Friday, June 25, 2004

Questionable Buddhist Joke

One day The Buddha is walking along the street when he comes across a hot dog seller on the sidewalk.

"What'll it be, buddy?" the man asks.

The Buddha thinks for a while, "Make me one with everything" he replies.

Ok, a bit lame I agree. I hope it brought a smile to your face though.

Uncanny Resemblance

I just had the most blinding revelation.

For months now I have been looking at one of my co-workers and trying to figure out who the heck she reminds me of. She's short, cute, pear shaped, has little legs that seem to go a million miles an hour when she's in a hurry and tiny little rounded shoulders with little short arms.

It just occured to me who she looks like. If she ever carries a red handbag, I will fucking LOSE IT.

Tuesday, June 22, 2004

Surprisingly, Not So Gross

One of my work colleagues just bought a round of weird looking iced teas with tapioca type 'pearls' in them for everyone. Mine was green apple flavoured green tea, and I have to say that although it was odd it was not anywhere near as bad as I anticipated.

The sensation of chewy 'pearls' whizzing up the extra wide straw did however give me pause, and I got a little over zealous and re-discovered my gag reflex.

Too much information?

Monday, June 21, 2004

Dooce

I read quite a lot of blogs and online journals, and I'm always in awe of people who have a very distinctive and unique 'voice' that comes through in their writing. (Not something I feel is happening here yet, but then I still have the trainer wheels on.)

So I discovered the mighty Dooce recently, and have been trawling my way through her archives ever since. Oh Lordy this woman can write! I completely blew my cover (ie supposedly doing some actual work) by snorting drink out through my nose when reading one of her posts. Too, too funny.

An Embarrassment of Riches

I had a great weekend. Nothing really dramatic happened, I didn't fall in love, drop 10 Kg or win the lottery, but I can still say I had a lovely time.

  • Friday night I went out with my old school chum Oleh and we had numerous beers, a cheap and cheerful dinner, stopped by a funky music venue... and then had yet more beers.
  • To the lovely lady who came up to me in the bottle shop while I was choosing a wine to have with dinner, and told me that I smelled nice, thanks unknown sweet lady!
  • On the way home I took a shortcut through a park near my house (yes, just a shortcut) and I saw a fox! A FOX!! In suburban Newtown!! (As you can tell I found this quite a surprising thing.)
  • Saturday I went to a BBQ despite the cold and blustery weather, at my friends Spyder & Gordon's house. About 8 of us were there by early afternoon and much food, conversation and laughs were had. I finally rolled my meat and alcohol laden self home at about 7pm. It was freezing cold and so I decided to weld myself to the couch and have a quiet night in.
  • Sunday morning I went to see a free preview of the movie "Hellboy" with my friend Stephen. I loved the movie and enjoyed the bonus of finally getting to have a better conversation with his friends Owen and Andrew. Stephen and I had some lunch in the city and then headed back to Newtown for a stroll along King Street and a look in the shops.
  • Of course that means we ended up at the pub. A couple of friends of mine drifted in and out, and I chatted to two of the guys that where nearby the night I Nearly Got Thrown Out Of The Newtown Hotel. Stephen and I ended up having a huge philosophical discussion about our friendship and some of the ways that we mis-read each other's signals sometimes (one of the reasons we are friends and ex-boyfriends, rather than still boyfriends). Even though things haven't been strained between us, it did still clear the air a little and so was a good conversation to have had.
  • One friend and one stranger complimented me on what I was wearing (vintage American 'letter man' jacket), which added to the fragrance compliment from Friday night, made it the Weekend Of Unending Ego-ness.

    So, a great time was had. Lots of friendship, laughs, some unsolicited compliments and a fair amount of alcohol. Good times!
  • Friday, June 18, 2004

    Food For Thought

    I can't even decide how strange the idea of edible books is. I mean, whatthefuh?

    [Link via my eccentric workmate Mimi.]

    Wednesday, June 16, 2004

    Sometimes It Isn't All About Greed

    It's nice to see credit being given were credit is due. Tim Berners-Lee has received an award for his contribution to creating the worldwide web. I agree with the judges that the most important decision he made was one not to commercialise or patent his contribution, leaving the field open for others to create further developments. Good on you Tim, we all have a lot to thank you for.

    Tuesday, June 15, 2004

    The Fame Whore Chronicles #1

    I always thought Steve Irwin (who thankfully is hardly ever seen or heard in this his native country) was a massive tool, but apparently this isn't the case - I just dislike his antics because I'm envious of his status as the greatest 'wildlife warrior' that's walking on the earth.

    Sure, that must be it. Dick wad.

    Go Sydney!

    Not every contest is one we should be happy about winning, I guess.

    No wonder I never have any cash...

    Weekend, Thy Name Art... "Meh"

    There are few things more frustrating than a three day weekend that turns into three days of missed connections, unreturned phone messages and friends out of town. Much of the weekend I was primed to party, but just couldn't get it off the ground. I found myself becoming very introspective, and fluctuating between feelings of loneliness and frustration at times.

    Having said that, it wasn't a total loss. I saw the film "Supersize Me", recoiled in horror and amazement, and then resolved to eat something containing cracked wheat and bran immediately afterwards. I also had a lovely lunch of Japanese food yesterday, sitting with a great friend out in the sun of the little blast of Indian Summer that we had yesterday here in Sydney. This friend and I have known each other for more than 25 years now, since we started High School together, and have a wonderful and comfortable relationship based on a mutual delight in each other's company. I treasure all my friendships, but this one is very special.

    I also spent more time than usual trawling through the books shops of Newtown, such as Cornstalk Books and my dearly loved Better Read Than Dead. I was in the mood for some new fiction, but instead was drawn to "Awakening The Buddha Within" by Lama Surya Das. I've been feeling disconnected from my Buddhist practice, in fact I haven't been meditating at all for ages. My introspective mood this weekend seemed to keep leading me back to thoughts about my meditation practice, compassion and the teachings of the Dharma.

    Maybe not filling my weekend with activity was a good thing after all.

    Friday, June 11, 2004

    Send Me An Angel, Right Now

    I missed the finale of the mini series Angels In America last night, on account of Mr Potter and his friends, but I did tape it and will hopefully watch it tonight. I had already heard good things about both the play and the mini series, and was aware that both had won quite a lot of awards. However, what I wasn't prepared for was just how emotionally affecting I would find it, and how much it would bring up sad and beautiful memories of the people I knew and who are no longer here through AIDS. I can imagine how powerful this must have been to see as a play.

    Oh, and can I just say. If I knew that the Mormon Church was so full of absolute hotties I would so consider conversion. Colour me shallow, but it is what it is folks.

    Wild About Harry

    I thoroughly enjoyed "The Prisoner of Azkaban" last night. I'm not a huge fan of the books, although I have read them all and found them quite enjoyable. It has also been a number of years since I read the third book, so my memory of much of the story was a bit sketchy.

    The film was quite different in tone from the first two, and I really liked the elements of humour that the director and script writers had worked into the story. I also loved the slight skewing towards a more 'noir' look (like the old fashioned 'fade to black' scene transitions) and the addition of some slightly more surreal design elements, such as the huge swinging pendulum of the Hogwarts school clock.

    I think the use of outdoor shots and outdoor sets for quite a few scenes also helped to ground some of the more fantastic elements. The quality of the special effects was excellent, in particular the CGI 'Buckbeak' hippogriff which was beautifully designed and animated. I was a little less impressed with Prof Lupin's 'werewolf' phase, but this was one minor quibble.

    Oh, and possibly the best closing credits animated sequence. Ever.

    All in all it made for a very enjoyable evening, despite the headcold. There was about 12 of us, and we started with dinner at the wonderfully named Golden Fang chinese restaurant. After the movie it was pouring with rain, and apparently we had missed quite an impressive electrical storm while we were in the cinema.

    Shame really, a few lighting bolts and thunderclaps might have been appropriate.

    Thursday, June 10, 2004

    This Time I'm Crying

    I had to have myself a manful little cry at my desk earlier today when I read Andrea's terrible, sad and beautiful entry about the miscarriage of the child she and her husband Matt were expecting. As always, Andrea's heart, courage and intelligence are at the forefront of her writing.

    Her journal is aptly named Superhero Journal, where she encourages us all to celebrate our own internal 'superhero'. Today she showed us all just what a superhero she is with her strength, courage and tenderness.

    Not Crying, Sniffling.

    Yesterday was a haze of sleeping, sneezing, nose blowing and praying for an early death. Thankfully my prayers weren't answered and today I feel a little bit better. I'm a convert to the new zinc/echinacea/vitamin C tablets that are promoted as reducing the duration of a cold. So far they seem to be living up to their press.

    Tonight I'm off to see "The Prisoner of Azkaban". So if any of you are going to be patrons of the Broadway Cinema Complex tonight, and you see a guy with a red nose and an economy size box of aloe vera tissues - be sure to say 'Hi' won't you.

    Tuesday, June 08, 2004

    *sniffle*

    I have a head cold.

    At the moment I'm processing information at the rate of:
    Must.
    Have.
    Glass.
    Of.
    Water...
    No.
    Coffee...
    No.
    Water...

    So don't listen to me, go and read a couple of my new discoveries like the wonderful Zeroboss and the real deal, Genuine.

    Monday, June 07, 2004

    A Brighter, Shinier Future.

    As a teenager I discovered the works of designer Syd Mead through his book 'Sentinel'. I was very taken with his clean graphic style, and his often utopian future imagery.

    While many folk won't know him, Syd's concept designs for films such as Tron and Bladerunner have had an impact on how many people visualise the future. Check out Matt's lovingly conceived tribute page to Syd.

    We'll Look Back At The End Of The Day And Say "We All Had A Lovely Time".

    Or more accurately, we'll look back at the end of the weekend and say that we all had a lovely time.

    Some weekend highlights:
  • Looking at lush apartments with Mikey. Got a spare $1.8 million anyone?
  • Lunch at the Park Hyatt on the water. The Duck and Beetroot Tart was a revelation.
  • Drunken birthday celebrations, successfully not getting thrown out of the pub (you are now on my Shit List you anonymous angry queen with 'personal space' issues) and an end of evening romp in the sheets with the birthday boy.
  • A clean bedroom. Being able to see the floor again has some good points.
  • Delicious Sunday evening dinner at Robyn's house. Watching in horror and fascination as one of my friends (who shall remain nameless) set to getting drunk, and did. Next time pick something nicer than a Verdelho and I might join in.

    Just a few low points to mention.
  • The altercation with the vicious queen at the pub was a surprise, cheers to the reasonable bar staff and bitter finger snaps to the bouncer with too much testosterone and too little common sense. Girlfriend, if you can't answer the question "Why are you so angry?" maybe you should be asking yourself that before you make life tough for others.
  • Friends who ditch other friends for their latest screw romantic liaison.
  • A chilly 5am stagger home from the birthday boy's bed to escape the snoring.
  • Missing Sunday morning Yum Cha because I slept through the meeting time. Oops.

    The 'not drinking of the alcohol' resolution went the way of so many resolutions previously have. However, the week ahead looks relatively celebration free so I feel a new strength of resolve coming on.

    All in all, good times.
  • Friday, June 04, 2004

    Is It Beer O'Clock Yet?

    So the big theory of the moment is that I'm going easy on the drinking of the alcohol. (I say theory, because like Quantum Theory for example, I'm not sure I have the ability to say for certain that there is any truth in it - but I'm prepared to believe in it anyway.)

    I'm not a big drinker in terms of frequency, but I tend to commit the possibly greater sin of binge drinking. For a small guy (5'4" in old money) I can pack 'em away once I get started. Beers for example seems only to exist in multiples of 6.

    The bad news I received recently is that the skin condition I started to develop a while back is adversely affected by alcohol. Oh, and spicy food, and coffee (well all hot drinks in general)... can you believe the look on my face when I found all this out? Those are three of my favourite things right there.

    At least exercise isn't recommended, so that's one plus. But I digress.

    Every Friday afternoon my work sets out drinks at 4.30 for everyone to unwind, and most Fridays we also go out for lunch and it's standard to have at least one alcoholic drink. This weekend I have, lets see, 4 social events to go to that include the drinking of the alcohol. One of them is cocktails that starts at 4pm, in order to maximise the 'Happy Hour' opportunities for goodness sakes...

    So far, I'm not liking the odds.

    'Cause You Know That I'm Toxic...

    Oh no, it's now official. Reading this is probably doing you harm. I hate to think how much toxic dust I have inhaled with my internet porn blog reading habit.

    I'm about to go marching into my boss's office to tell him "I would like to do my work this afternoon, but you need to be aware that it might be LETHAL."

    Hopefully I'll see you at the pub in 20 minutes...

    Gemima Has Two Mommies!

    So Playschool aired a segment about a little girl who has two mommies. My initial response was, 'oh cool, that's nice'.

    Well, it just goes to show how out of touch I must be with the way many Aussies think. Colour me a pinko, lefty homo I guess. Our politicians are certainly keen to make us all aware that we should be outraged by this. Just watch our Prime Minister get some mileage out of this one...

    The sky is falling! The sky is falling!

    You know, apparently.

    Wednesday, June 02, 2004

    Meat Ensemble, Anyone?

    My ex is in town all this week, and part of the week so far has been involved in catching up with him and helping him catch up with our other friends. Last night we went to dinner at the curiously named Oscillate Wildly with a bunch of our peeps. Good times.

    The food was delicious, the restaurant tiny and buzzy, the wine good, and the company excellent. I had three solid courses of rich food, including an entrée that was prosaically named ‘Meat Ensemble’. Rilette of duck, chicken liver pate and a tiny empanada of rabbit. Yum! Only drawback of the night was that the food came out at too leisurely a pace, two of our friends are pregnant and looked like they were ready to fall asleep at the table by the time dessert rolled around.

    Tuesday, June 01, 2004

    Look Familiar?

    Crap, it turns out I'm not the only one with good taste in blog templates.

    Now Listen Here, Missy...

    Well, I would have liked to have seen Missy Elliott live in concert but I guess I didn't miss much by the sound of things. That's one pissed off reviewer.