Anthony Malloy

Two things made me feel old today.

1) Of the EG’s Top 30 Singles Of 2009 in The Age today I knew two of the artists and one of the songs.

2) I stood in a shop shaking my head that the shop assistant had to use the cash register to add up $3.95 and $3.95. And she was older than me.

I may just have a new favourite Christmas album.

Up until recently there’s two songs and one album that are Christmas to me. Paul Kelly’s How To Make Gravy is not only one of his best songs but would have to be one of the greatest, if not must unusual, Christmas songs ever. No chorus and written from the perspective of a man in jail it never fails to move me. No matter what time of year I hear it.

Then there’s Bing Crosby’s classic Merry Christmas with Bing Crosby. Instantly I’m a young boy again, this is playing and Dad is singing. Christmas in Killarney still creeps me out for some unknown reason but the album is pure December joy.

Finally a few years ago Beth posted Miaow’s Melancholic Christmas Tune – and I loved it.. It’s on my Faves playlist and makes me smile every time i hear it, love the samples!

But now they have a run for their money.

Yes, A Juniper Creek Christmas is a new album released by The Prophet Roman Grant and celebrates Christmas Juniper Creek style. Only Roman Grant could make ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas make my hair stand on end. So go watch the video and then download your copy and sing along with me, “’tis the season to be poly…”

For the third time in a month Phee has just wandered in and informed me she has no school tomorrow. Apparently it was a newsletter ‘some time’. Right, you mean the newsletters of which we’ve seen about two this year? Let’s not get started on that (again). Why, in 2009, isn’t every school publishing news via RSS and publishing a online calendar of school activities that we can subscribe to? It really is a no-brainer isn’t it?

Management apologises for the inconvenience but there will be no screening at Cinema De Malloy this evening. Poor Rae hasn’t been well this week and has taken herself off to bed to catch up on a little sleep, leaving me manning the fort. Well, not so much the fort, but the couch in the theatre room. Dear god there’s nothing on the telly and watching a movie on your own ain’t that much fun when you’re accustomed to company.

The kids are in bed, dishes are done and I have the night to myself so why is that I can’t think of anything I want to do?

It’s tough being in business, the competition gets younger every year.

 

I was reading The Age over breakfast this morning, enjoying my coffee and had just begun a really interesting article when a man appeared out of nowhere and began yelling in my ear. I turned the page. Read an article. Turned the page and began another when the same man appeared and began yelling in my ear again. It wasn’t long before I stopped reading the paper and turned elsewhere to get my news.

Okay. That’s not so subtle all clever but it pretty much describes what its like trying to read www.theage.com.au these days. It seems almost every page now has video or audio that starts automatically or a video ad will pop out and start playing as you try to read. It’s just ridiculous that someone at the The Age seems to think this is a good idea.

They have also allowed ads that expand and obscure the article you are trying to read. Come on – there’s two reactions to this. One is immediately click Close on the ad, which means no one sees the ad, or the other choice is to hit the back button to find a different site where you can get the same information, and this means no one sees the ad and you loose site traffic.

I know times are tough in the newspaper industry but actively going out of your way to irritate and frustrate your last loyal readers is only going to make things worse.

I had to fill up the car this morning so headed out early. Standing in line to pay and wondering what sort of country allows it to be 30 degrees at 6.00am when I noticed that of the 8 males in the servo I was the only one not wearing a yellow fluro top. It made me really stand out.

It was a glorious day today and with a run of hot days coming up we decided to make the most of it and headed off to the zoo. We got to see some of my favourites today; meerkats, crocodiles and my number one – the wombats. The funniest moment was when the twins where excited at the picture of a koala, pointing and yelling, completely oblivious to the fact there was real live one sitting a metre away from them. We’ve used the FOTZ membership three times at Melbourne zoo so far and the kids absolutely love it, so money well spent.

  

 

No more Richo

No more waiting to see which Richo turned up to the game.

No more covering your eyes as he lines up dead in front 20 metres out.

No more cheering as he kicks the impossible goal from the impossible angle.

No more amazed gasp as he still manages to take the mark with three guys hanging off him.

No more watching him prowl the MCG as if he owns it.

No more heart and soul of the yellow and black.

I was doing a silly dance for the kids as I brought them some cake.

"Stop it Dad." says Moo.

The "you’re embarrassing me" was implied.