Disney-Pixar films are something that I always anticipate highly, with the first trailers a year or more in advance showing great promise and inspiring speculation; and most of them live up to the gradual hype that surrounds them. I’ve seen every one in the cinema – no waiting apathetically for the DVD release here. So, when I went to see Wall-E with my sister and the teaser for Up was played, we both knew we couldn’t wait to see it. Her first visit to Portsmouth last weekend was a perfect opportunity to hit the cinema, pig out on popcorn, and see what all the fuss was about.
And I liked it. It was hilarious. But it didn’t quite meet my expectations. Firstly, it failed to inspire me visually as much as, for example, Cars or Wall-E had done in the past. Granted, it was the first time I’d seen it so I was focussing on the story, but the characters were blocky and awkwardly designed and the backgrounds were bog standard. The animation is clever, detailed and pretty, but it’s very obviously a cartoon, and it’s not stunning – at least not on the surface to the untrained eye. Pixar can do better, and I don’t know why they didn’t.
To read the rest of this review, go to Unbored!
Yes, that’s right, I am *that* person. I am writing this blog on my BlackBerry as I sit on the bus.
I just thought I’d fill you all in on what’s been happening in Laura Land. I have, as ever, been neglecting this blog for the sake of other projects. Well, that is to say, at least this week I have been. Last week it was neglect for the sake of a holiday in sunny Norfolk!
Which was lovely – I had a really good time with Adam’s family (ha, no, not that one…), and I enjoyed the relaxation and scenery. We stayed in a cosy cabin (with all mod cons, of course) in the woods overlooking Fritton Lake and did all the Enid Blyton-y things like pitch-and-putt golf and fish and chips by the sea. The really good news is, because his parents decided to purchase a cabin of their very own, I get to go back in August!
So, nicely relaxed, I made it back in time for a manic week! On Monday, I started my new job, temping three days a week for the Council. Tuesday was supposed to be a day off to do all the things I had to do, like answering emails and laundry, but I felt ill so didn’t actually end up getting much done. On Wednesday morning I had an interview for a more permanant position at a publishing house in Chichester; I am awaiting news of that one, rather nervously because I know I would absolutely adore the job! In the meantime I went back to my temp work today, and am now catching up on one more thing – updating my blog – on the way home. Whew!
Anyways, there’s my stop! Catch you later!
Well guys, I have a bit of a treat for you this week. I have decided to share some of my earlier attempts at writing with my loyal readers here.
Whenever they do interviews with writers, they always ask them when and how they started writing. Usually the answer is that they wrote a play for their dolls when they were a child, or entered a short story competition. In my case, the first original story that I ever wrote all off my own back was about a young girl hunting with a Saluki dog in Arabia. But the first thing that I ever sat down and properly produced was Redwall FanFic entitled, imaginatively, Lupwa’s Story. (more…)
Ah, the joys of technology! I am writing this blog from Adam’s parents’ house in Cambridge. On my BlackBerry…
Yes folks, I have now installed the WordPress app on my Curve, so I can blog on the go. Which is good, because what prompted this step was that I was sitting in the back of a car this afternoon a) feeling bad for having neglected this blog and b) lamenting all the time I was wasting just sitting doing nothing. Now, this is no more, and I can be merrily tapping away at these purple keys whenever I feel like it! (more…)
Hey guys, sorry for the lack of updates, but exciting stuff has been going on! I’ll attempt to give you a rundown of the news before I head off to bash out some articles – hopefully there’ll be a plethora of new stuff up here over the next week or so, so do check back.
The big news is that I was headhunted, and am now the new freelance proofreader/editor of a local magazine! You may not have heard of it, but you’ve probably seen it around. CityLife is distributed on the new Greyhound buses, as well as at ferry terminals, hotels and so on, as well as places like Cascades and Gunwharf. From the next issue onwards, my name will be on it, so do pick up a copy if you spot one. (more…)
I am happiest when I am busy, so I have started a new side project!
When I joined Twitter, I followed all the key dog press outlets in the UK, hoping they would update regularly and that I could get all my canine news from them. However, none of them tweet half as much as I would like them to, despite there being a lot going on in the world of dogs. This is probably because they are busy putting out papers and magazines, writing high quality articles longer than 140 characters in length; but I get most of my news from a Twitter feed these days, and I know other people out there do too. (more…)
I’m on work experience!
The nice people over at K9 Magazine were kind enough to offer me some experience researching and writing articles for their website and magazine, so while I am still doing what I love best (writing about dogs), I will not be doing it here for a while.
However, you can check them out and see some of my articles over there – I have posted the links to the two that have gone up so far below, and will post the rest shortly.
I am really enjoying the experience so far, and am looking forward to the rest of the week. They are keeping me busy though, so I’d better get back to it! Wish me luck!
What I’ve done so far:
“12 Greyhounds Free to Good Homes”
Well, I just finished University! I have handed in my final pieces of coursework, and it’s just a matter now of waiting on the final three marks to come back and (assuming I pass, which I should) collecting my diploma. If all goes to plan, as of the 22nd of July, I will no longer be a student, and will have to start thinking and acting like a fully fledged and proper adult! Scary stuff…
Other things are ending as well. I completed my last ever issue as Editor of Pugwash News, and have handed over to the new guy – it is well and truly ‘not my problem anymore’. Sadly, things did not end exactly as I had hoped they would; it’s a long story. But I am trying to see all the positives instead of dwell on this. I made some wonderful friends and memories, and I have three years of wonderful and educational experiences behind me. I know the new team will look after it well, so I’m happy to walk away with pride. (more…)
I started out writing an article about how to protect yourself and keep your information private on Facebook, and it turned into more of a rant about what people did on Facebook that annoyed me. So, instead I compiled a list of that which I consider to be the top 12 ‘Facebook sins’. Enjoy!
1) Gushing about your wonderful snuggly partner in every single status update. I loathe people who do this so much that I wrote an entire article about it!
2) Bitching about your ex in every single status update, once the love goggles have fallen off and you’ve realised he’s an idiot. I have never been exactly sure what these people are trying to achieve; it only makes you look immature, and your ex glad they got away! (For the record, “So-and-so is totally over her ex and had a great day with her girlfriends, who are so much better than men anyways” sort of statuses are also really annoying, and quite transparent…)
3) Fishing for sympathy in your status updates (usually because you have neither partner to gush about nor ex-partner to bitch about). “So-and-so wants a hug : (“, “So-and-so had a really crappy day” etc – you know the sort of thing I am talking about. Inevitably, twelve people will pop up saying something like “Aww, babes, huggles!”, which makes you feel better about yourself, somehow. Again, this just makes you come across as small and needy. (more…)
As part of my third year studies here at Portsmouth, I took a unit entitled Fan Fiction, where we had to produce an original 2,500 word piece of fan fiction based on certain criteria. I wrote a piece entitled “The Younger Miss Bennets”, which explored what happened to Mary and Kitty Bennet after their elder sisters got married at the end of Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice”. You can read it here. (more…)