We were heading down to the River Torrens for our semi-daily lunch time walk when we saw them. Two men walking and talking, one wearing a tweed coat with a black beret. The sight of this was enough to distract us from whatever we were talking about (probably nothing important), and inspire Mirjana to ask me if I'd ever wear a beret.
"No, of course not" was my response.
"But what if you lived in Paris?"
"No, and I wouldn't do that anyway".
"What if you were an artist?"
"Probably not".
By this time, we had made up the ground between us (Mirjana likes to claim she is a brisk walker, and she is correct), and we could start to hear the conversation between the two of them. It went something like this . . .
(Guy with tweed coat and stupid hat): "At it's core, large scale esemble jazz is a labour of love, but you've gone and turned it into a commerical concern".
(Other guy): "Now that's not really fair . . ."
We pulled away as they continued their conversation, but I couldn't have been any more delighted with what we heard. It was like walking past two men in army uniforms, and hearing them discuss whether an AK47 is better than an M16 - it just lived up to my expectations in every way possible.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Monday, July 30, 2007
Some great Simpsons quotes
Back from when the show used to be consistently funny.
Homer: Oh, so they have Internet on computers now!
Homer: When I held that gun in my hand, I felt a surge of power…like God must feel when he’s holding a gun.
Milhouse: Remember the time he ate my goldfish? And you lied and said I never had goldfish. Then why did I have the bowl, Bart? *Why did I have the bowl?*
Homer: I’m normally not a praying man, but if you’re up there, please save me, Superman.
Mayor Quimby: I stand by my racial slur.
Comic Book Guy: Oh, loneliness and cheeseburgers are a dangerous mix.
Homer: You don’t like your job, you don’t strike. You go in every day and do it really half-assed. That’s the American way.
Homer: Books are useless! I only ever read one book, “To Kill A Mockingbird,” and it gave me absolutely no insight on how to kill mockingbirds! Sure it taught me not to judge a man by the color of his skin…but what good does *that* do me?
Chief Wiggum: Can’t you people take the law into your own hands? I mean, we can’t be policing the entire city!
Homer: How is education supposed to make me feel smarter? Besides, every time I learn something new, it pushes some old stuff out of my brain. Remember when I took that home winemaking course, and I forgot how to drive?
Homer: A woman is a lot like a refrigerator. Six feet tall, 300 pounds…it makes ice.
Kent Brockman: …And the fluffy kitten played with that ball of string all through the night. On a lighter note, a Kwik-E-Mart clerk was brutally murdered last night.
Mr. Burns: I don’t like being outdoors, Smithers. For one thing, there’s too many fat children.
Sideshow Bob: Attempted murder? Now honestly, what is that? Do they give a Nobel Prize for attempted chemistry?
Superintendent Chalmers: I’ve had it with this school, Skinner. Low test scores, class after class of ugly, ugly children…
Homer: Oh, everything looks bad if you remember it.
Ralph: Slow down, Bart! My legs don’t know how to be as long as yours.
Principal Skinner: Fire can be our friend; whether it’s toasting marshmallows or raining down on Charlie.
Homer: Oh, I’m in no condition to drive. Wait a minute. I don’t have to listen to myself. I’m drunk.
Krusty the Clown: And now, in the spirit of the season: start shopping. And for every dollar of Krusty merchandise you buy, I will be nice to a sick kid. For legal purposes, sick kids may include hookers with a cold.
Homer: How could you?! Haven’t you learned anything from that guy who gives those sermons at church? Captain Whatshisname? We live in a society of laws! Why do you think I took you to all those Police Academy movies? For fun? Well, I didn’t hear anybody laughing, did you? Except at that guy who made sound effects. Makes sound effects and laughs. Where was I? Oh yeah! Stay out of my booze.
Homer: Oh, so they have Internet on computers now!
Homer: When I held that gun in my hand, I felt a surge of power…like God must feel when he’s holding a gun.
Milhouse: Remember the time he ate my goldfish? And you lied and said I never had goldfish. Then why did I have the bowl, Bart? *Why did I have the bowl?*
Homer: I’m normally not a praying man, but if you’re up there, please save me, Superman.
Mayor Quimby: I stand by my racial slur.
Comic Book Guy: Oh, loneliness and cheeseburgers are a dangerous mix.
Homer: You don’t like your job, you don’t strike. You go in every day and do it really half-assed. That’s the American way.
Homer: Books are useless! I only ever read one book, “To Kill A Mockingbird,” and it gave me absolutely no insight on how to kill mockingbirds! Sure it taught me not to judge a man by the color of his skin…but what good does *that* do me?
Chief Wiggum: Can’t you people take the law into your own hands? I mean, we can’t be policing the entire city!
Homer: How is education supposed to make me feel smarter? Besides, every time I learn something new, it pushes some old stuff out of my brain. Remember when I took that home winemaking course, and I forgot how to drive?
Homer: A woman is a lot like a refrigerator. Six feet tall, 300 pounds…it makes ice.
Kent Brockman: …And the fluffy kitten played with that ball of string all through the night. On a lighter note, a Kwik-E-Mart clerk was brutally murdered last night.
Mr. Burns: I don’t like being outdoors, Smithers. For one thing, there’s too many fat children.
Sideshow Bob: Attempted murder? Now honestly, what is that? Do they give a Nobel Prize for attempted chemistry?
Superintendent Chalmers: I’ve had it with this school, Skinner. Low test scores, class after class of ugly, ugly children…
Homer: Oh, everything looks bad if you remember it.
Ralph: Slow down, Bart! My legs don’t know how to be as long as yours.
Principal Skinner: Fire can be our friend; whether it’s toasting marshmallows or raining down on Charlie.
Homer: Oh, I’m in no condition to drive. Wait a minute. I don’t have to listen to myself. I’m drunk.
Krusty the Clown: And now, in the spirit of the season: start shopping. And for every dollar of Krusty merchandise you buy, I will be nice to a sick kid. For legal purposes, sick kids may include hookers with a cold.
Homer: How could you?! Haven’t you learned anything from that guy who gives those sermons at church? Captain Whatshisname? We live in a society of laws! Why do you think I took you to all those Police Academy movies? For fun? Well, I didn’t hear anybody laughing, did you? Except at that guy who made sound effects. Makes sound effects and laughs. Where was I? Oh yeah! Stay out of my booze.
The Simpsons Movie
Saturday night I joined Alen, Jessie, Mirjana and Annaliese at Marion to watch the long awaited Simpsons movie. It was pretty good, definitely a lot better than anything they've shown on TV lately (although you get to see that stuff for free, so . . .)
I did feel like it dropped off a bit in terms of laughs after the first half hour or so. The animation looked fantastic though on the big (wide) screen, and you got to see some things you wouldn't normally see on the TV show (Otto smoking a bong, Bart's penis etc).
As Alen will attest, the sound in the cinema was pretty dodgy, and there were way too many kids, including one group who talked right through it (I think they may have been the birthday party we saw in Spagos at dinner). Overall it was a good experience though, and I'm looking forward to the DVD and all the deleted stuff.
I did feel like it dropped off a bit in terms of laughs after the first half hour or so. The animation looked fantastic though on the big (wide) screen, and you got to see some things you wouldn't normally see on the TV show (Otto smoking a bong, Bart's penis etc).
As Alen will attest, the sound in the cinema was pretty dodgy, and there were way too many kids, including one group who talked right through it (I think they may have been the birthday party we saw in Spagos at dinner). Overall it was a good experience though, and I'm looking forward to the DVD and all the deleted stuff.
Acting my age
Sometimes I feel like a thirty year old. Other times I do not. Walking into the office at lunch time today with a kids meal from Hungry Jacks is one of those times. I bought it because I wanted the toy (a talking Krusty the Clown), and because I think that Hungry Jacks cheeseburgers are delicious. Do they really have to package it in that dainty little box though? I sure felt stupid carrying that into our building.
My friend Maggie
Today I found this pic of my trip to the Barossa a few weeks ago - I'm pictured with Maggie, the blind dog who got me into trouble by encouraging me to throw her the stick.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Day three
Got the new bath all hooked up today, and some undercoat on the walls. Have decided I'm going to go with white walls, a white ceiling, white wall tiles, and brown floor tiles. It's going to look great.
Friday, July 27, 2007
Day two
An even slower day today than day one, but still made some progress. Managed to remove the bath, but needed to make some big changes to the plumbing for the new bath.
Rang a number of plumbers and plumbing companies (quite a few of whom advertised their services to be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week) but none were available to help out until mid to late next week.
Finally I got onto James the plumber, who said that he was available to come that day, as the rain had messed up his planned job. He arrived a few hours later, and looked and sounded suspiciously like my old friend Nigel McKenna. Anyway, he took a look at the existing outlet and said the words you never want to hear, "I think I'm going to need my jackhammer". I of course realised this meant more money and more mess, but it needed to be done so I can't really complain.
Nigel, I mean James made it most of the way through, but at 4.30pm realised one of the parts he had wasn't going to fit. He promised to come back at 10.30 am tomorrow morning, so hopefully by lunchtime tomorrow I will have a working bath.
Rang a number of plumbers and plumbing companies (quite a few of whom advertised their services to be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week) but none were available to help out until mid to late next week.
Finally I got onto James the plumber, who said that he was available to come that day, as the rain had messed up his planned job. He arrived a few hours later, and looked and sounded suspiciously like my old friend Nigel McKenna. Anyway, he took a look at the existing outlet and said the words you never want to hear, "I think I'm going to need my jackhammer". I of course realised this meant more money and more mess, but it needed to be done so I can't really complain.
Nigel, I mean James made it most of the way through, but at 4.30pm realised one of the parts he had wasn't going to fit. He promised to come back at 10.30 am tomorrow morning, so hopefully by lunchtime tomorrow I will have a working bath.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Day one
Day one of the renovation job is now all done. Today was mainly spent demolishing stuff, ran into a bit of a roadblock though when the bath proved to be a little difficult. We were hoping to be able to use the brick surrounds of the bath again but that's not going to happen, are going to have to build a timber housing.
The plan for tomorrow is to finish removing the bath and enclosure, and build a new casing for the new bath. Oh, and cut myself a little less.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Christmas in July
Today I picked up a copy of "Elf" on DVD, easily my favourite Christmas movie. My plan is to initiate a tradition of rewatching it every Christmas, in much the same way I suppose that my Dad puts himself in a Christmas mood by watching Ray Martin host Christmas Carols.
For those of you who haven't seen this film (possibly everyone other than Michella), it is the story of Buddy (played by Will Ferrell) who, as a baby, crawls into Santa's sleigh, and ends up in the North Pole. He is raised as an elf, but his general incompetence in areas such as toy making betrays his human origins. When his adopted father tells him the truth, he runs off to look for his real father, and ends up (as you do in all Christmas movies) in New York City.
It's actually quite a funny, sweet movie, and Will Ferrell is hilarious as Buddy. The scene where he comes across a midget in a corporate meeting and thinks he's an elf is a high point, as he enrages the little fella with questions like "Does Santa know that you left the workshop?"
I'm not really sure what to make of Will Ferrell. He's carried one of my favourite movies "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy", was serious and funny in "Stranger than Fiction", had a few great moments in "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" and a fantastic cameo in "Wedding Crashers". Add "Elf" to this and you've got a great comedic resume . . . and yet I'm not totally sold on him. It seems like he needs the right material to really shine, and has definitely had a few missteps along the way.
This is a great film though, funny without being dirty. And I'm pleased to say, if there's ever an occasion where someone is perusing my DVD collection and asks "You got anything we can watch that's not going to give me nightmares?" I'll be able to pull this one out with pride.
For those of you who haven't seen this film (possibly everyone other than Michella), it is the story of Buddy (played by Will Ferrell) who, as a baby, crawls into Santa's sleigh, and ends up in the North Pole. He is raised as an elf, but his general incompetence in areas such as toy making betrays his human origins. When his adopted father tells him the truth, he runs off to look for his real father, and ends up (as you do in all Christmas movies) in New York City.
It's actually quite a funny, sweet movie, and Will Ferrell is hilarious as Buddy. The scene where he comes across a midget in a corporate meeting and thinks he's an elf is a high point, as he enrages the little fella with questions like "Does Santa know that you left the workshop?"
I'm not really sure what to make of Will Ferrell. He's carried one of my favourite movies "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy", was serious and funny in "Stranger than Fiction", had a few great moments in "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" and a fantastic cameo in "Wedding Crashers". Add "Elf" to this and you've got a great comedic resume . . . and yet I'm not totally sold on him. It seems like he needs the right material to really shine, and has definitely had a few missteps along the way.
This is a great film though, funny without being dirty. And I'm pleased to say, if there's ever an occasion where someone is perusing my DVD collection and asks "You got anything we can watch that's not going to give me nightmares?" I'll be able to pull this one out with pride.
What a wonderful day
What a fantastic day it was in Adelaide today. The sun was shining, birds were singing, and bees were trying to have sex with one another, or that's my understanding. Went for a walk along the River Torrens at lunchtime and it was like springtime, with heaps of runners out (including one woman whose arms hung motionless by her side as she ran, just like Elaine's colleague in Seinfeld), and people spread out along the riverbank enjoying their lunch.
PS. Mike - how was the weather in smog central today?
PS. Mike - how was the weather in smog central today?
Monday, July 23, 2007
G-Wallace
Found this tonight and suddenly got the distinct feeling I'll be grabbing him in the second round of our fantasy draft come October . . .
Bathroom renovations
As you can probably tell from the picture below, my bathroom could use renovating.
I've put it off for a long time, but I've finally decided to get onto it, and have organised a few days off work later this week to give the room an overhaul.
Check back in the coming days for photographic updates, and if you're lucky, more pictures of me wearing my toolbelt and trying my best to look like a competent handyman (or, more accurately, Al from "Home Improvement").
The Good German
Last night I caught this on DVD. It's set in the 1940's in Berlin, just after the Allied victory over the Nazis, and is basically about a couple of different countries looking for one man - Emile Brandt (aka the Good German), who was involved in the Nazi rocket program. The movie is in black and white, and was made to look like it was filmed back in the 40's. Although with a lot of swearing and sexual content they wouldn't have shown back then.
Unfortunately, like many movies that were made in the olden days (even though this was filmed in 2006), it's a little bit boring. Maybe it was just that I was tired, but it didn't really sustain my interest the whole way through.
The cast was OK. George Clooney is a guy I've liked ever since his Seth Gecko days, and he was pretty good in this. Tobey Maguire on the other hand . . . I don't really get what the appeal is. My friend Mirjana thinks he's great, but he just seems like a weird little fella to me. And not even weird in a good (eg Christopher Walken) way . . . bad weird. Anyway thankfully he dies pretty early on in this so you're not subjected to a whole movie of him. Cate Blanchett is in it too, and does a very servicable German accent.
The movie does look very authentic, and give you an answer to the question "I wonder what it would be like if contemporary actors jumped in a time machine and were transported to Hollywood of the mid twentieth century?", but other than that, I can't really recommend it.
Best schnitzel ever?
Yesterday I had lunch at the Tap Inn at Kent Town. Seeing as I hate golf, I've never bothered going before. But with my love of a good schnitzel, I should have.
The menu said the porterhouse schnitzel was "plate hugging", but nothing could have prepared me for the size of it. I've had the schnitzels at the Earl of Leciester and thought they were big, but I'm sure this was bigger. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me so there's no proof this ever happened, but you'll have to take my word for it.
Not only was it huge, but it was also delicious. Served with a mushroom sauce on a bed of chips, it even came with a side bowl of salad, which I ignored completely, saving my energy for this massive piece of meat. I'm proud to say I conquered the meal in the end, although didn't eat again for another eight or nine hours.
The menu said the porterhouse schnitzel was "plate hugging", but nothing could have prepared me for the size of it. I've had the schnitzels at the Earl of Leciester and thought they were big, but I'm sure this was bigger. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me so there's no proof this ever happened, but you'll have to take my word for it.
Not only was it huge, but it was also delicious. Served with a mushroom sauce on a bed of chips, it even came with a side bowl of salad, which I ignored completely, saving my energy for this massive piece of meat. I'm proud to say I conquered the meal in the end, although didn't eat again for another eight or nine hours.
More exciting new bloggers
Wow I think I should be getting commission from blogspot. A couple more great young, good looking (well one of them at least) people have joined the team.
You can read all about my good friend Mike's adventures in London here:
http://michaelpenglis.blogspot.com/
and Michella's love of expensive jewellery right here:
http://michellacrouch.blogspot.com/
You can read all about my good friend Mike's adventures in London here:
http://michaelpenglis.blogspot.com/
and Michella's love of expensive jewellery right here:
http://michellacrouch.blogspot.com/
Friday, July 20, 2007
Things I like and things I don't
Things I'm liking
Roasted almonds
Infinitely better than regular almonds. And I'm led to believe they are healthy, or sort of at least. I've been enjoying these as a mid afternoon snack at work, when I start to get the urge to visit the charity chocolate boxes in the kitchen.
My Name is Earl
They are showing repeats of this on the Comedy Channel every night at 7pm. It's not the best show by any means, but thanks to the efforts of Jason Lee in the titular role, it's not bad. With pretty much nothing on TV now, this is becoming a part of my weeknight rotation, right before I head to the gym at 7.30pm, avoiding nightly knuckledheaded bodybuilder hour.
Having a beard
The aesthetic appeal is certainly arguable, but you can't argue with sleeping in an extra five minutes every day.
Corey's new blog
One of my closest friends, Corey Devlin, aka F'ing Corey (pictured below), now has his own blog. You can check it out here: http://myfisho.blogspot.com/. I have high expectations for this blog, and am especially impressed that he's started posting from work as of today. I can't help but think that there is still room on the blogging bandwagon for a few more though. Penglis - would it kill you to give us some insights into life with the Poms? Ribar, I'm sure you've got some great stories you could share that won't get you fired? If I told you you could even do it while you're at work, is that something you might be interested in?
Roasted almonds
Infinitely better than regular almonds. And I'm led to believe they are healthy, or sort of at least. I've been enjoying these as a mid afternoon snack at work, when I start to get the urge to visit the charity chocolate boxes in the kitchen.
My Name is Earl
They are showing repeats of this on the Comedy Channel every night at 7pm. It's not the best show by any means, but thanks to the efforts of Jason Lee in the titular role, it's not bad. With pretty much nothing on TV now, this is becoming a part of my weeknight rotation, right before I head to the gym at 7.30pm, avoiding nightly knuckledheaded bodybuilder hour.
Having a beard
The aesthetic appeal is certainly arguable, but you can't argue with sleeping in an extra five minutes every day.
Corey's new blog
One of my closest friends, Corey Devlin, aka F'ing Corey (pictured below), now has his own blog. You can check it out here: http://myfisho.blogspot.com/. I have high expectations for this blog, and am especially impressed that he's started posting from work as of today. I can't help but think that there is still room on the blogging bandwagon for a few more though. Penglis - would it kill you to give us some insights into life with the Poms? Ribar, I'm sure you've got some great stories you could share that won't get you fired? If I told you you could even do it while you're at work, is that something you might be interested in?
Anyway with new bloggers like Cors popping up I'm going to have step up my game, expect Simmons-esque posts from now on a regular basis (length-wise, not quality-wise).
"9 Crimes" filmclip by Damien Rice
I didn't check this out until Ribar put me onto it a few days ago - to be honest it's a bit weird, the whole thing with Lisa's head as a balloon. But Damien Rice is a genius so I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt. I realise there are more important things going on in the world, but it makes me sad that this remains unheard and unseen by 99% of the population, with the garbage out there that sells millions of copies. If you can listen to this without getting chills you're a harder person than I.
"Easy Tiger" by Ryan Adams
This album is starting to grow on me - there's still a few too many full on country songs, but it's definitely his best since "Cold Roses". And just in time too, since I'll be seeing him in a month from now.
Complex magazine
It's kind of expensive, and a little bit gangsta, but I like reading this. Half of each issue is pop culture - movies, music, TV etc, and then the other half (bound upside down behind a second cover) is a kind of buyers guide - collectable sneakers, watches, stuff likes that. Lots of completely unnecessary items, but it soothes my inner-materialist. The current issue features a joint cover with the star of the best movie of the year - Seth Rogen - and the man behind the greatest rap album ever - RZA. How can you go wrong?
Rap music
I'll admit that 95% of it sucks, I won't even debate that. But for every 19 pieces of crap, there's one piece of gold*.
So, if you only listen to ten hip hop songs in your life, make it these ten**.
1. 100 Miles and Running - NWA
2. Jesus Walks - Kanye West
3. Get By - Talib Kweli
4. Protect Ya Neck - Wu Tang Clan ***
5. Hit 'Em Up - Tupac ****
6. Today Was a Good Day - Ice Cube
7. Don't Sweat the Technique - Eric B and Rakim
8. Rock Superstar - Cypress Hill
9. Get the F... Outta Dodge - Public Enemy
10. Ante Up - M.O.P
*Not an exact mathematical formula.
** If you're offended by bad language, objectification of women, and random death threats, best to steer clear of songs 1, 5, 6, 9 and 10. Especially 5 which manages to score the trifecta.
*** Actually the entire first album - "Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers" - is fantastic, and still sounds fresh and unique 14 years after it was released. For some reason - maybe the 95% philosophy outlined above - there are very few great hip hop albums - most have one or two good songs and a lot of filler. This is the exception. This group were also part of one of my all-time favourite moments on "The Larry Sanders Show", when they were booked to appear on the show, and a horrified Hank, after looking through the CD booklet exclaimed "They look like car jackers!"
**** I've mentioned this to friends before, but I find this song amazing as it probably led to the murder of its author, which doesn't happen real often, and makes me feel a little uneasy about including it on the above list. On the other hand it's hell catchy.
Sports on the world wide interweb
Just quickly, if you're looking for a good NBA podcast, you should subscribe to "The Basketball Jones" - you can get it here: http://www.thebasketballjones.net/, or through iTunes. And one sportswriter/blogger I'd recommend is MJD who writes a daily column here: http://sports.aol.com/fanhouse/tag/TheDebriefing/.
Things that kind of suck
Remixes of popular songs
I was shopping in an exclusive boutique today (OK, fine, it was Cotton On, are you happy now?) when I heard a remix of the 80's song "Africa" by Toto. Now this song has a special place in my heart, but the remix was horrible. Why do we need a techno "Africa"? What purpose does this serve? I remember a couple of years ago when Forcey was annoyed with some stupid remix of "Boys of Summer". At the time I couldn't really care less, but now I think I understand how he felt. Anyway I'm sure I'm not alone here - I overheard a Mum telling her young child "It's OK, just cover your ears for the next few minutes." She was probably talking about the volume of the music, but I like to think she was talking about the song itself. Kid's don't need to be hearing that stuff.
Personal websites other than blogspot
Blogspot has already established itself as the site of choice for some of Adelaide's most exciting new bloggers, such as myself, Mirjana and Corey. Still there are some people who think they know better, and are using other, inferior sites.
Gav (http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=101554496) - like Forcey once said, Myspace is just one step away from being a dating site. Plus it's ridiculous - millions of people putting up a couple of pictures, and a list of their favourite bands, with hundreds of "friends" with names like "psychokiller666" leaving messages like "stopped by your site to say hello", "you rock", "had a sick time Friday night" and other inane nonsense.
Paul (http://www.tagworld.com/forcey) - I know you're committed to team Tagworld, but if you were to make the change to blogspot, you would still be able to keep your video clips, my eyes wouldn't hurt so much, and my computer would crash less often.
The Police at Football Park
I was surprised to hear that they are booked to play Footy Park, and I'm not sure how they'll go filling the place. It seems to me that most bands that play Football Park are a) legendary bands with 20 years or more of sustained popularity (eg U2), or b) lowest common demoninator rubbish that the chicks love (eg Robbie Williams). I'm sure the Police were huge in their time (I think they broke up when I was like 8 years old), and they still get played a lot on Mix FM, but I don't see 50,000 Adelaide residents shelling out $100-$250 to go to this. Maybe I'm wrong though. Hopefully Sting comes to his senses and leave Kanye behind at least.
Guys at my gym who don't know how to park . . .
And think they can park in areas that are clearly designated thoroughfares. Perhaps 90% of the time these cars are either Commodores or Skylines, so yeah, you come to your own conclusions.
The Chinese Government
A few of my regular readers would be aware of this story, and in terms of stories about the Chinese Government, it's more humourous than shocking. Anyway, news surfaced this week that the Chinese Government had issued a statement saying it was displeased with Yao Ming, the star of their national basketball team and starting centre with the Houston Rockets. His crime - apparently he had not returned fast enough to China to train with the National team after the completion of the NBA season, because he was planning his wedding, and spending time promoting the upcoming Special Olympics, and 2008 Olympics, which are to be held in . . . Beijing! In their own country! This is ridiculous enough on its own, but the comments from the Government were particularly ludicous (and a litle bit chilling):
"No matter how lofty public welfare activities are, they can't be allowed to take first place in a player's life," the China Sports Daily, a federation-owned newspaper, said in an article appearing Tuesday.
"No matter how sweet personal life is, it can't be compared to the exultation of capturing glory for one's nation," the article said.
Sure it's not on the same level as running down students in Tienamen Square or enslaving an entire country, but it shows you that China is still a pretty Orwellian type of place to live, and makes you appreciate the lives we live in Australia.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
New shoes
Last night I ran 45 minutes on the treadmill at the gym. Then came home to find my toes had started to blister. I'm not entirely sure if this is because I was trying to run in Air Force Ones, but figured it was time to invest in a pair of running shoes anyway.
So I headed off to A-Mart Sports at lunch time today. The things I was looking for in my new running shoe were:
1) Something that fits (obviously)
2) Something that looks good
3) Something produced by a known and reputable company
4) Something that costs less than $100
5) Something that was worth considerably more than $100
It took me about five minutes of looking, but I think I found something that fulfils all of these criteria - I picked up these Adidas marked down 50% to $80. It's times like this that I'm glad that I'm a guy and I can knock off tasks like this in a quarter of an hour.
So I headed off to A-Mart Sports at lunch time today. The things I was looking for in my new running shoe were:
1) Something that fits (obviously)
2) Something that looks good
3) Something produced by a known and reputable company
4) Something that costs less than $100
5) Something that was worth considerably more than $100
It took me about five minutes of looking, but I think I found something that fulfils all of these criteria - I picked up these Adidas marked down 50% to $80. It's times like this that I'm glad that I'm a guy and I can knock off tasks like this in a quarter of an hour.
Monday, July 16, 2007
The National - Boxer
It was a review in Rolling Stone that turned me on to this album - it described The National as a cross between Leonard Cohen and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. I'm often a little wary of these things - I'm thinking of the time I got suckered into watching "The Machinist" because of the "Memento meets Fight Club" quote on the front cover of the DVD - but this did grab my attention. I downloaded the album later that night and have been listening to it for the last week or so.
I can't really argue with the Leonard Cohen and Nick Cave comparisons - this is dark music, sung in a deep baritone. But the band they remind me of more are Interpol, if Interpol gave up their electric guitars. There's a bit of a Murder by Death feel too - the instrumentation is largely acoustic, with guitar, bass and drums accentuated with strings, piano and even brass. The other band that they remind me of a little are Radiohead, in terms of some of the rhythms. So if you're looking for something that sounds like Leonard Cohen meets Nick Cave meets Interpol meets Murder by Death meets Radiohead, you could do a lot worse than this.
Below is a clip from the album, this is their song Mistaken for Strangers (in typical fashion, even though it's their single it's not even close to being the best song on the album).
I can't really argue with the Leonard Cohen and Nick Cave comparisons - this is dark music, sung in a deep baritone. But the band they remind me of more are Interpol, if Interpol gave up their electric guitars. There's a bit of a Murder by Death feel too - the instrumentation is largely acoustic, with guitar, bass and drums accentuated with strings, piano and even brass. The other band that they remind me of a little are Radiohead, in terms of some of the rhythms. So if you're looking for something that sounds like Leonard Cohen meets Nick Cave meets Interpol meets Murder by Death meets Radiohead, you could do a lot worse than this.
Below is a clip from the album, this is their song Mistaken for Strangers (in typical fashion, even though it's their single it's not even close to being the best song on the album).
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Global domination
Friday night I played Risk with Alen, Jessie and Amanda.
I'm not really sure why, but for some reason I turn into a bit of a jerk when playing board games. Sometimes this manifests itself in cheating, other times I just get a little cocky. Friday night was the latter - I had managed to slip under the radar for most of the game, and conquered half the board a few hours in. Before my final turn though I turned over my mission card to show everyone what I was going to do (conquer North America and Australia), and in the process point out there wasn't a thing they could do about it.
This really is an anomoly in my life - when I'm playing basketball I don't predict making a big shot before I do it. I try and stay clear of making bold predictions at work too. I think it might come from childhood somewhere - board games were a big part of our family culture, and with three competitive siblings, these games got serious. Maybe there's a support group for guys like me, although I'd imagine it would be pretty geeky.
Now for a Chaser-esque segue . . . speaking of global conflict, I finally got around to watching "Blood Diamond" last night. Brilliant movie. Great story, great cinematography, and Leo doing his best work since "Growing Pains". Actually I think I might be coming around on him - with this and "The Departed" in the last year he's made some good choices, and doesn't seem like the nancy-boy he used to so much any more. Anyway back to the movie - the scene towards the end where the army bombs a diamond mining field was the highlight - very "Apocalyspse Now"-esque. Jennifer Connelly was stunning too - very underrated if you ask me. Best DVD I've hired in a long time.
I'm not really sure why, but for some reason I turn into a bit of a jerk when playing board games. Sometimes this manifests itself in cheating, other times I just get a little cocky. Friday night was the latter - I had managed to slip under the radar for most of the game, and conquered half the board a few hours in. Before my final turn though I turned over my mission card to show everyone what I was going to do (conquer North America and Australia), and in the process point out there wasn't a thing they could do about it.
This really is an anomoly in my life - when I'm playing basketball I don't predict making a big shot before I do it. I try and stay clear of making bold predictions at work too. I think it might come from childhood somewhere - board games were a big part of our family culture, and with three competitive siblings, these games got serious. Maybe there's a support group for guys like me, although I'd imagine it would be pretty geeky.
Now for a Chaser-esque segue . . . speaking of global conflict, I finally got around to watching "Blood Diamond" last night. Brilliant movie. Great story, great cinematography, and Leo doing his best work since "Growing Pains". Actually I think I might be coming around on him - with this and "The Departed" in the last year he's made some good choices, and doesn't seem like the nancy-boy he used to so much any more. Anyway back to the movie - the scene towards the end where the army bombs a diamond mining field was the highlight - very "Apocalyspse Now"-esque. Jennifer Connelly was stunning too - very underrated if you ask me. Best DVD I've hired in a long time.
Friday, July 13, 2007
The Barossa
I spent the last few days in the Barossa for work, with a bunch of colleagues - somewhere between a team building exercise and an educational trip. Normally I'm not real keen on these things, but I quite enjoyed the experience this time. A few of the highlights were:
Visiting a lavender farm, and not seeing the sign that said "Please do not throw sticks to the dog. He will encourage you". So while the farm manager was giving everyone a lecture on lavender (which I'm sure was scintillating), I amused myself throwing a stick to the dog (who, like the sign said, did encourage me to do so), until I was told off. Turns out the dog is half blind, and has a habit of running into trees and that while playing fetch.
The food here was interesting too - we started with the traditional scones with jam and cream, but then they started bringing out platters of lavender-infused food - lavender ice cream, lavender chocolate mousse, lavender cupcakes etc. Not really sure how I felt about that.
Although the novelty of getting free food and drink everywhere we went shouldn't be underestimated - a definite plus.
Doing the "Make Your Own Blend" tour at Penfolds, and having the host tell us she could taste a range of things, including "Christmas lollies" in the wine we were sampling. This was a source of great amusement to Matt and I for the next twenty minutes, as we worked on creating our own wines, interspersed with comment like "needs more Allen's Party Mix" or "You can really taste the M&Ms in this one". Also got to wear funny white coats which made you feel like a doctor.
Visiting the Barossa Brewing Company in Greenock, and sampling their beers. I came away with a six pack of their dark ale, according to the brewer it will improve with age and peak in eighteen months or so. It remains to be seen whether it will last past this coming weekend.
The low points included:
Playing golf - I'm not sure why I suck at this sport so much, but I do. Not to get all sexist because that's not my style, but I was worse than almost everyone else there - and about 80% of our group were female. I'm not a world class athlete - or any kind of athlete at all - but I like to think that if you took a random sampling of girls off the street, I'd be better at sport on average than them. Perhaps. But golf I'm just terrible at. To make myself feel better though I'm going to fall back on my previously expressed sentiments that it's not a sport at all - it's a game. Anything you can be amongst the best in the world at and still be eligible to receive a pensioner's discount, isn't a sport.
Sharing a room - I got to share a two bedroom apartment with a colleague, which was fine. Except for some inexplicable reason, he brought his daughter's boyfriend along with him on the trip. (Actually there was a reason - they were going camping together after the trip, and something about a broken down car - it just wasn't a very good one). At the end of the day you just want to get back to your room and chill on your own - not hang out with someone you barely know. Jarrod - or the J-Train as we dubbed him - was quite a character though, constantly hiding behind his sunglasses, even inside dim wineries. Just the ridiculousness of him tagging along everywhere was good for a laugh, so I can't really complain.
Visiting a lavender farm, and not seeing the sign that said "Please do not throw sticks to the dog. He will encourage you". So while the farm manager was giving everyone a lecture on lavender (which I'm sure was scintillating), I amused myself throwing a stick to the dog (who, like the sign said, did encourage me to do so), until I was told off. Turns out the dog is half blind, and has a habit of running into trees and that while playing fetch.
The food here was interesting too - we started with the traditional scones with jam and cream, but then they started bringing out platters of lavender-infused food - lavender ice cream, lavender chocolate mousse, lavender cupcakes etc. Not really sure how I felt about that.
Although the novelty of getting free food and drink everywhere we went shouldn't be underestimated - a definite plus.
Doing the "Make Your Own Blend" tour at Penfolds, and having the host tell us she could taste a range of things, including "Christmas lollies" in the wine we were sampling. This was a source of great amusement to Matt and I for the next twenty minutes, as we worked on creating our own wines, interspersed with comment like "needs more Allen's Party Mix" or "You can really taste the M&Ms in this one". Also got to wear funny white coats which made you feel like a doctor.
Visiting the Barossa Brewing Company in Greenock, and sampling their beers. I came away with a six pack of their dark ale, according to the brewer it will improve with age and peak in eighteen months or so. It remains to be seen whether it will last past this coming weekend.
The low points included:
Playing golf - I'm not sure why I suck at this sport so much, but I do. Not to get all sexist because that's not my style, but I was worse than almost everyone else there - and about 80% of our group were female. I'm not a world class athlete - or any kind of athlete at all - but I like to think that if you took a random sampling of girls off the street, I'd be better at sport on average than them. Perhaps. But golf I'm just terrible at. To make myself feel better though I'm going to fall back on my previously expressed sentiments that it's not a sport at all - it's a game. Anything you can be amongst the best in the world at and still be eligible to receive a pensioner's discount, isn't a sport.
Sharing a room - I got to share a two bedroom apartment with a colleague, which was fine. Except for some inexplicable reason, he brought his daughter's boyfriend along with him on the trip. (Actually there was a reason - they were going camping together after the trip, and something about a broken down car - it just wasn't a very good one). At the end of the day you just want to get back to your room and chill on your own - not hang out with someone you barely know. Jarrod - or the J-Train as we dubbed him - was quite a character though, constantly hiding behind his sunglasses, even inside dim wineries. Just the ridiculousness of him tagging along everywhere was good for a laugh, so I can't really complain.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Poker . . .
Did a little better tonight, although didn't actually win a hand . . .
Made it through to the final 20 - with half my chips left and the blinds climbing quickly had to go all in on King - Eight suited, and with 3 callers, lost to a pair of Aces.
Ando wasn't so lucky - several minutes before I went all in he went all in on big slick, only to have a caller with Ace-Five hit a five on the turn.
Made it through to the final 20 - with half my chips left and the blinds climbing quickly had to go all in on King - Eight suited, and with 3 callers, lost to a pair of Aces.
Ando wasn't so lucky - several minutes before I went all in he went all in on big slick, only to have a caller with Ace-Five hit a five on the turn.
Live Earth
Over the past few days I've caught bits and pieces of the Live Earth series of concerts that were held on the weekend. Some of it was surprisingly good, and some of it not.
Probably my favourite performance was a duet between Keith Urban and Alicia Keys. I know, I'm just as surprised as you are. It helped that they were covering my favourite Stones song "Gimme Shelter", but they did a great job - Alicia handling the high female vocal really well, and Mr Kidman knocking out a few decent guitar solos. I'm actually giving some thought to checking out his music after this - as I get older, I find I'm listening to more country-ish stuff, like Ryan Adams or Neko Case. It's not that much of a leap to jump right into this.
Worst performance I saw were The Smashing Pumpkins. It pains me to say this, because for years they were my favourite band, but Billy, you need to give up. You had some good songs back in the 90s, but it's over. I couldn't help but cringe as he warbled his way through "Bullet with Butterfly Wings". "Today" was slightly better, but not much - he just really struggles with the singing side of things.
Weirdest moment was probably The Police. Perhaps I should have seen it coming, since in recent years Sting has done duets with guys like Craig David and Puff Daddy. So it shouldn't have been such a huge shock to see John Mayer join them on stage for "Message in a Bottle". I don't have anything against John. He seems like a pretty funny guy, from what I've seen of him on "Chappelle's Show". Not so good at music really, and I'd subtract some respect for the whole Jessica Simpson thing, but he came to his senses there. But I don't see how he's earned the right to get on stage with The Police at an event like this. It got worse though. Halfway through the song they brought out Kanye West to rap along. At this point I was thinking maybe Sting lost a bet or something backstage. As far as rappers go I like Kanye but this was just embarrasing. Perhaps the only time you'll ever hear the words "Al Gore" in a rap song.
A few other thoughts . . . I forgot Dave Grohl in my list of cool guys with a beard from yesterday - he gets extra points for remaining cool even though his band has been getting progressively worse since their second album. Madonna played a new song and it was truly horrible. It was great seeing Neil Finn take a step away from the microphone during Crowded House's set and have the crowd carry on singing. Linkin Park seemed to have no connection to the cause whatsoever, the kids in Japan seemed to like it though.
Probably my favourite performance was a duet between Keith Urban and Alicia Keys. I know, I'm just as surprised as you are. It helped that they were covering my favourite Stones song "Gimme Shelter", but they did a great job - Alicia handling the high female vocal really well, and Mr Kidman knocking out a few decent guitar solos. I'm actually giving some thought to checking out his music after this - as I get older, I find I'm listening to more country-ish stuff, like Ryan Adams or Neko Case. It's not that much of a leap to jump right into this.
Worst performance I saw were The Smashing Pumpkins. It pains me to say this, because for years they were my favourite band, but Billy, you need to give up. You had some good songs back in the 90s, but it's over. I couldn't help but cringe as he warbled his way through "Bullet with Butterfly Wings". "Today" was slightly better, but not much - he just really struggles with the singing side of things.
Weirdest moment was probably The Police. Perhaps I should have seen it coming, since in recent years Sting has done duets with guys like Craig David and Puff Daddy. So it shouldn't have been such a huge shock to see John Mayer join them on stage for "Message in a Bottle". I don't have anything against John. He seems like a pretty funny guy, from what I've seen of him on "Chappelle's Show". Not so good at music really, and I'd subtract some respect for the whole Jessica Simpson thing, but he came to his senses there. But I don't see how he's earned the right to get on stage with The Police at an event like this. It got worse though. Halfway through the song they brought out Kanye West to rap along. At this point I was thinking maybe Sting lost a bet or something backstage. As far as rappers go I like Kanye but this was just embarrasing. Perhaps the only time you'll ever hear the words "Al Gore" in a rap song.
A few other thoughts . . . I forgot Dave Grohl in my list of cool guys with a beard from yesterday - he gets extra points for remaining cool even though his band has been getting progressively worse since their second album. Madonna played a new song and it was truly horrible. It was great seeing Neil Finn take a step away from the microphone during Crowded House's set and have the crowd carry on singing. Linkin Park seemed to have no connection to the cause whatsoever, the kids in Japan seemed to like it though.
Monday, July 09, 2007
Quick thoughts on a Monday
Growing a beard
It was born out of laziness. A couple of days without shaving led to a few more, and next thing I know I've got a beard. I'm starting to get used to it, and think I might keep it around for a while. Making it work could be tough. By my count, there aren't a whole lot of cool guys rocking the beard, other than perhaps:
Jesus
Eddie Vedder
Jason Lee
Still, I'm going to give it a go. It's kind of a project, and since I have a bit more time on my hands these days, I'm big on projects. This one seems ideal since I don't really have to do anything. Plus I'll be ready to go come Movember 2007.
School Holidays
I'm sure for many people - like my friend Wheelie - this is a wonderful time of the year. For me it is a very frustrating two weeks. Walking around town is difficult because of all the little kiddies everywhere - I have to watch where I'm walking, and I don't like watching where I'm walking. Then there are the teenagers, who spend their days loitering in the mall. We used to call it "hanging out" in my day. Now they congregate in large groups in the most inconvenient places - like the entrances to popular shops. Sometimes if they are particularly pale in complexion with horribly dyed hair, they'll sit on the ground outside these shops. What the hell is up with that? In my day I never gathered up a bunch of friends, and said "Hey let's go into town and sit on the ground outside Borders". I don't understand people sometimes.
Training
Training for my first ever City to Bay is progressing well. Except there's been an unexpected hurdle. Unfortunately, the Gourmet Glaze outlet downstairs has come up with a great two donuts and a coffee for $4 offer, and it's a constant struggle to keep on walking as I pass it every day. It's amazing that it takes more will power for me to pass on the donuts than it does to spend an hour in the gym - I don't understand myself sometimes.
Poker
Tomorrow night I'm going to give the poker tournament another shot, and put a special emphasis on not making any dumb decisions. Hopefully it works out better for me than it did last week. Ando and I are going to the tournament together - kind of a western suburbs Worm and Mike D type thing. Not sure if Ando is bringing Carme this time, who I suppose would be Mike D's wet blanket girlfriend in this scenario, except she's the opposite, plus she plays poker (and better than the two of us if last week is any indication). I think I'll just try and relax, play my game, and realise that at the very worst I'm getting a nice beef schnitzel out of the night.
It was born out of laziness. A couple of days without shaving led to a few more, and next thing I know I've got a beard. I'm starting to get used to it, and think I might keep it around for a while. Making it work could be tough. By my count, there aren't a whole lot of cool guys rocking the beard, other than perhaps:
Jesus
Eddie Vedder
Jason Lee
Still, I'm going to give it a go. It's kind of a project, and since I have a bit more time on my hands these days, I'm big on projects. This one seems ideal since I don't really have to do anything. Plus I'll be ready to go come Movember 2007.
School Holidays
I'm sure for many people - like my friend Wheelie - this is a wonderful time of the year. For me it is a very frustrating two weeks. Walking around town is difficult because of all the little kiddies everywhere - I have to watch where I'm walking, and I don't like watching where I'm walking. Then there are the teenagers, who spend their days loitering in the mall. We used to call it "hanging out" in my day. Now they congregate in large groups in the most inconvenient places - like the entrances to popular shops. Sometimes if they are particularly pale in complexion with horribly dyed hair, they'll sit on the ground outside these shops. What the hell is up with that? In my day I never gathered up a bunch of friends, and said "Hey let's go into town and sit on the ground outside Borders". I don't understand people sometimes.
Training
Training for my first ever City to Bay is progressing well. Except there's been an unexpected hurdle. Unfortunately, the Gourmet Glaze outlet downstairs has come up with a great two donuts and a coffee for $4 offer, and it's a constant struggle to keep on walking as I pass it every day. It's amazing that it takes more will power for me to pass on the donuts than it does to spend an hour in the gym - I don't understand myself sometimes.
Poker
Tomorrow night I'm going to give the poker tournament another shot, and put a special emphasis on not making any dumb decisions. Hopefully it works out better for me than it did last week. Ando and I are going to the tournament together - kind of a western suburbs Worm and Mike D type thing. Not sure if Ando is bringing Carme this time, who I suppose would be Mike D's wet blanket girlfriend in this scenario, except she's the opposite, plus she plays poker (and better than the two of us if last week is any indication). I think I'll just try and relax, play my game, and realise that at the very worst I'm getting a nice beef schnitzel out of the night.
Sunday, July 08, 2007
Urban India
Went out to dinner last night at a lovely little restaurant called "Urban India" on Henley Beach Road. The original plan was to have Thai, but when we got to the place, it was all booked out. They offered us a seat outside, but it was pretty cold, and besides, we didn't need their charity. So we ended up with our second choice, Indian, although I was pretty pumped when I remembered that they're the ones with naan bread.
Mirjana was first to order, and she ordered a chicken dish from the menu. Our waiter nodded, then said "If you like that, we have a special, with blah blah blah" (I have to be honest, I didn't understand all of the words he said). At the end Mirjana agreed that sounded good, and ordered it.
Me, my mind was made up, butter chicken all the way. Except when I ordered that, the waiter repeated his routine - "If you like butter chicken, how about blah blah blah" (I understood a little more this time, as he was talking about my meal). I couldn't really argue with his logic - what he was describing did indeed sound delicious, and so I ordered that. It was definitely weird - how often do you go to a restaurant, order with confidence, and have the waiter talk you into having something else? I wasn't quite sure why he was doing this, although when I got our final bill it was a little higher than I expected, so perhaps they were using the word "special" to mean "unique" rather than "discounted".
I can't complain though, the meal was very tasty. We ordered a side of naan bread of course, stuffed with garlic (I'm starting to enjoy this food stuffed with other foods concept).
When it came time for dessert, our waiter asked us if we would like to see the dessert menu, and we said no. A few minutes later another waiter came and offered us dessert and coffee, and again we refused. Less than a minute later, a third person came and just put the menus on our table. We didn't get anything, although I was a little curious to see how "Indian Ice Cream" differed from regular ice cream.
All in all not a bad little restaurant, if you don't mind being told what you're going to be ordering.
Mirjana was first to order, and she ordered a chicken dish from the menu. Our waiter nodded, then said "If you like that, we have a special, with blah blah blah" (I have to be honest, I didn't understand all of the words he said). At the end Mirjana agreed that sounded good, and ordered it.
Me, my mind was made up, butter chicken all the way. Except when I ordered that, the waiter repeated his routine - "If you like butter chicken, how about blah blah blah" (I understood a little more this time, as he was talking about my meal). I couldn't really argue with his logic - what he was describing did indeed sound delicious, and so I ordered that. It was definitely weird - how often do you go to a restaurant, order with confidence, and have the waiter talk you into having something else? I wasn't quite sure why he was doing this, although when I got our final bill it was a little higher than I expected, so perhaps they were using the word "special" to mean "unique" rather than "discounted".
I can't complain though, the meal was very tasty. We ordered a side of naan bread of course, stuffed with garlic (I'm starting to enjoy this food stuffed with other foods concept).
When it came time for dessert, our waiter asked us if we would like to see the dessert menu, and we said no. A few minutes later another waiter came and offered us dessert and coffee, and again we refused. Less than a minute later, a third person came and just put the menus on our table. We didn't get anything, although I was a little curious to see how "Indian Ice Cream" differed from regular ice cream.
All in all not a bad little restaurant, if you don't mind being told what you're going to be ordering.
Friday, July 06, 2007
A few awards for 2006/07
Best Movie - Knocked Up
Honourable mention - The Departed (I was expecting this to be Goodfellas/Casino good, but it fell a little short), Stranger than Fiction (As good as Adaptation, plus it's got Maggie Gyllenhall).
The list of funniest movies I have ever seen now reads as follows:
1) Knocked Up
2) The Wedding Crashers
3) Anchorman
4) Swingers
5) Um . . . I think that's it. Maybe "Coming to America"? "Pulp Fiction"?
Did you ever notice how quickly comedies age? I remember watching stuff like "CB4" and "I'm Gonna Git You Suckas" when I was a teenager and they seemed hilarious - then rewatching them a couple of years later I'd barely crack a smile. That's really the only explanation for why there were like 8 Police Academy movies. Or why Chris Tucker and Martin Lawrence used to be working actors.
Album of the Year - "9" by Damien Rice
Honourable mention - "American Doll Posse" by Tori Amos (there's a lot of crap, but if you cut it down to the best ten songs, it's pretty good)
I'm just going to throw this out there while I'm making sweeping generalisations - the opening song on this CD - "9 Crimes" - is the best opening song on any CD, ever. The rest is pretty good too - from the catharic, intense rockers like "Rootless Tree" and "Me, My Yoke and I" to the more introspective, slit your wrists in the bathtub tunes like "Accidental Babies". Definitely my pick for album of the year, and the minute I can find a copy for under $10, I'm buying it.
Biggest Disappointment - The Port Dock Brewery
Honourable mention - The lack of heating in my house, losing my fantasy basketball league . . . again.
Twelve months ago this was one of my favourite eateries - good food, large servings, and with the two for one vouchers you got in the Messenger, really cheap. Then they got rid of the vouchers, and made the servings a little smaller - the food is still OK, but I can get that anywhere. Then last week when I went with Murray they ripped us off on our meals and we vowed never to go back. Until they reinstate the vouchers.
Day of the Year - Saturday 26 August, 2006
Honourable mention - Sunday 16 July 2006, Saturday 9 June 2007
I woke up, had breakfast with Murray, Amanda and Michella at the Lipson Street Cafe, and was pleasantly surprised that the owner had taken down all of the naked portaits of herself which previously adorned the walls. Then I spent the day at the Barossa Gourmet with Michella, and at night, rocked out with Murray and Mirjana at a Gyroscope gig. Good food, good company, good music - what more could a guy want from life?
It's the worst of his four books, but it's the only one he released this year so it automatically tops my list. Probably the best part is the interviews section up front - his interviews with artists like Bono and Britney Spears, and the insights he has into the culture of celebrity are really interesting. If you're looking for somewhere to start with Chuck though, grab his second book "Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs" instead. Or even "Killing Yourself To Live", which a lot of his readers hate but I think is seriously underrated.
Honourable mention - The Departed (I was expecting this to be Goodfellas/Casino good, but it fell a little short), Stranger than Fiction (As good as Adaptation, plus it's got Maggie Gyllenhall).
The list of funniest movies I have ever seen now reads as follows:
1) Knocked Up
2) The Wedding Crashers
3) Anchorman
4) Swingers
5) Um . . . I think that's it. Maybe "Coming to America"? "Pulp Fiction"?
Did you ever notice how quickly comedies age? I remember watching stuff like "CB4" and "I'm Gonna Git You Suckas" when I was a teenager and they seemed hilarious - then rewatching them a couple of years later I'd barely crack a smile. That's really the only explanation for why there were like 8 Police Academy movies. Or why Chris Tucker and Martin Lawrence used to be working actors.
Album of the Year - "9" by Damien Rice
Honourable mention - "American Doll Posse" by Tori Amos (there's a lot of crap, but if you cut it down to the best ten songs, it's pretty good)I'm just going to throw this out there while I'm making sweeping generalisations - the opening song on this CD - "9 Crimes" - is the best opening song on any CD, ever. The rest is pretty good too - from the catharic, intense rockers like "Rootless Tree" and "Me, My Yoke and I" to the more introspective, slit your wrists in the bathtub tunes like "Accidental Babies". Definitely my pick for album of the year, and the minute I can find a copy for under $10, I'm buying it.
Biggest Disappointment - The Port Dock Brewery
Honourable mention - The lack of heating in my house, losing my fantasy basketball league . . . again.
Twelve months ago this was one of my favourite eateries - good food, large servings, and with the two for one vouchers you got in the Messenger, really cheap. Then they got rid of the vouchers, and made the servings a little smaller - the food is still OK, but I can get that anywhere. Then last week when I went with Murray they ripped us off on our meals and we vowed never to go back. Until they reinstate the vouchers.
Day of the Year - Saturday 26 August, 2006
Honourable mention - Sunday 16 July 2006, Saturday 9 June 2007
I woke up, had breakfast with Murray, Amanda and Michella at the Lipson Street Cafe, and was pleasantly surprised that the owner had taken down all of the naked portaits of herself which previously adorned the walls. Then I spent the day at the Barossa Gourmet with Michella, and at night, rocked out with Murray and Mirjana at a Gyroscope gig. Good food, good company, good music - what more could a guy want from life?
Best Book - "Chuck Klosterman IV" by Chuck Klosterman
Honourable mention - "07 Seconds or Less: A Season with the Phoenix Suns" by Jack McCallum, "The Power of the Dog" by Don Winslow
It's the worst of his four books, but it's the only one he released this year so it automatically tops my list. Probably the best part is the interviews section up front - his interviews with artists like Bono and Britney Spears, and the insights he has into the culture of celebrity are really interesting. If you're looking for somewhere to start with Chuck though, grab his second book "Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs" instead. Or even "Killing Yourself To Live", which a lot of his readers hate but I think is seriously underrated.
Thursday, July 05, 2007
A new low
I don't normally complain about TV. It's free, and if I don't like it, I can always go do something else.
I've always defended "The Simpsons" too - even a couple of years ago when people started to complain about it dropping off in terms of quality, I'd point out that it was still better than 90% of other shows on TV. But this week's episode . . . man, that was bad.
It's not just that it wasn't funny, it was as if they didn't even bother to write jokes for it. It's been that way for most of this season, the last few weeks have had maybe one or two moments where I laughed aloud. But this week it reached a new low - just placing the characters into a fantasy setting is not smart, or humorous. And let's face it, if the show isn't going to be smart or ironic, I'm just a little too old to be watching cartoons.
I'm not waiting for the glory years of the show to return, I know that era has passed. But this is currently the only show on TV I watch - is it asking too much for a laugh or two a week? Is it?
If you're reading this Matt Groening, don't think I won't go and read a book. Or phone a friend. I'll do it, I'm serious. I have other entertainment options. You've got till the end of the season to turn things around . . .
The weaker sex?
Those of you who live in Adelaide may rememember that it was a tad windy last night. You know, trees falling over windy. So obviously I wasn't overly looking forward to heading off to the gym after work. Nevertheless, I've got a fun run to run, so I fought through the urge to retire to my couch, and left the house.
I got to the gym at about 8pm - not the busiest time of the night, but usually there's quite a bit of activity there then. Looking around, it was half empty - and almost entirely empty of guys. There were still quite a few women on the treadmills and bikes, but I think there was only one other guy in the whole gym. The weights area was completely bare - I was the only one using the equipment. And it struck me as funny - the huge gorilla men who normally congregate around these machines 5 nights a week were nowhere to be found, presumably kept away by a bit of wind and rain. Yet all these women thought nothing of coming out and getting their exercise on . . .
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
I'm all in
Last night I played in my first live poker game with complete strangers (not counting my experience with Corey and Forcey at the Crown, since that only lasted about 90 seconds).
We (Murray, Amanda, Ando, Carme and I) went down to Alberton Oval clubrooms for dinner and a poker tournament.
The set up is interesting - the tournament itself is free, and everyone gets 1,000 in chips. However, you get a passport when you register, which you get stamped as you buy food and drinks. Once fully stamped you can then trade these in for an extra 500 chips - so if you just go there for the tournament, you'll have a short stack compared to everyone else.
Anyway, we got there early to have dinner and maximise our chances of winning. I had a beef schnitzel with dianne gravy, always a very solid option. Although it didn't actually arrive until just after 7.20pm, and since the tournament started at 7.30pm . . . well, not a lot of time for digestion.
It was quite disorientating sitting down at a table with eight or nine strangers, obviously of varying degrees of expertise in the game of Texas Hold Em. We had one elderly man at our table who didn't seem overly familiar with the rules (eg asking things like "Why do I always have to bet first?" when he was sitting to the left of the dealer). Of course, he lasted to the final 15, longer than any of us.
It took a big adjustment playing with a smaller stack too - we got 1,000 to 1,500 in chips each, but the blinds were 25-50, and went up to 50-100 after 15 minutes. Getting used to the conventions of the game - burning a card before laying down the flop, the turn and the river, getting the person to your left to cut the cards before you deal - was a bit weird, concentrating on all of these things as well as your cards.
Basically all of this is to say that I flamed out pretty early - probably about a third of the way in. I got frustrated, and made a stupid decision, trying to bluff with K-9 and went down to a pair of aces (there was an ace on the flop so it wasn't exactly a genius play by me).
Murray got knocked out before me, but got reinstated with a lottery draw later in the evening, where he lasted a few more hands.
Amanda got knocked out next, then Ando. Last one standing was Carme, who amazingly wasn't even going to play at the start of the night due to her concerns about her poker abilities. Nevertheless, she lasted to 16th place, playing most of the night with a "rules of poker" pamphlet by her side.
We (Murray, Amanda, Ando, Carme and I) went down to Alberton Oval clubrooms for dinner and a poker tournament.
The set up is interesting - the tournament itself is free, and everyone gets 1,000 in chips. However, you get a passport when you register, which you get stamped as you buy food and drinks. Once fully stamped you can then trade these in for an extra 500 chips - so if you just go there for the tournament, you'll have a short stack compared to everyone else.Anyway, we got there early to have dinner and maximise our chances of winning. I had a beef schnitzel with dianne gravy, always a very solid option. Although it didn't actually arrive until just after 7.20pm, and since the tournament started at 7.30pm . . . well, not a lot of time for digestion.
It was quite disorientating sitting down at a table with eight or nine strangers, obviously of varying degrees of expertise in the game of Texas Hold Em. We had one elderly man at our table who didn't seem overly familiar with the rules (eg asking things like "Why do I always have to bet first?" when he was sitting to the left of the dealer). Of course, he lasted to the final 15, longer than any of us.
It took a big adjustment playing with a smaller stack too - we got 1,000 to 1,500 in chips each, but the blinds were 25-50, and went up to 50-100 after 15 minutes. Getting used to the conventions of the game - burning a card before laying down the flop, the turn and the river, getting the person to your left to cut the cards before you deal - was a bit weird, concentrating on all of these things as well as your cards.
Basically all of this is to say that I flamed out pretty early - probably about a third of the way in. I got frustrated, and made a stupid decision, trying to bluff with K-9 and went down to a pair of aces (there was an ace on the flop so it wasn't exactly a genius play by me).
Murray got knocked out before me, but got reinstated with a lottery draw later in the evening, where he lasted a few more hands.
Amanda got knocked out next, then Ando. Last one standing was Carme, who amazingly wasn't even going to play at the start of the night due to her concerns about her poker abilities. Nevertheless, she lasted to 16th place, playing most of the night with a "rules of poker" pamphlet by her side.
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Training Day
I had a training session on Records Management at work today. Of course any time you have a training session at work, it brings back memories of the classic episode of "The Office" where Brent tries to inject a little too much of himself into the Werner Hogg corporate training day. I knew I wasn't the only one feeling it though when my colleague turned to me and said "If we're going to do a role play later on, perhaps I should play a Basil Faulty type character, you know, for the humour".
The highlight of the day though was this particular exhange . . .
Trainer: "Now can I have a show of hands of who is aware of the Government's Records Management Act?"
Complete silence, not a single hand raised.
Trainer: "OK, who here is not aware of the Government's Records Management Act?"
Once again, not a single hand raised.
Trainer: (by now slightly exasperated) "So let me see if I have this right - all of you here are aware of the Records Management Act, but also none of you are aware of it?"
For a split second I kind of felt sorry for her, but then I remembered she gets paid whether we put our hands up or not. It's not her fault I guess, it's just such a painful subject. Looking around the room it was obvious that I wasn't the only one who felt that way.
Monday, July 02, 2007
Knocked Up
Finally got around to seeing "Knocked Up" at the movies last night. There were advance screenings on this weekend, and the plan was to watch it Friday night. But things came up, and the plans were deferred to Saturday night. We made it as far as the cinema on Saturday night, but when we got there it was almost sold out, with a queue of 50 odd people waiting to buy tickets. We turned around and went home.
I was frustrated. Perhaps even angry. But I wasn't going to let this movie beat me. Sunday afternoon I went online to preorder tickets to the Sunday night session. Now when you do things like this, sometimes people will make fun of you. They will say "It's Sunday night at Arndale, as if it's going to sell out." But once again, the session did sell out, and I felt vindicated as we sat there in a cinema full of people. (It's really weird watching a movie in a packed theatre - I'm so used to sitting there with perhaps ten or so other viewers, you forget how loud it can be with a few hundred people laughing together).
Anyway, on to the movie itself . . . it was written and directed by Judd Apatow, who also did "The 40 Year Old Virgin". Despite the somewhat lewd subject matter, I really liked this film for the humanity in the characters - they didn't just take the easy way out with the jokes and handled the issues (reasonably) sensitively. "Knocked Up" is along the same lines - it is at times quite coarse, but also at times quite insightful.
The general plot is as follows . . ..
Ben is an unemployed, slightly overweight, weed-smoking slacker who lives in a big share house with a group of his slacker friends. Alison is a bright, ambitious, beautiful television producer, who has just been given a promotion to on-air presenter. While celebrating over drinks at a club she runs into Ben, they hit it off, and spend the night together at her place. The next morning they realise they have almost nothing in common, and go their separate ways. But eight weeks later she finds out she's pregnant, and contacts Ben to tell him he's the father. They then try and navigate their way through the responsibilities they now have to each other and the baby, and how this changes them (more so Ben really).
I really liked the guy who plays Ben, Seth Rogen, in this. He'd had smaller parts in "The 40 Year Old Virgin" and "You, Me and Dupree", but this was his first big role in a major movie. Paul Rudd was good too as Alison's brother in law. As I mentioned, the movie is pretty full on - the language isn't great, and there are a lot of what I guess you would call "adult concepts". It was funny though, and it did have a surprising amount of depth for a film of this type. If the language isn't something that will put you off, definitely check this out.
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