3 Movies, Some Livestock, and a Jazz Band
For some reason, most of the movies I've seen lately have been subtitled, and several have been filmed in the middle-east. I should back up a step and mention that it is the dry season here in Darwin, which means that the town has awakened a bit, with various outdoor concerts, festivals, shows (fairs), and of course, the Deckchair Cinema. The Deckchair is an outdoor movie theater that shows various independent, foreign, second run, and local (Australian) films, and it's a true Darwin experience. So, last week I went to see Ushpizin - an Israeli comedy about a former delinquent, who has become very religious, and has some less than wholesome visitors during one of the Jewish holidays. It's quite funny and gives a lighthearted peek into the very religious Jews of Jerusalem. This week, I saw Paradise Now, sort of the opposite end of the spectrum (in several ways). That's the Palestinian film about a suicide bombing that goes wrong. Not particularly funny, and certainly politically charged, but very much worth seeing. The third film was actually on DVD - Walk on Water. It's an Israeli film about a Mossad assasin who is asked to befriend the grandson of a Nazi war criminal to see if he can get information. It's interesting, says a bit about how some Israelis deal with the Holocaust. So, if you're interested in reading a movie (or speak Hebrew, German, and Arabic), I'd recommend these films.
Yesterday, I went to the Fred's Pass Rural show, sort of a small county fair, with Keith and family. It was fun, but we missed the chopping competition (you know couple of burly guys whacking their way through a large log with an axe). Plenty of carefully rigged carnival games, some not too dodgy looking rides, lots of booths of various crafts, politicians, schools, and machinery. And of course, livestock. Not as much as the Darwin show, but some good looking chooks, cows, and a handfull of ducks. This being the Territory, there was also a reptile show, but that cost $2 to get in, so we didn't go. Oh, and a rugby (league?) game, which was very one-sided. I didn't last to the rodeo or the fireworks, but Keith and Jake stayed for those.
So, before going to the film tonight, I went to see the first night of the new Jazz at Sunset series of outdoor concerts at the local casino (used to be MGM Grand, now it's called Sky City). There was a Jazz group called Monica and the Moochers tonight. It was an interesting evening. They were pretty good, but I was a bit frustrated by the setup. They started at 18:00 with a short instrumental set (just the Moochers), which was decent. That was followed by a "short break" of about 40 minutes, during which the venue played an entire Michael Buble CD. Not he's one of those guys that I grudgingly admit has a good voice, but I just can't bring myself to like him. The music's fine and he's got a good band behind him, but I just don't like the guy. And they just popped in a CD and let us sit there on the grass for most of an hour. Finally, the Moochers returned with Monica trailing along. She was also pretty good, though she was trying so hard to make the show suggestively racy, that it seemed better suited to one of the lounges inside than an outdoor, family event. Now, I have nothing against a bit of rauch with jazz, I'm all for it in fact, but this seemed somehow out of place. I ended up leaving 15 minutes into the second set to catch the movie.
As I was sitting, flabergasted by the endless Michale Buble music, I was thinking about the jazz bands I'd played in back in high school and at Colorado State, and all of the talent that was in those groups. Now, I thought the group tonight was good, not great, but decent. And I was sitting there thinking that I'd played with individuals on each of their instruments, who were better than these guys were. Really made me appreciate those days with Malcolm, Tim, Scott, Mike, Craig, Devin, and Paul, Phil, Daryl, Mark, Darrin, Duane, and the rest. I was really lucky to get to play with those guys. We made some good music and had some great times. And we never had Michael Buble playing in between sets.
Yesterday, I went to the Fred's Pass Rural show, sort of a small county fair, with Keith and family. It was fun, but we missed the chopping competition (you know couple of burly guys whacking their way through a large log with an axe). Plenty of carefully rigged carnival games, some not too dodgy looking rides, lots of booths of various crafts, politicians, schools, and machinery. And of course, livestock. Not as much as the Darwin show, but some good looking chooks, cows, and a handfull of ducks. This being the Territory, there was also a reptile show, but that cost $2 to get in, so we didn't go. Oh, and a rugby (league?) game, which was very one-sided. I didn't last to the rodeo or the fireworks, but Keith and Jake stayed for those.
So, before going to the film tonight, I went to see the first night of the new Jazz at Sunset series of outdoor concerts at the local casino (used to be MGM Grand, now it's called Sky City). There was a Jazz group called Monica and the Moochers tonight. It was an interesting evening. They were pretty good, but I was a bit frustrated by the setup. They started at 18:00 with a short instrumental set (just the Moochers), which was decent. That was followed by a "short break" of about 40 minutes, during which the venue played an entire Michael Buble CD. Not he's one of those guys that I grudgingly admit has a good voice, but I just can't bring myself to like him. The music's fine and he's got a good band behind him, but I just don't like the guy. And they just popped in a CD and let us sit there on the grass for most of an hour. Finally, the Moochers returned with Monica trailing along. She was also pretty good, though she was trying so hard to make the show suggestively racy, that it seemed better suited to one of the lounges inside than an outdoor, family event. Now, I have nothing against a bit of rauch with jazz, I'm all for it in fact, but this seemed somehow out of place. I ended up leaving 15 minutes into the second set to catch the movie.
As I was sitting, flabergasted by the endless Michale Buble music, I was thinking about the jazz bands I'd played in back in high school and at Colorado State, and all of the talent that was in those groups. Now, I thought the group tonight was good, not great, but decent. And I was sitting there thinking that I'd played with individuals on each of their instruments, who were better than these guys were. Really made me appreciate those days with Malcolm, Tim, Scott, Mike, Craig, Devin, and Paul, Phil, Daryl, Mark, Darrin, Duane, and the rest. I was really lucky to get to play with those guys. We made some good music and had some great times. And we never had Michael Buble playing in between sets.
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