Christmas time is here...

bringing Christmas cheer...

The other morning, we were talking about those letters that arrive this time of the year. You know the ones:
'this year has been a busy time in [insert family] household with Mum working hard in [company X], with Child A kicking goals in [extra curricular pursuit] and Child B toothing'
Sometimes there's photoshopped images of Dad in a Santa hat pulling a sleigh with the fam behind. This phenomena seems to be a love/hate thing that can induce serious eye-rolling and groaning in some, but I kinda enjoy the breezy cheesiness of it all. And the fact that Danny Katz writes em every year makes em OK by me!

*shrugs* what can I say?
Even jfox can't be cynical at Christmas time.

Don't know about you but it's been a crazy messed up year at this end! Hope you were kicking goals in your own big (drb!) or small way and that you share your holidays with your nearest and dearest.
Cheers to 2006 and here's to 2007!

Dr B and her Balloon

Well done dr b!

:: Hear Ye Hear Ye :: Best Gigs of 2006 ::

Off with their heads!

I kinda like lego men....but not like this.
[let me know if you want one! ha]

And Your Bird Can Sing

Presenting: the Rubber Soul Beatles Show, in honour of this post’s theme of My Favourite 20.

Yup, it’s another headscratching list, this time prompted by the ABC’s My Favourite Album which featured two Beatles albums in the Top 5.

I must admit, it doesn’t bother me that much that people are voting for Anthony Callea or Delta Goodrem. I can’t say that I understand it but I can appreciate that taste can encompass all kinds of music. Pop isn’t all bad juju. There are an equal number of el crappo indie/alternative/punk/rock bands yeah?
We have SERIOUS radio wars at work – the commercial radio kids vs the cynical community radio stalwarts. As one diplomatic colleague says – there’s no such thing as good or bad music, it’s all down to personal taste (what do you think?). Having said that, it would be interesting to see whether modern day entries can stand the test of time.

:: So to My Top20 ::
The criteria for favourites? Those albums (dare I say tapes?) that have been played ad nauseum and where songs can be named from one chord.
No surprises then that subsets of this list can be mapped to particular time periods. A good test would be to revisit and see what survives.

West Side Story = Movie Soundtrack
Blur = Blur VS Oasis = What’s the Story, Morning Glory? c.a.n.'t. p.i.c.k.
Rail = Bad Hair Life
You Am I = Dress Me Slowly (tough choice out of all their gems)
Dirty Three = Ocean Songs
Ice Cream Hands = Sweeter Than The Radio
Jason Falkner = Author Unknown
Bjork = Post
Crowded House = Together Alone
Beck = Odelay
Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong = Ella & Louis
PJ Harvey = Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea
Beth Orton = Daybreaker
Flaming Lips = Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings = Naturally
Teenage Fanclub = Grand Prix
Jeff Buckley = Grace
Radiohead = The Bends
Blackeyed Susans = Mouth to Mouth
Pernice Brothers = The World Won’t End

So predictable yeah?
Couldn’t decide which Wilco album out of the last four and so endow them with a big honourable mention instead. Oh and Beach Boys = Pet Sounds – that is a melodically dense, wonderful album.
Better stop now.

Check out the lists of Cassiopeia Gegenbauren III, Yossarian, Serenity Later, Sartorial and Flygirl for more opinions on favourite sounds.

:: Addendum ::
In my youth (!), I used to see heaps of bands live and then tape them live from the radio.
Armed with trusty walkman on the train to uni, I listened to
* Pulp rained out at Glastonbury 1998
* Jeff Buckley on the 3RRR Rooftop
* Blur at their peak at the Astoria 1997
* an extremely charismatic Frank Sinatra at Festival Hall
* the beauty of Portishead with orchestra at the Roseland Ballroom
* The Fauves or
* Rebecca’s Empire both at the Espy.

When the walkman batteries ran low, I’d switch over to the 3RRR Breakfasters stifling guffaws of laughter between the Chris Hatsis playlist of power- , brit- and electro- pop that formed the basis of my musical taste for a long time.
So Cassiopeia, I’d like to stretch the rules to include these as a postscript to a favourites list, because for a long time I didn’t listen to anything else.

Summer nights

It's already been a year since this blog started which means that the Night Market is back. Food all down one side and stuff to buy on the other.

Last night we enjoyed paella, Roo steak sanger, yakitori and okonomiyaki (Japanese pancake) and honey dumplings. No sign of the Persian fairy floss though - disappointing!
High-tail it down to Queen Vic and indulge in a cupcake or two!

Kick or Spit

the choice is yours...

Early Christmas Cheer

Despite a fire, the Melbourne General Post Office remains a beautiful building in the centre of town. Converted into a fancy pants shopping centre (as cute as they are, who can really afford Campers shoes?), its owners have also taken advantage of a lofty ceiling and used it as a space for art.

My favourite so far would have to be the long opened umbrellas balanced precariously along criss-crossing wires strung from all four balconies. Being Melbourne, they had to be black and lent the usually light and airy ceiling an ominous feel. More recently as part of the State of Design Festival, bird cages were hung from the rafters. I quite like the absurdity of a mass of open umbrellas inside a building - multiples of seven-years-bad-luck notwithstanding.

After banana crepes yesterday morning and a surprise birthday greeting, I diverted on the way to work and noticed that there were strangled plastic christmas trees hanging not only from the outside pillars but also in the building itself.
I'm not sure how to respond to this one, but I did say the art pieces tended to the absurd!

Paper Cuts

How great is it: the sun's up at stoopid hours, flowers are blooming and it's that lovely temperate weather to get the BBQ going for a cruisey afternoon in a park.

Time to dust off the sandals and the summer gear - how about this mini-skirt or these heels?

If updating your wardrobe isn't your thang, maybe consider some of these other wondrous items.

What's with all the origami? I happened upon an amazing(ly nerdy) book by origamist Robert Lang who has designed newfangled ways to fold paper. We're not talking about making cranes here - he has dense, 100-plus-folded instructions for insects, elephants and cuckoo clocks (BIG piece of butcher paper that). It's all to do with vectors, angles and circumference - I can't convey how mind-blowing it is to flick through his books.

Check em out and become a paper-nerdo yourself!

Kid Koala

I never really understood why hordes of cameras gravitate towards these fuzzy creatures and when overseas folk often excitedly associate I'm from Australia with Have You Held A Koala?, I politely ?shrug? and say, I live in the city.
This all changes of course when you see the fuzzy creatures in person.
On the way to the lighthouse at Cape Otway, we spied this very cute family. They must have been bored by yet another group of excited random passerbys snapping away.
[Thanks to Elmo for the pic!]

Got em!

Finally!
Months ago, I discovered a small hole at the top of my trainers. Now I'm pretty lazy and since summer was approaching, I thought I'd be able to hold out until winter. Plus, we're in a drought right? It probably won't rain any time soon!
This was all before a lovely bushwalk on the crater rim at Tower Hill Reserve just out of Warrnambool where my shoe proceeded to fill up with dust and dirt. Hence a quicksticks hunt for a replacement (refer above).
Bonus: A goodget to boot - only 40 bucks from Smith St.

Just Might Do

Due to a delicious banquet FEAST last night, I missed most of the ARIAs. And although I am generally out of touch these days due to studies (Youth Group? and when did Eskimo Joe become so big?), I was most excited to hear that Clare Bowditch won a gong for Best Female Artist. My favourite memory of Clare Bowditch is from a HiFi Bar gig where exiting punters were treated to birthday cake which Clare had presented to her mother earlier that night. Even if she didn't write lovely songs, she deserves some kinda award for punter appreciation!

** Oh and The Audreys won for Best Roots and Blues Album too! This has to be one of my favourite albums from this year - really cruisey soundtrack to a Sunday afternoon BBQ and bevvy.

Ole! Tarantula

My friend Pierre Burkensoir is a music connoisseur. Across most genres, he knows all the old stuff and keeps up to date with the new stuff. This has extended to trawling the internet discover something new or maybe download a mash-up or three. He even likes that four letter word, jazz. (Sorry, I like Ella and Louis but I don't get the modern noodling).
Pierre is a also font of musical knowledge, an amalgamation of Mojo/Uncut magazine in one source: "Hey Pierre, who is this Billy Childish guy?" and after a particularly bad episode of Australian Idol "what exactly is disco anyway?"

It's a shame then, that Pierre has an anti-gig stance. He reckons he's too old! too tall! but mainly he can't be bothered. In fact, in six years in Melbourne, Pierre has ventured out to only four bands. F.O.U.R.

So it is significant that the announcement of a couple of gigs by Robyn Hitchcock woke a dormant enthusiasm rarely seen in Pierre whereby he not only purchased tickets for one gig, but was seriously considering attending the second.

I went along to an instore at Basement Discs out of curiosity - what could be so great about this guy that would induce Burkensoir to actively go to a gig?

Most well known for his eccentric lyrics and floppy hair, Robyn Hitchcock of seminal late 70s band Soft Boys, recently toured Australia with the Venus 3 in support of his new album "Ole! Tarantula". True to Pierre's words, Hitchcock's songs were melodic and lyrical with an added bonus of a Bob Dylan cover and entertaining banter in between - my favourite line: "This song goes out to....all the people behind that pillar".

Afterwards, the band greeted fans and signed ceedees and it was at this point that I acquired this seriously goodget.
For those with good eyesight, this is an enhanced goodget: Peter Buck of REM fame is in Venus 3!

George Orwell's 1984, 13 October 2006

Melbourne International Arts Festival
The Actor’s Gang
“George Orwell’s 1984”

In the dust of the raucous energy of public Singing or Dancing in recent times, this years Arts Festival seems restrained in comparison.

In 2006, one of the flagship productions of the Melbourne International Arts Festival is a presentation of ‘George Orwell’s 1984’ by The Actor’s Gang, adapted by Michael Gene Sullivan.

1984 is one of my favourite books and describes the creation of a futuristic world where the population lives under constant surveillance by the omnipresent Big Brother. It is within this totalitarian social order that Orwell explores the relationship of an individual to the state. It was frightening in its portrayal of a society where law, media and even language were designed to prevent free will and freedom of thought. Although it has been a few years since I’ve revisited the story, I still remember feeling completely devastated at its conclusion.

This adaptation is set during an interrogation of Citizen Smith, where four Party members re-enact the events leading up to Smith’s arrest at the direction of Big Brother. P Adam Walsh is convincing and heartbreaking as Smith, with the four other actors believably slipping in and out of characters from Smith’s past as his confession is extricated.
The set is designed to situate and thus implicate the audience within this process, as if we could be Big Brother. We are voyeuristically watching and made to feel as if we are participating - the audience flinched in response to the ‘torture’ perpetrated. It was confronting: at one point, Smith is presented in an electric chair at the front of the stage and the Party Members are standing directly in front of the first row, as if the audience are the jury at Smith’s trial. This was not a passive experience, it wasn’t always easy to sit and watch this play - the lady sitting next to me did not return from interval.

In our ridiculous world where the internet broadcasts real-life, real-war torture, it was worrying how much the themes connect to current events. In particular, the use of periodic interruptions from the telescreen selling state propaganda was effective in setting the tone of society outside the prison cell, but also striking in its familiarity of its fabrication or stretching the truth of war and how governments can manipulate media to generate fear as a means to justify the end.

The strength of the novel lies in its imagining of this future society and although the play is timely in some of its themes, I did find some parts in the second act a bit preachy and wordy. When Big Brother is revealed to be merely another Party member and comes out from behind the walls of the set, the story became less compelling and somewhat diminished the idea of the pervasiveness of Big Brother in society.

Despite the draining nature of the production, this production was well worth seeing and, if anything, will inspire people to return to the original novel.

As a side note, is it really Melbourne without an abundance of festivals? A stroll through Federation Square, previously populated with aforementioned enthusiastic Singers and Dancers, reveals fledgling festivals muscling in. Situated opposite St Pauls was the slinky-like white tent flogging the State of Design Festival, nicely echoing the new Design Centre at the East end of Fed Square. And how delightful to see the Fringe Festival burst out of the cool inner suburbs and claim a small stake in the heart of town (though one too many celebrity comedians in the program – the Fringe should be strictly for amateurs!).

gelateria

It didn't seem enough to sit in the park to pass a sunny lunchtime, we strolled down to a new gelati shop. I put it down to reconnaissance for the summer ahead.

Kool Kimono Bits

I bought these fabrics in a textile/homewares-type shop in the country - they are vintage kimonos that have been cut into pieces *gasp*. Beyond quilting and patchworking, the small sample size of these delightful pieces could test the boundaries of your imagination/creativity. There's just not enough of each one!
Anyway, I don't think I'm quite at the patchworking stage of my life just yet...

Some questions: if they really are 'vintage', shouldn't they be deemed too precious to cut into small squares? And when does 'vintage' embody value and not just o.l.d.?

As much as it pains me to think that these beautiful handmade garments are being butchered, some of them are quite pretty to look at, aren't they?

An Everage Day in Moonee Ponds

I went lawn bowling again: this time in leafy Moonee Ponds. Thanks to Soapy for organising such a lovely BBQ and lovely afternoon.

If I Could...

I think at some level I believe that we have led other lives.
This could be on a linear scale, like those that believe in reincarnation might think that we (d)evolve from ant to person to dragonfly. Then again, this idea could be as Terry Pratchett describes, where we exist in many parallel universes that represent every possible permutation of a scenario.
So it's comforting to know that even though I sometimes daydream about being this, that or the other, chances are I have been or are or will be pursuing the following vocations.

* My first childhood dream was to be a writer

* My second childhood dream was to be a concert pianist in the era of Mozart, Beethoven or Debussy

* My dream job in the 90s was to be a sound engineer or journalist during the mid90s 'Britpop' explosion

* Or maybe the lead singer of a punk band... (not too popular mind you haha)

* Dressmaker - anything to do with colours and textures, kool fabrics/buttons/ribbons. Ah, to have clothes that Fit Well!

* Pastry chef without the bad hours and licence for grouchy temperament (!)

Check out Flygirl, Yossarian, Cassiopeia Gegenbauer III, Serenity Later and Sartorial Splendour for more thoughts on dream professions.

Love & War

"Picasso: Love & War 1935-45" is this year's winter blockbuster at the NGV International and centres around a tumultuous decade in Picasso's life. In addition to the political events of the period, the exhibition explores the dynamic relationship with his muse Dora Maar, an artist in her own right.

I came to this exihibiton with respect but also ignorance of the man. I've never found Picasso very accessible and felt too much anguish and/or sadness in the few paintings I've seen here and there. This excellently curated collection was a revelation, showing many facets of Picasso including still life and etchings and also a compelling series of photographs showing the development of his anti-war manifesto Guernica.
A whole room is devoted to representations of the Minotaur, a mythological creature that Picasso strongly identified with, and it is within this mythic setting that Dora Maar is first seen in a graceful, bird-like form.
And it's the portraits of Maar that represent the real heart of this show. They are striking in their use of media (photographs, paintings, etchings) and also in the various moods that Maar is portrayed in. I found the use of contrasting colours in the paintings especially inspiring.
One fascinating idea was that of Maar and Picasso's obsession with sleep-watching and documentation thereof - this series is at once tender and funny.
Hightail it down to NGV International to catch the last few weeks.

Everyone loves a (c)log

I am in a bit of a pickle.

My lab shoes have holes in them and as I'm a 'fussy' person (pointed out by a kind, slightly over gel-ed salesman), it will definitely take me a while to replace said item. And it's not raining anymore, so there's no hurry yet.
.
My sib suffers through constant um-ing and ah-ing about shoe#x blah and shoe#xx blah blah. I can't help it! I know what I want when I see it, but it just takes me a while to 'see'. Does anyone else suffer these conundrums? Please say it is so.

In the meantime, I can dream about these bright red clogs. Too bad they were only a temporary loan...

Moving on and moving up

A tisket a tasket

Let me introduce you to Ella the Elephant. Ella features on a new album from the Baby Loves Music series. These are produced from the legendary Verve record label and is designed to get kids into all different genres of music such as salsa, hip hop (!) and jazz. As an avid music fan myself, I wouldn't mind getting my mitts on some of these - can I borrow a kid anyone?
The koolest thing about Ella? She is voiced by none other than Miss Sharon Jones. There's even an accompanying book where Ella teaches you how to scat! I've often considered jazz to be a four letter word, but with this pedigree, it's gotta be full of fun and spirit.
Even better news, the forthcoming hip hop version is going to be produced by Prince Paul (of De La Soul fame). If kids are supposedly sponges (brain-wise that is), then what better way than to edu-ma-cate them via Sharon Jones as an elephant and the beats of Prince Paul?

So Silly

How's this for a little piece of happiness?

This week sees a couple of great old friends getting married - as measured by years of friendship rather than years of existence!!
As such, familiar faces from the northern hemisphere/states are returning home so the next few days encompasses reconnections and maybe a little bit of nostalgia.
This present is from the northern climes: someone who obviously knows me well. As to what I'm going to do with them? At the moment, I'm quite content to just sit and admire!

Minties and Kodak

As always with lists, I’m sure I’ll change my mind tomorrow about these cherished moments/memories. One thing is clear, they revolve around events or people that remind me what it is to feel at home.

** after a two month summer stint in canberra, rolling in to melbourne on the train and seeing the ‘big’ skyline

** five years later: after a 6 and a half week winter stint in the northern summer and more than 30 hours of travelling from new york city, seeing the ‘tiny’ melbourne skyline

** ok, bear with me on this one. You know those flowers that seem to be made of wispy cotton-like petals that you can blow and they fly off into the wind? One childhood memory is of running around the front garden in the summertime, holding one of those flowers and slowing my mad run-around as those wispy bits drifted (sadly) into my mouth

** walking home from primary school with my nana and siblings to a steamy home cooked meal

** all those *phew/woohoo* moments when you receive your TER or acceptance letters for uni/scholarship or those Eighth Row tickets to [Band X]. all of these deserve a big punch of the fist into the air!


Check out Flygirl, Yossarian, Cassiopeia Gegenbauer III, Serenity Later and Sartorial Splendour for more thoughts on favourite places.

Angel, Hyde and Mouros

Delicious Deli Delights from Angel to take to.... Hyde Park for a Saturday afternoon picnic in the London 'heatwave'
Castelos dos Mouros, Sintra

Mecca

Birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Salzburg Vienna
Musikverein, Vienna
Art Nouveau at Obecni Dum, Prague
Birthplace of The Ramones and Blondie, New York

Dvorak, the Moldau and the magnificent Vltava River

Antonin Dvorak's The Moldau is an orchestral piece that describes the journey of the Vltava River, which also happens to flow right through the heart of Prague. Prague proved to be one of the most beautiful cities I visited recently; forget the crowds at the castle and Karluv Most, head south for a spectacular hill top view.

Princess and the Pea

Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna


Nymphenburg Palace, Munich

Magnolia Bakery Delights, New York

Life's tough...

It's been difficult getting back into work-mode.
What with reagents not quite ready to start experiments, my thumbs are well twiddled by now!
To ease guilt of inappropriate use of internet facilities, try this:
www.workfriendly.net

Around the World in 48 days

The business end of my Northern Hemispherean summer: I'm leaving for Melbourne tonight after a cruisey week in Toronto and New York City.

There's a book by Julian Barnes titled "England, England" and a theme park in Japan which encapsulate some aspects of this whirlwind tour.
Barnes writes of an entrepreneur who builds a theme park containing all of the great icons of England, and the real life Japanese version contains white miniature replicates-to-scale of world monuments- come see the Eiffel Tower, Stonehenge, Buckingham Palace and the Empire State Building all in the one convenient location.

So I could babble on about some of the things I've seen, but you can imagine that when in Paris, you'll probably go and see the Notre Dame.

A few highlights:
* The pastries in Portugal, the food in Paris and the deli in Angel behind the antique market which supplied our Hyde Park picnic in the sweltering London heatwave.
* In Sintra near Lisbon, climbing up the ruins of the Castelo dos Mouros and looking over to the Palacio Nacional de Pena.
* Meeting some Glaswegian students at their local as I watched Australia beat Croatia to march into Round 2 of the World Cup. Our own triumph followed when we won a food voucher during the trivia quiz.
* Finally making it to Austria (a childhood dream/Mecca of sorts). Whereas in London, there are statues to Kings, Queens and Military, the first statues I found were of Haydn and Mozart. It was a thrill to be perched in the balcony of a Viennese concert hall watching an orchestra in period costume playing a mostly Mozart program. And the train ride to Salzburg with amazing breathtaking alpine scenery - stunning!
* Discovering the Art Nouveau movement in various guises beginning with Charles Rennie Mackintosh of the Glasgow School, Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele of the Secession movement in Austria, Alphonse Mucha in the Mucha Museum and an exhibition on the Croatian Art Nouveau movement in the amazing Obecni dum building, both in Prague. My favourite experience belongs to Vienna: basking in the warm glow of Gustav Klimt's "The Kiss" at the Belvedere.
* Another musical pilgrimage, visiting CGBGs in New York before it closes in September for yuppified apartments - a sad demise for the birthplace of American punk music. In the 70s, this club hosted The Ramones, Blondie and other music for uplifting gourmandisers. The room is tiny, dark and dank with walls plastered with posters and stickers of the last 23 years.
* In Prague, watching a thunder and lightning storm rumble up the Vltava River towards our spot on the hill near the Vysehrad. Our vantage point encompassed the southern part of the river all the way up past Karluv Most and to Prague Castle - an incredible sunset spectaular.
* And seriously, it would be worth all the pomp, circumstance and excessive ...excess to live in a Palace if that's a ticket to explore/ponder/play/daydream in the accompanying palatial grounds: I would revisit the gardens of the Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna and the Nymphenburg Palace, Munich in a heartbeat.

Will update with photos when I get back home-sweet-home!

As much fun as it is to see the sights, my trip was really made by intermittent pitstops visiting ex-pats. It was nice to have a 'home' to come back to after traipsing around in the European summer or crazy New York weather. Many thanks to Cam (+Pat+Eric+Candid+Paul), Geoff, Nancy (+Laura) and Leonie (+Ben) for looking after me and showing me the favourite parts of their newly-adopted cities!

Apart from a blister here and there and a tan to rival solarium addicts, I've been healthy and happy. I have also met a lot of lovely people, travellers or otherwise.
However it will be fantastic to resume a semblance of normality - my travel bug is well and truly satisfied for a little while yet!

Ola_Och

Portugese tart for the day ahead...

Lisbon

Sintra - Lisbon nobility summer hangout

Luis Ponte I - Douro River, Porto

Kool fonts everywhere in Porto

Edinburgh Castle

Glasgow Gallery of Modern Art

furious five_cover art

i must admit, i don't often stop to think about cover art. even though we live in an increasingly visual culture, i'm ruled by fonts for books and my ears for music.if anything, i recognise books and ceedees by their spines... i could make a great list of "best spines" (you'd be right in thinking that this revolves around fonts!)

.

in no particular order*
.

Ocean Songs - Dirty Three

for a cover that represents the all-at-once rollicking..calming..turbulent temperament within

.
it's a tie: Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next series / Kerry Greenwood's Phryne Fisher seriesi love these detective series. greenwood's harks back to an elegant, feminine 1920s style and i just dig that b-grade font of fforde's

.

Plastic Fang - Jon Spencer Blues Explosion

before they stole his thunder, jon spencer and his blues explosion were pioneering dirty blues/garage way before white stripes and black keys. and he's got tons more charisma in his little finger than jack, meg and those akron ohio dudes combined!

werewolves /wide-eyed horror /comic styled gasps /kool font...the BLUES IS #1!

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Nightmare Before Christmas - Tim Burton

i used to love going to cinema bookshops to check out old movie posters - they have so much character and represent an energy that slick modern posters don't seem to possess. i have many a soft spot for the posters of 50s sci-fi monster movies or old school Italian filmmakers Fellini /Bertolucci /Leone or the wide spectrum of Japanese anime or those crazy screwball comedies from the Depression era.

and then there's hitchcock too.

i love poring over a new Astor calendar!

having said all that, Tim Burton is a director with a true, unique vision and the fractured fairytale Nightmare Before Christmas poster embodies the tone and style of the film (with a bonus great font).

.

Cammers You Am I Dress Me Slowly
does this count? my dear friend cammers once made me a copy of You Am I's Dress Me Slowly. the makeshift cover featured red card with a photograph of Rose Porteous -in all her faux glamour- posing for the cameras at the Logies unaware of Lano and Woodley creeping up behind, fingers curled, ready to Attack! absolute hands down favourite

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* nick hornby type declaration: if you were to ask me in another moment, this list would resemble another beast...