Bucket list time

So the 40 things before I'm 40 was a bit of a failure.  Only 6 out of 40 tasks achieved:

• Watch Citizen Kane to the end.
• Get an ear pierced.
• Write a Haiku
• Get a tattoo on my right arm (have 2 there now)
• Buy or rent a place of my own
• Cook a curry from scratch

Therefore I am going for a bucket list with 50 tasks.  Hopefully I'll complete all 50 before I'm 50, but if not I will have more time.

So here they are:

Travel:

1. Visit Scandanavia
2. See the Northern Lights
3. Visit Paris
4. Go on holiday to San Francisco
5. Go on a UK road trip with no destination in mind.
6. Take a break in Edinburgh.

Experience:

1. Ride a horse.
2. Do a fund raising event for charity.
3. Attend a Tai Chi lesson.
4. Appear on a TV quiz show.
5. Climb to the top of York Minster.
6. Attend a tap dancing class.

Art & Culture:

1. Pass Grade 4 Piano Forte exam.
2. Learn the Bass Guitar.
3. Go to a music festival. - Download 2014. And 2015 booked.
4. Watch every episode of Breaking Bad.
5. Create a video project.
6. Create a piece of Photoshop Art.
7. Visit a jazz club.
8. Write a piano composition.
9. See Linkin Park live. - Saw Download 2014
10. See following acts live: NIN, Green Day, Metallica, GNR, Leonard Cohen

Personal Development:

1. Take and pass an A Level.
2. Speak fluent French.
3. Study Postmodernism.
4. Study Existentialism.

Other

1. Drop to at least 36" waist.
2. Have no outstanding debt.

An attempt at an Haiku

Though I'd attempt the easiest and cost free item on my list.  Here is an attempt at an haiku:

Winter rays of sun

hit the brooding clouds

A welcome interlude

New tattoo

The tasks are moving slowly, but another one has been achieved.  A tattoo on the right arm of Sisyphus.  It was inspired by my recent research into existentialism, particularly Albert Camus' The Myth of Sisyphus.  As someone who does not have a faith, philosophy and particularly existentialism has helped my find direction and meaning in my life.

Task 8 - Ear Piercing

Finally got round to getting this done.  The list is moving rather slowly, partly due to monitary constraints.  Must concentrate on achieving more of the inexpensive options in the next year.

Way out West

As I recover from my operation I am focusing on the less adventurous tasks on my list.  Today I completed another film on the 100 greatest films.  Way out West is heralded as one of Laurel and Hardy's best films.  It did feel dated but there are still some funny parts in it and it was a joy to watch.

2001 - A Bizarre odyssey

I've been working through the list of the100 greatest films.  Today I watch 2001:A Space Odyssey, which has to be one of the bizarrest films I have seen in a while.

I remember trying to watch it as a child and giving up, watching it now I understand why.  It's over 2 hours long, with little dialogue, but it is a beautifully shot film.  More than any other film I have seen it portrays the emptiness of space and the claustrophobia of space travel.

It is easy to understand why it appealed to the hippies and counter-culture of the sixties.  There is a section towards the end of the film which is around 10 minutes visuals and colours, which is indeed very trippy, or as the film was re-branded "The Ultimate Trip".

It is a film which will need to be watched several times, as there are numerous interpretations of the meaning, particularly the significance of the black monolith.

Citizen Kane

A cold afternoon surrounded by snow was the perfect opportunity to sit back and watch Citizen Kane for the first time.  I can't say I was bowled over by it, and IMHO it does not deserved the high praise awarded to it by film critics.

I would give the film a 7, and may watch it again in a few years time but I wouldn't put it in my top 50 films.  I did mean I finally got a lot of the references made in the Simpsons episode Rosebud.