Horizon

Walking home from my day at the Art Gallery and the Apple Store on a magnificent Sydney winter's day, I captured this photograph of the old and new in East Sydney.

The Horizon apartments towering over old inner city housing.

An apple a day

After my morning visit to the Art Gallery I succumbed to the marketing and walked across the city to have a look at the new Apple Store.

I recently purchased a MacBook but have only used it several times and am not yet comfortable with this technology so admired by others.

Although it was not yet midday on a Sunday the store was packed with 'customers'; probably sightseers like myself. Most were trying out the merchandise although there were plenty receiving tuition too.

The staff seemingly were chosen on their youth and leanness. There wasn't an older or 'fuller figured' staff member in sight. There was a lot of male eye candy amongst the customers, gorgeous young dads with their families as well the younger Mac-addicted brigade.

I'd be happy to go back simply to watch the passing male traffic.

Photos

After a breakfast at Bill and Toni's in East Sydney, I walked across to the Art Gallery to see the Harold Cazneau photographic exhibition.

I love seeing photographs, imagining the subjects and what their lives were like. This exhibition contained an interesting range from landscapes to cityscapes to portraits of society maidens to depictions of people at leisure.

My Brother Is An Only Child

This Italian language movie is set in the 1960s and 1970s and tells of the relationship between the brothers Accio, a fascist, and Manrico, a communist.

Two thirds of the film is taken up with the chaotic and corrupt politics of Italy but the underlying theme of sibling love emerges in time. The slyly sexy Accio and gorgeously blue-eyed Manrico kept my interest despite an irritating amount of shouting and arm waving.

There is humour amongst the violence and noise and an interesting soundtrack of 1960's hits and Beethoven classics as a bonus.

New balls please...

(Photo - Reuters/T Melville)

After leaving Africa I settled down for the first time this year to watch some tennis from Wimbledon. Roger Federer was playing Marc Gicquel.

The players look gorgeous in their all white playing gear. That gear provides unexpected bonuses. The slow motion front on replays of the players reveal enticing images. The bouncing packages evident in the players shorts were infinitely more interesting to me than the bounce of the ball the commentators were focusing on. I was impressed by the impressions Federer's nipples made against his shirt and his shorts seem to be closely tailored to the undulations of his body.

On the evidence of last night's coverage I really must watch more of the men's draw.

Out of Africa

I watched Out of Africa tonight on Foxtel.

I think it is the first time I have seen this movie since its initial cinema screening. The Foxtel electronic guide stated the movie was released in 1994 but I was sure that it was older than that. Indeed the end credits show that the movie dates from 1985.

It is still a fine movie with magnificent photography. Meryl Streep looks so young in the movie, whilst Robert Redford's face shows the early ravages of ageing.

The African performers have superb bearing and great dignity; especially the actor who portrays the head servant.

It was an unexpected pleasure viewing this movie again.

Get Smart

Steve Carell is Agent 86 and Anne Hathaway is Agent 99. All the rest is......kaos.

I'm warming to Carell who has a warmth and decency present in his performances and Hathaway gives a stronger performance than I was expecting of her.

The storyline is negligible but the audience and I had quite a few chuckles through this movie, so I imagine it will be a commercial success. It's much like what you'd expect from a movie that has Mel Brooks as a consultant.

OK...this is getting annoying...

What's with the Weather Pixie?

Its gone missing again.

At least the actual weather is brilliantly sunny, if a tad windy.

But if Pixie doesn't return soon, it may not be Just One Look but rather Bye Bye Pixie.

Big is here

Chris Noth ("Big" from Sex and the City) is currently in Sydney sporting the short haircut seen in the photo above which was taken on a visit to Portugal.

I've never quite understood the attraction of "Big" who to my mind was amongst the least attractive of the endless parade of men featured in SATC. His acting in that series always made him seem dull to me and I couldn't imagine what a character like Carrie Bradshaw as portrayed by Sarah Jessica Parker would see in him. Of course, in real life there is no accounting for taste so maybe his casting was in fact a brilliant piece of realism.

I saw a brief interview he conducted in Sydney on television tonight and have to admit that not only did he look quite attractive with the short haircut but he also displayed a more sparkling personality than was ever evident to me in SATC.

Ear.....ear.....

I've been suffering a balance problem for the past week or so. This is not an entirely new sensation since I totally lost all hearing in my right ear a few years back. However the severity and frequency of this disturbing feeling increased noticeably in the past few days.

I started to imagine all types of serious causes including possible brain tumour, so it was with some reluctance that I dragged myself off to the doctor today. As usual he was running late and so imagination had time to run wild. I wasn't sure that I wanted to tell the doctor what I was experiencing out of fear for what he might diagnose as potential causes.

Eventually, I saw the doctor who asked me some questions then poked around to determine the problem. His conclusion? A blockage caused by a build up of ear wax in my right ear. What a let down...and relief!

The doctor seemed surprised that I hadn't noticed something awry simply through hearing difficulties until I reminded him that I am now totally deaf in that ear. "Ah, that will explain it" was his learned response.

The Great

Tony McNamara's play takes a few facts from the life of Catherine the Great to create a play that aims to capture the spirit of the great reformer of Russia.

Act 1 presents the young Catherine plotting a coup against her idiot Emperor husband Peter the Great whilst Act 2 moves on to the older Catherine herself now the target of coup plots.

This summation suggests a grim and serious work whereas McNamara's play is funny and bawdy. It is history as it might be viewed by a cross between The Goons and the Carry On team.

A simple set hints at the grandeur of the Russian court and the acting is generally of a high standard although I thought the young 'pretty boy' actor who plays a love interest of both Catherine and her daughter delivered his lines less effectively than the rest.

Some in the audience did not return for Act 2, perhaps offended by the language and bawdiness. Mk and I, however, loved the play.

The Orphanage

In this Spanish film a married woman, her husband and seven years old son take up residence in an old Orphanage where she was raised as a child. The son has a set of imaginary friends. Or are they imaginary?

I love Spanish films. The female characters are always strong and the images are usually striking.

This is a classy thriller. Music and sound are used effectively to create a sense of doom and the settings are appropriately mysterious.

This is the best fun I have had feeling eerie and uneasy in a long time.

Check list....

As I have passed each of my 50-something birthdays it has been good to check off certain aspects of my life continue to be in place. There is satisfaction in knowing that some things remain.

Today I have been 59 for all of three days and I am mentally checking off that list again.

Since turning 59 I have;

Had erections.....check.

Dreamt about having sex.....check.

Had actual sex.....no, not yet. Mmmmm....better get to work on that.

Another birthday boy

Peter Paige played Emmett in Queer as Folk has the same birthday as me; but is twenty years younger.

Gemini

As the last hour of my birthday approaches I would be remiss not to wish fellow bloggers Firehorse and Steven many best wishes for their birthdays today and tomorrow respectively.

That's another one...

...(birthday) nearly gone.

The hospital generously had cake, chocolates and jelly beans at the ready for my birthday as well as a jar of carrot marmalade which is not a combination I had ever imagined previously. I wonder how they knew about my sweet tooth? Maybe my bulging waistline was the clue?

At lunch, Hn, Ae and I went to the nearby Cruising Yacht Club for lunch. Although it was a cool afternoon, it was pleasant sitting on the back deck overlooking the sailing boats.

I'm back home this evening and doing the week's laundry. Life goes on.

The One Day Of The Year

It's my birthday today. I am now fifty-nine. Only one more year now to officially becoming a senior and enjoying cheaper travel and movies. The body doesn't work as well as in the past but in my head I feel little different from when I was in my twenties.

I'll be working at StV Hospital as usual this morning but won't stay on for the afternoon. I'm having lunch with Hn and Ae.

Have a nice day everyone.

Last day lunch

Here I am today at my last lunch as a 58 year old.

Jl invited a couple of the StV volunteers to her Waverley apartment for lunch. Our former boss Ai was there as well as Cs and Da. (Not the same Da as the nursing home volunteer who is chasing me, although coincidentally they have the same name.)

It was very enjoyable. Jl prepared a delightful lunch and we shared four hours of gossip and laughs around the dining table.

Cs is talking about following up with a lunch at his place. He is a keen cook so that would be something to look forward to as well.

Listen Lady.......I'm Gay

That's what I should have said as soon as I realised she was coming on to me.

My 'fellow' volunteer at the nursing home, Da, is well intentioned if a bit irritating because of her tendency to overreact to nearly everything, no matter how minor. She also talks endlessly and can be quite exhausting if you attempt to follow her conversation all day long.

Her husband died after a short illness late last year and within a month of his death she invited me for dinner and later to the movies. I realised she was coming on to me. I should have outed myself to her straight away - I couldn't believe she didn't already realise - but instead I made the mistake of just trying to shake her off by displaying a lack of interest.

I thought it had worked but I may have underestimated her lack of awareness about sexuality and worse still her persistence. Today, Da gave me this book for my birthday (this coming Friday) and whilst I appreciate her kindness I am nervous that she still is angling to catch me.


She had the book personally signed by the author who along with his wife are close friends of Da's. The endorsement included that I "am an Ace" (yuck!).

Da is the third female over the years to seriously pursue me. I wish I could get similar interest raging in a male friend.

Cyd Charisse

Cyd Charisse has died at the age of eighty-seven.

Skins

I loved last night's episode of Skins.

The scenes involving Chris (Joe Dempsie) as a real estate trainee and later at the flat in which he squats were hilarious. To top it off there was the thrill of watching his arse pounding his former teacher.

The only downer was that Maxxie (Mitch Hewer) did not feature more.

So, I think I have problems?

Isn't Hilary Lister inspiring?

Hilary is sailing solo around the United Kingdom. She is a quadriplegic and controls her boat only through her breathing.

Uniform ironing

Further to the previous posting.

Do they train the military to iron their shirts? How do they get those neat and clearly delineated creases? How do they manage to keep their shirts wrinkle free? Are the shirts made from some synthetic wrinkle free material?

Just some of those little mysteries of life that I ponder from time to time.

New blood

There was a large group of Notre Dame student nurses noisily making their way around the hospital today. Overwhelmingly the students are female as usual although there was a smattering of males. At least one male student was of mature age. The younger students look so young you do wonder whether they have reached their majority. The younger ones also are all so tall nowadays.

The Notre Dame students make an attractive addition to the hospital environment following the recent arrival of the Naval medical staff for the new Naval Ward. The Naval staff seem to be mostly male and they look sexy in their neatly pressed all white uniforms. Some of them provide the bonus of a glimpse of the outline of their underwear. It amuses me that the Naval staff come in all body types. They could be an odd sight marching as a group.

Reluctant meeting

My mother's nursing home has its periodic family members' meeting this evening.

Looking out the window I see that it is still raining and a miserable night is ahead. I'd rather curl up at home and stay warm and dry but I will have to go. I promised Ae that I would drive her to the meeting and it is important for me to protect my mother's interests by knowing what is happening at the home.

I hope the meeting does not finish late. Tonight is a perfect night for catching both Desperate Housewives and Skins on television.

Glorious Jeans

It's cold, wet and windy in Sydney today but this hasn't stopped the touch footballers playing their Sunday competition in Queens Park. You can see some of the hardy spectators in the distance in the photo below.



I went up to Target at Westfield Bondi Junction to purchase some nightwear for my Mum. I arrived early and noticed tempting lamingtons in the nearby Gloria Jean's which I thought would go well with a hot chocolate whilst I waited for Target to open.

I rarely drink coffee nor do I frequent Gloria Jean's, Starbucks and the like so I wasn't familiar with their offerings. The hot chocolate was OK I suppose although most of it was overpowered by the taste of the cardboard cup in which it was served. Apparently Gloria Jean's doesn't serve drinks in cups even if you are 'dining in'.

Any disappointment at the standard of the drink was compensated by the gorgeous array of men, many of them fathers with young children in tow, enjoying a morning tea there. I had no idea this was a male eye candy venue.



I'm not brazen enough to take photos of complete strangers close up with my camera so I surreptitiously took the above snap with my mobile phone. The man on the right collecting his coffee was a biker who filled his jeans beautifully. I would have gladly let him him ravage me there and then. The man on the left was one of the dads. You might notice at bottom right in the photo that the complimentary magazine I was reading was left open at a Calvin Klein advertisement. This was a complete coincidence which I only noticed later but it neatly completes the homoerotic image for me.

I should visit Gloria Jean's more often.

Nine Lives

Yes I know, it's my fourth film this week. Today was cool and miserable so after seeing my Mum at the home I took myself across to Newtown to see Nine Lives.

I read in Internet Data Base that this film dates from 2005. It is being shown on only the one screen in Sydney. This would usually suggest that the film is a stinker.

Nine Lives comprises nine short scenes, each of about twelve minutes. Women predominate and the scenes are unconnected as far as their storylines go although featuring overlapping characters.

Some scenes carry more impact than others and all frustrate to some degree in that you get snippets of the characters' lives shown out of context. I would have loved to know more about some of the situations.

Nine Lives will not be to everyone's taste. Someone in the audience snored through the last four or five scenes.

The Happening

...and whilst on the topic of combative trees...

Something eerie is happening in the parks and fields of North Eastern United States. M Night Shyamalan's latest offering is The Happening. Like millions of people I was deceived brilliantly by Shyamalan's first effort, The Sixth Sense. I have seen each of his subsequent films with expectation only to be disappointed as each has fallen short of his brilliant debut.

I read today that Shyamalan aimed to make the best ever B-grade movie with this effort. He has half succeeded. It certainly has the B-grade style but as for being the best?

I think the mark of a good suspense film is one that wraps its incredible parts in a covering of reality. The Sixth Sense contained fine acting and cleverly deceptive scenes of conversations.

The acting falls well short in The Happening. Mark Wahlberg's gentle, almost whispering, voice undermines his position as the film's authority figure. Zooey Deschanel delivers a wide eyed performance of such eccentricity I assume it was either deliberately intended as a red herring or else she was on a high throughout filming. The representation of their relationship is mysterious and distracting.

The best performance is given by Betty Buckley in a cameo appearance in the final third of the film. Had the other performers matched her, this film could have been quite stunning.

Nevertheless, The Happening will make useful home DVD viewing on cold and windy nights.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

I have not read any of the Narnia books nor did I see the first film in this series. I have never had an interest in tales of talking animals, centaurs or combative trees let alone pubescent students who temporarily turn into Kings and Queens to undertake great quests.

Obviously a lot of other people are so inclined however, which accounts for the full house of families at the session I attended. The children watched this film in rapt attention.

I went because I had seen articles about Ben Barnes who plays the Prince and felt that notwithstanding my lack of interest in mythical tales of this nature that watching Barnes on the giant screen for over two hours would still be a useful way to spend an afternoon.

All that I knew about the first film was that it attracted criticism from the Church for the nature of its spiritual connotations. Either this sequel is very different or I am particularly dimwitted because I was quite oblivious to any religious, let alone contra-religious elements in the film.

The scenery, both landscape and male humans, is very attractive. Barnes is joined by William Moseley, Skandar Keynes and a host of Italian sounding baddies to provide a pleasing cavalcade of male beauty.

I felt a bit sorry for the splendidly named Keynes who alone amongst the four student Kings and Queens had no singular adventure to pursue and is reduced to shining his torch for others and hanging around as an attractive accessory.

Whilst it was all very pretty, I doubt that I will be excited enough to see #3 in the franchise unless male nudity or something similar is introduced. I doubt, though, the others in audience will need such inducement.

Foggy morning

Morning fog on Sydney Harbour a few minutes ago.

Modern Life

The Good Living magazine in the Sydney Morning Herald reports that the consumption of oranges is on the decline in Britain. Researchers claim it is because people are too busy to peel them.

WTF!

Look Me In The Eye

My current reading is John Elder Robison's Look Me In The Eye which is subtitled My Life with Asperger's (Syndrome).

Robison is the brother of Augusten Burroughs who referred to Robison in his book Running With Scissors.

Robison describes his emotionless way of thinking about issues which apparently is typical of Asperger's behaviour. I found these descriptions, in Dame Edna's term, spooky because some of his thinking seems perfectly sensible to me and mirrors much of my own.

Could it be that I am touched with Asperger's?

Then She Found Me

Helen Hunt, an adopted child, and Matthew Broderick are teachers who marry during the credits and separate minutes later. Colin Firth, a divorced parent, and Bette Midler, Hunt's natural mother, enter their lives and....well you can guess what happens.

No real surprises here. Based on a novel it is a Woody Allen type film without Allen's influences. Bette Midler does her best to tone down her aggressiveness but remains a suffocating presence.

Not as bad as I was expecting from the lukewarm reviews but an acquired taste nonetheless.

Holiday Monday

It's the Queen's Birthday holiday Monday and looking out my bedroom window this morning I see the above; rain and fog.

Oh well, back to bed for a while longer.

PS: I didn't get any Award in the Honour's List - again - this year.

The automatic Ned Kelly

An ATM robbed me today.

I inserted my card, keyed in my withdrawal instructions, accepted my card and bank statement recording the withdrawal and then waited for my money to appear. None did.

I won't name the bank but if you want a clue just look at the photo above.

So there I was on busy New South Head Road, Edgecliff at 12.45pm on the Sunday of a long weekend with the adjacent bank branch not due to reopen until 9.30am Tuesday. I was not happy.

I called the bank's card service on my mobile phone. There must be few more annoying situations than standing by the side of a busy and noisy road, fuming and wading through endless recorded messages, including how the bank values your patronage and privacy, to report to a human operator that the bank has just robbed you.

Thankfully the operator who took my call was not the usual officious voice on automatic pilot. Whilst there was nothing she could do to provide me with an instant remedy she handled my call patiently and sensitively.

I now have to wait for the dispute notice the voice initiated to work its way through the system and for my account to be re-credited with the phantom withdrawal.

This is the second time one of this bank's ATMs has shortchanged me. On the previous occasion, an ATM issued a $20 note in place of the $50 requested. The adjacent branch was open at the time and I was able to report the error immediately to a teller. The teller was incredulous at my claim telling me their ATMs don't make mistakes. He dealt with my complaint much in the manner that I was Ned Kelly come to rob his bank. I had to wait until they audited the ATM overnight to confirm the shortfall following which I received a grudging apology and my money.

To think that we pay fees for this 'service'.

My preferred foot...and other life options

The day started with my podiatrist appointment. My preferred podiatrist, Tm, was not on duty this morning and I was 'serviced' by Va. She is a bright and personable young woman but Va has not yet learnt that I don't visit the podiatrist to be insulted. Her comment today that my heels 'are as dry as a desert' was undoubtedly correct but totally unwelcome.

Tm would never have said something like that to me. He would have stuck to safe subjects like football, cricket and my weekend's ironing. Plus Tm has the added appeal of providing me with an ever changing view of his enticing crotch snug in his tight trousers as I look down at him attending to my tootsies.

I recovered from Va's assault with breakfast in the Bondi Junction mall and then drove to Hunters Hill for my Saturday morning visit with my mother at her nursing home. She snoozed in her lounge chair for the entire hour that I sat with her not waking even to drink the tea and eat the delicious smelling cake that had been delivered to her side for morning tea. I held her hand for the hour whilst reading my current book, John Elder Robison's 'Look me in the Eye'.

On my way home I stopped off for a quick cruise and struck it lucky. Thus relieved and rejuvenated, I decided I should detour to Centennial Park for a walk. After all, I needed the exercise and the preparation for my forthcoming trip to NW Australia.

I parked my car just off the Grand Drive and started the walk at 12.20pm. Initially my mind was its usual state; a blank. But then I started to think about my preferences. Not my sexual preference, because I consider that to be my orientation more than just a choice, just as I am left handed by orientation not simply because I feel like it.

Why, for example have I always preferred clockwise motion to anti-clockwise? I was walking around the park in a clockwise direction. In fact most people were doing the same, although some people were being different (or deviant?) by doggedly pushing against the tide doing their walk in the anti-clockwise direction.


My thoughts then turned to other preferences.

Why have I always preferred even numbers to odd numbers? I have no idea but I have thought this way since childhood.

Why do I like banana as a flavour (banana cake, banana essence, banana milk shake) and yet rarely eat the actual fruit because something about its texture makes my skin crawl?

Similarly, why am I happy to have mushroom sauce or gravy with a meal but then balk at eating an actual mushroom whose taste makes me feel nauseous?



Anyway these thoughts filled my mind until I came across the attractive red headed youth (above) walking with his lady friend. Walking behind this Adonis banished all other thoughts from my mind, rejuvenated me for a second time in a couple of hours and gave me the necessary impetus to finish the walk back to my car.

My walk was completed at 1pm at which moment I felt very happy with my preferences, my orientation and my lot.

Kimberley and Kakadu

Following lunch at The Mint I went to Hn's to meet up with her, Ae, Jn and Be. Hn, Ae and I are planning a trip to the Kimberlies and Kakadu National Park in North Western Australia in September.



We have left it a bit late to book and quite a few of the packages are full. Hn has been making enquiries for us and was told places are still available for a package leaving Sydney on August 23. That timing suits the three of us so we are working on joining that group.



Hn will check on flights and costings tomorrow. I'm quite excited about the trip as I have never been to that part of Australia. It will be the second trip there for both Hn and Ae.

Meantime this is the Queen's Birthday long weekend. I'm hoping the weather clears up so I can get out and walking. I need to exercise a bit to work on my paunch. Otherwise I will be a 'puffing billy' when we go on the trip.

Brother can you spare a dollar for lunch?

Had lunch today with Ry, Tm, Tp and Jm at The Mint Cafe situated in The Mint (pictured above in a night photo).

This is an occasional lunch group, all of us having worked together over the past forty years as well as having played together in tennis and squash groups over that same period.

Ry suggested the venue. We were seated on the upstairs balcony which was open to the elements and overlooked Macquarie Street, looking across Queens Square to Hyde Park. Today was not the best day for this location as the weather was cold and blustery but at least the rain held off.

Ry had told us the menu was small but he did not warn us that the servings were also small. When our selected meals arrived I think all five of us had a similar reaction that we'd be going away hungry. As it turned out the food was fine and despite what seemed an insufficient amount of food, I felt full afterwards. It probably helped that we had dessert as well as a main course each.

The Mint was built between 1811-1816 as part of Sydney Hospital and in 1854 became a part of The Royal Mint which was its role until 1926. This was the first time I had been inside the building.

Tight Jeans

Jude Law looking good in his tight jeans.

I wandered into Just Jeans before the movies on Tuesday and ended up buying a couple of pair of cotton Chinos which were on special that I thought would be perfect for work. And so they proved when I wore them on the next two days.

So pleased was I with these new trousers that I purchased a further four pairs before yesterday's movie.

I wanted to wear the first of these additional purchases this morning and was horrified when I found they were too small. How could this be when the first two pairs had fit me so well. Was the latest trouser incorrectly labelled?

I checked and rechecked and then it dawned on me. I had purchased four pairs of trousers two sizes too small for me. They weren't my size at all. I must have had a complete mental blank when selecting them.

There was no way I would look like Jude Law in them. Apart from my not looking at all like Jude, I couldn't do them up.

What a dope!

It's baaaack......

The weather pixie is back.

I don't know where it's been but I'm glad it's back. Maybe the rain will stop now.

Gilles Marini

This photograph of Gilles Marini, the spunky naked man in Sex and the City, is from his personal website. That site contains more delicious photographs of the man.

A check of the Internet Movie Database reveals that Marini appeared in two episodes of The Bold and the Beautiful in 2005 and 2007 playing the role of a French waiter.

He may get offers for more prominent roles now following his exposure in SATC.

Sex and the City

OK, like many gay men I am a fan of the television series. I liked the endless parade of handsome men. I liked seeing the fashions even though I am not the typically gay man style fashionista. And I enjoyed the fun; the girls were usually having fun in the series.

So how well does it all translate to the big screen?

Well, let me fast forward to a single scene in the movie. That is the one scene in which Candice Bergen appears. Candice was such an attractive woman in earlier days but her appearance here is a shock. She has a bloated look and seems to be going down the road of a Shirley Knight or a Shelley Winters. But more significantly in this film Candice delivers her dialogue without a hint of the edge that was a mark of her comedic ability in the television series Murphy Brown.

This seems to me to be symptomatic of the film. It lacks the edge of the television series. The girls don't seem to be having fun. The fashions are there and the New York cafe scenes that I love are there but it is all a little bland...and quiet.

That isn't to say there aren't the occasional fun moments. Kim Cattrell's sushi scene is a pretty good one.

Unlike the television series the parade of handsome men in the movie is sparse. David Eigenberg has grown sexier with age whilst Jason Lewis' looks seemed to have hardened. The other highlight on the man front is Gilles Marini who is seen mostly naked and engaging in sex. We see Gilles' apparently massive dick briefly from side on in a shower scene.

It looks like the film will be a commercial success. I was taken aback to find that at 11.30am, six of the later sessions at the Broadway Cinemas today were already sold out. The 12.15pm session I saw was well attended.

Compared with its television predecessor, the movie is a disappointment.

Scales of Justice

Back in 2000 when I was still in full time employment, a workmate and friend was removed from his position and subsequently ceased his employment under a cloud of corruption claims. The strong rumours were that he had received financial inducements to provide services to which the recipients were not entitled.

At the time this seemed to me a fanciful allegation as the workmate had always seemed to behave to the highest ethical standards. Years passed and whilst alleged accomplices and the workmate were charged there was no word of the proceedings against them.

Until today. Newspaper reports today reveal that the workmate has been found guilty of corrupt behaviour and sentenced to eighteen months imprisonment with a non parole period of nine months. The sentence was less than the maximum four years that could have been laid down in part to compensate for the significant delay in bringing the matter to court.

This is a sad outcome for my former workmate but I assume justice has been served.

Leatherheads

George Clooney is the professional footballer in an era where American professional football was a struggling and poor second to the highly popular amateur College football. John Krasinski is the amateur star and Great War hero who is lured into the professional ranks. Renee Zellweger is the wisecracking journalist, a la Mae West, who can hold her own in a man's world and who sets out to discredit the popular Krasinski.

The film has the design and style of 1930's romantic comedies right down to the use of the Universal Pictures stylised introduction of the era. The styling extends to sepia tones and the echoes of newsreels. The screenplay is a cut above what is usually offered nowadays. It's a pretty smart comedy.

I'm not certain how this film would be viewed by those too young to understand the connections with a bygone era but the film brought back many memories for me of the smart talking American movies that, along with Westerns, were a regular feature of Saturday and Sunday afternoon early television in Australia.

No longer bold nor beautiful

The Bold and the Beautiful was playing in the background as I checked my blog roll a while ago. I'd turned the television on in preparation for the 5pm news bulletin.

I became addicted to B&B from the late 1980s for perhaps a decade despite its improbable recurring story lines. I had been put on to the program by my parents, who in their retirement, watched it every day. Eventually the continual rehashing, remixing and rematching of plots amongst the same characters wore me down. I cannot recall the last time I tuned in to specifically view the soapy.

I was pleased tonight that I had no interest in taking a look despite the "same old, same old" dialogue that once enticed me playing in the background.

Cruisers

I saw Leatherheads at the Broadway Shopping Centre this afternoon and will post about it separately. Following the movie I visited the toilets nearby the cinema complex and saw someone I recall as a cruiser years ago at the Town Hall Station toilets.

He is a baby faced man with a large build, a sort of Baby Huey from the old comic series. I wasn't at the toilet looking for sex but he clearly was. He was never discreet from my memory and was pretty obvious today. I wondered how many men he annoys with his in your face approach.

I've cruised countless times over many years so I cannot claim to take the high moral ground but I hope I was never as blatantly intrusive as this man.

Morning tea

This morning the Hospital held its morning tea for the Volunteers in recognition of Volunteer week.

The management spoke glowingly about our contributions to the hospital and a guest speaker from the NSW volunteer umbrella organisation also commended us. We were shown a short DVD about the role of the volunteers with many of us featured.

It did not escape Cs' notice that I appeared in the DVD twice. Cs announced archly afterwards that "Victor must have been on the casting couch" to attract multiple appearances.

Cs and I were amongst four volunteers to recite prayers during the function. This is not my scene at all as I have no strong religious tendencies. My recitation followed that by Cs whose booming actor's voice would have sounded like Richard Burton in comparison with my droning.


This unnamed cutey is seen enjoying morning tea in Auckland but he was not at our function. A pity, as it would have been fun if we was there.

Chatting with Jl over sausage rolls, mini pies and rainbow sandwiches I discovered that she knows Ae very well. It was surprising after all these years together at the hospital to discover we have Ae in common as a friend.

Male volunteers are in the minority at the hospital. We are outnumbered ten to one by female volunteers. There were four male volunteers at our table for the morning tea and I realised, to my amusement, that all four of us are gay.