Mmmmm, Turkish Delight...

I saw a 10 minute teaser on the Today Show this morning, and it has made me even more excited to see the new The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe movie. Once again the wizards of Weta Workshop in New Zealand, who did the bulk of the creatures and physical props for the Lord Of The Rings trilogy, have worked their magic. Aslan and all the other creatures of Narnia look amazing.

Cautionary Tale

Somehow I suspect that if I ever:

• Shaved off the goatee,
  
• Decided wearing dresses might be a lifestyle choice worth pursuing, and
  
• Started buying wigs at KMart,

I might end up looking like this.

Sleepless In Sydney

One of the more enjoyable aspects of being me, is a somewhat... shall we call it 'complicated'?... relationship with sleep. I'm not a classic insomniac. I rarely have a problem getting to sleep, the problem I have is that I'm a very, very light sleeper and rarely get through a night without waking.

It has always been a pain in the ass, and something which has added strain to my relationships. The slightest discomfort makes me wake up, and I'm so sensitive to noise that I frequently have to sleep with earplugs. In the past I've even had to have a 'back-up' spare bedroom to go to if my partner was a snorer, or anything other than quiet and still.

Every Summer I struggle to stay asleep due to the heat, but it's Winter here at the moment and that's normally a good sleeping season for me. Apparently things have changed. I've tried making sure I'm comfortable; tried being toasty warm in bed, tried not being too warm, window open, window closed etc, but at the moment things are the worst they have been for a while.

About two years ago I was in a car accident, breaking my collarbone and cracking my sternum. After the accident I slept no more than a couple of hours a night for about three months, the discomfort was so bad. Even after my shoulder stopped being so painfull, I couldn't break myself of the poor sleeping pattern cycle I was in. It got better, but I have never really returned to getting a regular night's uninterrupted sleep.

At the moment I'm sleep-walking through my day, and really slumping energywise in the afternoons. I only have one or maybe two cups of coffee in a day, and never after about mid-morning, and don't drink soft drinks, so I doubt caffeine is an issue. I'm taking a long hard look at my diet, and seeing if there is something there which I can do to improve the situation (and I'm sure there is).

I'm convinced this is a physical thing; maybe I'm snoring and waking myself, or something of that nature. I'm pretty happy and content in my life these days, and have certainly never been one to lie in bed and worry. So next step, professional help. I don't want to take sleeping pills, and herbal teas have had limited affect, so I'm leaning towards maybe trying a naturopath and/or dietician for advice.

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

R.I.P. Jimmy D

Goodbye James Doohan. Actor, Canadian, war survivor, starship engineer - dead at age 85. So long Scotty, thanks for your contribution to one of the great iconic cultural emblems of the twentieth century, and to so many years of entertainment for so many people.

Of Mysore Sandalwood And Warm Samarkand Nights... And Cute German Rowers

I've mentioned previously on this blog that I run the bookshop at the Buddhist centre I attend. Last night I had to make a mad dash from the office to get to the centre in time for a 6pm meeting I had arranged with our major incense supplier, who was in town from Melbourne. As it turned out he was running late, and after a few phone calls to and fro, he finally got to the centre at 7.30. Fortunatelty I had other stuff I could do and managed to keep my good humour about me.

When there was a knock on the door I opened it to find a very, very handsome Indian man at the door, with samples case in tow. As it turns out, there are worse ways to spend an evening than being sprawled on the floor, surrounded by incense samples, while a handsome man spins tales of Mysore sandalwood, exotic spices and rare aromatics. Even volunteer jobs have their perks.

I was still a little wired from a busy day at work and some serious 'incense supplier oggling' when I got home, so I decided to watch a film I had taped on tv the previous night. The film was Sommersturm [site is in German]. This sweet film is about a pair of young rowers who are best friends, one of whom is straight and the other who is questioning his sexuality, and the wedge that is driven between their friendship. Matters come to a head when they go on a team camp and come up against other rowing teams, one of whom is a team of gay guys. The young cast are generally quite good, although some of the supporting cast are a little patchy in terms of acting ability, but the leads all turn in solid performances. There is a quite frank, but tastefull and rather sweet seduction scene, which is handled well by the young actors. All in all, worth a look.

Contractually Obligated Outback House Post

Sunday night in my world is Outback House night, but I have to say that last night's episode was OK, but by comparison a bit on the 'meh' side for me. Sheep washing, heatwave, hot and grumpy kids, another Governess arrived, someone else 'voted themselves off the island'... it just seemed a bit flat. I guess it was partly because the main focus of the episode was showing the reality of the heat, the drudgery, the frustration and (in at least one case) the desire to quit. There just wasn't much light amongst the dark.

Thankfully hunky Adam got shirtless much of the time, so you know, it wasn't all bad. Dan got nowhere near enough 'face time' though, and so we got precious few 'bon mots' this episode. We did get to see his range though, from passifying the grumpy hordes (three hot and tired children) with a reading from Jane Austen, to leaping into action (and muddy water) to save a drowning sheep. Action Dan!

I have watched all the other 'House' series and this one has definately had the largest turnover of participants, and looks like it was probably the most physically gruelling on them. The first Cook (fired, then back, then gone again), The Overseer (fired, or at least fell on his sword), the first Governess (retired ill) and now one of the Maids (quit), all gone.

Where's Jeff Probst with the torch snuffer?

The Good, The Bad, And The Downright Insane

I spent my entire lunch break today laughing my head off at some of the bizarro titles on Odd Books. Amazing works such as:

• Does The Earth Rotate? NO! (Which given that the title answers the question, you would think this would be a small volume.)
  
• Cyclomancy: The Secret of Psychic Power Control (Tom Cruise's second favourite book?)
  
• The Attractive Child (Creepy, creepy.)
  
• Sharon's UFO Code for Outer Space (Where the author understandably draws the assumption that the unusual reflections and lights in the glass of his china cabinet are of course coded signals from aliens. Pops, time to reduce the medication.)

One of the books Pyramid Power*, actually seems oddly familiar. I might have read this (or tried to) as a young teenager. I certainly remember the craze for 'pyramid power' theories in the 70's, around the same time as other paranormal/alien theorists such Erich von Daniken and Uri Geller. I even built a couple of cardboard pyramids, not surprisingly with limited success.

* Scroll down to the bottom of the Pyramid Power page for a picture of the author with his 'pyramid tent'. Is it just me or does he have a touch of the '70's Colt Studio almost-hot-if-you-can-get-past-the-flares-and-bad-hair' sort of look? I know, I'm insane.

A Pig, A Chicken & A Bag Of Rice

I caught the most fantastic documentary on Compass, on the ABC last night.

(For those unfamiliar with Compass, it's a weekly program on the ABC network in Australia that focusses on a broad range or religious/ethical issues. The format each week is that of a different one hour documentary, sometimes commissioned especially for Compass.)

Last night's documentary was called A Pig, A Chicken & A Bag of Rice and told the story of Phil Bathols and Ongmu Denzopa. He is an Australian and she is from Sikkim, a tiny state in the Himalayan region of northern India. Having met in Australia and fallen in love, the documentary followed their traditional Buddhist marriage ceremony held at the home of Ongmu's parents in the capital of Gangtok. The title of the documentary comes from some of the ritual offerings made by the groom and his family to the family of the bride.

It was such a heartwarming story, especially in the way that both families approached each other from each side of a massive cultural divide. The warmth and openness shown towards each other was really beautiful to see. Around 15 of the groom's friends and family had made the big trek from Australia to the remote region of the Himalayas for the ceremony, and although the lengthy traditional Buddhist ceremony was something none of them had encountered before, singing Karaoke and dancing the conga line obviously transcended all cultural boundaries!

Almost Impossibly Hot

I saw Fantastic Four last night, and it was enjoyable. I thought the story a bit thin in quite a few patches and some of the CGI effects early on looked surprisingly hokey, but ladies and gentlemen once Chris Evans as The Human Torch walked on screen, it became a whole different ballgame...

Photographic proof, that The Human Torch is indeed hot.


Such a flamer! (I wish)


What's not to love?

Of Domestic Bliss, And Mayhem

Saturday morning, sun shining, and I am a Domestic Demon. Tell that Martha Stewart to come see me 'cause I own housework and she owes me some royalties! Mmmmmhhhm, yes she does!

So today I'm all about:

• Trying to reduce the normal toxic cloud of 'hospital grade' this and 'extra strength' that which normally follows me around when cleaning, by trying a couple of green options. Vinegar and hot water did a good job on the mirror and vanity (yay!) but kinda sucked a bit on the glass shower screen (boo!)
  
• Loving my new Vanilla Fridge Wipe (yay!), just alcohol and vanilla (food safe but not recommended as a martini base)
  
• Resolving to never, repeat never try that new thing called 'multi-tasking' ever again. "Hey, why don't I just go and check on the laundry while that kitchen sink fills up. [time passes] What's that sound?, kind of like running wa.... SHIT!" Again. (BOO!)
  
• At least now the kitchen floor is clean, and those cookbooks will dry out and kind of go back to their normal shape, right?
  

Bollywood!

Bodhi just rang to let me know that this show is coming to town in September.

If you have read this blog for a while you'll understand how much I love Bollywood films. How excited am I? That answer would be, very.

Happy 13th Birthday

13 years ago today my friend Bodhi did something for himself, and his loved ones, of unparalleled importance. He stopped drinking himself comatose, walked into an A.A. meeting and got sober.

I only met Bodhi earlier this year, through this blog in fact, so I never saw The Drinking and Drugging Years. The stories though are enough to make your hair curl. I have never had any sort of substance addiction (is 'reality' tv a substance?) so I don't pretend to have any sort of first-hand knowledge.

Having said that, I can see that Bodhi got through with strength of will, good support and sheer determination. So today is Bodhi's 13th birthday, 13 years since he turned his life around and I guess that counts as the most important sort of re-birth. Happy birthday my friend.

[If you want any more info on recovery, especially from a Buddhist perspective, check out Bodhi's homepage which is a great source of links, or his other site Buddhist Recovery.]

Meet 'Shrieky'

I've been pretty quiet about my recent PC woes (Disappointed? I thought so.), but I've been blogging from work these past weeks so it really hasn't been that much of an issue. Anyhoo, to know me is to know that at the mention of 'computer hardware' my eyes glaze over. I've had a number of bordeline techie jobs in my life, but thankfully I was always 'the software guy'. Want anything more from me than pressing the ON button and I'll look at you, squint my eyes a bit, suck air over my teeth, shake my head just a little and murmer "Mmmmm, nup. Hardware."

But I digress. I bought a new modem, and I connected up all the 'leads' to the 'computer' my very own self and everything, and so now I'm once again on The Internets at home and it's even a tad faster than before.

However, if you go out and buy a D-Link V.92 Analog External Modem* well then Jebus H Cripes, prepare your eardrums. This Motherfunking icehole of a thing is LOUD. Even my modem is a screamer...

* Cutting-edge technology.

Dan, Dan, The Outback Man.

Ok, so you all know about my obsession with the tv show Outback House, right? You remember, I first wrote about it here and then I touched upon the unique nutsack skills of Dan recently.

Look I can hear your eyes rolling from over here. Stop it.

OK still with me? Well I finally replaced my home modem and got around to downloading my 331 new email message (anyone need V1ag-ra/Cial1s/A 'Genuine' Replica Rolex... 'cause call me, I know some sources), and hidden in amongst there was a notification that someone had posted a comment on my first Outback House post. Oh sorry, did I say 'someone'? [cough] What I meant to say, was it was the man himself! Gay Dan!

Dan's site is a little light on content (yet) but go check the man out, and if you're in Australia be sure to catch the show. It has everything; sheep!, pathos!, shirtless guys!, a house-boy with 'pretty eyes'!

New Music

I enjoy music, but generally speaking I don't buy a huge amount of it and I can go days (or maybe even weeks) without turning on the CD player. When I find a track, a CD, or an artist that I fall in love with though, I fall hard.

I walked into a music store on the weekend and was cruising the CD sale tables, looking at the New Releases, checking out the DVDs they had, all the usual drill... when a new track started on the in-house music system. It was like an epiphany, I literally felt my head snap around and my first thought was "Who, and what, is that?!"

The answer: the track was 'Ruby Blue' and the artist, Roisin Murphy. Former 'voice of Moloko' and now soloist. I can't quite describe the unique soundscapes on this CD; sort of lounge-y and jazzy, with bits of World Music influences and the occasional bit of Goldfrapp-esque bleep-bloop electronica mixed in. Extremely cool and worth a listen.

Recap

Sorry about the lack of posts of late. I tend to do much of my posting at work, and just recently I have been so busy with end of financial year 'issues', and what I call 'work', that it has seriously impacted on blogging time. So unfair.

So, here's a recap of what's been happening since late last week.

• Friday night Bodhi and I went out for a 'boys night out' in my 'hood, which started off at The Newtown Hotel and ended up at The Imperial Hotel (where the opening interior bar scenes, and some early exterior shots, in the film Priscilla: Queen of the Desert were filmed). We had a great time, cut up the dance floor some, drooled over Marcello, the particularly beautious dancing boy from the drag show, and enjoyed the new 'smoke free' zones at The Imperial. Like the Energiser Bunny, Bodhi could have gone all night, but I called it quits at 3am. Good times!
  
• Saturday I hung out at the Buddhist centre I attend and spent about 6 hours processing some of the back-log of data entry that I let build up. A couple of my friends from the centre showed up and we packed books and other merchandise ready for our stall at the Tibetan Cultural Festival on Sunday. Afterwards we went and had a coffee at a nearby cafe and soaked up a bit of (short-lived as it turned out) winter sun. Afterwards I was kind of bushed and short on sleep from Friday night's dancefest, so I had a quiet night in and then turned in early.
  
• Early Sunday morning I headed back to the centre to help load up the merchandise, and then take it over to the Petersham Town Hall for the Tibetan Cultural Festival to celebrate His Holiness the Dalai Lama's 70th birthday. It was a cold and drizzly morning, so it was especially hard to get out of bed. The Festival started a bit quietly, given the weather, but by lunchtime it had filled up with quite a diverse crowd of locals, Buddhist monks and members of the Tibetan community. Bodhi joined me to check out the Festival, and hang out, and of course he did some 'retail therapy'. We left the Festival at lunchtime and headed into the
  Art Gallery of New South Wales where we cruised the sculpture & Asian art sections in particular, played my favourite game of 'spotto, there's a cute one!' and sat at the cafe overlooking the water (where cakes and a spectacular cheese platter were had). Sunday night was the usual 'couch potato's night-in' and catching the latest episode of Outback House. Amusing moment; when Gay Dan, erstwhile failed shepherd and now gardener and house-boy on the homestead, commented after castrating a lamb with his teeth* "The worst thing is, I won't ever be trusted with a set of testicles in my mouth ever again." Word.

So, a fun weekend of everything from High Art to High Camp, from the Spiritual to the Profane. That's my life, right there.

* Not a practice I condone, or recommend.

I Think I Have Intimacy 'Issues'

I finally bit the bullet today and bought some new shoes*. They were particularly nice ones, in a wiiiiiide fitting, on sale. (I know, score!) All was going quite well, I had my aversion to shoe shopping pretty much under control, no red mist was descending, but then the shop assistant weirded me out a bit.

Is it just me, or is it too bizzarely intimate for a shop assistant to address you as my love?

This taps into one thing I have never been very keen on, and seem to be increasingly bothered by as I get older, fake intimacy. Or probably more accurately, a pretense of intimacy by people I don't know, and which oversteps the line between friendliness and intimacy. I'm not sure I'm explaining this correctly, but I think you can be friendly without taking on a pretense that there is any sort of closeness or relationship other than a mercantile one.

Hands up all those who think I think too much?

* My horror of buying shoes is on account of my horrendous wide, flat 'hobbit feet', which I touched upon in my 100 Things post and extolled the ugliness of here.

Keeping A Clear Path To The Bathroom

Ack, I managed to pick up some sort of stomach bug a couple of days ago and the past 48 hours have been... interesting. Let's just say that anything I ate or drank decided 'No, this is not the place for me at all' and took the evacuation order seriously.

Now I'm on the mend, but I'm still getting waves of nausea in almost exactly the same fashion as I did when I saw Dr Cruise on Oprah. Weird

Ugly Websights

I love the brutal glamour of German expressionist woodcuts, but this web page makes them look almost pretty, pretty by comparison. My first impression was that it looked like something from the early Nineties, when the Horizontal Rule (in 3D no less!) reigned supreme. The kicker, it's only 3 years old. What, no scrolling text?

Ugly limos = ugly website. Lots'a fonts! Multi-coloured text! Crappy line breaks! Poor grammar! Unusual use of ALL CAPS for emphasis! Crappy 'cute' spelling like "Please take a LQQK...at our nu 2006 Chrysler 300 8/pass".

LQQK and weep, people.

The Week That Was

Wow, last week was quite some week.

All I can say is, the 30 June end of financial year deadline is an absolute bitch. I was clocking up anything up to 13 hours a day at work for much of last week. Remember how on Sunday night you would frantically try and get the school assignment that was due on Monday finished? That was our entire office last week.

From Wednesday through to Saturday my sister was in Sydney for a work related trip. I hadn't seen her for about 18 months, because I didn't go over to her home town of Ballarat for Christmas last year. It was nice to hang out for the brief amount of time we could, given both of our hectic schedules. We had a lovely dinner at Chinta Ria, a funky Asian restaurant down by the water. We did get to hang out for most of Saturday though and I got to play tour guide. We did some of the required tourist things such as riding the Monorail, which was lots of fun. She seems to be in a pretty good space at the moment, enjoying her job and her kids, with the only downside being a few marital 'wobbles' she's going through.

Somehow yesterday I managed to pack in about 5 hours of working on the database at the Buddhist centre I attend, and a few hours of helping some friends try and sort out their end of year bookkeeping woes.

So Monday morning has rolled around and I haven't a) cleaned my house b) done any laundry for the week ahead or c) had any 'downtime' to recharge the batteries. Despite that I had a productive week and I really enjoyed the time I spent with my sister, and the weekend was frantically busy but still enjoyable. This week will still be busy but should be a little less frantic without the 30 June deadline, and I take up my new position (and new salary, woot!), so it should be an interesting week ahead.

Have a great Monday everyone!

[Updated: Oops, I like sooo totally forgot to mention that I saw War Of The Worlds on Saturday night with Bodhi and Ashley. Cool film, loved it, and it rocked so badly that I almost forgot to throw up in my mouth a little when everyone's favourite Operating Thetan VII, Dr Cruise, walked on screen. He even underplayed it for the most part, although I thought his 'intense' routine at the end was about as over-played as his 'Oprah' performance. Still, well done Mr Spielberg.]