Sunday, August 1, 2010

Random ramblings

Alright, down to business. Gotta start by saying HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Jo's mum Dawn! Hope you had a great day today!!




Its been one of those weeks. For some reason there's been this underlying sense of anxiety sitting in my stomach for days. I hate when this happens, because I'm not settled and i sleep badly and everything just feels kind of blah. I mean i know I'm a natural worrier. If i have nothing to worry about, don't worry - I'll find something. Its not one of my prettier traits, and i pity the fools around me who have to pat me kindly on the hand and say "there there" while rolling their eyes in the other direction (Its OK, I'd do the same thing.)




Still, we did get up to a few bits and pieces - like going to see Inception at Imax with some friends. It was an impressive movie - great acting, great special effects, a storyline that leaves you debating long after the credits roll - but was it worth the hype? Cause there was a lot of hype. I mean people have been calling it the next Matrix. I would say...tentatively...yes, it just about lived up to the hype. Somethings holding me back from being as enthusiastic as Jo is about it - he loved it. I can't put my finger on what though. But it's solid, insightful storytelling, even if Ellen Page really annoyed me the whole time. She's looks too young i think, and i didn't buy her in the role.




What else. I've just finished reading, finally, the biggest thing to come out of Sweden since Ikea - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. EVERYONE is reading and loving this trilogy, and has been for the last year. So I'm late on the bandwagon. Some scattered points from me - firstly, the writing is crap. Or maybe its the translation that's crap, but whatever. Its very functional. By that i mean, its just a tool to tell a story. It's obvious that writing isn't a craft to the author, though storytelling maybe is - the story itself is very addictive. I was totally sucked in, and finished the book in 5 days. It's an oxymoron - i didn't enjoy the writing, but i couldn't put it down. I liken this to the Dan Brown craze - he has great stories, but his writing sucks. There's no pleasure in the reading of it at all, even though the story is very entertaining. Know what i mean? Secondly, this dude Larsson (unfortunately he passed away before the books were published) had a seriously sick imagination. It's almost TOO over the top. Rape, murder, incest, torture, sex, Nazis, affairs, secrets...this book has it all, the very worst of society is on display. Which i think was the authors point when writing it, but still. It was weird. Then again, part of what makes you race through it is the fact that it's so sordid. Thirdly, for all this social commentary on how women are treated like crap by their male counterparts, his main male character really is a classic womaniser. Classic because he typically thinks there's nothing at all wrong with his behaviour. Worse, most of the females he sleeps with ALSO don't think there's anything at all wrong with his behaviour. In fact, they all seem to be falling over themselves to have sex with him. Just sex, mind you. Nobody in this book seems to want to have a relationship with anyone else. Just sex. But at the end of it all, everyone certainly hopes they can "still be friends" They're all "very fond of each other." I mean, really? Is this just a Swedish thing? *shrugs*, maybe it is. Still, like i said, i couldn't stop reading, and it's a good whodunnit. There are plenty of twists and turns and my friends and I have been talking about it all week. I'm into the second one now, which is similar in style. That was a really long rant about one book. Sorry non-readers. Moving right along.




There really is nothing like a good meat pie and mash. See below if you don't believe me. I had one of these baby's yesterday, and God it was good. No nutritional value whatsoever, obviously. But it's winter. No one cares what they eat in winter, as long as its making you feel good.










We went yesterday to see our wedding reception venue actually set up for an actual wedding, so we'd get an idea of how it would look with all the tables in there, and a dance floor etc. I'm glad we went, because i was panicking slightly about whether it would look empty-ish - the venue itself is a heritage-listed converted wharf warehouse, and even though the dark wood and beams are lovely, i thought it had the potential to look bare. I think it was the high ceilings that had me worried. But once it's filled with tables and chairs and all that, it didn't look at all empty like i pictured, which was good. We're also trying to finalise the guest list, an exercise i can best describe as painful and frustrating. Don't try it at home kids.




We headed over to Daniel and Romina's afterwards to see the baby, since naturally we don't care about them much at all any more. How could we, when their very entertaining munchkin steals the limelight these days. 2 points about Luca - one, he has a high-pitched shriek that rivals Mariah Carey, and two, his name should actually be Puker, because he spent most of the afternoon spewing. Not that i held it against him. Better out than in and all that.



Luca looking over at his mother pleadingly - "Ma, for reals, get me off her. She's crazy man. Crazy."


Luca and I


Rom and Luca



On a final note, hands up if you know what a flogging is?
To flog: Definition - to beat harshly. As in, Australia was flogged by New Zealand in last nights game. Bah. BAH. I blame the ref. Yellow cards, red cards, penalties every two minutes...it was ridiculous. But it didn't stop Adrian from bringing out the yellow jumpsuit in support of the Aussies (you got one free with every jug of bundy rum and coke last night. I mean that's value.) And what a fashion statement it was. I'm sorry i don't have one in my wardrobe for just these occasions.


Jo, Adrian and Fe's hand. I particularly love the pulled up socks with this look. Its special.


Back to the Future is on, so i gotta go. Any movie with a flux capacitor gets a thumbs up from me.

1 comment:

  1. Gah! Now I have to read that stupid book. It's been on the bookshelf for ages.
    Cute chunder child!

    ReplyDelete