Movies Reviewed: The Ides of March

The Ides of March is George Clooney's fourth film as director, having already offered up: Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Good Night and Good Luck and Leatherheads.

At the centre of the plot is the determined and focused young political campaign staffer Stephen Myers, played by Ryan Gossling.  He’s working for Governor Mike Morris (George Clooney) who is trying to get the nod to be the Democratic presidential candidate.

Straight to you: A tribute to Nick Cave

The musical tribute used to be farcical – think ABBA tribute band Bjorn Again.  But over the last couple of years musical tributes have experienced a renaissance, or, if you like, have been born again (geddit?!  Gee, I’m clever).

The reborn tribute takes its lead from the well loved Hollywood-how-to-make-a-blockbuster play book.   Take a talented musician who has had an illustrious career (they can be dead or alive) as your subject, litter your production with their most famous songs and then form an ensemble cast comprised of popular performers.

This formula is sure to deliver either an Oscar worthy biopic or, in this instance, a successful live tribute concert.  Just depends on how long you cook it for.  The live tribute concert has become a feature on the concert circuit in the past few years: there have been tribute concerts to the Beatles (for the White Album anniversary) and to the Finn Brothers of Crowded House fame with Triple J having also delivered tributes to the Go Betweens, AC/DC and Paul Kelly.

Triple J’s latest offering for their annual AusMusic Month is the Straight to You: A Tribute to Nick Cave concert.  It’s the first Triple J tribute concert to tour the country, visiting Geelong, Ballarat, Melbourne, Sydney, Newcastle and Brisbane as well as Canberra.  It arrived in Canberra on Wednesday, 16 November, and was held at the National Theatre.

An itinerant traveller part 2: Indonesia

Just a week ago I filled you all in about the Thailand leg of our trip.  Well, here is part two, where I’m going to show you what we’re doing when we head to the world’s fourth most populace country: Indonesia.

We’ve never been there before, and through all of our research it has become apparent that Indonesia is filled with diversity, offering something for everyone: breathtaking volcanic landscapes, extraordinary flora and fauna, pollution choked metropolises, peaceful countryside, stretches of long sandy beaches and swathes of jade ocean... and that’s only the natural wonders!

Comprised of thousands of islands (around 18 000, but less when the tide is high), Indonesia’s landscape is almost diverse as its people.  A melting pot of languages, religions, and cultures.

Recipe roadtests: Simply the Best

I absolutely love cooking.  I’m by no means a great cook – I’m never going to be a Michelin starred chef or be a contestant on MasterChef.  One of my great failures is lacking the requisite creativity and confidence.  Success in the kitchen for me is a result of two things, the recipe I’m using and sheer luck...

It is for this reason that I have developed a love, or what some would call an obsession, for cookbooks.  Over time I have accumulated an enviable collection of food porn.    My addiction has gotten to the point where it is now affecting other people. 

I am now forced to vet all potential cookbook purchases through M, who puts them through the stringent “M Test.”  The test involves selecting recipes at random, and M making a determination of would he make it, or wouldn’t he make it.  It’s all highly technical.  To pass the test the cookbook must have 3 recipes he’d make within a reasonable number random page selection attempts.

It typically plays out something like this: we’re in a book store, and I have lingered in the cooking section for some time and located a treasure that I must purchase.  Meekly, I wander over to M, handing him the cook book, looking at him expectantly, willing him to just say that I can buy it.

Recipe 1 gets a tepid response.

Recipe 2 receives a look of disgust – it’s probably vegetarian.

Recipe 3 ... it’s a winner...

And so the game goes on.  There are times when I’m sure that I look completely despondent, as though I might curl up and cry, as the recipes flick passed his eyes receiving less than positive responses.  I think he sees me out of the corner of his eyes, and not wanting to be responsible for causing such a look, he flicks through more recipes than necessary.  It becomes a battle of wills.  Will I back down, will he exhaust the book or will M crumble and just succumb?   

How I love this type of to-ing and fro-ing!  By the end of I feel as though I have truly earned the cookbook's purchase.

Starting up this blog presents a tactical opportunity for me.  I could do posts on recipe ‘tests’ and bribe M along the way with the delicious and decadent results.  Winners all round I’d say!   

First cook book off the ranks is the latest offering from Valli Little and the ABC delicious. team: Simply the Best.  

It is the latest cook book purchase of mine.  For the inaugural test I’ll be whipping M up a three course delight.  I’ll present a picture from the cook book and a picture of my success or failure!

Movies reviewed: Norwegian Wood

Norwegian Wood is set in 1960’s Japan.  Like elsewhere in the world it’s a time of upheaval.  Watanabe (Ken’ichi Matsuyama) is studying in Tokyo, having left his home in Kobe.  Just before finishing high school his best friend, Kizuki (Kengo Kôra), commits suicide, an event that leaves an indelible mark on both Watanabe and Kizuki’s girlfriend, Naoko (Rinko Kikuchi).

While taking a break from his university studies in Tokyo, Watanabe runs into Naoko.  So begins a complicated relationship which oscillates between friendship, romance, dependence and obligation.  The relationship between Naoko and Watanabe is one part of the central love triangle in Norwegian Wood.  The other key relationship is that between Watanabe and the less complicated Midori (Kiko Mizuhara).

An itinerant traveller - part 1

M and I are planning our next overseas sojourn - first stop Thailand, followed by a few weeks in Indonesia.

I do enjoy planning, and we're slowly getting there.  I thought I'd share itinerary stage 1 with you:

26 Dec 2011	Bangkok We’ll be arriving late… but hopefully there’ll be some time to get some Tom Yum from my favourite vendor.  When we were last in Bangkok I think I ate there at least one every day!
27  – 31 Dec	Khorat The whole reason for the trip – a tham boon to celebrate and bless the cha wat recently built at the temple in my mother’s village (more on this later, it deserves a blog post of its own.)
31 Dec 11 – 4 Jan 12	Back to Bangkok We will be ringing in the new year in the city of angels (no, not LA - Bangkok's full name Krung Thep Maha Nakhon means 'city of angels'….)  Hopefully, a spot of watting, plenty of shopping and enjoying what Thailand’s biggest metropolis has to offer.
4 – 8 Jan	Krabi Thailand is famed for its beaches, and I’m told that some of the most beautiful are located near the Andaman Sea.  Long days island hopping and sipping cocktails is definitely in order!

This is a map that plots our itinerary that I put together using ScribbleMaps.  What a clever little tool!