Great All Blacks win!!!

Fantastic rugby game tonight - All Blacks beat the Wallabies 49 to 28!!

ABs ran in a load of tries in the first half - one with a man off with a yellow card!! Australia had more possession in the second half but couldn't convert into points! Solid AB defence! Then a bonus NZ try on full time :-)

So much fun!



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What a start!!

10 mins in - 1 try and 1 penalty each!! Holy shit what a start!!! Both lucky run away tries!!

Update: 12 mins in, another try to ABs!!!


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All Blacks v Wallabies

We're at the rugby at Etihad stadium - we didn't buy the cheapest tickets but we're still behind the goal and 3 rows from the very top!

People who bought the cheapest tickets must be at a local pub watching on a big screen!

Go All Blacks!!!!


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Location:Wurundjeri Way,Docklands,Australia

Back at Grumpys Green

Off to the rugby tonight - All Blacks v Australia, and stopped off at Grumpys for dinner

I'm having the chickpea wrap and Reid's having the tower burger with vege patty

Such a great place! Great food as always :-)

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Portland Hotel Brewhouse

At the Portland Hotel Brewhouse having a quick drink before heading to Welcome to the Rileys - first movie for us at MIFF



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Location:Swanston Street Walk,Melbourne,Australia

Back at Bar None

Another nice Sunday afternoon drink at Bar None

I'm having the Tequila Mockingbird - tequila, lemoncello, cinnamon syrup, & lemon juice - quite nice!!

Reid's having a Manhattan - not his favourite!!

Plus bread & dips - eggplant and coriander


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Amici Trattoria

A couple of weeks ago we went out for dinner to a local Italian restaurant - Amici Trattoria

We had been there once before years ago and the waiter spilt a glass of red wine all over Reid - and then he was shitty at us, as if somehow it was our fault! I'm pretty sure there was no apology.

Anyway, after that we decided never to go back again!

Surprise, surprise we went back - just in case some sort of miracle occurred and it was somehow better.

I think the only thing that was confirmed was that crap Italian food really is crap.

I'm pretty sure neither dish was made fresh that day, and it seem like the type of place that doesn't make its own pasta, they just grab dried pasta from the supermarket

Overall impression: NEVER going back!

Rating: 1/5

Location: Burke Rd, Camberwell

Movies

Green Zone

Chief Miller (Matt Damon) is a solider in Iraq charged with investigating sites thought to hold WMD. Site after site the team comes up empty and Chief Miller starts to suspect that the intelligence is dodgy. Millar goes "off book" to prove his suspicions.

It was nice to watch a film, where the US army aren't prancing around with hero music in the background, and flags waving in our faces. Propaganda from the left rather than the right is light relief in this genre.

Overall impression: watchable

Rating: 3/5

Zombieland

OMG, I watched a zombie film!! Although to be fair, this was really a road trip movie with zombies.
They used the tough guy teamed with bumbling nerd formula, which I actually quite like. You get some great comedic lines from the nerd, in the way he responds to everything, from the actions of the tough guy to the generally average situations he finds himself in.

Woody Harrelson played the tough guy and Jesse Eisenberg played the nerd - great performances from both.

Overall impression: I liked it

Rating: 3/5


The Burbs

From the 80's, staring Tom Hanks, cult classic apparently. There are some films you can watch anytime and you can see why they are considered great. Other films, I think you have to watch at the time they are released, and then love forever. I think the Burbs falls into the second category - it didn't really age that well, but I'm sure if I had watched it back when it was released, I would have appreciated it more.

I'm not much of a fan of the doofus character - not that smart, has bad ideas, makes bad decisions, yells all the time, and has pretty average appearance. Examples would be Homer Simpson or Peter Griffin. The Burbs has a doofus character and that really ruined it for me - it makes everything just too ridiculous and unbelievable.

Interesting I say that about the Burbs, when in the same post I say I quite liked a zombe film!

Overal impression: I was a bit bored

Rating: 2/5

movies - Toy Story 3

We've seen a few movies recently, and some at home, which is a bit unusual for us - making that 90 minute  time commitment just seems too much! 

Toy Story 3. 

Another great film from Pixar. Unlike Dreamworks, Pixar films have a solid plot, well developed characters, and don't rely on current events to make jokes. These are all the things that make a film so rewatchable, and stand the test of time! 

It didn't occur to me when we decided to see Toy Story 3 (in 3D), that I hadn't seen Toy Story 1 or 2. 

The story stood up on it's own so I don't think it really mattered, but Reid assured me there were plenty of jokes that would have made sense if I had seen the first two. 

Andy, the toy owner has grown up and is heading off to college, he hasn't played with his toys in years, despite the best efforts of the toys to grab his attention. The toys are then mistakenly donated to a day care centre, instead of being put in storage in the attic. At first day care seems to the ultimate dream for the toys, lots of kids to play with them all day long, but that doesn't turn out to be the case, and the great escape begins. 

Of 231 reviews, Rotten Tomatos gives it 228 fresh, and 3 rotten, with and average rating of 9.1/10

That's 99% on the tomatometer

It was a great story, with plenty of laughs, and lots of highs and lows on the journey.

Overall Impression: fantastic movie

Rating: 4/5

Bill Bailey

Reid and I saw Bill Bailey tonight - the British comedian

http://www.billbailey.co.uk/

The show was fantastic - along with the comedy, there was singing, dancing, poetry, and a valuable demonstration in art history! A review a various works depicting Thomas the Doubter inspecting Jesus's crucifixion wound!

He had a great collection of instruments - including a collection of horns that looked to be straight of the front a mod/rocker's bike, and a tenori-on (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenori-on)!!

http://twitter.com/RealBillBailey/statuses/18833247413

Overall impression: incredibly talented and very clever!

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Bill Bailey

It's half time at Bill Bailey comedy show - he's hilarious!! Very entertaining, engages the crowd, moves from joke to joke with ease, and multi-talented! So far has played the guitar, oud (which isn't a lute), and keyboard!

The Palais is a pretty cool venue, kinda pretend fancy. It's all decorated in ye olde style, but it's not actually ye olde.

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Location:Palais Theatre, St Kilda

Greasy Joe's - St Kilda

At Greasy Joe's bar and grill in St Kilda for a quick drink before heading to Bill Bailey at the Palais! Having beer battered chips - yum!

It's an ok place - nice and relaxed !!


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Location:Cavell St,St Kilda,Australia

Vegie Bar - Brunswick St

We're at the Vegie Bar on Brunswick St, sitting in the window, which has been perfect for people watching.

I had the curry of the day - north Indian/tomato style, very tasty! Reid had gyoza to start (ours are better), and a margarita pizza - which was big!!

The service was very prompt - super prompt in fact! But for 6.30 on a Saturday night the place was pretty packed!!

http://www.vegiebar.com.au/




Overall impression: funky

Rating 3.5/5

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Location:Brunswick St,Fitzroy,Australia

Twilight Saga: Eclipse

Last night I went to see Twilight # 3 with Michelle, Ange, and Brendon. We grabbed a bite to eat from the Groove Train in Melbourne Central before hand (I had the vege burger - it was pretty good, tomato, beetroot, egg, plus roast pumpkin, eggplant, and capsicum).

The movie was good, well filmed, great camera work and action scenes, and it didn't take itself too seriously. The actor who plays Jacob looked fabulous and I was pleased he spent most of the film with his top off!!! And they were very tongue in cheek about his constant semi nakedness, which was pretty funny!

The story - well, I knew it wasn't complicated or even very good when I decide to go, so I won't complain about the plot! I think the acting was slightly better in this one than #2 - maybe because they didn't take themselves to seriously this time!!

Overall impression: good, glad I had those 2 glasses of wine beforehand

Rating: 3/5

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Lunch @ Cafe Coco on Smith street

On the way home from the gym we stopped at Cafe Coco on Smith st for lunch.

I had the spinach scrambled eggs with pesto, goats cheese, and tomato, on Turkish bread. It was very good - the combination of flavours worked perfectly!!!



Reid had a vege laksa! It was nice, could have been richer - mate needed seafood?



The service was good - although for a Sunday afternoon it was pretty quiet. It feels a bit like Burke Rd is the busiest place in Melbourne on a Sunday!! The music selection was a bit unusual, a mix of '80's TV credit music to lazy jazz!

Overall impression: menu had things that were a bit different from the standard cafe fare

Rating: 3/5

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Muttis

For Friday work lunch we ventured a bit further afield than usual, to a German restaurant called Mittus on the corner of Elgin and Rathdown Sts in Carlton.

I had the Kasnudeln – Austrian style pasta filled with potatoes, fresh mint goats whey and garlic, served with brown butter and green salad. It was very tasty and actually quite well portioned for lunch - I didn't come away feeling over stuffed!

They also have a good selection of beers and the staff were very friendly and helpful - although we were the only people there for lunch!! Apparently it is usually packed for dinner!



Overall impression: good food, friendly service

Rating: 4/5