Last year I refused to watch "Underbelly" while it was on TV. This was mainly based on my experience with Aussie TV dramas, which tend to be really crappy. The few bits I did catch didn't do anything to change my mind. But once it was finished, I was given a DVD with downloaded copies of the episodes, and gave it a shot. I watched the whole thing in a few weeks and actually quite enjoyed it. Perhaps it was the fact that it was based on real events, some of which I vaguely remembered occuring in the nineties, made the difference.
Anyway, I went into this year's "Underbelly 2" expecting more of the same, but was disappointed for the first two weeks. Mainly it was just Matthew Newton (son of Bert/real life domestic abuse convictee) smuggling drugs into the country, having sex with a variety of girls, and occasionally executing a subordinate. Not terribly exciting.
This week's episode was fantastic though. I loved the whole war between Ray-Chuck, and the two brothers who looked like band members from "Almost Famous". Although I didn't really find Sally from Home & Away believable as a grown up, she still looks like she's 20 years old. And it did seem a little strange that Ray-Chuck's guys emptied two machine gun's worth of ammo into a guy in a small bathroom and there weren't any busted tiles.
It was easily the best hour of the series, and it looks like it will continue into next week, with the introduction of Chopper Read. I was seriously considering phasing this out of my rotation but will stay with it a bit longer now.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Destroying the planet one dolphin at a time
Friday night I picked up my new car (necessitated by my run-in with a certain senior citizen a few weeks back). It's a Jeep Grand Cherokee, and I love it.
Of course, being a huge environmentalist, I don't like the fact that everytime I drive to the local blockbuster somewhere an innocent dolphin, or perhaps baby seal, dies. But on the other hand, I feel like Tony Soprano when I'm behind the wheel of this thing, so it all balances out.
My favourite part is the interior. Leather (heated) seats, wood-look panelling, a ten disc cd stacker . . . it's more comfortable than my lounge room. And I like the fact that I feel safe in it, you get the feeling that elderly and/or Asian drivers would just bounce off.
The downside is that the insurance company would only insure it for $11,000, $1500 less than what I paid for it. Which is crazy because they just paid me $5,000 more than what my last car was actually worth. I guess I'll have to concentrate on avoiding accidents from now on.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Guitar Hero World Tour
Friday night I had friends over for a BBQ, and movie in the backyard (after the votes were tallied, Fargo was the chosen film).
Before the movie started though Ash brought his new Guitar Hero World Tour game and we played that. Although my playing time was limited, trying to cook a BBQ and be a gracious host and all, everyone else seemed to enjoy it.
Especially Gav, who put his hand up to sing on almost every song, and got into character with the sunnies, and ad libbing little bits like "Hello Adelaide! How y'all doing?" during the song intros.
Anyway it was great fun, and I'm looking forward to doing it again, and perhaps spending a little more time rocking out with At the Drive-In and Tool then.
Before the movie started though Ash brought his new Guitar Hero World Tour game and we played that. Although my playing time was limited, trying to cook a BBQ and be a gracious host and all, everyone else seemed to enjoy it.
Especially Gav, who put his hand up to sing on almost every song, and got into character with the sunnies, and ad libbing little bits like "Hello Adelaide! How y'all doing?" during the song intros.
Anyway it was great fun, and I'm looking forward to doing it again, and perhaps spending a little more time rocking out with At the Drive-In and Tool then.
Sunday, February 01, 2009
Weekend recommendations
Three things that I have experienced this weekend and would recommend to you, my reader (and presumably) friend.
1. Kefi
After hearing rave reviews from a number of people, we got takeaway from Kefi, a greek place on Tapleys Hill Road at Glenelg North last night. I would highly recommend.
To start of with, the serves are huge. I'd been warned of this so we just ordered one lamb souvlaki to share. It came with two skewers of lamb, delicious potatoes, salad, and some garlic-y sauce. I (barely) finished my skewer, Michella finished half of hers, and her dog Noah got the rest.
It tastes delicious too. I'm no major food critic, but this was good stuff.
2. Life on Mars
This month's Rolling Stone came with a dvd of the first episode of this series (apparently it starts on channel ten in February). Normally I'd ditch this kind of thing, but I noticed it starred Harvey Keitel, Christopher from "The Sopranos", Lisa Bonet (the hot girl from the "Cosby Show" who married Lenny Kravitz), and Lester from "The Wire". It was like I cast the show myself.
So I sat down and watched the dvd and thought it was pretty good. Its based on a UK show which I'll never watch, and is about a cop who gets hit by a car, and wakes up in 1973. You presume its part of a coma, but you don't really know. Anyway, he's a cop back then too, so he solves mysteries which may or may not have a bearing on current 2008 events.
I think I'll stick with it for a while, since I'm too lazy to get an aerial installed at my house I'll have to download the episodes.
3. The Free Darko Macrophenomenal Pro Basketball Almanac
I ordered this off Amazon a week or two ago and it arrived on Friday. To tell you the truth I have no idea what these guys are talking about half the time, but the pictures do look awesome.
1. Kefi
After hearing rave reviews from a number of people, we got takeaway from Kefi, a greek place on Tapleys Hill Road at Glenelg North last night. I would highly recommend.
To start of with, the serves are huge. I'd been warned of this so we just ordered one lamb souvlaki to share. It came with two skewers of lamb, delicious potatoes, salad, and some garlic-y sauce. I (barely) finished my skewer, Michella finished half of hers, and her dog Noah got the rest.
It tastes delicious too. I'm no major food critic, but this was good stuff.
2. Life on Mars
This month's Rolling Stone came with a dvd of the first episode of this series (apparently it starts on channel ten in February). Normally I'd ditch this kind of thing, but I noticed it starred Harvey Keitel, Christopher from "The Sopranos", Lisa Bonet (the hot girl from the "Cosby Show" who married Lenny Kravitz), and Lester from "The Wire". It was like I cast the show myself.
So I sat down and watched the dvd and thought it was pretty good. Its based on a UK show which I'll never watch, and is about a cop who gets hit by a car, and wakes up in 1973. You presume its part of a coma, but you don't really know. Anyway, he's a cop back then too, so he solves mysteries which may or may not have a bearing on current 2008 events.
I think I'll stick with it for a while, since I'm too lazy to get an aerial installed at my house I'll have to download the episodes.
3. The Free Darko Macrophenomenal Pro Basketball Almanac
I ordered this off Amazon a week or two ago and it arrived on Friday. To tell you the truth I have no idea what these guys are talking about half the time, but the pictures do look awesome.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Understanding in a Car Crash
I haven't been involved in a car crash in a long time. About twelve years ago I was driving with Gav as a passenger, and we got rear ended by a 4WD, and that was the last time (for me, not Gav, that set him off on a streak of car accidents for the next twelve months).
That streak came to an end on Saturday though when I collided with an elderly driver with either a poor attention span, a poor understanding of give way signs, or possibly both.
Luckily, neither of us were hurt, although she seemed pretty confused afterwards. Its possible she was like that normally though, I'm sure I will be by the time I reach my 91st birthday.
My car was a total write off, which was actually kind of a plus, since I wasn't all that attached to it. And it was insured for more than its current value.
The insurance company came through pretty well too - they took a look at the car this morning, declared it a write off straight away, and put the money into my account (allegedly) this afternoon.
So now I get to pick out a new car, which will be fun. Stay tuned to see what I come up with.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Quick DVD roundup
While Gav's breakdancing was the most entertaining thing I saw this weekend, I also caught a few good movies on DVD.
Friday night saw Wall-E, which I rather enjoyed, even though it was a little uneventful. As its an animated feature I presume its aimed at kids, but I wonder how it would hold their attention. The first half hour or so doesn't feature much dialogue, just a few lines of robot talk, and I found my mind drifting a bit. It picks up in the second half though, and the animation was fantastic.
Last night I sat down to the new X-Files movie. I was a big X-Files fan in the nineties, although I guess there weren't a lot of other options on TV back then. I wasn't expecting a whole lot out of it, but it was pretty decent. At one point Michella even said "You know what, this isn't actually a bad movie". They should put that quote on the DVD cover. Of course, that was before all of the limb amputations started. Still, you could do a lot worse than this, and Dana Scully is looking as good as ever.
Friday night saw Wall-E, which I rather enjoyed, even though it was a little uneventful. As its an animated feature I presume its aimed at kids, but I wonder how it would hold their attention. The first half hour or so doesn't feature much dialogue, just a few lines of robot talk, and I found my mind drifting a bit. It picks up in the second half though, and the animation was fantastic.
Last night I sat down to the new X-Files movie. I was a big X-Files fan in the nineties, although I guess there weren't a lot of other options on TV back then. I wasn't expecting a whole lot out of it, but it was pretty decent. At one point Michella even said "You know what, this isn't actually a bad movie". They should put that quote on the DVD cover. Of course, that was before all of the limb amputations started. Still, you could do a lot worse than this, and Dana Scully is looking as good as ever.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Cocktail Party
I could write a whole bunch about the cocktail party I went to last night, but really all you need to know is contained in the following video . . .
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Best Seinfeld episode ever
Watching the Seinfeld DVDs Paul gave me for Christmas, I came across my favourite episode of all time - "The Voice".
It's got it all - a great Kramer plotline with his intern, George openly hated by his colleagues at Playnow and loving it, Elaine backsliding with Puddy, and the best use of music I've ever heard in a sitcom . . .
It's got it all - a great Kramer plotline with his intern, George openly hated by his colleagues at Playnow and loving it, Elaine backsliding with Puddy, and the best use of music I've ever heard in a sitcom . . .
Saturday, January 10, 2009
The Wrestler
I'm not sure if the movie guys are making better movies, or I'm getting better at picking them, but I'm on a bit of a streak with quality films the last month or so. Last night I saw The Wrestler, which was the best movie I've seen in a while.
Before we got to the cinema though, we stocked up on snacks at the IGA opposite Adelaide Uni on North Terrace. I'd never been there before, but it rules. Possibly because they have all of the international students as their clientelle, they stock a big range of American soft drinks and confectionary, and even Krispy Kreme donuts. I grabbed a Cherry Coke and packet of Allens Party Mix, but felt like I could have really gone crazy with all the good stuff they had.
We saw the movie at Palace, because we're classy like that. Looking at the list of films showing there, the place has definitely changed. It used to be all art house and foreign movies, but now you can see stuff like "Quantam of Solace" there. Possibly it's because they've expanded into the old IMAX theatre, and there's not enough weird stuff out there to show on the number of screens they have now. Really the only difference between there and Marion is they don't show the "Day the Earth Stood Still" or "Marley and Me" type stuff.
If you watch the trailer below you'll get a pretty good idea of what The Wrestler is about. Mickey Rourke plays a washed up wrestler from the eighties who's a failure financially, and in his relationships, but still loved in the wrestling community. He struggles to find peace in the outside world but only gets it when he's in the ring, and surrounded by his fans.
Throughout the movie he strikes up a bit of a relationship with a local stripper (the always lovely, and often these days naked, Marisa Tomei), and tries to reconcile with his estranged daughter.
Apparently the studios wanted Nic Cage to play the main role, which would have been terrible, but the director stuck with Rourke, and he's perfect for the part. He looks like a guy who has spent years abusing his body, and propping it up with all types of drugs. Hopefully someone gives him an award for this, he deserves it.
The way the film is shot is great too. It's so natural that it feels like a documentary at times.
Anyway, I loved this, and highly recommend. And if you don't trust me, like I know some of you don't (I'm sorry Paul, but I really thought 8MM would be good), Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 98% rating. And that's from professional movie reviewers, so you make up your own mind . . .
Before we got to the cinema though, we stocked up on snacks at the IGA opposite Adelaide Uni on North Terrace. I'd never been there before, but it rules. Possibly because they have all of the international students as their clientelle, they stock a big range of American soft drinks and confectionary, and even Krispy Kreme donuts. I grabbed a Cherry Coke and packet of Allens Party Mix, but felt like I could have really gone crazy with all the good stuff they had.
We saw the movie at Palace, because we're classy like that. Looking at the list of films showing there, the place has definitely changed. It used to be all art house and foreign movies, but now you can see stuff like "Quantam of Solace" there. Possibly it's because they've expanded into the old IMAX theatre, and there's not enough weird stuff out there to show on the number of screens they have now. Really the only difference between there and Marion is they don't show the "Day the Earth Stood Still" or "Marley and Me" type stuff.
If you watch the trailer below you'll get a pretty good idea of what The Wrestler is about. Mickey Rourke plays a washed up wrestler from the eighties who's a failure financially, and in his relationships, but still loved in the wrestling community. He struggles to find peace in the outside world but only gets it when he's in the ring, and surrounded by his fans.
Throughout the movie he strikes up a bit of a relationship with a local stripper (the always lovely, and often these days naked, Marisa Tomei), and tries to reconcile with his estranged daughter.
Apparently the studios wanted Nic Cage to play the main role, which would have been terrible, but the director stuck with Rourke, and he's perfect for the part. He looks like a guy who has spent years abusing his body, and propping it up with all types of drugs. Hopefully someone gives him an award for this, he deserves it.
The way the film is shot is great too. It's so natural that it feels like a documentary at times.
Anyway, I loved this, and highly recommend. And if you don't trust me, like I know some of you don't (I'm sorry Paul, but I really thought 8MM would be good), Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 98% rating. And that's from professional movie reviewers, so you make up your own mind . . .
Thursday, January 08, 2009
Where in the world is Julius Hodge?
Last night Paul and I went to the Powerhouse to see Julius Hodge and the Sixers take on Wollongong.
Except that Julius Hodge didn't show up. We knew something was up when we couldn't see a black guy in a Sixers uniform during warmups. A quick count revealed though that there were 12 players in uniform, so Hodge wouldn't be appearing. As of writing this, there's still no explanation for where he was.
It was a great game anyway, close most of the way. It's really weird watching an Adelaide team that isn't just based on shooting threes, between Schenser (25 points) and Ballinger (20 points) we were going inside almost every time. Bruce kind of redeemed himself for me after single-handedly losing the game the last time I saw the Sixers, and Maher had a fantastic streak in the third quarter where he scored 14 points.
Jacob Holmes should never be allowed to shoot, no matter where he shoots from, it looks like it's not going in. And Cooper did that thing where he took a twenty foot jump shot for no other reason presumably than he felt like he deserved it. It did not go in.
Also noteworthy was the fact that they haven't changed the music there since Paul and I had season tickets in the late nineties. And some guy proposed to his girlfriend in a timeout. Classy and romantic. Finally, we won, which is always a plus.
Except that Julius Hodge didn't show up. We knew something was up when we couldn't see a black guy in a Sixers uniform during warmups. A quick count revealed though that there were 12 players in uniform, so Hodge wouldn't be appearing. As of writing this, there's still no explanation for where he was.
It was a great game anyway, close most of the way. It's really weird watching an Adelaide team that isn't just based on shooting threes, between Schenser (25 points) and Ballinger (20 points) we were going inside almost every time. Bruce kind of redeemed himself for me after single-handedly losing the game the last time I saw the Sixers, and Maher had a fantastic streak in the third quarter where he scored 14 points.
Jacob Holmes should never be allowed to shoot, no matter where he shoots from, it looks like it's not going in. And Cooper did that thing where he took a twenty foot jump shot for no other reason presumably than he felt like he deserved it. It did not go in.
Also noteworthy was the fact that they haven't changed the music there since Paul and I had season tickets in the late nineties. And some guy proposed to his girlfriend in a timeout. Classy and romantic. Finally, we won, which is always a plus.
Monday, January 05, 2009
Work
Today was my first day back in the office after the Christmas break. Actually I should say is, it's still going. It feels like I've been here forever.
Mirjana gave me a daily time wasting calendar for Christmas, and so far today I've already caught up on all the days I missed because I wasn't at work, so had better stuff to do. My favourite one was the page for today, 5 January, which involved finding as many country names as I could in a word jumble thing. I think I got them all.
I also responded to an email we received from two women who were complaining that they had to pay double the amount each for a hotel room than couples have to. I wanted to suggest that they might like travelling together sometime, to cut down on their costs, but I think they mainly prefer writing emails together. Their email address sounded like it came from a cult. I hope the Federal Police don't find my email response when they raid their compound.
I went shoppping at lunch time today. I like to wait until a bit into the sales, when the shops get a bit more desperate to get rid of their old stock. Today it paid off big time, I got a fancy new Sportscraft shirt at Myer marked down from $129 to $44.25. I used a $50 voucher work gave me for ten years of service to pay for it. I'm not sure if I feel good about that or not.
I'm thinking ahead to tonight now. My home time is precious now that I'm back at work, there's only a few hours a night and I don't want to waste them. I think I'll spend them going to the gym, then watching old Sopranos episodes (not a waste at all).
Mirjana gave me a daily time wasting calendar for Christmas, and so far today I've already caught up on all the days I missed because I wasn't at work, so had better stuff to do. My favourite one was the page for today, 5 January, which involved finding as many country names as I could in a word jumble thing. I think I got them all.
I also responded to an email we received from two women who were complaining that they had to pay double the amount each for a hotel room than couples have to. I wanted to suggest that they might like travelling together sometime, to cut down on their costs, but I think they mainly prefer writing emails together. Their email address sounded like it came from a cult. I hope the Federal Police don't find my email response when they raid their compound.
I went shoppping at lunch time today. I like to wait until a bit into the sales, when the shops get a bit more desperate to get rid of their old stock. Today it paid off big time, I got a fancy new Sportscraft shirt at Myer marked down from $129 to $44.25. I used a $50 voucher work gave me for ten years of service to pay for it. I'm not sure if I feel good about that or not.
I'm thinking ahead to tonight now. My home time is precious now that I'm back at work, there's only a few hours a night and I don't want to waste them. I think I'll spend them going to the gym, then watching old Sopranos episodes (not a waste at all).
Saturday, January 03, 2009
I'm back
Well, it's been a while, that's for sure. I wasn't really sure if I wanted to keep doing this, but the outcry from all five of my readers convinced me to give it another go.
In broad terms, since my last post I've turned 32, celebrated Christmas, and perhaps my quietest new year ever, taken a few weeks off of work, bought an awesome new guitar (pictured below), and eaten roughly 200 Subway cookies (I can't recommend these highly enough, especially the double choc ones, and the white choc and macadamias).
I've been trying to branch out a bit lately with music (ie not listening to the same Damien Rice cd over and over) and so have been downloading a bunch of stuff then listening to it in my car. Some of it's old music I missed the first time round like Dinosaur Jr, and there's some new stuff like The Gaslight Anthem. I'm loving their new one, The 59 Sound. It sort of sounds like a cross between punk and classic American rock like Sprinsteen and Tom Petty. Actually, a lot like Bruce Springsteeen. Here's an example . . .
I've also been on a bit of a GNR kick, reading Stephen Davis' excellent biography "Watch You Bleed: The Saga of Guns N Roses". Despite the fact that pretty much none of the band members (other than the possible exception of Izzy) come across as being even remotely likable, I really enjoyed the book. It was kind of surprising to read that the best stuff from the Use Your Illusion albums, like Don't Cry, November Rain, and You Could Be Mine, actually dated back to the Appetite for Destruction days. Which means that the band had pretty much ran out of good ideas by about 1988. Having said that, I did buy Chinese Democracy the week it came out, and really like it. Definitely the best thing to come out from the band since the first album.
I've caught a few movies in the last week - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and Slumdog Millionaire. While they aren't my favourite type of film (I prefer movies where characters say cool, witty things then shoot people), I liked both of them. Slumdog Millionaire was the better of the two, and I'd recommend that to just about anyone. I'm never going to India though.
Of course Christas was just a week or so ago, and the best gift I got this year was "Call of Duty: World at War" for my PS3. Here's the trailer . . .
I'm loving it so far, the graphics are amazing, the action is always intense, and it feels like you're in a movie. I've tried playing online a bit but I suck really bad at that. Mike/Corey/Ash - you guys need to get this game so we can play online together. Hopefully you're all as bad as I am.
Speaking of generally sucking, my fantasy basketball team should be ashamed of itself this year. I can't blame any one of them in particular, but outside of KG, J Terry and Ben Gordon they've all been a huge disappointment to me. Not much I can do but sit back and hopefully they develop some pride in the next few months.
That's about all I've got for now, hopefully it won't be another two months till my next update.
In broad terms, since my last post I've turned 32, celebrated Christmas, and perhaps my quietest new year ever, taken a few weeks off of work, bought an awesome new guitar (pictured below), and eaten roughly 200 Subway cookies (I can't recommend these highly enough, especially the double choc ones, and the white choc and macadamias).
I've been trying to branch out a bit lately with music (ie not listening to the same Damien Rice cd over and over) and so have been downloading a bunch of stuff then listening to it in my car. Some of it's old music I missed the first time round like Dinosaur Jr, and there's some new stuff like The Gaslight Anthem. I'm loving their new one, The 59 Sound. It sort of sounds like a cross between punk and classic American rock like Sprinsteen and Tom Petty. Actually, a lot like Bruce Springsteeen. Here's an example . . .
I've also been on a bit of a GNR kick, reading Stephen Davis' excellent biography "Watch You Bleed: The Saga of Guns N Roses". Despite the fact that pretty much none of the band members (other than the possible exception of Izzy) come across as being even remotely likable, I really enjoyed the book. It was kind of surprising to read that the best stuff from the Use Your Illusion albums, like Don't Cry, November Rain, and You Could Be Mine, actually dated back to the Appetite for Destruction days. Which means that the band had pretty much ran out of good ideas by about 1988. Having said that, I did buy Chinese Democracy the week it came out, and really like it. Definitely the best thing to come out from the band since the first album.
I've caught a few movies in the last week - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and Slumdog Millionaire. While they aren't my favourite type of film (I prefer movies where characters say cool, witty things then shoot people), I liked both of them. Slumdog Millionaire was the better of the two, and I'd recommend that to just about anyone. I'm never going to India though.
Of course Christas was just a week or so ago, and the best gift I got this year was "Call of Duty: World at War" for my PS3. Here's the trailer . . .
I'm loving it so far, the graphics are amazing, the action is always intense, and it feels like you're in a movie. I've tried playing online a bit but I suck really bad at that. Mike/Corey/Ash - you guys need to get this game so we can play online together. Hopefully you're all as bad as I am.
Speaking of generally sucking, my fantasy basketball team should be ashamed of itself this year. I can't blame any one of them in particular, but outside of KG, J Terry and Ben Gordon they've all been a huge disappointment to me. Not much I can do but sit back and hopefully they develop some pride in the next few months.
That's about all I've got for now, hopefully it won't be another two months till my next update.
Sunday, November 09, 2008
Back on the bandwagon
Seeing as how the Sixers had won two in a row, I thought it was time I jumped back on the bandwagon. Took my Dad to the game against Cairns last night, my first regular season game this year.
I had no idea who was on the Taipans these days, so was kind of surprised to see they have two ex-Sixer players - Mee and Cattalini. Cattalini doesn't start though, and Mee went almost the whole game without scoring, so times have changed. Actually, they mentioned at the start of the game that they were integral members of the team in 98 and 99 and it hit me that that's a decade ago, a long time in the past.
Right from the first quarter the Sixers struggled to keep up with Cairns, who were playing a full court press. The Sixers were doing pretty much the opposite defensively, not even picking up players properly in the half court, and giving up some wide open threes. We fell behind my 17 points, and the only Sixer really playing well was Brad Hill, who at least took it to the basket a bit.
In the second quarter things improved and we started to close the gap a little as the team picked up the defense. Tyndale did some nice things, and the big front line of Schenser, Cooper and Ballinger was really good defensively. Where we struggled though was the guard play - Maher was injured again, and although I've heard good things about Aaron Bruce, he was terrible. It wasn't just the fact that he missed every shot he took (including a wide open three that he airballed), he played some pretty bad D leading to open three pointers by the other team, and had some suspect decision making. Maybe he was worn down by the full court D. It reminded me of when I used to watch Spurs games, and whenever Udrih was on the other team would go to a full court press, and poor Beno would turn the ball over. After that I've never had any faith in little Beno as an NBA player, although I guess Ash must have missed those contests.
Anyway, by the end of the third quarter the Sixers had actually put together an eight point lead - 59 - 51. They went completely dry offensively in the first few minutes of the fourth period though, and Cairns closed the cap quickly.
With about thirty seconds left we had the ball, up by one. Bruce dribbled around till the shot clock was almost gone, and jumped in the air to pass. Of course, the ball was stolen, and the Taipans were headed the other way on a fast break. Tyndale came up with a freakish block on what would have been the game winning layup, but the ball went straight back to a Taipan player, who swung it to Mee, who was cutting to the basket. As soon as he laid the ball up I knew it was dropping in, and knew it was going to bounce around the rim just long enough for the buzzer to sound.
It did, and the Cairns guys went crazy as the Sixers stood around looking stunned.
It was a really good game and the guys showed a lot of heart coming back from such a big first half deficit, but I suppose they didn't really deserve to win the way they played.
Not really sure what the problem with the team is, although like I said I think a lot of it is the backcourt. Bruce was absolutely horrible (missing every fg attempt, and five of his six free throws) but we still seem to lack a really great, creative, explosive guard. The front line is really solid, but then you've got Holmes who's a bit of a tweener, Winitana who hasn't showed much after the preseason, Hill who's not really that consistent. Maher would have helped I suppose but he's definitely winding down now.
A few final thoughts . . .
Cattalini is still a bit of a bad tempered jerk. Was more fun when he was on our team though.
I never thought I'd say this, but we miss Ng and his long range shooting. Unfortunately I think he's focussing on his schoolwork this season. Hopefully he can reach some sort of arrangement with his Mum and Dad where he's allowed to play next year, maybe by promising to do his homework before practice or something.
The refs seemed rather bad . . . although that's not meant as a complaint because it was going both ways, Cattalini got mugged on a few of his shots without a foul. But then they were calling some really light fouls on what seemed like pretty clean blocks.
Unfortunately Dad and I were sitting in front of a guy who just talked the whole night, trying to show off his knowledge of basketball and the NBL I imagine. Not fun.
I had no idea who was on the Taipans these days, so was kind of surprised to see they have two ex-Sixer players - Mee and Cattalini. Cattalini doesn't start though, and Mee went almost the whole game without scoring, so times have changed. Actually, they mentioned at the start of the game that they were integral members of the team in 98 and 99 and it hit me that that's a decade ago, a long time in the past.
Right from the first quarter the Sixers struggled to keep up with Cairns, who were playing a full court press. The Sixers were doing pretty much the opposite defensively, not even picking up players properly in the half court, and giving up some wide open threes. We fell behind my 17 points, and the only Sixer really playing well was Brad Hill, who at least took it to the basket a bit.
In the second quarter things improved and we started to close the gap a little as the team picked up the defense. Tyndale did some nice things, and the big front line of Schenser, Cooper and Ballinger was really good defensively. Where we struggled though was the guard play - Maher was injured again, and although I've heard good things about Aaron Bruce, he was terrible. It wasn't just the fact that he missed every shot he took (including a wide open three that he airballed), he played some pretty bad D leading to open three pointers by the other team, and had some suspect decision making. Maybe he was worn down by the full court D. It reminded me of when I used to watch Spurs games, and whenever Udrih was on the other team would go to a full court press, and poor Beno would turn the ball over. After that I've never had any faith in little Beno as an NBA player, although I guess Ash must have missed those contests.
Anyway, by the end of the third quarter the Sixers had actually put together an eight point lead - 59 - 51. They went completely dry offensively in the first few minutes of the fourth period though, and Cairns closed the cap quickly.
With about thirty seconds left we had the ball, up by one. Bruce dribbled around till the shot clock was almost gone, and jumped in the air to pass. Of course, the ball was stolen, and the Taipans were headed the other way on a fast break. Tyndale came up with a freakish block on what would have been the game winning layup, but the ball went straight back to a Taipan player, who swung it to Mee, who was cutting to the basket. As soon as he laid the ball up I knew it was dropping in, and knew it was going to bounce around the rim just long enough for the buzzer to sound.
It did, and the Cairns guys went crazy as the Sixers stood around looking stunned.
It was a really good game and the guys showed a lot of heart coming back from such a big first half deficit, but I suppose they didn't really deserve to win the way they played.
Not really sure what the problem with the team is, although like I said I think a lot of it is the backcourt. Bruce was absolutely horrible (missing every fg attempt, and five of his six free throws) but we still seem to lack a really great, creative, explosive guard. The front line is really solid, but then you've got Holmes who's a bit of a tweener, Winitana who hasn't showed much after the preseason, Hill who's not really that consistent. Maher would have helped I suppose but he's definitely winding down now.
A few final thoughts . . .
Cattalini is still a bit of a bad tempered jerk. Was more fun when he was on our team though.
I never thought I'd say this, but we miss Ng and his long range shooting. Unfortunately I think he's focussing on his schoolwork this season. Hopefully he can reach some sort of arrangement with his Mum and Dad where he's allowed to play next year, maybe by promising to do his homework before practice or something.
The refs seemed rather bad . . . although that's not meant as a complaint because it was going both ways, Cattalini got mugged on a few of his shots without a foul. But then they were calling some really light fouls on what seemed like pretty clean blocks.
Unfortunately Dad and I were sitting in front of a guy who just talked the whole night, trying to show off his knowledge of basketball and the NBL I imagine. Not fun.
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
Fight Club
For the past few months my mate Matt and I have been doing weights at the gym, and watching the Mixed Martial Arts class that runs in the room next door. We'd discussed joining the "Fight Club", as Matt dubbed it, on numerous occasions, but never got round to it. Last week though I ran into one of the instructors while at the gym, got the details, and we turned up last night for our first class.
We joined another ten guys and girls of varying sizes, plus a huge guy called Dave who was the instructor. He mentioned that he'd accepted an offer to fight an-ex WWE wrestler in a MMA event in Florida in five weeks time, so I figured he was not someone to mess with.
We started off with a "warm up session", first of all crawling around on all fours, then on our toes and fingertips. It's kind of hard crawling on your fingertips when you weigh 100 odd kilos. Next we did "pikes", a kind of sit up but harder, followed by pushups (on our knuckles, just for added difficulty). Then we did about twenty squats or so, which weren't heaps easy.
Next up, we put on the gloves, and matched up against a partner. We worked on left-right jab combos to the head, and using the gloves to protect the face. We did a few other types of combos and blocking, then we worked on taking a punch. Which meant one of us held our hands in the air, while the other one punched them in the stomach. This wasn't as bad as it could have been, since we were wearing gloves. Unfortunately for Matt though, he took a bare knuckle punch from the instructor when he decided to show me how it was done. Not having had a lot of experience getting punched in the belly lately, this started to get to me after a while, and I felt like I was going to throw up.
The instructor then decided we would do squats again, so we did 20 or so of these, and I was hurting. Then he said "OK, now we're going to do 100".
You've got to be freaking kidding me.
I knew there was no way I could do that, but I wasn't going to not try. I managed to get most of them, cheating a bit when the instructor turned around to face the other side of the class. At one point, he told me "Don't bend your back, it's going to be sore tomorrow". I thought of responding "All of me is going to be sore", then I remembered that he's willingly fighting this guy next month, and thought better of it.
After that we were given 30 seconds for a drink, then came back with the gloves and worked on some punching kicking combinations. Obviously someone thought we didn't get enough punishment to our midsections earlier, because then we did an exercise where we each got to kick our partner in the ribs ten times.
After this it slowed down a bit, it was more wrestling/grappling type stuff, with the instructor demonstating moves and us copying them. At one point he left to use the bathroom and told us all to do pushups till he got back. Awesome. I got through about thirty, then held the last one until he came back, then started doing them again.
The whole session lasted perhaps an hour and 40 minutes, and left me completely stuffed. He said at the end "I think you'd all agree it was a pretty light session tonight", so I'm a bit worried about what a heavy one will be like. He also told us that there'd be a two week break and we'd be starting again at a new location, because they wanted to "ramp up" our training. Not sure what that means specifically, hopefully it's not related to an increase in stomach punching.
I'm pretty keen to stay at it though, not just in terms of the physical side, but also the mental strength I reckon it will bring. It's one of the hardest things I've ever done, and I think that's a good thing, you've got to stretch yourselves sometimes. Even if it does involve being repeatedly kicked in the ribs.
We joined another ten guys and girls of varying sizes, plus a huge guy called Dave who was the instructor. He mentioned that he'd accepted an offer to fight an-ex WWE wrestler in a MMA event in Florida in five weeks time, so I figured he was not someone to mess with.
We started off with a "warm up session", first of all crawling around on all fours, then on our toes and fingertips. It's kind of hard crawling on your fingertips when you weigh 100 odd kilos. Next we did "pikes", a kind of sit up but harder, followed by pushups (on our knuckles, just for added difficulty). Then we did about twenty squats or so, which weren't heaps easy.
Next up, we put on the gloves, and matched up against a partner. We worked on left-right jab combos to the head, and using the gloves to protect the face. We did a few other types of combos and blocking, then we worked on taking a punch. Which meant one of us held our hands in the air, while the other one punched them in the stomach. This wasn't as bad as it could have been, since we were wearing gloves. Unfortunately for Matt though, he took a bare knuckle punch from the instructor when he decided to show me how it was done. Not having had a lot of experience getting punched in the belly lately, this started to get to me after a while, and I felt like I was going to throw up.
The instructor then decided we would do squats again, so we did 20 or so of these, and I was hurting. Then he said "OK, now we're going to do 100".
You've got to be freaking kidding me.
I knew there was no way I could do that, but I wasn't going to not try. I managed to get most of them, cheating a bit when the instructor turned around to face the other side of the class. At one point, he told me "Don't bend your back, it's going to be sore tomorrow". I thought of responding "All of me is going to be sore", then I remembered that he's willingly fighting this guy next month, and thought better of it.
After that we were given 30 seconds for a drink, then came back with the gloves and worked on some punching kicking combinations. Obviously someone thought we didn't get enough punishment to our midsections earlier, because then we did an exercise where we each got to kick our partner in the ribs ten times.
After this it slowed down a bit, it was more wrestling/grappling type stuff, with the instructor demonstating moves and us copying them. At one point he left to use the bathroom and told us all to do pushups till he got back. Awesome. I got through about thirty, then held the last one until he came back, then started doing them again.
The whole session lasted perhaps an hour and 40 minutes, and left me completely stuffed. He said at the end "I think you'd all agree it was a pretty light session tonight", so I'm a bit worried about what a heavy one will be like. He also told us that there'd be a two week break and we'd be starting again at a new location, because they wanted to "ramp up" our training. Not sure what that means specifically, hopefully it's not related to an increase in stomach punching.
I'm pretty keen to stay at it though, not just in terms of the physical side, but also the mental strength I reckon it will bring. It's one of the hardest things I've ever done, and I think that's a good thing, you've got to stretch yourselves sometimes. Even if it does involve being repeatedly kicked in the ribs.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Movie of the year?
I'm convinced now it really was Madonna holding Guy Richie back. Apparently they split unofficially about a year ago, which would be when Guy started working on "Rocknrolla", his best film in years.
I saw a preview screening at Palace Nova last night and loved it. I'd rank it as my second favourite of his films, right behind Snatch, which I don't think will ever be topped just because of Brad Pitt's phenomenal performance.
The plot for "Rocknrolla" is exactly the same as the first few Richie films - several groups of criminals are involved in a series of schemes to rip each other off, and all of their storylines come together at the end of the film, typically resulting in a bloody shootout. Walking down Rundle Street after the movie I was saying to my friend Rebecca that I kind of like that all of these films are the same. It's like buying a Pearl Jam album - by now you know almost exactly what you're going to get, just a slight variation on the last record, but it's still great.
Most of the movies I've liked over the last twelve months have tended to be comedies, but this is by far the best movie I've seen that didn't involve Seth Rogen. If you liked "Snatch" and "Lock, Stock . . . " definitely make sure you see this one.
I saw a preview screening at Palace Nova last night and loved it. I'd rank it as my second favourite of his films, right behind Snatch, which I don't think will ever be topped just because of Brad Pitt's phenomenal performance.
The plot for "Rocknrolla" is exactly the same as the first few Richie films - several groups of criminals are involved in a series of schemes to rip each other off, and all of their storylines come together at the end of the film, typically resulting in a bloody shootout. Walking down Rundle Street after the movie I was saying to my friend Rebecca that I kind of like that all of these films are the same. It's like buying a Pearl Jam album - by now you know almost exactly what you're going to get, just a slight variation on the last record, but it's still great.
Most of the movies I've liked over the last twelve months have tended to be comedies, but this is by far the best movie I've seen that didn't involve Seth Rogen. If you liked "Snatch" and "Lock, Stock . . . " definitely make sure you see this one.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Way better than "Body of Evidence"
I was standing in the cinema foyer last night, waiting for my friend to arrive, when I realised I wasn't sure why I was there seeing "Body of Lies".
I hadn't seen a trailer, or even really heard what it was about. The only thing I'd seen was this poster, with Leo DiCaprio running somewhere, holding a gun. And I was sold.
The movie was pretty good, a lot better than "Burn After Reading", that's for damn sure.
Leo plays a CIA operative in the Middle East, fighting against the terrorists. Then he comes up with a plan to infiltrate their world by creating a fake terrorist operation, that the real terrorists will be impressed by, and possibly jealous of.
Russell Crowe plays a management type person back in Washington. Like most Australians I don't really care much for Russ, and he didn't do anything to change my mind in this. Vince Collossimo is also in it, as Leo's assistant.
There's a few fantastic scenes, including a great chase through the desert, with bad guys in 4WDs chasing Leo and his partner, and helicopters picking off the bad guys with rockets at the same time. It is a bit long, kind of like American Gangster, so does slow up a bit a few times. Still for what it is it's pretty good, and I don't think too many people would regret going to see it.
I hadn't seen a trailer, or even really heard what it was about. The only thing I'd seen was this poster, with Leo DiCaprio running somewhere, holding a gun. And I was sold.
The movie was pretty good, a lot better than "Burn After Reading", that's for damn sure.
Leo plays a CIA operative in the Middle East, fighting against the terrorists. Then he comes up with a plan to infiltrate their world by creating a fake terrorist operation, that the real terrorists will be impressed by, and possibly jealous of.
Russell Crowe plays a management type person back in Washington. Like most Australians I don't really care much for Russ, and he didn't do anything to change my mind in this. Vince Collossimo is also in it, as Leo's assistant.
There's a few fantastic scenes, including a great chase through the desert, with bad guys in 4WDs chasing Leo and his partner, and helicopters picking off the bad guys with rockets at the same time. It is a bit long, kind of like American Gangster, so does slow up a bit a few times. Still for what it is it's pretty good, and I don't think too many people would regret going to see it.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Burn After Reading
Last night I went to the Picadilly Theatre at North Adelaide for the first time in years, and saw "Burn After Reading". It is not a movie I would recommend to you.
To start off with though, it's so weird in that cinema, it's kind of stuck in a timewarp. You're almost surprised they're showing current movies there. It's dead quiet, and I kind of expected the place to shut down permanently sometime during the screening.
I wasn't expecting much from the movie itself, but Mirjana was keen to see it, and I generally like at least 50% of the Cohen brothers' movies. This was completely different to "No Country For Old Men" - it was more along the lines of "Fargo" - a comedy about stupid people, interspersed with sudden acts of violence.
Fargo was funny though, this was not. Brad Pitt was mildy amusing in his portrayal of a male bimbo, and I did like the head CIA guy (played by the Dad from Juno). John Malkovich didn't do anything for me, and Frances McDormand seems to be permanently annoying. I wonder what she's like in real life.
Tonight I'm seeing "Body of Lies", and hoping that's a lot better.
To start off with though, it's so weird in that cinema, it's kind of stuck in a timewarp. You're almost surprised they're showing current movies there. It's dead quiet, and I kind of expected the place to shut down permanently sometime during the screening.
I wasn't expecting much from the movie itself, but Mirjana was keen to see it, and I generally like at least 50% of the Cohen brothers' movies. This was completely different to "No Country For Old Men" - it was more along the lines of "Fargo" - a comedy about stupid people, interspersed with sudden acts of violence.
Fargo was funny though, this was not. Brad Pitt was mildy amusing in his portrayal of a male bimbo, and I did like the head CIA guy (played by the Dad from Juno). John Malkovich didn't do anything for me, and Frances McDormand seems to be permanently annoying. I wonder what she's like in real life.
Tonight I'm seeing "Body of Lies", and hoping that's a lot better.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Rocknrolla
Guy Ritchie used to be one of my favourite film directors - within a few years he made "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" and "Snatch", one of my top-10 movies of all time. Unfortunately, he went off and married Madonna, and everything went downhill. He made a movie with his new bride which was universally-loathed, and then followed up with a movie that I don't think even got a DVD release here.
He's got a new one coming out now though, and I'm hoping it's a return to his earlier work. He's ditched Madonna which is a good sign, although I guess they were technically married while he was making this, so maybe she jinxed it.
Anyway, I got some tickets to the preview next week and will go along. I'm pumped that the film stars both Ari Gold and Avon Barksdale, that should be cool. I'm not expecting Snatch Part 2, but the early reviews haven't been horrible so it's worth a shot.
He's got a new one coming out now though, and I'm hoping it's a return to his earlier work. He's ditched Madonna which is a good sign, although I guess they were technically married while he was making this, so maybe she jinxed it.
Anyway, I got some tickets to the preview next week and will go along. I'm pumped that the film stars both Ari Gold and Avon Barksdale, that should be cool. I'm not expecting Snatch Part 2, but the early reviews haven't been horrible so it's worth a shot.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Fantasy Draft
So yesterday we held our fantasy basketball draft. Now that I'm a little older and birthdays and Christmas have lost their appeal a bit, this day is a solid contender for my favourite day of the year.
Unfortunately, we had a few no shows - Corey was looking after a few kids and a sick partner, and Adam was MIA, possibly still somewhere in Europe. There were also some technical MSN Messenger related issues. Still, we got there in the end, and everyone had a good time. Other than Dylan presumably, who endured about 100 jokes about his upcoming gay holiday.
I was pretty prepared for the draft, but things never go as you think they will. The players I was hoping to get in the 7th and 8th rounds went in the 5th and 6th - not sure if my expectations were unrealistic, or guys were just really reaching. I did end up getting a nice surprise when Iverson fell to me with the 12th pick, I wasn't expecting that at all.
It's standard practice that everyone loves their team immediately after the draft. I think it's called "drafterglow". I don't really feel any attachment to a lot of my players though. They weren't guys that I was planning on getting, I just felt like I couldn't pass them up at the spots I took them.
After the draft James and Forcey hung around for pizza and NBA 2K9. James beat us both repeatedly, presumably because he's a member of Generation Y, and they're good at computer games and stuff. I finally beat him in the last game, but it took overtime, and two buzzer beaters to get there (including a ridiculous Derek Fisher three over Greg Oden).
Unfortunately, we had a few no shows - Corey was looking after a few kids and a sick partner, and Adam was MIA, possibly still somewhere in Europe. There were also some technical MSN Messenger related issues. Still, we got there in the end, and everyone had a good time. Other than Dylan presumably, who endured about 100 jokes about his upcoming gay holiday.
I was pretty prepared for the draft, but things never go as you think they will. The players I was hoping to get in the 7th and 8th rounds went in the 5th and 6th - not sure if my expectations were unrealistic, or guys were just really reaching. I did end up getting a nice surprise when Iverson fell to me with the 12th pick, I wasn't expecting that at all.
It's standard practice that everyone loves their team immediately after the draft. I think it's called "drafterglow". I don't really feel any attachment to a lot of my players though. They weren't guys that I was planning on getting, I just felt like I couldn't pass them up at the spots I took them.
After the draft James and Forcey hung around for pizza and NBA 2K9. James beat us both repeatedly, presumably because he's a member of Generation Y, and they're good at computer games and stuff. I finally beat him in the last game, but it took overtime, and two buzzer beaters to get there (including a ridiculous Derek Fisher three over Greg Oden).
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