Here's a neat site with a challenge...
www.milaadesign.com/wizardy.html
Give it a try and then, tell me how they do it!!!
I know, but can you figure it out?
Not a Bad Year
9 years ago
Saturday, November 18, 2006
The Pink Wall
Couple of nights ago the boys and I went to the see the Pink Floyd Experience at the Enmore theatre in Sydney. All of us being rusted-on Pink Floyd fans (even Charlie who was born the same year as the last genuine Pink Floyd tour to Sydney) we were keen to check out this New Zealand PF tribute band.
The gig was billed as the most authentic PF band touring today so we forked out $65 each and hoped something pretty special. Well, at the end of the night, we reckon the show should have been billed as a Pink Floyd "The Wall" musical performed by a group of average musicians with a lot of extra theatre thrown in. Ok, there was indeed a wall, 124 cardboard boxes stacked across the stage as the show progressed, and there were some pretty spectacular lighting effects, but it didn't quite get there for us.
Fact is, The Wall only has about 3 decent tunes in the whole thing. Most of it is Roger Waters whinging about who stuffed him up during his life. So the show was mainly The Wall plus a couple of extra songs from Dark Side and of course, the almost obligatory Wish You Were Here anthem. Including interval of 20 minutes the Pink Floyd Experience runs to about 3 hours and frankly, we all reckoned we could have spent our time better doing something else. A Pink Floyd Experience ... I don't think so.
Now if you really want to see the definitive Pink Floyd tribute band then Shine On - The Pink Floyd Show is a must for any Pink Floyd purist. These guys perform rarely but we saw them at the Doyalson RSL back in August and trust me, close your eyes and you'd think it was the real thing.
The gig was billed as the most authentic PF band touring today so we forked out $65 each and hoped something pretty special. Well, at the end of the night, we reckon the show should have been billed as a Pink Floyd "The Wall" musical performed by a group of average musicians with a lot of extra theatre thrown in. Ok, there was indeed a wall, 124 cardboard boxes stacked across the stage as the show progressed, and there were some pretty spectacular lighting effects, but it didn't quite get there for us.
Fact is, The Wall only has about 3 decent tunes in the whole thing. Most of it is Roger Waters whinging about who stuffed him up during his life. So the show was mainly The Wall plus a couple of extra songs from Dark Side and of course, the almost obligatory Wish You Were Here anthem. Including interval of 20 minutes the Pink Floyd Experience runs to about 3 hours and frankly, we all reckoned we could have spent our time better doing something else. A Pink Floyd Experience ... I don't think so.
Now if you really want to see the definitive Pink Floyd tribute band then Shine On - The Pink Floyd Show is a must for any Pink Floyd purist. These guys perform rarely but we saw them at the Doyalson RSL back in August and trust me, close your eyes and you'd think it was the real thing.
Friday, November 17, 2006
I Wuzz There!
The Aussie movie The Dish was on TV tonight and although I've seen it a few times it still brings back memories of those magical days back in 1969, when I was in Year 12 at High School and half the school crowded into the theatre to watch Neil Armstrong step onto the moon.
The images were grainy and not like the crystal clear TV pictures of today but while I watched the film I had a thought. In all of history ... I was there when the FIRST man flew in space and I was there when the FIRST man stepped on the moon. I have lived in interesting times.
I watched Uri Gagarin's Sputnik streak across the Sydney night sky on April 12 1961 and I watched Neil Armstrong land on the moon on July 20 1969. Amazing stuff even after all these years.
The images were grainy and not like the crystal clear TV pictures of today but while I watched the film I had a thought. In all of history ... I was there when the FIRST man flew in space and I was there when the FIRST man stepped on the moon. I have lived in interesting times.
I watched Uri Gagarin's Sputnik streak across the Sydney night sky on April 12 1961 and I watched Neil Armstrong land on the moon on July 20 1969. Amazing stuff even after all these years.
Saturday, November 11, 2006
Is That It?
I do enjoy a good joke or funny story and indeed I've been known in days past to dish up a couple of hours worth of rib-ticklers from blonde to blue. Indeed as a young bloke 30 years ago I had few peers when it came to joke telling and that's no idle boast even if I do say so myself. However the years have not been kind, memory loss as you get older is real folks, and these days I almost need a secretary to take notes and remind me of the best funnies.
And there are few stand up comics who can get my attention, I've heard them all before and it seems to me that most of the so-called new breed of comedians rely totally on embarassing toilet and anatomical humour for most of their material. Not that there's anything wrong with that but they need to be told well and they don't need to be the main theme of the act.
Jerry Seinfeld, Ray Romano and Billy Crystal are three of the best live comedians these days I reckon and I've never really been impressed with Irish import Jimeoin who is big in Australia and I'm stuffed if I know why. I think it says more about the audience than the performer. Anyway, last night we went to Panthers to see Jimeoin Live.
Jim old mate, I know you are Irish but you've been here for a few years now and you really should ditch the mumbling Irish accent. For most of the 2 hour show I couldn't understand a word he said... he mumbled in some unintelligible cross between Irish Brogue and Aussie English and I could see others in the packed Evan Theatre were as underwhelmed as we were. The sight gags were ok but the whole show never really got going and although there were a few good laughs, it didn't rock the place at all. At the end of 2 hours I was asking, "Is that it?"
Jim's first outing in an Australian movie The Craig was a big letdown and unfortunately his latest live show wasn't any better.
But, Big Sis Wendy and Bro Nick were good company and it's always good to see them so it was a good night all the same.
And there are few stand up comics who can get my attention, I've heard them all before and it seems to me that most of the so-called new breed of comedians rely totally on embarassing toilet and anatomical humour for most of their material. Not that there's anything wrong with that but they need to be told well and they don't need to be the main theme of the act.
Jerry Seinfeld, Ray Romano and Billy Crystal are three of the best live comedians these days I reckon and I've never really been impressed with Irish import Jimeoin who is big in Australia and I'm stuffed if I know why. I think it says more about the audience than the performer. Anyway, last night we went to Panthers to see Jimeoin Live.
Jim old mate, I know you are Irish but you've been here for a few years now and you really should ditch the mumbling Irish accent. For most of the 2 hour show I couldn't understand a word he said... he mumbled in some unintelligible cross between Irish Brogue and Aussie English and I could see others in the packed Evan Theatre were as underwhelmed as we were. The sight gags were ok but the whole show never really got going and although there were a few good laughs, it didn't rock the place at all. At the end of 2 hours I was asking, "Is that it?"
Jim's first outing in an Australian movie The Craig was a big letdown and unfortunately his latest live show wasn't any better.
But, Big Sis Wendy and Bro Nick were good company and it's always good to see them so it was a good night all the same.
Sunday, November 05, 2006
Best Pizza in the Mountains?
So ok, by now you reckon I am a food nut. Well I can't argue that I do like food and in fact one of the first jobs I had even before I left school was learning cookery at Zachary's Restaurant up at Terry Hills. I even started working at Qantas Flight Catering when I left school but the low pay and production line style of cooking left me cold. I did however enjoy the Lobster Thermidore or Lobster Newburg we would have on freshly baked bread rolls for morning tea, sitting in the flight deck of a 707. Those were the days before jumbo jets and all the airport security. Anyway, I digress...
Another favourite is a good pizza and fortunately after trying many of the pizza joints around Penrith and the lower Blue Mountains I found Monte's Pizzeria at Blaxland... (15A Great Western Highway Blaxland, just next to the Glenbrook Hotel 02 4739 6969)
Nick and son Joel run this award winning pizzeria which has been featured in the SMH Good Food Guide and has a loyal local following. They will do your traditional pizzas but you can also get one from their popular Tropical Gormet Menu. Islander Special and Reef-N-Fruit are sure to please as are any of the standard pizzas ... my favourite is Monte's Special with the lot but not a word to my Cardiologist!
These guys are the real deal and their pizzas are sensational but as always, it's the people who make it special and Joel and Nick are friendly and always pleasant ... just plain good blokes!
Another favourite is a good pizza and fortunately after trying many of the pizza joints around Penrith and the lower Blue Mountains I found Monte's Pizzeria at Blaxland... (15A Great Western Highway Blaxland, just next to the Glenbrook Hotel 02 4739 6969)
Nick and son Joel run this award winning pizzeria which has been featured in the SMH Good Food Guide and has a loyal local following. They will do your traditional pizzas but you can also get one from their popular Tropical Gormet Menu. Islander Special and Reef-N-Fruit are sure to please as are any of the standard pizzas ... my favourite is Monte's Special with the lot but not a word to my Cardiologist!
These guys are the real deal and their pizzas are sensational but as always, it's the people who make it special and Joel and Nick are friendly and always pleasant ... just plain good blokes!
35 Years Ago...
35 years ago ... on the 13th November 1971 to be exact, I and 129 other fresh-faced hopefulls entered the NSW Police Academy at Bourke Street Redfern and became Class 129 of the NSW Police Academy.
On Saturday we had our 35th Reunion at the Arms of Australia Hotel in Penrith and despite the ravages of time which saw the passing of a few and the incarceration of several others, about 60 or 70 of us turned up to remember the good old days when the local copper was not always liked but was almost always respected... even by the hoodlums and crims.
Anyway, the following Rogue's Gallery is evidence of those who managed to attend... just click on Lone and Anita's image...
On Saturday we had our 35th Reunion at the Arms of Australia Hotel in Penrith and despite the ravages of time which saw the passing of a few and the incarceration of several others, about 60 or 70 of us turned up to remember the good old days when the local copper was not always liked but was almost always respected... even by the hoodlums and crims.
Anyway, the following Rogue's Gallery is evidence of those who managed to attend... just click on Lone and Anita's image...
Tip and Heidi's Engagement Bash
Well after 3 years, Tip and Heidi decided to put us all out of our misery and they announced their Engagement. Actually it was a bit more involved and Andrew proposed to Heidi during a flight to Coolangatta back in September. I was in India and missed the excitement but it was all hands on deck last Saturday night when the formal Engagement Party got going.
Click on the image to see all the party pics.
Click on the image to see all the party pics.
Saturday, November 04, 2006
All the India Trip Photos
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