Mia Freedman’s blog yesterday on the ad for UK department store John Lewis, had commenters remembering the ads and films that made them cry. I simply had to dig up this Just Humour Us post from 2006, if only to make fun of Susan again:

On the weekend I watched the Susan Sarandon/Winona Ryder version of Little Women with my daughter. As damning with faint praise as the word is, all I can describe it as is ‘nice’. You see, I thought I would cry more. You know, especially in the scene where - 

S: Wait a minute. You’d better not say too much in case you spoil it.
M: Everyone knows, don’t they?
S: Better safe, than sorry.

OK – especially in the scene where the whole y’know thing happens with the sist-

S: Careful, there.

Anyway I thought I would cry more, but I didn’t. So it was nice, and that’s that.

The whole thing did however get me thinking about the big tearjerker scenes in movies and television. So here they are: Our Favourite Bring Out the Tissues Moments

Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey – I read this book as a kid, and just knew that the movie was going to be the end of me. The little boy, waiting so patiently for his dog, and the other dog and cat come running home, and he’s happy to see him, but still waits for his old dog. He (and the viewers) thinks all is lost, and then – finally – the faithful old dog comes limping across the yard to him. Waaaaaaaah!

Breakfast at Tiffanys – towards the end, a distraught Holly Golightly tosses Cat out into an alley in the rain. And he’s sitting there in the rain. And he’s getting all wet. And then she goes back for him, and can’t find him. And did I mention it’s raining? And finally with Paul’s help, she finds the Cat, and they hug him and each other. Waaaaah!

Toy Story 2: When Jessie the cowgirl doll sings “When Somebody Loved Me”. The little girl grows up and stops playing with her. Then one day she takes her out again, and Jessie is all happy, thinking she has her friend back, but she’s really just taking her away to be dumped. Waaaaaah!

S: That’s your top three, and they’re about animals and a doll? What about real people?
M: I like animals. You give me some then, smartypants. Sophie’s Choice? The Shawshank Redemption? “Your girl is lovely, Hubbel?”
S: Uh – I was going to say Cool Runnings.
M: Not the movie with John Candy and the Jamaican Bobsled Team?
S: That’s the one.
M: Oh this should be good.

Cool Runnings – The Jamaican bobsled team have overcome all obstacles (not the least of which being they come from a small Caribbean Island and this is a sport involving ice) and are competing in the Winter Olympics. They have a run-down second hand bobsled. After a humiliating first run, they pull themselves together and start their second run perfectly. The crowd is cheering, they are making record time and it looks like they will make the finals. Then their bobsled starts to fall apart and they crash. The medical team rushes in and just when you think that the athletes have all been killed they crawl out from underneath the bobsled, pick it up and carry it, limping over the line to finish . The teams who were ridiculing them only minutes before lead the applause. It’s a beautiful moment… (sigh) Look I was 8 months pregnant, okay?! All those hormones.

M: Fair enough. And now on to the biggest tearjerker I’ve ever seen. Do you remember the old Kleenex tissues ads with the little boy and the duckling? I’m talking the early 1980s here.
S: Not to forget the ads for Kleenex, Hallmark, Huggies nappies. The emotional manipulations of the advertising agencies know no bounds.
M: Ah yes – never underestimate the buying power of weepy women .

Yep – Cool Runnings is Susan’s most memorable tearjerker moment. I will never let her live it down. But in the interests of full disclosure, I get a lump in my throat and well up every time the Rohirrim come riding over the hill at Helm’s Deep at the end of the second Lord of the Rings movie. I am a sook and a geek.

Come on – ‘fess up – which ridiculous ads and movie moments have made you cry?

So yesterday the twitterverse and then the news websites and then the radio and TV news (because that’s the order it seems to happen these days) were all aflutter with the news that notorious gangland figure Carl Williams was killed in prison. I don’t think the news would have been much more than a blip on my radar were it not for the massive success of the Underbelly series.

I keep hearing people voicing the opinion that the show glorifies real life criminals. Or that they “don’t get it” by which statement (one of the most dismissive things you can say to a person, akin to a teenage “Whatever!” in my book) I am supposing they mean to say that they don’t enjoy the show and they are quite surprised that it is so popular.  I imagine a lot of people watch because it has become a “watercooler” show and to watch means a good conversation the next day. Or maybe they are fans of the true-crime genre. My husband is. He will watch or read anything based in Chicago in the 20s, New York in the 70s and wherever Chopper was in the 80s. He’s not a degenerate, I swear. He doesn’t think these guys are anything other than thugs at best, and cold hardened killers at worst. He just finds them intriguing.

I’ve watched a few episodes but I haven’t found it particularly riveting. The fashion and the hairstyles are fun with the 70s and 80s stuff, but I’ll stick with Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes for those, thanks. I like the shots of the old Aussie banknotes too. It doesn’t seem all that long since we changed over to the new notes with the plastic and  the holograms, but whenever Underbelly flashes up a shot of an old twenty or fifty, I chortle with nostalgic delight. “Remember them?!”  Otherwise I tune out, or get my husband to sacrifice any watercooler cred he may have had by making him watch it online a couple of days late. I don’t care. I don’t have a watercooler in my home office – the only underbelly that gets any attention around here is this one:

Pacino - named by my husband, of course...

Do you watch Underbelly or watch/read any other true-crime books or series? What do you think the fascination is? And what is your watercooler show of choice?

I understand some women enjoy watching tearjerkers like Grey’s Anatomy .  Apparently watching McDreamy and Whatsherface dance around their romance while saving and losing patients can lead to a very cathartic sob-fest. I don’t really get it. It’s not my thing. I tend to prefer comedies. Each to her own.

My daughter loves animals. Any animals – mammals, birds, reptiles, fish or insects – she’s not fussy. As a result we watch a lot of animal-related TV. I am well acquainted with David Attenborough, Dr Harry, Steve and Bindi Irwin and (my personal favourite) the Bondi Vet. (What?!)  It is not uncommon for me to be summoned urgently to the lounge room to look at the social habits of seahorses or the breeding cycle of dragonflies.

Last night was the series return of RSPCA Animal Rescue. We recorded it during dinner and then we girls tucked ourselves up on the lounge to watch. Of course, second story in, it hit us. A ginger cat. A ginger cat, lost and riddled with ticks. Paralysed in his back legs and losing his voice. Who belonged to a little girl who loved him and was missing him. Who may not make it through because of the extent of the poisoning. For the record, I lost it when we first laid eyes on the cat. Unfortunately before we could find out whether the cat survived, the recording stopped! That’s when my daughter lost it. The picture at left may explain our reaction somewhat.

So a big shout out of thanks to the random strangers on Twitter who answered my query as to the fate of the cat. It helped both of us get some sleep. And the sob-fest thing? Quite cathartic. (Oh, like you didn’t see that one coming!)
Do you like a good sob-fest? What TV shows set you off?

Spotting family resemblances in your kids is great – “He has your nose.” “She has your eyes.” “He has your giant head!” (This last was delivered accusingly at my husband the day after my son was born, although to be fair my own head has trouble fitting into ladies’ hat sizes.) Beyond the physical, genetics can also play a role in the development of our personality and even strange quirks. Nature – vs – nurture. You’ve all read the Peer Reviewed Studies, I’m sure.

Anyway speaking of strange quirks,  I have the adorable habit (my husband says “maddening tendency”) of playing Actor Spotto during movies.  Not with Big Name Actors like George Clooney or Meryl Streep but you know, the actors whose faces you recognise but you may not know their name. The sadly defunct website Fametracker.com called them “That Guys” as in “Hey! It’s That Guy!”

To play Actor Spotto (my version thereof) you have to exclaim something like “Oooh that actor playing the waiter. What was he in?” when a “That Guy ” comes on the screen. My husband (the B-List actor savant) will then give me the name of a movie. “Nope.  Don’t remember that one. It was a movie with a dog and maybe a rocket. And I think it was set in Europe somewhere. And it was snowing.” I won’t rest until I have the title. Thank goodness for the IMDB. We used to pause the movie to head downstairs to the computer to clarify (“shut you up” – my husband) now as soon as I say “Ooooh” he hands me his iPhone.

I have a nemesis in this game (“cruel and unusual punishment”) –  an actor called Michael O’Keefe, who, as his IMDB profile shows, has appeared in many many movies and TV shows over the years. My problem with Mr O’Keefe is that when I first met my husband, he and his flatmate were fans of one of O’Keefe’s early works, The Whoopee Boys. One IMDB user review calls it “Rude, crude, and absolutely hilarious”. They got two out of three right. This not long after he was in Caddyshack. Can you picture him now? This is the Michael O’Keefe in my head.

Now Mr O’Keefe has since appeared in many very Un-Whoopee Boys-like films and TV shows like The West Wing, Law and Order and Michael Clayton.  Being that this is acting, he changes his appearance for each character and he has of course grown older. He must be a very accomplished actor, because I never recognise him. Ever. And each time he appears my husband will say “Hey, that’s Michael O’Keefe” and I will disagree and we will bet fifty bucks of actual real (”pretend, because I’ve never seen it”) money on it and I will always lose.

So back to genetics. The other day we took the kids to see Avatar.  We’re a little way into the movie and looking fairly smashing  in our 3D glasses when my daughter jabs me in the ribs. “I told you to go to the toilet BEFORE we came in!”

“No, Mum. That lady – what’s she from?”

Sigourney Weaver. Ghostbusters.

My husband just smiled.

With 13 years of Catholic education in my distant past (note Meredith’s recent comments about our 20 year school reunion), I have a healthy respect for nuns. My memories range from the wonderful Sr Mary Amata, the school librarian who encouraged my love of books and reading, to the rather intimidating Sr Mary Pauline, who made my bush dancing classes 45 minutes of sheer torture.

Given my experiences with nuns in the past, it is perhaps not surprising that I was intrigued by the Nun of a Kind website with its fantastic range of gift nuns. That’s right, you can purchase your very own, shipped direct to your door nun.

Once I visited The Nunnery I was hooked. Reverend Mother of Purl, the knitting nun. Nuns ‘n’ Roses, the rock’n’roll nun. Sr Nun the Wiser, the university graduate. Absolutely priceless as a gift idea for anyone with a Catholic background who can appreciate a good pun or simply someone like Meredith who includes nuns in her list of fundamentally amusing things.

Once I knew the Sisters existed I just had to have one. I just had to find a reason to justify my purchase. Fortunately, Linda the creator of the wonderful nuns, added a new nun, Sr Paige Turner the writing nun, just in time. Before you could say “get thee to a nunnery”, I had ordered two, one for me and one for Meredith.

I didn’t stop there of course (Hello. My name is Susan. I am a compulsive online shopper). Thanks to a few emails bounced back and forth with the very helpful Linda, I also ordered two Sr Bea Well nuns as a special gift for my mother and her best friend, both of whom are breast cancer survivors.

If you’re looking for a gift for someone with a great sense of humour, the Nun-denominational sisters are a fantastic bet-you-don’t-have-one-of-these gift. I have now outdone any gift Meredith could ever possibly give to me in the future (after all, how do you trump a personalised nun?) and my mother and her friend were very impressed with their special breast cancer survivor tribute nuns.

I’m rather partial to Sr Nun the Wiser given my probably return to studies at the end of this year. Sr Eileen, the off-centre nun appeals to my fondness for puns and how could any good book blogger go past Sr Rita Story, the reading nun?

Visit the Nunnery and then let us know which nun is your favourite.

One of the more challenging aspects of being a writer is the need to be creative on demand. It isn’t always possible to simply write when the mood strikes, especially if an important deadline is looming.

Of course it is easier to write when your muse is in the mood. Unfortunately, my muse is of a particularly quirky disposition. I seem to be at my most creative between 5 – 7 pm (when I am trying to organise dinner and bedtime routines) and after 11pm at night (when the rest of my body is shifting into shut-down mode for the day).

Inspiration often strikes while I’m in the shower but my poor sleep deprived brain is incapable of holding on to the ideas long enough for me to get to a notepad to write them down. A friend once suggested that I use a chinagraph pencil on the tiles, but that would mean more time spent cleaning the bathroom, right? Obviously that’s not going to happen.

I also tend to get quite creative when Meredith is occupied for a few days and can’t get to her computer, leaving me with complete control of our writing domain. This may explain why she rarely goes away for family holidays, as the insane number of emails from me she has waiting in her inbox when she returns scares her a little, I think.

What about you? Do you have a regular time of day when you’re all fired up and ready to write? Is your muse a free spirit like mine (that sounds so much nicer than headstrong and unmanageable) or does your creativity submit to a writing routine? If you’ve managed to achieve the latter, please feel free to share your tips and advice on how to train your muse to perform on demand.

Celebrity Masterchef is about to hit our airwaves, and we have to admit we’re kind of excited.  We loved the first series so much, and we are hoping that this version manages to keep the brand going. Surely it can’t fail when it combines two of our favourite things – food and celebrities. (Yeah, and you thought we were all about political philosophy and nuclear physics, didn’t you?)

We particularly love food. So much so that a few years ago we wrote Keep the Table Laughing – A cookbook with a twist. Our cooking mantra is a little different to that of Gary, George and Matt. They judged the flavour, appearance and “Wow” factor of the food produced by the home cooks on Masterchef. Our motto is “the heart of the dinner party is not the dinner, but the party”. We believe that enjoying yourself around the dinner table is more important than creating works of art every time. In Keep the Table Laughing we interspersed some of our favourite easy recipes with tales of cookery and family life, and the kinds of conversation we were having over coffee and homemade chocolate cake.

It should be noted that the other kitchen creed that we live by is that any dish can be improved by adding at least one of three key ingredients – bacon, cheese or chocolate. Yes, we have a cardiologist on speed-dial.

What are your kitchen rules and cooking mantras? Does everyone pitch in or do you like to fly solo in the kitchen? Perhaps you only use home-grown vegetables and herbs.  Do you have the latest fancy equipment or scorn anyone who can’t create a four course meal with just a knife, a whisk and the wits God gave them?  Maybe you’ve never met a TV dinner you didn’t like.

We have two copies of Keep the Table Laughing to give away. To enter just leave us a comment below with your kitchen creed. Tweeting the competition will result in a bonus entry.  Competition is only open to Australian residents and will be drawn the day of the Masterchef finale. You can also enter at our book blog Reading Upside Down.

Make sure you include your email address when you leave a comment (addresses do not appear online) and include our twitter name, @thinkthinkers, in your tweet so that we don’t miss your extra entry.

Bon appétit!

I was woken up at 6.30am by my son who wanted to tell me that the sky was all orange. “Yes, we call that sunrise” I mumbled as I rolled over.

“No, I think it might be the end of the world… or a dust storm.”

So I decided to get up and have a look (after all, I’d hate to sleep through the end of the world). And what do you know, the sky really was orange.

Further research (thanks, Google) tells me that this is a once in a decade dust storm that has brought Sydney to a standstill.

I can imagine that there is already chaos in Sydney with the airport and city traffic obviously affected by the low visibility. Here in Newcastle it will probably be just starting to have an effect now. I know my kids are already trying to work out whether it will get them a day off school.

Is the sky orange where you are?

Despite being trounced by the English and losing the Ashes, we will hold our heads high come the hot weather. Because there’s just something wonderful about cricket.

1. The Terminology – googlies, silly mid on, nightwatchmen, bunnies and golden ducks. Explaining cricket to a novice is entertaining.
2. The Trousers – There’s something about a sport played in slacks.
3. The Refinement of the Member’s Stand – suits and frocks and lovely sunhats.
4. The Larrikins on the Hill – watermelon hats? Really?
5. The Memories –
6. The Legends – The Don, c. Marsh b. Lillee, Steve Waugh’s tour diaries, Warney’s first magical ball to Gatting, Dougie Walters laidback brilliance…
7. The Commentary Teams – You don’t fill five days worth of airwaves without being genuinely entertaining.
8. The 12th Man’s It’s Just Not Cricket –
9. The Length – Five day tests mean you can get on with life while you’re watching and not miss too much.
10. The Underdogs - This is what we’ll be next time. And everyone loves an underdog.

Drop us a comment telling us what you love about cricket!

Today I bought a container of Perfect Italiano ricotta for no reason. I have no dish planned that I need it for, although I will no doubt find one. I bought it simply because I love the latest Perfect Italiano ad campaign so much.

In my defence, the ad is BRILLIANT. Apparently it is the work of Clemenger BBDO in Melbourne, although I couldn’t find a link to the campaign on their website. For those who haven’t seen the Perfect Man ad, here it is for your viewing pleasure.

Personally, I can’t wait to find the latest commercial with the line “I love to listen. I love to hear the problems of your friends.. And when there is no woman to listen too, I practice my listening face.” Awesome.