THE STREAM (pay no attention to the screaming man behind the screen)

From the time I first heard about this film I thought to myself "sounds good ... Can't wait to see it!" I have always been a sucker for a "true - ish" story, I don't know exactly how much of it is true but if 1% of it is then what the poster says is very true it is on hell of a story. Anthony Hopkins is a pleasure to watch in any role but this one is particularly good, he plays an eccentric Kiwi motorcyclist determined to run his 1920 Indian at the Bonneville salt flats during speed week. That's the basic story but as in life the real excitement is in the journey. Mr. Hopkins' performance is clear and intense he seems to live the character and in no longer than five minutes I was rooting for Burt to win the day, I was there with him as he jumped every hurdle and sidestepped every obstacle and it was a great ride. It is rare these days that a film is truly uplifting, and devoid of any downside, just pure entertainment. Go see it!... NOW! The real Burt...

While we were in japan it had occured to me that it would be a great opportunity to indulge my great love of Zushi. I had visions of wondering from one Zushi bar to another in a fish fuelled, wasabi flavored, saki adelled mission to eat my weight of the stuff (pretty odd for a guy that wouldn't even eat rice we he was young) As it turned out we didn't even get any Zushi till our last day in Japan, while waiting for our flight we had a few hours to fill and fill them we did in the town of Narita. We had stayed in a hotel near narita but we didn't really take a look around, so we just hit the streets and started walking round that's when we found this place. When we walked in there were just a couple of patrons there two very nice women that seemd to be friends of the owners. The owners a man and woman in there late 40's by my best guess had no english and we had little or no Japanese, but still we got our messages across We had a sampler of of the best he had ... an...

Just the other day I had the pleasure of seeing a film that had been on my 'to see' list for a while... "kiss kiss bang bang. I can't say enough good things about it, of course there is one thing that we should all know by now... A film with Robert Downey Jr. in it should be seen! I mean even if everything about the film has gone wrong this fantastic actors performance will be worth seeing. The pacing was just right & downey's naration left me rolling on the floor laughing. The story is fantastic great 'pulp' novel stuff as well as some unique film-making I won't say too much but just get to your local video shop, rent it & watch. I am becoming a Val kilmer fan (there's some words i never thought I write) His performance as 'Gay Perry' was great although as a gay male... well... none the less he was good. the last thing I saw him in was 'Spartan' another great film.

I've always had a thing for Geena Davis. But you know when it comes to television dramas you have to be very careful before you invest even an hour. I must admit that Geena does as good a job as is possible with the material. ( hey... I'd vote for her) I really loved her with Samuel Jackson in " Long Kiss Goodnight" I wonder if there could be a way to mix those two roles... Something like... An amnisiac first female president hell bent on revenge. 

After I'm gone you'll be sorry you didn't leave a comment!

I try to keep informed about the latest things going home in the states but I did not know this was in the works... Here's the low down. Two families, one black, one white They are transformed through the use of make up, the white family black and the black family white and unleashed upon the unsuspecting world. They also live together. This is probably one of the better uses for reality TV. Take a look for yourself.

Had a couple of moments last week where I thought... "What would have happened if I had not left NYC?" I know that this kind of thinking can do me no good. I never want to go back to that place agin where I could not free my mind of visions of my old life. I have to make a reminder to nip that kind of thing in the bud.

Due to so many things ... Moving house, net connection down, and other things, I have been unable to make posts on a regular basis. But now with the new home settling , and my precious connection back I will be posting more than ever. If there is anyone out there please stay tuned. settling steeling Sterling sterling styling Edit... Revert to "settleing"

Check out Favorville From time to time someone comes up with a really good idea, something that can help the world at large, and maybe you in particular... favorville is one of those ideas. Simply stated it is a twist on the idea of the favor bank. You can post your need for a favor or reply to a favor asked for, in your town or around the world. It is all free and at the very least you should check it out for yourselves. I've joined up... in my never ending effort to do whatever little things I can to make some kind of difference. Nuff Said!

I still don't know what all the fuss is about at this time of year!

Yes, Christmas is over for another year. The presents have been given, and received. Families have gotten together and shared the love. and the war rages on. Fear not the assault on Christmas... but do fear the assault on sensibility. Good luck... and good night!

Can you believe that we have arrived at a place where American’s are advocating the use of torture by interrogators to get information out of prisoners? We should all be clear that no matter what their political grouping, or philosophical beliefs they are Americans. John McCain has had experience on one side of the experience, but what about the other side? Doesn’t the act of torturing a fellow human being take something valuable away from the torturer? Won’t the world think less of America (if that is possible) if we begin to do things that we have said we would stand against? These are questions we must ask before we allow this type of thing to go on. Before we allow the still yet to be realised dream of building a better society for all Americans to die, we had better be damn sure that the world that will follow the death of that goal is one we would want to live in.

How hard is it to stand for peace, honour and justice? As a child living in New York in the 70’s the fact that my country at least seemed to value these ideas gave me strength and sustained me through times when my fellow Americans found it hard to deal with the things that make me different. The very simple ideas contained in the constitution and the bills of rights stood in my life then, and still stand, as ideals, but more than political ideals more as a map to a better life, to a better existence. Not just for myself, but for all people. I think of the ideas in the American constitution, bill of rights and many other documents that mankind has created to make sense of and in some way contain the evil that men do as more than politically relevant, they are ideas that have given me strength when that evil has come knocking, and it comes knocking often The following words have always made me think about the gravity of my actions as they relate to the world at large, and don’t be foole...

Living in Australia is much like living in almost any western country, there are cities and towns bent upon achieving their goals, good people and bad making their way through their lives seeking meaning and love. There are tree lined streets like the one here and places that seem to be on a downward slide. We all share the same disappointment and frustration with our elected representatives. Really ... the differences are very subtle matters of politics & lifestyle. At this time in history when both of the countries seem to be reading from the same political "playbook" I wonder how compatible the goals of these two countries really are? From the moment I arrived in Australia the main grievance many Australians had with the country of my birth was what was then called "Cultural Imperialism" which to my mind did not exist 15 years ago or even 5 years ago, but now that we have all been drawn into this insane and counterproductive conflict I fear Australia h...

I have just been watching and listening to an essay by Jeff Rosenblatt on the Newshour. His subject today was Rosa Parks and the effects of her actions upon all of us, Mr. Rosenblatt brought an idea to the front of my mind that is not considered enough in these times, the actions we all take does truly effect us all. They may not be world-changing actions but they all ripple through the world the same way. It makes me wonder…do we really appreciate the effect we have on this world and if we don’t… then really what are we doing? It is not impportant that we remember Mrs parks as a pioneering African American, but as simply a fredom fighter, fightiing to free herself and the man taking her fingerprints in the picture above. She was not a saint or sent by any diety she was simply one of us, and we should remember we are ALL that.

Why does is so much time on TV and in Film devoted to human suffering? Don't get me wrong We need to know when our fellow humans are in distress... But to just observe these horrors and not help is just wrong. To actually help should be the goal behind showing these things... Not charity, or sympathy but involvement. How can it be justified by news agencies to spend millions upon millions to "cover" a horrible event and nothing to help? Let's just put away that notion of "journalistic integrity" if it ever existed at all it is surely long dead now. News bringer have long ago crossed the line and become news makers, so why not do some good? Not theoretical good but real good... I mean they are there at the scene, with little to do but rehash a story over and over. As for film... We all know that the budget for one "blockbuster" film could solve a lot of the world's problems. You say they are helping ... Through their story telling? Well that w...

It is sort of my pet project to try to think of new ways to make society work in this peculiar age we have made, this age of ineffective protests & apathetic people. You may have read my answer to politics "just say Duh" which I think is a valid response to politics as they exist today. Now in response to numerous asinine statements by people that have not learned enough to know better I have come up with another response to help cope with another brand of "social nonsense". It may be to late for some, like G.W. Bush, Kim Jong Il & certain Muslim clerics to name just a few and it does take a measure of civic responsibility (something society is not strong on these days). Here's how it works (don't worry it's easy to say and easy to spell... I dare say you may have used it in your life already) the very next time you hear someone say the "Jews are all..." Or "the Blacks are..." Or "Women always..." Or "Men only ...

Why does their have to be a racial component to everything? People in Louisiana are suffering & dying, what the hell difference does it make what colour they are. If we could agree that ALL people are the same not in legislation but in our hearts life would be much better. Yes… simplistic I know but if it is… then why have we not done it?

Jumping on the Fire / paddy wagon Listen I’m not jumping on the bandwagon of people that have a sudden reverence for those that have protected us for more years than anyone reading this has been alive. I have always felt that these men and women deserved an amount of respect for fighting what is a basic human response… to run away from fire… to run away from gunshots and danger. Now both these disciplines have their bad sides but we know what life would be like without them. They are but humans doing a hard job just like the rest of us… I’ll be the first to admit if I blow the changes to Giant Steps no one gets hurt but if one of them does the job wrong someone might die. There it is in a nutshell! Thanks guys! Nuff said!

When I started this blog my intent was to make a case for our sameness as a race... to highlight the falseness of the spaces that separate us. I wanted to simply say to all the people on this planet ( My Family) that it is much wiser to get together than it is to continue down the road killing everyone we see for arbitrary reasons of our own creation. Now don't get me wrong... I am not the salt of the earth, not filled with the milk of human kindness, nor am I the guy that would be described as one that would give you the shirt off his back. I am a simple realist... It is simply "bad for business" to hate, and in my humble opinion quite simple-minded. When I was young and still forming, the impulse to go along with the crowd just was not in me I don't know why. When I left my home to play or go to school it was always an adventure (it still is) I wanted to meet people... in my neighborhood, town, country, world... and as my circle got larger I realized that it was har...