Informal Cake

Watching Bake-Off on Tuesday probably inspired the idea for me to bake a cake this afternoon. I made my classic coffee cake following Mary Berry's recipe, although when I finished it was looking a little more 'informal' than my previous attempts. The icing was just so runny! I went to cut a slither for a taste after letting it all set for a few hours, and the whole thing oozed all over the show. I've stuck it in the fridge overnight hoping that it'll be nice and firm for Friday lunchtime.

Together, Edith Finch, Dunkirk

After 6 long years of days about talking about literally swatting flies or over-boiling eggs on this blog, you know, the gripping features of everyday life, I actually think I have too much to share for one blog post. Stick with me though and I'll try and give it my best shot to squeeze it all in.

Probably the coolest bit first, the trailer for the film I worked on in July has landed. Didn't expect to see it this early actually, but the announcement came up in my inbox and I have to say, it's looking pretty good. Here's the official website with the trailer. Make sure to watch the video in the highest quality as possible, Mika was excellent on the camera and it shows.  

I also successfully edited my latest video review on my laptop. It all got a bit hairy at one point as it all froze just as I was about to export it, and I hadn't saved the project once. I couldn't believe my luck when I spotted the back-up folder Premiere automatically made. Anyway, without further delay, here is my latest video review for What Remains of Edith Finch, an excellent little PC game:

 

Also went out to see Dunkirk which I would compare most to United 93 in that they were both event driven films without a real central character. As such, Dunkirk already gives itself a bit of a glass ceiling in terms of how much you can really get involved and care about the action,. sure there are a lot of cool looking shots and insanely loud explosions, but without characters to back it up, there weren't any stakes to keep you invested in it all.

Speaking of those 'cool looking shots,' I felt like the whole film romanticised the event a little to much too. Everything was a little too 'period' and it occasionally looked like they were constantly looking for new and epic ways to shoot extras drowning to justify the IMAX cameras. It lost of lot the gritty-ness as a result and I found myself being taken away from the scene, rather than being immersed in it.

The slipping time-line thing it tries sounds really clever on paper, but in practise it doesn't add a whole lot to the piece outside expanding the existence of multiple mini stories. It feels like a bit of a missed opportunity as it seldom does anything of interest with the idea; Nolan used to be the master of this too.

In retrospect though, it's a film I did enjoy watching, but I don't enjoy the thought of having to re-watch it any-time soon. There's a ride at Thorpe Park called 'X No Way Out,' whenever you describe it to a friend it sounds like the best thing ever, but when they ask you to ride it with them again you always say you'd rather go on Inferno. Dunkirk is worth the experience for sure, but Nolan is capable of so much more.

Editing Nightmares

Woke up feeling a bit bogus, and that feeling stuck with me for the rest of the day. Really tried to go all out and edit together a new video but got stuck with multiple hurdles, despite being more prepped to edit a video than ever before. Spent most of the day trying to resolve the issues and ended up compromising and resorting to using my laptop to getting the job done which was far from ideal. I got so miffed at the situation I felt like I just had to step back from it all and continue tomorrow. So, with any luck I should be putting up a new video soon after being out of commission for ages.

Reb's Work Chums

Headed to Rebecca's old workplace of Foyles for a coffee and a browse. She got a chance to meet up again with all her old work chums which was nice, provisionally arranged a games night next weekend with them too so that's really nice.

Once we got back we advanced a little bit with Twin Peaks and chilled out, good use of a Bank Holiday.

Stranger Remarks

Its was a glorious day today. I know this because I passed by an especially happy dude on a bike who said 'Man, lovely day isn't it?' The fact that a stranger was so enamored by the weather he had to to blurt it out to the nearest passer just made me smile. Rebecca and I had a mini picnic and reading session in our nearby park to soak up the rays. Once we came back we prepped a roast dinner which was a big hit, both the chicken and the roasties came out twice as good as ever before. Like I said, it was a glorious day today.

Retail Park Funtime

Spent my Saturday at a nearby retail park, and aside from some dodgy looking seagulls, it was a surprisingly fun thing to do. Rebecca is in the market for a new laptop so we popped into PC World just so she could see some of the newer models. I dragged my feet a bit before heading in because I feel like those kind of shops almost prey on the technologically ignorant, but if you treat it as a showroom only then its all good.

We are also in the market for a new mattress so we headed into a handful of different shops, and each and every shop assistant saw how uncomfortable I was in putting my feet totally up on the beds - my whole life, I've never put my feet on a bed with shoes on so of course I'm not totally conditioned for that. Here's a shot of Rebecca trying out a bed while mocking the sequin pillows, frankly I don't blame her.

Last place we visited was a bit of a treat for me. While I was growing up, there was always one shop Mum and Dad would never take Louis and me, and now I know why. Toys R Us must be absolute torture to go around with your kids and its not worth the impending arguments about 'Why can't I have this toy?!' As a grown man though, I still felt a bit of its pull, but I had the will power to resist... Well almost.

At long last, I got myself a legit fidget spinner after my one from France broke, for the past 3 weeks its been my white whale, but I can now give up the hunt. I spun it the rest if the way his without regrets.

Pretty Woman

So I can at long last say that I have seen Pretty Woman, my Mum will finally accept me as one of her own. Rebecca and I went to Bristol Zoo for an open air showing of the film, which is a really cool way to watch any movie if you don't mind bringing your own chair or getting a bit chilly.

And there is Rebecca, thinking she's hilarious and getting in my picture - still you'll get a sense of the vibe there.

As for the film, it was OK. Didn't really have any strong opinions on it one way or the other. I liked it, but not enough to recommend it over other rom-coms.