Reviews- one book, one movie, and one show

The first part of this review is a book-movie combo: One Day, by David Nicholls. The book tells the story of Emma and Dexter, college students in the UK who become friends on their graduation night, and follows them for twenty years, through bad jobs and bad relationships, tracking the ebbs and flows of their sometimes friendship, sometimes romance. At first I wasn't crazy about the book- I found Emma self-righteous and irritating, and Dexter self-centered and obnoxious- but they got better as they got older (although Dexter remains a bit of a dick for most of it), and a couple of chapters in, and I was hooked. It's funny and clever and you feel like you actually know the characters, but I must warn you, the book takes a completely unexpected turn towards the end that might leave readers a bit upset at the author.

Onto One Day, the movie. I saw the movie just a few days after finishing the book, so I was interested to see what they would do with the characters who were still so fresh in my mind. The two leads were great- Jim Sturgess is English and handsome and a natural choice for Dex. Anne Hathaway's English accent was a bit hit-or-miss, but she fit the role well, capturing both Emma's sarcasm and self-doubt. The minor characters Ian and Sylvie were perfect but they totally missed the mark with Suki, who was more like a cartoon character than a real person. I liked the movie, but not sure how I would have felt about it if I hadn't have read the book first, because I enjoyed seeing what parts they used for the movie and what omitted.

And now for the show- Okkervil River at The Forum. This Austin indie rock first hit my radar a few years ago with Black, the type of song that has you listening to the lyrics to see if you can figure out the story. To be honest, I wasn't very familiar with their newer stuff but hadn't seen them live before, and a $50 ticket is a bargain by Australian standards. (oh how I miss the Boston live music scene!). They put on a great set that was a nice mix of mellow songs with some peppier rock tunes as well, and inspired me to download a few of their new tracks the next day. (obligatory concert photo lifted from my friend Vinnie)

Haircut

The haircut I wanted vs. the haircut I got.
















Oh well.

Kim's visit- Part 2: Adventures on the Great Ocean Road

After spending a couple of days exploring Melbourne, Kim and I rented a car and drove down the Great Ocean Road, one of the most scenic spots in Victoria. On the first day of the trip, we checked out Bells Beach and spent the night in Lorne. Day 2 we stopped at the famous 12 Apostles (of which there may or may not be 12) and continued on to Port Fairy, a old timey little boating down past the end of the Great Ocean Road. Day 3 we drove back to Melbourne on the inland route, taking a small detour to check out the town of Fram(l)ingham, where we saw a lot of cows and sheep but did not spot a single human inhabitant. I had never been to the far end of the Great Ocean Road before, so it was fun to go somewhere new, and we had nice weather for most of the trip, although it is still far too cold to go in the water, so our surf lesson idea was abandoned.


Back in Melbourne, we did a little more sightseeing and visited Queen Victoria Market and the Ian Potter Centre, an art gallery featuring Australian art, which we were pleased to discover is free admission! We had a farewell dinner at Anada in Fitzroy (yum!) and took some silly photos at a nearby park. And just like that, it was time for Kim to fly back to Massachusetts. I had a fantastic time and it was so fun to just hang out and enjoy Melbourne and its surroundings with a friend whom I've known since I was five years old.

Kim's visit- Part I: Adventures in Melbourne

Last week I was graced by the presence of a very special visitor, my friend Kim! After she somewhat recovered from jetlag, we spent the next couple of days exploring Melbourne.

On Sunday, we checked out the weekend art market in Fitzroy, made a quick trip to the city center (known as the CBD- Central Business District) and then partook in some local sporting activities, with a visit to the Fitzroy Lawn Bowls club. My flatmate Susan had made me some birthday cupcakes decorated to look like...lawn bowling! Aren't they great? Tasty, too.


Monday we headed back into the city for a delicious lunch at Flower Drum, a restaurant that a man on an airplane had once told me was the best Chinese restaurant in the world. (I take advice given on airplanes seriously.) We had the four course lunch tasting menu and it was delicious and definitely a good amount of food- the steak pictured would have been sufficient as a meal on its own. After that, we did more sightseeing and shopping in the CBD and went up to the Eureka skydeck- the highest viewing platform in the southern hemisphere! (Australia loves those southern hemisphere superlatives.) It was a cool but clear day so the view was great, and we ate footlong gummy worms and I got mugged by a toddler who snatched a brochure out of my hand. Good thing he didn't go for the gummy worm because I would have fought back for that.




Stay tuned for Part 2: Adventures on the Great Ocean Road!

Link!

Okay, so I am a blog slacker and I have lots to post about (Kim's visit, mostly), but to tide you over I offer this link:

Apparently a haunted house in upstate NY takes photos of people while they are scared. It turns out that these photos are hilarious. Enjoy!

One of my faves.

via Metafilter

Mad about Vlad

One of my friends and I share a strange crush/fascination with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Okay, so maybe his politics can be a bit shady, but you've got to admit that he's one cool dude. Just look at the pictures! He drives race cars, rides a motorcycle, scuba dives, expresses interest in science, plays piano, and snuggles puppies.

(link via Kris)

Another year of soccer

One of the first things I did when I moved to Melbourne was to join a soccer team. Last year's team was a lot of fun, but also a bit on the Bad News Bears side- several players had never played organized soccer before, and we weren't the best at actually getting 11 people to show up for an early Sunday morning game. Our old coach (yes, rec sports here have coaches and practice- it's crazy) resigned right before the new season started due to work commitments and things were looking a little bit bleak for the Port Melbourne Sharks. However, as the season began, we ended up getting an awesome new coach and recruiting a few new players from the US, Canada, and England, and well as an Australian who is actually good (no offense but women's soccer is definitely not Australia's forte). We even got new uniforms so we didn't have to wear hand-me-downs from the men's team that were the size of circus tents (although I do miss the old Pinkles pink). We were good, but more importantly, we were fun, so playing this season improved my social life as well as my fitness. We won our last game on Sunday and finished at the top of the league.

Ten years later

September 11th will never more be just another date on the calendar. For Americans of my generation, it's the event that stunned us, burned forever in our memories the way that our parents recall exactly what they were doing when they found out that John F Kennedy was shot, or our grandparents remember Pearl Harbor. Ten years ago, I was a Peace Corps volunteer in Nicaragua, listening to the radio in the morning while I got ready for the day. I heard something on the news about all airports in the United States being closed, and knew right away something bad was happening. I turned on the TV and CNN en Español was broadcasting live from New York, where the first plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. At this point, it was unclear if it was just a freak accident or something more sinister. Moments later, the second plane hit and everyone's worst fears were confirmed.

I spent the rest of the day watching the news, trying to figure out what had happened, and worrying about my friends in New York City and my father, who travels frequently (I knew one of the planes had left from Boston). The town where I lived only had one phone, and I did manage to get in touch with my parents. The next day, I headed into the city to get together with my Peace Corps friends to share information we were getting from back home, and to just be together- it was a strange time to be living overseas, and everything felt a bit confusing and surreal, as I'm sure it would have no matter where you were located. "Dark days ahead" was the message my friend Courtney received in an email from her uncle.

On this anniversary, I'm living overseas again, on the outside looking in, partly spared the inundation of 9-11 reflections and commentaries sure to be taking over the headlines and airways back home. Praise for the bravery and kindness of ordinary people caught in a nightmare, derision for those who used the tragedy for political or personal gain, over the top rah-rah nevar forget! patriotism, and callous cynicism of those who claim we had it coming. I suppose I still haven't sorted out my own feeling on the subject, other than sympathy for those who died and their families, and a vague wish that the feeling of unity and goodwill that rose up out of the aftermath could have lasted longer than it did.

What I've been up to lately

- Watching Deadwood. I love a good Western.

- Reading...just finished Runaway, a book of short stories by Alice Munro, all set in Canada, all featuring women. Some I really enjoyed, some left me a feeling a bit empty.

- Listening...Big Boi (a.k.a 1/2 of Outkast) is touring to promote his recent album and I went to the Melbourne show last weekend- super fun! He took the stage with another lead rapper, a DJ, a guitarist, and two trumpeters dressed in matching Adidas jumpsuits and played a few of his new songs and a lot of older Outkast tracks.

- Hosting! Kris and Rodd came down to Sydney a couple of weeks ago for a weekend visit. Kris already provided a detailed account but I will cover the highlights:

We attended a Rubik's Cube Tournament (as spectators, not participants). As one would expect, the majority of the contestants were nerdy boys, most of them teenagers. We caught the blindfold round...the time starts when the contestants receive a scrambled cube. They look at it, try to memorize the pattern and the required moves, and when they're ready, the blindfold goes on and they attempt to solve the cube from memory. Holy shit, right? There were a couple of kids who finished in under 40 seconds, which was pretty amazing. I had no idea such a competition existed.

We took a jaunt down to one of my favorite spots in Victoria, the Mornington Peninsula. We drank wine at a winery, beer at a brewery, and ate cheese at a cheesery. And we spent the night in a lighthouse keeper's cottage! It was windy. And then we played Settlers of Catan by the fire as we drank our wine purchases. I had a great time, and now I guess I owe them a trip up to Sydney.

Science baking competition

This week my workplace held a special science-themed baking competition. Entries had to be cookies or cupcakes so they could be easily shared, and groups were encouraged to make entries related to their own research. My original idea was to make a periodic table of mini cupcakes (oh come on, you think it's awesome), but since I was off gallivanting with my Sydney visitors (will post on that later) I didn't have a chance to bake, so I was a spectator and taster instead. My group stayed true to our research and submitted bacterial-themed treats that resembled colonies growing on agar plates. I was very impressed with the entries, and my favorites included macaroons shaped like chromosomes and mitochondria eclairs. The winner was cupcakes decorated with sleeping babies from a group who does sleep research on infants- they were cute but the edible baby decorations were a little bit cannibalistic for my tastes. I really hope they hold the contest again next year- it was really fun and tasty!

Links!

I still look at Boston.com nearly every day and was surprised to see a photo essay on a pink, 26 room mansion in Framingham known as the Owl's Nest. How have I never heard of or seen this place? And it gets better- the current owner has three pomeranians, a massive doll collection, and an Egyptian room. Apparently he's rich enough to be considered eccentric rather than crazy.

In other news, earlier this month, a man broke into a house in a wealthy Sydney suburb and clamped a device around teenage girl's neck, claiming that it was a bomb and demanding ransom. The authorities eventually determined that it wasn't a real bomb and removed the device. Earlier this week, the police tracked down and arrested the suspect, a middle-aged investment banker, in Kentucky. Weird!

Lastly, here's a website about the new Royal Children's Hosptial where my lab will be moving to in November. The current hospital was built in 1963 and the facilities are very outdated- for example, there are no vacuum or gas lines in the labs, and renovations are impractical due to the presence of asbestos. They ran out of office space so many staff members, myself included, have desks in a temporary trailer structure known as The Gantry. Although the move itself will undoutbedly be a bit of a hassle, I've been looking forward to the new digs and having my desk in the same vicinity of the lab. I do think that despite that dated surroundings, the current hospital does a great job of making it a positive, happy environment for the kids in for long-term care. They're continuing that tradition in the plans for the new hospital- they polled children to decide on color schemes, and the foyer will feature a two story aquarium.

What I didn't know until yesterday was that the new hospital will also feature a meerkat enclosure, presumably to entertain the pediatric patients. How awesome is that?? Here's an article on the first patient to tour the facility.

Movie review: Jane Eyre

I saw the new film version of Jane Eyre earlier this week, and I liked it much more than I expected. I remember reading the book by Charlotte Bronte in 9th grade and I recall disliking it, which is strange because I have thoroughly enjoyed all of the other Bronte/Austen novels I've read. Perhaps I was too young for it when I read it, or I had trouble getting past the lengthy starting section with Jane as a young child living an unhappy life (orphaned, she ends up in the care of a nasty aunt who then ships her off to a nasty boarding school). All I really remember of the book was someone mean whacking young Jane with a book, and a crazy lady kept hidden away in a tower. Thankfully, Jane's dreary childhood only takes up a small portion of the movie, and we encounter her at the age of 19, employed as a governess at a lonely mansion owned by...surprise! a handsome, rich, and enigmatic bachelor. If I lived in 19th century England, surely such men would be utterly charmed by my wit and spirit and seek to marry me in spite of my plainness and low social standing. And so it is with Jane and Mr. Rochester, however, this story does not have a classic happy ending like many of its counterparts.
I thought the movie was very well done and the strength was mainly in the casting. Australian Mia Wasikowska was perfect as the heroine- stoic yet passionate, wise beyond her years, and not too pretty. And what is a BBC period piece without Dame Judi Dench? I think this might be a rare case where I actually prefer the movie to the book.

Weekend Report

This weekend featured a LOT of eating. On Friday night, a Pakistani coworker had invited my labmates to join her for the fun part of Ramadan- breaking the fast at sundown. We went to a Lebanese restaurant that does a special set menu service for Ramadan. Diners are seated at 5:30 to tables spread with an impressive array of appetizers. See all that food on the table? That's just the first course. About ten minutes later, the call to prayer is played, signaling that it's time to break the fast, and everyone digs in. Traditionally, dates are eaten first to get blood sugar up. The mains course included lots of slow-cooked meats and kebabs. The food was so good it almost made up for the fact that the restaurant is alcohol-free.

On Saturday, I stuck with the Subcontinent culinary theme and went to lunch at an Indian colleague's house- she had made biryani, chicken curry, mushroom curry, salad with yogurt, and two types of bread. Face stuffing ensued. I tried traditional Indian lime pickles, which have some much red chili on them they no longer resemble limes in any form, and I actually really liked them- I am a fan of spicy foods, and these hit the hot spot without venturing into pain territory.

Saturday night I saw Rise of the Planet of the Apes. I saw the trailer a couple of months ago and it looked like the type of movie that could go one of two ways: it could be dreadful, like comically awful, or it could be really good- there was no way it was going to be a "meh, mediocre" type movie. I think feel squarely into the Really Good category, minus a couple of over-the-top scenes towards the end (the chimp riding a horse? come on now.). The science-heavy plot was interesting and the special effects team did a great job with the chimps- they seemed real rather than computer-generated, and they did a great job of giving them personalities without dialogue. I must confess that I haven't seen any of the Planet of the Apes film and all I really know about them is Charlton Heston and the Statue of Liberty scene, so I likely missed out on all sorts of nuanced references to the series. All I can say is that I'm glad my line of research involved bacteria rather than apes.

In other entertainment news, I finished the third and final book in the Hunger Games series. The style of books two and three is similar to the first, and I'll leave out plot descriptions so I don't spoil things for anyone. The third book is the darkest of the three and proceeds at a frantic pace until the ending, which seems to come about suddenly. I adored the characters and was dying to know how the story would end, but at the same time I didn't want it to be over. Now I can look forward to the movie- I had avoided reading about the casting because I didn't want it to influence my mental picture of the characters, but now it's kind of fun to see who will be playing different roles

Census time

The Australian census took place earlier this week- on Tuesday, August 9th. I don't recall ever filling out a census form in the US but they seem to be much more serious about it in Australia- everyone fills out the census form on a specific date, and everyone staying in your house that night goes on your form, even if they are just a visitor. And it's mandatory- you get fined if you don't complete it. Because I am a nerd, I was kind of excited about being part of the census. The questions were fairly standard, age, sex, marital status, a lot of questions on heritage (where you were born, where your parents were born, etc..) and employment, although some of the examples they gave made me laugh- "What type goods or services does your employer provide? Examples: hairdressing, sheep and wheat."
If you like looking at graphs, here are some census data- enjoy!

You learn something new every day

Did you know that there is a contraption on the market that allows women to pee whilst standing up? It's called the shewee. After post-soccer beers last weekend, we were talking about peeing, as you do, and one of my soccer teammates told us about the shewee and that she owns one. The conversation rapidly spiraled downhill from there. We asked her to describe it- I was envisioning a catheter, and she said "no, it looks more like a paper airplane."
??!
It actually looks more like a funnel or a plastic chute, at least on the website, which states "It is ideal for outdoor pursuits and long car journeys or for travelling abroad." I'm sorry, but long car rides? That's what rest stops are for. As much as peeing can be an inconvenience, I don't really see the appeal of the shewee. The big problem is that to use it, you'd have to carry it around with you. Where? In your purse? Gross! And you'd presumably have to rinse it, as well. Although it would make for an excellent conversation piece!

Short and sweet

My posts have been a bit on the long side lately, so here's an interspecies friendship story to mix things up a bit:

A chimpanzee babysits tiger cubs in a Thai zoo. Said chimpanzee also wears jean shorts, also known as jorts.

Thanks for the link, Caro!

How I learned to stop worrying and like skiing

I went skiing last weekend. Those of you know know me well realize that this is the equivalent of watching a friend who has been a vegetarian for over a decade chomp down into a t-bone steak. You see, I do not participate in a category of activities I refer to as Non-Shoe Sports. Non-Shoe Sports require putting something on your feet or standing on something that is not a shoe. To wit: skiing, rollerskating, snowboarding, surfing, skateboarding, ice skating, and the like. Poor balance, bendy ankles, fear of injury, and bad memories of being the child who had to get towed around by the hand at roller rink birthday parties all contribute to two imminent truths: 1. I am terrible at non-shoe sports and 2. I hate them.

I attempted skiing a few times from the ages of 18 - 22 or so, and the big problem was that I didn't know how to turn, so I'd just end up fucking flying down the slope, too fast to brake, so the only option was to tip over and tumble to a stop. Not fun. The other problem was that I always went with friends who were really good skiers, so I'd either end up by myself and miserable, or with someone else and feeling really bad they they were stuck on the bunny slope with me and my disasterness rather than off enjoying themselves on the real slopes. Plus, if I wanted to spend a lot of money on something that I didn't like, I might as well just go to the dentist. I soon learned that I enjoyed ski weekends much more when they didn't involve skiing, and happily opted to sit by the fire and read, drink cocktails in the hottub, or go snowmobiling or hiking while others did the whole ski/snowboard thing.

However, when one of my soccer teammates organized a trip to the snow (That's what they call it here- "going to the snow"- which never ceases to amuse me because I come from a place where the snow comes to you), for some reason, I decided to give skiing a try for the first time in over ten years. Maybe it was the novelty of skiing in Australia in July that drew me in or the assumption that there would be other novices on the trip, an assumption that proved to be entirely incorrect. We drove up to Mt. Hotham Friday night, spent the evening with wine and boardgames by the fire, and Saturday morning rented our gear and headed to the slopes. One of my friends is a former ski instructor and offered to give a mini-lesson, and she soon realized that I was not exaggerating in the slightest when I said I may possibly be the worst skier in the world. The plan was to learn how to turn, thinking that might be the key skill required to avoid the whole crash landing problem, and the first hour was pretty rough. It took me almost an hour to get down the easiest slope on the mountain because I fell on my ass about every 15 feet. When we finally reached the bottom, I dismissed my very patient instructor and practiced on my own for a little while. I had signed up for an afternoon lesson so I decided to stick around and give it a shot. And guess what? It was great! Being around other people who also sucked made it so much more fun! And I even started to get the hang of it...I got off the lift without falling (okay, 50% of the time) and I figured out the turning thing, to the point where I could make it the whole way down the mountain without falling. Granted, I was doing the snowplow most of the way, but I felt like I could actually control where I was going, and I started go a little faster and practicing keeping my skis parallel instead of in a V, and then hey, I realized that I was enjoying it. Then I got cold and decided to quit while I was ahead. The rest of the weekend involved lots of relaxing by the fire, but overall I had a great time. I'm already looking forward to my next trip to the snow, but I definitely plan to stick with the lessons for a while.

What's cooking?

So my new favorite thing is an immersion blender, you know, the electric stick thing that you stick in a pot and BRRZZZZZZZZRRRTTTTTT, and now your soup has a pleasant texture as opposed to the standard "broth with stuff floating in it." However, be sure not to pull the immersion blender out of the soup while it is still on, lest you end up taking a soup shower- and that's not a euphemism.

So the immersion blender and the winter weather (Southern hemisphere shout out!) have put me in the mood for soup. Here are two I've tried lately:

1. Moroccan sweet potato, carrot, and chickpea soup. Yummers!!

2. Tortilla Soup. I did change this one a bit since I wanted to share with my vegetarian flatmate. I subbed veggie broth and didn't add the chicken put put in some diced zucchini, corn, and kidney beans to bulk it up, and then I hit it with the immersion blender- not a full puree, just about a 50/50 mix. I also used tortilla chips instead of frying my own corn tortiallas, because who has time for that shit? Okay, so essentially what I cooked had little to do with the recipe, but it was really easy to make and tasted very good, especially with avocado and cheese and cilantro all over the top.

And to continue on the vegetarian kick, I had friends over for dinner recently and turned it into a parma party and ended up making Martha Stewart's Baked Eggplant Parmesan (I like how it has aubergine in parentheses, cause Martha's so European) in addition to this oven baked chicken parm. The eggplant was a little more work than the chicken but both came out well and made for a perfect winter dinner, served up with pasta, salad, garlic bread, and plenty of red wine.

Sorry, no photos this time around- you'll have to settle for my witty commentary.

Links!

Here are some links of interest:

Reagrding the women's world cup, I watched a few of the later round games and the final- which was a great game- exciting goals, tough play by both teams, and even though most soccer purists hate it when a game is decided by penalty kicks, I can't help but love the drama. It would have been nice for the USA to win and they did play a great tournament, but I did feel happy for the Japanese team- they were underdogs who didn't give up when they fell behind, and they deserved to win. Something felt different from the men's world cup, and I couldn't put my finger on it at first- in women's basketball, the game always seems like it's being played in slow motion compared to the men, but that's not the case in soccer. And then I realized- the game seemed to run so much more smoothly because there were relatively few stoppages of play- in comparison to the men's world cup, hardly anyone was diving! They were just out there playing soccer, not rolling around and feigning injury every time they lost the ball. It really made the game so much more enjoyable to watch. I'm not sure if the difference is due to the fact that women tend to dive less than men, or that the final was played between the USA and Japan, whereas South American and European teams are much more notorious for diving. Here's a nifty NYT article about less diving in women's soccer (thanks, JR!).

Other links- Perfectly Timed Photos. Crappy layout aside, there's some great stuff on here.

My new favorite talk/interview show: The Graham Norton Show. On this BBC program, Irish host Graham Norton interviews celebrity guests, but in a much more interesting format that the typical US late-night shows. Kind of like on Conan, all the guests sit together so it's more of a conversation than a series of quick one on one interviews. And because it's British television, they're allowed to swear and tell raunchy stories. Here's a great episode with Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Alex Kingston, and Rob Lowe. Rob Lowe comes across as a bit of a tool but the other three seem relaxed, witty, and hilarious.

Lastly, Rihanna is hilarious in a lot of these photos with fans. It makes me like her even more. (via Metafilter)

Adventures in Massachusetts

Okay, I promise this will be the last post on my big June/July trip. In my mind, it's a summer trip, but the whole winter in the southern hemisphere is kind of throwing me for a loop.

After Helsinki and Newport, I spent a week and a half back in my hometown, spending time with the family and catching up with friends. It was great! I must say, though, when you live far away, returning home for a visit is definitely not a relaxing vacation. The entire time was a whirlwind of activity- seeing friends, running errands for my parents, spending time with my nieces, visiting my grandmother, meeting new babies (and getting spit up on by one- I considered it a sign of affection). I did manage to accomplish my two priorities- eating and shopping. Fried clams at Harry's, sushi in Boston, good Mexican food, nice crispy American bacon, Dunkin Donuts iced coffee, and all the things you just can't get in Australia. Since it was 4th of July cookout season, I also packed away my fair share of hot dogs. As for the shopping, between the Natick Mall, DSW, and the New Balance outlet, I may have singlehandedly stimulated the Metrowest economy.

Highlights included an overnight in the city with my sister Kerry and my nieces, and an evening that culminated in a distasteful photo shoot with my arch nemesis: Edible Arrangements. One of their stupid vans always hogged the best parking spot in front of my apartment for my last couple of years in Southie.