So, here's another blog.

Australia Day was on the other day. January 26th. I went to Healesville Sanctuary with Michelle, just for something to do that was a bit different. It was quite nice, wandering around and looking at animals. My favourite was the 'Birds of Prey' show, that was quite cool. We also ate lunch at the bistro there, not bad, although some woman smashed a bunch of glasses and then said "I apologise". That's a weird phrase I reckon.

I haven't watched very many films lately although I did watch 'Bad Eggs' again, a DVD I picked up for about 6 dollars at JB recently. I mainly got it because I'm a big Tony Martin fan and it's the only feature film he's directed. It also features a 65 minute documentary on the making of the film, which is quite good.

Other than that, I watched all of 'Dead Set', the Charlie Brooker penned zombie TV show. Solid show that, really well written and paced. The way it's shot looks great too.

Oh, and I bought a Playstation 2. They're quite cheap at K-mart at the moment and games/accessories are very cheap for it too. I reckon it was money well spent. I'm not really in the market for buying a more new console, just wanted something to play now and then and the Playstation 2 has a huge back catalogue of very good games. Anyway, so I'm having fun playing 'Black' at the moment.

So there's an update. Big weekend coming up, I feel.

Last night was quite cool. Pete and I met up after uni and hung around his place for a little while, watching 'The Fast Show' and eating garlic bread. Then we headed to Malvern. In Malvern, we went to Jeffrey's Books, a store where Tony Martin was appearing for a reading/signing session for his new book 'A Nest Of Occasionals'. It was great. Tony read from the book, answered questions and signed stuff. I got two copies of his book signed, one for me and one for Michelle. Briefly chatted to him too, asked him whether he was watching the latest 'Curb' season (he's waiting for the DVD release) and Pete asked him about an upcoming project with Shaun Micallef (some sort of New Year's Eve variety show- sounds cool). So that was all very interesting, meeting someone a bit famous that I really admire. Afterwards, I was starving so Pete and I headed to a Chinese restaurant in the city, I can't remember the name but it was good.

'Strikebound' (1984) directed by Richard Lowenstein

An Australian film about a miners strike in the 1930s. It was interesting and worth watching, largely because I haven't seen an Australian film like it before. It had a kind of British sensibility, in the sense that it examined the working class and was quite gritty and political. Given that this was Lowenstein's first feature film, it's a hell of an achievement.

I spend a lot of time listening to my ipod. Some weeks I reckon I'd listen to about thirty hours worth of stuff (mainly because I have my ipod on all day at my job). Anyway, a lot of that time is spent listening to podcasts, currently I listen to about 15 different ones. Thing is, it's always difficult to find out what podcasts are good. Usually you have to listen to a few episodes, see what it's like, work out whether you want to commit to downloading it every week. Then more often than not, you decide no, it's not really worth it. So on that note, I thought it might be useful to do some Podcast Reviews of stuff that I have spent time listening to.

Get This
This was a radio show hosted by Tony Martin, Ed Kavalee and Richard Marsland. It ran for two years up until 2007 but you can still find (nearly) all the episodes online. With a different co-host each episode, it's a mix of talk, in-jokes, hilarious sketches and awesome talkback. It's just addictive once you start listening to it and I still quote stuff from it, two years on.

Hamish and Andy
Sure, they're ridiculously popular, but for good reason I reckon. I have consistently listened to this from the beginning and it's stayed consistently funny. There's just a great comedic chemistry between the duo and they're always striving for new ideas and pushing the boundaries to keep the show fresh.

The Russell Brand Show
Man, at first I wasn't too sure about this show but I really got into it as it went on. It definitely reached a high point right before it got axed. I'd suggest it was so good because Russell Brand was always pushing the envelope with his comedy. I love his theatrics and his use of language, it's an improvisational style of comedy that's just hilarious. Matt Morgan and Mr. Gee are very funny also. Find it here.

The Ricky Gervais Show
Just a great radio show. Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant combine really well but it is Karl Pilkington who makes this show truly brilliant. It's strange to think that in a radio show that features two of the finest comedy writers ever, it is Karl that steals the show. Hilarious.

Flight of the Conchords
Before the tv show was this 6 part BBC radio serial. When I travelled around Europe, I listened to this obsessively on repeat. It's very funny, it has great cameos and the songs really stand up to repeated listens.

The Sound of Young America
This radio show, based in Los Angeles, has introduced me to so much new stuff, whether it be music, tv shows, comedians, artists - whatever really. It's basically a show about pop culture, the host Jesse Thorn interviews all manner of guests and even when it's about something that I might not be into, I still find it really interesting.

This American Life
A one hour radio documentary. Each week is a different theme and it's always something really interesting and insightful. The key thing about this show is that although it's all factual, it always tells a fascinating story that I've never heard before.

The Treatment
Each episode, Elvis Mitchell interviews someone important in film. He's one of the best interviewers I've ever heard because his knowledge of film is so huge that he usually offers insight on a film that even the interviewee hadn't thought of. He does it in a way that suggests a great passion for film.

There are lots more but I'll leave it there for now, to be continued.