Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Mid week review

I had a hectic week trying to balance pervasive, creeping administrative duties - that I am not handling dutifully - with my research. I have mainly been blogging in the evening while the rest of the family are studying for exams or watching TV.

The Bill is hard to break (despite my annoyance that it has become a soap opera) and I sometimes watch Four Corners. For years I was a TV bug who had to exert self-control to limit my viewing. Now I just don’t want to watch. For shows like The Sopranos which I do enjoy, I buy or rent DVDs and watch at my leisure. There’s no intellectual pretence about my not watching TV – there are good shows but I want to do other things.


A couple of weeks ago I found that even John Quiggin watched Futurama so, out of curiosity, I took a look at it on TV. I then borrowed DVDs for the first two series. I’ve got through most of them over the last week. This is a fun show with caustic, adult humor. I found myself giggling at the insanity of Leela catching Bender ‘jacking on’ in the bathroom while he takes his electricity fix. Not a show to take that seriously (a Wikipedia entry analyses it and a review is here) but it has twisted humor that appeals to me. I was discouraged to find FOX cancelled the series in 2003 because it didn’t have enough audience appeal!

Best part of Tuesday was going to Hanabishi Restaurant at 187 King St, Melbourne in the evening. Some people have described this as the best Japanese food in Melbourne and perhaps Australia (here, here, here). I really have no idea about that. We went with a visiting Japanese academic who knew how to order and the result was a great evening.

As usual I invite your views on anything that interests you. Do you like sushi or Futurama? Do you think that Tony Blair is a more imposing political figure than anyone we currently have in Australian politics? Do you have any good (life or food) recipes?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh Harry

Tony Bliar is less imposing a political figure than little johnny howard.

hc said...

What a slip Blair becomes Bliar - I assume with your impeccable spelling that this is a deliberate slip. Blair spoke to the Australian Parliament and, to me, looked a mile ahead of Beazley and Howard. It was a great speech. Yes, I know you disagree with his politics....but I probably do to a less degree which 'presumably distorts' my aesthetic vision.

Anonymous said...

Look there is no one that has ever impressed me more than Paul Keating. He was clever as well as hilarious. Bliar, W., and little Johnny, are scumbags. But the first two are religious nuts. I mean Bliar prayed with W. before attacking Iraq. They received messages from the supernatural. To me Johnny is far more charismatic than both and is less of a weasel than weasley Beasley (no insult intended to small carnivorous mammals).

Anonymous said...

Perhaps there is an unemployed OS student who can help you out