Archive for April, 2007

Pumping no more

That’s right, I quit the gym today. I’ve been going less and less since New Year (I always like to oppose popular trends), and now that the weather is getting towards more summery conditions, I want to be outside more!

I went once last week, and tonight I went again just to give it a go. I cycled for 10 mins, looking around at all the people grimacing indoors in the vast sweaty hall of pain, and decided that I just did not have one single ounce of motivation left in me. I can now run outside without freezing, instead of on the hamster tread, I can play Tennis instead of Squash, and I’m never going to get bulky without eating 10 meals a day and pumping iron like an Austrian madman. So why bother?!

Laitakaupungin valot (Lights in the Dusk)

The third installment in the “Loser” trilogy by Aki Kaurismaki delivers pretty much what you expect after having seen the other two films.

The visual style again shows great love and nostalgia for the 50’s, the interior shots painted in lovely shades of muted red, green and blue. In this film the effect is slightly oddly juxtaposed as Kaurismaki shows alot of shots around the shopping malls and subways around central Helsinki, which clearly place us in the present day.

We get weighed down as we watch the loser protagonist trying to get ahead in life and the sparse dialogues with lengthy pauses and 1000 yard stares. There are moments of relief, like the glorious answer given to a girl when she asks the protagonist what prison was like. Although I think it only really works well in Finnish.

Not bad, but a bit tedious and obscure.

Happy Easter!

Happy (end of) Easter! Once again I decided to stay at home for Easter break, and once again I feel it was the right decision. No crowds, unless you choose to enter into the centre, lovely April weather, bit of taking photos around Vauxhall, bit of bargain shopping, visited the Tate Britain, got plenty of sleep, catching up on the West Wing and 24, aerobee on Wandsworth Common, chilling in the early evening sun. Bliss. Hope yours was good too!

33

I am 33. I like the number, so I won’t complain about getting older this year! It is also the Atomic number for Arsenic, and Jesus’ age when he was crucified!