Mom
Mom, I may or may not be able to clean again before you get here tomorrow . . .
- posted by Nicole @ 12:18 AM

 
Telemarketing
I got telemarketed at school today - can you believe it? On our room phone! I didn't think it was possible!

. . . And my Natural Hazards problem set involves math: WTF. The class is unofficially known as "Rocks for Jocks" for a reason - there should be no computation involved!
- posted by Nicole @ 11:58 PM

 
Better Globes pics
Why I didn't look for pictures on IMDB first, I'll never know. I guess I had this stupid idea that the official Golden Globes Site would have better pics - HAH! Soooo . .

Here's Elijah Wood, Charlize Theron, Jude Law, Tom, Johnny, Nicole's hair, and Dominic Monaghan.

Here's the page - there's tons more: IMDB
- posted by Nicole @ 8:47 PM

 
Oscar Noms
The Oscar Nominations came out today, and I'm really happy - for the most part - with their choices. The whole list is posted at Oscar.com, but here are my picks:
Best Actor: Johnny Depp for Pirates - no question. (Bill Murray will probably win though; again I was pleasantly surprised that Johnny even got nominated. And though I love Tommy, the Last Samurai was definitly not among his best . . . )

Best Supporting Actor: Ken Watanabe from Last Samurai - I think he was the best one in the movie. But I wouldn't mind if Benicio Del Toro got it. I'm pissed that Sean Astin and/or Ian McKellan were left out of this category . . oh well, can't win 'em ALL.

Best Actress: Charlize Theron or maybe the chick from Whale Rider. Was glad to see that they didn't nominate Nicole Kidman just on principle, cuz she really wasn't that good in Cold Mountain.

Best Supporting Actress: Don't really care . . . probably Renee again

Best Animated Film: I'm going to see Triplets of Belleville this weekend, and it will probably get my vote, since I wasn't all that impressed with Finding Nemo (unlike the rest of the world, it would seem)

Obviously, I vote for LOTR:ROTK for art direction, costume design, make-up, sound, visual effects, directing, score, song, adapted screenplay (surprise nom!), and - bien sur! - BEST DAMN PICTURE EVER! It got 11 nominations (hehehe, my fav number)! The only thing it's nominated for that I didn't pick is editing, because I thought that ROTK was the most poorly edited of the three films; I think Master and Commander will get that one, along with Cinematography, which ROTK didn't get a nom for (though Seabiscuit could get cinematography too, from the little bit of it that I saw). GO Hobbits!
- posted by Nicole @ 2:18 PM

 
The Golden Globes or Hail to the Hobbits
To my eternal delight, and in defiance of history, LOTR:ROTK won each of the awards for which it was nominated! So seldom do these awards ceremonies pay deserving tribute to films of the sci-fi/fantasy genre. I can only hope that the Oscars will follow suit. ROTK took home Globes for Best Score (duh - and Howard Shore was so cute and humble when he accepted it), Best Song for "Into the West" (this was a bit surprising to me; I love the song, but was sure that Sting would get the Globe - I honestly wouldn't have bet that it would win), Best Director for Peter Jackson (FINALLY - MY GOD, I CAN'T THINK OF ANY SINGLE GREATER ENDEAVOR THAN THE SIMULTANEOUS SHOOTING OF THREE MONUMENTAL, EPIC FILMS, WHICH TOPPED (AND CONTINUE TO TOP) INTERNATIONAL BOXOFFICES, NOT TO MENTION THEIR INHERENT QUALITY AND BRILLIANCE. The couldn't POSSIBLY have given it to anyone else. And he was also so sweet when he accepted it - best acceptance speech of the show in my opinion. . . . 'Bout damn time he was recognized . . . Oh, and it was adorable - Elijah Wood and Dominic Monaghan had tears in their eyes as he got up there - they were so proud), and - of course - Best Picture Drama (aren't they cute?). And it's not often that a film will win both Best Director and Best Director, they usually like to split it up a bit. A most satisfactory eveing, even if the Best Actor categories were a bit disappointing (no Globe for Johnny Depp, but then, I was kinda surprised he even got a nom, cuz he's such a rebel; none for Tommy or Russell . . . stupid Mystic River . . .). I loved the fact that Charlize Theron beat out Nicole Kidman and some other really big names for Best Actress - I really like her (she also wins my "Best Make-up" Award), though I would have been equally happy to see Cate Blanchett win it. Renee Zellegger for Cold Mountain - ok, so she was the best one in the movie, so why not. I guess I need to see Lost in Translation to understand why it's getting all these awards . . .

Now for the fluff, par Barb's request:
Best Dress: Probably Christina Ricci or Uma Thurman (If Nicole Kidman wore the other half of her dress, she would be in this category too.) Oh - and Charlize Theron's was very pretty too.

Hottest Guy: Dominic Monaghan or Jude Law.

Cutest Couple: Definitely Tom and Mom!

Best Hair: Nicole Kidman - definitly!

I was quite pleased with just about all of the awards (here's the list) but the ceremony seemed very low-key to me, I don't know why. Kind of uneventful and not real exciting (which was probably a good thing, cuz I was trying to watch and do homework simultaneously). . . And someone tell me why Leo DiCrappio presented Best Picture Drama?!?!

- posted by Nicole @ 2:53 PM

 
Successful Show
Last night was closing night of the opera and I have to say that the whole run went really well. The singers were really talented and the pit was just downright amazing. We had a lot of fun, and got to be really close by the end. And just about everyone in the pit is in Saybrook too, so it's not like we'll never play together again. (Me: "We're like a cult except . . . no, we are a cult.") So, a good time was had by all (even though I didn't get nearly enough sleep this weekend . . . ). You can read the review from the Yale Daily News.

I just read that Nicole Kidman has signed on to play Ulla in the film remake of the Producers, starring alongside Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick, which is kinda cool. Premiere has the story. And - HOOOORAAAAY - the Golden Globes are tonight and I'm a total dork because I am sooooooo excited!
- posted by Nicole @ 11:03 AM

 
Never-ending battle
Barb - I finally understand what made you give up most caffinated beverages. My life is a constant battle between my voracious consumption of teeth-staining beverages and my persistent emploment of teeth-whitening toothpaste. I became conscious of this struggle only yesterday when I went to buy toothpaste, and when one place didn't have the super-baking-soda-whitening stuff, I went somewhere else. . . . hehehe . . .

The opera is going really well - tonight is the last night, and we have a couple surprises for the audience (and the cast . . . *maniacal laughter*). Whenever I was on the other side of the fence I always felt bad for the pit because I didn't think they had as much fun as we up on stage did. I see now that I was wrong.
- posted by Nicole @ 11:35 AM

 
Kerfuffle
The Word of the Day from Merriam-Webster: kerfuffle. It's British (cuz they really do have their own dialect of English . . .I would know - I take a class from one of them . . hehehe) for disturbance or fuss.
- posted by Nicole @ 12:38 AM

 
L'Opera
Ok, so for all my whining and complaining about this show (the underclassmen opera that I got dragged into doing), it's really been a fun time. Tonight was opening night and it went really well, but the best part (aside from the spontaneous performance of Pacabells (sp?!) Cannon during intermission) was after the show when we had a "pit-only" party. The pit for this show is sooooo much fun - everyone in it is so talented and so cool! We celebrated with champange (and our conductor - the one I like, we have two - got really drunk, and it was sooooo funny!) Then we moved the party to Yorkside Pizza and had a really loud, raucus time of it. There were the drunken speeches from our conductor, the pathetic attempts to speak French among those of us 115 veterans, and - oh yeah - Julian the trumpet player sneezing all over his pizza (simultaneously the grossest and funniest thing I've ever seen in my entire life!) Lots of fun and laughs! And tonight was only the first night :)

My first official polsci seminar went sooooooo well - I love the class! There are a lot of really great, intelligent, charismatic people in it - unlike my English class where people like the sounds of their own voices a little too much . . . Oh - and there's a another girl from Buffalo in the class, which I thought was really strange!

And when you wake up from a nap at like 7:00 at night, Harkness Tower kinda looks like Minas Morgul, all lit up the way it is. . .

AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JULIA! (Joey better get you diamonds - if not, dump his ass)
- posted by Nicole @ 12:22 AM

 
THE GAME
Here's some pics of the YPMB from the Yale-Harvard Game. Here's me playing trumpet.
- posted by Nicole @ 1:55 PM

 
In Al's Words . . .
"I'm all for Bush's new plan to fund exploration to Mars, just so long as he can live there!"
~Al
- posted by Nicole @ 1:52 PM

 
My results:
This is from Leah's thing (which actually came from Kara).

Your Brain Usage Profile

Auditory : 64%
Visual : 35%
Left : 64%
Right : 35%

Nicole, you are mildly left-hemisphere dominant while showing a slight preference for auditory processing. This overall combination seems to indicate a well-working blend of logic and judgment and organization, with sufficient intuition, perception and creativity to balance that dominance.

You will at times experience conflict between how you feel and what you think which will generally be resolved in favor of what you think. You will find yourself interested in the practical applications of whatever material you have learned or whatever situation you face and will retain the ability to refine whatever knowledge you possess or aspects of whatever position you are in.

By and large, you will orient yourself toward intellectual activities and structure. Though not rigid, you will schedule yourself, plan, and focus on routine and continuity of operations, rather than on changes and disruptions

When changes or disruptions occur, you are likely to consider first how to ensure that such disruptions do The same balance is reflected in your sensory preference. You will tend to be reflective and measured in your interaction style. For the most part, you will be considered objective without being cold and goal-oriented while retaining the capacity to listen to others.

Preferentially you learn by listening and maintaining significant internal dialogues with yourself. Nevertheless, you have sufficient visualization capabilities to benefit from using graphs, charts, doodles, or even body movement to enhance your comprehension and memory.

To the extent that you are even implicitly aware of your hemispheric dominance and sensory style, you will feel most comfortable in those arenas which emphasize verbal skills and logic. Teaching, law, and science are those that stand out among the professions, along with technical sales and management.

- posted by Nicole @ 11:12 PM

 
Snow-Sentries
The snowfall that started Friday night magically frosted the campus, so that yesterday morning, it looked like God had given the New Haven snow globe a good shake. Because it's been so cold, the snow really clung to all the trees and coated the buildings (whose gothic architecture seems designed for the sole purpose of catching snow in innumerable tiny crevasses). It looked so magical. I was away from Old Campus all day, but by the time I got back that night, an army of snowmen (and I mean serious snowmen - like, twice as big as me) had taken up the watch. They looked like sentries, and there were dozens of them, with snow on the ground to spare. It looked so cool!
- posted by Nicole @ 6:48 PM

 
Snatch
"He's as bent as the Soviet sickle and as hard as the hammer that crosses it."
- Turkish, about Boris the Blade
- posted by Nicole @ 4:35 PM

 
My suitemates are corrupting me
I was all set to be a good girl last night and spend some quality time with Huck Finn, and then they kidnapped me and made me come to one of the New Haven dance clubs (it's called Image) with them. But afterwards I was glad, cuz it was a really fun time :) I figured Jess and Al (and mom too, actually) would be proud of me . . . hehehe.
- posted by Nicole @ 4:34 PM

 
You've Got To Admit It's Getting Better . . .
. . . it's getting better all the time. So basically, if yesterday was the LOWEST point on the emotional barometer (which includes self-esteem, personal satisfaction, and happiness meters), then today saw a significant rise in barometric pressure. Having not received an email from my polsci prof (who is - by the way - still as amazing as ever), I assumed I didn't get into the seminar (see yesterday's post), though I thought it was strange that he didn't contact me anyway to let me know. So, I drowned my sorrows in sleep, and - after a rockin' 8 1/2 hours of sleep - I got up to go to class, prepared to completely rework my schedule to accomadate my backup plan. But I decided to check my email first (you see, hope is a very difficult creature to kill). And - to my eternal surprise - I had an email from him offering me a spot in the seminar! Seminars "officially" cap at 20 students; there were 21 names on the list. I practically bounced to class. Negative 10 wind chill? What negative 10 wind chill? I lost my ID card (which is the single most vital thing I carry with me on a day to day basis), but even that didn't dampen my spirits; and then to prove beyond a doubt that the planets have aligned today in my favor, I found it! Saybrook went awesome, I forgot how good we are. I also forgot what an amazing conductor Perry is. And now, if you'll excuse me, I have a three-day-weekend to enjoy. (Laugh it up, MOM - we can't ALL have 5 days off. . . I heard a rumor today that Yale hasn't cancelled class since Pearl Harbor . . . )
- posted by Nicole @ 7:57 PM

 
Blah!
My life is a mess. Today sucked - I spent the whole day in class (and I do mean the WHOLE day . . oh, except for that freezing-my-ass-off-while-walking-to-class part . . temp in New Haven: dead on 0 degrees . . . ) and I still don't have my schedule sorted out. After French and English, went to a seminar on "Incarnations of Arthur", and in less than two hours, the guy almost had me hating a genre I've loved for the greater part of my life; I decided not to take the class. Then I went to a polsci seminar and listened to a lot of pretentious people try an impress my ingenious IR professor with a lot of bombastic bullshit. Then I went to a 4 hour rehearsal; oh yeah, and the hall where we rehearsed didn't have any heat cuz something was broke . . . I seriously thought my oboe was gonna crack. Then I walked home in the freezing cold. Didn't get an email from the polsci prof so I guess that means I didn't get in the seminar, but there's no way to know for sure yet. If I don't get in, I'll have to restructure my whole schedule and catch up on all the work I've missed. I repeat: Blah. Oh well, at least I have Saybrook tomorrow. . . . Did I mention that it was zero degrees out? I want my mommy . . .
- posted by Nicole @ 11:56 PM

 
Rapacious Institutions et. al.
The magnitude of my love for my Barnes & Noble at home is matched only by my repugnace for the downright rapacious Yale Barnes & Noble that distributes our textbooks here. Sadly, we have no cheaper independent bookstore (AL!) for all of us poor college students, and must spend our hard earned wages on the ridiculously overpriced required materials. And then, on top of it, they don't even let you use a Reader's Advantage card to get a 15% discount!!!! Not even on novels, like for English classes . . . grrrrr . . .

. . . This is pretty cool - here's what the boys of ESDP have been working on: TYPHOON!. . . .

. . . And I have found my fuel for this semester . . .

. . . and could it be that my totally amazing cousin is moving closer to me??????
- posted by Nicole @ 10:11 PM

 
The Alchemist
"Tell your heart that fear of suffering is worse than suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of that search is a second's encounter with God and with eternity."
- posted by Nicole @ 7:16 PM

 
Back safe
Just got back to school - I think I forgot how much I love it here. I love my suitemates, I missed them so much! . . . .

. . . And for some undisclosed reason, the fire alarm just went off and I spent the last 20 minutes outside in the freezing cold . . .grrrrrrrrrr . . .

But anyway, what I wanted to say was that nothing is better than send-off gifts to ease the shock of departure. My wonderful, newly-enlightened cousin Barb helped equip me for my 3 1/2 hour layover with the latest publication of Vanity Fair, featuring an interview with Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn in LOTR); and Nana gave me fun stuff to eat so that I might be spared the expensive airport garbage! Thanks soooooo much! And now to sleeeeeepppp . . . zzzzz . . .
- posted by Nicole @ 1:36 AM

 
My Golden Globe picks
The Golden Globe nominations have come out - you can see all of them at Premiere.com . Here are my incredibly biased choices for the winners.

Best Motion Picture, Drama: Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (duh)
Best Actress, Drama: Cate Blanchett for Veronica Guerin
Best Actor, Drama: Russell Crowe for Master and Commander (but even though I didn't really like The Last Samurai, I wouldn't be upset if they gave it to Tom Cruise, in recognition of a spectacular career to date and his whole body of work)
Best Motion Picture, Comedy: Bend it Like Beckham
Best Actor, Comedy: Johnny Depp for Pirates of the Caribbean
Best Supporting Actor: Ken Watanabe for The Last Samurai (Sean Astin was robbed . . . didn't even get a nomination . . . . )
Best Supporting Actress: Renee Zellweger for Cold Mountain
Best Director: Peter Jackson for LOTR:ROTK
Best Score: Howard Shore for LOTR:ROTK
Best Original Song: "Into the West" from (guess what?) LOTR:ROTK

These picks in no way reflect what will probably win, only what I want to win. And so they're probably all wrong . . . but I don't care.



- posted by Nicole @ 3:12 PM

 
The Two Towers
Last night I was watching the extended edition dvd of LOTR: The Two Towers, and I think I forgot how beautiful the cinematography was. It's possibly - in my opinion - the most beautifully shot of the three films; which is interesting, because the action is principally centered around the Battle of Helms Deep. The shots early in the film of Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli as they run across Rohan are just gorgeous (a lot of those shots were filmed from a helicopter). And any shortcomings that this film may have had, being the middle film of a trilogy, are completely absolved by the additional scenes, which really add to the development of the characters and the story. They really go into the stories of Eomer and Faramir, which is cool because they are such interesting characters (especially in the books). The film is just not complete without these extra scenes.

Speaking of incomplete, I found out that Howard Shore is going to release the entire score (including extended edition music) sometime in 2004 - HOOOORRRAAAAYY!

- posted by Nicole @ 1:40 PM

 
Thought of the Day
If money really did grow on trees, could you imagine the reforestation efforts?
- posted by Nicole @ 11:55 AM