… but we’ll be back in a while (Monday 22 March), so don’t nobody go nowhere.

It’s been going gangbusters here since I returned from the Christmas/New Year break, so I think some time out is in order.

On the agenda is a road trip – partly work but what can you do – which hopefully includes some time spent sitting about somewhere watching only the grass grow.

See you on 22 March.

The premise: directed by Grant Heslov, The Men Who Stare at Goats, is based upon actual events which took place after the war in Vietnam, when the US was reassessing itself as a military power.

For a time the concept of noble, Samurai like, warriors gained traction in some quarters, and the army is said to have formed a unit of “new soldiers”, who also experimented with psychic phenomena, with the goal of producing Jedi Knight type soldiers.

The play: small town journalist Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) decides he has something to prove to himself – and his ex-wife – who left him for his boss, and after hearing what he first thought were crackpot reports of a psychic unit in the US army, heads to Iraq where the platoon is said to be deployed.

And after a chance (or is that not so chance?) meeting with former unit member Lyn Cassady (George Clooney) in Kuwait, Wilton is soon driving through the Iraqi desert with him to the unit’s base. Wilton begins to doubt the story’s veracity however, as the true nature of Cassady’s psychic “abilities” become obvious.

The wrap: there’s a certain irony in seeing – of all people – Ewan McGregor’s (Star Wars episodes I-III) cynical reaction to Cassady’s assertion there is a Jedi-like contingent of troops within the US infantry.

And while “The Men Who Stare at Goats” has its moments, they are few and far between. Indeed it was McGregor’s Jedi quip that was the only real highlight.

The Taste of Sydney food festival opened last night.

On until this Sunday, Sydney’s Centennial Park will definitely be a foody’s paradise for the next few days.

Check out more photos on my Flickr page.

Semi-Permanent gets underway at Darling Harbour, Sydney, next Friday, 19 March, and features two days of art, design, creativity, and a line up of speakers that includes triple j presenter and writer Craig Schuftan, US photographer Jill Greenberg, and Melbourne graphic design duo Tin&Ed.

We stopped at this charming diner along the road one evening.

From a recent Royal Philharmonic Society lecture, Alex Ross, a classical music writer for The New Yorker, discusses the history of applause at chamber music recitals:

Then, in the early years of the twentieth century, the idea took root that one should remain resolutely silent throughout a multi-movement piece. By imposing such a code, we may inadvertently be confining the enormous and diverse expressive energies that are contained within the classics of the repertory. The work itself should dictate our behaviour, not some hard-and-fast code of etiquette.

It’s interesting that the idea of remaining silent until the conclusion of a piece is something that evolved relatively recently. In the past audiences, it seems, used to clap at will.

Mick Jagger and Keith Richards have uncovered ten unreleased tracks recorded during the making of The Rolling Stones’ 1972 album, “Exile on Main Street”, which will now be included as bonus tracks when the iconic album is re-released on 18 May this year.

On May 18th, Universal Music Group is re-releasing the album with 10 never-before-heard tracks, including “Plundered My Soul,” “Dancing in the Light,” “Following the River” and “Pass the Wine,” that were produced by Jimmy Miller, the Glimmer Twins and Don Was. The disc also features alternate versions of “Soul Survivor” and “Loving Cup.”

There’s some definite overtones of The Road here, if you became the last person on Earth, what would you do?

The world is going to be vastly different in only 5-years time. Buildings will collapse from non-maintained roofs. Cars and Trucks won’t operate off of stale fuel. Uncut lawns will overgrow and cripple streets along with freeze/rain cycles. Animals will grow unchecked and rampant predation will resume. Insects will rule the fields. There is no more weather channel, internet or food store. It will become an inhospitable world very shortly, you need to prepare.

The inaugural Australian Film Festival wrapped up last Sunday, 7 March, with The Spot Food & Film Festival, which took place on the streets outside the Ritz Cinema in Randwick, Sydney.

The Australian Film Festival

Unlike events such as the Melbourne International Film Festival, or the Sydney Film Festival, which present a mix of local and international movies, the Australian Film Festival screens only Australian made features.

The festival incorporates a number of events that had previously taken place separately, including Australian Film Week, the Stinkwater! Short Film Festival (which was part of the The Crowne Plaza Coogee Arts Festival), and the Australian Film Walk of Fame.

Screenings and Q&A sessions

All up 15 Australian made films were presented. While a few were well known, the majority were somewhat more obscure.

Many screenings were also accompanied by a Questions and Answer (Q&A) session at their conclusion, allowing festival audiences a valuable opportunity to hear the directors, producers, and cast members, talk about the film, and to also ask questions.

I was fortunate to attend two of these sessions, for Birthday, and Intangible Asset No. 82.

After the screening of “Birthday”, director James Harkness, and actors Natalie Eleftheriadis and Travis McMahon spoke, while Emma Franz, director, and jazz musician Simon Barker talked after “Intangible Asset No. 82″ was shown.

Australian Film Walk of Fame

Originally called “The Spot Film Walk of Fame” when launched by Randwick City Council in 2008, and given its current name in 2009, the Australian Film Walk of Fame was created to honour “members of the Australian Film Industry for their skill, expertise and dedication to their craft which has contributed to the vitality and uniqueness of Australian Film”.

Claudia Karvan and Steve Bisley this year joined the ranks of Australian actors who have so far been inducted onto the Australian Film Walk of Fame.

Festival highlights

To my mind the main highlight of the festival was the opportunity to see Australian made movies that I, and many others, would otherwise have not been aware even existed.

Locally made movies regularly go unnoticed, but as the selection of films presented at the Australian Film Festival goes to show, there is an amazing depth of talent in the local film industry.

With the possible exception of “Mad Max” and “Bad Boy Bubby”, I have no idea when there will be another chance to see any of the other films shown at the festival again. Most likely DVD will be the only option.

Another highlight was the live drum performance by jazz musician Simon Barker, after the screening of “Intangible Asset No. 82″.

A few thoughts

All up the festival was a well planned and executed event.

The only minor gripe I had was with the operation of the Q&A sessions, which took place at the dimly lit front section of the cinema auditorium, making it quite hard to see the speakers.

Surely some sort of temporary lighting could have been arranged, making it easier for the audience to see everyone. Possibly some bar stools could also have been provided for the speakers, to make them a little more comfortable as well.

And while I heard most of the questions posed by the audience, others may not have, perhaps in future the compere could repeat questions over the microphone so everyone knows what is being asked.

What next?

Going by the comments I heard from film-goers, many who had obviously never been to the Ritz before either, the festival was very well received.

Many liked the concept of an event dedicated exclusively to Australian film, with thoughts along the lines of “something like this is vital”, and “it’s been a long time coming”, expressed.

The Ritz Cinema itself was subject to a number of compliments, and a number of people were especially impressed by the theatre’s “art-deco feel”.

The Australian Film Festival not only goes to show there are plenty of great Australian films, but that there needs to be many more opportunities to show case them.

The premise: let me come straight out and say it, Bondi Tsunami does not make for the average film watching experience.

Written, directed, and even largely filmed by Melbourne film maker Rachael Lucas, on an ultra low budget, this is a film that through music, split frames, and comic book inserts, aims to explore the Japanese surfing subculture in Australia.

The play: three Japanese students, Shark (Taki Abe), Yuto (Keita Abe), and Kimiko (Miki Sasaki), who are in Australia backpacking, set off on a road trip from Sydney to the Gold Coast in Queensland, in a 1961 EK Holden.

While surfing and partying are high on the agenda, Shark is also on a quest of sorts to find meaning to his existence, and work out where reality begins and the dream (of an endless summer and the easy life) ends.

An encounter with the enigmatic Gunja Man (Nobuhisa Ikeda) helps put things into perspective for him.

The wrap: if you’re waiting for plot twists and non-stop action, “Bondi Tsunami” is not the film for you. Referred to by Lucas as a “stylish chillout back ground movie”, this is a film you’ll probably need to look at a couple of times to make sense of.

Depending on your mood, “Bondi Tsunami” can be like a good road trip… surely a lush, atmospheric, psychedelic, audio-visual experience.