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Tuesday, September 30, 2014

The Filmography Project: David Fincher- Update 1

Okay, I blogged about this project awhile ago, and with Gone Girl being released this week (!!!!), it's time to buckle down and get serious.

So, here are his works (working backwards):

  • Gone Girl- 2014
  • House of Cards- 2013
  • Justin Timberlake featuring Jay Z short- 2013
  • The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo- 2011
    • I am obsessed with this film. For awhile I watched it at least once a week. Sick, I know.
  • The Social Network- 2010
  •  Madonna Celebration Video Collection (Express Yourself, Vogue)- 2009
  • The Curious Case of Benjamin Button- 2008
    • Fincher + Pitt is so good. 
  • George Michael: Twenty Five- 2006
  • Video Hits- Paula Abdul (Straight Up, Forever Your Girl, Cold Hearted)- 2005
  • Panic Room- 2002
  • Madonna (Bad Girl)- 1999
  • Fight Club- 1999
    • A top five movie of all time.
  • George Michael (Freedom)- 1999
  • The Game- 1997
  • Se7en- 1995
    • "What's in the boxxxxx?"
  • Aerosmith- Big Ones- 1994
  • Best of Sting (Englishman in New York)- 1994
  • Dangerous-Short Films (Who Is It?)- 1993
  • Alien 3- 1992
    • I'm gonna have to watch Aliens since I don't remember it At ALl. 
  • Madonna Immaculate Collection (Express Yourself, Oh Father, Vogue)- 1990
  • The Beat of the Live Drum- 1985
Do you have a favorite Fincher film??

What's interesting is that I've seen all of his movies, except for Alien 3. I've probably seen all of his music videos, too, without realizing who directed them. This is going to be fun, guys!

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Day 10: Glasgow

All of our hotels in Scotland had really good breakfasts: Edinburgh was like a little restaurant tucked away in the back of the small hotel, Kirkwall was like eating in your neighbor's kitchen (but without the small talk), and our Glasgow hotel was a buffet, which was perfect for two tired travelers.





For our last full day in Scotland, we took it easy and basically planned our day around our meals. First up was breakfast and some chitchat with a lovely couple on vacation from Canada (?).

Between breakfast and lunch we did some more shopping and walking around Buchanan St.



 And then ended up at The Horseshoe Bar for lunch. It was good, hearty Scottish food served as an economical package. All served with some magic:




Even though it rained at least a little every day we were there, this was probably the most dreary of the days* and you could definitely feel the seasons changing as night was upon us the earliest of our trip.



I like to think that Scotland was sad we were leaving the next day. I know I was.

Ten days into our trip we were finally smart enough to pick a real restaurant for dinner instead of wandering around looking for a pub with food. We went to a lovely Italian place up the street for tapas and a delicious cocktail made with Pimms!



After dinner we went back to the Corner Bar near our hotel to get more of the amazing sticky toffee pudding and spiked coffee drinks, but their service SUCKED and after sitting there for 45 minutes, we gave up and left. It was pretty ridiculous.



But look who we saw!



Since we never got dessert, we went to a convenience store and picked up something there and also stocked up on Orkney oatcakes (yum!).

Saturday night in Glasgow had a special feel to it and I think we were both fine with heading back to the hotel to relax and enjoy our store-bought desserts. You could feel the energy outside as the night went on and as the street noises got louder, it definitely felt best to be snuggled in our hotel beds. Nothing felt scary in Glasgow, but it wasn't like we were looking for a wild night. Being hungover for 7+ hours on a plane is not something I want to experience!

I was pretty sad that it was our last night in Scotland. My only regret was not having more sticky toffee pudding. One more day to blog about!

XO,
SVR


*Note: I love dreary days!

Monday, September 15, 2014

Day 9: Glasgow

We were pretty tired by this time of the trip. I think we were both glad that Glasgow was our last city not because we wanted to leave Scotland, but because we had the least amount planned for that city. We had tossed around the idea of using our rail pass to go to another city, but we ended up not and while seeing more of Scotland would have been awesome, I don't think we would have enjoyed our last few days had we done that. It's important to be rested and well while traveling!

We were also a bit done with public transportation by this point, too. After our epic day of bus/cab/train to get from Kirkwall to Glasgow, we wanted to stick close to our hotel and not have to 1) worry about getting around and 2) pay for cabs. Luckily, our hotel was in a primo spot of the city and we could walk most everywhere. The only place I had wanted to go to, but was too far away, was Ubiquitous Chip, but that's okay. It's good to leave things for next time.

First up, we headed down Buchanon St, which is the main shopping area of the city. It's a pretty impressive street of shopping! It's also a lot of fun because there are street musicians and it has a very energetic feeling. While Edinburgh feels magical and old, Glasgow feels bustling and gritty.

Imitation Is The Sincerest Form Of Flattery: Landslide

Just my second cover comparison, but what a fun series! Go back and check out my "Wonderwall" discussion if interested.

So, the original:



And the Smashing Pumpkins cover:




I am not a Stevie Nicks fan. I guess full disclosure on that is pretty important. I also happen to be a huge Smashing Pumpkins fan. I can't say for sure that my first introduction to this song wasn't the Smashing Pumpkin's version, but I can definitely say that their version is what I love. The Fleetwood Mac version just sounds a little too without feeling for me. The guitar playing is quite nice, of course, but it's her voice that totally turns me off. And I know a lot of people say the same thing about Billy Corgan's voice, but man, I love it. I feel SO much more feeling in the Smashing Pumpkin's version and I like that it's a little bit more messy- the guitar playing doesn't sound perfect and it's not always balanced, but it works. Oh, how it works.

I love the cover WAY more....what about you???

XO,
SVR

Saturday, September 06, 2014

Why I Don't Like Federer (Anymore)

When Federer first burst onto the scene, I wasn't a fan. Why? Well, to be honest, I didn't like his hair. And, sure, that's trivial, but that's how sports work. I started liking Djokovic after seeing him do serve impressions of other famous players. I started liking Andy Murray because I saw that he was from Scotland. I like Dimitrov because he's hot. The reasons for liking players and teams can be pretty random. That's sports for ya!

For Federer's first Grand Slam title, he beat Mark Philippoussis in the final. I held a grudge against him for several years for that and then again for that epic final against Roddick at Wimbledon. Grudges are also normal in sports. As a Redskins fan, I automatically hate the Cowboys. And those first few years of his career (2004/5 especially) were boring. I hate to see the same player win everything. Even when I was a HUGE Pete Sampras fan, I still wanted some of the other guys to win some of those major tournaments.

It was fun when Nadal started having a great rivalry with Federer! I loved the talk about Federer not being able to beat Nadal on clay and it was even better when Nadal beat Federer at Wimbledon in 2008! He also owns a winning record against Federer. Nadal totally puts Federer in his place and I think he alone is why Federer keeps playing. Nadal has 14 Grand Slam titles and is about five years younger.

As the years went on, though, I definitely started to respect Roger Federer's playing. He's amazing. No one can deny that. And then, around 2010 maybe, I even started to like Federer a little bit. A little little bit. He wasn't winning everything and he was starting to get that over 30 Agassi aura about him. Honestly, it felt like he was going to retire soon and I think everyone had the feeling that we should enjoy his beautiful style while we could. (But not while winning more majors.)

But now it's 2014 and he's still around. And I get it, I do. He's still really good so why not keep playing? That's fine. BUT OH MY GOD SO MANY TENNIS FANS ARE COMPLETELY OBSESSED WITH HIM!!! It's weird. I've never been to a sporting event where it seems like people have been brainwashed to like someone. I often say that people have drank the Federer kool aid and that is exactly what it's like to sit in a stadium and hear 90% of the crowd cheer for him no matter who he is against. And it's different than just having a favorite player. I've asked some Federer fans about liking him, and they either never watch the early rounds of tournaments and aren't true fans or they seem to like him because they're seemingly told to by the TV.

Now, the over 30 Agassi aura that he used to have has morphed into this obnoxious GOAT* aura that he and most commentators encourage. Federer is always going to be a factor in a tournament. He's consistent and knows how to win, but after not even reaching a Major final in 2013, I feel like tennis experts should not be talking about him like it's still 2005.

It's time to move on from Federer. A Federer win is a boring win and I don't want my favorite sport to be boring.

XO,
SVR



*Greatest Of All Time

Monday, September 01, 2014

To See List. Tennis.

I declared 2014 to be the Year of Tennis and even though I didn't get lucky with the Wimbledon ticket lottery, I've still had some awesome moments! I've watched A LOT of it on TV (which is what I'm doing right now), and I went to the Western & Southern Open in Cincinatti in August where I saw so many amazing players! On the way home, my friend and I went through the top ten for the WTA and ATP to figure out who we've seen and who we still need to see play.

ATP*:
  1.  Novak Djokovic- saw him play!
  2. Rafael Nadal-not yet:( He has been hurt.
  3. Roger Federer- yeah, blah.
  4. Stan Wawrinka- not yet, actually.
  5. David Ferrer- no
  6. Milos Raonic- We saw him walking around at Cinci, but did we see him play? I don't think so.
  7. Tomas Berdych- no.
  8. Grigor Dimitrov- yes....swoon. 
  9. Andy Murray- YES! And we saw him practice with Dimitrov. Amazing!
  10. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga- Yes.
WTA:
  1. Serena Williams- Yes, zzzz.
  2. Simona Halep- yes!
  3. Na Li- No, which is fine. She has been hurt, too.
  4. Petra Kvitova- no:(
  5. Agnieszka Radwansk- Yep! 
  6. Maria Sharapova- Yes!
  7. Angelique Kerber- No
  8. Eugenie Bouchard- Yay! Yes.
  9. Ana Ivanovic- Yes! Love her.
  10. Jelena Jankovic- saw her practicing.


Not bad, eh? Plus, I've seen plenty more not in the Top 10s:) Who is your favorite player??


XO,
SVR

*Tanking as of 25 August 2014