All music is heavily shaped by the time and place in which it's created. "Appetite for Destruction" is a case in point. The first and best Guns n Roses album, it still sounds raw and honest. The "Use Your Illusion" albums? Not so much. The band were rich and famous by the early nineties, and the passion that fueled their debut was gone. Even if they wanted to create Appetite 2.0 they wouldn't have been able.
The Offspring are another example. In 1994 they released "Smash", their only album I've ever liked. Despite the fact that I'm not a huge fan of punk music, I'd rank it in my all-time top 10 albums. Lots of other people agreed, according to Wikipedia it's since sold 14 million copies worldwide. There's not really a bad song on the CD, and in parts, it's actually quite funny. I'm generally not a big fan of humour in music, but the comedy here is subtle, and based on everyday experiences that are easy to relate to. Like frustration bordering on road rage (Bad Habit), or manipulative girlfriends (Self Esteem).
On successive releases the band tried to mine the comedy vein further, but ended up with broader songs like (Pretty Fly) for a White Guy and Original Prankster. Which were popular in their time, but not widely loved anymore.
Even though Smash is still in reasonably high rotation on my ipod, I hadn't listened to a new Offspring album in years. I read a review of their new one "Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace" on the net a few weeks ago though, and was pulled in by promises of a harder sound than previous albums.
I downloaded it, and while it wasn't the hardcore punk album I'd heard it described as, it was an improvement on anything I'd heard from them since the mid-nineties. There's a few too many slow songs (I don't think anyone wants to hear an Offspring ballad) but the fast stuff is really good. It's as melodic as anything on Smash, but they don't get caught up in the novelty side of things.
Here's one of my favourites from the new disc, You're Gonna Go Far, Kid . . .
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Midnight basketball
Until last night, I hadn't played basketball in months. I was kind of missing it though, so joined Ash and his friends for their 10pm-midnight Tuesday night run at their church court.
I'd played in this game once before, but it always takes a while to get used to. The main thing is that the court is a bit smaller than usual - kind of like the one Will Smith played on in the episode of "Fresh Prince" where he joined the high school basketball team.
This affects the spacing (especially playing 5 on 5), cuts down on the fast breaks (even in a full court game there were only a few, and you needed to execute well to pull them off), and allows guys to shoot threes from close to half court.
I ended up with Ash during the first game, and I liked our chances. Unfortunately the other team had a guy called Tom, a fifty-something American dude, who was by far the best older player I've ever come up against. He spent most of that first game shooting threes from near halfcourt, and didn't miss a single one.
After a few rematches, we switched up the teams, and this time it was Ash, Tom and myself, plus another top player, plus the worst guy in the game. I really felt like this was going to be our chance, but we lost a steady stream of games by one or two points. It made little sense to Ash or I, we felt like we had better positions at three of the five positions (which was important since we were playing man on man) but we just couldn't seem to grab a win.
I started off really badly, missing all my outside shots, but after the first game or two started driving and grabbing boards, and ended up doing ok for myself around the rim. Didn't get to bed until about 12.30 or so, and then had a pretty rubbish night of sleep, so woke today feeling rather average. It was good to get out there and play in something close to a real game again though, I think I'll be a semi-regular from here on out.
I'd played in this game once before, but it always takes a while to get used to. The main thing is that the court is a bit smaller than usual - kind of like the one Will Smith played on in the episode of "Fresh Prince" where he joined the high school basketball team.
This affects the spacing (especially playing 5 on 5), cuts down on the fast breaks (even in a full court game there were only a few, and you needed to execute well to pull them off), and allows guys to shoot threes from close to half court.
I ended up with Ash during the first game, and I liked our chances. Unfortunately the other team had a guy called Tom, a fifty-something American dude, who was by far the best older player I've ever come up against. He spent most of that first game shooting threes from near halfcourt, and didn't miss a single one.
After a few rematches, we switched up the teams, and this time it was Ash, Tom and myself, plus another top player, plus the worst guy in the game. I really felt like this was going to be our chance, but we lost a steady stream of games by one or two points. It made little sense to Ash or I, we felt like we had better positions at three of the five positions (which was important since we were playing man on man) but we just couldn't seem to grab a win.
I started off really badly, missing all my outside shots, but after the first game or two started driving and grabbing boards, and ended up doing ok for myself around the rim. Didn't get to bed until about 12.30 or so, and then had a pretty rubbish night of sleep, so woke today feeling rather average. It was good to get out there and play in something close to a real game again though, I think I'll be a semi-regular from here on out.
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
A few links
I loved this article from Esquire, written by a soldier who served his time in Iraq, retired from the army, and received a letter from the Government a few years later telling him he needed to report for active duty in five weeks time.
It starts off in a less than serious fashion . . .
I had no idea that the Army was going to turn into this psychotic ex-girlfriend that you'd need to file a restraining order against because the crazy bitch doesn't get the hint that there's no way we're getting back together again--ever!
But as it progresses it takes on a tragic tone, as it becomes clear that he's suffering from post traumatic stress syndrome, and the Army couldn't care less.
I also enjoyed this Seth Rogen interview from GQ. I think he may be my favourite actor - since his first significant role in The 40 Year Old Virgin, he's done three movies - Knocked Up, Superbad, and Pineapple Express, which in my opnion ranged from good to great.
Finally, a website I've come across and enjoyed a lot is "What's Alan Watching", where Alan blogs about his TV viewing.
He only covers US shows, so fans of "Australian Idol" and "The Farmer Wants a Wife" will have to go elsewhere. But his writing on The Wire is fantastic, and provides some really good intelligent analysis of the series.
It starts off in a less than serious fashion . . .
I had no idea that the Army was going to turn into this psychotic ex-girlfriend that you'd need to file a restraining order against because the crazy bitch doesn't get the hint that there's no way we're getting back together again--ever!
But as it progresses it takes on a tragic tone, as it becomes clear that he's suffering from post traumatic stress syndrome, and the Army couldn't care less.
I also enjoyed this Seth Rogen interview from GQ. I think he may be my favourite actor - since his first significant role in The 40 Year Old Virgin, he's done three movies - Knocked Up, Superbad, and Pineapple Express, which in my opnion ranged from good to great.
Finally, a website I've come across and enjoyed a lot is "What's Alan Watching", where Alan blogs about his TV viewing.
He only covers US shows, so fans of "Australian Idol" and "The Farmer Wants a Wife" will have to go elsewhere. But his writing on The Wire is fantastic, and provides some really good intelligent analysis of the series.
Monday, September 08, 2008
Free music
A couple of months ago I came across a blog called Antiquiet, which was hosting 9 leaked songs from the upcoming Guns n Roses album "Chinese Democracy". I ended up going back to this blog quite a bit - the music reviews are well written, and I've been turned onto a few new bands through it. Anyway, the GNR leak was minor news when it happened, but became even bigger a few weeks ago, when the FBI arrested the website's owner at gunpoint at his house at just before 7am, and charged him with copyright violation. The whole thing seems a bit over the top (even the Judge in the case questioned why they didn't just send him a summons for his court appearance) but I guess someone is trying to make a point about stealing music.
The thing is though, it's not a one way street. Sometimes bands steal from us too. The way I see it, Metallica owe me $20 that I wasted on their last album, "St Anger". More, if you consider the time I spent listening to it.
It was therefore with a very clear conscience that I downloaded their new CD, "Death Magnetic" last week (also, Lars is a wanker, which makes the decision even easier). I was curious to see how they recovered from the disaster that was St Anger. And it seems like what they've done is pretended that album never existed. In fact, the CD sounds like a return to their eighties sound, with little to do with the mid-tempo stuff they released last decade. There's 10 songs on a 74 minute CD, so they're back to epic seven and eight minute long songs; with some pretty frenetic drumming and guitar riffs. I read a review online where the author wondered how these forty-something musicians were going to pull this stuff off live night after night, and made a good point. It's funny, these guys have been around 25 years or so now, and this is probably as heavy as anything they've ever done, it's not something you'd really expect.
I'm not a huge Metallica fan, but I will listen to this when I want to hear something fast and heavy.
Another CD I came across in the last week was the new EP from The Gutter Twins, "Adorata". I found it at another music blog, Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers, which doesn't even bother to offer reviews or editorial - they just post links to downloads of full albums. Seems that's a policy that might land them in trouble one day.
I did feel a twinge of guilt downloading this though. Mainly because I think Mark Lanegan is a genius, and doesn't get the recognition he deserves. If I could give him the money for this directly (and have him look me in the eye and promise not to spend it on heroin) I would. Unfortunately I can't, and I know if I purchase it on itunes I'm mainly giving money to Apple, so I'm keeping my cash.
This EP is a follow up to their full-length album "Saturnalia" which came out earlier this year, and includes six covers and two new songs. I actually had no idea the thing was out until I came across it, which is weird these days, where usually I'll know about a release from my favourite artists weeks, or even months before it comes out. I've been listening to this quite a bit the last week, and an early favourite is their cover of Jose Gonazles' "Down the Line", as well as their original "Spanish Doors".
Finally, I've also been enjoying the new Verve album "Forth". A month or two before it came out I kind of rediscovered Richard Ashcroft's solo album "Alone with Everybody", and this is quite different, much more psychadelic and layered, but still really good.
The thing is though, it's not a one way street. Sometimes bands steal from us too. The way I see it, Metallica owe me $20 that I wasted on their last album, "St Anger". More, if you consider the time I spent listening to it.
It was therefore with a very clear conscience that I downloaded their new CD, "Death Magnetic" last week (also, Lars is a wanker, which makes the decision even easier). I was curious to see how they recovered from the disaster that was St Anger. And it seems like what they've done is pretended that album never existed. In fact, the CD sounds like a return to their eighties sound, with little to do with the mid-tempo stuff they released last decade. There's 10 songs on a 74 minute CD, so they're back to epic seven and eight minute long songs; with some pretty frenetic drumming and guitar riffs. I read a review online where the author wondered how these forty-something musicians were going to pull this stuff off live night after night, and made a good point. It's funny, these guys have been around 25 years or so now, and this is probably as heavy as anything they've ever done, it's not something you'd really expect.
I'm not a huge Metallica fan, but I will listen to this when I want to hear something fast and heavy.
Another CD I came across in the last week was the new EP from The Gutter Twins, "Adorata". I found it at another music blog, Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers, which doesn't even bother to offer reviews or editorial - they just post links to downloads of full albums. Seems that's a policy that might land them in trouble one day.
I did feel a twinge of guilt downloading this though. Mainly because I think Mark Lanegan is a genius, and doesn't get the recognition he deserves. If I could give him the money for this directly (and have him look me in the eye and promise not to spend it on heroin) I would. Unfortunately I can't, and I know if I purchase it on itunes I'm mainly giving money to Apple, so I'm keeping my cash.
This EP is a follow up to their full-length album "Saturnalia" which came out earlier this year, and includes six covers and two new songs. I actually had no idea the thing was out until I came across it, which is weird these days, where usually I'll know about a release from my favourite artists weeks, or even months before it comes out. I've been listening to this quite a bit the last week, and an early favourite is their cover of Jose Gonazles' "Down the Line", as well as their original "Spanish Doors".
Finally, I've also been enjoying the new Verve album "Forth". A month or two before it came out I kind of rediscovered Richard Ashcroft's solo album "Alone with Everybody", and this is quite different, much more psychadelic and layered, but still really good.
Saturday, September 06, 2008
Great article
A short interview/feature on Ricky Gervais I came across in Esquire this month . . .
http://www.esquire.com/features/the-screen/ricky-gervais-0908
http://www.esquire.com/features/the-screen/ricky-gervais-0908
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
Taken
If you like your movies to be plausible, you probably won't really like "Taken". If you're willing to completely suspend disbelief though, it's not too bad.
Liam Neeson plays a retired CIA guy who quit his job to spend more time with his 17 year old daughter, now semi-estranged from him, living with her mother and rich step-dad. Right from the start Liam seems to care just a little bit too much about his daughter - he gate crashes her 17th birthday party, takes a photo of them together, then goes directly to a drug store to get the photo developed and put in an album. Yeah a bit too full on if you ask me.
Anyway, she wants to go to Paris with a friend for a few months, and needs him to sign some paperwork because she's under 18. He doesn't want her to go, because he thinks it's too dangerous, but eventually agrees. Turns out he was right, she gets abducted the first night she's there, and he flies over to track her down before she disappears forever, and get revenge on the guys who took her.
After speaking to some CIA friends, he's told if he doesn't find her in the first 96 hours, he won't find her at all (and she'll be sold as a prostitute). So everything needs to go right for him, and it does, which is where the implausability comes in. He finds the young guy who helped abduct the girls within about an hour of arriving in Paris. He found his daughter's friend after bugging a random pimp, and overhearing him talk about a "construction site" (luckily he picked the right one). Other stretches include Liam outrunning an Audi, Liam defeating six or seven armed guys at once in hand to hand combat (this happens quite a bit), Liam recognising one of his daughter's captors by remembering his voice from a two word telephone conversation etc.
Anyway, somehow he manages to escape corrupt cops, and kill about a hundred gangsters and rescue his daughter, before escaping the country on a commercial flight.
It's shot well, although some of the fight scenes are shot really close up which makes them hard to follow. If you want a really good movie about revenge I'd recommend "Man On Fire" with Denzel, but this isn't too bad, as long as you don't expect too much.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
TV . . . generally, it kind of sucks
I've been in my new place for about three months now, and I haven't bothered to get an aerial installed, and so haven't watched a minute of live television. Every now and then I think I should get it done, and then I realise how bad TV is right now.
Take the other night for instance. I was at my lady friend's house, and we turned on the TV, and found a dancing reality show on one channel, a medical reality show on the other, plus some sort of singing competition that I believe is reasonably popular. If I kept it on there would have been the airport reality show, the cooking reality show, the real estate reality show . . .
I guess most people figured this out a long time ago, but I just realised that pretty much everything on TV is reality programming. And it's mostly dull and repetitive (this week, on Border Patrol, someone tries to smuggle drugs into Australia! How novel!)
I mean, I'm not someone who has really elitist tastes. Last night I hired "Snakes on a Plane" from my DVD shop. But it seems there's an awful lot of crap on these days, and I don't know why everyone puts up with it. I often think the average person is at least as smart as me, sometimes I'm not so sure.
Anyway, a TV show I have enjoyed on DVD the past week was season 2 of Dexter (it's on free to air on Sunday nights, which would ruin my argument, except they are still showing season one, even though season one and two are available to buy/hire. Genius.)
If any of my seven readers haven't come across the show, the basic premise is that Dexter Morgan is a blood splatter expert with the Miami Police Department, who kills serial killers in his spare time. Season two focuses on his efforts to evade detection - the bodies of his victims have surfaced, and his colleagues (including his step sister) form a special FBI-led task force to track the killer. Which means that in addition to his normal killing duties, and his day job, he also has to intervene from time to time to taint evidence and throw his colleagues off his scent.
I thought season one was OK, but season two was definitely a step up. I watched all twelve episodes in six days, which sounds quick but it was two more than it took Murray. Amanda apparently watched season one and two combined in even less time, which is rather impressive. It's definitely a show that pulls you in.
If I had one complaint it would be that they stole one of the characters - Lila - from Fight Club. Skinny pommy chick who's kind of hot but has all sorts of issues, and goes to support group meetings even though she doesn't have an addiction. Yep, sounds like Marla Singer. Also, I didn't really see why she had to be topless in almost every episode, but I guess I'm not a professional TV-directing guy.
Despite the rampant breast baring in season 2, the show isn't as full on as it sounds. A lot of the violence is implied, there's probably not a lot more than an average episode of CSI (admittedly, there's more than you'd find in Columbo Paul). The main thing is that it forces you to identify with, and sympathise with, someone who is a serial killer. If you can get past that (and I'm sure some can't) you'll love it.
Season three starts in the US in a few weeks. I could wait until 2010 or so when it makes it to Australian TV, but most likely I'll download it as it airs.
The following trailer shows Jimmy Smits (my favourite fictional president) joins the cast, so it should be great.
Take the other night for instance. I was at my lady friend's house, and we turned on the TV, and found a dancing reality show on one channel, a medical reality show on the other, plus some sort of singing competition that I believe is reasonably popular. If I kept it on there would have been the airport reality show, the cooking reality show, the real estate reality show . . .
I guess most people figured this out a long time ago, but I just realised that pretty much everything on TV is reality programming. And it's mostly dull and repetitive (this week, on Border Patrol, someone tries to smuggle drugs into Australia! How novel!)
I mean, I'm not someone who has really elitist tastes. Last night I hired "Snakes on a Plane" from my DVD shop. But it seems there's an awful lot of crap on these days, and I don't know why everyone puts up with it. I often think the average person is at least as smart as me, sometimes I'm not so sure.
Anyway, a TV show I have enjoyed on DVD the past week was season 2 of Dexter (it's on free to air on Sunday nights, which would ruin my argument, except they are still showing season one, even though season one and two are available to buy/hire. Genius.)
If any of my seven readers haven't come across the show, the basic premise is that Dexter Morgan is a blood splatter expert with the Miami Police Department, who kills serial killers in his spare time. Season two focuses on his efforts to evade detection - the bodies of his victims have surfaced, and his colleagues (including his step sister) form a special FBI-led task force to track the killer. Which means that in addition to his normal killing duties, and his day job, he also has to intervene from time to time to taint evidence and throw his colleagues off his scent.
I thought season one was OK, but season two was definitely a step up. I watched all twelve episodes in six days, which sounds quick but it was two more than it took Murray. Amanda apparently watched season one and two combined in even less time, which is rather impressive. It's definitely a show that pulls you in.
If I had one complaint it would be that they stole one of the characters - Lila - from Fight Club. Skinny pommy chick who's kind of hot but has all sorts of issues, and goes to support group meetings even though she doesn't have an addiction. Yep, sounds like Marla Singer. Also, I didn't really see why she had to be topless in almost every episode, but I guess I'm not a professional TV-directing guy.
Despite the rampant breast baring in season 2, the show isn't as full on as it sounds. A lot of the violence is implied, there's probably not a lot more than an average episode of CSI (admittedly, there's more than you'd find in Columbo Paul). The main thing is that it forces you to identify with, and sympathise with, someone who is a serial killer. If you can get past that (and I'm sure some can't) you'll love it.
Season three starts in the US in a few weeks. I could wait until 2010 or so when it makes it to Australian TV, but most likely I'll download it as it airs.
The following trailer shows Jimmy Smits (my favourite fictional president) joins the cast, so it should be great.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Go Sixers!
Last night I went to see the new look Sixers play the Melbourne Tigers in their first practice match of the season (by my count only four players remain from last year - Maher, Cooper, Hill and Ballinger).
We arrived at about 6.30pm for a 7pm tip off. It was so weird going to a Sixers game and only seeing a few hundred people there.
Before the game, they had a worst haircut competition, and this guy won.
We came into the match missing a few key players - new pg Aaron Bruce apparently hasn't arrived yet, neither has our second import.
We've got a new guy I'd never even heard of called Winitana. When I saw his darker skin, I assumed he was our new import, but Michella said "he looks more Maori than black". She was right. He's a NZ'er, which rules because it means he gets to play as an Aussie. Anyway he was our best player on the night. He seemed a bit undersized as a sg/sf (apparently he's listed at about 6 foot 4 1/2) but he was really aggressiv going after rebounds, had a nice three point shot, was aggresive on his drives, and even went for two pretty ridiculous tip dunk attempts.
The other key new guy, Schenser, was pretty good. Kind of like a slightly taller David Cooper who can play OK offense. There was one sequence where a Tiger player tried to lay it up and got blocked by Cooper, the loose ball went to one of his team mates, who tried to dunk and got blocked by both Cooper and Schenser. It's going to be tough scoring against those two inside, and with Ballinger we've got a pretty fearsome front line.
I wasn't completely sold on Holmes. It's nice to have him back and he seemed to play really well for South Melbourne last year, but I'd rank him pretty lower than Ballinger, Maher, Schenser, Winitana, and presumably import number 2, and maybe even Bruce from what I hear. When Jacob Holmes is your sixth or seventh best player though, that's a good sign for your team.
The Sixers did give up a lead in the last few minutes and lost the game, but nothing to worry about there really, Ninnis seemed to be trying out the new guys, Maher and Ballinger sat off most of the end of the game.
I'm cautiously optimistic about this team - on paper they seem pretty stacked, but will have to see how things actually work out when the season starts in a few weeks.
We arrived at about 6.30pm for a 7pm tip off. It was so weird going to a Sixers game and only seeing a few hundred people there.
Before the game, they had a worst haircut competition, and this guy won.
We came into the match missing a few key players - new pg Aaron Bruce apparently hasn't arrived yet, neither has our second import.
We've got a new guy I'd never even heard of called Winitana. When I saw his darker skin, I assumed he was our new import, but Michella said "he looks more Maori than black". She was right. He's a NZ'er, which rules because it means he gets to play as an Aussie. Anyway he was our best player on the night. He seemed a bit undersized as a sg/sf (apparently he's listed at about 6 foot 4 1/2) but he was really aggressiv going after rebounds, had a nice three point shot, was aggresive on his drives, and even went for two pretty ridiculous tip dunk attempts.
The other key new guy, Schenser, was pretty good. Kind of like a slightly taller David Cooper who can play OK offense. There was one sequence where a Tiger player tried to lay it up and got blocked by Cooper, the loose ball went to one of his team mates, who tried to dunk and got blocked by both Cooper and Schenser. It's going to be tough scoring against those two inside, and with Ballinger we've got a pretty fearsome front line.
I wasn't completely sold on Holmes. It's nice to have him back and he seemed to play really well for South Melbourne last year, but I'd rank him pretty lower than Ballinger, Maher, Schenser, Winitana, and presumably import number 2, and maybe even Bruce from what I hear. When Jacob Holmes is your sixth or seventh best player though, that's a good sign for your team.
The Sixers did give up a lead in the last few minutes and lost the game, but nothing to worry about there really, Ninnis seemed to be trying out the new guys, Maher and Ballinger sat off most of the end of the game.
I'm cautiously optimistic about this team - on paper they seem pretty stacked, but will have to see how things actually work out when the season starts in a few weeks.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Great lyrics
I'm really more of a music than a lyrics guy, but I love the lyrics to "One for the cutters" from The Hold Steady's new album "Stay Positive". It's like a Bret Easton Ellis novel in less than five minutes . . .
When there weren’t any parties, she’d park by the quarry, walk into the woods until she came to a clearing where townies would gather and drink until blackout, smoke cigs till they’re sick, pack bowls, and then pass out. Windows wide open to let the hard rock in, theirs was a rage that didn’t need much convincing. The girls gave her glares, but the boys were quite pleasant. To be totally honest, they didn’t seem much different. When there weren’t any parties, sometimes she’d party with townies.
Out on the parkways, after the parties, it was always arousing, when they’d rev up their engines. It’s hard to describe, so she kept it a secret. The girls that she lived with, they knew nothing about it. The night with the fight and the butterfly knife, it was the first night she spent with that one guy she liked. She gave him a ride to some kid’s house in Cleveland. He stayed there for two weeks. The cops finally found him. He didn’t seem that different, except for the blood on his jacket. He didn’t seem that different, except for maybe his haircut. He didn’t seem much different. They didn’t seem that different, up until this one little incident. They didn’t seem much different…
Now, the cops wanna question everyone present. They parade every townie in town through the station, but no one says nothing, and they can’t find the weapon. The girl takes the stand, and she swears she was with him - her father’s lawyers do most of the talking.
She’s sick of the questions, sick of the concept of justice and fairness. Who the hell cares who gets caught in the middle? She smokes and she ponders this riddle: When one townie falls in the forest, can anyone hear it? When one townie falls. . . when one townie falls in the forest, does anyone notice?
One drop of blood, an immaculate kiss . . . Mom, do you know where your girl is? Sophomore accomplice in a turtleneck sweater . . . Dad, do you know where your kids are? Sniffing on crystal in cute little cars, getting nailed against dumpsters, behind townie bars. It’s a cute little town, boutiques and cafes. Her friends all seemed nice, she was getting good grades, but when she came home for Christmas, she just seemed distant and different.
When there weren’t any parties, she’d park by the quarry, walk into the woods until she came to a clearing where townies would gather and drink until blackout, smoke cigs till they’re sick, pack bowls, and then pass out. Windows wide open to let the hard rock in, theirs was a rage that didn’t need much convincing. The girls gave her glares, but the boys were quite pleasant. To be totally honest, they didn’t seem much different. When there weren’t any parties, sometimes she’d party with townies.
Out on the parkways, after the parties, it was always arousing, when they’d rev up their engines. It’s hard to describe, so she kept it a secret. The girls that she lived with, they knew nothing about it. The night with the fight and the butterfly knife, it was the first night she spent with that one guy she liked. She gave him a ride to some kid’s house in Cleveland. He stayed there for two weeks. The cops finally found him. He didn’t seem that different, except for the blood on his jacket. He didn’t seem that different, except for maybe his haircut. He didn’t seem much different. They didn’t seem that different, up until this one little incident. They didn’t seem much different…
Now, the cops wanna question everyone present. They parade every townie in town through the station, but no one says nothing, and they can’t find the weapon. The girl takes the stand, and she swears she was with him - her father’s lawyers do most of the talking.
She’s sick of the questions, sick of the concept of justice and fairness. Who the hell cares who gets caught in the middle? She smokes and she ponders this riddle: When one townie falls in the forest, can anyone hear it? When one townie falls. . . when one townie falls in the forest, does anyone notice?
One drop of blood, an immaculate kiss . . . Mom, do you know where your girl is? Sophomore accomplice in a turtleneck sweater . . . Dad, do you know where your kids are? Sniffing on crystal in cute little cars, getting nailed against dumpsters, behind townie bars. It’s a cute little town, boutiques and cafes. Her friends all seemed nice, she was getting good grades, but when she came home for Christmas, she just seemed distant and different.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Quick thoughts
I tried the new double dipped Cherry Ripe last night. Not bad. Not bad at all.
If you like a) laughing and b) watching guys get shot, you'll probably enjoy "Pineapple Express". Not Seth Rogen's best work - in fact it's probably the worst film I've seen him in - but still at least twice as good as "Get Smart", which I saw a few weeks ago. Darryl from the US Office is a particular standout in it. No idea how it ended up with an MA rating though, apart from the fact that the protagonists smoke dope right through the movie, it's surprisingly violent.
I've watched a little bit of the Olympics and am pretty much over it. I lost interest in the opening ceremony about 15 minutes in (although that was before I found out it discovered lip-syncing and fake digitially created fireworks), and have only watched little bits since. The low point was watching women's judo. Remember when you were a kid and you'd grab someone and try and trip them over. Yep, that's an Olympic "sport" now. Can't wait till British Bulldogs makes it in.
Best comment I've read about the Olympics comes from Freakonomics author Stephen D Levitt . . . "I have to believe that when a country with as much at stake in these Olympics as China sets its mind on finding ways to beat the anti-doping rules, they will succeed."
On a positive Olympic note - Stephanie Rice. Wow.
We moved into brand new offices at work this week, and we now have a deluxe coffee machine. I had three lattes yesterday. I feel like Kramer when he won his case against Java World, hopped up on free coffee all the time.
I've been eating the same sandwich at work every day for the last few months. And in no way is that depressing. I start with a Turkish lepinja from the Markets, slice it in half, add Watsonia cheddar cheese, Beerenberg tomato sauce, a few slices of thinly sliced tomato, and a meat of my choice. Lately I've been using slices of smoky beef sausage. I then toast it in our sandwich press, and finally add a handful of wild rocket. I swear I have colleagues ask me almost daily "Did you buy that?" Amazingly, I'm still not even remotely sick of it.
If you like a) laughing and b) watching guys get shot, you'll probably enjoy "Pineapple Express". Not Seth Rogen's best work - in fact it's probably the worst film I've seen him in - but still at least twice as good as "Get Smart", which I saw a few weeks ago. Darryl from the US Office is a particular standout in it. No idea how it ended up with an MA rating though, apart from the fact that the protagonists smoke dope right through the movie, it's surprisingly violent.
I've watched a little bit of the Olympics and am pretty much over it. I lost interest in the opening ceremony about 15 minutes in (although that was before I found out it discovered lip-syncing and fake digitially created fireworks), and have only watched little bits since. The low point was watching women's judo. Remember when you were a kid and you'd grab someone and try and trip them over. Yep, that's an Olympic "sport" now. Can't wait till British Bulldogs makes it in.
Best comment I've read about the Olympics comes from Freakonomics author Stephen D Levitt . . . "I have to believe that when a country with as much at stake in these Olympics as China sets its mind on finding ways to beat the anti-doping rules, they will succeed."
On a positive Olympic note - Stephanie Rice. Wow.
We moved into brand new offices at work this week, and we now have a deluxe coffee machine. I had three lattes yesterday. I feel like Kramer when he won his case against Java World, hopped up on free coffee all the time.
I've been eating the same sandwich at work every day for the last few months. And in no way is that depressing. I start with a Turkish lepinja from the Markets, slice it in half, add Watsonia cheddar cheese, Beerenberg tomato sauce, a few slices of thinly sliced tomato, and a meat of my choice. Lately I've been using slices of smoky beef sausage. I then toast it in our sandwich press, and finally add a handful of wild rocket. I swear I have colleagues ask me almost daily "Did you buy that?" Amazingly, I'm still not even remotely sick of it.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Weekend viewing
Ever find yourself at the video store with nothing that you want to see, so you talk yourself into something that you know you're not going to love?
That was me on Saturday. I was hoping to get "Semi-Pro" but all copies were out, so I ended up talking myself into "Walk Hard - The Dewey Cox Story". My rationale being that it starred John C. Reilly, who's underrated as a comedy actor (Boogie Nights, Talladega Nights), and was co-written by Judd Apatow (40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up).
Unfortunately, the movie was not great. It's kind of a send up of musical bio-pics, and in particular, the Johnny Cash movie "Walk the Line". The style of comedy is rather different to what you'd expect from the guys involved, it's kind of like a "Scary Movie" type thing, with lots of slapstick and sight gags. I didn't enjoy it all that much, although it does improve at the end, and there are some good cameos, like Jonah Hill, Jack Black and Eddie Vedder.
Sunday I went back to the video store (exciting weekend!) and got the movie I originally wanted, Semi Pro. It wasn't too bad, but not especially hilarious. Basically it's the movie "Major League", but remade about a basketball team. Will Ferrell was OK, but I thought Woody Harrelson was kind of wasted. Unless you really love basketball I can't really recommend this.
That was me on Saturday. I was hoping to get "Semi-Pro" but all copies were out, so I ended up talking myself into "Walk Hard - The Dewey Cox Story". My rationale being that it starred John C. Reilly, who's underrated as a comedy actor (Boogie Nights, Talladega Nights), and was co-written by Judd Apatow (40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up).
Unfortunately, the movie was not great. It's kind of a send up of musical bio-pics, and in particular, the Johnny Cash movie "Walk the Line". The style of comedy is rather different to what you'd expect from the guys involved, it's kind of like a "Scary Movie" type thing, with lots of slapstick and sight gags. I didn't enjoy it all that much, although it does improve at the end, and there are some good cameos, like Jonah Hill, Jack Black and Eddie Vedder.
Sunday I went back to the video store (exciting weekend!) and got the movie I originally wanted, Semi Pro. It wasn't too bad, but not especially hilarious. Basically it's the movie "Major League", but remade about a basketball team. Will Ferrell was OK, but I thought Woody Harrelson was kind of wasted. Unless you really love basketball I can't really recommend this.
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Sunday, August 03, 2008
NBA 2K8
About a week ago I tried to play NBA 2k8 online against Corey. For some reason, which I'm still to figure out, the process failed, and we couldn't see each other online.
It motivated me to pick up this game again though, and I decided to try a season. I don't know if I've ever finished a season (and I've been playing basketball games since "Bulls vs Blazers" on the Megadrive), but I'm really into this one.
I went with the Bulls as my team. I've never used them a lot in 2K8 before, but they have a pretty good team, especially since the Cavs trade last season. I'm starting Hinrich, Gordon, Deng, Nocioni (a really good three point shooter) and Noah (great cleaning up around the basket), which leaves a bench rotation of Drew Gooden, Ty Thomas, Larry Hughes, and Thabo Sefalosha. Not bad at all.
I lost the first game, then reeled of four wins in a row (two of them in overtime). All of the games have been close, except for when I played the Suns, who ran me off the floor. Right now I'm about 10% of the way through the season with a 5-3 record, and feel like I'm starting to get the hang of it.
Will I win the title? Or will I lose all interest in the coming week? Stay tuned to find out.
It motivated me to pick up this game again though, and I decided to try a season. I don't know if I've ever finished a season (and I've been playing basketball games since "Bulls vs Blazers" on the Megadrive), but I'm really into this one.
I went with the Bulls as my team. I've never used them a lot in 2K8 before, but they have a pretty good team, especially since the Cavs trade last season. I'm starting Hinrich, Gordon, Deng, Nocioni (a really good three point shooter) and Noah (great cleaning up around the basket), which leaves a bench rotation of Drew Gooden, Ty Thomas, Larry Hughes, and Thabo Sefalosha. Not bad at all.
I lost the first game, then reeled of four wins in a row (two of them in overtime). All of the games have been close, except for when I played the Suns, who ran me off the floor. Right now I'm about 10% of the way through the season with a 5-3 record, and feel like I'm starting to get the hang of it.
Will I win the title? Or will I lose all interest in the coming week? Stay tuned to find out.
Friday, August 01, 2008
Melbourne
Wednesday night I left the cold, bitter, winter weather in Adelaide to travel somewhere even worse . . . Melbourne.
We flew in on Tiger, with some $10 fares that I had picked up a few months ago. We didn't get in until about 10pm though, so by the time we got to our accommodation it was around 11pm.
We stayed at Punt Hill Manhattan in Flinders Lane (pictured below). Wotif described it as industrial chic, which was reasonably accurate, although part of me felt like we'd stumled into a setpiece from Saw.
In the morning we checked out pretty early, and had breakfast at a lovely little restaurant/bar called Terra Rosa, a few doors down. Sitting in front of an open fireplace, I had their breaky sandwich, which was basically a fancier version of the Subway one I have every second day or so.
After breakfast we got the train out to Prahan, and did some shopping in Chapel Street.
I got a new jacket from Industrie, and these awesome sneakers from a sneaker store called Provider.
Michella also managed to get a few things, spending her birthday cash. After we'd finished up on Chapel Street, we caught the train back into town, returned to Terra Rosa for a beer, then back to the airport.
The Tiger terminal at Melbourne airport is really quite a sight. Michella said it looks like a bus terminal. I said a refugee camp. It doesn't resemble a regular airline terminal, that's for sure. For some reason they serve alcohol in there, so the place is full of guys walking around, swigging from bottles of beer. It just looks wrong. Still, they do have Krispy Kreme there so it's not all bad.
We got into Adelaide at about 8pm last night so just a short visit but a good one, would be good to get back later this year and take some time though, and catch up with friends.
We flew in on Tiger, with some $10 fares that I had picked up a few months ago. We didn't get in until about 10pm though, so by the time we got to our accommodation it was around 11pm.
We stayed at Punt Hill Manhattan in Flinders Lane (pictured below). Wotif described it as industrial chic, which was reasonably accurate, although part of me felt like we'd stumled into a setpiece from Saw.
In the morning we checked out pretty early, and had breakfast at a lovely little restaurant/bar called Terra Rosa, a few doors down. Sitting in front of an open fireplace, I had their breaky sandwich, which was basically a fancier version of the Subway one I have every second day or so.
After breakfast we got the train out to Prahan, and did some shopping in Chapel Street.
I got a new jacket from Industrie, and these awesome sneakers from a sneaker store called Provider.
Michella also managed to get a few things, spending her birthday cash. After we'd finished up on Chapel Street, we caught the train back into town, returned to Terra Rosa for a beer, then back to the airport.
The Tiger terminal at Melbourne airport is really quite a sight. Michella said it looks like a bus terminal. I said a refugee camp. It doesn't resemble a regular airline terminal, that's for sure. For some reason they serve alcohol in there, so the place is full of guys walking around, swigging from bottles of beer. It just looks wrong. Still, they do have Krispy Kreme there so it's not all bad.
We got into Adelaide at about 8pm last night so just a short visit but a good one, would be good to get back later this year and take some time though, and catch up with friends.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Live Through This revisited
I brought Hole's "Live Through This" into work today for a colleague, and figured while I had the CD here, I may as well rip it to my itunes. I started listening to it and remembered just how great of an album it is.
I don't think it's necessarily underrated, as anyone who likes this kind of music seems to agree that the album is pretty good. From the ragged heaviness of Violet and Rock Star, to the cracked vunerability of Doll Parts, to the urgency of Plump and Gutless, there's a great range of music. It's surprisingly diverse for an album that doesn't differ a whole lot in terms of style, if that makes sense.
It's generally accepted that Kurt wrote most of the album, since it has almost nothing in common with the album that preceded it (the very dissonant "Pretty on the Inside") or the one that came next (the incredibly polished "Celebrity Skin", which was allegedly mainly written by Billy Corgan). I remember a great Dave Grohl quote, when an interviewer asked him which was his favourite Hole album, he replied "Pretty on the Inside, because I know Courtney wrote that one herself" in a not-so-subtle dig towards her. Even if Kurt did write most of the album, I actually think it's better and more consistent than anything Nirvana ever did.
Anyway, these days when we mostly remember Courtney as being certifiably-crazy, it's easy to forget how fantastic this album is.
For those of you who may have forgotten, a reminder . . . .
Violet
Doll Parts
Plump
I don't think it's necessarily underrated, as anyone who likes this kind of music seems to agree that the album is pretty good. From the ragged heaviness of Violet and Rock Star, to the cracked vunerability of Doll Parts, to the urgency of Plump and Gutless, there's a great range of music. It's surprisingly diverse for an album that doesn't differ a whole lot in terms of style, if that makes sense.
It's generally accepted that Kurt wrote most of the album, since it has almost nothing in common with the album that preceded it (the very dissonant "Pretty on the Inside") or the one that came next (the incredibly polished "Celebrity Skin", which was allegedly mainly written by Billy Corgan). I remember a great Dave Grohl quote, when an interviewer asked him which was his favourite Hole album, he replied "Pretty on the Inside, because I know Courtney wrote that one herself" in a not-so-subtle dig towards her. Even if Kurt did write most of the album, I actually think it's better and more consistent than anything Nirvana ever did.
Anyway, these days when we mostly remember Courtney as being certifiably-crazy, it's easy to forget how fantastic this album is.
For those of you who may have forgotten, a reminder . . . .
Violet
Doll Parts
Plump
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Tuesday Top 5 - Songs I'm listening to this week
AFI - Prelude 12/21
The Gutter Twins - All Misery Flowers
Guns n Roses - Better
The Hold Steady - One for the Cutters
Coldplay - Violet Hill
The Gutter Twins - All Misery Flowers
Guns n Roses - Better
The Hold Steady - One for the Cutters
Coldplay - Violet Hill
The Dark Whopper
Yesterday I gave my tick of approval to "The Dark Knight". Today I'm endorsing the affiliated hamburger.
It's basically just a Whopper, except they've replaced the ketchup with smoky barbecue sauce, but it's a worthwhile addition to the Hungry Jacks menu. Come to think of it, pretty much any special burger Hungry Jacks ever bring out is just a regular Whopper, with one or more of the following - barbecue sauce, bacon, or pineapple.
If I was in charge of HJ's, I'd make it so you could have these options right throughout the year. Why can I only get a Western Whopper once every twelve months?
The other thing I would do is target some of the young go-getters that McDonlalds employees and get them to work for me. Without getting too mean, the standard of kids they have working at Hungry Jacks these days is not real high. I swear I stood there for a full minute last night as some short pimply faced kid tried to explain "Four double whoppers, three of them with cheese" to the other kids making burgers out back. Come on guys, it's not that hard.
It's basically just a Whopper, except they've replaced the ketchup with smoky barbecue sauce, but it's a worthwhile addition to the Hungry Jacks menu. Come to think of it, pretty much any special burger Hungry Jacks ever bring out is just a regular Whopper, with one or more of the following - barbecue sauce, bacon, or pineapple.
If I was in charge of HJ's, I'd make it so you could have these options right throughout the year. Why can I only get a Western Whopper once every twelve months?
The other thing I would do is target some of the young go-getters that McDonlalds employees and get them to work for me. Without getting too mean, the standard of kids they have working at Hungry Jacks these days is not real high. I swear I stood there for a full minute last night as some short pimply faced kid tried to explain "Four double whoppers, three of them with cheese" to the other kids making burgers out back. Come on guys, it's not that hard.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Band practice . . .
Was never quite this good with my old band. Perhaps it's because we had to practice in Tim's mum and dad's basement, rather than an abandoned warehouse.
The Dark Knight
Friday night I saw "The Dark Night", aka the new Batman movie. It was really good.
Pretty much anything you read about the film talks about Heath Ledger, and how amazing he is in it, and that's spot on, he really did make the film. I'm not really a big Heath Ledger fan, I think the only thing I've liked that he's done was Two Hands. He's tremendous in this, and walks the line between psychotic and hilarious. He's really unrecognizable though, with his altered voice and all the makeup, I never would have picked him unless I was told who it was.
The movie is, of course, over the top, in terms of its stunts and action. It never feels like you're just watching a superhero movie though, because the writing, directing and acting are all so good. With guys like Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, and the lovely Maggie Gyllenhaal in supporting roles, there's much more talent than you'd normally find in this genre.
It's funny, I've heard quite a few people say this movie is "better than the first one". Meaning "Batman Begins", which is at least the fifth Batman movie. It's almost as if, given how crap the movies became in the 90s, everyone has decided to agree that they never happened, and the series really began when Christopher Nolan became involved.
Highly recommended.
PS Also saw "Charlie Wilsons War" on Saturday night, and that was average. Not necessarily bad, just not good. Kind of bound to happen when you combine one actor who makes great movies (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) with two who make rather bad movies (Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts).
Pretty much anything you read about the film talks about Heath Ledger, and how amazing he is in it, and that's spot on, he really did make the film. I'm not really a big Heath Ledger fan, I think the only thing I've liked that he's done was Two Hands. He's tremendous in this, and walks the line between psychotic and hilarious. He's really unrecognizable though, with his altered voice and all the makeup, I never would have picked him unless I was told who it was.
The movie is, of course, over the top, in terms of its stunts and action. It never feels like you're just watching a superhero movie though, because the writing, directing and acting are all so good. With guys like Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, and the lovely Maggie Gyllenhaal in supporting roles, there's much more talent than you'd normally find in this genre.
It's funny, I've heard quite a few people say this movie is "better than the first one". Meaning "Batman Begins", which is at least the fifth Batman movie. It's almost as if, given how crap the movies became in the 90s, everyone has decided to agree that they never happened, and the series really began when Christopher Nolan became involved.
Highly recommended.
PS Also saw "Charlie Wilsons War" on Saturday night, and that was average. Not necessarily bad, just not good. Kind of bound to happen when you combine one actor who makes great movies (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) with two who make rather bad movies (Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts).
Friday, July 25, 2008
How hard is it to put the bread on the right side?
You don't read a lot of reviews of fancy restaurants on this blog. Part of it is because my budget doesn't allow, part of it's because my tastes aren't that particular. Last night though we had a family dinner for my mum and sister's birthdays at Graduates Restaurant at Regency Tafe.
For those of you not aware of the place, it's a training restaurant for hospitality students, who are required to do some practical work as part of their course. The waiting staff are all students, and most of the kitchen staff are, although there is a head chef, who is presumably the only actual graduate of the group.
Anyway, I didn't think that being a waiter was something you needed a lot of training for, although talking to some colleagues today I've been told otherwise. However, these people were, in a word, terrible. I'd give them credit considering perhaps it was their first time, but the head student-waiter gave a little speech halfway through the night saying this was their seventh night, which I found hard to believe.
For example, they put our bread on the wrong side of the plate. A small thing, but something even I knew better than to do, and I have almost no formal training as a waiter. Also, I had to ask twice for Michella and I to be brought bread, as everyone else got theirs on arrival, and we didn't. Then when they brought it they dropped it on the way from the bread basket to my plate. They disappeared between courses, meaning we had to signal them when we were ready to order the next one. And then they forgot to get Dad his coffee he ordered. One mistake you might write off, but they really managed to screw up way more than you should.
The food itself was passable. I definitely ordered the most palatable food on offer - a mushroom risotto with steak strips for entree, pork wrapped in proscuttio for my main, and lemon pudding for desert. As you'd expect, the servings were rather small, but I didn't end up stopping off at Hungry Jacks on the way home, so it obviously did the job. I fared better than poor Ange, who ordered what she thought was chicken, but got a pie-like dish seemingly filled with soup. And then made Ash swap with her.
For those of you not aware of the place, it's a training restaurant for hospitality students, who are required to do some practical work as part of their course. The waiting staff are all students, and most of the kitchen staff are, although there is a head chef, who is presumably the only actual graduate of the group.
Anyway, I didn't think that being a waiter was something you needed a lot of training for, although talking to some colleagues today I've been told otherwise. However, these people were, in a word, terrible. I'd give them credit considering perhaps it was their first time, but the head student-waiter gave a little speech halfway through the night saying this was their seventh night, which I found hard to believe.
For example, they put our bread on the wrong side of the plate. A small thing, but something even I knew better than to do, and I have almost no formal training as a waiter. Also, I had to ask twice for Michella and I to be brought bread, as everyone else got theirs on arrival, and we didn't. Then when they brought it they dropped it on the way from the bread basket to my plate. They disappeared between courses, meaning we had to signal them when we were ready to order the next one. And then they forgot to get Dad his coffee he ordered. One mistake you might write off, but they really managed to screw up way more than you should.
The food itself was passable. I definitely ordered the most palatable food on offer - a mushroom risotto with steak strips for entree, pork wrapped in proscuttio for my main, and lemon pudding for desert. As you'd expect, the servings were rather small, but I didn't end up stopping off at Hungry Jacks on the way home, so it obviously did the job. I fared better than poor Ange, who ordered what she thought was chicken, but got a pie-like dish seemingly filled with soup. And then made Ash swap with her.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Poker
Last night I played poker at the Palais with Ando and Murray. Against a field of around 50, I finished 11th. And I did it with the best cards of my life.
On the first hand I got dealt pocket Aces, doubling up my chips against another player with Ace-King. Over the next two hours or so I got pocket pairs another six times. At one point, the player to my right made a comment about how many pocket pairs I had picked up, and I joked that the next time I got them, I would let him know by holding one of my pockets, and he could keep his chips. I then looked down to find myself with pocket Kings (or Cowboys, for those into the poker lingo), and picked up another few thousand in chips (I did not, as promised, hold my pocket).
After starting with 1,000 in chips, I peaked with 37,000 chips, at which point Murray and Ando assured me I was the chip leader for the tournament. At this point I lost half my chips in a bad beat though, and then the quickly rising blinds kind of necessitated another all in around 15 minutes later which I also lost.
I had a great time, since I got to play about 40-50% of the hands, and do some really agressive betting, but it made me wonder, if I couldn't win with the cards I had, would I ever? I think in those types of situations there really is the element of luck - the rising blinds mean you have to make moves, and even when you're the favourite pre-flop, you need everything to go your way on the all ins to get to a strong point on the final table. I went all-in on my final hand with King-Three for about 13,000 chips, which sounds like a dumb move, except next up I was going to be the big blind, and have to post a blind of 10,000 chips, which would have pretty much put me all in on whatever random hand I got dealt anyway . . .
On the first hand I got dealt pocket Aces, doubling up my chips against another player with Ace-King. Over the next two hours or so I got pocket pairs another six times. At one point, the player to my right made a comment about how many pocket pairs I had picked up, and I joked that the next time I got them, I would let him know by holding one of my pockets, and he could keep his chips. I then looked down to find myself with pocket Kings (or Cowboys, for those into the poker lingo), and picked up another few thousand in chips (I did not, as promised, hold my pocket).
After starting with 1,000 in chips, I peaked with 37,000 chips, at which point Murray and Ando assured me I was the chip leader for the tournament. At this point I lost half my chips in a bad beat though, and then the quickly rising blinds kind of necessitated another all in around 15 minutes later which I also lost.
I had a great time, since I got to play about 40-50% of the hands, and do some really agressive betting, but it made me wonder, if I couldn't win with the cards I had, would I ever? I think in those types of situations there really is the element of luck - the rising blinds mean you have to make moves, and even when you're the favourite pre-flop, you need everything to go your way on the all ins to get to a strong point on the final table. I went all-in on my final hand with King-Three for about 13,000 chips, which sounds like a dumb move, except next up I was going to be the big blind, and have to post a blind of 10,000 chips, which would have pretty much put me all in on whatever random hand I got dealt anyway . . .
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Brokeback Mountain
Nope, this isn't a metaphor for describing something gay that happened in my life. Last night I actually sat down and watched Brokeback Mountain.
It's one of those movies I'd been curious about for a while, and so when Michella told me she was going to hire it, I figured it couldn't hurt to pop round to her place and see what all the fuss was about. (My favourite part of this was that she asked for it at her video store, and was directed to the "Gay and Lesbian Section". What? They have their own section now?)
We sit down to watch it, and Michella remarked that she had heard that regardless of gender, it was just a great love story. So I'm thinking, I can appreciate that. I may be a little less of a romantic than some (eg Pretty Woman, to me, was just about some rich jerk and a hooker), but I'm not made of stone.
We start the movie, and Jake and Heath are cowboys of sorts, working together alone on Brokeback Mountain for the summer. Jake is a reasonably animated fella, whereas Heath plays the part of the brooding loner, who just mumbles incoherently every now and then. Obviously Jake was a bit of a fan of this, as one night in their tent, he makes his move. All prejudices aside, what happens next isnt particularly romantic or tender, but hey, each to their own.
After a few weeks of being gay together the summer ends and they go their separate ways. Heath marries Jen from Dawsons Creek and has two children, and Jake marries Agent 99 from Get Smart and has a kid too. Except they can't forget their wonderful summer together on Brokeback Mountain, and so four years on, Jake tracks down Heath and visits him.
Upon arrival, they hug, and then make out for a while, which is unfortunately witnessed by Heath's wife, who is somewhat disturbed. And so, for the next few years, they get together a couple of times a year to go away fishing ie have sex. Unfortunately for Heath, Jen leaves him messages in his fishing tackle box that he never gets because he's all over Jake, which confirms her fears that there's more than angling going on, so she divorces him.
Now that Heath is back on the market, Jake suggests they make things permanent, offering to leave his wife, but Heath isn't interested. He's too scared of repercussions, so he continues to live a double life, dating women, while spending a few weeks a year away in the woods with Jake. Jake, for his part, stays with his wife, but sometimes visits Mexico to employ the services of male prostitutes. It's quite a sweet story really.
Finally after 20 years or so, when one of Heath's letters is returned, he finds that Jake has died. Agent 99 tells Heath he died in an accident, but it's revealed some local kids beat him to death (presumably on account of his being gay).
Now, the movie wasn't particularly boring, so I can't say I hated it. What I can't understand is how people think this is a great love story. To start with, we don't get an insight into any type of meaningful relationship between the two of them, there's just a lot of Heath mumbling (so much so we had to turn the subtitles on). Secondly, with Jake consorting with hookers and all, it didn't seem like there was a lot of committment. Finally, there's all this talk about how they were really meant to be together, but they couldn't because of the era. Which was crap, because they could have, it's just they were too scared and/or lazy to leave their lives as cowboys in redneck central, and be together. I have no idea why this rubs me the wrong way, I couldn't have cared less if they ended up together, I just hated the pathetic excuses they made, and these are the type of things you hear when people discuss the film.
Anyway, I've spent way too much time analyzing this film - in conclusion, if you're a big fan of cowboys or homosexuality check this out, otherwise, perhaps give it a miss.
It's one of those movies I'd been curious about for a while, and so when Michella told me she was going to hire it, I figured it couldn't hurt to pop round to her place and see what all the fuss was about. (My favourite part of this was that she asked for it at her video store, and was directed to the "Gay and Lesbian Section". What? They have their own section now?)
We sit down to watch it, and Michella remarked that she had heard that regardless of gender, it was just a great love story. So I'm thinking, I can appreciate that. I may be a little less of a romantic than some (eg Pretty Woman, to me, was just about some rich jerk and a hooker), but I'm not made of stone.
We start the movie, and Jake and Heath are cowboys of sorts, working together alone on Brokeback Mountain for the summer. Jake is a reasonably animated fella, whereas Heath plays the part of the brooding loner, who just mumbles incoherently every now and then. Obviously Jake was a bit of a fan of this, as one night in their tent, he makes his move. All prejudices aside, what happens next isnt particularly romantic or tender, but hey, each to their own.
After a few weeks of being gay together the summer ends and they go their separate ways. Heath marries Jen from Dawsons Creek and has two children, and Jake marries Agent 99 from Get Smart and has a kid too. Except they can't forget their wonderful summer together on Brokeback Mountain, and so four years on, Jake tracks down Heath and visits him.
Upon arrival, they hug, and then make out for a while, which is unfortunately witnessed by Heath's wife, who is somewhat disturbed. And so, for the next few years, they get together a couple of times a year to go away fishing ie have sex. Unfortunately for Heath, Jen leaves him messages in his fishing tackle box that he never gets because he's all over Jake, which confirms her fears that there's more than angling going on, so she divorces him.
Now that Heath is back on the market, Jake suggests they make things permanent, offering to leave his wife, but Heath isn't interested. He's too scared of repercussions, so he continues to live a double life, dating women, while spending a few weeks a year away in the woods with Jake. Jake, for his part, stays with his wife, but sometimes visits Mexico to employ the services of male prostitutes. It's quite a sweet story really.
Finally after 20 years or so, when one of Heath's letters is returned, he finds that Jake has died. Agent 99 tells Heath he died in an accident, but it's revealed some local kids beat him to death (presumably on account of his being gay).
Now, the movie wasn't particularly boring, so I can't say I hated it. What I can't understand is how people think this is a great love story. To start with, we don't get an insight into any type of meaningful relationship between the two of them, there's just a lot of Heath mumbling (so much so we had to turn the subtitles on). Secondly, with Jake consorting with hookers and all, it didn't seem like there was a lot of committment. Finally, there's all this talk about how they were really meant to be together, but they couldn't because of the era. Which was crap, because they could have, it's just they were too scared and/or lazy to leave their lives as cowboys in redneck central, and be together. I have no idea why this rubs me the wrong way, I couldn't have cared less if they ended up together, I just hated the pathetic excuses they made, and these are the type of things you hear when people discuss the film.
Anyway, I've spent way too much time analyzing this film - in conclusion, if you're a big fan of cowboys or homosexuality check this out, otherwise, perhaps give it a miss.
Monday, July 21, 2008
What I discovered on the weekend
Nature
Or more specifically, the BBC series "Planet Earth". I borrowed it off of Ribar, and we knocked out six episodes over the weekend. I've never been particularly interested in our planet's untouched areas, but after watching some of the spectacular footage of mountain ranges, waterfalls, deserts, and undewater landscapes, I had the travelling bug pretty bad.
Not only was I entertained, I also managed to learn a few things. Like there are more ugly animals than you think there are. And there are more deadbeat dads in nature than in Salisbury, Elizabeth and Murray Bridge combined.
As someone who doesn't normally like this type of thing, I really recommend it. Especially if you can get it on Bluray, the images are spectacular, so much so that if you're annoyed by the pompous tones of narrator David Attenborough you can tune him out and just enjoy it on an aesthetic level.
I'm not as good at Mortal Kombat as I thought I was
I downloaded Mortal Kombat II on the Playstation store Friday night, and jumped right in with my old favourite Scorpion. Despite the fact that I had his patented harpoon attack in my arsenal, it took me three attempts to get past my first opponent. I never managed to defeat the second. I'm not sure if these little digital men got better at fighting in the last 15 years or I got worse, but I really suck at this game now.
The Hold Steady
I read a review of the band's new album "Stay Positive" and decided to try them out. I spent a good bit of the weekend listening to the album as I drove around and it's growing on me. They kind of sound like a more punk-ish Bruce Springsteen, and also a little like R.E.M. at their most electric. I'm not exactly sure what I like about this - the singer kind of talk-sings, and the band play reasobably straight forward rock and roll, it's not the type of music I'd think I'd be drawn to. Do I think this will be making my top 5 list for 2008? Of course not. Do I plan on keeping it in my immediate rotation though? Absolutely.
Zach de la Rocha has a solo album out. Finally.
I'd been waiting for Zach's solo album for years, so was more than a little pumped to find out that he'd finally put something out. The project is called "One Day as a Lion", and is a collaboration between him and the old drummer for The Mars Volta. Their debut, self titled EP is out later this week, although it's already on the net, and consequently, my ipod.
I think this is one of those pairings that sounds better on paper. The music is basically live drums and distorted bass with Zach rapping over the top, it's not a huge departure from Rage Against the Machine. If anything, it sounds like a sped-up version of "Mic Check" (so Murray should like it, at least).
The thing is, I've waited for this for so long that I think it's passed me by. There was a time when I would have been really pumped to hear this music, but I don't really care that much anymore. And I wonder if I'm the only one?
Or more specifically, the BBC series "Planet Earth". I borrowed it off of Ribar, and we knocked out six episodes over the weekend. I've never been particularly interested in our planet's untouched areas, but after watching some of the spectacular footage of mountain ranges, waterfalls, deserts, and undewater landscapes, I had the travelling bug pretty bad.
Not only was I entertained, I also managed to learn a few things. Like there are more ugly animals than you think there are. And there are more deadbeat dads in nature than in Salisbury, Elizabeth and Murray Bridge combined.
As someone who doesn't normally like this type of thing, I really recommend it. Especially if you can get it on Bluray, the images are spectacular, so much so that if you're annoyed by the pompous tones of narrator David Attenborough you can tune him out and just enjoy it on an aesthetic level.
I'm not as good at Mortal Kombat as I thought I was
I downloaded Mortal Kombat II on the Playstation store Friday night, and jumped right in with my old favourite Scorpion. Despite the fact that I had his patented harpoon attack in my arsenal, it took me three attempts to get past my first opponent. I never managed to defeat the second. I'm not sure if these little digital men got better at fighting in the last 15 years or I got worse, but I really suck at this game now.
The Hold Steady
I read a review of the band's new album "Stay Positive" and decided to try them out. I spent a good bit of the weekend listening to the album as I drove around and it's growing on me. They kind of sound like a more punk-ish Bruce Springsteen, and also a little like R.E.M. at their most electric. I'm not exactly sure what I like about this - the singer kind of talk-sings, and the band play reasobably straight forward rock and roll, it's not the type of music I'd think I'd be drawn to. Do I think this will be making my top 5 list for 2008? Of course not. Do I plan on keeping it in my immediate rotation though? Absolutely.
Zach de la Rocha has a solo album out. Finally.
I'd been waiting for Zach's solo album for years, so was more than a little pumped to find out that he'd finally put something out. The project is called "One Day as a Lion", and is a collaboration between him and the old drummer for The Mars Volta. Their debut, self titled EP is out later this week, although it's already on the net, and consequently, my ipod.
I think this is one of those pairings that sounds better on paper. The music is basically live drums and distorted bass with Zach rapping over the top, it's not a huge departure from Rage Against the Machine. If anything, it sounds like a sped-up version of "Mic Check" (so Murray should like it, at least).
The thing is, I've waited for this for so long that I think it's passed me by. There was a time when I would have been really pumped to hear this music, but I don't really care that much anymore. And I wonder if I'm the only one?
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
An idea
I have to admit, I'm a bit of a fan of lists. In this month's Esquire magazine, there's a good one - 75 things every man should do. It's a list of things they suggest every man should try once, ranging from the general (start something that scares you) to the specific (drink mescal in Mexico). Some of them I've already done (build a fence, learn three or four chords and a song on the guitar), others I probably never will (have a threesome).
There were some good ideas in there though, and I think I'm going to come up with my own list at some point.
One of the things on their list (and probably mine) is live abroad. Which is quite timely because, given the strong Australian dollar, a colleague and I were browsing New York properties on the internet today, and found that it's not as expensive as you'd think. An (admittedly small) apartment in Greenwich Village was going for about $300k, bigger ones out in Brooklyn for less than $200k.
Of course, neither of us have $300k, or even $200k. We realised though that if we only wanted the place for a month a year, we could organise a coop with people from work and buy-in for about $20k each. Plus, the way the Australian dollar is going, in a few months it will be even cheaper . . .
There were some good ideas in there though, and I think I'm going to come up with my own list at some point.
One of the things on their list (and probably mine) is live abroad. Which is quite timely because, given the strong Australian dollar, a colleague and I were browsing New York properties on the internet today, and found that it's not as expensive as you'd think. An (admittedly small) apartment in Greenwich Village was going for about $300k, bigger ones out in Brooklyn for less than $200k.
Of course, neither of us have $300k, or even $200k. We realised though that if we only wanted the place for a month a year, we could organise a coop with people from work and buy-in for about $20k each. Plus, the way the Australian dollar is going, in a few months it will be even cheaper . . .
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Tuesday Top 5 - Old School Video Games
1. NBA Hangtime (Nintendo 64) - Based on the old NBA Jam arcade game, this still holds up today. Didn't really reach its peak till we discovered how to give the characters giant animal heads. I was always the psychotic looking clown. Ando used to be awesome at this, so much so that we once hacked into his character and downgraded all his attributes without his knowledge just to make it more of a level playing field. In recent years, Murray and his giant chicken "Cornelius" have become feared by other players.
2. Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 (Playstation One) - The first skating game I ever spent a lot of time playing, especially the Hangar Level. You could do ridculous things in this game that defied the laws of physics. One of the first times I can remember have really good music in a game, with music from bands like Rage Against the Machine and Public Enemy.
3. Goldeneye (Nintendo 64) - Based on the James Bond movie, I reckon this was one of the first really good 3D shooters. The single player game wasn't all that great, but multiplayer was always fun, especially when you had four people playing at once. Sometimes people would choose to make their character a midget, meaning it was a smaller target, which I kind of thought was cheating.
4. Double Dragon - When we were kids Ash and I used to love this game, I have fond memories of playing it in the kids games room at the holiday resort we used to go to. I remember there were bad guys who looked like Mr T, and women with whips. The solution for dealing with all foes was almost always waiting for them with your back turned, then delivering a well timed backwards elbow. You would do this again, and again, and again, and never get bored.
5. Mortal Kombat (Sega Megadrive) - I was a big Scorpion fan. Loved that harpoon thing he had, although it took so long to recover after sending it that if you didn't hit your target, you left yourself wide open to a counter attack. You can now download this through the Playstation store to play on your PS3, despite the fact that the game is a good 15 years old I'm seriously considering it.
2. Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 (Playstation One) - The first skating game I ever spent a lot of time playing, especially the Hangar Level. You could do ridculous things in this game that defied the laws of physics. One of the first times I can remember have really good music in a game, with music from bands like Rage Against the Machine and Public Enemy.
3. Goldeneye (Nintendo 64) - Based on the James Bond movie, I reckon this was one of the first really good 3D shooters. The single player game wasn't all that great, but multiplayer was always fun, especially when you had four people playing at once. Sometimes people would choose to make their character a midget, meaning it was a smaller target, which I kind of thought was cheating.
4. Double Dragon - When we were kids Ash and I used to love this game, I have fond memories of playing it in the kids games room at the holiday resort we used to go to. I remember there were bad guys who looked like Mr T, and women with whips. The solution for dealing with all foes was almost always waiting for them with your back turned, then delivering a well timed backwards elbow. You would do this again, and again, and again, and never get bored.
5. Mortal Kombat (Sega Megadrive) - I was a big Scorpion fan. Loved that harpoon thing he had, although it took so long to recover after sending it that if you didn't hit your target, you left yourself wide open to a counter attack. You can now download this through the Playstation store to play on your PS3, despite the fact that the game is a good 15 years old I'm seriously considering it.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Bruce Springsteen and Tom Morello
Found this video of the Boss and Morello doing Bruce's "The Ghost of Tom Joad" together.
I love the second solo Morello does, at about the 5.45 mark, when he starts making all of his crazy spaceship noises, and Bruce has a kind of "Hey, that's actually pretty cool" smile on his face.
I love the second solo Morello does, at about the 5.45 mark, when he starts making all of his crazy spaceship noises, and Bruce has a kind of "Hey, that's actually pretty cool" smile on his face.
Best of the weekend
Friday night we went to see Get Smart. I really liked the show when I was a kid, and I'm a pretty big Steve Carrell fan, so went along even though I knew it wasn't going to be brilliant. It was about as good as I thought it would be - a few bright spots, but not something you'd want to watch again.
Saturday morning I went to my new gym with my Dad. I signed up about a week or so ago, and it has two advantages from my old gym - my Dad and my mate from work are both members, so I have someone to go with; and it costs $285 a year (instead of about $800 for Zest).
After the gym I went to Marion with Michella to get her sister a birthday present. I was mad hungry at this point, so had Indian food in the food court (despite the fact that we were having dinner at an Indian restaurant that night). I finished this off with a delightful little vanilla slice from Gloria Jeanes, then went home for a nap. Actually I didn't have a a nap, I just started channeling Paul for a minute there.
For dinner we went to a delightful little place called Urban India. I went there with Mirjana about a year ago, and the waiter talked me into ordering something different to what had planned.
This time I was able to order what I wanted (the butter chicken of course), and I quite enjoyed it, although Michella not so much.
After dinner we went to the Hilton Hotel at Hilton for Rhianna's birthday. We sat in the bar for about two hours, until my head hurt and my throat was raw from screaming. Obviously I'm probably 10 years older than the target market of a place like this, but still, it baffled the mind - the "DJ" kept trying to keep people from sitting around the "dance floor" because "any minute now it's going to fill up." The whole time we were there, we saw two people dancing - a scary looking mother and daugher combo (you had to catch them in the right light to tell which was which). Despite the fact that there was NOBODY DANCING, this guy kept playing horrible, loud dance music, bobbing away in his little DJ-ing booth like he was working at a rave or something. We left at around 10pm to go home and watch the final episode of Underbelly (they all die or go to jail).
Sunday I decided to tackle a little home renovation project - knocking out the built in robe in my TV room. I smashed at it for a while with a crowbar until it collapsed around me, somewhat amazingly, I wasn't hurt. In the afternoon, I went round Peter and Karen's and saw most of the final Pirates of the Carribean movie on Foxtel. It made almost no sense to me, and I think i'm a somewhat educated, film-literate adult. I skipped dinner and just had an awesome apple crumble that Chella made. I think it was the right decision.
Saturday morning I went to my new gym with my Dad. I signed up about a week or so ago, and it has two advantages from my old gym - my Dad and my mate from work are both members, so I have someone to go with; and it costs $285 a year (instead of about $800 for Zest).
After the gym I went to Marion with Michella to get her sister a birthday present. I was mad hungry at this point, so had Indian food in the food court (despite the fact that we were having dinner at an Indian restaurant that night). I finished this off with a delightful little vanilla slice from Gloria Jeanes, then went home for a nap. Actually I didn't have a a nap, I just started channeling Paul for a minute there.
For dinner we went to a delightful little place called Urban India. I went there with Mirjana about a year ago, and the waiter talked me into ordering something different to what had planned.
This time I was able to order what I wanted (the butter chicken of course), and I quite enjoyed it, although Michella not so much.
After dinner we went to the Hilton Hotel at Hilton for Rhianna's birthday. We sat in the bar for about two hours, until my head hurt and my throat was raw from screaming. Obviously I'm probably 10 years older than the target market of a place like this, but still, it baffled the mind - the "DJ" kept trying to keep people from sitting around the "dance floor" because "any minute now it's going to fill up." The whole time we were there, we saw two people dancing - a scary looking mother and daugher combo (you had to catch them in the right light to tell which was which). Despite the fact that there was NOBODY DANCING, this guy kept playing horrible, loud dance music, bobbing away in his little DJ-ing booth like he was working at a rave or something. We left at around 10pm to go home and watch the final episode of Underbelly (they all die or go to jail).
Sunday I decided to tackle a little home renovation project - knocking out the built in robe in my TV room. I smashed at it for a while with a crowbar until it collapsed around me, somewhat amazingly, I wasn't hurt. In the afternoon, I went round Peter and Karen's and saw most of the final Pirates of the Carribean movie on Foxtel. It made almost no sense to me, and I think i'm a somewhat educated, film-literate adult. I skipped dinner and just had an awesome apple crumble that Chella made. I think it was the right decision.
Monday, July 07, 2008
Partying like it's 1999
So on Saturday we went to Hog's Breath Cafe at Glenelg for lunch with Alen and Jess and Paul and Tara. Over for a weekend visit, Paul had picked the venue, which led Alen to remark "What is this, the 1990's?". As it turns out, at Hog's Breath, it always is.
We quicky noticed that their playlist was almost entirely comprised of hits from that decade - Jeremy, November Rain, Loser, You Outta Know, Plush - it was like someone found one of my mixtapes from 1995. The lone exception was Kanye West's "Gold Digger" - I have no idea how that one made the cut. Everything else was alternative rock from the last millenium.
I presume it was intentional, and it was actually kind of cool - it was kind of like a themed 50's nostalgia diner, but updated for the 90's. Especially for a catchup lunch between three guys who became friends in the 90s, it brought back all kinds of memories of shared experiences.
After lunch we went across the road for hot chocolate at Bracegirdles. It was pretty amazing stuff, I'm definitely a convert.
We quicky noticed that their playlist was almost entirely comprised of hits from that decade - Jeremy, November Rain, Loser, You Outta Know, Plush - it was like someone found one of my mixtapes from 1995. The lone exception was Kanye West's "Gold Digger" - I have no idea how that one made the cut. Everything else was alternative rock from the last millenium.
I presume it was intentional, and it was actually kind of cool - it was kind of like a themed 50's nostalgia diner, but updated for the 90's. Especially for a catchup lunch between three guys who became friends in the 90s, it brought back all kinds of memories of shared experiences.
After lunch we went across the road for hot chocolate at Bracegirdles. It was pretty amazing stuff, I'm definitely a convert.
Sunday, July 06, 2008
Chinese Democracy
Thanks to the power of the world wide internet, this week I got the chance to hear nine of the songs from Guns n' Roses' (allegedly) upcoming album "Chinese Democracy". You've kind of got to use the word allegedly, since Axl has been working on the album since 1994, and over the last 14 years has (once again, allegedly) spent $13 million on the process (making it the most expensive album ever recorded). You've got to wonder if it's ever going to see an official release.
Anyway, the nine tracks that now live on my ipod all sound finished. Actually, a little too finished. As is to be expected with an album that's been worked on for more than a decade, the whole thing is extremely overproduced. It sounds rather epic, along the lines of "November Rain", and that's not necessarily a good thing. The best GNR album (and probably the best debut by any band) is "Appetite for Destruction", which is also the rawest thing they ever did. As well as being polished, it's not especially heavy, with the exception of a few songs it's kind of got a pop feel to it.
Still after a week or so, I find myself listening to this a lot, so there must be something to that. I wonder if it's my GNR fandom - whether I would be quite so keen if this was new material from say Sebastian Bach. I don't think so though, I think there's some quality here.
Anyway, if you're curious as to what the new stuff sounds like, here's a clip someone has made for one of the leaked songs, "Madagascar". My favourite part comes at the 4:17 mark, when Axl samples Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech in the guitar solo, before going into the final chorus. Although you have to think that since this is the same guy who once wrote and sang the lyrics "Police and niggers, get out of my way", the good Doctor might not have approved . . .
Anyway, the nine tracks that now live on my ipod all sound finished. Actually, a little too finished. As is to be expected with an album that's been worked on for more than a decade, the whole thing is extremely overproduced. It sounds rather epic, along the lines of "November Rain", and that's not necessarily a good thing. The best GNR album (and probably the best debut by any band) is "Appetite for Destruction", which is also the rawest thing they ever did. As well as being polished, it's not especially heavy, with the exception of a few songs it's kind of got a pop feel to it.
Still after a week or so, I find myself listening to this a lot, so there must be something to that. I wonder if it's my GNR fandom - whether I would be quite so keen if this was new material from say Sebastian Bach. I don't think so though, I think there's some quality here.
Anyway, if you're curious as to what the new stuff sounds like, here's a clip someone has made for one of the leaked songs, "Madagascar". My favourite part comes at the 4:17 mark, when Axl samples Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech in the guitar solo, before going into the final chorus. Although you have to think that since this is the same guy who once wrote and sang the lyrics "Police and niggers, get out of my way", the good Doctor might not have approved . . .
Thursday, July 03, 2008
In the paper today . . .
THE American Family Association has a strict policy to replace the word "gay" with "homosexual" on its news website - but it created a problem with sprinter Tyson Gay.
The association's computers auto-corrected the US sprint star's name to Tyson Homosexual.
Here's an extract of an Associated Press story as it ran on the association's OneNewsNow Christian news website:
Tyson Homosexual was a blur in blue, sprinting 100 meters faster than anyone ever has.His time of 9.68 seconds at the U.S. Olympic trials Sunday doesn't count as a world record, because it was run with the help of a too-strong tailwind.
Here's what does matter: Homosexual qualified for his first Summer Games team and served notice he's certainly someone to watch in Beijing. . . . "It means a lot to me," the 25-year-old Homosexual said. "I'm glad my body could do it, because now I know I have it in me."
The association's computers auto-corrected the US sprint star's name to Tyson Homosexual.
Here's an extract of an Associated Press story as it ran on the association's OneNewsNow Christian news website:
Tyson Homosexual was a blur in blue, sprinting 100 meters faster than anyone ever has.His time of 9.68 seconds at the U.S. Olympic trials Sunday doesn't count as a world record, because it was run with the help of a too-strong tailwind.
Here's what does matter: Homosexual qualified for his first Summer Games team and served notice he's certainly someone to watch in Beijing. . . . "It means a lot to me," the 25-year-old Homosexual said. "I'm glad my body could do it, because now I know I have it in me."
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Tuesday Top 5 - Songs about Sailing
1. The Gallows - Abandon Ship
2. The Dropkick Murphys - I'm Shipping up to Boston
3. Placebo - Jackie
4. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - The Ship Song
5. Mark Lanegan and Isobel Campbell - The Seafarers Song
2. The Dropkick Murphys - I'm Shipping up to Boston
3. Placebo - Jackie
4. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - The Ship Song
5. Mark Lanegan and Isobel Campbell - The Seafarers Song
Monday, June 30, 2008
Quick thoughts
Saw "I am Legend" on Friday night. Not a bad film, kind of like a less depressing version of "28 Days Later" (obviously the horror movie, not the Sandra Bullock vehicle). Will Smith plays the lone survivor of a viral plague in New York City, and everyone else has turned into zombie/vampire-like creatures who only come out at night. Some great scenes of New York City completely empty, with Smith hunting down deer and lions on the streets.
I finally got my broadband up and working at my new place. After hours on the phone with my ISP, turns out what I needed was a new modem. I got one with a built in wireless router on Saturday and had it up and running in minutes. I'm now ready to take on my fellow PS3/NBA 2k8 owners online (ie that means you, Corey and Mike).
I'm trying to cut down on my magazine subscriptions, especially after finding hundreds of old issues in my shed when I moved. I just resubscribed today to Esquire though. Fantastic writers (including a monthly column from Chuck Klosterman), and costs me less than $2 an issue (and I'm pretty sure it costs them at least that to post it to me from the US).
Music I'm enjoying right now - "Stranger's Almanac" by Whiskeytown, "Sunday at Devil Dirt" by Mark Lanegan and Isobel Campbell, and I'm actually enjoying a few tracks off the new Coldplay CD. Biggest disappointment - the new Aimee Mann album, that's two bad ones in a row for her (and three if you count that terrible Christmas album she did).
Another cool thing about my new house - the service station around the corner sells Farmers Union 600ml Iced Coffees for two for $4.50. I'm sure that's the cheapest I've seen since Corey and I used to carpool to work years ago and ended up buying one each almost every morning.
I finally got my broadband up and working at my new place. After hours on the phone with my ISP, turns out what I needed was a new modem. I got one with a built in wireless router on Saturday and had it up and running in minutes. I'm now ready to take on my fellow PS3/NBA 2k8 owners online (ie that means you, Corey and Mike).
I'm trying to cut down on my magazine subscriptions, especially after finding hundreds of old issues in my shed when I moved. I just resubscribed today to Esquire though. Fantastic writers (including a monthly column from Chuck Klosterman), and costs me less than $2 an issue (and I'm pretty sure it costs them at least that to post it to me from the US).
Music I'm enjoying right now - "Stranger's Almanac" by Whiskeytown, "Sunday at Devil Dirt" by Mark Lanegan and Isobel Campbell, and I'm actually enjoying a few tracks off the new Coldplay CD. Biggest disappointment - the new Aimee Mann album, that's two bad ones in a row for her (and three if you count that terrible Christmas album she did).
Another cool thing about my new house - the service station around the corner sells Farmers Union 600ml Iced Coffees for two for $4.50. I'm sure that's the cheapest I've seen since Corey and I used to carpool to work years ago and ended up buying one each almost every morning.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Pub Poker is the new Social Basketball
As much as I love playing basketball, there was something about basketball stadiums, particularly on social basketball league nights, that kind of depressed me. The people were always the same, week after week, month after month, year after year. Obviously I was complicit in this too, I played social basketball for close to ten years straight. But I almost always just played once a week, trying to balance the sport with having a life and stuff.
The thing is, I knew (and saw on a number of occasions) that if I were to go to say the Powerhouse on a Monday night, or Wayville on a Wednesday night, or St Clair on a Tuesday night, I'd see the same people from my Thursday Night St Ives league. These guys would play several times a week, even just turning up to the stadium to hang out and watch their friends play if they didn't have a game. I don't know why it made me depressed - people are free to live however they want, and it's not like they were shut-ins. But it did.
Last night I went down to the Palais with Andy and Murray for their poker night. I hadn't been in a couple of months, but noticed a lot of the same people from previous times. And noticed that many of them seemed to have become friends, presumably because they play against each other every week. And not just at the Palais either, as the night went on you'd overhear them swapping stories about games they play at a whole range of venues around the city.
Again, its good that they've found something they love to do, and have made friends (of sorts) with other likeminded people. But as the night went on, and I overheard snippets of conversations, it became obvious that the only thing that anyone there was comfortable talking about was poker. "I totally had him with pocket Tens but then he lucked out with an Ace on the River." "I had that hand two nights ago, but came up against Big Slick."
I started getting the feeling I used to get around basketball stadiums. Like I said, it's great that people can do something they love, and find likeminded people through it. But if the ensuing relationships don't go any deeper than a surface level shared appreciation for a particular pastime, it makes you wonder if its worth it.
OK, rant over, we'll be back to our scheduled reviews of violent movies and rock music shortly.
The thing is, I knew (and saw on a number of occasions) that if I were to go to say the Powerhouse on a Monday night, or Wayville on a Wednesday night, or St Clair on a Tuesday night, I'd see the same people from my Thursday Night St Ives league. These guys would play several times a week, even just turning up to the stadium to hang out and watch their friends play if they didn't have a game. I don't know why it made me depressed - people are free to live however they want, and it's not like they were shut-ins. But it did.
Last night I went down to the Palais with Andy and Murray for their poker night. I hadn't been in a couple of months, but noticed a lot of the same people from previous times. And noticed that many of them seemed to have become friends, presumably because they play against each other every week. And not just at the Palais either, as the night went on you'd overhear them swapping stories about games they play at a whole range of venues around the city.
Again, its good that they've found something they love to do, and have made friends (of sorts) with other likeminded people. But as the night went on, and I overheard snippets of conversations, it became obvious that the only thing that anyone there was comfortable talking about was poker. "I totally had him with pocket Tens but then he lucked out with an Ace on the River." "I had that hand two nights ago, but came up against Big Slick."
I started getting the feeling I used to get around basketball stadiums. Like I said, it's great that people can do something they love, and find likeminded people through it. But if the ensuing relationships don't go any deeper than a surface level shared appreciation for a particular pastime, it makes you wonder if its worth it.
OK, rant over, we'll be back to our scheduled reviews of violent movies and rock music shortly.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Tuesday Top 5 - Guitar Hero III songs
1. Guns n Roses - Welcome to the Jungle - Great song, plus you get to play as Slash.2. Dragonforce - Through the Fire and the Flames - sounds ridiculously 80's, but great fun to play, and kind of a cool song, so much so that I'm thinking of tracking it down and downloading it.
3. Slayer - Reign in Blood - The metal songs just seem to suit this game better than the rock, due to their complexity I presume.
4. Beastie Boys - Sabotage - Almost as much fun playing on bass as guitar.
5. Rage Against the Machine - Bulls on Parade - Tremendous song, especially the intro section.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Weekend highlights
Friday night I had Murray and Amanda over for a delicious pasta carbonara, and some hot 2 on 2 Pictionary action. The night ended slightly prematurely when they left so Amanda could throw up. Probably not because of my cooking, but who knows?
Saturday I started watching Underbelly, which I missed on TV, but borrowed the episodes on DVD from Murray. It was OK, it held my attention, although noone's going to ever confuse it with The Sopranos as far as quality goes. It's nice to have another series to work my way through though.
Saturday night I settled down with a blu-ray copy of "300". I guess I liked it, although with fantasy type stuff I usually turn off pretty quickly, and this movie spends a lot of time in that domain. It's weird when you see TV characters in movies, and this one had Diver Dan and Jimmy McNulty, and it just didn't seem quite right.
Sunday afternoon I returned 300, and couldn't resist the urge to grab another movie from my awesome new local video store (all movies $2.95 including blu-ray, and only $2 on Tuesdays) and so picked up "Hostel 2". I have to say that, while I enjoyed this, it may have been a little too violent, even for me. And I don't really remember thinking that about another movie before. Like the first movie, the first half or so is just getting to know the characters, and the second half is full of killing and stuff. Again with the TV actors appearing in a movie - this one featured two of the guys from "Desperate Housewives" as brothers. I'd mention them by name, but that would reveal I've watched enough of that show to be able to do so, so let's just move on.
Sunday night Narelle came round for dinner, and I (or Michella, can't really remember) cooked up a storm with the Chili Con Carne. Narelle came bearing housewarming gifts - some tea towels (which were actually really nice on their own), and a second guitar controller for Guitar Hero (which was immediately the greatest housewarming gift I've ever received, and in my top 5 overall). After tea we spent a few hours playing coop on Guitar Hero, and then played against her, which was much more fun than playing on your own.
Saturday I started watching Underbelly, which I missed on TV, but borrowed the episodes on DVD from Murray. It was OK, it held my attention, although noone's going to ever confuse it with The Sopranos as far as quality goes. It's nice to have another series to work my way through though.
Saturday night I settled down with a blu-ray copy of "300". I guess I liked it, although with fantasy type stuff I usually turn off pretty quickly, and this movie spends a lot of time in that domain. It's weird when you see TV characters in movies, and this one had Diver Dan and Jimmy McNulty, and it just didn't seem quite right.
Sunday afternoon I returned 300, and couldn't resist the urge to grab another movie from my awesome new local video store (all movies $2.95 including blu-ray, and only $2 on Tuesdays) and so picked up "Hostel 2". I have to say that, while I enjoyed this, it may have been a little too violent, even for me. And I don't really remember thinking that about another movie before. Like the first movie, the first half or so is just getting to know the characters, and the second half is full of killing and stuff. Again with the TV actors appearing in a movie - this one featured two of the guys from "Desperate Housewives" as brothers. I'd mention them by name, but that would reveal I've watched enough of that show to be able to do so, so let's just move on.
Sunday night Narelle came round for dinner, and I (or Michella, can't really remember) cooked up a storm with the Chili Con Carne. Narelle came bearing housewarming gifts - some tea towels (which were actually really nice on their own), and a second guitar controller for Guitar Hero (which was immediately the greatest housewarming gift I've ever received, and in my top 5 overall). After tea we spent a few hours playing coop on Guitar Hero, and then played against her, which was much more fun than playing on your own.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Guitar Hero III
Despite never having played, or seen, the game, I bought Guitar Hero 3 last week. The purchase was almost entirely the result of two unsolicited rave reviews from friends in the last week or two - first Mike then Adam. With my love of guitar, rock music, and video games, I felt like I owed it to myself to give it a try.
After (finally - thanks AAMI!) picking up my replacement PS3 Saturday morning, I spent a good part of Saturday and Sunday playing GH3. Even Michella got in on the action - seems like when they don't involve shooting people in the face with a shotgun, she quite enjoys the video games.
We finished it on the easy setting, making our way through about 40 of the games 70 odd songs. Apparently to unlock the rest we need to go through the coop mode. Its actually really quite good, there's some really good songs in there for you to tackle, from "Cherub Rock" to "Paint it Black" to "One" (the Metallica version, not the U2 one). My favourite though "Welcome to the Jungle", I think I had a stupid grin on my face the whole way through that one.
The easy setting is as described, but I had a quick try at the next level up, and it's really quite hard. I also took a sneak peak at the expert level, which looks impossible. So I don't think I'll be finishing this one any time soon.
Over the weekend we also spent some time playing Grand Theft Auto 4. Michella seemed to enjoy the dating side of this game, she enjoyed taking out "Michelle" and trying to talk her way into her apartment. Which she had very little success with. I thought that was funny, even women have no idea what women want. Myself, I played it cool, didn't call Michelle every few hours, with much better results . . .
After (finally - thanks AAMI!) picking up my replacement PS3 Saturday morning, I spent a good part of Saturday and Sunday playing GH3. Even Michella got in on the action - seems like when they don't involve shooting people in the face with a shotgun, she quite enjoys the video games.
We finished it on the easy setting, making our way through about 40 of the games 70 odd songs. Apparently to unlock the rest we need to go through the coop mode. Its actually really quite good, there's some really good songs in there for you to tackle, from "Cherub Rock" to "Paint it Black" to "One" (the Metallica version, not the U2 one). My favourite though "Welcome to the Jungle", I think I had a stupid grin on my face the whole way through that one.
The easy setting is as described, but I had a quick try at the next level up, and it's really quite hard. I also took a sneak peak at the expert level, which looks impossible. So I don't think I'll be finishing this one any time soon.
Over the weekend we also spent some time playing Grand Theft Auto 4. Michella seemed to enjoy the dating side of this game, she enjoyed taking out "Michelle" and trying to talk her way into her apartment. Which she had very little success with. I thought that was funny, even women have no idea what women want. Myself, I played it cool, didn't call Michelle every few hours, with much better results . . .
Friday, June 13, 2008
Moving
Not a lot of updates the last week or so as I've been in the process of moving into my new place at Richmond.
The first part of this involved having a garage sale. I'm not so sure I would ever want to do that again. The people who come to these things literally suck the life out of you. I advertised mine as starting at 8.30am, by about 7.15am I had people calling out from the end of my driveway, asking if they could come and take an early look. Thankfully I had locks on my gates to keep the vultures out. When I opened the gates at 8.30am as promised a few of them even grumbled about how long they'd been waiting. Then proceeded to buy nothing, if I remember correctly.
I ended up making a bit over $200, but the process was so tedious and painful. The worst part was when people would pick something up, ask how much it was, I'd say "a dollar" just to get rid of it, and they'd contemplate it for a bit then put it down.
On Monday I did the actual move, with the help of the Crouch family, my family (sans Kerry) and Murray. The move went relatively smoothly, although it made me realise I should really stop buying things. Like right now. I've always been a bit of a hoarder, and so having a shed wasn't really good for me. I found magazines dating back for the last 15 years or so, a whole lot of stuff that I can't remember where it came from (meaning it probably wasn't actually mine), and whole range of half used building supplies . . .
Since both my old and new houses settled on the same day, it was going to be hard to do the changeover, but luckily the new one was vacant for a week before settlement and so the agent gave me the keys to store my property on the site. I took the phrase "store my property" to mean "move in completely", so have been living there since Monday. Also lucky for me, the old tenants left the power and gas on, so I've been using that the last few days. The least they could do really considering the condition they left the place in.
So far I'm enjoying the new location. I seem to be under the flight path, but notice that a little less each day. Being closer to town is great - it took me 14 minutes to get into town and into my carpark this morning, which was fantastic. Looking forward to exploring the new hood now - I tried the local pizza place on Monday night (had an unusual buy not unpleasant bbq beef and pineapple pizza), and can't wait to try the local chinese takeaway which offers meals for $6.
The first part of this involved having a garage sale. I'm not so sure I would ever want to do that again. The people who come to these things literally suck the life out of you. I advertised mine as starting at 8.30am, by about 7.15am I had people calling out from the end of my driveway, asking if they could come and take an early look. Thankfully I had locks on my gates to keep the vultures out. When I opened the gates at 8.30am as promised a few of them even grumbled about how long they'd been waiting. Then proceeded to buy nothing, if I remember correctly.
I ended up making a bit over $200, but the process was so tedious and painful. The worst part was when people would pick something up, ask how much it was, I'd say "a dollar" just to get rid of it, and they'd contemplate it for a bit then put it down.
On Monday I did the actual move, with the help of the Crouch family, my family (sans Kerry) and Murray. The move went relatively smoothly, although it made me realise I should really stop buying things. Like right now. I've always been a bit of a hoarder, and so having a shed wasn't really good for me. I found magazines dating back for the last 15 years or so, a whole lot of stuff that I can't remember where it came from (meaning it probably wasn't actually mine), and whole range of half used building supplies . . .
Since both my old and new houses settled on the same day, it was going to be hard to do the changeover, but luckily the new one was vacant for a week before settlement and so the agent gave me the keys to store my property on the site. I took the phrase "store my property" to mean "move in completely", so have been living there since Monday. Also lucky for me, the old tenants left the power and gas on, so I've been using that the last few days. The least they could do really considering the condition they left the place in.
So far I'm enjoying the new location. I seem to be under the flight path, but notice that a little less each day. Being closer to town is great - it took me 14 minutes to get into town and into my carpark this morning, which was fantastic. Looking forward to exploring the new hood now - I tried the local pizza place on Monday night (had an unusual buy not unpleasant bbq beef and pineapple pizza), and can't wait to try the local chinese takeaway which offers meals for $6.
Monday, June 02, 2008
You've got to love call centres
Today I had to make a few calls regarding my imminent move.
First up, I called Foxtel to query why I had received a bill for $3 since I cancelled my service a month or so ago. I asked the call centre guy what the charge was for. He said that $3 was the cost of sending a bill. I pointed out that the amount owing on my account was $0, so they had billed me $3 to tell me that I didn't owe them anything. He laughed and admitted that it was rather silly, and said he'd cancel the charge. So a small win for me, if you ignore the fact that I spent about 10 minutes on the call (most of it on hold).
Next, I had to call Dodo to talk to someone about moving my internet to my new house. Whenever I call Dodo I feel like I'm talking to retarded people. They really struggle to grasp simple concepts. I had sorted out most of the details, and thought it was odd I hadn't been asked what date I wanted the changeover to go into effect, so I said "Now I need the change to happen on 13 June."
"Oh no" she said, "this takes four days - your current service will cease in four days time and recommence at your new place on 6 June". I explained this wouldn't work for me, as I wouldn't be moving in for another week after that, and she said she would have to talk to her manager. Because it's so complicated and all. She came back and told me I would have to call back next week - four days before I wanted my service transferred. They can't book anything in for the future. Although I have a sneaking suspicion that when I call back next week they're going to tell me the process will take a fortnight . . .
First up, I called Foxtel to query why I had received a bill for $3 since I cancelled my service a month or so ago. I asked the call centre guy what the charge was for. He said that $3 was the cost of sending a bill. I pointed out that the amount owing on my account was $0, so they had billed me $3 to tell me that I didn't owe them anything. He laughed and admitted that it was rather silly, and said he'd cancel the charge. So a small win for me, if you ignore the fact that I spent about 10 minutes on the call (most of it on hold).
Next, I had to call Dodo to talk to someone about moving my internet to my new house. Whenever I call Dodo I feel like I'm talking to retarded people. They really struggle to grasp simple concepts. I had sorted out most of the details, and thought it was odd I hadn't been asked what date I wanted the changeover to go into effect, so I said "Now I need the change to happen on 13 June."
"Oh no" she said, "this takes four days - your current service will cease in four days time and recommence at your new place on 6 June". I explained this wouldn't work for me, as I wouldn't be moving in for another week after that, and she said she would have to talk to her manager. Because it's so complicated and all. She came back and told me I would have to call back next week - four days before I wanted my service transferred. They can't book anything in for the future. Although I have a sneaking suspicion that when I call back next week they're going to tell me the process will take a fortnight . . .
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
My weekend as Doug Christie
Friday night I went to the see the Australian Ballet Company's performance "French Connections". It was the first time I'd been to something like that, and not that bad really. Unfortunately, at two and a half hours it was probably a little bit long. There were two drink breaks though. The middle section featured some topless dancing, but it was all male topless-ness, not the good kind.
Saturday night I watched most of "Two Days in Paris". I say most of it, because we didn't get right to the end. I saw the preview in the cinemas and it looked quite good, but it wasn't. It was kind of like every other movie Julie Delpy makes, where she walks around and talks a lot about relationship stuff. Except she doesn't really look all that cute anymore.
In other news, I also sold my house, and bought a new one. More details to come . . .
Saturday night I watched most of "Two Days in Paris". I say most of it, because we didn't get right to the end. I saw the preview in the cinemas and it looked quite good, but it wasn't. It was kind of like every other movie Julie Delpy makes, where she walks around and talks a lot about relationship stuff. Except she doesn't really look all that cute anymore.
In other news, I also sold my house, and bought a new one. More details to come . . .
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Eastern Promises
I love gangster movies. So when I found myself with a night on my own earlier this week, I was pretty pumped to get "Eastern Promises" from my favourite DVD hire shop.
Set in London, the movie is about a more-attractive-than-normal baby nurse (Naomi Watts) who comes across the diary of a young mother who died in front of her during childbirth. Trying to find some family for the baby, she gets the diary translated, and is drawn into the world of the Russian Mafia, and in particular, Nikolai (Viggo Mortensen aka the guy from "Lord of the Rings" who's not a hobbit or wizard) and Kiril (Vincent Cassell, aka the bad guy from the Jennifer Aniston classic "Derailed").
Along the way, there's plenty of intrigue, plot twists, and stabbings. Like "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" there's some gratuitious male nudity, but it comes in the midst of such a fantastic knife fight i can hardly complain.
It's from the same director as "A History of Violence" and stars the same lead actor so there are obvious similarities there. Thematically too I suppose, they both deal with the effects of violence and whether it's ever really justified.
I watched this almost all the way through, only stopping once to go to the bathroom. As Michella will testify, it's rare that I watch a DVD without stopping it five or six times, so I must have really been interested.
Set in London, the movie is about a more-attractive-than-normal baby nurse (Naomi Watts) who comes across the diary of a young mother who died in front of her during childbirth. Trying to find some family for the baby, she gets the diary translated, and is drawn into the world of the Russian Mafia, and in particular, Nikolai (Viggo Mortensen aka the guy from "Lord of the Rings" who's not a hobbit or wizard) and Kiril (Vincent Cassell, aka the bad guy from the Jennifer Aniston classic "Derailed").
Along the way, there's plenty of intrigue, plot twists, and stabbings. Like "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" there's some gratuitious male nudity, but it comes in the midst of such a fantastic knife fight i can hardly complain.
It's from the same director as "A History of Violence" and stars the same lead actor so there are obvious similarities there. Thematically too I suppose, they both deal with the effects of violence and whether it's ever really justified.
I watched this almost all the way through, only stopping once to go to the bathroom. As Michella will testify, it's rare that I watch a DVD without stopping it five or six times, so I must have really been interested.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
I'm starting to suspect that I've become a fan of romantic comedies.
I say that after seeing "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" last night, and thoroughly enjoying the experience. For those of you who haven't heard much about it, here's a quick summary of the plot:
Peter breaks up with his girlfriend Sarah, and decides to go to Hawaii to get over his heartbreak. Unfortunately he finds Sarah and her new English boyfriend are also holidaying on the Island, which just adds to his torment. However, he falls for the cute girl who works the reception desk there, and so things are looking up for him. When Sarah realises her new boyfriend is a twit, she breaks up with him and tries to get back together with Peter. But he realises that Hawaii girl is much nicer, and that Sarah was kind of a horrible person, and so he chooses to stay with the new girl, and they presumably live happily ever after.
Anyway, this doesn't sound like the plot of a movie that I'd normally enjoy, but because it's a Judd Apatow film (like Knocked Up, Superbad, or The 40 Year Old Virgin) it's so funny that you don't really realise that you're watching a romantic comedy. Of course, it's a lot dirtier than your average chick flick, and probably a tad more misogynistic as well, but that's the basis of the movie really.
I didn't think this was necessarily as good as the last few movies Judd Apatow has produced, but it was still funnier than just about anything else. A particular highlight was Peter's rock-opera about Dracula, which he sang like "The Count" from Sesame Street. The cameos from Apatow regulars like Jonah Hill and Paul Rudd were great too.
A few small drawbacks . . . the movie is almost two hours, which feels a bit long for this type of thing. Also, if you're like me, you have a quota of how much male nudity you need to see in a film (none thanks), and this movie unfortunately exceeds this limit. Still this is just nitpicking, I thought overall this was really good and would definitely recommend.
I say that after seeing "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" last night, and thoroughly enjoying the experience. For those of you who haven't heard much about it, here's a quick summary of the plot:
Peter breaks up with his girlfriend Sarah, and decides to go to Hawaii to get over his heartbreak. Unfortunately he finds Sarah and her new English boyfriend are also holidaying on the Island, which just adds to his torment. However, he falls for the cute girl who works the reception desk there, and so things are looking up for him. When Sarah realises her new boyfriend is a twit, she breaks up with him and tries to get back together with Peter. But he realises that Hawaii girl is much nicer, and that Sarah was kind of a horrible person, and so he chooses to stay with the new girl, and they presumably live happily ever after.
Anyway, this doesn't sound like the plot of a movie that I'd normally enjoy, but because it's a Judd Apatow film (like Knocked Up, Superbad, or The 40 Year Old Virgin) it's so funny that you don't really realise that you're watching a romantic comedy. Of course, it's a lot dirtier than your average chick flick, and probably a tad more misogynistic as well, but that's the basis of the movie really.
I didn't think this was necessarily as good as the last few movies Judd Apatow has produced, but it was still funnier than just about anything else. A particular highlight was Peter's rock-opera about Dracula, which he sang like "The Count" from Sesame Street. The cameos from Apatow regulars like Jonah Hill and Paul Rudd were great too.
A few small drawbacks . . . the movie is almost two hours, which feels a bit long for this type of thing. Also, if you're like me, you have a quota of how much male nudity you need to see in a film (none thanks), and this movie unfortunately exceeds this limit. Still this is just nitpicking, I thought overall this was really good and would definitely recommend.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Grand Theft Auto IV
So I spent a fair chunk of time this weekend playing Grand Theft Auto IV. And I have no regrets.
There was a whole lot of hype leading up to the release of this game so it was quite likely I was going to come away disappointed, but it more than lives up to all the advance press.
One of the things you notice straight away is you can't just shoot random people in the street any more. Well, you can if you want, but even the sound of a gun going off attracts cops, and causes all sorts of problems. You can stab people, it's a lot quieter and more inconspicuous, but it's really kind of vicious. Even for a video game that's mainly about killing and other such tomfoolery.
The other thing that's different about this latest installment is that, in addition to the general missions, you're encouraged to spend time just hanging out with the other characters in the game, building relationships with them. Apparently if you spend enough time with them, they come to your assistance with things that help you in the main game (eg your cousin owns a cab company, so spend enough time with him and he offers you an unlimited and free cab service all across the city).
You once again have the option to date various women, so of course, this is something that I immediately pursued. On my first date with Michelle, I got a call from my cousin on the mobile, telling me he was in trouble, and asking me to come quickly. I ignored him. Afterwards I got a second call from him, telling me he was now in hospital, and asking me to come pick him up. I actually felt kind of guilty, although he was rather cool about the whole thing, telling me he would have done the same if he was in my spot. Anyway, so far I've been on a few "dates" with Michelle - ten pin bowling, to play pool, and to a bar (which I had to drive home from drunk, with the screen all blurry and shaking from side to side!). Things are going OK between the two of us, although at one point she told me that while she liked me, I was calling her too often. But then the next time we went out, she invited me upstairs, so . . . women, who knows what they want eh?
Anyway, back to the game - the visuals look awesome, much better than San Andreas on the PS2. The city is apparently a little bit smaller than that game, but it's way more detailed, and there's no wide open areas like the mountains or countryside of San Andreas. The artificial intelligence is improved - in gunfights enemies hide behind cover rather than just standing in the open. I'm pretty sure it's going to take me months to finish this thing, although with the online stuff I could still be playing it well into next year.
There was a whole lot of hype leading up to the release of this game so it was quite likely I was going to come away disappointed, but it more than lives up to all the advance press.
One of the things you notice straight away is you can't just shoot random people in the street any more. Well, you can if you want, but even the sound of a gun going off attracts cops, and causes all sorts of problems. You can stab people, it's a lot quieter and more inconspicuous, but it's really kind of vicious. Even for a video game that's mainly about killing and other such tomfoolery.
The other thing that's different about this latest installment is that, in addition to the general missions, you're encouraged to spend time just hanging out with the other characters in the game, building relationships with them. Apparently if you spend enough time with them, they come to your assistance with things that help you in the main game (eg your cousin owns a cab company, so spend enough time with him and he offers you an unlimited and free cab service all across the city).
You once again have the option to date various women, so of course, this is something that I immediately pursued. On my first date with Michelle, I got a call from my cousin on the mobile, telling me he was in trouble, and asking me to come quickly. I ignored him. Afterwards I got a second call from him, telling me he was now in hospital, and asking me to come pick him up. I actually felt kind of guilty, although he was rather cool about the whole thing, telling me he would have done the same if he was in my spot. Anyway, so far I've been on a few "dates" with Michelle - ten pin bowling, to play pool, and to a bar (which I had to drive home from drunk, with the screen all blurry and shaking from side to side!). Things are going OK between the two of us, although at one point she told me that while she liked me, I was calling her too often. But then the next time we went out, she invited me upstairs, so . . . women, who knows what they want eh?
Anyway, back to the game - the visuals look awesome, much better than San Andreas on the PS2. The city is apparently a little bit smaller than that game, but it's way more detailed, and there's no wide open areas like the mountains or countryside of San Andreas. The artificial intelligence is improved - in gunfights enemies hide behind cover rather than just standing in the open. I'm pretty sure it's going to take me months to finish this thing, although with the online stuff I could still be playing it well into next year.
Monday, May 05, 2008
Hmm . . .
Just checked out the results from last year's half marathon - the winner finished in one hour 17 minutes, and others who beat me included a 75 year old man (one hour 50 minutes), and someone who walked the whole way (one hour 48 minutes).
Still, I'm just glad I finished the thing.
Still, I'm just glad I finished the thing.
Sunday, May 04, 2008
2.11.40
So this morning I ran a half marathon that I impulsively told everyone I was going to do after doing the City to Bay last year.
It went OK, but it's safe to say I wasn't making any more bold predictions after this one.
I did pretty much all of my training on a treadmill, which is obviously a little easier than running on the road. What I didn't really factor in though was that the race wasn't on flat ground - it was along Linear Park, which is pretty much all up and down. The down wasn't so bad (although it was messing with my knees by the end) but the up wasn't fun at all.
I ran with my Dad, who as you can see, came in just behind me. This isn't really accurate though, since he slowed his pace to allow me to keep up, and at one point, stopped off to use some public toilets and just told me "I'll catch up". It took him about five minutes. So I'm guessing without me he probaby would have finished the course half an hour or so quicker.
Anyway, I didn't really have any goals in terms of time, just finishing it was enough for me. I did pretty much match my treadmill speed though, even with the tougher conditions, so I was happy with that.
I can't see myself doing a run like this again. I'm glad I did it, but once was enough . . . it just gets so boring running for that long. I'm thinking my next challenge will be something a little easier on the joints - perhaps completing a video game, something like that. Or perhaps cook a three course meal, I don't think I've ever done that. Sounds more up my alley.
Saturday, May 03, 2008
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Update
It's been a while since I last updated this thing, so I guess all three of my readers are getting a little impatient. Or not, who knows. Anyway, here's what's been going on lately . . .
Movies
I caught two movies over the last weekend - saw Michael Clayton on DVD, and Before The Devil Knows You're Dead on DVD. I didn't love either one. I thought I'd like Michael Clayton, seeing as it had good reviews, was nominated for awards, and starred Seth Gecko. Not sure if I just wasn't in the mood but I found it a little boring, and unnecessarily confusing.
Before The Devil Knows You're Dead was a little better, but I still didn't love that. It did star the talent and always-watchable Philip Seymour Hoffmann, although it did also feature him prominently in a graphic sex scene. I think there should be some kind of warning for those types of situations. Anyway this was OK, but I didn't really see what all of the fuss was about.
I've been thinking about this quite a bit lately, the decline in movies from the mid-nineties to now. In the last year or so I've seen two movies that I thought were really good - Knocked Up and Superbad. And then a couple more I enjoyed to varying degrees - 30 Days of Night, Smokin Aces, I suppose the Grindhouse movies. A quick search of movies from 1995 though on Wikipedia revealed the following films were released at the midway point of the last decade - The Usual Suspects, Heat, Mallrats, Higher Learning, Casino, Dead Man Walking, Dead Presidents, Desperado, Seven, Get Shorty, Leaving Las Vegas, Strange Days, Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead, and Twelve Monkeys. What happened?
Fine dining
Sunday lunchtime I took the girl to Cafe Primo (yeah I'm a classy guy). I discovered though that they have abandoned their "9.90 menus" for regular prices. Meaning a simple pasta dish now costs $15, and they have a steak menu which ranges from about $20-28. This is, I think, ridiculous, and reminds me of the time a few months ago when the Vietnamese bakery round the corner from my work started charging white people prices. The best thing about these places were they were cheap, now that they cost the same as everywhere else, you may as well go somewhere nice right?
Grand Theft Auto IV
So the biggest game of the year was released yesterday and I am currently sans Playstation (thanks AAMI!). I toyed with the idea of buying it anyway, figuring my PS3 will be replaced in a few weeks time, and JB had a good opening week price on it. But when I went back today they were all sold out. This thing looks amazing though, I can't wait to get into it.
Running
The last month or two I've been training for a half marathon. Now all of a sudden it's upon me. Well, this Sunday to be exact. I'm not really sure how I'll go - I did my last long run a few days ago on the treadmill and got to 21km (the length of Sunday's run) but that was in optimal conditions. The funny thing is that the run starts at 8am, with the winners presentations starting at 10am. By my calculations, I'll be crossing the finish line around 10.15am, most likely while everyone's attention will be diverted to a podium somewhere.
Movies
I caught two movies over the last weekend - saw Michael Clayton on DVD, and Before The Devil Knows You're Dead on DVD. I didn't love either one. I thought I'd like Michael Clayton, seeing as it had good reviews, was nominated for awards, and starred Seth Gecko. Not sure if I just wasn't in the mood but I found it a little boring, and unnecessarily confusing.
Before The Devil Knows You're Dead was a little better, but I still didn't love that. It did star the talent and always-watchable Philip Seymour Hoffmann, although it did also feature him prominently in a graphic sex scene. I think there should be some kind of warning for those types of situations. Anyway this was OK, but I didn't really see what all of the fuss was about.
I've been thinking about this quite a bit lately, the decline in movies from the mid-nineties to now. In the last year or so I've seen two movies that I thought were really good - Knocked Up and Superbad. And then a couple more I enjoyed to varying degrees - 30 Days of Night, Smokin Aces, I suppose the Grindhouse movies. A quick search of movies from 1995 though on Wikipedia revealed the following films were released at the midway point of the last decade - The Usual Suspects, Heat, Mallrats, Higher Learning, Casino, Dead Man Walking, Dead Presidents, Desperado, Seven, Get Shorty, Leaving Las Vegas, Strange Days, Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead, and Twelve Monkeys. What happened?
Fine dining
Sunday lunchtime I took the girl to Cafe Primo (yeah I'm a classy guy). I discovered though that they have abandoned their "9.90 menus" for regular prices. Meaning a simple pasta dish now costs $15, and they have a steak menu which ranges from about $20-28. This is, I think, ridiculous, and reminds me of the time a few months ago when the Vietnamese bakery round the corner from my work started charging white people prices. The best thing about these places were they were cheap, now that they cost the same as everywhere else, you may as well go somewhere nice right?
Grand Theft Auto IV
So the biggest game of the year was released yesterday and I am currently sans Playstation (thanks AAMI!). I toyed with the idea of buying it anyway, figuring my PS3 will be replaced in a few weeks time, and JB had a good opening week price on it. But when I went back today they were all sold out. This thing looks amazing though, I can't wait to get into it.
Running
The last month or two I've been training for a half marathon. Now all of a sudden it's upon me. Well, this Sunday to be exact. I'm not really sure how I'll go - I did my last long run a few days ago on the treadmill and got to 21km (the length of Sunday's run) but that was in optimal conditions. The funny thing is that the run starts at 8am, with the winners presentations starting at 10am. By my calculations, I'll be crossing the finish line around 10.15am, most likely while everyone's attention will be diverted to a podium somewhere.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Two more things that suck
Australia Post
I got a note in my letterbox earlier in the week saying they had tried to deliver a parcel to me but couldn't. I rang the local post office and got them to transfer it into the city, where I could pick it up during business hours. I go in today to pick it up, wondering what exciting package I have waiting for me, and find that it is . . . the new copy of "Rolling Stone" magazine. Since when is that a parcel? And why can't they just leave it in my letterbox, like they do the other 11 months of the year?
Jack Johnson
For some reason he's on the cover of the aforementioned magazine. What year is it again? It was bad enough when people inexplicably liked him and his monotone tunes a few years back, but I thought we'd moved on from that. Obviously not.
I got a note in my letterbox earlier in the week saying they had tried to deliver a parcel to me but couldn't. I rang the local post office and got them to transfer it into the city, where I could pick it up during business hours. I go in today to pick it up, wondering what exciting package I have waiting for me, and find that it is . . . the new copy of "Rolling Stone" magazine. Since when is that a parcel? And why can't they just leave it in my letterbox, like they do the other 11 months of the year?
Jack Johnson
For some reason he's on the cover of the aforementioned magazine. What year is it again? It was bad enough when people inexplicably liked him and his monotone tunes a few years back, but I thought we'd moved on from that. Obviously not.
Things that suck
The Aviator
A friend whom I respect very much recommended this film. He said it was better than "The Departed" and Scorcese should have won an Oscar for "The Aviator" instead of this. He was way off.
I watched this over the course of two sittings, and found it increasingly boring. Maybe I'm biased against longer movies, although generally Scorcese's movies are long, and I like most of those. Let's just say this was no "Goodfellas". I had no interest in the main character, and all the women in it annoyed me. On the other hand, it wasn't as bad as "There Will Be Blood" so it's got that going for it.
Getting robbed
Last Friday my house got broken into again. For those of you keeping score at home, that's twice in three months. They took my new PS3 and all the games, which was especially annoying as I had mentally prepared myself to unwind on Saturday with a marathon gaming session. Now I get to wait two months for the insurance company to replace my stuff (missing the launch of Grand Theft Auto 4), which should give me time to figure out where I'm going to hide it when I get it.
The Biggest Loser
So Cosi got voted off on Monday, and I realised I couldn't care less about any of the people left (Sam, Gary, Alison and Kirsten). Especially Sam. For some reason that kid annoys me. I tried watching it Tuesday night but turned off after a couple of minutes, if you don't care about the people in that show, it's kind of a waste of time. I don't think I'll be back until the finale, I was to find out what that punk lesbian chick looks like by now.
A friend whom I respect very much recommended this film. He said it was better than "The Departed" and Scorcese should have won an Oscar for "The Aviator" instead of this. He was way off.
I watched this over the course of two sittings, and found it increasingly boring. Maybe I'm biased against longer movies, although generally Scorcese's movies are long, and I like most of those. Let's just say this was no "Goodfellas". I had no interest in the main character, and all the women in it annoyed me. On the other hand, it wasn't as bad as "There Will Be Blood" so it's got that going for it.
Getting robbed
Last Friday my house got broken into again. For those of you keeping score at home, that's twice in three months. They took my new PS3 and all the games, which was especially annoying as I had mentally prepared myself to unwind on Saturday with a marathon gaming session. Now I get to wait two months for the insurance company to replace my stuff (missing the launch of Grand Theft Auto 4), which should give me time to figure out where I'm going to hide it when I get it.
The Biggest Loser
So Cosi got voted off on Monday, and I realised I couldn't care less about any of the people left (Sam, Gary, Alison and Kirsten). Especially Sam. For some reason that kid annoys me. I tried watching it Tuesday night but turned off after a couple of minutes, if you don't care about the people in that show, it's kind of a waste of time. I don't think I'll be back until the finale, I was to find out what that punk lesbian chick looks like by now.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Pictionary
Last night Mike and Jess and Ash and Ange came round for pizza and a few drinks, and we ended up breaking out the Pictionary.
For a while there Michella didn't want to play this with me because of my desire to cheat, but now that she's my team mate, she doesn't seem to care so much. Anyway we started strong, and I had a feeling we were going to take out the game, but Mike and Jess staged an improbably comeback, and even Ash and Ange made things interesting.
Ultimately Mike and Jess ended up with the win, proving to be the most in-sync couple in the room.
Afterwards, we took group pictures, in recognition of the fact that it will possibly be another two years before we're all in a room together again, with Mike and Jess living in London and all.
For a while there Michella didn't want to play this with me because of my desire to cheat, but now that she's my team mate, she doesn't seem to care so much. Anyway we started strong, and I had a feeling we were going to take out the game, but Mike and Jess staged an improbably comeback, and even Ash and Ange made things interesting.
Ultimately Mike and Jess ended up with the win, proving to be the most in-sync couple in the room.
Afterwards, we took group pictures, in recognition of the fact that it will possibly be another two years before we're all in a room together again, with Mike and Jess living in London and all.
Monday, April 07, 2008
Weekend update
Being young, free, and (relatively) healthy, I spent most of my weekend watching movies and playing video games. Here are some of the highlights . . .
Saturday night I rewatched "Blood Diamond", but on Blu-ray. Since getting the PS3 a couple of weeks ago I'd been wanting to check out the Blu-ray thing, but I found most video stores in my area don't have these. Michella would say it's because I live in the ghetto, and her local video store has a ton because she lives in the eastern suburbs (defined as being east of South Road). Whatever.
Anyway, the quality of picture on the Blu-ray discs is just amazing. So clear and crisp and bright. The scene towards the end of the film where the helicopters bomb the mining field is particularly spectacular. From now on I'm going to try and search out movies on Blu-ray whenever I can, even if it means driving to the other side of town.
Sunday afternoon we saw "What's Eating Gilbert Grape", which Michella suggested I watch because of Leo's performance. Even though I don't normally like these types of films (eg Shine), I have to admit he was pretty convincing in his portrayal of a mentally handicapped kid, especially since he was practically a kid himself at the time. I didn't love the storyline, but I was intrigued by the obese woman who played the mother. After the movie was over I got on the internet and found out she was cast after the producer of the film saw her on Sally Jessy Raphael talking about her weight, and she went on to appear in other movies after this one. Then I found that there were a number of websites dedicated to her, with pics, and one that had the story of her life. You can find it here . . .
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Heights/1787/direction.html
It blew me away that there are pages like this scattered across the internet, often years after they've last been updated. When I told Mirjana about it this morning she suggested they need to have a clean up day for the internet like we have at our office. It sounded like a good idea to me.
Finally, last night I watched about half of "The Aviator", just to continue with the Leo theme for the weekend. It was rather good, but in the end I got tired and had to go to bed. I thought Katherine Hepburn (played by Cate Blanchett) was way too bossy and generally annoying, but Michella said she was awesome and a trailblazer because she wore pants. Or something like that.
When I wasn't watching movies this weekend I spent quality time with "Gran Turismo 5 Prologue" and "NBA 2K8". Both of them look much better since I found out how to adjust the system settings on my PS3 to make it run in HD (shouldn't this be automatic?)
I finished the first group of ten races on GT5P, and started on the first of the next, on a (fictional) race track through the Swiss Alps. It looks stunning, I ended up re-doing the race about ten times even after I'd won it, just to watch the scenery fly past.
In NBA 2k8 I started a playoff series, playing as the Warriors, taking on the Mavericks. I took out game one, so was pretty happy with that, although I was hoping virtual-Dirk would choke, just like in real life. Again this looks amazing running in HD, you really can't put a price on being able to see the minute details in Matt Barnes' neck tattoo.
Saturday night I rewatched "Blood Diamond", but on Blu-ray. Since getting the PS3 a couple of weeks ago I'd been wanting to check out the Blu-ray thing, but I found most video stores in my area don't have these. Michella would say it's because I live in the ghetto, and her local video store has a ton because she lives in the eastern suburbs (defined as being east of South Road). Whatever.
Anyway, the quality of picture on the Blu-ray discs is just amazing. So clear and crisp and bright. The scene towards the end of the film where the helicopters bomb the mining field is particularly spectacular. From now on I'm going to try and search out movies on Blu-ray whenever I can, even if it means driving to the other side of town.
Sunday afternoon we saw "What's Eating Gilbert Grape", which Michella suggested I watch because of Leo's performance. Even though I don't normally like these types of films (eg Shine), I have to admit he was pretty convincing in his portrayal of a mentally handicapped kid, especially since he was practically a kid himself at the time. I didn't love the storyline, but I was intrigued by the obese woman who played the mother. After the movie was over I got on the internet and found out she was cast after the producer of the film saw her on Sally Jessy Raphael talking about her weight, and she went on to appear in other movies after this one. Then I found that there were a number of websites dedicated to her, with pics, and one that had the story of her life. You can find it here . . .
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Heights/1787/direction.html
It blew me away that there are pages like this scattered across the internet, often years after they've last been updated. When I told Mirjana about it this morning she suggested they need to have a clean up day for the internet like we have at our office. It sounded like a good idea to me.
Finally, last night I watched about half of "The Aviator", just to continue with the Leo theme for the weekend. It was rather good, but in the end I got tired and had to go to bed. I thought Katherine Hepburn (played by Cate Blanchett) was way too bossy and generally annoying, but Michella said she was awesome and a trailblazer because she wore pants. Or something like that.
When I wasn't watching movies this weekend I spent quality time with "Gran Turismo 5 Prologue" and "NBA 2K8". Both of them look much better since I found out how to adjust the system settings on my PS3 to make it run in HD (shouldn't this be automatic?)
I finished the first group of ten races on GT5P, and started on the first of the next, on a (fictional) race track through the Swiss Alps. It looks stunning, I ended up re-doing the race about ten times even after I'd won it, just to watch the scenery fly past.
In NBA 2k8 I started a playoff series, playing as the Warriors, taking on the Mavericks. I took out game one, so was pretty happy with that, although I was hoping virtual-Dirk would choke, just like in real life. Again this looks amazing running in HD, you really can't put a price on being able to see the minute details in Matt Barnes' neck tattoo.
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
New purchases
Saturday afternoon I drove down to Harvey Norman at Marion to pick up a few items from my recent insurance claim. I picked up a new home theatre amplifier, and new hard drive/dvd recorder. The third item I had to grab though was a DVD player, and seeing as I already have three of these (and only two TVs in my house), it seemed a little superfluous.
Luckily they let me pick something else from their wide array of electronic goods, and so I chose a copy of the newly released Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, and a new ipod shuffle.
I'm generally not a huge racing games fan, but I've really enjoyed GT5P. I've spent a bit of time on the single player option, and it's pretty cool, competing in a series of increasingly difficult races and time challenges to win money to buy more cars (there are more than 70 different models available, so I could be busy for a while).
Last night for the first time I had the option of playing with a friend so tried out the two player, and found it wasn't quite as good, as there just aren't enough cars on the track - in single player there is between 8 and 16, whereas with two player there are only two cars.
It's only a preview of the upcoming Gran Turismo 5, but with all the cars to choose from, and thirty plus races plus online stuff I think this will keep me busy for a while. And the graphics on it are pretty amazing too.
So onto my second purchase - a new ipod shuffle. This is the second one I've bought, although I'm pretty sure I've lost my original one for good. With the price down to $65 now I couldn't resist picking up another. Already I've found I use it almost exclusively, my old video ipod just sits on my desk at home. It still blows my mind that something so small can contain so many songs, and create such a big noise. Anyway if you don't have one of these already I highly recommend.
Luckily they let me pick something else from their wide array of electronic goods, and so I chose a copy of the newly released Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, and a new ipod shuffle.
I'm generally not a huge racing games fan, but I've really enjoyed GT5P. I've spent a bit of time on the single player option, and it's pretty cool, competing in a series of increasingly difficult races and time challenges to win money to buy more cars (there are more than 70 different models available, so I could be busy for a while).
Last night for the first time I had the option of playing with a friend so tried out the two player, and found it wasn't quite as good, as there just aren't enough cars on the track - in single player there is between 8 and 16, whereas with two player there are only two cars.
It's only a preview of the upcoming Gran Turismo 5, but with all the cars to choose from, and thirty plus races plus online stuff I think this will keep me busy for a while. And the graphics on it are pretty amazing too.
So onto my second purchase - a new ipod shuffle. This is the second one I've bought, although I'm pretty sure I've lost my original one for good. With the price down to $65 now I couldn't resist picking up another. Already I've found I use it almost exclusively, my old video ipod just sits on my desk at home. It still blows my mind that something so small can contain so many songs, and create such a big noise. Anyway if you don't have one of these already I highly recommend.
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