the espresso ceremony
What prompted me to have a brief respite from the world of decaf, and try a real shot of coffee? Was it that Velluto Nero has won awards for their coffee? Was it that a commenter said I should look at the caffeinated coffee, not the decaf, [...]
[bec] Hamlet as a facebook news feed (warning: contains spoilers for Hamlet, but the statute of limitations for that has to be over, yes?)
Not wanting to jump into the fray too soon - rest assured, gentle reader, I was watching the news on Tuesday afternoon, waiting for an announcement to see what would happen - I’ve had a chance to think about the Australian Starbucks closures a little more, and thought it was about time to comment.
Whether you’re [...]
Book: Nothing in my hand I bring”.
After a week of World Youth Day adventures taking over Sydney, it seemed high time that I read the latest Matthias release on the subject of Catholicism. One of my favourite pilgrims was struck by the way that people were protesting beside the walk - “Jesus is the only [...]
movie: batman: gotham knight
A Batman version of the Animatrix: six short stories, in different Anime styles, set in Gotham city in between the two Christopher Nolan Batman films. I found the first story dragged a bit, and, while there were a few moments that were enjoyable, I think I’m just not sufficiently into anime for [...]
I might have left the promotion too late, but if you’d like to spend the financial year reading through war and peace in just a chapter (or so) per day, you can join in over at matt’s blog.
A foodie blogger’s map - where to find the best croissants in Paris. I’ve only ever had one croissant in Paris, and I don’t see myself going back there any time soon, but I’m sure at least one reader will find it useful.
Instead of wasting money on a printer that’s only going to break down and have paper jams, why not just put a network card in a box of printer paper, with a sticker on top that says “Out of toner”? You can just say that the toner is on backorder, and won’t be there for [...]
I asked myself many times whether the curry night concept would actually scale, was pleasantly surprised. Would something that worked for two people stretch out when it was ten people all learning to make curries? Would we end up with something edible? Indeed we would.
The invitation process was a bit too haphazard: the next time [...]
movie: The Dark Knight
It was a really good movie: worthy of all the hype, though not the best movie ever made. Heath Ledger’s performance, too, was really good - he indeed disappears into the character. I don’t think it is going to result in an Oscar, but that probably doesn’t matter in the scheme of [...]
bambini espresso, sydney
Calima Coffee. 299 Elizabeth St, Sydney. Just back from Elizabeth St at the south end of Hyde Park, this place is only open on weekdays, 6:30am-4:30pm. There’s outdoor seating for 12, and indoor seating (along the window) for another 4, where you can sit and read some [...]
After a few weeks of fiddling around, I’ve put another redesign together for the site: the next step is to upgrade to the latest version of wordpress - they’re churning the releases out now!
[YouTube] Mark Kermode spends 12 minutes reviewing Mamma Mia. I’ve been enjoying Mark Kermode’s movie reviews via the podcast for a few weeks now: so British, so well-read.
Movie: Kung Fu Panda
If you like the idea of Jack Black as an animated panda who wants to be a kung fu master, you’ll find this slapstick kids’ film enjoyable. If for any reason you hear alarm bells, then steer clear. For me, I laughed and enjoyed it.
dvd: millions
You might not expect that the director of Trainspotting and 28 Days Later would be able to make a kids movie, but in fact he can, and it’s a highly enjoyable one. What would happen if two young boys found a fortune in cash, only days before a currency changeover makes it all worthless? [...]
[freelance switch] Hi-tech meets lo-tech in this how-to for a moleskine as HDD case.
gusto cafe, penshurst
Toby’s estate coffee. 23 The Strand, Penshurst. New kid on the block, this place raises the bar of coffee at Penshurst. Clean, contrasting red and black on a wooden floor, this place has a modern feel.
Staff are chatty, there are two cooks working away in the kitchen; [...]
george st cafe, burwood
Mokador Coffee. 26 George St, Burwood. near the train station, this is a cafe with a big sandwich bar, and a good range of breakfast options from the bay marie, and the staff are helpful, and suggest options.
The decaf comes pre-ground in a translucent container, and [...]
dvd: Jumper.
From the director of Swingers, and Mr and Mrs Smith comes this “must try harder” effort. Watching the special features reveals that they put enough ideas together to make a trilogy: perhaps that explains the poor ending, and the reason that the comic-relief character has a stronger screen presence than the lead.
A diverting fluff-piece, [...]
[k10k] goosh - the unofficial google shell; a javascript-based command line interface to google.