(courtesy IMDb) SNAPSHOTBenny wakes up seeing that it’s February 8, meaning that it’s his birthday. But he’s not in the mood and shuns it, until the Minions wake him up saying “happy birthday!”, Benny sees that the whole place is in a birthday party style. The Minions take him to his cake with one of Continue Reading
Happy 60th birthday to me …. my favourite (roughly) 60 songs #Andyat60
(via Shutterstock) I can’t imagine a time when music wasn’t a major obsession. Granted I never took up the guitar or drums and joined a band, and my efforts to learn the piano were dismal at best (right Mrs. Noble?), but as a listener I was devoted beyond all reason. Continue Reading
Movie review: Ocean with David Attenborough #AndyAt60
(courtesy Oceanfilm.net) To be honest, this reviewer put off watching Ocean With David Attenborough for quite a few months because life was, and is, super stressful and who needs to find out more about how supremely comprehensively humanity is trashing our oceans on top of the litany of other environmental Continue Reading
Revealed! The Jim Henson Hour: “Secrets of the Muppets” #AndyAt60
(courtesy IMDb) SNAPSHOTJoin Jim Henson and his dog, Jojo, for an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of The Jim Henson Creature Shop in this rare 1989 documentary episode of The Jim Henson Hour. In “Secrets of the Muppets,” Jim reveals the innovative techniques that brought the Muppets to life, including the integration Continue Reading
A lifetime of reading … my 60(ish) top books #AndyAt60
(via Shutterstock) Reading has always been a lifeline for me. My childhood, while full of love from my parents, was marked by unending bullying, which began as I stepped on the school bus and only stopped as I stepped off that afternoon, and judgement and censure from not all but Continue Reading
Retro comic book review: Scooby Doo … Mystery Comics #1 #AndyAt60
A curious thing happened in late January 1990 as I prepared to move to Sydney, by overnight Kirklands bus no less, and tried to sort out my belongings at my parents’ place. I decided to throw out, for reasons that completely escape me now, almost all my ABBA collection (since Continue Reading
Book review: Somewhere, a Boy and a bear by Gyles Brandreth #AndyAt60
(courtesy Penguin Books Australia) Childhood is in many ways, the most perfect and yet, once departed, the most impossible of idylls to return to, and yet as the enduring power of A. A. Milne’s now 100-year-old creation Winnie the Pooh reminds us in ways melancholic and yet comforting, it doesn’t Continue Reading
Ready for my cinema seat, Mr. DeMille: my favourite 60 movies #Andyat60
(via Shutterstock) I honestly recall the first movie I ever saw but it was highly likely it was on the TV. When I was a kid, cinemas were few and far between on the Far North Coast of New South wales and while my family wasn’t poor, we weren’t flush Continue Reading
The loveable characters of Sesame Street do their best to get into the Netflix vibe
(courtesy Netflix TUDUM) When HBO decided not to renew its contract to screen first-run episodes of Sesame Street, there was a brief moment of worry about who would step in to keep kids learning their ABCs and 123s with the likes of Grover, Big Bird and Elmo. Thankfully, Netflix stepped Continue Reading
Book review: Myself & Other Animals by Gerald Durrell #AndyAt60
(courtesy Penguin Books Australia) As part of my 60th birthday celebrations, I am highlighting figures and characters and franchises which have meant the world to me, enriching my life beyond measure and granting the ability to see this amazing world of ours in ways that might otherwise have evaded me. Continue Reading