TET.Life (The Extraordinary Tourist Life)

I haven't paid a lot of attention to Australia's political landscape since they installed revolving doors on the Prime Minister's Office.  For a long while you'd never see the current Prime Minister's face because, whoever was leader that week, was constantly looking over their shoulder for wayward knives. 2022 is an Australian Federal election year so I thought maybe I should take a bit of an interest, just to make sure I'm not wrong about my stance on not ever, under any circumstance, voting for the United Australia Party . Not until they completely drop their support for nuclear power and focus entirely on developing actual, environmentally friendly, alternative power technologies (or, at minimum, have a proven way to safely recycle nuclear waste rather than store it). In case you're wondering I generally vote for the Greens Party , after the Australian Democrats imploded many years ago, and Labor burned through their roster of mildly interesting talent...

I've already written about my new, second favorite, MCU Super Hero, Kate Bishop , but, now that I've seen the full six episodes of the Disney+ series, Hawkeye , it's time for that full review I promised. Regular readers will know I'm not really a comic book reader in the superhero space. Everything I know about Hawkeye is based on what I've seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as played by Jeremy Renner. When I saw the original first teaser trailer for Hawkeye, it looked fine. It had a kind of similar spy feel to it with, what I would learn to be, graphics from the  Matt Fraction, David Aja, and Javier Pulido comic book run, along the lines of Captain America, The Winter Soldier. I was glad Hawkeye was finally getting a series. Then, when the second 'Christmas' trailer was released it brought a whole new tone of fun to the series that I was immediately excited to see it. Whoever thought to set the show at Christmas and use the '...tied up with a bow...

Coffee at the 40's Café in Angaston, South Australia. On the final day of our three day getaway to the Barossa my partner, Enigma, had booked a Barossa Mystery Picnic , which sounded like a fun way to spend mid-morning through to a mid afternoon picnic lunch at a yet unknown destination. Note that a Mystery Picnic is just one experience you can purchase from Amazing Co who are not limited to experiences in Adelaide. Their website is filled with experiences through many countries, cities, and regions - even 'at home experiences', so it's worth browsing their website to see if they have anything near you or your next holiday destination. For our mystery picnic we were given a series of clues, each revealed after solving the previous clue. Each clue leads to your next destination. Most destinations are a local business where you can pick up various items of food that will make up your picnic lunch at the final destination. The cost of the mystery picnic gives you a set bu...

I was initially excited to see James Gunn's The Suicide Squad right from the first trailer. However I ended up skipping seeing it in theatres based on the red band trailer because, while the blood and gore was cartoonish, I felt it was likely something my partner might not be into (or at least would want to see on a big screen). Plus I knew it was a self contained story so missing it would have little to no effect on other DCEU films that may be hanging on to their connectivity. Unfortunately, in Australia, the film wasn't released on streaming simultaneously, and I wasn't prepared to rent it as a premium download. If I'm going to pay that kind of price I'd rather own a movie on physical media (I'm the one person who still buys movies on DVD). With that preamble, my partner bought me the film for Christmas on DVD and we did watch it together. I'm fairly certain she enjoyed most of it but some of the graphic violence was a little too much, judging by the occ...

Maggie Beer's Farm Shop Entrance. You may know South Australian icon Maggie Beer from her TV cooking show, The Cook and the Chef , or from her guest appearances on Australian Master Chef . Or perhaps you're a long time customer of her various products and produce. If you're in the Barossa Valley region then a trip to her farm/shop/eatery is a nice way to spend a morning or afternoon. Follow the link to book an 'experience' that will make your visit extra memorable. The Farm Walk, informational Plaques. There is a farm walk trail, that my partner, Enigma, and I, found a little hard to know for sure if we were going the right way, but we seemed to find the various informative plaques detailing the site's history. In any case we also had a nice walk around the main lake that the shop sits alongside where you can spot many turtles and other water going wildlife. The shop itself isn't particularly large but it does have the full range of Maggie's products....

It's hard to imagine, that with all the trailers and leaks for Spider-Man: No Way Home that there were any surprises left to see in theatres. Fortunately the movie still manages to deliver even more than I was expecting. As a result, I had a great time and didn't leave the theatre feeling like I'd seen it all already in the trailers. This is, arguably, one of the best live action Spider-Man films (potentially even comic book superhero films) you'll ever see. That said, there's still much to question and discuss, about the plot, with things that kind of, but probably don't make sense upon further reflection, but there's so much good here, you'll cut the writers some slack (probably). The film picks up almost exactly where Spider-Man, Far From Home, left off, with Spider-Man's identity as Peter Parker being outed. This becomes a major issue for Peter, who seeks out Doctor Strange to see what he can do to reverse time to a point before his identity bec...

Goat Square Artwork by Rod Schubert, 2008.   After almost travelling to Perth Western Australia my partner, Enigma and I, decided to take a short getaway to the Barossa for three days over her birthday. In a grueling twenty minute drive, in which I almost had time to ask "Are we there yet?" we arrived at our destination, Goat Square Cottages, Tanunda, South Australia. Consisting of three adjoined cottages for up to eight guests, Goat Square Cottages are thought to be one of the oldest houses in the Barossa Valley, dating back to the late 1840s or very early 1850s. Its layout and stylings are likely influenced (and probably built) by German migrants who moved to the region at the time. A restful seating spot at Goat Square Cottages. Built around Goat Square, or Ziegenmarket (in German), the name comes from the custom of early settlers tethering their goats in the square. In terms of accommodation we stayed in Kavel Cottage, at the rear of the building next to the carpark. The ...