Adelaide
Visited the botanical gardens and the zoo the other day. THe botanical gardens were very lovely – lots of trees, so you didn’t have the midwinter problem of lots of dead flowers everywhere. The zoo was good. They had a great nocturnal house, featuring bilbys (amazingly unattractive hopping things) and quolls (which it turns out, are kind of a cross between a possum and a cat). Plus bats and nocturnal mice and such. They also had some really great Aussie animal exhibits, including echidnas (which have to have the greatest gait of any animal) and a wombat. There was a Tasmanian devil exhibit, but they were all hiding. Otherwise – a pretty standard collection of animals – although they did have a Binturong, which was exciting. And many of the enclosures were very well done, especially the orangutans and tree kangaroos.
I also went to the central market, which is an indoor farmers market, where I spent way, way too much on food. But I got some really good olive bread, some tasmanian blue brie, hummus, olives, cherries, bananas, pasta, and fresh yogurt with berries. Yummmm…. So I am eating quite well at the moment.
Finished my latest murder mystery by Elizabeth George, and I have to say, I’m fairly sick of the eternal pity-party that is Lynley’s life. The man is permanently depressed – and with good reason – I cannot for the life of me figure out how he is suppossed to be a DI at Scotland Yard. In 3/12 books, he’s royally screwed up the case. And 2/12 books don’t even feature him! And they mention 2 previous (pre-series) cases that he also managed to blow. Seriously – how did he get the job? It’s too bad – because Ms. George writes well, and I really enjoy Havers and Nkata’s characters, but I think I’ll have to wait and see whether the next book features Lynley or not. He’s just too depressing to read about otherwise.
I’m heading to Melbourne by bus tomorrow. I’m pretty excited. A lot of the attractions around here aren’t possible to get to without a car, and my hostel has been pretty awful (though granted – I’ve been fairly spoiled with good hostels thus far).
Tags: Travel
jwdmeow
I like this entry, b/c I’ve never heard of ANY of these animals! I’ll have to look them up. Did you get pix?
I got around to reading the Premiere article:
Gone With the Wind (1939)
The only excuse for the adoration of this bloated, nearly four-hour epic about a spoiled southern belle and the passing of the Old South is uncritical nostalgia. Yes, Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable do a swell taming-of-the-shrew routine, but the movie’s once-spectacular moments—the burning of Atlanta, the crane shot of wounded soldiers—look uninspired today…
My rebuttal: The burning of Atlanta wasn’t CGI…they really burned down stuff, which is why it’s cool. The actors were really dodging falling flaming bits of set.
Also, the crane shot of wounded soldiers always makes me cry…
Even if the Max Steiner score and Technicolor cinematography are sublime, frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn. As a symbol of Hollywood at its height, Gone With the Wind is more kitsch than classic. —H.K.
REBUTTAL: Frankly, it’s amazing anyone could tell a story this huge in under four hours—it took Peter Jackson three whole movies to come close. Despite the advancement of computer graphics, the flames of Atlanta are still vividly real, as visceral as the field of dead that Scarlett stumbles through. —S.B.
My comments: I left out their sparring about racism, b/c they’re both right. Doesn’t matter — it’s still the greatest movie ever made.