Botanic Gardens

One of my favourite places here in Dublin is the Botanic Gardens in Glasnevin. I particularly love it on a warm sunny day. It's close to where we live so my friend and I decided to make good use the sunshine, and pay the Gardens a visit.

Last time we were there we chased some squirrels (not literally.) This time we followed a crane around the lily pond.

Oh! That Wily Rowling

So J.K Rowling has pulled a Barty Crouch Jr. on us all by going incognito as a crime fiction writer. Got to love that woman! Got to hate those douchebags who are currently savaging the rave reviews Robert Galbraith got for The Cuckoo's Calling!
Three things in life are guaranteed: Death. Taxes. And haters gonna hate.

I'm not going to pretend that I read and loved the book, as I saw one acquaintance do. (Siriusly, she's a right ol' Lockhart if ever there was one!) because the truth is that I'm not that much of a crime fiction fan. I only read those that come highly recommended by close friends. It's the Classics, Young Adult and History sections that I hoover around in libraries and bookshops.
But now The Cuckoo's Calling is calling. AND I MUST BUY. It's J.K Rowling AND Edinburgh.

I haven't blabbed on about Edinburgh in this blog. Yet. No doubt I will. But I adore that city above all else. All the places I've been hold some sort of happy/fond memories for me, even Lourdes *shudder* but Edinburgh is the one place I could see myself living, if ever I were to decide to leave Dublin.

Unfortunately, I can't get to a bookshop until tomorrow. And even then I doubt they'll have what I'm looking for. I'd well imagine the few copies Eason's stock would have been whipped off the shelves yesterday when the news broke. But hopefully by the weekend I'll manage to get a copy somewhere :)

P.S I do hope the copy I do manage to get has this cover

Newbridge Park

In a follow-up from yesterday's post: I did both. I managed to get some words down. And we had a little picnic in Newbridge Park. No frolicking though. Shame. (But then again, I always feel that true frolicking can only be achieved when wearing some sort of flowing white dress. Not jeans, a t-shirt and an old manky pair of runners.)

Jack, not looking all that entertained picking daisies for a daisy-chain.

Sunshine and Creativity

It's been a case of writers block today and yesterday. I barely got 500 words down yesterday. Today I am simply staring at the blank screen, willing myself to write something, anything, just bust that wall down!
I know my plot. I know what happened, and what's going to happen. It's just getting from what has been (A) to what will be (B) that's the problem.
Truthfully, it's the sun's fault. My window is opened, pushed wide in order for the smallest of breezes to come in. Everything outside looks appealing. Inside means hot, clammy work. Outside means picnicking beneath large oak trees. I know which I prefer. And I also know which I can't have :(
(But that said, perhaps I'll write non-linear - just get something down, then frolic in the dying evening sun? Frolicking in this heat is stroke encouraging.)

Tedious Tidbits

I'm currently having fun filling in passport forms. That's sarcasm, only Ned Flanders could have fun filling in tedious forms. But it expired sometime last year, so I really need to get it renewed soon.
It seems like more reading than anything else. Do's and Don'ts. I was never one for reading instructions. Not until it all goes terrible wrong. That's prime time to go reading instructions!
(At least I've got some Paramore on the docking system, dulls the monotony.)
I'm hesitant to send my previous passport back, I know you have too, but still. I like seeing the stamps in it. I've Canadian, USA and Turkey. Not that many, but still considering they are probably the only places I'll be visiting (where I needed a stamp or visa) for some years to come, I'll be sad to lose them out of my passport. The new one will be sad and empty.
The bright-side is saying goodbye to that picture. God knows, I'm not photogenic as it is, but that's some other shit altogether! It's weird to see myself still with braces and glasses. Sometimes I forget I had them. Or perhaps I'm just repressing those memories.

edit: I just realised, they may send back the now expired passport. I hope so. And I think I've said passport enough for one post so I will say no more about it. passport.

Beautiful Creatures (2013)



Finally, I've been able to watch this film. Despite it being released on the 17th of June, I was unable to find it anywhere. I was really surprised, I've never had difficultly finding a new release DVD before. It just re-awoke my grief for the loss of HMV.

Eventually though, I found it. The bottom row, on a single shelf  that could only hold three DVD's, in Golden Disc's. This did not endear me to believe that this will be an enjoyable film. In my experience, the harder the film is to find, the more likely it is that it wasn't worth the search. But I enjoyed the book, and the cinematography in the trailers did make me think it was worth the effort.

I'm glad to say I was right. It was worth it. I especially loved the end. I won't give anything away for those who've not yet seen it, but it veers from the book, and while I think hard-core fans will be annoyed by that, I couldn't help but admire the attempt to add some intrigue. I liked that the writer/director twisted it for those of us who have read the book, and gave us that final 'oh no, this isn't going to end well. It's got to end well. Please, end well' heart skipping a beat moment.

I loved the two leads, Lena was less whiny. Ethan less high and mighty. Ripley, more believable as a siren than she is in the books. In the books she was a caricature of the 'slutty blonde.' (It's a label I am loathe to give, but that's the only way I can describe her.)

The only thing I had issue with is the Genevieve/Ethan flashback scene. Don't get me wrong, it works well and is in keeping with the story, but I had loved their story in the book so that was a *gasp* 'what are they doing this for?' moment.

The Internship

 



Urgh! I didn't have high hopes for this film, but then again I didn't expect it to be so dire either. Woeful, just painfully woeful.
I saw it with my nephew, not my friend who wanted to see it. When I told her it was dreadful she said 'not another Wedding Crashers then?' It is, most certainly, NOT another Wedding Crashers. Wedding Crashers had, a least, a few funny moments that weren't shown in the trailer.
In fact when I asked for two tickets, the cashier corrected my pronunciation. I had pronounced it like someone was being interned in Guantanamo Bay.
By the end of the film, I wanted to confront the cashier, I was right, she was wrong. That pronunciation was fitting: someone should have been interned in Guantanamo Bay for this crap.