It's a crazy world in sport out there

It seems that even with all the mud slinging going down these last few days between the Australian and Indian Cricket teams (allegations of cheating, low quality umpiring and racism ... is calling someone a monkey racist?), other games can still hit the dirt as well. Two Russian ice hockey teams had one of the dirtiest, most violent games in history recently. The winning team scored 7 goals which is miracle considering there wouldn't have been much time to play actual ice hockey as such. Ice hockey seems to be more brutal than that operatic stunt show they call World Wrestling and even more dangerous than good old rugby. Speaking of rugger, I was surprised to see South Africa's most successful provincial coach miss out on being appointed Springbok Coach. The previous national coach has gone, despite his World Cup achievement. Being "P.C." or satisfying that emotional tsunami that occasionally sweeps through sporting officialdom seems to be more important than long term planning or common sense.

Happy New Year and . . .

Hope you all had a great new year.

I am keen to read any weird stories regarding random events you may have seen on the street. Here is one for a bizarre occurrence that I witnessed today:

I ended up doing a double take when I witnessed this fellow walking along the street with a live seagull perched atop his hat. There were 3 or 4 more birds flying in close proximity to this character. After a short time the perched gull would fly away from the top of his hat, then either it or one of the other birds would land on his hat for a few more seconds. The gulls continued repeating this procedure for as long as the guy remained in my sight!

Is this random or what?

Day two as an extra for the movie Bride Flight

Yesterday morning, I received a phone call from the casting director Donna. She said I would make a good policeman, and she asked me if I would like to be an extra again. I promptly applied for a day off from my office job, so that I could travel from Dunedin to Oamaru for the filming of new scenes today. I was cast as a policeman extra (wearing an authentic uniform from the 1950's) for the whole day, ..... along with another guy who actually is part of the constabulary in his regular profession!
I met a whole new bunch of extras who were mainly from Oamaru. There were 4 other people from Dunedin, including Pat who gave me a lift from Dunedin - thanks Pat. Everyone was great. I enjoyed the new localities. The crew looked after us again really well. The weather was mainly fine today. One of the crew, Danielle, always had a belt load of batteries around her waist - so we coined her "The Terminator". Danielle and the other crew always made sure we were in the right place and doing the right thing. Everyone was just so friendly and helpful. Filming in New Zealand is expected to be completed over the next month or so.

P.S. A pic with me riding the bicycle appeared on the front page of the local rag on 5/11/2007 as a result of a scene shot from the first day.

My day at a movie shoot

Today I have experienced the thrill of being a movie extra. The film is to be titled Bride Flight. I understand the release is scheduled for November 2008. The movie is based on the true story of a commercial airline carrying three brides from post war Holland to New Zealand in 1953. Some scenes were filmed in my home town of Dunedin, New Zealand. I turned up at 6:30 am and was promptly organised into my first costume. During the day, I met a great bunch of crew, actors and of course all my fellow extra buddies. We walked and talked our way through about 8 or 9 scenes. I rode a 1960's bicycle diagonally though 1960's traffic - the gap between cars was quite narrow during some of the takes. We dressed up in costumes from the 1950's to 1960's era. We were well looked after by the crew, who fed us, clothed us and asked how we were finding things. By the end of the day (about 8pm) I was familiar with phrases such as "Stand by.....Sound check...rolling....rolling....Action......cut" followed by "Reset back to position one". The weather was often wet and cold during the afternoon but the awesome crew threw blankets or coats over us between takes. After a few takes you would hear "Its a wrap." and then we moved on to another scene. My experience has helped me to understand all the work that goes into making a movie.......and I'd be keen to do it again.

P.S. Thanks to Cindy at the Fortune Theatre for linking me up with this opportunity.

There seems to be no "unwritten rule" for . . . .

this situation:

You are in a supermarket or department store.

You take yourself and the two items you intend purchasing to the end of the long checkout queue.

12 people are ahead of you and the adjacent checkout is closed.

You eventually become the third, or even second person in line.

The checkout employee declares that the checkout is closed, due to cash or technical difficulties.

The adjacent checkout isle is opened.

The line of 6 or 7 people that queued up behind you suddenly swerve across to the new checkout in reverse sequence and they are now in front of you - due to the fact that a stainless steel rail prevents you from sliding across.

Don't you just feel ripped off?!

Cambodia

Have you ever been to Cambodia?

I spent time in Cambodia during travel in 2005. I was profoundly shocked at how bad human suffering can get. The people are still recovering from the havoc wrought by Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge. The Rouge ruled from 1975 until 1979 (at which time the Vietnamese invaded and installed a puppet regime). The Rouge forced all urban inhabitants into the countryside, so that they could set up compulsory labour camps and commence mass executions. Visited Tuol Sleng (a.k.a. S-21) just outside of Phnom Penh. This complex was originally a secondary school which the Rouge converted to a genocidal prison. Roughly 20,000 people including children were tortured and killed,within these walls. Nationally, loss of life estimates range from 1.5 to 3 million during the 3 year and 8 month period the Rouge were in 'government'. The cells, human skulls and various torture devices are still in the complex for all to see, and comprehend how miserable or despicable life under this regime was.

Today Cambodia has a very young population and is still rebuilding. In 2005 there were only 2 ATM machines operating in the country (local use only).

Signs I spotted in a hotel foyer: "No Guns. No Knives. No Durian Fruit" and "Checkout Time is 12:00 A.M"

If you have been there then I would be keen to hear of your experience.

Your comments on the 2007 Rugby World Cup....

I am cheering on the All Blacks. Australia and South Africa look to be our strongest contenders. I hope our mistake ridden games against small fry like Italy, Portugal and Scotland will still provide us with enough preparation to fry the big fish. What are your comments on this tournament?