Sunday 29 November 2009

UV warnings and SPF

So my first ever taste of the worst the sun can throw at me - yes I got a sunburn on Saturday. I am a traditional shade of lobster red. One of those mixed days of rain, wind and sun; and I wore a silly cami top (and factor 30! spf).

So my lesson is - always wear SPF - all over; seek more shade; carry a cover up top of some sort. or as they say over here; slip slap, slop, seek and slide! yep two extra words...

Protect yourself in five ways from skin cancer: Slip! Slop! Slap! Seek! Slide!
Slip on sun protective clothing that covers as much of your body as possible.
Slop on SPF 30+ broad spectrum sunscreen liberally to dry skin, at least 20 minutes before sun exposure. Reapply every two hours when outdoors.
Slap on a broad brimmed hat that shades your face, neck and ears.
Seek shade
Slide on sunglasses.

Thursday 26 November 2009

Carbon in Australia

Well there is a big political row about Carbon Trading here (or ETS) but the thing that gets me is that the ATMs are air conditioned - yes thats right, ATMs outside banks caress you with a stream of cooled air as you do your business. ETS - hell yes charge em for it!

PS - I am keeping well out of the Carbon Trading discussion.

Monday 16 November 2009

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

In modern day London, a travelling circus called The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus invites people to enter a mirror whereby they are transported into their inner dream lives. The Imaginarium is made up of the guru Parnassus himself (Christopher Plummer), his daughter Valentina (Lily Cole) and a young man named Anton (Andrew Garfield). Parnassus is regularly taunted by a Lucifer-like character who calls himself Mr. Nick (Tom Waits) and it is revealed that Parnassus has made a wager with him. As the company is struggling to find an audience, they discover a man named Tony (Heath Ledger) who is being hanged under a bridge. They rescue him and for saving his life Tony helps the company find an audience.

Though thematically it is a failure, the film is still an exciting visual experience due to some really magical sets, costumes and art direction. The imagined world behind the mirror is a real sight to behold on the big screen. A moment where a giant head of a bobby officer bursts from the ground echoes the cartoons from Monty Python, along with the chorus-line of policemen.

Ledger's role as Tony only comes across as someone interesting at the end of the movie - sadly we lost Heath Ledger during the making of this - but this fact works well for the movie that his role 'through the looking glass' is played out by three other actors - Depp has the briefest part and shines in a cameo. Colin Farrell looks wide eyed and lost and Jude La; knowing and venal - all give the character depth. Tom Waits basically plays himself as Mr. Nick with raspy voice as the devil tempting Christopher Plummers Good (and as we see in a flashback - Budda like) character. Lily Cole is oddly pythonesque as Valentina with her elfin face and Andrew Garfield as Anton is the real star - overshadowed by Heath Ledger's passing during the making of the movie.

Don't go for the story but for the steampunk visuals of this remarkable film.
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Thursday 5 November 2009

Listening To....

Michael J Fox - Always Looking Up
Brilliant view of Parkinson’s, its symptoms, and its possible cure along with a myriad of other diseases based on stem cell research.Clear and concise, this lays out the science and the politics. set around a time when the us was focused only on the war on terror.A very good listen and read by Mike himself.

At Amazon
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