Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher

I am quite a newcomer to the world of Jack Reacher. Having recently acquiring a dozen or so ebook versions of Lee Child's Jack Reacher novels, I am currently reading Killing Floor and my Kindle tells me I am 30% of the way through it, the first installment in this series of suspense thrillers.

I am gradually building up a mental picture of Reacher, what he looks like, how he behaves, how he reacts to different situations and so on. For me, forming impressions of characters is one of the great pleasures of reading. According to Wikipedia (so it must be true - ha ha), Jack Reacher's physical appearance is described as follows:

Reacher is 6' 5" tall (1.96 m) with a 50-inch chest, and weighing between 210 and 250 pounds (100-115 kg). He has ice-blue eyes and dirty blond hair. He has very little body fat, and his muscular physique is completely natural (he reveals in Persuader, he has never been an exercise enthusiast.) He is exceptionally strong but is not a good runner. Reacher's strength is combined with his savant intellect and military training, analyzing his environment and opponents at extremely high processing speeds.

I learned via Mashable this morning that Tom Cruise is to play Jack Reacher in a cinematic adaptation of the ninth novel in the series, One Shot. The movie will simply be called Jack Reacher and is due for release later this year.

I'm sorry to say that no part of Reacher's physical description or psychological picture reminds in any way of Tom Cruise - absolutely none at all. For one thing, Cruise is almost a foot shorter than Reacher. But it goes further than his size (which is an integral part of this character). Reacher is  imposing in almost every way and hardened by life; there is nothing suave about him. According to the official Twitter feed for the movie, Lee Child himself is thrilled with the choice and goes to great lengths to assure readers that he was never worried about it. At all. Never ever. Not one bit.

I'm not convinced and it seems I'm not the only one. The trailer hasn't done much to change my mind, either.



What do you think about Tom Cruise playing Jack Reacher? Does your imagination stretch far enough to make it believable, or will you be struggling, like me, to make the character work on the big screen?

The Bartered Bride

The New Zealand Opera season of The Bartered Bride opens in Wellington tomorrow night. Last night, we were lucky enough to get a sneak peak at the final dress rehearsal. I have enjoyed hearing how the last few months of rehearsals were progressing and it was great to see everything coming together on stage.

The Bartered Bride is a comic look at Bohemian life by Czech composer Bedřich Smetana. Originally set in the 1860s, it's all about scheming, social climbing and marrying favourably to settle family debts, thereby ensuring financial security but all the time threatening the happiness of the star-crossed lovers. The circus performers stole the show with their short segment and Conal Coad gave a standout performance as the scheming matchmaker, Kecal. Predictably, true love prevails and things all work out amiably. Of course.

At 2 hours 40 minutes, this opera is a long time sitting. Thankfully it is sung in English, although subtitles were projected above the theatre boxes on both sides of the stage.

Continental apple slice

While clearing out some stuff this weekend, I came across a recipe book called Easy Slices that I'd almost forgotten I owned. A few recipes were marked and I remembered having success making fast bars, sultana slice and peppermint brownie slice. Last night, I baked continental apple slice using some leftover apples. The self-raising flour combined with sour cream and baking soda meant the base was more like a cake (sponge) than slice and it rose really high.

Continental apple slice

Ingredients

• 25 g butter, softened
• 1/2 cup caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 300 g sour cream
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 cups self-raising flour, sifted
• 2 (green) apples, peeled, cored and sliced
• 1/2 chopped walnuts
• 2 tablespoons caster sugar (extra)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Line a 25 cm x 30 cm baking tin.
2. Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
3. Blend in sour cream and baking soda. Beat well.
4. Gradually fold in flour. Pour into baking tin.
5. Arrange apple slices on top. Combine walnuts, extra sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle over apples.
6. Bake for 35-40 minutes. Allow to cool in tin. Cut into squares. Store in an airtight container. Makes approximately 36.

Continental apple slice

Dear blog

Dear poor, neglected blog

Where shall I start? You’ll be thinking that I don't love you anymore. That's not true at all! You’ll be wondering if I still read (lots), listen to music (all the time) or go places (often!). You'll be doubting whether I bake any more. Rest assured, I bake at every opportunity but don't always get the chance to share my recipes with you as often as I used to. Heck, you're probably questioning whether I can still form sentences longer than 140 characters! No, you have most definitely not been replaced by Twitter.

Please don't feel like this.

Life has been very busy lately and there are heaps of great things happening for me right now. There has been lots of time with friends and family and we've been doing some really exciting stuff, with plenty more coming up. I know I usually tell you all about some of the places I've been and things I get up to so you can share it with the blogosphere. It's a job you do so well and I don’t mean to stop you from doing this. After all, it's almost 5 years since you first said hi and soon it will be time for another blog birthday. I might bake you some birthday cupcakes, just to prove to you that I still know how!

I know you can see all the draft posts I have hidden just beneath the surface. You'll notice that some need a bit of tidying up and finishing while others are just a random collection of notes and links that I plan to develop further ... at some stage. There are also lots of notes in my phone, which you can't see, but be assured that the ideas are there even if I don’t always manage to show them to you.

So, my dear faithful blog friend, I have no plans to abandon you or take a break. I think about you often and thank you for standing by while I seem to be on hiatus, but let me assure you that there are plenty more tales to come.

Please continue welcoming coffee buddies to our little piece of the blogosphere. I'll pop by as much as I can!

Yours always

Café Chick

Bill Bailey - Qualmpeddler

I had been looking forward to seeing Bill Bailey in concert since booking tickets earlier this year. It would seem that Bailey has been looking forward to touring this part of the world, too. Ever since he first swallowed the Little Book of Calm on Black Books, I've been a fan of his comedy. As a musician, I also really enjoyed his Remarkable Guide to the Orchestra along with various musical interludes interspersed in his performances.

Bill Bailey is currently touring New Zealand and Australia with his latest show, Qualmpeddler, and we were at New Zealand's opening night on Friday. Although no qualms were being peddled and I'm told that some of the show is not new, this was an hilarious evening of non-stop laughter. Bailey had the crowd at "hello" and we ate out of the palm of his hand for the next 2 hours. His quick wit dealt to the many hecklers, many of whose lines made it into the show. However, no-one expected to hear someone shout, "I didn't want those grapes anyway!" from the audience and watch it become part of the show.

Naturally, music featured throughout the show including some techno-Jamaican dubs and a spell oe bouzouki, with the finale being played on Horntellica, Bailey's horn set - you've never heard Metallica like this before! A fantastic night out.

War paint

I'm not a morning person. Let me rephrase that: I like the concept of mornings, but would prefer them to happen later in the day. Although I love sunrises and all that they symbolise, I am not someone who naturally wakes refreshed and ready to embrace the promise of a new day. I find it especially more challenging when it is dark outside.

As a result of my aversion to mornings (particularly early ones), my morning routine is as brief as it needs to be: get up, feed the cat, make lunch, quick shower, get dressed and then out the door. Although I love coffee, I'd rather spend a few more precious minutes in bed than up and waiting for it to brew before hurriedly gulping it down on my way out the door. I have never watched breakfast tv either and don't see how anyone actually has the time or nerve for it.

What I also don't understand is where (mostly) women find time in the morning for excessive grooming routines. Given that I don't own a hairdryer and practically nothing in the way of hair product, I am arguably saving myself anywhere between 10-60 minutes (as a very rough guess) every morning.

The same goes for makeup; seriously, who has time to apply war paint while half-asleep each and every morning? Perhaps what is most ironic is the myriad of steps involved in trying to achieve a natural look. Then the are the obligatory touch ups during the day and the truckload of product I'd have to add to my already bulging handbag in order to maintain my 'natural' camouflage. Isn't it a sad state of affairs when an influential woman not wearing makeup makes the news or women without makeup are considered to be vulnerably exposing themselves. WTF?! I have recently watched someone hit her head on her desk as she emerged from underneath it with her GHD straighteners after 'fixing' her fringe. Heck, I know someone who touches up her makeup (foundation, mascara and lipstick) and hair before beginning a gym workout! Don't get me started on what all this product is doing to women's hair and skin in the long term ...

Don't get me wrong - I am all happy to doll up when going out, but I value my precious few extra moments of sleep far too much to sacrifice in the name of 'natural' beauty. Is anyone with me on this one or am I standing alone in a field somewhere?