U2 at Etiad stadium Melbourne

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It's been a good few years since I have seen U2, and it's been almost as long since I attended a stadium gig. Last night at Etiad was fabulous for one reason. My clever Hubbie got us into the claw!

Jay Z was like all rappers in a stadium setting - both pointless and lost.

I would have been happy to hang back - bit as we wandered the stadium floor Hubbie spotted a team leader who offered an alternate viewing spot that turned out to being the jaws of the claw - so we got excellent views when U2 walked round; and a reasonable view of the band from the back.

Australian beer

So it's really interesting to find that, contrary to the rest of the world, where there is any interesting and informative fact or question on the lolly stick ( and by the way that means an icy pole with rather than lilly as in sweetie or gumdrop) here in Australia beer cans come with quiz question in the cap. Hoe Aussie is that!

Massage Therapy

So here in Australia we have these little shops full of nice Vietnamese people who gave you really really hard Chinese massage it's all elbows forearms. So in the local shopping centre there are probably four of these shops now it's a great massage it really works you might be a bit bruised for a couple of days after but apparently no worse than the local physiotherapists is likely to make you feel the really good thing is its cheap it's quick and it does get all the knots in the your back or shoulders or even in your feet

Hard Rubbish

So a big advancement in Australia well in Melbourne at least is the Hard Rubbish collection from the street. Put your large rubbish, old furniture and outdated technology out on the footpath and its collected by the council. Better yet they give you a week or so's notice so the neighbours can pick over your leavings and recycle anything useful.

In a place where the Fire Brigade and Ambulance charge if you call them out - I am not sure the free redistribution of old telly's, pc's and dining suites replaces real public services; but it certainly provides fun with spot the best shelving unit or printer you can salvage for cartridges!

A life less cluttered

Since I had to shed pretty much 40 years of accumulated 'life' when I moved to Australia I have tried to 'live a less cluttered life'. Well I love these 100 things to help you accomplish this. Now if only the GAB would take them on board!

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iPad luv

Image via WikipediaThis is a great article on all things fab about the Ipad. Here By David Chartier at Macworld

Just one thing to add is that both for the iPad and iPhone the Google app and Dragon Dictation make use of voice recognition - one for searching and one for text entry are excellent.

Once more I just love the iPad - when i can get it from my husband......

Tomorrow; when the war began

... saw this at the weekend and it's a great movie, starts off a bit like an advert for tourism Australia ( but then all Aussie movies are a bit like that) and ends up like a pilot for a series - which it is as these are 7 books in all by John Marsden based around the group of school kids turned guerilla fighters.

But what got me was the scene of 7 Aussie kids out camping sharing a jar of Vegemite. They were handing round the jar and eating spoonfuls right out the jar. I mean urghghhhhh.

I don't mind the odd scrape of the 'mite, on toast or with avocado.... But on a spoon from the jar - that's just too Australian!

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Star trek lives

i have an ipad and its brill.. Woot well I think it's what star trek promised. Touch screen, voice search via google, hd video and all those hints you saw Kirk enjoying on the bridge. Congrats world - 1960's sci fi comes to life..

Urban Spoon

Great site, and a very clever iPhone application - So I am writing reviews for places I am eating at, identifying if its in the 2010 Entertainment Book. So see the widget opposite..... or the site

And the best Contagious event....

Was very oddly the movie we nearly missed. Arriving at Village Cinema we were directed to Cinema screen 6 - and there were 3 lovely young ladies offering choc tops, popcorn and soft drinks - which we very happily helped ourselves too. In we went and we settled into our seats.

And then the marketing manager stood up and described the advert for nappies we were about to see - the demographic it was aimed at etc. We slunk down in our seats, along with two other couples..... but the guy very cheerfully invited us to stay for the short ad, enjoy our freebies and leave when ready.

Needless to say we left quickly and went to watch Bright Star.

Contagous Network AU

So I joined contagious - and its been pretty cool getting invites to movies. A great excuse for a trip into town for dinner and a movie.

Recommended. http://www.contagiousnetwork.com.au/

Easy A

Attended preview of Easy A, another US teen movie. Its a reasonable take on high school life, Emma Stone is an intelligent choice for the lead. The plot is somewhat predicable - After a little white lie about losing her virginity gets out, a clean cut high school girl sees her life paralleling Hester Prynne's in "The Scarlet Letter," which she is currently studying in school - until she decides to use the rumor mill to advance her social and financial standing.

The direction is good and the usual set of predictable high school 'characters' is extended by the virginal christian evangelist girl and her aging, thicko STD infected Beau!

Very good writing makes you chuckle - wait for DVD.

Great Quote

"An unfortunate truth is that many female gamers register under male (or gender-neutral) identities to avoid stalking, harassment, and the general annoyance of guys who experience neuron failure around characters with breasts."

Careers Expo

At Caulfield today - loads of talking to careers officers about what their little darlings can get up to when it's time to get a proper job.

Woot - blogging from iPhone

Hmmm well this will test the tichy keypad on the iphone

Its been a while - again

And I am being pressed to produce a new post. So here it is.....

Kangaroos
Was pleased to spend a mid-week break at Phillip Island and get round the 4 parks/reserves there. Churchill Island (a historic farm), the Koala Reserve and Nobbies (for sealions) and to attend the Penguin Parade. But on the home we got to visit a rather sad and past its best wildlife park (and cowshed - but more of that later) and see the paddock of Roos (the smaller greys) but best of all you could feed them (makes a change from them feeding me with roast roo and kanga bolognaise). So they get a bit excited when the tourists turn up with noms, specially on a Wednesday when they have not seen anyone since Sunday.

Cows - and on the way home we stopped at the Caldwell Farm to see the merry-go-round milking facility. Poor cows indeed.

Alchohol & Bikes
Also had a weekend in Rutherglen - a famous wine region. Sadly I was forced onto a bike and made to cycle kilometers before being offered my first drink.... Thats not true - we stopped at Brown Brothers on the way up... had a fabulous lunch and tasting, plus a glass with my meal.... and drinks at the accomodation that evening. Anyway after easing my well padded but sore bum off the bike we flitted from winery to winery, sipping many Tokays and Muscats. all very yummy and finally made Campbells for lunch. Another stupendous banquet accompanied by a very nice Merlot (one I could drink a very great deal of!) then back on the bike to get to .... well... somewhere. Just getting on the bike seriously put me off..... eventually the day ended with a great but chilly BBQ at the motel (it looked like Scott of the Antarctic and his team) and a impromptue concert by Rick and Rob! Sunday was much more gentile with car rides to the various wineries.... and a swift trip home.

Having a Gaytime

Image via Wikipedia

Weirdly this is Australian for having an ice cream - no euphemism intended...... Yes there is an Ice cream called a Gaytime - and they are quite yummy.
But how can they get away with it you ask....

Well I dunno but it just goes to prove - Australia, a day ahead and stuck in the 1970's!

Australiania (or something like that)

Image via Wikipedia

So some Australian things to baffle and confuse....

Everyone (mostly) says thank you to the bus driver when you get off..... this positively never happens in England (though it might in rural Wales/Scotland)

I have English feet and they are geared up for Birkenstocks not flip flops (thongs) so its too bad but $1 thongs from Woolworths will never be my footwear of choice.....

Sausage Sizzles - the little brother of the BBQ, a loaf of bread a hot sausage and a selection of condiments.... and there you have the perfect fundraiser - people will wander over and ask how much and pay you for a daggy sausage on a piece of white bread - Terrific!

Audio book jogs memory

Listening to Bill Bryson's Notes from a Small Island I was reminded of the Union my Dad belonged to. FOr most of my formative years I believed that Nat Sopa was his freind and or boss.... never realising it was an acronym... ahhh the innocence of youth.

NATSOPA