Stuff.

Well, I finally got the first assignment off of Thursday. I think it is okay, but we'll find out soon enough. I'm just glad it isn't being marked and used as a percentage of the final mark for the course. I'm kind of looking forward to getting the feedback so I can see what I'm doing right and what I'm doing wrong. I'll be able to plan the next assignment against that then.

Kirst and I have been having a look at what OU course we will take on after we have finished this one. At the moment we are choosing between 'Art and it's histories' and 'From Enlightenment to Romanticism'. Currently 'Enlightenment' is leading the race.

In the last week a friend of mine has been in a nasty road accident. He is in a pretty banged up way. Thanks go to Deacon for keeping me updated, and get well soon wishes and congratulations ( ;-) ) go to David. I know you can't do anything other than this, but rest up and relax.

Principessa has decided it is time for one of her difficult phases. Kirst and I were trying to do a little bit of study on Thursday afternoon, but Principessa decided it would be much more fun if she bounced on the bed, bounced on us, and play monkey. Monkey, of course, is when she wraps her arms around your neck and dangles and swings at your back. Ooooh, she's a little pest! At the mo she is watching Pingu - the little ASBO penguin whom I blame for all her bad behaviour!

I went to see Sweeney Todd on Tuesday. If you didn't know it was directed by Tim Burton, you would after the first five minutes! It is so Burton! It is like the musical version of 'Edward Sciccorhands', but with added gore. And that in itself makes it fantastic. As a whole, I really enjoyed the film. Johnny Depp as Todd is, as usual, brilliant, sounding like David Bowie on some of the songs. Helena Bonham-Carter as Mrs Lovett is brilliant as usual too, though every now and again she sounds a bit unsure when she sings. The beach scene is truly a work of wonder, where Depp and Bonham-Carter completely complent each other.

Alan Rickman (can do no wrong, in my eyes) once again plays a fantastically slimy heel, but he has always been good at playing guys you love to hate, though in comparison Timothy Spall exudes more slime!

The comedic cameo by Sacha Baron Cohen as a faux-Italian barber injected a much needed blast of colour into the grey-washed setting, but even that dinginess added to the film, giving the impression of grimy, closed in streets.

What I really liked about the film was that Depp sang to the tools of his trade, the silver razors, like they were people. There was a sense that only the razors knew of his pain (if you didn't know, Depp's character, originally called Benjamin Barker, had been sent to prison for 15 years for a crime he didn't commit by Rickman's Judge Turpin. Turpin then took Barker's wife and daughter for himself) and only the razors could hep with gaining some release (i.e. revenge!). This is what made the film for me. It was perfectly executed (no pun intended).

Anyhows, Pingu Principessa is starting to get unruly, so I think I need to find something to calm her down a bit!