Weekend social 14/12/2012

Written By: - Date published: 2:00 pm, December 14th, 2012 - 28 comments
Categories: weekend social - Tags:

Christmas truce 1914Weekend social is for non political chat. What’s on for the weekend, gigs, film or book reviews, sports, or whatever.

No politics, no aggro, why can’t we all just get along?

28 comments on “Weekend social 14/12/2012 ”

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  1. TheContrarian 1
    14 December 2012 at 2:20 pm

    Ahhhh the weekend, it has been a long week. Got me my suitcase here ready to head over the hill to Greytown for a weekend away with the wife.

    Heavy bloody thing too because I have two bottle of Veuve Clicquot weighing it down. 🙂

    • Neoleftie 1.1
      14 December 2012 at 5:43 pm

      Your wife? Weighted down bytwo bottles of booze.
      Greytown is lovely too, white house from memory is.Hotel with all these themed poshrooms.

      • TheContrarian 1.1.1
        14 December 2012 at 10:56 pm

        Oh no, the White House is awful, faux country, shit food and pissy waiters. Better off popping directly across the road to the Working Mans Club for free pool, no bullshit, sport and cheap drinks.

      • TheContrarian 1.1.2
        14 December 2012 at 11:15 pm

        Oh yeah, it’s called the white swam, not house. Either way – the place sucks…nice balcony to drink gin on in the evening though….

  2. higherstandard 2
    14 December 2012 at 5:34 pm

    Looks like good weather for a bit of cricket.

  3. rosy viper 3
    15 December 2012 at 10:05 am

    I’m going to finish reading Tom Wolfe’s A Man in Full this weekend. Wolfe is one those authors who I love reading when I come across one of his books. I then wonder why I don’t hunt them out more often. They’re funny, perceptive and the books are way too long but that’s because he’s got so much to caricature about the psyche of the time he’s writing in.

    • TheContrarian 3.1
      15 December 2012 at 5:58 pm

      I really didn’t like A Man in Full. There were some moments in it that captured the essence of Bonfire of the Vanities but they were few and far between.

      I very much enjoy both Bonfire and Pyschadelic Kool Aid Test.

      • rosy viper 3.1.1
        15 December 2012 at 11:49 pm

        Yes, Bonfire is by far the better book. But I am enjoying A Man in Full. The caricatures (rather than characters) are droll, imo, and there is some important social observations there. Maybe it helps that I went to Atlanta once. Glad you recomment Kool Aid – that’s next on my list (after a wee break for some standard detective fare – I hear Ian Rankin is writing again…).

        • felixviper 3.1.1.1
          16 December 2012 at 7:23 am

          Kool Aid is a treat. Manages to capture certain experiences with an accuracy and… resonance… that I’ve not seen before on the page. I enjoyed A Man in Full too.

          • TheContrarian 3.1.1.1.1
            16 December 2012 at 11:03 am

            Interesting piece of trivia…Tom Wolfe wasn’t even at the infamous Hells Angles party that appears in Kool Aid. Hunter Thompson was, at the time, writing Hells Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga and recorded the whole thing. He gave the tapes to Tom Wolfe.

            I started to lose interest in A Man in Full when he started with that weird religion half-way through. But it did have some funny moments. Like when Coker is joking around in his hunting lodge, making anti-semetic jokes, and he wonders why no one is laughing.
            “I’m allowed to make jokes in here, this is the hunting lodge!”

            • felixviper 3.1.1.1.1.1
              16 December 2012 at 10:27 pm

              That is an interesting piece of trivia. I must have another look at that book, it’s been many years now. I think I read it before I was even aware of Hunter S Thompson and his work.

  4. r0b 4
    15 December 2012 at 6:12 pm

    My son made me watch “The cabin in the woods” last night. Surprisingly good (I really don’t do horror movies but for this I will make an exception). Joss Whedon – can the man do no wrong?

    • karol 4.1
      16 December 2012 at 7:43 am

      He is an excellent writer.  But I was never that Keen on BtVS (mainly I didn’t take to the Buffy character – a bit too stuffily middleclass for me).
       
      Firefly, Dollhouse, Alien Resurrection are great though. Will look out for Cabin in the Woods.  I haven’t watched any movies lately – any recommendations for some good summer rentals?
      Especially political thrillers/mystery/adventure, sci fi/fantasy with a political subtext?  Or maybe just good thrillers or sci fi/fantasy?

      • r0b 4.1.1
        16 December 2012 at 7:10 pm

        I’m a Buffy fan – though more later seasons dissolute Buffy than early seasons preppy Buffy. All of the characters develop a lot, one of the things I like about the show.

        So, we share similar taste in movies! I don’t see that many, but here’s a few of the interesting Scifi that more or less fit your specs. I’m likewise interested in your recommendations!

        Serenity (of course)
        Distrct 9 (more the first haf of it than the second)
        Children of men
        Gattaca
        Contact
        Moon
        The Road (verging on horror, depressing)
        Watchmen (if you’re in to Alan Moore)
        Brazil
        Blade Runner
        The Truman show
        The fifth element (just silly but fun)
        The quiet earth (A Kiwi entry!)
        Twelve monkeys (odd but OK)
        The edge of darkness (old TV series not a film, but good stuff)

        • karol 4.1.1.1
          16 December 2012 at 7:36 pm

          OMGoodness! Yes, we do have similar tastes,r0b. I do think Buffy was well written, but, I preferred Xena (not as well written, but more quirky).
           
          I have seen most of those on your list, except Moon, Watchmen, The Road, D9 & 12 Monkeys.
           
          Children of Men and Blade Runner are up there as my all time favourites.  And so is The Edge of Darkness TV series.

          • r0b 4.1.1.1.1
            16 December 2012 at 8:01 pm

            OMGoodness! Yes, we do have similar tastes,r0b.

            Why am I not surprised!

            I do think Buffy was well written, but, I preferred Xena (not as well written, but more quirky).

            Xena is great. Again, I like the later season versions of those characters. Gabrielle has a great “arc”.

            Children of Men and Blade Runner are up there as my all time favourites. And so is The Edge of Darkness TV series.

            All fantastic. Our old flat in England (1988 – 89, impoverished student days) had exaclty 3 videos, only 1 was watchable – Bladerunner. How many Friday nights did we sit with a Taj Mahal takeaway and watch Bladerunner. Good times!

            • karol 4.1.1.1.1.1
              16 December 2012 at 8:16 pm

              Aha.  I was also in England in the 80s.  Edge of Darkness first aired around the time of the Greenham Common protests.  So it was exceedingly topical. And they re-ran the series a couple of months after the first run finished.
               
              Xena did more arcs in later series, and Gabrielle became more central.  But, the earlier episodes also had their own appeal – it had a gritty look, and more of an identifiable  NZ-look – the result of making do with less equipment by the NZ crews, compared with most US TV dramas.  There was some Kiwi improvisation with the equipment they had.  
               
              Also, because Hercules got the main crew available early on, some of the NZ crew/technical people for Xena came from a background of making music videos.

              • r0b …
                16 December 2012 at 8:52 pm

                Aha. I was also in England in the 80s.

                Ho! I think it’s fair to say that Margaret Thatcher had a fairly formative impact on my politics.

                Edge of Darkness first aired around the time of the Greenham Common protests.

                Yes, that’s when I saw it first. If you were at the 1985 CND rally in London then we marched together.

                • karol …
                  16 December 2012 at 9:10 pm

                  If you were at the 1985 CND rally in London then we marched together.
                   
                  Possibly. I went on a few demos in my time there.  I have a stronger memory of the day trips to Greenham Common earlier int he 80s – something that some women I worked with, in more than 1 workplace, also went to.  That sort of activism was more mainstream there in the late 70s and 80s.
                   
                  Yes, Thatcher and London, and the London Women’s Movement had a very formative impact on my politics.

                  Whoops – this is meant to be a politics free zone.

                  I also saw some great movies when i was there, sometimes at the National Film Theatre, and went to a few memorable parties.

                  • r0b …
                    16 December 2012 at 9:16 pm

                    Whoops – this is meant to be a politics free zone.

                    My bad! I shall moderate myself, and tell me not to do it again.

                    I also saw some great movies when i was there, sometimes at the National Film Theatre, and went to a few memorable parties.

                    Sounds like you were having more fun than me!

        • TheContrarian 4.1.1.2
          16 December 2012 at 7:42 pm

          The Quiet Earth is awesome. If you can ge a hold of the book, keep hold of it.
          It is worth quite a bit these days

  5. The Pink Postman 5
    17 December 2012 at 3:10 pm

    A tiring weekend. Saturday at our eldest grandson’s 21 birthday dash. All went well no drunks or trouble. We left 10 pm with most off the old wrinklies when the noise took over .
    Sunday celebrated friend’s 80 birth day a classy do great meal champagne and a good wine .and real delicious chocolate eclaries . I can still taste them.