Who Wants A BBQ?

Troy Duffy: As for my film career? Get used to it, 'cuz it ain't goin' anywhere. Period

"Overnight"

I feel a bit weird reviewing a documentary 3-4 years after it was released, but I only just got around to watching it over the weekend. In and of itself, it's not really that good of a documentary and after the first five minutes you realise what is going to happen (if you didn't know already). Well, maybe not realised, but certainly hoped. Whatever you think about the industry from personal experience, second hand knowledge or rumours and grape vine delights, there is no doubt who is at fault for the failure of this project by the way the documentary is shown. It would be hard to believe that Duffy was misrepresented by editing in the doco, there was just too much evidence that editing would have only limited how bad he looked, not magnified it. Can you draw comparisons between the careers of Kevin Smith and Troy Duffy? One of them can not stop telling people how fortunate he is to make his silly movies, how grateful he his that he can do this will all his friends and how he loves what he does, and the other is resentful of everyone else who doesn't bow down towards him and submit. Whether you like Kevin Smith movies or not, you have got to love his passion for his work and honesty in his self assessment. I have to admit, Boondock Saints wasn't a bad movie. I liked it, thought it was paying to see which is a good thing. But I didn't think it was the modern day answer to "The Godfather" with a soundtrack written by John Lennon. Maybe that's just me.

Anyway, on to everything else, which includes some poker. The weekend was a very good one. Firstly, Friday night poker had me posting my best results for the year at the regular home game – second best for the year overall. It started badly, when pocket aces got a really bad call on the flop from one player – who openly said he was making a terrible call. Turns out he hit a four on the flop, and got a six on the turn for two pair. Lost a chunk there but such is life. I was forced to rebuy in circumstances I can't remember, more than likely a short stack all-in pre-flop, but after that things eventually turned around. I hit some straights and got a few little pay days, made some good calls when I thought there was a bluff on and held on tight when I flopped a flush and one player kept betting. My flush was only 7 high, but I didn't think he was better and I had position. The river brought a fourth spade to the board, and that's when he gave up which was good for me.

Later I managed to make a straight flush but couldn't get action, and then flopped quads with 44. I got a nice value bet in on the river as well which made me feel better. I made some good laydowns as well and really the only pot I made a mistake on was a massive one where I was prepared to call a big bet on the river from the first player, but another called in front of me and I figured I must be beat. Turned out I did have the best hand, but you get that sometimes.

On Saturday, the Distraction had a win also. A horse that bears her name runs around in Melbourne from time to time, and she likes to bet on it because it has won a few times for her. It came third over the weekend, so she had another nice little pay day.

Saturday night we went out to a food and wine fare that was a fundraiser for a friend's school. I'm not really into wine, but figured it was worth a night out anyway. We had a great time. Me and two of the guys decided to try some wines around the place, and the first stall we went to my friend asked the older guy "What's good". His immediate response was "Nothing, it's all pretty shit." Yep, he was the man to lead us through our wine tasting experience we decided. We tried some of their stuff as he talked us through it and it wasn't too bad, actually liked some of it. To be honest though, we were just having a good time swapping jokes and getting few tastings from the guy, but it was worth it. We didn't mind one variety, and went to buy a bottle but found out you couldn't have it then and there, you had to order it and it would be delivered in a week. That wasn't serving our purpose, so we had to let it go and buy the cheap stuff that was available on the night.

The obligatory raffle came around, and we bought a ticket before knowing what the prize was. Turns out it was a $3500 "Outdoor kitchen" – really just a really big barbeque with all the gadgets and what not. None of us in the group own our own home, so one person starts negotiating with the lady selling the ticket as to how much she would buy it from him for. Jeeze, at least wait until after it's drawn mate!

They had some silent auctions and a few decent items for a live auction as well. We had a look around, and my friend Dave decided to open the bidding on a silent auction for a $30 voucher at a butcher. After reading and re-reading the terms and what not, he eventually filled out the form correctly and put in his starting bid of $2. As soon as he put the pen down, I picked it up and put $3 in for myself, then told him you were only allowed to bid once (which of course was a lie). We both knew it would not go for anywhere near that price, but it was just a bit of fun for us. I think it went for $30 – which sounds stupid, but it is a fund raiser for the school.

Of the live auctions, we had our eye on a wine rack made from wood, that included a signed cricket bat by members of the 1948 Australian Cricket team. Bit of history here for my North American friends once more – the 1948 Australian Cricket team was one of the greatest of all time. Nicknamed "The Invincibles", they were undefeated on their tour of England that year and were revered for years to come. The captain of the team was Sir Donald Bradman, and if his signature was on it, it would be near priceless. We were guessing how much it would be worth, but had to downgrade those figures when we found out it didn't include Bradman on the bat. Still though, had some massive names from Australian Cricket that were and we were still going to try to put in a bid thanks to my latest poker withdrawal. The Distraction said $500 was her limit, but I knew it would go for well above that and gave us a limit of $800 – fully expecting it to get to double that in quick time.

While we waited inside for the auction to start, they drew the raffle for the $3500 bbq and other prizes. Just before they pulled the ticket out, I joked to the Distraction and our friends "Ah, he's mispronounced my name", which is a common joke at these type of things. But lo and behold, he pronounced my name perfectly and we were then the proud owners of a premium modular outdoor kitchen including delivery and installation. I quickly searched for the lady that sold us the ticket to see if she really was interested in buying it. Negotiations are still pending.

The wine rack didn't make the reserve price, which I found out later was $1150. If it had the Bradman signature, I'm guessing it would have went a lot higher. The highest bid on the night was $900 I think. Shame, would have looked great at our house but it was just a little too much for us at this stage. Still though, picking up the BBQ for a $5 ticket wasn't a bad result!