I didn’t watch the life expectancy survey thing on Channel 7 last Sunday, though I see a minute or two while channel-flicking. It was showing reams of statistics, read out by an unseen host whose voice I thought I recognised, but who didn’t appear on-screen so I could work out if I was right or ... [More]
Category: Culture
TV, movies, music, that kind of thing
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Must… resist… online… shopping…
The problem with shopping on the Net on UK web sites is that prices in pounds make everything sound so cheap. So it was hard to resist the lure of three movies I kinda sorta wanted, at 8.97, 8.97 and 6.97 each. Bargains, every one! No, wait, that’s UKP, dammit. Multiply by three, pretty much. ... [More]
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The party shirt
Friday night DVD: School Of Rock. Not at all deep, and obviously a Jack Black post-High-Fidelity star vehicle, but very funny, very enjoyable. I rang the bank to ask what happened with my alarm clock points reward thing I ordered. The lady told me it would take up to 28 days to arrive. TWENTY EIGHT ... [More]
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Did we get fooled again?
Last night I found myself watching some of the Concert For NYC, in particular The Who’s performance. I’m still not going to splurge out on their forthcoming concert (dubbed rather cruelly by one friend as “Who’s left?”). But this four song performance from 2001 is great music. And remembering it in context, very moving, a ... [More]
The problems with going to the movies at Chadstone on a Friday night are: There is no parking on the “entertainment precinct” side of the centre at 8pm on a Friday. Well that is, there are plenty of parking spaces, but every one of them is taken. There are, of course, no buses running. Oh, ... [More]
Crisis on Friday night when a certain girlfriend lost her handbag. It hasn’t shown up yet either. Perhaps the taxi driver liked the look of the two books contained within. And the glasses. Finally watched Bowling For Columbine. I can’t think of much to say about it than probably hasn’t been said before. I’ll just ... [More]
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Virtual cleanup
Recently I was looking through a bunch of old floppy disks, having a bit of a cleanup, and found a bunch of old favourite sound files, which I thought I’d share. Most of them date back to a job in 1996…
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Next / tipping
Neal Stephenson’s “Snow Crash” is next on my reading list. I’ll let you know what I think of it when I’ve got beyond the first page. I ummed and ahhed about my footy tips on Friday. I tipped Geelong, then on reading the paper I changed my mind and tipped Brisbane. Then I pondered if ... [More]
Once Upon a Time in the Midlands (DVD). Some good acting (Robert Carlyle is rarely not), some funny moments (particularly Ricky Tomlinson), some poignant moments. But ultimately there was something lacking in this movie, and I don’t think it was just because some of the dialects weren’t quite intelligible. For instance, after the punch-up at ... [More]
The experiment… well I stood and sat around at Flinders Street for about an hour all up, reading and re-reading the MX, and kept looking out for smokers. Not many about as it happens. Met up with the photographer at 6pm, and stood and sat around a bit more, posing for the camera. Flash, flash, ... [More]
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Instant reviews
The Crow Road (Iain Banks). I just finished reading this. The ending nicely tied up the story, and it was a great read. I think for me one of the signs of a great writer is that Banks was able to throw up thoughts and concepts along the way that most would consider are thought-provoking ... [More]
Having a few good chuckles watching Goodbye Lenin on Friday night. Yummy meals: Thai on Friday night, pub on Saturday night, getting served breakfast in bed on Sunday morning, and a thoroughly delicious meal in Bendigo that made up for driving all that way in the wind and rain. Trying out my new dressing gown ... [More]
Do I walk a bit funny or something? The heels of the two pairs of shoes I most commonly wear (the Monday to Friday work shoes) are wearing away on the outside edges. Further, one pair is re-developing the same hole which I thought was comprehensively eliminated a year ago. And in the same position ... [More]
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Oops / Strange
Oops. This fine site was down for a couple of hours last night after my web hosting provider pointed out the bill was three weeks overdue. Nothing like downing your site to make you sit up and take notice. I found the errant bill languishing in my e-mail inbox. Full credit to them though, they ... [More]
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Onto a winner
Plan A for Sunday: Take the kids to the footy, meet up with Tony, Rae and Phoebe and watch the Cats lose. Plan B for Sunday: Walk down to Dick Smith Powerhouse, buy an XBox game, come home, play it. Maybe have a bounce on the trampoline at some stage. When these two plans were ... [More]
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Finding Nemo
Finally got around to watching Finding Nemo on Friday night. Great stuff. My favourite characters would have to be the seagulls. “Mine!” I think they captured them perfectly. It made me recall Andrew Bolt’s critique of the movie. It’s a terrific laugh, as Boltie usually is. I always make sure to check out what he’s ... [More]