Archive for May, 2005

The Pianist by Wladyslaw Szpilman

Tuesday, May 31st, 2005

I released this on Tuesday 31 May 2005 at the Starbucks on Hammersmith Road (opposite the Loreal building) in London - Hammersmith, England United Kingdom. The person who caught it joined BookCrossing and left this journal entry:
Journal entry 7 by itsjan(0/0) from Chiswick, Greater London United Kingdom on Friday, June 03, 2005 Passed on [...]

Chirac, the jungle tribes and the EU referendum

Friday, May 27th, 2005

This is a fantastic article from The Sunday Times (Chirac counts on jungle tribes to swing EU vote, 22 May 2005) about the role of France’s overseas territories in this weekend’s referendum on the EU Constitution. I wanted to blog it at the time but was having trouble finding the URL for the web version.
The [...]

A new Earth?

Thursday, May 26th, 2005

Scientists have discovered a gaseous planet in the Milky Way, which is about a thousand times bigger than Earth. They used a new scientific technique, called the ‘gravitational lens method’, which they believe can be used to find Earth-like planets.
On the one hand this is incredibly exciting. I firmly believe that, on the balance of [...]

Fortnight of busy-ness

Tuesday, May 24th, 2005

I’ve got lots on over the next two weeks. I’m seeing a special screening of Sin City courtesy of Empire magazine tonight. Tomorrow, if the weather is good, I am planning to go skating in Hyde Park with Natalie. On Thursday, I am going to a German language meetup to practise my German over a [...]

As good as Empire Strikes Back?

Tuesday, May 24th, 2005

Some people are even saying Revenge of the Sith is as good as Empire Strikes Back.
This review on LoveFilm.co.uk describes it as “not just in a different league from its two immediate predecessors, it’s on a par with The Empire Strikes Back, the strongest in the original trilogy”. It’s a really interesting review, comparing [...]

Here’s to balconies

Sunday, May 22nd, 2005

Our flat has balconies at the front and back and they are really coming into their own now that the weather is warmer. I have been buying flowers to try to create a bit of a garden and I am hoping to plant a herb box as well. A while ago, we had John and [...]

Star Wars

Sunday, May 22nd, 2005

We went to see the new Star Wars movie tonight and surprise, surprise, it didn’t suck! It was quite good, even.
There were a few major differences between this one and episodes one and two. The movie had a strong, clear story line, which gave it a sense of purpose. They kept the scenes much tighter [...]

Australia in the news

Sunday, May 22nd, 2005

The top story in the World section of The Sunday Times today is about the worsening drought in Australia. (Accompanying graphic here). Goulburn is apparently set to run out of water and, since that is the catchment area for Sydney, it doesn’t augur well for Sydney’s water supplies, which are already at 40% capacity. It’s [...]

Return to Oz via Shanghai

Sunday, May 22nd, 2005

We have now booked our flights for a trip home to Australia this Christmas. We will be getting in the week before Christmas and leaving at the end of the first week of January. I will be mostly in Sydney but I am also planning to head up to Queensland with my mum to visit [...]

One Perfect Day: Shanghai

Sunday, May 22nd, 2005

By Caitlin Fitzsimmons
THE former Paris of the East has reawakened after years of communist rule.
Shanghai has been in construction mode for the past decade. In 1990 the business district of Pudong, across the river from old Shanghai, was little more than boggy farmland. Now it’s a city of skyscrapers larger than Shanghai itself.
Shanghai [...]