Past tense, future imperfect

summer's not the best time...

2011-03-26T19:12:00.002+11:00

...to sit indoors and blog. Now that it's Autumn, I'm getting the itch to blog again, but I'm taking a temporary break over at my current online fad, Tumblr. I'll be back at Blogger when it's time for a change of scenery again!

the long, long day

2010-12-22T14:35:00.004+11:00

It's the summer solstice... the longest day of the year... and actually, it's my second 'longest day' of this year.

Six months ago, I was in Paris in the northern hemisphere, and it was the Fete de la Musique... a city-wide fresh-air music festival that brought the whole city out to enjoy a huge range of live musical performances on seemingly every second street corner. I loved it so much that I even stopped and listened to reggae :-O Gotta get back there soon.

conspiracy theory

2010-12-09T20:41:00.003+11:00

And speaking of WikiLeaks, I'm more than a little mortified by the international conspiracy to get Julian Assange extradited to the USA to be 'Gitmo'd' by the American right-wingers!

The UK, Sweden, Australia... all seem to be complicit in this outrageous attempt.

Let's hope that democracy can win out and get Assange out of their hands, because the politicians running our 'democracies' sure don't seem willing to help.

wiki traitors

2010-12-09T20:33:00.002+11:00

What do you call someone who secretly reports back about his own government to a foreign power?

Yes, it is an 's' word, but in Australia, apparently, it's 'Senator', as in Senator Mark Arbib, rather than the more common term, 'spy'.

In many countries, not only would people like Arbib be treated as spies, but their acts of deceit would be viewed as a crime, and a serious one at that - treason.

How can anyone ever again trust Arbib, or the others named in WikiLeaks (such as my 'hometown' member Michael Danby), to have a say in the running of our country, when their loyalties are clearly shared with a foreign nation? They should resign in shame, or be kicked out of parliament.

sigh

2010-09-07T20:05:00.002+10:00

relief at last

the donkeys voted

2010-08-22T09:54:00.001+10:00

Never over-estimate the intelligence of the Australian electorate.

proven redneck formula

2010-08-18T22:59:00.003+10:00

One of the best from the Chaser... Libra-L

misterabbitt talking about the kettle

2010-08-17T19:04:00.005+10:00

I just heard Tony Abbott on the telly accuse the *Labor Party* of running a fear campaign during this election!

The man who wants us to believe that we are about to be overrun by a tidal wave of boat people, even as we drown in a sea of government debt as a result of our sinking economy! While he stands up for 'realection' and promises to cancel everything and return us all to the dark ages.

I hope I get to see this lying little ferret buried at the polls on the weekend.

... and in the meantime, I'll content myself with watching him squirm as he tries to avoid Kerry O'Brien's questions on the 7:30 report. What a sleazy, untrustworthy dog. I don't know how O'Brien can stand to listen to his lies and waffle... I feel like grabbing his throat thru' the tv screen! :-P

graffiti union

2010-08-13T17:48:00.006+10:00

I'm a relatively late convert to the merits of graffiti.

That's largely because it's taken me a long time to learn to differentiate between graffiti ART and graffiti VANDALISM (aka tagging) (and possibly that's partly because the vandals often manage to tag the art as well).

Now that I've learned to chill out about the existence of graffiti *in appropriate locations*, I find myself looking out for it and enjoying a good graffiti display as much as I would any art gallery exhibition.

I was especially pleased to find the terrific display in Union Lane in the city last weekend. Dunno when it got there, but there's a some excellent works on the walls of the lane now, and it's well worth checking out (in the daytime - it doesn't look like a place to be in after dark!)

from Glee

2010-08-12T23:42:00.001+10:00

Another current favourite YouTube clip, the kids from Glee performing an old favourite, To Sir with Love. I remember loving the movie (and the theme song, by Lulu) when I first saw it, whilst I was in High School... some time last century...

silence of the fish

2010-08-12T23:00:00.006+10:00

On Saturday last, having noticed a small promo in MX the day before, I dropped by the Ian Potter Centre at Fed Square to take a look at a new exhibition by Australian artist John Davis.

It was one of the best trips I've had to the Potter. There was no major exhibition running there (with this year's Winter Masterpieces happening at the NGV St Kilda Rd and ACMI), so it was really very q.u.i.e.t.! No crowds, no competing to see the exhibits, no jostling for space or trying to see past the human statues who feel the need to try to dominate the space in front of every display; just the freedom to wander at leisure and take in the sights.

I really enjoyed the Davis exhibition, especially his wonderful fish (which would look lovely on my bathroom wall, if they'd thought to sell some facsimiles in the shop downstairs), and the adjoining installations by Mari Funaki. I then took a little more time to wander around and re-visit some old favourites, including Bracks and some new acquisitions by Sid Nolan. I have to make time to go there more often. It's a truly great place to visit, and we're so lucky to have free access to the wonderful exhibits there.

winter at the beach

2010-08-12T22:23:00.004+10:00

aaarrgghh... they've won! I've turned this blog into a political rant; not what I ever intended to spend my time writing about. Time for a change of pace.

Although I've lived near St Kilda for the past several years, I've never had much love for the beach. I've wandered down now and then during summer, only to have the masses of tourists, day-trippers, backpackers, sunlovers, cyclists and skaters remind me of how uncomfortable the beach is when *everyone* goes there; not to mention the further discomfort caused by sunburn, salt air and flies.

Last Sunday, in the middle of a sunny but damn cold winter's day, I dropped by Fitzroy St for lunch, and then went for a stroll in the weak winter sun down to Catani Gardens. The St Kilda pier and recently-rebuilt pavilion caught my eye as I turned to head home, and I decided to take a stroll along the pier and take in the view before I left.

Although the wind was, to say the least, brisk! along the pier, it was a delightful stroll, with relatively few other foolhardy souls braving the cold, and the views at the end of the pier, of the bay, of the city skyline behind the boats at the marina, and of the pavilion itself, made it well worthwhile.

I still doubt I'll go back to the beach come summer, but I'll certainly take advantage of the next sunny winter's day for another stroll.

lunatics trying to take over the asylum

2010-08-11T22:49:00.001+10:00

And thanks to the Chaser team for pointing this out (it was SO obvious, really!)

time warp

2010-08-11T22:42:00.004+10:00

Funny stuff from the ALP:

back to the future

2010-08-11T09:14:00.002+10:00

Would anyone really be surprised that Tony Abbott isn't 'across' broadband? After all, they didn't have that in 1950! He can protest that he's not a 'tech' head, but he can't deny he's another type of 'head' :-P

blind leading the handicapped

2010-08-09T19:39:00.002+10:00

I'm sure that when Andrew Peacock said "You'd need to be pretty handicapped not to appreciate that this [Labor] government is dissolving before your eyes daily" (Age, 9/8) he wasn't referring to the ALPs blind candidate in his old electorate, but to himself and Liberal voters in general. Most of them still wouldn't understand what the fuss is about.

the scariest woman in politics

2010-08-09T19:35:00.003+10:00

Julie Bishop. I swear, when she was holding that cane toad on the news tonight, more people were backing away from her than from the frog!

the power and the inglory

2010-08-09T19:22:00.003+10:00

I had to laugh when I heard John Brumby and Peter Batchelor claim on the news tonight that moving power lines underground would be too costly, and 'would cause an increase in power bills'.

Since when has any Victorian government in the past 15 years cared about increasing power costs for consumers?? When they virtually gave away electricity for free to Alcoa to power its highly polluting aluminium smelter at Portland? When they privatised the SEC and gave away our power creation and retail ownership to private companies?? When they decided to foist unnecessary and ineffective new meters on everyone, like it or not?? When they decided to build an unwanted and highly-polluting water 'putrification' plant in Gippsland??

Give me a break, Brumby! We already pay far too much for electricity, thanks largely to your government and the Kennett government, but I'd gladly pay a little more if it meant helping to remove a major cause of summer bushfires, removing the threat of summer blackouts when power lines are burnt out, and improving the aesthetics of the whole State by hiding these ugly and dangerous power lines underground.

It already happens by default in new communities, and it's time that you stopped hiding behind lies and implement it across the rest of the state.

smoked out

2010-08-04T22:36:00.004+10:00

I have GOT to stop paying attention to election news, no matter how hard it is to avoid, or my blood pressure is going to explode.

Now I find out, from Tony Jones on Lateline (which I wasn't even planning to watch, but it just cleverly started up on the tail of Yes, we Canberra!), that sleazebag Abbott is in bed with the international tobacco lobby to overturn the plain packaging legislation on cigarettes. Apparently, the budgie-smuggling 'action man' of Australian politics doesn't care how many other lives he helps to ruin if it gets him a little more in political donations or a few more votes.

And btw, just how stupid do the big British and American tobacco companies think we are, to imagine that they can bankroll an organisation that purports to represent the interests of Australian retailers, when it is clearly just a lobby group for the tobacco-murder industry? Give me a break!

no means no Abbott

2010-08-04T21:30:00.005+10:00

It's clearly been a long campaign already for the Mad Monk.

Julia has at least had the chance to escape her minders and campaign as her 'real self', and it's a vast improvement.

No such luck for Tony. As his own daughter once famously said, he's a "lame, gay, churchy loser" (and doesn't her choice of language say heaps about her own upbringing?).

Only the most desperate conservative would vote for the real Tony Abbott, so he has to keep a tight lid on that side of himself and make sure that he only shows his campaign persona for the cameras.

It's inevitable though, that at times, his real thoughts and feelings are going to show through.

What sort of moron would attack his political opponent by using a well-known catch-cry related to rape and the abuse of women, with no apparent understanding of its sub-text? Maybe the same sort who gets a woman pregnant (or thinks he did) and then absconds and leaves her 'carrying the baby'.

This man is a moral midget, who has no empathy or understanding of the modern world, and would take us back 100 years if he gets the chance.

I'm not a fan of the current government, but I'll vote for anything that keeps Abbott away from political power.

our own axis of evil

2010-08-04T21:15:00.007+10:00

I used to think that institutionalised religion and crime were the biggest threats to democracy and social justice in this country, but now I can see that the private school system belongs in the same league. A veritable Axis of Evil and injustice within our own borders - crime, religion and private schools. Come to think of it, both crime and religion have a lot to do with private schools!

I've read the news several times, but I still can't believe my eyes. The Labor party has agreed to maintain the Howard government atrocity that funnels huge sums of public money into the privileged private school system, at the expense of our public schools, for another 3 years! For what? So these children of the rich and nouveau-riche can continue to enjoy their birthright privileges (including practising the fine art of shoplifting), subsidised by all tax-payers? Children whose parents no doubt can already afford to avail themselves of the many tax-avoidance and minimisation schemes not available to the masses trapped in the PAYE system that supports private schools.

This is one of the worst, most unfair and unjust policies that this country has ever been subject to, and it disgusts me that the Labor party has allowed the private school lobby to influence and control it in this way.

My electoral options this month are shrinking by the day.

p.s... and here's a great article by Kenneth Davidson in the Age 9/8 on government funding of private schools.

loose Abbott sinks boats

2010-08-03T21:40:00.005+10:00

TONY Abbott is promising to reopen the two Nauru detention centres and restore temporary protection visas within weeks if he wins the August 21 election as part of his strategy to ''stop the boats''. The Age 3 Aug 2010

When I read crap like this, it makes me want to get on the first boat out of this country.

Liberal party polling has apparently discovered a deep vein of fear and ignorance in enough parts of the country that they expect to be able to get more votes than they'll alienate by taking this stance, and Abbott dutifully mouths the platitudes, and whistles to the dogs. Nah, he's not whistling now; he's shouting to the ignorant dogs of 'middle Australia' to join him in sinking innocent victims of war trying to find a safe haven in this country.

I feel sick to the stomach thinking about Abbott and his swinging bigots; I mean, swinging voters.

I like to believe that the majority of these troglodytes are located in the backwards parts of Queensland, WA and western NSW, and that a majority of Victorians and other educated people in south-eastern Australia share my revulsion of the insularity and hysteria whipped up by the northerners.

Victoria has a long, proud tradition of small 'l' liberalism and social conscience. Being bound to the ignorant masses of the north and west makes me wish at times that there was a way out of this federation, so that we wouldn't have to have leadership candidates from, especially, the far right-wing of the NSW conservative parties (Abbott, Howard) foisted on us at election time.

p.s... and thanks to the Age for providing a neat image for me to borrow today (4/8!)

poor cow

2010-08-03T21:12:00.002+10:00

"A woman has been airlifted to hospital with serious head injuries after she crashed her quad bike into a cow, which then fell on top of her." The Age, 3 Aug 2010. Very unfortunate for both quad bike rider and cow, I'm sure, but... LMAO, that's a great sentence!

things that make you go hmmm

2010-08-03T21:05:00.001+10:00

Ok, well, somebody has to say it - a little girl is reported missing 3 *weeks* after the last time anyone else sees her?? That makes me go hmmmm.

two down...

2010-08-02T23:29:00.003+10:00

It's August at last... only one more month of Winter to go. Has this been the coldest Winter in years, or am I just getting old? (rhetorical question only, thanks!) And I wasn't even here for most of June! Spring can't come fast enough for me. But I must admit, there are a few things about Winter that I like... one of them is the visual impact of the branches of deciduous trees.

I dropped by the Conservatory in Fitzroy Gardens recently, and not only was the building itself looking magnificent, but so was the display inside, *and* the setting outside, with the city skyline softened by the bare branches of the trees in the gardens. I have to visit more often; it's a real treat.

me and an off-putting cinema visit

2010-08-02T23:03:00.005+10:00

I made time on Saturday to run down to the George again to see 'Me and Orson Welles', a movie based on Welles' preparations to debut his play 'Caesar' at the Mercury Theatre on Broadway in 1937.

As a period piece, it was nicely done, with an authentic sounding (well, to my ears, anyway; it was long before my time!) script and great attention to detail in the visuals.

There were strong performances by the lovely Clare Danes, Christian McKay (as Welles), and even Zac Efron, and several nice supporting performances (including the guy who played the dad in tv's 'Beautiful People'!).

The story was well-written, with a good twist at the end... but one element distracted me throughout the show, and kept taking me 'out of the moment', and I don't know whether or not it was intentional, but the whole movie was presented in sort of washed-out colours; at times, it almost looked as though it was sepia. It was really annoying, but I don't know if it was intentional on the part of the movie producers, as a way of trying to capture the look of the period (in which case, they failed miserably and detracted enormously from the look of the film), or whether I was just watching a very poor print of the movie. At any rate, I'll probably try to catch it again on dvd down the track, even if only to verify that colour issue.

To make matters worse, for the second time in consecutive visits, the heating was broken down in cinema #1, and given that it was a rather chilly day, I ended up almost shivering in my seat by the time the credits rolled (again - just like at 'Inception')... another unwanted distraction whilst trying to enjoy a movie.

As David might say, "I can only give this movie 3 stars"... but maybe if I see it again on blu ray, in the warmth of my living room and with reasonable colour saturation, I might like it a bit more!

another Brumby transport fraud

2010-07-27T21:48:00.003+10:00

Free rail travel on Friday to compensate for today's rail meltdown, says the Age. What a shameless con!

A day's 'free' travel does nothing to compensate the people who most subsidise this shambles of a train network, by buying weekly, monthly or yearly tickets! One 'free' day doesn't get accounted for in long-term tickets, so only a fraction of those affected by today's trouble, and most likely, people who don't use the trains regularly and may not need to use them on Friday, will actually benefit from this 'magnanimous' gesture.

Another show of insincerity from Brumby and Pakula to the public transport users of Melbourne. Roll on November...

misconception

2010-07-26T21:50:00.003+10:00

I don't usually like movies longer than about 110 minutes, tops; I don't especially like action-thriller movies; I hate movies with lots of shooting; and I really don't have a lotta love for Leo DiCaprio's movies, so there was really not much point in me going to see the latest blockbuster movie release, 'Inception'.

However, I was intrigued by the way both David and Margaret raved about 'Inception' last week, so since last Saturday was so persistently cold and grey and miserable all day, I decided that I could do worse than lock myself inside a cinema for the afternoon. The George just happened to be running a session at a suitable time, so I went.

Two and three-quarter hours later, I was glad that I had! Never have I watched such a long film that seemed to finish so quickly. The story grabs you by the throat from the very beginning and drags you along so unrelentingly that you don't notice how much time has passed, by the time it ends - just like a dream, really!

The cast is excellent; it was delightful to see the gorgeous Marion Cotillard in such a high-profile movie; Ellen Page and Joseph Gordon-Levitt have become favourites of mine, and at last, Leo DiCaprio looks old enough to be believable in his role, and he performs terrifically (the last time I saw him, in the technically-excellent 'Revolutionary Road', the poor man looked like a 15yo trying to play a grown-up, which was totally distracting).

I completely bought into the story's 'dream raiders-of-the-lost-secrets' premise, and thought the multi-level play was excellent; I was kept on my toes throughout the film, keeping up with plot developments and the rules of the game, and never felt like the story was contrived or cheating the viewer. This was really excellent entertainment, and I have to agree with the plaudits given by the professional reviewers... a four-star movie for my money.

suns and...

2010-07-23T18:23:00.001+10:00

So the Gold Coast football club are calling themselves 'the Suns'. Does this mean that Western Sydney might become 'the Moons'?? Or maybe they could be really original and call themselves the Western Sydney 'Daughters'! :-)

hedgehogs and macarons

2010-07-21T20:19:00.006+10:00

I had wanted to see 'Le Hérisson' ('the Hedgehog') at the French Film Festival several months ago, but it was one of several movies that didn't play at a suitable time and place for me, and I missed out. When I saw it previewed on 'At the Movies' recently, I made a mental note to watch out for it (although I thought David and Margaret seemed a little underwhelmed by it, despite rating it fairly well).

The past weekend was fairly busy, so I didn't get to the cinema at all, but I made a snap decision to stop at the Como on my way home from work on Monday, and was pleased to find that there was a 5:15 session of L'Hérisson, which was pretty much ideal for me.

I was so glad I'd made the effort to go see it. Although it deals with some heavy and unhappy themes, I thought it was an excellent character piece, with delightful protagonists and an exotic (to me) setting. The end (which I won't spoil here) was shocking and a sad, but the movie itself was a pleasure. All the three lead characters, were excellent, and I was happy to see one of the my favourite French actors, Anne Brochet ('Comme les Autres') in a supporting role as well. I'd give this one 4 stars.

Oh, and one thing I learned while I was at the Como Centre for the film... I'd never previously noticed that there's a Laurent bakery there. I often call into the Laurent store in the city and pick up a couple of macarons for a treat, even though they seem pretty pricey, at $2 each (the most I paid for a macaron in Paris was €1 (around $1.70), but most were much cheaper.)

In keeping with the French theme of the evening, I decided to buy a couple of macarons to eat at the film. I assumed that, being out of the city, the store at the Como would be similar in price, or perhaps a little cheaper, than the city store, so I was really shocked to be charged $4.80 for two macarons! I can't understand why they'd be another 20% dearer at the Como (maybe because people who live around there can afford it and don't care), but next time, I'll stop by the city store instead!

a glimmer of humanity

2010-07-21T19:32:00.002+10:00

It was delightful to read that not one, but two councils have volunteered to host a refugee processing centre in Australia.

It made me especially proud that they are both Victorian communities that have taken the lead in attempting to demonstrate some humanity toward people who risk their lives to escape oppression or death in their own countries, only to arrive here and be treated like criminals by politicians of both major parties, as they vie for the votes of the ignorant and bitter, but vocal, minority.

Both Abbott and Gillard should be ashamed of the hysteria that they have, respectively, whipped up and bowed to in regard to the tiny number of refugees that reach our shores. Sure, crack down on people who profit from the misfortune of the refugees, but stop further punishing people who are already victims of substantial injustice in their countries of origin.

Congratulations again to the people who have taken a lead in trying to demonstrate some humanity and decency to these people.

no laughing matter

2010-07-21T19:30:00.004+10:00

I'm going to have to stop reading the election news for a few days, for the sake of my blood pressure, but I just have to note that the possibility of a future under Tony Abbott and his bitter minions is enough to make me think about killing myself already!

private school rorts to grow

2010-07-21T15:19:00.004+10:00

At the same time as he promises to cut funding for important infrastructure programs, the mad monk of conservative politics is promising to make private school fees tax-deductable!

I was so disgusted when I read this, that I almost stopped breathing for a few seconds!

Federal government funding arrangements for wealthy private schools is already one of the biggest rorts left over from the Howard Government days. It's an outrage that taxpayers are forced to contribute so much to support these bastions of wealth, privilege (and shop-lifting), while chronically under-funded government schools are left to struggle, and their students are forced to endure sub-standard conditions.

To think that idiot Abbott is prepared to further feather the nest of his privileged constituents at the expense of the rest of the country by making fees for these unnecessary private schools deductable just defies belief.

My vote goes to any candidate who promises to stop government funding of private schools, or better yet, to 'nationalise' them and make them available to all Australian kids, equitably.

so happy for Jen!

2010-07-21T08:09:00.002+10:00

Jennifer Aniston Adopts 33-Year-Old Boyfriend From Africa

Xavier graduating shoplifting class of 2010

2010-07-20T20:11:00.005+10:00

Now we know what money can't buy!

$20k pa in school fees, enormous government subsidies while state schools go begging, international school excursions, but these poor little rich boys can't afford to buy the things they really need - ski gear!

Of course they had to steal it - how else could they get it?

The worst part of all this? One day, some of these kids will be Liberal party candidates and get voted in , instead of ending up in prison, where they really belong.

maybe not all boat people are scary, Tony?

2010-07-20T20:05:00.003+10:00

aBelieve it or not - Tony Abbott scabs a free snack from a former boat person!

And a bit more fun with the anti-Marx party.

in defence of public spending

2010-07-20T19:38:00.004+10:00

Memo to Tony Abbott: I'm a working wage slave, not wealthy enough to avoid tax, so I pay every cent of taxation that I'm supposed to.

I don't like paying tax, but I understand that it's important, and that it's the means by which this country funds services and programs that are essential to all of our people.

Public spending is not a bad thing.

I do not want your budget cuts; I don't even want a permanently in-the-black budget.

Governments should use to debt to fund essential programs in times of need, just as the Rudd government recently did to get this country through a severe recession that savaged other countries around the world.

The last thing Australia needs now is a bunch of witless, economic zombies cutting into important and progressive programs that may benefit the whole country, all in the name of bringing an unnecessary surplus to the national budget.

Australia is a country, not a business. We're not here to make a profit for the conservative parties to sit on and boast about. Every cent raised from our taxes needs to be re-invested and used to progress the nation, not sit in the Reserve Bank to impress foreign usurers.

Your social and economic policies would bring misery and disgrace to this country, in the same way as your mentors in the Howard government did. Please... go away and spare us all!

nightmare's edge

2010-07-18T23:37:00.004+10:00

What kind of world do we live in where a man like Tony Abbott can be so close to becoming Prime Minister? This must be what Germans felt like in 1933. Howard was regressive enough; I don't want to live anywhere where Abbott's in control.

derailed

2010-07-13T22:22:00.004+10:00

I feel so stupid.

I read yesterday's announcements from the State government about the new transport projects, and foolishly assumed them to be election 'promises'.

I was so excited about the new metro system that I jumped online to the Dept of Transport website, and completed a survey about the metro, complimenting them for finally proceeding with this vital, long-overdue public transport initiative.

Today, I read the story in more detail, and realised what had actually happened.

There is no new metro. There's just a 'plan' for a new metro. The plan has no funding behind it, and is therefore 99% likely to never happen. It's yet another lie from the oil and vehicle industry-controlled State government to make it appear as though they have an agenda to support public transport, and mask their ongoing plans to extend the road network to encourage more cars and trucks.

I'm disgusted with them, and disappointed that I didn't realise sooner. No ALP or conservative candidates will get my votes at the next State election; I just hope that enough people will vote away from all of them to send a message about what we really want for Melbourne.

holiday hangover

2010-07-04T14:21:00.003+10:00

It's been a week since I returned to 'cool-as-ice' Melbourne, and I've almost recovered from the effects of 'holiday injuries' and jet lag. I can't believe that my long-awaited and long-planned holiday has ended so soon, but that's what time's like when you're having fun. I had the *best* time in London and especially Paris, so it makes sense that time passed even faster than normal 'good' time.

I had big plans, before I left, to blog my way across the globe and back. I lugged my netbook with me, and made sure I had wi-fi wherever I stayed, but look what happened - not one post about the holiday the entire time I was away!

I had *such* a great time every day that I was away that I just didn't get a chance to sit down and write. It's too late to make up for that now, but as I sort through some of the 2,500-odd photos that I took during the trip, I'm going to try to post a few here, like this view over Paris rooftops from the balcony of the apartment that I stayed in, and include some memories of the trip.

Since I've returned, I've realised how much time I must have devoted to planning and researching and preparing for the trip... really, since last November! And as the post-holiday blues start to set in to fill the vacuum, I've already 99% decided that I'm going back again next year. A new set of travel books is already waiting on my bedside table to be devoured and turned into plans for 2011!

holy masterpiece, Batwoman!

2010-07-04T14:05:00.004+10:00

Not many movies that appeal lately, and ditto for graphic novels. One that I can recommend, though, was released last week by DC.

The stories in 'Batwoman : Elegy', though well-written (by acclaimed author Greg Rucka), aren't really my style (I think I'm a bit over the whole Batman / dark avenger / lots of graphic violence style stories these days), but the artwork alone, by J.H. Williams III, makes this volume worth buying.

Though the 'tough crime' stories don't appeal to me, I enjoyed Rucka's characterisation of Batwoman / Kate Kane and her supporting cast, and was glad to note that the gay angle of the series wasn't sensationalised or sermonised, but incorporated matter-of-factly into the storylines.

DC has released this collection, originally published in Detective Comics last year, in its oversize Deluxe hardcover format, which really allows the art to shine. It's a huge treat to watch Williams take the graphic novel art form to a while new level. This book is well worth checking out, and I hope the forthcoming Batwoman ongoing series looks as good as this volume.

get him to the George

2010-07-04T13:55:00.003+10:00

The movie drought goes on.

I think I've only seen one movie at the cinema per month since April; there's plenty showing, but nothing that appeals enough to get me to go out in this cold weather.

A recent exception was 'Get Him to the Greek', a follow-up of sorts to 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall', elevating two of that movie's supporting cast to star billing... and doing it well! Russell Brand, best known for his dubious 'humourous' stunts on English radio, I gather, does a great job of reprising his character of dodgy rock star Aldous Snow, ably supported by the ubiquitous Jonah Hill, co-star of many recent comedy movies, including Sarah Marshall.

It wasn't howlingly funny, but the story moved along at a reasonable pace, and both Brand's and Hill's characters were sufficiently sympathetic to keep interest up. There were some really funny moments, including Hill's efforts to score drugs for his difficult client, and a wonderful brawl scene in a hotel. I was glad I made the effort to get down to the George to see this one. 3&1/2 stars for this one.

Burton at ACMI

2010-06-30T22:49:00.004+10:00

Went along to ACMI at Federation Square today to see the new Tim Burton exhibition.

It never crossed my mind that there'd be a queue, so I took my time and arrived at around 1pm, only to find a queue wrapping around itself several times from the ticket office and out into Fed Square. I don't like queues at the best of times, but when a queue leaves you standing outdoors in 11 degree temperatures, not much would tempt me to join it. So I didn't.

I left Fed Square, and went shopping down at South Wharf for a couple of hours, then returned to ACMI around 3:30pm, to find the queue at the ticket office considerably shorter, and mostly undercover. This time, I waited and bought my ticket.

When I got downstairs to the exhibition space, I could see where the queue had gone. I've never seen the place so packed! It's great to see ACMI doing so well like this, but a shame that it was so hard to check out the exhibition through the crowds. I liked what I saw though, and maybe I'll go again in a few months, if it looks a little less crowded then.

I was sorry that they don't allow photography inside; there was some amazing artwork, costumes and sculpture that I'd have loved to have taken some shots of. It was well worth the effort to see the exhibition, though.

Next up: the NGV's winter masterpieces show, but not until at least after the school holidays!

not diggin' it

2010-06-29T23:59:00.003+10:00

Notwithstanding the good news about Ms Gillard, a scan of the newspapers makes me start to wonder whether perhaps we all waste our time at the ballot box.

It sounds to me as though a gang of bully miners have hijacked the government, and are determined to set economic policy for the country, with, of course, the full support of the obnoxious mad monk and his arch-conservative cronies.

This is a key issue for me; Julia cannot back down on the mining tax issue. She must call the miners' bluff and ensure that the a fair share of the profits from the mining of our country come back to the people, and stop allowing these bullies to skim the money from our pockets.

If they don't like it, I'm sure other miners will find a way to make a reasonable profit under the new rules.

Julia... an important first

2010-06-29T23:57:00.003+10:00

I was delighted to find out about Julia Gillard's rise to the PM-ship whilst I was o/s. It's way past time that we finally have our first atheist Prime Minister!

Soccer comes out

2010-06-15T04:42:00.001+10:00

Soccer Officially Announces It Is Gay

the big day arrives

2010-05-29T16:19:00.002+10:00

The time has come; the bags are packed; the flat's in lock-down mode; everything's ready to go... just counting down 'til it's time to go to the airport - London, here I come! :-)

DC Comics 75th anniversary at Fed Square

2010-05-27T07:59:00.001+10:00

This will be a sight worth seeing on Saturday! DC Comics' 75th anniversary comes to Fed Square. Gotta beat those poms!

20 left

2010-05-09T22:52:00.000+10:00

Can't believe how fast the time has passed... 20 days 'til I head off to London! I'm already stressing about what I've forgotten to do. Is it too soon to pack yet? :-)

twilight zone

2010-05-03T18:31:00.002+10:00

"New freeway is top priority: state". WTF?

Did I wake up in some sort of alternate reality where Victoria has a great public transport system, lots of trains (that work), trams that aren't overcrowded, safe bike lanes and plenty of options for citizens in all areas to leave their cars at home?

A reality where petrol is cheap and non-polluting, and it's safe to encourage people to drive their cars everywhere??

Or is just that the Victorian government is so deeply in the pockets of the big petrol companies and roads lobby that it can no longer even pretend to give any precedence to decent public transport?

I'm so disgusted by this headline that I will never again vote for this government. Clearly, they are completely corrupt and out-of-touch with the real world. They can keep their Twilight Zone; I'm looking for someone to vote for in the real world!

stark contrast

2010-05-02T23:01:00.003+10:00

Couldn't wait to get to the cinema to see Iron Man 2 this week. Ok, I knew it wouldn't be, like, Oscar material or anything, but I'd mostly enjoyed the original, and I expected that this would be good too, and besides, there's been *nothing* of interest to me out of Hollywood in more weeks than I can recall.

I settled on the 11am session at the George. It was a mad rush to get there, 'coz I'm not the earliest riser on a Sunday, but we made it just in time. It was worth the effort, because, aside from the 3 of us, there were only about 4 or 5 other people in a huge cinema, so it was a very comfortable experience, and *much* better then slumming it at the over-crowded Jam Factory.

The movie itself was a delight! Robert Downey Jr brings a light-hearted touch that absolutely makes these movies, and makes them stand out from many of the other comic-based films of the past decade or so. Gwyneth Paltrow and Jon Favreau nicely reprise their roles as Pepper Potts and Happy Hogan respectively. Don Cheadle makes a fine replacement as War Machine, Mickey Rourke is excellent as Whiplash, and then there's one of my favourite modern film stars, Scarlett Johansson, as the Black Widow. Truthfully, she's the only let-down in the cast; not through any fault of hers, but because she doesn't get anywhere near enough to contribute in any meaningful way to the story. I know that she isn't meant to be the star attraction of the film, but I would have liked to have seen her role expanded considerably.

The plot is pretty basic, the action hard and loud (like the soundtrack music by AC/DC!). The battle at the Monaco Grand Prix was fun, as was the climactic fight at the Stark Expo. I enjoyed this film more than the first one, largely because they left out the politics this time - no Muslim terror groups threatening American interests this time around, just good old-fashioned bad guys causing trouble to Tony and the gang. Good stuff! I'd give this film 4 stars, for pure entertainment value.

the mad monk steals our democracy

2010-05-02T22:42:00.004+10:00

I seem to recall that at the last Federal election, we voted in a Labor government to run the country for the next term. And yet it seems that, every time that government announces a new initiative, it's immediately followed by a news bite of the mad monk, Tony Abbott announcing that it's all really just another new tax, and that he doesn't support it, so he'll block it in the Senate.

Since when does the Senate run the government? Does Abbott not understand that we voted for the other guy to make the decisions? Why has he decided to hijack the country and rule it from the Senate, instead of letting the government do the job that we voted them in to do?

I'm tired of his arrogant negativity; it's time he showed some real leadership and thought about what might be good for the country, instead of what might help his own political stocks. He's the absolute worst kind of politician imaginable - the rat who undermines the interests of his country in order to further his own personal ambitions.

In the meantime, we all suffer as he and his cohorts pervert the democratic system for their own benefit.

nothing to lose but your smoker's money

2010-04-29T20:36:00.003+10:00

I can't completely agree with the Rudd Government's decision to lift the price of a pack of fags by $2.16.

If it were my decision, I would have put them up by $21.60 a pack!

Listening to those whinging addicts bleating on the radio about how hard done-by they are really made my heart bleed, and my stomach ache with laughter.

Smoking is a disgusting and deadly habit. If this tiny price hike encourages just a few people to wake up to themselves and quit, it's a wonderful thing.

If it raises extra money for health care for everyone else, that's a good thing too.

Smokers have only themselves to blame. If they don't want to pay, just quit. Otherwise, stop complaining - the rest of us are the ones who have to put up with your stench and arrogance; we're the ones who have the real reason to complain.

things that can go wrong with a holiday plan

2010-04-26T20:17:00.005+10:00

I was a bit trepidatious about planning an overseas holiday by myself. It's been a looong time since I last could afford a trip o/s - back in the last century, before the internet, in the days when you would just walk into a Travel Agent's office, explain your dreams, and leave it to them to make it all real.

But all my traveller-friends assured me that the internet has changed all that, and that I *can* do it myself, and it *will* work ok. So I went for it. I wasn't totally convinced, but I went for it.

I had been planning for quite some time, so I aimed to make my bookings far enough in advance that I could get what I wanted, when I wanted it. My departure date is in late May, and I finalised my bookings in Feb. The centrepiece of the trip is a fortnight stay in a rented apartment in Paris.

I researched my arse off from October onwards, night-after-night staying up until after midnight, checking out all the online companies and agencies that let flats for holidays in Paris, and finally, in mid-February, I made a decision, choosing a cosy, top-floor apartment in St Germain. I contacted the owner, got an acceptance, and sent the money to the agency for the booking. With that done, I was then able to finalise all the other elements of my trip around those dates - hotels, train trips, etc etc. By early March, everything was arranged.

Until I opened my email on April 3, to discover a cancellation notice from my Paris host. Due to circumstances beyond her control, she would have to cancel my booking. Sorry for the inconvenience.

I went into a panic. There was nothing I could do about the cancellation, but now I had to find alternative accommodation, 6 weeks closer to arrival.

I re-checked the other four places that I had short-listed in February, only to find that each one of them was now let for the period that I needed. My heart sank. I felt like cancelling the whole thing and re-scheduling. Unfortunately, I couldn't cancel any of the other bookings that I had made and paid for because of this, so I had no choice but to go back to square one and start my search over again. The one advantage that I had this time was that there were far fewer places now available to look at!!!

It took me five more days, but I eventually found a beautiful place; bigger and brighter than my original booking, but not as well located. However, I was delighted to get it (but now just live in fear that it might get cancelled out from under me as well!)

At last, everything seemed to be set to go.

And then the volcano blew in Iceland.

Well, that seems to have settled down again now. I just have to hope that it won't fire up again, at least, not before July! Surely nothing else could go wrong now!?!?!

super stop it!

2010-04-26T19:54:00.005+10:00

I noticed on a tram trip to the city today that work has commenced on new 'super stops' in St Kilda Road, near both High St & Commercial Road.

When the first super-stops were introduced in the cbd some years ago, I was greatly impressed by not just the good design and amenity of the stops, but mostly, by the wonderful new electronic real-time timetable signs at each stop. These have been a great help to me, and saved much time and frustration by letting me know how long I'll have to wait for my service, and whether or not it's even worthwhile to wait.

I was just as greatly disappointed when the ersatz super-stops were installed along Dandenong Road a year or so back. These ones looked like the ones in the city, but were missing one important feature - the electronic signage! This is the best part of the super-stops, but not even the very busy stop at Chapel St was deemed worthy enough to warrant one being installed.

A further disappointment was that whoever plans these things makes a decision by some means to re-locate or remove stops in the process of upgrading them. As a result, my homeward stop was moved from its old location to the far side of Orrong Road, making it far less useful to me (in fact, I rarely use it all any more, as a result of the move).

I now note in St Kilda Road, that the inbound stop at High St seems to be getting moved to the city side of High St (and I assume that the same will happen at Commercial Road). I also get the feeling that a stop is going to be removed completely as a result of these changes. And I wonder whether anything is going to be done to ensure that it remains possible to interchange to the 216/219/220 buses from the trams near Commercial Road. The bus stop has been moved during the current roadworks, but I couldn't see where it's been moved to... hopefully, not so far away that it can't be reached easily and safely on foot through peak-hour traffic.

I wouldn't be so concerned about these changes if I believed that the people who designed them actually used the services involved and had a real idea of how to improve amenity for passengers, instead of the tram company, but having experienced the downside of so many of their other works, I have a bad feeling about these new ones.

can't be beaten ...or believed

2010-04-26T19:46:00.004+10:00

Amusing to see all the headlines in today's Herald-Sun about how wonderful the Storm is -like 'Storm can't be beaten'! Of course they can't be beaten; that's the whole problem!

Because they rorted the salary cap system that the rest of the competition abides by, they've been able to assemble a team of expensive champions that can beat everyone else, albeit completely unfairly!

Leave it to the Murdoch press to twist the facts and run stories that are blatantly in their own self-interest to promote a pet project that's gone horribly wrong, and try to build support for their own mistakes. If Murdoch's papers had any integrity and desire to present news at all, they'd forget about the propaganda and describe the Storm for what they are - cheats and liars. Really, not all that different to the company that props them up, when you think about it!

spitfires and snakes

2010-04-25T23:18:00.003+10:00

I take my camera with me most places I go, and often find views or objects of interest around town that I want to take a snap of.

I can't believe how often I suddenly notice things that I've possibly often by-passed without consciously observing. I came across one such object today - a statue outside the St Kilda Town Hall in Carlisle St. It appears to be a man, supported by large snakes, reclining backwards over a classical building, whilst one of the snakes holds a small Spitfire aircraft in its coils, far above his head.

I don't dislike it... I just can't for the life of me figure out what it means or how it relates to St Kilda Town Hall.

at the volcano's edge

2010-04-12T23:02:00.005+10:00

I couldn't wait to visit Guilfoyle's volcano at the Botanic Gardens, after I read the report of its restoration and re-opening, in the Age recently.

It's an impressive feature already, but will become even more spectacular as its plant life grows and matures. The RBG has done a wonderful job of restoring it, and I look forward to checking it out again over the next few months to watch its progress.

welcome break

2010-04-12T20:03:00.002+10:00

Didn't know what to do with myself on Sunday.

After a late sleep, I dragged myself out the door and into the car around midday, with no real plans at all. I dropped by Prahran Market for a few veggies and a coffee at Jasper's, then drove back to up Chapel St, intending to buy lunch at Hooked. Unfortunately, the entrance to the car park in James St was totally blocked off for roadworks, so I kept going to Carlisle St and had chicken and chips at Feast instead. By that time, it was around 1:30, and I remembered that there was a 2pm session of a movie that I was sort of interested to see at the Brighton Bay, called Welcome. If I drove directly there, and if I could find a car park, and if the theatre wasn't to busy (as if! :-), I could just make it!

So I zapped off to Brighton, located a car park with not too much trouble, and climbed the stairs to the ticket office with around 5 minutes to spare. I didn't quite make it to the top of the stairs, though, as the queue from the ticket office extended all the way to the staircase! Wow! I had never seen so many people at the Bay! The combined age of all those Brighton Bay patrons must have numbered in the thousands!!

Anyway, it only took me about 10 minutes to get through the queue, but most of the crowd were indeed headed to the same movie as I, so the best seat I could get was in the third row from the front. It was close to a big screen, so definitely a neck-buster!

The movie itself - not bad. A lot of English language (for a French film) made it easier to follow than some. The story (a Frenchman who tries to assist an illegal Iraqi immigrant to make it to Britain) was a bit predictable, and the characters not completely convincing, but the interesting part was the way in which the French government treats its own citizens who try to assist the illegals. It was reminiscent of the French underground fighting the occupation! Amazing and scary. I'd give this film 3 stars.

for the love of reason

2010-04-07T22:59:00.003+10:00

After an over-busy week, I'm almost too tired to keep my eyes open, let alone type, but I just had to make note of the astonishing performance that I saw tonight at Trades Hall - Catherine Deveny's 'God is bullshit - that's the good news'!

Part stand-up comedy, part self-therapy, this secular sermon left me at times stunned and flabbergasted. Even though I've been an atheist myself for as long as I can remember, growing up with family and friends who are believers in different religions has taught me to keep my non-beliefs to myself and be careful of saying anything to offend their sensibilities.

To see someone stand up on stage and plainly state that christianity and the bible are bullshit, to quote some of the nonsense from the bible and expose it to the light of day (and logic), and to make no bones about stating that it is truly ridiculous, both excited and scared me. Excited because it was wonderful to see someone else speaking the plain truth about 'faith' out loud; scared because I fully expected at any time that someone would leap from the audience with a fist or a knife or a gun to defend the faith against the blasphemer (no one did, thankfully!)

Catherine's show was not just funny, but touching, and brave. Her stance will make her lots of enemies (I have one catholic colleague who professed to, and I quote, "hate her" for what she says about catholicism), but to me, she's a beacon of reason and common sense in a world that seems increasingly under siege by the religious righteous. This was one funny show that gives you a LOT to think about.

fun with mark

2010-04-06T23:03:00.003+10:00

One of the best things about the Comedy Festival is getting to 'discover' new acts.

This arvo, I stood on the steps of the Town Hall, reading the chalkboard list of shows available that day, and I was approached by no less than three different people, all of whom were performers at the Festival, and none of whom I had ever heard of. Each gave us a spiel about their show, and we selected one of them to see that evening. That's how we came to be at Mark Trenwith's 'Fun' show at the Portland hotel tonight.

And 'fun' it was. I'd never heard of Mark before he talked to us on the steps at the Town Hall this arvo, but I quickly got the impression that I'd enjoy his show. and I did. It was a sort of a 'random' stand-up with video clips thing... a bit way out at times, and a few jokes sorta missed their mark, but by-and-large, it was a fun performance, and one I was glad to have seen.

In other Comedy Festival news, we were lucky enough to score the last two available tickets to one of the hottest shows in town, Catherine Deveny, for tomorrow night (as she'd already sold out many performances, including tonight and Thursday, this was .... well, not an act of god, but at least, fate!)

Rickett's at the Vic

2010-04-04T22:53:00.003+10:00

Sammy J is amazing.

Having enjoyed his show at last year's Comedy Festival, I decided to check out this year's 'Sammy J and Randy in Rickett's Lane', playing at the Victoria Hotel, and I was not disappointed. Working with puppeteer Heath McIvor, the performance was imaginative, frenetic and funny, supported by wonderful music and lyrics and clever staging.

This show was the most fun I've had at the Comedy Festival so far.

putting the 'good' back in easter friday

2010-04-02T23:16:00.006+11:00

Typically, I look forward to Good Friday as the one day of the year when everything shuts down; there's nothing to do and nowhere to go, so it's the perfect excuse to stay really late in bed, then get up and do nothing all day, guilt-free. But today was an eye-opener.

I don't know how long this has been going on for, but I noticed that cinemas were open today. How long have cinemas been allowed to open on Good Fridays? I have no idea. But suddenly, the perfect day to stay in bed all day became the ideal opportunity to take in a movie. Not only that, but the fact that Palace cinemas also do espresso meant that Good Friday no longer had to be one of only two miserable days of the year when it's not possible to get a latte! Joy!

The movie was excellent (but I already knew that - I saw another session of MicMacs; this time, in company). Another surprise was yet to come though!

Driving home via Carlisle St, I was astonished to see most cafes open for business as well! OMG. No longer was Good Friday some sort of pariah day when christians impose their god-fearing beliefs on the rest of us and force us to stay in our homes if we don't go to their churches, by shutting down all forms of entertainment. I stopped at Grindhouse for a latte, just to make sure it wasn't a dream (sort of like pinching yourself, but by drinking a coffee instead of inflicting pain).

Cinemas. Cafes. and chocolate. It's a pretty good Friday after all.

moronic - but in the nicest possible way!

2010-03-31T22:43:00.006+11:00

Saw my favourite show of the Comedy Festival (so far) tonight - "Felicity Ward reads from the book of moron".

Felicity now has the distinction of being the first solo performer that I've paid to see in two successive festivals. She's very witty, and has great comedic presence, and her show tonight did not disappoint. Clearly, a lot of thought had gone into both the preparation and the presentation of her material. The segment about her struggles with IBS was hilarious, as was her Nando's audience meter!

And speaking of audience - the room tonight appeared to be around 3/4 full, the best I've seen so far this year.

To top it all off, she graciously stood by the exit and gave out copies of a booklet based on her show at the end of the performance, giving the audience an opportunity to get up close and have a quick word... and pretty much guaranteeing that I'll be back to see her again at next year's Festival.

a full Monty

2010-03-30T20:36:00.005+11:00

So it's the first Tightarse Tuesday of this year's Comedy Festival, and I had to work a bit late anyway... I was heading down Little Collins St to catch a tram home, when the chalkboard outside the Victoria Hotel caught my eye. In all my life, I had never before been inside the Victoria, so, noting that there were a couple of performances starting there in only half an hour, I decided to stop, buy a ticket, and check out the grand old hotel at the same time.

The first thing I discovered was - watch out for those sliding glass doors! They just don't go where you expect them. Each time I entered or left the building, I found myself standing in front of a pane of glass while the door slid across to one side of me!

By the time I climbed the elegant, if a little shabby, staircase at the rear of the lobby, towards the ticket office, I had decided that I would get a ticket for "The Full Monty", featuring Monty Franklin from nearby St Kilda - almost a neighbour, really.

For the second time in a row, I was the first customer in the room, and as I took a seat, I could sense maybe around 9 or 10 other people around me. Not again!

Starting time came and went, and a few minutes later, a small 'crowd' of latecomers entered, enough to half-fill the room! This actually made it, on a percentage basis, the biggest crowd of the three shows that I've attended so far! After they had been seated, the show began.

I knew nothing of Monty before the performance, but a lot more after it.

He has appeared on tv in commercials and in bit parts in several shows, including the unsuccessful pilot of a comedy show, of which he screened several excerpts (which were amusing, but enough to explain why the show hadn't been picked up by the network!) He performed an entertaining and generally inoffensive stand-up routine, prompting a few big laughs from me and the rest of the audience, and leaving me happy to have caught his act.

The Victoria itself was sensational - according to clippings posted in the foyer, it was built in the mid-1930s - and it shows a touch of art deco about its interior, but it clearly hasn't had any serious structural upgrades in the intervening years. Entering the lobby felt like walking into a 1930s movie (except for those sliding doors!) I'll be looking for another show back there again soon!

go 'Pieeeeees!

2010-03-28T22:55:00.004+11:00

Welcome back to the footy, and huge congrats to Collingwood on their massive start-of-the-season win over the Bulldogs today.

Prior to the game, I really didn't think they could do it; the Bulldogs are so highly fancied this year that I was anticipating an embarrassing start to the season, and I tipped the 'Pies with absolutely no confidence whatsoever.

Is it too early yet to start getting my hopes up for September??

mark webber who?

2010-03-28T17:23:00.004+11:00

I don't know anything about Mark Webber, but I do know how much I love it when expatriates come back for a visit and decide to tell us all about how much worse the country is since they left!

When exactly did you become the expert on social issues in Australia, Mark? While you were o/s? Perhaps you can just head back overseas and continue to make whatever valuable contribution you make to... what is it you do exactly? World peace? Eradication of poverty? Saving the world from climate change?? And leave us to wallow in our own mistakes, without the benefit of your enormous intellect. Thanks, again, Mark.

coffee and a nice chat

2010-03-26T21:37:00.003+11:00

I dragged myself towards work as usual this morning, feeling particularly weary and heavy-headed, and, when I got off the tram at Collins St, I walked back to Brunetti's and decided to order a drink-in coffee for a change (instead of a take-away).

When it became apparent that the morning newspapers hadn't arrived yet, I settled down in a seat and got out one of my Paris travel guide books, to continue my research for my forthcoming holiday.

As I finished the first page, an unfamiliar voice at the next table asked "When are you going?"

I looked up at the guy and told him that I was heading off in about two months' time, whereupon he offered me some tips on places to visit in Paris, and we struck up a conversation on the subject, as he had lived there for some time, and was keen to go back again. We didn't chat for long... maybe less than ten minutes... but I enjoyed our discussion and was very grateful to him for having taken the time to enquire and offer me some advice for the trip.

It brightened my morning considerably, cleared the cobwebs, and got my day off to a good start, so ... merci beaucoup!

where the bloody hell...?

2010-03-26T21:21:00.002+11:00

OK, I said I was inspired by last night's Comedy Festival performance by Peter Helliar, so after work today, I dropped by HalfTix and found a short (45-minute) performance by an artist that I'd never heard of, at the Town Hall, starting at 6pm, so I still had time to rush home afterwards and get the groceries that I hadn't managed to find time for last night!

The show was mysteriously titled Her Lady Bones, by British comedian Sadie Hasler. I didn't know what that title meant before the show, and I still don't know now.

Sadie's show consisted of a series of character sketches, featuring several of (I assume) her own creations, plus a wonderful Katherine Hepburn impression, that had the audience in stitches. For a newcomer, she was very good.

She also impressed me greatly by the fact that she proceeded with her show at all, despite the fact that there were only six of us in the audience!

I couldn't believe how poorly attended Peter Heliar's show was last night, but this was unbelievable. I was the first one in the room, and, based on experience in previous years, I took a seat at the very far end of the row so as to make it easier for everyone else to get in afterwards. It soon became apparent that there wasn't going to be an 'everyone else', and I moved to the middle of the row when I realised that I had it all to myself!

I would not have blamed Sadie for saving her energy and calling off the show, with so few spectators, and I thought that she was very brave to proceed, given that no matter how much she made us laugh, the sound of six people's laughter and applause in even a small theatre is not a lot of encouragement.

Anyway, she put on a good show, especially her Kate Hepburn, and I hope she gets better audiences for the rest of her season. I, for one, look forward to seeing her back at future Comedy Festivals.

to Helliar and back

2010-03-25T22:50:00.004+11:00

... As if there wasn't enough going on in Melbourne this week (the French Film Festival, the Flower & Garden Show, the return of real (AFL) footy tonight (Go 'Piesss!) and the Grand Prix (boo, hiss), the Melbourne International Comedy Festival commenced, a week ahead of its traditional starting date of April Fool's Day.

I wasn't really fussed about going out again tonight, but there is an imperative with the Comedy Festival - most shows run cheaper, 'preview' sessions in the first few days, so I always try to catch something early on.

So after work, I wandered down to the box office at the Regent, and booked a ticket to see Peter Helliar's show at the Forum. I like Helliar, but I've never bothered to see him 'live' before... probably because he's been on tv so much that I didn't consider him as much of a priority as many of the other comedians who aren't so ubiquitous on the tube.

I was glad I went. I enjoyed his performance, and got some good laughs from most of his material, but I was surprised at how small the audience was! I'd estimate the theatre was barely one-third full; very surprising for such a big name performer. Traffic delays held many people up (one couple arrived about 15 minutes before the show ended!), but even so, it was a very small audience. Good for me though... I was only six rows from the front, on an aisle; the seats in front of me in the three rows ahead were empty, as were the next 4 seats next to me, so I was able to make myself quite comfortable - a huge change from the generally cramped conditions at this Festival.

One other thing surprised me - the show was called 'Peter Helliar's Dreamboat Tour' - and he dressed in a Love Boat-style Captain's jacket - but there was no reference at all to boats or cruises or anything related to that theme. Maybe I missed something! Anyway, it was a good performance, and highly recommended.

And now I'm enthused enough to want to see another show tomorrow night...!

fabulous flower fiesta flourishes

2010-03-25T22:36:00.002+11:00

Wednesday was day one for this year's Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show, and the only day that I was going to be able to squeeze in time to visit. As always, it was sensational - makes me wish that I still owned a garden, so that I could get out, raze it to the ground, and rebuild it with the inspiration that the Garden Show provides.

The floral displays inside the magnificent Exhibition Buildings were all stunning; I spent most of my time covering every square metre of the two floors, which feature more things to do with flowers and greenery than I ever dreamed possible (or would even want to try, in many cases!) Highlights for me were the rose displays, table setting designs, the new nursery section, and the... ummm... floral bordello! Outdoors, the garden designs were fantastic; only the garden art section was a bit of a letdown compared to last year, but that's a tiny complaint compared to all the wonderful sights at this Show.

The visit to the Flower Show almost marks a year of blogging for me... I seem to recall that my very first post here was about my visit to the 2009 Flower Show... although it was in early April last year. How time flies.

fabulous french film festival finale

2010-03-25T22:17:00.003+11:00

Dunno why, but the French Film Festival was extended by 3 days this year, so I got to see another movie at the Kino on Tuesday night - LoL (That's the name of the film, not a comment!) The story wasn't what I expected, but I enjoyed it very much all the same, especially the beautiful Sophie Marceau! This one gets 3&1/2 stars from me; a fine way to wrap a very enjoyable Festival (and I sure hope I get to see how Fashion Victim ends some day!!)

pourquoi PAS de sous-titres??

2010-03-25T22:10:00.003+11:00

I was so impressed by the movie Micmacs at the French Film Festival that I decided to buy a copy on blu ray to see again.

As usual, Amazon.fr was *exceptionally* efficient, and I received my disk barely 8 days after ordering. But to my horror, it's yet another wonderful French movie transferred to disk with NO ENGLISH SUB-TITLES! aaaarrgghhhhh!!!

What's wrong with French dvd companies?? Don't virtually ALL English language movies come out with French sub-titles? Why don't the French think that English-speakers aren't interested in their movies? There are so many excellent French films that I'd like to see, but the majority of them aren't released with English sub-titles, so it's not worthwhile ordering them. I'm doing my best to master a bit if French, but I don't think I'll get good enough to watch a movie without textual help.

precious experience

2010-03-21T21:55:00.006+11:00

I did NOT want to see Precious.

Yeah, I saw and read the great reviews, and all the praise for the performances of the cast, and the Oscar nominations, but I also heard about how it was a depressing and miserable story, and I just did not want to experience that.

With the movie in its last days at the cinemas, I was convinced to go along to the George and see the only session showing today. Up until I bought the tickets (reluctantly), I was trying to think of a way out of it, but finally, I accepted the inevitable and sat down to see this urban horror story.

The session ended two hours later. I was SO glad that I hadn't found a way out of seeing it. It was one of the best films that I've seen in recent months. The story was as harrowing as I expected, but the movie was so well made, and the performances so fine, that I found myself completely carried into the world of Precious, her trials and suffering, and her incredible strength and dignity. Lead actor Gabourey Sidibe was perfect as Precious, and I hope to see her in other movies in the future.

This was a real 4-star effort, and will make me think twice about writing off a movie before I see it in future.

(OK, unless it's Pursuit of Happyness - yuk!!!)

micmacs

2010-03-14T22:11:00.003+11:00

The French Film Festival rolls on! And just as well, 'coz there's not much of interest coming out of Hollywood at the moment. In fact, of the 12 movies that I've seen so far in 2010, half have been 'foreign' - five French and one Australian! :-)

Tonight's feature at the Como was 'Micmacs A Tire-larigot', an almost untranslatable title in French slang which means something like 'Loads of trouble'. It's Dany Boon's latest flick, and it's visually one of the best movies I've seen for a long time. It's a comedy - fantasy - caper flick, with a fairly convoluted plot in which Boon's character plots to take revenge on the presidents of two armaments companies, whose products killed his father, and years later, severely injured him as well.

While the story is a bit over the top, the film soars on the strength of its brilliant photography and scenery, wonderful characters and amazing mechanical creativity(!)

I'd happily experience this one again, though sadly, the French dvd release once again doesn't have English sub-titles. I'm really going to have start taking French lessons some time. Anyway, this movie gets 4 stars from me - catch it with sub-titles if you can!

one perfect day

2010-03-14T21:44:00.005+11:00

I love Melbourne most of the time, but for a week or so every year, it's even better then usual. That week usually falls in early to mid-March, when we get a period of perfect Autumn weather that makes everything in the city more wonderful than ever. It's happening now; started yesterday, Saturday 13th, and by the looks of the forecast, will last through next Friday 19th, at least.

I got up on Saturday with no particular plans, but just had to get out of the flat to enjoy the day. I caught the #220 bus and headed towards the city... but where to get off? I wanted to do something outdoors. I thought about South Wharf, but I knew I'd only end up indoors at DFO, and I had no reason to go there. I thought about the CBD, but that would invariably mean a stroll through the department stores and lanes, out of the sun. I could have stopped at Prahran Market, but I wanted to do more than just get the groceries. South Melbourne market? nah. St Kilda? Still too crowded on the weekends. By this time, the bus was heading down St Kilda Road, and I still had no particular destination in mind. As the bus zoomed past the Domain interchange, someone pulled the cord to get out. Done! I got out too. But where was I going?

Across St Kilda Road, the Shrine of Remembrance loomed in the bright sunshine. It had been years since I last visited the Shrine, so maybe this would be a good starting point. I crossed the road and climbed the hill. That should have been enough exercise for the day! Surprisingly, there were very few people at the Shrine, so I got to take some nice photos without the usual crowd of tourists in the picture.

I then decided to head for the Botanic Gardens to grab a coffee and stroll across and pick up a no. 8 tram in Domain Rd, but a few surprises awaited!

At the entrance, bright tents were set up. I had stumbled across the monthly Botanic Gardens craft market! I never even knew it existed, but what a perfect day for it! I strolled around the stalls, picked up a coffee, and took in the sights - all dominated by the Shrine in the background.

Completing the tour of the market, I headed past the Visitor Centre, only to find it completely and indefinitely closed down as a result of storm damage from the previous weekend!

As I entered the Gardens proper, I couldn't help buy notice cranes poking above the treetops. I soon realised that they belonged to the new Rectangular Stadium, nearing completion across the Yarra. I'd been wanting to get a photo of the Stadium for some time, but hadn't had an opportunity, so I changed direction and headed towards the Temple of Winds to see if I could get a view of the Stadium.

It was still only possible to see the top of the Stadium from the Temple, so I walked down the steps from the Temple, crossed the Tan, and got a shot or two from across the river. I walked back past the lake, and stopped to sit in the sun for a while. Not for long... just long enough for my pallid complexion to start to burn in the deceptively strong Autumn sun :-S

I retraced my steps to the Shrine, and decided that I needed to climb to the top to grab some photos. It had really been many years since I had been up there, and it was perfect day for taking in the scenery. I got some great shots, in perfect conditions. And still had time to get home in time for a lunch date.

If only more days could be as pleasant as this.

storm victim

2010-03-11T21:48:00.002+11:00

Saturday the 6th March started out a beautiful day; fine and sunny, a little on the humid side, but glorious.

After a sleep-in, we headed into the city for coffee and crepes (gluten-free, of course) outdoors at the Le Triskel, then on to the Kino to buy tickets for the afternoon showing of Rose et Noir (aka Fashion Victim) at the French Film Festival.

The session started at 1:45; the sun was shining and it was a balmy 26 degrees - really, too nice a day to spend in a dark cinema, but there are few screenings of any given movie during the Festival, so you just have to go when the session is on if you want to see a particular film.

Rose et Noir was a beautifully-produced period farce, set in 17th century France and Spain, about a very flamboyant dress-designer and his troupe who are sent to Inquisition-era Spain at the order of the King of France to make a wedding dress to help seal a marriage of state. What the designer doesn't know is that one of his entourage is secretly Jewish, another Muslim, and another, a Protestant planning to plant a bomb to blow up their hosts!

The story was building up nicely, until, about an hour in, just before 3pm, the film suddenly lurched to a halt and began to burn up! Oh mon dieu, not again! This is what happened when I went to see Julie and Julia at the Classic not six months ago!

As the house lights came up, a stressed cinema guy announced that a severe hailstorm had knocked out the building's air conditioning, causing the film to burn. They would try to get the film to resume in the next 10-15 minutes.

So we sat and waited, and then, about 15 minutes later, the cinema guy returned to tell us that the movie could not be saved, and that we would all need to get refunds and leave.

Disappointed, and none the wiser about what had happened outside the cinema, we queued for our refunds, and left the building at around 3:30pm. When we approached the exit, it felt as though we'd been transported to another place!

The sunny, balmy afternoon that we had left two hours earlier had been replaced by a scene of stormy carnage! The sky was leaden, water literally lapped at the entrance to the building as the floor flooded, the streets were littered with leaves that had been stripped from the trees by what we were later to learn were giant hailstones (such as the ones that had also killed our movie), rain poured from the sky in a way that I hadn't experienced in many years. The change in conditions was stunning!

Not yet comprehending the extent of the storm's fury, we headed for our tram in Swanston St, soaked to the skin within the first 50 metres of our journey (no coats or brollies, of course - it had been a gorgeous day when we left home!)

At Swanston St, it became clear that we would never get aboard the few trams that were managing to make their way down the flooded street, so we decided to head towards Flinders St station. It soon became clear, from the size of the sodden crowds teeming down the Swanston St away from the station, that there would be no trains to catch at Flinders St.

We continued walking across Princes Bridge, past traffic jammed in between flooded streets, in the hope of finding a bus further down the road.

To our delight, we instead found that trams that had made it this far into the city were turning back at the Arts Centre, which meant that we were able to hop on board a #64 and commence the trip home. Just as well, as the corner of St Kilda Road alongside the NGV, from the where the bus comes, was under water, and the buses would likely have been jammed in with the rest of the traffic.

As we travelled cautiously along St Kilda Road, we could see cars trapped in flood water, thick hail piled up in the gardens and gutters, steam rising like fog from the Domain, where the ground was apparently still warm from the afternoon sun. It was an amazing experience.

We finally arrived home around 5pm; one-and-a-half hours for what would usually have been a 40-minute journey, but we were grateful to have made it safely.

I'd of course left a couple of windows of the flat open in the morning to get the air in while we were out, so there was some minor flooding in the kitchen and bathroom where the rain had been blown in, but no major damage.

Except that we didn't get to see the end of Rose et Noir... and who knows when we ever will!

Summer fades

2010-02-28T20:50:00.003+11:00

And so Summer ends... not with a bang, but with a chilly whimper. 20 degrees at the end of February? brrr

I stayed in bed a bit late, in the hope that the sun might peek out before I did, but no such luck. In the end, I took a quiet walk around the city, from the NGV, via the Sunday market, across the river, up DeGraves St, through DJs, around for a coffee at Brunetti's, and finished at Fed Square, before heading home to find a jacket to put on and get warm again!

Roll on Autumn - March is always *the* best time of year in Melbourne, anyway!

a single movie

2010-02-28T20:37:00.003+11:00

I can't believe that no-one has pointed this out in all of the reviews that I've read, but Colin Firth plays an almost identical role in A Single Man as he did in the last of his films that I saw : Genova.

In both films, he plays a man struggling to carry on with his life after his partner was killed in a violent car accident. In Genova, he's forced to go on by the need to raise his two daughters; while in A Single Man, he's reached a point where he's decided that he cannot go on after the loss of his partner.

Both movies are beautifully filmed and create a real sense of suspense and surprise about where events will lead. I won't give away the ending, but A Single Man has a stunning twist at the end, whose possibility was foretold, but overshadowed, in the events that occur during what is intended to be the last day of his character's life.

As another single man, it gave me quite a jolt - like unexpectedly seeing one of your big fears plastered all over the cinema screen in front of you.

Anyway, aside from that, it was a terrific film, with another great performance by Firth, ably supported by the wonderful Julianne Moore, in yet another of her outstanding period character performances. 4 and a half stars from me; best film that I've seen so far in 2010, and the only one that I've been bothered to see in this whole month!

the 30th anniversary tour gets closer

2010-02-25T21:35:00.002+11:00

It's not that I haven't been online for the past month.

In fact, I think I've been here almost *every* night for the past month, 'til well after midnight. I've just been busy. Too busy even to blog... even though I wanted to.

But last night, I passed a milestone... after weeks of planning, and months of procrastination, last night, I pressed the button and booked a return flight to London and a week's accommodation - whoo-hoooooooo!

Towards the end of May, just as Winter's starting to get depressing and miserable, I'm off to the northern Spring for a long-awaited holiday. My first visit, in fact, since 1980! Where did the time go?

Only one more task before I can relax - finding a place to stay in Paris for a fortnight!

nine at the nova

2010-01-26T18:15:00.004+11:00

It was a quiet day at the office on Oz Day eve, so I knocked off a bit early and strolled up Russell St in the late afternoon sunshine to Lygon St and the Nova cinema.

I'd forgotten that Monday was cheap ticket day at the Nova, so in a 'good news/bad news' thing, I bought a ticket to see 'Nine' for only $8 (compared to $17 had I opted to go to the Hoyts in the city!), but found that I was sharing a fairly packed theatre by the time that the movie started.

I'm not sure how to rate this film. It had some brilliant moments, but seemed to lack something. The stellar cast was spectacular! Who would have imagined a movie with such a multinational cast of brilliant performers: Sophia Loren, Judi Dench, Penelope Cruz, Nicole Kidman, Marion Cotillard, Kate Hudson and leading man Daniel Day-Lewis.

The music sequences were also spectacular, and it was a treat to see the performers in action. One of the problems with the movie, though was that it was overly-blessed with big production numbers. By the end, I almost had 'belt out overload'. I guess each of the stars wanted to make a mark with their main number, but the result was like the songs were competing with each other, rather than complementary.

At any rate, it was a enjoyable film, so I guess I'd give it a 3.5 star rating, and look forward to seeing it on blu ray again some time in the future.

it's got the jack!

2010-01-26T16:02:00.002+11:00

I'm sorry, but I cannot bring myself to respect a national flag that's blemished by the flag of a foreign nation.

Every year about this time, the same backwards-looking redneck bogans look up from their barbies and navel-gazing and scream about how their ancestors fought and died under the current flag.

Our forebears also massacred the indigenous people of this country and stole their land, but we don't do that any more. They also mostly saw themselves as British subjects, rather than Australian - but we don't think that way any more (or do they???)

It's long past time for a change to that ugly, demeaning flag, to demonstrate to the rest of the world that we're a modern nation, no longer tied to our colonial past.

Myself, I don't think the flag needs major changes. I'd settle for the existing Southern Cross on blue, with the Jack excised from the corner. I'd also love the Eureka Southern Cross flag. And I wouldn't be averse to some variation of the Aboriginal flag (although I'm really partial to the Southern Cross and blue-and-white colours).

Whatever, I just wish we had our own flag; one that I could respect as a true reflection of my country, and not one that makes us look like subjects of a foreign nation.

eine kleine nachtmarkt

2010-01-20T23:25:00.004+11:00

One of my favourite things to do in Melbourne in Summer has to be the Queen Victoria night market on Wednesday evenings.

It was a pleasant 27-degree evening, so after work, I strolled down to Myer to look for a new pair of shoes (unsuccessfully). By the time I finished there, it was around 5:30, so I decided to walk up Lonsdale St to Queen St, and then down to the market. It wasn't yet 6 when I got there, but the place was already buzzing.

I checked out all the food stalls, to strike out the ones serving gluten-filled food, and then selected a delicious prawn and calamari jambalaya for dinner, washed down with a refreshing (but WAY over-priced - $8!!) sangria. Then it was time wander around the stalls, with a hot, fairtrade latte in hand.

After an hour, I'd seen everything, and headed back down the road, arriving at the bus stop just in time for the #220 to collect me and get me safely home by 7:30. If only every Wednesday evening could be so agreeable!

drink, drive, murderer

2010-01-20T19:54:00.002+11:00

Steven Johnstone's girlfriend might get some comfort from describing him as 'a beautiful soul' (the Age, 20 Jan), but the rest of us should remember him as a drunk driver who murdered four teenagers by driving and speeding with a blood alcohol level of .19.

No sympathy for drink-driving criminals whose actions kill, maim and put others at such terrible risk. May he rot in hell.

faithless and proud!

2010-01-10T19:22:00.009+11:00

The recent publicity about 'new atheism' really fascinates me. I'll come right out and say it now: I'm an atheist, and I probably always have been. I can't remember a time when I ever really really believed in any gods... the closest I ever came to faith was a belief in Santa Claus when I was young. (And that ended badly!)

I don't know how I came to be an atheist.

My father came from a family torn by religious conflict. His father, son of a strict (and venomous :-) Catholic family, incurred the wrath of that family by marrying my grandmother. She was also a devout Christian - just not of the Catholic variety. So out of the goodness of their dear little god-fearing hearts, and no doubt in accordance with their understanding of their bible, they saw it as their duty to ostracise my grandmother and try to end the marriage by basically acting as though she didn't exist. For most of her life. Nice.

She tried not to take it personally; he drowned his sorrows.

My mother's family was nominally CofE, but aside from a half-hearted attempt to get me to go to Sunday school for a few weeks when I was little, but not that impressionable, religion never really raised its ugly head in my childhood home.

I attended government schools, thereby avoiding indoctrination in early education, and as my mind tends naturally towards logic, I guess I just never learned to believe in faith.

It was only when I started Uni that I first became aware of how entrenched religion was in those around me. I began to realise that many of my friends, whom I had believed to be beings of reason and logic like myself, actually professed to being catholic or jewish or buddhist. And they weren't embarrassed to admit it in public.

I found myself in such a minority that I eventually declined to discuss religion at all, not wanting to offer myself as a constant target for conversion by the 'missionaries'.

So over the years, I've kept quiet hold of my atheism, never waivering from my lack of faith, and not worrying that I was in such a minority.

But I *LOVE* that there's now a recognised movement of atheists, ready to stand up and challenge the blind faithful, and not be prepared to listen to their dogma and pretend it makes sense.

Atheists rule!

0 of 7

2010-01-07T22:35:00.005+11:00

So picking up the thread from earlier... I tried installing Windows 7 the evening that I got it home. I inserted the install disk; it played; it installed a stack of temp files, and it then provided me with a list of existing applications on my desktop pc that it didn't like. It told me that I either had to disable or uninstall them, in order for the upgrade to proceed.

I exited the install. I disabled iTunes, I uninstalled an old photo editing application, I didn't have Norton's 2007 installed, so I couldn't remove it, and I switched off my anti-virus app.

I restarted the Win 7 install. It installed a stack of temp files, and it again provided me with the list of applications on my desktop pc that it didn't like. It told me that I either had to disable or uninstall them, in order for the upgrade to proceed.

Only trouble was, I had complied with all of its demands, except for removing the non-existent Norton's, and it didn't recognise the changes.

So I did it all again. And this time, for good measure, I rebooted the pc.

Then I ran the Win 7 upgrade install again. And I got the same result...

All this had taken me about 45 minutes so far, and I hadn't even begun to get the upgrade done.

I decided that I would have to try harder to remove Norton's. I scanned the harddisk, I searched the harddisk. I scoured the web. I found two separate programs that were designed to remove Nortons (even though I was quite sure that I had never installed it on this machine!) I downloaded and ran both of them. Still Win 7 insisted that Norton's was there.

By this time, it was getting late, and my patience was as exhausted as I was, so removed the disk and went to bed.

Next evening, I started again, and confirmed the same situation.

In desperation, I decided to search the registry for any signs of rogue Norton's files. Again no luck.

At the end of evening 2, I tapped the mat and decided that I would just by-pass this step and proceed to install anyway.

I loaded the disk again on evening 3, and proceed to the same result.

This time, I decided to just click 'ok' and keep going. How naive can you get?? Of course, Microsoft doesn't give up that easily! Unless I could convince it that the problems it was detecting were not real, it would not let me proceed; no way no how!

At the end of evening 3, I finally realised that I would be unable to upgrade my Vista to Win 7. My only option would be to do it as a new install, thus losing all of my existing settings, data etc from my pc. Thanks, heaps, Microsoft! There goes my Christmas Eve!

it's disturbing

2010-01-07T22:09:00.005+11:00

Saw my first film for the new year today - a romantic comedy called "It's Complicated".

The story didn't sound too promising, but with a cast featuring both Meryl (I feel that we can be on first name terms by now, having seen so many of her films recently) and Alec Baldwin, plus Steve Martin, I had to give it a try.

It wasn't too bad, but I have to say, it was the least of the movies that Meryl has made in the past 18 months or so... not a patch on Mamma Mia, Doubt or Julie & Julia. Comedy isn't Meryl's strong suit. She seemed larger than life in this ordinary suburban divorcee role - more like Meryl playing a part, than the actual character that she was meant to be. Alec Baldwin was terrific though, and provided many of the laughs.

But to be fair to the cast and the story, something in the movie caught my eye early on, constantly distracting me and taking me 'out of the moment'.

It was Steve Martin's FACE! OMG! It looks as though he's survived a bad accident. That is the WORST case of plastic surgery trauma that I have EVER seen on screen. A man of his age whose face has NO lines whatsoever! In one scene, he grinned from ear-to-ear, and you'd swear he'd just been attacked with Joker venom! It was ghastly! There was no way that you could imagine that Meryl would be more interested in a man with the head of a store dummy than in Alec! I wanted to avert my eyes every time he appeared on the screen.

There's no doubt about it - Steve Martin's face ruined any chance I had of really enjoying this movie. Despite that, it did have some amusing moments, so it wasn't a total waste of time... but if I were him, I'd just sue the surgeons and never worry about working again.

MS conspiracy theory 7.0 and a slow new year

2010-01-03T23:32:00.002+11:00

Whatever was I thinking? All set for a relaxing Christmas Eve, when I snap-decided to upgrade my desktop pc to Windows 7!

I bought this machine at a time when only Vista was available, not long after it superseded XP, but before XP started to become available again, as people revolted against Vista.

To tell the truth, Vista had not been the problem for me that it seemed to have been for the vocal... umm... majority? so I had been in no great rush to upgrade to W7 when it was released.

Except for one thing.

Since around June or July, my computer has had a constant case of 'update-itis'. Until then, I'd get 3 or 4 notices from Microsoft every month that I had updates to install, and I'd restart my machine, and they'd download and install.

But around 6 months ago, the updates started to come more often. Daily, in fact. And since I'm on a relatively low monthly download limit, I couldn't 'afford' to download them all the time.

Now Vista was cunningly set up to save time and electricity by being able to go into sleep mode when the computer was not in use, BUT, if there was an upgrade to download, it would automatically do so if you selected to put the pc to sleep (instead of turning it completely off). By late July, I was forced to either turn my pc completely off, or leave it constantly on, all the time, because I constantly had upgrades waiting - one 'critical' one of which would download, but fail to install *every time*!

Finally, I decided that the only way to fix this issue would be to upgrade my way out of it, so I made the fateful decision (ok, on the spur of the moment during a late Christmas shopping expedition at Myers) to buy the Windows 7 upgrade.

I can't say that I wasn't warned of what I was in for, though.

As I purchased the box, the sales assistant asked me if I had ever installed a Windows upgrade before. When I told him that I had, he advised me to ***call a friend to help before I tried installing Windows 7***!!!!!

OMG... what had I done???

top of the rollercoaster

2009-12-25T10:29:00.002+11:00

All that work - and it's almost over already! Just got to pack up the pressies from under the tree and join the family for Christmas lunch at mum's.

the first week of eating dangerously

2009-12-23T21:29:00.003+11:00

Day 7 of my new un-diet, featuring the return of... gluten!

Well, after early stomach uneasiness following my pizza and pasta meals, I decided to try something a little less gluten-intense for the next treat.

During a visit to Prahran market on Saturday morning, I stopped at a bakery where the lady sells almond croissants (but only on Saturdays!) Too good to pass up! I bought just one, and packed it in my bag for later.

At the supermarket, I picked up a loaf of spelt bread. Spelt is an ancient grain which can be tolerated by some coeliacs, though I had never tried it before. I thought it might be a good way to try something a little easier to digest than 'normal' wheat bread.

When I got home from the market, I made a cup of (gluten-free) soup for lunch, and then attacked the croissant for dessert! OMG It was fantastic! The butter pastry melted in my mouth; the almond flavour was rich and sensuous; the icing sugar coated my face! Once again, a gluten-filled treat had whisked me off to food-heaven! But it was filling. I could only manage about half; the rest, I packed away for later.

No apparent after-effects from this treat.

That evening, after a gluten-free dinner, I buttered a slice of spelt bread and smothered it in a light coating of Vegemite. The bread was soft to the touch, so unlike gluten-free bread, and just like real bread! I ate it slowly, savouring each mouthful. When I was done, I buttered another slice, and spread it with strawberry jam. Bewdi-ful!

That night, I once again felt some stomach discomfort, but nothing too serious.

On Sunday, I had spelt bread sandwiches for lunch - buttered, with fresh slices of corned beef from the deli. That night, I made two rounds of sandwiches for my lunch the next day, and packed them in the fridge for the night. So much easier and quicker and cheaper than the gluten-free lunches I used to have to make!

I had sandwiches again for lunch Monday and Tuesday, and finished the loaf today. I made people watch me eat them, just to prove that I, too, could eat 'normal' lunches :-)

Since I was late getting home tonight, after stopping to see a movie, I bought fish and chips en route home. Usually, I throw away the complementary potato cakes and peel the batter from the fish before I eat it. Old habits die hard. I couldn't bring myself to eat the potato cakes, and I still peeled off most of the batter from the fish, but I did a eat a few mouthfuls of it.

Maybe that was a few too much... tonight, I have more severe stomach pains and a touch of the runs. Perhaps I'll try a gluten-free day tomorrow, and give my insides more chance to adapt.

broken arms??

2009-12-23T21:06:00.004+11:00

It's been almost six weeks since I last managed to find a movie that interested me enough to get me out to the cinema, and by last night, I was getting desperate.

A quick scan of yourmovies.com.au revealed an appalling shortage of appealling films - except for two! One was a Spanish movie whose title had me intrigued but a bit trepidatious - Los Abrazos Rotos - which, in my little-used Spanish, translated as 'Broken arms'; the other was a preview session of Nowhere Boy, starring the irresistable Kristen Scott-Thomas, but showing only at the Brighton Bay (in preview).

Anyway, to cut a long story short, I opted for Kristen, raced around like a chook without a head to get ready in time to catch the 7:15 session, and drove down to Brighton, arriving at the ticket counter at 7:13 precisely! Everything had worked out beautifully - light traffic, good car park, there wasn't even a queue for tickets! - until I ordered my ticket... and was told that the movie isn't showing until Boxing Day!! Yes, apparently, *sometimes*, the online movie listings aren't correctly updated, and in fact, even though the Brighton Bay was reported to be showing three sessions per day of Nowhere Boy all week, it was in fact Nowhere to be found until Friday!

Not only did I waste a trip to Brighton, but I was now too late to get to another cinema in time to see Los Abrazos Rotos (which I had by now realised actually meant 'Broken embraces' - 'Abrazos', not 'Brazos' (arms)!

So today, determined to see a some film somewhere, I went straight from work to the Kino to see Broken Embraces.

It was great to get back to the cinema again! The movie wasn't bad. It was the first Pedro Almodovar film I've seen. The story was interesting, but it was a bit long... could have done with tighter editing, and perhaps 10 minutes or so cut. Penelope Cruz was great, though, and the story climax was pretty good, though the actual ending of the movie was a bit lame. I'd give it *** out of 5.

christmas mail

2009-12-20T21:50:00.004+11:00

I love lots of things about Christmas. But there are some things that I don't love about Christmas, and as the Christmas season approaches its climax, now is the time to get them off my chest.

Writing Christmas cards. I detest writing Christmas cards. In fact, I don't like doing any sort of writing with a pen and paper any more, but of all written things, Christmas cards are the worst. Even worse than birthday cards, because birthdays are generally spread out across the year, and don't need to be written all at once.

Last year, I decided to take the bull by the horns, and do the cards early. Late November 2008, I bought a couple of boxes of cards, a couple of dozen of those kitsch Christmas stamps, and sat down for two or three evenings to write (yes, it takes me that long to think of different ways to say 'Merry Christmas and Happy New Year' on a card).

First week of December, I posted out 32 cards. And not a minute too soon, as I received my first one back in that very day's post, from someone even more organised than I was (or perhaps, someone who hated writing cards as much as I do!)

But... by last mail on Christmas Eve, a quick census of my mantelpiece confirmed my growing suspicion throughout that month - exactly one half of the people that I had carefully and dutifully crafted Christmas cards for had returned the favour! 16 cards, plus another 2 from people I'd left off my original list (another thing I hate about Christmas mail - unexpected last-minute Christmas cards, when it's too late to send a reply and pretend that you hadn't always planned to do so!)

Somewhere along the line, half of the people that I had carded had decided that Christmas cards were 'out' in 2008, and they didn't bother to even reply when they received one.

For a time, I was outraged and insulted.

Then I thought it over. And it made sense. These cards cost time and money and effort. They sit on the mantelpiece for a week or two, then they get thrown into the recycle bin. All that effort for just that.

Clearly, sending Christmas cards was just too 19th century. It was time I got with it.

So in 2009, I wrote no Christmas cards in advance. This year, I sat back and waited to see what the mailman would bring, if I didn't initiate the transaction. And to no surprise, the mail delivery fell off even further than last year. With four delivery days left until C Day (at most, depending on union action), I have received only 5 cards, all of which I have dutifully replied to.

So that's my official Christmas card policy from now on. No more bulk card writing and posting, just polite replies to those who still have an interest in sending and receiving cards. Much less stressful. It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas already.

second course

2009-12-20T21:44:00.003+11:00

Well, that pizza, fantastic as it was, didn't exactly open the gluten floodgates for me, but it gave me some inspiration to go on.

It took about 24 hours for my stomach to settle again, so by the next evening, I was ready to try another dish on my list. I went out for dinner at EcoBlue in Orrong Rd, and chose a simple penne napolitana. It was delicious. The sauce was a light tomato and basil delight, but the pasta! Real pasta, cooked perfectly, and made from real wheat, instead of rice! It looked right; it tasted superb.

An hour later, my stomach started complaining again, but of course, it was going to take some time to adjust.

first dose!

2009-12-17T22:37:00.004+11:00

Well, even though I've had the go-ahead to eat gluten again for several days, it's been tough, tough, tough to make a start.

Sure I've missed the odd delicacy - like warm, crusty bread, smothered in melting butter and dripping with honey or marmalade; hot, spicy pizza; a sweet, buttery croissant; the flaky pastry on a freshly-heated cornish pastie - to name but a few, but after several years of training myself not to think about those things, nor dare to put them near my mouth, it was surprisingly tough to just pick something up and eat it.

Finally, though, I had to just get over it and do it. So today, I bought a pizza for my lunch. Not just any pizza, but a hot salami and pineapple pizza from one of my favourite pizzerias from 'the old days', in the Paramount Centre off Bourke St.

To eat this pizza... was an almost indescribable experience!

The crust was thick and chewy, perfectly baked; the topping was spicy, but with the sweetness of the pineapple, and a buttery after-taste that made it feel as though it was melting in my mouth.

Every mouthful was heaven!

And when I finished it... I felt fine. For about an hour.

Then I developed mild abdominal pains for most of the afternoon. I guess this could just be my system adjusting to this new / old eating sensation. I hope so, anyway. This experience is way too good to have to forgo again!

the killer argument

2009-12-13T21:59:00.003+11:00

I'd say I'm a pretty rational type; I tend to believe in things I can see or experience or realistically imagine, and dismiss the rest (such as religion ). But when I experience something that rational solutions don't seem to recognise or apply to, I'm willing to expand my horizons and broaden my beliefs. Which is how I originally became interested in naturopathic / homeopathic therapies.

After many years suffering from various complaints which were apparently unrelated, undiagnosable and untreatable (by regular medicine), I took a side-track to a naturopath ... whose apparently illogical and un-rationalisable treatments did make a difference.

Over the years, I saw a number of naturopaths, and eventually found Gordon, whom I consider to be the world's greatest naturopath!

Among the things that Gordon told me was that I was gluten-intolerant, and that by undergoing a detox program and avoiding foods containing gluten, many of the complaints that had dogged me for most of my adult life would improve or vanish.

I didn't want to believe Gordon, at first. After all, my staple diet then revolved around bread, pizza, cake, pastries, pies, biscuits, scones, pasta, cereal - I couldn't imagine life without those basic necessities and mouth-watering delicacies.

But I was desperate, so I agreed to give it a month or two, and see how it worked out.

It was tough! Suddenly, my staples were forbidden to me, and I had to learn to eat rice crackers and gluten-free muesli, rice, dry, crumbly gluten-free cake, rice, pallid, gluten-free pasta, rice, and oh, did I mention... rice?

Eating became a boring drudge, trying to find new ways to prepare rice and rice-based meals, and avoiding things like soy sauce and other condiments, which invariably contained the dreaded gluten.

But I didn't have to wait long to realise it was the right thing to do. Within a few weeks, I could feel the difference, and I knew I was doing the right thing, no matter how distasteful it was. Gluten was poison. Gluten was out!

I was well and truly confirmed as gluten-intolerant when, around two years or so later, I first visited my current GP, Ben.

When I told him my medical history, he immediately turned up his nose at the thought of my diagnosis by an 'unqualified' practitioner, and recommended that I do a blood test to confirm that advice.

The only catch was, that in order to do the blood test, I had to go back onto gluten for a period of 3 or 4 weeks.

After all I had gone through in training myself to not eat that stuff, I couldn't stand to backtrack, so I politely but firmly ignored his suggestions. Again. And again. And again. And then, he hit me with the killer argument!

At my last appointment with Ben, I was talking about my planned trip to Europe next year. One of my concerns about travel had been around how I would find gluten-free foods in non-English speaking countries; I had heard anecdotally that it was not so easy to find, in parts of the continent. He suggested that maybe I had 'recovered' from my gluten intolerance after my lengthy gluten-abstinence, and that it would be worthwhile doing the test to find out 'for sure'.

With the thought of travel in mind, and hope of an allergy-free future in my heart (and stomach), I agreed to prepare for the test.

After all, how bad could it be?

the month of eating dangerously

2009-12-12T10:26:00.003+11:00

So more than three-and-a-half years since I was diagnosed by the best naturopath in the world as being gluten-intolerant, forty-five months after I made the supreme effort to banish gluten-ous foods from my diet, and forty-four months since I thought "Hey - this guy really did know what he as talking about!", my non-believer GP finally hit me with the killer argument : "Never mind if you were diagnosed by an unqualified faith healer, what if you've improved since then and no longer need to avoid gluten? What if you can eat all that good stuff again, and don't need to stick to this unnecessary diet?"

There was only one way to find out.

But it would involve eating that 'g' stuff again!

"I'm Superman!"

2009-12-12T10:18:00.000+11:00

the liberty valance eureka moment

2009-12-10T18:37:00.002+11:00

After years and years and years of listening to "The man who shot Liberty Valance" and not having a clue as to what Gene Pitney was singing, today, I had a sudden moment of clarity!

"Everyone heard two shots ring out,
One shot made Liberty fall"

It's so obvious. It's so clear (when you know). Why could I never get it before? wow.

trust no politician

2009-12-05T19:48:00.002+11:00

Was I the only one shocked and appalled by this statement in today's Age?

"Victoria Police last night said it was routine for police to sign such deals [to share information about protesters] with organisations building big public projects where there were potential security risks."

WTF??? When did private companies get the right to access Police information about law-abiding citizens?? Or about any citizens, for that matter? When did the government make that decision? What information do which companies have about which citizens? If I say that I oppose the useless and over-priced desalination plant, and that I believe it will force us all to pay mega-millions of dollars unnecessarily to an overseas private company for something we don't need in the the first place, will my details end up on Aquasure's database?

This is the worst example of abuse of government power I have heard of in the entire tenure of the current State government.

Make no mistake about it: no-one can trust John Brumby (or Ted Baillieu).

les plans commencent a fall into place

2009-11-30T20:47:00.003+11:00

Well, I've been planning and procrastinating for more than 18 months now, but today, I took the first real step towards taking a decent holiday next year, by applying for time off from work next May/June.

Actually, that was really the second step... in a rush of blood to the head, I snapped up some new luggage at DJ's during last week's VIP shopping night at Chaddy - at 50% off, I couldn't let the opportunity pass - and since I now had some decent bags, I really had little choice but to get on with the rest of the planning to go somewhere!

Step 3 followed in very quick succession, thanks to a chance encounter with a Kathmandu sale catalogue that came with the newspapers on the weekend. So now I not only have suitable luggage, but a wonderful array of minor travel accessories that I would never have thought that I needed (nor did I even know existed, in some cases!), and all at 50% - 60% off RRP as well!

Next step will be to organise a passport... and then I'd better start thinking about booking some flights and accommodation... and fast, before I realise how much it will all cost!