As a New Zealander living in Australia I understand as well as any that Australian’s are fiercely proud of being Australian and of the sacrifices made by those gone before to secure the future freedom of this nation. However, today at the ANZAC day dawn service, in Melbourne, amid talk of commandery, mateship, and sacrifice not once was the contribution of the New Zealand soldiers acknowledged. In fact, not once were the words New Zealand uttered. I was saddened that the respect shown to the Australian soldiers was not afforded to their New Zealand comrades.
It seems in this case we have forgotten.
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Monday, April 17, 2006
the curious incident of the dog in the night-time
I’ve just finished reading the curious incident of the dog in the night-time by Mark Haddon.
It is a really great book, well written and constructed and an amazing insight. The story is written from the perspective of a 15-year-old autistic boy, Christopher. He has never mastered the ability to understanding the minds of others, although he does recognise that he can’t understand people and most colloquialisms of language.
Christopher discovers his neighbour’s dog has been murdered and decides to investigate. His investigation leads to a series of discoveries about his mother and father that send Christopher on a journey to places he has never dared to go, yet are places most of us take for granted.
The book is so well written you would believe the narrative is coming straight from the mind of an autistic boy. Mark Haddon gives the reader the ability to see the world from a perspective that is hard to imagine, and with such simplicity and clarity. The book is so moving, your heart goes out to Christopher in every dilemma he faces.
It is a really great book, well written and constructed and an amazing insight. The story is written from the perspective of a 15-year-old autistic boy, Christopher. He has never mastered the ability to understanding the minds of others, although he does recognise that he can’t understand people and most colloquialisms of language.
Christopher discovers his neighbour’s dog has been murdered and decides to investigate. His investigation leads to a series of discoveries about his mother and father that send Christopher on a journey to places he has never dared to go, yet are places most of us take for granted.
The book is so well written you would believe the narrative is coming straight from the mind of an autistic boy. Mark Haddon gives the reader the ability to see the world from a perspective that is hard to imagine, and with such simplicity and clarity. The book is so moving, your heart goes out to Christopher in every dilemma he faces.
33 & 1/3
Reid and I went to 33 & 1/3 on Saturday night and had a blast. As per usual Reid was glued to the dance floor while I roamed around looking for poor suckers who would listen to me blather on endlessly! Uberzone and A-Skillz were definitely the highlights! I have never seen anyone play the drums like the dude from Uberzone and A Skillz had incredible energy right throughout his two hour set – the hits just kept on coming ☺
It's great to have a blow out every now and then
It's great to have a blow out every now and then
Dinners
Reid and I LOVE good food! Especially when someone else cooks it for us and it is accompanied by good wine. So every two or three months we shout ourselves to a dinner at the fancy restaurant. The entertainment book is our good food guide to Melbourne, a quick flick through the fine dining section usually leads us to a great restaurant. However, this time we strayed from the book. Magic City is our local fancy restaurant, and although it isn’t in the Entertainment Book it is in the Age Good Food Guide, it reviews well on the internet, and is gets good reports via word of mouth – plus it looks really nice and has a great wine list.
Unfortunately, after months of anticipation we were quite disappointed. Our entrée’s were well presented, but a bit cold and certainly not a taste sensation, and the mains were quite ordinary. I had a pork dish, and apart from being doused in ginger and Chinese five spice (my least favourite flavours) it was very chewy and over cooked. It certainly dampened the conversation since I had to spend five minutes chewing every mouthful. Reid had a noodle dish, which he thought was no better than the $10 takeaway noodles from the neighbouring noodle bar! The service was pretty good – although they did forget to bring us our first drinks.
Bummer.
Unfortunately, after months of anticipation we were quite disappointed. Our entrée’s were well presented, but a bit cold and certainly not a taste sensation, and the mains were quite ordinary. I had a pork dish, and apart from being doused in ginger and Chinese five spice (my least favourite flavours) it was very chewy and over cooked. It certainly dampened the conversation since I had to spend five minutes chewing every mouthful. Reid had a noodle dish, which he thought was no better than the $10 takeaway noodles from the neighbouring noodle bar! The service was pretty good – although they did forget to bring us our first drinks.
Bummer.
Doubt
Last Saturday I scored 2 free tickets to the opening night of Doubt, at the Playhouse theatre at the Arts Centre. The head teacher at a Catholic school suspected the priest of foul play with one of the vulnerable young lads. The theme of doubt was introduced throughout the investigation of her suspicions and the difficulty tackling such issues when all you have is that feeling in the pit of your stomach that drives you to make the toughest of choices.
The play was set in the Bronx – and the Australian cast did a reasonable job of the accents. Overall it was entertaining and thought provoking and we had a good time!
The play was set in the Bronx – and the Australian cast did a reasonable job of the accents. Overall it was entertaining and thought provoking and we had a good time!
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