Thursday 30 June 2011

snorffles

Cashtration (n): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period of time. Ignoranus : A person who' s both stupid and an asshole. Intaxication : Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with. Reintarnation : Coming back to life as a hillbilly. Bozone ( n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future. Foreploy : Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid. Giraffiti : Vandalism spray-painted very, very high Sarchasm : The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it. Inoculatte : To take coffee intravenously when you are running late. Osteopornosis : A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.) Glibido : All talk and no action. Dopeler Effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly. Arachnoleptic Fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web. Beelzebug (n.) : Satan in the form of a mosquito, that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.

and here's the tearjerker ...

that bewdiful moment when maggie and chris FINALLY get it together to the gorjus sounds of iris doing 'our town'

Wednesday 29 June 2011

Iris DeMent singing Pretty Saro from Songcatcher

'The SongCatcher' is based on a true story and is about a musicologist in the early 1900s, staying in the Appalachians and collecting their songs. Not the greatest film of all time, but a must see for anyone who loves their toons...

THE GO BETWEENS "Right Here"

We were 18, I was living at home with my parents and he (lets just call him Fitzroy Boy)was living with 2 mates. He was in a band and I wanted to be in one...one night after we'd all been jamming in the lounge for hours and SMOKING (sorry Betty), everyone else went to bed, and Fitzroy Boy and I sat up and put on the Go Betweens. Talked and talked and talked and.. I think we listened to 'Right Here' 3 times before we ended up singing along and kissing....we lasted about 6 weeks and then he broke my heart. We broke up with The Church playing 'Unguarded Moment' in the background.....I wrote a lot of crap poetry, moved out of home, started playing in bands...
I cant belieeeeeve the Go Betweens came in so far down the JJJ chart. They were one of the best things around in the mid 80s. Amanda Brown was so cool....Fitzroy Boy was hot for Amanda. I wished I was blond and played violin like Amanda...

more cloggin' .. this time with pete seeger ... yeee hawww!

a quick one, but oh sooooo good. these are some of the same kids from the other vid, but you see more of the technique in this one. the beat and pace must create an almost trancelike euphoria to actually dance it. sublime stuff.

Tuesday 28 June 2011

I think you should all know that

I got a new orbital sander on the weekend. happiness is moin.

and in a complete departure from the mountain folk ...

no one has managed to do this song as well as carl anderson did it in the original. such a fantastic piece of soulful musicalia circa 1970's. love the spangles, the wigs, the nude body stockings, the blonde, blue eyed jesus ... love it all!

while we're (I'm) on bluegrass ... my fave band of the moment

just adore jody stecher's mandolining and his gorjus earthy vocal. they were in oz recently, as it happens. I missed them :(

Pickin' and Cloggin' On The Porch With Bascom Lunsford

this one nearly killed me with it's wonderfulness! I love bascom, for starters (he has a cameo in the teen piece, you'll remember). and let's not fail to note that bill is 76 years old and a smoker. prolly no schoolin' neither - but man can he clog and pick! ahhh yes, a handbuilt stone house in the mountains, a porch, a rocking chair, a dog, a guitar and a banjo. what else does any family need? I've watched this one soooo many times. never get sick of it. and that toon bascom sings while bill clogs is an absolute cracker!

Monday 27 June 2011

DVD Review: The Kings Speech

I expected it to be good, and it was. I expected to sit back and enjoy a script elegantly crafted and the work of fine actors and I wasn't disappointed, at all ,at all...
What surprised me was- the many layers of Firth's King George. Here I was waiting for Mr Darcy to glare compellingly, stutter and occasionally say something eloquent. Instead we are given a well rounded character: an angry, defensive abrupt man whose grief is tripping him up and tying his tongue; who has always lived in the shadow of his father's and his brother's status, but nonetheless, understands himself as royalty.
Big claps for the rest of the thespians as well. Rush, Bonham Carter, Claire Bloom, Timothy Spall, Derek Jacobi.....Guy Pearce gets an extra round of applause because I revel in the deliciousness of them casting a filthy colonial to play the man who refused to be King....
What can I add? Watching Timothy Spall, Helena Bonham Carter and Micheal Gambon at work in the Kings Speech reminded me of how many pommy actors have been caught up in the Harry Potter fillums over the years...all popping up in this film too, all there to remind us of just how well the British do this sort of thing, and what good sports they are to do it with us Australians nowadays, you know...
Read an interview with Geoffrey Rush some time ago, where he mentioned that when he read the script, he thought it would be a big risk. I think he was exaggerating, because he chose to become an executive producer; I'm sure he knew he was onto something. But I dont want to nitpick with the wonderful Mr Rush. I'm grateful that he brought this work out for our pleasure. I'm sure someone else has said this before me, but long live the Kings Speech. 8/10

Thought it might be 'timely' to post what the current Mayan elders are saying about 2012...

Address to the world by the National Council of Elders Mayas, Xinca and Garifuna
The Maya finally speak up about the meaning of 2012.
The Maya have taken center stage because many fear the supposed end date of their calendar marks the end of the world. Most of this information comes from non-Mayans and it is not accurate…the Maya’s message is simple: “Our actions have created a world out of balance that must be rebalanced immediately in order for us to avoid more suffering…to humans and to all life.”

5 No’j

April 8th, 2011

Antigua Guatemala, Guatemala

To my brothers and sisters around the world:

In the name of the Heart of the Heavens and the Heart of the Earth, greetings from Guatemala and the National Council of Elders Mayas, Xinca and Garifuna.

I, Wakatel Utiw, “Wandering Wolf,” Cirilo Perez Oxlaj, humbly offer this message to you. I speak now of what we see happening in the world today. According to the Maya Calendars we are living in the time of the 13 Baktun and 13 Ajau. This is a time that comes accompanied with great pain. We are seeing a series of events approaching us as never seen before, these events come charged with tremendous sufferings and pain. They will happen in different places. They will touch us equally, men and women, old and young, indigenous or non-indigenous.

All this is due to the contamination. The atmosphere has lost its control. We the Maya see it with much sadness that we will see hunger and drought. Plagues will invade the fields and affect the agriculture; new illnesses will appear and will be difficult to cure. The sun rays are getting stronger and stronger as time goes by.

Our recommendation to avoid more suffering is this: No more nuclear testing, no more wars, no more mining and other explorations, no more use of chemicals. This is the only way the human race, the animals and the ancient trees could survive and see the new Sun*. If we do not change, few will be the ones to survive and see the arrival of the 6th Sun.

Let’s reconcile with our Creator and our Mother Earth, each one in our own way. For us the Maya will be with our Sacred Fire.

Respectfully,

Wandering Wolf

*Note: RE: “Sun.” Contrary to popular belief the living elders of the Maya do not agree that December 21, 2012 is the end of their calendar. A new “Sun” represents the beginning of a new Long Count cycle in the calendar system of approximately 5,200 years, which they say may not happen for many years.

http://www.shiftoftheages.com/

End of Financial Year - EOFY

I hate this time of the year....
  • Crazy customers wanting to spend all there budget money so they get new grants for more next year
  • Crazy reps trying to make my life hell
  • Crazy suppliers changing there prices from the start of July
All of which want to send me CRAZY! And are succeeding! I hate this time of the year

Appalachian Bluegrass Mountain Dulcimer

who's for the Canberra National 2012?

sweet smokin' jesus!

I fkn love this! in fact I could write an essay on all the reasons I do, there are just so many. the awesomeness of the band - fine musicians and good 'ole boys to a man. the gaps in dentition. the clothes and hair. the vaguely homoerotic dance with the two lads at the end. the clothes and hair. the rolled up rug (so quintessentially 1950's home entertainment ... now we know what's wrong with teens today), the disapproving nannas. the clothes and hair. but most of all .... THE DANCING! straight into my all time favourite utoobs.

Saturday 25 June 2011

This is the most awesome music I have heard for a long while

I heard this today, and after the previous posts thought I should do something vaguely intelligent.

وهنا لمعاينة باللغة العربية of heffalumps

وهنا لمعاينة باللغة العربية of heffalumps.
Going international at Ten Forward with 24 hour climate control.
Wilma's sexy (un)shiny bikini. God, this is better than Eurovision any old day.

le stature de l'elvis

This video will raise the stature of Elvis immeasurably, I feel.

How to make Asparagus Juice

No idea why you'd want to, but just in case you do, here's how.

Sting: The End of the game. Live in Berlin 2010 (11/15)

...essays completed, back to business as usual here, including some worship of Sting dvds. How did that weedy punk pop star turn into such a moving songwriter? I would like this played at my funeral

Friday 24 June 2011

Thursday 23 June 2011

Married by Elvis

Hey there,aha aha. My best friend from high school just got married. She & her chappie said they'd only ever get hitched in Vegas, by Elvis...she's just posted this to facebook. I have her permission to repost. It's 10 min long so you may not want to watch the full ceremony, but it's gorgeously funny. And yes, he's a real celebrant. Yes, she is now legally married....

Monday 20 June 2011

this never gets old :p

another gormenghast bite - scene with stephen fry, martin clunes & a host of other worthies

other reviews

zip whilst away, though did manage to chomp down the remaining eps of Gormenghast prior to departure. I loved it massively and just can't speak highly enough of the whole unhinged thing! will buy it just as soon as I can track down a set. now back to wading through weekly torchwood mini-marathons with the ladeeez, and 'grand designs' eps during the week. found series one of 'no reservations' at the library on weekend, also. transpires it's a politer version of tony, and less funny as he hadn't quite hit his straps. still enjoyabubble, though, if you like your food and travel mixed and shaken by a tall, chain smoking, profanity-spitting new yorker.

black swans - a review

we saw quite a few of the beauties whilst wandering the mexican side of the mighty murray. it gave a disillusioned hippy the opportunity to ponder their innards, and such. upshot .. they're graceful and wondrous to behold when adrift at a remove, up close they're bold as - worse than seagulls at hot chip time when it comes to food stealage. how this plays into the nat movie I dunno, but there you are :D

Sunday 19 June 2011

DVD review: Black Swan

First up:
No Australian would ever call a fillum like this Black Swan, because all of our swans are black and they're all serene and graceful and none of them shred their fingernails. Someone word up Alan Jones. This fillum is un-Australian.
Also: I think that Vincent Cassell has gotten off very lightly in reviews of this. As a charismatic artistic director whose mindpuckery aids and abets Nina's disintegration, he's about as charismatic and tricky as a statue. And the script doesnt help him along at all; its all very cliched....the likes of Phillip Seymour Hoffman (Capote)or Paul Giamatti (Sideways) would have been more interesting in this role.
Thank goodness for the scary and suffocating Erica Sayers/Barbara Hershey. If it wasnt for her mother character I really would have thought that poor old Nina just had a breakdown because.
....Because there's not much other connection between Nina and the other elements of the film. She's unwell and hallucinating when the film starts, so its no surprise that she's unwell and hallucinating when it ends. Unless you want to count all of those depressing grey concrete brick walls as a connection. They'd drive me mad. And Mila Kunis was hot..and Winona was marvellously mad; she reminded me a little of Helena Bonham Carter.
Ultimately, Portman earned her Oscar, in the fine tradition of actors who get Oscars for portraying folk who are disabled, physically, mentally, intellectually or otherwise..she was terrific. But I didnt want to watch the fingernail bits.

If you dont hear much from moi this week..

I am around.
Husbot is frantically footnoting a thesis and has comandeered the internet for the duration. I'm involved in a lot of kid diverting and tea making.
If you need to know anything about Australian songwriters in the first half of the 20th century, just ask....he's got it all down now...
BTW!
Angry Boys! Was fun this week! SMouse back next week. Dang.

Saturday 18 June 2011

Alright creative geniuses with opinions, I am looking for your feedback/advise on what you think of this site? Be honest. http://blackicequeen.webs.com/ It is a place for me to put my stories

Thursday 16 June 2011

I've seen more of

vicky these past two weeks than most victorians. some of it is loverly, some of it not so much :)

Wednesday 15 June 2011

Agent of Death - Jordon - Part 1

Alright.... here it is.... part 1 of story 3 :) Let me know if you want them smaller or not.

Swerving to miss the car in front of her for the second time, Mika wondered what the driver ahead of her was doing. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she struggled to maintain control of her car on the busy road. All around her the cars seemed to be moving with her as she moved left and right to avoid a crash. She hated driving at the best of times, but at night she just didn’t feel safe. She would rather have been at home, but some things were unavoidable. If Caleb hadn’t been such a handful today she might have made it to the city before dark. He didn’t understand why mummy had to leave the forest without him. He had made that very clear that he wanted to come with her.

All of a sudden her eyes focused once more at what was in front of her and red taillights lit up the night as the driver ahead skidded to a stop. Smoke billowed from their types as she slammed on her own brakes now. Too fast, there was no way to avoid it. Bracing herself as best as she could and in the split second after she hit she registered the accident before her airbags deployed and her world went black.

Jordon stood back from the crash before him, pleased. The driver of the red car had put up a fight, but like always the crash was a spectacular disaster. Carnage was spread across the road and while he stood there to watch the emergency services were arriving. There was meant to be three in this accident, but as usual his father was making last minute changes to his list. His temper recently left a lot to be desired for, so instead of arguing with him, it was better to just do what he said. Even if that meant changing plans at the last minute just to suit his father’s whim. Four cars lay damaged on the road. Ambulance officers scrambled from one car to another trying to assess the damage. He knew that the driver in the white car was dead already. They had already draped a sheet over his face. The heart attack that the poor guy had been suffering had been too much of a strain on him and from the moment that he slammed his brakes on it was game over for him. The woman in the red car was his other intended victim. The people in the dark cars, where the blue or black, it was hard to tell in this light were just collateral damage. The way that the ambos were treating them reassured him that once again things had gone to plan.

It was late and he was tired. It had been a long day, but after this he had a few days off. To say that he was looking forward to them was an understatement. Everyone had been working hard in the last few months. Alex was the exception to the rule, his son was only six months old and he liked staying home too much. Zac was a cute and full of energy. One look at him and you could tell that he was just like him dad. Already he knew that Alex didn’t want him to follow in the family business. As much as he wanted to hate his brother for his family and happiness, he couldn’t. Living solitary lives was hard. He could feel his eyes starting to close on him and wished that things would hurry up. He just needed them to pronounce the driver of the red car dead and he would be out of here and home in the blink of an eye. As a second ambulance officer arrived at the red car he sensed something was wrong. It should have been easy for them to work out the difference between dead and alive. The car door was pulled open and that was when his worst fears came to life. Out of the car stepped a woman with striking blonde hair and even in this light she was stunningly beautiful. With the assistance of the ambos she was walked over to the waiting vehicle and ushered inside.

Jordon stood in a state of shock. He was certainly not tired now. What the hell was going on? How could she have walked away? Scrubbing his hands across his face he moved closer to see what was going on with her. She was sitting alone in the back of an ambulance. Police were slowly clearing the scene and as the last of the casualties were loading into the other ambulances, Jordon stood looking at her.

“He is going to pay. Stupid old man sending someone else to do his dirty work for him. When I get home, shit is going to hit the fan and I am going to go after him.” Her voice was low and muttering, but her intent was clear. Whoever she was annoyed with was in trouble. There was a gleam in her blue eyes that screamed danger. The door was closed on the van while she was still muttering to herself. He thought about following her, but knew that there was no point tonight. He would not get another chance. Tomorrow was a brand new day and hopefully it would happen after a good night’s sleep.

A hospital was the last place that she wanted to be tonight. Tomorrow was a big day for her and she needed to be resting and centring herself. Not stuck in a place that stunk of sterility. Closing her eyes she thought of Caleb, thankful once more at the fact that he wasn’t with her. He needed to be safe. She trusted him in Cian’s hands. Her brother would watch him until her return. If only they would let her go. Aside from a few bruises she felt alright. Mika had heard them talking of a concussion, but she didn’t care. She wanted to go home, or at least to her hotel room.

“Ms Frees all of your scans have come back clear. You have no broken bones, but a lot of bruising.” She opened her eyes to see a tall doctor learning over her.

“I told you before, it is Mika.” She had told them all a million times.

“Mika then, you were very lucky. From what the paramedics have said, you should have a lot of injuries. Your car is a write off.”

“It was a rental anyway. The lucky part is I took out accident cover.”

“Well there is that too I guess.” The doctor chuckled. “We want to keep you in overnight, just so that we can make sure that you don’t have a concussion.”

“I can’t stay. I have to be somewhere in the morning”

“I am sorry, but it is not negotiable. If you don’t show any signs overnight we will release you in the morning.”

“You don’t understand.....”

“I do, but you still need to stay. Someone will be back first thing to release you if you are fit to go.”

“Fine, whatever, just get out of here.” There was no reasoning, so why bother. She watched the doctor leave and lay back on the bed thinking about what to do next.

It was a long night. After the doctors had left the police had arrived again to talk to her about the accident. They also dropped off her bag that she left in the car. Once they had left she rang and reported the damage to the rental company and they were going to sort that side of it out for her. Every hour they had woken her and asked her questions to see how she was. Each time it happened she wished that she was home in her own bed. She certainly felt worse this morning, but her mind was clear and she finally heard the words that she had waited all night to hear. She was free to be discharged. Walking outside it suddenly hit her, how was she going to get to her hotel, or more importantly, how was she going to get to the ceremony that she was supposed to attend? Walking over to a pay phone she dialled the only number that she needed to know and hoped that someone would be there still.

“Hello.” The strong male voice that answered the phone was blunt.

“Hi, it’s Mika, is Jen there?”

“Mika she is not here. She stayed out last night at a friend’s place.”

“Oh” disappointment flooded her voice as she wondered what to do next.

“Is everything alright?”

“Not really. I am stuck at the hospital and don’t have my car anymore.”

“Are you alright?” Concern flowed through his voice as she realised why Jen fell for him.

“I am alright, just a bit sore. I am not sure that I will be able to make today.”

“You have to be there. I can pick you up in fifteen minutes if you like and drop you around to where Jen is.”

“That would be great Levi. I hate being an inconvenience.”

“It is no hassle at all. Jen would be upset if you couldn’t make it over something as silly as not being able to find a lift.”

“Thank you. Don’t tell her about what happened. I will talk to her myself about it.”

“No problems at all. I will see you soon.”

Hanging up the phone she made her way back to a bench at the front of the hospital and gingerly sat down to wait for her ride.

“I really appreciate this Levi.” True to his word he had picked her up from the hospital and was currently driving her to where Jen was.

“It isn’t a big deal really.”

“It is to me.”

They pulled up outside a house and he left the car running.

“This is Jen’s friend Eve’s place. It should be just the two of them there. I am not allowed in though.”

“Thanks again.”

“Enough of the thanks Mika, I get it. Now head in there and I will see you later on today.”

“See you then.” Getting out of the car hurt just a little more than she was expecting. She was seizing up at a rapid rate. Walking to the front door with her bags in her hand she knocked and waited. As the door opened she heard Levi drive away. The woman standing before her was not Jen, she assumed it was Eve.

“Hi, is Jen here?”

“Yes.” She eyed Mika carefully and was cagy with her response.

“She isn’t expecting me, but can you tell her that Mika is here please?”

“Say no more, come inside I have heard a lot about you.” Her smile radiated warmth. She ushered Mika inside and closed the door behind them. “Jen you have a visitor.” Her voice projected through the house. She turned back to Mika “I’m Eve by the way.”

“Levi told me your name when he dropped me here.”

“Levi?” She could see the confusion on Eve’s face but before she could explain it further Jen walked around the corner and saw her standing there.

“Oh my god Mika it is so good to see you again.” She ran up and embraced her in a hug. Mika tried not to wince too much as the pain shot threw her system. “What are you doing here?”

“I will explain it if you let me go long enough.” A smile could be heard in her voice clearly, despite the pain that she felt.

“Come and sit down in the lounge. I will be back in a moment. I just need to check on Zac.” Eve left Jen to walk her into the lounge. It took a lot of effort to sit down on the chair without showing what she was feeling. Mika thought that she had done a good job but when she looked at Jen, she saw the concern in her eyes.

“What happened?”

There was no point lying to Jen. “Car accident on my way to the hotel last night, there is no need to panic though.”

“You are in pain. How did you get here?” Anxiety could be heard in her voice.

“Levi dropped me off here. He picked me up from the hospital.”

Eve returned to the room with a small child in her arms. He was still only young, but he was a spitting image of his mother. His eyes were wide open and actively searching the room. The little one reminded her so much of Caleb. Sitting down next to her Eve bounced the child slightly on her lap as he smiled at her.

“How bad?” Jen’s words interrupted her thoughts.

“Some bruising mainly. It could have been a lot worse. I will be fine in a couple of days. I made it that is all that matters.”

“Eve can you make her a cup of tea she is going to need it.” Jen ignored what she was saying, not buying it. Eve didn’t question her which made Mika wonder how much Eve knew. “It will help you.”

“You don’t need to. I am alright.” She was not about to be the one that made her tired before the ceremony.

Jen got up and sat back down next to her. Before Mika could stop her she felt her touch. Instinctively her body opened and allowed her in. The pain eased and within moments she felt Jen withdraw. There was a slight dizziness afterwards that she always felt, but that was all. No pain, no discomfort and she knew without looking that there were no more bruises.

“Thank you. Are you ok?”

“Yep, it was simple. I have done a lot more since I last saw you. I am getting better at coping with the after effects of healing.”

“You have learnt well, but I didn’t come here to be healed.”

“No you didn’t, but I couldn’t let you go home to your family all banged up like that.” At that moment Eve returned with two cups of tea. The little boy was now on the floor playing with toys and laughing to himself while Eve went back into the kitchen for her cup.

“I appreciate it Jen.”

“I have missed you. How is Caleb?”

“You have a son too?” Eve sat back down next to where her son was playing.

“Yes, Caleb is four. Jen you wouldn’t know him anymore. He is a little terror. He was the reason that I was running late last night. He wasn’t keen to be staying home.”

“Ah, I will have to come and visit you soon so that I can see how much he has grown.”

“You will. He would love that. How old is your little one Eve?”

“Zac is six months old. He looks a lot like his father though I’m afraid.”

“He has your facial features.”

“You wait until you meet Alex, then you will change your mind.” Eve smiled.

“Should we be getting you ready by now Jen?” Mika had almost lost her train of thought about the day’s events.

“Soon.”

“She is right Jen, go and have a shower and we will tidy up here.” It was funny to watch Eve almost push her out of the room. Standing Mika picked up the cups and followed Eve into the kitchen.

“You are walking a lot freer now.”

“Yeah, the cup of tea helped.”

“Jen too I gather.” Eve saw the shock on her face. “I know what she is Mika, it is no secret.”

“Forgive me then. I didn’t want to say anything out of place.”

“I know that. Come on, I could use a spare set of hands to help get her ready.”

Nothing more needed to be said between them. They shared a bond and she needed their help. Eve was someone that Jen trusted, so by default Mika trusted her too.

Bloody suits, he hated them, but Jordon, like all the other brothers standing around Levi had promised that they wouldn’t complain. Well not too much at least.

“Levi did you have to make this all so formal?” Eric was the first one to verbalise his complaint.

“Yes. It is the first time that we have had to do something like this as a family. I was going to do it right.”

“Are you having a dig at me there?” Alex spoke up. We had all joked so many times that it should have been Alex getting married first, but he was dragging his feet. Levi on the other hand was jumping in head first.

“Me, never.” The room broke into laughter, knowing that Levi was in fact having a go at him. When the laughter died down they regained their solemn expressions. Levi had wanted his father to be with them today, but he had refused. It weighed heavily on not only his mind, but all of their minds.

“So what times does this all go down?” Jordon needed to do something to distract them all.

“Midday. That is of course if she turns up on time.”

“Why wouldn’t she?” Jordon wasn’t sure who asked, but it didn’t matter.

“There was a little bit of a drama this morning when I had to drop her good friend over at Eve’s to get some help.”

“Everything alright?” Heath asked.

“I am sure that it is. I just think that it will be more of a case of them gossiping and losing track of time.”

“I can call Eve if you like and make sure that everything is alright.” Alex offered helpfully.

“Don’t worry about it. I know that Jen will be here. She loves me too much.” The all laughed again at that one and finished putting the finishing touches.

Alice's Restaurant Illustrated (Part 2)

What the hey...here's part two, just for fun..

Alice's Restaurant Part 1

...And here'smy fave Guthro moment...part 1 anyways. You can find anything you want (including part 2) ON YOUTUBE..

Tuesday 14 June 2011

TV Show Review- Offspring

So: I'm a mum, early 40s. I used to watch Secret Life Of Us when I was sharehousing and single. On Monday nights these days, hubby is usually downstairs working, and the kids are in bed. All of this is Very Important when reviewing Offspring, because I suspect that it was made with my demographic in mind...They even use the same voice over narrative technique thingy that they used in Secret Life of Us. Lets hope it's bringing Asher Keddie as much voiceover commercial work as Samuel Johnson had a few years ago..
I missed the first series, partly because of the crap reviews I read from (male) reviewers like Jim Schembri in The Age. Then Asher Keddie starred in Paper Giants a while ago on the ABC, and I decided I wanted a little more of her marvellous poise, and switched onto Offspring. Could be it was the best way to do it. Could be that watching Keddie play comedy is more enticing after all of that high status stuff she did in Paper Giants. Could also be that Offspring series 2 is better than series 1 was.....
What's good? Fab cast, for a start. Keddie, Kat Stewart, John Waters, Eddie Perfect, Deborah Mailman...they've filled the show with strong actors who have range and are likeable as well as gorgeous. Then there's the storylines, which swing around a little, from soapopera-ish to introspective/insightful, to slapstick. None of the storylines are new, but they're still funny: Billy desperately wants a baby, so Mick's gay brother is given a turkey baster to see if he can help out. But the door rings as he's handing it over and the dog nearly eats it...
Hey, I have a gorgeous kooky family who manage to do the professional dance of life at work, and at the same time have to hold each other together through our individual and group dysfunction... I dont know if we'd make as good viewing as Offspring, but I know that it makes me the perfect audience for this show. If you havent tuned in yet there's a bit of story to catch up, but I'd still recommend it. 7.9/10

Monday 13 June 2011

Woody Guthrie : I Ride An Old Paint

Funny you should mention the ole legends, Jonesy...been watching a dvd on the life of Pete Seeger.Here's Arlo's Pop.

Sunday 12 June 2011

A holiday in the sun





Mount Everest North Face as seen from the path...Image via Wikipedia
The snow had never come. High up in the Tibetan Plateau the sun beat down on them. Not even the memory of last night's episode of 'Angry Boys' broadcast dubbed into Chinese could bring a smile to Miguels' craggy face. The two ponies noses seemed to drag along the ground, and Pedro, who hadn't shaved for over a week, looked decidedly sick as he swayed from side to side in the unseasonally hot winter sun. Not a word was spoken.

Miguel had taken the call first thing that morning. Something about Lama-O-Rama tours winter special Tibetan tours. No doubt some cruel Shanghai business catwoman's idea of inflicting misery on these unsuspecting sons of the Western enlightenment. Miguel could imagine her maniacal laugh as Pinto and Punto carefully side stepped their way over the rocky terrain.

"Never let me listen to any of your short cuts ever again, Miguel, OK?" said Pedro, the anger barely hidden on the dry and coarse tones of his voice.
"Here, senor," said Miguel calmly handing Pedro the last of the water, beads of sweat forming on his brow in the late afternoon sun: "Soon it will be sunset, Pedro, and we will be able to make camp."

Their last packet of HKSingh freeze dried Thai styled vegetarian red curry was still ahead of them. Some three day old dried bread would help them lap up the last of the juices from this meal before there descent over the Himalayas and down into the rainforests of Burma.
Kaeng phet mu (Thai script: แกงเผ็ดหมู): Thai ...Image via Wikipedia
HKSingh freeze dried Thai styled vegetarian red curry

"Hey, look at that Miguel. Do you see what I see?"
"It's a mirage, senor, the heat is playing tricks with our eyes."
"No, over there. In the distance at the edge of the plateau, it is..." pointing off into the distance.

The ponies stopped and forlornly raised there heads to see what all the fuss was about. Pinto snorted when he , too, noticed what seemed like caravan coming towards them, and a cloud of dust like a fine silk tail rising up behind the image in the distance. Punto looked at Pinto and they both looked together back at the entourage moving towards them in the distance.

"I smell trouble, Pedro, real trouble."
"Rubbish, Miguel. Don't be so negative. You know what the Lama-O-Rama poster I read to you had said. Tibet is the land of positive thoughts, a place of spiritual magic, a place..."

It was then Pedro realised that Miguel's instincts had been right on the money yet again. Coming towards them on thoroughbred horses with trails of the fi
nest chiffon and sequinned saddles looking like Joan of Arc was none other Sarah leading the way on her white stallion, flanked by Lady Gaga singing a duet of 'Ol' Paint' with none other than Kylie Minogue.

The very sight struck terror in to their already weekend bodies, how on earth would they get out of this alive. All of a sudden, Miguel was reminded of a Kurosawa movie he'd seen in his wayward youth, and signalled to Pedro towards some rocks just to their left and out of the path of the oncoming  pop caravaseray, complete with cameras recording the pop divas every move of their pilgrimage.

"Look! Water!" said Pedro in a choked whisper.
"Shhh!" replied Miguel to focus all of their attention to the job at hand: evading detection from these unexpected passers by. The men sat on their mounts to either side of a large rock, and they and their ponies peered out from behind it in the direction of the passing cacophonous juggernaut of New Age love.

Kylie Minogue scored her fifth Australian numb...Image via WikipediaIt was a spiritual experience that would be etched in the minds of those four lonely travellers till the day they were re-incarnated on some back lane of King's Cross. Pedro had a tear on his cheek, as he remembered simpler times in Nimbin as a youngster, away from the hurly burly of what his life had now become as an escapee from the grips of world geopolitics.

Miguel had dismounted and come over to take the reins of Pinto and lead Pedro into shelter in a cool cave he had spied behind the waterhole that had stopped besides.

"Here senor Pedro. Here it is safe from those mad, mad, women who have become the bain of our lives. Here we can stop and rest. Pedro sat silently pondering Miguel's words as he was lead into the cave and out of sight of his obsession and the heat of the day..
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Review: Angry Boys

.......oh dear. I'm watching this series with increasing dismay...Chris Lilley is becoming unfunnier than I imagined possible.
Major, major issues with SMouse.There is nothing funny about this SMouse character. Nothing. The sharp socio cultural observations that are the signature of Lilley's characters are missing. His attempt at an american accent is poor- not poor funny, either. Chris, Chris, what are you doing maaaaaate? Weeks now, weeks of wasted tv space, with Lilley doing a really bad impersonation, and a boring story line about a boring talentless american rapper who uses his house arrest to make bad music. If this is a metaphor for Lilley's relationship with his US backers, then shiit. I never thought it would come to this. Now if Lilley had created a character about an Australian inner city muso at rehearsals or in the studio or gigging at the pub I might be giggling. Might. My faith in Pope Lilley's infallibility has been disintegrated by the amount of airtime this SMouse character is being given.
....I can see Lilley's general thread of themes, and as a non-boy who is occasionally angry, I'm occasionally entertained by them: according to this series, smelly boys talk about wee and poo a lot and they use their urine and excrement to mark out their territory- on their brother and on their brother's bed, on police cars, in their music and at the beach. One boy with a scary mother doesnt get to wee or poo; Jen intuits the relationship between boys and scatology, and so she controls Tims farts as well as his sexuality (plus she makes and sells lots of crap in his name, etc etc..). Boys have claustrophobic relationships with the women in their lives. There's a lot of claustrophobic interiors- boys are in jail, in house arrest, in small farmhouses and Tokyo flats, and the boys dont seem have a sense of belonging in any of these interiors. Boys like playing with toys like surfboards, skateboards, cars and music studios, and they mark out their territory with their toys, too. Women are controlling mothers or mother figures, including wives and girlfriends. Smelly boys are angry about being controlled, so they wee, poo, swear, fight and think about pharquing (but not as much as they think about wee and poo, it seems). Um. Thats it so far. Occasionally entertaining.
So....where's it all going, Chris Lilley? Five weeks and barely a sniff of narrative above all of that excrement. Maybe Daniel & Nathan's Legends party will see them all come together. Maybe Tim will unite with his family and they'll kill Jen by shoving one of her gaystyle products into a pristine orifice, leaving Tim to skateboard off into the wide world to pick up girls. Maybe we've had to put up with all of that SMouse rubbish so now you can focus on the characters you've created who have a decent shot at being funny. Maybe, maybe.....

Thursday 9 June 2011

Bah Humbug

Sleet sleet sleet sleet sleet sleet & hail & hail & rain BUT NO SNOW!!!!!
Snow about 2 km up the hill. Kid A 'No, I just want to look at it. Drive on, Daddy...'
'Fraid the photo opp will have to keep.

Hey! BTW....
Buttocky Darth is away on leave, but SHS and Jonesy are awol, it seems.
We miss you, gents...

Meanwhile, we appear to have passed the 6000 views mark. Gracious. Remember when we were surprised that a thousand people had found us?

Tuesday 7 June 2011

Wintry Winterful Winter!

You know its cold outside when it hailed about half an hour ago and you look out to the decking and the hail hasnt even begun to melt. Dropped Kid A off at kindy today- all full of excitement because we've been told to expect snow tonight and tomorrow. They're hoping it comes whilst they're at kindy, obviously...I'm hunting out snow jackets etc etc because if it snows here,2 minutes higher up the hill will be lots of snow to play in tomorrow. If I can figure out how to upload photys onto this computer and we get snow I'll post em. We've been told it's 'a once a decade weather event'. Kid A is planning on making snow angels and I'm planning on a lamb roast with rosemary, gravy, garlic and parsnips.

Monday 6 June 2011

THE CORPORATION [6/23] The Pathology of Commerce

...Excerpt for Betty...

Saturday 4 June 2011

StopPress: Bogans Confused By CateGate

Bogans confused by Categate (Sydney Morning Herald)
June 3, 2011 - 3:37PM

The question of climate change has long been a vexed one for the bogan. During the mid-00s, when the weight of public opinion began swinging behind the scientific consensus, and the need to take action about it, the polling suggested that the bogan jumped on board.

Far be it for the bogan to stand out from the crowd with its opinions – only with its brightly hued attire and accessories. However, much of this support was predicated on the notion that the bogan would not have to do anything in particular to remedy the climate change problem.

When confronted with the entirely unwelcome idea that an increased cost of pollution was the price of solving the climate problem, the bogan's throbbing cognitive dissonance gland turned as red as a Greek balance sheet. The bogan now stood against a heinous tax.

Not because it was lying earlier about its willingness to pay for change, but that it had reconsidered the science, and now believed the science to be incorrect.

With decades of experience studying the climatic data, and a daily dose of News Limited's stable of climatologists' input, the bogan was now a font of scepticism. Possibly Times New Roman. Definitely not Comic Sans.

When this started becoming apparent in polling, and the appearance of Tony Abbott at various factories and mines across the country spouting the phrase "toxic tax" to anyone willing to point a camera at him, the nefarious beardist cabal of climate change activists sprang into, well, action.

"What is it that bogans love most… something that we can use to convince them of the importance of action on this issue?" said Simon Sheikh, sipping daintily on his latte. "Surely we can isolate something more powerful than the bogan aversion to all kinds of tax."

As the sun set on another day of plotting a fierce redistribution of bogan incomes, one of the evil cohort sprang to his feet with an ecstatic "Eureka!".

'Celebrities! It's celebrities!'

"Of course!" chanted Beards #3-#7 in unison. "But which ones?"

"Well, obviously, we need that guy who was in The Castle. The only person bogans impersonate more than him is that guy who impersonates Eric Bana impersonating Chopper Read. And besides, he's on Packed to the Rafters. Bogans love that show. But we need someone bigger. Someone that will get real media attention…"

Weeks later, Cate Blanchett appeared in a commercial attempting to convince the bogan to do the right thing by the planet. The poor, misguided fool. Firstly, the financial pyro-technicians at News Limited lambasted "Carbon Cate" for having the gumption to ask the doing-it-tough Aussie battlers to fork out more money just because she's loaded.

This confused the bogan to the point of madness, as it was unable to reconcile the fact that its celebrity deity was asking it act against its own interests. Because Cate Blanchett has starred in upwards of 700 Hollywood period dramas set in England, she has been a key bogan gateway to cultural smugness. A palid, violin-less Andre Rieu.

It was like Jesus asking his followers to actively engage in homosexual acts with the neighbour's husband. Pure, (un)adulterated blasphemy.

Several bogan heads exploded, some converted to Scientology, and a few sought refuge in the dulcet tones of Delta Goodrem.

Of course, the bogan is not to blame for any of this. Only a few months ago, it was informed by the country's two richest people that it should indeed act as it wants and pay no heed to the nonsense being spouted by the "scientists" in the their climate controlled ivory towers. It was happy.

Now, the very same newspapers are telling it to ignore the opinions of wealthy people and listen to a wealthy celebrity that wants it to pay more money for its god-given right to own nine cars, and open the windows at home when the central heating gets too hot during January and February.

The bogan's typically uncomplicated life was now impossibly fraught with conflict. To add insult to injury, the bogan has recently been informed that Twiggy is now not our second richest person – it's actually an African that nobody has ever heard of. Between a sneaky African and a dishonest movie star, the bogan has nowhere left to turn.

By now, the bogan was furious about all of the lies and confusion, so it retreated from the sumptuous neon nourishment of its 138 inch LCD television, and applied itself to something it knew was definitely real and good: a four hour session of doughnuts on its Jet Ski. Climate change would have to wait until another day.

Boganomics is a weekly column available Friday's at MacroBusiness (www.macrobusiness.com.au), Australia's economic superblog. It is written by Michael Jayfox, E. Chas McSween, and Intravenus De Milo. By day they are mild-mannered Collins St economists, but they moonlight as crusaders against the gullibility of the modern Australian consumer.



Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/bogans-confused-by-categate-20110603-1fkdd.html#ixzz1OFmXGGKS