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Chris Lilley's highly anticipated (at least by me) Summer Heights High started on the ABC last night. I loved 'We Can Be Heroes' (having accidentally caught the first or second episode during one of my trips back from the UK) and was really looking forward to seeing what he came up with next.

The answer so far seems to be... more of the same. This is a little disappointing and neither of his new characters, Mr G and Jonah, have the charm of characters from 'Heroes'. Still, it's only the first episode and I'm willing to give it a bit longer. And Mr G performing for his drama class was pretty funny. :-)

11 charged over Chaser APEC stunt
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/09/06/2026372.htm

Chaser member Julian Morrow told The Sunday Telegraph he was expecting his team to be arrested.

"We want to get a working majority arrested and we want to get Chas (Licciardello) shot," he said.

"At this stage I think we're on target.

"We're hoping at least three of the team will be arrested."

Morrow said it was unhealthy for attending APEC politicians to be protected.

"We have every right to be there," he said.

"I think in principle it's a bad thing, I think the idea that politicians should be protected from scrutiny is a bad idea and that they should be protected from mockery is an even worse idea."

From: http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22345122-2,00.html?from=public_rss

Despite being dressed as Osama bin Laden, Chas was not shot. (Yet.)

(Also, unexpectedly, I'll be in Sydney for a work thing from Sunday 16th to Tuesday 18th September. It looks like I'll be able to catch up with benpeek while i'm there, which will be nice :-)

I am watching Condoleezza Rice's interview on Lateline. She's coming over about as well as Kyle Sandilands did on Monday night.

After avoiding[1] stoopid episodes involving pigs and New York and such, I've just seen the Doctor Who episode Blink again. This was the last episode I saw in the UK before leaving and it was just as awesome this time as last time. I'm looking forward to future episodes when Captain Jack comes back, and lovely John Simm is eVil!!

Last night I watched 'Love Actually' for the nth time. This came out during my first year in the UK and watching it was the first time I'd missed London since I left. I was a bit sad. (Not sad enough to think up 100 things I missed, however).

Weekend is going well - not because it's been fun! in the normal sense - today I've spend a good 8-10 hours on a review paper I started writing far too long ago. I've done good work today putting references in, but the hardest task of cutting the text (from current ~15K to ideally <10K) can wait until tomorrow. This is one of quite a few UK projects that's been weighing on my mind since I've got back so I'm glad I'm a bit closer to finishing it (I'd like to have a draft finished before I move - 2 weeks time!!)

Tomorrow I'm also off to Ellis House to check out their art market and classes. There a Saturday afternoon class that sounds pretty good, though I think I'll need a project work on to go.



[1]To be fair, I've missed a fair few cos just cos I've been out. I'd have taped them - or downloaded thme, but I'm so not in the habit. I'm wondering whether to bother getting a video when I move (in, like 2 weeks! :-O). I think I'd rather get a digital TV recorder. Do such things exist in Aus yet?

From: http://www.savethechildren.org.au/australia/news/events/western.html

Book Sale Time Once Again!
The University of WA Branch Book Sale will be held between Friday 24th - Wednesday 29th August 2007. The 43rd annual Book Sale will be held once again in the undercroft at the University of Western Australia, Crawley.

Times:
Friday 24th August, 6.00pm - 9.30pm
Saturday 25th August, 6.00am – 5.00pm
Sunday 26th August, 9.30am – 5.00pm
Monday 27th August, 9.30am – 6.30pm
Tuesday 28th August, 9.30am – 6.30pm
Wednesday 29th August, 9.30am – 4.00pm

Your purchase of pre-loved books will assist Save the Children programmes locally and overseas.

I'll probably go Saturday arvo, or praps Friday night. Is anyone with me!!?

My most recent art meme acquisition (yesterday). I think I'd put a request into calla_s for chilli products (I knew he'd been growing heaps) and had indeed received some preserved ones that my mother's been taking care of in my absence. Dried chillies are a welcome addition to my kitchen (virtual as it is, at the moment), although I understand these ones are *hot* and need to be used with care.

The paper bowl, however, was a complete surpise! I love the bowl. The purple around the rim complemented the chillies really well. There's also some bright orange specs on the bottom (not visible in the pic, and apparently due to a lurid orange serviette!!). I think paper making is something I could really get in to - it'd be great to draw on. I'm looking forward to helping out C with his next batch and will be saving up my egg cartons in anticipation.

(Apparently paper making is a summer activity because of all the splashing of water. I think it'll be fun!!)

girliejones is a skilled and ardent knitter (see her knitting blog: http://gjknits.blogspot.com/) so I was preeetty confident I'd get knitted goods from her and, after hearing about the hot water bottle covers she'd been knitting for others, I was very pleased to acquire one myself in the art meme project!



I particularly love the colours and cable knit down the front. So far I've only used it once or twice in the UK cos soon after I recieved it, it was packed up to be sent back to Aus (and currently I am without hot water bottle!!). However, I am looking forward to many years of use, once I am settled again.

I like this article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/01/opinion/01wed2.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
and this:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-morrison2aug02,0,1198210.column?coll=la-opinion-rightrail

I'll admit I'll buy bottled water if I'm thirsty and have been slack in bringing my own bottle with me, but bottled water is a crock. We used to do a student practical where we tested for various trace elements in water. Two well known bottled waters regularly measured over the 1998 World Health Organisation drinking water limits for Uranium. How can this be? Firstly I'm pretty sure most regulatory bodies don't test for U. But also - bottled water is classed a food and not drinking water, and therefore does not have to meet the same stringent guidelines.

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[1] NB: in 2003 the WHO drinking water limit for Uranium increased from 2 ppb to 15 ppb, thereby ruining our nice scare piece. Was a pity :-)

Thing #4
Uncle D's cat was an indoor cat. She mewed continually to go out, and sometimes I did let her out for a supervised wander. Apparently there were other cats who terrorised her and - to be fair - Uncle D's backyard seemed to be a halfway house for every cat in the neighbourhood. However there was one cat who hung around a lot.



He actually seemed like a sweet fellow. Not shy at all - I had to really shoo him to make him go away (and my heart wasn't in it, really). And, really, I think Uncle D's cat wanted him to hang around. I think he was her BOYFRIEND!!






It was quite sweet how they used to hang round together, each on either side of the glass sliding doors. Very Romeo and Juliet.

And then she turned into an alien!!!

The End.

Thing #3
A couple of weeks ago, I joined girliejones (and others) on g-j's bf's boat for a Sunday afternoon of boating. It was a gloriously sunny day and we cruised down the Swan, and then up the coast to Mindarie Keys. We saw dolphins. We saw GIANT COCKS!!!





(Note: This was recently after Boing Boing featured Concrete Cocks Terrorising An Oregon Town. The resemblance was uncanny)

(Note: The Mindarie Key ones have cockrings!!)