[BloHaMa] 'Fraid Knot

Does This Rope Make Me Look Fat?

I was only telling myself the other day that I wasn't going to guess at BloHaMa because I was afraid of getting the word right, and here I am!

Guess away.

FRANKINCENSE - essence of Frankinstien.

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P, G

Congrats Pickwick! Get swingnin!

December Goodies

01 - Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban (DVD) (I want the free lego bus!) [Purchased, but sadly no lego bus]
01 - Knight Rider - Season 1 (DVD) - not really, but it would be fun to watch a couple.
02 - Christmas With The Kranks (Cinema)
08 - Hellboy (DVD)
10 - Lord Of The Rings - The Return Of The King: Extended Edition (4 Disc)
10 - Lord Of The Rings - The Return Of The King: Extended Edition (5 Disc)
16 - Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (Cinema)
25 - Christmas! Prezzies!
26 - The Incredibles (Cinema)
26 - The Phantom of the Opera (Cinema)
28 - My Birthday. More Prezzies!

Interesting Stuff

Well, for me it is anyhow.

Ain't It Cool News has seen the film version of Phantom Of The Opera. It's a very positive article (they aren't afraid of not being) and I'm looking forward to escaping the heat over Christmas to catch this flick.

I like the show and really enjoyed the finale, but I'm unlikely to buy any book about The O.C. like this.

Joss Whedon is working on a new script and on the post productino of the Firefly movie 'Serenity', David Fury is working on 'Lost', Drew Z. Greenberg is writing for The O.C.. What are the former Buffy and Angel writing staff penning now?

Roald Dahl is back in fashion in case you didn’t know. The poster for the new Tim Burton, Johnny Depp starring, Charlie and The Chocolate Factory has been released.

Speilberg and Cruise are declaring War on the World. Sorry, War ‘of’ the Worlds.

The Summer Wind

It's nearly over.

Yes this week is the final week of ratings. What does this mean? Don't bother buying a TV guide because it'll be useless. Expect shows that are mid-season to disappear, repeats of shows so oft repeated, even the digital copies are starting to show signs of wear and the typical myriad of Christmas specials, movies and ads.

The positive side of this is hopefully the networks start airing shows they were too afraid to air for ratings. Summer is also the time when ABC and SBS let their hair down and show some great arts shows and theatre. Makes me want to get out my tapes of the Beckett Festival SBS aired 2 years ago.

What would Summer be without sport. Nine removes themselves from our TV for days at a time by airing cricket, I'm sure there'll be some enthralling lawn bowls on ABC and, of course, SBS has hockey and soccer. I do watch a bit of the Australian Open, but that's the extent of my sporting viewage.

I look forward to a good Summer, even if I survive it with DVDs.

Cartoon Recollections

What cartoons do you remember from your childhood? For me there was Transformers, He-man and She-ra, Voltron, Danger Mouse, and Roger Ramjet. This excellent feature article looks at the He-Man phenomenon from imaginative toys to cartoons and spin-offs.

To Say Goodbye

Is there a computer at your work that is used by multiple people to, for example, check email?

Are you nearing the end of your contract or access to this computer?

I heard a good story while I was away...

I, like many others, use the auto-complete for web addresses in my browser and I think I pay attention to what site is guessed. Why not have a little fun, and see who actually is paying attention. Most people still use Hotmail (we know they need to use Gmail), so I recommend typing in "hotmale.com" into the address bar once and let the good times roll!

It may result in some hearty laughs, or maybe firing. Either way, it's funny for someone.

It's All About Me

So prepare yourself for an influx of posts relating to my trip away. I can't help it. It's going to be on my mind for a while.

One purpose I try to impose on my spring trip south is some early Christmas shopping. I go away intent on returning with a good amount of gifts removing the need to scrounge later on. There are two problems:

The first is my family's and my birthdays are all between now and the end of the year. So gifts tend to disappear when split between the two occasions.

The second is my inability to think about anyone else while I am browsing. I can spend an hour in, for example, JB Hifi and go to leave, only to realise that I've not looked at anything that isn't something I want. So I'll do another trip around the store, finding more things I want and hopefully a suitable gift for someone else. I have to make a conscious effort to shop for others. It's not that I'm selfish, I just am so used to browsing, and not purchasing, that it is ingrained that I look for good things for me.

Take me shopping and I'm good for spotting things another may want, but alone I'm terrible. When shopping with others I have a knack for finding bargains and I become unpopular because I don't spend anything, but find items that others can't resist.

I managed to find a few things that make a good start for the shopping. I'll just have to wait till the last minute now, so I have no other choice than to totally focus on other people.

The Journey Home

I have returned home. My suitcase bulging and my bank account empty. Happy am I to have slept in my bed last night. I had an amazing fortnight away: excellent shows, good friends and fun places to visit.

CDs, DVDs and, of course, books were purchased; a few Christmas presents as well. Movies were viewed and shows were seen. I am glad I had the opportunity to do it. Now back to my real life and daily grind!

Really?

I'm The Mists of Avalon!
by Marion Zimmer Bradley

I'm obsessed with Camelot in all its forms, from Arthurian legend to the Kennedy administration. My favorite movie from childhood was "The Sword inthe Stone". But more than tales of wizardry and Cuban missiles, I've focused on women. I know that they truly hold all the power. I always wished you could meet Jackie Kennedy.

Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

It's All Over

My time in Adelaide is coming to a close. In 40 hours I'll be back in the land of Queens. Hang on. I'll rephrase. I'll be back in Bris-vegas.

Last night was the final of the four-part opera I was over here to see. The Ring Cycle is a HUGE production. It is really four operas continuing the same story. It's The Lord of the Ring of theatre. Composed by Wagner, and even if you've not heard of him you are assuredly aware of the most famous tune from the second show called 'The Ride of the Valkyries'. I'll track down a link for a snippet of the tune. Believe me when I say you'll recognise it.

So after around 18 hours of Wagner, I think I've had my fix for a few years. It was an excellent show and I am extremely glad I got to come over and see it. For free!

I'll write a detailed account of my experience when I get home home.

Temperature Confusion

I am a Queenslander. This means that I like warm temperatures and don't enjoy the cold. Imagine my surprise when I step outside the apartment building I am residing in to find the majority of people wearing long pants and light coats. I was in my normal summer shorts and open shoes. No jumper. As a rule, I always step outside to check the temp. Today was no different, I went out onto my balcony and it was rather balmy and I dressed accordingly.

It wasn't cold! I am usually the first to grab a coat, so imagine my surprise to find the opposite of the norm happening. Typically you can spot the Qlder in southern states. We look like we're preparing for an Antarctic trip if it gets colder that 20 Celsius.

I enjoyed breaking the stereotype.

Weird.

He's My Heeero

Firstly, staying in a second floor apartment in the dead centre of a capital city is a noisy affair.

So, how glad am I that I got to see Hero on a HUGE screen. I was sitting in the back row and it still felt like it went on forever. I'm such a country-bum sometimes. All I can say is:

Go see it.

If you live in Brisbane, go see it at South Bank cinemas, otherwise find the biggest screen and watch it there.

Empire mag calls it 'the most beautiful film ever made'. A big call, but it is well deserved. I was in constant awe. Nigh on every shot could be a painting. The colour palate is intrinsic to the story and for every perspective the tale is told from the colours change and become more a part of the story.

If you were amazed and entertained by the fight sequences in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon you'll be more so in Hero. There has been enough sprouting about these scenes already, so I'll just say:

Go see it!

The let downs for me were few. Jet Li isn't an actor with what one would call 'range'. He does quite well with most scenes and, of course, is excellent with the physical scenes but I don't think he brought the depth that could have been found in Nameless. The other is some of the Visual Effects sequences were not terribly convincing. I don't recall noticing any in CT,HD. There were a couple that were just too Hollywood, and brought me out of the world.

The story is played out a number of times as new details are added to fully explain everyone's actions and, thus, drive the plot. There was a couple of moments when I wondered how many times I would have to see some characters die. It is all worth sitting through. So:

GO SEE IT!

Heel and Toe

Have you ever had the urge to shake your booty? What about going to a wedding and not making a complete fool of yourself out on the dance floor? I certainly have, but I have the self control to resist both urges. I have, however, also had urges to take up dance lessons. I think it may be fun. I’m talking about the type featured in Shall We Dance, not the scary local dance schools who are infested by small children.

I saw this on a large screen in a small cinema. It was too close for me even. I like to sit mid cinema at the local Birch cinemas normally. Back on topic now.

JLo and Richard Gere: strange coupling. Thankfully it's not the typical romcom. A remake of a Japanese film, Shall We Dance suffers from a Hollywood do-over, but manages to play out satisfactorily. There's no Oscars needed. No one really stretches their acting chops, but what this film does is give you a fun film that plucks the right chords and doesn't challenge. If you aren't terribly critical of the world, you'll likely leave the cinema feeling a bit happier than you went in, and possibly have a slight bounce in your step. If you want good film making then I believe the original is worth seeking.

YAY!!

Ok, I just embarrased myself in front of someone who is unused to my enthusiasm about TV shows. Why did I get excited I hear you ask?

Firefly is ON TV!!!

At 12.30am, i.e. in 42 minutes time, the third episode called 'The Train Job' is on. Set your video recorders right now! For those of you who are already in bed, I am terribly sorry that I didn't discover this sooner, but I am on holiday.

If you don't know, The Train Job is the ep that the Fox network requested to see how the show would go as an hour long series. So Joss and Tim Minear had a weekend to write this ep, and cover all the character introductions they had spent 2 hours in Serenity doing.

Hope you are able to set your VCRs for next weeks ep if you miss this one. Be warned that 'Bushwhacked' is a scary ep and kinda gross. Stick with it and you'll be well rewarded.

Freak Me

Ok, I'm meant to be writing proper posts tonight. Instead, I've been distracted by other things.

While waiting for Hero to start on Saturday night a trailer for the new Sarah Michelle Gellar flick came on. I have read a number of things and had an interest in seeing the film. I knew it was based on a scary Japanese flick and likely to be scary but I was still interested.

The preview came on and scared the crap outta me!

So I visited the official site tonight. It's just as freaky as the trailer!

I'm undecided whether I could endure something this creepy on the big screen or whether I wait for the DVD and daylight.

No Manger For Me

Well you may or, mostly likely, may not have noticed that the Library has been a little on the silent side, and so have I, for the past couple of days. That would be because I am away! I'm away for two whole weeks!

Guess what? I brought my laptop with me since I can't live without it!

So, once I get set up in my next locale I'll be able to spend some time doing what I like, i.e. blogging. Of course that is around all the shopping and socialising and shows.

I went to see Vanity Fair tonight. It was the only movie on in this city that I hadn't seen, or was willing to see, when I had the whim to see something tonight. I thought it would never happen if I went to a capital city, but here I am going to strange things. There's nothing on at the Dendy cinemas that does anything for me either. I'm going to see Hero tomorrow night on a screen that's 25 metres wide. I'm likey to get brain meltdown from it.

I never mentioned it here, but I was contemplating taking up the Nanowrimo challenge. Over the past couple of weeks I'd been writing down notes and ideas, then eventually some early plot points (I needed something to do during the show, I wasn't terribly busy). I was seriously contemplating taking taking up the challenge. Two things struck me. One, it's fifty thousand words, and I've only just crossed the forty thousand mark with this blog; two, I'm going to be away for half of the time of the challenge. Now, as the past two days have proven, I'm in no mental place to be creating my butt off. I'm far to distracted by shopping and pretty lights. I had a half hour wait after Fair tonight, for a bus, and during that time I wrote half a page of novel text to see if I could manage it. I was surprised at how easy it was to put down what was in my head. I wrote my first line of dialogue. Then I got stuck.

I've decided that if I ever want a 'normal' job then bargain hunter it is! I've seen so many things that I've wanted to buy in the last two days because they are insanely cheap, but have to refrain due to the length of time my money has to last. I did spend about $100 on clothes today, which is something I needed to do. I have only bought two books. Which is amazing.

Target had 15% off store wide till today and that nearly lead to tears when I kept telling myself that I don't need more DVDs.

JB Hifi has earnt the title 'CD house of sin'. They had the Donnie Darko score soundtrack for $18, and a few others I talked myself out of.

Borders is my mecca. Nuff said.

While clothes shopping in Stone's Corner where all the retail wearhouses are I had the rare experience of pleasant and friendly staff who were helpful, encouraging and, well, helpful. I am so used to being totally ignored that it really made my day go better. I had a couple of them look flabbergasted when I would keep coming out of change rooms complaining that the smallest size was still too big. I won't mention the fun of finding a belt small enough for me...

Well, tomorrow I'm off to see the circus. The Cirque Du Soleil to be precise. I saw a newspaper article about them yesterday and I got a bit over-excited at the fact that this time they brought over the BIG tent. The blue and yellow striped one. It seats 2900 people rather than the 2000 the white one sat. YAY!

Yes, I'm excited. I'm allowed to be. This is a big thing and I love it!

The bugger is I have a 6.20am flight on Sunday morning. Grumble grumble.

Mismatched

We all know that the world is obsessed with image. Whether you say you are or deny it, image is important to us all. I'm not just talking about clothes here, either. I mean everything physical. Thus, I'm rarely surprised by what people in Hollywood do to themselves.

What I am constantly surprised by is how awful people look after some of the surgery and procedures they inflict upon themselves. If it makes you look like Frankenstein's Monster, then you've not made yourself look more attractive, let alone younger. What brought this on was my chance stopping on The Practice tonight. Rebecca De Mornay guest starred along with Vince Colosimo.

The first thing that struck me was how perfectly smooth and flawless De Mornay's face was. Something to show off, no matter how artificially it was achieved. The nasty surprise was her neck. Now I'm not about to go on about how unattractive anything is, because that is not my point. But, if you are going to make your face look like it's half your age, ensure that you treat everything around it equally, otherwise the bad will always draw more attention than the good.

Now. Where is my mirror?

Round and Round

Yesterday was the final performance of a local community musical I lent my abundant abilities to (*cough*). I enjoy most musical theatre and this one had some great stuff in it, but no matter what the show nor how long I've been involved in it, by the end of the run I am going insane with having the same songs constantly on repeat in my head. There are some shows that are notoriously annoying like that, and this was one of them.

I try to twist the songs so the merge into something else. Today I managed to get one to cross over to 'Everybody Scream' from The Nightmare Before Christmas, and another to the Oompa Loompa song from Willy Wonker & The Chocolate Factory, both of which amuse me endlessly, but no sooner was I enjoying the new show-free music when it would creep back in.

Typically, I can rid myself of the tunes within a couple of weeks, but some linger. It was only recently that I started to hum a tune from the show I did at the start of the year, and boy was I not popular with those I was working with at the time!

I'll just have to immerse myself in other music for a while.

Oom pa pa...

Non Event

The first Tuesday of November every year at about 3:10pm is the 'race that stops a nation'. Strangely enough, I rarely stop. I'm an alien in my own land. For me the Melbourne Cup is about as interesting as, well, any other horse race. I just don't get it. There's no sport in it; they don't run against a clock.

As with human athletes, everyone is so surprised when a horse is found with drugs in it's system. As a person who has seen racing horses up close, they are just as twitchy as any drug addict hanging out for the next hit.

Apologies. I digress.

Such a big event. It lasts for about 3 minutes. Now I could make the obvious analogy, but I'll refrain. Lets just say that nearly everyone leaves disappointed.

I've not been to the actual event, and I may have a different perspective if I had, but it all seems to much about nothing.

I won't even start on all of the 'social functions' that occur along with the Cup.