Mark Priestley

It's been a few days since the apparent suicide of actor Mark Priestley and I have to admit it has been on my mind now and then.
I can't work out why he would have done it.
On the surface he had so much going for him - he was good looking, talented, on a successful TV show, he had a bright future - so, why?
It has developed that he suffered quite badly from depression. My question is how much help did he seek, what could lead him to think there was no hope?
I don't know the degree of what he was going through, though seemingly he was able to function enough to perform his job on All Saints. I guess you never can really know.
A couple of years ago I had my own battle with depression. It saps your energy, focuses your mind on yourself, drains you of the enjoyment of things, everything is really hard work.
When I think back on that time I wonder how I got through. Things got fairly dark at times for sure. Perhaps for Mark he was in the middle of one of those times and made a snap decision. That's just pure speculation of course but makes some sense to me.
I know it is easy to say here, but you should never lose hope. And thankfully for me, and everyone out there should they choose, God offers hope.
Anti-depressants are effective but they can also mess with you. I can say, as I am currently beginning a staggered reduction in mine, that while they take the edge off they have a very bad side effect that can be frustrating.
Simply, you can't release any emotion. You can laugh, but a lot of the time you can't cry. It's hard to release the things that are eating away at you. I really don't like that side of it and it is part of the reason why I am attempting to come off them (albeit slowly). The other part is because I am feeling great and don't really need them.
I think the best thing to do when a dark patch hits is to sleep on it.
I believe that nothing is as bad in the morning as it seemed.

Tropic Thunder

As far as comedies go, Tropic Thunder has to be up there with the best in recent times.
It's not intelligent comedy like in a British film but it's still a riot as Ben Stiller takes the mickey out of war films (and several other types) in a much needed return to form.
Stiller is action hero actor Tugg Speedman who has been cast in a film about the Vietnam war along with several other noted actors of his time. Jack Black is his usual crude self as Jeff Portnoy and Robert Downey Jr is outstanding as the multiple Oscar winning Australian Kirk Lazarus (who tends to remind you of Russell Crowe now and then).
Cameos abound here and none better than from Tom Cruise, much to my surprise, as film magnate Les Grossman. He's hard to describe and you kind of have to see it to believe it. He really has made a good move doing this film.
Others include Matthew McConaughey, Tobey Maguire, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Mickey Rooney and, hilariously, Lance Bass.
The laughs start before the opening scene when we see the four main leads in advertisements for their products or films and it's a great intro because it gets you in the mood to laugh.
This ain't rocket science, it's a shade crude at times and a little offensive depending on your sensitivity but it's just good fun.
There's no deep and meaningfuls here and Ben Stiller does his best work since probably Zoolander even if his character does remind you of that character.
A very funny 8 out of 10, better than your average silly comedy.

Bland Games come to an end

I'm one of those people who loves the Olympics.
For a couple of weeks you become deeply interested in sports you pay absolutely no attention to for four years. I love watching the cycling, both road and track, the diving, the rowing, swimming, selected track and field events and beach volleyball.
I was also engrossed in the Australia vs Japan softball match that went into five extra innings.
Perhaps it is a patriotic thing, though I don't go around draped in the Aussie flag, but the Olympics is almost compulsory viewing.
This is something that our broadcaster, channel 7, is probably counting on. Their telecast was woeful at very best. Too many delayed events portrayed as live, too many cutting between the event and the studio as if to justify the host's job.
I got really sick of the Stephanie Rice/Eamon Sullivan `are they really broken up' thing. Didn't particularly care before the Games and don't care now.
As for his comment about his private life not being private anymore, that's the price you pay when you excel at anything in the year 2008 (particularly in sport if you are an Aussie) - and if he was so concerned about his private life he shouldn't have stripped to his underwear for that advertising campaign.
The one thing I regret about the Games happened last night.
I started watching the men's 10m platform final and when Matthew Mitcham went so-so in his first dive I decided to go to bed. I get up this morning and he's won the gold and broke the Olympic record for a dive score.
Damn. I found the coverage of his win in the news very interesting given his life circumstances. Regardless it was an amazing effort and I'm sorry I missed it.
So the blandest Games of my memory, and certainly the most staged, is over and the Olympic movement can go back to normal in 2012. There won't be lip-synching nine year olds, fake fireworks and tanks patrolling the streets.
It didn't help that channel 7 contributed to the feeling that it was very stale and controlled.
China did better than I think most people thought they would but they still managed to suck the spirit out of a celebration of freedom and sport, at least from an outsider's point of view.

Make Me Lose Control

While watching some episodes of Dexter tonight (man I love this show!) I came across a classic from the 80's.
It's Eric Carmen's Make Me Lose Control .
Come on, admit you know the words....
`turn the radio up for that sweet sound, hold me close never let me go, keep this feeling alive, make me lose control...'
I'm way past being embarrassed by my taste in music, TV and movies. I like what I like. Whether it's cool, daggy or retro there's something about it I liked. We're all shaped by our past and the things we experienced growing up.
Make Me Lose Control came out in 1989, I was 14. That was 19 years ago and I still know the words.

90210 - will it be any good?

Either this is a great idea or Hollywood has run well and truly out of ideas.
Bringing back Beverly Hills 90210 is a risk simply because the original was such a success and ran for 10 years (despite the quality dropping off about three quarters of the way through).
So judge for yourself, will the new 90210 be any good?
As a massive fan of the original when I was younger I have a high bar set or this one, but I will take a look and see what happens. Having a couple of originals in there does raise the curiosity level.

Season 6 teaser

Just days away from the Season 6 premiere of One Tree Hill.
Since I was so rapt with the fifth season and the new direction the hopes are high that this season, likely the final season, will be a cracker.
I may be a fan (and a big fan) but some of the other shows of this genre out there should take a look at One Tree Hill and why it made it to six years when others (like The O.C., which was good) faded out sooner.

Top of the Pops

Since I am rather disheartened with music at the moment here are the songs I keep coming back to over and over. They won't be everyone's cup of tea but they are the ones I love.

1. I'll Be There For You-The Rembrandts
2. Hero-Mariah Carey
3. Crash And Burn-Savage Garden
4. Walk On-U2
5. If You Could Only See-Tonic
6. Everything-Lifehouse
7. Not Myself-John Mayer
8. Spending My Time-Roxette
9. I Want To Know What Love Is-Foreigner
10. What About Me?-Moving Pictures
11. Name-Goo Goo Dolls
12. The Greatest Love Of All-Whitney Houston
13. You Belong To The City-Glenn Frey
14. Just Between You And Me-Lou Gramm
15. That's What Friends Are For-Dionne Warwick
16. Close My Eyes-Mariah Carey
17. Crazy For You-Madonna
18. Losing My Religion-R.E.M.
19. Lift-Shannon Noll
20. We Belong Together-Mariah Carey

That's the top 20, there are a stack of others I like (I've done a top 50). But I think they also tell their own story, or something of mine anyway.

The Savages

We go to the movies to escape from reality, largely, but what happens when reality in the movies is so real.

This is the case with The Savages a film for those who don't need special effects and a fantasy setting to enjoy a movie.

What you get in this film is a reality check, a frank look at how dementia affects a family and they've cast two of the finest dramatic actors around in Philip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney.

They play brother and sister Jon and Wendy Savage, whose estranged father has been diagnosed with dementia following the death of his partner.

With nowhere else to go Jon and Wendy must take care of their dad Lenny, played brilliantly by Philip Bosco, and confront their feelings about their past.

The Savages is definitely not a comedy but it is not all grim.

Wendy is in the midst of a midlife crisis, she's single but dating a married man and has temp work while she writes plays based on her childhood.

Jon is a professor and an academic and is much more settled, though also unmarried. He's dating a Polish woman whose visa has expired.

They are both going through the same thing in different ways yet Jon seems to handle it better. Lenny doesn't really know who they are, so it seems, though there is one scene where his kids are arguing and he turns down his hearing aid. It said to me that Lenny was more aware than he came across.

I thought this is was a brilliant film though I do feel the need to see a silly comedy and have a big laugh. I'm a sucker for Linney and Hoffman, who I think are among the best actors right now, but they were outstanding.

Not everyone's cup of tea but it is a very real and very moving story. An 8.5 out of 10.

It's Not About the Bike, part 2

When you're right into a book it's amazing how quickly you get through it.
Having finished Lance Armstrong's account of his `journey back to life' after cancer I have to say it was overall an inspiring story.
Sure there were some quite difficult sections but the bottom line is where there's life there is hope. He goes as far as to say that cancer is meant to improve us as people.
Hmmm.
`We have unrealised capacities that sometimes only emerge in crisis', he writes.
I think that is definitely true both in theory and based on some of my own experience with illness (though not cancer, admittedly).
I'd totally recommend reading this book if you haven't already. It is a great shake up and a great lesson about the importance of life and fighting for it when it is challenged.
It's a hard battle at times, the book, but Armstrong includes a lot of the details for our benefit and not to freak us out (though it probably will).

It's Not About the Bike, part 1

I'm about two-thirds of the way through Lance Armstrong's account of his battle with cancer and I couldn't wait to finish it before writing about it.
The book, It's Not About the Bike, came out a number of years ago and I reckon I've had it for at least eight years and hadn't read it until now.
I'm sure everyone knows Armstrong's background as a champion cyclist before his diagnosis of testicular cancer. And his feats after recovery, including winning the gruelling Tour de France, have also been well documented.
But I wasn't aware at all of what he went through.
The book is riveting, an amazing story of courage, but it is also highly disturbing and unsettling. Reading his record of how he fell ill and was subsequently diagnosed with stage 3 cancer (the worst kind) it is hard not to get emotionally involved yourself.
It's very fortunate that he had a strong upbringing from his mother and had plenty of fight in him because just reading about the tests, surgeries and the chemotherapy was very hard work.
(I realise actually having to go through them is much, much harder work in fact something I don't think I can fathom so don't think I am making light of it).
I remember thinking that there was no way I could be strong enough emotionally, let alone physically, to get through the chemo but his attitude was unbelievable.
I guess that when you are faced with the choice between fighting or dying you fight and fight as hard as you can.
I'm not yet finished the book but I do think I have passed the hard part - I hope at least. Reading something like this raises your awareness of such things and, while this is probably more information that you need to know, I have made much more of a habit of checking myself out regularly. I'd encourage the guys out there to do the same.

In with the new

This is a very trivial yet significant moment - today I bought a new wallet!
I don't know how other guys see their wallets, and I didn't think I had any particular attachment to mine, but it was a big deal cleaning out the old one and filling up the new.
I reckon I bought the old wallet, a surf-style Ripcurl wallet, at least 10 years ago and maybe more. I'd hung onto it while it deteriorated to the point where there were holes in it but today I jut felt it was time.
I was amazed at how much crap I had jammed into that thing. Now I have a slightly more stylish wallet, a shade less juvenile but only a shade.

Bert at the News Desk

One of the funniest things I've seen on TV for a while, it's Bert at the News Desk from Rove last Sunday night.
If you're familiar with the show they have a section called Carrie at the News Desk, an irreverent and comedic look at the week's news. Carrie was sick this week and Bert Newton filld in. Watching him makes you realise just how he has lasted so long in the industry and wonder why he doesn't do comedy a lot these days.
His get well to Carrie is hilarious and the crematorium joke is a cracker too. Enjoy!

Taken

I was determined to see Taken knowing nothing about it but a review in yesterday's paper caught my eye so I read it.
A one star review is hardly a recommendation so I went into the film (at a preview screening) expecting a stinker.
So I am happy to report I was pleasantly surprised. Taken is a pretty simple `daughter gets kidnapped, father vows to rescue her' film.
Liam Neeson is Bryan Miller, a retired `Government agent' trained to `stop bad things happening'. He reluctantly allows his daughter Kim to go on holidays in Europe with her friend.
While checking up on her via a phone call Kim's friend is abducted and Kim is soon taken also leading Neeson to utter the most hilarious threat seen in film in years.
He vows down the phone to Kim's kidnapper that he would find him and kill him. I did well not to burst out laughing.
So Bryan goes all over Paris trying to track Kim down and I must admit there is some excellent action here. Some great gunfights, a car chase as Bryan ruthlessly works his way to the man at the end of the phone.
There are much better films out there than this one, and there are some massive holes and missing parts to the story, but it's not bad and certainly not the dud I had anticipated.
I still can't see Liam Neeson as an action hero and that's a major flaw.
I'm going to give it 6 out of 10. Wouldn't say rush out and see it but you could do worse as a DVD one night at home.

The view from here

If I am being literal it is a brown curtain, just to get that out of the way.
When I look in the mirror sometimes I catch my eyes and I wonder what they tell other people.
You know, `the eyes are the window to the soul' so what do others see in my eyes?
It makes me think about things that I hide. Fears, emotions, thoughts that shouldn't be there, hopes, dreams.
Most people know what I fear above everything else but is it better to keep things to yourself or to get them out in the open?
It is easier to just say nothing personal and I know several people who do that and seem to be able to get by. Usually if I let things build up without letting them out I run into trouble. Physical trouble aside I tend to get very snappy and usually say something insensitive and/or stupid.
I've been asked a few times lately what is happening on the girl front. Thankfully it isn't just the married friends who are doing it.
My standard answer is nothing or that it is not a priority but the truth is I'm not sure I could handle such a relationship. I know how that sounds.
On the other hand it could be the best thing that has happened to me. I won't know until I give it a try.
Then there are the times that I wonder what I have to offer. Not material things, not even physical things though I am hardly an athlete. Maybe I don't like myself enough?
So I don't often look myself in the eyes. Maybe I should do that more until I work out who is looking back at me.

Wanted

Pure enjoyment, escapism, implausible action.
That's the best way to describe Wanted , the latest film adaptation of a graphic novel.
Helped a lot by a very likable cast (and not helped by some massive holes in the script) Wanted is one of the better leave your brain at the door action flicks going around.
They definitely got the casting right. Morgan Freeman is Sloan, the leader of a group of ancient assassins; Angelina Jolie is Fox who is seemingly the 2IC and James McAvoy is Wesley who is the latest in a line of assassins except he doesn't know it.
Wesley lives a very menial life. He's an account executive whose boss is constantly on his back, his best friend is `sleeping' with his girlfriend and he's on anxiety medication. Sounds like the perfect guy to be an assassin. Lucky for him it's in the blood. He is recruited after his father is killed to hunt down the man responsible.
Like I said there is a lot of implausible action but it is heaps entertaining, there are a few laughs but I have to say it is McAvoy who makes this film. He is very likable, does a pretty decent American accent to the point you forget he isn't American and that aids the film a lot.
There are better movies out there but if you want escapism this is more than adequate. I can't remember the last time I heard Morgan Freeman swear, by the way.
Giving it a 7 out of 10, pretty much the standard `I really enjoyed it' score.

The Last Man

In somewhat of a departure for me I've been reading a graphic novel series called the Last Man.
It's not bad either. As the title suggests it's about one man who somehow survived a plague that killed all male life on Earth.
It's a DC Comic so it makes me wonder why a movie hasn't been mooted.
I'm only up to the fourth book of 10 and the story centres on Yorick Brown, an escape artist, and his not so helpful `helper' monkey Ampersand (who has a very cool name I must say).
We'll see what transpires...

Grrrrr!

So I went into a department store this afternoon looking for a pair of gloves as I had lost mine. Seems a fairly natural thing to do when it's the middle of winter and its freezing cold.
But no, apparently they don't have winter stock as the summer range has come in and the only winter items available are on clearance.
Yep, you can't buy a pair of gloves in a fairly prominent department store in the middle of winter. I couldn't believe it.
I was then told to try other stores, some of whom are in direct competition to this one. Anyway I bought my gloves at a nearby menswear store and in the end they were probably better quality than what I would have bought. Then when I went to pay at the first store for what I wanted to buy they didn't have any bags so had to cram my clothing into some very, very small bags.
Then I get home and phone a store where I had placed an order for some juice some two and a bit weeks earlier to inquire as to whether it had arrived, since I hadn't heard anything.
I was told that the product I required was discontinued. They could have called me to let me know so I could make alternative arrangements, couldn't they.
So I went on a wild goose chase starting with the manufacturer who told me the product was not discontinued, then was put onto a distributor who may or may not be able to get what I'm after.
I told the manufacturer's rep that there were a lot of similar products out there of much lesser quality that are easier to get and that my difficulty in securing what I wanted could illustrate that if their product was more easily accessible they would sell more.
So I am still in the dark, until at least tomorrow, as to whether I can get this product or not.
Didn't seem too professional to me from any of the three people I spoke with this afternoon.

A Canterbury tale

I have to admit I really like going to Canterbury for the races. The track is fairly small but that means from the stands you can get a good view of the entire course - the horses aren't as far away from you as they are at, say, Randwick.

After several days of very wintry and rainy weather it was a cracker of a day today, when the sun was out, and a great day to head to the races. It'd been several weeks since I had made it to the track and I managed to meet a few people I didn't know, get some legwork done on a couple of projects for work and catch up with a mate who I have a lot of time for. What can I say about Brent? He's quite a bit of fun and we had a great day hanging out, punting and catching up. A lot of his family, and his girlfriend, were there as well as they had a horse racing and they were all very good to talk to.
The week has been a busy one in one respect, a shade frustrating as usual, and saw many plans change. I was going to go for a swim but with the rain and stuff I didn't want to brave the outdoor (heated) pool.
Some more catching up with people tomorrow for a while in the afternoon, and by tomorrow evening I'm going to wonder where the weekend got to.
The photos on this page are obviously ones I took at the races at Canterbury today and gives an indication of the size of the track.

Do we need a Friends movie?

I guess it was going to happen sooner or later but as a massive fan of Friends I ask myself can they improve on what they've already completed?
The show ended very well and while there is an element of curiosity as to what might have happened with Monica, Chandler, Rachel, Ross, Phoebe and Joey I don't think it is essential.
Certainly with Sex And The City being successful and a new X Files movie there is a market for TV crossovers.
And there is no doubt should a film be made I will see it but the makers should take heed - it would want to be a cracking story to sustain a show that worked brilliantly as a 22 minute series into a 100-plus minute film. And make it as funny as have as much heart as the series did.
The Simpsons did it damn well but it took them four years to come up with a lasting storyline.
No doubt the cast will take the money and do it but given the choice I'd say, guys and gals, don't
do it!
But if you have to do it don't make a film, make a new series of the TV show. Do a season 11, it would be so much better.

Encouragement vs apathy

At work I try to be as encouraging as possible, particularly when it comes to people who are less experienced than I am.
Lately it has become apparent, I guess moreso than normal, that there is a large amount of apathy among some of the people I work with. And it frustrates the heck out of me.
For some people it seems as though it is easy to have a low care factor about what they are doing.
I physically can't do this. Unless I'm under the weather a bit I am really enagaged with what I'm doing, always thinking about things I can write about and keeping up with what's going on. Basically if anyone rings our office with a technical question it ends up with me to explain or help with the problem.
I have wondered a bit recently what would happen if I wasn't there.
Clearly my expectation of the people I work with, one or two in particular, is higher than everyone else's. What I can't understand is why they don't just love what they do - we don't have a high risk job, we're not responsible for saving lives and we essentially call our hobby our job. At least that's what it's like for me.
From the outside it appears that for some it's just a job and mediocracy is acceptable. Now I am not a high-flyer and never will be, I don't aspire to massive heights within my job (except for one particular step) but I love what I do. It just seems to me that I'm in the minority there and that's sad.
Sometimes it feels like you're swimming upstream, fighting against the current when everyone should be heading in the same direction.
It's hard to be encouraging in this scenario but I try, though I've got to admit I'm close to my last attempt with one of my coworkers, even though it's not my job to push him at all, who has all the talent in the world but is just not using it.
I know it's not really my business, other people's work ethics, but I just want what's best for the team and when I'm giving 110% and look around and see others giving 50% it's disheartening.

Something Beautiful

Eran James is one of the most under rated vocalists in Australia and I just love this song, Something Beautiful, from his Ten Songs About Love album.
Have a listen here and enjoy. You might also notice that the words at the top of this blog come from this particular song.

You’re lost and alone
Got no self esteem
You’re shy and you gave up on your dream
But some butterflies ake there own time
To see that their wings have grown wide

Let that blue sky over your head get into your heart
It melts the doubt, it helps to light the dark
To start that fire you only need one spark

There’s something beautiful about the way that you smile
It breaks my heart each day so baby just stay for a while
I could give you all the love you need
You don’t see what I see
You’re something beautiful to me

You stare at the glass distorted and hurt
You’re tryin’ but your vision is so blurred
The secrets you hide don’t help to deny
The sadness that’s livin’ in your eyes

Let that blue sky over your head get into your heart
It melts the fear, it helps to light the dark
To start that fire you only need one spark

Repeat Chorus.

To start that fire to reach up higher
I just believe you only need one spark

Repeat Chorus.

The Dark Knight

There are superhero movies or comic book movies and then there's The Dark Knight .

I'm not sure where to start.

Let's get it out of the way right at the beginning - this is Heath Ledger's film, he owns it, he drives it and he absolutely captivates you from the very beginning.

All the wraps were 100% correct and it makes his death earlier this year even more tragic than it already was.

You just can't help but be shaken and offended by Ledger's Joker and his complete lack of conscience and sheer evil yet be dazzled and wowed by his performance which, with all due respect, makes Jack Nicholson's 1989 Joker look like a sideshow clown.

The Joker, who left his calling card at the end of Batman Begins, has been created by Christopher Nolan as a man with no morals, a lot of impulse, and (as the character points out) no plan other than anarchy. And he gets almost all the best lines.

I really want to go on and on about Ledger's stunning turn as an iconic character, one that he will now always be remembered for and will almost certainly be posthumously rewarded for, but you get the point. Take a bow Heath, this truly was your finest hour.

What's changed in the Dark Knight is that Rachel Dawes (now Maggie Gyllenhaal) is dating the DA Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) much to Bruce Wayne's dislike. Wayne displays this dislike by always having a lot of arm candy when he goes out.

Dent's prophetic line `You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain' tells you where things are headed. Everyone knows Harvey Dent becomes Two Face and just how was an excellent secret. Just wait and see.

Christian Bale is a very good Batman but he also suffers the curse of being upstaged.

The Dark Knight is not perfect. It does have flaws but they are far outweighed by how simply brilliant the script, the casting and the performances are. It blurs the lines between good and evil and not everyone escapes unscathed.

Where to from here? There are three classic Batman villains yet to be given the Nolan treatment - Catwoman, The Riddler and The Penguin.

I'd love to see him have a go at Catwoman, I think it is a shame Jim Carrey was wasted in the earlier Batman series because I see no-one else as the Riddler and I'm not sure about Penguin.

Don't miss The Dark Knight, it's more than just a superhero film. A 9 out of 10.

World Youth Day

The influx of people for the World Youth Day events haven't really affected me since I get to work pretty early. Apparently the crowds are bigger by mid-morning.
But today I walked down George Street in the city and was confronted by heck of a lot of people who seemed to be wandering aimlessly.
I guess that's why they call them pilgrims.
I have no problem with them being here it was just a strange sight to see these groups of people with flags and their WYD backpacks walking around the city.
My only hope for the week's events is that Randwick racecourse comes away unscathed from the crowd that will be there on Sunday for the final mass.
Just don't get me started on them using NSW's best racecourse for this event and placing the industry in jeopardy again. There were more suitable venues but it's done now, we're just hoping for the best result.

Question of the week...

Later this week the highly anticipated film The Dark Knight opens and I'm seeing it with the biggest Batman Begins fan I know so that will enhance the experience.
I've read a couple of reviews, all spectacular, and they increase the expectation that this will be the film of the year. Heath Ledger's performance will be interesting - I have no doubt he'll be good - and already they are saying move over Jack Nicholson.
So the question is....will it live up to the hype?
Only four days to wait (I could go Wednesday but I'd rather see it with Mr J) and see.

Hancock

Superhero films are all the rage at the moment and the makers of Hancock have come up with something original at a time when remakes and adaptations flourish.

And they almost hit the target. Almost.

Will Smith, in yet another `Will Smith saves the world' role, plays John Hancock who has all the attributes of a superhero except purpose. Sure he saves the day but he is loathed for the damage he causes along the way.

When he saves struggling PR guy Ray Embry (Jason Bateman) he is convinced, eventually, that he needs to change his ways. People should love him, Embry tells Hancock.

Embry's wife Mary (Charlize Theron) takes an instant cautious dislike to Hancock and we are surprised to find out why.

Hancock is very entertaining. He behaves somewhat like a little kid, over reacting to being called names (one in particular) and handing out justice in destructive ways. He's like a kid, except for the alcoholism.

I know Hancock has been given lukewarm reviews but I have to say it was refreshing in a way. They've had a go at a different take on a superhero story and it does work, just not as well at it could have. At just over 90 minutes it is short but that's okay. It could have been a shade longer without dragging at all.

I'm going for 7.5 out of 10, largely because it is funny and entertaining and surprising. And I've seen a lot, lot worse this year.

A new low

Australian television reached a new low tonight when Pamela Anderson entered the Big Brother house.
If ever people were looking for a point where the show jumped the shark then surely this is it. The strange thing is though that for a while it was riveting as these ordinary Aussies were all of a sudden sharing the house an a meal with the former Playboy covergirl.
I don't know what the fact she accepted an offer to do this says about her, perhaps it says enough money can buy you just about anything.

Hillsong: This Is Our God

The annual live Hillsong CD proves that even though they appear to be merging somewhat with the United arm very little has changed.
That's not necessarily a bad thing but it is not overly brave.
I've always liked Darlene Zschech as both a singer and a writer and her presence, despite being music director, is being felt less.
On This Is Our God, the 2008 release, she writes just one song and sings lead on just two. As almost always they are the best songs on the album which has 16 tracks.
I know there is a lot of talent among the Hillsong team and in some ways this is the best album they have released since Hope because there's less filler by using the United crew.
In my view, just like Mariah Carey seems to be these days, there are usually up to five crackers on each Hillsong and United CDs and the rest rather pedestrian, so on this one about two thirds of the album is great.
With the exception of Chris Tomlin and maybe Jeremy Camp, no one does worship like Hillsong and that is still there, so you know straight up what to expect.
I heard today that from 2009 the Hillsong Nights won't be open to the public anymore and onlydelegates of the conference will be able to attend.
While I can make my peace with paying $5 to secure your seat at the event shutting out the public, some of whom could be non-Christian, is a silly idea. I hope it is not true.

Revelations, ghosts and mind games

To say my soon to be completed break from work has been eventful would be an understatement. Obviously, the house stuff back home has been a big part of it and I'm not exactly sure how much stress that actually caused me.
Significantly less than the rest of the family for sure. But it still caused some.
Anyway, I covered quite a few kilometres in the last few days caching up with friends and I took in quite a lot of information.
On Thursday night I went down to Cronulla and hung out with a friend of more than 10 years who I don't see that often largely due to the distance. I'm not sure what the record is for the number of revelations in one conversation but I found out a lot of things about what's going on in my mate's life that I couldn't have guessed with a million options.
Let's just say his situation is a very tricky and sensitive one and I hope he makes the right choices when he is eventually forced to.
Friday was a large day, not helped by the fact that I was sure I had a bug or at least a cold or something like that. You know how you feel reasonable but just a bit off. That's how it went.
So I pushed on to see a friend who has the most amazing view from his balcony. His roommate was telling me how he woke up and walked outside to see whales out in the water. Amazing.
I really enjoy catching up with this particular mate, another who I don't see as often as I'd like, because he is quite encouraging and not afraid of a bit of contact.
I have few mates who greet you with a hug and while I think it might be strange if everyone did it certainly makes an impression.
So after a wander along the beach and a peppermint tea I headed off to another coastal venue for dinner with another mate. By this stage I was starting to feel a bit on the tired side.
We had a bite and went back to his place to watch the rugby league game and chat about the races. It wasn't as eventful as the last time we hung out, when we stayed out until well into the early hours, but I still had a good time.
When I got home I resolved to do very little today and have succeeded. And I feel a bit better for the rest after being quite spooked for a couple of days. I've got to learn to handle that kind of thing better.
It's weird how your mind can be your worst enemy, you'd think it would be easy to work together! For someone who can be very rational, the irrational side seems to be surprisingly strong and letting it win is a habit that needs to be broken.
On the plus side my housemate was watching Ace Ventura: Pet Detective when I got home last night so I finished that off so it was great to end the night with a laugh.
So what's been going on in your world?

Kung Fu Panda

Hype and expectation have made the wraps on Kung Fu Panda impossible to live up to.

I'm not saying this isn't a good film, you could do a heck of a lot worse, but it isn't in the ball park of the Pixar films and the best animation film of the year Horton Hears A Who!

The problem with Kung Fu Panda is that it's all been done before, story wise, and having a fat panda as the lead isn't novel enough to carry you through.

Jack Black certainly relishes the role of Po, a kung fu fanatic who dreams of being the most revered fighter in the Valley Of Peace.

He is awoken from his dream by his father, inexplicably a duck, who runs a noodle shop in town. He then heads off to see the announcement of the new Dragon Warrior and through his bumbling is named as that warrior.

Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) has trained five hopeful warriors - Tigress, Monkey, Viper, Crane and Mantis - as proteges to fight his estranged adopted son Tai Lung who longed to be the Dragon Warrior but was denied and turned evil.

It all sounds so familiar and while there are few truly original stories out there this one doesn't get its head above that comfortable water.

The main problem I had is that everything happened so quickly. It's two-thirds of the way through the movie before Po is trained and the way he defeats Tai Lung (and that's not a spoiler because you don't seriously think he's going to lose do you) is so laughable it's not even that funny.

I know it sounds like I'm bagging Kung Fu Panda quite a lot. It's not a bad film but Pixar don't have much to worry about at this point (until I bring myself to see Wall E which looks truly awful). This is no Ratatouille, no Toy Story, no Cars.

A 7 out of 10.

Debrief

I noticed a lot of things when I was home over the last few days about my family and the town.
One thing that is great about rural towns is that when there is a crisis people jump out of trees to help out. That's certainly what happened when our house burned down last Thursday week.
I arrived a week after it happened and people were still approaching my parents offering help in various ways, just amazing to watch.
In a way I wasn't surprised as they are reasonably well known through a few different avenues.
Still, it was great to see and it really does give your faith in people a boost.
I can't imagine how it was for my family who had around one minute to get out of the house or put themselves at massive risk.
Dad handles it by joking about it which I don't think is that great, Mum's more visibly affected an she has become quite touchy about power points being turned off at night.
My sister has, more than anyone else, taken the loss of things harder than the others from what I've seen. She was more attached to photos and other items. My nephew is a bit jumpy about fires which isn't surprising. We were walking to the shop last night and when he saw smoke coming out of a chimney he started calling out about a fire in that house.
As far as I'm concerned, I still don't really know how I feel about it. It was surreal walking through the house and seeing it as basically a shell.
Unsettling is the best way to describe it I guess. I haven't lived there for more than a decade but I guess it was always home. However, as time went on after I left home all that time ago I liked going there less and less as the house appeared to age and became less comfortable to live in. Even to the stage where from a few years ago I was telling mum and dad that they needed to upgrade their living situation. From then I guess I became more detached from the house.
If there is a good thing to come out of it then it is that my parents will be able to build a more modern and more livable home.
The house is being demolished in the next week but I reckon it will be Christmas at least before they have a new house. In the meantime they are living in a rented property which isn't bad but they don't see it in the same way.
I was trying to tell them that a home is not a house it is the people, but perhaps it's still a bit too soon for that. And perhaps it is a lot easier for me to see it from that perspective right now.

Gone in 45 seconds

I took these pictures back home of my parents' house, the one I grew up in. It took just around 45 seconds for the fire to take hold and rip around the house. Scary, and I wasn't even there.

The first is obviously the front, the second is the back verandah and the third is my old room.

Lots to tell

I've returned from my trip home where I took quite a surreal walk or two through our burnt out house.
There is certainly plenty to say and I took some photos which I will go through shortly and put up one or two. I definitely feel better about the situation now I've been there, seen everyone and seen the house for myself.

Visual imminent

Tomorrow I am off back home for a few days and it is going to be a strange trip.
The fire notwithstanding just seeing the place after being told about it is going to be a experience. I don't know how I feel about it exactly but the fact I have felt a bit off now and then over the last few days is a good indication of how I feel about it.
The good news is that everyone is in a new house for the time being so this trip will be going home without really going home.
See what I mean, kinda strange. Hopefully once I see it and everyone things can settle back down again.

You Don't Mess With The Zohan

I reckon about 10 years ago I might have found You Don't Mess With The Zohan pretty funny.

It appears I have grown up somewhat, though I laughed pretty hard during Dude! Where's My Car? and Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle. Maybe they were funnier, simple as that.

Adam Sandler is Zohan, an Israeli soldier who is seemingly indestructible but longs to move to New York and become a hairdresser - as you do.

Problem is, he's never cut anyone's hair before.

From the first scene it's made pretty clear exactly what Zohan has going for him and once he does get the scissors in his hands uses it to his advantage, and the customers' pleasure.

There is a back story in there that resurfaces just when everything is going great but I won't bore you.

Zohan had its moments, it was funny at times (particularly the hacky sack game involving a cat), but it is B-grade juvenile humour and the accents get annoying fairly quickly.

There are cameos from interesting people, most notably for me Mariah Carey who is apparently adored by middle eastern people. I probably should have seen it coming when Zohan kept wearing Mariah t-shirts.

This is not Sandler's best comedic work and I think it is a shame this is the same man who was stunning in Reign Over Me last year. Lift your game, mate.

A 6 out of 10.

Wax on, wax off

I'd been considering it on and off for a while but yesterday, because I felt like it, I decided to get the hair on my back removed.
I guess you could say it was a vanity thing, in a way, but it was more of a cleanliness issue than anything else. So now my back feels, funnily enough, quite naked.
It also feels a bit cold now and then. The experience of getting the hair removed wasn't as painful as I was expecting, thankfully, but it wasn't exactly comfortable either.
This morning I had myself psyched up to get a tooth removed but didn't have to in the end. I wasn't really looking forward to bleeding for most of the day anyway. So not sad about that one.

Storm

One of the great songs by my favourite band, Lifehouse, called Storm. Good for people who need a pick me up, or who want to remember the bigger picture.

How long have I been in this storm?
So overwhelmed by the ocean's shapeless form
Water's getting harder to tread
With these waves crashing over my head

If I could just see you
Everything would be all right
If I'd see you
This darkness would turn to light
And I will walk on water
And you will catch me if I fall
And I will get lost into your eyes
And know everything will be all right
And know everything is all right

I know you didn't bring me out here to drown
So why am I ten feet under and upside down
Barely surviving has become my purpose
Because I'm so used to living underneath the surface

If I could just see you
Everything would be allright
If I'd see you
This darkness would turn to light
And I will walk on water
And you will catch me if I fall
And I will get lost into your eyes
And know everything will be all right

The Incredible Hulk

If Edward Norton has done a bad film I haven't seen it. So it wasn't much of a risk to see The Incredible Hulk .

Everyone knows what it's about.

This is an interesting take on the Hulk, though, with Dr Bruce Banner (Norton) exiling himself to find a cure for the `green' but being tracked down by General Ross (William Hurt) to recover the weapon Banner has inside him.

Liv Tyler is the girlfriend and seems to have been typecast in that kind of role.

The only real criticism is the CGI which at times isn't as impressive as it should be. But the positive is thatthe Hulk isn't as unbelievably large as he was in the previous attempt at this story.

A nice cameo at the end from Robert Downey Jr to give us an idea where the story is going to go. It's enjoyable and a worthy comic book conversion. A 7.5 out of 10.

The pool guy

For the first time in at least half my life I went `lap' swimming tonight.
It was actually a very good time though I only did six laps (hey, when you haven't done something like that in years and years you don't do 50 straight up!) it was a good experience.
I swum in an outdoor heated pool and it was a very pleasant experience. After being pestered for weeks to try it I am glad I did, and since I bought a pair of goggles I'd say I will be going back.

In other news, it appears there won't be a lot left from inside the house though my family isn't yet allowed to enter the shell yet as it is considered dangerous. Apparently there was an appeal on the radio at home today and people came from everywhere to help out which is great and I think a little overwhelming for mum and dad.
Someone even offered to let them stay in an empty house they own. Not sure what the long term situation is other than they intend to rebuild but those decisions won't be made until next week. Personally I have been a little shaken today but in a weird way, I still don't know how I feel about it all just yet. Maybe that will come when I see it.

It's all a bit surreal

Fairly normal Thursday night then I get a phone call.
My mum doesn't usually call me on the mobile so it was strange to hear her, then she says the house had burned down.
I still don't know what to think, obviously it is a bad thing, but I don't know the extent of it. Following the initial disbelief the term `burned down' doesn't mean the house was completely gutted but it may be safe to say a good portion of it has been significantly damaged.
The good news is that everyone got out in time and no-one was injured at all. Thank God it didn't happen while they were asleep.
So the house I grew up in is effectively no longer. I'm not sure how I feel about that, on one hand I spent 19 years or the best part of living there and on the other I've been telling my parents for several years they needed to upgrade.
So now they will have no choice. I really didn't want it to happen that way and at this point I don't know what possessions can be salvaged, if any.
Like I said it is all a bit surreal and hard to fathom from 500km away.

Season 5 artwork

The big day is August 26 for the release of season 5 of One Tree Hill on DVD. A few day's lag for me to get it ordered and delivered from the USA but it was worth it for the first four seasons.
Season 5 took a while to warm to, kind of like watching a new series all together.
The good thing about it was that although the series skipped ahead almost five years everything was plausible, except for Brooke being a fashion mogul until you found out how.
I was fortunate enough to get to write a short review of season 4 for the paper recently (I gave it four stars) and got to have a swipe and Channel Ten for ignoring such a great series.
I'm intrugued to find out what will happen in season 6 and whether it will be the final season. I've heard that consideration is being given to a new theme song but I think this is a really, really bad idea.
One Tree Hill's theme song is, and always will be, Gavin DeGraw's `I Don't Want To Be'. They didn't use it in season 5 except for the last episode and I'd rather them continue the black intertitle and no theme than try and change it.
Otherwise, bring on September 1.

Best laid plans

I was supposed to be catching up with a mate tonight but unfortunately he's had to work back.
It's a shame for a couple of reasons, I was looking forward to it but mainly because we haven't met up in quite a while due to logistical issues.
Anyway here's hoping that it can be rescheduled for later this week.
Coming up I have two weeks off which is great news.

The Happening

The Happening in simple terms is the biggest load of crap I've seen in a while and if it's not the worst movie of the year then there's a howler out there just waiting for me.
Warning, spoiler clue at the end.
It's very hard to believe that the man who stunned us with The Sixth Sense could get it so wrong. The key to these movie was there and I think everyone worked it out but it just wasn't anything special.
I'm disappointed in Mark Wahlberg who has been so brilliant lately but he did his best I suppose with the `material'.
There were elements of the film that were uneasy, edgy and a shade unnerving but they were very few and far between. Most of the film was very disturbing and overdone - we don't need to see graphic details of something over and over again to get the point.
I'm in a bit of shock as I write this `review' because I just can't understand how something with a huge amount of potential can be so thoroughly stuffed up.
As a quick summary, one morning in New York's Central Park people just stop and are overcome with an urge to kill themselves. This keeps occurring in other places in the state and Elliott (Wahlberg), a school science teacher, is one of the survivors trying to outrun whatever it is that is causing the tragedies.
Without completely giving it away, I was surprised not to see Al Gore in the credits anywhere.
A 3 out of 10, easily the lowest rating I've given in many, many years.

The comeback we had to have...apparently

Just when you thought it was safe, New Kids On The Block have reformed and released a single called Summertime and it is as you would expect.
I'm well and truly past being embarrassed by my music taste and I admit I didn't mind NKOTB in the 90s and still have the Hangin' Tough CD. But, come on, if they are going to have a serious dig at a comeback they could have done better than a cheap Backstreet Boys imitation.
Chicken and egg I know but BB wouldn't be caught dead putting out this kind of music let alone the video. I really wanted to like the song. I don't.
I very much liked Joey McIntyre's solo song Stay The Same and he should have stayed solo, IMO.

Nick D'Arcy

The Nick D'Arcy saga is an interesting one.

(pic news.yahoo.com)

Should he be allowed to compete at Beijing despite having clocked someone on a night out after a number of drinks. Of course his court case is still pending so he hasn't been found guilty of anything. Yet.

The initial `shock, horror' reaction seems to still remain and it is my view that his hearings with the AOC have been horribly slanted against him.

What he did is not right. Clearly. But has it bought swimming into disrepute?

I would argue that it hasn't and agree with a talkback caller I heard saying that to bring a sport into disrepute your actions should occur on the sporting field or have an overall damaging effect on the sport's image.

I had never heard of this guy until he qualified for the Games. I don't see how an average person can say this, little known, person can damage the public's view of any sport.

Can anyone say that D'Arcy's actions have left a lasting effect on swimmings's image? Do we now view swimming as a lesser sport than we did before? I don't think so.

The AOC should have said to D'Arcy their decision on his Olympic spot hangs on his court case. If he is found guilty and given a penalty then he can't represent his country. If he isn't then he is free to take up his spot. He could have kept training in peace and be judged by the law before everyone else judges him.

Now I have no association with Nick whatsoever, I have never met him, but his is the most blatant case of trial by media I've seen in a while.

Would this have happened if it was Grant Hackett? I think not.

Time to get off my soapbox.

Dumb idea of the month

I was reading one of the papers the other day and read that a live action movie of The Smurfs was being proposed.
I know Transformers worked, but they were robots, how the heck are the going to make foot tall blue creatures plausible and interesting enough to fill 80 or 90 minutes.
The Flintstones didn't work and you'd think they would have learned from that mistake to leave some things alone. Really, who wants playing Smurfette on their list of credits?
Surely there are more original ideas out there.

Writing a book

It occurred to me today that I should have a go at writing a book.
It's just an idea, kind of out of the blue based on something someone said to me today.
I don't know whether it will work, whether I will finish it or whether it will be any good (particularly because I haven't come up with a topic yet) but I think it is something I should try.
There are a couple of topics that have come to mind and I think it will be a fiction based on real events mainly because I think that would be easier.
Another idea I thought was that I could document my experience over the last few years.
Hmmm. We'll see where this leads....

Prince Caspian

Prince Caspian is very much a worthy continuation of the Narnia series, three years after the much loved The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe.

The good thing for me in watching this film was that I wasn't as emotionally connected to it as I was the first film. I don't recall it as vividly if I actually got through the whole book when I was younger.

In contrast to LW&W, I wasn't sure what I was in for as far as plot goes except the obvious - that the Pevensie children return to Narnia some 1300 years after they left (actually only one year or so in human time) and it is a very different place.

Summonsed by Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes) who is fleeing for his life in the forest of Narnia, Peter, Edmund, Susan and Lucy return to lead the Narnians in a revival that is set to restore the rightful balance in their world.

There is an appearance by the White Witch (Tilda Swinton) in quite a disturbing scene and of course there is the take home message from the CS Lewis story.

For me it came in the scene where Peter and Susan were talking about Aslan and why he didn't believe Lucy saw the lion. Peter wanted proof. He was told that maybe it's not up to Aslan to prove himself to us.

That is very true. I was actually thinking quite a deal about that in the car on the way home.

An excellent film and one that didn't take itself too seriously with some very funny scenes and whimsical characters, it deservied its M rating though, and it will be interesting to see what they do with Voyage of the Dawn Trader.

Even though I have a soft spot, and always will, for The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian was a better film. An 8.5 out of 10.

Sunshine

It's great to see the sun for a change. After a week or so of cloud and rain it is also a bit strange.
A bit of cabin fever sets in when it is like that so taking the opportunity to get outside has been excellent and get some sun onto the skin.
Also good to be hanging clothes on the line and not using the dryer.

Be positive

This is something I find hard at times.
Today is a good example. I got to work and starting feeling a bit off. I left midway through the day and spent the rest of the afternoon worried about all manner of things to do with my health.
I thought I was past that. I have a particular issue at the moment that is more annoying than anything else which is being treated and it hasn't healed up just yet.
So today I got all wound up about these things. I did take some action with relaxation and some anti-anxiety methods but I seem to end up having to resort to this.
Being positive doesn't come easy to me, unfortunately.

October Road

I just finished watching the first episode of a stunningly promising series when I discover that the show has recently been cancelled at the end of its second season.
October Road, the story of a writer Nick Garrett who comes home after 10 years away to face the life he ran away from and the friends he used as fodder for his best selling novel.
Nick is played by the very likeable Bryan Greenberg, who for three seasons was Jake on One Tree Hill (maybe this means we'll find out what happened to Jake in series six), and I guess that's part of the appeal.
We get a small glimpse of life in 1997 before Nick left his girlfriend Hannah, best mate Eddie and a band of interesting friends for a six week holiday. Only thing is, he never came back.
Ten years later he arrives back in Knights Ridge to find everything has changed. Hannah has a son, who may or may not be his son, and Eddie is so cut that Nick abandoned him that he `never, ever' wants to be friends.
I'm going to persist and watch all 19 episodes (6 from S1 and 13 from S2) in the hope that ABC (in the USA) will see sense and at least allow closure of the series or another network picks it up (the CW would do well with it in my opinion).
Until then I have a new obsession until One Tree Hill returns.

About face

I'm reconsidering my position, somewhat, on Facebook.
I still object to it in the same ways as previously but it has come to my attention that there could be an advantage or two to it.
I'm going to sleep on it and decide tomorrow.

Michael Paynter

Sometimes I stumble upon an artist who surprises me (Rascal Flatts is a good recent example, The Fray is another).
Well, this week I have come across Michael Paynter , a young musician from Melbourne who has just released his first single called Closer.
It's a pretty solid single and is worth a listen, the video can be viewed here on his Youtube channel.
From what I can gather he is fairly well known down in Melbourne so hopefully he might do a few shows in Sydney so I can see more.
I have listened to the three songs on the Closer single (I quite like the third track Shine On Me, don't know if it is going to be on the album).
The CD is going to be called `This Welcome Diversion', from the few songs I have heard snippets or full songs of I'd say the album will be a welcome diversion indeed.
Check him out,.

An unusual night

My standard Friday night is a quiet one watching the football and reading the racing papers preparing for the weekend.
I did some of that last night but not quit how and where I expected.
For the first time in I don't know how long I got home well after my housemate and we're talking around 2am. He was well and truly snoring by then.
I went over to Coogee to hang out with a friend and we ended up at a pub for dinner and to watch the footy. A mate of his also came along (very interesting guy but he's another story) and it was he who mae the night out of the ordinary.
Not going to go into the details but it involved a $1 bet on the football score and one of the most remarkable games of footy I've seen.
When he scanned the ticket he almost leapt out of his own skin and, potentially unfortuntely, onto my back just days after recovering from a pinched nerve.
An awesome night with a couple of guys and despite only five or so hours sleep (they kicked on a while longer than me and thank God I don't drink) I have to say it was all worth it.
Haven't had fun like that in ages.

A commuter's rant

I am normally fairly unfazed by what goes on when I travel to and from work on the train.
However, this afternoon really had me bothered. Largely it was all over people's general lack of consideration for others.
For a start there were I'd say two fewer carriages on the train than usual so we were more packed in than what you'd call normal. If there is such a thing. So there were a lot of people standing.
Over the course of 20 minutes I had someone thrust a bag in my face with no `excuse me' or apology, was bumped into several times with no recognition and people were even stealing other people's seats on the steps of the train.
It's not too hard to smile occasionally people, when someone smiles at you. We could at least make the best of a bad situation by being pleasant.
It was a pretty sad indictment on our society when we can't co operate when everyone is in the same situation.
Most of the time I don't see a lot of this because I get on the train before 7am just about every day to work and around 3pm from work. It's worse when school kids are around because they talk quite a lot and don't have any concept of how loud is inappropriate.

I don't like Mondays

That heading's not quite accurate.
I do generally like Mondays but perhaps not this one so much (but I do love the Boomtown Rats song of the same name).
I made it work fine today despte some remaining back pain and was pleased to discover it has been improving, slowly. Also in the good news column is the face that work was rather cruisy for a deadline day and things went pretty well to plan.
I headed off to physio after work and it looks as though things will be a lot better within a few days. (I currently have a heat pack on my back as I type this).
Why don't I like this Monday then? In some ways it is a touchy question. Almost literally.
I'm not going to reveal the full reason in this public arena, not that it's headline news or anything scandalous, it's just not really appropriate.
More than anything I think it is something I am going to have to learn to deal with because it is a situation that doesn't look like changing, despite the amount that I want it to.
The disappointment just takes a while to wash away.
I don't know why I think that one day things will change, if anything they seem to be heading further away from where I'd like them. The toughest thing is that I don't understand why. There's no logical reason in my mind for how it is. Sometimes I think it is a reflection on me, that's the closest I can get to working it out. Only sometimes, if I was pressed I'd have to say that statement is wrong but it is an easy conclusion to come to.
I know all this is cryptic, by the way, but it helps me to get it off my chest.
Let's be positive, tomorrow is another day full of possibilities and hopefully I can catch up with a mate whom I have been trying to lock in some time with for a while. We are slated for tomorrow so that's something to look forward to.

Indiana Jones & The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull

This is a hard movie to review because of the public's (and my) collective endearment of the Indiana Jones series.

In short The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull is a good, entertaining movie. It does ask the viewer to buy quite a bit though. Moreso than in the previous three which were a shade more plausible.

It's been 19 years since The Last Crusade and Harrison Ford wears the hat like he never took it off, and he looked as though he still relished the role.

My memory of Karen Allen is foggy but bringing her back was an excellent move, and convenient as (surprise surprise) Shia LaBeoff's character is Indy's son.

I must admit I was a bit disappointed by this highly expected revelation. It doesn't hurt the movie largely because Shia is so likeable.

Cate Blanchett was an interesting choice for the villainess role and despite the hilarious Russian accent she was an excellent addition, as she always is.

I enjoyed the in jokes, the jokes about Indy's age and how things used to be easier. They aren't pretending to be still mid-30s. A nice nod to Sean Connery as well, a couple of times in fact.

My main issue was that of alien history on Earth. I didn't mind when it was mentioned initially as Indy dismisses it quickly saying `you've got to be kidding'. By the end I was having trouble buying what was happening, particularly as it was supposed to be 1957. I wonder whether that was Steven Spielberg or George Lucas' influence, or a combination.

Then again that kind of thing was easier to buy when I was 14 or so as I was when The Last Crusade came out. I'm giving it 7 out of 10 because I had fun, but it could have been better.

The end scene is interesting and symbolic.

Testing the nerves

Woke up yesterday fine, got out of the shower with what was later found to be a pinched nerve in the back. Man it hurt. Yesterday was rather uncomfortable.
Today is a shade better but still hurting. Hot pack about to get second application for the day. Hopefully tomorrow will be better again.
Rather than stay home hurting last night I went to the movies for a distraction.

Fears and a finale

What is fear holding you back from?
Facing your fears is not a theme foreign to me so it was easy to relate to the season final of One Tree Hill.
It's a simple concept yet it is one of the hardest things to do, if you don't turn and face the monster it will continue to be scary.
I've been thinking about this for a few days and, appropriately, when I sat down to watch the One Tree finale I was struck by the apparent coincidence.
Of course I think things happen for a reason, I don't place a lot of emphasis on random events as a sourse of meaning. So when I watched this it was like God telling me it's time to start dealing with what I fear.
I'm not going to go into the details but it was put to me the other day that by turning and facing your fear you put it off guard. It ceases to hold as much power as it thinks and goes onto the back foot. The monster analogy - if you allow a monster to chase you it gains energy from you being scared (the creators of Monsters Inc were onto it) but if you stop and turn around and face it, the monster doesn't know what to do.
Am I digging too deep here? Again, I don't think it is a simple exercise to just all of a sudden get over what scares you. For some it may be.
I'd encourage you to consider what scares you and take steps to get on top of it.
Back to One Tree, and after the shock of Lucas telling Peyton that he hates her (an oh my God! moment from the previous episode) we find that he's gone on a bender and ends up with a mohawk. It's quickly removed by Haley.
Nathan faces his fear that he isn't good enough to overcome his injuries and play basketball, Jamie faces a fear of the swimming pool after almost drowning mid-season, Peyton throws water balloons as therapy, Brooke faces her fear of giving up Angie......
Dan vows to be a better person by not killing off a sick priest so he can be first in line for heart transplant (a nurse even hands him a pillow in one scene) then gets hit by a car, just as his beeper rings to alert him to the avilability of a heart. Then the finale, Brooke, Peyton and Lindsey all answer their phone....Lucas calls someone and says `I've got two tickets to Vegas, you want to get married tonight?' to one of them. Now the wait until September 1 begins.
Oh, I also thought it was great the episode opened with Jamie and Gavin DeGraw singing the theme song, which hasn't been utilised all season as they ditched the opening titles.

On the streets

I was in the city this afternoon and I got to thinking about all the people seemingly living on the pavement, or at least off the pavement. Beggars and the like.
I'm sure there are very few who, like Homer hilariously did in the Simpsons, try begging as a way to supplement their income. So there obviously is a big problem out there.
What troubled me was/is how to react to someone who approaches you asking for money and even how to think about them. It's easy to think that they choose to be this way but that, I guess, isn't always the case.
There was always a policy at church that if anyone asked for money for food you don't give them any but offer to buy them something. I like this method as you really don't know what they want the $5 for. And if you buy them food or a train ticket at least you know that.
I often wondered how much difference say $2 would make.
Whenever I walk past someone of this disposition I always feel bad for either brushing them off or ignoring them even. I can't imagine how they got in their situation and how they feel. I know I would feel bad if I were ignored like that.
But I just don't know how to handle this issue. It's too big and wide a problem for me to be able to solve, naturally. Any thoughts or tips?

Me and the movies

1. One movie that made you laugh
Dumb And Dumber
2. One movie that made you cry
It's A Wonderful Life.
3. One movie you loved when you were a child
The Muppet Movie
4. One movie you've seen more than once
High Fidelity
5. One movie you loved, but were embarrassed to admit it
Hairspray
6. One movie you hated
Bean (the first Mr Bean movie)
7. One movie that scared you
Alien
8. One movie that bored you
Mission Impossible 3
9. One movie that made you happy
Horton Hears A Who
10. One movie that made you miserable
The Hours
11. One movie you weren't brave enough to see
N/A
12. One movie character you've fallen in love with
Kate Beckinsale's character Sara from the movie Serendipity.
13. The last movie you saw
Gone Baby Gone
14. The next movie you hope to see
Before The Devil Knows You're Dead

Thanks to Craig. Feel free to contribute your own list.

Double agent

Ambition, particularly when it comes to work, is a tricky one isn't it?
In order to move up other people have to make way for you and when the workforce is small it is even more sensitive an issue.
I am not overtly ambitious by nature but, assuming I can keep myself together, do have goals for work and they have exploded out of me in recent weeks. This has led to frustration and snappyness. I think I did a pretty good job of keeping my mouth shut today when opportunities came up to take a pot shot, largely at the person I am looking to unseat.
Before I go on, I'm not saying I am ready to take over the responsibilites of people above me just yet, but when you are clearly capable sometimes other people's shortcomings are more obvious.
When you are supposed to be an expert at something you shouldn't be asking elementary questions of people below you. Right?
For example, how could I claim to be an expert chess commentator and not know who the world champion was and what they looked like, the latest rule changes and the up and coming players. I couldn't, there's just no way you could appear credible.
That's what gets to me sometimes. I have spent the time becoming an `expert' in my field and another is trying to use my knowledge and pass it off as their own. This is going to change but I am going to have to be more careful.
Kind of like being a double agent. I have to be pleasant and co-operative (to an extent) without giving away my trade secrets (an overstatement but it's not far from the truth) readily as I did last week.
It's going to be interesting. My frustration tolerance levels are pretty low at the best of times.

Gone Baby Gone

Casey Affleck, take a bow.
Being responsible for holding a movie together and driving it is tough for even thr most experienced actor but in Gone Baby Gone Casey Affleck makes it look easy and absolutely nails it.
Affleck plays private detective Patrick Kenzie in this crime thriller from the author of Mystic River. On the surface this is a simple child abduction story but as you get deeper into it the movie becomes so much more.
Kenzie and his girlfriend Annie (Michelle Monaghan) are hired by the aunt of missing child Amanda to get to the bottom of who stole the little girl.
As they reluctantly, at first, make inquiries they become involved with the police, led by Captain Jack Doyle (the superb Morgan Freeman). As they trade information, Patrick is drawn into the case despite the fact he doesn't look old enough to get involved in such things. (There's a funny moment where he is told to go back to his Harry Potter books).
The always brilliant Ed Harris plays Detective Remy Bressant, a man who despises child abductors and the like and who reluctantly allows Patrick to be involved.
That's enough plot.
The directorial debut of Ben Affleck has a similar feel to his breakthrough flm Good Will Hunting in which Casey also featured. He probably could have had anyone play Patrick but his little brother is a revelation as the devout Catholic PI with a faith, a conscience and a soul - and all three get severely tested as the film turns in surprising directions.
I don't want to go on too much but Casey Affleck is captivating, honest, natural and engaging in his first serious leading role. It won't be his last. It's a crime that he was overlooked for an Oscar nomination, in my view he acted Amy Ryan, who was nominated for playing the child's mother Helene, off the planet.
Brilliant film, amazing performance from both Casey and Ben Affleck and deserving of a 9 out of 10.

Waiting patiently

So after what happened at work yesterday it was quite appropriate that I learn a lesson.
On and off over the last few months or so I have been reading Joyce Meyer's Battlefield Of The Mind book and generally finding it interesting.
Last night before I went to bed I picked up the book and opened it where my bookmark was. It was chapter 20 called `Don't make me wait for anything, I deserve everything immediately'. Basically it is all about impatience.
A lot of the references come from James.
The bottom line is that despite the nature of the world with wanting its instant gratification, everyone has to wait. Meyer says we need to learn to wait happily and patiently and let God make things happen on his own timetable not our own.
That's not to say we shouldn't be active in pursuing things that we want but that we must keep in mind that not everything is going to fall into our laps immediately.
I have to say it was a timely chapter for me to read.
Despite my background, having grown up in a city in a rural area, I am now well and truly assimilated into the city lifestyle. Convenience is amazing, it doesn't matter what time it is you can get anything you want at any time, and that's partly responsible for why Sydney, and large cities for that matter, are like they are.
People rush, want everything straight away and lack patience and tolerance. I admit I fall into that trap much more than I should.
Now I am aware the challenge is now to try and change. I know change is hard because habits are by nature tough to break. By the way, things at work seem to not have been affected by my lack of tact. So that's a good thing.

Gavin DeGraw

A month or two ago I was lamenting my inability to get hold of the song We Belong Together by Gavin DeGraw. Well, to my surprise I was in the music store on Saturday and spotted his new CD (which only came out on that day). When I saw the track in question listed I went straight to the counter.
I didn't care if the rest of the album was ordinary - I had to have that song. Fortunately, the rest of the CD is pretty good.
Of course I came across Gavin DeGraw through One Tree Hill, as he sings the theme song I Don't Want To Be, and I admit I got hold of his debut CD Chariot for exactly the same reason.
Some may argue with me but I think this CD is much stronger than his debut. And that's a good thing.
The opening track In Love With A Girl is very catchy as is the next track Next To Me. Others I like are Young Love, She Holds A Key and of course We Belong Together, which is just an awesome song:
The hammer may strike, me dead on the ground,a nail to my hand, a cross on this crown, but we're done if we're undone, finished if we are incomplete, as one we are everything.
It's great when music surprises you and I have to say that Gavin DeGraw fits in that category. He's not your straight up and down pop singer. His songs have imagination, depth (most of the time) and are very catchy if they are up tempo and emotive if they are slow.
You could do a lot worse than check this out.

Crossing lines

It seems that I need to keep an eye on myself at work as it has come to light that I come across as pushy or even disrespectful.
Neither of those descriptions have come exactly from above me, they are more what I understand of being told I can `rub people the wrong way'. Perhaps I do. The way I look at it is that I have a high degree of care about what I do and it appears to me that others I work with don't.
So when I am asked to pick up the slack for others who should really know how to do their own jobs within the time constraints I can get a bit testy, or short in my replies.
This is something of a flaw, I realise, though I don't think it is completely unwarranted to be frustrated by having to do your own job and cover for others.
I might have crossed a line a bit too in a post-work discussion which centred on where I wanted to head within my job. Generally I am quite tactful but when I get frustrated or riled up I can be pretty direct and I was very direct when I was getting across what I wanted for the future.
In short, I said in no uncertain terms that I want someone else's job within my department. This is not a surprise to the person in charge, who has in fact told me in the past that I would move in that direction one day.
Up until recently I was happy to sit back and just work away. Now I have decided it is time to start putting the pressure on. I'm not saying I want to be elevated into a new role tomorrow but it is good to have direction and a goal.
Now I just have to work on my diplomacy skills.

Iron Man

Superhero, or comic book adaptations, aren't always as good as you think they'll be though the likes of Spiderman, Batman and X-Men have been outstanding.
The best place I can sit Iron Man is a rung or two below those benchmarks.
I won't bore you with background - I didn't know an awful lot about Iron Man but I did know enough to know what to expect and the film, as is the norm in any genesis of a franchise, spends some time explaining the how and why.
The casting - Robert Downey Jr is quite a good choice for Tony Stark/Iron Man and Gwenyth Paltrow is fine as Pepper Potts, his assistant. Others in the cast are good though I don't think acting performances will be what people remember.
Unfortunately there has been a lot of borrowing from films like Transformers and, the earlier Robocop films. Though it probably could be argued that Robocop came from the Iron Man idea.
I think in the end Iron Man is a couple of hours of pretty good entertainment. There are some nice one liners, some good action (though not quite enough) and impressive effects.
I think in one sense it would be a great idea to leave the cinema about two minutes before the credits roll because the end is pretty ordinary. That was the first thought anyway. Now, you MUST stay through the entire credits because there is a scene at the end that makes the other ending seem a little better - but only a little.
We all know there will be a sequel.
A 7 out of 10. Good, but not in the upper echelon of the genre by a long way.