Listening to...

My top songs at the moment are as follows:

1. How To Save A Life - The Fray
2. Don't Give Up - Shannon Noll & Natalie Bassingthwaighte
3. Say It Right - Nelly Furtado
4. This Ain't A Scene, It's An Arms Race - Fall Out Boy
5. Over My Head - Brian Littrell

I'm also loving a song called We Belong Together by Gavin Degraw but I can't seem to get my hands on it yet. It featured on an episode of One Tree Hill that I saw this week.

The O.C. & me

There has always been a kind of hate-hate relationship between myself and The O.C., that is until this week.

After running out of excuses not to try it, and despite being convinced I would really not like it, I've spent much of my spare time this week ripping through season 1 on DVD. OK, so I'm not particularly proud of it but I got hooked.

It could have come from having nothing better to do. I am certainly not going to rush out and add it to the collection though I am curious as to what happens in season 2. The O.C. has at least had an airing on TV here, unlike the far superior One Tree Hill, and wraps up this week.

The main reason for my liking the show is clearly the character of Seth, played by Adam Brody (pictured above). Insecure, witty, sarcastic Seth is what makes the show watchable. He's kind of like the teenage Chandler. I find Marissa intensely annoying and I liked Ryan but only when he wasn't tangled up with Marissa. And why the heck do they have to say `hey' all the time.

Anyway, to sum up my O.C. experience. Pleasantly surprised, a tad curious about what happens next but happy to be obsessed with a better all-round show.

Guess who's coming to dinner?

OK, thanks to Jono I have to name four people (past or present) I would invite to dinner should I ever feel the urge. As he remarked, this is clearly a way to weasel out some part of one's personality that isn't already on display.
If I did this again another day I may come up with four completely different people, but here goes.

Michael J. Fox - I find the recent turn in his life fascinating, encouraging and important. Notwithstanding my love of the Back To The Future series, which I'm certain would be hot dinner conversation, his experience and outlook would be worth paying to hear about.

Michael Petersen - He's not famous for anything (as far as I know) but he was my best mate at university for about 18 months and then he vanished. I'd love to know what has happened in his life. He was an awesome guy when I knew him and given I can choose anyone I couldn't imagine not inviting him.

Princess Diana - I guess I was one of those people who has been captivated by her. She truly seemed to be the perfect princess and a wonderful person. She appeared charming, gracious and very much a lady. I still choke up when I hear her version of Candle In The Wind.

Drew Barrymore - I don't know what to say, I find her intriguing. I love her romantic comedies of recent years, and Charlie's Angels, and she's done so many interesting things in her life to date. Plus she seems like fun.

Elephant

I can't believe I'm saying this but Elephant, the Gus Van Sant film of 2003 that the recent Australian movie 2:37 had been compared to, wasn't particularly brilliant.
After being disturbed, moved and captivated by 2:37 I fully expected similar from its older brother (sort of) and it wasn't nearly as interesting.
The styles were similar. They both concentrate on a group of high school students through a seemingly typical day by using the camera as something of a shadow, following their every move.
In Elephant the performances were unremarkable on the whole, with the probable exception of the main `bad guy' though he isn't really revealed until three-quarters of the way through. (For those who haven't seen it I won't give anything away).
Also I found little motivation being explained for why some of the characters were as they were. For example, the character of Michelle was berated by her PE teacher for not wearing shorts and the impression was given that there was some major reason for this but it was never explored.
In 2:37 the characters were interviewed as the movie progressed so you were always aware of who they were and what was going on in their lives. That made it easier to get into and care about them. I just didn't have any investment in Elephant and as a result it wasn't nearly as shocking as 2:37.
Look, it wasn't bad. But I was disappointed. Maybe seeing 2:37 first raised my expectations because it was widely reviewed as something of a rip-off but it was heaps better.

Fall Out Boy

Most people would be aware of the song This Ain't A Scene, It's An Arms Race by American band Fall Out Boy .
I must admit I really like the song, though it took a bit of time to grow on me. But I have been enjoying some of the band's songs for a while through watching One Tree Hill, the group has featured and performed on the show at least three times (so far as I have seen).
Fall Out Boy's bassist Pete Wentz (red shirt in the picture) guest stars on his own on one episode, When It Isn't Like It Should Be, where he dates Peyton and I thought was quite impressive. He's referred to as `Pete from Fall Out Boy' all the time in the show.
As is their custom, the show's producers have also used some of their song titles as episode titles including `Champagne For My Real Friends, Real Pain For My Sham Friends' and `I Slept with Someone in Fall Out Boy and All I Got Was This Stupid Song Written about Me'.
Admittedly I am yet to hear these songs as I am still discovering the band but I'm very interested.

`Born again' sportsmen

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, particularly when you write a weekly opinion column in a major paper.
I was taken aback by Rebecca Wilson's column in the Telegraph today, where she launched into golfer Aaron Baddeley for praising God when he wins, etc.
``I do have a big problem with born-again sportsmen who make it their life's work to spruik Christian beliefs like we are heathens in dire need of conversion,'' she writes.
As I said, everyone can have their opinion but it seems that Christians are safe game when it comes to this kind of thing.
It's a shame. And good on Baddeley for taking the opportunity when a microphone is shoved in front of him to give thanks to God - many wouldn't given the same opportunity.

Stranger Than Fiction

Like Jim Carrey (The Truman Show) and Adam Sandler (Punch Drunk Love) before him, comedian Will Ferrell steps into unchartered territory in Stranger Than Fiction, attempting a serious role. And like his predecessors, manages to pull it off quite well.

Ferrell plays Harold Crick, one of the more boring people going around. Harold is an IRS agent and his life revolves around mathematics and predictability. One day he hears a voice narrating his actions.

The narrator (Emma Thompson) interrupts Harold's life on several occasions but when she announces his `imminent death' he gets some motivation to find out what the heck is going on. I don't find Ferrell all that funny in his other movies, mostly, but it was still intriguing to watch him play it pretty straight.

A good support cast including Dustin Hoffman, Queen Latifah and Maggie Gyllenhaal add weight to the film which really is well done and extremely interesting. There are some flaws but given the type of movie it is they can be easily overlooked.

There are several funny moments, most notably the aforementioned scene announcing Harold's death. It is really a laugh-out-loud moment and one that stayed with me. Stranger Than Fiction is probably not going to appeal to everyone but it is high in quality and does carry a message, if you want to see it.

I'd say give it a go. I'm giving it an 8 out of 10.

Silent Witness

One of my favourite race horses, the Hong Kong champion Silent Witness is being retired after he races tomorrow.
Australian-bred, Silent Witness never raced in his home country but certainly captured our imagination winning 17 races in a row.
I found this video on Youtube paying homage to Silent Witness. He's going to be retired alongside the likes of Saintly at the Living Legends farm in Victoria. I just hope he can win his last race.

In Search

This is a long shot, but for a while I've been after the CD single to Lifehouse's song Hanging By A Moment. I used to own it but it was acquired by someone else without my permission.
The reason I'm after it is there's a song on the single called Fool which I've always liked and would really love to have it again.
So if you know someone who has it or don't want it anymore, let me know.
Cheers