During the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival, I saw Gerard Butler (King Leonidas in the film 300) just a few feet away from me at the World Premiere red carpet of Beowulf & Grendel, a 2005 movie adaptation of the Old English epic poem Beowulf. B & G was directed by Sturla Gunnarsson and stars Gerard Butler as the warrior Beowulf who’s on a mission to slay Grendel. But noooo, this entry is not about the epic tales of B & G or 300. It’s really about the epic suckyness of my craptastic digital camera. For reasons I will explain, I ended up with a snapshot of Tony Curran, eh who?
First off, for those who were nice enough to leave comments in 300 Movie, Part 1 (first in a series of 4 entries), thanks. For those who assumed that I must’ve loved the flick because it got me out of my blogging rut… noooo, I neither professed enjoyment NOR anything to the contrary. I mean, do ya really need to read another poorly written review of a blockbuster popcorn flick… to validate your choice of like/dislike? From me, who does not even know how to use a semicolon? (If your keen eyes have spotted the rarely seen semi-colon and its correct or grievous use anywhere in my blog, good for you! You must’ve been at the top of your class. Kisses, gold star?)
Most importantly, thanks goes to the small handful of lovelies who voted for me for Freakiest Blogger, Worst Blogger of All Time and Best Blog About Stuff — Ann, Bobbi-lee, Dessert Queen (thanks sis for the 3 noms hahah!), Ed Lau, Han (who’s also nominated, so visit her site for details), Jude and Marni. Muchas gracias for the support, even if you don’t understand at all the nom choices and the full extent of my warped humour. I’ve nominated:
- Ann @ Unwritten for Best Blog About Stuff
- Jim @ Blogbastic! for Best Blog About Stuff
- Shari @ Misteryosa for Best Blog About Stuff
Well, they blog… about… stuff. Yes, Ann… Mary Cherry would argue that even a tiny trickle of Popular Google Booze might benefit my fave blogs… Isn’t it really all about sharing copious amounts of booze link love, hmm?
In the interests of shortening this overly long dull-ass entry, bullet points:
- The 300 series of 4 blog entries is a joke between my friend Jude and myself about how many entries thinly related to 300 I could write… without the real topics being about 300 at all. At least 13.
- My camera’s battery has failed me on so many occasions. I didn’t get that snapshot of Gerard Butler or Sean Penn or Andy Garcia…
- I was most (un)fortunate to see the second screening of Beowulf & Grendel (ZzzZzz). Gerard Butler was a no-show, but the director Sturla Gunnarsson, screenwriter Andrew Rai Berzins and actor Tony Curran did a Q & A after the film. The worst question aimed at the director: “Yeah, I, uh, saw this film at the first screening. Me and all my friends thought it was pretty lame. We couldn’t understand over 50% of it. This time, I understood more. I just wanted to ask, given that I couldn’t understand the film I’d, uh, like you to comment on what you see are its, uh, weaknesses.” Bloody lame. Priceless.
- Tony Curran is the redhead fella in the photo above and played the role of Hondscioh, a warrior friend of Beowulf. An unknown, his most commercial roles to date are: as Rodney Skinner (The Invisible Man) in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and as Marcus Corvinus in Underworld: Evolution. Strangely, I’ve actually seen most of Tony Curran’s body of work. I just don’t remember his body in them. The photo was snapped on Sep. 16, 2005 after the B & G early morning screening at the Scotiabank Toronto Theatre (formerly Paramount Toronto Theatre). After the Q & A, Tony hung around and was super nice enough to talk to the fans and moviegoers and pose for pics.
- Gerard Butler has a Bacon number of 2. Gerard Butler was in Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003) with Djimon Hounsou. Djimon Hounsou was in Beauty Shop (2005) with Kevin Bacon.
- Sean Penn has a Bacon number of 1. Sean Penn was in Mystic River (2003) with Kevin Bacon. I saw Mystic River and Penn in 2004 TIFF.
I want a new compact digital camera that isn’t so functionally-challenged. I’m currently lusting after the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 which has many drool-worthy features and spectacular specifications for a compact cam:
- MEGA O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilizer)
- Intelligent ISO Control
- 28mm wide angle lens with 10x optical zoom (35mm equivalent: 28-280mm)
- Full 28mm wide angle with multiple aspect ratios
- Multiple aspect ratios: 4:3 / 3:2 / 16:9
- Oversized 7.2 megapixel CCD
- Leica DC VARIO-ELMAR Lens
- 3.0” High-resolution (230,000 pixels) LCD display
- Dual image playback
- Stainless steel body
- Shooting functions (Mode dial)
- Scene modes (Various)
- Motion image recording with audio
- High angle and power LCD function
- ISO sensitivity settings (Auto/100/200/400/800/1250)
- High-speed auto focus
- Continuous burst shooting mode
Among one of the nifty scene modes is something called food mode which is used for taking shots of special meals. This mode assures that colours are fresh, vivid and natural in all kinds of lighting. More purty food photos!
It’s available in 3 colours: silver, blue and black. Click on one of the 3 buttons below to preview the camera in 3 different colours:
http://fruityoaty.com/wp-content/video/panasonic_lumix_tz3.swf… and I want a Nikon D80 DSLR too. I want a lot things… It doesn’t mean I’m always going to get them. That’s a snapshot of life.
Adieu,
fruitycam
P.S. RED SAUCE ON PASTA!
*salivates* Beowulf, god I love that poem. Grendel’s Mother used to scare the hell out of me when I was a kid, lol.
Am I the only person who doesn’t want to see 300?
Ahh, makes me remember one time when I wanted to shoot (with the camera) Parokya ni Edgar, but got a nasty emo overload band instead. I suck, haha.
Thanks for the nomination. Blogger’s what?! Haha!
I’d vote for you… kaso I’m so tamad to register. Maybe in a while. Sigh, sigh.
I want a DSLR. Whatevs. I just want a digicam that takes pics! Is that soooo hard to understand?!!?!?!!!
Dead batteries, slow processing before the next shot… It really sucks to have your cam act up on situations such as yours. I’ve had my share of that.
Lumix DMC-TZ3 looks great! I’d go for the silver one.
I DID manage to get invited to the afterparty and though I was in close proximity to Gerry (behind the velvet ropes), I barely said a few words to him.
I DID, however, talk to almost everyone else in the cast and got to dance with Tony Curran! He’s really a very nice, fun guy!!! 
I’d seen him in several movies before, as well, but didn’t remember him either. 
And Sarah Polley talks more than anyone I know and was the only person there shorter than me! She was very nice, too.
Nooo, don’t go for Nikon! Canon all the way!
Um… yeah, no idea who Tony Curran is. He is too obscure, even for me.
You nominated me? Lol.
I’d be seriously surprised if anyone would vote for me. I’d like to think of myself as an indie blogger i.e. pretty much unknown, lol. But thanks. 
I’m thinking of asking for a digicam or a videocam as my grad gift. But I have no idea which models are good or what I should be looking for exactly. My ‘If it takes pictures, I’m happy’ mentality is sure to get me ripped off. :p Hehe.
I just want to add that I now have a very bad case of lss to Pink’s U + Ur Hand. :p
Wow, that’s a really nice camera! And it has nice functions too. I have a digital camera; it’s nice, but a new one is always better, right?
Hope you get it!
I am thinking of getting those big cameras later. Gerard Butler also played Dracula on Dracula 2000. Tony Curran also played one of those hunters in Blade 2. Also, I think I saw him on some Leprechaun films or something coz he is Irish I think.
Haha… honestly, I wasn’t able to understand that Beowulf poem! But yay that you were able to see King Leonidas! Hehe.
And congratulations on getting nominated on those three awards… I think… Worst Blogger of All Time?! Should I vote for you in that category?! x)
I wish somebody would give me a free kickass dslr.
Gerard Butler is the man! Hehehe. I want a dslr too!
Oh cool. I was a freak for those Bacon thingies. I was the king of Bacon in a forum back then. But now, it seems that I have lost that skill of mine. Boo-hoo!
I want a digicam too. Anything that captures pictures… uhh… digitally will do.
My previous post wasn’t approved? OR did I post something really maddy?
I need a nice camera… thinking about Sony. :O
Kiss
Fendi
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Bad luck on the whole Gerard Butler photo… Any excuse for a new camera though sounds great to me!!
Hello hello!! Gerard butler is AWESOME!! I saw him first in Phantom of the Opera and became gaga over him… hehehehe.
Anyway… yeah… who the f is Tony Curran?
Thanks for the nomination Massa P! Sorry, I followed suit in blogging hiatus but I’m back!
It’s just now that I’ve learned about the Blogger’s Choice Award — will vote soon! 
The first thing I noticed when I visited was that you were nominated for three awards. Congratulations on two of them, especially the Best Blog About Stuff award.
I wanted to vote for you… but I guess the site is down. Hehe. I’ll try again tomorrow.
I guess it’s really about time to have your new camera.
Be Blessed!
I’ve just realized that I can’t participate in the Blogger’s Choice Award
It doesn’t allow me to register unless I click on the PPP button, which might violate my TOS on WordPress. So, I’ll just have to watch at the sideline. 
Oh I want the D80 as well! But they’re so freakin’ expensive!
Gaah I want an SLR too, you know, take camwhoring to a whole new different level. Haha. But yeah, you’re right. We can always dream.
I’ve had that problem before — I was in Vancouver, hiked to the top of Grouse Mountain, took my camera out… and then my battery was dead… arggggg! I had to buy one of those cheap little disposables for 20 bucks. What a rip! And it took lousy pictures.
The Lumix is nice… but I’m a Canon Fan. I’ve got the digital ELPH and the Rebel SLR with extra battery packs and CF cards, so I never miss a good pic again!
Since I don’t have the cameras that most paparazzi have, what I do is put the cam in the movie mode and just let ‘em roll. Then you can kill two birds with one stone — you got your subject on film and you can splice the frame for pics that you like later.
My old 4 mp Canon IXUS is fine but I got the new 8.1 mp Sony Cybershot and it’s really great too. I put a 4 gb SD card and I’ve recorded an hour or more of Josh Groban in concert at the Palace last February. The sound, film & pic are really tops.
Food Mode?! Really? That would be an awesome feature!