I'm it!

Yes. I've been tagged by Kate.

Here goes:

1)Total number of books I've owned: I'd say at least 300...but that's a total guess...I'm not going to count.

2) The last book I bought: 101 Things To Do Before You Die by Richard Horne.

From the blurb: Have you ever milked a cow? Made the Guinness Book of World Records? Done the Monopoly Board Pub Crawl? Joined the Mile High Club? No? Then it's high time you reassessed your priorities. 101 Things To Do Before You Die is the definitive guide to everything you should do before it's too late.

I've already completed 2 out of the 101 and I'm hoping to complete about 6 more in the next 2 years...Let's see what happens.

3)The last book I read: I started reading The Tempest (Willy Shakespeare - incase you didn't know) for uni, but I haven't finished it. Does that count? Also - I guess it's not a book...well...my version wasn't - it was a photocopied book.

Whatever.

4) 5 books that mean a lot to me:
- 101 Things To Do Before You Die: See above.

- The Grug series: I learnt to read off these and I've still got them. Hopefully my kids (I don't have any yet - don't worry) can get the same enjoyment out of them...

- Fast Foward (don't remember who it was by): One of my favorite books in primary school - mainly because it was about television and two kids who had the ability to use the television remote to stop, play, fast foward and rewind things around them. Who wouldn't want a bit of escapisim during primary school?

- Perfume by Patrick Suskind: I had to read this in year 11 and found it to be one of the best books I've ever read. I think it's recommended reading for anyone! Anyone!!

- Maus (Vol. 1 + 2) by Art Speigleman: One of the best (not that I've read many) graphic/comic novels. The way it deals with it's subject matter (the author's discussions/arguements with his father who had survived the WW2 holocaust) is brilliant. The comic book style is just an added bonus.

5) Tag 5 people and have them fill this out on their blogs:

I don't have 5 people that I can tag. I'm lonely.

So if you're reading this and you want to fill this out by all means - go ahead. I don't like to force people into doing things.

D.S.

Standing at the Opera

So yesterday I got to stand backstage at Opera Australia's production of The Magic Flute. This particular production has been in their repertoire since 1986 (there's some they still perform that are from the late '70s). While the production was kind of interesting - walls that moved in and out, forced perspective, people in furry animal costumes - being backstage listening to the Deputy Stage Manager (DSM) calling the show was mainly boring.

Of course this may have been because earlier in the week I got to be backstage during a performance of The Love for Three Oranges which compared to The Magic Flute was super crazy for the DSM.

The Magic Flute only had 2 fly cues, about 12 mech cues and about 80 lighting cues - compared to The Love for Three Oranges which had about 20 fly cues, 20 mech cues, 140 lighting cues, 4 smoke cues and so on...

Anyway, Opera Australia seems like a feasible option for a bit of employment after uni. It could be fun.

Also - I'm thinking of buying an I-pod. (Yes. I've given in to their ingenious marketing campaigns. I still think there's some subliminal messaging somewhere within those silhouetted dancing people.)

D.S.

Oh, and, just because I can:

Today is 05/05/05.

If my calculations are correct, that won't happen again for 397 days. If not - it's close enough.

R.E.

Great Quotes of the Century - # 4

"Do you realise that everyone you know someday will die, and instead of saying all of your goodbyes, let them know you realise that life goes fast. It's hard to make the good things last. You realise the sun doesn't go down. It's just an illusion caused by the world spinning round."
- The Flaming Lips

Source: "Do You Realise" by The Flaming Lips

R.E.