Who's Reviews - Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps

It seemed like a good recipe: topical subject matter, a follow-up from an immensely popular 80s movie, same director, same big-name actor... But to be honest, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps failed to live up to the hype. I left the cinema disappointed: the trailer has a lot of explaining to do.

The gist of the whole movie is revenge. Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) wants revenge on Bretton James (Josh Brolin - who has a fantastic rage scene at the end where he destroys a priceless artwork... best scene). Jake Moore (Shia) wants revenge on Bretton James but then he sets his sights on Gordon Gekko. It's pretty circular. And the whole 'payback' thing got a bit tired at the end. The movie is 15 mins and one plot twist too long.

And maybe I wasn't paying enough attention to the finer details of the dialogue, but I also felt that the plot progressed in a bit of a stilted fashion. The scenes in the movie seemed contrived, and some ideas (like why Shia really wanted $100m for the development of some alternative energy project) seemed completely random and unexplained - I couldn't help thinking "but WHY are you so interested in this project?"

I love Carey Mulligan, who plays Winnie Gekko - Gordon's daughter and Jake's girlfriend/fiance/babymamma - with an American accent which was not bad. Susan Sarandon was probably the only other woman I saw in the whole movie. She played Jake's mother in an extremely peripheral and underdeveloped role. It is very much a male-centric film. It could have used some fresh female perspective (or am I just being biased?) because there are only so many scenes with slicked hair and clean-cut suits that can be tolerated in one sitting.

Overall, the plot seemed to opt more for style than substance. Given the subject matter and the timely nature of the film, it could have gone a lot further in terms of making an impact, rather than throwing words like "moral hazard" around.

I'd give it a 7/10. Edward Darcy agreed though he suggested a range between 6.5-7.0. Final conclusion: not as good as you were hoping. Money might not sleep, but it put me to sleep.

~ Hurley Who?

PS. Profuse apologies for the very un-punny joke.

Google it!

This is where I want to work! I just came back from a tour of the Google offices in Sydney. Definitely one of THE coolest workplaces I have ever visited/seen.

The living wall!!

Although I didn't take a picture. the offices are also complete with 'micro kitchens' - small spaces complete with a fully stocked fridge of delicious drinks, a coffee machine, a range of cereals, mueslis, nibbles and snack foods. Oh, and did I mention that all three meals of the day are free? Oh, the perks of the job!

~ Hurley Who?

PS. Click on the photo to make them bigger...

PPS. This post has been edited as it is against Google policy to post pictures of their office... (except for the wall).

I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You

Check it out.

and if you have time, check this out. It's pretty funny.

~Louis Tiffon

iPods, unfortunately

Has anyone seen the new iPod nano? Does anyone even care anymore? Well, you probably should, as these days, the height of ignorance is probably best epitomised by an inability to tell between the elusive shuffle and the latest nano:

(image courtesy of Apple)

Do you even remember when nanos used to look like this:

(image courtesy of Fanpop)

Yeah, neither do I. I do, however, understand that Apple offers a product going by the name of iPod shuffle:

(image courtesy of Apple)

Has anyone actually spotted one of these? Its dimensions dictate that it would serve best as a paperclip. I cannot comprehend why Apple/Steve Jobs would think that anyone would pay for that inevitable panic attack after you've been fumbling around your pocket, before coming to a gut-wrenching realisation that you've paid for your 50c cone with your shuffle.

Shuffle aside, they've also significantly revamped the touch. It is now equipped with two cameras (front and back), enabling 'FaceTime' (ie. video conversations, typical of Apple's aversion to the space bar) and HD video recording (although I imagine Apple has very generously given us five minutes battery life to do so, so that you'll actually have to purchase two of these revamped models to capture a video of decent length). Some day, we'll have a laugh about every electronics company's attempts to miniaturise and amalgamate all possible features into the one device.

At a RRP of $289 for the 8GB model, I may consider a purchase, had I not already mortgaged the majority of my worldly possessions for one single night of my entire life. Or perhaps a thirty minute trip to JB Hi-Fi will satiate my curiosity, doubling up as that obligatory comparison of the old vs. the new to ascertain an appropriate degree of that I-wish-I-had-stuck-out-just-that-bit-longer sentiment.





- no name -



[As a sidenote, I really must apologise for being an iPod owner. In my vigorous attempts to be anti-mainstream, it was only logical that I was anti-iPod. But it wasn't long before I realised that Australia was not about to import any of iPod's worthy competitors (eg. the Zune, iRiver Clix and any Cowon) any time soon in the next half-century, so I caved. My deepest regrets.]

Not Quite Nigella Eat Your Heart Out!

I realise I am straying slightly into Hurley's territory here, but I cannot resist.

What it takes is a little dedication. Dedication in the name of food... Yesterday Country Bumpkin (CB) and I took a brekkie trip to the Bourke Street Bakery (sigh...) in Surry Hills. The Bakery opens at 8am. We were there at about 8:30ish. Yes, we both woke up early, and I mean early! 6:30am and 6:45am respectively. Reason being? We needed those ginger brulee tarts. Ha!
We did our research via Not Quite Nigella and UrbanSpoon before heading there. The bakery itself is a little difficult to get to when you aren't entirely sure where you're going. We started from Central and it took about 4 detours before we actually arrived. (However, having been there once, I can totally take you there again with my eyes closed.) It's a cute little, and I mean little, place right on the corner of a street. Once you're there, you cannot miss it, there's really not much else in the way of shops around it, lots of beautiful terraced houses that I dream about, though.

A very cute little place.

Because we arrived so early, there was no queue and no attitude from the staff (Ha! NQN and US!) and everything was still there, including the much-longed-for ginger brulee tarts. Yes! NQN actually arrived too late in the day and missed out on these absolutely amazing (and I am not exaggerating) tarts, so yes, a moment of satisfaction for CB and I. However, since we were so early we did miss out on the famed sausage rolls - the lamb, harissa and almond sausage roll I especially wanted to try. Together, we bought the pan au chocolat (chocolate croissant), rhubarb and almond tart, vanilla brulee tart with strawberry puree, chocolate mousse tart and of course, the ginger brulee tart. It's a little pricey, but not so much so that I won't be going back multiple times (I think it was about $4.40 for the 8cm tarts and $3.70 for the croissant).

Sigh.... pastry...

The croissant was beautiful. Not too sweet or buttery, and really nice and flaky. The chocolate was dark (yesss!) and there wasn't a massive amount, like you often get which detracts from the pastry. It wasn't the best croissant I have ever had in my life, but by all means really, really good! We ate this one before I remembered to whip out my phone for a picture, so no picture here guys, sorry!

The next one we tried was the ginger brulee tart, which was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. Really. It was chilled so the custard wasn't too runny (On an interesting side note, they also use a 45% fat cream, instead of the 35% fat cream we usually get in shops, which results in a firmer custard) and there was, as raved about so much, that crack when we broke through the toffee on top. mmmmmm. Like US said, you can tell it's real ginger, not too gingery but a really lovely balance and I just wanted more. CB was right, we should have bought 2. Instead we bought the vanilla and strawberry brulee, which admittedly, we left for a little too long before we ate it. This one was also really nice. The custard was not too sweet and the strawberry puree at the bottom was really good! Because we let it go warm, the custard was a bit runny and there was no crack (why?!?).

Clockwise from front: rhubarb & almond, chocolate mousse, vanilla & strawberry puree, ginger brulee (unfortunately due to my inability to remember to bring a knife, we have no pictures of the inside. But please, let me refer you to NQN - she has beautiful pictures. Click Here!)

The chocolate mousse tart was something, though! This one is my cousin's favourite so I was expecting big things. And it was really, really good! The mousse is not too rich, a lot lighter than I expected and less firm too. And at the bottom was a "surprise" spoonful of raspberry puree which really took it to the next level. Raspberry + chocolate = heaven! And they put chocolate cake crumbs on top (not Milo, NQN!) which were cute and different, I thought. This was so much better than the rhubarb tart, which I have to admit I was a little disappointed in. All in all, it was quite nice, but a bit too much frangipane and not enough rhubarb. The result was therefore a bit too sweet and almondy for my taste. The pastry on all the tarts though is very nice - rustic looking and crunchy! Yum!! I am so going to try to make pastry now!

This trip made my day. Absolutely beautiful pastries which I will definitely be going back for. Definitely a high 8/10 (Only because it's a little hard to find and that rhubarb tart wasn't so great) And the top it all off, when I came home that night my lovely brothers presented me with my birthday present, which was the Bourke Street Bakery Baking Companion! Yay! Of course, I did give many not-so-subtle hints ("Hey! This is what I want for my birthday! And it’s on the Book Depository so get it there, okay?" Ahh... joys of the Book Depository...) haha! Nonetheless, I have been spending the best part of the last 12 hours reading through the book, and hence the little insights to how and what makes up the tarts.

My new 370-paged beautiful baby... complete with drool-worthy photos and step-by-step photo guides for pastry! (Including pate brisee! haha)

CB and I will be heading back to taste the breads and savouries and that chocolate ganache tart which has caught my eye... and for another ginger brulee tart, but in the meantime, I have my new baby :)

c.c.

moosic

I like books. And I like songs. Gosh Sally, you know me too well. We should get together soon. Over coffee. Talk about cool stuff like books and music and writing songs about books and music.

I reckon a conversation between us would go down somewhat like this:

Me: Hey Sally, what's the haps? I really like your Book Song.

Sally: Thanks Disco. It's very kind of you to say that.

Me: I bet you get that all the time though.

Sally: Sorry?

Me: You know. The whole fangirl gushing over your music. OMG lyk Salleee I luff youu soooo much!!!

Sally: Umm, not really. You see I'm just mildly cherished Australian indie singer-songwriter. Never mind the fact that I did all this work with New Buffalo and mainstream people didn't really notice. Never mind the fact that I wrote that 1234 song for Feist, that bitch who stole it off me. God I hate Feist.

Me: Yeah. Jesus, Feist, have a little compassion. Although she did make that kickass 15 minute long video for The Water which has Cillian Murphy in it. Mmm Cillian Murphy is so hot in such a creepy way...

Sally: ...whut.

Ok so it seems after all I can't find a link to Book Song by Sally Seltmann which I really recommend, so here's Dream About Changing instead. The whole album Heart That's Pounding is worthy of recommendation actually.

[disco.read]

"Meteors all Night" in a Dress

*now i don't normally do fashion posts but these dresses from Christopher Kane's 09/10 resort collection are just jaw-droppingly brilliant, especially the first one.

the real thing is pretty stunning as well...

(picture taken by the Hubble telescope - no idea which nebula, sorry!)

a rather starry-eyed c.l.