Wednesday, August 24, 2005

Yep, I'm a slackass (but Matt is no better)

Yes I know. I haven't posted in a while. I've been busy, OK? So prepare yourselves for a long post, and I update you on what's been happening around here lately.


Trina's Mum

Not last week but the week before, my best friend Katrina's mum had a heart attack. Trina rushed up here from Sydney to be with her, and so I consequently spent a lot of time at Trina's place (when she wasn't at the hospital). Her mum had to have a bypass operation, but is home now and seems to be recovering well. So anyway, that was my excuse for not posting then.

Birthdays Galore!

There have been so many birthdays lately! This weekend we went out on Friday night for Jules' birthday. On Saturday we went to a BBQ for Kim's birthday, and then went bowling in the city. I am proud to say that I got a strike (yes, just one. That is a big deal for me). On Sunday we went for a late lunch/early dinner with Geoff for his birthday. Next weekend is a BBQ for Dan's birthday. Plus, Matt and I have both had friends at work having birthdays. A big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to all those who are celebrating birthdays!


A nasty four letter word...

I am sorry if I offend anyone out there, but I am going to say that nasty four letter word.... DIET. Yep, Matt and I are trying to 'be good' and eat more healthily and exercise more. I don't think it's really a diet though. It is supposed to be a 'lifestyle change'. So yeah. No more Red Rock Deli sweet chilli and sour cream chippies :( But even though we have only been doing this three days now I feel great. I have even been able to talk Matt into eating more fish, and he is actually enjoying it (or at least the rainbow trout we had the other night). Miracles do happen! That said, my legs are in agony from going to the gym. But still, hopefully it will be worth it. After all, summer is on the way and I would like to go to the beach without someone calling Greenpeace to remove a beached whale.


Ah, that post wasn't so long after all! I have got a book review and a couple of our Tuesday night movies to talk about though, so maybe tomorrow, we will see...
And I am getting to the recipe of the week, I really am! I am just running out of good ideas, so will have to wait till one comes to me. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Wednesday, August 10, 2005

Book Review (Finally!)

Diamond: A History of a Cold-Blooded Love Affair
by Matthew Hart

I have been reading this book for ages now. I picked it up while I was down in Sydney, and my main reason for choosing it was the recommendation on the back by one of my favourite authors, Simon Winchester. (And before you start scoffing at how long it has taken me, I didn't start this till I got back from Sydney, AND Harry Potter 6 DID happen right in the middle of it which was a bit of a diversion).

This book is what the title says - a history of man's obsession with diamonds. It explains everything you might wish to know about diamonds (and a few things I didn't really need to know!), from the history of famous diamonds, how they are cut, smuggled and stolen, and the goings on of the infamous diamond cartel, De Beers.

I found parts of the book quite slow and hard to get through, but the topic itself was very interesting. It made me realise I never really put much thought about where diamonds come from, particularly the fact that many come from countries where civil wars are raged around diamond mines. The book talked about the different mines around the world and I couldn't help but gaze at my engagement ring and wonder where that diamond had come from (not that I really care, I just care that it is my engagement ring).

If you like this sort of history book or are interested in the topic it is a good read, but like I said, was quite slow in parts. It didn't keep my attention the way Simon Winchester's novels did, and perhaps that was part of my problem - expecting it to be for diamonds what 'Surgeon of Crowthorne' was for the dictionary.

My next book is a little Matthew Reilly one (the free one from Books Alive) so that review should be up soon (if Matt doesn't beat me to it - he has already finished it).

Sunday, August 07, 2005

BIFF, Roma St Parklands, Blog Review

BIFF!
Last night we went out to the movies to see a film from the Brisbane International Film Festival. It was a film from Taiwan called Holiday Dreaming. I really enjoyed it, even if I did have to read subtitles the whole time. The story is about Ah-zhou, who is about to be honorably discharged from his miltary service when he dreams his childhood sweetheart is dead. He decides to look for her, but then he and another soldier are sent capture a rookie who has gone AWOL. The story was funny, sweet and tragic, and my only gripe with it was it ended so suddenly and I still wanted to find out more about the characters. I was really glad we got to see it.

Picnic at Roma St Parklands

We had such a nice day today! The plan was to go the the Parklands at Roma St (where Matt had never been before), have a picnic and read. We picked up some food and were on our way by about 10ish. We walked around the beautiful gardens (they were nicer than I remembered - but then, it was quite a while since I have been), then we found a nice spot under a tree and had our picnic. We didn't end up getting much reading done though - we ate and drank and talked and basically rested. It was lovely! It would have been completely perfect if not for a camera which seemed to only work when Matt took photos (at least at first anyway) and about 50 boy scouts who seemed to have taken over the place!

Blog Review
How awesome is this? We got our blog reviewed at www.blogadvance.com! And they were pretty nice to us, too :) (Although I am not so sure about being referred to as Lady of the Manor!?) Check it out! (Reviewed 6th August)

Tuesday, August 02, 2005

$1 Movie Night - Jersey Girl

Tonight's $1 movie was Jersey Girl. It was my turn to choose this week, and I picked this because I love Kevin Smith movies. I had heard mixed reviews of this movie so wasn't sure what to expect, but I really enjoyed it. I think one of the main reasons it didn't do so well in the box office was the fact that it had Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez in it. Well, thankfully J-Lo isn't in it too much.

The story wasn't exactly what I thought it would be - from what I had heard about it, it was a pretty typical romantic comedy, but I got a lot more out of it than that. The relationships where more real and interesting than in your regular romantic comedy (and I do enjoy those from time to time, too). The great part was it wasn't just seeing the relationship between the two leads develop - I really enjoyed the interactions between Ben's character and his daughter and his father (played by George Carlin, who you may have seen in a few other Kevin Smith films).

Some other things I loved:
- Cameo by Will Smith (as himself)
- Matt Damon and Jason Lee turning up very briefly
- The little girl, played by Raquel Castro - she was cute, funny and very endearing, not just in the movie but also in the interview on one of the special features (Kevin Smith asks her if she has seen any of his other movies - she tells him she saw some of Dogma - she was walking past on her way to the toilet :) )
- The special features - highlights including "Kevin Smith's Roadside Attractions" which was hilarious, and an interview with Kevin Smith and Ben Affleck talking about the movies they have made together. The best was Ben Affleck blabbering on for ages and you can just watch Kevin Smith rolling his eyes. They spend the whole time putting shit on each other and you can tell they have been friends for ages
- Did I mention that J-Lo wasn't in it much?

To cut a long story short, I really enjoyed this film, and it will (eventually, when we get some money), join our collection of Kevin Smith movies.

Have you seen it? If so what did you think?

Any suggestions for next week's $1 Movie? (It is Matt's choice next week, so help him pick something I won't hate!)

(Not that he would would pick something I would hate of course - plus I already told him I'm not watching Saw. So there.)