Black Swan

What a perplexing place One finds Oneself in.

This movie has had much hype both in the lead up to, and indeed since, its release. Natalie Portman is excellent in the movie, although One feels that she plays these contradictory characters often and given what little One knows of Ms Portman, it seems there is a little of the contradictory about herself.

Case in point, Ms Portman is a vegan and refuses to wear any leather products. However, is she quite happy to model for Dior, a fashion house with a love for leather? Yes she is:

According to some articles/blogs on the net, Ms Portman even had Dior make her vegan version of various Dior shoes. The net result surely being that Dior's leather shoes have gotten a rush of publicity and increased sales too.

The movie much like these contradictions is in part great and in part schmultzy. The plot starts with an obsessive mother and daughter combo and follows Portman's character on her journey from chorus dancer to prima ballerina. The movie deals with themes of dangers readily apparent in any modern day career where the perceived or actual expectation of perfection and excellence results in a pressure often mostly applied by ourselves. Not wanting to ruin the movie, One will refrain from further comments on the plot and let you see it unfold for yourselves.

As an aside, Mila Kunis (of That 70s Show fame) who plays the new girl in the NY Ballet Company, fresh off the plane from the West Coast is great too. She brings a freshness to the stodgy institution that is the NY Ballet to bring contrast to Portman's establishment vibe. Oddly, Kunis has been dating Macaulay Culkin for the past 9 years.

Would One see Black Swan again? Certainly.

Can One see a single edit that would have removed the schmultz? Certainly.

Getting Occasional in ahouseofonesown

Yesterday was the SO's birthday and after going for breakfast at the Hobart Street Deli we headed towards Claremont for a coffee.

That was until One remembered he had spied some occasional chairs on Stirling Highway so we stopped off to have a look and found the chairs for the bedroom which are on the list, but understandably not at the top of the list of urgency.

And before One knew it, there they were:

and the close up:

Introducing Betsy...

A little lady has come into our lives. Her name is Betsy and she's brought a lot of chop chop along with her


Betsy chops and stirs and cooks and steams all by herself...

The biggest excitement comes from the complete lack of washing up, this is all that was used to make dinner:
That's right, a knife, chopping board, spatula and Besty who practically cleans herself!

Perth: Moving along

Much is said of Perth's lack of culture and of its quiet streets- both in terms of people traffic and architecture.

It seems that the tides are turning and the people of Perth are receiving more of what is expected of a metropolis with an expanding population and the associated mixing of cultures.

One noticed this building on the way home from work today. Its the new Central TAFE building and while perhaps not to everyone's taste is a sign of new influences that are coming into this fine city.



On top of that, Perth is getting its very own fringe festival and is hosting more and more international exhibitions. Part of Peggy Guigenheim's collection is in town at the moment and there's more art on the way...

Guess where One is going...

NOMA!!!

To exciting, One can't quite believe that we managed to get a booking. Noma is currenty ranked as the best restaurant in the world and there is this crazy booking thing where One must go on to the NOMA website on the day that they announce they are releasing bookings for the month in which One would like to dine at NOMA.

2011 is off to a cracking start indeed!

New Exciting and more than 10 our of 10

One is well known for excellent taste in the arts and particularly music and this evening One is super excited.

Not only is One about to introduce you all to the newest addition to our family, who is currently hard at work and not only is the SO en route from Melbourne, but One has tuned into Eleven for the very first time. The act of turning the TV on isn't the cause of excitement, but rather it is the show being broadcast....

.

One loved the original and the naughties re-boot can only continue to impress surely with cheesiness and terrible acting! The re-boot is up to Series 3 in the US and after being canceled by Channel 10, it is now airing on Eleven! TOO EXCITING

The Toast Stealer

Picture this: 9.30am, 5 star resort, Broome, balmy weather, breakfast underway.

One walks to the toast stand and puts a slice of raisin bread in the big conveyor toaster machine, waits, waits, waits, One turns, picks up some butter, turns back, raisin toast stolen.

A fat, grey haired man darts back to his table about a meter away, butters his toast then realises he has in fact stolen One’s toast. Makes remark to wife and daughter sitting at table who look across at One. One stares back.

One then puts another piece of raising bread in the toaster and waits again, this time not allowing a momentary distraction to loose One’s toast, all the while tapping One’s toes loudly so that the Toast Stealer knows One is on to him.