Bankstown Bites and Idiocracy

I reckon the food tours that is a major part of Bankstown Bites was quite successful last year 'coz they're bringing them back again this year. Aside from queuing up on the day to register, you can sign up online. I can tell you the online spots filled up very quickly because I didn't get any.

My sister was at Bankstown early and reserved two spots for GF and me. At the last minute, GF's mom decided to join us. We got there late, so I asked my sister to give away our places. Not really much to see, mostly food stalls. We had bacon and eggs crepes, strawberry crepes, chocolate churros, and waffle dogs for take-away.

Back home, I watched Idiocracy. Plot is pretty simple, but the production is very slick and polished. Movie is about the world getting dumber and dumber. What with most scientific research devoted to p3nis enlargement and combating hair loss. After 500 years of reverse Darwinism, the dumb rule the world. Corporal Joe Bauers (Luke Wilson) and Rita (Maya Rudolph) wake up from a military hibernation experiment gone wrong to discover that they're the smartest people around. They find out that water has been replaced by an energy drink called "Brawndo: The Thirst Mutilator", and the only water you can find is in toilets. No wonder all the plants died out, causing a food shortage. With his superiour intelligence, Joe solved this problem and later became the President of America.

Movie 2008.07.20 - The Dark Knight

Two villains for the price of one. At the start of the movie, we are introduced to The Joker (Heath Ledger), who steals money from a bank, which is actually a money-laundering outlet for the gangs of Gotham. Later on, we see Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) as the White Knight of Gotham cracking down on the mob. Hundreds arrested.

In a series of Saw-like scenarios designed by The Joker, Harvey Dent loses his lady love Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal), and becomes scarred for life, literally. And thus, Harvey Dent becomes Two Face. Mad with hatred, Two Face goes after everyone involved in Rachel's death. In the final showdown, Batman(Christian Bale) fights it out with The Joker and his henchman. Batman saves The Joker from falling to his death, and The Joker is thrown into the slammer. As for Two Face, he was about to shoot Gordon's son when Batman pushes him off the building. That's the end of Two Face.

The Dark Knight Rises

Movie 2008.07.19 - Shinobi: Heart under Blade

This movie is basically a rehashed Romeo and Juliet - Japanese ninja style. You have two ninja clans, Iga and Kouga battling it out for supremacy over hundreds of years. The shogun ruler Tokugawa Ieyasu see them as a threat and hatches this plan to eliminate them once and for all. He calls on the heads of the clans and orders them to select five of their best fighters for a fight to the death. The clan heads probably know what the ruler has in mind, but pride can make fools out of the the smartest peole. As fate would have it, Kouga Gennosuke and Oboro, who were secretly married, were selected as leaders of their respective clans. They did their best to avoid this senseless fighting, but their followers are war freaks and started killing each other off. In the final battle, Kouga allowed Oboro to kill him to end the feud. Meanwhile, Tokugawa sent his armies to eliminate the rest of the Iga and Kouga population. Oboro begs Tokugawa to leave them be and as a show of her sincerity, she blinds herself. Apparently, her eyes have the power to kill with just one look. Touched by Oboro, Tokugawa withdrew his soldiers. It is said the Iga and Kouga ninjas live on until today.

Papal Boatacade

There were rumours swirling about that the papal boatacade will pass by our Pyrmont office waterfront on his way to Barangaroo for the official Papal Welcome Ceremony. Last week, we saw a big group of police patrol boats doing a drive-by. Same thing this morning. Around 3pm, we went up to the building rooftop, which gives us a good view of the Pyrmont waterfront, the Sydney Harbour, and a small portion of Barangaroo. A lot of police and media helicopters are hovering about, adding to our excitement. Didn't last long though. No ships passed by our area. Apparently, MV Sydney 2000 took a different route and had since landed at Barangaroo. Bah!

GF was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the Pope in the popemobile as drove into St. Mary's Cathedral House after touring the city centre. Dinner is at Star City's Trophies Bar (for me and GF, not the Pope).

St. Mary's Cathedral Visit

GF is volunteering at St. Mary's Cathedral today. Went to Hyde Park after work to see what it's like. There's a celebratory mood in the air - lots of happy people about, singing, dancing, taking pictures, just milling about. There's a huge tent selling WYD souvenirs and merchandise. Telstra has another big booth promoting their services. Didn't see GF come out of the cathedral for half an hour. Turns out she's already on her way to Pyrmont. Had to double back.

Since we're already here, we decided to go in St. Mary's and take a look. Everybody else seem to have the same idea. There was a long long queue and people making singit made it even longer. I would've done the same thing if GF is not with me. Took us about an hour of standing in the cold before we got in because the organizers are controlling the number of people inside the church. Pretty much the same, except for the relic of the Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, which is on display.

Dinner is McDonald's at the Mid City Centre food court. As a volunteer, GF got a McDonald's VIP card. Can't remember if we made use of it or not.

Feast of St. Benedict

Quite a busy day today. Spent the afternoon checking out second-hand CR-Vs with my brother. Then went to Auburn to check out Mirvac's Ashgrove homes.

Later in the afternoon, GF and I drove around UNSW looking for the Women's College. A few days ago, GF befriended some Filipino nuns who are in town for the World Youth Day 2008. They must be in desparate need for Filipino food because they made a special request to GF. So here we are, delivering pancit to their residence. Back in Broadway, we were looking for a church to go to Mass to, but can't find any. Little did we know that right across the street is St. Benedict's Church. In celebration of the Patronal Feast of St. Benedict, classical music and chorale music was being played and performed by Coro Innominata and St Benedict's Choir. It was a cold, windy night, and since the church hall was packed, GF and I had to stand at the doorway until the end of the service.

For dinner, we had hot noodle soup at Broadway Shopping Centre.

Three Movies and a Cake

With the Foxtel IQ box almost at full capacity, we hunkered down today and made a decision to watch some movies.

First up is Fruit Chan's 2004 movie Dumplings (Gaau ji). The movie is an ode to the (cosmetic) wonders of cannibalism, specifially human fetuses. Given the Chinese' penchant of eating almost anything, this could be true. Ah, to be young forever. If in doubt, check Snopes.

Next, we watched another Chinese movie called The Wild, Wild Rose (a.k.a. Ye mei gui zhi lian) - a Chinese adaptation of George Bizet's Carmen. A close look at the movie info puts the release year at 1960, so no surprise that the film is still in black-and-white. Main character is a nightclub singer by the name of Deng Sijia. The male protagonist is an English major turned pianist called Hanhua. On a bet, the singer successfully seduces the pianist away from his loyal fiance. As you all know, nothing good ever comes out of that for everyone.

Around 10pm, we started watching No Man's Land. Movie is about a Bosniak and a Bosnian Serb caught in a trench in the middle of the 1993 Bosnian war. Obviously, these two soldiers don't get along well. At the end of the movie, they kill each other off. And a third guy lying on top of a land mine is left for dead by the UN.

For dessert, I baked a gluten-free chocolate cake with the chocolate frosting on top.