My Buck's

Yup, yesterday and yesternight was my Buck's Day/Night thing and it was bloody brilliant!!

It started around 11:45 when, waiting in Babar's and sipping a coffee while dressed in a natty business suit and tie (as per instructions) I felt a hand on my shoulder and a voice say "Mr Bowen, I think you should come with us". I looked up to see Mssrs Akhurst and Collins, similarly attired in dark suits and dark glasses. Mr Akhurst twitched aside the right lapel of his jacket to reveal a shoulder holster contianing a flourescent water pistol. Owen had his in his hand with a newspaper draped over it and Tim was on crowd control. I got up (as one would), trying desperately not to grin like an idiot, and was led to where Callum had just parked the Sera and got out. Being led into a gull-wing car by two guys in dark glasses did draw a few looks (and I'm going to be checking the RiotACT to see if there's mention of it) and that was also pretty cool.

So, we headed to the driving range for the (hopefully) first annual Yakuza golf day, with a small but select group of us partaking of the aforesaid driving range's facilities while clad in our gangster suits. There was Cal, myself and our Dad, Owen and Nick, Tim, Barry and Sam IV (Who came over from Perth thanks to heaps of machinations and behind the scenes plannings by Callum and Mum) and Jared.

After driving we headed to the Sizzle Bento Sushi train and then, after a change to more casual clothings, we headed to the Secret Location of The Party Itself (aka Chishome). We got there about 15:30 and. It. Was. Tops!!

Now, the evening wasn't one of your standard "Blow on the coffee table, vomit in the corners and dead hookers to dispose of" Buck's Nights, oh no. This was a practically-perfectly, tailored-just-for-Euan CARNIVAL!!! There was a foosball table (which we now own), a pinball machine, shooting games, a slurpie machine with frozen daiquaris and, get this, SHOW BAGS!!!!

Lots of people came over, some of whom I haven't seen in ages, and it was a blast. There were luchidor masks in some of the showbags (the Mexican wrestlers, think Nacho Libre), chico rolls and hot dogs, tequila shots, poker and Halo on a projector screen. Large amounts of alcohol were consumed and the party itself didn't break up until around 12:30 - 01:00, so let's hear it for the staying power!

Callum and Owen C and Mum and Dad and Tom and everyone else involved in putting the day together did an absolutely amazing job! I had a great time, got quite majorly drunk (though not as drunk as some peoples) and overall it was exactly the Buck's Night I wanted to have. Strippers and police involvement and passing out in puddles of ones own effluent might be alright for some, but I have to thank my Bro for putting together an awesome, Euan-specific event.

Imagination vs. Reality

Carmen is away this weekend with a bunch of her friends from the DPP. It's an all girl, "jeez we've been busy" coast trip that will, I believe, revolve around easy to prepare food and some choice bottles of bubbly.

And now, returning to our subject, here's how the weekend will look in my brain...

Note the Scrabble set. Nice touch, n'est pas?





Of course, I realise that this is probably what it's more likely to look like, but a fella has to be able to dream... : )

Four things I learned this week

1. Although listening to radio comedy programmes from the UK on one's MP3 player can make cardio sessions at the gym go much faster, you do get funny looks from other gym people if you're sweating away on the cross-trainer and giggling to yourself.


2. facebook is awesome and the most random mix of people can be found on it.


3. Phil Pullman is a brilliant writer.


4. While it may be good for weight loss, less carbs does equal more hunger.

I helped edumacate me some peeps

Yup, at work today I helped deliver some training to the newbies today. I won't go into details about the application in questions, cause really it would mean very little to most of you (except the ones that work at IP Australia), but I can say that it was a bunch of fun. Did I say fun? I meant kinda scary to begin with and then not too bad once we got into the flow of things.

I think it was useful for the noobs too, although they're at the stage of training where they've got information overload so I'm not entirely sure. The problem with giving info on a new system is that (assuming it's a well-designed system) actually saying the words seems to be redundancy itself, but when the people actually do it there's often little blobs of confusion with the order of how you go about things. But, overall, I'd like to think that we helped. : )

Grandpa's 90th

Just spent a couple of days down at Sussex Inlet helping Grandpa Taff celebrate his... all those that read the subject header join in... 90th birthday.

And how did my Grandpa celebrate his 90th? What did he do on the day? Well, he kicked off with 9 holes of golf, followed by cake (from his mates at the golf course) and champagne (brought to him by Mum and Dad). Then we hit the RSL for a light lunch, followed by an afternoon of indolence and then back to the RSL for an extra special dinner. How extra special? Only extra special in that the Chinese restaurant at the RSL doesn't actually open on a Tuesday, but because they all think Grandpa's tops (cause he kinda is), they opened up for him special.

So Mum, Dad, Cal and I finally met some of his mates from Stuart's coaches, including Rhonda, the lady who keeps giving him PJs and undies for Christmas (who came with her husband...???). We also met a few of his other mates from down the coast and saw that he's a pretty popular young man, really. Stuart's coaches run a travelling club that Grandpa is part of and so far they've taken him to Norfolk Island and the Gold Coast and Alice Springs and all over the place.

The old guy also made out like a bandit, with Mum and Dad giving him a fantastic die cast model of a Catalina Flying Boat (with markings from the same squadron he flew with in the war), one of his Stuart's mates gave him an awesome picture of himself and he got a book and a groovy glass and wood petrol pump for decanting whiskey into. And it's a good thing too, cause his haul of alcohol running to:

• 3 Bottles of Johnny Walker Red Label


• 2 Bottles of Glen Fiddich 12 Year Old single malt Scotch


• 2 Bottles of Drambuie (a whiskey liquer for those that don't know)


• and, from Cal and I, an extra special bottle of 18 year old Macallan single malt Scotch

Anyone'd think his mates (and family) reckon he's a piss-pot. : )

The day was great, and went almost without a hitch (one or two needless stress-outs don't count) and the trip overall was also great. Who doesn't like flexing of two days to duck down to the coast and have some fun with the fam?

Carmen is spazzing out...

Cause I only gave Harry Potter VII four out of five.

She hit me too. With a closed hand too. My gum is bleeding... : )

Someone contact the authorties...

Harry Potter VII or "Those whacky hallows"

Yes, I am a sheep. I've gotten quite interested in the antics of that whiny Potter boy and I really enjoyed this one.

It's not a perfect novel, but it is smoothly delivered. The death count is perhaps a little bit higher than we might have first thought (or hoped?), but the action sequences (of which there are quite a few) are very slick and I cannae wait for them to be on the big screen.

I did have my usual six or seven chapters worth of wanting to smack Harry upside the head 'cause, really, he is a whiny little bitch. But, if you think about it, he's a 17 year old whose folks were murdered by a powerful dark wizard who tries to kill him on a regular basis (about once a year, really), so maybe it's understandable that he's a bit whiny.

I still wanna smack him, though.

There are a couple of sequences that are very much in the "tell", not "show" category, but overall I really enjoyed it. And that's about all I can say without spoiling it. : )

Four smashed up horcruxes out of five.

Jeez I'm lazy

Only one post after a "blowing off the dust"-type apology and I abandoned you all again.

So what have I been doing?

Well, bugger all in a heaps and heaps but not much of it of particular interest to the likes of you lot.

The planning for the wedding continues apace, with rings, a celebrant and shortly my kilt all sorted. I've decided that I'm going to get a kilt made locally. It's more 'spensive (quite a bit more, actually) than getting it overseas, but the guy's only a 1/2 hout drive away, as opposed to on the other side of the world, so the extra expense I think pays for itself in convenience and negating potential, last-minute stresses (one hopes?).

I've still got a car to finalise, and I'm looking at a Mark II Jag cause it's awesome. And after that, I think all's we gotta do is make up some invites, finalise a menu and actually get out there on the day (which shouldn't be too hard).

The trade marks continue to be examined, and I've even found time to put together and run a trivia night for the Social Club (of which I am Vice-President). And that'll be it for now... stay tuned for a couple of seconds and I'll flick ye a review or two.

Why do they waste their talents?

I'm talking about Will Ferrell (and Adam Sandler, and those like them). I watched Stranger Than Fiction last night and it's awesome! A sweet, charming, fantastically-scripted and -acted film. And Will Ferrell is amazing in it. He's understated and subtle in his performance, something which you'd not necessarily think he was capable of, given some of the other films he's been in and there we have my point.

Why don't actors like Will Ferrell (and Adam Sandler and those like them) get more straight roles? Sandler was great in The Wedding Singer and there was barely a poo or wee gag in sight. Ferrell is, as I said, simply beautiful in Stranger Than Fiction. I know that you can almost guarantee a significant audience of yuckers will check out the latest Sandler gag-fest (and by gag I don't necessarily mean laughter...) or Ferrell-vehicle where they have to mug and run around and pee against walls, but surely giving them more chances to remind us that they can actually act would also be nice.

I know Sandler keeps sneaking in a Punch Drunk Love here and a Reign Over Me there, but I want to see more of them! Ferrell especially seems to be purpose-built for the quirky, unusual meta-films that Stranger Than Fiction represents.

Although I suppose if they all pulled a Tom Hanks ans snuck into comedy/dramedy-centric careers, then it would sort of spoil the point of casting them against type.

Blowing the dust off

INT NIGHT A STOREROOM

All is darkness. Footsteps can be heard approaching. A key turns in a lock and a door opens. It's still all dark until, with a click, a beam of light stabs into the darkness and a torch sweeps the room. It shows glimpses of what the room holds. There are piles of dusty books (cyberpunk and comic fantasy predominate), stacks of DVDs and a dusty Xbox.
The torch lingers for a moment on a large poster showing five gorgeous women draped over each other, an Aston Martin DB9 and - strangely - a completely stainless-steel kitchen with 6-burner gas stove and magnetic knife strip over the bench. Another wall appears to be hung with a variety of weapons, including a large, angular handgun, a paintball marker and some ninja stars.

VOICE: Ah! Gotcha!

The overhead lights snap on and we see the ecclectic and slightly worrying mix of items in the over-large storeroom. There is a clear patch in the middle with a large TV, a collection of beaten-up sofas and a DVD player. The person who had been holding the torch is revealed to be a medium-tall redhead with a goatee, glasses and perhaps too much flesh on his frame. He looks around again and smiles.

MAN: Time to get back to it...

FADE OUT