Waste Not.

Ever wanted to punish people who don't follow your views?

An article in The Sydney Morning Herald on Sunday titled "Clear your plate or clear off: this iron chef will make you pay" has given restaurant owners the opportunity to achieve this.

Chef and Owner of 'Wafu', a Japanese restaurant, Yukako Ichikawa has solved the problem of waste on an individual level -

• Haven't finished what's on your plate? You are charged 30% more than guests who lick the plate clean
• Ordered take-away? Bring your own containers or you will not be served
• Don't believe in either of the above 'Restaurant Rules'? You will not be welcome back

Whilst her firm and vigorously executed policy has earned her some pretty bad reviews, I whole-heartedly support her cause.

A visit to the ABS website gave me a five-fingered-plus-palm slap in the face when I read how much waste Australians dump each year.

"Australians generated approximately 43.8 million tonnes of waste (approximately 2,080 kilograms of waste per person) in 2006–07" (Article 4613.0 - Australia's Environment: Issues and Trends, Jan 2010)

Two thousand kilograms per person!

And the worst state is New South Wales. Shame on us.

Yukako is a brave woman in my opinion, risking sales and positive word-of-mouth for a better environment. Less waste means less pollution to our lands and less guilt about the fact that we ordered a 400g Rib Eye and only ate half, while there are millions of starving people all around the world.

'OzHarvest' is an organisation whose actions will no doubt award them good karma for the rest of their lives.

Taking lead from 'AmericaHarvest' which has been in operation for over 20 years in the US, Founder Ronni Kahn started with a small team and one van in late 2004, and begun collecting kilos of unused waste from local businesses in the Hospitality industry and delivering them to charities where they could be put to better use.

Today, OzHarvest deliver 100,000 meals each month.

So please, next time you order out from a restaurant or go shopping for tonight's dinner, have a think about how much food you will actually eat. Less is more.

It's been a pleasure - and for me too ;)

The Music Makes the Movie

Action, Drama, Comedy, Romance, Fantasy, even Sci-Fi. The movie can be slow, lacking a story-line or even star Jennifer Lopez. But if the music can evoke the passion, intensity, excitement and sentiment that the movie so desperately needs, then in my books its a winner.

Enter 'Hot Tub Time Machine'.

Blasting back to the 80's via a magical hot-tub are four friends who set out to repeat history but then realise their lives are worthless and that by making a difference in the 80's they may find themselves happy in 2009....sounds like a winner!

My first thought when I heard about this movie was that it looks ridiculous, but in a funny way.

And I do love John Cusack.

Whilst the jokes are dirty and the action a little lame, the soundtrack to this film is absolute GOLD.

David Bowie, Poison, Cutting Crew, Public Enemy - to name a few. But the real show stoppers in the film all happen to Motley Crue with a special take on 'Home Sweet Home'...

Classic 80's anthems highlight the hilarious plot and completely unrealistic circumstances the four main characters get involved in.

But with music like that, who cares!

Music defines people, occupations, fashion, eras and most importantly to me - film.

There are moments when you hear a song and it reminds you of a place or a person and you sit back and have a little chuckle or perhaps get a little teary.

I enjoy when I hear a song and it triggers a scene from a film to replay over and over in my head.

My favourite would have to be from Ferris Bueller's Day Off...

It just so happens that my fav scene makes an appearance in 20-to-1 'Scene-Stealing Shows' - I hope yours does too!

It's been a pleasure - and for me too ;)

Hocus Pocus

When I first set out on a personal experiment to see whether or not being superstitious actually had a prominent effect on my life, I had no idea the journey of superstitions is one long and winding road.

We have the Elizabethan times to thank for most of the evil, omens and all round awful luck that is apparently waiting to pounce on us. They did not like to tempt fate.

Aim - To dis-prove superstitions by creating a situation where one would use a superstition and then purposely not using it to see what happens.

Method - In my day-to-day life, when an opportunity arises that I think I may invite bad luck by saying or thinking something I shouldn't, I simply do it anyway.

Then I wait and see if a piano falls on my head.

I started off small first, stating (out loud) that work was slow and boring and I wasn't going to get any busier - the result, I was correct.

Then I got a little more of my game on by verbally acknowledging "wow, there's a bit of traffic here, perhaps this is a sign of a very slooooow drive into the city" - the result, the traffic was due to a broken down car and cleared up once I was passed it.

I was on a streak kicking superstition in the butt when this time I decided to toy with my dating life.

I was hoping a certain somebody would call and seeing as I'd been right so far I purposely thought that they wouldn't call and I'd be disappointed - the result, of course they didn't call, and yes, I was disappointed - I had jinxed it.

Conclusion - After a series of experiments I was able to reach the satisfying conclusion that being superstitious is a bunch of hoo-hah nonsense. "Touch Wood", "don't jinx it", its all bollocks.

Yes, I was beaten on occasion but only because of my powerful mind. It's tough to try to think about something bad happening just so you can prove yourself right. I've always been a big believer in the power of the mind so this probably hindered my experiment.

Another factor that I would be ridiculous not to point out would be that there are 'x' many variables in this experiment that nobody would be able to control. And it is for this reason my study has proven my Aim true.

If people believe that saying "God Bless You" will stop demons entering your body when you sneeze or walking under ladders and seeing black cats will cause bad things to happen then my message is simple - how can one action affect so many aspects of life?

This being so, I can understand that being superstitious allows a person to feel more comfortable and more in control of a situation - just in case.

Even though I stick by my conclusion of it all being a bunch of Hocus Pocus, I don't think I am ready to risk human or animal life just yet.

It's been a pleasure - and for me too ;)

An Australian King

Yep, move over Kevin Rudd because Chris Egan has hit the big time in NBC's TV drama 'Kings', which depicts the biblical story of King David set in the modern-day fictional Kingdom of Gilboa.

Long time Home and Away Fans will remember Chris Egan as blonde haired babe 'Nick Smith' from Summer Bays shores between 2000-2003.

Since then he has had a few appearances in some under-the-radar American TV shows and a couple of Supporting Roles in the cinema.

I accidentally stumbled across 'Kings' one Wednesday night on 7Two and only watched the entire episode because I was eager to see what Chris had become.

He portrays the lead character with ease and still looks dam fine and dam Australian.

Starting off as a boy-next-door soldier, he is haphazardly thrust into the limelight when he rescues the son of the King of Gilboa and stands up to a 'Goliath-Class tank ' - a tank of a neighbouring warring country.

Yes, this is the David from the well-known biblical story of David and Goliath.

What I love most about this drama - other than the brilliant mix of family hierarchy and corruption - is that it makes me feel good knowing I'm watching something based (albeit loosely) on religious history - if you are Jewish or Christian that is.

It also makes a pleasant change from the 56 crime shows currently monopolising free-to-air TV.

'Kings' is halfway through its first season on 7Two so I strongly recommend downloading it and adding it to the 'must-see' library.

It has been a pleasure - and for me too ; )

Submission Complete

My first post goes out on behalf of the NovaFM 'Chief Entertainment Officer' Competition, hence the name and address of my Blog.

Over two weeks ago I learnt of the competition which could send me overseas to travel and report on three major music festivals - SummerSonic, Sziget and Pukkelpop.

While I carefully created Cover Letters and CVs, I thought an excellent way to demonstrate my creative and passionate personality would be to dive straight in and show NovaFM that I am the best person for the role.

The other Pages in my Blog relate to my CV, giving insight into what kind of person I am and the determination I have when I set out to achieve the daring and impossible.

I have attempted to win a competition like this before, for a festival which was supported by Strongbow a couple of years ago. I submitted a three minute video as my application and I succeeded as a finalist but sadly I did not win.

The venture of writing a script, acting and adding the video to YouTube really tickled my fancy, so I worked extra hard this time to make sure I did everything I could to prove I was the ideal candidate.

The Competition ends this Easter Sunday, so get your entries in ASAP!

It's been a pleasure - and for me too ;)

http://mycareer.com.au/novaceo/default.aspx