Yes, it's gonna be a cold, lonely summer..

I feel like I've been gone from the xinugeist for a long time. I mean, there are posts on here for the month of July, I know... but doesn't it feel like things haven't been quite normal? As if I'm here.. but not really? It feels a little cold.. and lonely.

Well, I shall put that right, right away with some news!

Let's see, what's been happening.. hmm..

Well, the news of gravest importance in recent days is that I got a disaster $85 haircut, in which the master stylist at Aveda's Pyara Salon in Harvard Square (yeah, believe it) chopped off six inches of my hair to leave it at chin-level! My hair hasn't been this short since I was, like, nine years old. I fumed over it for a few days but having spent the last three days washing and styling it the way that *I* prefer, rather than the ass who cut it off, it's beginning to look more normal and familiar to me, so I guess I'm getting used to it now.. what you think?











I've also been spending an inordinate amount of time soaking up rainwater that keeps flooding our apartment through the washer/dryer unit every time there's a thunderous downpour, and I must admit, those have been occurring with a freakish regularity this year. I believe the maintenance guys have fixed the problem now, but a large portion of our carpet is all brown and smelly now. Ugh. We're insisting the building people replace it pronto, let's hope it happens soon.

In other news, I strained my back and arm by playing Boom Blox! on the Wii.. you can tell how out of shape I am when you correlate the level of pain (high) with the amount of time played (about 20 mins). It's an entertaining game, though, I love making things explode. Mmm.

Also, it's been five years since I met Sarwar.. how time flies eh?

Let's see, what else.. oh yeah, we saw Joel McHale live at the Roxy Nightclub in Chinatown, a shady club if there ever was one.. we were the only non-white people at the event, and as we left, we noticed that the entire line of people queuing up to go clubbing consisted of Hispanic women in skin-tight, barely-there clothing.. scary stuff. He was pretty funny, but I think I prefer him on The Soup than live and in person.

Oh my god, how could I forget to mention this - we saw The Dark Knight! OMG OMG OMG. SO DAMN GOOD. We saw it in IMAX, which is the *only* way to see it frankly. It was spine-tinglingly arresting from start to finish. The special effects and action sequences were excellent, Heath Ledger was phenomenal as the Joker, and the plot - though somewhat lengthy and convoluted - kept you on the edge of your seats. It was everything the critics raved about.. did not disappoint at all.

But I suppose there are a couple of small things I might ding the movie for..

Firstly, there was very little Bruce Wayne/Alfred banter or humor, and Christian Bale spent so much time inside the Batsuit that we didn't get to enjoy his 'acting' so much (there's only so much you can emote when your face is covered and your voice technologically altered).

Secondly, the story has progressed so that crime in Gotham City has been cleaned up a great deal since the last movie, so a lot of the cinematography depicted a bright and airy city in the daytime. This was a little jarring; I like Gotham being dark and dreary, and full of crime. Plus, in the daytime it was far easier to identify the outdoor locales as Chicago and I spent more time looking at the scenery and thinking, "I've been there.. and there.." than soaking in Gotham City.

Also, the dialogue and plot-line progressed so quickly that at times I didn't know what was going on. But that can be easily remedied.. I'll just go watch it again this week :D

Overall, though, it was an excellent film.. more of a psychological thriller than your typical superhero movie. Batman has always been my favorite superhero because he has no super powers to begin with, and has a dark and disturbed character. But I agree with many critics that TDK might be the peak for evolution within this genre. You can't take the 'super' out of a superhero movie any more than this, nobody will be able to top this - not even the next Batman installment itself.

But we do have something to look forward to anyway - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince releases in IMAX this November.. YES!



Oh what am I getting all excited about. It's going to be an awful movie, they always are. But still, it feels nice to see something HP related after so long. I miss magic :(

There we go.. we're on Harry Potter territory again. Aah, doesn't that feel better? Everything is back to the way it was..

.. now I just have to get 'Sealed with a Kiss' out of my head. Damn you, Jason Donovan.