We apologise for this break in transmission

Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible.

Outage due to: workload, temporary absence, selfishness and indecision, heat, good books, televised sport.

"Dirty Sanchez: The Movie"

Named after an unsanitary practice involving a backside, finger and unsuspecting upper lip, Dirty Sanchez are the Welsh equivalent of the Jackass sicko stunt team. However, there are only four of them - Dainton, Pritchard, Joyce and the constantly hassled Pancho - which means a lot more pain per person. This film begins with a fictional sequence in which the "boyos" are accidentally killed and go to hell - only to be returned to earth by Satan to traverse the globe carrying out the Seven Deadly Sins. While there are similarities with some Jackass escapades, Dirty Sanchez are more into telling an ongoing story, less reliant on using vehicles and take things that bit further. How far? In Japan, exploring the sin of pride, Pritchard decides to regain lost honour by chopping off the end of his finger with a cigar cutter. He does so - and Joyce eats it. If you're not shocked, disgusted and bizarrely entertained by the end of the fillum, the DVD boots you in the bollocks with 14 extra scenes, including more footage of Dainton and co. succeeding in out-grossing-out the Tokyo Shock Boys.

Talent scouting

A major part of my weekend was spent with family members, but great as that was, I don't feel like talking about it. Instead, my subject shall be cricket.

Today, DL and I went to the SCG to watch NSW play England. It was the beginning of a three-dayer which will likely finish in a draw and, due to some wacky rule changes, isn't being classified as a First Class Match (presumably meaning it'll be exempted from the record books). So why go?

Basically, we wanted to gauge the Poms' strength before the Ashes. It was also a less crowded (11k vs ~50k) and cheaper ($20! vs ~$100 - assuming we'd even got hold of tix before they sold out) alternative to attending the Sydney Test.

NSW won the toss and elected to bat, dashing our hopes of seeing Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee attacking the tourists' top order. However, we did witness:
* The Blues make 325 runs
* Phil Jacques score a century
* Simon Katich and Michael Clarke reach 50
* The Poms take 5 wickets
* Kevin Pietersen catch a ripper on the boundary
* Monty Panesar bowl his spin here for the first time (impressive!), AND
* Freddie Flintoff in excellent form

Although England were trounced by the Prime Minister's XI last Friday (when Jacques scored another 100) and are far from in control of this match, their team spirit appears good and I still think they'll battle hard to retain the little urn.

Changing the record

It's been a while since I recommended any music, so here goes:

CD: "Suite XVI" by The Stranglers

DVD*: "Touring The Angel - Live In Milan" by Depeche Mode

Both bands as boldly unique as ever; their songs no less catchy.


*Actually two DVDs, plus a CD.

Home sick

Called in crook today, which I really don't like doing. But it was either go to work and annoy everyone by blowing my nose a million times and coughing a billion (and exaggerating a zillion!), or confine myself to quarters and hope to knock out a cold that's been ducking and weaving since Monday.

Nostalgia: Whenever I was too ill to attend junior high, my favourite way to spend the day was rewatching a taped-off-TV copy of "Raiders Of The Lost Ark" and re-reading a stack of old "Mad" magazines. If my stomach wasn't upset, I'd beg Mum (or sometimes Dad) to get us pies from the bakery.

Play them Delta Blues!

I did it! I picked the winner of the Melbourne Cup!

Previously, the best my selections had ever done was run a place and people expect better than that from someone who used to work in a TAB.

This year, I had a feeling about Delta Blues. He was supposedly Japan's top horse, yet many weren't giving him a chance. I hoped this would be reflected in what odds he paid, were he to beat home the other champion GGs.

I was right. My $5 each-way bet netted me $118.50, thank you very much.

Minus my $10 outlay (and $7 I spent in our two work sweeps), that leaves a C-bill to spend on a sushi lunch and stack of new books from Kinokuniya in honour of my four-legged Japanese benefactor!

Borrowed box-office

Staying-inside weather today. Decided to watch some DVDs people had lent me, so I could return them.

Started with "X-Men: The Last Stand" (from CM). Not as bad as other friends had cautioned. If you can ignore the liberties taken with the comic-book source material and the high body count (including a few fan favourites), it's a slick popcorn flick that's hard to take your eyes off.

My second selection was an MTV promo of "The Making Of Jackass Two" (from DL). Had little impact for this viewer as it was largely filled with teasers for the movie - which I've seen. The clearest message to come from the interviews was: Johnny Knoxville doesn't know when to stop.

Attention span waning by this stage, but I slipped in a third disc to watch while preparing/eating/washing up from lunch.

"Gisaku" (from CS) is a Spanish cartoon done in a Disney-meets-anime style. The hackneyed plot involving a team of misfit heroes, multi-part amulet and demonic portal is made up for by the amount of Spanish culture squeezed in - at times, it's like a combination travelogue/history lesson.

(An addendum or those of you with kids... Although "Gisaku" has its educational moments, it's too violent for littlies. I'll give you an example: a samurai severs a demon's head with his sword, then uses its fallen torso like a springboard, sending blood squirting out the neck.)

Just my luck

The first time I see Australia play Great Britain in rugby league LIVE - in game four of the Gillette Tri-Nations series at Aussie Stadium - and we lose.

No side could gain an advantage for nearly half an hour until an intercept saw Greg Inglis score against the run of play, then Darren Lockyer convert.

The Poms hit back with a pretty decent converted try of their own, making it 6-all at the break. Exciting stuff.

On resumption, I was expecting another feeling-out period, but within minutes Great Britain had forced their way over the line, then added the extras - 12-6.

We scored next. Locky locking things up at 12-12.

With less than 20 minutes to go, a third converted try from the Lions made it 18-12 - still within our reach.

Ben Hornby crossed for us, only to cop a nasty knock to the head and have the video ref rule "no try".

The visitors should have wrapped it up with a straightforward penalty but botched the kick to the jeers of the home supporters.

They also had a field goal attempt go wide. More jeers.

It didn't matter. A late try (conversion missed) and successful field goal at the death sealed the deal as the Barmy Army (out here for cricket's Ashes) partied in their seats.

A disappointing result, though probably a good one for the international game. Ricky Stuart's men won't take the Poms so lightly next time...

Notes:

* The crowd was only 25k, of which I estimate at least a fifth were supporting the visitors. Maybe as many as 2/5 - there were Great Britain and Super League team jerseys and banners all round the ground.

* Pre-game entertainment nothing to SMS home about. However, we were treated to an appearance by (the majority of) the 1963 Aussie rep side, the first to win a series on British soil.

* Weirdest thing heard yelled by a spectator (to Petro Civoniceva): "C'mon, Petrol's 70c A Litre!". (I've since been told this is a HG & Roy-ism.)

* Weather dismal. But under three layers, I was warmer than a tauntaun's innards. Didn't need my poncho raincoat as the stadium roof protected me from the drizzle. Very English conditions - maybe that's why they won!

Social moth

Post-work drinks with DL on Friday turned into a funk-band-fuelled sesh with LA that ended after midnight. I didn't consume a stupid amount (six-seven beers over as many hours, plus a single shot of schnapps), or spend too much ($50 including a taxi home), but I made the rookie mistake of accepting a Winnie Gold or two and have had a disgruntled stomach and icky mouth ever since. No hugging the toilet bowl or any of that unpleasantness, though, and I should be back to 100% perkiness by tomorrow.

My only regret of the night was agreeing to review an upcoming gig (for LA's mate) by a band I've never heard, at a trendy club I don't particularly like, for a magazine I'm not familiar with. The group in question may well be excellent, but it would've meant a lot of research I don't have time for and I'd probably have had to fork out for some new clothes. I need that money for manga and Magic cards, dammit! :-) Fortunately, I realised this morning I'll have family staying that night, so I was able to e-mail off a no-can-do.

Not a lot else to report from this week. The highlight was an alcohol-free dinner on Wednesday (at local Indonesian restaurant Jimbaran) with my pal since Fifth Grade JH and his new girlfriend S. (didn't think to ask her surname for blogging purposes). I was apprehensive beforehand as some of his previous partners have been a tad...unhinged. Happy to say that's not the case with S. She's the best thing ever to happen to JH and I think he knows it. Don't do anything to mess it up, big fella!