Adam Luke

In Which I Babble About Tim Burton

Well that was a fun weekend. Carmen and Michael (whom I met in Canberra) were down in Melbourne, for round two of Fun Times. Also present was Amanda (who is always down in Melbourne), Kieran (whom I just met), and others who don’t have URLs for me to use. Activities undertaken included eating and drinking. Um, it’s more fun than it sounds?

On Sunday, we visited the Tim Burton exhibition at ACMI (from the Museum of Modern Art in New York), which was pretty interesting. They basically had a lot of his sketches and paintings, as well as costumes, props, and models from his films. In particular, though, I enjoyed watching Burton’s rare 1982 adaptation of Hansel and Gretel. It was like, super low budget. Seriously, the background for the forest was a very unironed sheet with trees painted on. I guess money was conserved in that area for the “special” effects. But the acting was hopeless, and it was essentially so terrible that it was hilarious. The fight scene between Gretel and the witch was especially hilarious.

I like Tim Burton’s movies, but I don’t think there are any that I’ve found superawesome or anything. Here, have some random quick thoughts on some of them:

Batman (1989): Not a Batman fan! I mean, obviously Batman is better than Superman. But Burton and non-Burton Batman movies have not really appealed to me.
Edward Scissorhands (1990): It was fairly good, but the whole romance aspect was tacky and not believable.
Sleepy Hollow (1999): Good for a horror movie! Horror movies mainly suck. Of course, I still watch them, because I’m morbid and enjoy torture porn more than the next guy.
Big Fish (2003): Apparently an eight year-old Miley Cyrus had a role in this movie, haha what. I did not notice this.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005): Far behind the awesomeness of the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. I loved that movie so much as a child. Well, maybe I still do. The remake left much to be desired.
Corpse Bride (2005): I’m kind of a sucker for good animated movies. I especially enjoyed the Piano Duet.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007): I totally dressed up as Sweeney Todd to a themed-party a few years ago. I looked pretty ace¹.
Alice in Wonderland (2010): I’ve gotta say, it was kind of a letdown. Well, the screenplay was my main issue, so it’s not all good ol’ Tim’s fault. But partly? It is.

Focus questions: Do you like Burton’s work? What is your favourite Tim Burton film?

Characters from Burton films are popular at themed parties. There were various Edward Scissorhandses and Mad Hatters (among others) at a recent uni ball I was at. I, on the other hand, dressed up as the rapist Alex DeLarge, from Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange.

September 28th, 2010 · Internet and Websites, Media · 13 Comments »

Money and Me

Yes, the title of this entry should actually be “Money and I“, if you’re going to get all grammatically correct on my ass. I…I liked the alliteration OK? IT’S MY BLOG AND I’LL TAKE POETIC LICENSE IF I WANT TO!

Ahem. Anyway, since I’m eagerly awaiting a few hundred dollars of tax refund to be deposited into my bank account, I thought I’d write about money. Money is awesome, am I right? I like to hoard it, and have two bank account for this very purpose:

Primary bank account
This is where all my money from work is deposited, and where I withdraw funds from when I need them. I don’t keep much money here, instead transferring it often into my second account. Whereas some people get pleasure from spending, I feel guilty for doing so, and prefer watching all the pretty numbers rise!
Savings account
Basically, a “high” (currently 4.90% p.a.) interest savings account where I keep most of my money, and never touch. A lot of people have a coffee habit and/or a shopping habit. As for me, I don’t drink coffee, and I avoid shopping trips at all costs. This is (partly) why I have $14,000 in here, which I’m certain is more than most students my age have, but of course in grand scheme of things, it’s nothing at all. That said, I’m quite satisfied with the hundreds of dollars of interest I earn on it yearly! I don’t really know how much Stuff costs, but I think I have nearly enough money for some sort of car? Not that I need one at the moment, but when I do…I’ll be all up in that.

Also! If I somehow manage to stay employed¹, I think I can double that balance over the next year. I’ve really hit stride recently, in that I’m getting a lot of hours, and my wage has also increased due to an increase in the national minimum wage. Also, since I’m classified as a “Level 3″ employee², I’m actually ever-so-slightly above minimum wage for my age (which only equates to a few extra dollars per week, but it’s still nice to have!)

Check back next month for another instalment of “Adam Tells the Internet Stuff He Should Probably Not Tell the Internet”.

Working at a video store = very low job security. It’s hard to feel settled when all the other rental stores around you are closing down. I’m expecting to be out of a job in the foreseeable future. Obviously I have a second job, but only a minority of my earnings come from there.
Which means I can open (i.e., am entrusted with the security alarm code and safe combination), close (i.e., do the figures at the end of the day and lock up), and work solo.

August 11th, 2010 · Money and Work · 14 Comments »

One Year On

Oh look, it’s a milestone! I’ve officially been blogging for a year now. Thanks to everyone who read and commented, blah blah. Of course, I haven’t really done anything groundbreaking, controversial, or scandalous over the last year, but it’s nice to be gaining new readers at the speed of something like one per month (lol), and it’s a fun hobby to have.

Here, have some fun statistics. The comments’ members’ stats doesn’t exactly work when multiple people have the same name, though. There are a couple of instances of that.

Oh, and yes, your favourite self-loathing narcissist will be returning with more of the same for another year.

July 16th, 2010 · Internet and Websites · 11 Comments »