Remember how I said I never just post random youtube clips, but I made an exception for one that was exceptionally well done?
This is awesome. Enjoy
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfBlUQguvyw]
Categories
Month: August 2009
Categories
Lesamy Week 49 – Down and Up Again
I guess I spoke too soon. Me and my triumphalist attitude about work-lady’s comments. Still no one to blame but blame itself – or something.
Actually I’m not that bothered. I had a big weekend and I expected this to be worse. What’s slightly worrying is that I’m at home this coming weekend for a family party. Maybe I can still be sensible.
We’ll see.
Weekly loss: –0.6kg (-1.3lb)
Total loss: 36.2kg (79.8lb or 5st 9lb)
To target: 12.6kg (27.9lb or 2st)
Current weight: 107.9kg (237lb or 16st 13lb)
Equivalent to: 20-April (17 weeks ago)
I don’t usually do this – partly because, like fan-fic, there are so many of these ‘mash-up’ videos that are mediocre at best – they’re fine but they’re not really my thing.
What sets this apart is that a) it’s really well done and b) it has a valid point to make. Actually more a). I’m slightly uneasy about jumping on-board a critique of Twilight when I’m not familiar with it – either in literary or movie form – but from what is said in the associated article, it does seem like it doesn’t compare too well with Buffy in the gender politics stakes.
Anyway, here it is:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZwM3GvaTRM]
Remember how excited I used to get when someone at work noticed a change in my weight? Well it happened again a few days ago. A lady who, frankly, has always been a bit odd with me, told me that “I’d put on a couple of pounds” She went on to express disappointment because apparently I’m her inspiration and thus I’m letting her down. She probably sees this as good natured banter and so would I if I knew her better and actually er, liked her. But obviously I’m too polite to say what I actually feel.
The other reason is that’s she’s right. Sort of…
What she’s probably noticed is that between my absolute lowest and my recent biggest (a couple of weeks ago) there’s about a stone’s difference. Something about which I already feel bad and which I’ve already started to turn around. But it’s been tough to get back to dieting consistently. I do ok during the week it’s the weekends I find tough. In particular I start to fancy alcohol and if I give in I end up both eating and drinking more than I should. Last weekend for example I pretty much just binged, but because I’d had a good week before that I managed to still lose weight. This weekend just gone I did better, though I still ate more. I had tried to control it allowing myself the old idea of a treat day of 2300 calories. But 2300 became 2500 and one treat day became two. Still if I did better this weekend than last then next ought to be pretty much on track again. (The weekend after that I’ve got a family party but oh well we’ll cross that bridge…)
So I wasn’t expecting too much from today’s weighing but got a nice surprise:
Weekly loss: 0.8kg (1.8lb)
Total loss: 36.8kg (81.1lb or 5st 11lb)
To target: 12kg (26.6lb or 1st 12lb)
Current weight: 107.3kg (236lb or 16st 12lb)
Equivalent to: 27-April (16 weeks ago)
Which is nice because I lost more than the almost-nothing I’d expected, because I’m back below 17st again, because ~2lb a week is a good rate (as we know) and because weird work-lady got it wrong. I actually lost a couple of pounds.
So there!
Categories
Lesamy Weeks 45-47 – 15 is the new 12
Lesamy Week 45
Weekly loss: 1.2kg (2.6lb)
Total loss: 36.8kg (81.1lb or 5st 11lb)
To target: 12kg (26.6lb or 4st 12b)
Current weight: 107.3kg (236lb or 16st 12lb)
Lesamy Week 46
Weekly loss: -2.4kg (-5.3lb)
Total loss: 34.4kg (75.8lb or 5st 5lb)
To target: 14.4kg (31.8lb or 2st 3lb)
Current weight: 109.7kg (241lb or 17st 3lb)
Lesamy Week 47
Weekly loss: 1.6kg (3.5lb)
Total loss: 36kg (79.4lb or 5st 9lb)
To target: 12.8kg (28.3lb or 2st)
Current weight: 108.1kg (238lb or 17st)
Equivalent to: 20-April (20 weeks ago)
First, apologies for the lazy, cliched, ‘X is the new Y’ format but I haven’t got the time or inspiration to come up with a better title.
Second, I won’t dwell on the numbers above – a good week, a week’s holiday where I overdid and a week where I pulled it back a little. I’m happy to be going in the right direction, a little less happy to be going up and down so much…
Anyway, since promising myself a ‘pause’ at week 52 hasn’t really worked, I’ve decided to change my target – my current target – to 15 stone instead of 12. I should be able to hit this by Chrismas or just after. If I then try to ‘maintain’ for a while and I settle somewhere between 15 and 16 then I won’t be desperately unhappy.
12 stone would still be a nice long term target – like over the next year or even two.
I really must get back to updating this every week too.
Categories
Buffy Movie Again (Again)
Categories
Please Don’t Die Rob Reiner
Like a lot of people I was saddened by the untimely death of John Hughes. I am the right age to have seen his films when they came out – though many I actually caught later. But when I saw online the way people were talking about him, how important some of the films were and how they captured a certain part of their youth I started thinking about other directors that make me feel that way. In particular I started thinking about who I would’ve thought of my favourite director a decade or so ago.
It’s tempting to say someone like Ridley Scott. He directed Alien and Bladerunner – the later being my ‘official’ favourite movie for years (until I finally realised that whilst good it wasn’t that good, it was just one of the first I’d seen that created a new world so effectively and completely). He also directed some other good movies like Someone to Watch Over Me or Thelma and Louise. I don’t really go for his big epics but I enjoyed Gladiator and at the other end of the scale, Matchstick Men is a lesser known one of his well worth checking out.
Woody Allen might be another choice. Sleeper is one of my favourite comedies of all time. Until a few years ago I would always catch his new movies and always find something to enjoy. But there became something of the stamp collector about watching his movies. I was more interested in being a completist than the films per se.
But there’s one director whose body of work seems to contain more of my favourite movies than any other and it’s a name that always slightly surprises me because I don’t tend to think of him as a great director. Of course it’s Rob Reiner – otherwise that’d be a rubbish title (maybe it is anyway).
Reiner has three films that would make my top 10, probably top 5, including my real absolute favourite. Those are
- When Harry Met Sally – still the benchmark by which I measure romcoms, because it’s genuinely funny and romantic at the same time.
- This is Spinal Tap – the DVD cover says “possibly the funniest film of all time” – hard to argue with that.
- The Princess Bride – this is my number one film. Why? Well it really does have it all – it’s funny, romantic, action-adventure, childlike without being childish, endlessly quotable – so of course in answer to why I should have just said: “Are you kidding:? Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles…“
But those are just the top three. When I look over the list that comes up when I IMDB him there are several more that are real gems that are important to me personally or just really great movies – The Sure Thing, Stand By Me, Misery, A Few Good Men, The American President.
I can’t say he’s done much recently that I’ve really cared for Alex and Emma, and Rumour Has It were amiable but forgettable – but anyone who’s made those eight films I mention above, heck the man who made Princess Bride alone, doesn’t have anything left to prove in my book.