All Consuming : lauren1988

A story about "The Nanny Diaries"

nobody@allconsuming.net (lauren1988) — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 13:56:26 GMT

by Shari Springer Berman

I knew this movie would be fairly brainless, but that’s okay, I often enjoy that stuff. Also, I love Scarlett Johansson, so I was willing to be quite forgiving. But this was painful to watch. Bad.

A story about "soy cheese"

nobody@allconsuming.net (lauren1988) — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 12:10:49 GMT

soy cheese

If I were to go vegan again, I’d rather not eat cheese than have to eat soy cheese. It was chalky …

A review of "The Alchemist" (rated 4 stars)

nobody@allconsuming.net (lauren1988) — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 12:09:24 GMT

The Alchemist

by Paulo Coelho

I think that I would have liked it better if my expectations weren’t so high, but it was nevertheless a fulfilling story.

A story about "Last Tango in Paris"

nobody@allconsuming.net (lauren1988) — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 18:53:45 GMT

Last Tango in Paris

by Bernardo Bertolucci

Just … wow …

I think it will take a few days before I can figure out where to start talking about this masterpiece. But I’ll say now that I’ve never had such a wonderful post-film conversation as the one I had with my friends after watching it.

And on a completely superficial note, the transition between a hardcore sex scene and a group of ducks is officially my all-time favourite cinematic transition. Hahaha.

A review of "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Full Screen Edition)"

nobody@allconsuming.net (lauren1988) — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 12:48:51 GMT

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Full Screen Edition)

by Ken Kwapis

I freakin’ love this movie. So hilariously bad, it’s kind of adorable. Perfect rainy day movie.

A review of "Youth"

nobody@allconsuming.net (lauren1988) — Tue, 22 May 2007 09:33:04 GMT

Youth

by J M Coetzee

It may not engage everyone as much as it did me, as not a lot happens, but I empathised strongly with the young Coetzee/narrator (it’s semi-autobiographical.) There were quite a few moments where his sentiments really affected me, especially his musings on an inability to connect to others. I’m looking forward to reading some of his better known works now.

A review of "Short Cuts - Criterion Collection"

nobody@allconsuming.net (lauren1988) — Mon, 21 May 2007 06:46:35 GMT

Short Cuts - Criterion Collection

by Robert Altman

I say ‘Worth it!’ just for the relationship between the characters played by Lily Tomlin and Tom Waits. Otherwise, I was maybe leaning towards ‘Wishy Washy,’ just because I’m not a big enough follower of anyone in the ensemble cast for that to be a significant drawcard. All in all, an engaging film. Better than average.

A story about "Port-Salut"

nobody@allconsuming.net (lauren1988) — Fri, 18 May 2007 07:04:59 GMT

Port-Salut

When at my middle school’s cafeteria in France, I would turn my nose at Port Salut, thinking, “I could just as easily eat something like this in Australia.” Since this is probably the last time I would ever be at a school with a selection of fine cheeses in its cafeteria (lunch was pretty much the highlight of my school day for that reason alone), I used to always opt for camembert or something with blue veins.

But I bought some at a Sydney Woolworths yesterday, and it did not disappoint. Perfect cheese to nibble on when you want your tastebuds to be satiated, not challenged. I.e. When you just want CHEESE.

A story about "Falafel"

nobody@allconsuming.net (lauren1988) — Fri, 18 May 2007 03:02:35 GMT

Falafel

by Arabia

I’ve had felafel wraps at two different kebab outlets (one at the St Kilda festival, one in the Sydney CBD), and been sorely disappointed. Even with plenty of sweet chilli/garlic sauce, I found them too dry and plain to enjoy or even finish. I want to like them though! So many people seem to be obsessed with them, so I must be missing something.

The one exception is Sumo Salad felafels! Yum! I work there, and we make them the size of rumballs then put them on the grill with olive oil. At that size, they’re more digestible and golden brown, kind of like felafel ‘nuggets’. We serve them either in wraps with hommus, tabouleh, roasted capsicum and sweet chilli, or in a salad with pumpkin mint cous cous, Spanish onion, rocket, roasted capsicum, and covered in olive oil and balsamic vinegar. So good!

Why I recommend "soy hot dog"

nobody@allconsuming.net (lauren1988) — Fri, 18 May 2007 02:52:31 GMT

soy hot dog

Hot dogs are probably the least difficult product to soyify as the traditional ones don’t really taste of any particular meat. The just have that unmistakeable hot dog flavour. Sanitarium (Australia) does great ones. I was never even that keen on meat hot dogs, but I actually really like these, because they have the flavour without the unhealthy aftertaste and dodgy texture. So yeah, you should try them even if you aren’t vegetarian!

A story about "Dairy Milk Chocolate"

nobody@allconsuming.net (lauren1988) — Fri, 18 May 2007 02:42:19 GMT

Dairy Milk Chocolate

by Cadbury

I do like it. Growing up, this was the most common choclate accessible, so it’s pretty much the standard by which all other chocolates are measured. It’s also widely accessible here. But I’d prefer something a little less sweet. It depends on my mood, but it also sometimes tastes more nutty than chocolatey. Meh. I guess I’m just not all that crazy about chocolate. I hadn’t had it in a while, but today was a lovely stay inside rainy day, so I was in the mood for it. Not disappointing, but I probably won’t buy it for a while.

(N.B. This was Australian Cadbury. I might think differently if my local supermarket suddenly started stocking British Cadbury. Which isn’t going to happen.)

A story about "High Fidelity: A Novel"

nobody@allconsuming.net (lauren1988) — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 13:40:47 GMT

High Fidelity: A Novel

by Nick Hornby

Forget all of those namby pamby self-help books. Aside from being a highly enjoyable account of the 90s and pop music, High Fidelity taught me so much about how men’s minds work. Guys – read it for the empathy; girls – read it and understand the things that should be blindingly obvious. I also loved it because it was wonderfully British and sarcastic. Yay.

Spicy Sweety Goodness!

nobody@allconsuming.net (lauren1988) — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 11:59:51 GMT

Homemade ginger tea

by you

My Taiwanese HM and I both have yucky colds, so she boiled up some ginger, then added honey and lemon juice. It really appeals to my palate – a little bit sweet but also bitey and spicy. I don’t know what to say to the belief that it helps colds, but it has a definite warming effect, so that’s always a good thing. And it’s delicious!