"The Ant Bully", "Antz" & "Barton Fink"

Three movies in a row! It was a cold, raining Sunday afternoon, so JP and I bunkered down with full breakfast for lunch in front of the telly. First up; "The Ant Bully".

This is the first of our many animations/children movies. I'm a big Pixar movie fan and this is not one of them, so I'm always a little hesitant. Ok, maybe hesitant isn't the right word. I'm always blown away by Pixar and while all the others are good, they come a distant second.

"The Ant Bully" is about an ant colony that is terrorised by 'the destroyer'; aka Lucas, the boy picked on by the neighbourhood kids. This weekend his parents are going away, leaving the alien-fearing Grandmother in charge. Meanwhile the Ants have had enough of 'the destroyer' and concot a potion that turns him into the size of an ant. They kidnap him and take him deep under ground to their leader who sentences Lucas to live as an ant. He is only allowed to return home when he has truly become an ant. Sowly but surely Lucas starts living life as an ant, until he realises that the exterminator he ordered before he was shrunk is going to end up destoying his new friends and home. He ventures into his home with some ant friends to call the exterminator but it doesn't work. Instead they launch an attack against the exterminator which they win. Hoorah! It's after this heroic act that the ants decide he's proven himself as an ant and let him return to his regular self.

Firstly this movie is just plain fun. One of my favorite movies growing up was "Honey I Shrunk the Kids" and this movie is similar to that one - apart from the animated ants that is. I love the collision of humans and animals, especially insects. I find it fascinating the ideas that people have about what insects look like as individuals, their homes, lives, voices, personalities etc.

This movie had a couple of great messages - The first being about being bullies. The obvious bullying is person to person, but it's so true that when we torture animals and insects for whatever reason, it's just the same bullying but on a different scale. The second was about working together to form a cohesive group/unit. We all have our roles to play and we all must work together to achieve our goals and to live harmoniously. I'm sure I could word that much better if I wasn't all sniffly and tired. I almost feel like I'm writting an essay for school or something, but I wouldn't write this bit, but flesh out the above bit more. But seeing as I'm not writing an essay for school and it's just for you fellas, then I'm not going too, sorry.

I like this movie, it's fun and light hearted for a rainy Sunday afternoon. It's also kid friendly - fun for the whole family.

We quickly followed "The Ant Bully" with "Antz" and I'm telling ya, it was really interesting watching the two back-to-back. It gave good insight in to both movies and it changed my opinions on both.

"Antz" stars Woody Allen as the lead voice for 'Zee', a worker ant in the ant colony. He isn't happy with his place in the colony and whines for ages about his mundane life. One night he meets 'Princess Bala' in the colony bar and tries to meet her again the next day during the soldier procession. Only he doesn't realise that swapping places with his brother has meant that he is heading straight in to battle with the other soldiers. Somehow he ends up being trapped under a termite until the end of the battle and returns to the colony a hero. Princess Bala recognises him and he's discovered to be a fraud so he sets off to find 'Insect-topia' with Princess Bala in tow. They come acrosss a picnic before finding the rubbish bin, or 'insect-topia'. They learn of the general ant's plan to wash away half of the colony through the tunnel that the workers are building. They return to the colony just in time to join the flood, but together they save the worker ants and the colony.

"The Ant Bully" is about ants working and living together, having their job and place in the colony and how wonderful and better that is. "Antz" is about one ant hating doing his job and wanting to break free, while another group of ants are trying to kill the other ants. Watching them back-to-back made it clear how different the two movies are when they are based in the same setting.

Don't get me started on Woody Allen, or don't get JP started on Woody Allen to be more accurate. His character is so whiny and neurotic - just like the actor himself. It makes for difficult viewing. In fact JP will tell you that he doesn't like the movie, but he may have a different opinion if it was voiced by someone else. Isn't it interesting that our opinions of the actors in the roles influences our opinions of the movie itself?!

Overall, this movie is another fun children's movie that kid adore. If I had to pick though I'd definetly go for "The Ant Bully" over "Antz" any day.

Queue the end of the "A's"!! So far we've watched 15 movies in the Alphabetical Movie Project. You all know what's next - the "B's"! I'm not sure how many there are, but we seem to have a lot of them. JP kicks us off with a run of his movies. Starting with "Barton Fink".

I asked JP what type of movie "Barton Fink" was - comedy? drama? thriller? horror? and he just looked at me with a strange smirk on his face, shrugged his shoulders and said "It's 'Barton Fink'". Of course this just annoyed me because it must have some kind of genre right?! But after watching it, if you asked me the same question, all I could really say is "It's 'Barton Fink'". 

Like I say, JP had this strange smirk on his face. I've noticed he does this whenever we watch a movie of his that he thinks I'll be scared of or dislike. Now when I see the smirk I know I'm in for an interesting few hours. 

The story is about Barton Fink, a script writer from New York, commissioned to write a B-Movie wrestling movie in LA. He reluctantly takes the job and moves into the creepy Hotel Earle where he promptly gets writers block. He befriends the man living next door (after complaining about him making to much noise the night before) and a local writer, along with his assistant/girlfriend. The movie goes along with this really creepy vibe throughout until he finally beds the writers assitant/girlfriend, only to find her dead when he wakes up. The man next door goes to New York for business and asks Barton to look after a package that he claims is his most important belongings. Barton agrees and then manages to write his entire script. Next thing you know two cops turn up claiming that the man is actually a murderer. The man comes back and promptly shoots the cops while setting the hotel on fire behind him. He tells Barton that the package isn't his after all and appears to go back into his room, all while the hotel is on fire. Barton calmly leaves. The movie ends with Barton walking along the beach with the package and coming across a woman. They sit in the sand talking and the girl ends in the pose that is the same image as the painting in his room back at the hotel.

Like I say, "It's 'Barton Fink'". I don't really know what else to say about this one. I just have questions. Like, what was up with the wallpaper dripping off the walls? What was in the package?! (I'm convinced it was the girls head!) and What's with the posing of the girl like the picture?

This one is a weird one. It'd be a good one for those of you that like something a bit different, something creepy that isn't creepy and something that leaves you with more questions than answers. Definetly one for the "Creepy, Crazy" files, that's for sure.

Next?: "Batman Begins".

Found: One Inner Domestic Goddess

Yes that's right, this weekend I found my inner Domestic Goddess. I knew she was in there somewhere, just lurking around in the pit of my stomach, or left knee cap, I'm not sure which. This weekend she spewed forth and took over the stronger Procrastinating Lazy & Relaxing gene that I also posess in much larger quantaties and that tends to come alive at weekends.

My inner Domestic Goddess spent Saturday battling the pouring rain to do some shopping. And not the fun kind of shopping (oh, who am I kidding, all shopping can be fun!). I'm not a fan of supermarket shopping (too many crowds getting in my way), but I went by myself, with a list in hand and rather enjoyed wondering up and down the aisles, looking at everything. I stopped in at Moore Wilsons to get the more obscure things on my list. I also bought gardening gloves and new sheets. See, inner domestic goddess was in full control even while shopping.

Then today, it would be save to say, that the washing machine and dryer have not had a break all day. I've washed and dried alllll the towels, bedding and clothes I could get my hands on. I've cleaned the kitchen from hobs to tiles, and even rearranged the benchtops.

I've made my very first attempt at homemade hummus - it's soo easy! and it even tastes pretty good too if I do say so myself. My luck did run out on the coffee and rum sponge cake though. It didn't cook all the way to the bottom, so now it's more like coffee and rum sponge goo. JP says we can still eat it - how noble of him.

And while I type this for you I'm standing in the kitchen watching over the rice JP is cooking (those of you that know, will be very grateful that I'm not attempting to cook rice again after the last fiasco), and the pork belly and garlic ciabatta bread that are in the oven. I best be off, my inner domestic goddess is insisting that I cook the veges before the rest of the dinner is done.

I do suspect that the inner domestic goddess is going to disappear again, long before the washing that is overflowing in the laundry is folded. Oh well, maybe she'll reappear next weekend and fold it then?!

"American Gangster" & "Angels & Demons"

The next movie in the Alphabetical Movie Project is "American Gangster". Another one of JP's movies that I've not seen before.

The first thing I have to say about this is; it's LOOOOOOOOONG. Just when you think it has reached a natural ending place it keeps going, which in the end just frustrates you rather than watching the neverending storyline.

The basic story is about a man that worked for a local gangster and decided to take over from him at his death. It's during the Vietnam war and drugs are readily available, so this gangster uses the US Army to smuggle the drugs into the US. Meanwile a disgraced cop is set the task of tracking him down, which he eventually does.

I'm sure JP will have a much longer and more accurate recounting of the storyline for you to read. Personally I was over it well before the end.

I've never been a big Russell Crowe fan. I just can't watch things he's in without thinking about what a twat he is in real life. In saying that I can concede that he is a pretty good actor. Denzel Washington is also brilliant and I really enjoy everything he does. This is the first time that I've watched something of his that he played "the bad guy" and I just couldn't believe him, he's just to sweet and loveable.

I don't remember who else was in it, or what else happened, which only really tells me that it's a movie that didn't really mean anything to me. Going on JP's rating system, it'd get a good old 1 monkey from me = that's 2 monkeys for starring Denzel Washington and minus 1 monkey for taking 2&1/2 hours of my life that I'll never get back.


"Angels & Demons" is lucky to be next in the project. JP and I went shopping at Real Groovy so he could find a couple of obscure DVD's he's been looking for for a while. He didn't find any of them but I walked away with "Angels & Demons". Under the rules of the project, any newly bought DVD's slot into their alphabetical space OR are placed at the end of the line if they are for a letter already watched. "Angels & Demons" just made it in as the NEXT movie to be watched! Phew!!

"Angels & Demons" is based on the Dan Brown prequel to "The Da Vinci Code" (which I also own). I haven't read either book as I've heard from various people that they aren't as good as the hype seemed to make them. I like this prequel much better than "The Da Vinci Code". It's much faster paced.

The story is about Robert Landon, a symbologist who is asked to come to the Vatican City during the formalities that follow the death of a pope. It would appear the infamous Illumanti has reappeared, kidnapped 4 cardinals and stolen a canister of anti-matter. They are threatening to kill the cardinals and to blow up the Vatican City. Its up to Robert Landon to follow a set of clues left centuries ago by the Illumanti (a group of scholars set to de-bunk religion).

Firstly I love love love Tom Hanks. Everything he does he does so well. He's one of the few actors that I totally believe everytime I watch him. It also stars another one of my favourite actors and a feature on my "to do" list - Ewan MacGregor. He too, is amazing and so good at making me believe he really is the person he's portraying.

Secondly, I know they aren't real, but I love the idea of the Illumanti. I really enjoy the story of the Illumanti and the clues that they follow in order to find the church of the illumanti.

I'm not a religious person and I don't believe in God. I find it very difficult to "believe" in something that I can't see, feel or hear, or that no one has (and for you religious types out there, no comments please. I respect your opinion and faith, please respect mine.) One line I like in particular is when Ewan MacGregors character who is the Priest that assists the Pope asks Tom Hanks Character "Do you believe in God?" and he replies "Faith is a gift I am yet to recieve." That's how I feel sometimes and I think that's why I really connect to the storyline.

This movie isn't a classic or a masterpiece, but to me it connects to the part of me that doesn't believe and yet can't help but wondering if I should.

Coming up next in the Alphabetical Movie Project - "The Ant Bully" and "Antz". Finally we get to some of the many children's animations I own. Yay :)

LOST: Finale. SPOLER ALERT

I've watched the finale of LOST and I liked it. While it didn't answer a lot of questions, I think it ended well for the characters, if not for the island mystries. I'll probably go back and watch the entire series on DVD now that I have the whole story.

I've been prowling around the web reading various reviews and forums. It would seem various people loved it and various people hated it. I did find two reviews that were great. Here they are: (if you haven't watched it yet, DON'T read the reviews below! You've been warned!)

Are you angry? Feeling cheated? Quickly realizing that all the effort and attention you put into Lost in the past six years was for naught? I don't blame you.

But I also understand if you feel entirely satisfied with how the series wrapped things up.
"The End" will go down as both one of the greatest disappointments AND joyous series enders in television history, and which side of the line you stand on will largely depend on what Lost meant to you. Those of you who were caught up in the mysteries and stories of the show probably picked up the shattered remnants of your television this morning after destroying it last night in a fit of rage and a cloud of unanswered questions. Those of you who really focused on the characters likely called your mothers and close friends and told them how much you love them and that you'll see them in another life, brutha.
In the end, we never really learned what the island was, never found out what made Walt special, never got the whole Egyptology thing, [I could go on and on for a few hours with more questions that will remain questions, but you get the picture], and I thought that would be okay with me. But I'm not so sure it was.
Instead we got a series finale that spun things around so fast and felt a wee bit tacked on. Let's face it, the whole Limbo/Purgatory ending could have happened at any point in the series—it was that sharp of an ending.
Don't get me wrong, I didn't hate the ending. In terms of a spiritual, character-centric finale, it definitely did the trick, albeit in a fairly easy way. We're all lost souls waiting for the next step in the overall timeless and spaceless sense of things. Next stop, eternal happiness. And I'm very grateful for the nonsecular, non-preachy way the producers went about things.
Seeing Jack in the final moments speak with his father was, for me, probably the second-most emotional point in an incredibly emotional series (nothing will ever top Charlie's death). And when Jack finally "let go" it hit hard. Here was a character I've loved and hated and loved again finally getting what he deserved most, and I felt it big time. This was the ending Cuse and Lindelof crafted when they repeatedly said "Lost is all about the characters."
But the problem for Cuse and Lindelof is, despite downplaying so many of the mysteries of the island and this universe they created, they accidentally created a scenario where we cared about the mythology just as much—and in most cases even more—than the characters.
Lost has always been a two-headed monster for me. I'll always relate to Jack wanting to fix everyone he sees. I'll remember the heroic sacrifices that Charlie made to save his friends. I think Sawyer is one of the best, most wonderfully complicated characters I've ever had the joy to watch on TV. And I'm glad that all of them got what theoretically and spiritually is one of the happiest endings of all-time. Eternal bliss sure beats just defeating the bad guy or riding into the sunset.
But dammit, the other head of the Lost monster just feels like it got lopped off. And that's what makes "The End" such a bittersweet final chapter for such an engrossing show. So much of what we grew to love about the series was glossed over and simply faded out.
If Lost was, as Lindelof and Cuse state, all about the characters, then why were we always asking "what do the numbers mean?" and "what is the black smoke?" As I've said before, a disappointing finale doesn't ruin the series as a whole, but don't Cuse and Lindelof have a little responsibility to satisfy the fans that stuck with the show for the sci-fi? Just sayin'.


Finale explained OK here it is. When they detonated the bomb we were to think that they changed history and created an alternate timeline. This is not what happened, It just seemed that way. The bomb is what actually caused the need for the hatch to be built. It is a time paradox. The alternate timeline was a kind of purgatory where everyone went to after they died to find each other again (make the connection) and remember their lives before letting go/ moving on together. It was not happening at the same time we were watching the events of season 6, that's just when the creators showed it to us so that we would think it was an alternate timeline instead of what it really was. The beginning of the alt. timeline/ purgatory that we saw at the start of season 6 actually occurs (for Jack anyway) at the end of the season when he dies. This is why when the plane has turbulence and then straitens out instead of crashing, you see Rose tell Jack "You can let go now" (let go meaning letting go of his mortal life to move on) and you see him let go of the armrests and he lets out a big sigh. This represents him dieing and coming into the Purgatory that he created along with the others. They don't realize they are dead until they make the connection with the others that passed. Represented in the show buy the flash that shows them their real life and experiences. Desmond realizes this first and takes it upon himself to enlighten everyone else. This is why when Sun and Jin make the connection in the hospital they are not afraid for their safety when Sawyer comes to protect them. Because they realize that they are dead and nothing can hurt them. (Jack and his father, church scene) Jack: "Are you real?" Christian: "I sure hope so. Yeah I'm real. You're real, everything that's ever happened to you is real. All those people in the church, they're all real too" = Everything that happened on the show was real. The only thing that wasn't real was the alt. timeline/purgatory because they were dead at that point. Jack: They're all, they're all dead?" Christian: "Everyone dies sometime kiddo. Some of them before you, some long after you" = Jack dies at the end of the episode. Sayid, Jin and Sun died on the sub. Locke died off the island when Ben killed him. (before Jack) Sawyer, Kate, Claire, Miles, Richard and Lapidus left the island and returned to the mainland at the end of the episode and went on with their lives. We don't see their lives after the island, but they lived on until they died and joined the rest in the Purgatory. (after Jack) The same goes for Hurley and Ben who stayed on the island and lived for how ever long they did before dieing and going to purgatory. Hurley protected the island with Ben's help until he found a replacement and died. This is why Hurley says to Ben "you were a great #2" and Ben replies "you were a great #1". We don't know if Desmond died on the island or if Hurley found a way to get him off the island to join Penny and then he died on the mainland. Jack: "Why are they all here now?" Christian: "Well there is no now, here." = This place exist outside of the realm of time. That is why everyone is there, even though they died at different times. Jack: "Where are we dad? Christian: "Well this is a place that you, that you all made together so that you could find one another. The most important part of your life, was the time that you spent with these people. That's why all of you are here. Nobody does it alone Jack. You needed all of them and they needed you." Jack: "For what?" Christian: "To remember...and to let go." Jack: 'Kate, she said we were leaving." Christian: "Not leaving, no. Moving on." Jack: "Where we goin?" Christian: "Let's go find out." They all meet in the church and ascend to wherever it is they believe they go when they die. This is represented by the white light.

Where do I begin?

I have so much to blog about I don't even know where to begin. Let's just say it was a typical week;

- Major changes at work = check.

- Family member in hospital = check.

- Family member with relationship crisis = check.

- Alphabetical movie night movie watching = check.

- Sick cats to take care of = check.

- Friend needing back up = check.

I still don't know where to start, so I'm going to play cards instead and come back tomorrow.

Seriously Family, what's up with you?!

It's times like this that I really understand why I call my blog "My life is a soap opera". I was talking to BAH late last night over gmail chat and he said "there's always something with your family". This morning when EM asked how my weekend was and I just looked at her and said "fine", she was able to say "What has your family done now?"

In the grand scheme of things it's not the biggest drama that my family has faced over the last few years, in fact it's pretty minor when I think about it. My dear old Gran is in hospital tonight for her second night in a row. She was taken in to A&E early yesterday morning with bowel problems. It's a suspected bowel infection or something equally delightful, but they still aren't sure so they are keeping her until they know.

I went to visit around lunch time yesterday, mainly to take my Aunt GA some food and to see if they needed anything from home. I went to their place to get GA's book and Gran's glasses and handbag. When I returned I had a chat with Gran while GA went for a brief recess.

I've told her not to worry about missing 'Shortland Street' as she'll be able to keep an eye on her very own hospital drama now that she's staying in a room right outside the main desk area. That's where all the major drama unfolds isn't it?! I've told her I expect a full drama update when I visit tomorrow (assuming she hasn't gone home by then?!). She seemed to find that amusing. Who knows if she'll remember?!

My First Opera

Last night I went to my first opera. JP, his gf RC and I went to see "The Marriage of Figaro" at the St James Theatre. Opera has never really tickled my fancy, so I agreed to go because JP wanted to go. However, over the last week or so I've learnt more about the story and had started looking forward to the experience.

It was stunning.

The costumes were brilliant, the set was simply amazing - such a fabulous use of the space and flats. The singing was beautiful - while opera isn't usually my musical genre of choice, you can't help but be mesmerised by the sheer power behind the voices. Of course it was all in Itlian, which is beautiful and so romantic sounding, but also so much better than if they sung it in English. I say this because the translation on the screens on the sides and above the stage were informative, but not beautiful.

It's over 3 hours long and was first staged in 1786. There was something about knowing that it is 226 years old that makes it more magical. The length however did mean that I was starting to fidget by the last act, in fact most of the audience was.

We were sitting right at the top of the Gods section, but apart from the potential vertigo problem it really didn't matter. We could see the stage perfectly.

Operas still aren't my number one choice of music or entertainment, but I wouldn't say no to going again. It was pretty special and I was really glad that I went.

Busy weekend ahead

I appear to have a busy weekend ahead. Here are the things I'm doing this weekend:

1. Meeting the girls for a catch up over lunch at my fave cafe - The Peppermill

2. Supermarket shopping - nothing like needing cat food and coke

3. Housework - Oh Joy.

4. Going to dinner and the Opera tonight with JP and his gf. I've never been to the opera before so I'm quite excited about this outing. The last time I went to a show with JP and a gf it didn't go so well. She didn't say more than 2 words to me and I was probably a bit of a bitch to her too. But, I like this one, so all should be just dandy.

5. My brother and his workmate are coming to stay the night and possibly tomorrow night as well. They are driving down from Akld today for work, so will be turning up at home sometime tonight.

And that's just Saturday. Who knows what will be on the list of things to do tomorrow?!

Just got a txt from VR saying she's waiting for the rest of us girls at a table at the Peppermill, so better stop blogging, put my skates on and get down there. . . . .

NatureLIVE

Tonight and Last night I supported my workmate and good friend EM to facilitate a professional development course for Educators, Families and the community. NatureLIVE is a course designed by the organisation I work for to get people back into the natural surroundings and encourage them to get children back in to nature. It's a course I love and has definetly inspired me.

The course was presented to us staff on the coldest, wettest day you could imagine. It was bucketing down with rain. While there is a saying at work - "There's no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing" - this day really was inappropriate and unfortunetly we didn't get to do much of the course itself.

EM has presented it once before, so had a good handle on how she wanted it to go and I really was there just to help set up and back her up if she needed it (which she didn't cause she's amazing!). The first evening is held indoors, where we set up the room with lots of natural resources and items. At all our courses we make a bit of "thing" about having candles and chocolates, lots of feel good stuff. Last night it was raining and looking pretty miserable, so we were worried that it would be raining again tonight, thankfully it wasn't and ended up being the perfect night for it - cool, but not windy or wet.

Tonight we went to the Botanical Gardens. I was waiting at a spot with goodie bags and blankets. We had put out lots of glow sticks and had umbrellas for everyone should it decide to rain - always good to be prepared! EM met the group at the main gate and gave everyone a torch, then told them they had to find me somewhere in the gardens. I could see the torchs coming and it was so cool to have people racing towards me, all excited that they found me.

We really had a good talk about nature, did some listening excercises and used our senses to explore some natural objects that I'd found while waiting for them to find me earlier.

We did think it was funny that a couple of people walked past and probably thought we were crazy woman out in the cold with glow sticks and sitting in the dark feeling, smelling and listening to leafs and pieces of bark, but who cares really?!

During the wrap up a large stick insect dropped down from the tree and landed right in front of MS, who screamed like a girl and ran away it must be said. :) It was almost as if we'd planned it! Everyone crowded around it, fascinated. After talking about nature and the wonderment in the world around us, we were all fascinated with this insect.

Finally we sent everyone on their merry way, goodie bags, torches and umbrellas in hand, and hopefully a new persepective on nature and allowing children to explore it. EM and I tootled off too.

All up the course is 2 & 1/2 hours over 2 nights. It's a quirky wee course that doesn't actually give you anything you don't already know, just a new way of looking at the world around us and that's the cool bit. We've talked about doing the course during the day, but tonight I could see how there is something magical about doing it at night. How many people do you know that have walked through the creek and into the bush at the Botanical Gardens at night with torches?! Not many I bet! How much fun does it sound?! Heaps!

"Alien" & "Aliens"

I think we can honestly say that these are not at all movies that I would ever own or want to see. But the project dictates that I must watch them, so watch them I did. And I gotta say, not nearly as scary as I had feared.

The scariest part of the movie was JP's pre-movie wind up. He was very excited about watching this, so he made bug-eyes, scary faces and comments implying that I was going to wet my pants in fear. He also told me that this movie scared the daylights out of him the first time he watched it (when he was a kid mind you.) So, going in to it, I wasn't that excited. Just going to get it done. . .

Do you know the story? Surely everyone does by now.  A crew of astronauts are awoken from their slumber to inspect a signal sent out from a nearby planet. When they get there they venture out, only to discover a alien craft filled with "eggs". (And this is where my first point comes up - Don't touch the eggs! Why would you touch the eggs? If they didn't touch the eggs in the first place they would have all survived and I wouldn't have had to watch this movie.)
So, the dude that touches the egg comes back to the ship with a octopus type alien creature on suctioned on to his face. For a few days they try to remove it until one day it's gone and the dude seems to be back to normal. Then at breakfast comes the scene that I've seen parodied so many times, he convulses and an alien rips forth from his stomach and disappears off into the depths of the ship. For the rest of the movie the crew hunt this alien that appears to be getting larger and larger with each crew member he kills, until only Ripley is left. She manages to set the ship to explode and escape in the escape capsule, only to have to kill the alien when she realises that it too has escaped on the capsule.

Sigourney Weaver is Ripley, a role for which she is famous for. I don't know why but I'm not really a fan of hers. I can't put my finger on it but she just annoys me.

As I've mentioned before, during movies that I'm not keen on or could slightly be scared of I tend to talk. JP has determined that I do it as a method of disassociating myself from the movie so that I am not so engrossed in the plotline and therefore the horror. I tend to agree with this, but I must also mention that I do ask a lot of questions because I really am trying to understand what's happening, honest!

I found myself laughing out loud at some points in the movie - the first being the alien rupturing out of the dudes stomach. JP told me my laugh at these points are distingubishable laughs which can be interpreted to mean  "I'm laughing but I'm actually scared, but I'd rather laugh than show I'm scared." There might be a slight truth in this, but it would be subconcious and besides, I really did find some of it funny, not scary.

What I got out of watching this movie was more insight into myself than about the actual movie. I'm not a fan of space settings, aliens or watching people run around with guns in a vain attempt to not be killed by the rampaging alien type movies.

Overall, I'm not going to watch it again, but it's a classic so I'm proud of myself for having watched it. And I'm proud of myself for not wetting myself in fright. If you're a boy, watch it. If you're a girl that likes aliens, watch it. If you're at all like me, don't watch it. It's that easy. And finally - Don't touch the eggs!!

After watching "Alien" I was a little more ok about "Aliens".  This time the story picks up right where "Alien" ended - with Ripley in slumber mode on the escape capsule. The capsule is docked and she is discovered. Only it's been 57 years since she went into slumber mode. In 57years the alien planet where those blimen eggs that started the disaster were found, humans have based themselves there in an attempt to make it habitabal. When the township on the planet go off radar, Ripley is forced to work with a group of soldiers to investigate. When they arrive they discover that the town has been overtaken by the aliens. Not just one this time, but dozens and dozens of the slimey bastards. Of course their transport off the planet is destroyed and they must fight the aliens from the inside until rescure comes. They discover a small girl that has survived, the only one that has. They proceed to fight the aliens, and some team members that turn out to want to bring the aliens home. It follows similar lines as the first movie in that they fight the aliens until they are all almost gone. Of course, Ripley survives and even manages to fight the alien queen to save the wee girl and take her home. Awwwww.

After watching this movie JP tells me about Aliens3 and Aliens4 and about how sucky they really are. From the sounds of it I'm glad he doesn't own them. I think "Aliens" was a good sequeal. It fitted nicely with the first one and was a natural follow on of the storyline. Adding the little girl was a good touch, as it made Ripley seem more real.

The actors in this sequel were good, although I really really wanted to reach in to the movie and slap Bill Paxtons charachter. Gees was he annoying! Can't say I was sad when his character was mauled by an alien. Again, Sigourney Weaver was Ripley a role she is great in, but I still can't explain what it is about her that is annoying. The wee girl that plays "Newt" is sweet and man what a set of lungs on her!

This movie really bought me out of my funk. That seems odd I know. Normally a movie like this would just piss me off, or scare me, but I gained some wisdom from this movie that has helped me gain a bit of perspective = No matter how much life sucks, or how much it throws at me to test me, at least I'm not fighting man-eating aliens. And that's my new motto.

Had I had the choice I would not have watched this, but once again the project has given me just what I needed. Of course, the actual movie was ok, but I won't be watching it again. But it did give me my new motto.

If you've watched "Alien" and enjoyed it, then "Aliens" is a pretty good sequel and well worth a watch. If you haven't watched "Alien" then you'll probably want to watch that first, although probably not entirely necessary.

Next movie? "American Gangster". Another JP movie and then we're on to a couple of children's animations - yay :)

"The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert"

I was happily surprised when I realised that Priscilla came much earlier in the alphabet than originally thought. Everyone knows it as 'Priscilla Queen of the Desert', failing to realise it's actually "The Adventures of Priscilla . . . ". Anyway. . .


On Saturday I was feeling kinda sad. Sometimes life just all piles in on ya, and you can't help but feeling sorry for yourself. Saturday was one of those days. We popped on Priscilla, the next in the queue. I knew it was a happy, bouncy movie for the most part, but I hadn't anticipated it being just the thing I needed to turn my frown upside down.  Straight away the singing made me feel lighter. Next, the drag queens - their 'gayness', their clothes etc are so fun and entertaining.

The story is about Tick (Hugo Weaving) a drag queen that has gotten a gig in a hotel in the middle of the Outback. He convinces his friends Felicia (Guy Pearce) and transsexual friend Bernadette (Terence ?) to join him on the journey from Sydney to Alice Springs, so they can perform. They get their hands on bus for the trip and set off. Felicia is a over-the-top, camp, up-and-coming drag queen who clashes with the older and subtler trans-sexual Bernadette.
They sing their way across the country, causing havoc along the way with their drag queen outfits and "big city" style.
When they arrive in Alice Springs it's discovered that Tick has an estranged wife and an 8 yr old son, who he is going to be taking home again after the shows.

This is the first movie I ever saw Guy Pearce in and have always compared his subsequent performances to this. He's brilliant at playing the super camp drag queen Felicia and Hugo Weaving is also brilliant as Tick. Both actors have long careers in action and thrillers, and yet I know them best from this performance, and almost love them because of it.

While the movie is fairly light for the most part, it does have some heavier undertones. When it was made in 1994 it was one of the first movies to look so openly at gay men and lifes of drag queens. I remember it being one of the first movies I'd ever seen that had these types of characters.

I'd highly recommend it to all. For most of you it'll be a fun and musical movie. If that's not your thing, it's great because it's different from other mainstream movies out these days. And, it's one I remember watching when I was a teenager, so it's sentimental too.

Regardless of it's history for me, on Saturday it was perfect. It lightened me up and brought me out of my funk. For the first time the "Alphabetical Movie Night" project gave me something that I needed better than I would have chosen for myself - light and laughter. Thanks project! 

The Food Show

www.foodshow.co.nz

This weekend was The Food Show, hosted at the Westpac Stadium. It's turned into a bit of a tradition for JP and I to go together each year. Someone else usually joins us but this year it was just the two of us.

After the last few years we've gotten the art of attending down. My advise:
1. Bring a bottle of water
2. Don't eat before you go
3. Go early to avoid the crowds
4. (a new entry this year) Bring a carry bag
5. Go on the last day for the best deals

Around the rim of the stadium stalls from wineries, food outlets and food related companies are set up. The best bit - every stall has FREE samples! (hence the "don't eat before you go" rule. And, lots of really good deals. Most years I come across some new or different product or brand. Last year I found Cherry and Vanilla Jam. The year before Rice Bran Oil.

Each year there seems to be a trend to the types of stalls there. Last year there was a lot of Jams and the year before a lot of pestos. This year there wasn't many of either, but there was a lot of lemon products. There was lemon zests, lemon oils, lemonades, lemon liquours, and even lemon icecream.

JP bought a glass this year in order to try the wines more enthusiastically. And it worked, because about three quarters of the way round, JP tells me he's stopping drinking now. And it wasnt' even 12pm yet.

Some years we buy nothing and some years a lot, but this year was definetely a year where we bought a lot. I think the last day of the show is a good one to go to - it seems to be when the stalls are reducing their prices in order to get rid of the product. Today we brought home:

- Olive Grove Falafal Mix. - I've wanted to make falafal for ages and this is a premixed falafal. All I need to do is cook it. Can be bought at Moore Wilsons or New World.
- Lisa's Hummus with Roast Garlic, Feta & Capsicum with smoky paprika dip and Feta & baby spinach with black pepper dip. YUM. Can be bought at most supermarkets.
- Nuttz Honey Roasted Almonds and Vienna Almonds. Sweet nuts - I love em. Can be bought at The Nut Store on Cuba St.
- The Dairy Collective Gourmet Probiotic Yoghurt - Mango, Dark Plum and Apple Crumble flavours. I'm becoming a bigger and bigger fan of yoghurt these days. I'm not fond of the normal dairy yoghurts, but the more "expensive" and "exoctic" yoghurts I love. This brand was delicious and I'm looking forward to having them for breakie. The dude reckoned most supermarkets stock it, but I've never seen it before.
- Teza Juiced Tea - Mango & Ginger flavour. I'm not a juice or tea fan for the most part, so these drinks you'd assume I'd avoid. I was intrigued by the ginger aspect, and it was delicious! It's a fairly new franchised New Zealand brand and can only be bought from their shop or from Moore Wilsons.
- Beehive Luncheon meats - Malanoi Salami, Champagne Ham and Honey baked ham. JP loves it and it was a good deal.
- Prenzel Original Vinagrette - I just ran out about 3 weeks ago and it was cheap.
- Olivado Macadamia Nut Oil - It was a sweet nutty oil that boasts uses for pastries, omelettes and salad dressings. It's something different which I like.
- And JP bought some beer and some Johner Pinot Noir wine.
- I also bought a cook book (seeing as it's my current obsession to find and buy cook books its not really surprising!). I bought the "Healthy Family Meals, Vol 2" book which is published by the Healthy Foods magazine.

Reading back on the large list of things we bought, I add a new piece of advice to the list "Bring a carry bag".

It's such a good show to go to, I love it! It's so much fun. Make sure you go next year!! You will have a great time, and if nothing else, you'll have a good lunch.

Ohhhh and I almost forgot to mention; We were talking to a gentleman at a winery stall and JP mentioned that I couldn't drink red wine. He asked me why and I explained that I was allergic to Red Wine, Oranges and Cocoa. He instantly said "Oh, it's the tannens (sp?)" He explained to me that tannens are a molecule substance thats in those three items. No one ever told me that before! Now dear google, let's research tannens. . . .

Workmate Dramas

I work with 1 male and 7 other females in my office. This week was NB's last week :( She gave 10 weeks notice and her last day finally came around yesterday. It was a bit surreal really and won't really feel like it's happened until Monday when she's not at team meeting!
NB is on a plane to Auckland today to spend a week with her family before going on her big OE. She'll end up in London, living the Nanny life, and we have very tentative plans to spend a white chirstmas together next year.
NB and I have worked together for a while - just over a year. She was my partner in crime vs EM & ND with the whole "Snowy goes travelling" escapade. hehehehe
We will surely miss her booming voice, her stories and her ability to fix anything (and I do mean anything!). GOOD LUCK NOMES!!

Last night we had a party at the office, open to all our Nannies and Families. It was a "Farewell NB/Meet the team/Come see the new office" party all rolled together and we had a great turn out. EM did the food - as she always does. We have diagnosed her with "OPD - Obsessive Party Disorder". You have to just let her do it and INSIST on being given jobs to do because she'd rather do it all herself.

The other workmate drama this week was when our one male colleague had a little "personal" problem requiring medical opinion. All that's totally fine, but he can't lie, or not tell someone the truth when they ask, and the rest of the woman in my office are mothers and very inquisitive. So, I heard the whole damn saga, and the problem, and the medical diaganosis coming from my other workmates.
I made myself some little signs to hold up. One says "No" and "Go Away" on each side, the other has "Yes" and a smiley face. Needless to say the "Go Away" sign was being used ALOT this week.

sugar, sugar, sugar

sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar . . . CRASH!

"50 First Dates" & "The Actors"

"50 First Dates" is one of my favourite movies. I've watched it so many times I could probably say the lines along with the characters. I'm not sure what it is about the movie, but I love it.

Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore are a good combo, they seem to spark off each other. They are believeable and sweet and comedic all in one.

The story is about a perpetual bachelor that meets the girl of his dreams, only to discover that she has a brain condition that won't allow her to retain short term memories. Effectively her memory "resets" every night when she goes to sleep. Each day this guy trys to get her attention. He makes a video for her to watch and works with her family to change her life so that she doesn't have the same day over and over. After a while she deletes him from her journals in an attempt to let him move on with his life. When he finally leaves on a big sailing trip he turns around and comes back to her because she's started having memories of him, or more like he's familiar to her. My description here makes it sound like it's a really dramatic and sad movie, but its totally the opposite - with Adam Sandler, how could it be anything but funny?!

It's set in beautiful Hawaii and very light and funny. Spoiler Alert: I love this movie because it doesn't do what most typical hollywood movies would do, and have her regain her short term memories at the end so that they can all live happily ever after. They do live happily ever after, but she does'nt regain her memories, and that is so much more realistic than any other ending, and that's why it's a good movie. I love that this guy is so captivated by this girl that he goes to great measures to get her to talk to him and to fall in love with him every day - it's just to sweet :)

I enjoy Rob Schiender in this movie, JP does not, but I think he's rather good and that totally goofy native friend. Adam Sandler always has his friends in his movies, namely - Rob Schiender, Kevin James and the guy that plays "10 second Tom" (I don't know the actors name). It also stars Sean Astin who is great as the steroid using brother with a lisp.

I love Drew Barrymore. I've only just realised this now. I love everything she does and I find her so sweet and believable. Or maybe she just does movies that I like?! hmmmm.

I love that the main character had a pet penguin - I want one!

I have one question though - is Alexa really a guy or a girl?! I've never been able to work it out for sure! haha

I really could go on and on about this movie, but I won't. Only to say - see it! At the very least, it's good for a giggle.

We watch "50 First Dates" on Sunday night and then on Monday night we watched our very first letter - "The Actors".



"The Actors" is one of JP's movies that I've seen before. I don't remember the last time I actually watched it, but I have a feeling that I didn't enjoy it for whatever reason. This time though, I thought it was great. Maybe I was just in a better frame of mind, or I appreciated the comedy this time around. Who knows.

The story is about an actor that finds out a local crimnal owes money to another crimnal but they've never met. So he convinces his other actor friend to intervene as the other crimnal to steal the money. The only problem is that the crimnals realise something is wrong, meaning the actors have to up the ante and act out more and more roles in an attempt to get away with it.

It stars Dylan Moran and Michael Cain as the actors and they are brilliant. A break through star of this movie is the 9 year old niece that narrates the movie and schools the men in their plan. She's brilliant, and the linchpin of the whole operation.

I found myself slapping my thigh on numerous occasions. Michael Cain and particulary Dylan Moran give great perfomances. Dylan Moran is so deadpan in a lot of his delivery which makes it so hilarious. In the movie he ends up playing the part of at least 4 other characters other than his overall character.

This one is definetly worth a look. It's humourous in an English, not-Hollywood way, and that's always a welcome change. Go on, check it out, go on, do it!

Next movie? "The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert" Wahoooo, this will be interesting. :)

Making Phad Thai

Last night (I seem to start a lot of my blogs with those two words!) I made Phad Thai and I'm very excited and proud of myself about it.

A very good friend of mine introduced me to Phad Thai two years ago. Before that I wasn't a fan of thai food, and now I can't get enough of it. When I was in Oman last June I had what can only really be described as the worlds best Phad Thai. Granted, this is from my limited experience only, and I haven't been to Thailand, where one assumes they do pretty good Phad Thai. At the moment, all Phad Thai's are held up in comparison to the Oman place. (BAH, if you're reading this, can you tell me the name of the restrauant?!)

I recently started buying lots of reciepe books and one my new favourites is "Vegie Food", a really simple vegetarian cook book. I'm not vegetarian, but have often thought I could be because I'm not a big meat fan, and because vegetarian options usually have so many flavours more than meat options.

Anyway. . . This book had a recipe for Phad Thai, how excited was I?!

Last night was the big night. JP was my guinea pig. I have never used so many dishes to cook a meal before! I had to substitute a few ingredients, and I added shrimps in place of tofu. It got the big thumbs from JP and from me. Not as good as the Oman place Phad Thai, but pretty good for a first time! I'll definetly be giving it another go :)

Here is the end result. It even looks like the picture in the book!


And the recipe:

INGREDIENTS
400g flat rice-stick noodles
2 tablespoons peanut oil
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 onion, cut into thin wedges
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 small red capsicum, cut into thin strips
100g fried tofu (I used shrimps instead)
6 spring onions, thinly sliced on the diagonal
25g chopped coriander leaves
60ml soy sauce
2 tablespoons lime juice (I had to use fresh lemon juice because we couldn't find lime juice at the supermarket)
1 tablespoon soft brown sugar
2 teaspoons sambal oelek (I didn't use this because neither JP or I know what it is!)
90g bean shoots
40g chopped roasted unsalted peanuts

METHOD
Cook the noodles in a saucepan of boiling water for 5-10 minutes, or until tender. Drain and set aside.

Heat a wok over high heat and add enough peanut oil to coat the bottom and side. When smoking, add the egg and swirl to form a thin omelette. Cook for 30 seconds, or until just set. Roll up, remove and thinly slice.

Heat the remaining oil in the wok. Cook the onion, garlic and capsicum over high heat for 2-3 minutes, or until the onion has softened. Add the noodles, tossing well. Stir in the omelette, tofu (or shrimps), spring onion and half the coriander.

Pour in the combined soy sauce, lime or lemon juice, sugar and sambal oelek (if you know what it is!), then toss to coat the noodles. Sprinkle the bean shoots over the top and garnish with the peanuts and the remaining coriander. Serve immediately.

ENJOY!

Alarm 1. Heather 0. JP -1

Last night I was rudely awakened just before 3am by what I assumed was a smoke alarm with a dying battery. I'm sure you know the scenario - the battery is dying so the smoke alarm sends out a beep every few minutes, and the longer it has to wait to be changed, the faster the beeping gets.

After several hours of attempting to get used to the noise, quiet contemplation of how best to smack the smoke alarm, and silent cursing that it choose the middle of the night to go off, I make a decision. I'm getting up to smack the crap out of the alarm until the battery comes out. If JP isn't awake by now, he soon will be. And if it doesn't work, I'm putting on my slippers and going down to Mum's house to sleep on her couch.

As soon as I open my door, I realise two things. 1. It's the alarm system that's beeping, and the sensor by the front door (right beside my bedroom) is flashing "fault" as it beeps it's little heart out and 2. JP is all of a sudden beside me and dressed. My 4.30am self is a little confused by the JP dressed bit - surely he doesn't sleep in jeans and a jersey? (I later - after several coffees - realise that he must have put jeans on to come out of his room and then a jersey cause it was cold.)

Together we try and pull the alarm panel off the wall, try to find the "hidden" off switch we assume should be there. We even attempt to get the sensor of the wall. Finally we decide to call the good people at the securty firm themselves.

The phone was off the hook and the battery totally drained, so we used my cell phone to call the security firm. All I can really say is "God bless Clara at the security firm call centre". That woman saved my 4.30am self from total insanity.
The only thing I can think to say is "My alarm is going off and it's driving me crazy, help me!" And she does.

At first we suspect that its a dying battery, until she discovers that the alarm recieved no "ping" from the sensor. Apparently at 2.45am every night the alarm "pings" a signal to the firm in a sort of "alarm here, all is well" type message. But last night it couldn't ping and that's why the sensor was going mental.
She makes me push several buttons to get a signal through, then several more to reset it. And finally, the beeping stops. Peace rains through the house.

How does the sensor ping to the firm? Through the phone line.
Why couldn't it get through? Because the phone was dead, because it had been left off the hook.
Who was the last person to use the phone before bed? JP.

Alarm 1.
Heather 0.
JP -1.

Happy Birthday Gran & BLM

This weekend has been a weekend that our family has been thinking about since my cousin BLM was born 21 years ago. Yesterday was my Gran's 80th birthday and today is my BLM's 21st birthday.

When my aunt was pregnant with BLM, her due date was Gran's birthday. So there was lots of betting going on about who was going to win the birthday race? Gran or the new baby? Turned out to be Gran, but only by a day. When we was born, somebody very quickly worked out that they would both have their very significant birthdays on the same weekend. How cool! And ever since then, everyone knew, Gran and BLM would have a joint 80th and 21st Party.

Last night was that party.

It was held at the Loafes and Fishes hall at the anglican cathedral in the city (where Gran frequents on a sunday morning). Everyone that was invited was asked to bring a plate of food in lieu of a present, but of course most people turned up with both.

I was put in charge of "cleaning up" and "the cake". I enlisted the services of my friend MS, who has her own cake decorating business. She made a 2 tier cake that was white chocolate mud cake on the bottom and banana on the top. Gran had her opinions about the cake, and I must have changed the order quite a few times! (Because we couldn't have a black ribbon the cake, it would be too much like a funeral cake?! Who has funeral cakes?!) anyway... all the fuss was worth it in the end, because the cake looked fabulous and it tasted amazing. Everyone had a piece, and everyone loved it! I was the golden girl of the party after the cake was digested. Thanks MS!!

The party was mostly my Gran's friends - all the oldies from church and years of being an active woman in the Wellington area. Most of the "young ones" were cousins, distant cousins and children of family friends. It was a bit surreal to be introduced to these adults and told they are that kid I last saw when she was 6!

There was only two speeches - Mum did a poem that she wrote on behalf of her and my Aunt GA. It was witty and fun. Then an old family friend, godfather of BLM, did a speech. Much to the horror of the family he discussed at length how BLM's mother died when he was 15yrs old, what type of person she was and what he's taken from her (genes wise). And then if that was bad enough, he started discussing BLM's biological father and discussing his traits and what BLM has and hasn't taken from him. This shocking bit about this is that only immediate family and a handful of my aunts friends know who BLM's biological father is, and that he doesn't want anything to do with BLM. And, if that's not bad enough, he also discuss's how BLM's adoptive father died last year. (It's fair to say that at 21 BLM has had a pretty rough ride when it comes to parents!).

The night ended early (as it does with oldies partying). The amount of food left over is phenominal. I think I came home with much more food than I took with me. At least JP is going to do well out of the leftovers!

Next weekend BLM is having a second party - one much more focused on the young ones, and for all his mates to come too. LB and I have very graciously offered to do the token "extended family speech". We realised that while his brothers met BLM at 6 yrs old, we will probably be the only ones that knew him before then. So, we're going to present "BLM: 0 to 6yrs". Should be a riot! This afternoon I'm going through old photos for ones of BLM and us as kids. And the very best bit is that he's the youngest cousin and brother, so he's got no one to exact revenge on! muahahahahaha.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRAN AND BLM!

"40 Days and 40 Nights"

Another Josh Hartnett movie! I can't think what else he's been in, other than these two movies?! Anyway. . .
JP wasn't feeling 100% and I was looking to just chill out on a lazy Saturday afternoon, so we popped in the next movie in the list - "40 Days and 40 Nights".

It stars one of my faveourite actresses - Maggie Gyllenhal, in the role of the "best friend" and she's very underutilised. Shoshana something-or-rather is the new girl on the scene for the lead character, and like Josh Hartnett, the only two movies I can think of that I've seen here in are this one and "A Knights Tale".

This is another chick flick that I bought because at the time I thought it was great. Watching it again now after a few years (yes I own movies that I don't watch very often) I've realised that it's a little crude and not nearly as "cool" now that I'm a little older and a little wiser.

The basic plotline is that Matt has broken up with his girlfriend and goes on a sexual rampage, but it doesn't help in the "feeling better" department. So he decides to give up sex and sex-like activities for lent. This is of course when he met the girl of his dreams. Meanwhile, his mates find out about his pledge, and set up an elaborate betting system around when and how he'll break his new no-sex vow. He procedes to date this new girl, without any sex. Males being males, he struggles with the no-sex policy. Again, I'm not going to ruin the ending for you, but after 40 days is up, all returns to normal.

Like I say, it's a wee bit crude and at times, cringe worthy. I think it was made for teenagers to laugh at. It was fine for watching on a Saturday afternoon, but it's not one that really sticks in your mind. I guess it's a good one if you like that sort of thing. I'm a bit ambivilant about it to be honest.

Next movie?! "50 First Dates". One of my faves. yay! :)

Complaints and Art Thiefs.

Apparently a memo went round that I missed. It said "6th May is Poop on Browne's Day"

Both my sister and I have had just plain "pooey" days.

My day was probably a bit better than LB's but it's all subjective I guess.
I had to put up with complaints filed against me by a person I work with. All complaints have been deemed unfounded and I wasn't really that surprised or upset by them. Unfortunetly this person and I do not really get along and she considers me to be imcompetent. I don't mean to sound conceted, but I'm good at my job and pretty experienced. I don't have any other problems with any of my other areas or teams and have even been told that some of the people at head office think that I'm pretty good too. (Yay me!)

Luckily for me I had two of our support people in the office today and was able to go through everything with them. As I knew they would, they backed me up and are working on pulling this person in to line.

Really this mess just mucked my day around. I had so much more better things to do. No doubt that the person complaining will now complain that I didn't do something else and why is that?! because I was busy dealing with your other complaints you fool!

Ok, rant over.
On to LB.

LB is an art student, in her final year of an arts degree. She arrives at her studio today to discover that some stupid twat has stolen some of her artwork!! I mean honestly, what dork steals art?!

They've taken her handmade canvas' (they were pretty impressive). The best bit is that the Uni know about it and if they hand in art on her canvas' they will be caught and kicked out. So they can't use them, so why steal them?! I don't get it.

Being an art student brings up conotations of a poor student, starving for their art. And it's really not that far from the truth. Well the being a poor student anyway. LB herself said "stealing art from an art student is like stealing food from the hungry". :(

On a side topic, LB needs varnishes and house paints for her current project. So if you have spare tins lying around, let me know and I'll get her to come pick them up from you.

"30 Days of Night"

Movie number 5: "30 Days of Night".
Anyone who knows me, or even anyone that's just read some of my previous AMN (Alphabetical Movie Night) posts on here, will know that I do NOT like horrors, or vampires, or anything with do much blood and gore and viloence. So, I wasn't too stoked when I learnt that JP owns "30 Days of Night".

Tonight I'm feeling a wee bit unwell - earache etc, but I was feeling the guilts from JP cause he really really really wanted to watch it tonight. So I put on my woolie jumper, track pants and slippers, got myself a hot cup of peppermint tea, turned on ALL the lights in the lounge, and sat myself down in front of the telly. I was also very greatful when my cat Bunker came to sit on my lap - he was good for extra comfort!

I was a little intrested in watching this movie as it was filmed in NZ and my sisters partner (we'll call him MS) did some sound engineering work on it. Once the credits rolled, I had my nose up close to the telly, just waiting for his name, and there it was - Assistant Dialogue Engineer: MS. VERY COOL!

It stars Josh Hartnett and Melissa George as the law enforcers of a small town at the very top of Alaska. A town that every year for 30 days the sun doesnt' come up. While most of the more intellegent people leave town for this month, a select few made the mistake of staying behind. As soon as the sun goes down the town is cut of from the rest of the world and that's when the vampires arrived. They proceed to rampage through the town, hunting and killing almost everyone they find. A handful of people, led by Josh Hartnetts character, spend most of the movie either running from shelter to shelter or getting killed off. Of course by the end of the day only a very small handful of people have survived, all thanks to a heroic Josh Hartnett.

I didn't like it, but we all know that. What I did like was the constant parade of characters played by known Australian and New Zealand actors. I counted at least two ex - "Home & Away"ers and several ex "Shortland Street"ers. You'd have never known it was filmed in NZ if Marj from Shortland Street wasn't in it!

I had to have a wee giggle at the "language" the vampires spoke, which reminded me about a very amusing and ongoing joke amongest me and my workmates regarding secret gibberish codes (you have to be part of the elite "cool" crowd to realllly understand what I'm talking about here, but trust me it's funny. ;)

To be fair, there wasn't any cheesy dialogue, or totally typical points, although you could probably have predicted the ending right at the start.

I do like to talk to the tv, especially during movies I don't particularly like (almost as a self-soothing mechanism?!(wow, how self-actualised did that sound?!) (or, that even?!)). But I'm fast discovering that JP doesn't really appreciate that I do it, or that I ask questions like "How is it possible that no one or any thing can get to the town, just cause it's dark?" or "If they are stuck in the attic for 7 days, how are they going to the toilet?". Or that I make comments such as "It's been 27 days, I bet they smell bad" or "That's the guy that played Vinnie on Shortland Street". Sorry mate, but it's just the way I am :) Plus, I've threatened to play "The Sound of Music" on the sing-a-long version if he continues to mock my way of dealing with movies I find disturbing.

Overall, not something I'll ever watch again, but only because I don't like that sort of thing. Probably a good one to watch for those of you that do. I'm not the best person to be taking vampire movie advise, so I'll leave it to JP to offer that opinion.

Next movie? - "40 Days and 40 Nights". Another Josh Hartnett movie, but this time one thats much more my cup of tea.

Me vs the Spider

Last night the worlds biggest spider raced across my bedroom floor. I swear he was wearing a helmet and pulling the finger, he was that huge!

I screamed bloody murder (I don't think I've every screamed that loudly or been that girly before in my life!).

My flatmate JP came racing into my room assuming that I had spotted a burgler outside my window or was being accosted by some hooligan, only to find me on top of my bed screaming "spider" and pointing at my wardrobe.

He dove in, head first, determined to get the wee thing.

After providing a torch and a jandle he found the wretched thing cowering under a shoe and proceeded to smack him (it took numerous attempts) and show the spider off the premises via the great white porcelin bowl.

I was a nervous wreck. It's fair to say that I have a great fear of spiders and that was a HUGE one! JP reckons it was an avondale (sp?) spider - the largest in NZ.

My next concern after all the drama had died down was regarding the spider funeral. Would all his spider mates attend? I sure hope not! And, was he the first of many and I'm lucky I caught him, but unlucky that there will be more? Or was he the last of many and they are already here?! Now you can see why I didn't sleep much last night and spent all of today feeling itchy and tense.

Being an obsessive FBer I made the following status update:

"Heather just caught the worlds biggest spider racing across my bedroom floor wearing a helmet and pulling the finger, so I curled my toes, let out a blood curdling scream that sent my hero of a flatmate racing into my room, diving into my cupboard with a torch and a jandle to swat the thing 7 times before it could be "escorted..." off the premises. I hope none of it's friends come to its funeral."

And proceeded to have the following comments made:

MD: I would have expected JP to join you on a chair screaming ... but hey ;)

Heather: He's a sucker for a damsel in distress :) And thank god for that because if he hadn't I would have gone to work in my pj's tomorrow

MD: Thats awesome. We should give him a medal or something tomorrow. A simple ceremony, but one with feeling & from the heart.:)

Heather: yes, and while you're at it, all you blokes can "de-spider" the rest of the house, cause now i'm petrified that there are more. Imagine if I hadn't seen him and discovered him in the morning! The cats wouldn't have been any good!

MS: Mwhahahaha!! Thats soooo funny!! I would have done the same though!

MD: You're going to trust THAT group of retrobates to do something like that? You do know it will involve either
a) Propane & matches...
b) Paintball guns
c) Tribal masks and handmade bows
d) All of the above

KG: Love it ....

Heather: option c sounds like the most amusing and least damaging to the house, while option a could be the most effective but most damaging. I'm not sure that option b is the happiest medium?! I might bite the bullet and go for option d - the most effective and damaging, but at least there will be no spiders!
Hahaha MS! Now I'm worried that he was either the first of many and the rest are going to attempt the dash or the last of many and they are all already in my room! Don't think i'll be sleeping much tonight!

SS: Nooooo! You should never kill spiders, now you will be invaded by all the moths, flies and ants the spider would've taken care of for you.

Heather: Oh SS, I'd put up with a thousand moths, flies and ants instead of one GIANT spider!

JP: Gas is the answer.

BAH: Let's think about who invited the spider :)

Heather: ooooooo lets not!

BAH: Poor JP, he is a man on a mission :)

"27 Dresses"

The next movie in Alphabetical Movie Night was "27 Dresses". One of mine obviously. Tonight I sat down to watch this typical romantic comedy with JP and my Dad who's down for a few days. JP still has a touch of the man flu, but I know he's feeling better because this afternoon he doused me in lynx deodarant when I told him he stinks.

Anyway, back to the movie. . . Katherine Hiegl is not my favourite actress, she can be talented, I've seen her in some great stuff, but I've seen her flop in others - "The Ugly Truth" for example. Although, I do wonder if it was the writing or direction because it's just not good. Anyway! Wrong movie. . .

Ok, 27 Dresses; It's your typical chick flick. Girl meets boy, boy likes girl, girl likes other boy, they get mad at each other and then at the end realise they love each other and they live happily ever after. This movie is all built around the idea that Jane has been a bridesmaid 27 times and Kevin is a reporter that is covering her sisters wedding (to her boss, who she's in love with). Kevin publishes a story about Jane being the ultimate "bridesmaid, never a bride", forcing Jane to face her fears and standing up to people, all leading her to leap across a bridge onto a moving boat (crazy!) to tell Kevin that in actual fact she loves him and not her boss after all. awwwwwwww. blech!

I think I like this movie because 1. It has James Marsden and Edward Burn in it. Both great actors and not to bad on the eye either. 2. It does have some witty one liners throughout the movie, although not nearly enough of them and 3. It has weddings in it. I confess, I'm a bit of a wedding feind. I've always loved weddings, have been a bridesmaid twice and loved it. So I enjoyed watching all the crazy wedding stuff more than the movie itself.

Overall, a good Sunday night chick flick for those of you that like chick flicks. And, Boys, You'll earn some brownie points for sitting through it with your girl.

Next movie?! "30 Days of Night". Hmmmmmmm I've been told it's scary. But kind looking forward to it, because my sisters partner did some work on it - so at least I'll be able to say "I know someone that worked on it". hehe

"The 13th Warrior" and "21"

The next movie in the "Alphabetical Movie Night" project was "The 13th Warrior". It's the first one of JP's that we're watching which had me a little nervous. I knew it would be a "boy" movie, probably involving either vampires, blood or some sort of screaming, and probably no girls. To say I was slightly avoiding watching it is an understatment. However, the rules state that we have to watch the movies in order, so if I faltered at the second movie what kind of person would I be?!

So here it is;



LB came over for the afternoon and we all bunkered down in JP's room (who has a touch of the man flu). The first saving grace of this movie - it stars Antonio Banderas - yum yum! Only, he's a gorgeous Spanish Male, playing an Arabic man. I know Arabic men, and Antonio Banderas just can't compare!

Admittedly, it wasn't as bad as I had first anticipated. I had trouble keeping up with the storyline, probably because I wasn't too interested in the beginning and also because my Grandmother kept calling to ask me questions about her birthday cake for next weeks party. Anyway . . . The movie is about an arabic man, banished from his homeland because he slept with someone's wife. He travels across Europe (I mentioned that this is set LONG ago right?) and finds a village/country of men. While staying there he is roped in to helping their group of Warriors (he being the 13th - couldn't see that coming?!) travel north to rescue a village from some demon that's attacking them. So off they go all though Antonio is very wary and not to happy about being there. Eventually they make it to the village and proceed to do battle against this group of creatures (strange men in bear costumes) that attack in the mist. By the end of the movie, the village is saved and Antonio is feeling much better about himself, and JP is threatening to be annoying and talking through the next movie cause I kept distracting him in this one - phish!

It was the kind of movie that I only watched because I had to, would probably need to watch it again in order to really understand it and have no intention to do so. A good movie story wise and movie wise really, but Heather wise, it just wasn't the kind of movie that I like to watch.

Being Saturday night we decided we could watch another one. Next in the line was "21". One of mine.



"21" is a fairly new movie - made and released in 2009. I first watched it onboard a flight to the middle east last year and rather enjoyed it.

It stars Kate Bosworth (not as cute as everyone seems to think) and Kevin Spacey(a brilliant actor if I do say so), as well as some other good, but not big name actors.
The basic plot involves a group of Uni students being taught how to count cards/play 21. They sucker in this bright student that needs 300K for medical school. He's brilliant at the game and they live a fancy life of high living in Las Vegas in the weekends and school life during the week. This goes on for awhile until they get caught and he looses everything. The security guy finally catches up to him, but offers him a deal - one last game at the casino if he can get his tutor to play. Turns out the tutor doesn't play because he used to and is not wanted by the security dude.

Better not ruin the ending, but needless to say it all works out in the end (as hollywood films always do!).

I'm a fan of the cheesy-ness of the film, enjoy the fast pace and bright lights of the vegas scenes. Overall - a bit of a non-thinking movie as it explains it all along the way. Worth a look in my opinion.

Next movie?! "27 Dresses" muhahahahaha