Losing the Ashes

To provide some context: while I watch tennis when it's on, will occasionally check the internet to see how Tottenham Hotspur are doing in the English Premier League, and keep an eye on how Saint Kilda are doing in the AFL, cricket – test cricket in particular – is the only sport I really follow, in the sense that I spend a lot of time not only watching it, but also reading about it and talking about it with other people.

I've played cricket¹, so I've got a good understanding of how it all works – and, given just how esoteric the minutiae of the game is², this is quite significant. I remember most of the terms for field positions, batting strokes and bowling techniques and, having spent a decent part of most of the last thirty or so summers watching the coverage on television, I've observed the ups and downs of the Australian team.

Movie review: Love and Other Drugs

I'm not usually a fan of romantic comedies, but this was one I'd decided I wanted to see – mostly because of my aforementioned fondness for Anne Hathaway.

Oh, and I'm going to talk about the plot – so consider this a spoiler alert.

Not really a romantic comedy

Now, I alluded to it being a romantic comedy and, based on the preview I'd seen, that's what I thought it was going to be. But, as TV Tropes tells us, trailers often lie; while it's being marketed as a romantic comedy, there's a more serious aspect to it.

A formula that doesn't quite work

What I'd interpreted from the preview was that the two lead characters were rival drug reps who started a casual relationship which then turned serious for the guy but not the girl – something along the lines of (500) Days of Summer.

Happy belated birthday, blog

Yesterday (December 25) was my blog's second birthday – which is just a little scary; it certainly doesn't feel like I've been putting my thoughts out there on teh interwebs for that long.

But I'm still enjoying it, and have no plans to stop anytime soon – quite the opposite, actually; I'm really hoping I can increase the frequency of my posts.

Of course, what I'd love is to see an increase in the number of pageviews, and more comments from people – so, if you do have something to say in response to something I've written, please feel free to say so; and if you think other people might enjoy reading it, use the buttons down below to share on Facebook and Twitter.

Anyway, I've got a couple of new posts in the pipeline and will – all things going to plan - have them up in the next few days.

Les Misérables (the book)

On my last trip to the library¹ I found myself in the 'classics' section where I spotted a paperback copy of Les Misérables. I'd gone through the previous haul of books fairly quickly, at least in part to make up for the book-drought imposed during my rehearsal period for Suddenly At Home (as described here) and it occurred to me that I should borrow it, if for no other reason than I had the time.

Despite its literary significance — it's one of those books that always shows up on 'best of', 'most significant' and 'must read before you die under the wheels of a runaway stagecoach' lists — I'd never read it before. In fact, I don't think I'd even seen a copy of it before; while I'm sure a few people I know must own it, I've never noticed it in anyone's bookshelves.

I knew some of the story — between the number of references in pop culture, and having seen a brilliant production of the musical by Adelaide's Gilbert & Sullivan Society a few years back — but, considering the book is nearly 1200 pages long, with 130 or so more pages of notes², there's obviously a lot more to it.

Thinking about Inking

So, recently I've been contemplating getting a tattoo.

Wait, what?

I'm serious — a tattoo. No, not the midget from Fantasy Island, or the thing in Edinburgh where people come from around the world to share their inexplicable fondness for marching in formation while inflicting playing (chiefly) bagpipe music¹.

Yeah, I admit it's not exactly something I ever expected to be contemplating, given that I'm kind of past what I assume is the average age of a person who gets their first tattoo.

¹Incidentally, some friends of mine from Adelaide went with a local pipe band a few years back and one of them ended up featuring quite prominently in the footage they shot.

Not an about—face, per se

It's not like I went to bed being against tattoos and woke up to find myself wanting one; I had thought about before, albeit quite a few years ago. But, despite it being something I was completely okay with – in principle – I never reached the point where I'd made up my mind about exactly what it was I wanted permanently etched into my skin.