ingvild

Guys? I just handed in my Master's thesis.

I now have a place to stay when I go to York. I mentioned that I'd be bringing my viola, and wondered if it would trouble anyone when I rehearsed - not only was the answer "no", but the housing director even contacted the conductor of the orchestra she plays in, so now they'll be welcoming me there. (It's times like these I love being a violist. We're always welcome!)

I have an unfortunate tendency to get hooked on something right before my exams. Last time it was Elfquest. This time it's Gundam Wing. I think I'm going to do a GW fandom fanon rant sometime later.

I had my language exam (Generative Syntax/Cognitive Linguistics) today. I'm not sure how it went. I don't think I'll fail, at least. We'll see.

I hope they like my rampaging elephant-analogy.

So, the term started again yesterday. This year I'll be taking a linguistics course which is required if I'm going to write my Masters thesis in linguistics, as well as a literature course - political/religious/gender issues during the 1550-1660's, and how they relate to today's situation. Fun!

Also, I had a thought about Harry Potter. Spoilers for Deathly Hallows beneath the cut.

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Well, I didn't fail.

Actually, I got a B.

It's been a while since I wrote. I wanted to write on my birthday (14 of April), but didn't. Oh, well. I turned 21, and not much else happened.

I'm studying semi-hard for my English exam. I try to put in a lot of reading and then some breaks, and so far, I think it's working. I suddenly know a lot more about phonology than I did before I started. I hope it'll go okay. (Note to self: Write the teacher an e-mail and ask about set-up for exam answers.)

I went to see Kingdom of Heaven with Hilde yesterday, and this is what I thought:

Although it was horribly historically incorrect, I thought it was quite good.

What was historically incorrect? Well, for one thing, Guy de Lusignan was never a Templar. By all accounts, he and Sibylla had a rather good marriage. The throne passed to their son after the King died, not directly to Guy. And even if you ignore that King Baldwin should be dead when this movie took place, he should at least be blind and lack both arms and legs. Balian and Sibylla most likely never had a relationship, partly, I'm sure, because Balian's wife and child were very much alive.

I'm really quite upset about how the Templars were portrayed. They pretty much kept the peace before Reynald de Chatillon became their leader. Here, they were just fanatics.

What strikes me about Orlando Bloom is that he's actually a pretty good actor, as long as he doesn't talk. Here, he managed to say a lot in the beginning with just his eyes and the hammer striking steel, but once he starts talking with his voice, the performance drops a few degrees.

Eva Green didn't get to show off much. Her scenes were apparently edited out so much, and the character suffered for it.

However (excuse my bout of fangirlishness): Sid (Alexander Siddig/Siddig el Fadil) had a pretty big role! And he was good!

Ghassan Massoud (Saladin) was fantastic. He did credit to the character.

In fact, there were solid performances all over, except Bloom when he was talking and Green towards the end.

Recommended - but don't expect a historically correct account. That would really be too much to ask for a two-and-a-half hour movie - the situation was far too complex. A six-part TV series, perhaps.

And now for the scary news: I cut my hair today. One decade of having hair down to the middle of my back, and I cut it so it only reaches my chin. This is definitely going to take some getting used to. I hope Kjersti doesn't read this - I want to see her face when she comes home from Wales and sees me. (Meh, I doubt she reads it.)

Peace out.