Progress Report

1.     Sail the Greek Islands - unlikely
2.     Do a fun run - in progress
3.     Watch an entire season of Seinfeld
4.     Ride a hot air balloon through Cappadocia - unlikely
5.     Try different foods (eat more meat!)
6.     Work (preferably paid) for a development NGO
7.     Go sky-diving
8.     Read Don Quixote from cover to cover
9.     Follow an English Premier League team
10.  See Radiohead and/or Thom Yorke play live
11.  See a psychic
12. Use a bicycle as a mode of transport
13. Appreciate wine
14. Try yoga - in progress
15. Go to a dubstep club
16. Have a Turkish bath in Istanbul (and eat lots and lots of Gozleme) - unlikely
17. Find some Banksy graff
18. Ride on the tallest ferris wheel in Europe
19. Watch a sunrise (on purpose, not following a big night)
20. Go to a European music festival
21. Draw a picture (and try to make it good)
22. Tick off the top ten of IMDB’s top 100 movies of all time - in progress
23. Learn how to cook a roast dinner
24. Go and see a band I have never heard of
25. Make a blog about my efforts

OMG how did I let two months slip me by? That equals one sixth of my total time needed to achieve these tasks! So a quick update on things I have and haven’t been doing…

I suppose the one thing that has popped out dramatically is:

13. Appreciate wine

Boy have I been appreciating wine. Regularly. In fact several times a week. I have enjoyed number 13 so much that now I’m slightly worried I may have developed a drinking habit. How does one suddenly and drastically acquire a taste for something they never liked? Either way, I may need to update my list to include “Drink less wine”.

6. Work (preferably paid) for a development NGO

Well I was already working unpaid for one, but now another NGO actually offered money for services rendered! Oh sweet joy. Admittedly I haven’t received my first paycheck, so I haven’t been paid yet but it’s coming…which means now I can possibly afford to chip away at points 1, 4, 16 and 20.

22. Tick off the top ten of IMDB’s top 100 movies of all time

Rank	Rating	Title	Votes	Seen?
1.	9.2	The Shawshank Redemption (1994)	606,505	✔
2.	9.2	The Godfather (1972)	466,732
3.	9.0	The Godfather: Part II (1974)	285,884
4.	8.9	The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)	191,506
5.	8.9	Pulp Fiction (1994)	481,123	✔
6.	8.9	12 Angry Men (1957)	144,993	✔
7.	8.9	Schindler's List (1993)	319,842	✔
8.	8.8	One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)	250,672	✔
9.	8.8	Inception (2010)	367,705	✔
10.	8.8	The Dark Knight (2008)	542,390	✔

To be fair, some of these I had already seen, but I recently watched Schindler’s List and 12 Angry Men for the first time. I’d just come off a day where I’d spent 6 hours in job interviews and decided to veg out in front of a movie. Mentally spent, I popped on Schindler’s List and two hours later was wailing like a banshee. Probably should have been more mentally prepared for genocide, but that’s ok, it was still a great watch.

12 Angry Men actually really surprised me. It has a brilliant script and concept, and is quite a nice break from modern cinema where there is generally a very poor concept of time. It seemed almost to have been shot in one take and the movie almost entirely takes place in one room alone. I think films rarely rely on only their scripting, the challenge being that it has to be compelling enough, especially in black and white, to hold someones attention for that long. Well it did, so I’m glad I watched it. SO only 3 films left to watch, although to be honest, I think I’ll watch Shawshank again because its awesome.

Speaking of Morgan Freeman, I just saw this video on youtube the other day. Amazing.

AAAAAAAnway….looks like I’m not going to get sail the Greek Islands or visit Turkey in my 25^th year…as I’ve only just gotten this job, and it’s mid-July, my leave won’t fall until Autumn/Winter. I fully intend on visiting these places next Summer, it’s just not going to be within range of my challenge….BOOOO

This weekend I am going to a music festival though! Weeeee! Admittedly number twenty is a very easy one, but there’s not enough time and money for all of these to be hard. Give me a break!

Next up! I'm gonna get physical physical and try some YOGA. Just have to wait for my first paycheck...

Saturday 2nd April - The Axumites and Bronzehead

24. See a band I have never heard of

Ok so this one I kind of stumbled upon. My housemates cousins boyfriend plays in a band called Bronzehead, so when she invited me to see them play live I realised I could also cross something off my list! 


When I formulated this one, its purpose  was for me to go out and see an unheard of band to try something new. Never did I think I would be going to see a mighty 11-piece afrobeat band! 

This is not my style of music, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself!! Check out the venue - it felt like we were in some grannies house:

List Update

1. Sail the Greek Islands
2. Do a fun run - wheels in motion
3. Watch an entire season of Seinfeld (I hate that show)
4. Ride a hot air balloon through Cappadocia
5.  Be adventurous with food
6. Work (preferably paid) for a development NGO
7.  Go sky-diving
8. Read Don Quixote from cover to cover
9. Follow an English Premier League team
10. See Radiohead and/or Thom Yorke play live
11. See a psychic
12. Use a bicycle as a mode of transport
13. Appreciate wine
14. Try yoga
15. Go to a dubstep club
16. Have a Turkish bath in Istanbul (and eat lots and lots of Gozleme)
17. Find some Banksy graff
18. Ride on the tallest ferris wheel in Europe
19. Watch a sunrise (on purpose, not following a late night)
20. Go to a European music festival
21. Draw a picture (and try to make it good)
22. Tick off the top ten of IMDB’s top 100 movies of all time
23.  Learn how to cook a roast dinner
24. Go and see a band I have never heard of
25. Make a blog about my effort

And so the Seinfeld marathon is over and I'm left feeling empty...

Nine Things I learnt from Seinfeld:

- it was a very dark time when high waisted jeans on men were popular

- it is really fun to imitate the Seinfeld song by smacking your lips

- there is something oddly hot about Jerry Seinfeld circa 1989

- removing canned laughter from Tv sitcoms was a positive development in modern comedy

- slapstick comedy is not funny. Yes Kramer, I'm looking at you

- I'm definitely Generation Y. I do not really care about the mundane comings and goings of your life. I stand in my own queues and I am not overly interested in watching you do the same. Show me something SHINY!

- lock your doors: front door policy should not be so laissez-faire. Doors were invented to keep your neighbours out

- I am happy the Euromullet is now facing extinction

- Seinfeld is not a quotable show. People will not laugh when you recall a scene from Seinfeld.

I have to say, considering I could never bear to sit through a single episode while it was on TV, it was on the whole a fairly enjoyable experience. I can fully understand the appreciate what Seinfeld is about, although I probably won't be buying any more of it to watch on dvd, nor will I probably ever sit down and watch the box set again. But I will miss tucking in to bed and having a reliable episode waiting for me at the end of a hard day!

3. Watch an entire season of Seinfeld

I hate Larry David and I hate Jerry Seinfeld, *almost* as much as I hate Charlie Sheen.

These two videos pretty much sum Seinfeld up for me...

...I normally end up asking myself...'which ones the funny guy?'

That said, I have only seen three episodes, and considering Seinfeld was dubbed the greatest television program of all time, I'd like to find out why. Seasons 1 and 2, signed, sealed and yet to be delivered!!

Its hard to believe this show started in 1989 and finished in 1998. My hopes are if the plot bores me, at least the fashions and trends should be entertaining!

Radiohead releasing a new album: A Tour is Nigh!

Radiohead have made the surprise announcement that they will release their new album this Saturday (19 February). In a message posted today on their website, the band provided fans with details of how they can purchase their eighth studio album, The King of Limbs.

The release recalls the way in which their last album, In Rainbows, was delivered in 2007. Then, the band offered fans a chance to pay whatever they wanted to download the LP as part of a bold experiment. Now, the Oxford five-piece are offering "the world's first newspaper album". This comprises a CD copy of The King of Limbs and a number of collectable extras, including "two clear 10in vinyl records in a purpose-built record sleeve, many large sheets of artwork, 625 tiny pieces of artwork and a full-colour piece of oxo-degradable plastic to hold it all together".

This time, however, the "honesty box" scheme of In Rainbows has been dropped and fans can expect to pay £30 for the newspaper package, available in May. A cheaper option is available – £6 for a downloadable version of the album to be made available this weekend.

Little is known about the band's new material, with Radiohead drummer Phil Selway saying last September that they were working through 18 months' worth of material but the album was "up in the air". Previously, rehearsals had been described as "noisy and chaotic" by bassist Colin Greenwood, who also said they were once again working with producer Nigel Godrich.

The King of Limbs will be released on Saturday 19 February 2011

Source: The Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/feb/14/radiohead-new-album 

17. Find some Banksy graff

Spotted in Bethnal Green, just around the corner from my house

17. Find some Banksy graff

                                                              Close, but no cigar!

                  
                                                     I found some Space Invader instead!

The List

According to popular movie database IMDB  ‘The List’ is a thriller movie from 2007, in which:

“A sudden death tied to a list from the past leads to unimaginable evil.”

In many ways, this could be used to describe my list…

One cold and stormy night in January, while my sister was telling me about her 30^th Birthday Bucket List, I decided (read: plagiarized) that I should do the same, considering that I was going to be reaching a milestone year of 25.

That was until I recounted and realized I would be turning 25 in 12 days. Some would call that a challenge.

I did not.

 So without further ado, I present to you, a comprehensive list of things I wish to do whilst I’m still 25! (learn how to count was a strong contender). In no particular order, the checklist of things I wish to complete in 2011:

1. Sail the Greek Islands
2. Do a fun run
3. Watch an entire season of Seinfeld (I hate that show)
4. Ride a hot air balloon through Cappadocia
5.  Be adventurous with food
6. Work (preferably paid) for a development NGO
7.  Go sky-diving
8. Read Don Quixote from cover to cover
9. Follow an English Premier League team
10. See Radiohead and/or Thom Yorke play live
11. See a psychic
12. Use a bicycle as a mode of transport
13. Appreciate wine
14. Try yoga
15. Go to a dubstep club
16. Have a Turkish bath in Istanbul (and eat lots and lots of Gozleme)
17. Find some Banksy graff
18. Ride on the tallest ferris wheel in Europe
19. Watch a sunrise (on purpose, not following a late night)
20. Go to a European music festival
21. Draw a picture (and try to make it good)
22. Tick off the top ten of IMDB’s top 100 movies of all time
23.  Learn how to cook a roast dinner
24. Go and see a band I have never heard of
25. Make a blog about my efforts

Mama was queen of the mambo/Papa was king of the Congo