A Little Insight

When I saw V for Vendetta, what impressed me the most was Hugo Weaving's portrayal of V. I was hooked after I heard his first line. Maybe this quote will give you some insight as to why.

"Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of Fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is the vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished, as the once vital voice of the verisimilitude now venerates what they once vilified. However, this valorous visitation of a by-gone vexation, stands vivified, and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin vanguarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition. The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta, held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous. Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose vis-à-vis an introduction, and so it is my very good honor to meet you and you may call me V."

Can you imagine the type of skill it would require to deliver a line like that perfectly and make it look effortless? And no, I haven't memorized this. I thank the genius of the IMDb for providing me with the exact phrasing.

King Kong

I've never been a fan of science fiction films, especially those from the cheesy annals of science-fiction history. However, this remake of one such cheesy film is spectacular. At first, I went on a whim, and then later I went back with firm intent. This film is great. My favorite character is Kong, the giant silver-back gorilla. Thanks to the genius of Peter Jackson and the expressions of Andy Serkis, Kong is portrayed as a completely compelling and expressive ape. You can literally see the emotions in his eyes, in the set of his jaw, in the position of his eyebrows, all of which come together perfectly to lend him a startlingly realistic air. When Kong laughed, I laughed. When Kong was sad, I cried. Also noteworthy are the performances of Naomi Watts, Jack Black, and Adrien Brody. Ms. Watts charmed me just as she charmed Kong; Mr. Black's character disgusted and angered me just as he should have; and Mr. Brody, my roommate has obliged me to say, rendered a breathtaking and magical performance as is to be expected from his talented and most gorgeous self. I have two words for her [my roommate]: Thomas Kretschmann. Yes, I have a new hottie for my hottie folder. Mr. Kretschmann is a mix between the dashing Liam Neeson and the soulful David [Daisy] Wenham, and his voice - don't even get me started! Overall, I loved the movie. It may be three hours long, but I didn't even look at my watch until two hours into the film. The film is a bit slow starting, but once the action starts, it doesn't let up except for a few breathers spaced evenly throughout the film. I have one caveat: if you don't like bugs - you should invent some really good reason to disappear twice for extended periods of time during the film. Seriously, I don't have a big problem with bugs, but I squirmed and cringed in my chair and covered my eyes during these scenes. Other than that, I laughed, I cried, I cringed, and I even screamed once [What can I say? I just don't like T-rexes!] Go see it!

V for Vendetta

I went and saw V for Vendetta today, and I must say, I loved it. Hugo Weaving plays a very strong, charismatic, intelligent, and commanding lead. His alliterative soliloquies (with the letter 'V', if you hadn't already guessed) and his chivalrous ways endeared him to me immediately. Natalie Portman also performed well, as the courageous and willful Evey Hammond. That being said, the plot does lack a bit in the plausibility department, but it makes up for it in vibrant visual displays and spectacular fight scenes. This is not your typical comic-book adaptation, although it is reminiscent of that genre. I wouldn't recommend it to everyone, but I would go and see it again - If I could get a ride, that it. :D. Cheerio!

Panic

WARNING: Blatant self-pity to follow; proceed at your own caution.
I am a confirmed procrastinator, no doubts about that one. I waited until the day before my scientific paper was due to write it - and I think I did all right. But the paper took me all of 10 hours to write - and that's fast for me. Now, I have a physics test to study for, and I am scared. I always get nervous before a test, but physics scares the hell out of me, and I haven't had a chance to study yet, so now I have 12 hours before I'm going to take the exam and I'm trying not to work myself into a panic state. Seriously, my heart starts beating really fast, I start breathing really fast, my hands are shaking, my palms and feet are clammy and ice cold. I'm nervous. I have mammoth butterflies in my stomach, and my whole body periodically starts to shake, and I feel like I'm on the verge of tears and great gulping sobs. I don't know how to counteract this, and I really hate this feeling. But, I get it no matter if I study in advance or not. Maybe they have medication for this, I don't know, but I don't think this is right. So, I am going to do the only thing I can do -study, and do my darndest to try and calm down. Wish me luck.

Aaaaaaaaah!!!

Normally, I feel like I'm a pretty capable person. I'm not the best, but I can take care of myself for the most part. But the things I absolutely hate are computer problems. They make me feel puny, insignificant, illiterate, and helpless. I keep my spybot, my antivirus, and windows all up-to-date. And yet there I am on the internet, searching for something-or-other and up comes a message window from internet explorer that tells me that I may have this virus and that I need to check my computer for it. No matter which button I click (the scan, don't scan, or x) it leads me to a pop-up for this program - winfixer2005. It tells me to download it and scan my computer with it. Foolish me, I think, "OMG! What if I do have a virus? The original indicator was from internet explorer and not a pop-up - so it's for real, right?" So, I download it. It scans my computer and tells me that I have 7 threats, but I have to buy the program in order to deal with them. So, I run spybot and get rid of them - the threats. Then, I uninstall winfixer2005 and that's when my internet issues start up. I'll be on the net for a few minutes, and then a pop-up overrides my screen. The pop-up could be from some random thing or it could be for winfixer. I exit the pop-up, and then the original window I was operating the internet in doesn't work like it should - all of the commands don't function. The refresh, back, stop, favorites, search, etc. buttons let me click on them and then nothing happens. I can still perform the actions from my keyboard, but not on screen. And then the file, edit, view, etc. drop down menus refuse to drop down. I can click file all I want and nothing appears, nothing drops down, nothing happens. Well, the last time this happened to me (alas! something similar has happened!) I went into the manage-add-ons option and disabled all the add-ons that I didn't recognize. That seemed to work. This time, I still get the annoying pop-ups (and I do have a pop-up blocker), but they don't disable my window. So, I have no idea what's up. If you have an idea, please pass it on to me. I don't know what to do.

¡Viva Las Vacaciones de Primavera!

Finally, Spring Break is HERE! I've gone through one of the most rigorous weeks of studying and nail biting that I've had since I started college. Of course, my struggles may seem moderate or even piddling to some, but they were enough for me. I had two exams and one mid-term exam, all congregated in the middle of the week (two on Wednesday, mid-term Thursday). I am going to dedicate this blog to whining, so all those who hate whining, you've been warned: stop reading while you still can! I had the hardest exam Wednesday morning, bright and early, and then the easiest directly afterward (well, maybe not directly, I did have a break of about fifteen minutes to cram). The first exam was in Zoology 260: Behavioral Ecology and Evolution aka the most boring class I have ever had - aside from the lab, which is very interesting. I really don't like this class! I hate the text book - it is sooooooo boring. It took me almost two days to read five chapters. Compare this to my ultra-fascinating forensic anthropology book, where it took me six hours to read nine chapters. It's ridiculous! Anyway, I'm not one of those people who likes to read chapters in advance, or even directly after lectures. I'm more of a I'll-read-it-before-the-exam person, so I had a bunch drabble to read. But I read it all, and studied my heart out. I took the exam, and I really hate the questions we were asked. Exams are designed to test what you know, not to intentionally trip you up and confuse the hell out of you. There were several questions that I couldn't have told you were to look in the notes or the book to find the answers. Well, after that, I had a Spanish exam, which is one of my favorite classes (and easiest), no problem there. Today, I had my Forensic Anthropology mid-term, and I surprised myself by waking up five minutes before my alarm and not going back to sleep. Not only that, I had set my alarm to go off early, so I'd have at least an hour to study some more - and I actually did! That is so weird for me! I crammed and crammed, and I think I aced the exam - it was so easy! After that, I experienced a huge rush - like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. No more exams! (for a week, at least) Now, I am packing and getting ready to go home Friday, and then I'm going to go down to Florida for a little bit, although my beach time will be puny and insignificant. I'm going to visit family and help my Dad build a new bathroom for my Grandma. I can't wait - I haven't been down there in a year. Hopefully, we'll stop in Charleston and spend the night there on the way down. And if that is the case, I hope it happens Sunday night, so I can watch the Oscars with someone who actually wants to watch them! ¡Viva Spring Break!

Ewww...Forensic Anthropology Midterm Term Review

Autolysis: the degeneration of body tissues by the digestive fluids normally residing in the intestinal tract. Because their action is no longer controlled by the living organism, the juices digest the body just as if it were food, causing a general destruction of internal organs.
The activity of botanical life is often enhanced by autolysis. Since this process dissolves biotic material, the released substances can act as a fertilizer, causing faster and more aggressive growth.
Adipocere: A brown, fatty, waxlike substance that forms on dead animal tissues in response to moisture.
Marbling: the thinning of the skin during decomposition which allows for the visibility of underlying structures, such as veins, arteries, muscles, fat deposits, and bones.
Purging: the expulsion of the tongue from the mouth and the leaking of bodily fluids from the nose and mouth that occurs during decomposition.
Skin Slippage: the stage of decomposition where the scalp's hair mat falls off of the body, as well as the outer layer of skin.
Saponification: the decomposition of fatty tissue that occurs in bodies found in water or in moist conditions. This process creates adipose, or adiposy, or adipocere.