Since we don’t live by politix alone (I sincerely hope), what did people get up to this weekend? Join in, share some tales, regulars and lurkers all!
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I rediscovered the joys of suburban football. My partner and I leant on a rail drinking cans of beer with the sun shining on our backs. The kids pretended to chase a football so they could play in the mud. We ate $3 hamburgers served by a lady wearing a club apron with her name embroidered on it. It was very 1950’s in a lot of ways, and a lot of fun.
Must do it again soon…
Spent a wet Adelaide morning being a steward at my dog clubs’ 40th anniversary trial–not that I have ben there that long! Lots of rain fell, dogs looked piteously at handlers and communicated “you want me to put my bum or bare belly on that wet cold grass?” and refused to do so
Slap up lunch followed, then the presentations–I scored a bottle of OK port for being a steward. One lesson was burned into my brain: walk briskly or your dog will lag a metre or two and you will not pass the trial!
heh! before the last CCd level trial, also on a wet cold day I made Demi ‘drop’ into three different puddles in the morning (bathed and dried her afterwards of course.)
Checked out the Sydney Writers Festival bloggers and journos talk at the MCA today, Margo Kingston, Tim Blair, Antony Loewenstein and a young lady that I didn’t know.
Was mostly about convergence, bloggers as journos/journos as bloggers and the state of media, nothing too enlightening because everyone is in the same boat – figuring out where the heck this is all going.
I also had meatballs for lunch, yum!
Friday night I spent dodging thunderstorms and DJing at a surprisingly busy pub. That was a lot of fun.
Saturday night I spent dodging boozed-up arseclowns at Maroubra Junction, trying to avoid having to get on the bus into town with them (making me a bit late for the club I was going to).
Today I’ve mostly spent alternately net-surfing and screaming at the computer when the connection slowed to such a crawl there was no choice but reboot the machine entirely. Just lucky I’ve been the only one at home when this has happened so that I could audibly vent (Mum’s home now so if the machine cocks up again, I will have to be enraged quietly). I suppose I’d better do some work on my radio show, too.
Spent my time shuffling between work, where I did some very cool science, and the local coffee shop, where I read some PG Wodehouse. Uncle Fred, for the most part.
Went to see Star Trek today. Funnest movie I’ve seen in ages. Two thumbs up.
One of my erstwhile Japanese language teachers emailed me last week, asking if I wanted to resume my studies as a private student of hers (I got expelled from the language college last year when my work schedule and their ever-changing class schedule wouldn’t mesh together).
So we arranged to meet for coffee on Saturday, outside Borders Bookshop.
She went to the wrong bookshop, then walked straight past me and got lost. “Can we meet at the front of the Myer Centre” came the SMS.
So I walked straight past her, and to the front of the Myer Centre, where she wasn’t. After a bit of mobile phone direction-finding, we eventually found each other.
It turned out that the average-looking young Japanese teacher I remembered is now a very, very good looking young woman.
Classes start tomorrow lunchtime. In the bar of the Irish Club, strangely enough.
Unfortunately, its going to be a dry lesson, as I’ve got to go out driving trains at 3pm.
Sunday was a Breakfast Creek Pub piss-up session associated with work, as one of the old hands is retiring this week.
Darin @ 1: Suburban football is excellent, eh? I’ve found it to be a surprisingly good quality of competition, often better than that found in the “big league” games, and without the hype that often overshadows the actual game.
There’s a short film in those three days terangeree.
Preparing to fly out to Nanjing this evening, (for once on cathay instead of poxy qantas). Then onto big dirty ole Wuhan, both on the dirty ole Yangtze. Prepared a week’s worth of The Worst of Perth posts, hoping that wordpress auto publish will work as wordpress blocked in China and will have to jigger around with proxies.
Robert @6. I thoroughly enjoyed Star Trek as well, great fun.
It was fete day at my daughter’s school today. Fortunately the rain of the last few days abated so it was a lovely day for the event. I had fun testing my saleswomanship attempting to sell/give away all that I could while manning the White Elephant stall.
Went with some friends to see La Cenerentola, the final of the 2008-2009 Metropolitan Opera, NY, Season at Dendy, Canberra. While I’m grateful that Dendy Canberra is screening this brilliant series I do have a couple of gripes. Firstly, sessions at Canberra Dendy cost $25. Secondly, despite paying these premium prices we were denied access to the Premium Lounge where coffee and drinks are available. We were re-directed instead to the general Dendy refreshments area only to be told, after waiting in line for about 5 minutes, that we might like to choose something other than coffee because of the numbers ahead of us. Alternatively, we were directed to Borders Bookshop down one set of escalators. 25 minutes after the beginning of the 15 minute interval I returned to the screening without coffee and feeling very pissed off. The opera screening was three hours and 15 minutes so I think that it is not unreasonable to expect access to refreshments for a session beginning at 1.00pm and concluding at 4.15pm.
Not a very good film, Caroline.
But it hasn’t finished yet. There’s still the Japanese lesson with the now gorgeous young tutor in the Irish Club bar and the final scene of the train going off into the sunset. Heh.
I can just picture that film in my mind’s eye.
It’s sort of a version of Brief Encounter, even though I look more like Chips Rafferty than Trevor Howard and Mikiko doesn’t look anything like Celia Johnson. And the movie is spoken in a mix between Japanese and Gaelic, with the rumble of passing coal trains in the background…
And none of this solves the mystery as to why Japanese schoolgirls always travel in threes, even though none of them know anything at all about the light operas of Gilbert & Sullivan.
I went and saw Jeff Martin’s new band The Armada tonight. He used to be the main guy in The Tea Party who were a pretty good band. Not a bad show. Free ticket & a free copy of the album, I no complain
“I went and saw Jeff Martin’s new band The Armada tonight.”
Speaking of fireships Jack d’, I’ve stood on the now co-opted eastern bit of the île de la Cité where they torched you. It’s definitely now cold to the touch.
And is that Gray Oldman’s Mason Verger as your gravatar?
“There’s a short film in those three days terangeree.”
As long as it’s not like “Japanese Story” – a short film packed into a couple of hours.
Friday night, put on the oil heater for the first time this winter.
Saturday – mild sprinkling rain, a bit cold. Went up town with a comrade. Bought some bread and spaghetti at Bi-Lo. Was going to flog Green Left Weeklies and hand out a flier on the concentration camps for Tamils in northern Sri Lanka, but it was wettish and very few people in the Armidale Mall. Besides, I’d rushed around too much shopping and was seriously out of breath.Comrade Bea drove me back home. Spent the afternoon a little bit on-line, but mostly reading and note-taking from Lawrence Henry Gipson’s The Coming of the Revolution, 1763-1775. Gipson is from the Imperialist school of American history and this 287 page book is a distillation of his 8 volume epic. Certainly one of the best books I’ve read on the early years of the American Revolution (assuming the Revolution starts c. 1763) especially from the British point of view. Still working on it. Dipped into the old Oxford History, Basil Williams’ The Whig Supremacy, 1714-1760. A bit dull so far, nowhere near as good as the later volume on the reign of George III. Watched The Bill etc.
Sunday – Is it my imagination or is Insiders improving because they seem to be bypassing the horrible Bolt and Ackermann? On line, reading as on Saturday. Was an impressive night’s TV. Especially liked the SBS movie Nowhere in Africa. (btw, next week’s Mary Whitehouse biopic on ABC 1 next Sunday got quite lukewarm reviews in the Guardian some months ago – is likely to upset the likes of Lp-ers, perhaps.)
“Sunday – Is it my imagination or is Insiders improving because they seem to be bypassing the horrible Bolt and Ackermann?”
Yes, Paul I believe it is. I thought yesterdays show was another sorry day for Aunty. Even Glenn Milne said, about that episode, in an article in the Opposition Organ…
“… almost the entire program was devoted to ridiculing the Rudd Government. This is exceptional, because normally Insiders is broadly a serious and balanced program.”
I left a comment about that extract on the site that may, or may not, be published.
(Sorry, I cannot bring myself to actually link to the rest of the Milne drivel.)
“Completely correct in the first instance. It was an unrelenting, hissy fit, attack on the government, by press lobsiders, for not giving them the ammunition they want to spin an ‘out of control’ federal debt scenario, when there isn’t one.
And Glenn, you are fooling yourself if you believe Insiders is “balanced”. The show is almost always swamped by right wing commentary. You guys must be kidding yourself if you think we do not notice.”
Oh and apart from watching Insiders the rest of the day included a relaxed long walk, a big feed of roast free range chicken plus yummy veg and a bit of reading.
“As long as it’s not like “Japanese Story” – a short film packed into a couple of hours.”
How true. It seemed to be the guiding principle behind so many Australian films of that era. That and cram as many ‘atmospheric’ shots of the Australian landscape into the film as possible. And dispense with irrelevancies such as plot,
I spent Saturday afternoon firstly buying vastly unneeded (but very pretty) shoes, and then followed that up with afternoon tea and playing bocce in the botanical gardens.
Quite a satisfactory arvo, really.
really stuck with nothing to do on a Sunday? Try the “Herald Sun”
Ambigulous I cast doubt on your Special Sunday report. The AFL do not have “circles” they have ovals.
Found a new cave in the Lower Florentine. Tiny entrance but using the scientific method of dropping a stone down and counting the hits we figured a 6 m drop to a shelf and then ??. The Surly Teenager could not be persuaded to go for a look. He would have totally fitted and we totally would not have left him down there despite what his dad was muttering.
Note to self: Take smaller size child on caving expeditions. They can fit into smaller spaces and are easily convinced that Bob the Builder is down there.
joe2 indeed they have ovals, footy grounds, and men are men; public urinators are public urinators, etc. Yes, Brendan: you. I don’t endorse the report. It’s hair-raising.
Is your heritage green water tank installed now? Ours is about one-third full.
“I don’t endorse the report. It’s hair-raising.”
Ambigulous, I really didn’t think that it was your favoured Sunday reading. Still, it might have spiced up the Lazy Sunday thread a bit, if Amy had of logged in to tell us about which footy team she supported all Saturdee night.
Sadly, the heritage green tank, that has a sandy spot set up and ready to go, is still a homemakers dream thanks to a bit of stuffing round by a plumber whose name isn’t Joe.
On Saturday night I was priviledged to become a grandparent for the second time.So buggered was I by the news I had to have a nanna nap on Sunday.(All is well, bub,mum doing fine,dad and big brother are thrilled to bits).
All in all a bloody ripper weekend.
In its defence (re Japanese Story). Learning how to construct a ‘dead man’ to winch oneself out of a sandy bog when there’s not a tree in sight, and the scene where what’s her name tries to save the Japanese fellow when he ?breaks his neck and drowns in the billabong, were well worth the other fairly long and boring bits. The billabong scene in particular was gripping/harrowing and a genuine shock. Not to mention bloody well acted. It probably wouldn’t have had quite the same impact or been performed so convincingly if it had all been compacted down to fifteen minutes. But the scene at the airport for the one intense exchange of looks between the Japanese wife and . . . what is her name, did tend to drag on.
Robbo: Congratulations.
Caroline: -
My short film, which I suspect is more like Brief Encounter crossed with Godzilla Meets The Wombles by way of the old Will Hay film Oh! Mr Porter looks like it’s going to become a matinee serial. The beautiful tutor has agreed to instruct my second niece on the correct way to tie an obi after I bring one back from Tokyo next week to go with her (my niece, that is) yukata that I brought back from the last trip.
And she (the beautiful tutor, not the niece) has agreed to pay for lunch at tomorrow’s lesson.
And as the next lesson is in just over 12 hours’ time, and as I’ve just got home from work, I had better stop prevaricating on LP and start doing my homework.
Is it legitimate to complain about such egregious spoilers if one hasn’t got around to seeing a film which came out some years ago?
Nabakov @ 16,
Yet the Templars live on, or so they say.
and yes that is Mason Verger, “Attractive, isn’t he?”
Helen. Yes. And. No. Sorry ’bout that.
Terangeree, The plot begins to thickens. The tutor pays for lunch. Hmmm. The tutor is fabulously wealthy then?
There is a real opportunity for product placement in the short movie, terangeree.
The Dell Inspiron Mini 9 netbook could be introduced as the exotic study aid after the unnamed cheaper brand failed to live up to reasonable expectations.
Comment on Sol Trujillo anyone?
Is it just me or did the whole ‘Chk chk Wog’ episode confirm his veracity of his passing shot a little too well
Dunno Glen.
Is it any good?
Look, if you can chuck in a limerick and some youtubery, I’ll bite.
He might well have had a point about the cartoons and the Mexican references.
Doesn’t alter the fact that he decided Telstra could win a war, not only with the competition regulator, but with both sides of Australian politics. That misjudgement cost the shareholders who employed him billions of dollars.
No Caroline,
The tutor paid for today’s lunch because the student paid for yesterday’s lunch. No lunch tomorrow, though. Maybe afternoon coffee, although next week’s lesson threatens to be karaoke.
Maha Krishnapillai, Optus director of government and corporate affairs, says the comments by Sol Trujillo are hypocritical.
“Optus has borne the brunt of a quite xenophobic campaign by Sol and others within Telstra over the last four years… so it is quite a remarkable attempt to reverse the onus of where his ‘racist’ comments are coming from,” he said.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/05/26/2581326.htm?section=justin
When Trujillo launched the Next G network in October 2006 he displayed his ignorance of Australian history and contempt for Australians by pronouncing that Next G had made Australia a leader, rather than a follower in telecommunications.
In fact was a world leader in Telecommunications before successive Labor and Coalition government’s began to successively place the millstones of Corporatisation, contrived competition and privatisation around its neck.
In the 1970’s it had planned to have the whole country covered by fibre optic network before the end of the century. A former Telstra Countrywide executive told me that he believes that this certainly would have happened before now if not by 2000 if it had not been for privatisation, etc.
Trujillo’s rule only served to cause us to lose even more ground.
Do you think Sol might have been offended by this? I truly hope so.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDa2wv69uEY
I had actually never heard of this party but a few papmhlets turned up in my mother’s letterbox over the weekend from the ‘Australia First Party’. “Free Trade Is Not Fair Trade!”, “Overseas Students Go Home!”, “No More Back Door To Immigration!” & “No More Driving Up Rents!” screamed some of the headlines.
As suspected when I looked them up on the net, turns out they’re a far-right organisation in a similar vein to One Nation/CEC. If anyone wants their details to voice their displeasure if you want the links, the email address or the “Message Line” phone number (looks like rural SA) let me know.
As I commented on another thread, Sol Trujillo was unpopular here because he was a gung-ho American capitalist, not because he was a Hispanic American.
JdM @ 43,
This Australia First is a new party but it seems to be based on an old one that flourished here during the late 30s and WW2. Then its members were interned because they were Fascists (in the true sense of the term) and were considered a danger to national security when we actually went to war with such types in Europe and the Pacific to preserve the democratic freedoms we then believed in.
Thanks, Paul. I thought you might know a bit about their origins.
The original Australia Firsters were a very weird mob, JdeM. One of their founders was the writer Inky Stephenson (I think) and the other the businessman J. B. Miles. He had some weird connection with Aleister Crowley, via, I think, Oxford University, of all places. He was also the father of the well-known Sydney eccentric, Bea Miles.
There’s a very good book about them which you should be able to find in any decent uni library, titled Australia First. It was written quite some time ago – in the 50s or 60s I think.