Weekend's activities
Not much happened in the way of pop culture consumption this weekend as I was away from civilisation (i.e. in a remote area with no cellphone reception and electricity) for a hefty chunk of it.
Basically I headed off to a private riverside bush camp in the Eston area (halfway between Durban and Pietermaritzburg, right by Tala Game Reserve) with friends for an afternoon of slightly inebriated hiking, an evening of feasting and drinking games and then a morning of bundu-bashing, which included (accidentally) ending up in a highly exclusive private game reserve. Whoops!
Yeah, if real life was a movie, we would totally be those obnoxious, self-absorbed 20somethings who get hacked up by Jason or a bunch of inbred mutated hicks. Fortunately my friend and I were the only singles there so we probably would have survived the carnage seeing as we were the only ones apparently not having sex. The horror movie law of good girls almost always surviving, and all that!
Anyway, I'm pleased to report I successfully cooked my first ever potjiekos meal - thank goodness for having watched a SA-set travel-cooking show a few months back, so I knew the order of ingredients as well as the all-important rule of not stirring the pot's contents.
Oh, and we also played a marvelously fun drinking game Death by Sixes, which seems to be a variation on this winner. So OK, yes, I was drinking, so perhaps I wouldn't have been immune to hillbilly attacks.
Otherwise I rounded the weekend off by watching a few films. First there was my sister's copy of Romy & Michele's High School Reunion, which I believe has achieved a cult status with girls and gays the world over. For those of you unfamiliar with the film, think of it as Dumb & Dumber with chicks, heart and many delicious quotes:
Michele: You look so good with blond hair and black roots its like not even funny.
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Michele: Did you lose weight?
Romy: Actually, I have been trying this new fat free diet I invented. All I've had to eat for the past six days are gummy bears, jelly beans, and candy corns.
Michele: God, I wish I had your discipline.
God, it reminds me that my 10 year high school reunion is coming up in 2 to 3 months. Joy of joys.
Anyway, after Romy & Michele I rounded off the weekend with 2 Marvel superheroes back-to-back. First up was Iron Man. Actually it was my first time watching the film since its cinema release, and surprisingly my opinion about it hasn't changed over the past 13 months. I still don't like the final battle (monologuing in booming robot voices is very cheesy) but Iron Man has the highest Coolness factor of any Marvel hero brought to the big screen so far. The film is a lot of fun.
Blade II, meanwhile is the franchise installment best known for being directed by Pan's Labyrinth and Hellboy's Guillermo del Toro. The film is very gory and bloody (almost sickeningly so), but much respect has to go to the fight scene choreographers. The combat is quite beautiful... when the filmmakers aren't attempting horrific CGI-models of the cast. Hollywood has yet to get realistic CGI-humans right. Even the latest attempts are still rubbery and artificial looking.
Basically I headed off to a private riverside bush camp in the Eston area (halfway between Durban and Pietermaritzburg, right by Tala Game Reserve) with friends for an afternoon of slightly inebriated hiking, an evening of feasting and drinking games and then a morning of bundu-bashing, which included (accidentally) ending up in a highly exclusive private game reserve. Whoops!
Yeah, if real life was a movie, we would totally be those obnoxious, self-absorbed 20somethings who get hacked up by Jason or a bunch of inbred mutated hicks. Fortunately my friend and I were the only singles there so we probably would have survived the carnage seeing as we were the only ones apparently not having sex. The horror movie law of good girls almost always surviving, and all that!
Anyway, I'm pleased to report I successfully cooked my first ever potjiekos meal - thank goodness for having watched a SA-set travel-cooking show a few months back, so I knew the order of ingredients as well as the all-important rule of not stirring the pot's contents.
Oh, and we also played a marvelously fun drinking game Death by Sixes, which seems to be a variation on this winner. So OK, yes, I was drinking, so perhaps I wouldn't have been immune to hillbilly attacks.
Otherwise I rounded the weekend off by watching a few films. First there was my sister's copy of Romy & Michele's High School Reunion, which I believe has achieved a cult status with girls and gays the world over. For those of you unfamiliar with the film, think of it as Dumb & Dumber with chicks, heart and many delicious quotes:
Michele: You look so good with blond hair and black roots its like not even funny.
------
Michele: Did you lose weight?
Romy: Actually, I have been trying this new fat free diet I invented. All I've had to eat for the past six days are gummy bears, jelly beans, and candy corns.
Michele: God, I wish I had your discipline.
God, it reminds me that my 10 year high school reunion is coming up in 2 to 3 months. Joy of joys.
Anyway, after Romy & Michele I rounded off the weekend with 2 Marvel superheroes back-to-back. First up was Iron Man. Actually it was my first time watching the film since its cinema release, and surprisingly my opinion about it hasn't changed over the past 13 months. I still don't like the final battle (monologuing in booming robot voices is very cheesy) but Iron Man has the highest Coolness factor of any Marvel hero brought to the big screen so far. The film is a lot of fun.
Blade II, meanwhile is the franchise installment best known for being directed by Pan's Labyrinth and Hellboy's Guillermo del Toro. The film is very gory and bloody (almost sickeningly so), but much respect has to go to the fight scene choreographers. The combat is quite beautiful... when the filmmakers aren't attempting horrific CGI-models of the cast. Hollywood has yet to get realistic CGI-humans right. Even the latest attempts are still rubbery and artificial looking.
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