a fine bromance

Last time I saw a film at the Dendy Brighton, I was pretty unimpressed by the theatre itself... it was noisy, the foyer was a bit grotty and needed a clean and tidy, the cinema not comfortable; not in the same class as the other Palace cinemas that I like to go to. So it was with some hesitation that I decided to go back again today, and only because the film I wanted to see, I Love You, Man, was in pre-release preview there, and nowhere else handy.

I was pleasantly surprised to find the place in much better nick today... clean and tidy, well-staffed, and the film was shown in a very large and comfy cinema... in fact, it was a huge cinema, with only around 8 people in attendance! (Just how I like it!)

The film itself lived up to my expectations... not side-splitting, but just good fun, with some fine comedy moments and some crude humour that makes you laugh even though you know it's not in good taste! I've become a big fan of Paul Rudd over the past few years, and have enjoyed most of his comedies... this one was no exception.

My only disappointment was the lack of screen time for some of the supporting cast. Jane Curtin (3rd Rock from the Sun) plays Rudd's character's mum -I love her, but they could have given her much more of a role. Ditto his screen dad, played by JK Simmons, whose relationship with his other son could have been the basis for a whole other comedy film!

Jason Segal was great in his role, though, and even Lou Ferrigno (the original Hulk!) was funny. This is one I'll catch again on dvd some time.

***1/2 on the David-Margaret scale from me!

credit where due...

Despite the shambles of my last attempt to use public transport to go see a movie, I decided to try again today. This time, I allowed *plenty* of time for delays; to ensure getting to the 1:30 session at the Dendy Brighton on time, I left home at midday... so even if the bus ran late and I missed the connecting train, and the next train was late, I should still get to the movie on time! Of course, having planned for disaster so well, the opposite happened!

The bus (which I had expected to wait between 5 and 20 minutes for) arrived at the stop just as I did... no waiting whatsoever. We had a fast trip down to Glenhuntly Road, allowing time for a pleasant stroll to Elsternwick station, stopping at a cafe window to pick up a latte on the way. I had planned to catch the 12:47 train, but we were so early, that we arrived comfortably in time for the 12:27... which was running right on time!!

As a result, we arrived at Middle Brighton station just after 12:30... only half an hour after leaving home, and with almost an hour to kill until the film started.

When it works properly, Melbourne's public transport can be a pleasure to use. There. I said it.

It's just a shame that it's so often so unreliable that you need to allow an extra hour to make sure of arriving on time, for even such a short trip.

ohhhh, JB... you've done it for the last time!

I used to go straight to my nearest JB hi-fi store whenever I wanted a new cd, dvd or more recently, blu ray release.

They always had a good range of product, usually as cheap or cheaper than all of their competitors. But in the past six months, I've been stung time and again by their no-longer-cheapest-on-the-block prices... rushing out to buy a new blu ray at JB, and then finding it a day or so later up to 25% cheaper... sometimes, at a different JB store!

This week, finally, I had learned my lesson.

I ran down to JB in Bourke St yesterday to check out the new release of the Spirit on blu ray, only to find it top-priced at $39.95. I was at Chaddy that evening, so I checked the JB store there (where the previous week, I had bought Vicky Cristina Barcelona for 10% ($4) less than the JB Bourke St store was charging!). No luck there; still $39.95.

Reluctantly, I decided that I would have to live without it... I had enjoyed the movie at the cinema and wanted to see it again, but it was no classic, and not worth that much!

Today, I was passing by the Target store in the city, and decided to look for the Spirit there. Target's pricing policy is a constant mystery to me... they mark a price on the item, then put it on sale, but don't always indicate on the shelf that there's a discount available. Anyway, today, they were doing a 15% off everything sale, so when I found the Spirit marked at $39.95, I knew I'd found a good buy (cf JB, at least!).

So I go to the checkout, expecting to pay around $34 for the disc, but to my delight, it had already been marked down *prior* to the 15%... so the total cost was $29.74! That's over $10 cheaper than the JB store next door!

So that's absolutely the last time that I will ever trust JB's prices again. Whatever they used to be, they ain't now.

Oh, JB... you've done it this time!

the truce is over

Great to see the Chaser back on tv (and still with the ABC) last night. I particularly loved the fundraiser in Somalia for the private school's new boatshed (the old one was almost 10 years old, after all!), the attempts by the "Governer-General" to breach the walls of the Melbourne Club, the Rugby team sex scandal skits and the re-creations of famous lawsuits in the US... funny stuff!

Oh.. and I was also relieved to hear that the Jesus skit got the appropriate reaction from the religious zealots. Why on earth were they even watching if they're so closed-minded and sensitive? I think most of them actually want to be offended!

things I hate that other people do

A colleague was complaining today over morning coffee today about how pissed off she was at the lack of manners shown by people these days. I found myself agreeing with everything she said.

She and I are of the same vintage, so it crossed my mind that maybe it's a generational thing... although I haven't especially noticed lack of manners being confined to one generation of people. Maybe those of us of the late baby boom / early Gen X era can recall a time when people were calmer and more polite in public than they are nowadays.

Where did we go so wrong? A simple trip to the get the groceries can become a source of unpleasantness these days, as people push, shove and blithely go about their business, ignorant of the presence of their fellow citizens. Sometimes, I feel as if I've become completely invisible as people push past, and even through me, on the footpath!

Having just returned from a trip to Chaddy to get my provisions for the week, I feel the need to make note of just a couple of the ignorant behaviours that I encountered in that short time! So without further ado, the first of maybe an ongoing series: Things I hate that other people do!

1. Stand in the middle of an escalator so that no-one can easily get past. Closely related to: stand side-by-side on an escalator with your sister, boyfriend, mother, shopping colleague, whatever, so that no-one else can get by. What the f%ck is wrong with you people?? Not everyone in the world has all day to admire the scenery like you do! Stand aside; let people get past if they're in a hurry. The rule-of-thumb is: Stand to the left; walk to the right. It's not rocket science. If you're not in a hurry, get out of the way!
   
   
2. Speed up the parking lane of a major road and cut in front of other traffic. So dangerous, so rude. Everyone is trying to get somewhere and everyone is stuck in the same traffic. What gives you idiot hoons the right to risk everyone's life so that you can move 7 or 8 car lengths ahead in the queue?? Learn some patience and wait your damn turn!
   
   
3. Use blogs as a complaints column. Well, I hate that when other people do it, not when I do it. But I promise not to do it too often.
   

winter looms

I have a sort of love-hate relationship with Winter in Melbourne.

I hate getting out of bed on the cold mornings, but I love the first breath of cold air when I step out the front door to head for the bus. I hate getting up in the pitch dark to get ready for work, but I love the look of the city on a foggy morning before sunrise. I hate getting home in the dark when it's only 5:30pm, but I love drawing the blinds and turning on the heater and feeling cosy and warm. I hate going into a cold bathroom in the evening, but I love snuggling up in warm flannelette sheets under an extra blanket for the night.

It's only May 27, so it's still officially 4 days until Winter even starts. I love the change of seasons as Autumn draws to a close and Winter looms on the horizon... but I hate that Winter lasts so bloody long! If only it could be Spring again in July.

burn while reading

I don't read many books these days. Well, to be accurate, I don't read many books without illustrations these days... so I surprised even myself when I hunted down and bought a copy of Say When, the latest compilation of Catherine Deveny's opinion articles published in the Age.

I've become an avid fan of Catherine's writings in the newspaper... brash, opinionated (and all the other cliches like that), always sharp and witty, and best of all, reflecting my own opinion on a wide range of issues... well, around 96% of the time, which is close enough for comfort!

Her book has provided great entertainment (usually on the tram or bus trip home of an evening), even when I'm not familiar with her subject matter (like the various reality shows on commercial tv that I never watch, but she loves to hate), and especially when she gets into social issues, where she has some especially passionate views.... and often manages to inspire me to some profound thoughts of my own!

So while I'm reluctantly drawing towards the end of Say When, I'm also looking forward to finishing the book... so I can swap it with a colleague who has her previous volume. One day, I might even be inspired enough to visit the People's Republic of Moreland and experience the world of one of my favourite columnists first-hand.

Might make a good blog subject, at that!

they shot the dog?

Robert DeNiro... Sean Penn... Catherine Keener... Stanley Tucci. You'd think with a cast like that, you couldn't go wrong! So I took myself off to see "What Just Happened?" for a bit of light entertainment on a Saturday evening at the Classic... but what a shock.

This had to be the worst excuse for a comedy that I've ever paid money to see! Not only did the entire movie not raise a laugh from the (inexplicably, given the reviews) large audience, but several people walked out of the cinema in the first 45 minutes! I've never seen that happen before... but as it turned out, they didn't miss anything. Forget about shooting the dog... they should have shot the writer!

the truth about iPods and trams

I've always loved my music. I bought a cheap ($180!) MP3 player from the Camberwell computer market long before I could afford my first iPod. I soon learnt, though, that even though I loved my music, I didn't love not being able to hear what was going on around me when I was out and about. So I always carried my iPod, but I stopped listening so much.

I was thinking about that when I jumped on the tram to come home from work, one night last week. I got a seat, and the first thing that I did was to get out the iPod, put on the earphones, and switch on the music. That's what I always do. Not so much on the bus. Because the bus is usually not crowded. But the tram is always busy, whether it's the 6:27 to work in the morning, a peak hour service getting home, or an evening trip after a night out.

And I realised then why I like to have my iPod on the tram.

Yeah, I love my music... but I also love that the music drowns out the noise of the young women who love to talk loudly and at length about anything and everything on their mobiles while travelling on the tram. The music gives you something to focus on when you're squeezed into a packed tram with your views blocked by other people wherever you look. The music hides the sound of the drunks/ druggies/ general trailer trash who think it's ok to curse and swear at the top of their voices at and to their family, their friends, their kids, strangers or whoever else offends them while they're on the tram. The music cushions me from many of the unpleasantries of sharing over-crowded public transport.

And that's why my iPod is so important to me now... I don't think I could catch a tram without it!

by George

I usually avoid Fitzroy St like the plague, due to its reputation for sleaze and grossness, but I decided to take a chance and see Trek at the George cinema, smack in the middle of Fitzroy St, and really not all that far to travel to. I was very pleasantly surprised (by the cinema, as well as the movie!). Very civilised, despite its location; clean, quiet, equipped with a decent bar and coffee lounge, and definitely a place I'll go back to again... maybe even this weekend!

worth the trek

As a long-time fan of the modern Star Trek era (ie. everything that took place from the first episode of Next Gen to the last episode of Voyager), I was looking forward to the latest Star Trek movie with a little trepidation.

I really wasn't interested in seeing Kirk & co; give me Jean-Luc Picard and his Enterprise crew, Ben Sisko and the DS9 cast on the deck of the Defiant, or 'Whatever happened to the Voyager when it got back from the Delta Quadrant?'... anything but the corny old-fashioned space-Western that launched the franchise.

Wow, was I in for a surprise when I caught Star Trek 11 on Saturday! Great cast, great story, great action, and a wonderful concept - using the well-worn and well-loved time travel device to really change history, so that everything useful could be kept in this old/new Trek mythos, and anything not useful could be easily ignored. I even loved seeing how the original Spock was incorporated in a meaningful role into the story! For the first time, I can really say that I'm a fan of the 'original' Trek... and roll on #12!

a gamble pays off

One of the first things that I twigged to after I brought home my new blu ray player last Christmas was that Australia is now in the same region as Europe, in the blu-ray world.

This means that we're no longer so much at the mercy of local distributors as to when we're able to acquire new release movies, or how much we can be gouged for them. For example, it's now possible to buy latest release blu-ray movies from the UK and France that aren't even released here (such as Faubourg 36, Ghost Town and Zack and Miri Make a Porno), and to pay less, even including postage, than the average $40 a disk that we'd have to pay here.

Recently, I picked up a buzz on the internet that many Zone A (USA) releases were actually region-neutral, although I couldn't definitely confirm it from a trusted source.

After some research, I decided to take a chance, and I ordered season 3 of Weeds from Amazon. I watched the first 2 seasons of that show on dvd here over a year ago, and really enjoyed it, but so far, no release here of season 3 has been even scheduled, while season 4 has already been solicited in the US.

Today, my package from Amazon arrived (somewhat beaten up in the post, I might add, although the disk itself was safe). Nervously, I placed the first disk in my player and waited. It seemed to take ages for it to recognise the disk, but then... success! It worked!!!

Which means I now have a whole new range of options available to access blu ray product from outside Australia.

I watched the first three episodes of Weeds 3 tonight... at long last, picking up on the cliff-hanger ending from season 2... it was great! And I'll definitely be ordering season 4 when it's released soon.

poetic justice

One of my long-time favourite lunchtime haunts, Mary Martin's bookshop and cafe at the Paramount on Bourke St, was forced to close up last Christmas, after the landlord at Paramount demanded a huge rent increase.

I walked past the old store today and noted, with some satisfaction, that it is still empty, with no sign of a new tenancy. What a pity... prime Bourke St shop frontage going to waste AND not bringing in any income for the poor landlord. Too bad :-D

i know what i like

I've always loved the painting Collins St, 5pm, by John Brack. I've admired it many times at the NGV, marvelled when its partner, The Bar, was displayed alongside it, and then delighted when the The Bar at last came into the (rightful) possession of the NGV as well. The NGV currently has a Brack exhibition at its Australian gallery, so that had to be worth an afternoon visit!

I was looking forward to seeing whole galleries of Brack's moody Collins St-esque painting. To my surprise, Collins St and The Bar seem to have been, literally, in a class of their own!

The majority of the works on display seemed to have little relationship to my two favourites. The experience was rather like when you hear a new song that you really love, so you decide to go out and buy the artist's latest cd, then find that nothing else on the album is like the tune that inspired you to buy it.

There were some striking individual pieces, particularly a portrait of Barry Humphries as Dame Edna Everage, which I've seen often over the years, but had never imagined to have been created by the artist of Collins St, and in his later years, Brack produced a series of eye-catching paintings based on postcard collections... you have to see it to get it, but I liked many of them.

However, they were probably in the minority. It was worth the effort to go see, even though I was disappointed that most of the art on display wasn't to my taste... that's the chance you take with any art exhibition, of course, and it didn't lessen my appreciation of the artist or his efforts.

And it was a nice way to spend a dull Autumn afternoon.

one of those days

Saturday was one of those days. I was supposed to be having a late lunch with a friend, but when that was cancelled at the last minute, I was left with the afternoon unexpectedly free. I wanted to do something with the day.

I checked Your Movies to see what movie I could catch, but there was nothing that particularly caught my eye. (Ok, I really wanted to see the new Star Trek film, but I'd already promised to take my kids next weekend). It was too late to catch the midday sessions of the two other films that I might have gone to, so as the afternoon started to tick away and nothing special came to mind, I finally decided to just go out, catch whatever bus or tram was coming, head into the city, and see what I could find!

As it turned out, the tram came first, so I headed down Dandenong Rd and St Kilda Rd. As we travelled, my mind churned thru some of the options for an afternoon's entertainment... movies were out; I was already too late to catch the footy at the 'G (and even if I did go, it was only Richmond and Brisbane playing); the shops were all open, but I didn't need anything, and I knew that if I ended up at South Melbourne market or Melbourne Central or DFO, I'd only be tempted to impulse buy.

As the tram stopped outside the NGV, I considered a stroll thru the galleries, and then I remembered what I'd been trying to find time to do for the past few weeks! Next stop: Federation Square.

revisited revisited

They say 'you can't go home again'. That's how it feels to watch the recent movie release of Brideshead Revisited, when you remember watching the terrific tv mini-series from the 1980's.

There were lots of little things that I liked about the movie... the beautiful cinematography, Emma Thompson, the art deco ocean liner, Emma Thompson, the Brideshead mansion (reprising its role in the earlier miniseries), Greta Scacchi, Emma Thompson, the most amazing sound quality that I've heard on a blu ray disc yet, ... oh, and did I mention Emma Thompson? (ok, it wasn't her finest performance, but even on a bad day, she's fabulous!)

But it just wasn't the same. They had to cram a - what? 8-hour or so mini-series into a 2-and-a-bit hour movie... too much of the fine detail of the story, and most importantly, of the characters, was lost. It ends up being a beautiful cinematic experience to watch, but without the payoff of a great story to go with it. Shame. I wanted it to be much better. This one gets 3 stars on the David-Margaret scale.

Oh, and Anthony Edwards *owns* Sebastian Flyte, so they shouldn't even think about trying this again! :-)

mystery of the missing megabytes

Twelve months ago, I was on a standard 2Gig-a-month download package from my ISP, and it was ample for my needs. I don't do online games; I don't download movies; I buy a few tracks from iTunes every month or so; I don't need much. Or at least, I didn't.

Around a year ago, I suddenly started to find myself struggling to keep within my download limit. For several months on end, I had to cut back online activities for the last few days of each month, to ensure I didn't blow it, and get dropped back to dialup speed. Then one month, I absent-mindedly and unusually bought an entire album from iTunes at once, and used up my monthly download allowance in less then 3 weeks!

Aghast at the thought of ten days on dialup, I contacted my ISP with a view to purchasing an extra 1Gb of download for the month. I also considered just upgrading to a 3Gb-a-month package; after all, I seemed to be using around 2.2Gb each month now (somehow).

Of course, I couldn't do that. They don't sell you downloads in quantities that you need; they make you buy more than you need, and then don't allow you to carry over the unused portion each month. That's fair (in fascist-world!)

So, cornered, I upgraded to a 5Gb-a-month package. It was double what I needed or would use, based on recent trends, but I had no option (aside from dialup speed. brrr!)

The upgrade didn't especially change my online habits. About the only thing I took up that would increase my usage was the wonderful Picasa; otherwise, it was business-as-usual. I struggled to use 3Gb for the first few months... and then, strangely, inexorably, my usage started to creep up again.

Month-by-month, I approached the 5Gb limit, unable to control my headlong dash back to dialup speed, and now, less than a year after upgrading, today, May 5, I will reach my monthly limit a full 28 hours before the month ends!

What the...? How is this happening? In the space of a year, I'm consuming 250% more bandwidth than I used to need. Where does it all go?

I have a theory or two... but I'll have to wait for another time, when I'm not sailing so close to my limit!

yearly bread

One of the many things that I haven't been able to enjoy in the more than three years since I was diagnosed as gluten-intolerant, is the pleasure of eating a slice of fresh, hot toast for breakfast.

Sure, you can buy gluten-free 'bread' fairly commonly these days, but the only thing that stuff has in common with true bread is a vaguely similar silhouette. The first time I tried it, I was appalled... not only did it taste nothing like any bread that I had ever tasted in my life, but the texture was so different that it felt almost alien. No soft, spongy feeling, but a hard, crumbly concoction, that even toasting couldn't make palatable.

This morning, I attended a breakfast meeting at a local cafe near work, and noticed that they had a gluten-free option on their brekky menu. Watching my colleagues tuck into their toast and crumpets, and with memories of past gluten-free toast atrocities beginning to recede from my memory, I decided to take a chance and order the gluten-free toast, with some honey.

When it arrived, it looked more like real toast than previous items that I'd tried; enough so that I almost expected that I would enjoy it when I ate it. Imagine my surprise... and delight!... when I took that first bite and realised that... it actually did taste good! Not just good, but great!

Yes, nice, almost authentic-tasting, gluten-free toast! I never thought I'd be able to say that, ever. It was so wonderful; I can't wait to go back for more... and it won't take three more years this time.

... I wonder if it would be too much to hope that they might do a fruit loaf variety?

now I get it!

Saw Paris 36 at the Brighton Bay cinema today. I enjoyed seeing the movie just as much the second time around, but understanding it properly made it even better!

Paris 36 is the English release-title of the French movie Faubourg 36, which I bought on dvd a few weeks ago, not suspecting that it would have only French sub-titles! I had understood more than I thought from my original viewing, but had missed a few key parts, including, especially, many of the jokes! This time around, I got the full story, and loved it.

failing all hours

It's a little unfair that Melbourne's train system cops so much flak just because it fails to cope with peak hour services on weekdays.

Yes, the system is crap during the week, and yes, it's due to poor management by Connex, combined with the corruption of a Government that's completely in the pocket of the road lobby, but really, it's not just crap during peak hour... it's crap all week around!

Yes, 7 days a week, 20 hours a day, Melbourne's train network fails to meet the needs of the public, and makes no apology for it!

Out-of-peak services still operate like it's 1969, not 2009.

Today, for example, I decided to use the train to get to the cinema to see a movie. The film started at 11am; the train runs only once every 20 minutes on Saturday mornings. It was scheduled to depart Elsternwick station at 10:47, and arrive at North Brighton at 10:51, allowing just enough time to get to the cinema. The thought crossed my mind that I'd miss the start of the session if the train ran late, but, I reasoned, there's only one service every 20 minutes, and it's still morning... surely, the train couldn't be running that late in those circumstances. Naturally, Connex proved me wrong.

The 10:47 arrived at Elsternwick at 10:57, fully 10 minutes late, with no warning or explanation. By the time I disembarked from the train, the session had already commenced. Luckily, I only missed trailers, so no great harm done, but it does make you despair that you can ever rely on Connex to get you anywhere on time at any time of the day or night.

We all know that Connex and the State Government can't run services during peak periods, but it's hard to believe that those same lame excuses that they roll out also apply to off-peak times. Why don't we have 10-minutes services scheduled on weekends and evenings? This is not the 1960's; people don't stay home and watch tv after hours any more... we want to get out and do things, and we need a reliable, frequent transport service at all hours to do so.

I could go on and on about Melbourne's public transport failures... and I think I will... watch this space.