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‘Capitalism’ is a true example of a movie in two parts. For the first hour, Moore jumps between topics never holding a theme longer than it takes to watch a family cry. Here we learn about the seedy side of pay disputes, life insurance, and re-mortgaging your house. The second hour of the movie, however, tells a great story of the cause, effect, and implications of the financial crisis and the US bailout. Like any Moore film, there are times that you need to look behind the stunts for the facts; but when you do, they’re relatively informed and interesting.
It’d be tough for another restaurant too have a more relaxed feel than The Baths. The chairs are comfortable, the fit out’s clean, and the whole place literally sits right on the beach, so as you can imagine, the view is beautiful. It doesn’t stop there – the food is brilliant, too. Our lunch provided us with a spectacular duck and mushroom gnocchi, featuring tender shreds of confit duck breast and a variety of mushrooms, sautéed with a delicate temperance of garlic. Combined with the wonderfully soft gnocchi pieces, this was the best pasta dish I’ve tasted in a long time.
Listening to ‘Invisible By Day’, the debut LP from San Francisco three piece Hey Young Believer, made me feel like I knew the band; or more to the point, that they knew me. The album followed me through my day – ‘Tidal Waves’ bounced me out of bed, ‘Waking Up On The Floor’ forebode my day at work, ‘The Funeral Shuffle’ got me through the paper pushing, ‘Walking Over You’ accompanied my romantic dinner, ‘Float Away’ took me for cocktails, and ‘Don’t Look Down’ put me back to bed. If every day could be like this album, I’d quite enjoy it.
I recently got my hands on a Google Wave invite, and I have to admit that I’m not that impressed. Don’t get me wrong, I think the technology is great, it’s a bit of fun, and I do subscribe to their idea that Wave is “what email would be like if it were invented toady”. Unfortunately, I can’t see it garnering the broad use that they’re looking for. As a development experiment it’s a good proof of concept, but unless it completely integrates with current email protocols and becomes seamlessly cross-platform, it’s never going to be more than a novelty.
World Bar has changed its look a couple of times, but still manages to provide a nice casual dining experience for a reasonable price. As the name would suggest, menu variety is the name of the game, with lamb burgers next to lentils and steaks next to souvlakis. It can get busy at times, with menus, drinks and meals being misplaced, but these issues are all handled with a smile and quick one-liner by the staff. It’s not a gourmet date night, but for fish and chips and a couple of pints of beer, you could do a lot worse.
This was my first half marathon, and only my second competitive run, so I don’t have much to compare it to. I really enjoyed the run itself, and was great culmination to my training. It did seem, though, that corners had been cut with the race organisation. On the run, the distance markers were few, far between, and placed as to be very difficult to see; and distance-wise, the fact that the 5K and 10K courses were out by about 10% is realty inexcusable for an event of that size. It’s not cheap, so let’s hope it’s right next year.
If it hadn’t been for YourRestaurants (but more on that another time), I’d have never known about Stax, hidden at the top of the city, just behind Swanston St. I’m glad I did find out about it though. A wide variety of cheap and tasty food, and brilliant coffee make it a nice option for lunch. My creamy chicken and bacon pasta was solid lunch, even if the sauce seemed a little watered down. The service is very friendly, but they do have a bit of a problem with trying to crowd too many people into too small a space.
Everyone’s heard the story of Mount Vesuvius erupting over Pompeii, but it takes an exhibition like this to truly understand what it meant. The exhibition is spread out nicely, with the first area dedicated to how the inhabitants of Pompeii used to live (with some amazingly preserved displays of household and garden items, and even carbonised food), while the second area described the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and its aftermath. The exhibition becomes especially powerful with the plaster casts of the voids in the ash where bodies were trapped – freezing in time, forever, the last moments of these ancient lives.
As a cultural study, ‘Freaks and Geeks’ is a success on two levels. On the surface, it’s a great view of the tough world of high school in Carter/Regan era Michigan. Under that surface, however, is a snapshot of actors and filmmakers who would become powerhouses on the late 00s. There’s James Franco, Seth Rogan, and Jason Segal (to name a few), under the production of Judd Apatow. The characters are fantastic, and very easy to relate to. And when combined with talented actors and clear writing, you’ve got a quality show that finished earlier than many would have liked.
Some restaurants draw you in with flavours and aromas, others with talk and service. Hawker’s Café is an example of the latter. It was somewhat of a surprise to have such a friendly face taking our orders and offering suggestions without feeling like we were being up-sold. After that, it was little things: a glass of water whilst waiting for our take-away order, and descriptions of other dishes to tempt us back. The food itself was good – a heavily noodled laksa and a dry beef curry – but wouldn’t have been enough for a return visit if not for the service.
