Wednesday, January 04, 2006

Filler post

I have been tagged by that, that, that person1. Seeing as I have nothing to write about2 anyway, I'll resort to the trusty "include song link" and do the meme I found on Melly's blog. It's not what subl asked for but it's a compromise. Life's a compromise.


Rain, beautiful rain, the cool change on that 43C day. Love the smell.


Song : That Was The Worst Christmas Ever by Sufjan Stevens.

Four Jobs you’ve had in your life:
Waiter
University Tutor
Research Assistant
Chippendale Programmer

Four movies you could watch over and over:
The Incredibles
Princess Bride
Any PT Anderson movie (esp Punch Drunk Love).
Any Jarmusch movie (my fav is Dead Man but not too sure about repeated viewings of that).

Four places you’ve lived:
Kuantan
Kuala Lumpur
Nuremberg
Hong Kong

Four TV shows you love to watch:
Currently:
Dont watch anything regularly currently

Forever:
Seinfeld
The Simpsons
Firefly
Arrested Development

Four places you’ve been on vacation:
Budapest
Perugia
Cairo
St Louis

Four websites you visit daily:
Slashdot
The Age
Boing Boing
Groklaw

Four of your favorite foods:
Chicken satays (grilled, ones at Satay Bar are quite good)
#22 at Thanh Phong, Richmond.
Sweet Mangoes
Garlic nan with any curry (except lamb)

Four places you’d rather be:
Rome
Istanbul
Germany (Kaiserslautern, Munich, Stuttgart during the World Cup)
Home

Four bestest albums (my enhancement):
Kate Bush - The Dreaming
Fiona Apple - When The Pawn...
EBTG - Walking Wounded Garbage - Version 2
Sufjan Stevens - Illinoise

Four bestest books (my addition):
Gabriel Marquez - Love in the Time of Cholera
Robert Butler - A Good Scent From a Strange Mountain
William Goldman - The Princess Bride
Bill Bryson - Neither Here Nor There

That was painless, I think. For me anyway.

I wont tag anybody as I dont like to inflict pain but do do this just so that I'll know what you like and where you've been. That way, I'll get to feel like I know you really well, though the reality is that we're strangers and will probably remain so for all eternity [maniacal laughter in the background]. No pressure though.

1Substitute with your favourite term of endearment eg. harlot, sod, sausage, witch.
2The kid fell asleep on me and I didnt have the heart to wake her up to go to the fireworks for NYE.

46 comments:

Mel said...

I loved the cartoon, hehe. And Happy New Year -
What do you program at Chippendales? Chipmunks? Chairs? Nude boys?

sublime-ation said...

Sod, and sausage I like. Harlot, witch, not so much...maybe a white witch?
Aprop enough, crazy as this sounds, I believe I have been recently cursed by a witch and so am needing lots of white witchy powers to help. And laughter.
Thanks for doing a meme, it brought about the latter. Chippendale espesh.

ChickyBabe said...

I've never met a Chippendale Programmer. Is that like a dancing geek? Because we all know geeks are sexy...

Chai said...

Happy New Year all! Chippendale? Hee, hee, was just kidding. Dont they have novelty nights? And you guys are *so* predictable. But I guess rumours start like this, eh? Hmmm..... (as my A.D.D. kicks in).

sublime-ation said...

I don't know what you are referring to. I thought you meant a Chipmunk.

Chai said...

Ahhhh... the naivety of youth... It's so refreshing.
For subl's benefit... The Chippendales

Husky Nutmeg said...

And the post from a Chippendale might read:

Four Jobs you’ve had in your life:
Waiter
University Tutor
Research Assistant
Chippendale XXXXXXXXXX

Would have struck through programmer but this comment bit wouldn't let me - ruins the joke, damn it.

BwcaBrownie said...

Yes yes - 'life's a compromise' - I always say 'Life's a Series of Compromises.

Yes yes William Goldman is THE screenwriter, and I love Arrested Development.

ChickyBabe said...

Hahaha! Chipmunk is hilarious, sublim-ation!

So Chai, I followed the link, do you have a 6 pack?

Chai said...

hn : Hee hee...

kitty : I have dire AD news... according to this.

chicky : Better than that. I have a whole slab!

Jay said...

Oooh, so with you on Punch Drunk.

Chai said...

J: PT is a genius. Anyone who can make Adam Sandler appear in a movie which I really like has to be one. (And he did it with Tom Cruise too. Genius.) More importantly, he hooked up with Fiona Apple for a few years. Plus I love the soundtrack as well. Jon Brion is the producer of Fiona's first 2 albums (do you sense a theme here? I dont).

sublime-ation said...

I finally got When the Pawn...it's quite good, I like the last two songs the best.
Have you got the new one? Saw it on vinyl but want it on cd cause it's got a live dvd...

Chai said...

She is a poet. Though her latest album was a step down for me. Nevertheless, some Fiona is better than no Fiona.

Chai said...

2 weeks!?? Errr, I've already been doing that for about 10 days now (ie. trying to pick out Scarlett)?
And I love movie theory. I like Tarantino, very witty. I try not to like him, cos of the "over-the-top" bit but I cannot fault him. I am a fan.
And u know in Punch Drunk, how there is that soundscape, that nervous drumming (sounds like a Indian tabla), which makes one feel edgy, without knowing why. If only other movie making tricks were so direct.
It's a very long shot but I would love to make a 2-3 min short this year. I've never made one for myself before but have crewed on some. The only thing is that it is such a *huge* effort. It'll probably be horror though. I think it's easier to scare people than to keep their interest via humour, empathy, whatever. I started out by helping out on set, too hard. Then pre-production. Too much hard work. Then post-production. Way too much hard work. So these days, my contribution is further down the chain (ie. at the box office).
Hmmm.. it'll be unlikely though. I dont think I can get my act together (ie. organise and pull lots of favours).

Justine said...

Seen Broken Flowers? What did you think?
I LOVE Dead Man. I love the pumpkin-sheep.

Nuremberg: sure you don't work for the Dept of Immigration... they do use the Nuremberg defense after all: "Oh, we didn't know they were doing anything MEAN, we're just doing our jobs!" :-)

Firefly: what's this?

You get around! Very well travelled.

Tried Thaila Thai on Lygon St Bruns? Always a queue but they are SO quick. Me, I've never eaten in there - the takeaways are so fun. The girls at the counter have a distinctly threatening, "NO SOUP FOR YOU!" quality to them. I think you'd like it from what you've said.

What do you think about the World Cup brothel? I had mixed feelings. 1)its a typical big fat western excess. 2) its a fucking BROTHEL 3) it makes fucking prostitutes seem acceptable.
OK - maybe not so mixed after all. But at least its safer for the women.

You sure like the Princess Bride, don't you? Movie AND book. I know a bro and sister who between them, can replicate the sword fight scene CHINK for CHINK! It is amazing to see. Not surprisingly, he's gone into acting and has had some OK parts and been on commercials and stuff. Yay for him.

Yup - I'll do this tag sometime.
:-)

Chai said...

Hiya Just... Yeah, I saw BF when they had the Jarmusch retrospective at the ACMI a few months ago. Pathetically so, I do have a blog entry for it, art-is-tree-of-life-blake. Review found there.

Nuremberg was good. I lived near the courts, where they had the trials. Spooky, esp when walking home alone at night.

Firefly is this. Note the number of reviewers and the average rating given. Highly recommended by me (together with a million other people).

Regd travel, a lot of it was cos of work, but my travel days are mostly over. Never been but would like to go to New Zealand, maybe Adelaide, Perth, Darwin, Canberra etc...

I've been to the Thai place you mentioned. Frigging busy. Sat next to the counter and had people in the queue standing next to me (literally) throughout the whole night. Good tasty food though.

Regd brothels, tricky question. I think it's inevitable, so u might as well make it as safe (for the women) and comfortable as possible. And I guess it's better to have a place where men can relieve their sexual tensions instead of whatever options there may be if not for brothels. It sounds horrible but u know what I mean, right? And one would hope the women were not forced into it.

Regd PBride, the movie was great but as usual, the book was much better and very easy to read (the book came first but I saw the movie before the book). Again, book is highly recommended.

Regd film/TV industry, it is *such* a harsh environment. I only participate at a hobby level. Plus I try to support it (financially and otherwise) whenever I can.

sublime-ation said...

Thala Thai has gone downhill apparently...a friend of mine has opened a Thai restaurant near it, Brown Sugar, haven't been there yet, but he is the best Thai chef ever, so it should be pretty good...

Chai said...

s.o.n : Different strokes, I guess. It was such a nice story. Someone pointed out the similarities of the story to Popeye, the sailor man. And yes, there are lots of parallels (starting from the theme song).

subl : Now I'll have to go try this Brown Sugar. It *better* be good, Sharon. :-)

Chai said...

Justine : Forgot about my "Dead Man" exposition. It's such an incredible thesis on violence, alienation, racism and social acceptance. If I could have made any feature film, it'd be this movie. It drove me onto William Blake and his works. And apparently, Neil Young did the soundtrack in 1 take, after watching the movie once before, without sound. Salon has this article listing 10 reasons why "Dead Man" is the best movie of the end of the 20th century. I guess you've discovered one of my passions. ie. droning on, and on, and on. :-)

sublime-ation said...

Are you still looking for my name in my name or is that some obscure Osbourne's joke I don't get?
I haven't tried it yet, can you let me know?
ps I am compiling an answer to your email but it's taking me a while sorry...Fiona analyses takes time.

Chai said...

subl : Pitifully, it *was* an attempt. Yes? *raises other eyebrow* Dont sweat it regd Fiona analysis. I already know you have good taste viz Tori.

sublime-ation said...

Actually, it's not my whole, entire name, as such, but most of it. As if I would be called something as dasturdly as 'Sharon'.
Do I sound like the kind of girl who likes Warny and footy franks?
*apologies to any Sharons out there*
Actually, I don't mind the occasional processed meat and chemicals sausage...

Keep trying, or else I'll take your first born, or as it's too late for that, your second, or whatever...

ps how do you spell 'dasturdly'?

sublime-ation said...

pps Do you realise that's twice I have mentioned the word 'sausage' in one comment thread?
People are gonna talk...

Chai said...

subl : Dastardly as Sharon? Sure, u can have my first born. Wait till you see the school fees. *maniacal laughter*
Kransky's nice, so are Debrecens. I dont like the garden variety ones u get at Coles. Reminds me uncomfortably of something which escapes me right now. Ciao, Susan.

Chai said...

scar : I did mention Toorak Thai. It's not like I was holding out on you but I forgot about this one. OK... as pennance
Cookie is ok.
Patee Thai is quite nice too.
I get takeaway from Tamarind occasionally, which is good too.
But I like Toorak Thai best.
Hey, what do you know? They have an association. Knock yourself out. I wash my hands of the matter (quoting some obscure religious document, I think).

Melba said...

hi chai. my thai guy's shy. try thy-thy. sigh.

Chai said...

Hiya MG, not sure if the recommendation is real or just so u can get it to rhyme. And isnt Thy Thy vietnamese? I've been there (yes, I am promiscuous like that) and thought it wasnt "real" vietnamese. I like Minh Minh, a few doors down.

Melba said...

chai. it was just to rhyme. i haven't been there for years, and yes it's vietnamese. it seemed pretty real when i was there, say about 15 years ago or so? may have "sold out". or maybe was never real in the first place. i've never been to vietnam.

and it's just when i wrote hi chai, i couldn't stop - i had to keep going.

you know how it is. i can be obsessive like that.

Chai said...

Hiya MG. I've never been to Vietnam either. However, from my creaky memory, the "Chinese" influence was a bit stronger than the other Vietnamese restaurants I've been to. Maybe we could all set up a restaurant blog where u get a restaurant per blog entry and the comments are the feedback/reviews, if u know what I mean. That'd be cool, I reckon.

Chai said...

Thank you for hijacking the agenda, Scarlett. However, I'm currently going through my "Indian" food phase.

Melba said...

chai, very good idea for restaurant blog. i'm in. excellent idea.

and indian. mmmm. there is an excellent indian restaurant on glenhuntly rd caulfield, a very innocuous shopfront, but cheap and yum. it's not a spesh place to take a girl in heels, it's a place to go and eat lots of hearty and (i think) authentic indian food. decor = no but food = yes. and isn't that why we go to restaurants? (this could be a trick question)

elaine said...

ah food...

Chai, I''ve been going through an Indian phase since I got back from India. Can't. Stop. Eating. Curry.

On the upside, I've perfected home made chapatti (soooo easy) and lamb 'curry' (though if you know where I can get my hands on some goat...) to go alongside my fish madras-ish.

Agreed on the Thaila Thai reccom. (at least it was great when I lived round the corner a year ago). Try the Victorlia Butterfly. I do spell that correctly!

Oh, and happy new years and all that, Chai!

Chai said...

MG : I think I know the one u mean on GH road. I was working in Bentleigh at the time and was going further and further out foraging for food. I dont think they did lunch, from my unreliable memory. The one on North Rd was good too (Bombay something).
Regd rest blog, great. I'll think as to how to organise it, so dont hold your breathe unless u want to kick it off yourself :-) Hopefully, we can get more participants. What'll we call it? I know Melly's into eating (out) big time.

Elaine : I might have already mentioned that Indian place on cnr LaTrobe/Eliz St. Diagonal from the ANZ bank. Very nice and good value.
I was shown how to make potato prathas and it was so nice (faintingly so). I even bought a roller to do it but am too intimidated to try. *salivates* Thanks for the NY greetings.

Justine said...

Brown Sugar... yes, the place we waited over 1 hour for our food. That was unfortunate. But if like you said Sublimation, it only opened recently, then maybe that's why.

I rarely get down to Toorak. I don't have a 4 wheel drive, so its kind of hard for me to negotiate those little Stonnington roundabouts :-)

Laughing at my own suburbist joke!
Still!
A ha ha ha ha!!! :-)

phew! that was fun.

Dead Man Sound Track - that was a big part of the film for me. Listen to it a lot. Neil Young's the man.

"I prefer to be called nobody".

Justine said...

While we're at it, can I recommend Sigiri to all and sundry? City and Northcote.

If you go to the one on High St Northcote, they have a $20 buffet on Fridays and Saturdays. Its beautiful authentic Sri Lankan food.

Melba said...

justine, i liked your 4wd joke. very good.

chai, yes the GH road one near corner of hawthorn road opposite minimart with liquor section.

the one on north rd is bombay nights. we passed it on tuesday in the car and both looked at each other and said "let's try that soon"

it's funny, you worked in bentleigh, now i am living in bentleigh.

yes restaurant blog is most excellent idea. sort of like an independent review place, ranging from nice write ups, to really informal "get your arse along there, it's ace" type stuff.

oh and thanks for offer of child. we'd have lots of fun, but why do you think i sent mine to america during january?* i need to get work done. and now with the foodreview project...





* complete misrepresentation of situation, as you would know.

Melba said...

who's melly?

Melba said...

gee for a filler post you have a lot of comments

Melba said...

including this one too

Melba said...

filler comment

Chai said...

MG : Melly is Melly Kitten. She's the first commentor (commentator?) on this post (plus there is a link to her in the post itself ie. I got the meme questions from her).
Regd the comments, yes, you're right. There are other characteristics I'd noticed but I'd rather not say.

sublime-ation said...

Ah ha! So this is where the restaurant blog idea has been spawned, of course.
Sorry about the wait at Brown Sugar, Justine (how can I be responsible for a friend's son's restaurant? I don't know, I just am). I've been a snob about Thai food since I had his father cook for me at his house, you've never tasted Thai food til you have it 'home-style'.
Tai Tai 1 & 2 are ok, there's a couple more on Victoria St I like, can't remember names, sorry.
I am obsessed with Indian food.
We need to know more good restaurants that aren't in Toorak Tractor range!
Question: How does one get a French man to like Asian food? He didn't grow up on it and only likes sushi and v occasionally Indian. I have to bribe him to get him to eat Vietnamese, Thai or Chinese, which I love. I wish I were rich so I could take him to The Flowerdrum and convert him...

Chai said...

subl : fear not. I once worked for Amadeus (french, spanish , german company) and there were frogs everywhere. They *loved* Thai food and it was them who took me to Toorak Thai. I had to give up my 2001 davis cup final t-shirt (well, france beat australia and I thought it'd mean more to them than me) for the privilege. But they *loved* it. So there's hope.

And to everyone else, Toorak Thai is in South Yarra! Not Toorak. Near the cnr of Punt Rd./Toorak Rd.

Melba said...

what do you bribe him with sublime?

[prepares to giggle]

sublime-ation said...

Thanks Chai, now I just have to bribe him to get him to go to South Yarra...
MG: not telling.
wink wink