With regards to this film, that was my downfall. I watched the film with husband and from the off I found myself saying ‘that wasn’t in the book’ ‘thats not correct’ ‘he’s meant to be her father not her lab partner’.

The film itself was good as a separate entity. The story flows smoothly, shots of Tom Hanks looking surprisingly honed in the water with a very tight midriff was a pleasant adage to the film, as usual Ewan MacGregor puts in an excellent performance and I also liked the main police guy who suggested using Langdon (Hanks) in the first place. The main plots lines are there; anti-matter that can destroy the world is stolen and used to blackmail the catholic faith and Langdon has to solve all the clues using history and symbology to prevent this happening. Under this larger plot is the usual subplots; control, revenge, suspense, intrigue – a large game of whodunnit!

My main issue with this film which is a large elephant in the corner whilst I write is this – why turn a book into a film if said book isn’t followed pretty much at all?????

The main bits that are used from the book is four cardinals are kidnapped (the information of how kidnapped in the book are radically different to what is said in the film), Langdon has to race over Rome to four different areas to solve clues and end up at the final place – The Church of Illumination and that is about it. A major character from the book – Maximillian Kohler, the head of CERN, the science research facility – is completely omitted. The police officials involved take different roles in the film than they do in the book as in seniority which was confusing at first. Not to ruin the ending but someone lives who is meant to die. The film if taken separately is enjoyable but its misses the action of the book and key elements that run throughout the book.

As most people say with book to film – the book is better than the film and in the case of Angels and Demons this is true. The book is fast paced, intense and exciting thriller and the film doesn’t seem to capture the essence of this – mainly because too much was changed.

If they try to turn The Lost Symbol into a book I hope more care and attention is taken with the adaptation.

Rating 6/10

Well not amazed as such, but more enthralled and intrigued that there are people out there just like me! I started writing a blog for me, a cathartic release for everything I was feeling which due to life doesn’t get updated as much as it should do! But I read a Sunday Times supplement today in which so many females were quoted with their own blogs as doing exactly the same thing as me! Women are writing about the mundaneness of their lives, or how unfulfilling they are finding things and developing their owns social lives through the blogging method. People are doing really well using blogs. However some women did point out that they are blogging everyday, sometimes for several hours at a time which I don’t think I have the time or the patience to do that. Some women have devoted so much time to a blog that their relationships have failed and all I think is if you are devoting that much time to a blog then there has to be more productive ways of spending your time. If you get paid for doing a blog then that is totally different, like freelance writing. Paid to write then give it some time. Doing it for fun, by all means give it some time but keep things in perspective; life goes on so try to live a bit of it physically rather than through the tips of your fingers.

I’m trying to stretch my personal blog to cover different areas that I wouldn’t mind writing about; film reviewing, eventually book and music reviews also – with regards to music I will have to learn how to download albums to save myself some pennies!! Maybe even writing short stories to satisfy my need for a creative outlet. I also need to buy film for my now Russian Zenit camera – I thought it was Japanese but have since found out it was only bought in Japan!!! Going to go out with Ando a week Monday to see what we produce. Apparently every budding lomographer is shocking for the first 10+ films!

Anyhow, I found it so comforting to know that women out there had thesame thoughts as me – that being a mother and a worker isn’t the all fulfilling thing that people prophesize – you can need more and I am going to find more!!

So to the ladies who blog, I thank you most graciously for opening up through a largely circulated Sunday paper supplement and thank you for giving me confidence that I am not crazy writing this!

It seems to have been on going since I did my shoulder in approximately 4 weeks ago. I drink loads of water/juice, I’m taking co-codamol, diclofenac and nothing is working. I’m sick!!!!

In 2 days I have put 19 hours worth of music onto my mobile phone which takes the total music to 43 hours of music. I don’t know why I put so much music on and then create playlists for my favourites according to stuff like easy listening, sing a long tracks mainly for the car, motivation ones for the gym, that kind of thing so rarely have I listened to all the tracks. Take for example all the dance stuff that I stole from husband – I don’t think I listen to any of it but if you have it on a music player it shows you’re serious about exercising or some sort of crap!!!!

I am currently listening to one of my favourite Killers tracks ‘For Reasons Unknown’. This song is amazing depending on how you react to music. I like to get thoroughly involved, its the one time I allow my feelings to come to the surface which probably explains why my favourite bands are Muse and Offspring – where else can you display pure angst, hope, frustration etc etc without being classed as an Emo or whatever else people are called nowadays??!! I absolutely love Good Charlotte for example but if I play it where people can hear me, I suddenly get lumped in a music group with teenage children who want to piss as many people off as they can! Although when you think about it, Offspring are very punk and could be construed as that however they’ve been around so long and are of an age themselves that I can be an adult and still enjoy them!

Whilst tapping through now Ocean Colour Scene has come to the fore – Day We Caught the Train. This is an anthem for the early 90′s – same as the Riverboat Song. You hear the first few chords and suddenly you’re transported to another time where people were fun, anger only came up with drunken bums on a weekend night, politics were frowned upon and disagreed with but in a more middle class kind of way – getting upset over the sherry type thing (obviously totally ignoring what was really going on) and for me it was a simpler time. Fast forward 15 years and here I am wanting to re-live a freer time through music rather than just going out there and creating that freer time. Even through the constraints of debt, work, family (which could easily become a younger, freer time if I was rich) and other pressures from all areas of life, I’m sure it is possible to make the time to enjoy ourselves more even with all these diversions.

Take for example, me today. I was in my PJ’s with Titch until about 1400hrs. It felt so good to slob about with no real purpose but just enjoy ourselves. Taking into account Titch’s phenomenal head cold (not pleasant), I felt I was justified in spending all day watching films. We’ve watched High School Musical 3 (haven’t seen the other two however it was something that I wanted to do) and revelled in the escapism, watched Pinocchio (well rather Titch watched it, I had a luxurious bath by this point), Wall-e was enjoyed by all (a probable film review to come actually when I feel ready to deconstruct it all rather than write a typical review) and currently onto Meet the Robinsons (again another possible review when I can give it the time to deconstruct the issues properly). They are all children’s films but it is amazing what they can put in there for adults as well. Take Wall-e for example, without going into too much detail, it covers technological dominance of humans, global issues, health issues, basic needs compared to Maslow’s theories (part of what I’ve learned recently in my university course) – it is abundant with deeper meaning and concepts which needs to be noticed and taken into account.

Now No Doubt ‘Bathwater’ is playing on the mobile. I really do like Gwen Stefani however I think I much prefer her with the band rather than working solo although she did produce some good songs – but they don’t have the same impact as the bands music. The use of instruments in No Doubts songs make them so individual and if another band tried it, it would be seen to be ‘trying’ if that makes sense. The use of the big band horns and trumpets just adds finishing touches to excellent songs.

Titch is currently sat engrossed watching Meet the Robinsons. If I’ve let him sit and watch 4 films on the bounce is that bad parenting??? Would it be taken into account by other parents his head cold which caused him to have a 4 hour kip yesterday afternoon and still go to bed at his normal time?? Which by the way would be totally unheard of!

When I found out I was having Titch, I was adamant that no child of mine would sit watching TV all day when there’s other things to do, I was adamant that they wouldn’t eat sweets and chocolate, that we would eat vegetables and fruit all the time. Then I had Titch and found myself going back on everything I said. I do let him have veg out days in front of the TV – always films though, not programmes as I think he gets more out of films, I let him eat sweets and chocolate and he loves crisps, he isn’t forced to eat veggies every day. I felt like a total failure as a parent but then when I look at what he does do, he goes to nursery 5 mornings a week, goes swimming most days, plays football most days, plays make believe with his toys, sings a lot, eat veggies throughout the week but also eats chips and chicken nuggets and things like that dependant on what I’m working as husband works most nights. I know some parents pride themselves on their children eating the correct things all the time but then they don’t do anything with their children and vice versa; feeding their children crap and doing everything with their children. I’m hoping we’ve got a happy balance. We won’t be sitting around this week even though he’s off – we’ll be out swimming, walking, running, football etc – some of it weather dependant!!! And we’ll also be eating well as well as eating crap!!! I guess its all a learning game. I know younger children who weigh more than Titch but then again are also taller and generally bigger!

I think I’ve waffled on enough at this point, so I am going to sign off with Robbie Williams warbling in my ear about being a Better Man!

I’ve decided to review this film as I watched it last night whilst husband was at work rather than watch How I Met Your Mother as it was being recorded.

Firstly, Diane Lane is the lead female in the film which is a massive bonus for myself as I love watching her in film. She brings a really natural quality to whichever role she takes on and has a distinct vulnerability which she seems to incorporate into her roles that makes her easy to relate to and feel as if you are involved in the world she is creating on screen for you.

Secondly Richard Gere is the male lead which is another plus for me as I like him also; I have seen some of his more iconic roles as well as his more underplayed roles and I’ve liked him in everything I’ve seen – even that Runaway Bride film!!

I have seen these two together in a film previously (Unfaithful) and I really liked how they interacted with each other. Diane Lane was a vibrant and sexy lady in the film and you felt her inner turmoil come across through the picture and in a way sympathised with her predicament even though at the same time you felt that she should not have allowed herself to get involved. Richard Gere was also excellent as the tormented soul of a husband who had realised too late the extent of his wifes deception and when confronted it went haywire.

Nights in Rodanthe is a lovely title for a film. The premise is Diane Lane’s character had been dumped 7 months previous by her husband who had gone off with someone else and plans to go to Rodanthe to look after her best friends guest house whilst the estranged husband takes their children away. Richard Gere’s character is a surgeon who is trying to escape an incident that happened on his operating table and initially it is unclear why he makes his way to Rodanthe.

Before Lane’s character leaves, the husband attends the family home to collect the children and whilst there makes a plea to Lane to take him back as he’s realised his mistake, still loves her and wants to come home. Lane tells him that he must still go away with the children and without her and she will think about it; of her two chldren, her young son is quite vulnerable and suffers from a health issue and her teenage daughter blames Lane for the demise of the family relationship and makes it clearly known that she despises her mother not matter how much Lane tells her daughter she loves her.

You get a brief glimpse into Gere’s character life with his body language showing anger and hurt through the opening scenes of the film and the abrupt way he packs and leaves his home handing the keys to the estate agent. He has a spanish medical book with him which he looks at from time to time but nothing is known of this prop until much later into the film. The only thing that is known of Gere intially is something has gone wrong, he has money in the bank and wants to go quickly.

Once they both get to the guest house, the story progresses quickly and its clear straight away that there is immediate attraction between the two. Lane finds a letter addressed to Gere in his room from a resident of Rodanthe who’s wife it was that died on Gere’s operating table which explains why Gere is in Rodanthe. Lane keeps taking calls from her estranged husband asking about their relationship which causes issues for Lane and results in Lane not finding out about her son ending up in hospital due to an asthma attack.

These emotional issues is what inevitably draws Lane and Gere’s characters together which is unfortunately a bit predicatable. When they get together they have one proper night together in the guest house before they go their seperate ways – Gere to see his estranged son in the back of beyond and Lane goes home to her children. To give the film the plural title Nights in Rodanthe, it is highly misleading to think that a full relationship is going to be built.

The relationship does continue through letters, Gere’s letters to Lane are on the more sexually explicit side than Lane’s depiction of everyday life related to Gere. They both speak abut how much they want to see each other and how long it’ll be till they do which unfortunately creates another predictable plot line – Gere’s character dies by being the man she has helped him to be. On the day that Gere is meant to visit Lane, he doesn’t show up. The person who shows up the following day is his son; a very minor part for James Franco; who states that his father was a better man for knowing her and how much he loved her etc etc.

The films premise had a lot of  promise initially but I felt it was ruined by the predictable plot lines that ensued. The story itself had a lot of scope but the characters weren’t very developed for what you would expect a fulfilling romance to develop from. The film was very short in length, about 90 minutes long and if a little more thought had gone into the plot, would most likely have been a more productive storyline. If it’s easy watching that you want to see then this film is ideal for that but one to see with the girls, a man will not appreciate this film however they would appreciate the car Gere gets to drive for the film.

Rating: 4/10

Taking into account what I have initially said, what I am learning is what I am interested in – I love developing people; their skills both intellectual and practical and making them into the best that they can be in whatever role they are doing. I feel that I should embrace what I have discovered about myself today and take note that I need to find something intellectual in which to develop myself before I can apply this to someone else. I’m pretty sure I still have the textbooks from my university course and even though I hated psychology at uni, I think I have quite a bit of interest in it now; when you watch TV shows whereby a psychologist/psychotherapist is involved and I listen to what they’re saying, I think to myself I could have said something similar with a slightly different slant or that it was something which I had picked up on and find it to be intriguing. There is a show on at the moment on Sky Arts every night with Gabriel Byrne as the lead actor and its called ‘In Treatment’. Basically Byrne is a therapist for people with issues (obviously otherwise why else would you go to see him??!!) and whoever has written this series has such an excellent grasp of the role of the therapist and is displaying signs of what I am currently learning now in my course. Byrne is playing Paul the Therapist – his surname is blank from my mind at the moment – who seems to be going through a mid life crisis whilst treating patients who have a ranging set of issues like depression coupled with erotic transference, suicidal thoughts and tendancies, moral issues like abortion and marriage problems, as well as dealing with his own issues that he is going through. This show is kind of like a reference point which I think could assist my learning if I can see what I am learning in context.

Another excellent show that I am watching at the moment is ‘Lie to Me’ starring Tim Roth. This guy has studied people for 20 years and is basically able to read people’s emotions and expressions to decipher whether they are lying or not. There are other characters who play different roles in the series; there’s Gillian who is an expert in psychology, Torres who is a natural reader of people and a guy who’s name escapes me who is very good at both the psychological aspect and reading of people and is extremely honest in what he says with funny consequences. Throw in Tim Roths’s character Cal Lightman’s ex wife who is a lawyer and their daughter who is a teenager and there’s is a diverse view of everything that is going on.

Since watching this show, I was a people watcher before but this makes me want to study people more in depth, to really take note of what they are telling me without telling me anything. I spoke to my dad last night about whether its possible to take a course with regards to Lies and Deception – he started going through the basics with me, due to his career as a police officer he’s pretty well versed in lies and deception and gave me a demonstration of key characteristics to look out for. But I think it would be something that would interest me and intrigue me so I’m going to look into it further.

I had a very full weekend with Titch and friends; on the Saturday we went for a picnic in North York Moors – I think the place was called Deanholm or something similar – and then took the steam train from Goathland to Pickering to see Railway at War; this event was on for the full weekend and there were so many people in costume – ladies in the 1940′s clothing with stoles and the gentleman in American clothing or war clothing – it really was excellent. The steam train was by far and away the best bit of the journey. On the way to Pickering we were in an open carriage, crammed into seats and it felt really closed in. However, on the way back to Goathland we were in cabins within carriages. It is such a comfortable way to travel and I really want to go on it again. I managed to get some excellent pictures on my digital camera and strangely enough, some that seemed very lomo which was a bit surreal due to using the digital camera. The only reason it looked lomo was due to the unknown reflection from the window of the train. I thought I was taking some gorgeous shots of the landscape; there was a solitary oak tree (I think) onto top of tis hill surrounded by forestry but I thought it looked so original and different to have this solitary tree amongst everything. So anyhow, I snapped the picture and when I looked back the pattern of the seats had made its way into the picture but looked really good; it was as though the reflection of the seat had been imposed over the tree landscape.

On the sunday, Turkey and her nephew came over for sunday lunch and we went to Preston Park. Thankfully for the boys sake the minature railway was up and running so Turkey and I took Titch and her nephew on there – for a little thing it went surprisingly fast and I enjoyed myself as much as the kids did, even Turkey said she had fun on there!

Anyhow, I feel much better for coming on here so I’m going to make my head hurt and re-read my notes and see if I can find anything on the internet that could be of assistance or explain certain theories a bit clearer and then possibly come on here again to make more sense rather than be rambling on!!! As on the re-read of this, its one long ramble with not much sense!

Thanking you kindly!

My first eureka moment involved the Lomography golden rules; one of the rules is don’t be afraid t shoot from the hip i.e. take the chance on the angles and I thought an excellent exhibition idea would be for the title ‘The world I don’t see’ and to shoot from behind my head??!! Strange – possibly and the thing with analogue shooting is that you can’t preview the cameras so you’re taking a total risk with what pictures could be developed and if they are any good or not but at the same time, a bit of risk goes a long way. Look at all the great arts of the world of which I’m not going to go into now as I want to keep this short but just look at certain films, tv schools, books etc that have been made which pushed boundaries; look around you and think about what you see!

Anyhow, my second eureka moment was for a tv show. A contestant (1 or 2 max) have £100,000 a day for 365 days and they have to spend the full £100,000 a day and a camera follows their every move. The catch is obviously its kind of a reality show and the logistics would be considerable (I’m not a fan of reality shows at all) but if the contestant isn’t being entertaining, intelligent, implusive, spontaneous and just pure fun, their money will be cut to make it more difficult. Part of the contract would be to ensure they understand and adhere to the rules of the show but thinking it would also kind of be a travel show, culture show and pure madness just for kicks! Writing it down now illuminates how I haven’t thought much about this but could imagine the possibilities of having the possibility to be a part of something like that!??! Imagine someone coming up to you saying ‘here’s £100,000, you have to be funny and interesting for a whole year, make sure you spend the full amount each day and we’ll give you £100,000 a day for that whole year, but make sure you are happy and interesting or we’ll take it all away!! p.s. you’ll be on camera 24/7 but well edited!!’

I’d love it!

Firstly if anyone reads this most likely kerfuffled musings that are about to go on on these pages then I am already going to say – ‘I was drunk!!’ ‘I didn’t mean it’ ‘That wasn’t me, someone else used my computer!’

On a more serious note in a hopefully lighthearted manner, if anyone does read my postings and find them offensive, rambling, whining then I do apologise from the off; it is my creative outlet, something for myself in my voyage of re-discovery (yawn yawn yawn!) and during my self therapy see where I go from this!!!

If  it is possible to see my profile – I am new to this game – then the gist of it all is there for you to read!

I used to know me, have fun (a-lot!!) and be a lot more satisfied and happy with life. Don’t get me wrong I still have a pretty great life and I have what I know a lot of people would like but if it doesn’t feel like the right fit for you then what can you do about it??!!

This is my starting point – what can I do about it??!!??!! I am also going to make another apology now; I use a lot of exclamation marks, questions marks and a whole array of punctuation to put across any emphasis I may have on a point, remark etc so please don’t get annoyed!

Let me start by saying I have a good, well paid, comfortable job (read job, not career); I have a loving family; a gorgeous son and a pretend husband (more on that to come too!). But I have been feeling for the last few months, possibly even years, that I am missing something profound from myself and my life; I have been increasingly feeling that I have nothing that defines me, nothing that gets my heart racing and my blood pumping and that makes me want to jump on the settee with tremendous excitement!

I look at my husband (I’ll call him that so as not to complicate matters) and see that he has his DJ-ing in clubs, music making, gym, Ju-Jitsu or whatever marshall arts thing it is that he does and he seems so content and so happy with what he has. Boring, whining, miserable me on the other hand feels a bit of resentment at this (I can admit that at least) – admitting a lot of resentment is kind of not playing the game properly with your partner; you’re meant to be proud of them and want for nothing more than their happiness. But this is where I fall short. I am proud of him and I am very happy he is finding his way through life but I am also jealous of him for doing so.

I know a lot of it is my fault; I do the majority of the house work, I work full time, I spend a lot of time entertaining Titch (the fond name for my son, not his chosen name but how he will be known in this blog type thing) and if I get enough time I fit in a little run or try and fit a swim in before work and that pretty much sums up what I have going on in my life at the moment which compared to what I used to be like reads very pitiful!!! So in effect I have basically created free time for husband to indulge in his activities so now if I try to create time for myself, it rarely happens because we have fallen into a pattern which is so typical of domestic life!

So, over the last couple of really soul searching weeks and the help of some great friends who will no doubt pop up from time to time in my musings I have decided to take the bull by the horns and to just get up and get on with it!!!

Yesterday, I was discussing this with my friend Ando (female friend and will most likely use my personal nicknames for them to protect them). We had arranged to go up Roseberry Topping – a local landmark in my neck of the woods and a good walk if you know the best way to go – and after collecting her and driving there couldn’t see it from the road! The amount of fog on the ground was unreal; to make a point if anyone told Ando that she’d chickened out she snapped it on her camera! So, being women we decided the best way forward was a coffee in Guisborough and a good girly chat!

It was during this girly chat that I brought up my dissatisfaction with life and that I needed something for me, that would inspire me or allow me to use some frustrated creative juices! Ando is one of the best people I could have spoken about this to; she is unbelievably inspiring, creative, intelligent and just plain fun to be around. For her diminuitive size she packs an amazingly large personality. Anyhow, during this chat she came up with some brilliant ideas; life drawing classes at Mima (a brilliant idea if someone thought matchstick men were the new frontier however quickly dismissed as the times the classes were on clashed with husband’s working hours), learning languages again which coincided with my plan of re-learning french as I was pretty good at school but now can’t remember anything – I think I remember more latin than french and did french for 3 more years! – so that kind of hit the nail on the head; but then Ando mentioned Lomography!!

She explained to me the principle of Lomography, playing with the film, double exposing, fishbowl principle, shadowing, splitting, a vertiable delight of creativity without having to use a pencil or paintbrush where whatever was created could be seen as any type of beauty depending on who was looking at it! Ando made me put the website into my mobile phone for future reference and no more was said. We continued chatting, drank good coffee from a chain coffee shop and went to the local toy shop where I bought christmas presents for Titch; an awesome remote control motorbike, dinosaurs, binoculars and a helicopter. I took Ando around the area to show her where I used to live before I moved to IB and realised how beautiful my doorstep is!! Leave IB and a whole world opens up away from you and as Ando said ‘you’d never believe we were in Teesside being here’ and never has a truer word been spoken.

Anyhow, a start none the less and all will be tracked right here in my seemingly americanised way towards self enlightenment!

P.S. Whilst typing on here my mum showed up with my dad’s handheld Nikon camera and his archaic 1970′s film camera in original packaging direct from Japan when he was a merchant marine engineer!! The focus through this archaic camera is amazing and even without all the technical know how yet or the technology that todays cameras have, it is going to produce some wonderful pictures for me!

Thank you and g’night!