Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Animals

Mutterings continued.

I forgot to mention in my blog on Sunday that I did a bit of cockatoo spotting. On the way to my brother's place a flock of White-tailed Blacks flew overhead. And a group of Red-tailed Blacks landed in a gum tree at the back of his house, made a din, dropped gum nuts on the patio roof and then flew away. And a little while later a flock of Galahs flew over. Not to mention the magpies that come to the back door of their house and demand to be fed. Wonderful stuff.

Yesterday I visited the baby Pygmy Marmosets in Lesser Primates. To say that they are cuuuuuute is an understatement. One was sitting on a branch and would pop its head around one side of the branch, tilt it to look at me and then pop it around the other side. The bubs are about 3" long, plus tail and look like tiny quail with arms and legs.

Semeru, the baby orang, is getting more adventurous - I saw him sitting on the edge of one of the platforms yesterday. Mum was sitting about 6" behind him and keeping an eye on him but he is learning to climb on his own. And he has four teeth - 2 on the top and 2 on the bottom.

A fun website - Shiny Shiny: a Girl's Guide to Gadgets. I like the Flybook.

Sunday, January 29, 2006

A trip to the country

Mutterings continued.

Well, not quite. I've just come back from having dins with my bro and sis-in-law at their home in Roleystone. It was spitting with rain as I left and a wintry wind was blowing. The rain seems to be concentrating on the hills as it was dry once I hit the flat stuff at Gosnells.

Saturday, January 28, 2006

The Weekend - again

Mutterings continued.

As Thursday was a holiday, yesterday felt like a Monday. But it weren't so here's the weekend. No more short weeks until the beginning of March - Labour Day. How will I survive??

Back from the weekly shopping. No exciting purchases, no shiny things, though I did spend over $50 in Lush.

Taken from the Scarlet Street forum: under the subject heading "The Master Would Be Pleased -

Last Rites Productions Presents “MANOS” The Hands of Fate

Portland, OR – Last Rites Productions premiers with its first production, a stage adaptation of the 1966 horror classic “Manos” The Hands of Fate.

Founding members Brian Koch and Ryan Cloutier have birthed a new theatrical production company: Last Rites Productions in Portland, Oregon.

Brian Adrian Koch is familiar with horror. Indeed, his long and illustrious pedigree of the macabre began at age four when he accidentally viewed The Exorcist and was further reinforced at age nine when he accidentally viewed Flashdance. His fascination with the twisted paths of evil culminated in 2002 when he received his Certificate of Completion from the prestigious Sam Raimi’s “So You Want to be Scary?” correspondence course.

Ryan M. Cloutier knows scary. He has been involved in live (and dead) theatre for seventeen years. As well as acting, he has written, produced, and directed several films and theatrical productions in Maine, Hawaii, and Oregon including The Creature of Terror, Judy Dunn Died, Alien Adventure, Sno White and the Seven Ravers, and Oklahoma. Ryan is also Public Relations Manager of the Rose City Gay Freedom Band.

Their first production as Last Rites Production is a graphic retelling of the 1966 Horror Film “Manos” The Hands of Fate.

Synopsis:
A young family gets lost on their first vacation and ends up at the Lodge of Sins, kept by sadistic satyr Torgo, and the Master, a high priest of the god Manos. The family is quickly entangled into a terrifying web of lust, betrayal and murder. Can they escape the Lodge of Sins before the young wife and daughter get taken as sex slaves by the Master? Or will they be sacrificed to Manos? It’s a surprise ending you don’t want to miss!

“Manos” The Hands of Fate, was originally written and produced by Harold P. Warren in 1966. Following its release, it was pulled from drive-ins across the Midwest. Audiences were appalled at the images of polygamy, mutilation and graphic violence. The film was shelved and forgotten about for decades. Over thirty years later, it was rediscovered by Best Brains, Inc, a Minnesota based production company and reintroduced to the horror scene. Since then it has gained a substantial cult following. Forty years after the original was produced, it’s been adapted for stage and is being produced in all its horrifying glory by Ryan Cloutier and directed by Brian A. Koch, with the assistance of Cloutier. The cast includes local heavy hitters including Jayson Kochan as the Master, Jade Harris as the young wife Margaret and Chris Schollmeyer as the urbane husband Michael. The cast also features Koch as the satyr caretaker Torgo; Erin Merl as the innocent daughter Debbie; Gwen Lahti, Sabra Choi, Shawn Cates, and Corey Ravens as the kept wives of the Master; and Orie Weeks III and Johnny Hamilton as the male lover and the cop, respectively. Providing music for the production are members of the local band Blitzen Trapper.

In addition to “Manos”, Last Rites is presenting a selection of two comedic, yet bizarre Catholic church confessionals written by Koch, and performed by Koch and Cloutier."

Thursday, January 26, 2006

A Day Off

Mutterings continued.

Public Holiday and a day off today as it's Australia Day. Well, a day off for us white collar workers.

Lots of fun to be had at Net Disaster - just input a hated URL and arrange for the page to be trashed. Dinosaurs, flood and flower power are cute. It was created by a school in the UK.

Tuesday night: went to a Dream production meeting. Ah, if only all production meetings were a dream. I have a basic props list that I'm sure will be built upon. Some things will be easy to get or manufacture; some, such as a tombstone and a witch's broom, not so easy.

Last night: had dinner at Retro's with TUS. I had the lean beef chilli with rice and a Pink Sunset - berries and watermelon juice that wasn't so much pink as a lovely deep red.

Leece has created some great anti-Valentine's Day t shirts. Given recent events in my life, I'm very tempted by the Not Bitter shirts.

Interesting concept - Firefly season 2 on demand.

Monday, January 23, 2006

The week begins

Mutterings continued.

It looks as though I've forgotten to blog over the weekend. L and R came early to dins on Saturday so we spent the afternoon and evening watching a lot of DVDs. One of the offerings was The Golden Horns, a very funny Russian film featuring Baba Yaga, a house on chicken legs and whiny children. It was great and had a lovely pantomime touch to it. And we saw SG:Atlantis, Space 1999, Kolchak and an early MST3K. All good stuff.

The Finlay Awards were held on Saturday night - these are given to amateur productions. GRADS did very well indeed. The following is taken from the ITA website:

The Winners Are:

Best Actor Nominees:
Nominees:
Peter Niblett – Breaking Legs, KADS
Grant Malcolm – What the Butler Saw, GRADS
Stephen Lee – The Winters Tale, GRADS
Mike Anthony Sheehy – Red Roses and Petrol, The Irish Theatre
And the winner: Grant Malcolm = What the Butler Saw, GRADS (Yay Grant!!!)

Best Actress Nominees
Nominees:
Danni Ashton – Veronica’s Room, Goldfields Rep
Annette Backshall – Breaking Legs, KADS
Shirley Welch – The Winters Tale, GRADS
Sue Hicks – Beyond a Joke, Harbour Theatre
And the winner is: Shirley Welch – The Winter's Tale, GRADS (Yay Shirley!!!!)

Best Other than Lead - Male:
Nominees:
Jason Seperic – The Winters Tale, GRADS
Leon Ousby – Beyond a Joke, Harbour Theatre
David Young – Arsenic and Old Lace, Playlovers
Graham Miles – Caught in the Net, Garrick Theatre
And the winner is = Graham Miles - Caught in the Net, Garrick Theatre (Yay Jason, though he didn't win!!!!!)

Best Other than Lead - Female:
Nominees:
Sally Bruce – Play it Again Sam, Old Mill
Jenny McCann – The Winters Tale, GRADS
Jessyca Hutchins - What the Butler Saw, GRADS
Franchesca Meahan – Fallen Angels, Darlington Theatre
And the winner is: Jenny McCann - The Winter's Tale – GRADS (Yay Jenny!!!!!)

.Best Director :
Nominees:
Teresa Felvus – Beyond a Joke, Harbour Theatre
Noel O’Neill - Breaking Legs, KADS
Stephen Lee - What the Butler Saw, GRADS
Fred Petersen – Caught in the Net, Garrick Theatre
And the winner is Fred Petersen - Caught in the Net, Garrick Theatre (Stephen won it last year!!!!)

Top Twelve Plays for 2005
(in no particular order)

Beyond a Joke - Harbour Theatre
Veronicas Room - Goldfields Rep Club
Picasso at the Alpin Lagile - Blak Yak
Plaza Suite - KADS
What the Butler Saw - GRADS
There’s a Girl in My Soup - Old Mill Theatre
Caught in the Net - Garrick Theatre
Falling From Grace - Old Mill Theatre
Caravan - KADS
Red Roses and Petrol - Irish Theatre Players
Winters Tale - GRADS
Breaking Legs - KADS

Top Three Plays for 2005

First: What the Butler Saw - GRADS

Second: Red Roses & Petrol - Irish Theatre Players
Third: The Winters Tale - GRADS

Hurrah for us!!!!

Taken from an online shop: "Make Over Application Guide:
This has been copulated by Stacey with her experience and knowledge to share her makeup tips, tricks, trade secrets and solutions to release the creativity in yourself by looking at her suggestions to matching the right technique to different structures." Errmm, I don't think they mean 'copulated'.

Saturday, January 21, 2006

That Was the (Long) Week That Was

Mutterings continued.

Last week seems to have dragged by. I have a busy week coming up, however as there's a GRADS committee meeting tomorrow, Dream production meeting on Tues and back to my real job on Monday. I ended my stint as Acting Exec. Asst. to the CEO yesterday. Hurrah! No more parliamentary questions!!

L and R are coming for dinner and DVDs today - I'm preparing stir fry chicken with noodles.

Speaking of DVDs, I bought Charlie and Choc. Fact. in K Mart this morning - $29 for a double disk set.

Thursday, January 19, 2006

An eventful couple of days

Mutterings continued.

Yesterday I got an email from GRADS secretary, Fiona, asking if I was free for a meeting that night. I wasn't going to Retro's for dins with TUS as I had a doctor's appointment and didn't know how long it would take. Turned out I was about the only one of the committee for whom Wednesday was ok so it's been rescheduled for Sunday afternoon.

Went to the doc's and told him I thought my blood pressure was too low. I'd been comparing symptoms with a friend at work with low BP - headachy, light headedness, feeling tired and generally blah. Dr Lenn said, "No, you're blood pressure isn't too low. It's too high." It was 170/90, which, considering I'm taking medication, isn't good. So, I'm on a different drug and will go back in a month to see how it's going.

Got home from the doc's to find a letter from the landlord saying that a white ant inspector was going to be going through the units THE NEXT DAY and could I mail back a time on the roster when it was suitable. I rang the estate agent but it was after hours so I rang this morning and complained that I'd had no warning. The woman I spoke to thought the inspector was coming out on Friday. I was then told that they'd put me down for 12noon. So, I came home at lunch time, ate the left over Caesar with Attitude I'd got last night and thumbed through Vol. 3 of the Babylon 5 scripts that arrived today, while the guy wandered around with my torch (he'd forgotten his own), poked in cupboards and patted Milo.

Long-lost tunes dug up for jukebox of the net

· "Universal releases 100,000 vintage tracks online
· Archive raid aims to get older fans downloading


Greek singer Nana Mouskouri and the folk rock pioneers Fairport Convention might appear unlikely standard bearers for a technological revolution. But a record firm yesterday announced plans to exhume long deleted tracks by these artists and thousands of other acts, to boost sales and introduce internet downloads to a much wider audience."


Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Interesting times, politically speaking

Mutterings continued.

Yesterday the Premier resigned - he's been suffering from depression - and today our Minister stepped down. Was it something we said?

I've been spending the last couple of days at work ploughing through parliamentary questions that have taken a bit of research.

The Star Trek Tube Tour - "London. The final frontier. These are the voyagers of the Star Ship Tube Tour. It's continuing mission, to seek out new life and new underground stations, and to boldly connect them with a science fiction series in the most contrived and convoluted manner possible.

This is the result of that mission. The Star Trek Tube Tour of London. A tour of London Underground stations with increasingly tenuous links to Spock, Kirk and Picard." Ohhh-kaayy.

Are You a Geek? A quiz.


Sunday, January 15, 2006

'arry's Moved Out

Mutterings continued.

Yes, young 'arry, the 'orrible 'airy spider has left home. He was getting a little too close for comfort however I more worried that he'd be affected by flyspray (Como has a blowfly plague) or be attacked by the cats (I've come across 'unstmen corpses before). Last night, Leece, spider-catcher extraordinnaire, gathered up her spider taming equipment (a chair, a glass and a Zoo postcard of a baby giraffe), captured him in the loo and put him outside on the balcony. A little while later Rob said, "Leece - look up." There was 'arry, scuttling across the ceiling. Round 2. This time, she took 'im downstairs to put 'im on the gum tree. Apparently 'e wasn't too keen on that, tried running up her arm, and ended up in the bushes.

I expect to see 'im again.

We had a good night last night. L and R brought along their new contact griller machine thingie and we had delish roast chicken with vegies. And I made a banana split with strawberries.

The viewing bill of fare involved the final part of Stargate Atlanis - the one we've been trying to see since the hotel stay - Space 1999 (another good 'un), an episode of Kolchak, the Night Stalker, and a very funny Mystie, The Black Scorpion.


Saturday, January 14, 2006

Good Grief!

Mutterings continued.

Saw my first Easter eggs in Woolies this morning. Oh dear, oh dear.

I saw a trailer for Underworld:Evolution last night. I haven't seen the first two Underworld movies, but any film with Derek Jacobi and Bill Nighy can't be all bad, can it?? IMDB gives it 8.2 out of 10.

NASA's sales video. Pretty.

I watched The Making of Batman Begins today. I really enjoyed the film - Christian Bale and Gary Oldman - bargain!

Cool photos from the Alaska Volcano Obervatory.

Friday, January 13, 2006

'arry's back.

Mutterings continued.

I found 'im last night in the loo, which is a tad close for comfort. Last night 'e was on the window sill, tonight 'e's in the far corner. I have to keep looking over my shoulder while I'm in there to make sure 'e doesn't decide to make a dash for it and frighten the willies out of me. I think tomorrow night Leece and I will have to move 'arry, otherwise certain people won't be able to use the dunny.


By way of contrast, the view tonight from my back door.

I got my Virgin credit card statement today - ouch!

Thursday, January 12, 2006

Luverly rain

Mutterings continued.

It's been raining on and off all day, which is nice. I got a little soggy walking to lunch (lasagna and salad) but it was worth it. The city is currently shrouded in mist.



The tops of the taller buildings barely visible between the roof top and the trees.

'arry 'as disappeared. I'm not sure how long 'untsmen live for. He wasn't looking too good when I last saw him on Tuesday - sort of dehydrated and skinny. Hope 'e's alright as I quite got used to 'im being around.

Guardian Online has an article about wineries in Margaret River, south of Perth.

Wednesday, January 11, 2006

Great night last night

Mutterings continued.

Met L and R at Carousel - after seeing all the ankle biters there to see Narnia, we quickly decided to see the 7pm session of King Kong instead. That gave us enough time to have dins at Box 123 (I think, something like that). We sat in a booth and ordered our meals from a touch screen.

Kong was beautifully rendered, though some of his characteristics were more chimp-like than gorilla - chimps laugh, I don't think gorillas do.

There was half an hour of ads before the film, which was annoying, as well as previews, including Mission Travesty Impossible 3 and X Men 3 (which looks good).

Monday, January 09, 2006

I've got a Feather Footed False Frog!

Mutterings continued.

Parcel from Cafe Press sitting on my doorstep when I got home - had the aforementioned False Frog on a long-sleeved t shirt. Very cool - it looks as though it's water coloured. Thanks Leece and Rob.

The Further Adventures of 'arry, the 'o, 'a, 's. e's moved across the bathroom and is just near the loo.

Sunday, January 08, 2006

Humid, but..

Mutterings continued.

much more pleasant than yesterday.

Had L and R over for dinner - herby, crusty fish (breadcrumbs, chives, parsley, Dijon mustard and lemon) and chips (baked with a spray of olive oil) and salad (with chilli and garlic olives and fetta cheese) and tiramasu. Yum. And Rah Xephon, Space:1999 (which is getting better every episode), most of an ep of Stargate and Mystie's Monster a GoGo (yes, it was made in the 60's, why do you ask?).

I introduced Leece to 'arry last night; Rob didn't want to meet 'im, for some reason. 'arry 'as taken up residence in the bathroom, at the far end, above the cats' litter trays. I'm a card-carrying arachnophobe, however I seem to desensitising myself to 'arry's presence, which is good as Australia has its share of 'orrible 'airy, and not-so-'airy, spiders.

Today I finally went through the wardrobe, put all my trousers on proper hangers, moved all the winter stuff out and shoved in a plastic bag all the clothes I haven't worn for years and the metal coathangers that have been multiplying.

Saturday, January 07, 2006

I think this could become addictive...

Mutterings continued.

The Falling Sand Game.

'iding, or...

Mutterings continued.

the further adventures of 'harry, the 'orrible 'airy spider*.

I suspect 'arry must be nocturnal as I only ever see 'im in the evening. I was in the bathroom last night, taking out the contact lenses and looked up to see 'arry on the ceiling, right above my head. I moved, rapidly, just in case 'e lost 'is spider-ability to hang upside down on any surface and fell on me.

On a completely different note, from the "Er, no, I don't think I'll be going to see that, thanks all the same" file, one of the productions in the Festival of Perth is an all-male version of 12th Night. In Russian.

*I know this is something of a misnomer as 'untsmen spiders aren't at all 'airy.

Friday, January 06, 2006

Holy deodorant failure, Batman!

Mutterings continued.

37.9c at 14:11. Whew! Tomorrow's looking a little better - 31c but humid. 28 on Sunday.

I was at lunch at the time - met Pat and Shirley for lunch at the Book Caffe. Very nice indeed.

From The Prisoner Unmutual's website: "For the last 20 years or so there has been much talk of a re-make of "The Prisoner" series, in either movie or serial form, and it looks like it might now be about to happen.

According to "Broadcast", Granada is in talks with Sky One commissioner Elaine Pyke (pictured left) about airing an initial eight-part series next year, to be written by Bill Gallagher. It is also approaching European and US networks about a co-production deal.

Gallagher, in addition to writing the series, will co-produce the show alongside Michele Buck and Damien Timmer of Granada. Timmer stated that the series would be a "radical reinvention" of the original, and would not be set in Portmeirion or have the arty feel of the original series. He admits that the series will "take liberties with the original" and be aimed at fans of series such as "24" and "Spooks". "This is a unique opportunity in British TV," said Gallagher. "It's conceptually daring."

Whilst it seems from this that the new series need not be entitled "The Prisoner", due to it seemingly being more based on the original series than an actual re-make, the pedigree is promising. Bill Gallagher wrote the series "Conviction", and Elaine Pyke has been responsible for commissioning several excellent dramas for Sky One. Regarding the commissioning of new shows, she has stated: "We want to have fun making shows and ensure that our audience have fun watching them. The strategy is to make Sky One the home of aspirational and inventive quality drama that will stand proudly alongside some of our superior imports such as 'Nip/Tuck', 'Deadwood', 'Rescue Me' and '24'."

UPDATE: Executive Producer Damien Timmer: "It will still be set in a village - not a real place in Britain, but somewhere unique - with a Number 6 and a Number 2, but we will turn the original on its head." Hmmmm....I'm not convinced this is a good idea.

Silly meme:

British
Britain


?? Which Country Are You From ??
brought to you by Quizilla

So there you are.


Wednesday, January 04, 2006

Hot and hotter tomorrow

Mutterings continued.

It's currently 29c and it's almost 7pm. 34c forecast for tomorrow and possible thunderstorms and 34c on Friday. Hot and humid. Urgh.

'harry, the 'orrible 'airy spider, has vanished. I suspect he's lurking somewhere and I'll come across him when I least expect him. Spiders are like that.

I'm wearing my new Leece designed zebra t shirt. Lots of compliments at dinner from TUS.

Tuesday, January 03, 2006

'orrible 'airy spiders

Mutterings continued.

A Huntsman spider has taken up residence in the lounge room. It's above the bookcase, near the telly and not causing too much alarm. Yet. As long as it doesn't start running across the ceiling, I'll be ok.

Humid

Mutterings continued.

Rain was promised, and some did fall overnight, however now it's just humid.

Went shiny thing shopping this morning and came home with a hairdryer.

Monday, January 02, 2006

Heading down south.

Mutterings continued.

Later:

Bought some fruit and vegies from Gosnells Markets and then headed down to Rockingham where I visited my cousin in his English lolly shop and to buy some fish and chips. Mmmm...shark.

My cousin told me that my Dad's sister-in-law, Auntie Marion, died just before Christmas. She'd been ill for a while. My cousin's mother, my Dad's sister, is still pretty fit and healthy but suffers dementia and doesn't know anybody any more. That's the way it goes, it seems.

This afternoon, Channel 7 broadcast the making of Nanny McPhee, a film I really want to see. Stars Emma Thompson and features Derek Jacobi, Celia Imrie and Imelda Staunton.

(Belated) Happy New Year, Everybody

Mutterings continued.

No blog yesterday as I really didn't have anything to say ("So what's new?" the audience mutters.) - pottered around a bit, did three loads of washing, dusted, all exciting stuff.

For Chrimbo, Ash gave me the DVD of the third series of Black Books, so last night I watched all the extras, including a very, very funny series of outtakes.

Just had a look back to see what I was doing this day a couple of years ago and note that I cited an article that stated that Rowan Atkinson was going to play Voldemort in HP and Goblet of Fire. Rowan Atkinson = Ralph Fiennes? Yeah, I can see how the mistake could have been made.

Today I'll do the rounds of the markets (Gosnells and Stock Road) for a bit of a mooch.