Thursday, January 28, 2010

Life Regarding Australia (Part 6 of 137)

The first icebreaker of my job was a Wednesday afternoon. I had stayed in my hotel room all day, venturing out only once to walk around. I even swam on the roof and took photos. I had all my lost bags now (they were delivered to my room). I wore my best-looking shirt and expensive shorts (I bought from the mall in Ft. Smith a few weeks before).

I walk to the office, which is in a weird mall-like complex and I try to pull open the door. Everything is not as it seems. I try the door again and Cherryn opens it from the inside, telling me to push. I smile and probably go red in the face... good at first impressions. I sit down with all of the employees of Reef Check Australia (all waiting for me). There is my boss, a beautiful thirtysomething with fair skin; a blue-eyed blond; and a dirty brunette with long, curly hair and nice legs. I don't remember what is said, but I remember trying to make eye contact with everyone I could. I remember Tara looking away in a coy way. She was young, I guess. Jo, when I looked at her, was more of a shark.

We go out for drinks across the seaway. There is going to be a lot of walking in Australia, but I do not know this yet. On Palmer Street, the bar is called Rhino, and all of us sit at a sidewalk table. Jos (my boss) tells us we "interns" need to find some good college parties and meet people. "Goat parties" or "pig parties" are occasions where said animal is thrown on a fire (to be consumed or desecrated). It seems that Jo has already met a guy-friend, and Tara is too destitute to explore. I never hear about any of these parties during my stay...

We eventually leave Rhino and head toward the yacht club (not far). I see a man who looks just like one of my best friends... beard, height and eyes. I tell him this, not realizing until much later that it is Jos' main squeeze. I meet a few others, and then we interns decide to go to Tara's hostel. We are all drunk by this time. It's pitch black, and the swimming pool is darkened. Tara swims while we watch.

Suddenly, it starts raining. Hard. There are no places to take shelter on the rooftop pool (a theme?) above the Indian restaurant and we are all soaked. It is a good hostel, and I plan on moving there.

Jo and I leave the walk to her hostel in the pouring rain. We skip down Palmer, past the upscale pubs and restaurants. I yell to some older people having trouble with their umbrellas. "It's raining, who cares?" They reply under their breath about hoonish behavior.

Jo and I walk and walk to her hostel, which is downtown across the bridge. We finally make it, and she tells me she has a television. She says "hi" to some big Islander looking neighbors and opens her room. Me and Jo shake hands, laughing (both cross-eyed drunk) and part ways at her door. It's 1 AM.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Best of 2009: Television

Delocated
One of the best ideas for a fake reality show ever. Follows a witness-protected guy (whose face and voice are hidden), and bromance with his bodyguard. Funny in a way that the Office tries, but cannot.

Californication
I got turned onto this a few years too late. It's marvelous. Every character is deep and interesting. Plus, the off-screen drama just adds to the complexity of this show (is Duchovny really banging all of these chicks in real life?)

Eastbound & Down
I really like Danny McBride for some reason. Maybe it's the hick accent, maybe it's the carefree gut. Maybe it's his tribute to all the oddball catch phrases ("fly as I say fly!", "master and commander!"). The niche of the white-trash-turned-baseball-star has never really been exploited in television, and never this way. It's hilarious. Sometimes I don't think he's acting.

More Best of the Year 2009 ...

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Blog Move!

I am going to split this blog into two pieces, and Life As A Music Video will be moving all music video-related articles to:

http://lifeasamusicvideo.blogspot.com

The rest (random observations, rants) will remain here.

Update your RSS feeds
1. http://feeds.feedburner.com/lifeasamusicvideo
2. http://feeds.feedburner.com/steveprutz

Stay tuned!

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Best of 2009: Movie

Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince
I never read any of these children's books, but this movie is the perfect mix of darkness, humor and action.

(500) Days of Summer 
(Late entry, just finished it.) I replaced this film over Funny People, because Summer is just a tad better to be #6. It's rare to have a great movie about romance that isn't comedy or action. The fact that the narrator states it is "not a love story" at the beginning just totally goes against everything most films hold dear. Sure, it was being ironic, but there's some double entendre about it that makes it deep.

Star Trek
I really really reluctantly chose this one as a pick, because I have a prejudice for lasers on a starship, time travel films and  rewriting canon. The camera shots are shaky at times, but its utterly satisfying in a way the original cast could not have achieved. Why didn't Shatner make an appearance?

The Hurt Locker
Probably the only Iraq War film that will ever be worth its salt. Bonus: All these famous cameos... and they all die!

Where the Wild Things Are
Perhaps you have forgotten the genius of Spike Jonze. A children's book from the 60s may be his perfect project. Did you know Tom Hanks helped produce this, and that it sat on the shelf for over a year? That kid actor is perfect, and the story is as close to my childhood imagination as can be. The music is whimsical and haunting. Sure, the scenes are different but it's a movie forty years after the book's publication. My prediction for the Oscar nod!



More Best of the Year 2009 ...

Moving some posts to Medium and elsewhere

There may be some video game or gardening posts here, but many of my blog and non-blog posts will be visible elsewhere, mostly likely my per...