Shame, Success and Weekend Report

Greetings Radio-fans,

Hope you've been enjoying your weekend. Mine's managed to obtain the correct proportions of productivity and relaxation to warrant a lack of fear towards going back to work on Monday. So what did I do with my time?

Watched two movies.
After hunting around Friday night for some movies worth having, I was disappointed to find that there really hasn't been anything worth watching come out for a long time, bar a few titles. Having already seen Shooter and Next (Both quite enjoyable), there were few movies left on the list. I settled on two that I would watch with very low expectations.

Smokin Aces
I really don't know what to say about this film to be honest. I don't remember watching a film where I sat expressionless throughout the entire ordeal. I was saved feelings of disappointment as I hadn't any expectations of this movie. The synopsis of the movie on IMDB suggested a somewhat comical turn of events throughout this movie but having watched it, I saw nothing comical, (despite the directors best efforts to instill it.)

A lot of people died, and for no apparent reason. The storyline failed to engage my interest, in spite of a cast of unique characters (although most of the characters with any sort of "character" seemed to be killed off fairly early in the piece) The director clearly wanted to be Guy Richie but sadly, was too far off the mark. There's no reason for me to recommend this movie to anyone so i'm not going to.

Epic Movie
As with the Scary Movie Franchise, Epic Movie exists for a sole purpose, to take the piss out of all big budget films in any way possible. (Although preference does go to tacky methods) However unlike Smokin Aces, this movie had a few good moments and even some others which I feel guilty about laughing over but anyway, that's the nature of such movies.

Without going to much into details about this movie, it was more enjoyable than Smokin Aces, even with it's tacky story-line. (which is intentional in this franchise of movies) Sometimes it was a bit much, (also trademark for the franchise) but it actually makes it's intended mark on the viewer. The same cannot be said the 'other' movie.

If you're a fan of tacky humor and want to see a particularly good piss-take on Cap'n Jack Sparrow of Pirates of the Carribean fame, then it's probably worth having a look.

Cheese Cake
Saturday afternoon was spent making a cheesecake. The procedure was largely successful and the results appeared to be quite acceptable. But we had to wait until Sunday for the official taste-test.

Sunday came and after my hairdresser, Tanya (one of Sveta's friends) came and cut my hair, we all sat down to some cheesecake. As if like magic, the cheesecake popped out of the tin and held together. (my major fear was that it wouldn't. But it did! So we rock!) And the verdict? Simply Sensational! Tanya and I had two pieces (because one piece is never enough) while Sveta opted for the singular variant (Why spoil a good thing?) So morning tea for the next week is sorted. :)

Haircut
As I mentioned, I had a much needed hair-cut as I haven't been shorn since before I went to Riga. (3 Months ago for you chronologically challenged individuals) It is fantastic having a hairdresser that comes to you (or is that me?) and be trimmed in the comfort of your own kitchen. The dinners filled with hair trimmings for the next few days might be considered a delicacy. (or a choking hazard depending on the size and volume of the trimmings in question)

Business
I've got a few possibilities coming up and to facilitate business for one of them, i've been developing a new website and business card for myself and my own teaching setup. Another proposition is starting a new business with one of my banking students. So whatever is decided, I have the opportunity to make good money for myself. (lucky me)

I hope you have all had a good weekend. Keep out of mischief and I hope to hear from you in one form or another. Take care.

Matt.

Search and ye shall discover!!

I don't know how long it's been the happening thing, but Radio Krasnaya, the one, the only is now ranked number 1 on Google.

Let us rejoice with the establishment of an AdSense Account!!!!

It hath been brought back!! It's ALIVE!

..."Hark! A miracle has occured! Just when it was thought that the unthinkable had happened, a ray of light shone down on my 160gb backup drive and all the data magically reappeared! It was like it was never gone to begin with..."

An external backup harddrive is invaluable piece of equipment. Good for storing movies, music and photos, it is usually a reliable storage solution to keep your main drive free. So when 100gb of my data simply ceased to exist one day, I was so completely speechless, I couldn't even swear at it.

In fact I didn't do anything about it for three days until I just decided to plug it all back in to make sure. And I must say I was pleasantly surprised to find out i'd jumped to the wrong conclusion and that, in fact, everything was still there. Another victory for me.

Now, to fix my stupid Glofiish X500.....

the long and deafening silence

Greetings people,

I'm not dead. I'm just busy. Which means that i've been neglecting my blog. (Standard procedure for when my life gets busy) So it might interest you to know a few things that have been happening as of late.

First, work is progressing rather lovely, paying well and offering lots of other opportunities and worldly experiences. I teach two senior execs at a large Russian bank and thoroughly enjoy doing so.

I've also taken up playing paintball and have organized several events for friends, students and collegues over the last few months. I have my own equipment (which rocks the socks so much in terms of reliablity and overall coolness) For those of you interested in brands, it's a BT Designs BT-4 Assault. It's semi auto at the moment, but the electronic grip frame is on order from the states giving it the ability to shoot fully automatic as well as several other firing modes.
I've been getting plenty of bruises (although fewer and fewer after each game) and barely give them enough time to heal before organizing the next game. Photo: In the visor for the 5th time that day. Smile!


Mum and Sal came for a two week visit which was whole new levels of awesomeness. Viewers of Sal's myspace and Mum's Flickr account have no doubt seen pictures already and have been wowed by the beauty of this city. But really, photos cannot do this place justice. Just ask them when they return to Aus, you simply have to get out there and see it yourself. It was a fantastic two weeks of catching up and sightseeing and I am genuinely disappointed that they are gone. They are currently in Saint Petersburg and will be on their way to Denmark for the Scandinavian leg of their crazy European Odyssey. So to Mum and Sal, thank you so much for visiting and Sveta and I wish you the best for the rest of your holiday!! Say hi to Princess Mezza for us!
Photo: We all try and do our best to pull an EU Family Photo. SCORED!

The weather in Moscow currently is quite nice. Not too hot and certainly not too cold. Rain is not too frequent and humidity is not as high as it was last year at this time. All in all, very livable conditions.

After a long wait, agonizing and craving my long lost Logitech Z-5500's, I finally gave in and ordered a new set. They arrived a few weeks ago, they are installed and pumping. The sound is just as good as I remember it and is gauranteed to get my neighbors back for all the times they have kept me awake moving their damned furniture.
Photo: Z-5500's. Sexy as I remember them.

The set that has got me going crazy at the moment is From Jasmund to Wittow - Mixed by Marco Torrance. If you are into Chillout and Ambient, and this set is not a part of your collection I suggest you stop reading this damn blog and get it here right now. (Right-click and Save As for you IE users, poor sods) Not quite as good but still of a high quality is another Marco Torrance set, Silent Trains of Thought. It is available here too. (Right-Click and Save As)
Photos: Left-Jasmund (Germany), Right-Wittow (Germany)

Well I hope all you peoples in your respective corners of the world are keeping happy and well. If you aren't happy, I recommend rectifying your unhappiness immediately, striving for more appreciable feelings. Take care of yo bad selves.

Matt.