Singing Detectives

So whilst watching The Singing Detective (2003) film, I decided to check my DeviantArt, and in the notices there was this:http://techgnotic.deviantart.com/journal/Sherlock-Holmes-The-Ever-Evolving-Icon-290385112 .
So me, being me, clicked on it and read through the journal entry and some things stood out at me.
I think it was the way it started with "Ever Evolving", when you think about how many differennt adaptions of Sherlock Holmes' adventures there are, it's incredible. Sherlock Holmes holds the record for being the 'most portrayed movie character', and according to the World Records site, he's been portrayed in over 238 films, played by over 30 actors right back since 1900, and even now more adaptions are being made. And that's not including people on stage and the parodies of people on YouTube.
That's  over 100 years of Sherlock Holmes, in movies alone. TV series, radio series, comics books, video games.
Now I guess, with all of those adaptions, we do have favourites somewhere in it all. I mean, over 30 actors and we're meant to love them all equally? I've not seen a majority of them. I've seen the BBC's Benedict Cumberbatch, Granada's Jeremy Brett, and Guy Ritchie's Robert Downey Jr. They all bring something different to the table but each play the brilliant detective, I can't choose.
I think it's because they all play Sherlock Holmes and I love Sherlock Holmes in general.

Now back to this Journal entry I found, Techgnotic adds some questions for the reader. Which I loved and enjoyed answering.


Does it bother you when the depiction of a favorite fictional literary character is radically altered in film or on TV over and over again? Or does it all depend on the quality of the depiction and the story?
I think in some way it bothers me that people will get bored of the idea of Sherlock Holmes, and I pray to god that they don't because the stories are amazing and I think they should be shared in any way possible.
But for whether I like a portrayal, depends how well they do it and whether I find the whole adaption enjoyable.

2 Most of the muscle-bound comics superheroes beginning in the 1930s-40s also seemed to possess great intellects along with their dominating physiques. Do you think this was because of being influenced by the Holmes character of 30 years before? Or just a coincidence – since if as character has a super-strength body, why not a matching super-strength brain?
This is a good question, I had to think for a while but then I thought, what's the point of brawn if you don't have the brains to use them? Hence the 'super strength brain' bit, but whereas I believe Sherlock Holmes is more about puzzles with action and lot of superheroes seem to be about the fighting action with little puzzles. 


3 Which Sherlock Holmes novels or short stories have you read?

I have this huge book of the Complete Stories but I've only read few a few of them, A Study in Scarlet, Sign of the Four, Scandal in Bohemia and a few others, but I'm slowly making my way through them in my spare time :D

4 In which way do you prefer your adventure story hero to achieve his/her final victory:

1. His/her superior intellect; puzzle-solving skills.
2. Physical strength and fighting skills, and a little good luck.
3. A mix of both brains and brawn.
4. Through lone wolf personal action; breaking of rules & protocol.
5. Through leadership of a team of relative equals.
6. Other -  Please Elaborate. I would love to know which story ending achievement tropes I might have left off of this list

I think maybe 3, mostly puzzle based but they should be able to get out of a bad situation. Maybe thinking of something like Artemis Fowl where he's clever but weak and pretty much always needs help.  But then I do like the idea of them having a sidekick ( I do love Watson.)

5 Who was/is your favorite Sherlock Holmes -- and why?

• Basil Rathbone
• Jeremy Brett
• Peter Cushing
• Christopher Lee
• Robert Downey, Jr.
• Benedict Cumberbatch
• Other

 Eeeek. If I had to choose from the few I've seen, as I've said I'm working my way through them, either Jeremy Brett or Benedict Cumberbatch, but then I pretty much on watch that one for Martin Freeman. 

Probably Jeremy Brett, I find him hilarious, in one of his first episodes he's like "And why is Sherlock Holmes cheerful?"

And Watson, David Burke, replies "Sherlock Holmes is cheerful, so Sherlock Holmes must have a case." And Jeremy Brett is all "HA! I have a case!" It was brilliant.

6 If Sherlock Holmes and Liara T'Soni are the District 3 Tributes in the 74th Annual Hunger Games. Who survives and why?
I'm just sat here thinking "Well...neither, Katniss and Peeta does." But if I had to choose. Sherlock, cause I don't know who Liara T'Soni is....Mass Effect, I think? But then, in the 74th, they both could win considering the changed rule and I'm sure they'd figure out how to both survive between them.

And Speaking of Sherlock Holmes, I leave you with this parody video my friend sent me after she saw me with my deerstalker.

So that's me done for another blog-day.
Happy reading and I'll see you next  time.

The Hunger Games

So whilst bored one night, my friend suggested I read the Hunger Games, some of you may know the series, quite recently picked up due to the film of the first book being released.

The Book:
So, published in 2008, The Hunger Games is the first in a trilogy about post-apocalyptic North America, written by Suzanne Collins.
Basically, there are 12 parts to the country, or Districts, as they're called, each with their own produce specialties, such as Mining, Agriculture, Live Stock, Textiles, Transport etc. And every year a boy and a girl from each Districts is chosen to participate in the Hunger Games.
Which is, put quite simply, a fight to the DEATH.
The contestants get trained a bit, put in a arena and left to their own devices to slaughter each other in anyway possible. And these kid's age ranges from 12 to 18, and they're just picked up and killed for the rest of the world's entertainment.
Think Battle Royale, but...no it is just Battle Royale. And there was a lot of controversy about how similar it was but Suzanne Collins said she'd never even heard of  Battle Royale before.
AND on top of all that, it's been banned! It's on the 'Top Ten most Frequently Challenged Books of 2010.
"5. The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins
 Reasons: sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, and violence"
Back to the story line:
The main character, Katniss, from District 12, the poorest District there is,  volunteers herself to replace her 12 year old sister who gets picked. Understandable, of course, and the male volunteer is a boy called Peeta, they know each other, being the the same age, but never really spoke, apart from once when he gave her some burnt bread.  
That's Love right there.

Now I won't spoil the ending for those who've not read it yet, but I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys romantic, bloody, post-apocalyptic teen novels.
It must be kinda good, it's getting a Movie and it's own game.

The Movie:
Katniss is played by the lovely Jennifer Lawrence, who also played Mystique in the new X-Men First Class, and did a good job of it too, playing Peeta is Josh Hutcherson, who's been in...Zathura, Bridge to Terabithia, Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008)  and Cirque du Freak (which was terrible).
The cast also includes Woody Harrelson, Liam Hemsworth, Lenny Kravitz and Elizabeth Banks.
So all in all, sounding very good. And apparently they've signed on to do the remaining films also, so I hope the don't mess up the first or it's down hill from here.
It was originally going to be rated 15 however due to the audience of the books, it's been knocked down to a 12A which was done by removing a few (LOADS) of blood splash marks on the set and on weapons.

It's out sometime this March so I look forward to dragging my boyfriend to go and see it :D
And for those who've not seen it; here's a trailer.

 

Ohhh look at it on it's own mini screen. And I have to say, those last four notes, the whistle, gives me goosebumbs most every time.

Others: 
There's actually a game on it. Now don't get too excited. It's a Facebook game from what I've heard, basically like Farmville or Frontierville where you perform tasks and share items amongst friends. I think I'd prefer a game it if it was out on an actual console, PS3, Xbox, PSP, PC. And where you can control Katniss or another character and go through the game, like the Harry Potter games, that'd be awesome.
And of course there'd be a online multi-player but where you can play against people from all over the world in a epic, bloody gore fest to the death.
But that's me dreaming. Still, I hope they do it.

They've also got out a nail varnish collection. Every so often you get one of these. OPI have done movies such as Pirates of the Caribbean, and The Muppets. But this series, Capitol Colours, is being done by China Glaze and there are 12 to represent the 12 districts, each with their own cooky little name. As seen here: http://chinaglaze.com/products/index.php?coll=57
Now most of those colours look bloody lovely. But I don't really like glittery things so I think I might skip out on these lovely varnishes and their probably expensive price tag.

So like I said, go check out the Hunger Games, I highly recommend it and I can't wait to read the next two books to find out the conclusion of this thrilling world that Suzanna Collins has created for us (whether or not she did rip off Battle Royale).


Till next time, Have a nice day.


References
AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION (2010) Top ten most frequently challenged books of 2010 [WWW] Available from: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/21stcenturychallenged/2010

Starring...My Posters!

In my dorm room I have...a lot of posters.
Well more than the average person has. And I think it makes my room feel A) More homely and B) More Mine.
So I'm going to make my blog look pretty with pictures of my pretty posters! Yey.

So Firstly.
This is the poster of the room. And it's just something I found one day, it's called...ermm...Étoile du soir by an artist called Mucha. He was a leader of the art nouveau period, which was all very decorative with curved lines and inspired a lot by flowers and plants.
I have this poster cause I like the neutral colours of it and it just seems lovely to have around, I have to admit I do quite like Art Nouveau.
















Now, these two. 

The Spooning Leads to Forking poster, just plain makes me laugh, and it's cute in it's own weird way. 
I didn't actually bring it to uni, I bought it when I was here, in some kind of poster sale that goes on every so often.
Now not sure if you recognise the make but it's David and Goliath and they do a few things things, mainly based at the female audience with little images of cupcakes with faces on them or hearts with glasses talking about loving Nerds. 
All very nice. 


And I admit, I have a Keep Calm and Carry On poster. 
I could have got a huge one but I changed by mind. 
It was meant to be  a huge moral booster back in the times of  WW II but never actually made it to the public eye. They were all meant to have been pulped at the end of the war but some obviously survived and since then it's been spread around and parodied to hell and back.
And even now I think it's a huge moral booster to me, I do love it so. 

So next up, is a cheap thing I pulled out of TotalFilm magazine, It's an Avengers poster if you didn't recognise the logo and it's biding it time til the movie comes out and I can an real poster, if they do any good ones that is.

Now, Tron Legacy.
I love the original 1982 TRON and so when the new came out it was like "Oh~ Really?" and I quite enjoyed that one too.
Partially because Cillian Murphy had a nice little uncreditted cameo in it. And the other half is Olivia Wilde, I love her too.
Now the special thing about this poster is..IT GLOWS IN THE DARK!
Like no kidding, the little blue bits on the Lightcycle and the grid glow and the bits on his suit and the main title.
It only cost me like 2 quid from play.com and I thought, I'm not missing that.
I like glowy things.


Right, now my moody Star Trek one.
It's quite a big dark one and tends to stick out in the middle of my room but I love Star Trek and I really enjoyed the 2009 movie too and so I got a poster.
There was an a film montage poster with Kirk and Spock and a huge space scene thing going on but I chose this one cause it has my favourite character in it.
On the faaarrrr right there's like Chekov. So cute. Anton Yelchin is just amazing, kinda reminds me that I need to watch Fright Night.

Now my Exploding Tardis poster, also from play.com
I love this poster for two reasons.
1) It's Doctor Who, and I love Doctor Who
2) Style of Vincent Van Gogh, who happens to be like my favourite artist of all time.

 Now for my Spiderman one.
It's huge. A lot bigger than my other one and equally as annoying too. The amount of times, I've come into my room and it's falling down or has fallen down, is ridiculous.
It used to be right next to my bed before so it's a but tattered where I've kicked it or caught it on something, but it's good still.
It's pretty much, my first poster and I got it at a car boot.
"How much is that?"
"How much you willing to pay?"
"A POUND!"
"Grandma! It's worth more than that. Two pound."
It cost me 3 in the end but then again it seems my grandma and I are both stingy.
My X-man First Class was free at a Forbidden Planet store, and I got it cause I love posters. And it was free.
But then again I did really enjoy the movie, despite the fact everyone else seemed to hate it :/



Now for the last two main posters.
The first of the last two being Puss in Boots.
This was a Christmas Present from one of my best friends, Imogen and I love her to pieces for it.
And it directly opposite by mirror so at night and when I wake up, I see these adorable eyes :3
Strangely enough I bought it when I went to Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows.

As for my Chronicle one, also got given free from Forbidden Planet, they're so nice.
And I did love the film too, it was original and I really enjoyed the whole thing apart from the fact you never found out why they had powers. And the ending was boring with the cousin talking into the camera like "you did it! well done." Boring.

This little group is just a small collection of posters of animes and games I love.
I get them from Manchester in Afflecks Palace and they're like 4 for a tenner.
The first ones I got were the red one, Fullmetal Alchemist and the middle one, Hope from Final Fantasy XIII. Then the others are Ciel and Sebastian from Kuroshitsuji (Black Butler), in the top left and bottom left and the last one top right, is from Hibari and Dino from Reborn, my favourite characters.




Right! That's me done, and I know it's all waffle so thanks for staying this long if you have.
Check out some of the links and expand your horizons, and I'll see you next time.
Probably tomorrow, cause the whole OIPP is due in on Friday D:

Elementary, My Dear Sherlock

So talking to my amazing tutor today about how I don't think my Online Individual Personal Portfolio (OIPP) was going to be good enough and that this, combined with a presentation was worth 25% of this module I'm doing.
Then moving onto another subject she said "Why don't you write about that? It should be simple because you know about it.
So here it is, and yes, it's another Sherlock Holmes post..however did you guess?

So basically, Sherlock Holmes is heading over to America.
It's a modern day version, funny cause that's almost like...The BBC's version of Sherlock..but I've heard that if it's too similar, the BBC will sue them so it's all good.

The show, Elementary, has been commissioned by American channel CBS, which at the moment shows programs like CSI and How I met your Mother and The Big Bang Theory.
It will star Jonny Lee Miller (who has starred with Benedict Cumberbatch in Frankenstein at the National Theatre), as Sherlock, a recovering addict who helps the police with their investigations and as his faithful sidekick who we all know and love, Joan Watson..wait..JOAN?
Yes, if you've not heard by now, they've made John Watson FEMALE.
Okay, calm down, who's playing him-er..her?
Lucy Liu.
Is this right? I mean, we know America, they like a bit of romance, and Sherlock and Joan will probably be pouncing each other. Cause what Sherlock Holmes and John Watson do is flirt. 
It's practically all they do.
Oh yeah, and solving crimes is just a hobby for them, obviously.
It's like "The Bro-mance is strong with these two."

Though despite all of my whining and whinging about it all, I'm looking forward to it.
I do love Sherlock Holmes and I like the idea of it being set in a modern world, I just can't wait to see how it all fits together with Miss Joan Watson.
I mean, Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu are not bad actors, I enjoy their films, especially Lucy Liu in  Watching the Detectives, that was amazing and lets not get started on Kill Bill.

 So I eagerly look forward to the pilot episode and wish them the best of luck of as of now there's been no sign of dates as to when it will be aired.

Til next time, which will probably be in like a few minutes cause I'm bored and this work needs doing.

Studentship task week 23

After looking through the learning material on Blackboard, I realized looking at the first question (what you feel you have learned from these studentship tasks?), I didn't really learn anything as such as were reminded by it. Since we had seen mostly the exact same slides in a lecture session before.  Then again it depends on your definition of learning, I guess.
I actually quite enjoy this style of Studentship tasks, it something you can flick through at your own pace and you can make notes in your own time, instead of trying to keep up with everyone else in the lecture session.
The only thing I wish for it to be is more interactive, at the moment the most interactiveness you get from it is pressing next and changing colours, font and size of writing. Maybe a few questions to answer during it would keep more students from just glancing through it and pretending they'd read it. I think this would make it more interesting and I think the information sinks in more if you're tested on it.
I think I would go back to task to revise from instead of lectures notes if it was more accessible and not hidden behind all of the different links in Blackboard, but overall I enjoy these little slideshow things :D

3D

Okay, so I assume a large majority of you have two eyes. Sorry if you don't.
So two eyes = two different views on the world, albeit slightly different.
When those views are pieces together in your mind, it's called Stereovision.
Basically, the images from your mind arrive in your brain at the same time, and then your brain, clever thing that it is, sorts out the similarities and differences and puts them together.

Why you ask?
So we can create our own mental map of how near or far an object may be. And it was probably done becaue of predators, no point in looking at something and thinking it's miles away when it's really in front of you.
Which brings me to the next point.

Depth Perception
The brain has all these tricks to make us notice when something is far away or close up, they're called Depth Cues. And these include stuff like:

Focus- If you can see details on say, a gravel path. The closer it is, you can see more stones, but the further and it just seems like a blur, hence the Focus.

Occlusion- if something obstructs another object, you assume the one doing the obstructing is the one closest to you.

Linear Perspective- things like vanishing points. Like how if you stand at one end of a street the other end seems to meet in a point, the further along it is, the further away the object is.

and Vertical Position- if something is higer up on your view, you assume it's further away.

I hope that's kinda explained, harder than I thought to do so.

SO! 3D GLASSES!
I love 3D, gimmick or not, part of it, is getting the glasses. You know, way back when, when it was the typical red and blue glasses, also known as 'anaglyph' but know you get the kinda stripey, grey ones.
Anaglyph glasses work in the way that the red side only lets red objects pass through and the cyan (not blue, people), only let everything..not red through..
So your brains gets two different images.. and sorts out the differences and similarities out and puts them together and voila! We see in 3D.
The first 3D films was apparently created in 1915, but it wasn't til the 1950's where we started to pick up on it a lot more.

Polarised Glasses are what a majority of cinemas use now (unless they're rich and use the electronic shutter glasses, which shutter between images funnily enough).
Polarised glasses, have a filter in the lens, which is at a different angle to the other lens, normally at about 90 degrees apart, therefore seeing different images and then brains sorts them, and you see in 3D.
(Then you get out of the cinema and kids think they're so cool to pop out the lens and put on these thick rimmed glasses. It's not. If you want glasses, have bad eyes like the rest of us.)

My View
The first 3D film, I went to see was Alice in Wonderland, the Tim Burton version, it was okay but the fast bits blurred a bit, not too impressed.
Since then, I've also seen: Clash of the Titans (same problem), How to Train your Dragon (too worried about wanting a Toothless to care) and Avatar, and Harry Potter 7 part 2, and Puss in Boots and probably a bit more than that.
I quite enjoyed a lot of them, I wouldn't go to the cinema just because something was 3D, but I wouldn't mind watching it in 3D, I'm not out rushing to buy a 3D screen either.
What I do want though is a 3DS, but that's for the pure fact a game from one of my favourite franchises are coming out on it.
And I'll leave you with that, see you next time~


References
 HAL MORGAN and DAN SYMMES (1982) Amazing 3D, Canada: Little Brown and Co pp. 165–169.

Julius B. Kaiser (1955) Make Your own Stereo Pictures, New York:The Macmillan Company page 271