Saturday, November 29, 2003
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 Suddenly, blindingly, brilliantly... summer is here. It took me all of about thirty minutes to get my first sunburn of the season. (I didn't mean to!) We finished our chores early - transplanting basil in the backyard, meeting with our tax agent, the Snook racking beer, me hitting the gym - and decided to reward ourselves with a trip to the pool at Vic Park (since it's right around the corner from our new place). The Snook swam laps while I read in the shade. Now we're heading into the city for birthday drinks with a friend. It's like I can just see the summer spreading out before me in a lovely succession of sunny days and warm nights with friends... and everything is good.
Friday Five:
1. Do you like to shop? Why or why not?
Not really. I find it stressful. I like to buy things and get new stuff, but the act of going to stores and picking things out always puts me in a bad mood. It's been getting better though, as the last few times I've tried things on I've been happy to discover that I can wear a smaller size than I thought.
2. What was the last thing you purchased?
A bottle of wine to take to a friend's house last night. Prior to that it was a big bag of potting soil for transplanting our basil this weekend.
3. Do you prefer shopping online or at an actual store? Why?
If I know exactly what I want, I much prefer online. (I even had a dream the other night that Amazon.com.au was finally launching.) I wish it were practical to do our grocery shopping online. I hate the grocery store.
4. Did you get an allowance as a child? How much was it?
I don't remember it ever really being a set amount. If you did your chores and you wanted something, you could usually get it. Once I turned 14 I got a part-time job at the local grocery store so I pretty much paid my own way from then on.
5. What was the last thing you regret purchasing?
That box of Rice Krispies. Turns out we still had half a box from the Rice Krackles the Snook made for Halloween, so now we've got a whole extra box of cereal we'll never eat. Which means I'll make more Treats with it. And I'll eat them. And the cycle of regret will begin again...
Friday, November 28, 2003
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Remember that old commercial for Rice Krispies, where the Mom was making Rice Krispie Treats and faking how labor-intensive it was to her family? And at the end, she even threw flour on her face to get more sympathy? That's totally how I was today. I had an evil craving for some peanut-butter treats last night so I made them and took them into the office today. Most of the Australians had never had them before. It was awesome. People were like, "Oh my gosh, these are so good! You're so nice to go to all this trouble!" I got, like, ten million office karma points. It's a nice way to end the week.
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"Look at that screen clutter! Is that a desktop pattern, or just 70,000 icons?!" Mac Eye for the Windows Guy. I'm still giggling over this.
Dude, "Space station crew hear mystery noise" has to be the most compelling news headline of the year. Don't you think? My imagination was going crazy when I clicked it. (Too bad the real story isn't very exciting.)
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Hoyts are worse than Ticketmaster, I swear. (For non-Aussies, Hoyts is the major movie theater chain in Sydney.) On Wednesday I saw in the newspaper that Return of the King tickets were going on sale the next day. I am a big nerd and I want to go to the first possible showing. Accordingly, yesterday I headed over to the Broadway to procure four tickets for the 9:30 am premiere on Boxing Day. First off, there weren't any signs or posters about the ticket sale. I was confused. I figured they'd have something. So I waited in line and when I got up to the counter I asked the guy, "Are you selling Return of the King tickets today?" And he's like, "Yeah, uh, I guess so." Ooookay. So I pull out a fifty and wait for him to add it up. "That'll be $61.20," he says. I choke. I dig for more money. As I'm putting the tickets away, I hear the next couple behind me buying two tickets for a show about to start... and their total is less than $30. Something doesn't jibe. I look down at the tickets in my hand and note that the $15.30 price includes sales tax and "public holiday surcharge". What? They're actually charging me extra to come in on what will probably be their biggest day of the year. What, do they think they're doing us a big favor by being open that day? Snookums reckons it's because they have to pay their employees extra to work over Christmas, but I think that's bull. The cinema should suck up that cost since they're easily going to make it up with all the extra refreshments they'll sell that day. Money-grubbing bastards!
Thursday, November 27, 2003
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 Happy Thanksgiving!
After the food orgy of last year, the Snook and I decided to have a low-key Thanksgiving, just the two of us. We roasted a turkey breast and had pumpkin, mash*, asparagus, broccoli, and green beans. It was pretty darn good. I also baked a pumpkin cheesecake - substituting Splenda for the sugar - that turned out well. (I wasn't thrilled with the low-carb pie crust though.) We washed it down with a lovely Australian chardonnay. It wasn't Mom's cooking but it'll do. :)
Things I'm Thankful For This Year:- My brother came through his surgery fine. Thanks for your positive thoughts!
- I've been employed for nearly a year now, and though I don't love my job, I like the people I work with and at least it's a paycheck.
- The Snook and I are finally settled in a place that should suit us for awhile. Our apartment is in a great location and has all the amenities we were looking for. We have a home.
- My family continue to amaze me. My mom is raising a toddler, my Dad is coping with two new stepsons, my brother is only a year from getting his college degree, and my sister has created a new life for herself in California. (She's also impressing the hell out of me with her marathon training and fundraising.) On one hand it's awesome that we've all got such great things going on in our lives... and on the other it's weird that we all *have* such separate lives right now.
- I'm healthier than I was this time last year. I feel better. I don't think so negatively about myself. In fact, occasionally I catch a glimpse of myself in one of the mirrors at the gym... and I think I look pretty good.
- Whenever I feel homesick or sad at being so far away from my old life, I have this wonderful community of online friends that cheer me up. Thanks for being there!
- My Snookums. He's the best.
[Note: We don't eat mashed potatoes, of course. Way too many carbs. Instead we steam the heck out of cauliflower and then whizz it up with our hand blender. Add a dollop of sour cream, a dash of salt and pepper, and you've got a much healthier mash alternative. It's gotten to the point now where I even prefer it to the old version!]
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Test your digital IQ. I scored 125. I am a nerd. I actually missed a lot of them though... sadly I never learned to use PowerPoint. (Link courtesy of John.)
Wednesday, November 26, 2003
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I'm a little homesick so I'm Googling for information on my hometown back in Indiana.Okay, those last few aren't so nice.
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"An invitation to join the Blogosphere..."
This could well be the lamest promotional idea ever. This is a scan of a clipping that I found in our mailbox last week:
That's right. It's a real piece of paper that someone put in our actual physical mailbox. I couldn't believe it. I'm assuming that one of the three people listed - best Aussie bloggers??? - did it to drive up traffic. (I somehow doubt it's Ev's new viral marketing scheme for Blogger.) It's even tackier than that brokenman.net guy who chalks his URL all over Newtown. What's next, wearing an "I'm a 'Blogger' - Ask Me How?" button?
And who says "Blogosphere"? I mean, really.
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"Fellowship of the Nitpickers." Peter Jackson responds to bloopers found in the first two LoTR movies. Pretty funny!
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I was inspired by Kristen's recent Christmas redesign to do a little decorating myself. Whaddaya think? Don't worry; the new "winter" theme only extends to the web-goddess home page. All the other pages still have my old design. Oh, and yeah, it's actually summer here in Australia. I like to be contrary sometimes.
Update: Yeah, I rolled it out to the whole site. Let me know if you see any problems!
Steve Waugh, my not-so-secret cricket crush, has announced his retirement. I would've liked to see him hang on for the India Tour, but how cool would it be to go to his final match in January? I'd love to be there.
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What? Apparently it's illegal to use an iPod in Australia. You're not legally allowed to rip from CD to an mp3. What the hell? I didn't know that. Guess I'm breaking the law all over the place then.
Monday, November 24, 2003
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Please send all positive thoughts to my brother Anthony, who's having surgery today... Get better soon, Bruder.
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I finally saw Spellbound tonight. I loved this film. I identified so much with the kids. (I think I mentioned before that I missed out on going to Nationals by four places myself.) God, they all looked so awkward. Were we really like that? It was like watching Welcome to the Dollhouse all over again. But in spite of my own over-identification and mortification, I loved seeing them try and cheering their successes. They're good kids.
More interestingly, the movie made me terribly homesick. Yes, it poked some gentle fun, but I think it also emphasized the very best of American values and traditions. I started out feeling uncomfortable with the Australian audience around me (who sometimes seemed to be laughing a little too hard at people that bear more than a passing resemblance to my own family) but by the end I was incredibly proud of the film's message. (And those same Australians were audibly gasping at the difficulty of the words and cheering on the contestants.) Now I just wish I were home for Thanksgiving... *sniff*
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Good grief. I am warning you ladies, only go to this site if you feel the need to work up some truly righteous feminist anger: Bitter Old Assholes. (That's not the real title, but I couldn't resist the opportunity to Google-bomb the jerks.) It's all about how men shouldn't marry "Western" women because we're all money-grubbing selfish man-hating whores. Darn, they're on to us, girls!
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Weekend Movie Roundup: The Snook and I wanted to take advantage of the projector so we rented some movies that we thought would be appropriately dazzling on a bigger screen.
 Strictly Ballroom: This is the first of Baz Luhrmann's "Red Curtain Trilogy" (which also includes Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge). It's also one of the most successful Australian films of all time, so I was really looking forward to seeing it. To my surprise, it doesn't take place in a wacky alternative universe but is firmly achored in reality... albeit the reality of competitive ballroom dancing. The story is pretty simple but the actors are great and I was really cheering for them at the end. As I said to the Snook afterwards, "It's just like when D.B. Sweeney teaches Moira Kelly to loosen up and enjoy her ice skating and then they fall in love and win the gold medal. Except not on ice. And with better costumes." Ebert liked it too.
 Star Wars: Attack of the Clones: Yeah, my initial enthusiasm for this one has really waned. It looked great up on the projector but I still found myself making excuses to get up and walk around whenever the "love" story was onscreen (lest I disturb the Snook by muttering "Fascist stalker date rapist!" everytime Anakin spoke). It also still botheres me that repeated viewings do nothing to patch together the gaping plot holes. I did like seeing the deleted scenes though, and some of the behind-the-scenes material was entertaining.
 Waking Life: We'd been meaning to see this one for some time. It's from Richard Linklater, who also directed Slacker and Dazed and Confused. The movie was filmed on video and then converted to rotoscoped animation, so visually it's pretty intense. There's really not much of a story. Wiley Wiggins (animated, of course) meets lots of different people, all of whom tell him about their theories of life and existence and dreams and meaning. Ebert gave it four stars. I liked it, but more as a challenging intellectual exercise than entertainment. It's impossible to watch without *thinking* the whole time. (Don't rent this one as a way to unwind after a tough day.) You'll also develop a charming obsession with flicking light switches on and off. I know I have.
Being a gardener changes your perspective. Normally I'd be moaning and whining about four straight days of rain, but I happened to step out in the backyard yesterday and our corn is going nuts! It's knee-high already! Our tomatoes are also taking off and our pepper plant has two tiny jalapenos on it. Yay for rain!
Saturday, November 22, 2003
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England win. Well done, Poms. That was a fantastic game of rugby. England squeaked it out on a drop goal from Wilkinson with less than a minute to go in extra time. You couldn't have scripted it better.
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RunningBlog:
Gym Update
I've been having some pretty serious cramping the last couple times I've run or biked. It's generally my right leg, down on the outside above the ankle. I'm really not sure if it's the calf muscle, a tendon, or my shin; all I know is as soon as I stop moving the whole damn thing seizes up and I can't walk. I've been stretching it throughout my workouts and icing it as soon as I get home - which offers some immediate relief - but it just keeps happening. I think it might be a nutrient deficiency. I saw my doctor this morning and she said the main causes of such cramping are lack of calcium, magnesium, water, and salt. I'm fairly certain I get enough of the first three, but that last one stumped me. I can't even remember the last time I put salt on my food. I guess that's pretty typical on Atkins, since you're not eating the french fries and salty junk food that other people are. I'm going back in two weeks for a follow-up and a blood pressure check, but I'm hoping for some relief in the meantime. Do you runners think it could be the salt? What's the best way to get more of it in my diet without resorting to dumping it all over my otherwise yummy food? Should I just suck it up and start shelling out for Gatorade whenever I work out?
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Earlier this week...
Me: Snookums, I have a dream. A dream of a T-shirt I shall make for the Rugby Final this Saturday.
Snookums: What's going to be on it?
Me: A wallaby pooing on the Queen's head!
Snookums: Well, technically she's our Queen too.
Me: Crap. I forgot.
Snookums: How about an English rose instead?
Me: Brilliant!
Friday, November 21, 2003
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 Merry Christmas!
I know it's a bit early, but I couldn't resist. Check out these Roald Dahl Christmas Cards I made today. Cute, huh?
CouchCam is going to look a little different this weekend... as the Snook and I have set up the projector in preparation for tomorrow night's game. The whole living room has been flopped 180-degrees so we can project onto the wall. Pretty sweet, huh? You might even catch us watching a movie! :)
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Friday Five:
I haven't done one of these in a while!
1. List five things you'd like to accomplish by the end of the year.
Finish these damn Harry Potter scarves. Lose seven more kilos. Get the Snook's and my Australian tax stuff all done. Start working on a new quilt. Find a new job.
2. List five people you've lost contact with that you'd like to hear from again.
I am shockingly bad at keeping in touch with people. I'd love to hear from Tara D, Andrew, Lizzy, Mark, and Stevo, all of whom were good college friends that I speak to far too seldom.
3. List five things you'd like to learn how to do.
Crochet. Take decent photographs. Speak Korean. Develop table-less CSS-only websites. Instinctively turn on the right stove burner instead of always reaching for the wrong one, like I do now.
4. List five things you'd do if you won the lottery (no limit).
Pay off student loans. Buy a car. Buy a house in Sydney. Buy another house in Indiana. Fly all of our friends and family somewhere exotic and get married.
5. List five things you do that help you relax.
Knit. Read in a hot bath. Get a massage from Snookums. Work out at the gym. Veg out on the couch.
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iPods passing in the night...
I was riding the bus to work this morning, zoned out in my usual zombie-like way, when I noticed the guy sitting next to me staring at my iPod. Mortified, I quickly hit fast-forward lest he snicker at my choice of Avril Lavigne as wake-up music. A few minutes later I caught him staring again. "Okay," I thought, "time for a little evangelism." So I hit pause, made eye contact, and asked if he wanted to try it out. He grinned, fumbled in his bag, and pulled out one of his own. His was one of the new flashy 20GB models and he was curious about my clunky two-year-old 5GB version. So we swapped stories and passed them back and forth, marvelling over the weight and design and comparing notes. He'd had a 10GB version but traded up as soon as the bigger ones became available. I said I'd thought about it, but I really couldn't justify it as mine still works perfectly. He was surprised that I still get eight hours of battery life, given that he'd already burnt through one battery already. We both use our iPods with Macs. He tends to listen to albums, while I generally just leave it on random. Our fellow bus travelers stared as we spoke with the embarrassing enthusiasm of two people in love with a piece of electronics. Before too long was time to part. I waved goodbye as we both put our headphones back on. I never even learned his name...
Related note: I realized afterwards that the reason I hadn't noticed his iPod immediately was that - like me - he wasn't using the default white earbuds. I have a pair of clip-on headphones I use because the buds are too large for my little ears and after a while they start to hurt. Lately I've found myself thinking more and more that I should use them anyway, as they're the easiest way to identify a fellow devotee. I see them everywhere in the city now. It's completely shallow, but I want people to know I have one too! So congratulations, Apple; your branding efforts are definitely working.
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The BBC lists 50 Places to See Before You Die. I've seen seven of them: Florida, Sydney, New York, Venice, Paris, Rome, and Singapore. Pretty cool.
Thursday, November 20, 2003
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 Many thanks to my cousin Jenny for sending me photos of Marshall Field's 2003 "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" Christmas windows. I like the designs of some of the characters - the Oompa-Loompas in space helmets, especially - but overall I think I'm more a fan of the Shindelman illustrations for this particular book. Some of the windows look oddly bare to me too. (They couldn't throw a couple two-dimensional squirrel cutouts in the Nut Room?) Thanks again, Jenny!
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I can't resist. This is from today's Herald:
A man walks into a bar with a dachshund. The dog is wearing a England rugby jersey and is festooned with England pom-poms. The bartender says, "Hey! No pets allowed! You'll have to leave." The guy begs, "I'm desperate! We're both big fans, the TV's broken at home, and this is the only place where we can see the game." The bartender relents and lets them stay and watch the game. The Poms receive the kick-off, march down field, get stopped at the 22, and Wilkinson kicks a penalty goal. The dog jumps on the bar and walks up and down giving high-fives to everyone. The bartender exclaims, "Wow, that is the most amazing thing I've seen! What does the dog do if they score a try?" The owner replies, "I don't know, I've only had him for three years."
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Suggestions needed! I've been thinking of coming up with a proper name and logo for my burgeoning little craft business. You know, something I can print up on tags and stuff. It should be fairly general, as it could end up on everything from knitted things to jewelry to record bowls. Any ideas? If you suggest the one I end up using, I'll send you something!
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Australian Idol is finished... and the good Guy won!
I'm almost embarrassed to admit that I watched the whole damn show. I liked seeing Courtney Act again (he has better legs than me!) and Stu is pretty cool. I winced all through Rebecca's song. (If I never hear "I Believe I Can Fly" again I'll die happy.) Marcia Hines is a legend. Once they got inside, I cheered when Millsy sauntered out for his song. "Now that's a pop idol," I said. "Yeah, he shagged the biggest hootchie in the world!" Rodd replied. Does anybody else think Cle is kinda weird? I admit I rolled my eyes when they all launched in to "I Still Call Australia Home." (I thought you Australians weren't super patriotic?) The Snook and I had a running argument over whether Shannon's stupid coat was more Matrix or Garth Brooks. I can't believe after six months he still doesn't know how to move on stage. He was fiddling with his coat in the middle of his song! I was so happy when Guy won. He totally deserved it, even if he is a little troll doll.
By the way, I'm taking Guy's victory as a sign that the Wallabies will win this Saturday. I'm normally a huge jinx but in the past few weeks all the teams/people I've cheered for have won: Australia, Notre Dame, Guy. Obviously I've tapped into the fates of the universe. Australia will win the World Cup!
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My mom forwarded me a message from The Breast Cancer Site announcing that they're having difficulty getting enough clicks to fund needed mammograms this month. If you've got five seconds to spare, go to that link and click on the button. It doesn't cost anything (other than you looking at a few ads) and it could save a life. I'm going to add it to my daily surfing ritual.
Wednesday, November 19, 2003
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 Two down...
...one more go to. I am a Gryffindor scarf makin' machine! These two are about to be sent off to Adrianna in Pennsylvania. I've got one more to finish before Christmas and then I'm taking a much needed break. I'm sick of scarves! :)
Ron is back with a vengeance! I loved his post about the coming war over gay marriage in Massachusetts. Ron, if you and Marlin get married in 180 days, you'll have a knitted wedding gift on the way, I swear. :)
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Today I found an article about Peter Ostrum, who played Charlie Bucket in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. The film was Peter's only movie role and he went on to become a veterinarian. Sounds like a pretty nice guy!
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Kirsty has created a page for all her knitting projects. They're gorgeous. I especially love the Shooting Stars Jacket. I feel a sudden surge of inspiration!
[Fellow Knitters: That jacket looks like a raglan, right? I'm wondering if I could Sweater Workshop it and thus knit it without seams. The only difficulty would be doing the sleeves in a different color from the body. I guess I'd need to do a kind of intarsia-thing, where I'd twist the two colors together there at the raglan seamline to keep it from falling apart. Hmmm... may be worth thinking about. Done in cotton, this could be an awesome jacket for the fall. Ooh ooh ooh! Now I'm picturing it with a hood!]
Sometimes my job rocks. I just scored a projector to watch the Rugby World Cup Final on this weekend!
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A co-worker just sent me a link to an online spy game that's about to start in Sydney and Melbourne. Apparently you have to solve clues on the Internet and via SMS, and the person who wins gets a trip around the world. At the very least, it sounds like a brilliant marketing ploy.
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Blogger spells out what every blogger needs to know: What to do when your Mom discovers your blog. Luckily my whole fam have known about this from the get-go so I don't have to worry so much. In fact, last I heard Ma was working on her own site!
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Last night I saw promos for two more American shows that will be starting here soon: Extreme Makeover and The O.C.. Are either of them worth watching?
Tuesday, November 18, 2003
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The Snook and I participated in the National IQ Test tonight (while taping the Queer Test, of course). He ended up scoring 128 while I had 124. The interesting part was seeing how our strengths complemented each other. I rocked the English section but he missed a few, while he kicked ass on the math and spatial that I flubbed. We're a little disappointed that we didn't qualify for Mensa though. (Our petty justifications: The Snook was drinking homebrew, while I'm pretty sure I'm running a fever. We'll get in someday.)
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I was craving spiciness tonight so I tried out a new low-carb recipe: Hearty Pumpkin Chili. As I didn't have any canned pumpkin, I just steamed some fresh and then mushed it up with a fork. It really gave the (bean-less) chili a nice thick texture. The Snook and I give it two thumbs up! Remember: "We have pumpkin at morning and pumpkin at noon, if it were not for pumpkin we would be undoon." I love that.
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The Poms are cheating already!
 Fun! Make your own (virtual) paper snowflake. It took me a little while to figure out the scissors, but it's pretty fun once you get going. I just wish it had a way to poke a hole in the paper - away from the edge - so you could make cutouts. I still like mine though. (Link courtesy of Christine.)
"With so much wrong going on in our world, there is only one thing that can put my soul at rest every night before I lie down to sleep. That one thing, my dear friends, is U2's lead singer, Bono." Hee hee! (Link courtesy of Kel.)
Monday, November 17, 2003
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Shallow: Publicly worrying that your sore throat means you're getting the flu while secretly hoping that you are, because everybody else in the office who got it lost, like, ten pounds.
Depressing. Apparently some New Zealand women's refuges reported an increase in domestic violence following Saturday night's rugby loss.
Sunday, November 16, 2003
My weekend...- Dinner at the new Bridge Street Wagamama. Way too many carbs, but oh. so. yummy.
- Cheap bacon and egg breakfast at the greasy spoon down the street. Again, yummy.
- Browsed through the DVD sale at Kmart and picked up a copy of Strange Brew, which the Snook has never seen. Eh, hoser.
- Managed to get ht://Check running (with the Snook's help). Used it to scan Roald Dahl Fans.com for broken links. Found several hundred. Ouch.
- Ran 4K and then biked 5K at the gym.
- Did many, many loads of laundry.
- Knitted half a dozen more stripes on Harry Potter scarf.
- Scrubbed mildew in bathroom shower.
- Enjoyed the hot sun in our freestanding backyard hammock.
- Cheered for Australia. Cheered against England.
- Read another hundred pages of Mansfield Park.
- Repotted our lemon tree into a bigger pot, then successfully separated our conjoined pineapple twins into two other pots.
- Attended Pump class at gym. Now cannot move.
Yeah, we were busy. But it feels good to be productive. Check out our garden. First two pics are of the newly separated pineapples, while the last is of our veggies. See how big our corn is getting? The cherry tomatoes are coming along nicely too.
  
Saturday, November 15, 2003
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Australia wins! We've become the first defending Rugby World Cup champion to make it to the Finals the next year. We'll be taking on either France or England next Saturday. (If it's England, I know at least one household that's going to have a difficult week...)
Friday, November 14, 2003
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Whoa! Madaboutwine has finally died. It was the first dotcom I worked on and, four years later, it was one of the last ones standing. I feel oddly sad about it.
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Nerd Purity Test. I am 59% pure, meaning I am 41% nerd. I expected that.
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Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban teaser trailer is now available! I grabbed the lowest-quality version this morning before work (it's about 5MB) and even that looks good. I audibly gasped when I realized I was looking at a Dementor. The Snook was like, "Ooh, what are the scary black things?" Poor boy; he hasn't read the books and he's got no idea. I don't want to spoil him for this one at all. Only seven months to go!
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Trivia Update: We sucked big time. And Comic Book Guy's team won again! We think they cheat. I did manage to win us a bonus jug of beer for knowing the actress that starred opposite Harrison Ford in Temple of Doom, and my number got drawn in the joker poker. (I won a calculator.) We came soooo close to winning the $900 jackpot. I knew the author that collaborated with Stephen King on The Talisman and the Snook knew the first town in Italy to host the Winter Olympics. (Thank you, Amazing Race!) We blew it on Buddy Holly's only hit in Australia after his death. Anyway, your other questions for the day are:- Which five letters of the alphabet most frequently appear in written English?
- Which three countries in Asia start with the letter "A"?
- Name the six British monarchs of the 20th century.
- Name the five James Bond movies with one-word titles.
Good luck!
Thursday, November 13, 2003
Orgy on the Great Barrier Reef. That sounds spectacular. (It's not what you think.)
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In case you've ever wondered what the New Zealand rugby team are saying when they do their scary ass war chant, this site has everything you need to know about the haka. Other than the whole "I die! I die! I live! I live!" bit, it's really not as intimidating as it sounds.
Are you going to be in London from December '03 to March '04? You lucky jerk. You get to go see Giles in Peter Pan and The Pirates of Penzance! (Thanks to Jenny for the link.)
On a related note, the Snook mentioned that Ian McKellen's going to be doing an upcoming play here at the Opera House. Fun! I actually saw him as Captain Hook in Peter Pan in London in the spring of '98. He was fantastic, as you might expect.
The Apple Music Store is TIME's Coolest Invention of 2003!
Wednesday, November 12, 2003
The Australian government has officially dropped information technology from its list of "in demand" skills. Back when I immigrated, you'd get bonus points on your application if you had IT experience. Not anymore! I guess they're finally realizing that the tech job market over here really does suck right now.
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Attention Chicagoans. Apparently Marshall Field's is using "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" for the theme of its Christmas windows this year. I'd love to get some pictures for my Dahl site. Any volunteers willing/able to take some and e-mail them to me?
Daring Fireball has a good overview of text rendering in Panther for us Mac people. As the extent of my typographic knowledge is recognizing Comic Sans misuse, I appreciated the explanation of why reading text on computer displays just plain sucks.
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"Remember the wounded." This is an excellent essay about the effects combat has on humans. Did you all pause for reflection at 11:00 yesterday? Living abroad, I've been surprised at the public support for Remembrance Day. Sure, we celebrate Veterans Day in America, but most folks just look at it as a day off. You might go to a cemetery if your grandpa was a soldier or something, but it's not a big deal. In the UK and Australia it's very different. Various veterans groups sell poppies on every street corner. People actually make a point of stopping what they're doing at 11:00 to reflect. We don't get the day off but in a way that's good; it keeps the meaning from getting watered down. (We get ANZAC Day off in January and I've come to associate that day more with barbecues than memorializing the diggers.) It was just surprising to me how much more seriously the rest of the world takes the holiday, one that in the US didn't mean a heck of a lot to me.
Tuesday, November 11, 2003
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For you Sting-lovers, the Herald is running a long article and interview with him. Enjoy. :)
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"Let Them Eat War." Why do the very Americans who have been hurt the most by George W. Bush's policies still support his presidency? As someone from a predominantly working class - yet staunchly Republican - part of the country, this is the kind of stuff I wonder about.
Matt linked to a fascinating essay on politically-incorrect cartoons. It's hard to believe that Bugs Bunny cartoons were ever that blatantly racist and that general audiences just accepted it. I was immediately reminded of Mickey Rooney's character in Breakfast at Tiffany's and this excellent article on the history of "yellowface" in the cinema. Man, this stuff makes me wish I was back doing Film Studies at uni!
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Only in Indiana. My Dad e-mailed to let me know that he'd narrowly missed being involved in a hit-and-run Saturday night... with an Amishman's runaway team of Clydesdale horses.
Monday, November 10, 2003
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I am getting more and more intrigued with the Dulux commercials. Tonight the Snook and I saw the "blue" version, which features the same song but a different plot. I immediately cried out: "Hey, it's the cheating housewife from the King Gee ads! She's having the electrician's baby! What a hootchie!"; while the Snook pondered: "Um, why is this ad a complete ripoff of Three Colors - Blue? Is it supposed to be an homage? That's the same chandelier Juliette Binoche had in the film." I think it's obvious where the high culture and the low culture lie in our relationship. :)
I was all excited over these disposable cellphones til the ensuing Slashdot discussion convinced me that they're pretty much vaporware. I couldn't tell you how many times I wished aloud for one of these on our holiday back to the States last July. Do you know how difficult it is to coordinate with six different friends when you don't have a mobile and you're not staying at a fixed address?
Sunday, November 9, 2003
 Summer is here.
It's too beautiful outside to blog. It's hot, sunny, and clear, with a temperature of 70 degrees in the shade. The jacarandas are blooming. (Every time I see one it makes me feel like I'm living in a Dr. Seuss book.) The bus this morning was full of people heading to the beaches. At our house, the Snook is trying out his new 44-litre brewing pot in the backyard. I'm going to head over to Kmart and see if I can find a cheap lounge chair. Life is good.
Friday, November 7, 2003
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I stopped in at Galaxy Books tonight to pick up the last Ender book (and indulge in a little self-affirmation*) when I was stopped in my tracks by a large display rack of Stephen King's latest Dark Tower tome, The Wolves of Calla. I didn't know this was out yet! I haven't even had a chance to re-read Wizard and Glass! I couldn't resist getting it though. I carried my Card and my King up to the checkout and was happily informed that they were throwing in a free copy of the new revised version of The Gunslinger. Sweet! But I wasn't through yet... As I was paying I noticed a poster for Philip Pullman's Lyra's Oxford, which just came out. All right, add that to the pile. My one book ended up becoming four. Ouch. And yay!
Oh, and get this: I picked up a flyer for the next "Friends of Science Fiction" conference and guess who's going to be attending? Corin Nemec. Yeah, baby! It's Parker friggin' Lewis himself. Apparently he's in "Stargate SG-1" or something; hence the Sci-Fi connection. You know, I wouldn't mind meeting Harold Lauder, but I'm sure as heck not going to pay $80 for the privilege. Sheesh.
* If you're ever in need of a self-esteem boost - and you're female - just head into the nearest fantasy bookshop and peruse the Orson Scott Card section. The geek boys will be drawn to you like moths to a lightbulb. It's kinda fun.
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New Poll: In honor of my brother Antny's big milestone this week, what did you do on your 21st birthday?
Darn, I missed National Men Make Dinner Day yesterday! I let the Snook get away with just buying me dinner at the pub. Actually he cooks about 80% of the time anyway, so I guess it was nice to give him a night off. :)
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This is broken. Not really. It's a weblog where people send in pictures and descriptions of bad design. I especially liked this item, which describes a "feature" of our own microwave that I hate: When cooking finishes, the damn thing keeps beeping until you open the door. It drives me crazy.
Your librarian hates you if... Hilarious. I would add: "You're an oblivious giant who puts your books where I can't reach them, for I am an ill-tempered dwarf."
How to make gyoza. Finally some writing from Amy Tan that doesn't put me to sleep! (Link courtesy of not martha.)
Thursday, November 6, 2003
Wow, it was a day of purely autobiographical links. I feel like I should make it up to you. For starters, check out Ebert's review of The Matrix: Revolutions. He didn't hate it!
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In case any other Australians are wondering, the version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" that plays during the Dulux paint commercial is by a Hawaiian guy called Israel Kamakawiwo'ole. Rodd and I both love the song so he tracked it down. It's actually a medley with "What a Wonderful World." I love it. If you can find it, download it.
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Trivia Update: The Snook and I headed back to Kelly's, our old regular trivia pub, and managed to score second place all by ourselves! (Our celebrations were curtailed by the fact that the winning team was captained by an overweight geek in an "All Your Base Are Belong to Us" t-shirt. It was like losing to the Comic Book Guy. Very mortifying.) Your questions for the night:- Name the eight countries of the world with one word names (in English) that start with the letter "I".
- Name the six Jane Austen novels that have been turned into movies.
- Which movie did Shirley Maclaine win a Best Actress Oscar for in 1983, and who won Best Supporting Actor that year for the same film?
- Which city in the world has the most taxicabs?
As you might imagine, I rocked the Jane Austen one. (I'm working my way through her complete works right now.)
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Congratulations to my friend Nat, who has become the first of my college friends to have a baby. He and his wife Staci welcomed little Marianne Elizabeth Cunningham into the world two weeks ago. Isn't she cute? The last time I saw Nat we were drinking our faces off at a tailgater... and now he's a Dad. It's a weird feeling.
Wednesday, November 5, 2003
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Uh oh.
Snookums sent me a link to this story about a huge iceberg that just broke in half. He especially liked this quote from the end: "The Ross Sea is on the northern Antarctic coast, 3,832 kilometers (2,395 miles) south of New Zealand." As he put it: The northern coast of Antarctica, eh? Where exactly are the other coasts?
Happy 21st birthday to my brother Anthony! Don't party too hard, bruder. :)
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The Herald published my letter... and the bastards gutted it! That's literally less than half, and they cut the whole bit about crusty old curmudgeons who pooh-pooh everybody else's fun. That was the whole damn point!
Tuesday, November 4, 2003
The Herald is reporting that Ten will refund the cost of votes for Cosima that came in after they closed the voting. Apparently you have to show them your phone bill to get the cash. That sucks for all the folks (like me) who have pay-as-you-go phones and thus don't get any friggin' bill. Not that I voted for her, of course, but it's still a pretty crappy maneuver.
The Guardian lists the 40 Greatest US Bands Today. REM's in there at #22 and the Flaming Lips top the list at #1. Sounds good to me.
"Beer mat 'flipping' perfected." The Snook's gonna love this. He practices flipping every damn time we go to the pub. (Link courtesy of John.)
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It's Melbourne Cup Day, the day all of Australia stops to watch a horse race. I'm not kidding. (Apparently the whole state of Victoria gets the day off!) From what I gather, it's all about gambling and big hats. Our office is running a couple "sweeps", where you bet a certain amount and then pull a horse's name out of a hat. I'm in for $7. Cross your fingers for "Mamool" and "Hugs Dancer"! (Doesn't that second one sound like a My Little Pony? In my imagination it's pink with twinkly stars on its bum.)
Update: Hooray! Neither of my horses won, but Mamool came dead last. That means I get my money back!
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Nooooooooo! Dear God, say it isn't so! Millsy and Paris Hilton? I'm going to go retch.
Monday, November 3, 2003
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I am utterly disgusted over tonight's Australian Idol results. I know, I know... I said I wasn't going to watch anymore or vote. I got sucked back in. I voted for Guy three times today in the hopes that he'd go through and Celine - I mean, Cosima - would get dropped. It started out well. I cheered as they announced that Guy was safe. I knew that Cosima's number was up. I sat through the commercial break gleefully waiting for her to get the big news... and instead she announced that she's got a temporary voice problem and she's dropping out. WHAT? She quit! She quit just before she got booted! She robbed me of knowing that my votes were responsible for kicking her out! How crappy is that? The hosts didn't even bother reading the final results, which I think was pretty weak. Poor Shannon is going to spend the next two weeks thinking that he doesn't really deserve to be there. All because Cosima had to quit before they announced that she'd lost. Who drops out when it's down to three because of a little case of laryngitis?! Idols fight through that stuff; they don't pack it in. That sucks.
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It's bad enough that Americans get blamed for every cultural breakdown in Australia; now we're responsible for a Halloween house egging. (Letter excerpt follows since that link will break tomorrow.) The gist is that some crotchety old fart put up a sign saying he didn't want to participate in Halloween so a gang of teenagers egged his house. Somehow we Americans are to blame because the Australians kids were just "slavish[ly] copying ... misunderstood American practices." That ticked me off so much that I sent in my own response (which the Herald will no doubt neglect to print). It's not my damn fault that Aussie kids don't get the rules. I had to deal with a couple little jerks myself who A) weren't wearing costumes, B) stole extra candy from me when I gave in to their pleas, and C) tried to run off with my pumpkin. There are bratty asshole kids everywhere. Complain about George Bush's foreign policy if you will - heck, I'll probably join you - but blaming every snotty Aussie kid's behavior on American influence smacks of nothing more than xenophobia. [more...]
Salon examines the "low-carb geek" trend in their article Hackers on Atkins. I agree that it does have a lot appeal for technically-minded folks. Rodd and I have both inspired co-workers to start on it. The ensuing Slashdot discussion has a lot of nerd testimonials. (Unfortunately it also contains all the usual stupid Atkins criticism: "My sister's uncle's brother knows this kid who was on it and he got gallstones and his liver fell out!"; "No diet that requires you to eat raw meat and eggs for every meal can be healthy!"; "All you fatties have to do is just exercise more, DUH!" Luckily there are some great responses in there with links to supporting research.) Now I just need to get back on it... I had an insane sugar blowout courtesy of all the Halloween leftovers.
Sunday, November 2, 2003
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At long last... Our Halloween Party Photos. It's mostly just a bunch of people we know acting goofy. :)
Saturday, November 1, 2003
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Still in party recovery mode. CoachCam is indeed stuck in case you're wondering. (We had to pull up the network cable lest a drunken reveller trip on it.) Today I learned once again that sugar is not a very effective hangover cure. Forgive me, Dr. A, but that leftover candy's not going to eat itself!
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Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Buffy and Spike.
More photos forthcoming...
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archives
You can search through the archives by post keyword using the form on the left, or you can browse by month using the links at the bottom.
"Moblog" refers to posts and images posted directly from my mobile phone.
"PW Blog" refers to posts recovered from my very first weblog, which dealt with news related to my college dorm.
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Suddenly, blindingly, brilliantly... summer is here. It took me all of about thirty minutes to get my first sunburn of the season. (I didn't mean to!) We finished our chores early - transplanting basil in the backyard, meeting with our tax agent, the Snook racking beer, me hitting the gym - and decided to reward ourselves with a trip to the pool at Vic Park (since it's right around the corner from our new place). The Snook swam laps while I read in the shade. Now we're heading into the city for birthday drinks with a friend. It's like I can just see the summer spreading out before me in a lovely succession of sunny days and warm nights with friends... and everything is good.
Happy Thanksgiving!
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