Friday, March 28, 2008
Thursday, March 27, 2008
There will be boredom

With Paul back in town, last night we decided to take in a screening of the Academy Award winning "There Will Be Blood" down at Marion.
Paul pre-booked our tickets online, so we could "Jump the Queue". Although, as he pointed out, the fine print on the website suggests that you turn up at least 30 minutes prior to your movie's scheduled time (ie 45 minutes before it actually starts), which makes one consider the benefits of "jumping" the "queue".
None of this really mattered because there were only a few people gathered around the ticket booth, and only two other people in our movie session. Not surprising I suppose for 8.30pm on a Wednesday night.
So . . . on to the movie itself. To begin with, it's probably the worst case of fraudulent advertising in a movie title since "The Neverending Story". True, there was a little blood, but this was brief and sporadic, and mainly at the end of the film. A more accurate title would have been "There will be no dialogue for the first twenty minutes", or "There will be no chance you'll be catching this again on TV or DVD".
The film is about an oil tycoon, Daniel Plainview, who like many tycoons, is a ruthless businessman who screws over a great many people - especially poor people - to build his empire. Him and his son are really the only key characters in the film - with the exception of a crazy preacher guy - and the story follows around 30 years of his life, from his early beginnings (the first twenty minutes are almost silent footage of him working in mines) till the bitter end (when he is a crazed - and yes, bitter - old man living alone in a giant house). If you're thinking "Gee, a three hour long film about a guy mining for oil, with only a few speaking roles, set in the early 1900s - that doesn't sound awesome", well then you would be right. It's not awesome. Not in the slightest. While there were a few parts that held my attention, most of the time I had to work incredibly hard to stay awake.
Daniel Day Lewis won an Academy Award for this performance, and I guess it was good, but I just don't really have that much interest in seeing someone act like a crazed oil tycoon these days, no matter how well they do it. Besides, when it comes down to it, what do these guys know anyway? "Titanic" won 11 Academy Awards, and "Donnie Darko" won none. So yeah, great credibility guys.
In conclusion, if you've got a spare three hours to spare, and are considering watching this movie, I would suggest some of the following experiences might be a better and more enjoyable use of your time.
1) Drive to Murray Bridge, get an ice cream, turn around and come home.
2) Watch an entire week's worth of Home and Away episodes.
3) Pluck all of the hairs from your right arm, one by one. If time allows, do the left as well.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Easter recap
Thursday night
I went to my first AFL game in many years (the last time I went was with Corey and Bec so . . . ), and saw the Power take on Geelong with my Dad and cousin. I have to admit, it wasn't as feral as I thought it would be. Sure, it was probably more feral than any other event outside of a smash up derby, B & S Ball or house party in Salisbury, but it wasn't as bad as I expected. I found it pretty hard to follow the action, since 80% of it seemed to take place on the other side of the field. Still it ended up being reasonably close and was exciting enough.
Friday
Went to church in the morning, then enjoyed a great lunch at Fasta Pasta (open all day in celebration of our Lord's crucifixion) with Paul and Tara. I had the chicken pizza, and finished it all off with Mars Bar cheesecake. Just superb. Afterwards Michella and I spent some quality time together on the PS3 playing The Simpsons. At night we had some dinner with Peter and Karen, then hired "Sicko". I figure you can only believe about 50% of anything you see in a Michael Moore movie, but even if that's true, the stuff in this movie is pretty amazing. Some of the footage of broke hospital patients being dumped outside of homeless shelters was particularly disturbing.
Saturday
Planned a little trip down to McLaren Vale to do a "Cheese and Wine Trail". We picked up our picnic basket (really more of a cooler) from a place called "Blessed Cheese" around lunch time, and visited a number of wineries in the region, who provided tastings of wines matched to the cheeses we had. Apart from the fact that the first cheese we had (a goatsmilk from Udder Delights) tasted like feet, it was quite an enjoyable experience. Because I was the sober one I drove home. Dinner was again with Michella's parents, and we finished the night with a DVD screening of "The Simpsons Movie".
Sunday
Was on Sunday School this morning, and ended up playing guitar for the kiddies. Since I hadn't really played in a few years I was a little concerned, but it all turned out OK. Had a family lunch at Mum and Dad's, followed by a game of Pictionary, where Michella and I were totally robbed. And the one time I decided to play without cheating. There's a life lesson for you. At night we played roughly 100 games of Mario Kart, with me coming last in about 99 of them. Awesome.
Monday
Spent some time in the morning getting my house ready for the auction next weekend, and then went to the gym. I ran for half an hour on the treadmill then exited quickly, as I had the overwhelming urge to throw up (I didn't). We went down to Semaphore in the afternoon to see "Vantage Point". I didn't know a whole lot about it heading in but I was pleasantly surprised - it's about the assasination of an American President, but told from six different perspectives. You don't really figure out everything that's going on until the final chapter of the movie. Afterwards we spent some more time battling The Simpsons Game, until I gave myself a headache and had to get an early night. I'm getting old.
I went to my first AFL game in many years (the last time I went was with Corey and Bec so . . . ), and saw the Power take on Geelong with my Dad and cousin. I have to admit, it wasn't as feral as I thought it would be. Sure, it was probably more feral than any other event outside of a smash up derby, B & S Ball or house party in Salisbury, but it wasn't as bad as I expected. I found it pretty hard to follow the action, since 80% of it seemed to take place on the other side of the field. Still it ended up being reasonably close and was exciting enough.
Friday
Went to church in the morning, then enjoyed a great lunch at Fasta Pasta (open all day in celebration of our Lord's crucifixion) with Paul and Tara. I had the chicken pizza, and finished it all off with Mars Bar cheesecake. Just superb. Afterwards Michella and I spent some quality time together on the PS3 playing The Simpsons. At night we had some dinner with Peter and Karen, then hired "Sicko". I figure you can only believe about 50% of anything you see in a Michael Moore movie, but even if that's true, the stuff in this movie is pretty amazing. Some of the footage of broke hospital patients being dumped outside of homeless shelters was particularly disturbing.
Saturday
Planned a little trip down to McLaren Vale to do a "Cheese and Wine Trail". We picked up our picnic basket (really more of a cooler) from a place called "Blessed Cheese" around lunch time, and visited a number of wineries in the region, who provided tastings of wines matched to the cheeses we had. Apart from the fact that the first cheese we had (a goatsmilk from Udder Delights) tasted like feet, it was quite an enjoyable experience. Because I was the sober one I drove home. Dinner was again with Michella's parents, and we finished the night with a DVD screening of "The Simpsons Movie".
Sunday
Was on Sunday School this morning, and ended up playing guitar for the kiddies. Since I hadn't really played in a few years I was a little concerned, but it all turned out OK. Had a family lunch at Mum and Dad's, followed by a game of Pictionary, where Michella and I were totally robbed. And the one time I decided to play without cheating. There's a life lesson for you. At night we played roughly 100 games of Mario Kart, with me coming last in about 99 of them. Awesome.
Monday
Spent some time in the morning getting my house ready for the auction next weekend, and then went to the gym. I ran for half an hour on the treadmill then exited quickly, as I had the overwhelming urge to throw up (I didn't). We went down to Semaphore in the afternoon to see "Vantage Point". I didn't know a whole lot about it heading in but I was pleasantly surprised - it's about the assasination of an American President, but told from six different perspectives. You don't really figure out everything that's going on until the final chapter of the movie. Afterwards we spent some more time battling The Simpsons Game, until I gave myself a headache and had to get an early night. I'm getting old.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
And how does this make my life easier?
So I got a letter from my credit card company yesterday.
It read . . .
It read . . .
Thanks guys, that's great. One more thing I need to clear up now.Dear DARREN
Your new limit: $0.00
Here it is! Your new credit limit. We hope this makes your life a little easier.
If you've got any questions, please give our Customer Care Team a call on 1800 080 000. We're here for you 24 hours a day and would love to help.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Era Vulgaris
I used to hate it when, as an avid fan of a band, I would buy their album the day it was released. Only to find out in a couple of months time it was being re-released with a special bonus disc of extra songs, live material, or sometimes a DVD. So unless I wanted to buy the same album twice, I missed out on all the extra stuff.
No longer though. These days I can download the album from the internet, as soon as it is released, or perhaps even a few months before. Then wait until the inevitable re-release and spend my money on that.
Today I picked up the special "tour edition" of the latest Queens of the Stone Age record, "Era Vulgaris", with a bonus live CD from Amsterdam (I'm guessing these guys spend a bit of time in that city). It's great - nice deluxe double CD packaging, cool artwork - so glad I didn't just buy the regular CD when it first came out like some loser. Anyway I'm rediscovering my love for QOTSA - lately I've been listening to a lot of quieter, more downbeat music, so it's great to hear something a bit noisier and uglier for a change.
The album itself isn't their best, but who knows, it might grow on me. If you're interested check out "Into the Hollow", featuring the always stunning vocals of Mr Mark Lanegan.
No longer though. These days I can download the album from the internet, as soon as it is released, or perhaps even a few months before. Then wait until the inevitable re-release and spend my money on that.
Today I picked up the special "tour edition" of the latest Queens of the Stone Age record, "Era Vulgaris", with a bonus live CD from Amsterdam (I'm guessing these guys spend a bit of time in that city). It's great - nice deluxe double CD packaging, cool artwork - so glad I didn't just buy the regular CD when it first came out like some loser. Anyway I'm rediscovering my love for QOTSA - lately I've been listening to a lot of quieter, more downbeat music, so it's great to hear something a bit noisier and uglier for a change.
The album itself isn't their best, but who knows, it might grow on me. If you're interested check out "Into the Hollow", featuring the always stunning vocals of Mr Mark Lanegan.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Pics from Poker Night
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Darren joins the twenty-first century
No, I didn't get a mobile phone (that would be joining the twentieth century). Last night I finally got a Playstation 3.
This was really the one good thing to come out of getting robbed a month or two ago. I used the insurance payout on my stolen PS2, and put in a bit more cash, to upgrade to the PS3.
First of all though I needed games, so took all my old PS2 games to JB Hi-Fi at lunch time to trade them in. I got $118 in credit, which I thought was pretty good considering how dated some of the games were. I mean, who is going to go and buy a five year old second hand copy of NBA Live 03 for their Playstation? Anyway I used the credit to get a copy of "The Simpsons Game" for PS3, as well as a second controller (since I'm still planning on having some human contact, even with my awesome new gaming system).
So with my new game and extra controller in hand, I went to the games shop as specified by my insurance provider to pick up my new console after work last night. It was the same place they sent me the last time my Playstation got stolen a few years ago - a dark, dingy specialist games store on Payneham Road. Of course, this wasn't terribly convenient for me, since I work in the city and live on the other side of town, but I guess it was cheaper for the insurance company. Anyway, I got there a bit after five, and I swear the place hadn't changed in the last few years. The place was overrun with old games - and I'm talking PS1 and Nintendo 64 - which I can't see them ever selling. Especially since they were all still marked with their original prices. I kind of wanted to pick up a copy of "Golden Eye" and say "I'll take it - $49 right?". The whole place was just horribly depressing. After getting the console sorted out, the guy who worked there tried to convince me to outlay for a game, and when I declined he said "No worries, well you know where we are now" like I'd be back. Short of getting this Playstation stolen, I don't see it happening.
So I got it home and fired it all up last night and was rather happy with the whole thing. My first impressions of The Simpsons Game are that it isn't very challenging, which is good, since I'm not particularly skilled as a video games player. It's quite funny too, all of the comments made by the characters. My favourite was a conversation I heard passing Officer Lou and Martin on the street, with Lou complaining about some chocolates that Martin had sold him, and whether almond was an acceptable subsitute for rice in a "Crunch" chocolate bar. I also liked the cut scenes, which were basically like watching an episode of The Simpsons.
Today I went out and got some component video cables so I can use the system in HD, and more importantly, watch Blu-Ray movies on it in full high definition. I'm guessing I won't be leaving the house too much in the next few weeks . . .
This was really the one good thing to come out of getting robbed a month or two ago. I used the insurance payout on my stolen PS2, and put in a bit more cash, to upgrade to the PS3.
First of all though I needed games, so took all my old PS2 games to JB Hi-Fi at lunch time to trade them in. I got $118 in credit, which I thought was pretty good considering how dated some of the games were. I mean, who is going to go and buy a five year old second hand copy of NBA Live 03 for their Playstation? Anyway I used the credit to get a copy of "The Simpsons Game" for PS3, as well as a second controller (since I'm still planning on having some human contact, even with my awesome new gaming system).
So with my new game and extra controller in hand, I went to the games shop as specified by my insurance provider to pick up my new console after work last night. It was the same place they sent me the last time my Playstation got stolen a few years ago - a dark, dingy specialist games store on Payneham Road. Of course, this wasn't terribly convenient for me, since I work in the city and live on the other side of town, but I guess it was cheaper for the insurance company. Anyway, I got there a bit after five, and I swear the place hadn't changed in the last few years. The place was overrun with old games - and I'm talking PS1 and Nintendo 64 - which I can't see them ever selling. Especially since they were all still marked with their original prices. I kind of wanted to pick up a copy of "Golden Eye" and say "I'll take it - $49 right?". The whole place was just horribly depressing. After getting the console sorted out, the guy who worked there tried to convince me to outlay for a game, and when I declined he said "No worries, well you know where we are now" like I'd be back. Short of getting this Playstation stolen, I don't see it happening.
So I got it home and fired it all up last night and was rather happy with the whole thing. My first impressions of The Simpsons Game are that it isn't very challenging, which is good, since I'm not particularly skilled as a video games player. It's quite funny too, all of the comments made by the characters. My favourite was a conversation I heard passing Officer Lou and Martin on the street, with Lou complaining about some chocolates that Martin had sold him, and whether almond was an acceptable subsitute for rice in a "Crunch" chocolate bar. I also liked the cut scenes, which were basically like watching an episode of The Simpsons.
Today I went out and got some component video cables so I can use the system in HD, and more importantly, watch Blu-Ray movies on it in full high definition. I'm guessing I won't be leaving the house too much in the next few weeks . . .
Thursday, March 06, 2008
You get what you pay for
If you're willing to apply yourself, and have a liberal attitude to copyright laws, you can find just about any kind of music (or movie, or TV show) on the internet for free.
Sometimes though, a band will come out and actually offer their recordings for free through their official website. Last year Radiohead did this with their new album, which surprisingly didn't suck as much as their last few. I think that should somehow be on the promotional material for that record.
This week Trent Reznor followed suit, and released his new recordings for Nine Inch Nails free over the net. Of course, being Trent he didn't limit himself to one album, but released four albums, composed entirely of instrumental music, devoid of track names. Hmm. Doesn't seem like such a great deal anymore.
I was going to download all four albums (hey, it's free, right?), until I realised I may not like it, and should start with just one. It was a good move. I got about half way through the first "album" when I realised it was all boring rubbish. Just a few mechanical noises and bleeps, a bit of distorted guitar, drum loops . . . with vocals they might have been actual songs, but without it's pretty uninspiring stuff.
Now onto something that I have been liking . . .
I picked up the first season of "Dexter" based only on a few good reviews I'd read, and am now three episodes in. The basic idea behind the show is that the protagonist - Dexter - is a forensic expert with the Miami police by day, and a serial killer by night. Except he only kills other serial killers. It's pretty good so far, kind of like a cross between Saw and CSI: Miami (I realise that doesn't sound particularly awesome, but it's not bad).
It airs on Showtime in the States, so there's a bit of violence and language. It doesn't seem to really fit the show though - it's shot like it's on network TV, so it's kind of like watching "Lost" with a whole bunch of "F" words. In "The Wire" or "Sopranos" that stuff fits right in, but on more mainstream fare it would seem out of place, like it does here. Anyway it's holding my attention so far, a few good twists and turns and the guy who plays Dexter is pretty good, so I'll be sticking with it.
Sometimes though, a band will come out and actually offer their recordings for free through their official website. Last year Radiohead did this with their new album, which surprisingly didn't suck as much as their last few. I think that should somehow be on the promotional material for that record.
This week Trent Reznor followed suit, and released his new recordings for Nine Inch Nails free over the net. Of course, being Trent he didn't limit himself to one album, but released four albums, composed entirely of instrumental music, devoid of track names. Hmm. Doesn't seem like such a great deal anymore.
I was going to download all four albums (hey, it's free, right?), until I realised I may not like it, and should start with just one. It was a good move. I got about half way through the first "album" when I realised it was all boring rubbish. Just a few mechanical noises and bleeps, a bit of distorted guitar, drum loops . . . with vocals they might have been actual songs, but without it's pretty uninspiring stuff.
Now onto something that I have been liking . . .
I picked up the first season of "Dexter" based only on a few good reviews I'd read, and am now three episodes in. The basic idea behind the show is that the protagonist - Dexter - is a forensic expert with the Miami police by day, and a serial killer by night. Except he only kills other serial killers. It's pretty good so far, kind of like a cross between Saw and CSI: Miami (I realise that doesn't sound particularly awesome, but it's not bad).
It airs on Showtime in the States, so there's a bit of violence and language. It doesn't seem to really fit the show though - it's shot like it's on network TV, so it's kind of like watching "Lost" with a whole bunch of "F" words. In "The Wire" or "Sopranos" that stuff fits right in, but on more mainstream fare it would seem out of place, like it does here. Anyway it's holding my attention so far, a few good twists and turns and the guy who plays Dexter is pretty good, so I'll be sticking with it.
Monday, March 03, 2008
Kind of punk but not really
I've come across two albums in the last week I've really liked - "Standing in the Way of Control" by The Gossip, and "Red of Tooth and Claw" by Murder By Death. Both bands are similar in a sense that they kind of get lumped in as punk bands, which is kind of undeserved.
The Gossip, as far as I can tell, are punk because they're fronted by an obese lesbian who claims she never showers, which is pretty punk if you think about it. But listening to the album, aside from the occasional scream, mostly I just hear a combination of Franz Ferdinand, The White Stripes, and a bunch of eighties pop music (on their "Live in Liverpool" record they cover George Michael's "Careless Whisper").
Murder by Death are punk, because they are on a punk record label, and generally tour with bands from that scene. While lyrically they cover some similar ground, musically they're completlely unique. With a mix of guitar, drums, piano and cello, they sound like The National playing a show at Al Swearegen's on a Saturday night in 1876. Most of their songs are set in the old west, but it's a long way from the sanitised version of Clint Eastwood and John Wayne films. I'm guessing these guys are big Cormac McCarthy fans.
I'm really liking both of these CDs, but I know that if you were to ask me in twelve months, it's Murder by Death that will still be in strong rotation on my ipod. The Gossip produce good, disposable tunes, but what Murder by Death do is, without being too pretentious about it, art. "Red of Tooth and Claw" can't quite measure up to their best record "Who Will Survive and What Will Be Left of Them?" - a concept record about the Devil waging war on a small Mexican town - but there are some tremendous moments, from the Pearl Jam-esque "Ash" to "Fuego", which I think is going to be their first single.
I couldn't find anything on youtube from the new album so here's something from one of their old albums which gives you an idea of what they're like.
And from The Gossip, "Jealous Girls".
The Gossip, as far as I can tell, are punk because they're fronted by an obese lesbian who claims she never showers, which is pretty punk if you think about it. But listening to the album, aside from the occasional scream, mostly I just hear a combination of Franz Ferdinand, The White Stripes, and a bunch of eighties pop music (on their "Live in Liverpool" record they cover George Michael's "Careless Whisper").
Murder by Death are punk, because they are on a punk record label, and generally tour with bands from that scene. While lyrically they cover some similar ground, musically they're completlely unique. With a mix of guitar, drums, piano and cello, they sound like The National playing a show at Al Swearegen's on a Saturday night in 1876. Most of their songs are set in the old west, but it's a long way from the sanitised version of Clint Eastwood and John Wayne films. I'm guessing these guys are big Cormac McCarthy fans.
I'm really liking both of these CDs, but I know that if you were to ask me in twelve months, it's Murder by Death that will still be in strong rotation on my ipod. The Gossip produce good, disposable tunes, but what Murder by Death do is, without being too pretentious about it, art. "Red of Tooth and Claw" can't quite measure up to their best record "Who Will Survive and What Will Be Left of Them?" - a concept record about the Devil waging war on a small Mexican town - but there are some tremendous moments, from the Pearl Jam-esque "Ash" to "Fuego", which I think is going to be their first single.
I couldn't find anything on youtube from the new album so here's something from one of their old albums which gives you an idea of what they're like.
And from The Gossip, "Jealous Girls".
Saturday, March 01, 2008
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)