There is alot of arguement over which world city hosts the best New Years Eve Party, however i usualy just side with the fact that each is unique and different and great in there own way, thats why I make an effort to youtube the fireworks for all the major cities around the world, but ...
Sydney wins hands down this year ...
I may be bias because i live here, and i was standing next to the bridge at midnight, but i dont care, my blog my rules ....
Enjoy ....
Oh and 4mins 20seconds in, whats with the music ? Sounds like they just ripped off the music from Indiana Jones .... and the Shaft theme at the end, dont get me started on that! Not happy with the DJ at all, but this assessment is judged on the fireworks alone not the music, and they are as Shaft would put it "Da F*ckin Bomb!"
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Santa's on his way ......
Merry Christmas bloggers ....
Its the silly season, so hurry up and get silly already!
A seafood lunch & backyard cricket awaits me tomorrow followed by Boxing Day at the beach, hopefully your Christmas is a safe one and enjoyable .....
So ill leave you with a cheerful christmas image ....
& now a scary one of me just as a visual warning of what too many christmas drinks can result in .....
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Friday, December 19, 2008
Thankyou Mary Schmich
Yes this is old, but i dont care, it makes more sense than most of what you hear today.
Wear sunscreen.
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience.
I will dispense this advice now.
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded. But trust me, in 20 years, you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked.
You are not as fat as you imagine.
Don't worry about the future. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 p.m. on some idle Tuesday.
Do one thing every day that scares you.
Sing.
Don't be reckless with other people's hearts. Don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.
Floss.
Don't waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long and, in the end, it's only with yourself.
Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.
Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statements.
Stretch.
Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don't.
Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees. You'll miss them when they're gone.
Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll divorce at 40, maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else's.
Enjoy your body. Use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or of what other people think of it. It's the greatest instrument you'll ever own.
Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room.
Read the directions, even if you don't follow them.
Do not read beauty magazines. They will only make you feel ugly.
Get to know your parents. You never know when they'll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings. They're your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.
Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were young.
Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard. Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.
Travel.
Accept certain inalienable truths: Prices will rise. Politicians will philander. You, too, will get old. And when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.
Respect your elders.
Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund. Maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse. But you never know when either one might run out.
Don't mess too much with your hair or by the time you're 40 it will look 85.
Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it.
Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth.
But trust me on the sunscreen.
Wear sunscreen.
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience.
I will dispense this advice now.
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded. But trust me, in 20 years, you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked.
You are not as fat as you imagine.
Don't worry about the future. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 p.m. on some idle Tuesday.
Do one thing every day that scares you.
Sing.
Don't be reckless with other people's hearts. Don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.
Floss.
Don't waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long and, in the end, it's only with yourself.
Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.
Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statements.
Stretch.
Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don't.
Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees. You'll miss them when they're gone.
Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll divorce at 40, maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else's.
Enjoy your body. Use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or of what other people think of it. It's the greatest instrument you'll ever own.
Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room.
Read the directions, even if you don't follow them.
Do not read beauty magazines. They will only make you feel ugly.
Get to know your parents. You never know when they'll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings. They're your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.
Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were young.
Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard. Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.
Travel.
Accept certain inalienable truths: Prices will rise. Politicians will philander. You, too, will get old. And when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.
Respect your elders.
Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund. Maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse. But you never know when either one might run out.
Don't mess too much with your hair or by the time you're 40 it will look 85.
Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it.
Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth.
But trust me on the sunscreen.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Grosse Point Blank + War Inc
Having a look through my dvd collection i was trying to think of what film i would mention as my all time favourite. There are plenty of contenders, Any Frank Darabont film, Disney Classics such as The Lion King & Aladdin or for action junkies, Die Hard With A Vengeance rates high on my list.
However ....
I went for the odd choice, an odd film, quirky, kick ass 80's sound track that even Beckeye would appreciate you 80's child you!, John & Joan Cusack working together, Dan Ackroyd in something funny post Ghostbusters! and Jeremy Piven not being anything like the ass he is today!
What more could you ask for in a film ... and if you are thinking, well maybe John Cusack dispatching a hired hitman with nothing but a felt tip pen, well it has that too.
So ill leave you with one of Martin Blank's ramblings ...
"I just honestly don't know what I have in common with those people anymore... or with anyone, really.
I mean, they'll all have husbands and wives and children and houses and dogs, and, you know, they'll have made themselves a part of something, and they can talk about what they do.
And what am I going to say? "I killed the president of Paraguay with a fork. How have you been?" "
Now if your like me and loved this film, you probably cant wait for War Inc ... the unofficial sequel .... here's the preview link ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfajHamEyWQ
However ....
I went for the odd choice, an odd film, quirky, kick ass 80's sound track that even Beckeye would appreciate you 80's child you!, John & Joan Cusack working together, Dan Ackroyd in something funny post Ghostbusters! and Jeremy Piven not being anything like the ass he is today!
What more could you ask for in a film ... and if you are thinking, well maybe John Cusack dispatching a hired hitman with nothing but a felt tip pen, well it has that too.
So ill leave you with one of Martin Blank's ramblings ...
"I just honestly don't know what I have in common with those people anymore... or with anyone, really.
I mean, they'll all have husbands and wives and children and houses and dogs, and, you know, they'll have made themselves a part of something, and they can talk about what they do.
And what am I going to say? "I killed the president of Paraguay with a fork. How have you been?" "
Now if your like me and loved this film, you probably cant wait for War Inc ... the unofficial sequel .... here's the preview link ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfajHamEyWQ
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Matt's hit list of 2008
Got a chance to watch Wanted on dvd the other day.
I gave this one a miss at the megaplex because it looked over the top, plus it had Jolie in it.
Yes im that one guy in the world who does not like Jolie ... Shes smug!
Lets also add the fact that they changed the main character who was an Eminem clone from Liverpool England into well ... James McAvoy!
Granted McAvoy is from the UK and keeps part of his accent, but i had my doubts still.
Then i watched it ....
Then i watched it again ....
Oh and i liked it, both times. Infact i liked it so much it gets my #1 spot in my 2008 hit list of films i liked. 2008 was pretty thin when it came to making my hit list, infact my Miss List of 2008 had so many contenders i considered taking the top 5 and expanding it to a top 20, but ill stay true to form and keep both at five but today i post The Hit List.
Oh and go rent Wanted if you get a chance, its quite funny at times which i liked and the action aint bad either and its worth it just for the last line of the film.
Matts Hit List
1. Wanted
2. Dark Knight
3. Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay
4. Taken
5. Wall-E
Harrold & Kumar was exactly like the first film which was exactly what people wanted, so it gets the stamp of approval from me, and well Taken went un-noticed this year, staring Liam Neeson it was a fantastic film i loved to bits. not out on DVD yet but one for my collection be sure of that!
The other two are there because they were films i watched more than once, meaning they must have been good to get a repeat viewing ....
Next time ill post the 5 films i hated this year.
I gave this one a miss at the megaplex because it looked over the top, plus it had Jolie in it.
Yes im that one guy in the world who does not like Jolie ... Shes smug!
Lets also add the fact that they changed the main character who was an Eminem clone from Liverpool England into well ... James McAvoy!
Granted McAvoy is from the UK and keeps part of his accent, but i had my doubts still.
Then i watched it ....
Then i watched it again ....
Oh and i liked it, both times. Infact i liked it so much it gets my #1 spot in my 2008 hit list of films i liked. 2008 was pretty thin when it came to making my hit list, infact my Miss List of 2008 had so many contenders i considered taking the top 5 and expanding it to a top 20, but ill stay true to form and keep both at five but today i post The Hit List.
Oh and go rent Wanted if you get a chance, its quite funny at times which i liked and the action aint bad either and its worth it just for the last line of the film.
Matts Hit List
1. Wanted
2. Dark Knight
3. Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay
4. Taken
5. Wall-E
Harrold & Kumar was exactly like the first film which was exactly what people wanted, so it gets the stamp of approval from me, and well Taken went un-noticed this year, staring Liam Neeson it was a fantastic film i loved to bits. not out on DVD yet but one for my collection be sure of that!
The other two are there because they were films i watched more than once, meaning they must have been good to get a repeat viewing ....
Next time ill post the 5 films i hated this year.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Good Afternoon Good Evening and Goodnight
Researchers have begun documenting what they dub the "Truman syndrome", a delusion afflicting people who are convinced their lives are secretly playing out on a reality TV show.
Scientists say the disorder underscores the influence pop culture can have on mental conditions. Becky see what your blog can do ??? You should have a warning that it may be harmful to your health.
I have to admit ive entertained the thought that my whole life could be a reality show, i have no proof to show that it is, but on the plus side of things nobody can find proof that it isnt a reality show either.
I guess i can add this as Conspiracy Theory #33 in my list ....
Yes there are 32 others, some of which i have mentioned.
This story also reminds me of Conspiracy Theory #17, in my list of theories, That Warner Brothers ripped off my idea for the Matrix as a 9 year old by colluding with my primary school teacher.
See when i was about 9 years old in 1990 i had an idea that we may all be hibernating somewhere and the life you see around you is just a dream. I wrote a short story about it in primary school and my teacher gave me a gold star for it.
Mysteriously my short story vanished from the classroom that week.
10 years later Warner Brothers made a gazillion dollars from it and im pretty sure my primary school teacher had something to do with it ....
I will be sending a strong worded letter to the Warner Exec's one of whom ill assume is a former primary teacher.
Now excuse me while i go visit the actors who pretend to be my friends ....
Side Note: I did not create short stories about the two matrix sequels, they came up with that crap on there own. Maybe if they had have called me what was a below average sci-fi film could have been a masterpiece.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Top 10 Movies That Ignored History
I have to thank The Den Of Geek for this info, i am a geek yes but it takes a true geek to know all of the below information .... I bow before thee ...
Movies that based themselves in famous historical context can be great, as they have an extra edge of relevance to entirely fictional productions. But once a movie production is underway those real events that form these foundations can take massive abuse at the hands of directors and writers. Here are some of the most notorious examples.
Battle of the Bulge (1965)
It’s difficult to remember a war movie where so little attention was actually paid the sequence of events or the equipment used. Given that it’s basically a story about an armoured incursion, it fails to show any of the real armoured vehicles used in the battle, using Korean conflict era equipment instead. Best of all is the climax where the tanks are stopped just short of the fuel dump. A real event, that happened at the start of the battle, not at the end.
Bridge over the River Kwai (1957)
Great performances and some reference to real events don’t change the irrefutable fact that the bridge is still there, and was not blown into tiny pieces by a dying Alec Guinness.
Braveheart (1995)
I know some people that love this movie, especially the Scots, but it’s almost entirely inaccurate from beginning to end. The list of mistakes and anachronisms in here is substantial. But a few highlights include; the appearance of kilts a good 300 years before they actually were worn, and Wallace seducing a women who was 3 years old at the time, and in doing so fathered a child born seven years after his death.
They can take away our freedom, but not our ability to make shit up!
The Patriot (2000)
Another English-bashing epic with Mel Gibson, and yet another that treats history as more of a guideline than an actual code. The nice guy Mel Gisbson plays is called Benjamin Martin, but is based on Francis "The Swamp Fox" Marion.
He wasn’t a nice person, but a slave owner who spent his life actively persecuting and murdering indigenous Cherokees. But then so much gets altered in The Patriot that characterisations are a minor issue. In the final engagement, the Battle of Guilford Court House, the Americans are ultimately triumphant. Sadly, in that particular real event, they lost, and quite heavily.
Maybe Mel should stick to romantic comedies.
U-571 (2000)
I enjoyed this movie, despite its revisionist view of how America won the war, and captured the Enigma machine so they the allies could decipher the German codes. To put the historical record straight is was HMS Bulldog that cornered U-110, and got hold of an Enigma decoder six months before the USA even entered WII. And, the Polish had already cracked the basic Enigma cipher without ever having a machine in their possession. So U-571 is all at sea.
Titanic (1997)
There aren’t really ways to describe how little regard to the factual events this movie has. It treats the true story of that night as rumour, recognizable only as deja vu and dismissed just as quickly. I accept that the characters are fictional, but almost everything that happens, with the exception of the ship sinking is utterly made-up, and very badly in most cases.
There are many good examples, but my personal favourite is the one where Jack tells Rose about fishing on Lake Wissota. That’s a neat trick Jack, because it’s a man-made lake near Chippewa Falls, which was only created when a dam was built on the Chippewa River, six years after the Titanic sank. Sloppy research Mr. Cameron!
Gladiator (2000)
I love this movie, but just about everything in it is made-up, inaccurate or just plain wrong. Marcus Aurelius wasn’t murdered, but died of Chicken Pox. Commodus didn’t die in the arena, but strangled in his bath by a wrestler called Narcissus, a full 12 years after Marcus Aurelius died. And love interest Lucilla was exiled to Capri and subsequently executed on Commodus’ orders for plotting against him long before his own demise.
Maximus Decimus Meridius is an entirely fictional character, who borrows from at least three historical figures, but represents none of them specifically. Gladiator is big on spectacle, but short on real history.
300 (2006)
Given that the events portrayed in 300 happened 480BC, so some margin should be given for how precise any depiction could be. But, contrary to the movie we do know that at the start of Thermopylae, the Greeks actually fielded 7,000 men all told. And they fought not half a million, but about 80,000 Persians. Not quite as impressive as the film portrayed, but still not bad odds. When the final battle came Leonidas had his 300 Spartans plus 900 Helots and 700 Thespians at his disposal. So counting isn’t a strong point of ‘300’.
Pearl Harbor (2001)
This film gets one fact right, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on the morning of December 7th 1941. Almost everything else is mucked up to some degree or another. The order and position of the ships on Battleship row is wrong, as are the geography locations of the airfields.
The P-40 fighters are also much later versions. Additionally it suggests that the Japanese hit the ships and then went after the airfields, when in fact they hit both at the same time. Names, places, events, they all go in the grinder...
Just how little they cared in this movie about history is demonstrated wonderfully by Evelyn’s first appearance at Pearl Harbor, where she walks past a building emblazoned with the sign "Est. 1953"
At the end of the day, all the above films are exactly that, films, so who really cares if a few mistakes were made historically.
My theory (Conspiracy Theory #3) in my list of theories, is that the above movies were deliberately made inaccurate so that young High School kids who rent the film to study for History Exams fall short, and so that teachers around the globe can tell when students are doing so ....
It makes sense ...
Back me up Hollywood!
Movies that based themselves in famous historical context can be great, as they have an extra edge of relevance to entirely fictional productions. But once a movie production is underway those real events that form these foundations can take massive abuse at the hands of directors and writers. Here are some of the most notorious examples.
Battle of the Bulge (1965)
It’s difficult to remember a war movie where so little attention was actually paid the sequence of events or the equipment used. Given that it’s basically a story about an armoured incursion, it fails to show any of the real armoured vehicles used in the battle, using Korean conflict era equipment instead. Best of all is the climax where the tanks are stopped just short of the fuel dump. A real event, that happened at the start of the battle, not at the end.
Bridge over the River Kwai (1957)
Great performances and some reference to real events don’t change the irrefutable fact that the bridge is still there, and was not blown into tiny pieces by a dying Alec Guinness.
Braveheart (1995)
I know some people that love this movie, especially the Scots, but it’s almost entirely inaccurate from beginning to end. The list of mistakes and anachronisms in here is substantial. But a few highlights include; the appearance of kilts a good 300 years before they actually were worn, and Wallace seducing a women who was 3 years old at the time, and in doing so fathered a child born seven years after his death.
They can take away our freedom, but not our ability to make shit up!
The Patriot (2000)
Another English-bashing epic with Mel Gibson, and yet another that treats history as more of a guideline than an actual code. The nice guy Mel Gisbson plays is called Benjamin Martin, but is based on Francis "The Swamp Fox" Marion.
He wasn’t a nice person, but a slave owner who spent his life actively persecuting and murdering indigenous Cherokees. But then so much gets altered in The Patriot that characterisations are a minor issue. In the final engagement, the Battle of Guilford Court House, the Americans are ultimately triumphant. Sadly, in that particular real event, they lost, and quite heavily.
Maybe Mel should stick to romantic comedies.
U-571 (2000)
I enjoyed this movie, despite its revisionist view of how America won the war, and captured the Enigma machine so they the allies could decipher the German codes. To put the historical record straight is was HMS Bulldog that cornered U-110, and got hold of an Enigma decoder six months before the USA even entered WII. And, the Polish had already cracked the basic Enigma cipher without ever having a machine in their possession. So U-571 is all at sea.
Titanic (1997)
There aren’t really ways to describe how little regard to the factual events this movie has. It treats the true story of that night as rumour, recognizable only as deja vu and dismissed just as quickly. I accept that the characters are fictional, but almost everything that happens, with the exception of the ship sinking is utterly made-up, and very badly in most cases.
There are many good examples, but my personal favourite is the one where Jack tells Rose about fishing on Lake Wissota. That’s a neat trick Jack, because it’s a man-made lake near Chippewa Falls, which was only created when a dam was built on the Chippewa River, six years after the Titanic sank. Sloppy research Mr. Cameron!
Gladiator (2000)
I love this movie, but just about everything in it is made-up, inaccurate or just plain wrong. Marcus Aurelius wasn’t murdered, but died of Chicken Pox. Commodus didn’t die in the arena, but strangled in his bath by a wrestler called Narcissus, a full 12 years after Marcus Aurelius died. And love interest Lucilla was exiled to Capri and subsequently executed on Commodus’ orders for plotting against him long before his own demise.
Maximus Decimus Meridius is an entirely fictional character, who borrows from at least three historical figures, but represents none of them specifically. Gladiator is big on spectacle, but short on real history.
300 (2006)
Given that the events portrayed in 300 happened 480BC, so some margin should be given for how precise any depiction could be. But, contrary to the movie we do know that at the start of Thermopylae, the Greeks actually fielded 7,000 men all told. And they fought not half a million, but about 80,000 Persians. Not quite as impressive as the film portrayed, but still not bad odds. When the final battle came Leonidas had his 300 Spartans plus 900 Helots and 700 Thespians at his disposal. So counting isn’t a strong point of ‘300’.
Pearl Harbor (2001)
This film gets one fact right, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on the morning of December 7th 1941. Almost everything else is mucked up to some degree or another. The order and position of the ships on Battleship row is wrong, as are the geography locations of the airfields.
The P-40 fighters are also much later versions. Additionally it suggests that the Japanese hit the ships and then went after the airfields, when in fact they hit both at the same time. Names, places, events, they all go in the grinder...
Just how little they cared in this movie about history is demonstrated wonderfully by Evelyn’s first appearance at Pearl Harbor, where she walks past a building emblazoned with the sign "Est. 1953"
At the end of the day, all the above films are exactly that, films, so who really cares if a few mistakes were made historically.
My theory (Conspiracy Theory #3) in my list of theories, is that the above movies were deliberately made inaccurate so that young High School kids who rent the film to study for History Exams fall short, and so that teachers around the globe can tell when students are doing so ....
It makes sense ...
Back me up Hollywood!
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