Rich lives

The two podcast episodes below detail amazing lives. Don't take the blurbs as the be-all and end-all. There's a lot more to both eps. Trust me, listening to them will enrich YOUR life.

Other pods I've discovered and been enjoying - or, in the cases where that word doesn't apply - finding fascinating lately:

* "Day X"

* "Exit Scam"

* "Fictoplasm"

* "Good Assassins: Hunting The Butcher"

* "I Spy"

* "Skeleton Songs"

* "Tale Of The Manticore"

* "Toby Hadoke's Time Travels"

Last five movies watched

"Star Trek" reboot a rewatch (with copious extras). "Shirley" a thoroughly unpleasant waste of time.

Pick of the bunch: "The New Mutants" was better than the delayed release and lukewarm reviews suggested. Can people not handle a superhero fillum that swaps wise-crackin' and world-hoppin' for character-driven drama in an intimate setting? As a fan of the Demon Bear Saga from way back, I was happy with how they interpreted and stuck to the spirit of the comics. Illyana/Magik rocked!

[Viewed on: Prime, Prime, Kanopy, Blu-ray, Disney+.]

By request: Chicken-flavoured instant noodle reviews - Part 1

My mate RS enjoys reviewing the different types of plain-chicken ramen he finds in US supermarkets. (There's a link to his champion Robot Claw blog under "Marching order", on the right.) A while ago, he asked if I would cover some of the ones on the Oz market, so here's the first batch.

Brand: Choice

Energy: 1740kJ

Total fat: 18.4g

Sodium: 1220mg

Comments: Woolies' own brand. "Made in Singapore from at least 74% Australian ingredients." Good texture, great broth.

Brand: Yoodles

Energy: 1140kJ

Total fat: 3.4g

Sodium: 1260mg

Comments: Comparatively low fat content. Made with brown rice. Bits of vegies. Mild taste, with an unusual sweetness at the end. Did they just replace the fat with sugar? I forgot to check, sorry.

Brand: Indomie

Energy: 1482kJ

Total fat: 14.8g

Sodium: 1124mg

Comments: Made in Indonesia. Included oil and chilli powder. Tasted like spiced-up Chicken Twisties. Felt less substantial than others, though, and therefore less satisfying.

Brand: Maggi

Energy: 1290kJ

Total fat: 10.2g

Sodium: 1515mg

Comments: Made in Malaysia. The ramen of our youth. Vegies limited to carrot. Initially pleasant/nostalgic, then they gave me a headache.

Brand: Simplee

Energy: 1300kJ

Total fat: 13.3g

Sodium: 1100mg

Comments: Aldi's own brand. Better mix in the vegie sachet. Finer noodles. Nice enough flavour. No headache! Probably the all-round best of this lot.

Last six movies watched

Pick of the bunch: "Memory - The Origins Of 'Alien' ". Revelation upon revelation.

[Viewed on: Netflix, Kanopy, Apple TV+, Netflix, ABC iview, ABC iview.]

Last five movies watched

The black holes thing is a coinky-dink. Rewatched the ol' Disney flick last week on a whim, before Netflix dropped their new full-length documentary. Funny how that happens.

"Fellowship" was sort of a rewatch. This was the first time I'd seen the Extended Edition. The Blu-ray comes with five discs! Two for the movie itself, three chockers with extras.

Pick of the bunch: "Black Holes - The Edge Of All We Know". If you're into the topic, as I am, it's very interesting and ultimately uplifting (after the sadness of Hawking's passing).

[Viewed on: Netflix, Netflix, Kanopy, Disney+, Blu-ray.]

1972, eh?

I turned 49 today. I am now into my 50th year of walking the earth. This information is hard to process.

Recently, tucked away in a wardrobe, I found the cards sent to me for my 21st birthday. I was out of state at the time, but some folks still managed it.

The regular cards depict a cat, a rock'n'roller dog and a classic Porsche 911 - three things of which I remain a fan 28 years later.

The big, text-filled card lists a stack of stuff related to June 4, 1972... News, famous peeps celebrating their b-day, popular music, award winners... Australia was on the "No" side of a UN vote on nuclear testing, for example. WA took out the Sheffield Shield. "The Candy Man" was a hit song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsp35yn411A

Any excuse to listen to that marvellous track again. What a performer Sammy Davis Jr was!

When friends talk about stars who share their birthdate, I don't mention Christopher Cockerell, inventor of the hovercraft, although I expect he was a top bloke. Nor any of the others listed in the big card above. My go-to for a famous fellow 4th of Juner is Angelina.