a blog about a lot of things

So, I've been watching lots more movies than usual lately (which, is quite an achievement cause I love movies) due to a combination of finishing postgrad, being unemployed and breaking my foot (which has me very immobile for the next 5 weeks). So I made a list, as I usually do. Other than the top 5 the rankings are quite fluid and all the films are quite good. (Disclaimer: I haven't seen  Nebraska   which is why it's not on the list.) 25.  Spring Breakers -  USA- English. Directed by  Harmony Korine .  The entire cast is great but James Franco steals this show. Really didn't expect this to be good by the premise and trailer. I was wrong. Cause I expected wild and fun but this movie is much darker than that. Really it's a visual of not just the worst of youth but what you think the worst of youth is (which is so much worse), which sounds terribly depressing but luckily the film manages to just ride that line of satire. Like most good films, the good...

Brian Lara with 400*, that's the score to beat to have the highest individual score in Test cricket. I'm of the opinion very few batsmen in the game now have the combined ability and mental capacity to bat for the length of time to gain this score. And then even of those who do it is unlikely some will have the opportunity due to weak teams and lack of long innings (always left stranded not out like Chanderpaul). I think a lot of reasons for the lack of potential other quadruple hundred makers are present, even the regularly used one of Test cricket becoming weaker due to T20 cricket and the shortened forms' impact on concentration (I half agree but there's still young Test quality around with batting. It's killing spin bowlers more, I think). Nevertheless, here's a list of the few batsmen with the ability to make at least 401. England Alistair Cook  - Personally I think Cook is one of the more likely batsmen to break this on the basis of his batting abili...

In no particular order (well, maybe a little order) and very haphazardly chosen and described. Which tends to apply to most of my lists. It's gonna be cross a lot of genres but obviously I don't listen to everything so I'm not going to have any dancehall or country on here (fair warning). Heavily influenced by other end-of-year lists, because really without those how else am I going to find half of these tracks? They sure aren't playing on the radio....  40. Rich Homie Quan - Type of Way I didn't even realize this wasn't a Future song till almost October. It definitely has that chopped-up, sorta electric/autotune warble finish to it. It's one of those songs you know are in English but can't figure out all the words and still find yourself singing along. Catchy and cause I still can't figure out all the lyrics it's either serious or silly either of which works. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KKbdErJkiY 39. Robin Thicke ft. T.I. and P...

In no particular order (well, maybe a little order) and very haphazardly chosen and described. Which tends to apply to most of my lists. It's gonna be cross a lot of genres but obviously I don't listen to everything so I'm not going to have any dancehall or country on here (fair warning). Heavily influenced by other end-of-year lists, because really without those how else am I going to find half of these tracks? They sure aren't playing on the radio.... 50.  Rudresh Mahanthappa - Waiting is Forbidden Frantic saxophone with guitar accompaniment, before mellowing out and then speeding up again , this track sounds like several film soundtracks merged into one (Eastern and Western films). And I've always had a bias to saxophone music ever since Coltrane (though this is far from hard-bop) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAqCt-r0b0A 49. Meridian brothers - Coplas Para Cantar Al Atardecer This is one of those bands I'd never find on my own. Heard this track o...

I've finally managed to see every film Woody Allen has directed and most of the ones he's acted in (easy enough because they're usually the same). So I've decided to make a list in order of my favourite ones in the sense of watch-ability. This might not be entirely in sync with excellent film-making exactly because I like comedy more than drama hence I might be biased toward Annie Hall over Interiors but maybe some people will agree with the order. Of course, my memory is flawed so the films I saw first might be slightly forgotten but then again if they were good they're memorable, right? Must watch - If you have other films you plan on watching and haven't see these, scrap the others and watch these instead. And if you have seen them, watch them again. 1. Manhattan  (1979) 2. Annie Hall (1977) 3. Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) 4.  Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) 5. The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985) 6. Midnight in Paris (2011) Try to w...