Moving.

As an attempt to get back into blog making, I have moved my blog, all past and future blogs will be here http://raewalsh.wordpress.com/
Have a nice day! New blogs soon, promise!

Just a quick one...

Hey, just a quick blog to announce the fact that me and my good friend Dan have decided that after Halloween we are both going to give up alcohol until Christmas!

Okay so that's not really a big deal but I'm kinda going on a bit of a health bender and I think this will definitely affect how much work I get done and how I generally feel throughout the week. I'm not a massive drinker by any standards but I am still a Uni student so I'm no stranger to a few cheeky cocktail pitchers in Spoons.
I suppose it's easy for me to think of having maybe a drink or two normal because I've grown up with such a culture that celebrates this. Though I don't exactly drink every single night I feel like recently I have been either going out late and getting drunk for the sake of going dancing or at least going to Spoons and ending up having a fair few quite often recently. (I'm saying nothing of the company I like to keep here!) So I figured this might be something interesting to try, who knows, maybe it'll cut down my drinking in general after the proposed period of time.

If you're interested, my friend Dan has his own blog here and we shook hands on this TWICE. So if we break the rules there will be dyer consequences. Maybe. If we feel like it.

The Dark Knight Rises. Laboriously.

I've been sitting on this for quite a while now, as you are most likely aware I am a massive fan of the Batman franchise. I really enjoyed Christopher Nolans first instalment of his trilogy 'Batman Begins'(2005) and agreed to be civil towards 'The Dark Knight'(2008) despite it's glaring incongruity with really important characters. Putting all that behind us, I went into my local cinema to see The Dark Knight Rises (2012) with quite high expectations, though I had a fairly good idea about what would happen after reading some of the comics and knowing the general plotline behing Bane.

I went to see this with boyfriend and my parents who had no idea what was going to happen. Tell a lie, my Dad nailed the Talia al Ghul bit, though who didn't? Please, the child even looked like her.

I'll give a general plot outline first, just incase your forgot it or haven't even seen it.

It's 8 years after the events of The Dark Knight, Bruce Wayne has become a recluse (again) and spends a lot of time being rubbish. Enter Selina Kyle/Catwoman. She steals Wayne's mothers pearls from under his nose, tempting him to come back into the world. We also find at this point that Wayne has basically no knees. Okay, that was a lie but it's basically what's happening, his cartilage has worn away and he has to use automotive braces to do anything strenuous. Enter Bane and his long winded story. Bane terrorises Gotham, beats up Batman and sends him away, then terrorises Gorham some more and blows up a load of shit and Batman teams up with Catwoman (ridiculously sexy outfit, by the way) to save the day. Aaaand that's it really, with out giving too much away.

Where to start? First of all, it's a classic Christopher Nolan mind fuck kinda plot containing some familiar faces from Inception, see Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and the great Michael Caine. As always it's very beautifully filmed, the dialogue is good with both humorous and serious moments that are not to overbearing, apart from the parts where Michael Caine cries, that's never cool. The plot is kinda alright, the last half which is 'timed' goes a little weird because 20 odd hours go in 15 minutes and then 15 minutes took nearly 40 minutes which I guess is acceptable because of filming constraints but still. The whole Bane vs Batman and Bruce Wayne part was really good but the Wayne 'rehab' section was really dragged out to with in and inch of it's life. Yeah, we get it, he wants to save Gotham but 'boohoo my back is broken, I'm not good enough for Gotham, I'm still hung up on a dead woman and refuse to move on and I'm letting the city suffer for it, whine whine whine' I really cannot abide this mopey uselessness. I was just waiting for Gordon-Levitts character to slap him and tell him to get a grip.

Which moves me to the characters. John Blake (Gordon-Levitt) was brilliantly written, though the little 'my name is actually robin' bit really annoyed me. Bane (Tom Hardy) was really well thought out, to say you can't see the majority of his face he portrays emotion and thoughtfulness really well. Alfred (Caine) is of course amazing, especially when he blind sides you by leaving Wayne. Bruce Wayne is both mopey and arrogant at once, as usual, not much else to say really. Miranda/Talia is perfect in her deception and execution of her plot line. I was very happy to see Gary Oldman reprise his role as Comissioner Gordon, a character I hold very dear in the Batman world, his character treads the line between loved and hated and he does it so well that you are generally confused as to whether to root for him or not.

This leaves the ending, I'm trying not reveal too much in this blog about the general plot or the twists so I'm not going to reveal what happens at the end. I'll just say that I shed at least 3 tears (that's a lot for me) and really enjoyed and appreciated the ending. It ended kinda perfectly looking back, I felt quite different when I first left the cinema, I felt almost robbed because I had seen all the twists coming and not felt like I had enjoyed it. Looking back however I think that Nolan nailed it. Yeah I have a few quibbles about some minor stuff but overall it was a really great film, I much preferred it to The Dark Knight and thought it topped Batman Begins easily. Definitely a must see for Batman fans and general film fanatics, it can stand alone quite easily too.

Spiderman. Mark II. Better, faster, funnier, but just as predictable.

Spiderman, commercially known now as 'The Amazing Spiderman' has finally been rehashed after only 9 years. It seems to be the season for remakes and re-imaginings. In 2003 Sam Raimi directed a trilogy of films, loosely, based on the comic hero Spiderman. Now, in no way am I slating the original films, I just think they were kinda boring. Sure the first film was aright, it was cheesy but it was good family fun, the acting was good and the plot was solid but it lacked the gutsy, edgyness of a really god hero movie. The second film was so generic I genuinely cannot remember it. The third instalment however was unbelievably strange to watch, note Tobey Maguires strange pelvic thrust dance. Needless to say they are films I do not seek out to watch.

So when I set out to my nearest Cineworld with a friend I wasn't expecting much, but ended up being pleasantly surprised by the film. The plot is quite different from the original in quite a few ways; first of all, and most notable to me, there is no Mary-Jane, we now have Gwen Stacey played by the lovely Emma Stone, MJ being too weak a woman for this more modern take. Secondly it's way more sciencey. It plays very nicely on the current 'geek is sexy' trend, a trend I have no quarrels with. Thirdly, Spiderman is still created by the bite of a spider, but not a 'radioactive' spider instead it's a genetically altered one, this fits in better with our current affairs in society. See, Super heroes and the way they acquire their powers are always linked to the state of the world affairs at the time of creation. Spiderman is radioactivity, the X-men were mutants, Superman was an 'Alien', Hulk was gamma radiation and the Fantastic Four acquired their powers during an accident in space, give it a think over when you have time, it's quite easy to see how current events match with who is created when.

The main villain is no longer the Green Goblin but rather a disabled science professor who can mess with your genes. No really, telling the truth. Oh, he can also turn into a moderately evil giant green lizard man, didn't I mention that before? Ah, I suppose that makes him sound a lot more scary. What this professor is trying to do basically is cure his disability, he lost his right arm from just above the elbow and is trying to use genetic information from lizards that can jettison and regrow their tails almost at will. This inevitably leads to failure and causes him to turn into a strange lizard/human thing that goes terrorising the city and it's occupants. Spiderman has to step in because obviously the police force can't find or stop a giant lizard man. The Captain of the Police force is Gwen Staceys father, which makes it a little awkward when Peter Parker/Spiderman, played by Andrew Garfield, falls in love with her.

I really enjoyed this film, the acting was great, the relationship between Peter and Gwen is sweet and believable without being overly soppy and lovey, the science aspect of the plot made the film seem so much more realistic than the magical radioactive spider bite that grants Parker super strength and a God complex. The ending itself was pretty awesome, it was very predictable, down to a T, but it was still a good laugh and a good day out and I would definitely recommend to anyone who likes a good superhero/family/action film. Good for kids, teens and adults alike.

Cupcakes.

Let me start by saying, I freaking LOVE cupcakes. I make them quite often and they're always loved. I wanted to share my recipe and some pictures for anyone else who is as obsessed as I am. I'll also most likely post every time I find a new favourite butter cream recipe or a better way to keep the cakes moist etc.

My 'go to' recipe is;

115g caster sugar

115g butter (room temperature or warmer will make it easier for you)

115g self-raising flour (the last 15g can be made up in cocoa powder if you want)

2 eggs

Any flavouring you like. I often use cinnamon but almond oil, vanilla essence, coffee and such will do. Just remember not to make the mixture too runny, if you add any more than around 10-15ml of liquid add a little more flour. If you add coffee always add a teaspoon of coffee to a small amount of boiling water and add it like that. Coffee granules are not something that add to a cupcake. And if your going to add more cocoa powder, remember that it's very drying, add a drop of milk to compensate.

For simple butter cream use 175g of icing sugar and 85g or butter. Be careful while mixing because icing sugar is prone to flying everywhere over your countertop if you're not careful.

For flavour I recommend using the little bottles from Silver Spoon brand. I often use the lemon and peppermint ones. Though you could also use fruit juices, spices or pretty much anything that takes your fancy. Just make sure to have some extra icing sugar on hand to make sure you can get the right consistency.

I'm going to add a few pictures and descriptions below, I'll start with the oldest picture I have of my cakes then get more recent. Obviously I don't take pictures every time I make them, I'm no hipster.

I made these for my best friend the other year, we were having a gathering of people and what better way to entertain people than with food? The left half are cinnamon cakes with lemon icing and the right are chocolate cakes with peppermint icing with a little green food colouring. The sprinkles are from Sainsburys. (Also you can find her blog at http://kristina-foodporn.blogspot.co.uk/ she's awesome.)

These ones were made with a cream cheese recipe which I have unfortunately misplaced. They did end up a bit too sticky and claggy but the cream cheese icing was lovely. I don't actually own a piping bag so I used a sealable sandwich bad and simply cut a cross in one corner. The pink sprinkles are relatively cheap from Sainsburys.

Chocolate cakes with lemon icing I believe. I'm not particularly fond of the taste of lemon so I think my mum ate most of these.

A gift for my Dad on Fathers Day 2012, chocolate cakes with lightly cinnamon flavoured icing. I used two shades of blue food colouring for the icing and piped it using a sandwich bag again. Classy.

These last two images are of some cakes me and Boyfriend made today. They're chocolate cinnamon cakes with a coffee flavoured butter cream. I used a straw to make a slight hole in the middle and piped some icing into that before adding the swirl decoration to the top. I've never made coffee flavoured icing before and it turned out really tasty but a little too thin. I ran out ot icing sugar so I couldn't thicken it any. They were still tasty anyway.

They're all the images I have so far. When I have a few more saved up I'll do another post. I may also post any other things I make as well. I made a cheesecake for the first time the other day but didn't take a picture (sorry) it ended up a bit wrong but Boyfriend and his parents ate it all anyway. Guess that's good, right?

Avengers Assemble. Sometimes. Occasionally. Rarely.

Avengers Assemble. As it's called here in the UK, is the Hollywood incarnation of Marvels Avengers directed by one of my favourite, Joss Whedon. If you're not familiar with the Avengers I'll quickly spell it out for you; The Avengers Initiative is headed by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and funded mostly by S.H.I.E.L.D, or, Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division. If you ignore all the infantry and staff that come, and die, in their hundreds, the main members of the Avengers are; Natasha Romanoff/ Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Clint Barton/ Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner aka Boyfriends man crush), Bruce Banner/ The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Steve Rogers/ Captain America (Chris Evans), Tony Stark/ Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) and Thor (Chris Hemsworth). In this 2012 adaptation, the villain is Thor's adopted brother and God of Chaos; Loki (Tom Hiddleston). There are also the usual associated characters we've seen in the lead up character films like Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) and Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg).

Loki makes a deal with a race named the 'Chitauri' to deliver to them an object of infinite power, the 'Tesseract'. Upon delivery of this relic, Loki would then command an army of Chitauri to conquer any world he wanted. Obviously the Avengers have something to say about that. They spend the first two thirds of the movie bickering and squabbling like petty children which, although amusing, gets old and I found myself wanting to slap them and tell them to grow up. Hawkeye is corrupted by Loki's magic staff (no, really) through out the first half so we don't see much of him. He has often been dubbed 'the useless avenger' but actually, he and the Widow are the only two that use their mortal strength. No trickery or 'god' genes, they aren't rich foolish philanthropists and for this they are my favourites.

When the Avengers finally gain some initiative, though it may be close to the end, and actually decide to save the Earth, actually scratch that, when they decide to save America they come together really well. They are a formidable force that work well together in combat and have great screen presence.

The relationships between the characters are very well written, there's a slight romanticism between Widow and Hawkeye, Captain America and Stark butt heads like grumpy children trying to get one up on each other, Banner avoids everyone except Stark and even then he tries to keep mostly to himself. Thor and Loki have a strange two-way you're my brother but I'll gladly kill you thing going on, but they have the only believable and endearing relationship in the film. And no one likes Nick Fury. Or the Hulk. Poor lads.

The film has beautiful effects and settings and the costumes, especially Loki's, are really fantastic. The writing is really good, as I expect of Whedon, very PG of course (rated at PG-13), and the film flows well, it's never too slow. The humour is mostly dry, with some big hitting jokes for the crowd and the kids, look out for the moment with Loki and the Hulk in Stark's penthouse, you'll know it when it happens, it's probably the funniest moment in the film and one I would gladly rewind and watch several times if I wasn't partial to a bit of Tom Hiddleston.

All in all it's a really good film, a 7/10 for me, it has humour, a tinsy bit of mushyness, plenty of action and women in tight leather, and enough science and thoughtfulness to actually make the film mostly believable. Mostly. There's a hint of a sequel too, which I really look forward to as I think this franchise in it's current form has the ability to go through at least 2 maybe 3 films before it starts to get old.

Breakfast at Spoons.

Wetherspoons is a very popular chain of pubs in the UK, recently I spent quite a lot of time in one of these in Derby, named The Standing Order. Which is a fitting name as you usually can't find a place to sit. Ever.

But anyway, the other night I may have, in the company of Boyfriend and two flatmates, gotten a little bit drunk on stupidly named, and coloured, cocktail pitchers and a substantial amount of JD and coke.

So the following morning I woke everyone up and took them to 'Spoons' as we have so affectionately nick-named it. It took a while to get everyone there as I seemed to be the only one with any energy left, we sat staring at the breakfast menu like genuine idiots for a good 15 minutes before we had any inkling about what we wanted to eat. Or try to eat.

I, unlike my then brain-dead companions, went for a classy eggs benedict. While my three zombie followers went for a plain english breakfast. Which I don't think any of them finished.

This being the first time I'd had eggs benedict I was quite impressed, I would have been more so if my eggs were a little softer but you can't have everything in life. Certainly not soft eggs at least. When we decided to leave we got outside and found possibly the foulest weather I have ever known to happen in Derby, which we often refer to as 'Derbados' due to it's unreasonably tropic climate. Not only was it chucking it down, but the wind was enough to nearly blow us off our puddle soaked feet. We ducked into a nearby Primark to wait for a little break in the weather. Which never really happened. We all ultimately returned to the flat wet, windblown, slightly nauseous and rather unhappy. Morale is; never do breakfast at Spoons after a night out.