R.T. no 483

Things that no-one else is all that interested in but I still feel the need to share.

• So the AFL Grand final came and went and left me wanting to throw a shoe at the tele. WHAT THE !?!?
  
  
  
  Nick and his boys looked so ready to take on Collingwood. Collingwood looked like this might actually be the year they didn't choke....
  
  
  
  It was a FANTASTICLY close game with so much skill and athleticism. David got home from work just in time for the first quarter. Much screaming and clapping occurred as the Alpha Male and the Wannabe Alpha Male went for opposing teams.
  
  
  
  
  How Brendan Goddard didn't end up with the Norm Smith Medal is still a bit of a mystery to me.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  But in the end it was all for nought
  
  
  "A DRAW!!!!! Mate I'll flip ya for it, save us all coming back next week"
  
  
  
  
  I feel ya little Buddy ... A draw is no way to end a game like that.
  
  
  
  
  Poor buggers, I think this pic says it all. The hype and build up to an AFL Grand final is huge and consumes Victoria for the week before it. Here's hoping for an actual winner this Saturday.
  
  
  
  


• Dear Julia, the job of the Opposition is to make your job as difficult as possible. Tony was never going to give you a free ride in parliament with the numbers. If he told you any different in the 17 days of handholding and secret squirrel meetings post that thing we had called an ELECTION ... he fibbed. I know its hard to imagine anyone in your profession not sticking to the truth but there it is. The Opposition is the Opposition is the Opposition. Your job now is to govern ... you know 'cos you are the Government.
  


• Dear Tony, don't be belligerent its not a good look. Brinkmanship will only get you so far and then you will have 12 million pissed off taxpayers forking out again for another election... that may not end well for you.
  
  
  
  


• I am loving loving loving Offspring. Last Sunday's episode made me laugh like a drain. Nina takes 2 sleeping pills thinking they are hay fever tabs just before her big date with the yummy Dr Havel. I know its probably not funny to laugh at someone
  clearly out of it ... but I did. A lot.

Kudos to Ms Tori Spelling. Not only has she managed to turn some very mediocre acting skills into a reality TV living, she also has not 1 but 3 books published. I read one last week... Hmmm the girl needs a filter from her brain to her mouth (hello Pot I'm Kettle). Also is it just me who thinks that people who talk a lot about their sex life probably aren't getting any?

• To cleanse my eyes and brain after Tori's book I read this. I could bore you (more) stupid with all the reasons I loved it but I will just say read it 'cos you will love it too. This is the first fiction book I have read in a long time and it kept me interested from the first page to the last page. I cant remember the last fiction book to do that (In fact I could give you a long list of books I have stopped reading after 5 pages in because they bore me). Also how can you not like a book with a character called Skeeter Phelan?
  

• I cried whilst watching this movie. I ordered it from the Library after it got rave reviews but I wasn't expecting to be that interested in it. Mickey Rourke plays the part of his life (and it is like watching a doco at times as its all so painfully real) in this story of a broken down wrestler coming to terms with the broken parts (his body, finances, relationships) of his life. I did fast forward the wrestling scenes but the emotional trauma in his daily life was just as brutal. I kept thinking about this movie for days after I had seen it and I can see why it got the reviews it did.
  

• This autobiography of comedian & actor Anh Do should be on the reading list of every high school in Aus. Its a great story both funny and inspiring but more importantly it gives a very real face to "Boat People". Anh and his family love Australia for giving them a second chance, long may Australia keep giving out those chances.

A review of sorts

Not a proper review mind not like David and Margaret with stars, just more like my thoughts on things I've watched and read lately.



Weeds Season 4. Oh how I would love to be Nancy Botwin. Without the drug dealing the dead husband and the being in love with a Mexican Underworld Boss. I would love her wardrobe, her body, her handbags and her never ending supply of caffeine products. This is how sad I am ... I saved my ice tea cup (with the straw and lid) from Zaraffa's for the express purpose of filling it with Coke Zero and ice and drinking it around the house a la Nancy Botwin ... pathetic much?
If you love great writing and killer plot lines grab any season of Weeds (be warned its filthy so make sure you are a grown up before you watch it) and enjoy a life a lot more complicated than your own.





We went as a family and saw Toy Story 3 at the moves and we all loved it. Its a classic and its funny as all get out. I cried at the end because one. its sad and two. I was thinking about how it was one of the first movies we took Bear to as a toddler (must have been no 2) and now he is ... well bigger than a toddler. The character of Ken,Barbies friend is hilarious and the ending kept us laughing for days.





I went and saw the third twilight movie and I found it much more interesting than the other two that isn't the huge endorsement it sounds like). The acting was much less wooden, Bella was sort of less whingey, Edward sort of maned up against Jakey , Tayor L spent a great amount of time with no shirt on, and I think I was the only person who liked the engagement ring. I did find it funny that Bella said yes I would love to marry you and spend the rest of time frozen and blood thirsty to one bloke and then 5 minutes later is pashing a wolf .Bit trampy don't you think Miss Bella?


I have a few questions about this film. Did it make you sad? Did you understand the ending? Am I the only person who wanted to break the DVD in half when it finished?



Love may happen but not for me and not for this film. If someone can explain what was good about this movie besides Jen's hair and wardrobe ( and cute car) please do. Jen disappoints me (she will be crushed to hear that I know) because hiding under that haircut is a great actress. Ive seen her in films (The Good Girl, She's the One) where she is interesting and engaging. Why she commits to crap like this annoys me but I'm sure the millions she gets paid to light up the screen and generally look great for an hour and 20 minutes eases her artistic concerns.

This is why movies use actors.

Invictus : I loved it. I could watch Matt Damon do anything. He had me at Good Will Hunting. Invictus is a feel good flick that is based on the true story of the Springboks winning the World Rugby Cup. Its not all rara action packed over the top sentiment either... and did I mention its got Matt Damon in rugby shorts. Its a winner.

For obvious reasons David got this DVD ages ago. I have only just got around to viewing it because unlike Mr Damon, Ms Jolie lost me at Mr and Mrs Smith (hussey). But I have to say Wanted is fantastic. Its a bit edgey and black and it has James Macavoy looking like this.


Whats not to love. Be warned its a grown up movie (especialy the first 5 minutes) and then it settles into a great action flick. Side Note this movie should have won the "Best use of a tattoo" award it was very cool even if Ang looks like she needs a meal more than the street kids in Invictus.


Lest you think all I do is lie around on weekends and watch the idiot box, don't fret I also lie around and read.

Lionel Shriver likes to hit you over the head with her characters when she introduces them. All her books I find hard going for the first third. Then she mellows and the story kicks in and by the end of tale you are feeling something like empathy for the characters you couldn't stand at the start. "So much for that" is no different. Shriver has a view of the American Health care system and its failings... she also has views on marriage and children and the human condition in general. I loved this book and was glad I stuck with it.

I'm not sure how you would feel about this book if you had a child with Aspergers . Jodi Picoult is the poor mans Anita Shreve and I found this book way to formulaic to be interesting. Its also far fetched ( I know its called fiction but come on). The story is about a young guy with Aspergers who is charged with the murder of his social skills tutor. The story is told from the point of view of 4 people. This gets boring fast as you experience the same details four times. I was left wondering if what Picoult describes is true for people with Aspergers as it seem a tad patronising at times.

Inspector Lynley may be back but he is boring as shite! This is the first book I have purchased from a book shop in about 6 years (remembering you left your 4 holiday reading books at home 5 minutes before you board a plane will cloud your judgement like that) and I was so cheesed off after coughing up my $30 bucks. This story is so boring. Its way too long and the plot doesn't make that much sense. The premise of the tale was good: what happens to the children who commit murder (such as James Bulgers murderers) when they have served their sentences and return to live in mainstream society. But that really interesting hook is buried in pages of waffle. I want my $30 back.

A book review

A few years ago David and I took the kids to an island in the Whitsundays for our Christmas holidays. It was great... it rained a bit but what did we expect going to the tropics in Jan??? We sort of bonded with an English family who had kids the same age and did the same kid activities like mini golf, beach cricket and chuck tantrums (and because we were the only two family's on the island who neglected to bring their Nanny's with them ... oops I hate it when I leave my Nanny at home) .

Anyhoo this English family were great fun and we spent some really nice days together, the Dad worked in "futures" or some such thing on the London Stock Exchange and the Mum was a free lance writer, they were traveling along the East coast of Oz for 3 months whilst their house in Wimbledon was being renovated. When we got back to the coast it turned out that they were staying in an apartment up the road from us so we went and swam in their penthouse pool (which had possible the most stupid design I have ever seen... no sun protection at all ... you know how I am about sun protection). There is a reason I'm boring you to tears with this story... this family could be the family in Ben Elton's latest book.

Meltdown is about how the Global Financial Crisis has effected those who have made their fortunes on the overheated money markets of the UK and what happens when you have no giant income coming in to service your giant debts. Its also about a critique of class society in the UK (as are most of BE books). I really like Ben Elton books, in fact High Society is in my top 5 favourite books of all time. But Meltdown was a bit of a letdown! In fact it feels like Ben has just taken a bit of a gander at all his friends and the local news (the MP housing rorts is one of the main plots) and turned it onto a novel. The ending is so implausible ... I know its called fiction but come on. This book is okay for a very light read but I would rush to buy it.