Dave Gee: Life from Right Field

It seems Joss Whedon's Sci-Fi movie Serenity (a continuation of the prematurely cancelled Fox TV series Firefly) could be released on DVD in the USA just before Christmas.

The film's been out in the US/UK/Australia/etc for a few weeks, but still hasn't made it onto general release in New Zealand. (I've managed to watch the first nine minutes of Serenity, when Universal posted a preview online for a limited period following the film's US release).

DVD website Digital Bits reports Universal will announce the DVD release of Joss Whedon's Serenity for 12/20. Early word indicates that the disc may include Whedon audio commentary, along with at least 4 behind-the-scenes featurettes (Future History, We'll Have a Fruity Oaty Good Time, Re-Lighting the Firefly and What's in a Firefly), a video introduction to the film by Whedon and 6 minutes worth of outtakes.

* Serenity the Movie - Official site
* Serenity Movie Trailers @ Apple

What's with this whole Sudoku craze??! I just don't get it!

I first encountered the things when I was visiting friends in England around the middle of this year. They started appearing in New Zealand a few months later, and even our old-fashioned local paper now prints the bloody things!...

Here's an article from the London Times about how Sudoku puzzles are now popular the world over. Includes an interview with the owner of http://www.number-logic.com/

read more | digg story

Things have been flat-out lately, mainly with rehearsals for the Theatre Restaurant I'm directing/co-MDing, Life as we know it.

Melinda and Kate organised a cast Singstar & BBQ Party on Saturday, before we had two full-on day and night rehearsals over Labour Weekend Sunday and Monday.

We learnt the last full company song this evening, so now we've got around 3 weeks to finish all the blocking, and commit everything to memory!...

Sure!... We know exactly what we're doing!

The girls give an impromptu street performance (while the lads play silly buggers in the background ;-)

The cast practice "Come Look at the Freaks" (almost too convincely! ;-)

Aargh! There's more of them!

At Melinda's cast party... Kate shows everyone how much she's been practicing with her Dancemat game...

Gina & Hayley take their Singstar round very seriously!

Ben & Chris K battle it off Singstar-style...

Grant belts out a Duran Duran classic... Jenny doesn't look all that impressed ;-)

I currently busy Directing and co-Musically Directing a Theatre Restaurant production for Dunedin Operatic, entitled Life as we know it.

It's a mix of songs, mostly from current or recent Broadway and West End shows. The season goes on in mid-November, and we're currently rehearsing like mad the list of 60+ numbers ;-)

Here's a few light hearted pics from recent rehearsals...


The cast of "Life as we know it" rehearsing Supercalifraglisticexpialidocious...

Sure... we mightn't know any of the words, but at least we can audition as ushers for the show?

Um... Does anyone know how this number's supposed to finish up?!...

Our 3 U.S. Cops practice their number from 'Urinetown - The Musical'...

What the?! AA Milne's cute little Piglet character is now evil??!...

In a bizarre fit of madhouse-PCness, the Conservative Party controlled Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council (in the UK's West Midlands) have decreed that "all work pictures and knick-knacks of novelty pigs and 'pig-related items' will be banned".

This frenzy follows a complaint by one Muslim employee of the Council. The ban extended to another employee's personal box of tissues (because the box featured the cartoon characters Winnie the Pooh, and his little friend Piglet).

(As the Telegraph points out, Muslims regard pigs as "unclean"... apparently even cartoon pigs, wearing scarf & bright colourful singlet ;-)

It follows another mad incident, where fast food giant Burger King went into its own PC-frenzy, withdrawing ice-cream cones from all its British restaurants. This behaviour followed a complaint from a Muslim customer, who claimed the creamy swirl symbol on the lid resembled the word "Allah" in Arabic script!!?!

* Cox & Forkum: Perils before Swine
* Hat tip: Sir Humphrey's: Funny if it weren't true

Now, this is funny... Check out this great kiwi invention, currently listed on auction site, TradeMe...

* TradeMe.co.nz: Great Kiwi Invention of the Week

(I'd love one myself, but the bidding's already up to $1,200... wonder how strictly TradeMe applies their rules on winning bids?!)...

* (Hat tip: Sir Humphrey's)

The final results of NZ's General Election have come out as the more intelligent political commentators were predicting...

* The Greens did not gain enough extra votes to return former poster boy Nandor Tanczos to Parliament (their historical boost from special votes was lost this time, due to Labour's "free money" student loan policy). (Quelle de'mage ;-).

* Same deal with the JAP's (Jim Anderton's Progressives) - their vote only needed to go up a smidge to return Matt Robson, but it actually went down a smidge, so Old Jimmyboy is now a party of One.

* The Maori Party's ex-pat campaign in the likes of Australia helped them increase the proportionality of Parliament, by lifting their final vote to 2.12%, thereby reducing the overhang to just one MP (they still have four MPs, by virtue of winning 4 Maori electorate seats).

* The National Party's Katrina Shanks is the one that misses out by pulling Parliament back to just 121 MPs. Unlikely to be a big shock for her, but National could have done with the extra female MP.

* Mrs Peter Davis now needs to secure a majority of 61 votes to pass crucial legislation...

Likely odds on running a minority Government "coalition" with Labour and Jim Anderton, relying on the support of the Greens for most policies (now commonly known in media circles as the "LPG Government" ;-) ... however, playing off NZ First/United Future/Maori Party for any items which the Greens turn their nose at.

* NZ Herald: National lose one seat in final count
* NZ Herald: Full list of MPs after final election result
* Elections NZ: Official Count Results