Painting Painting More Painting and Batman

Yesterday was a slightly bizarre day by my calculations as may be understandable from the title. I woke up feeling my head was spinning with a ridiculous number of thoughts - I think I could have beaten Hamlet for the number of things going on in my head, although they weren't quite so depressing. They ranged from 5 pound tickets to see RSC plays to Rafa and tennis, from Nike to Gossip Girl and from painting to Batman. Whilst the first four things may have been a little odd to be thinking about as I woke, the latter two weren't. I had offered my services to help paint my brother's new house, along with my younger brother. So that's what we did for most of the day. Prior to that though, we had to give our opinion on which colours should be chosen and I found myself strangely amused by the names given to different coloured paints. It must be an incredibly interesting job for whoever names them - intense truffle? cookie dough? So, we painted on for several hours and eventually stopped to have an ice cream, which I managed to get more of on my clothing than paint - the punishment for being an extremely slow eater. That was the end of the day of painting for me - my younger brother stayed on - as I went home to cook tea for us all.

The evening saw the return of Batman as I went to see The Dark Knight for the second time. This time with my friend. I had initially texted around twenty friends earlier in the week, got about five responses and only one came. However, after some minor irritation, it turned out for the good. The seven o'clock showing sold out, so we booked the eight showing and went for a drink (non-alcoholic). Having spent so long away from each other at university it was really good just to sit and chat. We talked about what it's like to come back from uni and how strange it is to see all those people who make up our friendship circle back at home; we talked about what makes us happy now. And I felt happy then; one of the best nights I've had in a while. The Dark Knight was superb once again and after the film we were left contemplating on the performance Heath Ledger has left behind him. We both agreed, a bloody good one.

These Are a Few of My Favourite Things

Just a little about me...

Book: Wuthering Heights

Play: Hamlet

Poem: Ode to a Nightingale

Sports Player: Rafael Nadal

Film: tough, but Brokeback Mountain?

Song: The Scientist

Playwright: Shakespeare

Language: English and Spanish

Dance: Ballet

Latin Dance: Argentine Tango

Novelist: Emily Bronte

Poet: John Keats

T. V. Show (on-running): One Tree Hill

T. V. Drama: Bleak House?

Actor: tough - either Heath Ledger, James McAvoy or Johnny Depp

Actress: Nicole Kidman

Food: Rice

Pen: Parker

Soft Toy: Pooh Bear

Instrument: Piano

Composer: Tchaikovsky

Great Expectations

Great expectations...those are what I have for the current production of Shakespeare's Hamlet at The Courtyard Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon.

David Tennant takes the title role with Patrick Stewart doubling as both Claudius and Old Hamlet's Ghost. I like that idea and I hope it works on stage. Having seen two of the last three productions of Hamlet at the RST, if this production is going to exceed the brilliance of those it will have to be phenomenal.

In the two previous productions I saw, Sam West played the first Hamlet and Toby Stephens the second. I fell head over heels in love with the play and character when I watched Sam West so I was a little worried about watching the play again for fear the next Hamlet might not be as good. I was certainly mistaken. Artistic Director, Michael Boyd, of the RSC had chosen Toby Stephens for the role and he lived upto the standard of West's performance. That 2004 production I watched four times in all. Clive Wood, Sian Thomas and Meg Fraser were outstanding as Claudius, Gertrude and Ophelia. So, Tennant and Stewart have a lot to live up to, as do the rest of the cast. But, with one of the current top directors in charge of the play, Gregory Doran, I'm pretty sure that Hamlet is in safe hands.

One thing upset me a little after I had heard of someone having seen the current production: the number of girls standing up screaming and cheering at the end as David Tennant came back on stage. I understand that some people are going to see it purely because they're Doctor Who or Star Trek fans, or because they adore David Tennant. But, why should those of us who are there to watch two fantastic actors act in Shakespeare's great play directed by a superb director suffer a rather disturbing end? Why don't we all just show respect for Shakespeare's play?!

So, why am I going? What other answer can I give other than that, I love Shakespeare. And Hamlet is my favourite play in the whole wide world!

Bloody Brilliant Batman

Whoever thought a comic book film could be so bloody brilliant? One of the best films I've seen in a while I'd say. And most of the critics seem to agree. Not everyone agrees, I know.

I plan to see the film again, this time with friends. The first time I went with my two brothers who, granted, are two of my best friends. I used to watch the original Star Wars Trilogy with my brothers, sister and cousin. We loved them, we still do. This film, The Dark Knight, was almost as exciting and energising as those. Interesting too. I knew from Star Wars that politics could find its way into action films and I was very interested with the political overtones this film had.

I can't tell you how often I found myself moving closer to the end of my seat. It was gripping stuff, getting the adrenaline pumping, with all the action packed scenes. The screenwriters did a pretty damn good job too. Some classic lines - especially from the Joker. The hardest part was knowing that Heath Ledger no longer lives. But after that performance I know I'll never forget how fantastic an actor he was (actually, I thought he was brilliant in Brokeback Mountain). His was not the only memorable performance, Christian Bale in his role as Bruce Wayne/Batman put on a superb display and his scenes with Heath Ledger are pretty awesome. Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine and Garry Oldman completed an all round excellent cast making The Dark Knight a film I'd be very surprised if people forget.

The Beginning

I always wondered what the purpose of blogging was; I now realise it can be used for...anything. I can't tell you what this blog will contain; I expect just a series of ramblings by an old teenager who simply loves to write.

A little about myself? I'm a student at university, about to go into my second year. I study English Literature, the subject I've wanted to study since I was ten. Nothing changed since I first became determined to study it. I can say honestly: I love literature. I love writing about it. I love talking about it. I love reading it, watching it, speaking it aloud. I love loving it. I channel a hell of a lot of my passion into literature...But, there are many more things I simply adore.

Writing. Another of my passions. Poetry, essays, short stories and...novels?! Novels?! I haven't yet managed to complete one, but I've begun many. One novel is on its way to being completed - thankfully!

A slight contrast perhaps: tennis. I love to watch it and (to attempt) to play it. In my humble opinion it is an exquisite sport. The grace, the power, the passion, the strokes, all beautiful. It does in fact remind me of ballet, my favourite form of dance.

So, onto ballet. To both watch and perform it is a great experience. I learnt ballet (and other forms of dance) from the age of three. I still dance and I love to choreograph ballet dances and teach them to other dance students. It's one of the greatest feelings to see students perform them (especially when they look like they're enjoying it)!

I think this shall suffice for now. You'll find out more about me as I write more and more.