All I have to say about that is "asphinctersayswhat".

Since doing IVF last year my legs have been aching and hurting like the billy-os. I've always had, on & off, aching legs like 'growing pains' over the years but this has been constant. The weird thing is that I have points on my body that ... well to put it bluntly.... friggin hurt. If you touch parts on my legs, even really lightly, it feels like someone is stabbing me with filed to a point chopsticks. Not nice.

So last Tuesday I toddled off to the doctor to get some bloody answers.
I had a blood test to test for YOU NAME IT.
A week later & I got a letter to say that the doctor wanted to see me about my results.
I wasn't worried... I was happy. Thank God something IS wrong with me and I'm not just imagining the shitty acheyness. When I booked in the nurse mentioned something had turned up with regards to my thyroid. Naturally, I immediately Googled every possible health issue regarding thyroid issues and youtubed every episode of Dr Oz (the world's greatest doctor who has ALL the answers).
"That's It!" I exclaimed to the exasperated Big Fella " I am SURE I have hypothyroidism!! Look at the symptoms.. LOOOOOOOK !"
TBF must have then gotten some dust in his eye because he rolled them in a rather exaggerated manner. "How about you just wait until you speak to the doctor?" He advised to ignoring ears.

Fast forward twenty four hours.
"Thanks for coming in Vicki. The results of your blood tests show a low thryroid function but not low enough to require medication. No rheumatoid arthritis. B levels fine. Iron levels fine.
So I believe that what you have is FIBROMYALGIA."
I started praying "Please please please let there be a pill that will take the pain away & the side effect is weight loss & an increase in attractiveness and libido. Pleeeeeeeease"
"Unfortunately Vicki there is no cure for Fibro. Basically the only thing that will help is walking. You MUST exercise for a MINIMUM of 30 minutes everyday. It doesn't need to be too much just walking is fine. Yoga and Tai Chi is really good too. Eat healthy foods. Get enough sleep."
FACE PALM.
Well that sucks. Where's my bloody magic cure-all pill gawd-dammit! *sulky face*
Well at least I can now put a name to what I have instead of just calling it "That Fucking Terrible Pain in my Legs AAAArrrrrrrrrr SHIT my LEGS ARE ACHINNNNGGGGGGGG pain"
Anyone know where I can get some Bile Beans?
xxooxoxxo

www.arthritisvic.org.au/Conditions-and-Symptoms/Fibromyalgia

WHAT THE HELL IS FIBROMYALGIA?
Fibromyalgia is a name given to a group of symptoms marked by generalised pain and muscle stiffness. These symptoms can be felt in all different areas of the body. Extreme fatigue (tiredness) and sleep problems are also common in fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia does not cause inflammation but seems to be due to an over active pain system. Fibromyalgia is different to polymyalgia rheumatica, a type of arthritis in which symptoms are felt more in the muscles.
Fibromyalgia is a term used to describe a cluster of symptoms that may include widespread pain and tenderness in ‘trigger points’ on the body that are abnormally sore to touch.

Time to Straighten Up and Fly Right

About 500 years ago I used to swing dance. I used to swing dance ALOT. OK OK I used to drink bucket loads of cardy chardy and then swing out. The dance that I did is called Lindy Hop.
What the hell is Lindy Hop? I hear you wail. Well according to Wikipedia:

The Lindy Hop is an American dance that evolved in Harlem, New York City in the 1920s and 1930s and originally evolved with the jazz music of that time. Lindy was a fusion of many dances that preceded it or were popular during its development but is mainly based on jazz, tap, breakaway and Charleston. It is frequently described as a jazz dance and is a member of the swing dance family.
In its development, the Lindy Hop combined elements of both partnered and solo dancing by using the movements and improvisation of black dances along with the formal eight-count structure of European partner dances. This is most clearly illustrated in the Lindy's basic step, the swingout. In this step's open position, each dancer is generally connected hand-to-hand; in its closed position, men and women are connected as though in an embrace.

If you watch the youtube clip above it shows a funny take on How To Lindy Hop.

ME IN MY KATZ KORNER DAYS ... CIRCA 1999????

I learnt to dance with Ray & Chrissy Keepence about .... shit... at least 13 years ago when they had classes called Katz Korner.  (You may have heard of Mrs K from her amazing Lindy Charm School For Girls . It was heaps & heaps of fun. Basically, as I stated above I would get all frocked up, crack open a bottle (or two) of the grape & dance until I fell or stumbled over.
And of course, the more I drank the better I danced!!! NOT!

For a while there I was dancing about 3 -4 nights a week at classes and then again on weekends socially.
Once a month I would go to Swing at the Oasis where we would dance in public and then on Sundays we would head out to Hope Harbour and dance amongst the diners to the live swing band. That used to be great fun as alot of the diners were elderly and loved seeing us 'young-uns' dance and we would often grab some old bloke up for a shuffle around the floor.

Me with Ray & Chrissy of Katz Korner (pissed again)

I also remember (vaguely through my drunken memories) that we would hit Rosie's nightclub in Surfers Paradise and Lindy Bomb.
Which basically means a bunch of us would take over the dance floor and swing dance to modern music.  I was great times.  However, after a while the shit that is LIFE took over & I got divorced and had alot of emotional crap happening that I gave it up.  Oh sure occasionally I would rock up to a dance & cut a rug but not much.
When TBF & I got together I was very excited because he used to teach Lindy Hop with his ex and he is quite the mover on the dance floor.... but again LIFE got in the way.. IVF... Money issues.. Blar Blar Blar.
So 2013 came around and I took stock of what the frick I want to DO with my life & my time.
WHAT MAKES ME HAPPY? Well, pugs & french bulldogs make me happy but I already have 2 dogs so that was out.  I thought back to all the times when I was dancing and it dawned on me that I LOVED it and I MISSED it.
If you see me on the dance floor I've always got this 'special' goofy grin on my face.
I am by NO MEANS a fantastic lindy hop dancer. I tend to take over the lead and sing too loudly into my partner's face but I would rate myself as above average.
I always say that I knew I could dance when I realised that I could have a conversation about what's been going on at work while swinging out.
So when I heard that Empire Swing were starting classes at Chermside I got very excited.

www.empireswing.com.au 

So last night I trundled off to my first class in like a billion years. I was nervous. Luckily, I found that it was like the preverbial riding a bike. It all came back to me.  I was really surprised to see more blokes at the class then girls. Not a bad thing though. MOST of the guys were really good and very strong leads which is bloody essential in Lindy Hop as otherwise the chick doesn't know what the hell to do.
By the end of the class the sweat was pissing off me and I felt so gross & sticky but I also felt GREAT. I'M BACK!! I thought.

2012 LINDY HOP CHAMPIONS ------ CLICK ON THIS YOUTUBE LINK TO SEE WHAT I ASPIRE TO DANCE LIKE.... UN-BE-FRICKIN-LIEVABLE......

Rob & Emma were fantastic teachers and very thorough and easy to follow.
The only thing that gave me the irrits a bit was some of the guys, even though they told me they have been dancing for nearly 2 years now, STILL have to count. I may have annoyed some of the fellas because when they asked "Should I count us in?" I rolled my eyes and said "I don't count. I just listen to the music". Hmmmm I may not have made many friends.
I did feel a bit of an outsider but I feel like that all the time anyway. Most of the people were friendly but some may have been a bit put off with my over exhuberance. I rarely fit in. sigh.
Anyways... TBF is coming with me next week which will be so awesome.

I'm happy to be back into Lindy Hop again.

 

IT DON'T MEAN A THING IF IT AIN'T GOT THAT SWING !

Moisture is the essence of wetness, and wetness is the essence of beauty. - Derek Zoolander

 

Oooooo totes excites. I got my final piccies from the super rad to the power of infinity Bexterity Pin Up Photography .

I think that Mz Bek did an awesome job of transforming my big Burt Newton head and lumpy body with The Tiny Legs into an astonishingly glamourous pin up cheese cake dame.

It's amazing what good lighting, false lashes & awesome photography can do!

SHIELD YOUR EYES LEST MY BEAUTY BLIND YE!




EWWW .... BEFORE SHOT... ICKY.



THIS IS MY FAVOURITE.

NO I WILL NOT PUT SOME LEWD COMMENT ABOUT THE SIZE OF THE HORN



MY GROSBY ORTHOTIC SHOES JUST DIDN'T CUT IT.



CHECK OUT 'THE TINY LEGS'

 

THE NECKLACE AND EARRINGS IN THE BLUE DRESSING GOWN SHOTS BELONGED TO MICK'S GRANDMOTHER, THE EARRINGS IN THE ARMY SHOTS BELONGED TO MY GREAT-GRANDMOTHER & THE PHOTOS ON THE GROUND ARE OF MY GRANDPARENTS.

 

I think I am now hooked on getting make over photos done. I've found my calling.

Professional hand model. LOL.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Big Mick's Hirsute Pursuit



DAY ONE

LAST DAY

Today's post is a big shout out to my big hunka spunka husband Mick, otherwise known as TBF or The Big Fella. On New Years Eve 2011 he decided that he wanted to raise money for MS Research.
How?  Well by NOT shaving for 12 months!
He's the only person I know who can come up with a way to raise money for a great cause but doing literally NOTHING. LOL.

On Saturday we had the BIG SHAVE OFF and after a last minute bidding war it was recorded that my man had raised $2601.

A group of us gathered at 5 O'Clock Shadow Barbershop at Margate for the big shave. It was great as most of us got a crack at shaving or cutting a bit of his beard off.  The kids loved it.


 

 

I'm a lucky lucky girl. He's lucky that he has a wifey who loves a hairy man. I've got to say that even though he's a total spunk-rat no matter how much fluff he has on his face I much prefer the lumber-jack look on the Big Fella.

Thank you to everyone that supported him on his Hirsuite Pursuit.

For more information on MS & MS Research go to:  www.overcomingmultiplesclerosis.org







12. Django Unchained (2013)

I quite like Quentin Tarantino films. I LOVED "Inglorious Bastards" and "Kill Bill" so, of course I was interested to see what his new film was like.
Long.  It's Long. 165 minutes. Don't do what I did and drink a large skinny flat white while watching because my bladder was about ready to explode by the end.  I think that the incredible discomfort of my busting for a wee was very distracting. I guess it must mean that the movie was alright that I didn't want to miss any of it.
So? WAS it any good?
Christoph Waltz is fan-bloody-tastic. I love him as an actor and he is great in this movie.
But, I thought the movie was. just.... ok.
It was just too bloody long.  As I've said in previous reviews I like it when the bad guy is REALLY REALLY bad and well, I thought that Leonardo just wasn't that convincing as a bad guy. Yes his character is a total bastard but .... I don't know... Same with Samuel J Jackson whose character was more comical than repulsive.
The shoot outs are, of course, pretty bloody but I just didn't give a shit about the characters.
I was also a bit dissapointed with the soundtrack and didn't think it was up to Quentin's usual standard.
There are also a couple of scenes in it that I just don't understand what the hell Mr Tarantino was on about especially a sudden appearance by a popular Australian actor that I won't name. I didn't know what the point of his being there was.
It is quite black in its humour but I thought the film was pretty average.
Jamie Foxx was alright but not great.

I would have given it 2 stars but for Mr Waltz who really made the movie really worth watching.

3 STARS

11.. The Raid: Redemption (2012)

In addition to black black comedies and cool animation flicks I LOVE a good martial arts film.
The Raid is one of the BEST martial arts films I've seen. I know, that's a big call.
This movie is also one of the best action films I've seen. No corny shit No witty one liners. Just in your face pumping full on hard core action.
The fight scenes in the movie are UNBELIEVABLE.  When I watch marital arts movies I normally sit there gawping at the screen in wonder at how the hell they choreograph them!
I laugh when I think that the costuming people might stop them mid scene and exclaim "Stop Stop there's not enough sweat & spittle!!"
This movie is Indonesian and the acting is awesome but the fighting is what makes this film great.
You DO need to suspend belief because 'normal' people would obviously be all swollen and well totally rooted after being punched in the face and kicked in the ribs 500000 times in one hour.

This is an example of some of the things yelled by hubby & I during alot of the brutal attack scenes...

"OWWWWW"
"OH OUCH"
"SHIIIITTTT"
"OH GOD"
"EWWWWW"
" THAT'S GUNNA HURT IN THE MORNING"
" FAAARRRRRRK"
" EEEEeeeee EWWWW"
"BLOODY HELLL!!"
"HOMER SIMPSON INJURY! "(if you love the Simpsons you will know what part this refers to)

The fight scenes are fast and super super super bloody & gruesome. I found myself thinking "Mmmm I wonder what other inventive ways to die with they come up with".
But the violence is kind of like Quentin Tarantino violence. Hyper violence. So over the top it stops being too horrific. And there are some toe curling parts.
I loved this film. Not much of a story line but awesome movie.

4 STARS

I always feel like.... somebody's watching me...

I'M BACK!!!

 

I'm not sure what happened but the Gods of Blogger removed my blog claiming I had breached or violated somebody or something. I had to wait until the panel (which I envisioned to be very similar to X-Factor) to give me 3 ticks to say that yes I am ok and no I am not publishing anything hard-core like people rooting iguanas or people eating poo.

 

I have NO IDEA why my blog was removed. Maybe somebody was offended by the pasty white skin in the pin up shots of me in my smalls or maybe Mishy didn't like me promoting her program or maybe someone got the shits with my constant spamming of Facebook with links to my blog or maybe somebody has created a new rule about how many 'selfie' pics one person can put on their page.

 

You will notice that I have removed all links to external sites just in case this was the reason for the tribe voting me off Survivor Blogger. sigh.

 

WHO KNOWS???!!

 

Thankfully you can all sigh a big breath of relief for I have been allowed by the almighty big brother blogger powers that be to continue with my blatherings about completely boring shit.

 

Stay tuned in my next blog post as I relate to you tales of my anxiety over choosing a new fabric softner fragrance.

 

Rivetting stuff.

 

PS: Thank you almighty blogger admin for letting my blog continue. You are obviously VERY wise & EXTREMELY attractive people who smell divine and have wonderful taste.

10. Bronson (2009)

I've been chaffing at the bit to see this film. For one thing it's a "Madman Entertainment" film and I tend to really like most of what they put out and the other thing was it starred Tom Hardy.
None of our videos stores stock it & the young things behind the counter just looked at me blankly when I asked about it. So I went online & bought a copy.

I was a bit dissappointed with it. It just dragged on & on with not much storyline except Bronson in various prisons & institutions beating the living shit out of pretty much everybody and screaming like a looney.
The other complaint I had was that the DVD didn't offer subtitles and alot of the talking was really hard to understand. A bit muffled and a really thick cockney accent so half the time we were saying "What the hell did he say??? Bloody Hell!!! "
It is quite terrifying to think that this Charlie Bronson is an ACTUAL person. *shudder*

I did really like the "talking straight to camera" & the cut-aways to his 'on stage' personas though particulary the half man & woman one.
Tom Hardy's acting in it was totally utterly brilliant and I must admit that I found him to be very very attractive as Bronson. He had quite the dandy / vintage circus weight lifter look about him.
I'm a wee bit disturbed that I find characters like this sexy.
I felt the same way about Edward Norton in American History X and Russell Crowe in Romper Stomper.. I must have a sick attraction to arsehole skinhead characters.. (bit of a worry).

I kind of regret buying this movie as I don't think I would watch it again and I certainly wouldn't let my poor husband (who HATED this film) to watch it again.

I thought it was average. Shit movie but with great acting and eye candy.

 

3 STARS

 

 

9. HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA (2012)

OK I'll get this out of the way from the start.
I LOVE ANIMATION. LOVE IT. So I couldn't WAIT to see this movie.
Is it any good though?
OMG It is awesome. It is SO SO SO funny. As usual with me I really love the secondary characters.
In this film I just loved the zombie staff, the gremlin (?) husband and wife and the thing that reads the bingo numbers.

Right from the start I had a big smile on my face and there are numerous laugh out loud moments.
Once again my movie knowledge ignorance shone through because imagine my surprise to find out that ADAM SANDLER (one of the actors on my most hated list) does the voice of Dracula!!
You would never know.
Steve Buscemi as the were wolf is excellent.
I would love to have some toys from the movie especially the zombies. It has a couple of slightly scary moments for little ones but not many.

I was only going to give this film 4 stars but due to the fact that I am dying to get to the shops and buy a copy of this movie so I can watch it over & over makes me give it more.
As soon as I finished watching it I wanted to watch it again straight away.
I reckon you'd find more & more funny things in it with each watch.

5 STARS Bleh bleh bleh !!!

All right Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up

Well I've done it. I've FINALLY done something that has been on my list of goals for years.

No, unfortunately it isn't getting a sensual massage from Tom Hardy & Jean Dujardin (mmmmmmm)

No, it isn't my goal of having a dinner party with Stephen Fry, Karl Pilkington and Bill Murray catered by Heston Blumenthal.

It is, in fact, getting a PIN UP gal photography shoot done.

Now, you would think that having been in the 'vintage' 1950s acficionado scene for 500 years that I would have had multiple shoots done. 

Oh I'm great at the selfie taken in my brightly lit bathroom and then run through 10 iphone apps that smooth all those pesky wrinkles out, then turning up the contrast so it looks like I am white as a sheet then filtered through Instagram but I've never actually gone to a proper studio, been made over by A Professional and been posed so as to hide my lumpy bits.
 

When I heard that my favourite pin up photographer BEXERITY PIN UP PHOTOGRAPHY was finally pulling her finger out and starting a studio in Brissy (not only in Brisbane but on the north side at Chermside!!!)   I lost my shit and immediately booked a shoot.

You just GOTTA go to her website & look at the before & after shots.

(don't look at MY before photo though. It is some nasty shit)

 

 www.bexterity.com/

 

From the moment I entered the blissfully airconditioned studio I felt totally at ease.

When choosing what sort of shots to get I decided to go with SAUCY YET CLASSY.

I also included some family heirlooms in the photos. In the pics with the blue dressing gown I am wearing TBF's grandmother's necklace & earrings and in the military shots I am wearing my Great Grandmother's earrings and the photos on the ground are of my Grand parents.

I had such a great time and it was hard to choose out of all the awesome shots.

When I get the rest of the pics I will post them on here.

 I cannot recommend Bex (and her gorgeous side-kick ) highly enough.

She even put up with my whinging about not being able to stand up properly on high heels and my grunting as I tried to suck in my back fat while trying to look all sultry.

 

So that's one goal I can cross of the list: Having a 1950s cheesecake pin up shot in my Reg Grundies.

 

Now where can I find Tom Hardy's phone number?

 

 



I'm stuffed if I know how people can walk in these heels !!!!
I could barely stand!

 

PHOTOS FROM PARKRUN 12/01/13

At the start when I was feeling ok

WOOHOOO PARKRUN !

About 1 minute after this photo was taken I broke down.

8. Brighton Rock (2011)

 

You know what I like? I like a really really good bad guy. Some movies have 'bad' guys but they are almost comical and you kinda like them in a weird way.

In Brighton Rock the lead character Pinkie is the most brilliant BAD guy. His character is one of the most horrible dispicable revolting characters ever.... Absolutely fantastic!

A 100 % arsehole. It's great to see a character with NO redeeming qualities that you really feel hatred toward when watching.

The female lead Rose is equally as impressive as a pathetic zero self esteem girl.

I was also attracted to the fact that it is set around the Mods Vs Rockers riots of Brighton. I was a bit disappointed to find that besides one of members of his gang being a Teddy boy you don't really see much in the way of Mods V Rockers even in the riot scene.

This is NOT a love story even though the trailer makes it look at way. This is a violent mob movie.

I really enjoyed it... mainly because of just how loathesome Pinkie is. I'm surprised Sam Riley who plays him hasn't been in much else because he was great.

Helen Mirram is gorgeous looking and is wonderful (as always).

 

3 STARS

 

It's Too Darn Hot

So I'm all gung-ho about getting back into my exercise program right? So TBF & I sign up to do PARKRUN http://www.parkrun.com.au/ . Parkrun happens all around the place. It is a timed 5km 'fun' (I use that term very loosely) run. It is free. "That sounds rad" I thought gleefully to myself.

 At the moment I do a walk/jog in the arvos for about 5km so I thought this would be a great way to really kick my motivation to *gulp* run.

 

KRISTEN & I AFTERWARDS.  12WBT REPRESENT !!!

 

We gathered with the other 127 loonies.... I mean runners at Sandgate Pool ready to start at 7am.

I donned my top to toe JFDI gear (REPRESENT GIRRFEND) and was feeling super motivated.

The breeze wafting in off the beautiful Sandgate water was wonderful. "What a lovely day" I foolishly thought to myself.

Right on 7am off we went. I really hit my stride with the first kilometre and a half. I had some new running tracks blaring in my ears (Nivana thank you very much). "This is Rad!" I thought.

I got to almost half way when things began to go very pear shaped (and I'm not talking about my arse).

I REALLY started regretting eating a bowl of muesli with almond milk before my run and my stomach started feeling very very average indeed.  At the half way mark I starting seriously making decisions about whether I should spew into the water or on the grass. Just after halfway I nearly trod in a big pile of dog poo which then literally started me dry retching. NICE.

Then the bullshit heat hit me. Excuse my language but... HOLY FUCKING HELL. It really did feel like my whole body had been dipped into boiling lava. Around the 3 1/2km mark my fingers & legs felt like they were swelling up and going to burst like sausages on the barbie.

4 km and I started whimpering things like "no no no no isssss tooooo hawwwttttt no nonono shitfuckshit mmmmmmuuu arrrrrr farrrrrk".

The whole of my body was .. to put it bluntly... rooted.

MUST. ... JOG...THE... FINAL... 200... METRES......MUST.... SUCK.... IT .... UP.... JUST.... FUCKING..... DO..... IT...... DO..... IT..... FOR ...... MISH.......

I hit that finish line and immediatley burst into tears and started having a panic attack and couldn't breathe.  TBF rushed at me with water and ushered me into the shade.

"Too. Hot Too Hot" I gasped.

FINALLY I calmed down just in time to have the awesome Kristen from the Northside 12wbt crew join me. See she did the sensible thing and PACED HERSELF. Next time I'm sticking with her.

NEXT TIME???? DID I SAY NEXT TIME?????

I will do it again.... I will do it differently next time....

Next time I will PACE MYSELF. I will take a bottle of Gatorade with me. I WILL NOT eat any form of milk product before hand.

Even at 7am in the morning in summer here in the fabulous QLD it is JUST TO FUCKING HOT.

I think I will stick to doing my walk/jogs for 5km late in the arvo and will go back to Parkrun when the weather cools down a bit. Though one of the bullshit fit marathon lady runners did say to me

"If you keep coming in summer just imagine how fast you will be able to do it in the Winter".

I resisted the urge to throw my waterbottle at her head.

 

I burnt 607 calories. It felt like I had burnt 50 million.

This picture DOES NOT fully capture just how red I am. Please note the look of insanity in my eyes.

BREAKING NEWS !!! THE RESULTS OF THE RUN HAVE JUST COME IN.

I finished 121st in a race of 127... That's cool.

 

7. The Artist (2012)

I'm a dickhead.
I did not know that The Artist is a silent film. I knew it was ABOUT silent films but I didn't realise that this is literally a silent film.
That doesn't mean that I didn't like it though... quite the opposite. It's so lovely to watch a film that isn't just all about action scenes and big fancy schmancy effects. This is a very very simple film that is beautiful to watch. The musical score is fantastic.
I found it to be a 'paint by numbers' film with regards to Film Noir. It's like the director had a list of all the A-Z of noir & silent films and put every cinematic trait into this movie.
If you didn't know anything about this movie & walked into a room that it was playing you would absolutely think you were watching an original old film.
The lead actor Jean Dujardin is fantastic and reminded me of a mix between Gene Kelly & a young De Niro. All the scenes starring him are wonderful.
Do you know I wasn't fussed AT ALL with the leading lady Bérénice Bejo.?  She just didn't do it for me. Even with the black and white & costuming etc I found all her scenes looked modern. I can't explain it.
This movie was a wonderful homage to the films of yester-year but I just felt something was lacking.
I'm not sure what though.

4 STARS

6. Melancholia (2011)

I'd read alot of really positive reviews about this film and the story seemed intriguing "Two sisters find their already strained relationship challenged as a mysterious new planet threatens to collide with the Earth."  I'm not really a big Kirsten Dunst fan but all the movie mags & sites said she is great in this film.
Adjectives I would use to describe this movie: SLOW, DEPRESSING & BEAUTIFUL.
If you want a real honest look at what real manic depression looks like then just watch this film.
As a person who has Bipolar I could very very much relate to Kirsten's character in certain parts.
I had to fast forward the beginning of the movie as the 10 minute intro, while beautifully filmed and musicall the score is wonderful, was excruitatingly long and drawn out.
Even though at numerous times through the film I wanted to turn it off, I kept reminding myself of the plot which is, as I wrote above,  "a mysterious new planet threatens to collide with the Earth."
 I just HAD to see how it was going to end.
MEH.
 This is one totally fucking boring depressing film but with a fantastic musical score.
If you didn't suffer from depression before this movie you sure will for a time after.

 

2 STARS

5. Beneath Hill 60 (2010)

 

Did you know that in 1916 during The Great War the Australian Army recruited heaps of ordinary blokes that were miners & engineers, gave them only 2 weeks of training before sending them to the Belgium Front to dig mines under German lines to plant a crap load of explosives under the Germans to blow them away???

Neither did I !

My history classes at school went on & on about Gallipoli but I never heard about this.

I LOVE movies about Australia's history particulary about our diggers and this movie is another corker. Sure it gets a bit corny & soppy in the lovey dovey flashback scenes but the story of what these blokes went through and the scenes of war in the trenches is amazing & horrific.

According to Wikipedia it was filmed in and around Townsville.

I found myself muttering "Holy Shit" AND "Bloody Hell" alot and the claustrophobic scenes in the tunnells really do bring it home just how awful a job it was.

Just another example of how incredible our Australian Soliers are.

The acting is top rate.

 

GREAT AUSTRALIN WAR FILM THAT SHOULD BE SHOWN IN SCHOOLS ALONG WITH FILMS LIKE GALLIPOLI.

4 STARS

 

 

4. Chopper (2000)

I FINALLY got around to watching "Chopper" after years & years of my sister & brother raving about it.
It was great. At the time this film was made Eric Bana was more known as Poiter and comedy roles so it was amazing even now to watch his very first serious role. He is amazing as Chopper Reid and has the bloke down pat.  He is simply incredible and the super violent scenes are full on. You almost believe that you are actually watching Chopper himself. Even the physical transformation Eric Bana went through is amazing.
Even though I know that Mr Reid in 'real' life was prone to exaggeration about how mental he was (saying "Never Let the Truth Get in the Way of a Good Yarn") I still wouldn't like to meet the man. Why would you would WANT to be remembered as being a total psycho nutjob?
Anyone who is right into really good Australian cinema with awesome acting needs to see this flick and I reckon my American friends would love it.
The only thing I didn't like about it (why I deducted a star) was the fact that I don't really like any movie that promotes violent thug wankers and I'm sure Chopper probably loves that people are talking about him.
LOVED IT THOUGH JUST FOR ERIC BANA'S INCREDIBLE ACTING.

4 STARS

Doing Nothing is Very Hard to Do... You Never Know When You're Finished.

WELCOME TO 2013!!!

 

I brought in the new year with a whole stack of crazy-arse total hornbag friends.

My first ever sober New Years party (if you don't count the year I got food poisoning from some dodgy oysters & was in bed by 10pm) was an interesting experience. I drank WAY too much Pineapple Coconut juice but it was funny to watch everyone around me getting tanked.

Me at my friend NYE Tiki party

So I have set myself some New Years Goals... not resolutions..... GOALS.



LEARN TO SEW
Oh sure I can sew the most basic A-line skirt but how cool would it be to be able to say to myself "I've got a shin-dig in 2 months so I think I'll just whip up a new frock!" TBF bought me 10 sewing lessons for my birthday. I'm keen to learn how to at least do the basics. At the moment it takes me 10 attempts to put in a friggin zipper while screaming ARrrrrrrrraahhhhhh I'll never get it NEVER!
I also want to be able to boast to people when they say "Ooo Mz Vicki where on earth did you get that fabulous frock?" I can respond with a smug look on my face "Oh this? I just whipped it up on the Brother 2000 this week."

START LINDY-HOP SWING DANCING AGAIN
I used to swing dance (back in the old days) like a boss. I wasn't super good or anything. I couldn't do fancy aerials but I would class myself as "not total shit". I LOVE Lindy Hop. I can dance to rockabilly music but there is something about cuttin' a rug to big band music that just makes me feel all warm & gooey inside. If you see me out on the dance floor swinging out I always have a big slightly deranged huge grin on my face. When I started thinking about my goals for this year I started with thinking about "What makes me feel happy and what makes me smile?" Lindy Hop dancing topped the charts.

WATCH MORE MOVIES AND READ MORE BOOKS 
I've actually started ANOTHER blog where I will be ploughing my way through about 81 films on my MUST SEE list this year and reviewing them. Movies and books are two of my great loves. I love being lost in another world for about 2 hours. www.themovieminx.blogspot.com.au

EAT CLEAN AND FOR THE LOVE OF GAWD WOMAN DO SOME EXERCISE
This year I am really going to focus on CLEAN eating. What the frick does that mean? Basically trying not to eat anything processed like tinned or packaged food. This past year, thanks to Mishy baby I've really grown to love cooking and trying new recipes. Particulary the ones where you make it all from scratch eg salsas and dressings. I bought the Jamie Oliver 15 minute meal book and it is literally totally pukka like. I love how it is really focused on clean eating and ease. I've already tried 2 recipes and they were great. Didn't take me 15 minutes and I used every pot in the kitchen but worth it.
EXERCISE EXERCISE EXERCISE... why do you taunt me so? This year I really really do need to JFDI. I am going to try Yoga and I will not rest until I find a form of exercise that I enjoy. Holy shit I MAY even step out of my comfort zone. I need to STOP being a lazy schlub and get off my arse.
I don't know WHY I avoid it. When I finish doing it I feel bloody awesome. If someone could bottle some of their motivation and send me some I would really appreciate it.

FAMILY MATTERS
This year I am going to spend alot more QUALITY time with my family & TBF's family.  Sure my family are all a pack of total wack-jobs but I love them and really want to force my presence upon them alot more this year.

WORK AND MONEY
This year I would like to try and work out what the hell I am doing with my life! I would love to change careers (this is quite a terrifying thought) but I really need help as I have NO idea what the bloody hell I want to do. I need to go and see some sort of guidence counsellor who can look at my qualities and say THIS is what you should be doing.
This year our home loan contract is FINALLY up (thank fricking gawd). Seriously our contract has been totally killing us financially. What this means is that we will finally be able to pay off our yucky credit card and cut that sucker up and be able to start SAVING. Can I get a HELLS-YEAH!

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So there you have it... Mz Vicki's 2013 goals and aspirations.

This was my other list:
- Spend more time on Facebook
- Take more selfie photos
- Post more ambigious statements on Facebook
- Post more food photos and photos of my cat on Instagram
- Complain more about how hard it is for me to lose weight
- Frown at strangers more often
- Complain more about today's fashion & music

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

PS THANKS FOR STICKING WITH ME THROUGH 2012 AND HOPEFULLY YOU'LL STICK AROUND TO READ MY RAMBLINGS IN 2013