Peter Young Writes For You

This column was originally published in the Central Western Daily on Tuesday 22nd December 2009.

Every year I look forward to the break between Christmas and New Year. I always have ambitious plans for my holidays but inevitably spend it eating way too much and falling asleep on the couch. In the off chance that I somehow manage to be constructive with my time, I’m making a list and I’m checking it twice.

1. See Avatar at the new cinema: I’ve heard nothing but great reviews for James Cameron’s new film. In a recent Sunday newspaper, the reviewer named it the best movie ever. I’m sure it will be great, but that’s ridiculous, Mariah Carey’s Glitter is the best movie ever. Orange certainly deserves a quality cinema, and considering that we’ve been putting up with poor sound quality and out of focus movies for the past year or so, let’s hope the Odeon is here for good.
2. Actually finish a book: I love book stores. I love buying books. Do I ever finish the books I buy? Rarely. I’ve had a thing recently for books about cats so the contenders for being read from beginning to end are Under The Paw by Tom Cox, Dewey by Vicki Myron and My Life Outside The Ring by Hulk Hogan.
3. Play Super Mario Bros Wii: I have a similar weakness (that’s pronounced addiction) for video games. The latest Super Mario Bros game is fantastically fun and made me a little nostalgic for the eighties. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed playing the original Mario Bros on the NES console. Unfortunately, I had also forgotten how terrible I was at playing it.
4. Determine my Top Ten Films: Have you ever been asked what your favourite films are, but can never come up with a definitive answer? Flick Chart is my latest internet obsession. It is a website that allows you to come up with a list of your favourite movies. Two movie posters are presented to you at a time. If you have seen both films, simply click on the one you thought was better. As you click away, your list begins to take shape and your favourite movies rise to the top. Beware though, once you go to www.flickchart.com, you will stay there for hours and hours. Great fun, and a brilliant time waster.
5. Organise my diary: Every December I dutifully peruse and then select a diary. I fill in my details at the front and write in my appointments for January, and then ignore it for the rest of the year. I even bought a Filofax this year. At least this year coming, I can pencil in “write column for the CWD” every Monday.
6. Watch everything on my hard drive recorder: The best thing about HDD recorders is that you never need video tapes or blank DVDs. Just press a button and it’s recorded. The worst thing is that it is too easy to record way more than you can ever watch. If I put 48 hours or so aside I should get it done. I might finally get around to seeing that Hey Hey reunion. I heard there was a fantastic Michael Jackson tribute act that came back to perform on Red Faces.

Happy holidays everyone.