Caravan Of Courage, Still Sucks

For once I'm not watching a movie with the wife and kids. Why? Because they're watching the truly awful Star Wars Ewok Adventure Caravan of Courage.

Yep. It still sucks after all these years.

Tags: awful, ewok, movie, don't ever watch it

How come we've reached this fork in the road, and yet it cuts like a knife?

Flight of the Conchords - I'm Not Crying

Tags: flight of the conchords, funny, tv

Happy Mothers Day!

"Power Flower" by Dawn EndicoTo all the Mums in my life - Olivia (mother of my children and best friend), Mum (who is always there to talk to), Marijke (a great mother-in-law and Nanna to the kids), Gran, Oma and everyone else - Happy Mothers Day!

My Mum is going away, and we're having lunch with Olivia's Mum and family on Sunday, right after Olivia's Oma goes skydiving!

Because Sunday is looking busy, Olivia has asked that we go out for breakfast for her next week, which is probably smart: on Mothers Day itself there's a set breakfast that's slightly more expensive.

Tags: mothers day, mum, family, personal

Going Back to Where Mum Grew Up

Overlooking "The Willows"
from the Campaspe river walk, April 2008
Originally uploaded by thomasswilliams

On the weekend we went for a lovely drive to the Kyneton/Gisborne/Macedon area (known as the Macedon Ranges) about an hour north of Melbourne, which is where my Mum grew up.

Mum and Dad came with us and shared kid duty, and Mum had lots to tell. She showed us her high school (listed with the National Trust), the old hospital in the middle of demolition - the bits that weren't heritage listed, places that houses used to be, the cemetery, and a lovely park with a walk along the Campaspe river. She told us about riding her bike to school when she was 5, being taught to swim by her uncle, blowing out window panes in a science experiment, and how everything seemed so much bigger when she was growing up.

Amazingly, all the towns had their own look and feel. Kyneton was a nice town with lots of bluestone and historical properties, Mt. Macedon had a brilliant view of the city and wooded, winding roads and Gisborne, where Mum lived as a teenager, seemed much greener and shadier.

It was definitely a great time of year to go for a drive. There's plenty of trees ranging in color from yellow through to red and green, and the air was cool but the sun was still warm. You could see the drought's effects particularly in Kyneton.

All in all it was a great day. I wish I'd taken more photos (there are some on my Flickr), perhaps visited a winery or spa, and had more time!

Tags: country, family, drive, kyneton

ButDad

I'm sure my new name at home is "ButDad". The kids seem to call me that all the time - "But Dad..." - which is what you get when you have kids that can argue but not reason :-)

I've been busy recently, and our computer at home does not like the heat (we've had a couple of weeks of unseasonably hot autumn weather), but I hope after Easter to be back "virtually".

Happy Easter!

Tags: parenting, family, funny

Maranatha Christian School 17-year School Reunion

Fittingly, 17 years ago at age 17, I was in my final year of high school at Maranatha Christian School.

This weekend, I'm going to the first school reunion since then. I'm looking forward to seeing people I haven't seen since school finished; I know I went my own way and I'm glad to be able to catch up with old friends.

The photo below is from "the old days". Note I have never been cool - this shows just how dorky I am :-)


Tags: school, reunion, Maranatha Christian School, personal

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Why I'm Drawn To Chuck

I've never been a fan of Chuck Norris. I know I could get round-house kicked through a bar window for saying that...but wait: I'm strangely drawn to Chuck.
No, I can't name a single movie Chuck has starred in (apart from one Bruce Lee film) and I never watched Walker, Texas Ranger although I do know of the show's existence.

But I love the legend that surrounds Chuck Norris. There's a recent funny where if you type "find chuck norris" in Google and click "I'm Feeling Lucky", you get redirected to a special "not found" page.

To show just how much I still appreciate Chuck, 2 years on, I'll leave you with one of my favorite "Chuck Norris is so tough" quotes (see here and here for more):

Chuck Norris makes onions cry.

Tags: chuck norris, funny

Feeling A Little Lost

Olivia and I are "in between" churches at the moment. I don't want to go into too much detail but basically our last church lost momentum and folded. People went their separate ways, and we stayed in touch with a few families.

Since then, we've been visiting local churches and are fine with that, but I guess I just feel a little lost sometimes.

I think it boils down to this: I don't feel connected right now. I guess that regular Sunday morning "how are you doing", comfortable kind of thing just isn't happening.

I'm sure I'll be OK...but I'm looking forward to finding a church again, and feeling a little less lost.

Tags: personal, faith, friends