I always got the feeling that Valentine's Day was better in older times, when love was more forbidden.
When I was a teen Valentine's Day always tortured me, because I never received the anonymous valentine that I secretly longed for. Then as I got older and became a little more acquainted with love, still without ever receiving a valentine, I grew to look upon Valentine's Day with a degree of cynical disdain. Now I enjoy Valentine's Day from a distance. I look upon it as a day of nostalgia and dreams, where ponder romantic fantasies, the things that I have always hoped someone would do for me - write me a love letter, give me roses, elope with me to the city of love...kiss me amongst the wild flowers. I start to wonder, "Will anyone ever do these things?" not because they will never love me, but because, well things are different nowadays. Or perhaps it has always been this way and it is film and television that has given us these huge romantic expectations of Valentine's Day?
In my heart I feel that the true essence of Valentine's Day is young love, new love and forbidden love. To me it's about the risks an thrills of new love. But ironically, I don't think that many young people write love letters or send valentines anymore. Is it because love isn't as forbidden nowadays, or is it that we're just not as classically romantic? I have also never sent a valentine myself (except when we were as good as forced to do it in Primary school, but does that count?), which I think is partly due to the fact that if I had given valentine to a boy at my high school it would be seen as a huge joke - or is it because valentines were traditionally given to women (I don't know)?
Anyway...sometimes it's nice to imagine what romance can be, regardless of whether it has been for you.
I am an avid collector of images that delight and inspire me, especially now that I have Pinterest, so I thought I would share some Valentine-themed images that are inspiring me. Lately, Valentine's Day also seems to awaken an obsession with pink...
Perhaps someone will throw you a pink tea-party, or send you a love letter or kiss you in the wild flowers this Valentine's Day. I hope that they do. They probably wont, but does it matter? Isn't the longing, hoping and waiting what Valentine's Day is really about?
"Paul is a favorite resident at Brightside. He loves people and generally
spends his days in the carpark and barn where the action is. Paul loves
pats and cuddles and if you give him a tickle under the wings he will
return the favour by gentley preening your arm."
Drawing by Valerie Davide. This one caugt my eye in a gallery shop because of the crazy lines and reminded me of my own messy sketches when I used to draw.
Mitsy a little kitten I looked after for some friends while they were away.
She was a stray who adopted them!
Artwork by Adam Cullen. This picture reminds me of my old family pet who was a German Shepherd.
Artwork by Fiona Hall who had an exhibition recently at the Heide Museum of Modern Art which I sadly did not get to see.
I've developed quite a strong obsession with horror movies lately and have been watching a lot as you can see. Here's some brief reviews of what I've been watching lately -
Upstream Color (2013) ★★★★
I saw this at MIFF in August but I had been wanting to see it for a while before that ever since I saw the trailer last year. It's a pretty amazing film visually and sensually - loved the soundtrack. It is also a challenging, unconventional film but I found it completely engrossing.
Evil Dead (1981) ★★★
I watched this on my own late one night because I was bored. It was pretty entertaining. I found it funny, corny, gross, offensive, and at times scary. It's basically a gory/hilarious romp.
Peaceable Kingdom: The Journey Home (2009) ★★★★ 1/2
I found this movie really emotional. I cried a lot throughout. I'd been meaning to watch it for quite a while but had never gotten around to it - and to be honest wasn't sure what to expect, but was pleasantly surprised. I like this movie because it is really powerful emotionally, but doesn't show a lot of graphic footage in comparison to other animal rights films I've watched, it's more about the stories of the people and their experiences. I would highly recommend it. It is sad but it also has some really beautiful happy moments in it too.
Hellraiser (1987) ★★★
I actually found this movie hilarious and would say it's one of the funnier horror movies I've watched. Features great 80s special effects. There's something delightful and nostalgic about 80s horror that I do love.
Carrie (1976) ★★★★ 1/2
Loved this movie. Cannot believe I waited this long to watch it. Underdog takes revenge is such a perfect premise for this movie.
The Exorcist (1973) ★★★
Liked it but I did not really find it scary.
Don't be Afraid of the Dark (2011) ★★★
I wasn't a huge fan of the story or the characters - but - for some reason this movie really freaked me out. I think it just really brings back childhood memories of being afraid of monsters in the dark and jumping onto my bed so that they couldn't grab my feet!
Maximum Tolerated Dose (2012) ★★★★ 1/2
I watched this for the first time in February at the Australian premier but recently re-watched it. The film basically talks to a whole bunch of people who have been involved in the animal testing industry at some stage and invariably been trumatised/changed by it. It also tells the story of some individual animals who have been tested on. I know some animal activists seem to take issue with he fact that the film only looks at the issue from a animal welfare/cruelty perspective and fails to go into the science of it ie. the scientific fallacies of animal testing and how it can be harmful to humans because animals genetic make up is so different to humans. While I think it is a valid point, I don't share that view. I liked the film as it is and feel it is very powerful and moving.
V/H/S (2012) ★★★★
I found V/H/S really scary. It's a compilation of short horror vignettes held together by an overarching story of a bunch of teens breaking into a house where they find a whole bunch of videos containing the footage that makes up the film.
The Inkeepers (2011) ★★★ 1/2
After watching 'House of the Devil' a while ago I have since been keen to watch other movies by director Ti West. Inkeepers revolves around two employees working their final shift in a creepy old hotel before all hell breaks loose.
Session 9 (2001) ★★★★
Asbestos removers cleaning an abandoned insane asylum. The best thing about this movie is it is original and avoids the typical horror cliches. It also has a completely unexpected ending. It's the first horror movie to really pull the cat out of the bag on me.
Evil Dead 2 (1987) ★★
This was really just a shitty re-continuation of the first movie. It starts off very confusing because it kicks off with a re-cap of the events of the first movie - but it also changes things a little for which I believe the technical term is retcon. The rest of it is pretty similar to the first except with a few new
characters.
Django (1966) ★★
I watched this by accident. I saw it on my friend's hard drive and thought it was Django Unchained. Started watching it and confusion ensued - and then hilarity. It's an Italian western dubbed over in English. It's a funny, reasonably entertaining B grade watch.
Devil (2010) ★★ 1/2
A group of people get stuck in an elevator and one of them is the Devil.
The End of the Line (2007) ★★★★
A train trapped in subway tunnel late at night + a mysterious cult. I enjoyed this movie a lot. I found it suspenseful, but also quite kooky in it's concept. Beyond the Black Rainbow (2010) ★★★★
I watched this one last night and wow, it is like nothing I have ever seen before. It kind of blurs the lines between horror and sci fi and is hard to pin down but I definitely found this movie quite scary. It is not bloody or gory but it is really suspenseful and unsettling. I read one negative review that describes it as a "bad acid trip" which is probably quite accurate but it's a very very well crafted acid trip. It has little dialog. The music and visuals were sensational, the acting was amazing I thought, and the story was also intriguing. What really impressed me about this film was the level of craftsmanship that seemed to go into creating it. Everything about it just seemed immaculate. The music worked really well with the visuals while the sets were out of this world and at one point there is a book which holds some clues about the story line and it is full of these amazing trippy illustrations. It is slow, but I think it shows that a film can still be scary and slow - as we are so used to fast paced action nowadays. It also has - being set in the 1980s - cool retro styling and has been compared to 2001 Space Odyssey as you can see from the trailer. The one issue I had with the the film was the ending, which was not what I had expected and seemed to happen very quickly.
On my to watch list:
- Francis Ha
- Halloween
- Metrolpolis
- The Prince and the Showgirl
- Stories We Tell
- The Ghosts In Our Machine
- Suspira
and many more...
I've decided to start blogging again, for sanity's sake.
It's been a while since I last wrote - almost 2 years to be exact. I can't believe it really. A lot has happened since then - and also very little has happened. I don't feel like I've changed all that much, although I feel older and wiser and more grounded. I've taken some hits, like everyone does, and they've made me stronger but I think they've also made me more cynical - I feel like I've lost all of my naivety and all my innocence. I am fully grown - but sometimes I feel about ten years older than I am and a little weary with life. I'm 24 which seems old when I look back to being 18, but I'm not complaining - 24 is still young really and with age comes wisdom.
This blog won't have a theme really - I'll just post about all sorts of things that come to mind.
