Stop the presses! Roger Ebert‘s website (actually the entire Chicago Sun-Times site) has a new design. I like it! Much less image-oriented, which means it doesn’t look so bad when I surf with the images off. I think the blue is nice too. I just wish they hadn’t filled in the “o” in the logo URL. That bugs me.

“There’s no doubt that many Australians experience a collective cringe over Irwin’s showman-like antics. Unlike Americans, they’re put off by his impassioned testaments to his own sincerity, the preachy tone of his “saving the world” pitch, and his hair-trigger, often comical sentimentality. ‘Australians like people who underplay,’ ventures documentary-maker Malcolm Douglas. ‘Even Paul Hogan underplayed stuff, whereas Steve Irwin comes across like a used-car salesman selling everything down the camera.'”

Here’s a great article about Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter. I found the description of his childhood and early career pretty hilarious. You also get to read about how he met his wife. (“Crikey, a sheila who loves wildlife and can take a good hit on the head, that’s the woman for me!”) Interestingly, it also tackles the issue of his curious non-fame in his home country. He pretty much represents everything that makes Australians cringe about themselves. Good reading if you’re a fan (like my Dad).

In case you’re wondering, the clock on my server is all messed up, which is why so many posts are appearing on the front page. I’ve put in a support request to fix it.

Some things make you ashamed of your home state. I have nothing more to add.

Have you guys heard of Singlefile? It’s a web-based application that allows you to keep track of your book collection. It sounds like a great idea, but I’m not sure if it’s worth $20/year. I could probably build something similar and run it here at my own site. Hmm… I smell a new web project coming on!

New Poll: It’s another “favorite food” topic. When you’re at the big game, what’s your snack of choice?

Great weekend! It started off Friday with the arrival of several mix CDs in my mailbox, courtesy of Mr. Jones. Snookums and I have been shaking our “bootays” ever since. Then on Saturday we headed to my first ever professional rugby game: the New South Wales Waratahs vs. the Otago Highlanders. Basically, it was Australia against New Zealand, so emotions were running high. New South Wales ended up winning 31-13. It was awesome. I couldn’t help making crunching noises at every tackle. (Sidenote: When I eventually return to America, I plan on introducing the concept of the “meat pie” as the ultimate sporting venue snack. They’re sooo much better than hot dogs.) Afterwards we headed to the sports bar at Fox Studios Australia for some bowling, foosball, and beer. Today I was a good girl and went to the gym, and then I worked on my quilt. The entire top is finished and I’ve got it basted together with the backing and filling. The quilting itself isn’t so easy. I was really frustrated at first, til I realized that I don’t have to be as good as my Mom at it. Once I accepted that (like all my other domestic endeavors), things got a lot easier. Now we’re watching Star Wars on telly. Ahhh, perfect.

Friday Five:

1. What is your favorite restaurant and why?
In England, I would’ve said Wagamama’s. Love the gyozas. In the U.S., I’d probably say Chili’s (the one in South Bend, Indiana), since that’s where we always went during college. Here in Australia, though, I’d have to say Mama Maria’s. It’s a dinky little Italian place a couple blocks from here. Really great food and a friendly atmosphere. That’s our default place when we can’t pick anywhere else to go.

2. What fast food restaurant are you partial to?
Internationally, McDonald’s. Yeah, yeah, global corporations are bad, but it’s such a comforting feeling knowing that wherever I go, I can always get a Quarter Pounder with Cheese that will taste exactly the way I expect it to taste. In the U.S., I’ll go with Taco Bell, since I miss it. They’ve got them here in Oz, but the stuff isn’t quite right. It’s close, but still a little wrong.

3. What are your standards and rules for tipping?
I’m all messed up with this. See, in places other than the U.S., they actually pay wait staff a decent wage. Tipping isn’t necessarily expected. Delivery boys in England would make me wait while they made change, rather than just keeping it as I requested. It was weird. Here it’s much the same. You generally just leave the change (as in, the coins) and that’s enough. At a nice place, though, I think we generally tip about 15%.

4. Do you usually order an appetizer and/or dessert?
Depends on the restaurant. At Wagamama’s, I always got an appetizer. (Mmmm, gyoza.) At the Red Kangaroo Noodle Place up the street, I always get their Chicken & Sweet Corn soup. At other places it just depends on how big my main course is. Snookums is a desert freak, so I’ve been ordering those more and more. Cheesecake is my favorite, but I had some passionfruit sorbet the other night that was to die for. (No wonder the weight loss is going so slowly.)

5. What do you usually order to drink at a restaurant?
We usually drink wine. Most of the places here are “Bring Your Own”, so we always grab a nice bottle at the shop on the way there. Otherwise I’ll just have a soda.

Proud Parents
That’s right, the Snook and I are now the proud parents of… an empty fish tank. Let me explain. After thinking about it, we decided that a cat might be a little “high maintenance” to start our pet-owning lives. So we settled on some nice goldfish. We even bought a coffee table just so we’d have a nice showcase for our babies. Finally today we headed to the local pet store to pick everything up. There we were greeted by an immense gay American (who we now refer to, of course, as “Big Gay Al”) who informed us that Sydney water is so nasty that we have to wait at least a week for the water in our aquarium to become livable. Snookums was heartbroken. Big Gay Al was not to be swayed, though, and we were forced to depart with only the hardware. It’s all set up now, with the chemicals and bacteria and crap all added, so hopefully in a week we can bring some fishies home to it. Can’t wait!