Wednesday 30 January 2013
JOOLZ has called an election
She wants us to go to election September 14th, and she's advertising NOW.
That woman should run the Christmas campaigns at supermarkets. They have this kind of run up
Brizzy - report on the state of things atm
Traffic lights - some working, some not. Police with white gloves oddly absent. Take your chances.
Trees - most up, some down, some with bits fallen off them.
Linen - stinking up the place with its dampness.
Lawns - green & growing as you watch.
Puddles - diminishing, but still to be found by small boys with new school shoes.
Freezers - empty after power losses. All defrosting food cooked up on BBQs (yes even in cyclonic winds) by panicking housewives.
Water - in short supply (WTF!) as the water treatment plant can't cope.
Swimming pools - green. Chuck in acid to combat alkilinity of rain water.
Internet - back on! Yay.
Temps - back up to 30', drying out the place & steaming up armpits.
Trees - most up, some down, some with bits fallen off them.
Linen - stinking up the place with its dampness.
Lawns - green & growing as you watch.
Puddles - diminishing, but still to be found by small boys with new school shoes.
Freezers - empty after power losses. All defrosting food cooked up on BBQs (yes even in cyclonic winds) by panicking housewives.
Water - in short supply (WTF!) as the water treatment plant can't cope.
Swimming pools - green. Chuck in acid to combat alkilinity of rain water.
Internet - back on! Yay.
Temps - back up to 30', drying out the place & steaming up armpits.
holarrrrrrrz!
Well hello, earthlings :D
Been a goodly while since the govt gave me time out from the kinder to post up a long ... posty thing. Six weeks, in fact. A round up of happenings up down our end:
Xmas, and all that that entails. Mondo grub, fat gutz, other peoples' pricey shiraz, loafing, and finding somewhere to store the crap gifted by non-commital in-laws.
27th dec saw us hit the tarmac for an alternate state. Literally and metaphorically. Ya see we went north. Now bearing in mind we only point the bonnet in that direction under familial duress, and all our pleasure ventures are in the opposite but apposite direction - you can see how this was something of disquieting notion. as things transpired, we weren't 'disappointed'. The drive up the Pacific Fucking Highway was a novel form of torture, and day one saw us take 12 hours to reach the armpit of the universe, Coughs Harbour. yes, 12 hours. Think on that. The sheer awfulness was aleviated somewhat by the proliferation of billboards warning of the dangers of sun exposure. The kids particularly liked the one of a sunbaking chick with the caption "SKIN CELLS IN TRAUMA". But I digress .... anyway, imagine 12 hours, 2 bored kids, on a 35 degree day, and your reward is a night at the Notell Motel in the aforementioned armpit. Nice.
Day two was modestly improved, with the diversion of the more interesting country betwixt Kempsey and the border (by way of Byron - in which we stopped for a wee and laugh at the faux hippies). From the border to Sunshine Coast was spectacularly awful - with the motorway employing a total of zero sources of stimulation. Not so much as a service centre to remind you that you're still alive. By the time you've been on it for an hour you're not entirely sure that you haven't actually died and are currently in some pergatorial holding pattern. Incredible stuff. Hot on the heels of that special misery is the utterly insane forest of roundabouts on the Sunshine Coast. What town planner took bad acid and was turned loose with the CAD? You get five options and one sign saying "crapsville this way, all other destinations that way". All other destinations? WTF! And there seems to be a roundabout every 2 kms, in ever direction.
Our 5 day stay in Noosa was about what you'd expect. Like watching the truman show for 5 days, but with a bad climate. You can't get near the beach because all the buses are full from Tewantin, you can't drive to the beach because there's no parking, and you can't walk there unless you're a mad dog or an Englishman. Impossible to sleep at night without airconditioner on max and ceiling fans blowing a tornado. You can't go outdoors after 8am because it feels like you're being stung all over with tiny needles. Upshot, while it was lovely to catch up with a nice big extended family group, we'll never go north again in summer. e-vaaaa!
We sensibly decided to return via the New England, and do it over a few days, and O.M.G - what a pleasure it was after the coast. They'd had some decent rain in previous month so everything was lush and green. The granite belt looked spectacular, there were virtually no cars on the road, and the nights were 10 degrees instead of 26. Tenterfield was heaven - waking up to mooing sheep, peace, and a chilly morning. An absolute delight - and that's not something you hear often about Tenterfield, I'll wager.
Highlights were assorted. Fleeting glimpses of bonafide old school hippies around Byron, the majesty of the Northern Rivers, the pleasingly non-white vibe around Kempsey, catching up with seldom seen cousins - who've morphed into really interesting and mellow people in their middle years - having the kids to ourselves, the Granite Belt, country NSW, small pockets of ever so slightly down at heel counter culture in the Sunshine Coast hinterland, and spending time with my mob. The kids found it all very eye opening, too, and marvelled at how different Qld kulcha is.
Back home and husbot promptly comes a cropper and breaks an ankle, remaining at home for duration of hols as the biggest and most vexing child. Packed the lot off today. Husbot back to the saltmine, kid#1 to his first day at high school, and kid#2 to her first day at new school (selective thingo). Plenty of nerves at our house this morning!
Been a goodly while since the govt gave me time out from the kinder to post up a long ... posty thing. Six weeks, in fact. A round up of happenings up down our end:
Xmas, and all that that entails. Mondo grub, fat gutz, other peoples' pricey shiraz, loafing, and finding somewhere to store the crap gifted by non-commital in-laws.
27th dec saw us hit the tarmac for an alternate state. Literally and metaphorically. Ya see we went north. Now bearing in mind we only point the bonnet in that direction under familial duress, and all our pleasure ventures are in the opposite but apposite direction - you can see how this was something of disquieting notion. as things transpired, we weren't 'disappointed'. The drive up the Pacific Fucking Highway was a novel form of torture, and day one saw us take 12 hours to reach the armpit of the universe, Coughs Harbour. yes, 12 hours. Think on that. The sheer awfulness was aleviated somewhat by the proliferation of billboards warning of the dangers of sun exposure. The kids particularly liked the one of a sunbaking chick with the caption "SKIN CELLS IN TRAUMA". But I digress .... anyway, imagine 12 hours, 2 bored kids, on a 35 degree day, and your reward is a night at the Notell Motel in the aforementioned armpit. Nice.
Day two was modestly improved, with the diversion of the more interesting country betwixt Kempsey and the border (by way of Byron - in which we stopped for a wee and laugh at the faux hippies). From the border to Sunshine Coast was spectacularly awful - with the motorway employing a total of zero sources of stimulation. Not so much as a service centre to remind you that you're still alive. By the time you've been on it for an hour you're not entirely sure that you haven't actually died and are currently in some pergatorial holding pattern. Incredible stuff. Hot on the heels of that special misery is the utterly insane forest of roundabouts on the Sunshine Coast. What town planner took bad acid and was turned loose with the CAD? You get five options and one sign saying "crapsville this way, all other destinations that way". All other destinations? WTF! And there seems to be a roundabout every 2 kms, in ever direction.
Our 5 day stay in Noosa was about what you'd expect. Like watching the truman show for 5 days, but with a bad climate. You can't get near the beach because all the buses are full from Tewantin, you can't drive to the beach because there's no parking, and you can't walk there unless you're a mad dog or an Englishman. Impossible to sleep at night without airconditioner on max and ceiling fans blowing a tornado. You can't go outdoors after 8am because it feels like you're being stung all over with tiny needles. Upshot, while it was lovely to catch up with a nice big extended family group, we'll never go north again in summer. e-vaaaa!
We sensibly decided to return via the New England, and do it over a few days, and O.M.G - what a pleasure it was after the coast. They'd had some decent rain in previous month so everything was lush and green. The granite belt looked spectacular, there were virtually no cars on the road, and the nights were 10 degrees instead of 26. Tenterfield was heaven - waking up to mooing sheep, peace, and a chilly morning. An absolute delight - and that's not something you hear often about Tenterfield, I'll wager.
Highlights were assorted. Fleeting glimpses of bonafide old school hippies around Byron, the majesty of the Northern Rivers, the pleasingly non-white vibe around Kempsey, catching up with seldom seen cousins - who've morphed into really interesting and mellow people in their middle years - having the kids to ourselves, the Granite Belt, country NSW, small pockets of ever so slightly down at heel counter culture in the Sunshine Coast hinterland, and spending time with my mob. The kids found it all very eye opening, too, and marvelled at how different Qld kulcha is.
Back home and husbot promptly comes a cropper and breaks an ankle, remaining at home for duration of hols as the biggest and most vexing child. Packed the lot off today. Husbot back to the saltmine, kid#1 to his first day at high school, and kid#2 to her first day at new school (selective thingo). Plenty of nerves at our house this morning!
Saturday 26 January 2013
Wednesday 23 January 2013
Tuesday 22 January 2013
The average adult daily intake is 8700kj...
It's great to see all these signs pasted around the walls of food retailers. Let's hope the shoppers can weigh up the figures.
www.8700.com.au
www.8700.com.au
Pay TV
Our little apartment by the sea had Pay TV. Who would have thought there would be TV shows about:
- people who chop down trees for a living
- people who buy uncollected storage unit contents
- people who buy uncollected luggage from airports
- people who enter their tots into beauty pageants
- people who decorate cup cakes competitively
- people who fall pregnant at tender ages
- people who hoard crap
- people who pawn crap
- people who drive big trucks on steep & slippery roads
- people who live in a mansion & wear bikinis
- people who drive after drinking and get caught
- people who eat too much
- people who eat too little
- people who marry American gypsies
- people who remodel vehicles
Monday 7 January 2013
Take Care and stuff
...I hear you New South Welshies are up for some heat tomorrow. Do be good and take care of yourselves up there, wont you? We had a mental day last Friday- I was down the coast (Otway Ranges) with my fam, my sis and her crew. So hot, so windy (about 43 deg, as a precaution we had to take off from our bush camp and spend an entire day standing in the Southern Ocean/Bass Strait- partly for safety, partly for coolness. There is a use for our freezing water currents at times. Very happy to announce that when we returned, our bush camp was in one piece after the cool change came through.
...so I mean to say, take care tomorrow. My sis (who's from Sydney) was meant to be driving home tomorrow, but it looks as if her family will be staying around for another 24 hours now...
Will post photos of the bush camp soonish
...and check out our 'Ballad of Tecoma' below...and share share share. No Maccas in the Hills!
...so I mean to say, take care tomorrow. My sis (who's from Sydney) was meant to be driving home tomorrow, but it looks as if her family will be staying around for another 24 hours now...
Will post photos of the bush camp soonish
...and check out our 'Ballad of Tecoma' below...and share share share. No Maccas in the Hills!
Friday 4 January 2013
The movies : there and back again
The Hobbit is an M rated, terrific action fillum, with super scenery & funny noses. There's no yukky kissy bits, & in fact not too much in the way of nuisance girlys at all. The axe swinging yields minimal guts, & the goodies all survive, so it's suitable for boys aged 10+.
But that's not what you really wanted to know. The crux of any hobbit movie review is how it compares to the book - or to be more precise, one third of the book.
So how do you create almost 3 hours of screen entertainment from just 99 book pages (in my edition) without alienating the fandorks? By making mountains out of mole hills (or hobbit hills as the case may be). A whole lot of cornflour went into this recipe - albeit tasty Tolkien cornflour. The battle of the stone giants (encompassing some 2 paragraphs in the book) was an entire scene of the movie, & a much more literal take on the incident was taken than the metaphorical one that I pictured when reading. Radagast the brown wizard featured in the movie, as did Azog, the goblin who allegedly killed Thorin's grandad. There were a few cinema mutterings about not recalling those aspects on the book pages, but they weren't producer created characters, merely "embellishments" derived from Tolkien snippets. Annoyingly, the bits which made least sense were all such "embellishments" (don't get me started on the rabbit sled or the miraculous dwarf mountain escape). Neither Saruman, Frodo, or Galadriel feature in the book, but they were slotted into the movie to ensure a backwards segue from LoTR.
In fact, the entire movie seems to be a LoTR prequel rather than a stand-alone story (and why not, some may say, when LoTR was so financially & culturally successful). The Hobbit paperback is a children's adventure story, with a conversational & lyrical tone. The dwarves are comical creatures, the elves whimsical, and the writing witty. LoTR in print is an epic saga for older audiences, a life and death battle for mankind. The Hobbit movie emulates the darker & more serious vibe of LoTR, & ensures the viewers are reminded of the association between the Hobbit & LoTR.
Ticks go to location, make-up, costuming & music. All top notch.
We saw the 2D version to avoid head fuzziness, but wouldn't mind seeing the 3D to compare.
The viewer sees lots more of Bag End, & the gorgeously round front door. A tour of the NZ Hobbiton set is on my wish list - I'll add it to the da Vinci code tour of Europe as soon as a windfall comes along.
What of the spunks? I hear you ask. Well, there's Saruman, Gandalf & RadagastBirdpoo, wizards of 1000 plus years. Elvish Elrond is of a similar vintage. The dwarves are stocky, bearded fellows, and ten of the 13 wear bulbous craniums, foreheads, & honkers. The other 3, however, have abandoned rubber bits in the name of easyontheeyness - an essential feature for all movie heroes. Google pics of Thorin, Kili & Fili.
Fave part of the movie was the quotes taken directly from the book. Pure joy for the loyalists.
Not so joyous was the closing scene, where the camera zooms in to Smaug's eye, which snaps open, reminiscent of Breaking Dawn A, & a cliched teaser for the next instalment which made even the most ardent viewer cringe.
All in all, a must see movie. Loved it (mostly) & looking forward to Bilbo 2.
9.5/10
But that's not what you really wanted to know. The crux of any hobbit movie review is how it compares to the book - or to be more precise, one third of the book.
So how do you create almost 3 hours of screen entertainment from just 99 book pages (in my edition) without alienating the fandorks? By making mountains out of mole hills (or hobbit hills as the case may be). A whole lot of cornflour went into this recipe - albeit tasty Tolkien cornflour. The battle of the stone giants (encompassing some 2 paragraphs in the book) was an entire scene of the movie, & a much more literal take on the incident was taken than the metaphorical one that I pictured when reading. Radagast the brown wizard featured in the movie, as did Azog, the goblin who allegedly killed Thorin's grandad. There were a few cinema mutterings about not recalling those aspects on the book pages, but they weren't producer created characters, merely "embellishments" derived from Tolkien snippets. Annoyingly, the bits which made least sense were all such "embellishments" (don't get me started on the rabbit sled or the miraculous dwarf mountain escape). Neither Saruman, Frodo, or Galadriel feature in the book, but they were slotted into the movie to ensure a backwards segue from LoTR.
In fact, the entire movie seems to be a LoTR prequel rather than a stand-alone story (and why not, some may say, when LoTR was so financially & culturally successful). The Hobbit paperback is a children's adventure story, with a conversational & lyrical tone. The dwarves are comical creatures, the elves whimsical, and the writing witty. LoTR in print is an epic saga for older audiences, a life and death battle for mankind. The Hobbit movie emulates the darker & more serious vibe of LoTR, & ensures the viewers are reminded of the association between the Hobbit & LoTR.
Ticks go to location, make-up, costuming & music. All top notch.
We saw the 2D version to avoid head fuzziness, but wouldn't mind seeing the 3D to compare.
The viewer sees lots more of Bag End, & the gorgeously round front door. A tour of the NZ Hobbiton set is on my wish list - I'll add it to the da Vinci code tour of Europe as soon as a windfall comes along.
What of the spunks? I hear you ask. Well, there's Saruman, Gandalf & RadagastBirdpoo, wizards of 1000 plus years. Elvish Elrond is of a similar vintage. The dwarves are stocky, bearded fellows, and ten of the 13 wear bulbous craniums, foreheads, & honkers. The other 3, however, have abandoned rubber bits in the name of easyontheeyness - an essential feature for all movie heroes. Google pics of Thorin, Kili & Fili.
Fave part of the movie was the quotes taken directly from the book. Pure joy for the loyalists.
Not so joyous was the closing scene, where the camera zooms in to Smaug's eye, which snaps open, reminiscent of Breaking Dawn A, & a cliched teaser for the next instalment which made even the most ardent viewer cringe.
All in all, a must see movie. Loved it (mostly) & looking forward to Bilbo 2.
9.5/10
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)