On The Couch: Scream 4

What's the story? Right from the moment the first blonde gets stabbed in the stomach and slides down the wall in a pool of blood (which pretty much happens before the opening credits even get a chance to roll) you know what you're in for with this flick – lots of fake blood, cheap thrills and villains that just won't die.


Why it's worth paying $17.50 to see... The original gang – Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and David Arquette – are back in fine form for this one and joined by an impressive cast of young stars, including Emma Roberts, Hayden Panettiere, Kristen Bell, Anna Paquin, Adam Brody, Shenae Grimes and Lucy Hale. As Ghostface moves through Woodsboro taking its people out in spectacular fashion, this film is exactly what you hope it will be – a playful take on the slasher movie genre that is so bad, it's good.

The Perils Of Popcorn.

HeyYoYo

 
If you've ever been to the cinema with me, you've no doubt heard my spiel on movie popcorn... Did you know a medium popcorn and soft drink combo can contain as much fat as three McDonald's Quarter Pounders or five Cheeseburgers?

Well, you do now. I hate to be a fun-buster but there's a reason it tastes so good – it's covered in butter and lots of it. But it's not all bad news. Pop it yourself and you can have three cups for under 100 calories! And you'll probably save a small fortune, too. But I'll leave my rant about candy bar prices to another post...

Cake It Till You Make It

 
I'm good at lots of things – find-a-words, vacuuming, colouring in between the lines and I once won a biscuit-eating competition at the Easter Show – but, suffice to say, baking is not my strong suit. So when I find I recipe that even I can pull off, I feel compelled to share. Think of it as kind of like a really tasty community service announcement...

Coconut & Lime Cake

You'll need...

• 125 g butter, chopped
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 1/2 cups self-raising flour, sifted
• 1 1/4 cups caster sugar
• 1 1/4 cups dessicated coconut

Lime syrup:

• 3 limes, rind finely shredded, juiced
• 1/2 cup white sugar

What do to...

1.  Preheat oven to 180C. Lightly grease and line a 6cm deep, 22cm (base) springform cake pan.
2. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Transfer to a bowl. Add eggs and milk. Stir until combined.
3. Combine flour, sugar and coconut in a bowl. Add milk mixture. Stir to combine. Spread mixture into pan. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
4. Make lime syrup. Combine 1/2 cup lime juice and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for five minutes or until syrupy. Stir in lime rind.
5. Pour hot lime syrup over hot cake. Allow cake to cool in pan before releasing side of pan. Cut into slices and serve.

Would You Wear Toe Shoes?

The Superficial

So Scarlett Johansson went running in Malibu last week – and it got everyone talking. "She's pregnant!" said the tabloid glossies. But what got my attention was Scar-Jo's footwear. The girl runs in Vibram Five Fingers, otherwise known as "those weird toe shoes".

Back when I wrote a health page for Shop Til You Drop, I went to a media briefing with a guy from Vibram who talked about this new-but-old concept of barefoot running. The basic idea is that we are made to move and our bodies are built to give us all the natural support we need to run effectively, but when we start interferring with shoes – whether they be sky-high stilettos or support trainers – well, that's where the problems start.

So now companies like Vibram are starting to make shoes that are basically not like wearing shoes at all. And they're way popular. Terra Plana came out with th Vivo Barefoot shoe and it sold out in the US in three days.

You should be able to get the gist of what the movement's all about from the video below. I can't say I'll be giving up my running shoes, but The Barefoot Professor puts foward a pretty compelling case...

You Got The Skills?

Dear Colleen

In my mind there is one thing that can make or break a gym class: the instructor. And it's tricky because everyone has different likes and dislikes, but there are a few things instructors do that I think most people find très annoying...

1. They sing along to the music. You can tell me you want "more, more, more" from me, but you're not Usher and there's a good reason your vocals didn't make it onto his last album.

2. They scream in your face – and it's scary. At 7.15am, let's take the aggression down a notch. And while you're there, maybe the mic volume, too.

3. They don't push you. I had one spin instructor who told everyone to "turn it up" but then quickly followed it with an "or don't, if you don't feel like it". Seriously?

4. They play the same music. Every. Week. Shake it up, or I'll shake things up by going to someone else's class.

5. They talk to you like you're fresh out of kindergarten. "Bend from the hippies my darlings." Hips, they're just called hips.

What's your take? What do you think makes a good instructor?

On The Couch: Paper Giants

If you weren't one of the 1.2 million plus Aussies who tuned in to Paper Giants last night on the ABC, do yourself a favour and run home after work, click here to watch the full first ep, then sit down at 8.30pm tonight to watch the second installment. You won't regret it.

A Dramatic Reading Of Gwyneth's Cookbook.

I've posted before about Gwyneth Paltrow's cookbook. Now it seems you can enjoy a dramatic reading of this culinary masterpiece My Father's Daughter to the theme of Shakespere In Love. The brainchild behind this video deserves a pat on the back.