Avatar - the movie

Yesterday I walked into town to see the movie, "Avatar". I went after I heard Peter Jackson say in an interview that "Avatar" was his movie for the year. I had no idea what it was about but heard that the special effects were stunning. The 160 minute movie was wonderful with a mixture of actual film and computer animation.

A Prairie Home Companion

I have just come upon a radio series played on National Radio during the summer. It is called " Prairie Home Companion" hosted by Garrison Keillor. It is an American type "Music Hall" on radio. It is two hours long and is recorded live in theatres throughout the American states. The show I heard had Norah Jones as a performer.
The image has Garrison Keillor on the right hand microphone.
The website address is http://prairiehome.publicradio.org/about/

The Start of a New Decade

Dunedin traditionally has a New Year's Eve get together in the Octagon when upwards of 10000 revellers converge. It was a coolish night so Denise and I decided to stay home and enjoy a bottle or two of wine. We did the boring thing of watching television including the Queen's Variety Concert which was very good. A pre recorded local programme saw the New Year in.

Since becoming married, Denise and I have always attended the Waikouaiti Races which is a half hour's drive from Dunedin. It is an informal family day. This time the weather would have been one of the hottest days I can recall. There was a huge crowd (8000) with long queues at the tote. We took Denise's dad, Jim with us who has accompanied us often in past years. I tend to back favourites and bet $1 each way. I mangaed to select three 1sts, four 2nds and one 3rd. I missed out on two races. I made $3.10 profit for the afternoon.

Prior to attending the race meeting I walked from home to Port Chalmers and about 4km up the Blueskin Road where Denise picked me up. The 9km walk took me 1:50hrs.