Award!

Thanks to Fear Street! My first ever award, how exciting. And if being versatile means talking too much about old and daggy movies and books and also whinging about life occasionally and posting too many foster pictures than I'm your girl!

Award Rules:

Share 7 things about yourself.
Pass the award along to 15 who you have recently discovered and who you think fantastic for whatever reason.
Contact the blogs you picked and let them know about the award.
Thank the person who gave it to you.

7 Things:

• I hate peas and corn
• I don't like tea or coffee. I live on diet coke, even though according to Paris Hilton, only fat people drink diet coke
• I just can't get into the Harry Potter books, though my boyfriend has forced me to watch the films
• I work in the finance industry but I didn't enjoy or complete any maths units past the age of 15 (except for that maths unit in university but it was aimed at an early childhood education level)
• I attended my parents wedding. I was 8 months old.
• I follow my Australian rules football team religiously and am a member. They get mocked in the competition because they have purple as their primary colour. Also they have the most female members out of all the other teams in the competition. Coincidence?
• My first kiss was from a french schoolmate when I was 11. It wasn't a real french kiss, mostly I remember it being kind of slimy.

I haven't named any other favourite blogs as we all seem to run in the same blog circles (?) and I don't want to be doubling people up. If you're on my blog roll, feel the love.

Eh and I changed the blog name. Again.
And to keep up the trend of foster photos, here is Spock my current Maltese cross boy - about a year old. He's from a country pound and already been through 2 families who both had kids and didn't want him anymore. Obviously I'm trying to find a cheap groomer for him before he finds a new home.
And after being informed by the vet that he has tapeworm I now have the greatest of fun looking through his excrement for tapeworm which looks a bit like long rice! Don't tell me I don't teach you guys stuff.

Little Darlings

My introduction to this movie was on one summer day when I was home sick from high school, this was playing as the midday movie.

It is my opinion that they never play good movies on at this time but my mum said this was a good movie from her childhood (my mum was 17 when this came out, cool huh). I was intrigued. What kind of movies did my mum like? Guaranteed to have a happy ending I would have thought now, but if it was from her childhood it may be more interesting and teenage centred. And as I found out, awesome as it is set at a summer camp, the stuff Australian children dream of.

So I viewed Little Darlings (1980). The opening is a bit of a cracker, some random chick with major hair flicks, kicks some guy in the balls for harassing her. Okay with me.

Basic story:

Angel (ball kicker played excellently by Kristy McNichol) and Ferris (completely random character name, played by Tatum O'Neal) are two very different girls both attending summer camp. Angel is kind of a bad girl, wrong side of the tracks etc while Ferris is poor little rich girl who thinks it's beneath her to be attending the camp.

So early on the two girls clash and somehow a bet is formed: who will be the first girl to lose her virginity? The camp is divided on who it will be and place cash on the girls. The girls each choose their 'target'. For Ferris it is the swim teacher Gary (played by my old mate Armand Assante, he of the coolest alliterated name) and for Angel it is the random guy candy they meet at a public restroom while trying to score condoms, Randy (played by a floppy haired Matt Dillon). By the way Randy and Angel seem to have matching haircuts. Ahh the 80's.

Both have very different ideas of what their first time will be like. Angel sees it as "no big deal", presumably an attitude inherited from her skanky mother, while Ferris is all about the romance and the "making love". Unfortunately for both of them the reality is vastly different while Ferris learns the true repercussions of a 15 year old trying to seduce her teacher and Angel learns that sex is actually a big deal.

This film is different because so many of these types of movies about 'losing it' are based around guys. To show from a female perspective is interesting because of course they are going to approach it differently.

I think Ferris's attitude was a bit over the top but maybe the result of her upbringing. While Angel who is used to having guys in and out (insert obvious joke) at her mom's place is more cynical.

From discussions with my friends at that age, I don't think any of us were under any illusions that the first time would be any good/incredibly romantic but we weren't of that it's 'no big deal' mindset either.

Regardless this is a good movie with like able leads (and a cute early role for Cynthia Nixon as hippy girl, Sunshine) and a somewhat realistic view of sex and teenagers. Also some good (not stereotypes) supporting characters who actually look like teenagers. It's no American Pie for hilarity or hi-jinks but it has some nice moments.

Mel hath no fury...

Mel, what the hell has happened to you?

Remember the good old days, when you still sounded kind of australian even though you were only ever partly ours, and you were in awesome movies like Mad Max 1, 2 and not so much 3? Plus Gallipoli, the Lethal Weapon movies. You used to be charming and have a sense of humour. And remember that glorious day when I blogged about your young hotness? Truth be told you're still not bad for a 54 year old.
When did it all go so wrong? Also food for thought: maybe playing an anger management therapy patient in an uncredited role in Paparazzi in 2004 was not the best move due to your now apparent issues (and how you're "...capable of it.")
You should never have left your adopted homeland. Or like divorced your wife and started screwing around either.
"When all's said and done, I did a pretty good hatchet job on my marriage. I'm to blame, if you're inclined to judge." Heh just found this quote, maybe all is not lost completely.

At least Whoopi still loves you.

Boy Crush #2

'As you wish'. Spoken by the irresistible Cary Elwes as Westly in The Princess Bride, never has my heart fluttered so much as to words spoken by a lowly farmboy.
Seriously hot. I don't know what else to say, just look at the picture a bit more. Elwes was 25 when this movie came out, so totally age appropriate for me right now, but in real life, he's the same age as my dad. Why, why did I have to work that out?

You know Robin Wright as Buttercup was luminous in this film too.

Basic plot line if you haven't heard of this movie: Westly is a farmboy who works for Buttercup. Just as they realise their love for each other, Westley decides to leave for the seas to make his fortune and news comes back that he is killed by the Dread Pirates. Buttercup is heartbroken, but 5 years later decides to marry Prince Humperdink but she does not love him.

While out riding one day she is kidnapped by 3 outlaws, the boss -Vizzini (Wallace Shawn), Fezzik a giant (Andre the giant) and Inigo Montoya - a fencing master (Mandy Patinkin, his full name will be become important in the quotes section).
They are tracked by Prince Humperdink and a mysterious man in black. And I won't say anymore in case there are people who haven't seen this marvellous movie. In short it is funny, dramatic and romantic all in one and features many great characters and one liners my family will quote for days after watching the film.
Wallace Shawn is one crazy little man, while not having a huge role, he makes his memorable.
Andre the giant's thick accent sometimes makes what he is saying incomprehensible but it adds to the fun (fun personal fact, he was only 13cm taller than my boyfriend).
I love Mandy Patinkin in this, I'm not even sure why but he does have a good role with the most meat (he is trying to avenge his father's death by a 6 fingered man).

Favourite quotes:
Inigo Montoya: Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.

[Vizzini has just cut the rope The Dread Pirate Roberts is climbing up] Vizzini: HE DIDN'T FALL? INCONCEIVABLE.
Inigo Montoya: You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

Vizzini: I can't compete with you physically, and you're no match for my brains. Man in Black: You're that smart? Vizzini: Let me put it this way. Have you ever heard of Plato, Aristotle, Socrates? Man in Black: Yes. Vizzini: Morons.

Buttercup: You mock my pain.

Man in Black: Life is pain, Highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something

Prince Humperdinck: She is alive, or was an hour ago. If she is otherwise when I find her I shall be very put out.