filmic!

I've had quite a good strike-rate with films recently, so I thought I'd write up what I've seen:

The Social Network - as long as you don't go into this film thinking it was going to be true to life, it was an engrossing yarn. I'm sure that the real story is way more boring than what was depicted here, so it was interesting to see how they engineered conflict and drama where in reality it was probably weeks of boring coding and programming! It's amazing that all of this has happened so recently! They had a great scene at the Henley Regatta which was shot through this weird filter to make it look like a toy town. Really good performances too, I especially liked Andrew Garfield as the deposed co-founder and initial investor - he'd been in a couple of BBC things that I'd liked.

The Ghost Writer - the story (a thinly veiled approximation of Tony Blair getting indicted for war crimes) was really what attracted me but it also had a good cast (especially Olivia Williams and Kim Catrall) and Roman Polanski as the director. Story didn't disappoint and the moody, cold, wet setting on Long Island (actually filmed Denmark or somewhere I think) was suitably claustrophobic. It did get a bit silly and overdramatic in some bits but I did get suitably swept up.

The American - George Clooney and Anton Corbijn, what's not to like! Story itself was a bit average but it was nice and moody, although shocking in bits

Also, what's with all the definitives?

Next up - Harry Potter!

orchestral!

The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain
Originally uploaded by Jack Picknell

I went to see the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain play at the weekend in Wellington. It was a great fun - the 'orchestra' of eight ukulele players use only their instruments which are different sizes - from a soprano one down to a bass uke (or Buke apparently). It was wonderful to hear how they interwove the harmonies of the song and interpreted different styles. They sang along with most of the songs, cracked jokes, told stories and gave out presents. There was a varied repertoire - 30s jazz and Saint-Seans through The Who right up to modern 'classics' like Teenage Dirtbag. The best bit though was when they got the ukulele players in the audience to get their instruments out (about 100 or so people had theirs with them) and to play along to Ode to Joy - brilliant! Now, where's my ukulele...

milestone!

Well, next month marks a milestone - 18 months til the big 4-0! I know some of you will be surprised that I'm that old! Anyway, in the best Mhairi tradition, I thought I should write a list of what I want to do before I reach that advanced age. One restriction, as one of my aims is to be in a much better financial situation by then, I don't think I'll be scheduling much exotic travel or expensive activities!

Here's the list I've had in my head for a while
fly in a helicopter (just as a passenger mind!)
learn to knit
learn to drive - ACHIEVED!
buy a car
move to NZ - ACHIEVED!
get a cat
finally learn that ukulele

It's a pretty pedestrian list really - what else do you think I should aim for in the next 18 months?

timeless!

Leonard Cohen
Originally uploaded by takamatua

Mum and I went to see Leonard Cohen play Christchurch as part of his Unified Heart tour on 3 November. For a 78 year old guy, he's pretty impressive!

I'd never actually seen him in concert before but had heard rave reviews from many sources. Leonard has last visited NZ in January 2009, and he was doing a similar scale of concert this time - the Christchurch concert was at the Westpac Arena (or whatever it's called), the biggest indoor venue in town.

Traffic getting there was very heavy - I was driving but things got to near a standstill very quickly, so we parked the car about 15 minutes walk away from the venue and walked the rest of the way. Only just got there in time to see Bic Runga who played a lovely set with just a bassist accompanying her.

Leonard Cohen must have played for nearly 3 hours. There was one proper intermission and then also a couple of breaks ahead of encores at the end. I'm not a huge fan of his music and don't actually own any but I do know all the popular songs and can appreciate the music well. His band were superb, there was a real French vibe with the accordions and violins, but also a really jazzy feel to everything as well. There were also three female backing sisters - Sharon Robinson who is one of his co-writers, and the Webb sisters. Leonard himself was very nimble, dapper, smooth and dramatic, dropping to his knees to sing and emote on occasion. In summary, there wasn't anything new or surprising but it was a very enjoyable experience and it's always lovely to see a crowd enjoying the music and the show itself.

There's a great tour photo diary at this site.

coincidental!

Union Station, LA
Originally uploaded by MhairiT

Yes, I know this is a photo from 11 months ago, but I had a funny message from someone on Flickr recently. Somehow this chap had found my photo and worked out that he'd taken a photo of that same Christmas tree at Union station on the same day as me. He'd then got on the train, but had ridden it north of LA rather than south as I had done. Small world!

refreshed!

Decided to refresh my blog look - it's had the same template since Day 1 so it's nice to have something new!