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It's funny how different things set different people on edge, isn't it? We play the radio through our phones at work; it's set to ABC radio, which is a mix of genteel talkback and music. I actually don't listen to it, preferring to stream lastfm or ABC Classic (as in Beethoven-classic, not, you know, Steely Dan), because I can't listen to talkback radio at all, no matter how polite and mild the participants are. There's just something about hearing the same conversation over and over again that gradually eats away at my soul.
Anyway, I heard a short scream of frustration from the reception area this morning, and went out to find Leeanne listening to the radio, which was celebrating some sort of jazz festival in Melbourne by playing what seemed to be an uninterrupted hour of random notes of quiet, plinky piano interspersed with loud, crashy piano. "I can't take any more of this," she said, jabbing wildly at the phone to turn it off.
I agreed; I can't be having with noodly jazz instrumentals much myself. Angela, though, said, "Oh, it's beautiful", and went back to her office to listen, no doubt nodding appreciatively every now and then, and perhaps wishing she'd worn a beret.
A bit later on, we got to talking about a new film called "Australia", which is currently in production. Directed by Baz Luhrmann, it will star Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, and it sounds awful (although, reading that wikipedia entry stating that Russell Crowe was originally involved, not as awful as it could have been). I'm cringing just thinking about it. Partly it's the title; imagine having the arrogance to call a film "Luxembourg" or "Argentina", as if one film can capture a whole country. Partly it's the story, which is a laughable, irksome and tired cliché (well-off, widowed, English-speaking foreigner, left to fend for herself on a remote farm, eventually finds love and truth*). But mostly it's Nicole Kidman, who is right up there with talkback radio and noodly jazz as far as I'm concerned; I don't find her convincing as a human being, let alone as a different character in each film.
You know, this entry didn't really end up where I thought it would. Hmm.
* I recall seeing a 1980s miniseries starring Linda Evans that had the exact same plot as "Australia", memorable largely because of a scene in which one of Linda's sheep gave birth to a stillborn lamb that was revived by Linda's love interest grabbing it by the tail and swinging it round his head. Oh, how my family laughed. Laughed and laughed and laughed.
Anyway, I heard a short scream of frustration from the reception area this morning, and went out to find Leeanne listening to the radio, which was celebrating some sort of jazz festival in Melbourne by playing what seemed to be an uninterrupted hour of random notes of quiet, plinky piano interspersed with loud, crashy piano. "I can't take any more of this," she said, jabbing wildly at the phone to turn it off.
I agreed; I can't be having with noodly jazz instrumentals much myself. Angela, though, said, "Oh, it's beautiful", and went back to her office to listen, no doubt nodding appreciatively every now and then, and perhaps wishing she'd worn a beret.
A bit later on, we got to talking about a new film called "Australia", which is currently in production. Directed by Baz Luhrmann, it will star Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, and it sounds awful (although, reading that wikipedia entry stating that Russell Crowe was originally involved, not as awful as it could have been). I'm cringing just thinking about it. Partly it's the title; imagine having the arrogance to call a film "Luxembourg" or "Argentina", as if one film can capture a whole country. Partly it's the story, which is a laughable, irksome and tired cliché (well-off, widowed, English-speaking foreigner, left to fend for herself on a remote farm, eventually finds love and truth*). But mostly it's Nicole Kidman, who is right up there with talkback radio and noodly jazz as far as I'm concerned; I don't find her convincing as a human being, let alone as a different character in each film.
You know, this entry didn't really end up where I thought it would. Hmm.
* I recall seeing a 1980s miniseries starring Linda Evans that had the exact same plot as "Australia", memorable largely because of a scene in which one of Linda's sheep gave birth to a stillborn lamb that was revived by Linda's love interest grabbing it by the tail and swinging it round his head. Oh, how my family laughed. Laughed and laughed and laughed.