A Slice of Scrambled Egg

Ka-Chow my pretties…

Settling into the apartment now, and have had a chance to experience Darwin life a little more, and mostly it’s all good. Below are a few thoughts and facts.

By the way, if you want a way to be automatically notified of when I have updated my blog, click on the "bloglines" button on the right, and sign up to get automatic notification.

Darwin -The City

It’s small. There is no disputing that fact. There is pretty much one of everything. One Woolworths, one Coles (none of this Express-supermarket-on-every-corner rubbish), one CBA, one ANZ, one National (they seem not to have updated to “NAB” yet), one McDonalds. Then a lot of things are not in the city, you have to go out about 9-13km. The closest KFC, Bunnings and Freedom are all about 9km away.

The other day I went to the Darwin City library and signed myself up for a membership (my first since North Melbourne!). The library is so small that although they have a Romance fiction section, the Mills & Boon are not in it, the few they have live on a stand for people to read in the library only, no borrowing of Mills & Boon… or maybe it’s just that they actually have some standards! ;P

Darwin - TV

There is no Channel 10. How can that be you ask? No So You Think You Can Dance, no American Idol (Gideon gives a big sigh of relief!), no new season of NCIS, no Simpsons or Futurama, no Bold and the Beautiful (just kidding), no David Letterman, now that he has moved from 9 to 10, no Sandra Sully or Rove McManus. I am just beginning to realise just how much Channel 10 I used to watch, and how little of the other channels I watched. It’s probably a good thing I have other things to keep me busy (computer games!J). I am really looking forward to Heroes, Ugly Betty, Dancing with the Stars and the new season of The Amazing Race though. (Incidentally, is anyone entering the Melbourne Amazing Race in Feb?). I am told that in the past they have actually shown Big Brother on one of the other channels though… lucky us! ;P

Darwin - Don’t come here for the shopping.

There is only one big shopping mall. It is about the size of Northland and it is located 12.92km from here (according to Whereis.com). Last Tuesday I decided to brave the weather and go for my first proper bike ride. Stupidly I left home just around midday, and it was damn hot. I could feel the heat radiating off the bitumen, there was barely a breeze, at one stage I was feeling nauseous and wondering if I would make it. It took me 34 minutes to get there with an average heart rate of 166bpm!!! (Put it this way, sitting around, my heart rate is about 62bpm, and my max while exercising is around 180-190bpm if sprinting). Thankfully, it is pretty flat around here (Robbie, no hills I’m afraid). Anyway, I got there safely, and was pleasantly surprised by the size of the centre. Managed to fit in a movie (See below), missed the bank (they close at 4pm here), and even managed to make a few purchases…

They are back! And this perpetual fan has a copy of the new album. It’s not bad, although a touch on the sappy side. Not exactly cutting edge music, but I still love them (I hear Michael laughing at me in the back of my head). I’m also hoping to get the Panic! At the Disco album, now that I finally figured out who the hell sings that song with the line “haven’t you people ever heard of closing the God damn door.”

Darwin - Herbacious News Flash #1

Inspired by the likes of Geordie the herb man and Geoff the prolific tomato grower I decided to try my hand having a herb garden once again (all previous attempts have failed dismally).
Bunnings supplied me with a block of dehydrated seed raising mix (never heard of it, but there you go), which took forever to cut in half with a pair of scissors! Yeah, maybe a saw would have been better.

Turned out I needed the whole block anyway.

Just add some water...

...and Tada!

My own little herb nursery.

And look! Hey Presto!
They are already sprouting… although I think the sun is burning some of the seedlings.

Until next update... Much rain, heat and sparkle your way... g

_____________

MOVIE REVIEW

_____________

Dreamgirls: 3/5

Cast: Jamie Foxx (Ray, Collateral), Danny Glover (Lethal Weapon), Beyonce Knowles (Gold Member), Jennifer Hudson (American Idol)

In a nutshell: Jennifer Hudson rocks

Brief Synopsis: Troubles erupt in a Supremes style girl-group as management makes some changes and egos get in the way.

There are rumours that after her Golden Globe win, that former American Idol contestant Jennifer Hudson just may take out the Oscar for best supporting actress. And why wouldn’t she? She pretty much is responsible for the score I have given the movie. The other actors are just ok, and I am surprised that Murphy is getting such great kudos for his supporting role. The movie is a touch on the long side also. In a movie that is as subtle as a lobster tan, Hudson managed to send tingles up my spine and make me shed many tears. I am of two minds as to whether the format of the movie worked. It is a musical, but unlike the brilliant Chicago and Moulin Rouge, the songs are placed such that often they break the mood of the scene rather than add to it. By the half way point I found myself hybrid groaning/laughing whenever another song started, despite the fact that the songs are good. On the other hand, I am not sure that Hudson’s performance would have been quite as powerful had she not had the luck of being able to use her best talent, her voice.