Sucker Punch

I have a new favourite film! I picked it up on bluray yesterday. Sucker Punch is visually stunning with a cool story and an incredible soundtrack.

From Zack Snyder, who also directed Watchmen and 300 (two other fantastically stylish films) and starring Emily Browning, the film tells the story of Baby Doll; a twenty year old girl who is put in a mental institute by her abusive step father. To help her cope with her incarceration and an impending lobotomy, she retreats into a fantasy world where she plans her escape.

It is kind of like Alice in Wonderland or Pan's Labyrinth, except with sexy girls, swords and guns, steam powered zombie Nazis, dragons, giant demonic samurai, and high-tech robots. So... maybe it isn't that much like those other films... ;p

It didn't go down too well with critics and reviewers, saying that it lacked depth. But I don't think it was really supposed to have any. It's supposed to be visually breath taking, high octane fun!

It bugs me when reviewers do that. You wouldn't mark down Forrest Gump because it's not sexy and lacks explosions and visual effects. It wasn't supposed to be that kind of film in the first place! Would these same reviewers pan a Heavy Metal song for being too loud? Hehe.

Sucker Punch is an extremely stylish, sexy, over the top, all action, visual extravaganza and it certainly pushes all the right buttons for me. It is awesome!

Emily Browning has been promoted to the top of my 'list'. She is an amazing actress, a fantastic singer (she provides vocals on several of the songs from the film) and she is a total babe! ;D





.

L.A. Noire - Finished!

Last night I finished the main story for L.A. Noire on the PS3.

What a fantastic game! The story and game play were exceptional. Apart from the odd bit where the choices available didn't seem to make sense. Choosing 'doubt', for example, could result in the main character completely flying off the handle and shouting at the person being interviewed rather than just subtly pushing for more info (as I expected him to do). There were also a few times when I would choose 'Truth' which revealed that they were indeed telling the truth, but that that wasn't the choice I was supposed to make to progress the story. This resulted in me being wrong, even though I was actually right. Odd and really my only issue with the game.

I don't usually go back to many games once I've finished them, but there are still more than a few things to find and cases which I could do better on, so it still has plenty of life left in it.

The face technology used was amazing! So much so that whenever I look at other games now, the faces seem incredibly dull and un-realistic. I have been spoilt! :p

Hopefully the developers will continue to support the game and release more and more additional content for it.





.

Helping out with the kids

Starting last Friday, Gem and I decided to arrive early at Kuk Sool so that we can help out with the children's coloured belt class.

We were each given a small group to work with and essentially just left to get on with it.

I must admit that I floundered a little at first. I wasn't sure what to do with them and KJN had so many other children and groups to see to that I felt like I was pestering him when I asked.

I took my group through their form a few times and then did some techniques. We finished off the class with some blocking using a foam sword which they really enjoyed.

On Monday's class I was much more confident which was then re-enforced by the boy I taught on Friday coming over and asking me if I'd be helping again and wanting me to work with him. Afterwards he told me that I was "cool", bless him.

Even though I feel that working with children doesn't particularly come naturally to me, I want to stick with it. That little fella really boosted my confidence when he paid me that compliment.

It was great being able to help out and give something back. 





.

Halesworth Kuk Sool

I was invited to take a trip over to Halesworth yesterday evening to see the purpose built Kuk Sool Won Dojang (training hall) and participate in the adult coloured belt class there.

It was awesome! Everyone was very friendly and welcomed me in to their group straight away.

The Dojang itself has a "magic" to it. I could feel the Kuk Sool buzz as soon as I walked in. It is fairly small and needs a lick of paint here and the odd repair there, but all these things just add to it's amazing charm. Given that it was only expected to last ten to fifteen years, when built, it's doing incredibly well as it is well over twenty!

It was fantastic training there! Not needing to constantly kick the mats into position to avoid falling down the gaps as they slipped around, was great. It was quiet too. Without the sport centre's music thumping in the background, you could actually hear the Black Belt's weapons 'swoosh' as they trained with them.

Boy oh boy was it hot in there though!!! Even though it was fairly chilly outside and with the windows open we managed to steam up the mirror - proof of a good training session, I am told ;)  and it definitely was!

It's a shame that it is so far away from us, but I will definitely be going back whenever I have the chance. It's a wonderful place to train and extra lessons are always great!

As the Kuk Sool mantra says: "I need more practice!"





.

Cholesterol

I visited my Doctor yesterday to find out what kind of treatment I would be using to manage my high cholesterol.

My HDL (good cholesterol) is around 1, which is about normal. My LDL (bad cholesterol) is about 5, which is not so good.

He has prescribed me Simvastatin, so I have to see how that goes for the next month. If I have no side effects, I'll use it for three months then take another blood test to see if it's working. If it is, then I'll be on that for good.





.

Up to Date

I think that pretty much brings me up to the present, although I am sure there are bits I've missed. The last six months have been insane so I'm bound to have forgotten something.




.

Health

I am falling apart! :p

Just one week before the European Kuk Sool Won Championship, I managed to really hurt my right foot. Gemma and I were doing some 'light' sparring... she's vicious! She blocked one of my slow light kicks with a swift elbow to the side of my foot. It swelled up, went very purple and was incredibly painful whenever I put any weight on it.

I struggled through the Master's seminar that week and also the actual tournament itself. It has been over a month now and it still hurts from time to time.

...

On the morning of our Yellow Belt grading and our first Kuk Sool Demonstration, I woke up with a strange after image in my right eye and an area of blurred vision just below my focal point. It worried me as it had been only just over a month since I had had laser eye surgery.

After the grading and the demo, we headed straight over to the opticians to get it checked out. They said they couldn't see anything and to use a few drops and let them know how it was in a week. On the Monday, they called me to check how it was, but there had been no change whatsoever. I had to quickly book off the afternoon and head over there for another look.

After three hours or so of various checks and tests they told me that a vein in my retina had haemorrhaged. Nothing to worry about, but they wanted me to head over to Harley Street in London to get it checked out asap. Nothing to worry about? But head over to our head clinic? Holy contradictions, Batman!

We managed to get the Wednesday off work and travelled over. The surgeon was great and reassured me that it should heal by itself in time. I wouldn't need any surgery, but I would have to take it easy. They were more concerned with what had caused it as the likely candidates were high blood pressure or even diabetes. The laser surgery was ruled out as a possibility as that deals only with the front of the eye. My problem was at the back.

With the threat of possible surgery lifted from my mind, we enjoyed the rest of our day in London, visiting Hamley's and Madame Tussauds. The next morning I had a doctor's appointment where my blood pressure was cleared and blood tests were arranged.

I was cleared of diabetes and some of the other possible causes they checked for, so I don't have an answer for what caused the haemorrhage. It just popped. I guess it's just 'one of those things'.

...

I did, however, discover that I have high cholesterol. Unusual for my age and given my new healthy fit lifestyle, it's probably unrelated to what I eat and how much exercise I take. It is most likely hereditary as my Dad and my Granddad both have it. I have an appointment this Thursday to have a chat about it and see what medication I will have to try.




.