pure substances

Today I began my third semester of MUN, and so far it hasn't been too bad. My lab today didn't occur which I had my fingers crossed for. Just two hours of chemistry fun with the hilarious Mr. Reardon, who was my chemistry professor for the same course when I took it (and unfortunately failed it) my first semester. So not much getting used to there, which is nice. I like that my class is really small this time around, too. Its an intersession class, and instead of 200+ people theres only about 30, which means a lot more one on one learning times with ze prof. He's that kinda guy.

My other classes this semester are health ethics, intro to anthropology (the culture one, Sarah!~), intro to political science and in the second half of this semester after chemistry is finished - IMPERIAL RUSSIA (<3). Yes, I am a bit of a nerd. I used to have this thing for the Romanovs back in middle school (I even did a report on Anastasia once, because I'm just that cool... my English teacher loved it), so I get to go back to that and expand on it I suppose. The course covers everything up to the Russian Revolution, so it should be interesting.

Health ethics is my first online course, which has caused me lots of concern, but everyone in my class seems very nice and the content seems interesting, and actually a bit relevant to my hopeful someday nursing career! We're going to be looking at a whole slew of topics like abortion, euthanasia, cloning, female circumcision, and more. Sounds a bit more interesting than Plato, for sure. I excite.

Now it be time for some more 30 DAY MOVIE CHALLENGE! I can't wait to finish this so I can more on to more exciting and interesting blog ventures, but I'm making it one of my goals in life these days to finish what I start. So, lets go.


DAY 21: A MOVIE THAT BLEW YOUR MIND

"Black Swan", 2010. 

There was an intense amount of hype about this movie. Some people hated it, some people loved it, other people enjoyed it but were disappointed after all the hype. I fall into the middle category. As I've said before, Darren Aronofsky is probably my favorite director of life, and after seeing all his other movies I was filled with such anticipation and curiosity. He goes from a movie about a washed-out wrestler to a psychological thriller about ballet? The movie definitely met my expectations in every way. It was absolutely beautiful, the acting was superb, and the main character's slow mental deterioration over the course of the movie is done so, so well. You feel afraid and unsettled along with her for much of the movie, and it all builds up to a very intense conclusion. I was impressed. If Darren Aronofsky's next movie is about a lunchlady who decides to start doing porn, I will look forward to it with equal anticipation. He never fails to impress.


DAY 22: BEST MOVIE THAT IS BASED ON A BOOK

"Perfume: The Story of a Murderer", 2006.

Tom Tykwer is definitely one of my favorite foreign directors. He's responsible for such gems as "Run Lola Run" and "The Princess & the Warrior", both movies which he directed, wrote, and composed the scores for. He has awesome levels of involvement in his films. I was a bit nervous for this one, however. The novel was written by a German author in the '80s, but it reads like a gruesome old fairytale. You'd think it'd be difficult to adapt to the screen, since the main storytelling device throughout the novel is scent. But Tom Tykwer managed to do the book absolute justice. Its one of the most faithful adapations of a novel I've ever seen, and its done so very beautifully. Theres a part in both movie/novel where the main character tries to replicate a specific perfume for a master perfumer, in the hopes that if he succeeds he will take him as his apprentice. When the master smells the perfume for the first time, you can as well. And you're just as impressed as he is. Magnificent film.


DAY 23: THE BEST ACTION MOVIE

"Battle Royale", 2000.

As I mentioned previously when talking about "The Ring", I am a sucker for a good Japanese movie. This one I was especially curious to see, after learning that its one of Quentin Tarantino personal favorites, and who can argue with Quentin? He's the god of action himself. There were even rumors for years that he wanted to make a North American remake of this, but these are probably just rumors. Anyways. This is one of the most controversial movies ever made, because of its subject matter - a class of 15-year-old students are placed on an island and forced to slaughter each other within 3 days, or they all die. Its been compared to "Lord of the Flies", but its definitely more gruesome. At the movie's beginning, they're all a bunch of sweet, typical kids, but even by the time the game starts lines are drawn. Friends turn against friends, some couples kill themselves together to avoid what they might be forced to do, and others choose to hide out and try to find a way to get out of the game before the three days are up. Its fast-paced, its gory, its a nightmarish situation. All makes for a great film. Also, the novel the movie is based on is fantastic.


Thats all for today, kids. I'm off to read about some chemistry and try to find me some cheapy-cheapy books. Much love and kisses. Hope everybody's first day back is as fruitful and chillax as mine!

XO