Callan

Yet another Tv heaven review of a masterpiece.

Callan

I was too young to watch this the first time around, when the lightbulb started swinging to that lugubrious theme tune, I was sent to bed.

But I recall an article somewhere at the time (the Listener?) that compared David Callan to James Bond, point by point.

It was replayed in the early 80s I think, on a Friday night. And for a while there, I was actually at home on Fridays before the pubs had closed.

Just & utterly brilliant.

About time too...

Lazy blogging today...

STUFF : ENTERTAINMENT - STORY : Cinemas may buy phone jammers

If this ain't true, it should be

David Farrar: The dumbest hacker ever

Great score!

I mean... what a lovely couple...

I'm not planning to make a habit of reporting salacious gossip. But I'll make at least one exception given it involves the babelicious Katie Holmes. By all means see The Gift for confirmation of her er... winning form.

Way to go Tom.

And in other breaking entertainment news... DON'T PANIC! It seems early reports that the Hitchhikers Guide sucked like no other film of its type ever sucked before... may have been exaggerated.

Anything but elementary

THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES | A TELEVISION HEAVEN REVIEW

I loved this series. Just as I loved the stories & novels from which it sprang. And this TV Heaven review is right on the money, the character of Dr John Watson was never supposed to be a sidekick buffoon. He was a man of action.

I'd never heard of Jeremy Brett before this series aired. Although later I came across a screening of My Fair Lady & recognised Eliza's spurned suitor as the young Sherlock. Cripes, he sang!

And some time later, I searched the web for the cast details of an old UK series based on the Three Musketeer books - I believe they might have done all five of them (I read them all while travelling through France once), but I know for sure that they adapted the first and also the Man in the Iron Mask. I could remember that Brian Blessed played Porthos, but I wanted to know who played D'Artagnan.

Eventually, I did come across the information I wanted - D'Artagnan was played by none other than the dashing, young Jeremy Brett.

BTW: If you're looking for faithful adaptations of the Musketeer books, the best are certainly the old Richard Lester movies starring Michael York. The only quibble I have is that when they adapted 20 Years After, they changed Milady de Winter's murderous son into Milady de Winter's murderous daughter & cast Kim Cattrell from Sex & the City in the role.

Ratfinder General

Following the great mouse-in-the-house-hunt, Wilma surprised us all in the weekend by catching a rat.

She was lolling in the sun in the garden, doing pretty much nothing as I wandered past out to the paddock to check on a bald sheep.

When I returned just a few minutes later, she was in the same spot, but had a freshly killed rat!

We have no idea how she caught it, or where it was when she did.

And then a few days later, as in earlier this week, she was on her morning walk through the Bot Gardens, and she suddenly dashed into the bushes (not far from the Cable Car), scrabbled around briefly, and emerged with another rat!

We used to call her the Applefinder General, because she can spot an apple from 50 metres, but now she clearly has the scent of far more interesting game.

Although we let her eat the apples.

Baghdad, 1991.

The thin, weatherbeaten man raised his head & squinted into the morning sun. The foot traffic near the Al Khadimiya Mosque was heavy. Mostly refugees, a few traders on their way to market, and a scattering of miltary police looking for excuses to harass the refugees, particularly any Kurds looking for passage south.

"Allah saves!" he called out. No-one paid attention.

"Damn this heat", he thought to himself. He never really got used to it, but always managed to get the Middle Eastern jobs because as Albert, his old comrade, pointed out, the Agency knew he could "do" Arab. And Jewish come to that. And it helped that he was fluent in several local dialects.

"Mohammed sees your soul!" he offered to the throngs.

"Poor devils" he mused, regarding the passing crowds, "Most of them are more concerned with where their next meal is coming from rather than their mortal souls. Still, the preacher gig had served him well over the years. He was quite a well known figure actually, excepting that ironically, no-one ever paid him any attention. The odd person might wonder about the long absences from his traditional spot now & then, but they probably thought he was travelling, maybe on a street corner in Basra, or elsewhere spreading the word. And indeed that was the truth, except that "elsewhere" was further than they could imagine. "And best not to mention the lengthy vacations in Vegas" he thought to himself.

Baghdad had its attractions though, enough hashish palaces had survived the bombing to keep him occupied in his off-duty hours. And he knew a small group of compliant bellydancers who helped keep him warm in the cold nights. His favourite was a voluptuous woman called Panta, "And by Allah she certainly is at times.", he would muse.

He was here at the behest of his country's allies. While the US had baulked at invading the city & unseating Hussein, they were keen to have someone on the ground, someone unknown & unconnected directly with any American interests, on the lookout for potential insurgent movements. The manic street preacher guise gave him the freedom to travel pretty much unnoticed anywhere he liked. And talk to, or at anyway, a wide range of people.

A jeep full of journalists drove by. "On their way back to their hotel for luchtime gins, I expect." How he wished he could and join them. They had some very good contacts with some of the female aid workers & red Cross nurses... but breaking cover was out of the question.

it looked like it was going to be a long, hot and boring summer.

Just then, a man came running down the street pursued by police. It was his Shi'a contact, code named "The Fez". He'd only met him the week before, the Fez had been looking out for him & had clearly been observing for several days before approaching with the code-phrases.

"Looks like we're in for a snow-storm" said the Fez, guardedly.
"How do you know that's YOUR camel?" replied the preacher.

"Heads up," the man thought, as the Fez ran past, giving him a sideways glance that had desperation written all over it. He reached for his leather bound copy of the Quran, in which was concealed his service revolver, throwing knife, and several thousand dollars of various currencies... "...here's trouble."

For Michelle

Right below the link in the previous post...

My 3 Sons

The eldest son got married off & left to become a... psychologist...

A Martian Blog

Today's (affectionate) WTF? post

Barzoomian of Mars

I came across this during my daily visit to David Farrar to see if he's linked to me yet...

Makes me wish my dad was alive to see it, he was a big fan of Edgar Rice Burrough's Barsoom books.

A lot of useful information here, if you're for instance, doing a school project on Martians... and he looks nothing like Ray Walston.

OK, I cheated & looked it up

Written by the legendary Addrisi Brothers


"Soft and sweet, wise and wonderful

Oooh, our mystical, magical Nanny

Since the day that Nanny came to stay with us

Fantastic things keep happening

Is there really magic in the things she does?

Or is love the only magic thing that Nanny brings?

You know our Nanny showed us

You can make the impossible happen

Nanny told us

Have a little bit of faith and lots of love

Phoebe Figalilly is a silly name

And so many silly things keep happening

What is this magic thing about Nanny

Is it love....or is it magic?"


Nanny and the Professor

All this... because John Mills died this week & he appeared in a couple of episodes as Nanny's father (he really was her father).

Best quote of the weekend

Following M's week away familiarising herself with all that is best on TV such as Shortland St, Neighbours, Home & Away...

SunnyO: Good Morning America!

Came:

"And don't get me started on McLeod's Daughters!"

The things you see when you're out without your camera.

Tradition has it that the best views of Kapiti, The South Island, Mts Ruapehu & Taranaki... will occur those weekends I have neglected to pack the camera.

And in all truth, Saturday evening was a Graeme Sydney evening on the Kapiti & South Island fronts, but low cloud obscured the distant volcanoes.

However, my forgetting tha camera does mean that you are spared the sight of a bald black sheep.

Not bald, like just shorn, but bald like Friar Tuck, but not her head, just pretty much all along her back!

I had loads planned on Friday, but ended up spending most of the morning penning the sheep so I could get a closer look at this problem.

First of all it was a dead sprint back to the house to get the small farming bible. And read up on ovine ailments. Fly strike seemed most likely. Although the sheep in question didn't look ill. Apart from losing a lot of wool.

And in fact she was surprisingly full of beans as it took me two hours to get her penned. Then Master Tim joined us & we had a good old look through her wool. Her skin was unbroken, there was no sign of flystrike, although I trimmed the wool back around the edges & liberally sprayed with flystrike medication.

Then, I consulted a vet, who told me that if it wasn't flies (and it didn't at this stage look like it was), that it could be a number of things. None of which I could really do anything about. But it is a good sign that she is not sickening.

So it's keep an eye on her now, make sure she's fed & watered & has shade & shelter and hope the wool regrows.

I might get them all sheared again soon. before the worst of winter hits. At least then she'll look even.

Who uses wireless technology?

I know a couple of visitors do... but care to share how well or otherwise it works? Been giving it consideration for home use (and T's business trips).

Either comment, or email me at phineas.llew@gmail.com if you're so inclined.

And while we're at it - I have managed to get agreement "in principle"... to buy one of these or similar.

"In principle" means "when I find the money, or win lotto". But I may as well start to think about what's going to be in the business case. By then they should have dropped in price considerably.

But one of the main benefits will be that we can retire the (quite new, but unreliable) VCR & the remote that came with it.

One less remote! - hard to assign a cost benefit to that, but I'm figuring the concept will be attractive.

Good Morning America!

Tip for fellow bloggers wanting to vastly increase your hit rate:

Mention "Joe Ratzinger" or "the pope's new name".

Honestly, I've had hundreds of visits from the US google searching those two phrases over the last few days.

Well we're off to Sunny O tonight for the duration of the holiday weekend. We have a few people to see about some "plans" or possibly some other "plans". A fair bit of weeding to do around the feijoa trees (now actually relegated to undergrowth below a lot of very tall weeds...)

And I daresay we'll finish watching Holy Smoke. WHich has been most impressive so far. I suspect the ending will truly suck since so far, I don't think it's deserved the rancid reviews it got at the time it was released.

I imagine there will be some Anzac themed movies to avoid on TV...

Actually, that reminds me. M has been on a horse riding camp all week (school hols). it's just up the road from Sunny O, so we'll pick her up tomorrow night. She's been feverishly texting her mum between 7pm & 7.30 each night, because, we discovered, the family who run the camp diligently watch Shortland Street.

I said that it's always good to experience new things & I asked if Nic was still on the show. Have not got the answer yet.

But please, dear reader(s), that was a rhetorical question. I don't really need to know.

New Pope. Meanwhile, in Sunny O...

In a startling break with tradition, the Papal Conclave dispensed with nearly 2000 years of tradition & today elected to take Russell Brown's advice, to trust in God's wisdom and draw the name of the new pope out of a hat.

As the white smoke billowed above St Peter's Square (actually round), Vatican officials announced that Cardinal Tom Williams from New Zealand (100-1 odds) was now officially Pope Victor Hilarius the First

Catholics around the world rejoiced as the new pope stepped out onto the balcony & said "Gidday.".

The Price of Milk

How come this Kiwi movie hasn't been released on DVD (although it IS available through Amazon)?

Went looking for DVDs this lunchtime - decided to buy Stealing Beauty. But it doesn't seem to be available.

Almost bought Before Sunrise & Before Sunset... then changed my mind for now. Then ALMOST bought A Man & A Woman and Lone Star.

Then reflected on the length of the queue & the parlous state of my finances & decided to get out quick before I came across the Godfather boxed set.

I am so tempted...

Shall compile a list of impending family birthdays...

.

Ratzinger "The Real Communion" #1 > Fan Club T-Shirts! > Ratzinger Fan Club Shop | CafePress

meanwhile, my money is literally on Cardinals McCarrick (US), Rodriguez (Dom Republic), and Agnelo (Brazil), since I drew these outsiders in the office sweep today.

The Good Life: Dead Duck

The Good Life: Dead Duck

Terrible! But I laughed...

The Incredibles

Brilliant! See it.

I particularly enjoyed the little (Edith Head inspired?) superhero costume designer (voiced by the director, Brad Bird no less). "Don' make me beg!" And her secret workshop:

1. Palm print
2. Touchpad combination
3. Retina Scan
4. Voiceprint "Edna Mole..."

Large gun drops from the ceiling & points at Elastigirl

"...and guest"

Gun folds back up & disappears.

Just priceless.

BTW: Bird also directed a movie called The Iron Giant, which is an animated movie that will keep adults & children alike occupied quite nicely. The giant is voiced by Vin Diesel.

Update: Brad Bird was interviewed on National Radio last night. He said he ended up with the Edna gig because voice casting is the last thing they do - up until then, the crew voice all the characters for the first cut & Brad voiced Mr Incredible, Syndrome & Edna. The consensus was that no-one was ever going to do a better Edna & so his voice stayed. They also played an extended piece (cinema on the radio) where Edna explains the properties of the diverse suits:

"Able to withstand 1000 degrees! Bullet-proof of course" ratatatat!! "And machine washable - that's a new feature."
"What on earth do you think the baby will be doing?"
"Luck favours the prepared..."
"but he has no super powers!"
"Oh... well he'll look great anyway."

God, what a day #2

Saw Albert & his son on their way somewhere today. I don't think the boy likes me.

If only he knew what Albert & I have been through... I keep telling him...

Got home, couldn't concentrate on Dr Phil at all. Damned steel plate seems to be tuned to Wayne Mowatt.... hated it when National Radio went FM...

"Oh, them golden slippers,
Oh, them golden slippers,
Hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm
Dum de dum de dum de dum de"

I love show tunes.

That Doris day hoohah!... reminds me of a nurse I knew in 'Nam... talk about heavy artillery...

Street Preacher Man