Tuesday, November 29, 2005

The Great Macadamia Shortbread Experiment

I love shortbread :-). I also love macadamias :-). And they are commonly combined to make macadamia-flavoured shortbread. So, you wouldn't think it'd be too difficult to make, right? I have been using the same shortbread recipe for the last few years. I got it from a cookbook titled *Comfort Food.* It's a good and simple recipe, consisting of only butter, caster sugar, plain flour, rice flour, and salt, producing lovely crumbly and butter biscuits cut into hearts, stars, bears, hands, rabbits and christmas trees/arrowheads. But you know...sometimes you just want a little more.

So today I endeavoured to change my recipe to include macadamias. I purchased 100g of unroasted nuts from the supermarket and put them in the food processor to crush. And it kinda worked. I ended up with something that looked a lot more like almond meal with some pieces that were a bit larger. Those last pieces for some reaons would just dance on top of the blades instead of being broken up like the other good nuts. No matter, its just something different, I told myself.

I then proceded to go about the rest of the recipe and method, adding in half a cup of the macadamia meal...and met my first big problem. Ideally, I should have adjusted the level of butter to accomodate the increased volume of dry ingredients. Because I hadn't the mixture was a bit crumblier than normal. This resulted in difficulty combining the whole thing into malleable dough. Why didn't you just throw in more butter? I hear you ask. Shortbread requires the butter to be creamed into the sugar creating an aerated mixture. The air bubbles then create a delicate and light texture. So, I would also need to have change the amounts of sugar used too.

Anyway, I managed to get the dough into some ball-y shapes and put them in the fridge to solidify a bit before cutting into cute shapes. By the time I came back from my errands, the balls were hard like rocks. Ugh. I tried rubbing them with my hands to make it into something vaguely roll-able but with a bit of pressure the ball just crumbled into giant halves. With a sigh, I started again kneading the crumbs together to form some semblance of dough and this time, cut the shapes straight from the warmed dough. This was also quite difficult as cutting it would make the edges of the dough crumble up meaning I could only cut about 2 or 3 shapes max. from each time I rolled it out. Eventually I got it all done. Yay. Adjusted the heat to accommodate for my crappy oven (although the first batch still burned).

Verdict: Well...the cookies are still quite sweet although understandably more crumbly than the standard one. Unless I get a cookie that has one of the larger lumps of macadamia, I can't seem to taste the nuts which is a pity. This batch will handed out to gauge ppl's reactions but I'll probably have to adjust the recipe to account for the addition of the nuts, whats the best size to cut the macadamias, and of course butter and sugar levels. Overall, I don't think theyre that bad - maybe a B-/C+ - good but not outstanding.

Sunday, November 27, 2005

Movie review: Salaam Namaste

Bollywood. That word either brings you into rapture or sends you into shudders of agony. Me? Well some of it I like, some just annoys me. Salaam namaste was/is apparently a ground-breaking Bollywood movie in that it was the first to be filmed completely outside of India...and that it shows *gasp!* (spoilers here)
KISSING
PRE-MARITAL COHABITATION
LOVE SCENES
SINGLE PARENTHOOD
And if you know your Bollywood, you know how ground-breaking that is. But I mostly saw this movie because it was filmed in and around Melbourne.

Anyway, the story is pretty simple and standard. Ambar (Preity Zinta) is a medical student and DJ (although its called RJ in the subtitles for some reason). She left India because her parents didn't want her to study medicine, instead preferring that she get married. Her move caused her to be disowned and in her day job is the most popular DJ and the most popular Indian station in Melbourne, Salaam Namaste. One day she is supposed to interview Nick (Saif Ali Khan). Nick came to Melbourne to study architecture, but his real passion was cooking and he is now head chef at the hippest Indian restaurant in the city. Nick sleeps in and doesnt make the interview. Ambar is incensed that he didn't have the manners to apologise for ruining her show and embarks on a ...well, its not quite a crusade, to ruin his reputation. And so they start hating each other. Unknowing of each other's appearance, they meet and feel an attraction at a beach wedding that Nick is catering for and where Ambar is bridesmaid. When they discover their identities, they have a moment of *How can I love this person? I hate them!* followed by many adventures.

And when I say many adventures, I mean it!
The movie takes place over a year and they really cram in the stuff tha can happen in the space of a year although oddly enough they dont show the rain :-P. At 158 minutes you're really glad when the intermission arrives but at the same time, if you suspend belief you shouldnt feel the burden of time. Just sit back and enjoy the many hilarious moments. (For everyone who knows him, one of the people I watched this with was Nick Chu, so you can imagine that even if you dont find it funny, it was amusing to just hear him laughing all the time.) Some of the especially amusing bits were Ambar and Nick singing their love by dancing around Melbourne, at one point Nick is playing a guitar with those Latin Guitar guys in Bourke St. Mall. Nick also parks his girly little SMART car in the Mall. The Indian-Australian Crocodile Dundee landlord (EXACTLY!). Driving to get ice-cream in the middle of the night and finding a vending machine thats just standing on the street. At the wedding, the completely random introduction to the first song by having some anglo guy shouting *everyone take off your clothes!* and having everyone comply and then run into the water to play volleyball (I dont think this scene was filmed in Melbourne :-P). And of course (spoiler) Ambar's hilariously pregnant belly which seems to begin at 8 months - and given its size, her continued ability to dance and run and when the baby kicks for the first time!! I think this last one made everyone crack up the most.

One of the biggest complaints about Bollywood is the random singing and dancing. But you know, there were only about 4 or 5 singing and dancing pieces, its certainly manageable, but still probably not some ppl's cup of tea. This is a pretty hard movie to review. I know pretty much all of the movies I've reviewed have a 3/5 rating or above (generally cos I don't bother going to movies that I know I don't like - e.g. Stealth or Sky High), but while I did enjoy this movie, I see soooo much wrong with it that I'm not sure if I can recommend it to many people. It was ultra long. An unbelievable yet completely predictable plot full of cliches. The sometimes crappy acting - stand up Tania Zaetta. The crappy script. The way a leafy Melbourne boulevard turns into the Great Ocean Road...The movie is pretty crappy. But it was highly enjoyable!

Just don't expect too much and its a 4/5 movie.
All other times, 2/5

Saturday, November 26, 2005

Movie review: In Her Shoes

Wow, talk about an Ultra-Chick Flick...and yet I find myself unequivocally within the *thumbs up* party for this movie.

Rose (Toni Collette) and Maggie (Cameron Diaz) Feller are sisters. Rose i
s a "frumpy" but successful attorney. Maggie may have the looks but is dyslexic, unable to hold a job, and thus has always gotten by on her looks. Believable sibling rivalry is what drives this movie. It begins with Rose meeting a guy (partner in her firm) who finds her attractive, but after a night of l'amour, she has to pick up Maggie who's drunk at her school reunion. Maggie is thus thrown out of home by her step-mother and Rose reluctantly takes her in.

(Spoiler section) Rose's boyfriend/Law partner assigns her to go to Chicago for the weekend for a case, implying that he will also go along for a weekend of nookie, but he pikes - sending instead another member of the firm without informing Rose. Maggie spends the weekend looking for a job, and does find one at a dog-grooming salon, but after her first day finds that Rose's car has been towed. She accepts an offer of a drink and ride from two guys, but when they go to pick up the car, one of them makes untoward advances and she freaks out. When Rose arrives back from Chicago, exhausted after a wasted weekend to find the apartment a mess, her car with a boot on the tyre and a distraght Maggie (who's stolen a dog from the salon) she's unsympathetic and demands Maggie move out. When Rose makes it back to work, she basically tells the guy not to waste her time, and stays back to make up for the wasted weekend. Meanwhile, Maggie is trying to clean up her stuff...but when Rose's bf turns up at the apartment with flowers as an apology, she seduces him...only for Rose to turn up and catch them inflagrante delicto. And so begins the rift that can only be healed when each sister realises her own worth without the other...and yet come to recognise the effect of the other on them.

I can't really explain why I liked this movie so much. Sure, its got its cliches, it can be quite mawkish...and yet it's completely believable. It is completely believable that the sisters have formed these personalities/behaviours due to the way they are and were probably compared to each other. Likewise things from the sisters' pasts are remembered differently and forming different perspectives. Maybe it's cos I have a sister. I dont know.

All I know is that it's a lot better than many other Chick Flicks I've seen. Except maybe Kate and Leopold - but even then, it was Mr Perfect (Hugh Jackman) who made that movie, NOT Meg Ryan.
3.5/5

Tuesday, November 22, 2005

Movie review: Corpse Bride

Stop-motion animation! It's a great thing! Victor Van Dort (Johnny Depp) is the scion of a nouveau-riche family being married off to Victoria Everglot (Emily Watson) from an impoverished aristocratic family. After fluffing his lines, Victor is sent off into the forest to practice his vows. Unfortunately, when he gets them right, he jokingly puts the ring onto what he thinks is a twig. It's really the skeletal hand of a girl who was murdered after being convinced to elope with a scoundrel. Grrrr.

Ahh...a movie where the other woman is not a scheming bitch or a psycho-needy girl. A movie where the boy doesn't want to hurt either girl but will do what he thinks is right even if its not what he really wants. Bad people are vanquished! Singing and dancing skeletons! At 70 minutes, the movie crams a lot in, from showing that Victor and Victoria are really soulmates, even if it is an arranged marriage, to the vileness of the real villian. My one quibble would be that although she gets a happy ending, I think Emily the Corpse Bride still got a bad deal.

Oh well, cant win them all.
4/5

Sunday, November 20, 2005

It wasn't a bender

but it sure felt like it. On Thursday after I missed the bus, I decided that I could walk the distance from my house to the Freeway entrance to get into Zone 1 and hence cheaper tickets. Bad Move. While it only took me about 15-20 minutes, the combination of fast walking and high heels ground blisters onto my poor toes. I rode the bus to Martina's apartment, where I begged some bandaids and we both examined the blisters...wow! They almost took up the whole pad of my big toe! So after he generously gave me the last of the bandaids he stole from his parents, we went off to lunch (crepes!). We then headed off to Uni where I had a losing confrontation with the Scholarships office, then met up with Lydia for a chat before heading back to the city for Andrea's goodbye dinner - take 1.

Mmmmm....Korean BBQ.

It was followed up with karaoke. Much to our disappointment there was very little 80s classics, although I think we did listen to Andrea and Ginny singing Jay Chou's Greatest Hits. A good time was had by all (except maybe Celeste and Tony) and we ended up leaving around 3:30, continuing our vocal abilities after the machines had been switched off and walking down the street.

Well that funtime had bad repercussions as I had a job interview at 9:30am on Friday, so after crawling out of Andrea's apartment I made my way down to Collins St, but I think I gave a really bad interview (4 hours sleep? Not enough to be sparkly I'm afraid). So assuming Andrea would be still sleeping, I breakfasted with Tina again (pesto toast!), and went back to his place to watch Naruto and Inu Yasha for several hours. Sometime in the afternoon, we split again, him to go dancing lessons me to meet with Andrea. Andrea, Jia, and I went off for Andrea's goodbye dinner - take 2 (mmmm, sushi train!), then met up again with Tina to watch Corpse Bride (review coming!). Later, Jia left, Kelly arrived and the 3 of us headed off to the Westin for a bottle of wine and pots of tea. Spooey picked me up and we went home.

Saturday I spent catching up on sleep and then went to a trivia night for Red Cross charity. We didnt win. Pooey. And then Su-ling and I went out for hot chocolate. And i spent most of today resting. Like I said, it wasnt a bender, it just feels like one

Saturday, November 19, 2005

These are the last ones, promise

Your Scent is Rose

Delicate, feminine, and soft

Your personality is fresh and understated

You are a Great Girlfriend

When it comes to your guy, you're very thoughtful

But you also haven't stopped thinking of yourself

You're the perfect blend of independent and caring

You're a total catch - make sure your guy knows it too!

Tuesday, November 15, 2005

oh god...

You Belong in Paris

Stylish and a little sassy, you were meant for Paris.
The art, the fashion, the wine, the men!
Whether you're enjoying the cafe life or a beautiful park...
You'll love living in the most chic place on earth.

More test results!!!

heheh, i've got Andrea addicted to these now

Your Power Color Is Teal

At Your Highest:
You feel accomplished and optimistic about the future.

At Your Lowest:
You feel in a slump and lack creativity.

In Love:
You tend to be many people's ideal partner.

How You're Attractive:
You make people feel confident and accepted.

Your Eternal Question:
"What Impression Am I Giving?"


What Your Underwear Says About You

When you're bad, you're very bad. And when you're good, you're still trouble!

You're comfortable in your own skin - and don't care to impress anyone.


Your Seduction Style: Sweet Talker

Your seduction technique can be summed up with "charm"
You know that if you have the chance to talk to someone...
Well, you won't be talking for long! ;-)

You're great at telling potential lovers what they want to hear.
Partially, because you're a great reflective listener and good at complementing.
The other part of your formula? Focusing your conversation completely on the other person.

Your "sweet talking" ways have taken you far in romance - and in life.
You can finess your way through any difficult situation, with a smile on your face.
Speeding tickets, job interviews... bring it on! You truly live a *charmed life*


You Are a Bloody Mary

You're a fairly serious drinker, who's experimented a lot with different drinks.
You're a drunk, but a stable drunk. You don't ever let your drinking get out of control.

Your Heart Is Red

You're a passionate lover - you always have a huge fire in your heart.
Too bad it's hard for you to be passionate about just one person!

Your flirting style: Outgoing and sexy

Your lucky first date: Drinks and dancing

Your dream lover: Is both stable and intense

What you bring to relationships: Honesty

I think I'm addicted...

How You Life Your Life

You are honest and direct. You tell it like it is.

You say whatever is on your mind. Other people's reactions don't phase you.

You prefer a variety of friends and tend to change friends quickly.

You tend to dream big, but you worry that your dreams aren't attainable.

Your Birthdate: May 22

You tend to be understated and under appreciated.

You have a hidden force to do amazing things, doing them your own way.

People may see you as strange and shy, but they know little.

Your unconventional ways have more power than they (and even you) know.

Your strength: Standing up for what you know is true

Your weakness: You tend to be picky and rigid

Your power color: Silver

Your power symbol: Square

Your power month: April

How You Are In Love

You take a while to fall in love with someone. Trust takes time.

You give and take equally in relationships.

You tend to get very attached when you're with someone. You want to see your love all the time.

You love your partner unconditionally and don't try to make them change.

You stay in love for a long time, even if you aren't loved back. When you fall, you fall hard.

Your Kissing Purity Score: 69% Pure

For you, kissing isn't a casual thing

Lip to lip action makes your heart sing

Your Ideal Relationship is Marriage

You've dated enough to know what you want.

And that's marriage - with the right person.

You're serious about settling down some time soon.

Even if you haven't met the person you want to get hitched to!

What's Your Ideal Relationship?

Your Inner Child Is Angry

You're not an angry person.
But when you don't get your way, watch out.
Like a very manipulative kid, you will get what you want.
Even if it takes a little kicking and screaming.

Monday, November 14, 2005

Well, I got *agape love* again...

so I did this other test to make me feel better.

You Are a Little Scary

You've got a nice edge to you. Use it.


Rock on!
Then I did this test...
You Are 50% Boyish and 50% Girlish

You are pretty evenly split down the middle - a total eunuch.
Okay, kidding about the eunuch part. But you do get along with both sexes.
You reject traditional gender roles. However, you don't actively fight them.
You're just you. You don't try to be what people expect you to be.


Yeah!

Gee, I wouldn't have picked this





Your Love Style is Agape









You are a caring, kind, and selfless partner.

Unsurprisingly, your love style is the most rare.

You are willing to sacrfice your world for your sweetie.

Except it doesn't really feel like sacrifice to you.

For you, nothing feels better than giving to the one you love.





Think I might have to do this one again!
And this one!
The Keys to Your Heart

You are attracted to obedience and warmth.

In love, you feel the most alive when things are straight-forward, and you're told that you're loved.

You'd like to your lover to think you are loyal and faithful... that you'll never change.

You would be forced to break up with someone who was emotional, moody, and difficult to please.

Your ideal relationship is lasting. You want a relationship that looks to the future... one you can grow with.

Your risk of cheating is zero. You care about society and morality. You would never break a commitment.

You think of marriage as something precious. You'll treasure marriage and treat it as sacred.

In this moment, you think of love as something you thirst for. You'll do anything for love, but you won't fall for it easily.

Saturday, November 12, 2005

The Bar Crawl

Lydia has a 10 day break between her second-last and last exam, so being the exam-less person I am, she asked me to organise a bar crawl for us to get smashed on. And so last night, me, Lydia, Martin, Andrea, Celeste, Bei-Bei, Tony, and Queenie, Sampson and Enoch went on a crawl of some of the many bars of Melbourne.

First port of call - Canary Club where me and Lydia had a hasty dinner of 1 meatball, 1 mushroom, and 1 piece of toast with halloumi cheese. Drink - Vodka cranberry plus half of Andrea's Midori and Lemonade (Drink count - 1.5)

Bar 2 - Stellar bar, drinking Gin and Tonic plus half of Andrea's Midori and pineapple (DC - 3)

Bar 3 -Trader Bar, Me, Lydia, Martina and Tony had tequila shots in commemoration of Lydia's 21st party in Paris, and a gin and tonic when it reached $5.10 price (DC - 5)

Bar 4 - Bambu where we decided it was time to splash out on cocktails. Lychee mule (tasty!) and another vodka cran (DC - 7)

Bar 5 - Robot. Only the seasoned drinkers were still functional by now, so Martina, Lydia and I had that weird cocktail that Robot makes that tastes like lychees, is a kinda bluey colour and has sugar on the rim. I can never catch its name. (DC - 8)

It was a good night for all. And I'd like to give a shout out to the bars we wanted to visit but didn't/couldn't - Bellavista Social Club, Double Happiness, Cookie, 3 Below, and Martini Lounge. Also, KFC Swanston St for their post-party Wicked Wings.

Tuesday, November 08, 2005

Movie review: Pride and Prejudice 2005

First things first...it's not bad. In fact, it's quite good. Unfortunately, it will always be compared to the 1995 BBC version starring COLIN and JENNIFER. Keira and Matthew...they're not bad. In fact, I think this may be the best acting I've seen Keira do - even though Lizzie is meant to be plain, so they just dress her down a bit. Luckily Rosamund Pike was cast as Jane...there are some shots of Rosamund that make her look so beautiful, it was a good call. Matthew...well he's not classically good looking. He's a self-described *Pudding-head* and in some shots I've got to agree. But once you get past the fact that he's nowhere near as smouldering as COLIN, he's quite good and sexy. I think its the combination of the voice (deeeeeeeep), the eyes (puppy dog), and the coat (big and flowing).

Of course, the movie cramming the story into 2 hours will suffer against the 6 hour miniseries. The main events - the Assembly Rooms, Netherfield Ball etc get put in, meaning that the cuts and compressions were
the conversations and witty repartee that make it a comedy of manners. People who added conflict were also cut - Wickham for one...other than his looks, you don't see much of what appeal he had for Lizzee, and Mr and Mrs Hurst were completely missing.

The presentation was also a bit more Bronte than Austen - there were a lot of standing alone looking into the distance and wild weather. Darcy's ardently admiring speech for one takes place in a driving rainstorm while he and Lizzee are taking refuge in a Greek temple folly. There are also a few things that seem out of place given that it takes place during the Regency. During the Netherfield Ball, Darcy and Lizzee stop in the middle of the dance to stand very close and talk to each other....and no one comments. Not even a complaint that they've stuffed up the dance formation! In another Lizzee has gone to Meryton with her sisters, but isnt wearing a bonnet or cloak.

But these complaints are just trifles, they do not truly vex me
3.5-4/5

Saturday, November 05, 2005

Friday night karaoke

I am probably not tone deaf but you wouldn't realise that if you ever heard me sing.
Somethings I discovered last night:

1. After 6 years of being legal drinking age, I have discovered I don't need to drink to have fun (but it helps)
2. Rick Astley songs are really easy to sing
3. Maroon 5 songs are deceptively difficult
4. I have no lower register
5. I have no higher register
6. Those private rooms are not soundproof
7. All men love Aerosmith's *I don't wanna miss a thing* because they believe its one of the few ballads they sing to that doesn't make them feel gay.

Friday, November 04, 2005

HOORAY!!!!!

Man! It's so great to be back in the world of the living! Honours has FINALLY finished, and you know what that means! YES! After SEVEN, count 'em, SEVEN long years as an undergraduate, I have finalled finished my uni degree. God, what was I thinking to let it drag on for so long? Not that I didn't enjoy myself - I deliberately chose degrees that I'd enjoy more than make me money.

Well the final defence seminar was on Tuesday while the Cup was on. It was quite nerve wracking as I do believe that
I'm a terrible public speaker despite my ability with words in general conversation. I NEED to have a script. I may not read off it, but if I'm allowed to jut talk freeflow, you're gonna get rambling and I know it. In addition, I'm a fast talker in general. But anyway! After many many practice runs (thank you Marg for coming in on Sunday, Lisa, Laura, Christina and James for turning up to the final practice and asking questions and giving feedback), it all went well! I think I did ok if the number of staff coming up to me the day after and telling me how well I did was any indication.

But of course, there was still the Wednesday presentations to go so I had to spend another day listening to other ppl talk about their projects and think about questions to ask....man, one of the cancer research students got KILLED by a professor. The prof admittedly asked a question that was integral to the project and the student attempted to avoid the question. Bad move. All it did was prompt the prof to ask the question in a more direct way so that everyone understood, making the student's inability to answer more obvious, blowing a hole straight through his work.

The relief....the load off our shoulders....its a wonderful thing. Unfortunately the release kinda made everyone just loose the adrenaline that was keeping us going through the stress and the sleepless, work-filled nights. So instead of going out and getting smashed the way all our supervisors thought we would, there was just everyone slinking home to sleep the days away. And 48 hours later, here I am back again. Rest assured however, its gonna me a long, drunk november. Bring it on!!!!