TET.Life (The Extraordinary Tourist Life)

I never saw Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome (2012) in its original form as a web series. The first I knew about it was when I saw it as a DVD release, last month, in time for Christmas. My Battlestar Galactica fandom began with the rebooted series from 2004-2009 . At that time I was aware of the original 1976 series but had never seen a full episode. Just recently I was given the full original series as a gift and have been surprised at how earnest it is after expecting something much lighter and comic book like. I digress... I own the entire Battlestar rebooted series so purchasing Blood and Chrome was never not an option. The chance to see a young William Adama in his very first mission during the first Cylon war, why wouldn't I buy it? Especially since there are glimpses of young Adama fighting first war Cylons in the tele-movie Battlestar Galactica: Razor . More of that please!

If ever a successful terrorist action was demonstrated, you'd have to say the Sydney Siege in Martin Place was mostly a success thanks to virtually every major TV station in Australia dropping their programming and replacing it with live, rolling coverage for hours. Not only live coverage but seemingly endless talking heads looking at every possible angle, waxing on and on to fill the gap between nothing has happened since the last time we reported nothing had happened. Which, although nothing happening is a good thing, doesn't make for very interesting TV.

Not the actual Koala. When I take our dogs for a walk it's not enough that I have to watch out for snakes, lizards, prickles and other over enthusiastic dogs but now I also have to watch out for man eating koalas too! Well alright more like woman biting koalas but this happened right in the suburb where I live, and possibly where I walk my own dogs. Who would ever suspect a largely vegan koala would go rogue for a pound of leg flesh!

Although I had a lot of assistants this ramp was very much built by me - all with no plans. Although I spend hours in front of a computer I'm still very much an old school, hands on, do-it-yourself kind of person who's not afraid to pick up a power tool and build something out of wood. Probably largely due to my Dad, who built a lot of the furniture we had as I was growing up. I got to watch him work and, when I was old enough, use his power tools to build a lot of skate ramps.

Christopher Nolan's Interstellar does a great job of keeping the story moving along at a steady and engaging pace. The reason I mention this is because the movie is partially inspired by the film 2001: A Space Odyssey , a film I've tried to watch on many occasions over the years and I still can't tell you how it ends. It just sends me to sleep - every time. If you've also struggled with that film and thought Interstellar, which also tries to depict space travel in a realistic manner, sounds like a difficult proposition then there's no need to be concerned. There's plenty to keep you tuned in and awake. That said, you'll probably get a lot more from this film if you have more than a passing interest in space travel, worm holes, black holes, relativity theory and time travel. Particularly if you're aware of some of the current research.

Roomba's ATTACK!! Ominous image straight from iRobot's site . iRobot's Roomba is pretty much the first mass consumer robot. If iRobot had their way I'm sure their goal is to see at least one of these in every home on the planet.Watch the official product demonstration video for the 780 model below. iRobot's mission statement. Robot Armageddon would certainly be world changing!

"Shhh... I'm hunting lizards." With Australia heading into the summer months Lizard Hunting Season begins. Well at least it does for our dog Oscar who gives them a serious barking tirade whenever he finds one. Australian Blue Tongue lizards are pretty common where I live, specifically the Eastern variety. Because we live a short distance from bushland we get more than our fair share in the back garden and, on a couple of occasions, even in the house.

My one necktie. As a Local Government member, 2003. Almost every time I've headed back to Perth, Western Australia, to visit my family, and have reason to wear a necktie, my Dad comments that I need to learn how to tie a tie correctly. I own only one tie and I taught myself how to tie it. No instructions. I just figured it out all on my own until the knot I tied looked like a necktie knot should look. The thing is I tied my only tie up once and then never untied it. Effectively my Dad has seen the same necktie knot every time he's seen me wear a tie over the last 14 years. So I can't really blame him when he says things like "I see you still don't know how to tie a tie."

I realize my movie review for Guardians of the Galaxy is probably a bit redundant by now as I'm sure anyone planning to see this movie has already seen it. I actually saw it about a week after it was released in Australia so clearly I'm late with blogging my reaction. However I was excited for the movie's release, I did enjoy it and, I'm only late because, well... life happens. So here goes... I had been looking forward to Guardians of the Galaxy since Marvel first announced the film, not because I was a fan of the comics, or even knew there was such a comic. No, the thing that I wanted to see was a talking Raccoon with a thing for big guns. It's a character that sounds just a bit silly but has the potential to be awesome in a live action film and the final movie does not disappoint.

One of my Facebook friends shared the video below on their timeline. It's a response by Religious Scholar, Reza Aslan to commentary by Comedian, Bill Maher, on the violence and oppression that goes on in 'Muslim Countries'. Aslan makes makes a point about how the media's sweeping generalizations aren't helpful when referring to Muslim extremist groups and individuals within them, citing that all 'Muslim Countries' are not the same and shouldn't be viewed in the same light. He also points out that some of the issues commonly associated with 'Muslim Countries' are actually more of an issue in 'Christian Countries'. Watch the video. It may just help you think differently about all religions. I think the point Aslan makes that resonates the most with me is that most religions aren't violent or peaceful. It's what the people who follow them bring to it that determines how that religion and their specific group is perceived. F...

Over the past month I've collected a few articles that I've been meaning to report on that clearly demonstrate the rise and rise of the machines which began with a rogue juicer , moved on to robot floor cleaners with internet access and their army of quadroters mounted with lasers. The following things are all real and I'm sure if you attached lasers to any one of them the floor cleaning robots would put out the signal for your internet connect fridge to begin attacking our food source by turning up the thermostat. It's all part of the plan...

As far as Godzilla movies go the latest 2014 Godzilla movie is about as spot on as I've seen for believing that Godzilla isn't a guy in a suit and actually could be real. Although I knew there were other very big monsters in this movie apart from Godzilla (not really a spoiler since almost from the beginning you learn there's more than one monster) the trailers gave the distinct impression this was a people versus Godzilla movie.

Although we haven't seen it clearly for sure, film director Kevin Smith (who has seen a well lit, color photo of the suit), says Ben Affleck's Bat costume is pretty much identical to the Frank Miller, Dark Knight Returns suit. If that's true then Ben's world weary Batman will be going 'old school' and be wearing his underpants on the outside (as he should).

Battlestar Galactica: Watch out for Six - especially if she has a synthetic yeast infection! It's looking more and more like the TV series reboot of Battlestar Galactica is actually the true documentary of our future  rather than the Terminator movies. In Battlestar Galactica the next stage of the machine uprising is the ability to create Cylons (i.e. machines/robots) in perfect human form as clones. I'm not sure if the Cylon humans were originally cloned from real humans but I'm pretty sure they were totally synthetic lifeforms rather than machines with a human exterior. Why I'm mentioning this is that currently scientists from several different countries are working on creating the world's first synthetic life form - namely yeast. Yeast is made up of 16 chromosomes with Australia working on chromosome 14. There are teams in various other countries including the US, China, the UK, Singapore and India working on the other 15. Chromosome 3 has already...

Ben Affleck's new suit and car. Director Zack Snyder released first pictures of Ben Affleck in the new Bat suit along with glimpses of the new Batmobile. As a long time Batman fan who's posted many articles on Batman in this blog, including one about the various Bat suits on film , I really wanted to put my thoughts down here. Warner Brothers also announced the title of the new Man of Steel/Batman movie along with an official logo so I thought I should comment on that too. The Bat Suit My initial impression is that I do like the new suit. I'm not a big fan of shorter ears on the Cowl but it never used to bother me with Adam West's cowl so it's not a real issue for me. I've heard a lot of comparisons of Ben's suit to the Frank Miller, Dark Knight Returns  Batman and also the Jim Lee Batman and I certainly can see the similarities. It's also not unlike the suit used in the Batman Arkham Asylum video games - which is what I was kind of hoping...

The Grand Budapest Hotel features an all star cast and tells the story of Gustave H, a legendary concierge at the famous European hotel between the wars, and Zero Moustafa, the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend. Their story includes the theft and recovery of a priceless painting and the battle for an enormous family fortune. Although this is a fun film for anyone who enjoys a tall tale with slightly dark and odd ball humor I would highly recommend this as a great film to study for aspiring film makers. Packed full of old school effects and scale models, that give the film a unique style, proving that you don't need flashy CGI... just a really good art department. Very inspirational to film makers in that regard. Beyond that, the trailer, I thought, presented a film that I expected to be more laugh out loud funny however the film's humor is a little darker and a bit more subtle. I also expected much more from many of the cast members which includes; Ralp...

Some days I'm just plain unlucky. I bought a brand new battery for my Frog Van . The old one died after being recharged one too many times and the van not being used enough to keep it charged (it was a second hand battery anyway). The Frog Van. A couple of weeks ago I was installing the new battery and accidentally shorted the negative terminal with the frame of the van as I was tightening the bolt. Just one of those things. You turn the metal spanner a bit too far and hit something you didn't realize was in the way, one big spark later and the entire electrics on the van are dead. Nothing. Turn the key and not so much as an oil check light on the dash turns on. If you know anything about cars then you're probably thinking it's just a blown fuse. That's what I think too. I've checked the battery and it's still got charge. Even stuck it on my charger for a few hours just in case. I hooked the charger up to the van and that didn't change anythi...

Captain America, The Winter Soldier , in my opinion, cements the character alongside Iron Man as one of the most compelling characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Not only that but Captain America is filling the void of the all American Superhero that was formerly occupied by Superman on the big screen (Henry Cavill's Man of Steel isn't quite there yet but could be if he puts in the work the way Cap has). Through three films (including Winter Soldier) Captain America, a.k.a. Steve Rodgers, has stuck to his 1940's morals and beliefs of basic human dignity and being a fine, upstanding citizen, whilst being one of the most awesome superheroes to watch against any opponent he goes up against.

As a life long Lego tragic I was always going to see The Lego Movie at some point. The basic story is that of construction worker, Emmet, a seemingly unremarkable mini figure, who discovers he is more special than he could possibly imagine through a quest to save the world from President Business and his 'Kragle'. Along the way he is assisted by a few familiar faces, including Lego Batman and his very capable girlfriend Wyldstyle. I hadn't been too impressed by a previous direct to DVD Lego film, Batman: The Movie , which had most of the funniest moments in the trailer and not much for adults to enjoy in the actual film. However with The Lego Movie getting almost universal rave reviews I was confident of being entertained by a family film rather than being bored by a kids movie. I wasn't disappointed. The Lego Movie is a true family film with moments for all ages scattered evenly through out along with plenty of action and visually interesting scenes that prett...

In an effort to do my bit for the environment I decided to plant more trees and now I can't see my television. An observant friend asked why didn't I plant the trees outside as if this was the obvious thing to do. I asked him why would I do that? Trees have no trouble growing outside all by themselves. Just look out the window and you'll see plenty of trees. Besides, planting the trees indoors meant I could cover the floors in dirt and completely eliminate the need to vacuum. Win for me and a win for the trees I thought. I think the real problem was I didn't consult a landscaper. I'm sure they would have advised against planting trees in the space between my couch and the TV. At the time I just never thought about anything other than plant more trees. In hindsight I don't think I'm actually very good at this environmental stuff.

In modern television news broadcasts having a reporter LIVE on the scene is something of a cornerstone. From waiting for the exact moment some high profile prisoner is released to being on the scene of the announcement of a new Pope or birth of a Royal Baby, TV stations strive to have someone they can cross LIVE to for the very latest update. Whilst there's nothing wrong with that, the Nine Television Network Australia, who are responsible for television shows that will have all Australia talking , newscasts are making a habit of crossing LIVE to reporters that aren't anywhere crucial to the story they are reporting on. In fact, what usually happens is they cross LIVE to the reporter who introduces and talks over a previously taped package before throwing back to the studio. Again there's nothing actually wrong with that. I get that visually it helps to make the news more interesting to watch and hearing from another voice is good for the ears too. My only issue i...

Probably not the two historians who claim to have found the Holy Grail. Two historians say they've found the elusive Holy Grail , A.K.A. the Cup of Christ, drunk from by Jesus himself at the last supper. Apparently the jewel-encrusted goblet has been on display for nearly one thousand years at the San Isidro Basilica Church in the northwestern Spanish city of Leon. Who can really say if this cup is the real one with 200 or so other cups clamoring for the title and said historians only doing three years of research to arrive at their conclusion. I mean Indiana Jones' dad spent his whole life searching for the Grail. I bet they didn't even have a single Nazi pursuing them during their research or got a single clue from a painting by Leonardo Da Vinci . With the news breaking on March 31st many have thought the announcement to be an early April Fool's day joke, but enough people have taken the news seriously to cause the church to remove their Grail from displa...

I've written about television show promotions using over inflated taglines that are total exaggerations of what will actually happen on the program before in This Blog Post Will Change Everything . Lately the Nine Television Network Australia has been favoring the tagline "The episode that will have all Australia talking!" (I may be paraphrasing but I'm fairly certain that's the tagline). It's been used to promote new episodes of at least two shows currently airing on the network; Fat Tony & Co and Love Child . The former is based on one of Australia's most notorious underworld figures whilst the latter tells the stories of young women and men fighting an unjust system in 1969 at the Kings Cross Hospital. I've been watching both shows and whist each is fairly dramatic, with their fair share of twists and turns, it's nothing that we haven't really seen before. Certainly nothing that'll get all Australia talking. Neither is e...

The Monuments men written by (with Grant Heslov), directed and stars George Clooney and features Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman and Cate Blanchett is, I feel, an important film, based on a true story, but was not quite what I was expecting. Set during the final years of World War II, Frank Stokes (Clooney) puts together a team of misfit soldiers, with more knowledge between them about art history than war or fighting. The team is charged with the task of locating and returning important works of art stolen by the Nazis during the course of the war, spirited away, destined to either be destroyed or appear in Hilter's great art museum. It's certainly an interesting story from the great war. That anyone had the foresight to rescue as much art as they did, in light of the death, destruction and general harsh conditions faced by everyone involved. Although I was aware the Nazis did destroy and steal quite a considerable amount of significant artworks it's one of ...

C-3PO If there's one thing that could set off the Robot uprising it's beating them at sports. C-3PO  in Star Wars: A New Hope observed that "nobody worries about upsetting a droid" and I think that could be the downfall of the human race. Robot manufacturer, Kuka Robotics , have developed a robot arm that can match it with one of the world's best table tennis players, former world number one, Timo Boll. Well at least that's what they want us to believe. See their promotion video below. If you watch the making of this video (below) you'll get the sense that the match probably wasn't real with some fairly extreme plays being staged for dramatic effect. Personally I think the arm is probably fast enough to play table tennis but is actually no real match for Timo. However... there in lies the problem. If we keep beating robots at sports they're going to develop low self esteem until one day a robot just snaps and the robot uprising begins...

A new video going around by HUVr Tech is trying to convince us that they've finally invented the hoverboard exactly like those that appear in the Back to the Future movies. A bunch of stars are featured including original Doc Emmertt Brown, Christopher Lloyd, professional skateboarder, Tony Hawk (of course) and international musician, Moby. The video claims that the demonstration is 100 percent real but I gotta say the hokey physics displayed by people actually riding these HUVr boards is just as dodgy as the original movies. Not to mention the whole demonstration feels completely staged with not a genuine emotion about how awesome the invention of real hoverboards would actually be. There's speculation that the video and companion website may be a promotion for a fourth movie in the BTTF series but my money is on a Virtual Reality computer game of some sort. Why do I think that? First because the website talks about an upcoming phone app that tracks your location...

I don't usually write about trailers but Guardians of the Galaxy is a Marvel film that I'm really hoping does well with mainstream audiences so I thought I'd help spread the word. The thing is, I can't really tell you much about the film. I've never read a single Guardians comic book that the film is based upon. I'm mainly interested because the film has a lead character that is a raccoon with anger issues. I really want to see how that translates to a live action film. Watch the trailer below. Let the playlist play through and you'll see all the individual character trailers too. As you can see the film clearly isn't taking its self too seriously but it looks like director, James Gunn, has made every effort to make a trailer full of very strange looking characters believable and with a certain cool factor. Even Groot (the talking tree), who sounds the least likely of characters to be interesting looks formidable. For me though, it's all...

I haven't read the novel that The Book Thief is based upon but my partner, Enigma , has and informed me that, as is often the case, quite a bit is left out of the film. I don't think Enigma enjoyed the movie any less as a result but it did leave her thinking about the differences from the book. On the other hand I got to watch the story unfold as a movie with no such comparisons to make, just the film on its own merits. The story is set in Germany just prior to the outbreak of World War II. A young girl, Liesel (Sophie Nélisse) is fostered by a German couple, a fairly strict mother, Rosa (Emily Watson) and a more forgiving father, Hans (Geoffrey Rush). Liesel's love of books leads her to begin stealing them despite the fact that she can't read. Hans begins to teach Liesel and eventually her new found knowledge begins to affect everyone around her, including the Jewish stowaway her foster parents hide in their basement. My impression of this film is that i...

Like The Lone Ranger I didn't go to see Kick Ass 2 in the theatre because of its consistently bad reviews - despite being a big fan of the first film. Unlike The Lone Ranger, which I thought had potential if they'd done a few things differently, Kick Ass 2 almost completely misses the mark for what I hoped it might be. SPOILERS: This is not a review. There will be spoilers right from the very next paragraph. Don't read if you haven't seen the film and still hope to go in not knowing what happens. One of the most interesting things to me about this film, aside from the continuing story of the main cast, was Jim Carrey's presence, playing a character very different to anything I'd seen him do before. It's a character you barely get to know and, when he is killed about half way through the film, I was disappointed they killed off Jim Carrey rather than sad for the death of his character, Colonel Stars and Stripes. Not only that but Colonel Stars and S...

I was all ready to give The Lone Ranger the benefit of the doubt after it was widely panned by, seemingly, almost everyone as a bad film (it was for that reason I didn't rush to see it in a cinema and am only just seeing it now on VOD) but I do agree it has its problems. Warning: Some spoilers ahead! I'm not going to go so far as to say it's a bad movie. There is so much to like about it. It contains some great, escapist action (highly improbable but awesome to see), some good humor, I liked Johnny Depp as Tonto and even Armie Hammer was a good choice for The Lone Ranger. My problem is that right from the beginning it seems somewhat confused and muddled. The plot can be described fairly simply. It's the Lone Ranger's origin story. How could you muddle and confuse that? By opening the movie in 1930's with a young boy, dressed as the Lone Ranger, talking to a museum exhibit of a very old Tonto (supposedly a manikin or wax dummy that comes to life) who the...