The Perils of Wetsuits James Bond often slipped into a black rubber wetsuit. Sean Connery as 007 is very partial to them. Preferably accessorized with a gun or a vicious underwater harpoon. My favourite Connery 007 scene is in Goldfinger, where he swims underwater to an island. He stealthily emerges at … [Read more…]
There Goes the Neighbourhood A small furtive movement attracted my eye. I dropped the hose and reared backwards. It looked like a coiled snake. From a safe distance I gaped at the reptile. Two well-nourished lizards eyeballed me. They were luxuriating in my garden bed and had no fear of me. Indeed, they were … [Read more…]
Halloween Halloween is big business and the festivities – which used to begin on Black Friday have morphed into a lengthy festival beginning well before October 31. It’s quite lucrative for those producing plastic pumpkins, synthetic spider webs and all manner of ‘spooky’ Halloween goods. It’s been estimated at least five million Australians … [Read more…]
Partying Possums ‘Nighty night, Sleep tight, Don’t let the bedbugs bite.’ Children’s rhyme from Emma Mersereau Newton’s novel Bascobel (1881). I’ve become somewhat obsessed with sleep – mainly because I’m not getting enough of it. In the past, the act of sleeping was something aggressive CEO’s and macho politicians derided in interviews. … [Read more…]
Are we amused? ‘I guess when I think about it, one of the things I like to dramatize, and what is sometimes funny, is someone coming unglued. I don’t consider myself someone who is making the argument that I support these choices. I just think it can be funny Wes Anderson … [Read more…]
ASTEROID CITY There’s comedy and tragedy in real life. And there’s a need to not play comedy overtly in comedy, unless you’re doing something that’s very superficially funny … but the key is to be well in on that joke and play it very straight … That’s what kills, right?” Adrien Brody who plays … [Read more…]
Do Ghosts Exist? I was very much of a fan of the idea that ghosts were real because that suggested there was hope … I think there is a very good reason we haven’t put ghosts on the same pile of redundant superstitions as unicorns and elves … They are the buffer … [Read more…]
Indiana Jones Rides Again A bad guy in a movie has a lot of latitude for acting. He can walk up the wall, crawl across the ceiling, go piss in the corner and everybody will say, “Fantastic!” But somebody’s going to have to catch that sucker. Somebody’s going to have to play the guy … [Read more…]
The Frida Khalo Effect Frida Kahlo – named Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón – took up painting in 1925 after a near fatal bus accident. She was only 17 when an electric streetcar, also known as a trolley, rammed the bus she was travelling in. Khalo was left with severe damage … [Read more…]
Caught in the Act The great thing about Courtney Act is that she’s not a “dumb blonde”, even if she chooses to act like it sometimes. Beneath Courtney’s wig, Jenek’s brain is working, taking an almost scholarly approach to issues of gender, sexuality, and society that would make him the talk of Britain and … [Read more…]
The Cake and I Once upon a time – before the outsourcing of dogs and children’s parties – mothers and caregivers made birthday cakes themselves. But sometimes a shop bought ice-cream cake was required. Usually for girls this involved a legless doll about the size of a Barbie doll, embedded in a sturdy … [Read more…]
The Perils of Pickup Trucks Somewhere tucked away in my family tree is a property developer. I’ll call him Geoff. He appeared for a few months and then disappeared. However for many years he continued to visit my mother, bearing huge boxes of chocolates and seasonal fresh flowers. Geoff invited me to lunch … [Read more…]
Autumn in the City It’s been a particularly lovely Melbourne autumn this year but now the days are getting shorter as we head into winter. Taking the city bound tram and heading off very early to work on golden autumn mornings has been quite enjoyable for the first half of the trip. But … [Read more…]
Easter in a Bottle Using the simplest of recipes, we have taken Nutmeg, Cinnamon, and locally produced dried Flame Seedless grapes and steeped them in our Original Gin Elixir to create Easter in a bottle. With citrus notes being the strong but subtle foundations of this Gin, they have lifted the spices … [Read more…]
Our Lady of Paris On the face of this ancient queen of our cathedrals, beside each wrinkle one invariably finds a scar. ‘Tempus edax, homo edacior,’ which I would be inclined to translate: ‘Time is blind, but man is senseless.’ … [Read more…]
Babylon Babylon is a test of whether or not a film can be the sum of its gorgeous pieces. A great score, a talented ensemble, and expert cinematography—all are undeniable here. And yet there are narrative elements of Babylon that feel hollow from the very beginning … Brian Tallerico Babylon clocks in at … [Read more…]
Botticelli’s Venus Goddess on the mountain top Burning like a silver flame The summit of beauty and love And Venus was her name … Venus by Robbie van Leeuwen, Shocking Blue rock band. On a recent visit to the National Gallery of Victoria I glimpsed Jeff Koon’s stainless steel version of Venus. And … [Read more…]
All I want for Christmas … ‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse; The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there; The children were nestled all snug in their beds; … [Read more…]
Capote’s Betrayal ‘Imagination, of course, can open any door – turn the key and let terror walk right in.’ In Cold Blood by Truman Capote Truman Capote is best known for his novella Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1958) and his narrative fiction book, In Cold Blood (1966). In Cold Blood was based … [Read more…]
The Black Eyed Blonde It seemed like a nice neighbourhood to have bad habits in. Raymond Chandler from The Big Sleep 1939. I’ve been reading a Philip Marlowe detective novel that was not written by American author/screenwriter Raymond Chandler (1988-1959). I found the novel The Black Eyed Blonde engaging but somewhat disconcerting. … [Read more…]
Colette ‘People who are perfectly sane and happy don’t make good literature, alas.’ Colette 1873-1954 Every so often I sneak back to classic literature for a brain clean. It’s wonderful to go back and savour books I really love. This time around I’m on a Colette reading jag. Colette was born … [Read more…]
Hollywood Dame – Zsa Zsa Gabor ‘A man in love is incomplete until he has married. Then he’s finished.’ Zsa Zsa Gabor In the fifties and sixties, Zsa Zsa Gabor became more famous for playing herself than the films, stage shows and television shows she appeared in. Born in Budapest and … [Read more…]
Marriage is the tomb of love ‘The company … was far more likely to give pleasure than one made up of persons of quality, where gaiety freezes in the chill of etiquette.’ Casanova describing an evening spent with a group of actors. Having just finished editing my fiction manuscript I’m taking some time … [Read more…]
Freud’s Cigar ‘Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.’ Dr Sigmund Freud 1856 -1939. Freud was a heavy cigar smoker and supposedly said, ‘Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar’. Many of his theories relate to uncontrolled libido and wild sexual impulses. Accordingly, his statement probably means a phallic-shaped object such as a cigar, doesn’t … [Read more…]
The Addams Family House ‘They’re creepy and they’re kooky Mysterious and spooky They’re all together ooky The Addams family Their house is a museum When people come to see ’em They really are a scream The Addams family…’ The Addams Family theme song I was born in London but raised in Australia by English … [Read more…]