Check, check and check.

Transferring Armin's ASOT episode from last night onto my iPod as I type. Last thing on the (very long) check list.

Packed. Sleepy. Pensive. Excited.

Gentlemen, start your engines...American Holiday begins in seven hours :D

xoxo,

S

I'd rather not speak. It would ruin the moment...

I *heart* TV

A lot.

So, in honour of my couch-potatoness, I've decided to compile a list of my top 5 TV theme tunes. There are fewer things in this world that excite me more than the sweet chimes of a great theme song announcing the imminent start of Idiot Box Goodness. I must emphasise that this list is not exhaustive and does not suggest that these are my favourite TV shows (the absence of "Family Guy" & "The Office" should've given the latter point away) - just my 5 favourite kickass theme songs.

5. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency : A beautiful composition (unfortunately I don't think this short clip does the entire theme justice) which captures the mystique, strength and melancholy of the great nation of Botswana. I first watched an episode of this brilliant HBO show while I was in the States (and, incidentally, reading the first novel in this warm and utterly fantastic series by Alexander McCall Smith for a class) and I remember bawling my eyes out for atleast 5 minutes into the episode. Really makes you miss Mama Africa, this one does.

4. 30 Rock : Composed by Tina Fey's amazing husband, Jeff Richmond, this theme tune is such a perfect fit for the funniest TV show on earth, it answers any questions one would have as to why the two got married. I love the cheesy a cappella, farty trumpets, the jazzy drum beat, the rockin-rollin nature of the bars cascading on top of each other (like a lot of the hi-larious dialogue of the show actually) - it captures the very essence of the riot that is 30 Rock.

3. The Big Bang Theory : The Barenaked Ladies wrote this song specially for the TV show and boy did they do a good job! Basically they try and cram in the entire history of our universe in a short-but-sweet little tune. Part of the fun of this song comes in the form of lyric-fishing - i.e. trying to figure out what the HECK the fellows are saying...and once you do figure it out (which for me, by the way, was one of my proudest moments), you're amazed by exactly how brilliant the words are! Just like the endearing nerd-tagonists of the show (easily one of the best sitcoms in recent memory, along with "How I Met Your Mother"), this song is smart and super fun. Sing it with me..."It all started with the big bang...BANG!"

2. Dr. Who : Yeah, this one's predictable - I know. But GOD it's just SO good! There will never be a more iconic theme tune than this one. Social suicide - I love Dr. Who, always have. And whenever I would hear this tune emanate from our TV's speakers, my heart would leap. I'm not one of those die-hard Dr. Who fans who can hear a mere five seconds of the opening clip and pronounce from which era of the show it's pulled from, but even I know the masterful "ooooooooweeeeooooo" that makes this theme song the perfect embodiment of the mysterious adventure of the show.

And the No. 1 theme tune is.... *drum roll*

1. BIG BROTHER UK : OK OK, before all you snooty TV connoisseurs go all connoisseur-y on me, lemme just say that Big Brother is not one of my favourite TV shows of all time (although, it must be said, BB UK season 5 was AWE-some!), but this theme tune is EASILY the best in the history of TV. In my humble opinion, of course :P Makes you wonder why more EDM (for novices who still don't know -- EDM = Electronic Dance Music) DJ's aren't roped in to create theme tunes for TV shows. Paul Oakenfeld's remix is just killer (ahh yes the good old days when ole Oaky's stuff wasn't so wasn't shit/commercial) and still remains one of the most easily recognisable theme tunes out there. And no, I'm not biased/I didn't pick it just because it's EDM. It really is kickass. Really, really...

**Special mention: X-Files...good god, it's creep-tastic!**

So, which theme songs make your list?

*Grin*

So, I had butterscotch ice-cream for breakfast today [neat side story: the owners of this new I-Scream factory are close friends of my daddy so we get tons of scrumdiddlyupmtious tubs for free! ahh, the joys of being a guinea pig! my favourites thus far have been the unbelievably creamy vanilla and their tarty lemon-lime. also, Ice-Cream-Factory-Man's son is really hot. although, now that I mention it, I should probably stop gorging myself on fatty, creamy delights if I'm to have any chance with aforementioned hot son...] and while suffering from subsequent brain freeze, powered through a "How I Met Your Mother" marathon on my laptop for 2.5hrs while lying on my prickly, green lawn. All this awesomeness before 11AM!

As a result of the grand opening, the rest of my day was smashing! I actually obeyed my parents and sorted out all my US travel papers in the afternoon - which made me realise that I'm leaving in exactly 4 days! EEEK. Then during class, my friend told me a ton of entertaining stories about my drunken antics from Friday night (apparently I rapped an ENTIRE Young Jeezy verse in honour of Ghana's victory at the U-20 World Cup. Oh, how I wish I actually remembered such things!). I came home to newly-installed air conditioners and a new Mark Sherry Tech-Trance mix in my inbox. Mummy made my favourite dal for dinner. And I'm now going to go take a walk under a clear, starlit Zambian sky while listening to this song.

I have a feeling that I'm going to look like my bedtime teddy, Fooface, when I finally fall asleep tonight. Just sickeningly, nauseatingly happy.

Late night bed-raving (ahem, ignore the innuendo)

Sometimes, iTunes plots against sleep. For instance, by playing this beautiful song just as my eyelids were getting heavy.

(If patience is not your strongest character trait, vocals begin at 2:40 and are given a classic SvR re-working, which approaches perfection, at around the 4:50 mark)

As a consequence, my memory was jogged and I realised that I must download Sied van Riel's "Rielalistic" radio show from earlier tonight and will (probably need to) listen to at least half an hour of it before I'll be able to catch some snoozies. Which means, no chance of sleep before 3AM.

But yeah, I'm not really complaining...sleep is for the weak (or Hip-hop/Rock/Pop lovers :P)

Riel love,

S xxx

For The Love of Cinema

One of the most frustrating things about living in Zambia is not being able to watch all the ten billion amazing films that are being churned out by brilliant minds on a daily basis. Yes, we have a (terribly-stocked) Blockbusters...but, come on, my Saturday-night-in movie choices should not have to come down to "Saw III" or [insert gag-worthy sap-fest starring Hugh Grant and/or Sandra Bullock].

So instead of actually watching all the films that I want to - I find out as much about them as I possibly can. From magazines, blogs, (lucky) friends, online reviews, TV, youtube - I obsessively live vicariously through all the popcorn popping, soda slurping, back-row hogging movie-goers out there. So, from all my secondary-source research (which, I'd like to point out takes immense commitment/patience as internet in Zambia is, well, only a tad faster than dying-snail pace) I have compiled a list of movies that I am dying to watch and my reasons why (it being understood that I've vowed to watch them all by the end of the year). I know a lot of you have probably already seen many of these so I'd love to know your thoughts on them - so feel free to recommend and/or critique any of my choices.

1. The Time That Remains (Palestine/France), directed by Elia Suleiman

Elia Suleiman. Err, what else do you need to know?

2. Inglourious Basterds (USA), directed by Quentin Tarantino

It's Tarantino. And, even though Peter Bradshaw (a god who influences many of my filmic decisions) hated it, I will stand by my Quinty through the good, the bad and the ugly (Woody Allen fans, you know where I'm coming from right?).

3. Up (USA), directed by Pete Docter

See 1:21 - 1:32. Also, did you not just watch the Trailer??

4. The White Ribbon (Austria), directed by Michael Haneke



Haneke, Palme D'or and it took over 10 years to make. What's not to like?

5. Wake Up, Sid! (India), directed by Ayan Mukerji



Konkona Sen. A spirited Ranbir Kapoor. A young, Bengali director. SEL's soul-lifting music. A coming-of-age story set in Bombay (not Mumbai). Promises to be fabulous!

6. A Single Man (USA), directed by Tom Ford

No, I'm not one of those women who has fondly fantasised about Dreamy Mr. Darcy (although that might have something to do with the fact that I haven't actually seen the BBC's "Pride & Prejudice"), but I do like Colin Firth very much. And I leapt for joy when I found out that he had won the Coppa Volpi Best Actor Award at the Venice Film Festival for his role in this film. The story is fascinating and I can't help but think that it will be one of those films that leaves one paralysed as the credits roll.

7. Amreeka (Palestine/USA), directed by Cherien Dabis

:D. I watched an interview with Cherien on Al-Jazeera and was blown away by how down-to-earth, beautiful and utterly unassuming she is. Her honesty as an artist and human being shines through even in a 2min17sec trailer. I really cannot wait to watch this one.

8. An Education (UK), directed by Lone Scherfig

I have a feeling this is one of those films that knocks the wind right out of you in the theatre. And leaves you all the wiser for it.

9. Capitalism: A Love Story (USA), directed by Michael Moore



Because I LOVE Michael Moore and his gloriously obnoxious self. Everything about him makes me tingle with joy and I just can't get enough. No, but seriously - he's awesome :P Anyone who has the balls to try and make a citizen's arrest of top AIG officials and/or drive an armoured truck to recover government bail-out money cannot but be one of my favourite people. This should be a ride and a half.

10. Anything with Michael Cera in it. But especially, Paper Heart.

----

In Conclusion/EPIPHANY: White people make awesome movies!

N.B. - The layout of my blog cuts part of the youtube screen in half...you might want to watch the trailers in fullscreen mode/from the source website for full effect.

"The silver-forked sky lifts you up like a star"

Part I of the epic 3-movement "The Lightning Strike", this is "What If This Storm Ends". I have no words to describe it except these two - Truly Sublime...

"Painted in flames

All peeling thunder
Be the lightning in me

That strikes relentless"

Wow. Just, wow.