touched me. On the other hand, I'm averse to films that slap you around with moral intentions. Still, its naÃÆÃâÃâïve idealism and beauty (many many quoteworthy lines) are so disarming that even the harshest cynic must be touched in some way. I also loved the overlap between reality/images from computer games. Such a pity generations of adolescents will be forced to watch this film at school.

Gods, yes, those horrid capes. I reached 99 fletching very shortly after the capes were introduced, simply from fletching my maples from MTK - there never was money making or hunting for a 99 involved. I never bought the cape and chances are I never will... Sadly, the main reason was so I wouldn't get any comments on my fletch, at least. It's not that I'm not proud of my combat, I am. It's true that the game revolves around combat, whether the skillers like it or not. The skills are there to help you achieve your combat goals. For me, the ultimate character on RS is a good all-rounder, with combat in balance with skills. And that's the issue: I cherish that balance: I achieve my combat almost solely through slayer, slayer gets me herblore/farming, etc etc. And this is not clear unless you look up my levels. Same as the other achievements, such as the 1950+ total. Oh well, in the end it doesn't matter, I guess. People will judge.

Oh, let me have at least one child that loves to read, to take to the library and give all those wonderful books I read as a child... Let me see him or her sit on the couch, immersed in another world and driving me mad asking "muuuuuum, what does [insert difficult word] mean?" I don't think reading makes anyone smarter per se, but it can contribute to a better understanding of the world and of people. Especially for children, whose world is still so small and so self-centered, it can be so crucial to "broaden their minds". And it's a great outlet for their wonderful fantasy. However, I'm convinced that other media are capable of doing the same. Films certainly aren't "lower" on the ladder. As with books, there's a lot of diversity in quality.

1. Of course you can, but then again, it highly depends on your definition of love. The people that I really love, aren't people I admire from a distance. Even though I never give the impression that I like, let alone love, my ex-boyfriends (aka the cold bastards), I do love them. These feelings don't just disappear, the remnants remain. Doesn't mean I'll never love another man again, though. 2. Neither. So much money would make me thoroughly unhappy. True love is a concept I don't grasp and it's bound to cause me more misery than happiness as well.

On a similar note, it's annoying for high level combat players too to be always thought about in terms of their combat level. I can't keep track of the times that I'm spoken to by my level instead of my nickname. Also, for the first time, someone complimented me on my combat level (120) in RS, a few days ago. I was quite put out, really, because my combat is the last set of skills I'm proud of... But it's quite childish to say "yeah yeah yeah, but have you seen my farming, herblore and slayer?", since, obviously they can't see them.

Lady Astor: If I were your wife, I'd put poison in your coffee. Winston Churchill: If I were your husband, I'd drink it. And the extended quote from my signature:

Flawed argument. If I had worked all those hours I played RS on top of my normal job, I'd be in the hospital with a burn-out right now. Balance is the key. Balance between work, love, play. If you achieve that, you're a lucky (wo)man. Sometimes you need to have excesses, to remind you to look for that balance. Look at N0valyfe. He went for excess, then rethought his life. Katharsis, the Greeks call it.

Oh cool, I had my ears pierced three months ago as well (just usual ear piercings, not the fancy three in a row kind of stuff). I don't like it on men, though. I myself prefer dangling earrings, preferably antique or antique looking, as the rest of my jewelry. I have a small collection that belonged to my grandmother and it's my favourite jewelry. I'm such a sucker for everything that dates from 1890-1940 or looks like it does...

I like multitasking. My "base skill" is slayer, which obviously gets me experience in several combat skills. I save up my dragon bones from tasks until I have enough for a prayer level, to take a break at my gilded altar. When I get a ranging task and my bolts/arrows/cannon balls supply is gone, I mine/smithe a bit. When I run out of monkfish, I fish/cook. My favourite slayer master is Chaeldar, so when I switch tasks, I travel around RS to do some farming rounds (farming + herblore leveling) and to pick up sand buckets and seaweed. When I have enough sand/seaweed, I take a break for crafting. MTK gets me extra seeds, logs for FM and coal/herbs. And so on, and so on. People keep on telling me it'd be faster to use lunar magic or the slayer bracelet for example or to concentrate on getting one skill to 99 (even though the real use of 99's is not clear to me apart from the "honour" in a cape), but I tell them to go mind their own business. My stats are pretty decent, I'm not in want of cash, so my way seems fine to me. Usually, those complainers haven't even got half the total xp I do, so yeah. Don't let other people tell you what to do, do things the way you like to do them.

That's what really stumps me too. What in the world is the fun in rushing along like that? At the end of such a day you end up with a massive headache and just a thirst for more. I already feel guilty if I've spent two consecutive evenings playing RS or when I discover I've played for 8 hours on a free day (which, sadly, has happened more than it should). I can't understand how anyone can feel a sense of achievement in such a massive time waste :-k.

At highschool there was this one guy who called me "Vrouwtje Theelepel" (translation: "Mrs Teaspoon"). It was the name of a cartoon figure of a children's programme: The weird thing is, I didn't even know the guy, never had the slightest conversation with him, so I don't know how I wronged him and I most certainly don't understand why he chose that particular nickname. Maybe he thought I was very boring. Every time he passed me, he'd call me that and I'd be like "oookaaaaaay". Nowadays my friends call me "Keizerin Helena" (translation: "Empress Helena"). An ex-boyfriend started calling me that after I objected to Princess and it sort of stuck to me. I like it :D.

I never played it, doesn't really interest me either. I did read in the newspaper this week that the Flemish Government either installed or is going to install an information centre in Second Life. Now, I work with projects closing the digital divide every day and built up a lot of expertise in the area... and even I kind of feel it's a weird idea. Although, if it works, it's a great method to reach the civilians.